By 1999, the technohype of the mid 90's had died out in Belgium. I distinctly remember parties boasting a "NO TECHNO"-slogan on their flyers. Maybe they had a point: techno had slowly evolved into a sturdy minimalism. The start of it all had been Richie Hawtin's Concept series in 1996. Every month, a new 12" was released with two tracks that were made up of little more than beats and clicks. And eventhough Hawtin seemed to pull off this stunt somehow, it also made sure the world was flooded with boring minimal tracks.
The perfect antidote was the house music scène which had found a new breath outside of America. New producers like Bugz in the Attic, Phil Asher, Isolee, Fred Everything and the amazing Erot were releasing tracks which blew away the American competition.
In Belgium, these new house tracks were played at the Food Club by Geoffroy, a DJ who has always had an impeccable taste for new music. All of his Moving House copmpilations were excellent, but the Live at Food mix really blew me away. It starts off with Isolee's quirky all-time classic Beau Mot Plage, which is followed by a still unreleased Bugz in the Attic track (Stop), classics by Chez Damier, Swirl People, Phuture Retro and Erot (especially his mixes have stood the test of time). The mixing is impeccable and beautiful. Geoffroy manages to layer tracks in such a way that they seem to have been made for each other.
PS Geoffroy is now also a producer. Check his output under his Mugwump monniker. Especially Boutade on Ewan pearson's Misericord label is fucking awesome. Also check his Hi-Phen label and the Suicide label which he runs for NEWS.
Over the years many past eras have been rediscovered. At the beginning of the nineties, it were the fifties and the sixties which were rediscovered (does anyone remember the Tour of Duty series - "5 dollars fuckie fuckie - me love you long time" - and CD compilations?), then disco and the eighties came back and now it's the nineties. I could live with bringing disco back from the dead, and the re-release of eighties classics like Prince's Sign of the Times album or the first Pixies albums, but there's no bloody excuse for bringing back Eurotrash like 2 Fabiola or Dr Alban, is there. Anyway... One of the musical styles which didn't get its second moment in the spotlight, is New Beat. One of the reasons why New Beat wasn't taken seriously, was the fact that it was a movement which was quickly polluted with commercial bullshit. It was a hype for a year or two and so everyone tried to make a buck. While the original form was being exploited, the real underground producer were already experimenting with new sounds (acid, house & techno) and new beat would give birth to hardbeat (Complete KAOS label), acid new beat (KAOS label) and Belgian techno (R&S label). It is said that first experiences determine the rest of your life. My first experience of going to a club was in 1988, the beginning of the New Beat era. It blew my mind and it would last till my first I love techno parties (at Vooruit in Ghent) before I would experience something like it. Going out in the eighties didn't mean you would only hear new beat records. It originated from new wave and so many new wave records were still played out alongside the records which were hot of the press. To get a trancelike effect, many new wave tracks were slowed down to -8 or played at 33 rpm +8. The best example of this is Boytronic's Bryllyant, which was re-released in this slower version. This first New Beat mix is what I remember was played at those clubs. It was fun looking for these records and blowing the dust off their surface. I hope you enjoy this mix too.
Tracklist
1. Introduction - Erotic Dissidents (taken from their LP; it features soundbites from a BBC documentary on new beat) 2. Death Disco - Arbeid Adelt (a Belgian new wave classic, recently re-released with mixes by the Glimmers and Todd Terje) 3. Move your ass - Erotic Dissidents (the first new beat hit which is largely inspired by Yello's Bostich) 4. Witness the change - Pete Shelley (a new wave classic picked up by the Glimmers for one of their compilations) 5. Where are you? - 16 Bit (German track which perfectly fits the new beat profile) 6. LS Beat - La Strada (many new beat tracks were recorded by DJ's for their clubs and so they got the name of the club) 7. [sample] Voices inside my head - The Police (revamped to devastating effect by KC Flight) 8. Fatal Error - Fatal Error (this track really blew me away! I used to wait and wait untill the dj played it; a 2 Many DJ's favourite) 9. The Drop Deal - Bazz (another early new beat classic; they had a flying dj booth in the club and they would wait for this record to activate it) 10. Give yourself to me - Farley Keith (American house record which was covered by L&O (Even now remix)) 11. Rock to the Beat - 101 (a Kevin Saunderson classic revamped for Belgian dancefloors; there's also an alternative version by Hi-Hat which is less well-known but equally good) 12. Fantasy - Pleasure Zone (another early house classic which tore up dancefloors) 13. Acid Story - Dr Phibes (one of the best new beat tracks according to me, amazing!) 14. The Future (Mark Moore remix) - Prince (this remix was regularly mixed up with the Dr Phibes track) 15. I sit on acid - Lords of Acid (this classic illustrates new beat(s decadent side; check out Acid Queen if you're into that) 16. I do anything you want - Executive Board (Boccacio classic!) 17. Cheebala - Ghentlon (a transitional track between new beat and techno) 18. Aciieed - D-Mob (an English acid track which is still deeply funky) 19. Even now - L&O (another classic which stood the test of time) 20. My heart the Beat - D-Shake (Dutch track sampling Love Song by the Simple Minds) 21. Love Song - Simple Minds (big new wave tune, and better than Don't you according to me) 22. Flesh - A Split Second (new wave track that was a real new beat anthem!) 23. Alright (Prisencolinensinainciusol) - B-Art (another classic which was actually a remake of an amazing track by Adriano Celentano; check the clip on youtube) 24. Stop Bajon (Primavera) - Tulio De Piscopo (another Italian classic which was often played at the end of parties) 25. Rainbows (instrumental) - Jade 4 U (a beautiful track by the beautiful Jade 4 U)
