Cheebah presents Goldy Sept 5th
One of Dublin's longserving Hiphop individuals and as a music worker since day one Goldy has embraced this life over decades now. That’s not the Eastenders Drum n Bass actor Goldie by the way nor is it the 90s Jive records Rap monikered Goldy who gave us the mid 90s banger ‘Nuthin but a tramp’ ok!
I have vauge memories of buying a pristine 2nd hand Biz Markie record from the intense basement that was Freebird Records on the Capitals quays in 1988 and I'm sure I was served by this man. Freebird did a brisk trade in reselling albums that were returned after a punter realised that perhaps the new thing wasn’t all that so the next Saturdays trip into town would be to recycle Biz. Nobody beats the bins eh?
Tonight if there was enough loose fiends to appriciate it i'd rather circle chairs down the back, hand Goldy a mic and turn up the monitor for some tales. Now there is a concept for our small town on a friday night . Reminiscing on record shops, gigs, calling out Dj Shadow on a ‘don’t fetish the records dude’ tip in Denmark this guys got 20 years of ‘musick’ stories mindsealed like a shrink wrapped comic collection. Alas like so many rain splattered gig nights this summer the bar tonight filled up slowly with homely regulars there to enjoy whatever tonights aural dish was rather than to check the visiting chef thus negating any dope roundtabling down the back.
That’s ok we expected a quiet night with the festival in Kilkee but the idea off a dj delivering a story set with a mic may take place yet. Getting down to conventional entertainment business Goldy takes the decks with a skanking collection of Ska, Ragga and a couple of Hiphop bangers before partying it up with Led Zep and AC/DC till the sodden umbrellas are dragged in at the nights end and the staff hightail it to the Chicken for pre house party pints . Next day it’s the tales that we ran through that I'm humming though.
Stories from the Irish dj life that don’t involve too much chemical content as their raison d etre are curious capsules and have an interest that travels outside of the participants territory into the wider arena of our social history. Especially the last 20 years. Meeting Goldy tonight and chewing the phat about an irish Dj dictated trajectory that many of us operate around, so many reflective packages could have been assembled should the need arise to tell the tale.
How about an alternative staged soundtrack of the celtic tiger with Jean Butler in baggy Karl Kani gear teasing out Central Bank break dance stories from 83 then tossing her hair to a segment of vocal house as the city is built on the hill. She then encounters and flees from a deranged Flatleyesque Hard-house loving character. Every sibin she seeks refuge in has either a Drum and bass or RnB Dj laughing manically at her plight before the whole edifice crumbles to the strains of that slow song from Groove Armada. Eventually a small band of curly haired singer songwriters emerge from a mist that was previously the best bit from a Chemical Bros rally in Croke park. They rescue our heroine and head for the Galway Arts festival, cursing the day that Richer sounds ever put decks up for sale.
Well,that’s my narrative spaghetti flung against the kitchen wall but Goldy I'm sure would sum these times differently and with a lot more detail. He is quite passionate and still energised after all these years having recently presented his genre embracing style with a mix for Coldcuts Solid steel radio show. Either way we chewed down on these bones because these are reflective and transitional times that would benefit perspective. And as they are why not explore imaginary dioramas. Sure the Irish like a decent ‘our history’ pantomime served up like a regency moral pageant and if Jean Butler is high kickin so much the better. Think of the success of I keeno versus the dark curiosity attempted by Sebastian Barrys play ‘Hinterland’ demonstrated as an applicable comparison. A bit of meat on the Dj scenario arguments with a dollop of history sauce may be no harm we concurred.
Recently,while plying his wares Goldy encountered some music orientated youngsters who derided his use of Serato, their attitude hyped not over the records option, but with some other Kraftwerkian glowin laptop thing. "You (old) guys just want to see something go round", they sneered not just only referring to Seratos application but the circular use of balanced knowledge in playing out a set it seemed. The derided implication here? far too much work and a hindrance to the act of now for the hipsters ie they expected an immediate translation of their introverted pleasure as a sonic beermat when they eventually went out . Often when encountering a Dj in a bar puzzlement rather than curiosity reigns. Conditioned as many are to the doubleclicked immediacy of their own interwebbed source mixing ,dropping in and hearing sounds in a bar the desire to switch it up or defer to a comfort zone kicks in rapidly. Its defiantly raised up from ‘do you have… to wha?’ You tubed bulletins and immediate accessed tracks seem to empower music loving punters with the semblance of mentally dictating a public soundtrack that realistically and sonically may not make sense outside the nets digital geography.
Todays internetics can post a mash up between Jay Z and Oasis, call it an album and announce of it that it was ‘done in a night’ for worldwide consumption. Irrespective of Concept or Quality it’s the phrase ‘done in a night’ that’s the hook here. Goldy sits on the 3rd rail on these Dj tracks like those others who have a history but also a passion to keep playing.
Immediacy for its own sake is not quantifiable basically because the Irish conditioning in the small arenas Goldy boxes in, have not shown a commitment to showcasing nights for the above (mainly) youngsters. The push is needed and Its impossible unless energetic promoters define and translate this ‘Myspace tracks’ thrust to the street.
In the book of collected essays from the Face magazine (Nightfever) there resonates a piece describing early eighties floating london clubs that bounced from spot to spot driven by hipsters blagging pubspace for music driven mayhem dressed up flyerwise as the next big thing. This was passionate word of mouth sleeved rolled up stuff still in evidence more or less in London and needed for Limerick at the moment.
Lets get busy.
Paul Tarpey
This is a great piece Paul. A lot to think about. I can particularly identify with giggling pisstaking from the young f'las snickering at the old head lovingly playing entire versions of tracks rather than the looping 16 bars they need to build tension before the next loop gets dropped over and built and built into a huge, max-levelled behemoth where you're not even sure what you're listening to any more but it doesn't matter cause it slays the floor.
I went to see a friend of mine play at an Edinburgh club recently and the place was mobbed with young folk giving it socks to some really good hypey beats. The new-birthed "Aquacrunk" sound that's been doing the rounds the last few years here in Scotland thanks to the giddy Numbers crew was getting nailed- it was fun, exciting, colourful but after about 20 minutes I was knackered, and a bit frustrated. Like a 4 year old that has been at the circus for a little bit too long and he's overtired and it's noisy and he's not sure where his mam is. The bottom lip was starting to quiver and I craved a little sit down. The opening piano riff to Strings of Life emerged from the giddy neon rush of beats and sirens and klaxons (the old rave kind- these Scottish new kids know their own history and don't need it repackaged to them inna safe majorindie style) and I thought everything was going to be ok. But the track was never allowed to break, another half dozen snippets from other tracks piled in the endless channels on the mixing software and less than 2 minutes later we were in another place entirely.
It made me feel like Rip Van Winkle awoken from his slumbers to an exhiliarating but unfathomable carnival of noise and light and youth. This isn't a criticism but it's miles from what I like to do myself. I'm an enthusiastic record buyer, a lover of the vinyl sound, the crackle and heft of a well made pressing, a lot of the tunes sounded tinny, thin and jarring, not an altogether bad thing when you're playing BMore but I like a bit of depth, space and air to my tunes. This requires less frenetic mixing, a chance to bathe in the pure texture of the dubbier, spacier stuff.
This is a long way of saying I felt old. And that there's nothing wrong with this frenetic charge to the future. When I was a young f'la myself I had no truck with the early days of house or the deeper days of disco- it was a headlong rush to a shiny techno future. But as I aged, i filled in blanks, I learned from the old lads "watching things go round" until I became one myself.
Um, anyway, great piece.
Posted by: clom | October 22, 2008 at 03:52 PM
Spot on clom.
I really think all this should be addressed. There are gate keepers in all this who have experianced the mid 90s bigbeatisms and gleefully dump that attitude ( a barrage of peaks) on the scene as a club experiance 'justice-ificed' as a hypercapatilist continium of that era. Thats just one observation. Strings of life dosent make sense as a snipitt either but a historical slant on that argument round these parts normally gets me the ' you dont really get it do you' wince. I belive that there is a conspiricy to eliminate space (not breakdowns) in club enviorments ... dont make em think make em consume...etc
These are intresting times though!
Posted by: paul tarpey | October 22, 2008 at 09:49 PM
thing is, it did make sense to the young f'las. and it can do. the numbers and ballers social club crew in glasgow know their history, they're just building on a legacy they've grown up with.
the tongue in cheek term "aquacrunk" was a reference to Rustie & co's love of Drexcyia as well as of Bmore/Bounce and DJ Funk.
That's not quite the same as the all peak, no break merchants you're talking about, but it still makes me feel super old!
You should chat to Mike Slott about the Glasgow crew, I think he's been doing stuff with Hudson Mohawke and that lot. They're going places (they were even featured in the Guardian Music blog last week! Be the hokey!) and they're the REAL DEAL!
Limerick is a funny town, there has never really been that much space for slightly off kilter things to grow, it's more about the craic and getting a crowd in. Which isn't necessarily a criticism but it would be nice if there were more spaces for oddballs to develop. (I am talking historically here)
I'm going to get a batin' now when I go back for Christmas!
Hopefully Code's new night will still be running and will put on a New Years special!
Posted by: clom | October 22, 2008 at 11:21 PM
have mike slott coming over to mickeys in november clom so paul will have a chance to have a chat with him then...
Posted by: peter | October 23, 2008 at 03:13 PM
i saw that.
colour me jeliss.
Posted by: clom | October 23, 2008 at 04:33 PM
EH PAUL.
HOPE THE WEATHER TREATING YOU GOOD.
THANKS ON THE PIECE.....LOOKING INTO THE SPOKEN WORD SIDE OF THINGS:-)
AFTER DINNER DJING SCENE FEATURING SOUND CLASH'S RITCHIE HAVENS,NITE OF THE LIVING BASEHEADS IN A GLITCH,BASS,ELECTRO,TECH-JUMP,ROLLERS,BOP HOP,MASHED POTATOES REMIX OF DA REMIX OF THE LTD EDITION ONE OFF DUBPLATE (THIS NEW GROUND BREAKING WORLD WIDE SCENE STARTED YESTERDAY IN ATHLONE....(G.B.E.T.J.R.B.H.M.P.R.R.R FOR SHORT)
RECORD SHOPS STARTED MAKING DIVIDERS FOR IT THIS MORNING ITS REPLACING LAST WEEKS GRIME-TECH.
GREAT THING IS THERE IS NO INTROS,OUTROS OR BREAKDOWNS JUST PURE LOOPS OF EVERY RECORD EVER MADE AND TO BE MADE...EVERY TRACK IS 12 MILL-SECS LONG.....AND THE NIGHTS ARE ONE HOUR LONG SO PEOPLE CAN GET HOME EARLY AND WATCH THEIR DOWNLOAD OF THE NEW FAMILY GUY AND YOUTUBE FORWARDS....PLUS A COUPLE OF HOURS CHECKING THE 12,000 REMIXES THAT HAVE BEEN RELEASED DURING THE DAY........
"SAME AS IT EVER WAS........SAME AS IT EVER WAS...."
SHAMLESS PLUG FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN GOLDY'S NUGGETS TRY THIS ONE.
TRACKLISTING.
1. LEXICON “VOODOO” INST
2. CUTTY RANKS “HIT MAN”
3. RED FOX “PRESSURE DEM”
4. FUNK MOB “RAVERS SUCK OUR SOUND”
5. JUSTIN WARFIELD “BUG POWDER DUST” (CHEMICAL BROTHERS REMIX)
6. SLAYER “AT DAWN THEY SLEEP”
7. METHOD MAN “RELEASE YO DELF” (PRODIGY MIX)
8. DADDY LIVINGSTON “RUDY A MESSAGE”
9. VIKTOR VAUGHN “RAEDAWN”
10. MARDEN HILL “COME ON”
11. FANTOMAS “BOOK 1 – PAGE 3”
12. LEADERS OF THE NEW SCHOOL “SPONTANEOUS (13 MC’S DEEP)”
13. DIGIABLE PLANETS “WHERE I’M FROM” REMIX
14. DEL THA FUNKY “MISADOBALINA” REMIX
15. JILTED JOHN “JILTED JOHN”
16. REDMAN “RED MEETS REGGIE”
17. NEXTMEN “PIECE OF THE PIE” INST
18. RUTS DC “WHATEVER WE DO”
19. BRIAN ENO “AN ENDING (ASCENT)
20. BEYOUND THERE “ON WAX”
21. OLDE ENGLISH “WILDSTYLE (DJ KRUSH HANDSHAKE REMIX)
22. RAGGA TWINS “RAGGA TRIP”
23. J.V.C FORCE “NU SKOOL”
24. NOMEANSNO “ITS CATCHING UP”
25. CHRIS ROCK “O.J. & O’JAYS”
26. THIS MORTAL COIL “DREAMS MADE FLESH”
27. BULGARIAN VOCAL CHOIR “GHEL MOMA”
28. WILLAIM SHATNER “LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS”
29. PRINCE “BALLAD OF DOROTHY PARKER”
30. DANNY SABER “INDIAN SUMMER”
31. BUDDY RICH “SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME”
32. SOUND DIMENSION “GRANNY SCRATCH SCRATCH”
33. L.L COOL J “(NFA) NO FRONTIN ALLOWED”
34. CASH MONEY “UGLY PEOPLE BE QUIET” REMIX
35. SOFT CELL “SAY HELLO WAVE GOODBYE”
36. BARRY WHITE “ITS ECTACY WHEN YOU LAY DOWN NEXT TO ME”
37. JOCELYN BROWN “SOMEBODY ELSES GUY”
38. BOOTMAN “BOOTMAN: TO THE HIP” (TEE’S FREEZE MIX)
39. LORD FINESSE “THE REMATCH”
40. BASS BOYS “LET THE BASS GO”
41. HERBIE HANCOCK “RAINDANCE”
42. ENNIO MORRICONE “ELEGY FOR A DEAD CHERRY”
43. TOM WAITS “EARTH DIED SCREAMING”
44. RON GRAINER “DOCTOR WHO THEME”
ONE-NESS
GOLDY
Posted by: Goldy | October 30, 2008 at 05:37 PM
SORRY I AM STUPID THE LINK.
http://goldy.vwat.net/Solid_Steel_08/SOLID_STEEL_MAY_08.mp3
ONE-NESS
GOLDY
Posted by: Goldy | October 30, 2008 at 05:39 PM