search & destroy: NU GROOVE

Frankie Bones not Lenny Bones.

To tease out what I'm saying above, I almost feel like having the three strands unneccessarily straightjackets the sound, which is perhaps why tunes I would have thought were stone cold classics are absent. Like, neither Part 1 nor Part 2 of "Reasons To Be Dismal" by Foremost Poets are there, perhaps because it was considered too hard for the anthems/classics CD but too soft for the "Techno & House Mutations" CD.

those comps are good but i always thought they had a few odd choices of tracks on them. i guess as the 12"s are so hard to track down they are probably the best place to start.

my personal faves are -

frankie bones and lenny d - looney tunes volume 1. my introduction to nu groove. samples and breaks combined in a proto rave riot. has the vaguest hint of latin freestyle in its dna.

l.b. bad - the true story of house music. this has just been reissued and contains the source for sabres of paradises's "smokebelch". some of his releases on the lahon and city limits labels are also worth checking.

aphrodisiac - song of the siren. beautiful, gorgeous, ecstatic, late night, aquatic, deep house music. an ambient house anthem.

bobby konders - house rhythms. contains no less than 3 classics - the mutabaruka sampling "the poem", "let there be house" and the acid house classic "nervous acid".

vandal - the laws of chants. early peter daou greatness.

foremost poets - reasons to be dismal. classic! was almost a top 40 hit here in the uk!

code 6 - forgotten moments. early beltram before he went all belgium on us. lovely, primitive and very freestyle. "edge of insanity" is the one.

critical rhythm - fall into a trance. hypnotic new york trance before trance became a dirty word. perfect late night spacing out music. there was oodles of this stuff coming out of new york back then - see also atmosphere records. a sound i was completely entranced with. the other side "it could not happen" is as different as it gets. downbeat electronic dub reggae pop.

lost entity - lost entity. easily in my top 3 nu grooves. deep space trance from beltram.

tech trax inc. - s/t. solid house from rheji burrell.

major problems - the effects can last forever. first in a trilogy of eps from lennie dee and ralphie dee inspired by the uk rave scene. "overdose" which samples adonis' "no way back" is the one.

33 1/3 queen - volume 1. sadly there was no volume 2. everyone knows "searchin" from this but the rest was great too, especially disco 4.

project 86 - industrial bass. another nu groove rave monster. massive breakbeat, happy mondays sample, and a grinding bassline. sounds like it should be awful but it's great. produced by the long forgotten but very wonderful how and little.

code 6 - second chapter. c.o.d.e.s. is possibly my favourite ever beltram track. glacial space music that still gives me goosebumps.

kenny dope - makin' a living. 20th century steel band and esg sampling house.

aphrodisiac - just before the dawn. more sublime deepness from ronald burell. whatever happened to the burrell brothers?

new grooves - volume 2. more greatness from lennie dee. nu groove is often though of as this really deep label but they also loved the madness!

sound vandals - second dimensions. peech boys sampling super groovy house with a bassline to die for. more from how and little.

barnyard orchestra - tasmanian woman. pretty forgettable but noteworthy for starting a brief craze for hoedown house that would briefly infiltrate the uk pop charts.

after this it was a slow downward spiral and then the end. there's loads of other good stuff but these are the ones that spring to mind when i think of nu groove. i hope more get reissued as the original pressings were often a little bit rough and the mastering wasn't always the best either.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=A67ibaUPWtY (some good tracks in this clip)

http://www.discogs.com/release/25291 (harvey alert)

http://www.discogs.com/release/2091

http://www.discogs.com/release/4565

http://www.discogs.com/release/93708 (reminds me of being 13)

Anything by the Burrells is pretty much worth checking out. These records are probably way more common in NYC then elsewhere.

While in Montreal i got a great comp that came out on Network in 91 or so...liners written by John McCready who was a Hacienda DJ. This is it:

http://www.discogs.com/release/32619

The first track is my favorite...

Feel It by the Sound Vandals
http://www.discogs.com/release/41160

From the Network comp 25 West 38th

All you ever wanted to know about Nu Groove.
An in-depth interview with Frank and Karen Mendez consistend of 28 questions by John McCready. Answers faxed by Judy Russell.

What are the origins of the name?
New sounds/music = Nu Groove

Is there any musical policy?
We try to be individual. We release what we like.

Are you bemused by the air of mystery people perceive in Nu Groove?
Maybe.

Do you try to create mystery?
No. This is the way we are.

Can you imagine people sitting down and listening to Nu Groove records at home?
Obviously not to relax to but maybe to party to.

Frank and Karen Mendez, man and wife or brother and sister?
Man and wife.

Tell us something about them.
Frank was a DJ in the '70s before 12" singles were invented. Karen was a music researcher at Hot 103.

Who is Kenny Gonzalez?
A DJ from Brooklyn.

Who are How and Little?
Two DJs from Brooklyn.

Is Joey Beltram a DJ from Brooklyn?
No. A DJ from Queens.

Are there any Nu Groove artists who aren't DJs?
Yes.

Who is the vocalist on Roqui's 'I've Just Begun'?
Roqui.

Why 33 1/3 Queen?
A play on words. 45 King.

Are Ronnie and Rheji Burrell prolific workers?
Yes.

Are they twins?
Yes.

Are they the same twins that ruled the London underworld in the early sixties?
No.

Do they have any musical influences?
Diverse. Stevie Wonder. Slave. Aerosmith. Carpenters.

Can we talk to them?
No.

Is there a plan for the future?
We take things day by day here at Nu Groove.

Does the phrase jazz-house mean anything to you?
Rheji Burrell.

Do you get English trainspotters turning up on your doorstep looking for releases they missed to complete collections?
Yes. What exactly is a trainspotter?

Are there any subsidary labels?
Yes. Dope Wax and a new label called Rave.

Rave?
Yes.

Are there any Network/Nu Groove parallels?
Yes. We are both geared towards new underground sounds.

Are you tired of answering questions?
Yes.

Thank you.

ha

i have nothing to add here except to say sound vandals thirded

very cool thread.

So many Nu Groove classics mentioned upthread but my favorite I think is Groove Committee's "I Want You to Know" because it just sounds so effortless and breezy.

Why 33 1/3 Queen?
A play on words. 45 King.

A couple of days ago I discovered this mix: the Nu Groove crash course. 200 minutes, really great.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=13EPH4I8

Tracklist is here:

http://www.discogs.com/groups/topic/162046

And my record dealer told me the other day that bootlegs of the old Network compilations are about to come out.

I've always liked that Bas Noir record... I'd imagine that one would get a re-edit from Rong, it just seems their sort of thing. Although of course I only have the Ten records release, not the nu groove one...

whatever happened to Victor Simonelli?...always thought his Critical Rhythm stuff was the highlight of Nu Groove...

i play out "my love is magic", Apt. EP, and Utopia Project - Files EP (which i just saw got booted, goddamn it) all the time. i would play more if i had the ones i really like (i try to avoid playing "searching" since it seems so obvious) outside of what i have on the first Netwerk comp. these records are really hard to come by in the 412 but i LOVE them, Nu Groove is the shit.

Transphonic - You Make Me Feel So Good. bring back the dreamy bleepin'

http://www.myspace.com/burrellbros .... "jesus crist-burrell" ... really?

i played that sound vandals track this weekend and like, 3 doods came up to check the label.

http://www.discogs.com/Roqui-Set-Me-Free-Ive-Just-Begun-To-Love-You-Day-By-Day/release/90391

a2 on this is like... hell chea

like the ultimate convergence of hip house, sexy diva house and dark reese style bassline house. so good

i like how that stirmonster list upthread is like £1000 worth of records

i mean, i love "the new age of faith" but do people really drop upwards of £40 on what basically sounds like a yamaha keyboard demo

Listening to the first compilation on Network now. Joey Beltram was bloody great back in the day, especially when he slowed the bpm's down.

This was a good introduction for me; http://www.discogs.com/Various-Nu-Groove-Here-Comes-That-Sound-Again/release/15657 . It does miss quite a few classics though. I saw APT ep. for sale yesterday but didn't stop to ask how much because I wasn't aware of the going prices.