As electronic musical equipment became somewhat more affordable in the mid 90’s, production values once unattainable found their way onto independently produced records. Samples could be layered, with intricate arrangements, and electronic dance music transformed from simple break-beats to something a little more complicated.

One of the groups pushing that sonic envelop was We™. They featured the talents of DJ Olive aka Gregor Asch, Lloop, and Once 11. After releasing three brilliant albums that challenged speakers, they left fans longing for more. 
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“Out for Now” is a driving, slightly mysterious track that falls somewhere between “Big Beat,” and as Gregor Asch once put it, “Illbient.” It’s from their 2000 Decentertainment album released on the sadly defunct Asphodel Record label, and it's the perfect introduction to a group that deserved much more attention.

There are few pieces of music more original or recognizable than the 1963 Doctor Who theme song. With its haunting tones and backwards analog whispers, it will forever be looked upon as a sonic masterpiece.

Although originally written by composer Ron Grainer, the song truly came to life under the guidance of musician and composer Delia Derbyshire, above an old roller rink in the now defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

In an age before synthesizers and computers, and long before Kraftwerk or Aphex Twin, Delia painstakingly captured each note by splicing segments of analogue tape containing recordings of various sounds, white noise, and oscillators. The resulting theme song gives a television series which is historically riddled with budgetary constraints a sense of legitimacy.
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Delia never received a dime in royalties for her contributions and died relativity unknown. But her work (and not just with Doctor Who) will influence electronic music forever.  

After Ian Curtis’s suicide the remaining members of Joy Division decided to forge ahead. They renamed themselves New Order and helped lay the groundwork for the dance rock movement and musical landscape of the 80’s.

Movement was released in 1981, and although it received a lukewarm reception from both the press and fans, it would eventually be looked fondly upon for the cult favorites “Ceremony,” “Dreams Never End,” and “Temptation.” 
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My favorite track on that album is “Everything's Gone Green.” It falls somewhere between morbidity and euphoria. It’s danceable, spacey, and still gloomy enough for that inner Goth Girl in all of us.

There are some songs where I just wish I was sitting in the studio when they were recorded. This is one of those tracks. From the opening guitar lick to the final fade, “Dig on It” stretches the pants in all the right places. 

Soul Sugar was recorded and released in 1970 on Capitol Records and it’s one of the funkiest albums ever recorded.  Period.  From the covers to McGriff’s originals the album oozes with soul, excellent production, and honesty.
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Jimmy McGriff left us in 2008 but his legacy, both as a musician and bandleader, should never be forgotten. He may not have been the most popular of the B3 organists, but he was one of the finest.