 Walter Gibbons was born in Queens, New York in 1954. He was one of the first DJ’s to promote disco, and throughout the 1970’s he was the house DJ for various clubs in NYC including Galaxy 21, where he was an early adopter of phasing records and back-beating them for a delayed effect.
In the early 80’s, he cofounded Jus Born Records with producer George Logios. In 1984 Steve Standard, or Strafe as he is known, handed them “Set It Off”. It’s a smooth, spooky and trance like track. It also became an underground hit across dance floors around the world. We lost Gibbons in 1994 from complications to AIDS after spending his remaining weeks alone in a YMCA. But his involvement in the night club scene in NYC as well as his pioneering vision of what dance music could be will never be forgotten.  A bite of Swiss chocolate is great, but enjoying it with your Argentinian friend while standing on a balcony looking over Paris is even better. Such is the Gotan Project and their two driving forces in Eduardo Makaroff and Christoph H. Müller. They met in Paris in 1999, and along with French producer Philippe Cohen Solal, combined Tango with electronic music like never before.
“Epoca” is the second track from their 2001 debut album La Revancha del Tango. It’s a dramatic, romantic, and mysterious song from that wonderful landmark album.  Robert Anson (Philip Kinorra) was born in October of 1940 in Nottingham, England. He performed as a drummer in the early 60’s with several of the well-known rhythm and blues artists in the UK. In the late sixties he decided on a solo career as Philamore Lincoln. Famed Beatles manager Brian Epstein signed him to a contract on his NEMS record label, where he released several singles including the now cult classic “Running by The River”.
In 1970 he released The North Wind Blew South on Epic records. It was his only full length album and featured “Temma Harbour,” a song that Mary Hopkin would score a hit with later that year. “The North Wind Blew South” is an underrated track and album that deserves more attention.  It’s a crime that many of the early Delta blues guitar players have either few recordings, or were never recorded at all. Many of these musicians were poorly managed and paid, and often left the hustle and bustle of the road for factory work in rustbelt cities.
One of the most notable musicians of this era was Willie Brown. He was a close friend and early session man of Son House, and one of Robert Johnson’s mentors. Sadly, we only have six of his solo performances preserved. “Future Blues” was recorded for Paramount in 1930. It’s considered a landmark pioneering song, especially for it’s percussive approach to the instrument. |
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