“Everything I do now started with record collecting. It’s the foundation of my career; from writing about music, DJing in clubs, putting compilations together or spending many late-night hours, glass of red wine in hand, bidding on stupid records on eBay.” – Bill Brewster
Spanning 41 tracks, ‘Tribal Rites’ is a musical autobiography of sorts from one of dance music’s most dedicated historians, Bill Brewster. Released on 3 CDs and double vinyl via Belgium’s Eskimo Recordings, the compilation takes us on a personal journey through Bill’s 36 year long involvement in the music industry.
Whether running DMC’s New York offices or labels including Twisted UK and Forensic, being one of Fabric’s original residents, writing (with Frank Broughton) probably the definitive overview of DJ culture, the seminal ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ and the equally essential ‘How To DJ (Properly)’, running the DJhistory website or promoting their much loved Low Life parties, Bill’s fingerprints can be found all over dance music’s past few decades.
So whilst there are few people more qualified to compile such a thing, ‘Tribal Rites’ isn’t just a ‘House & Disco Greatest Hits’, instead we have the soundtrack to a life spent at the coalface of record collecting, of early mornings at car boot sales and late nights logged onto Discogs.
Split into three sections, the compilation begins in the post-punk period, and through tracks such as explores the influence of dub on bands of the time such as Orang Utan, General Strike and The Raincoats. The second section takes us into that mish-mash of sounds and styles best described as ‘Balearic’ where the likes of Bobbie Gentry and Final Edition can happily co-exist and a country and western cover of Hall & Oates ‘I Can’t Go For That’ seems like the most obvious thing in the world.
The final section then concentrates exclusively on house music, though again showcasing just what a broad church House is, able to accommodate both the spiritual yearnings of Mother Tongue’s ‘Message of Love’ and the precision tooled productions of Basic Channel’s Maurizio.
At a moment in time when dance music is more prominent than ever and DJs are treated like pop stars, ‘Tribal Rites’ is a vital reminder that there’s a lot more to DJing than just downloading the latest Beatport chart and waving your hands in the air.
Tracklisting:
CD1: post punk
1. Agape – Rejoice
2. Brent Dowe & The Gaytones – Reggae Makossa
3. Apatchi Band – Issmak
4. General Strike – Parts Of My Body
5. Gaffa – Attitude Dancing (Land Of A 1000 Dunces)
6. Urang Otan – Walking In The Jungle
7. Surprize – Stavolta
8. Deborah & The Puerto Ricans – Side A Side B Side
9. P!off? – Mein Walkman Ist Kaputt
10. The Raincoats – Animal Rhapsody (Version)
11. Ruts DC – Push Yourself (Make It Work)
12. Motion – Crazy Beat
13. Peter Accident – Turning Black
14. Reggae Clinic 65 – Caravan (Dub Version)
15. Jeff Duff – Walk On The Wild Side
CD2: balearic
1. Bobbie Gentry – Thunder In The Afternoon
2. Latin Breed – Maranatha
3. Banzai – Rhythm Kung Fu
4. Freddi & Henchi – Cartoon People
5. Aax Donnell & Eric Malone – Golden Cage
6. The General – Life In The Big City
7. Final Edition – No Limit
8. Sweet Potato Pie – Hot Disco Night (Are You Ready?)
9. Little Reuben – (I Am) Drum
10. General Crook – What Time It Is (Part II + Part I) (Bill Brewster Edit)
11. Curtis Green – I Just Gotta Get Down (Part I)
12. Nashville Rhythm Section – I Can’t Go For That
13. Dooley Silverspoon – Mr Deluxe (Part I + Part II) (Bill Brewster Edit)
14. Floyd Beck – Party Is The Solution
15. Ströer – Don’t Stay For Breakfast
CD3: house
1. Mother Tongue – Message Of Love
2. B. McCarthy & Rasoul – Excursion 2
3. Love From San Francisco – Keep Rockin’ (Thumping House Mix)
4. Larry Heard – Night Images (Swayzak Early Mid Afternoon Mix)
5. Clifton King – Family Prayer
6. Aural – Desire (Fabrice Africa Pain)
7. Chicken Lips – Is That You Or Me (Ivan’s Flute Dub)
8. Swag – Primitive Urges 4 – Side C
9. Maurizio – M-4 (A)
10. Silverlining – Precision Spanner
11. Kate-Olivia Martinez – Fire Walk With Me
LP (Part 1)
A1. Latin Breed – Maranatha
A2. Gaffa – Attitude Dancing (Land Of A 1000 Dunces)
A3. Little Reuben – (I Am) Drum
A4. Peter Accident – Turning Black
B1. General Crook – What Time It Is (Part II + Part I) (Bill Brewster Edit)
B2. Motion – Crazy Beat
B3. Deborah & The Puerto Ricans – Side A Side B Side
C1. Bobbie Gentry – Thunder In The Afternoon
C2. Surprize – Stavolta
C3. Curtis Green – I Just Gotta Get Down (Part I)
D1. Reggae Clinic 65 – Caravan (Dub Version)
D2. Urang Otan – Walking In The Jungle
D3. P!off? – Mein Walkman Ist Kaputt
LP (Part 2)
A1. The General – Life In The Big City
A2. Dooley Silverspoon – Mr Deluxe (Part I + Part II) (Bill Brewster Edit)
A3. Ströer – Don’t Stay For Breakfast
B1. Silverlining – Precision Spanner
B2. Love From San Francisco – Keep Rockin’ (Thumping House Mix)
C1. Nashville Rhythm Section – I Can’t Go For That
C2. Sweet Potato Pie – Hot Disco Night (Are You Ready?)
C3. Swag – Primitive Urges 4 – Side C
D1. Mother Tongue – Message Of Love
D2. Larry Heard – Night Images (Swayzak Early Mid Afternoon Mix)
