La Torre presents… Who is the greatest DJ of all time?
So, another month and another DJ poll! Fear not – this isn’t another rant! If you read my first blog you may be relieved to hear that I’m actually going to offer some fairly positive and comparatively concise thoughts this time out as Mixmag pose a mind bogglingly tough question – Who is the greatest DJ of all time?
To make this little thinker a bit less daunting they have made the poll multiple choice but even with your options laid out in front of you it’s still a hell of a task to pick from what is, in the main, a pretty comprehensive selection of genuinely worthy contenders!
As a side note it is interesting to see that only one of the three DJs I saw fit to moan about last month has made the shortlist of 35 but Mixmag’s question does give me an opportunity to do what I neglected to do previously and that is suggest a few names that I believe are deserving of claiming the title of greatest ever DJ, and probably also top the DJmag Top 100.
So which DJs should be, in my humble opinion, considered the greatest? Actually I have to contradict myself slightly with my first selection as sadly the late Larry Levan is no longer with us and is therefore unable to gain votes for the Top 100 poll. I also never had the privilege of seeing him spin. However few could argue with his role in the emergence of dance music in 1980s New York at what has been described as the “prototype” of the modern dance club Paradise Garage, and it is easy to justify a vote for a man of such stature when a number of the other candidates (including Francois K and Frankie Knuckles) have all cited him as a big influence on their own careers. The man is quite simply a legend.
Two other contenders worth shouting about have been at the forefront of the techno scene for more than 20 years and in their own ways have constantly pushed boundaries with an ultra innovative approach to their trade. Sven Vath and Richie Hawtin are not only superb DJs, producers, label heads, A&Rs and promoters but they have also mentored many of the DJs that have followed in their footsteps. Techno might remain one of the more underground genres of dance music but there is no denying its ability to drive a party, and these guys have done it as well as any of their peers for longer than some of their dance floor disciples have been on planet Earth!
And whilst I’m handing out praise I’d also like to single out Sasha. I had the privilege of working with Sasha as an employee of his booking agency, Excession until a couple of years ago but it is without bias I throw his name into the ring. Of those mentioned above, Richie Hawtin is as synonymous with technological advances in dance music as anyone and is renowned for his often spectacular use of it. But equally, Sasha has developed a reputation for being ahead of the game and was the first DJ to use Ableton software for an Essential Mix on Radio 1 back in 2005. The emFire boss can construct a DJ set of epic proportions and mind blowing quality and his productions and remixes are pretty tasty too, as his 2008 compilation cum artist album ‘Involver2’ will testify.
Other names worth a mention are Derrick Carter, Andrew Weatherall (whose Fabric mix is one of the greatest of them all), Laurent Garnier and erm… Jimmy Saville?!
Hmmm, not sure who fixed it for Jimmy Saville to make the shortlist but on the subject of all things legendary the unbelievably brilliant Ninja Tune hit 20 bloody years this year! Home to some insanely talented artists – many of whom have made their names on the label – Ninja Tune are rightly celebrating in style. Their October party saw them showcase a bag full of label stalwarts including Cold Cut, Toddla T, Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Mr Scruff and Floating Points, and that followed a recent exhibition of Ninja Tune artwork at London’s Black Dog Space. Very classy, but perhaps not as classy as the record collector’s wet dream that is the ‘Ninja Tune XX’ box set of CDs, 7” vinyl, a stunning book and stickers! Yep, stickers! I’ve been lucky enough to thumb through this masterpiece and only wish I had a spare hundred nuggets to shell out on it!
And talking of birthdays, I wanted to mention the mighty Warm who celebrate 11 years this year. Ok, that may not be as impressive as 20 but their party looks like a corker with Sebo K, The Revenge and Marc E taking over Corsica Studios in October. Their last soiree with Tim Sweeney at East London’s newly revamped Plastic People was superb. The intimate basement venue was always a cracking club with a blinding sound system but somehow they have made it even better. Totally awesome, even if the security staff were complete twats. I’d also like to express my gratitude towards Warm’s head man Ali Tillett who kindly snuck me in that night after some, ahem, ‘guest list issues’!
I believe I ended my first blog with a couple of recommendations and some shameless self promotion and that’s exactly how I’m going to finish this one. For starters I’m going to point you towards Metronomy’s 2008 remix of Lykke Li’s ‘I’m Good I’m Gone’. Li’s vocal is sensual and utterly sublime but Metronomy have crafted a track that at just over five minutes long makes me wish it was double the length. Synth heaven.
The other release you have to have in your life is ‘I Would’ by Dirty Doering on Berlin label Bar25. This is one of the most blissfully spine tingling records I have heard in ages with an acoustic guitar led hook that almost makes you forget that another depressing English winter is sadly upon us. But don’t think for a second that that is where it ends as Matthew Styles chimes in with his 19 minute rework (yes, count ‘em – 19 glorious minutes)! In truth Styles’ version seems to contain few reference points to the original but it is an incredibly well crafted slice of deep house that beat my Friday morning hangover better than 2 paracetamols, a bacon sarnie and another beer ever could have. I say it beat the hangover but that’s a lie – I still felt terrible on Saturday! But it did soothe it!
To finish up you can listen to my new tune (below) via Soundcloud. I actually knocked this dark, moody little number together a couple of years ago but have recently given it a touch up in order to release it. Hopefully coming to a download store near you soon.
SoundCloud, MySpace and Facebook
Til next time… x
