Shy FX & T Power - Shake Ur Body - UK CDS - (2002)

Positiva ‎– CDTIV 171, Positiva ‎– 7243 5 50693 0 6

I love it when my underground music blows up into the mainstream and enjoys some well deserved success - and here is a great example of just that that.

Shy FX and T Power are both legendary in their own rights as producers on the Drum & Bass scene, but together they were spectacular! They dropped classics such as this track and later, Feelings, which is to follow. They put out two fantastic albums and served up a bunch of wicked cuts for the raving crew.

Featuring the fabulous vocals of the hugely talented Dianne Joseph (Truce, Venus Tribe), and a nice latin inspired groove, they knocked this one out of the park.

I always lean more into the full length versions rather than radio edits, so I'd say jump right into the Original Mix.

However, if you're not feeling Drum & Bass, there is a UK Garage mix courtesy of Sunship (AKA Ceri  Evans from The Brand New Heavies), and, even better, The DJ Dodge produced Venus Tribe Mix (Di also supplied the sublime vocals for the Venus Tribe project), bringing you some tasty R&B vibes.

Tracklist

1. Shake Ur Body (Radio Edit)
2. Shake Ur Body (Original Mix)
3. Shake Ur Body (Sunship Vocal Mix)
4. Shake Ur Body (Venus Tribe Mix)

Discogs page

Download: SFXTP-SUB.7z | Filesize: 38.2MB

Tammy Payne - Do You Feel It (Like I Do) - (1992)

Talkin' Loud ‎– TLKCD 19, Talkin' Loud ‎– TLKCD19, Talkin' Loud ‎– 866 827-2

While not as immediate and awesome as the slice of perfection that is Take Me Now, Do You Feel It (Like I Do) is a nice piece of early 90s socially conscious jazzy funk, A sound that really typified not just Talkin' Loud records but the UK underground music scene of this era.

Initially, when she first sings the line about "I had a dream" my gut feeling is to cringe, but as soon as that tried and tested jazz funk Talkin' Loud sound kicks in, you know this is gonna be wicked.

The Jazzy Feelin' mix comes courtesy of Roger Sanchez, and sounded pretty good to me at the time, but on revisiting it with my modern ears, sounds a little by the numbers? Maybe you'll feel differently.

The other version on here (in three separate varieties) comes from Mr Ceri Evans of the Brand New Heavies (and later Sunship), and is the definitive version, for my money.

Jump straight into the 12" mix (track 3) in my opinion.

Tracklist

1. Do You Feel It (Like I Do) (Jazzy Feelin' 7")
2. Do You Feel It (Like I Do) (12")
3. Do You Feel It (Like I Do) (7")
4. Do You Feel It (Like I Do) (Ceri Evans / Tammy Payne Dub)

Download: TP-DYFILID.7z | Filesize: 42.8 MB

The Brand New Heavies - Stay This Way (1992)

Acid Jazz Records BNHCD2

Mick has already written about the Brand New Heavies, so I'll skip all that and get straight into this particular release.

In short, I love the track. It's up there as one of the best joints the BNH's ever recorded in my opinion. It's effortlessly cool, and a beautiful summertime jam. N'Dea Davenport absolutely kills it with her relaxed and effortless vocal performance, and the boys provide a classy sunshine beat for her to flow over.

The single version(s) has some extra instrumentation and percussion compared to the album version, including some nice bongos, with the Extended version getting a sexy sax solo thrown into the mix as well. As is my penchant, the extended mix is my pick of the bunch.

The two backup tracks, Bang, and O-Fa-Fu, are cool too. Bang is very much a typical BNH instrumental. Peep it and you'll know what I mean. O-Fa-Fu sounds for all the world like an extended theme tune to a 70s Cop Show complete with throwback vibes and wahwah guitars - a wholly good thing in my book (have I ever mentioned how much I dig wahwah?).

All in all I think Stay This Way is one of BNH's all time classic joints, and an essential item in your summer playlists.

Tracklist

1. Stay This Way 
2. Stay This Way (Extended) 
3. Bang 
4. O-Fa-Fu 

The Download Link is here: BNH-STW.7z | Filesize: 36.1MB

The Brand New Heavies - Sometimes 1997

FFRR Records BNHCD 8

That sticker alone would have made this CD single essential to me. Anything sporting a Masters At Work remix was a 'must have' in my book but, let's step back a little and look at the list of accolades on this release.

The Brand New Heavies hit the scene via the UK's Acid Jazz movement. In the late 80's they were an instrumental funk outfit playing new retro music to Soul music's 'Rare Groove' crowd. For their first album the group featured the incredible vocals of Jay Ella Ruth on a few tracks. For various reasons, the group then hired the services of the very competent N'Dea Davenport who became a member and brought much polish to the bands veneer. The down side of this was the decision to re-record the debut album which resulted in the Jay Ella Ruth recordings being virtually forgotten. For their third album Shelter, from which this single was taken (fifth if you include the re-recording of the debut and sideline rap release Heavy Rhyme Experience) N'Dea Davenport had split for a solo career and the band brought in Siedah Garrett, a much lauded vocalist who had sung with Dennis Edwards, Michael Jackson & Maysa Leak (Incognito).

As an album track, Sometimes was one of the stronger tracks and it was therefore a logical choice for single release. The remix treatment by 'Little' Louie Vega & Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez on the MAW Smooth Mix created a nice vocal dancefloor track. Much of the House music fodder was void of vocals and this is why Masters At Work have always been considered a cut (or six) above the rest. I don't consider this mix to be one of their better examples but in 1997 I thought it was great. There were quite a few MAW remixes of this track on vinyl.

Finally, the unique feature on this release for me is Q Tip. The acclaimed rapper/producer from A Tribe Called Quest, who came to the attention of the public via De La Soul and the Native Tongues Posse. Q Tip has since appeared on many releases and remixes but this was a new thing at the time. The Ummah (Arabic for "brotherhood") was a production team consisting of members of A Tribe Called Quest and Jay Dee. Their work on this release is what keeps it fresh. Enjoy!

• Radio Edit
• MAW Smooth Mix
• Ummah Remix
• Nuyoricans Meet The Heavies

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: Sometimes (BNHCD 8).zip Filesize: 36.27 MB

Brand New Heavies - The Ticket E.P. 1994

The Ticket Cassette 1

So, what can I tell you? The Ticket was a magazine that appeared on the bookshelves in London for a very brief spell before disappearing into magazine oblivion. It was quite a classy mag but amidst the glut of club lifestyle mags on the shelves at the time, it found no interest. I was lucky enough to spot the Brand New Heavies cassette stuck to the front and that was it.

To my knowledge these tracks, all written and produced by BNH, have not turned up anywhere else since BUT... I'm no expert on The Heavies. Touch Of Your Love and Keep Together were recorded at RAK in London, while Country Funkin' and Acid One were recorded in Hollywood Sounds, LA in August & September 1993. Enjoy!

• Touch Of Your Love
• Country Funkin'
• Keep Together
• Acid One

The Download Link is here: Download
Filename: The Ticket.zip
Filesize: 27.44 MB

Sorry about the cover scan, it's in good condition but the scan is nasty?
I have included CD sized cover art in the rar.