Boogie Wonderland: The Genius of Earth, Wind and Fire
Editor's Note: Originally published in October 2012, we pulled this out of the archives in honor of the late Maurice White. RIP.
They produced the first album I ever bought (Cameo's "Rigor Mortis" was my...
FOUNDATIONS: The Essential WAR Playlist
Straight out of South Central Los Angeles, WAR fused genres and delivered pointed messages about race, poverty and conflict over an uplifting groove.
DEL selects 14 essentially tracks from WAR's storied career for the Essential...
Straight Outta South Central LA: It’s a WAR
Conflict is loved by few, disliked by most, and needed at times. Musically, conflict can be defined as a fusion of genres, a cacophony of sounds, key or tempo changes, and even actual conflict...
17 Essential Walter Gibbons Mixes
DEL combs though his collection to pick 14 essential tracks remixed by Walter Gibbons.
Read more about Walter Gibbons in Mixed With Love: A Story About Walter Gibbons.
Ten Percent (Double Exposure)
('77; #11 Disco-Dance/#56 R&B charts)...
Mixed With Love: A Story About Walter Gibbons
My musical foundations were deeply rooted in Wayne & Barry Geftman's The Second Story nightclub in Philly. A couple of months after it opened, as my brother Jimmy worked the lights, I was in...
Foundations: 14 Essential Disco Mixers
DEL combs though his collection to bring us 14 of the best of these curious, often anonymous and sometimes unloved Disco mixer records.
Previously:
Big Apple 2
('91) ('82-'83) - Post-disco "Prelude-era" with some of my favorite...
Foundations’ Essential Guide to Disco Mixers
DEL's Foundations on the rise and fall of the quintessential vehicle for '70s dance music - the disco mixer.
The Secret Side of Incognito
The little known history of the undercover brothers and sisters of Incognito, in this month's Foundations by DEL.
FOUNDATIONS has focused a lot on the seminal days of dance music, particularly the period between the...
Heatwave: The Band That Wouldn’t Die
A Stabbing, a Car Accident, Paralysis, a Coma: Nothing Could Stop the Heatwave - the Pre-Eminent Multi-Ethnic Band of the Funk, Boogie and Disco Era.
While noodling about this issue's subject, it occurred to me...
The Essential George Duke Playlist
Crazy P, Daft Punk, Cajmere, Stanley Clarke and Michael Jackson make an appearance in DEL's Essential George Duke Playlist, compiled for his column Foundations.
Related: Foundations: George Duke: Master of the Game
I Want You For...
George Duke: Master of the Game
George Duke was the Master of the Game - a creative force that applied an academic and theoretical knowledge of music composition to pop music and a wide array of dance music's foundations.
DEL's Foundations...
The Essential TK Disco Playlist
Peter Brown, Kat Mandu, Gino Soccio and Ralph McDonald join Anita Ward and KC and the Sunshine Band in DEL's essential TK Disco Playlist, compiled by DEL for Foundations.
Related: Foundations: TK Disco: Ray Caviano...
TK Disco – Ray Caviano and the Lost Art of Record Promotion
The signature bamboo, blue skies and palm trees meant this was a record worthy of the name TK DISCO. Ray Caviano made sure DJs played it.
DEL's Foundations series searches through the roots of modern...
The Essential Sylvester Playlist
Dimitri from Paris, Kon, Theo Parrish and more make an appearance in the essential Sylvester playlist, compiled by DEL for his Foundations column.
Related: Foundations: Sylvester Fabuloso!
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
('78; #1 Dance-Disco/#20 R&B...
Sylvester Fabuloso!
I recently did a lecture and DJ'd a party for Brian Cassidy's Cave Cast series where I discussed some of the foundations of philaDELphia music.
During the podcast, I mentioned the impact that AIDS had...
The Essential Gino Soccio Playlist
Tom Moulton, Greg Wilson, Prince Language and more make appearances in The Essential Gino Soccio Playlist, compiled by DEL for Foundations.
Related: Foundations: Whatever Happened to Gino Soccio?
Dancer
('79; #1 Dance-Disco / #60 R&B / #48...
Whatever Happened to Gino Soccio?
As I drove back from Brooklyn with my friends, DJ colleagues, and orchestrators of the seminal Sundae party in Philly Dirty and Lee Jones, we were all taken aback by what we had just...
The Essential Vincent Montana, Jr. Playlist
DEL's Foundations counts down the required songs from Vincent Montana Jr.'s extensive discography.
Related: Foundations: Remember Vincent Montana, Jr.
It Looks Like Love
('78) - Goody Goody - "#1 Dee Jay", "Super Jock", and "Bio-Rhythms" (which I...
Remembering Vincent Montana Jr.
The death of a memorable and influential person is always a cause for us to be saddened. Often, we pause to reflect what was. Sometimes, it brings forth a regret. All of these are...
The Essential Quincy Jones Playlist
Timmy Regisford, Mousse T. and (of course) Michael Jackson make appearances in the essential Quincy Jones playlist, compiled by DEL for his Foundations column.
Related: Foundations: Quincy Jones, the Genius
Razzamatazz
('81; #3 Dance-Disco / #17 R&B...
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Brutal layoffs at Bandcamp as new owner slashes 50% of staff
A week after promising to preserve many of the site's most beloved features, Bandcamp's new owner has gutted the company's staff. The writing team at Bandcamp Daily is reportedly down to just 3 people.
