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Spaced Out + Mixed In Outer Space

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Various Artists

 
Spaced Out + Mixed In Outer Space
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  • We Say...

    Dancing with the stars
    When interest in the disparaged genre of disco began to gather pace in the second half of the '90s, some record labels put out compilations of commercial disco hits, while others gathered together comparatively unknown recordings that had been sampled by house producers. Released on the London-based label Mr Bongo in '97, Spaced Out did something much more interesting. Cutting through the paraphernalia of flashing floors, descending space ships and spandex outfits that had come to dominate mainstream disco in the late '70s, this compilation foregrounds the otherworldly ambitions of the musicians, producers and remixers who recorded dance music before, during and after the heavily mythologized death of disco. In so doing, Spaced Out revealed disco's sonic progressiveness.

    All of the selections on the album feature live drums, even though two of them — Raw Silk's "Just In Time" and "Go Bang!" by Dinosaur L — were released at the same time as Afrika Bambaataa and Arthur Baker were devastating dance floors with their Roland-generated electro cuts. But instead of sounding dated, these and other selections, such as "Cocomotion '79" and "Dancing in Outer Space," reveal how drummers and percussionists combined metronomic bass beats, sharp symbol work and insistent bongos to evoke a journey into sonic space. On "For the Love of Money" and "Double Journey," dub effects contribute an alternative temporal dimension, while synth and electric guitar-jams coax dancer-listeners into the unknown on "Space Funk" and "Mi Sabrina Tequana" (as well as "Dancing In Outer Space", "Go Bang!").

    The selections on Spaced Out generally run long, sheer length being a hallmark of the disco 12-inch, which was introduced in order to help dancers lose themselves in musical explorations that couldn't be squeezed onto a forty-five single. Almost all of the cuts also make do without conventional vocals, the human voice being too reminiscent of Planet Earth. Lola Blank, Julius Eastman and Francine McGee's utterly weird vocal contributions to "Go Bang" and "Feelin' Good" demonstrate how the voice can also operate in the realm of alterity. True, Chocolate Milk's laid-back outro cut includes a recognisable male voice, but then again the track is titled "Time Machine," and that sums up the purpose of the music along with the album.

  • They Say...

    Spaced Out collects a raft of atmospheric disco and funk tracks from the '70s, mostly forgotten offerings from groups like Atmosfear, the Disco Dub Band, Dinosaur L, and Chocolate Milk.

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