LeBlanc Beats

Celebrating Keith LeBlanc, born circa 1954/55, who passed 4th April 2024. Another huge loss.

I'm going to appropriate and paraphrase a comment made by Swiss Adam at the weekend in relation to Richard Norris, as it feels just as relevant here. Keith LeBlanc's contribution to music runs through my record collection like the proverbial stick of rock but with the words LeBlanc Beats instead of Blackpool.

 

I became aware of Keith LeBlanc in the late 1980s due to my interest in all things Adrian Sherwood/On-U Sound and a couple of remixes that he'd done for Zeke Manyika and The Godfathers. I realised later that Keith's partnership with Doug Wimbish and Skip McDonald went back further, to their time as the Sugar Hill backing band.

I can't begin to capture the breadth and depth of Keith's impact on music but his ability to span multiple decades and genres is a testament to his abilities, whether at a drum kit or the controls in the studio. 

This on the fly selection therefore focuses on some of the key tracks for me from that period of 1984 to 1995 when I was introduced to and educated in Keith LeBlanc's pivotal role. There's some On-U here via Tackhead and Fats Comet, Sugar Hill is represented with Rapper's Delight, Scorpio and Funk You Up and further seminal tracks featuring Malcolm X, Arthur Scargill and Ché and remixes of the aformentioned Zeke Manyika and The Godfathers, as well as The Cure, Nine Inch Nails and The Wolfgang Press. 

 

There's so much more out there to discover and enjoy, not least Keith's substantial catalogue of solo releases, many of which are available on Bandcamp.

Thanks for everything, Keith. The beat goes on....

 

1) Rapper's Delight (Album Version): The Sugarhill Gang (1979)

2) No Sell Out (mass Thomas Taperecorder No Compromise Edit): Malcolm X (2021)

3) Raise (63 Steps To Heaven) (Tackhead Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): Bocca Juniors ft. Anna Haigh & Protege (1990)

4) Bible Belt (The Definitive Club Mix By Keith LeBlanc): Zeke Manyika (1988)

5) She Gives Me Love (Mega Dance Mix Authority) (Remix By Keith LeBlanc): The Godfathers (1989)

6) Scorpio (Album Version): Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1982)

7) Sin (Dub) (Remix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): Nine Inch Nails (1990)

8) Big Time aka Rockchester (Dub) (Remix By Rob Smith): Fats Comet (2015)

9) Strike (General Mix By Adrian Sherwood & Keith LeBlanc): The Enemy Within ft. Arthur Scargill (1984)

10) Funk You Up (Remix By Two Lone Swordsmen aka Andrew Weatherall & Keith Tenniswood): The Sequence (1999)

11) Ticking Time Bomb (Dub): Tackhead (1990)

12) Primary (Red Mix By Keith LeBlanc): The Cure (1990)

13) Hot Water (Album Version): Audio Active (1995)

14) Christianity (Sherwood Mix By Adrian Sherwood): The Wolfgang Press ft. Keith LeBlanc & Skip McDonald (1995)

15) Be My (Powerstation) (Swarthy Mix By Adrian Sherwood, Ché & Fats Comet): Ché (1986)

16) Ride On (Fight On) (Control Tower Mix By Adrian Sherwood & Skip McDonald): Little Axe (1994)

LeBlanc Beats (1:30:10) (KF) (Mega)