Nothing Can Stop The Masters At Work

I have a ton of remixes by Masters At Work aka Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez & 'Little' Louie Vega, so it was a bit of a surprise to find that they've barely featured on this blog. Some redress today then, with a 10-song, 70-minute selection of remixes from 1992 to 2003.

Masters At Work immediately get down to business with a remix of their own side project, Nuyorican Soul, which bravely tackled Rotary Connection's I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun in the late 1990s. I featured this remix and multiple other versions of the song last September.

 

The selection closes with an equally brave rework of I Feel Love by Donna Summer. I've chopped the pounding intro from the full length eleven and a half minute original, cutting in for a (hopefully) smoother segue from Les Negresses Vertes, but it's a monster track nevertheless.

 

Trawling the MAW pages on Discogs for info, I spotted a comment from imad909 who summed it up as well as anyone can: "Years will come, years will go, but the work these two have put out will remain". 

 

I'm succumbing to the urge to dance even as I sit here typing this. Be warned, this groove is highly contagious.

1) I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (MAW Remix) (Cover of Rotary Connection): Nuyorican Soul ft. Q-Tip & Jocelyn Brown (1997)

2) Show Me (Masters At Work R & B Mix): Ultra Naté (1994)

3) Reaching For The Stars (Masters At Work Mix): Fantastic Plastic Machine ft. Incognito (2003)

4) Time To Make You Mine (Kenlou Supa Mix): Lisa Stansfield (1992)

5) Helpless (The Kenlou Remix): Urbanized (1992)

6) Around The World (Mellow Mix): Daft Punk (1996)

7) Nothing Can Stop Us (House Mix): Saint Etienne (1992)

8) Very Important People (Masters At Work Main Mix): GusGus (1999)

9) Après La Pluie (Main Vocal) (Rukus Dubba): Les Negresses Vertes (1995)

10) I Feel Love (Masters At Work 12-Inch Mix): Donna Summer (1995)

Nothing Can Stop The Masters At Work (1:11:22)

Concocting A Rhythm That You Could Get Lost In...

Side 1 of a mixtape, recorded 5th September 1993, collecting some choice remixes and club cuts from 1989 to 1992. This is the 2nd appearance on this blog of The Stereo MC's remix of Television, previously featured on a 2003 mix CD and my favourite version of the song. Tracks 3 & 7 are taken from a 1990 2CD compilation, Dancemasters Vol. I: The Twelve Inch Mixes. Pianonegro is built around a sample from Masimba Bele by The Unknown Cases. Family Affair is remixed by Mark Brydon, post-Chakk and pre-Moloko and at the time one half of Fon Force. Sly & The Family Stone's Larry Graham provides lead vocals on the closing track by Fortran 5, Dave Lee sprinkling his customary 70s disco dust to great effect. Along the way, you get: a vocal-free opener from Swedish funk/hip-hop act The Stonefunkers; an early-ish remix by Judge Jules of Tim Hutton, perhaps now better known for his work with Groove Armada's Tom Findlay as Sugardaddy; System 7 collaborating with Derrick May and showcasing the wonderful vocals of Ultra Naté; Merlin and Billie Ray Martin trading off on a standout track from Original Soundtrack, the debut album by S'Express.

1) Can U Follow (TV Track): The Stonefunkers (1991)

2) Television, The Drug Of The Nation (Ultimatum Remix By The Stereo MC's): The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy (1991)

3) Pianonegro (Honky Tonk Remix By Creative Source aka Tim Bran, Ingmar Kiang & Nick Harris): Pianonegro (1990)

4) The Prophet (Vocal Dub Mix By Judge Jules): Tim Hutton (1992)

5) Altitude (Paradox) (Deep Mix By Steve Hillage & Derrick May): System 7 ft. Ultra Naté (1992)

6) Pimps, Pushers, Prostitutes (Album Version): S'Express ft. Merlin & Billie Ray Martin (1989)

7) Family Affair (Echo Vox Mix By Mark Brydon): Sly & The Family Stone (1990)

8) Look To The Future (Joey Negro's "Future Mind" Mix By Dave Lee & Andrew Livingstone): Fortran 5 ft. Larry Graham & Candy Mckenzie (1992)

Side One (46:25) (Box) (Mega)