The disco classic: First Choice – ‘Let No Man Put Asunder (Frankie Knuckles Remix)’ (1983)
“I’m surprised to see your suitcase at the door…”
The direct link between disco and house needs no explanation, so it’s hardly surprising that disco’s lyrical content informs the vocals of so many house tracks. Disco’s invocations of love, spirituality and sex make perfect sense when recontextualised to a more modern dancefloor setting. The adoption of lyrics and vocal tracks directly from disco continues to this day. ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ stakes a strong claim to the title of most sampled acapella of all time, cropping up in dozens of tracks from Rhythm On The Loose’s ‘Break Of Dawn’ to Rufige Kru’s ‘Ghosts Of My Life’/’Rider’s Ghost’.
But this isn’t just about disco, or even just about house. It’s about tapping into a deeper tradition of black music from the 50s through to the 80s – soul, gospel, boogie… – and it’s a technique which applies across just about any electronic genre you can name, whether that’s Chris Malinchak sampling Marvin and Tammi for ‘So Good To Me’, Foul Play sampling Ecstasy, Passion and Pain for ‘Dubbing You’, Chase And Status sampling Loleatta Holloway for ‘Blind Faith’ or, yes, Avicii sampling Etta James for ‘Levels’.
09.11 AM
glad to see the Oliver S track on there, what a tune and a great composition!
01.33 AM
Hmmmm. . . . . shouldn’t that “Little Fluffy Clouds” track be in there somewhere? I feel like everyone knows that one.
02.08 PM
I was expecting to see EBTG’s “Missing” or at least one nice example from early progressive house era, say, John Creamer and Stephen K’s “Wish you were here”, as a perfect example to show sometimes singer-songwriter approach to lyricism really works in straightforward house or techno tracks too.
03.07 PM
Liked the article but just wanted to point out that Massive Atack’s “Mezzanine” was recorded in 1997 and released in 1998, not 2007 as stated here!
03.09 PM
Thanks Electronomist. Not sure how that one slipped through!