In the meantime...

....you couldn't do any better than checking out the new Frosty J mix tape. Genius!!!

Click here

More recordings from 90's Tribal to follow soon!!

Film

I promised this ages ago. A dusted down VHS tape of Tribal Funktion, filmed back in 1997. September the 13th to be exact, Cajmere, a stunning evening. There is an hour and a half on the old video tape but I thought I'd post the last ten minutes. At least for now. The full length film was shot by Kristina Glitters and is in three unedited sections. It's very natural, charming, I see many old faces (or should I say 'young faces') and the mood is ecstatic. I want to be there now, everyday, for ever and give you all a big kiss! Gx

The Legend of Mark Farina

So here's how it goes. We're deep in the Chicago sound. Dance Mania, Relief, Prescription, Trax and all the wax that could never come from anywhere else. And the Chicago dj's? Incredible, original, inspirational and all making those insanely good records. I mean, thats how we found out about them! Whenever we booked one of our Chi Town heroes, Cajmere, Gemini, Farris, Carter, it was primarily because we knew their tunes. Bought their tracks!

But back then Mark Farina never released records (one in 89 under a pseudonym). His outstanding reputation filtered through to us from his Chicago compadre. From in the know agents and old friends. They all said the same thing.

Mark Farina is legend!

Then the opportunity arose to book him.

The recording here is from, I think, his first visit to Tribal Funktion. Some time in early 96. I have stacks of DATs from Tribal nights but currently no DAT machine and this recording has been lifted from a chrome cassette bearing only his name, TF and the year 96. No matter. It sounds great and as soon as I clapped my ears on it I was transported back like a tardis on steroids.

Who else could blend Jeff Mills with Sting or anything with something you'd not expect. And this was no gimmick. This was just how he djed. How he expressed his love for music. That and his compulsion to play records in a way you've never heard them before. To take chalk and cheese and blend them to sound like Ella and Louis. And all this with two (or three) turntables. No laptop, cd's, software or modern methods that dj's all take for granted now. It made it all so bloody exciting.

So before I settle into my "back in my day" armchair please click here to download what I think is Mark's first visit to Tribal. Enjoy and stay tuned for more in the very near future.

The Danny Tenaglia Night.

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It was Saturday the 6th of August 1994. Tribal had vacated student union Moray House, bid bon voyage to the Blue Oyster Club at the arse end of Rose Street, ended its transitional Thursdays at the Venue and now played host on Saturday nights at that same delightful whore of a nightspot.

We were in love. And booking international guest djs for heavens sake. We'd been bitten hard by the house music bug and it was time to nail it to the wall. Our sets were always fairly international but the dubs of a lot of the NY/Chicago Garage tunes were often exquisite in their own right and, to our minds, overlooked. Producers like Todd Terry, MAW, Kerri Chandler, Mood II Swing, Murk etc all fed our insatiable appetite. That heavy swing and almost hip hop production that lived happily alongside the roughest techno and the deepest soul. It was this 'hidden world' of US Garage that really brought Tribal Records to our attention. They seemed to like the same things.

So when we caught wind they were touring europe to promote a spate of now timeless releases we jumped. The tours official dj was Danny Tenaglia. There was very little in the Tribal catalogue we didn't have in our collections. Or so we thought.

The night itself was incredible. Mere words cannot do justice to the impact it had on me. I was not alone. This was real house music played the way it should be played. That perfect period of Danny's career where he was still very NY and not so Ibiza. A bridge between the two. Emotive, exciting, hypnotising, both alien and familiar, deep and ecstatic. Mr Tenaglia played an incredible four hour set . He literally rearranged my djing DNA. His experience, patience and restraint gave every rise and every fall a near spiritual significance.

So I've decided to offer up both halves of that evening for your downloading pleasure. Part one and part two. You'll hear now classic house tracks making their official auld reekie debut and rare beasts you wish you knew the name of even now. Listening back it's clear Danny Tenaglia was not the only star that evening. Tribal Records had hit their stride with an incredible rosta of artists and an unparalleled run of releases and they knew it. They wanted to be the ones to drop those monster tunes on you for the first time.

Label boss and founder Rob Di Stefano was present at every night of that tour. To him even now that night in auld reekie at that delightful whore of a nightspot was the perfect Tribal night. At Tribal.

In The Beginning...

This weeks blog post comes from Christian Spurrier.

I was 20, I’d just moved to Edinburgh and I was desperate to start a club. I knew nothing about clubs, I had no idea how to mix and I only owned about ten records. But that didn’t matter because I’d met George. He had the same idea and he owned another ten. He introduced me to Harry and Simon, they had about ten each – so between us we thought we were in business.

We dreamed of a glamorous twilight world, making our mark on the UK music scene – rivalling Pure or even the legendary Glasgow Slam nights. We ended up at Moray House, the fetid union building of a dodgy PE college – a rickety fire hazard with the worst PA you can imagine and 20 years of spilt beer and student sweat on the walls. The place was so foul that before our first night, we hired industrial floor sanders and spent two days giving the owners a free refurb.

Doors opened at 9.00 pm on a chilly Friday. For three hours we were dead. The venue was way down the bottom of the old town – miles from anything. We played nervous 20 minute sets, trying not to use our best records. The bar staff looked scornful and warned that we’d better play more Sisters of Mercy. Offering a (then) weird mix of dub, funk, hip-hop, ragga and jazz to a crowd that wasn’t exclusively student or casual started to look very dumb. Then someone told me to go to the door. I poked my head out and saw a hundred people stamping their feet and grumbling at the bouncers to get on with it. Poshies, locals, veteran clubbers … as Ollie said, the music changed and the venues got nicer (a bit) – but Tribal Funktion always had a great crowd.

So, whenever I hear that Edinburgh is dead and there’s nowhere fun to go any more – I always say: get your ten best records, start knocking on student union doors, and get those floor sanders out….

Christian


CHRISTIAN’S MORAY HOUSE TOP 10:
Take A Rest – Gang Starr.
Magic Disco Machine - Scratch.
Depth Charge Vs Silver Fox – Depth Charge.
Theme From Starsky and Hutch - James Taylor Quartet.
Brothers on the Slide – Cymande.
Hooligan 69 - Ragga Twins.
You’re Losing Me – Ann Sexton.
Step Right Up – Young Disciples.
Love Will Bring us Back Together – Roy Ayers.
Revelations Part 1 – Jazz Not Jazz.



This weeks download is a recording from Moray House era Tribal Funktion. Early 1992 to be more exact. I've no idea who is playing but seeing as we were keen on quick fire 10 minute sets it is at least three if not all four of us (40 minute recording). Listening to this and recognising these old tunes is a an absolute trip! A very heady and pleasing variety. Tommy Boy, reggae, eight ball, house, Shut Up And Dance, disco, Guerrilla, and so on. Thanks for the post Christian. You nailed it!