More fun from the boys, based on a true story! New track Jean-Pierre is up on Soundcloud for your audition.

The music of Foster The People just seemed to be everywhere this year. Big fresh tunes that are pretty irresistible. A little piece of electronica tucked away in the breakdown of "Helena Beat" gave me an idea...
Check it out on my Soundcloud player to the right.

Those fun boys, sorry, Funboys (er.. that's me and Auds), have been busy. A couple of originals are up now on Soundcloud. Check out "Dancing at the Social Club" and "That Guy". What would you call them - camp indy disco? Possibly. Also up there is our entry to the recent Rapture remix comp. Our "How Deep Is Your Love" remix has been getting love from various quarters, most notably from our recent visitor Mickey, who has been playing it around Europe over the winter, and included it in his "Best Of 2011" mix. I knew he had good taste.

The silly season is in full swing. Friday night was the Elsewhere "Swiss-mas" party, with a too-rare appearance by Rubber Johnson, followed by The Swiss. RJ really brought the funk live - great party starters. The headliners were driven by a formidable engine room in the shape of the drummer Tony. Luke was getting some gorgeous creamy textures from his Nord Stage keys and his phased synth arpeggios. I really would have liked to see them in red suits though...

In an embarrassment of talent for one weekend, former Swiss-man Sid Who? played the club last night, after dropping by the studio to talk gear, and explain the finer points of Roland guitar synths of the eighties. He must like to keep busy - the DJ gigs are just what happens when he's not playing bass for Empire Of The Sun.

Last week, Belgian wunder-kid Mickey dropped by before his set, to have a few beers and a play on the Jupiter 8. He's another one who has an affinity for Roland analogue synths - he gets those big shiny pads in his productions from his beloved Jupiter 6.

Great turn-out for the Respect Music charity event last night at Swingin' Safari - it brought out quite a few old faces not seen for a long while. And who would have thought all those old remixes of mine would jam the dancefloor so tight? ;-) Thanks to James Canning for all his work in putting the gig together, and good luck to Ben Cooper and his projects with The World As I Am.

James Canning and the Respect Music crew are putting on a party this Saturday night (15th Oct) at Swingin' Safari. Always a nice chilled venue, Auds, Pooders, myself and quite a few others will get a chance to spin some funk and disco. Hope to see you there...

As luck would have it, a recent holiday in NYC coincided with the Beats In Space 12th anniversary party. It was good to meet Tim and congratulate him on 12 years of bringing us great music every week, but there was another reason to celebrate. His BIS record label has just released it's first piece of vinyl. BIS 001 features a group called Paradis with some cruisey nu-disco - check out the music here...

What the..? Yes.. "Mrs Poodfy" is the collaboration of the Mrs and Poodfy, resulting in... Check the Soundcloud page and decide for yourself. We re-visit some gems such as Kinetic and Faith Hope And Charity, but I think underneath it all lies the influence of Belgian New Beat, believe it or not...

OMG...best BIS in a long time. I don't know who K.U.D.O. is (oh man check that CV!!) but I'm now a fan. Try sitting this one out...

BIS Show Number 580

I have been very saddened to learn of Martin Rushent's sudden passing last Saturday, June 4. He produced some of my favourite records.. The Stranglers, The Buzzcocks.. even T Rex!! He was responsible for the stunning "Love And Dancing", one of the very first dance remix albums, which still sounds better than nearly all dance music produced since...

Funboys is the collaborative project of myself and Audun F (who is sometimes known as the Norwegian Nightmare, resident of Fridays at Elsewhere!). We've been testing out our sound for some time now with some cheeky edits and remixes, which you can check out on our Soundcloud. Our latest is "All I Heard", an acid-drenched remix for Brisband Mitzi, released on the ultra-hip Sydney label Future Classic. These guys have been getting a lot of blog-love in recent months, and lots of airplay on the nation's favourite youth network. People are calling them "disco-wave", whatever that means! What I hear is gorgeous smooth melodic pop with simple and effective dancefloor rhythms. Have a listen here. Our remix is available now through Juno and Beatport.

I caught Gary Numan's Pleasure Principle tour at the Tivoli last night, with Severed Heads in support. The main flashback for me came from seeing how one of the band members played a synth on most of these simple, soaring tracks. I remember as a kid, intent on learning his chops on the guitar, being gobsmacked when seeing Numan on TV in 1979 making this huge powerful sound with these little synthesizer thingies, and some of his band were simply playing one note, with one finger! I've been obsessed with synths ever since!

Just a reminder you can catch some great music on Respect Music Radio. In fact, a recent remix of mine has come in at number 8 on this week's chart.

Flash & The Pan will need no introduction for many - they have been Australia's most successful production and songwriting duo since the sixties - real names Harry Vanda and George Young. The modern dance community have seen a few of their remixes and edits over recent years. "Midnight Man", "Waiting For A Train", "Walking In The Rain" have all been revisited, but have a listen on my Soundcloud to my rework of "Hole In The Middle". What an absolutely FILTHY bassline! I've sped it up a wee bit, beefed the rhythm section, and doubled the bass with a 303 and a guitar synth. Those hardworking club DJs know what to do...

The John Steel Singers are a Brisband with a breezy sound. I've just submitted my remix of their track "Overpass" to their Soundcloud competition. Check it out over on the player...

... not a piece of music but a cocktail. When I discovered this amazing liqueur called Manzanita, I got busy in the lab mixing up various potions to find the perfect vehicle for it. See what you think - I call it "The Mangina" (after it's two main ingredients, NO connection to the Will Ferrell neologism!).
The recipe: Into a highball with lots of cubed ice, stir in
• one part Manzanita
• one part gin (try Sapphire or Plymouth)
• half part gomme (sugar syrup)
• half part lemon juice
Check your sweet/sour balance and adjust accordingly. Then splash in some tonic to taste and stir once more. Now the critical bit - float a few drops of peach bitters on the top of the drink. Garnish with a slice of green apple. Enjoy!

I've had some good feedback re the Bowie club edit - you can audition it over on the soundcloud player at the right. DJs who didn't get the mail out can always drop me a line.

Further investigations into syncing music hardware to software lead to new creative possibilities... Sync about it!

Those looking for the tracklisting and notes about my recent Afromantic mix, click here.

"... and it's funky in a most peculiar way" Dude, you said it! Check my remix of a track from his great 1982 album "Killer On The Rampage" (which sports a cover that is completely non-apropo, and intriguing), famous for his big hit single "Electric Avenue" of course, but I've tackled one of the album tracks...

It accompanied entertainers in untold cocktail bars and clubs around the world throughout the early seventies. It was the first Roland drum machine, the Rhythm TR-77. I was curious as to what made it tick (and hiss, and clunk etc)....

Nile Rodgers: "When WALKING ON THIN ICE came out I played it nonstop. Whenever anyone would get in my car, I would blast the song and say 'This shit is incredible'. It's a great piece of work and to this day it remains one of my favourite songs." Check out my edit for DJs...

Not much music being made, but lots of behind-the-screens tech work. One collaboration that has surfaced though is the Mrs. Pood'fy remix of Kinetic by the Golden Girls. Just add it to the existing 700-odd remixes of this track that are out there! Early-nineties-flashback warning!! I'm pushing for it to get an airing at the Aeroplane gig tomorrow night, ha ha, we'll see...

Over to the left is a link to a new area for sharing some of the more technical explorations I make in the studio. It will include DIY stuff, electronic modifications, and investigating obscure functions and features in vintage instruments.

Caught the Buzzcocks last night at The Zoo. Good sweaty singalong fun! And they played my favourite, "ESP" - I think my love of this was an early indicator of my penchant for repetitive riff cycles - which clearly manifest in electronic dance music, but maybe just not as much fun as in punk!!

Further to my dynamic range comments below, somebody just pointed me in the direction of this article from a couple of years back, and I just had to share this great quote from producer Sandy Pearlman..."the ubiquitous platform known as MP3 — which is really good at promiscuity but not good at fidelity." Ouch! And spot on!

Ha ha - a couple of months ago I was gushing over a new track I'd heard, "Carlos The Jackal" (see below), only to find out it is a fairly straightforward edit of an old Gary Numan track "Music For Chameleons". So that's why I liked it so much! Gazza - what can I say? He's a legend! Those synth textures he gets just lift you up... Well to live by my motto "Originality is overrated" I've had a go at another one of his tunes from this period (about 81 or 82 I think). "White Boys and Heroes" has some great afro percussion and funky bass runs thru it. I've taken it up to 120 bpm and beefed the backbeat with a laid back house groove. The 606 gets a drum solo, and the jupe sprinkles its pretty notes over the top. Let me know if you play it out..

Disco delish! Better than chocolate! Check out the DJ Tools page for a new treat..

I've got some good news. Soon music will sound as good as it did in the seventies and eighties! Well, if this organization has their way it will. Since the early nineties, the dynamic range of most recorded music released commercially has decreased steadily. Generally, the reason has been to increase the "loudness" of the music - that is, make it sound bigger on lower power hi fi systems, or in cars or on personal players. The record companies apparently thought that if their CD sounded louder than the competition, it would sell more. Unfortunately, the result has been the degradation of the quality of music we listen to at all levels. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, tune in with your iTunes or media player to one of the zillion internet radio stations out there. Most of them have heavy compression of the dynamic range, and to make matters worse, are streamed at low bit rates. The music sounds like it's being squeezed out of a toothpaste tube, and you'll find yourself mentally tuning out after a few minutes. To contrast this, find a well recorded album on vinyl or CD, and listen to the difference between the softest and the loudest parts of the track - the audio-processing parts of our brains respond to this dynamic range, and the music will hold your attention and just sound "better". Download the DR meter plug in and test your music to see and hear for yourself!

Sometimes, rarely, you hear a piece of music that speaks to parts of you in subtle, forgotten ways... Audun turned me on to an amazing track recently. It's called "Carlos The Jackal" by someone called Bonar Bradberry. The fretless bass line reminds me of Japan, the sliding synth wails remind me of Gary Numan. Searching this out, I found Red Music Records who released the track. Check out their myspace to audition some spaced out funk from a parallel disco dimension. This label is run by Ilija Rudman, who has played at gigs with our friends from Pizzico Records and maybe even done a remix or two for them. Certainly he seems to be making a name for himself. Can Italy and Croatia really be as "cool" as these labels would have us believe? Who cares - enough of the sycophantic name dropping! Go check out the tracks and prepare for the head-nods, followed soon by the hip-sways!

So much for that vow of silence. All was quiet until I put on the Colourbox album from 1985. "Just Give 'Em Whiskey" was the one that 4ZZZ used to flog, but I thought I'd tackle "Manic". Check it out...

I've been asked to share a secret. It's a recipe for a cocktail that is popular around my place, called "The Five Whores". The name came from a drunken mispronunciation of the word "feijoa". Some time ago someone gave me a bottle of feijoa vodka, which I had never tasted before. A feijoa is apparently a popular fruit in NZ, also known as pineapple guava. Anyway, this stuff turned out to be the most vile liquid to ever cross my lips. However, before I threw it out, I thought it might be a challenge to see if I could invent a potion that would make it drinkable. Well, it seems I did it - at the next houseparty I tested it on unsuspecting guests and it proved a hit. So here it is...
• 1 part feijoa vodka
• 1 part apple liqueur
• 1/2 part lemon juice
• 2 parts lychee juice
• mint leaves...
The lychee juice is seasonal and can be tricky to get sometimes, so you may have to make do with the syrup from tinned lychees, which are easy to find. This will be sweeter, so you might not need as much. I shouldn't need to point out that the lemon juice should be freshly squeezed. Shake the ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Depending on whether little bits of mint leaves in your drink upset you, you may need to use a double strainer with muslin etc but seriously, I can't be bothered! An alternative would be to muddle the mint leaves in the shaker with the liquor first, then remove before shaking. Enjoy!

My various music projects are taking their "vow of silence" for a while. New toys to be built, new skills to be learnt, lots of work to do! Check out the new pointypointy tracks on our myspace player for a change of pace meanwhile.

I've got to tell you about this mad Irishman. He goes by the name of DJ GOLDY. He's been the source of some of the wildest, most mental mixes I think I've ever heard, veering from rock to old school hip hop to drum n bass to slow skanking reggae... sometimes in the space of one track!! Phew! And the great thing is there's a new one nearly every month, called appropriately "Goldys Time Of The Month". Go check out his story at his myspace page, and download a mix or two for your next party - it will rock the house!

Well what a response to the Butterscorch debut - showered with chocolate!! That venue is always full of surprises - we are speechless! And thanks to all those that turned out and made us feel so welcome - we're only just starting to recover....

Lucky punters coming to see the 'scorch on this (Good) Friday night at Elsewhere will receive, as well as a warm inner glow, a password to download some exclusive Butterscorch content from a secret website. If that's not enough to entice you, we'll throw in a birthday shout out on our blog ;-)

Butterscorch will be playing Elsewhere Bar, downtown Surfers Paradise, on April 10. Semi-erotic cabaret and euro-trash-disco guaranteed! You have been warned! And that up n coming young DJ, Poodfy, known in some circles as the creator of "minimal- lounge", will be in full effect, er, support. Of course, should the whole shebang come off the rails, at least Audun will be there to save the night! Be there!

Just received the Pizzico compilation in the post (how quaint!). Nice to hear a CD where they paid some attention to the mastering - very easy to listen to. Standouts for me are Sankt Goran and Ule Nakova. Check it at their myspace.

Last night I caught The Stranglers at the Tivoli in Brisbane. First time I'd seen them since sometime in the eighties, so I was a little concerned that without Hugh Cornwell up front they may not cut it. Well, that and their age I guess! I needn't have worried. Their frontman Baz Warne was energetic, enthusiastic, and oozed punk attitude, while the rest were in fine form chops-wise. They tore thru "Get a Grip" "Duchess", "Peaches".. all the greats, and saved their famous ode to Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland reign, "Nuclear Device", for an encore. Air-punching, pogoing, and singing along - hey, dance music isn't this much fun... ;-)

If you're like me you may be overwhelmed by the number of music blogs out there. Well, The Hype Machine may just help you find remixes and tracks a bit quicker... or you may just keep following all those links until you collapse from lack of sleep and nutrition. Anyway, there is one blog you should swing past every now and then if you like your grooves eclectic and tasteful, that's DJ Bwyse's Talking In Stereo, and his related radio show. He's currently featuring tracks from the wonderful Tirk label.

Also, much newer on the blog scene is The Number 20, by my friends Shari and Vari, two girls who love their nu-disco with a Euro flavour!

Butterscorch have a new track up on the player. I've done an eighties-style dub mix of this track as well, it was a blast! Reminded me of buying 12 inch singles back then, the likes of Heaven 17, and wondering how they did those cut-up stutter effects... Also, I have just heard from our friends at Pizzico Records that their highly anticipated label showcase CD will be out very soon, featuring another Enzo Ponzio remix of Butterscorch's "Safety Copy". Make sure you check this out - this label has been on fire lately, with the likes of Enzo, and Ichisan and Nakova getting lots of attention.

It was nice to see a few diehards dancing to my live set on Sunday at the "We Love Sundaes" festival - despite torrential rains from tropical thunderstorms, random yobbos fighting, and swarms of gurning ravers looking for some Justice. Phew, disco can be dangerous...
Thank you to James Canning and the Respect Music crew.

On Friday I caught The Idjut Boys at Don Nadi's 'Surfers Paradise Garage' night (great name!). Their quirky funk quickly filled the floor with sexy mamas, until some testosterone-addled B-boy wannabes yelling "Yeeaa boiii!!" (in their best Flavor Flav accents) started moshing, ramming into each other and generally making the area a no-go zone. (Fellas, when you scare all the girls away from dancing near you, no-one thinks you're big or clever!). Anyway, so what do the Idjuts do? They drop a slice of smooth West Coast seventies MOR that completely stops the boys in their tracks, making their posturing look ridiculous! The track? Crosby, Stills and Nash - 'Dark Star'!
(Note to self, lesson from the masters, you need a versatile tool kit if you're going to avert dancefloor disasters).

I've heard some good things said about the Wire remix - I've put it up on the DJ Tools page for download.Let me know if you play it out!

Check out the spyspace to hear a "new" track - "So Real". Some may recall Don Nadi's brilliant triplet glam remix from the pink record a few years back. It's only taken me about 5 years to get around to finishing the original disco=pop version!

Check out the DJ Tools page where finally we have some of the new tracks for download - sorry about the delay! Supporting radio stations should already have the radio edits, and DJs can always contact me for any other formats.
Adam (at) Adambaby.com

FTP problems are preventing me from bringing you the new tracks - stay tuned. On a happier note, my project "Butterscorch" have a track on the new Global Underground release "Afterhours Ibiza" - it's the Enzo Ponzio remix of "Rubber Balls", and you'll see it's in pretty good company - Headman, Justice, Kris Menace, Silicone Soul... 3 CDs and they're all killer!
Cheers, Adam

It was great to see local funk crew Kwerkshoppe do their quirky thing live at the Arts Centre last night (they're on again this Thursday if you missed them!). Of course two of this crew, Otto and Grant, have their fingers in many different musical pies such as Bowser, Rubber Johnson, and No Siesta. Start exploring their musical output at http://www.myspace.com/kwerkshoppe and go from there! A close associate and collaborator with these guys is James Canning from Respect Music (http://www.myspace.com/respectmusiccomau) who is currently taking the slow boat back from the Miami Music Conference, having secured some new deals for his talented roster of local artists. Nice work mate!
Cheers, Adam