Selections: Dan Shake
In this regular feature, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their Bandcamp collections. This week, Dan Shake flags up ten gems of heavy-duty house and soulful groove
Clubs around the world are shut, and opportunities to find new music out in the wild have been ripped from under our feet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While hearing new music played out by your favourite DJs will have to be put on hold due to these unprecedented circumstances, it’s never been easier, or more important, to support the artists and labels putting out EPs, albums and compilations in the midst of all the madness.
With tour cancellations and festival postponements leaving many members of the international electronic music community out of pocket, Bandcamp has become an even more vital platform for supporting the music you love, with 80% of all sales from the online music store going directly to artists and labels. In March, the platform announced it would be waiving its revenue share for all sales for one day, and on Friday 20th, took no cut from purchases made. In total, $4.3 million was spent on music over the course of 24 hours, all going straight to the creators. Throughout lockdown, Bandcamp continued to waive their fees on the first Friday of every month up to July, as well as on 19th June (Juneteenth), when the platform donated 100% of its profits to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund. Last month, it was announced that a fee-free "Bandcamp Friday" would take place on the first Friday of each month for the rest of 2020.
In this series, Selections, we’re inviting DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their Bandcamp collections. In lieu of opportunities to discover new records on the dancefloor, Selections – along with radio shows and mixes – will give you the chance to nab sounds from the crates of tastemakers, and support the artists behind them while you’re at it. Win-win, right?
This week, Dan Shake flags up ten gems of heavy-duty house and soulful groove. Shake is one the most consistently impressive house music producers to arrive this side of 2010. The first non-Detroit artist to be signed to Moodymann’s Mahogani Music (with his breakthrough 2014 release ‘3am Jazz Club’), he has since gone on to showcase his funky productions via Black Acre, Lumberjacks In Hell and Sulta Selects Silver Service, while his own Shake label has kept him plenty busy too.
His latest effort, ‘We Have Love’, finds him once again making the Detroit connection, with inspiration coming from the sampling techniques of iconic hip-hop producer J Dilla, and featuring a collaboration with legendary funk and soul vocalist and producer Amp Fiddler on dreamy groover, ‘A Pirate’s Eye’. An artist who should be closing out the end of another busy festival season about now — and generating a chunk of “ID?” requests in the process — we asked Dan to dip inside his Bandcamp collection to share some essential new purchases.
Check out Dan Shake’s Selections below.
“I thought I'd start with something heavy for the club (or bedroom at this current time). Everyone knows the original, but Krywald and Farrer have made an amazing version. Up for free download and definitely worth adding to your collection.”
“Favourite Recordings is, as it says on the tin, one of my favourite record labels. There's not many releases of theirs I don't have in my collection and this is just one example of some of the beautiful music they're putting out. I highly recommend going through their discography if you have the time.”
“I only discovered Destiny71z fairly recently but have loved everything they've put out. A perfect example of using modular synthesis tastefully and with soul.”
“Nice N Ripe is the go to label for 90s UK house and garage, this collection showcases some of Jeremy's best work. In particular, ‘GOD - Satisfaction '98’ is an absolute gem which won't leave my sets for a while.”
“If COVID never happened, then I guarantee this would have been banged out at the majority of UK festivals this summer.”
“It's rare to hear electronic music which is truly original these days - this album is genre-bending with a mix of songs you could happily play both in and out of the club.”
“I bought this on 7" a few years back but have only recently downloaded the digi from Bandcamp. I play this out a lot! High energy funk which was previously unreleased before Athens Of The North got their hands on it, and an absolute essential to have in your collection. AOTN is another label that releases gem after gem.”
“Pont Neuf Records is a small Paris-based label putting out great music from the French house scene. I get excited whenever I see they've put out something new as the chances are I’ll play it out. This release from KX9000 is no exception – a perfect balance of electro-funk and sample-heavy house. It's hard not to dance when I hear it!”
“I play out a track from almost each Cobra Edits release. Fantastic club tools and reworks of some classics. On this release, ‘Dbsoul’ is my pick.”
“Not a new track, but new to my collection. Bugz In The Attic have been a favourite of mine for quite a while now and this 10 minute remix is essential for anyone who likes their beats broken.”
