Description
This April, Strut reissues one of the early releases from its catalogue in a brand new Deluxe Edition. Music For Dancefloors is a varied journey through the archives of the fabled and historic KPM Music Library.
The phenomenon of the music library is unique, involving brilliant but anonymous composers and musicians creating short pieces of music to be made available for background use in film, television, and radio. The music wasnt intended to be enjoyed in a home listening context, and in fact wasnt available for commercial release at all, but the sheer quality of the playing and compositions resulted in the music finding an enthusiastic audience. Original promotional-only vinyl releases from KPM and other libraries of the 1960s and 70s (generally from print run of only 1,000 copies each) can now exchange hands for a small fortune.
During its heyday, many pieces recorded through KPM became perennial UK TV themes long-running programs like Grandstand, Mastermind and ITV News At Ten. Tellingly, the KPM boss during this period, Robin Phillips, made a point of setting the bar high, bringing in the UKs most talented young composers, arrangers and session players to the studios to ensure the highest quality music.
The quality has justifiably stood the test of time. In recent years, DJs and collectors have coveted volumes of the anonymous green label KPM LPs as a source for hard-tofind grooves and breaks, and KPM has become a well-mined source for hip-hop producers and music connoisseurs Jay-Z, DOOM, Madlib and Guilty Simpson, Dangermouse and Action Bronson are among the many who have plundered KPM grooves. A KPM piece (Kieth Mansfields Funky Fanfare) even graces the opening of Quentin Tarantinos film Kill Bill.
Compiled by ex-Jazz Cafe booker and DJ Adrian Gibson and Struts Quinton Scott Music For Dancefloors was originally created as a series of albums in the early 2000s dedicated to mining the archives of the UKs foremost music libraries. Volumes on Chappell music and Bosworth would follow in 2001 and 2002. This first installment mines the KPM reels for some of the most in-demand, funkiest and quirkiest pieces from the library. Some have become classics in their own right: Alan Parkers Thats What Friends Are For featuring Blue Minks Madeline Bell on vocals, Alan Hawkshaws stomping hammond groove Senior Thump (a precursor to his work as The Mohawks), and Keith Mansfields Crash Course, a driving jazz anthem. Elsewhere, the tracklist is peppered with oddities like Klaus Weiss incidental downtempo mood Morning 1 / Morning 2 and Nascimbenes Witchdoctor, a short tribal field recording.
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