a beginners guide to ... pepe bradock
it's strange how much musical knowledge is taken as a given. allusions to artists and albums are bandied about every day, and if you're not up to speed on the current musical canon then certain frames of reference used by others can leave you in the dark. here at best foot forward we had a sit down and thought about this, and decided that starting today we're going to be providing semi-regular "beginners guides" on artists, labels, scenes and genres that we feel could be of aid to the modern audiophile.
these aren't meant to be the result of obscure trawls through second-hand shops, or beard-stroking "look what i've got" reflections. this is really based around helping others learn about music that many people have decreed as common knowledge. and for those who are already up to date with the records providing within, hopefully these guides should serve as a nice trawl down memory lane.
we start with lesson one, on french deep house auteur pepe bradock. pepe's musical background has helped to shape his unique style, after growing up playing in various jazz-funk bands, and working as a hip-hop producer for a short while. during the early 90's pepe fell in love with the then burgeoning techno scene, and turned his hand towards this fresh sound. in 1999 he released the 'burning' ep on kif recordings, which contained the instant classic 'deep burnt'. this track is based around a simple loop (taken from freddie hubbard's 'little sunflower' fact fans!) and builds up a beautiful hypnotic groove over 10 of the most wonderous minutes in modern music. the record was rightly hailed as the work of a genius, and can still be heard in clubs worldwide today. if you haven't heard this record before, mon dieu, you're in for a treat today.
pepe then released further spell-binding eps on various labels, with a frustratingly large wait between each. however, he managed to keep the insatiable vinyl junkies ticking over with his inimitable interpretations of the works of others, two instances of which are included here. 'mouth' is probably pepe's second most recognised track, honouring the classic records "boompty" ethos whilst keeping a distinctively francophile edge. oh and sorry about the quality of this mp3, but my copy is worn down through constant usage, so doesn't sound as good as it used to - proof and reason, as if any were needed, for you to go track it down yourself! finally, here is his remix of the then ubiquitous gotan project, mixing the old and the new with a nod to his musical heritage. a dark techno snarl rests alongside the gorgeous bandoneón line from the original, in a remix similar to daft punk's take on franz ferdinand - just leave the original on in the background, and we'll put on some fucked up noises over the top.
monsieur pepe bradock - a modern marvel, as i'm sure you'll agree.