The Dark Side

Here are a couple of cool cuts from 1984. 1984 was an interesting year for music. The boogie greatness of 1982 was fizzling out, electro was king, and house was just getting started. These tracks highlight where genres converged and coalesced into some strange hybrids.

This first track by Zero Hour shows a lot of electro influence and can easily pass as a theme song for the oft overlooked comedy masterpiece Fletch Lives. Seems like it could have been produced by Herbie Hancock or Jan Hammer with a little help from Egyptian Lover.

The next track by Leon Love is an odd bird produced by proto house legend Patrick Adams with Ron Mindseed. It sounds a bit like electro coming dangerously close to Hi-NRG territory. Almost too close; but us in the Bay Area have a very low threshold for it.

Zero Hour - The Dark Side (Dub)
Leon Love - Once Is Enough (Dub)

Firefly

We've covered Maurizio Sangineto's productions before on this site. Firefly was a dance music group composed of fellow Italians and released four LPs during their career. This track was a big tune at the Garage. The uplifting vocals get me every time. I also really like the brave use of some dynamic range in this 12" mix. It is rare to hear jams like this with such an impact when the beat comes in after the breakdown.

Firefly - Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)