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There’s a new Ron mix in town…
"On December 31st, 1986, a New Year’s Party was in full swing at the legendary Music Box, an underground club owned by Robert Williams, with revolutionary resident DJ Ron Hardy. By the next day, it was shut down by the city. The club would never reopen.
The Music Box and Hardy’s massively influential marathon sets there have gone on to shape Chicago and the world, even if people don’t know it. The closure of that space, and Ron’s passing five years later remain an enormous point of grief for that generation of Chicagoans. I have spoken at length with many attendees of those parties and one thing is clear - the memories of those nights are as fresh today as they were in the 80s. That place was their whole life. He was like family to them.
So when my friend and previous employee of the Music Box, Stacey Collins, called me to tell me she had found a box of Hardy tapes, I freaked out. We set out about digitizing them with archivist Jacob Arnold. In that set of tapes, one stood out in particular: “Goin Down Slow; Hardy’s Last Marathon ‘87”. This was a recording of that last party, after it was shut down by the cops and had to move to a new venue up north. It’s abnormally slow for Hardy, who was known for playing so aggressively that attendees began to shout for him to “beat” them with sound - he opts here for slow jams, or as they’re called in Chicago, “stepper’s cuts” (“Stepping” is a social dance culture originating in Chicago’s South Side). This side of Hardy is one attendees often speak of, his softer, sweeter side - but there’s not many recordings of it. I’m pleased to present this look into Hardy and the last moments of the Music Box with the help of There Is No Planet Earth. Peace and love "
Also, if anyone is interested I run a little archive of 80’s Chicago radio.
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I took a lot of things from my Ron Hardy obsession, but two of the bigger ones - he wasn’t house so much because of what he played, but how he played it. And related, you only feel every track or idea in relation to what went before and comes after. He had the courage for riding a hypnotic loop or tracky record for as long as it takes, then into a disco SONG into a drum breakdown or playing tracks backwards. Contrasts of light and dark, fast and slow, sweet and sour - the moves he made always land for me. Mixing and the edits are often rough around the edges, but that’s not the important thing. I guess some of this is djing/music 101, but this is where I picked it up from.
Also why Theo Parrish is one of the djs who’s house af even though only maybe 20% of the records he plays come from the house music bins. I was a bit wary when I pressed play on this that it’d be a kinda hero worship thing, but Charlie Dark - ex Attica Blues of Mo’Wax fame - has his own thing he brings to it, ends up being more about music, djing and production in general through that lens, worth the time (also enjoyed MPC 3.0 catching strays at about 14mins):
Mentioned Jamal Moss as Hieroglyphic Being upthread, but he’s really carrying the torch for Hardy-style edits as Members Only too, can almost smell the poppers off this one:
And last one, for me one of the classics of MPC house, every track on this 12" kills - used to play the Geraldine Hunt sample mostly because it worked best in the rooms I was playing, kinda love how the sax and bassline aren’t in tune - but this one is probably my pick:
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Same with Hot Mix 5 too for me.
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Soulful house with diva vocals like this is so uplifting, got me dancing when I’m supposed to be winding down for bed. 
Brings me back 
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Lars is legit.
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I saw when TIMPE posted this and can’t wait to sit down and give it a listen.
Appreciate the tribute and your thoughts on Ron.
Which reminds me to check on Jamie’s documentary, “I Was There”, if I remember the title correctly.
(I’m also going to listen to references you dropped as well )
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I guess it’s this one:
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Anyone into the old school might be interested in this newish publication…
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You know about Salah Ananse? More on the chill end, but very soulful
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Great stuff being shared here!
It’s 03:27 in the morning after a 10 hr shift over here, but keep 'm coming!!!
One more that brings me a lot of joy.
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It’s officially summer time here in London have been re-listening to this over the last couple of days while cycling around NTS Guide to: Gherkin Records 3rd March 2023 | Listen on NTS
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NY house release mixed by Detroit’s finest Kevin Saunderson.
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Man, can we talk about this track, as well as these artists? Portia’s vocals are so damn good.
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Not hipped. This has a bit of a Afro-tinge to it. Thanks for putting me on.
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One of my faves. Absolute classic deep house like they don’t make these days. Chez Damier and Ron Trent joining forces.
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And this.
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Ron and Chez stay in rotation. Also Trinidadian Deep. Prescription may be my most played record by Ron.
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Yeah, really love Portia’s vocals, really heartfelt. So I’ll share another one of my favourite house songs with Portia.
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I was thinking this thread had been going a while without any Larry Heard - the dub of this is in that mix, but that’s not gonna stop me posting it. Frankie Knuckles mix of Mondée towards the end is another big favourite for me.
More Ron Trent and Chez Damier:
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