Arthur Baker
- Location: London,
- Website:
- Bio: From Afrika Bambaata’s ‘Planet Rock’ and Rockers Revenge – ‘Walking On Sunshine’ to his seminal work on New Order’s ‘Confusion’ and ‘Thieves Like Us’, Arthur Baker has had a ... (more)
- Bio: From Afrika Bambaata’s ‘Planet Rock’ and Rockers Revenge – ‘Walking On Sunshine’ to his seminal work on New Order’s ‘Confusion’ and ‘Thieves Like Us’, Arthur Baker has had a hand in dance music for as long as he’s been able to walk. After making a few attempts at disco immortality with tracks like North End’s tees happy and kind of life, he set his sights on the new new york underground hip hop scene and scored big with Afrika Bambataa and the soul sonic force with such monster s as planet rock. He was also the producer behind Freeez’s ‘IOU’ and was behind the first major breakdance flick – ‘Beat Street’ - with his own Breakers Revenge.
Then around 1985, Arthur started taking remix cash from big boys (and girls) including David Bowie, The Stones (‘Too Much Blood’), Bruce Springsteen (Born In The USA/Dancing In The Dark), Fleetwood Mac (Family Man and Balearic classic Big Love) and Hall And Oates (Out Of Touch). He also somehow found time to work on movies like Ferris Buellers Day Off, The Flintstones and Listen Up-The Live Of Quincy Jones before returning to London to open Harlem and The Elbow Rooms, launching the infamous Return To New York parties that brought such acts as then unknowns as 2 many djs, LCD Soundsystem, Erol Alkan, mark ronson, peaches and mylo to the fore front of international club land and create the occasional dance smash – which brings us nicely up to date with the string-drenched house anthem ‘Tear Down The Walls.’ With HUGE remixes from Riva Starr – already getting massive radio and clubs props from Pete Tong and Annie Mac on Radio 1 – it’s set the smash down a few more brick buildings in the weeks and months ahead. “My taste is the A1 Bassline mix,” says Arthur. “Street kids loves the beats and the break - but really, all of the remixes are good!”
ARTHUR BAKER Q+A
So Arthur - what inspired your latest track – and the second single for hot new electronic label More Music?
“I was going thru some old multi-tracks tapes about 5 years back and came across a track I’d cut in 1985 which had a great Nona Hendrix that was doubling the chorus. A few years later, i played the rough to Bill Brewster and he said "you should finish this" and soon after that, I met Oli Isaacs, who manages Simian Mobile Disco and Fake Blood - whose mixes i love – and sent Oli the track to get to Theo.. and he asked me what i was going to do with it...and I said, probably nothing, so Oli and [More Music partner] Ralph Moore took it on. So it was 24 years in the making but the original chorus was conceived in the 80's so it was a political message song. Now it’s more about relationships - I’ve heard the Berlin wall has come down!” Was there an Ibiza spirit present when recording? It reminds us a little of 'Needin U' by David Morales. “I’ve always loved house music, which clearly comes from the Philly disco i grew up on and I do really like Needin U. The french filtered disco thing never gets boring to me!”
Finally, tell us about the vocalists on the track?
"Nona I worked with in the mid 80s - but of course I first heard of her and loved her voice as part of the amazing group La Belle, they did the original lady marmalade - if there wasn’t a Labelle, there wouldn’t have been a Grace Jones. And Ladonna i was hooked up with by Oli: she was a real pleasure to work with. I wrote the lyrics as we recorded, real old school, just as I did with Planet Patrol and Freeez back in the day.”
So Arthur - what inspired your latest track – and the second single for hot new electronic label More Music?
“I was going thru some old multi-tracks tapes about 5 years back and came across a track I’d cut in 1985 which had a great Nona Hendrix that was doubling the chorus. A few years later, i played the rough to Bill Brewster and he said "you should finish this" and soon after that, I met Oli Isaacs, who manages Simian Mobile Disco and Fake Blood - whose mixes i love – and sent Oli the track to get to Theo.. and he asked me what i was going to do with it...and I said, probably nothing, so Oli and [More Music partner] Ralph Moore took it on. So it was 24 years in the making but the original chorus was conceived in the 80's so it was a political message song. Now it’s more about relationships - I’ve heard the Berlin wall has come down!” Was there an Ibiza spirit present when recording? It reminds us a little of 'Needin U' by David Morales. “I’ve always loved house music, which clearly comes from the Philly disco i grew up on and I do really like Needin U. The french filtered disco thing never gets boring to me!”
Finally, tell us about the vocalists on the track?
"Nona I worked with in the mid 80s - but of course I first heard of her and loved her voice as part of the amazing group La Belle, they did the original lady marmalade - if there wasn’t a Labelle, there wouldn’t have been a Grace Jones. And Ladonna i was hooked up with by Oli: she was a real pleasure to work with. I wrote the lyrics as we recorded, real old school, just as I did with Planet Patrol and Freeez back in the day.”
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AB/HURTS - Onederful (Planet Rocka Dub)
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AB/HURTS
