My roof is on fire.

So there I was, knee deep in Roots Manuva versions, fingers bleeding from haphazard guitar scrubbing, and the sound of tape echo pinging through my head. Having broken my bass, accidentally dismantled a Moog and developed the reggae jitters it was time to kick back, and what better way to take a break from music production than to delve into more music? Maybe I should’ve run a steamy bath, lit some candles and enjoyed the blissful silence but having aired a few go-go records on last week’s show, Mr Trick had requested I put together an accompanying mix.

For those not familiar with the term, go-go is syncopated funk punctuated with call and response vocals and a battery of percussion which generally clocks in around the 90bpm mark. Invented by Chuck Brown back in the mid 70’s while he was doing the rounds of Washington DC’s soul clubs, he heard “Mr Magic” by the aptly named Grover Washington Jr and capitalized on the beat pattern, sacking and hiring an ever changing line up of his Soul Searchers til they sounded exactly how he wanted. You’d be forgiven for not being familiar with the sound, as aside a few anomalies, most go-go bands and their records never really took off outside of their native DC, however their legacy lives on primarily through Soul II Soul sampling “Ashley’s Roach Clip” by Chuck Brown on their often imitated “Back To Life.”

Pressed for time I opted for some of my favourite tracks rather than going for a comprehensive overview so there’s only actually 4 bands represented in this mix, if you take into account Tilt were supposedly members of Trouble Funk in a seldom seen electro go-go disguise, and Dr Funnkenstein happened to be a one off nom de plume of Dj Cash Money who turned his wandering hand to the go-go sound on chocolate city’s answer to Flash’s NYC adventures. There’s no fancy cutting and blending going on here, simply back to back tracks in an attempt to capture the kind of non-stop session you might hear at the go-go. Right, I’m off to break some more instruments…

Dj Wrongtom “Paint The E.U. Black”

1. Redds & The Boys “Movin’ & Groovin’ (Crank Down)”
2. Tilt “Arkade Funk (Slow Dub)”
3. Trouble Funk “E Flat Boogie”
4. Experience Unlimited “E.U. Freeze”
5. Dr Funnkenstein “Scratchin’ To The Funk”
6. Trouble Funk “Pump Me Up”
7. Junkyard Band “Sardines”
8. Trouble Funk “Percussion solos”
9. Experience Unlimited “Knock Him Out Sugar Ray”

Dj Wrongtom “Paint The E.U. Black”