Got a spicy email from my transatlantic sparring partner Mr. Dan Setzer of Acute records which sheds more light on the "Flock of Seagulls or not?" theory: "maybe not Ron Hardy, but I've heard other late 80s chicago/detroit mixes that were very euro-centric, there was one that a friend has, I need to copy, which was Mickey Mixin Oliver in 87 or 89 and featured predominately white European acts ranging from Modern Romance's Everybody Salsa to Anne Clark's Our Darkness, mixed in with a bit of early house and techno." And of course, what of Electrifying Mojo, who's credited with playing a lot of European stuff? However, there's no getting away from Ron Hardy's centrality.
Reynolds has said: "I found the most fantastic Derrick May quote the other day while looking for something else, it was totally anti-Kirk's version in that Derrick said Detroit was totally inspired by and a continuation of English and European synthpop!" What can I say! The pressure is on Simon to produce the evidence!
Also I've just completed a hefty review for the NYC Free Press of the (hilarious) Be Music reissue. Be Music being New Order's productions of other folk and 52nd Street sound queerly like Big Fun-era Inner City.
Thanks to Kirk for being such a sport. I like his angle, and there's a lot to it.
Posted by Woebot at September 11, 2003 08:06 AM