influences

folks keep posting these memes on facebook. I went one step further, and since it took me so long I thought I'd share here :)

in the order they appeared in my life


I dont really recall how a kid in a small town in Texas could get wind of Run DMC, but somehow I knew about them and copped this debut cassette. It started a 20+ year love affair with hip hop which continues today, despite the forces of wack music chipping away at the cornerstone. Listen: sucker mcs - run dmc


There weren't too many hip hop artists selling records back then - I pretty much copped everything that appeared on the store shelf (shelf as in one) - that's how I came across Public Enemy's second album. The bomb squad production was worlds away from everything else I'd been hearing, and Chuck D's voice commanded every track. Listen: public enemy - dont believe the hype


Boogie Down Productions was on a whole other level with hip hop. It wasn't about being the best MC, even though Kris Parker was. It was loud, it was gangster, it was fresh. It's funny because I cant recall one bad album from those early days, but this one stood out. Fresh after losing his DJ and partner in rhyme Scott La Rock, Kris finished this album, just 1 of many classics to come. Listen: boogie down productions - my philosophy


in 92, I'd already caught the DJ bug from hip hop and was putting together bootleg cassette mixtapes together with a ghetto set up , including a fisher price turntable. It was also the year I first visited my home country with my parents. During that trip, I learned a lot of things, but I also met my older cousin who was DJing techno music in a small club in the northern part of Poland. U96 Das Boot was a huge anthem in the techno scene at the time, I copped a bootleg cassette of this album in a market square. This begin my entry into electronic music which continues today. Listen: u96 - das boot


the sound of European techno. This double album captures the transition of industrial and electronic body music into techno perfectly. Also copped in 92 on that trip to Poland. Listen: force legato - system


just like hip hop a few years before it, electronic music was in the stores in the US, but in the early 90s was in one section in the store, on one shelf in the back. Through the techno trax compilations listed above, I started picking up Tresor compilations. Tresor was at the forefront of the berlin techno scene, and this release really shows how much the music had changed between the early techno trax compilations and the 92-95 era of techno. Listen: three phase feat. dr motte - der klang der familie


I picked this up in 94 or 95 while attending my freshman year of university. Carl Cox was already a huge force in the british rave and techno scene, but this double CD mixed album really stood out amongst everything else on the market. A futuristic album cover design, a small note from Carl stating this compilation represented the most forward thinking music at the most forward thinking clubs - it was an incredible journey. Even after 14 years of listening to it, its still in my disc changer in the back of the ride. The music had progressed significantly in just a short amount of time. Listen: Peter Lazonby - Sacred Cycles



Drexciya is the epitome of the sound of Detroit techno soul. I closed every show on my radio stint for 1.5 years with this track. James Stinson (r.i.p). Listen: Drexciya - Journey Home


this mix CD introduced me to the sound of Frankurt and the Omen nightclub. It was trance music like I'd never heard before - angry raw, smooth synth layers, burbling acid memories. Unbelievable. During my active DJ years, I managed to get quite a bit of their back catalogue on vinyl. These records now trade from between 30 to 100 dollars a piece. Listen: Mikado - Pulse


Maik Maurice and Pascal F.E.O.S perfected the harthouse/eye q/ frankfurt trance sound. This album got me through many times, both good and bad. Wonderful sounds here. Fast frankfurt rhythms, acid and uplifting strings that manage to channel a beautiful mood without being lindberger Listen: Resistance D - Skyline



I was a big basshead during highschool and college. I couldn't get enough of that quad. Of course, the magician stayed in rotation during this era. Later on once I stopped blowing my eardrums, the music grew on me due to the electro/miami bass connection. Listen: DJ Magic Mike - Its Automatic (Dub)


2 Live. For me, this wasn't so much about rebelling against my parents or getting access to "explicit" lyrics - I was all over the miami b-boy, liberty city, electro bass thing. I'm not gonna link this here, because most anyone who knows this record has heard it, but it was that electro bass and Miami vibe that got me hooked. I had the opportunity to see 2 live crew live when I was in high school (yes I snuck in) and I got care less for the show, but the 15 minute DJ routine by Mr. Mixx (their DJ) had me in awe and inspired me for years to come.


This is another artist from the Miami bass era. There were 3 different splits in that scene - the raw ghetto miami bass sound of artists like 2 Live Crew, Gigolo Tony and Clay D. The car audio bass guys like DJ Magic Mike (and Techmaster PEB) and finally, the pure electro bass stuff. This album influenced me immensely, mostly due his mix of bass sounds, electro rhythms, homage to kraftwerk and keys - this is the sound that introduced me to Jean Michelle Jarre (where I'm assuming PEB got a lot of influence from) based on his sounds. Listen: Techmaster PEB - Bass Computer



Dynamix II. the godfathers of electro bass and still a huge influence in the electro scene today. I got into their older stuff later, but this cassette in particular was part of my car audio bass days. Sadly, I am unable to find any of the tracks on youtube to share (from this album) so I'm putting up a classic. Listen: Dynamix II - Bass Generator bonus - peep the ill dancing moves on this youtube video