Deeprhythms turn 20 years this month and here's a special treat to celebrate the occasion. You might remember Adelaide based DJ Paul Heritage from his previous jaw dropping 2.5 hour guest title "A Certain Time" of the sounds that were popular on the dancefloors of raves and underground clubs in the early 90's Australia. A true unsung veteran on the scene Paul started dj'ing on Australian public radio in the 1980s and has been associated with the local house music scene since its inception
This time Paul concentrates on the rave sounds of Australia in the mid-90's with a strong Brisbane flavour - it's a celebration of the people who put on events like Strawberry Fields and attended them. Read on to learn more about what it was like back then, who were involved and pop the headphones on - this mix is guaranteed to make you smile & feel happy. It's got a bit of everything for the authentic rave feeling from UG house to techno, Italo, Hardbag and Hard house. Don't hate, appreciate - PLUR is the theme after all.
Photo credit: Jeff Polley
A Certain Feeling – The Story Behind The Mix by Dj Paul Heritage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“Peace Love Unity Respect, commonly shortened to PLUR, is a set of principles that is associated with the rave culture. It has been commonly used since the early 1990s when it became commonplace in nightclub and rave flyers and especially on club paraphernalia advertising underground outdoor trance music parties.
PLUR can be interpreted as the essential philosophy of life and ethical guideline for ravers and clubbers, at least insomuch as it relates to interpersonal relationships, with basic directions on how people are expected to behave at a rave gathering or in a dance club.
Raves represent a modern ritualistic experience, promoting a strong communal sense, where PLUR is considered an ideology. The four terms, among others – "Peace, Love, Freedom, Tolerance, Unity, Harmony, Expression, Responsibility and Respect" – are also part of the anonymous "Raver's Manifesto".
PLUR is an aggregation of ideas that were part of the earlier hippie and peace movement ("peace", "love") and black and hip hop culture ("respect"). Specific use of the term dates to the early 1990s rave scene.”
Thank you, Wikipedia. It saves me from trying to describe what this mix is all about.
One thing is for sure – what the world needs now is PLUR, sweet PLUR. Not just love, sweet love, but the other three as well. So here’s a bit to get you started, specially formulated to celebrate 20 years of Deep Rhythms.This mix is primarily House and Underground House, mostly from 1994, interspersed with some Techno, Italo House, Hardbag and German Hard House from 91-97.
Brisbane and the mid 1990's
It has a bit of a Brisbane flavour, because during that time it was my pleasure to be working in the capital of the Australian state of Queensland.
Two tracks are from Brisbane bands that gained international attention: Boxcar (People Get High) and Vision Four 5 (Mrs Hume Goes Dancing). Also included is a track from Sydney dj/producer/remixer/composer Peewee Ferris, who also composed music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
There are also two relatively recent remixes of Blue Amazon’s No Other Love and Z100’s Testa Don’t Stop by Audio Noir from Adelaide.
The mix has many tracks that were being played at The Dome, a Brisbane House Music club that lasted for less than a year in suburban Milton during 1994. Others were commonly heard at The Tube and The Beat clubs and at the Blackout and Adrenaline series of dance parties in Fortitude Valley.
There are also a few tracks heard at Strawberry Fields: two legendary raves held in 1994. Carl Cox and the aforementioned PeeWee Ferris played the first in January and K-Klass performed at the second in November. Sean Frihee extensively filmed the latter, so take a look to see what it was like to attend a rave in a field south of Brisbane on a warm Queensland night. And what we were wearing!
The people
This mix most certainly celebrates the people who put on those events and attended them. It also celebrates Brisbane’s amazing djs, especially some who are no longer with us, including Angus, Edwin, and Stuart Dufty.
Angus was without doubt Australia’s premier turntablist, scratching and mixing at a blistering pace. A couple of tracks on this mix were often heard in an Angus set: Evolution’s Photogenic (Supermodel Mix) and Yum Yum’s Let Me Go. The latter was also on Angus’s Energy Peak mixed CD released in 1995.
Like Angus, Edwin was a resident dj at The Beat, which professes to be Australia’s longest-running nightclub. The Beat is still going strong today, and still features twice-nightly drag shows. Perhaps because of that there’s always been a misconception in Brisbane that The Beat was a Gay club; and it was repeated when founder John Hannay passed away from cancer in early 2020.
John once told me that he advertised The Beat as “Australia’s Number 1 Dance Club” because it was primarily about the music. The drag queens were important because they welcomed and provided a safe space for the LGBTQI community, dissuaded homophobes and rednecks, and gave two brief pauses during the evening for the crowd to have a laugh and a break from dancing before getting back to grooving.
Edwin was also a music producer and event organiser who put on Australia’s first all-female dj event. Stuart and Angus also ran the Groove Kitchen event at Ric’s Bar, a Sunday house and garage party in the Fortitude Valley.
Dj Dizzy from The Dome and other events deserves a special mention for introducing Brisbane to a bunch of great House tracks on his unnamed ‘94 mix tape, three of which appear on this mix: Gonna Make You Groove, Just Lick It and Body Rhythmic. The transition between the latter two tracks is replicated as it appeared on his tape.
Dizzy is without doubt my favourite dj of all time and has reportedly been heard playing at Candee Flip, an annual Brisbane dance party featuring music and djs from era. It’s now held from 1pm to 9pm or something similar; a gentle nod to our collectively advancing years and responsibilities. In June 2021 its first ever winter event is planned.
Another special mention must go to dj Peter Mogg, who hosted a weekly radio program on Brisbane Community radio station 4ZZZ every Saturday afternoon, playing the latest cuts and featuring guest sets from local deejays including Angus. To hear some of those broadcasts and more from the Brisbane scene check out the Brisbane Rave Archive on Mixcloud.
In terms of the Street Press, Brisbane’s dance music community was blessed to have its own free, weekly, glossy-covered magazine thanks to Howard Duggan, who created Club Scene in October 1993, before changing its name to The Scene the following June. In 2014 it was rebranded as scenestr and is now Australia's largest Street Press, with staff in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
Photo credit Jeff Polley
The publication was fortunate to have the services of freelance photographer Jeff Polley, who published a book of amazing images from the 90’s dance scene called Postcards from the Pits, which has now sold out. But click on that link and this story to see some photos of the ravers enjoying The Prodigy and Cosmic Baby (above).
Two other notable contributors to the Australian dance music scene who are no longer with us are Sydney dj Paul Holden and dj/remixer/producer Robert Racic. Paul was Australia’s pre-eminent Hard House and Happy Hardcore dj and a regular Brisbane visitor. Robert was a driving force behind Australia’s Volition Records music label that featured Boxcar and Vision Four 5.
International artists Robert Miles and Frankie Knuckles collaborated on Freedom and alas, are also no longer with us. As with the others, we thank them for the music and how they enriched our lives.
The culture
There’s one more thing that needs to be said about rave culture: for some of us it often seemed like a spiritual experience. That feeling of peace, love, unity and respect was existentially palpable among the crowd. Everybody happy and smiling, hands in the air, wishing that feeling could last forever.
In researching the people who have contributed to this mix I discovered that dj, producer and Pow! record label owner Paul Gotel, who did the funked-out remix of Rockin’ For Myself on this mix, left the music industry at the top of his game to pursue a different path in life.
He states on his website: “After achieving a very successful career as a producer, DJ & marketing professional in the global music business before I was thirty, I became disillusioned; realizing the answers I was seeking were not contained within the ideals of power, money, and fame so I decided to leave the western world behind.
“I travelled to over 75 countries on a five-year spirit quest, living with Aborigines, Bedouins, and Buddhist monks, visiting the world’s sacred sites to gather up ancient wisdom through direct experience.
“After 15 years of deep self-work, I relocated to Hawaii to refine all the wisdom I was taught into what has been described as [an] inspirational “small book with a BIG message”.
Paul now lives on Maui working as a Life Coach, Author, Inspirational Speaker, Ecstatic Dance DJ and Producer. He has a very eclectic range of recent mixes on Mixcloud that have an undeniably spiritual feel to them.
He seems like some sort of 90’s rave and dance culture equivalent to Ram Dass, the former Harvard academic previously known as Richard Alpert who with Timothy Leary conducted research on the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs in the early 60s.
For the spiritually-minded, a trove of recordings by Ram Dass, who died in late 2019, is available as podcasts from the Be Here Now Network. He discusses his psychedelic experiences in depth, what they taught him and what they can teach others about embracing PLUR in their daily lives without them.
Finally, this music is meant for dancing. In these Covid times we need a regular dose of joy, so pop the earphones on, turn the lights down and start rocking for yourself. The 130 BPMs is also a great pace for a power walk...
Wishing you all peace, love, unity & respect, and I hope you enjoy the mix!
Paul Heritage
March 2021
About the DJ
Paul Heritage started djing on radio at university in the 80s and also wrote for the student newspaper, getting exclusive interviews with The Clash, Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Stevie Wonder. He once also upset Dire Straits at a media conference with his questions, which he considers a major achievement.
After graduation he spent seven years djing on Adelaide community station Three D Radio (then known as 5MMM) which plays Progressive, Alternative, and Local Music. During this time he gained employment as a journalist at a mainstream newspaper, where he wrote entertainment stories and reviewed music albums.
He worked in Melbourne for two years as a sports reporter and then moved to Brisbane to take up a job in television and radio. While working fulltime he did a graduate diploma in Media Production, specialising in video and audio production. As part of the degree he worked on a short comedy feature film shot at Brisbane’s The Beat nightclub and became a regular patron after the movie was finished. It led to a period of going out clubbing up to five nights a week at different venues soaking up the different sounds.
Paul eventually started moonlighting as a DJ for a Brisbane promoter who organised private parties. Upon returning to Adelaide, he had residencies at several pubs and bars and played at private parties while working full time as a radio and television producer.
After becoming a parent he got of tired of playing live and decided to focus on growing his 90s music collection and mixing it into seamless sets using audio software in his spare time. As such his mixes usually take months to plan and compile as he considers the track order based on genre, tempo, pitch and mood. Ultimately in each mix he seeks to create an uplifting musical journey that has variety, flow, and is pleasing to the ear.
In recent years, especially since their child has become an adult, Paul has returned to do the occasional life performance for friends and acquaintances, but he still prefers studio work to playing live. Either way, he is and always will be a 90’s old skool House dj because that’s what he loves the most and what he considers to be his musical heritage.
playlist
0:00 Spiritualized - I Think I'm In Love (Chemical Brothers Vocal Remix), Dedicated , 1997
5:41 Lemon Interrupt - Big Mouth, Junior Boys Own, 1995; with extended sampling of The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (Shamen Dub), Liberation Records 1992
9:18 NUSH - U Girls (Grant Nelson Hard Sex Dub), Blunted, 1994
13:54 :Motiv8 - Rockin' For Myself (Paul Gotel Funked Out Mix), WEA, 1994
19:22 X-Press 2 - Say What! (London Underground Mix), Junior Boy's Own, 1993
23:21 Boomshanka - Gonna Make You Move, Slip 'n' Slide, 1994
27:04 Escrima - Train Of Thought, Ffrreedom, 1995
32: 00 Blue Amazon - No Other Love (Audio Noir Rekonstruction), original release on Jackpot Records, 1994.
39:52 Boxcar - People Get High (Moonlight Remix), Boiling Point compilation, Volition Records, 1995
45:02 Peewee Ferris - Planet Love (from the album Social Narcotic), S3, 1997
49:28 Space Kittens - Storm (Disco Mix), Hooj Choons, 1996
53:24 Evolution - Photogenic (Supermodel Mix), Everybody Dance EP, 1993
59:26 Tin Tin Out - The Feeling (Tin Tin Out Dub), Hooj Choons, 1994
1:03:59 Marmion - Schöneberg (Marmion Remix), Urban, 1994
1:08:25 Z100 - Testa Don't Stop (Audio Noir remix), originally on Stress Records, 1993.
1:13:44 Vision Four 5 - Mrs. Hume Goes Dancing (Happy Valley Mix), Second Nature/Volition, 1994
1:20:45 The Shaker - Just Lick It (12"), Ugly Bug Records, 1994
1:26:10 The Peppermint Lounge - Body Rhythmic, Movin' Melodies, 1994
1:30:19 The Peppermint Lounge - Lemon Project (Fishy Mix), Movin'Melodies, 1994
1:35:04 Ramp - Rock The Discotek (Original Mix), Loaded, 1994
1:38:59 Yum Yum - Let Me Go (Club Mix), Sperm Records, 1995
1:44:54 Subliminal Cuts - Le Voie Le Soleil (Original Mix), XL Recordings, 1994
1:49:50 Rollo Goes Camping Again - Get Off Your High Horse (LuvDup Remix), Cheeky Records, 1994
1:55:00 Greenman - Steps, Superstition, 1996
1:59:06 Freakazoid - Shape D'Future, Superstition, 1995
2:03:31 E-Lustrious - In Your Dance (Mother Remix), UFG Records, 1994
2:07:29 Robert Miles Featuring Kathy Sledge - Freedom (Frankie Knuckles 'The Shit' Mix), Urban Records, 1997
2:12:12 The Delorme Featuring Hayley Kay - Feel This Way (Instrumental Mix/Club For Life Mix), Zoom Records, 1994
2:16:48 Ends
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