"He was one of the first New York DJs to provide remixes on early DJ International releases" - Bill Brewster
Going right back to the eighties you can trace a number of DJs that were instrumental at the inception of house music, Bruce Forest I think was arguably one of the most important. Having discovered beatmatching at a local disco in the late seventies he went on to become one of the hottest properties in New York and it didn't stop there, production was a strong point and most of us looking back would now compare him to the likes of Shep Pettibone, his contribution to dance music was that important. Amongst a mass of superb remixes and productions one particular release caught my attention.. the killer dub mixes of 'Roslyne Clarke - Dancin is Like Makin Love', the track was a staple for many and as the mailout sheet confirms was only held off the number one spot in the September 1991 Cool Cuts chart by 'Feedback Max (Thompson Twins) - Come Inside'.
At the bottom of the page I've included links to my very early prog influences mix which includes 'Dancin' and an excellent in-depth Bill Brewster 'DJ History' interview with Bruce that really does expand on the very brief couple of lines I've written here, be sure to give it a read, its a fascinating insight into his amazing career.
"People like Weatherall, he's cool, he's experimenting.."
Article originally appeared in DJ magazine - September 1992
Original Sony mailout sheet for the 'Roslyne Clarke - Dancin' release.
From the Operating Room to the Dancefloor: The Bruce Forest Interview
ProgCulture2 - Inspire & Influence
Last year I put together a selection of bits I was listening to around the time progressive made its first appearance in the UK, records that featured those influential sounds and beats. None of the tracks really went on to be termed 'Prog' but for me they all had there place in the history of the genre. Some of the tracks were heavily rotated by all the prog jocks and some are just personal favourites. Bruce's dub mix of 'Roslyne Clarke' was one of the first tracks I picked when compiling the tracklist, its just so damn brilliant.
Comments