Just in time for the weekend, we have a dancefloor playlist from the New York band Say She She. To celebrate the release of their debut record, Prism (out today!), the trio compiled this weekend playlist celebrating the culture of NYC loft parties. Check it out and catch them live this fall.
—Keenan Kush, Talkhouse Director of Operations
Say She She met in NYC and solidified their love for loft classics while popping balloons on the dance floor… frequenting loft parties in Brooklyn and Manhattan from the OG David Mancuso’s to offshoots like JOY and Cedar Room, to occasionally throwing them themselves! Here is a selection of songs that are personal favorites for receiving modern love from following the sounds.
—Say She She
Loose Joints — “Is It All Over My Face?” (Female Version)
We chose this song as a classic beat on the decks at David Mancuso’s Loft party. Loose Joints was one of Arthur Russell’s aliases and that man forever has our heart for his innovation. A maverick soul that was hyper productive and probably ahead of his time. We love the idea that the legendary NYC Loft parties were the place where you could cut a record and bring it down to throw down on the decks, and if everyone danced — you knew it was a hit! If this track doesn’t make you wanna move, you probably haven’t got it turned up loud enough!
Grant Santino — “Try Love”
Our keys player, Dan Hastie (Woolfy Vs Projections), turned us on to this version of the track. Written by Tony Wilson, then covered by Wild Fire as “Try Making Love.” This upbeat re-named version “Try Love” is an uplifting heart warmer that cuts to the chase in every way!
ESG — “Dance”
ESG are the quintessential badass punk rock sisters in music. Hailing from the Bronx, they recorded their first hits in Manchester, England, but epitomize Downtown culture here in NYC. I think the three of us — with our love of meshing genres, defying racial stereotypes and jumping into the global melting pot of sound — despite what they tell you — leave us in awe of ESG. Our dream would be to play a show with them and Liquid Liquid one day. Commanding in essence, the title of this song will make you do exactly that.
Liquid Liquid — “Optimo”
When Piya moved to New York, the first band she joined was a post-punk funk improv band with Sal P from Liquid Liquid. We have all learned so much from Sal over the years about how to approach an entry for a vocal and navigate the bedrock of a groove. Make your statement and then lay back and make space! That’s what “Optimo,” does and this song is legendary and as dope as the band and the front man himself!
Roy Ayers — “Running Away”
A somewhat obvious but also undeniable choice. Roy Ayers will forever lift the spirit (and the feet) of the NYC night time dance floor community.
The Blackbyrds — “Walking In Rhythm”
This song just makes you wanna slide back in time to 1974, glide across the dance floor and slip right back into the arms of your sweetheart. The sweet lilting flute phrases complement the little key scale runs so neatly. You can even dig the modulation ‘cus it brightens everything right up! A lovely one for the early hours, sun-coming-up, end-of-the-loft-party set — when you know everyone is soon going to be trying to get home…
Orgone — “Aint no Use” (The Meter’s Cover)
This cover of The Meter’s song “Aint No Use” is utterly sublime. The original is an absolute loft classic and this version has also become a staple on the underground cult funk band Orgone’s live set. Supremely enjoyed by festival goers on the West coast for a few years now — they even had the honor of performing it live with George Porter. What a trip!
Idris Muhammad — “Could Heaven Ever Be Like This”
A super cinematic jazz funk loft classic! Idris Muhammad’s toms will drive you right on to the dance floor and Frank Floyd’s sweet and haunting vocals bring you to a sate of elation. When we throw this song on, we feel all our troubles rolled into a ball with the horn section blasting out waves to blow them away. Could heaven ever be like this? We ask ourselves the same question.
Nazzai Hussain — “Disco Deewane”
Gotta love the second generation Disco-loving siblings that made this record in London in the ’80s. Nazia and Zoheb Hassan paved the way for other British-Asians making music out of the typecast molds they were often pushed to set in. Biddu produced it and the record blew up, charting in 14 countries around the world. The crew at Discostan — one of our fave DJ collectives — love this track as much as we do, and it’s cool to hear its resurgence and think it’s still being played now at loft parties around NYC!
The Miracles feat. Billy Griffin — “Do it Baby” (Tom Moulton Mix)
Let’s face it: Tom Moulton is the King of the Disco Remix (and also the inventor of the 12” format!). Billy’s voice is like butter, and there is another dope version of this track with Susan Cadogan. Something about the way Tom Moulton reimagines a song makes you get up instantly and let your hair down. I read in an interview somewhere once that he said he never tried to make “a dance record,” per se, but rather that he “made a record you could dance to.” We like the idea of him knowing that every song has the potential to be changed into something more fundamentally uplifting. Wish we had a Tom Moulton Mix for all our more mellow canciones!
(Photo Credit: Kaelan Barowsky)
