Pat Mahoney

For all you non-disco heads out there, Fabric in London just released another ace compilation curated by none other that Pat Mahoney and James Murphy. Consider the tracklisting your musical education…We enlisted the help of our friend Sidra Durst to help interviewing the ‘big guns’. Sidra, take it away…

S: Most of the music on your mix was released over two decades ago. When you contacted them for permission to use their songs, did you find that any of them were surprised that people are still enjoying their music today?

P. Yeah. Peter Gordon from the Love of Life Orchestra. He owns his publishing and when Fabric approached him to do that song, he sent a really nice email saying that he was really happy that we were going to use it. That was cool feedback. That’s a really special track.

S: Did you have any trouble acquiring the rights to any of the songs?

P: We submitted 40 songs, and we just worked with the tracks that we could clear. There was a track that I really wanted that we could not get cleared, which was a bummer. It’s a Crown Heights Affair song called “You Gave Me Love”; one of my favorite songs ever, so that was kind of a bummer, I’ll have to put it on something else. But I’m really happy with what we do have on the mix.

tracklisting and the rest

S: Any other honorable mentions that didn’t make it into the final mix?

P: There’s a song I really like called “Magic Mandrake.” I can’t remember the name of the artist right now. It didn’t work with the rest of the tracks, but it’s a totally rad song. [Googling suggests that he's referring to the song of the same name by the Sarr Band, released in 1978.]

S: How did you put it together? Was it done live with turntables, or did you do it all on a computer?

P: It was played on turntables and mixed with a Bozak mixer. James mixed most of it because he’s way better at that than I am, to be honest. (Laughs.) We would do three or four songs mixed live, and then the last song would be played out to the end, and then that was recorded into Logic [an audio program], and then mixed again. And then we’d do another three or four just to keep it tight and make it easier. It’s pretty live and I think it feels live, which I’m really happy about.

S: Um, what’s a Bozak mixer?

P: It’s one the first purpose-built commercial [club] DJ mixers. It came out in the late ’70s, and it’s all class-A electronics. It just sounds really beautiful. It’s super simple; there are just two volume knobs to mix with–so there’s no cross-fader, there aren’t EQs built into the machine. It’s what the classic clubs in New York had.

S: How long have you and James been playing disco in your DJ sets?

P.: i’ve been doing it for about two and a half years now. I’m a freak for disco, and when we get together we egg each other on to go deeper into disco. James has been finding amazing tracks for years, and he’s definitely more experienced than I am, but I totally fell in love with the music, too. It’s a lot of digging around, but there’s so much good music out there. For the last year we’ve been DJing together, and we’ve been playing pretty much strictly disco.

S: But you were making music together for a long time before that, no?

P: James engineered and played the first Les Savy Fav record back around ’96, when I was playing drums for them. We started playing music together shortly after that, and I’ve been with LCD full-time for the last 5 years.

S: How has it been introducing audiences to disco and funk?

P: I think people get a little frustrated sometimes, and I’m not sure what they expect. I think people come sometimes with they expectation that we’re going to play our [band's] music, or whatever punk-funk is supposed to be, but I really feel like the strength of the music that we play wins people over pretty fast. A bunch of people have come up to me after we’ve played a set and said, “that was really unexpected, but that was really fun” Ii’m not sure exactly what people expect, but I think the songs just work.

S: Have you ever been in any situations where disco doesn’t work at all?

P: (laughs) Oh, totally. I was doing parties in Brooklyn for a while, one with a bunch of DJs. It was a bunch of hipster kids, and they basically refused to dance to anything but oldies, like doo-wop. Every time I got on the deck I would clear the floor, and I just threw up my hands. I definitely brought some tracks that were friendly to indie rockers, but it just wasn’t working out for me.

S: What other projects are you working on besides promoting the Fabric release?

P: We were just offered a residency–maybe a couple times a year–at this great club in Barcelona called Razzmatazz. That will be awesome. I’m looking forward to that. We’re doing a bit more touring, and then we get to come home in November and be with our families–we’ve been on the road since February.

Thanks Sidra. Thanks Pat. James, we’ll get you next time….

Tracklisting:
1 Peter Gordon and Love Of Life Orchestra – Beginning of The Heartbreak (Lust/Unlust)
2 Baby Oliver – Primetime (Uptown Express)
3 Donald Byrd and 125th St, NYC – Love Has Come Around (Elektra)
4 Instant Funk – I Got My Mind Made Up (Salsoul)
5 Chic – I Feel Your Love Comin’ On (Atlantic)
6 Was (Not Was) – Tell Me That I’m Dreaming (ZE)
7 GQ – Lies (GQ)
8 Mudd – Adventures In Bickett Wood (Layne’s Head Stash Re-roll) (Rong)
9 Elektrik Dred – Butter Up (Gimme Some Bread) (Sounds Of Florida)
10 Lenny Williams – You Got Me Running (Geffen)
11 Daniel Wang – Like Some Dream (I Can’t Stop Dreaming)
12 Gichy Dan – Cowboys and Gangsters (ZE)
13 Still Going – Still Going Theme (DFA)
14 City Of Women – Tablakone (Sähkö)
15 Babytalk – Keep On Move (Stickydisc)
16 Love Committee – Just As Long As I’ve Got You (Salsoul)
17 Mouzon’s Electric Band – Everybody Get Down (Mouzon)
18 Punkin’ Machine – I Need You Tonight (JC Records)
19 LCD Soundsystem – Hippie Priest Bum-out (DFA/EMI)
20 Junior Bryon – Dance To The Music (Dub) (Vanguard)
21 JT – I Love Music (Vanguard)
22 Jackson Jones – I Feel Good Put Your Pants On (Jackson Jones)
23 NYC Peech Boys – Life Is Something Special (Island Def Jam)
24 Peter Gordon and Love Of Life Orchestra – Don’t Don’t (Lust/Unlust)