Tuesday, October 14, 2008

GUEST COLUMN: RAW BOOGIE BY DISCO TOM NOBLE  


First off, let me introduce my column for BE which will be called Raw Boogie. This is micro genre I've been cultivating for the last 5 years or so, consisting of self released and usually self produced boogie joints made by local artists from all around the world. Most of the popular music from the post disco era (1982 - 1989) is notorious for having skin tight session players and uber slick production. Bands such as Slave, The Whispers, Evelyn Champagne King, etc fall into this category.

In stark contrast to the sound of the major label's elite comes the unsigned & under paid suitors seeking their claims to the boogie throne. Writing, recording, and releasing their own funk upon the world, the unisigned artists would often record in home or homie studios, with little to no budget. Most of the Raw Boogie tunes I've found were completely ignored and/or shunned by the music industry, creating a vast underground of obscure and dope funk only to be appreciated by future generations.

Raw Boogie Vol 1:

SUMY "Soul With Milk" - (taken from the LP Trying To Survive, Galaxy records 1983)





Most of the groups we'll bring up in this micro genre will be hailing from the USA, however Sumy was self releasing his music in Amsterdam. Sumy was born in Surinam, a country known largely for being one of four non spanish speaking nations in S. America, and for having a population 1/2 the size of myself and BT Magnum's hometown of Milwaukee, WI.

The young, arrogant Sumy started his own scene quickly after relocating to Amsterdam. There he created his own band, The Freaky Thangs. Mainly white dudes who wore star trek gear and porno hair. Sumy himself liked to wear leg warmers on his arms. With this crew he released two singles which were released by Phillips. After these two releases Sumy began preparing his full length LP, "Trying To Survive. Low funds and lack of equipment led Sumy to record most of the LP in his home, using a barrage of funky synths and his own wit to complete the project. He also enlisted a few friends, including a couple members of the group American Gipsy, aka the band who made the break beat classic "Inside Out".

"Trying To Survive" eventually saw release on Sumy's own imprint, Galaxy Records. An album safely 30 years ahead of it's time, "Trying To Survive" included many nice jams such as "Bitch, We Danced A Lot", "Where Were You Last Night (Sexy Lady)", and the tour de force in "Soul With Milk".

Not sure what the saying "Soul With Milk" is supposed to stand for or suggest, but the lyrics are all about clubbing and chasing girls. The beat floats in and out of open high hat disco and hard hitting funk, and the bass is pure synth. The home made acoustics, low budget mixing and dub effects truly make this standout as a low fi masterpiece when compared to other tunes which were seeing release in 1982. On top of the music, the album cover is also very home made and iconic in it's own way. The art layout is also credited to Fuck You Inc, and to this day it is the only LP I've ever seen in which the producer humbly apologizes for the recording quality in the liner notes.

Sumy is currently living in Amsterdam and plays out on a regular basis.

- Disco Tom Noble

Sumy - Soul With Milk

Posted by Magnum | 8 comments

Labels: , ,

What next?

You can also bookmark this post using your favorite bookmarking service:

Related Posts by Categories



8 comments: to “ GUEST COLUMN: RAW BOOGIE BY DISCO TOM NOBLE


  • October 15, 2008 at 1:22 AM  

    Awesome stuff - I'm always fond of those who attempt to post-compile their own genres. Such an interesting juxtaposition going on, and hot synth sounds.


  • October 15, 2008 at 11:49 AM  

    features like this make this blog one of the best.


  • October 16, 2008 at 8:28 PM  

    good to see my man disco ass tom getting some shine!


  • October 18, 2008 at 3:14 PM  

    This is such a great track. I love the drums in it. The guys voice sounds like a cross between Prince and Dave Chappelle. Thanks Tom.


  • November 14, 2008 at 7:25 PM  

    Nice. Sumy is one of my favourites, he really has the cracked out boogie sound down. However this version, the 'milk mix' stands out as the best cut on the (bootleg?) album I have of his. Its more tempered, more proto houseish. Also the happy song by Sumy and the Happy Singers is worth checking out.

    Milk mix: https://www.yousendit.com/download/Y2orRGwzTWNEa1UwTVE9PQ


  • November 14, 2008 at 7:27 PM  

    Sorry, that should have been: https://www.yousendit.com/download/
    Y2orRGwzTWNEa


  • November 17, 2008 at 6:50 PM  

    Trying to work out what samples this. Some tune with 'It's Friday night, and time to party down...' ???


  • February 7, 2009 at 3:35 AM  

    Great blogpost !

    Around the late-70's/early-80's there used to be a specialised recordshop in Amsterdam called "Soul with Milk".
    Sometime later the shop was renamed as "Attalos".

    Found an interview with Sumy :
    www.danceclassics.net/images/Thumbs/pages/Sumy.htm

    And his own site :
    www.galaxyeurope.net