Habituate

Cole keeps things rolling on his newest label venture, Licorice Delight, with three pieces of music so far ranging you would guess he went crate digging anywhere from The Salvation Army to Tokyo. I had the opportunity to ask Cole about the release and he gave me some behind the scenes info.

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1. House Feels So Good
2. On Fire
3. Halleluhwah

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Cole is a crate digger by nature so when asked about his approach to production, his inspiration, more or less, has to do with whatever records he ends up digging out of a dusty crate.

“I’m goning to look for stuff that’s unconventional. Who else would make a slower Chicago sounding track from elevator music like Chuck Mangione’s song ‘Feels So Good’? How many times have you seen his music at a thrift store because people think his music is a joke now? Where I get my inspiration can make total sense, or none at all”

A perfect example of that unconventional sound that Cole works his magic on is his edit of CAN’s “Halleluhwah.” This is an early 1970′s piece of krautrock that deviated from the free-form spastic sounds of the experimental genre to include danceable elements. Cole cleaned up the format, did some tempo correction, and added an acid bass line to make this piece pure ear candy. Cole talks about how he loves the heavy krautrock and disco blend and how it takes him back to the early nineties when he went out to warehouse parties in East LA.

“Reminded me of when they used to play ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ in the warehouse parties back in the day. When you had 500+ people in a warehouse in the Eastside of LA, totally rocking out to Nirvana with mickey mouse gloves, mad hatter hats, glow-in-the-dark gear, right in the middle of techno & house sets, it was an amazing thing as cheesy as it might sound today. You don’t really see stuff like that much anymore.”

Cole first heard “Halleluhwah” a couple years back when listening to a mix by Glasgow DJ duo, Optimo. They have been DJing for decades in the United Kingdom with musical freedom as their primary concern. Cole tried to get in touch to get a hold of their version with no luck so he took it upon himself to make his own. He made his first version and tested it out at Club Loop’s anniversary in Tokyo.

“I had a great response, as expected, since most Japanese people tend to have broader tastes when it comes to the dance-floor. Coincidentally, the lead singer of Can is Japanese”

Cole DJing at Club Loop

The Loop DJs

Ramen with friends

To get your piece of Japanese dance floor tested tracks you can buy Eclecticity over at Juno.

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In other news, Cole has moved to music full time and after a ten plus year run with his label House Arrest he says he is ready to take it to the next level. Keep an eye out for an upcoming RA mix of his and for more music check out his soundcloud.

Tags: CAN, Club Loop, Cole Medina, Licorice Delight