The amazing thing about both discs of After the Playboy Mansion is Dimitri from Paris’ ability to fuse songs from a variety of genres of music into a seamless whole. Over two discs he programs songs together that were recorded over two and a half decades apart in a way that makes it difficult to tell when any particular song was recorded. There are clues—most of the songs written after 1985 feature the programmed percussion tracks and have intros and outros designed for club DJs—but they are often subtle differences and Dimitri slightly re-edits some of the older songs so they sound newer than they actually are.
Although disco supposedly “died” during the mid '80s, in fact it morphed into a brand new genre of music. At this time a group of Chicago producers was taking the most important elements of disco, namely the soul, rhythms and funk, and creating a new genre of music eventually labeled “House.” The music was kept underground in clubs, receiving little airplay, and by the time it started infiltrating mainstream pop music, house music had already spawned a number of sub-genres diluting the connection between it and disco. Luckily, one of the sub-genres during this period that was slowly gaining popularity would reestablish the connection between disco and house. “Deep House” producers like Masters at Work, Tony Humphries, Glenn Underground and yes, Dimitri From Paris were taking the live instrumentation of disco and fusing it with the programmed rhythms of house creating something both extremely musical and extremely driving on the dance floor. This was music that appealed to jazz lovers, disco fanatics and club-goers equally and this, along with disco and everything that occurred in between, is the music that Dimitri features on this two disc collection.
The first disc, subtitled A Laid back Selection, starts off with an acid-jazz-sounding mix of Chicago pioneer Lil Louis’ “Nyce and Slo,” appropriately the slowest song on both CDs. Clocking in around 110 BPMs, Dimitri slowly builds the tempo over the next ten songs until reaching the highlight of the first disc, Grace Jones' “Feel Up,” remixed by Danny Tenaglia. On top of a repetitive, but funky bassline, syncopated percussion, and muted keyboard riffs, Grace Jones adds the vocals “Maybe you have some dreams, but your dreams aren’t real. But don’t give up, just feel on up,” basically summarizing the theme of both discs. It’s not what you want to do in the future, it’s how you’re feeling now.
Other highlights from the first disc include the rolling, instrumental excursion “Twilight” by Maze, “Ibo Lele” by Jephté Guillaume featuring African and Haitian sounds most notably in the vocals and rhythms, “I Got the Rhythm” a trip-hop lounge jam by Beautiful People, and the most housey-sounding song on the first disc, “Can’t Give You Up” by Deep Sensation. Featuring a spacey keyboard progression, heavily reverbed vocals, and a variety of Latin percussions, this is a song that would work just as well as background music in a trendy restaurant as it would at peak hour in a club.
But it’s Dimitri’s Uplifting Selection of disc two that is the stronger mix. Covering all aspects of house, disco and Latin, the percussion of most of the songs are driving enough to make the ever present four on the floor kick almost unnecessary. Starting off with the '80s classic “Candidate for Love” by TS Monk, Dimitri lays down a series of songs, each better than the next, on the first half of the CD that alone would make the entire collection worth owning. “Indigo Blues” by Llorea featuring Nicole Graham is the best of them and is the only song that doesn’t have a kick drum in it. Sounding like an updated jazz standard from the first part of last century, Graham’s vocals have all the texture and soul that made Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald famous. With a syncopated piano progression, muted trumpet accents, a flute solo and a number of live percussionists, the inclusion of this song seems obvious, regardless of the fact it is perhaps the most unusual song on the entire collection.
As good as the first six songs on this disc are, they pale in comparison with how Dimitri ends it. Kick starting the end of this collection is a remix of De La Soul’s “(It Ain’t) All Good” featuring Chaka Khan. Dropping the raps and adding some Brazilian rhythms, the remixer (Can 7) turns this hip-hop song into a club smasher. Chaka Khan’s vocals are highlighted by a horn section, vibraphones, a liquidy bassline and a classic house pattern. One of the catchiest songs on the album, this song brought an instant smile to my face even though I had already heard it a number of times in clubs before hearing it on this collection.
The next four songs are all top notch productions deserving repeated listens by house luminaries Blaze, Tiefschwarz, Boris Dlugosch and Alexkid but as good as they are on their own, Dimitri programs them to build to the final song—Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (recorded in 1975)—bringing the entire collection full circle. Having never heard any version of this song but the Thelma Houston cover, I at first thought it was a Basement Boys production as it was recorded with live instruments and was extremely accessible, but soon learned it was the original recording. To put it shortly, Houston’s version of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is what Britney Spear’s “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” is to Joan Jett’s version. It’s unfortunate this original version never broke through the top 40 as it has twice the soul, twice the production, and twice the energy as the popular one.
After the Playboy Mansion is something that has the potential to change the way both disco and house music is looked at. For those that are a fan of either house music or disco, Dimitri from Paris’ choice and programming of songs is a reaffirmation of the significance and importance of these maligned styles of music. For those that aren’t, this collection has the songs to create a solid foundation of both where the music came from and where it is headed.
