B.T. Express Delivers

First off thanks to everyone that came out and supported the multitude of Dollar Bin Jam-related parties that popped off this weekend. On Friday, Robotique was absolutely mental; packed from early-on 'til closing time with people vibing out to disco and breaks in the early hours and dirty electro house when the clock struck 12. Next month will be even crazier so stay tuned. Mike and I also played disco records at The Khyber last night and the only bad thing about it was having to miss Apt One & Skinny repping hard over at Medusa and Shawn playing with the legendary Pylon at World Cafe; I hope those gigs went as well as I assume they did, guys.

Now, to the music. I dug back into the classics today to yank out an often-overlooked gem from Brooklyn's B.T. Express. "Energy Level" is buried in the group's last album, 1981's Keep It Up, and it is well-worth the dig.



Unlike the Express' '70's output, Keep It Up didn't make a dent on the U.S. Pop Charts at all and only hit a meager #49 position on the R&B Chart - an all-time low for these guys. It's unfortunate, because the flawless disco-funk workout that is "Energy Level" remained ignored.

Now, for the DJ's - unless you're gonna drop this into your set quickly, it is in bad need of a little extended intro edit. The introductory break (which is begging for sampling) is funky as hell and lays a tidy groundwork for the bassline and the rest of the regrettably short (not even 4 minutes!) track. You're also dealing with a much higher BPM than one would expect, making it palatable to house-heads like myself. All in all this is a definitive Dollar Bin Jam and is an essential selection in my disco sets.



B.T. Express - Energy Level (224kbps)