Dollar Bin Jams Mix Series: FOX 50 aka Josh Dunn

It's well known that I rep Pittsburgh hard even though I live in Philly. For a while, I thought I might be the only one out there (with the exception of Skinny Friedman) with such a fierce and dogmatic nostalgia complex about a city that I decided to leave. Well, I don't feel so alone now that the homie Josh Dunn aka FOX 50 has uprooted himself from the big Detroit city and moved to Brooklyn.

Here's how real Josh keeps it:

For starters, if my memory serves, FOX 50 is a Detroit television station. Second, Josh is a proponent of "Strong Songs," an homage to Detroit's WJLB radio, which broadcast electro sounds over the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Windsor area in the 1980s. Josh (who moved to Detroit from Flint, home of the whoadie Mateen Cleeves) partnered up with our own Mike Tee (who hails from Detroit) to drop all the throwback bangers that they grew up with back in the day. Watch the following vintage TV ad to get a taste of what the mid-1980s was like in Detroit (no Robocop):



Big up to Alexander Robotnik!

Anyways, I put out a call for submissions for the Dollar Bin Jams Mix Series, and Josh stepped right up. Within two days, he was at a gig of mine in NY with a CD of Strong Songs, ready to go. And I have to say, this is an absolutely killer mix- the product of what is no doubt super deep record knowledge and a veteran's knack for selection.

The mix is, in Josh's words, "a total late night subway ride. I got the name from a 1976 movie made in Brooklyn about a Kung Fu master that's sick of all the gangs, so he raises a demon that takes the form of Zombies that climb out of the subways in NY."



Download the mix here:

Dollar Bin Jams Mix Series Vol. 2 - Gang Wars (The Devil's Express) - Josh Dunn aka FOX 50 (zshare)

(I've noticed some problems with divshare's buffering speed, especially recently, so this one is just zshare for the time being)

Josh provided the following play-by-play, complete with label scans.

01. The End (Assault On Precinct 13) - John Carpenter
1983 ZYX Records

John Carpenter has a huge influence on me with both his films and unmistakable soundtrack work. This tune was a rendition of "The End" made for Disco's in the early 80's. The original version of the soundtrack to this 76' masterpiece wasn't released until 2003. Highly recommended.



02. Check Me Out - Infinity
1981 Rota Enterprises, LTD

Leave my front door and head East on Church Ave and you'll find the former neighborhood of Rota; East Flatbush. Infinity is one of the many outstanding disco tunes on this label. Go Brooklyn.



03. Love So Deep - Toney Lee
1983 Radar Records

Listen to that bass! This tune is so great. Mastered by Herb Powers Jr. and it shows. Powers mastered and cut lacquers for a considerable number of classics on Prelude and West End. Not to mention one of my Emergency favorites, Kano. This record booms and it's a tribute to Herb's craftsmanship. Dance floors say thank you.



04. (Money) No Love - Bo Kool
1981 Siamese Records

This is the US press of the UK disco group Funk Masters. This side features Bo Kool on vocals. Amazing. Bo can explain this tune better then I can.



05. On The Floor (Rock-It) - Tony Cook & The Party People
1984 Half Moon Records

This one is a beast, and sounds great in a club. I once heard this on a Farley Keith mix from WBMX in 84'. I believe it's floating around the internet somewhere. Must hear. I don't think there is a record on Half Moon that I don't like. But this one takes the cake, and stays in my DJ bag.



06. Sharevari - A Number Of Names
1982 Quality Records

I wish I could say that this came from the 81' Capriccio version. Anyone reading, I'm hot after that record and will pay handsomely. This tune was picked up in 82' by Quality and pressed in Canada after extreme popularity in Detroit. What started as two east-side teenagers making a track for their party has grown into legend. Allegedly The Electrifying Mojo was playing the tune off of a tape far before he was playing Cybotron, making Sharevari the city's first techno song. The song and parties were named after a New York clothing store named Charivari. Charivari was selling clothes by Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Yohji Yamamoto and Matsuda well before those designers had their own boutiques in Manhattan. The chorus was based on Detroit DJ's playing doubles of Kano's "Holly Dolly". (Holly, Holly, Dolly, Dolly) I can't write enough about this one. Absolutely one of my most favorite records.



07. Down - Aaron Carl
1998 Metroplex

Nasty. This 98' Detroit masterpiece is pure fire. Released in 98' on the Legendary Detroit techno label, Metroplex. JACKIT REQUIRED. The most contemporary tune on the mix, yet it seems to go so well with stuff from the early 80's. This one has always reminded me the next record which is...



08. I Need A Freak - Sexual Harassment
1983 Heat Records

Really? Do I need to say anything about this one. Classic.



09. The Duke Arrives/The Barricade - John Carpenter
1981 Varese Sarabande

Another John Carpenter great. This song is from the Escape From New York OST. This is my favorite soundtrack and was the spark behind American Nights. This is from the scene where Snake, Brain, Maggie, and Cabbie are leaving the library and the Duke of New York arrives. Chandellers on the front of your car. ILL. I love this movie so much. Look out for Italian remakes. (Thanks to Chung's Cinema) Shhhhhh.



10. Stop - Valery Allington
1983 Emergency Records

Another Herb Powers Jr. mastering job. This tune rules. Produced Sangy aka Maurizio Sangineto. In the early 80's Sangy worked with US soldiers stationed in Vincenza, Italy to form italo-funk groups Firefly and The Armed Gang.



11. Les Visiteurs - Gino Soccio
1978 Celebration

This tune is in Fellini's "La Città Delle Donne" translated "City of Women." There is a crazy driving scene in which they are listening to this song. Wild. This tune isn't on the films soundtrack.



12. Set It Off - Strafe
1984 Jus Born Records

This is a classic in so many genre's from house, to disco, to rap. Mixed with love by Walter Gibbons. If you're a DJ and don't know about Walter Gibbons, it's time to get an education. As a DJ Gibbon's pioneered disco mixing techniques in 70's. Galaxy 21! Set It Off was championed by Larry Levan and an instant Garage classic.



13. Dirty Talk - Klein & M.B.O.
1982 Zanza Records

This track had a huge impact in both the New York at the Garage and house music in Chicago. Be sure to check the YouTube video. Yussss.



14. In The Heat Of The Night - Da Posse
1988 Future Records

Great, lat 80's Chicago house out of Harvey Illinois, Jack of Jackit.



15. Ride The Beat - Civi
1987 Basement Records

So rough so nasty. This tune pumps. For some reason the 312 area code on the label isn't the only tip off that this one is from Chicago.



16. It's Time To Party - Nasa
1987 Express Records

What begat "The Percolator." This one is so late night. Disjointed and so very Detroit. On the legendary techno label, Express Records. This record was engineered by Juan Atkins. Nasa is Lou Robinson and Sherard Ingram.

Lou is the lead of Scan 7, mysterious techno group with ties to U.R. Lou also did considerable work with Terrance Parker in the early 90's.

Sherard Ingram is a member of Urban Tribe. In addition to Ingram, Urban Tribe consists of Anthony Shakir, Carl Craig, and Kenny Dixon Jr. (Moodymann). What a line up! Essential listening: "The Collapse Of Modern Culture" Mo Wax 1998.

Dope.

Josh also runs the fantastic 100 Limousines Disco blog. It's a great place to catch favorites and re-edits, complete with photoshop mockups of printed record label credits for each edit. Great stuff. I recommend you put it in your RSS feed so you can get the Strong Songs as soon as they hit the internets.

Previously:

Dollar Bin Jams Mix Series Vol. 1 - Relative Q

Billy W - Robotique After Midnight Mix

If you'd like to submit to the Dollar Bin Jams Mix Series, email us and we'll talk.