Flashback Friday Music Share for 04/22/2016

There was another notable passing in house music this week. While not as famous as Prince, his signature tunenis well known in many circles.

Title: Zig-Zag
Artist: Zig-Zag (DJs Chunk-A-Bud & Fiasco)
Label: Zig-Zag

Genre(s): House, Deep House, Jazzy House
Year released: 1993

Earlier this week, Chicago lost one of its DJs who helped shape house music into the modern sound we know. DJ Adam ‘Chunk-A-Bud’ Malian died mysteriously this week, as his cause of death has not yet been determined. He was 43.

While most people will not know of his name, many will know this tune. There isn’t some mistake on why the title, artist, and label are all “Zig-Zag”. The record simply never had much information onnit beyond that and two names. It was pressed from Trax records on an affiliate label.

I can’t imagine any house head in Chicago no knowing that signature saxophone sample. It was one of the first new releases in 1993 that signaled a change in dance music. A move away from the hard rave techno of the early 90s and into what became this Jazzy House sound of the mid 90s. Malian didn’t have a lot of releases under his belt, but he was resident DJ at the infamous Chicago club, Red Dog. He and that club have to be some of the most influential factors in what reshaped house music and inspired many local DJs and producers to experiment in deep house, jazz, Latin influences, etc.

I have one more for today, and thankfully it’s not related to a recent death:

Title: Glow of Love
Artist: Change
Label: Warner Brothers / WEA

Genre(s): Post-Disco, Italo-Disco
Year released: 1980

This is one of those tunes I didn’t really know of until I heard someone sample it. For me it was when house producer Daddy’s Favourite produced their track “Honey Cricket”. I just looked the guitar/piano rift, and didn’t discovernits origin until years later. Janet Jackson also sampled this tune for her but, “All For You”.

Change was basically an Italian Post-Disco project started by producers Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. Heavily influenced by Nile Rogers and Chic, they produced several albums until their demise due to the death of Petrus in 1986. Glow of Love features an early start for R&B star Luther Vandross as lead vocalist, but Change also features other big dance music vocalists like Jocelyn Brown and Deborah Cooper. Their work later helped craft C+C Music Factory, as some members moved on to work with Cliviles and Cole.