[00:00:00] Stand by for action!
[00:00:09] Every show we drop the needle on the tracks that were part of the mixed tapes and mixtapes of my 80s and 90s.
[00:00:17] Tunes that followed me on the train in the morning, on the way to my adventures on the weekend, and all the times in between.
[00:00:25] Please join me as I share a track from the record box.
[00:00:28] What I remember, a little bit of history, and a hell of a lot of nostalgia.
[00:00:33] I'm Michael, and please join me as we get Lost in 12 inches.
[00:00:44] And it's the techno house mix.
[00:00:49] The name Capella was first used in 1987.
[00:00:52] In the beginning, they were a high-energy influenced house act, with producer Gianfranco Bertolotti of Media Records leading the group.
[00:00:59] And everybody was their fifth single release.
[00:01:02] And it would be included on their second album, You Got to Know, released in 1993.
[00:01:06] This album is more a compilation of Capella's singles from the previous few years, everybody being the first.
[00:01:13] There are four different mixes on the 12 inch.
[00:01:15] Side A containing the techno house mix and cyber techno mix.
[00:01:19] Both of which were remixed by DJ Professor, who has featured on a previous episode.
[00:01:24] And side B with the Logic and Hypnotic Cyber mix.
[00:01:28] Sampling heavily from Quadrophenia's self-titled single and James Brown's 1980 Studio 54 performance of Sex Machine.
[00:01:37] Everybody is a little different from Capella's subsequent releases, as it does not rely on a female vocal hook.
[00:01:44] Each mix is distinctive, and choosing one to use here was hard.
[00:01:49] The techno house mix is the one that I heard most back in the day.
[00:01:52] So that's why you're hearing it now.
[00:01:55] Chart-wise, well, it broke the top 100 in the UK.
[00:01:59] Hitting 1966 in late April of 91.
[00:02:03] It didn't chart anywhere else, but was a dance floor favourite.
[00:02:06] Now, we're going to skip a year here now.
[00:02:09] Why?
[00:02:10] Well, as I was living in Chippendale, I was closer to King's Cross and the Dome, and that's where we went out.
[00:02:16] But if you've been listening, you'd know that.
[00:02:19] But as 1990 drew to a close, I'd be pulled back onto the North Shore.
[00:02:24] So, jump forward 12 months, and my adventures of living out of home were over for the time being.
[00:02:29] I'd started seeing Wall, and that was a mosey.
[00:02:31] And she'd have her formal at Metropolis.
[00:02:34] My outfit for that one was vastly different.
[00:02:37] Gone was the well-cut dinner jacket.
[00:02:39] Replaced with a black bomber jacket, I'd pick up at a disposal store with Cybertronics Model 101 embroidered on the back and a Tyrell Corporation patch sewn on the front.
[00:02:50] My baggy dinner suit trousers were held up with red paisley braces.
[00:02:55] I was wearing a white dinner shirt and a pair of Converse trainers.
[00:02:59] Ah, the end of my stomper days.
[00:03:01] I think that Metropolis had learnt their lesson from previous years and didn't offer the open bar after dinner.
[00:03:06] So, it didn't get as messy as the formals I'd previously attended.
[00:03:10] As a lot of Wall's school friends were going out with mates of mine, Tim, Jim and Adrian,
[00:03:15] we all spent the post-dinner part of the evening in the boiler room,
[00:03:20] jumping around and acting like a bunch of idiots.
[00:03:22] What a time was had.
[00:03:24] As 1990 became 91, we were frequenting Metropolis a lot more,
[00:03:29] as it was the only place on the North Shore that ran rave nights.
[00:03:33] And lunacy on Tuesday nights was legendary.
[00:03:36] It was the only place on a Tuesday night, and it was always packed.
[00:03:42] And when they read an ad in 3D World announcing new memberships, I was first in the queue.
[00:03:47] I got membership number three and Wall got number four.
[00:03:51] And from that moment on, we were there most weeks.
[00:03:54] And this went on for two years.
[00:03:56] Lunacy was Jackie O's night.
[00:03:58] He'd been a big promoter in the Horton days, and he was the mind behind the fun parties,
[00:04:04] putting on eight of them from December 1988 through 1989,
[00:04:08] as well as Madchester and other events at the Dome.
[00:04:11] He'd bring artists over, and he'd also DJ at all of his own events.
[00:04:15] I think it was Jackie who brought the Shaman over for their gig at the Alexander Basketball Stadium in 1991.
[00:04:24] But Tuesday nights was special, because it really was the only show in town.
[00:04:30] And it brought in crowds from everywhere.
[00:04:33] Hospitality and entertainment industry types loved it.
[00:04:37] And pics from Lunacy always showed up in the social section of 3D World.
[00:04:42] And most Tuesdays, you'd find us there.
[00:04:44] Wall, Natasha and me.
[00:04:47] 10pm to 2am.
[00:04:49] And then on to work the next day, on like three to four hours sleep.
[00:04:54] Tash and I both had day jobs, and Wall had college.
[00:04:57] But we didn't care.
[00:05:00] They'd have live gigs on occasion, and a memorable one for me in 1991 was Gary Clale and the On You Sound System,
[00:05:07] one of the most intense live performances I have ever seen.
[00:05:14] Gary was on a small, raised stage, standing behind a back of mixing desks and stampers,
[00:05:20] staring out at the crowd, with his own style of UK dub pumping through the PA.
[00:05:26] Then he'd pick up the mic and vocalise.
[00:05:30] His MC stylings were dark and moody,
[00:05:34] belting out tracks like the vegetarian anthem,
[00:05:36] Beef, and the social commentary of human nature.
[00:05:40] Between these vocal flourishes, he'd be leaning on the mixing desk,
[00:05:44] hands facing inwards, elbows bent,
[00:05:48] slightly hunched over, staring into the crowd below him with a look.
[00:05:52] It was confronting, and I'd never experienced anything like it.
[00:06:00] And because of my state of mind in the evening, it got a bit much.
[00:06:04] And Wall and I left before he finished.
[00:06:07] But what I did see left a mark.
[00:06:09] I actually recently saw him in Manchester,
[00:06:12] and he's still as intense now.
[00:06:14] Now, the question that I ask at the end of every episode,
[00:06:20] would everybody, the techno house mix,
[00:06:23] make it onto my monthly playlist if Spotify's algorithm
[00:06:27] picked it for my Discovery Weekly?
[00:06:30] Well, yes, I think it would.
[00:06:42] And now we are at the end of another nostalgia trip.
[00:06:46] If you've enjoyed listening to me ramble on,
[00:06:48] please subscribe to get notified when I release new episodes.
[00:06:52] I'm on all the socials, so check me out there.
[00:06:54] Thanks for listening to Lost in 12 Inches.
[00:06:57] I'm Michael, and as I always say, testicles.
[00:07:00] Lost in 12 Inches.