Dan Selzer
Profile
Dan Selzer is DJing italo-disco and Arthur Russell around NYC and runs Acute Records.Best DJ's DJ 2004
Besides the fact that he runs the nyhappenings music list, which makes him the most clued-in guy in town, DAN SELZER is the DJ music nerds who like early electronic, experimental, and post-punk want to hear when they leave the house. That's 'cause his record collection makes everyone green with envy, and also 'cause he knows how to string the music together just so. His label, Acute, is dedicated to putting out obscure no-wave artists like Theoretical Girls. And when he DJs, it's part entertainment, part education—just as it should be. -Tricia Romano via Best of New York 2004, http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/bestof/2004/detail.php?id=4392Acute Records
I started a record label to re-release some of my favorite records from the past. As my musical knowledge grows, I continue to unearth wonderful gems of music. Often it suprises me how obscure some of these records are. I take no pleasure or delight in being of a small group of fans of any given band. I created Acute to spread my love of the music with as many people as possible, like a great big mix tape. I'm going to re-press records I find worthy only if noone else can or will, and even if I can't(as is more often then not, the case), I'm going to gather as much information as possible to share with other potential fans. The essays contained in the Artists sections are not meant as rock criticism, but as rock fandom, and for that reason, please refrain from holding my frenzied rambling rants up to any sort of academic standard, because surely it will fail. Accuracy, as well, becomes a concept open to many interpretations, as most of these writings are gathered, off the top of my head, from a variety of sources. The point is, there's not much info out there, now there is some more, take it or leave it. Some of these bands aren't all that obscure, but I didn't let that stop me. My primary focus is late 70s early 80s British DIY No Wave Post-Punk Art-Rock. I shall also occasionally discuss mid 80's New York Deep House Electro-Funk Club Classics with the occasional excursion into American Mid-West Cleveland Pre-Punk. I think the main story here, is one of Potential. I never claim these artists are better or more important than say, The Fall, or Wire, just more obscure, so let their stories be told. --Dan Selzer
ACT001-Theoretical Girls
Branca's first band, w/ composer Jeffrey Lohn, this CD compiles the compositions of Lohn's, which are very different from Glenn Branca's.
ACT002-Glenn Branca-The Ascension.
A reissue of this 99 classic, Glenn's first full LP, fully remastered w/ liner notes by Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth, plus a 2 minute video clip of Glenn solo in 1979.
ACT003-Metal Urbain-Anarchy In Paris!
the complete Metal Urbain discography plus unreleased tracks, remastered w/ extensive liner notes. They were the first band on Rough Trade, brutal synth-punk, the Stooges meets Brian Eno.
ACT004-Metal Boys-Tokio Airport-
Metal Urbain's experimental new wave synth pop industrial LP, very cool, highly recommended!
ACT005-Glenn Branca-Lesson No. 1/Bad Smells, Lesson No 1
in its entirety, fully remastered, plus Bad Smells, an 18 minute piece from 82, liners by Alan Licht and as a special bonus, quicktime video of a performance of Symphony No. 5.
ACT006-Dr. Mix and the Remix-Wall of Noise-Metal
Urbain's other side-project, 60s garage and art-rock
reimagined as proto-electro-noise rock, a major
influence on the Jesus and Mary Chain's more wall of
sound(noise) side.
ACT007-The Prefects are Amateur
Wankers-Pre-Nightingales, the classic story of
post-punk. From a 7 second song called I've got VD to
a 10 minute song about a pub bombing, from Sex
Pistols/Clash punk to Fall/Mekons/Joy Division/Wire
post-punk. In 30 minutes or less.
Post punk [...]
Dan Selzer, a DJ and founder of Transmission, traces "a massive increase in post-punk interest amongst many music fans to the last 2 years," and remarks that having seen "this interest brew amongst die-hard record collectors for the last 7 or 8 years, it makes perfect sense that it would finally start to spread." --http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/june_2002/post-punk.html [2003]RVNG PRSNTS MX4: Crazy Rhythms (2005) - Mike Simonetti & Dan Selzer
Mx4 is $3 plus $1 shipping in US ($2 shipping outside of US) through PayPal, (payforstuff@igetrvng.com). Click here to buy
Tracklisting:
01. Giorgio Moroder – Night Drive (Reprise)
02. Klein & M.B.O. – The Big Apple
03. Wide Boy Awake – Slang Teacher
04. Massimo Barsotti D.J. – Whole Lotta Love
05. Amin-Peck – Girls On Me
06. Vortex – Black Box Disco
07. Man Friday – Love Heartache (A “Tom Moulton” Mix)
08. War – Galaxy
09. Macho – I’m a Man
10. Gazebo – Masterpiece
11. Musicology – Obsessed
12. Tyree – Acid Crash
13. Belle Epoque – Bamalama
14. Ram Jam – Black Betty (Ben Liebrand Mix)
15. Delta 5 – Try
16. Salsoul Orchestra – Magic Bird of Fire (Walter Gibbons Mix)
17. Dinosaur – Kiss Me Again
18. The Feelies – Crazy Rhythms
With superfunny liner notes:
Crazy Rhythms is Dan Selzer, and Mike Simonetti. They DJ sometimes. Mike is partial to old-school hip-hop that sounds likes disco and dirty, dirty house music and Dan is partial to gay electronic disco and new wave that sounds like house music. They both like Post-Punk and Acid, and they invented No Wave. Their beatmatching skills are impeccable, but used sparingly. They have DJ'd at all the cool clubs and some of those crazy Brooklyn loft parties you only read about.
In 94, Mike founded Troubleman Unlimited Records and is now the label par-excellance for cutting edge hipster sounds of the like Erase Eratta, Glass Candy and Tussle. In 99, Dan founded Acute Records to reissue lost art-punk from the late 70s like the Theoretical Girls, Metal Urbain and the Prefects. While they are both well known and regarded for their collections of 7" punk singles, both Mike and Dan always had an equal love for dance music. Back then Mike was absorbing the NY house of Todd Terry and Pal Joey while handing out flyers at Mars and Dan geeked out to the techno sounds of 808 State and Derrick May. Meanwhile, they both heard WKTU blaring out of the windows of white Camaro's all over the Nebula Jersey.
By the end of the 90s, they decided it was time to teach the punks how to dance. Mike started Contort Yourself at the Knitting Factory and Dan began Tranmission at Plant bar with Luke from the Rapture. It seemed like something was in the air, a post-punk disco-funk zeitgeist. Due to the sudden popularity of such sounds, the Crazy Rhythms crew became the most sought-after DJs ever. Dan was voted "Best DJ's DJ" in the Village Voice and Mike became a resident in Ibiza where Paul Oakenfold recently opened for him. Dan continues to rock the alldisco parties in brooklyn and hopes to DJ in a future where instead of having to carry a hundred pounds of records, he only has to carry a small electronic device of some sort, some kind of pod, an interactive music pod. The future is uncertain for Mike. He plans to DJ on the moon, as long as there is a monitor.
The mix you hold in your hands was recorded during a time when there was nobody who would say "man, Italo-disco is played out" or "don't you know that track is on so-and-so's mix/an import bootleg/a CitiBank commercial?" No, those were more innocent times. It features Italo-Disco, New Wave, Post-Punk, No Wave, Actual-Disco, Danish Remixes of Glam One-Hit Wonders from ex-Bubblegum Artists, you know, all the same stuff everyone else plays. Of course these records are all original pressings, M/NM quality, light scuffs on the b-side and a bit of surface noise on the play out groove. --http://www.igetrvng.com/shop_mx4.html [Aug 2005]
See also: New York - music - electro
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