Prelude records 1977-1986
Related: 1970s - 1980s - record label - New York music - dance music - disco music - proto house music
Tracks: Journey/Double Journey (1981) - Powerline
Studio projects: Martin Circus - Musique - Inner Life
Producers: Timmy Regisford - Boyd Jarvis - Nick Martinelli - François Kevorkian - Greg Carmichael - Patrick Adams
Logo of the Prelude record label
Absolutely Very Best Of Prelude Records (1997) - Various
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In the bush (1978) is the A-side of this twelve inch
Top Ten Prelude Twelves
- Musique Keep on Jumpin' / In the bush 1979
- Martin Circus - Disco Circus 1979
- Inner Life - I'm Caught Up 1979
- Center Stage - Never 1980
- Unlimited Touch - I Hear Music in the Streets 1980
- Strikers - Body music 1981
- Secret Weapon - Must be the Music 1981
- Powerline Double Journey 1981
- Visual The Music Got Me 1983
- Unique What I Got is What you Need 1983
Prelude Records was a New York-based Dance independent record label, active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R at Prelude. The label owner was Marvin Schlachter. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_Records
Marvin Schlachter
In a 1980 Billboard interview he explained his point of view of the so called "death" of disco; "The problem started with the companies which were late getting into the disco scene. When they woke up, they cut lots of disco records and flooded the market."
Prelude Records was started by Marvin Schlachter, who was once A&R vice president at Scepter/Wand Records [Mel Cheren and Tom Moulton also had worked there] in their successful Dionne Warwick/BJ Thomas period. He was then president of a label named Janus Records for a short time. He also ran the US division of PYE Records for ATV. He started Prelude in 1976... after Pye decided to close its US operations. The label was operated from an office on 57th Street - it was a small company with a staff of maybe 10 persons. Marv later went on to establish MicMac Records with Mickey Garcia in the freestyle area.
"Well, I think independent labels and independent producers are the breathing ground and the creative areas for the major record companies. I think major record companies for the most parts are tremendous marketing machines and that they obviously depend upon the smaller labels to find and start new directions in music. Find new artists, find new styles... and when those things happen the majors turn around and either solicitous the individual to produce records for them, try to distribute the label, buy the label and so on, and so on... So, the independent music scene is always very very healthy and always very very undefinable." -- Marvin Schlachter
. I think for the most part, [Prelude's] music was really the creation of the producer. Much more so than the actual artists themselves. I think the producer was the creative talent there and in most of them, but not in every, the artist was treated as an instrument. And quite frankly, there was no artist named Musique, when Patrick Adams produced that for us. It was only after the record started to sell very well that we created a group. So again, these were just session singers that were hired to do the vocals and then ultimately we turned around and created a group and there was obviously a group called Musique. -- Marvin Schlachter
"No, I was the A&R man. [Francois Kevorkian] did most of the remixing. He was a DJ and to some degree, I can say that, he did, in some instances, influence some of the signings that I made. But for the most part, the acts that were signed, were signed by me. For the most part they were acts and music that were sent to me and based on my own personal tastes - were signed by me. Francois in a couple of instances, I can't remember specifically which ones, but in some instances did refer particular music to us. But the major artists and the major successes and major signings were done by me." -- Marvin Schlachter [editor's note: maybe Francois spotted Journey?]
"I don't think the disco era ended. They may have changed the name, but they haven't in effect changed the fact that dance music, the club scene and such, still goes on. Obviously music always evolve. It changes from disco to dance, to electronica, to trance, to ambient - you can call it whatever you want but in effect it is music that people wanna hear, people wanna dance to and that people love. They do it in the clubs, they did it then and they still doing it and they'll probably do it long after I'm gone." -- Marvin Schlachter
Patrick Adams
Patrick Adams gave Prelude a hot start with two dance floor classics by studio group Musique: 'In The Bush' and 'Keep on Jumin''. Because Francois Kevorkian was A&R for Prelude from 1978 onwards, he did a lot of studio work for the label, the most innovating perhaps D Train's 'You're the One for Me' . It was the advent of drum machines and synthesizers at Prelude, that made it the dominant force in New York during the early eighties. Larry Levan did only one mix for Prelude, but a smasher it was: 'Body Music' by the strikers. Strangely enough, the Prelude track to take with me to a desert island would be UK import Journey 'Powerline's. An honourable mention goes to Martin Circus' "Disco Circus" (1979), a proto-techno classic.
Shep Pettibone
[...] Shep Pettibone pioneered the 'mastermixes' of Kiss FM Radio, introducing a new methodology by segueing records to build 'sequences', almost like movements in classical music. Examples of this can be found on Prelude records', 'Kiss 98.7FM Mastermixes Vol. II' [...]
Boyd Jarvis and Timmy Regisford
Absolutely Very Best Of Prelude Records (1997) - Various
Absolutely Very Best Of Prelude Records (1997) - Various
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Track Listings Disc: 1 1. You're the One for Me [Extended Album Mix] - D Train 2. Beat the Street [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Redd, Sharon 3. Go With the Flow [Extended 12" Mix] - Weeks & Co. 4. Love Fever [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Adams, Gayle 5. Gonna Get over You [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Joli, France 6. You'll Never Know [Extended 12" Mix] - Hi Gloss 7. I Wish You Would [Extended 12" Mix] - Brown, Jocelyn 8. Just Let Me Do My Thing - Sine 9. Come on Dance, Dance [Extended 12" Mix] - Saturday Night Band 10. Keep on Jumpin' [Extended 12" Mix] - Musique 11. Inch by Inch - Strikers 12. I Here Music in the Streets [Extended 12" Mix] - Unlimited Touch Disc: 2 1. Somebody Else's Guy [Extended 12" Mix] - Brown, Jocelyn 2. Can You Handle It [Extended 12" Mix] - Redd, Sharon 3. Check Out the Groove [Extended 12" Mix] - Thurston, Bobby 4. Feed the Flame [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Johnson, Lorraine 5. Music [Extended 12" Mix] - D Train 6. What I Got Is What You Need [Extended 12" Mix] - Unique 7. On a Journey (I Sing the Funk Electric) [Extended 12" Mix] - Elektrik Funk 8. All I Need Is You [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Starshine 9. You Are the One [Shep Pettibone & Will Downing Mix] - Pilot 10. Come Let Me Love You [Extended 12" Mix] - Day, Jeanette, 'Lad 11. Must Be the Music [Extended 12" Mix] - Secret Weapon Disc: 3 1. Love How You Feel [Extended 12" Mix] - Redd, Sharon 2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [Larry Levan 12" Mix] - Brown, Jocelyn 3. I'm Caught up (In a One Night Love Affair) [John Morales Mix] - Inner Life 4. Come to Me [Extended 12" Mix] - Joli, France 5. In the Bush [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Musique 6. Body Music [Francois Kevorkian & Larry Levan Mix] - Strikers 7. Dyin' to Be Dancin' [Francois Kevorkian Mix] - Empress 8. Give It to Me (If You Don't Mind) [Amir Bayyan & Francois Keverkian M - Conquest 9. Searching to Find the One [Extended 12" Mix] - Unlimited Touch 10. The Music Got Me [Tony Humphries Mix] - Visual