RiL046 Moodymann - Tribute (To The Soul We Lost)
/This has to be the definitive record from my years as a resident for back to basics at The Mint Club. The second best thing about playing the first set at The Mint Club was watching people that had never been before walking into the mirror by the side of the dance floor ! It was impossible to see that it was just reflecting the room rather than the room extending towards the toilets. We’d always try to keep a straight face as people walked past us without looking at us only to walk straight into them. But the best thing was being able to warm up the room properly and start by playing downtempo records early doors at a quieter volume.
As we increased the tempo there would be a moment when the club was full enough to crank up the volume. ‘Tribute’ was originally pressed as two tracks that led directly into each other with ‘Day We Lost the Soul’ appearing as a cut up montage of radio clips talking about the shooting of Marvin Gaye, who was “killed by gun shot wounds to his chest” by his father. Not the kind of cheery story you normally tell in a club but the main effect is that the track itself ‘Tribute’ kicks straight in after the radio receiver fades into ‘What’s Going On".
After a while the regulars would know exactly what was going to go on and start cheering and stomping their feet as soon as the intro started. We’d then pull all the lights down, turn the system right up and let the night commence...