Celebrate the big synths of boogie with Full Beam!’s new vinyl-only mix

An education in boogie.

Mancunian boogie master Randall Marsh is known for his Full Beam! social jam nights in the area and more widely for his monthly radio show on NTS 2 – Full Beam! FM (from Manchester). Buried in ’80s boogie, electro-funk, streetsoul, proto house, early ’90s soul & RnB and the ever growing modern funk movement; Marsh & crew have been pushing the boogie sound since 2010 in the city.

This latest mix for Be With Records champions the label’s much anticipated reissuing of Alec Mansion’s sought after, self-titled 1983 boogie / synth-pop gem including a couple of hits from the LP. It also celebrates the genre as a whole featuring the big basslines, big vocals, big dubs, big synths, big solos, and the big breakdowns that typify the Full Beam! sound.

Listen in below, peruse the tracklist and read a new interview with Marsh on the current state of the boogie scene.

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Tracklist:

01. Alec Mansion – Knock-Out A Knokke Le Zoute [1983]
02. Surface – Girls Were Made To Love [1986]
03. Rhonda Heath – Pac-Manc (Paranoia) (Extended Mix) [1983]
04. Formula V – Killer Groove II [1984]
05. Juicy – Private Party [1987]
06. Alec Mansion – Où Es-Tu [1983]
07. Rick Clarke – Show Me The Way [1992]
08. En-to-end – Money Talks [198?]
09. Keith Patrick – Night To Remember [1986]
10. Peter Hunnigale – Untamed Dub [1986]
11. Terri Jones – Do It Again Tonight (Dub version) [1984]
12. Palazzo Di Danza – Play That Song For Me (Club Mix) [1984]
13. Kevin McCord – Never Say [1985]
14. Attitude – Love Me Tonight [1983]
15. Antoine Rocky-Horror – Machine Gun Boogie [2012]
16. Tony Cook & The Party People – I Ain’t Going No Where (Club Mix) [1989]
17. Tia Monae – Don’t Keep Me waiting (Special Club Version) [1983]
18. Bobby Broom – Find Yourself [1984]

So Randy first of all tell us about this mix.

I’ve got a bit of everything that we play down at Full Beam! on there. Naturally boogie-centric. A couple of mid-eighties squelchers, some heavy clubs and dubs some early nineties housier sounds courtesy of Rick Clarke, a bit of Manctalo from the forthcoming Red Laser 27 EP, some UK streetsoul, some electro. Euro boogie is represented with a couple of tracks off Alec Mansion’s 1983 album which has just been reissued by Be With Records. Rob from Be With commissioned me to do the mix to coincide with the release. Never say no to a stone cold G.

So it’s a boogie mix, not disco?

Yeah you’re winding me up a bit there aren’t you. Many people think disco and boogie are exactly the same thing. Don’t get me wrong there’s nowt wrong with disco at all. Afterall, most of what we call boogie is branded ‘disco-funk’ but to me they sound completely different. Boogie grooves are tighter, tougher and it packs a lot more soul in my opinion. Of course there’s many similarities in the vocals and in the basslines. But ultimately it was made in a different era and with different instruments so when folks hear an ’80s boogie track and call it disco they need telling off.

So Full Beam! Has been going for a while in Manchester. What is the boogie scene in the city sayin’?

There’s a bit of a circuit but it’s not massive. You’ve got us lot then you’ve got The Social Service who play a lot of top boogie and you got some of the older heads still at it like Matt Blakk for example. We also play it down at Wet Play and at Red Laser events in amongst loads of other stuff, so if you’re going to the right spots you’re gonna get your fill. There’s a new bar opened. ‘Behind Closed Doors’ that’s having vinyl only, all boogie at the weekends so that’s good news. We could always do with some more DJ crews and some more modern funk producers and labels to get a proper scene going ideally. There’s definitely a vibe though.

There’s an obvious link between ’80s boogie and modern funk. Bit of a no brainer really but what’s your take on that?

Guys making modern funk are all heavily influenced by boogie and funk records so thats your connection right there. Most have grown up with ’80s music or collected the vinyl for years, DJing with those tunes. The producers are using a lot of the same hardware as the bands they dig from back in the ’80s and putting their own stamp on things for modern times. Keepin’ the funk alive!

Yeah there’s a big boogie and modern funk scene across the pond and over in California in particular. What’s your take on that and what’s the UK got to offer at the moment?

Well over in the States you’ve got loads of heavy crews throwing parties playing a mixture of old boogie and the modern stuff. Dam Funk’s Funkmosphere in Los Angeles is the one most people will know and you’ve also got the Funk Freaks & Sweater Funk doing loads of events.

Labels like Omega Supreme, Voltaire, MoFunk, Hobo Camp. DJ’s such as Eddie Funkster, Randy Hothobo Ellis, Jamma-Dee. Artists like Brian Ellis, XL Middleton, Diamond Ortiz. There’s more outside California too. The Austin Boogie Crew / ABC Records over in Texas are putting out loads of bangers at the moment and can’t talk about boogie in the States without mentioning the mighty PPU. There are loads more names I could reel off. It’s pretty buzzin’ over there.

As for the UK we’ve got some big hitters producing too. A couple that stand out are Sven Atterton and Hidden Groove. Sven’s 2015 ‘The Cove’ on Omega Supreme is, in my humble opinion the best modern funk album since D-F’s Toeachizown. Good luck getting a copy of that for a decent price nowadays! Hidden Groove AKA Tension up in Scotland is producing some incredible tracks. He had a tune on the third Wet Play EP a couple of years ago and will no doubt have some more stuff coming out on wax in the near future. He’s just put a few new things up on Soundcloud that you should definitely check out.

And of course there’s plenty of talent in Europe and around the globe in the worldwide funk community. There’s Benny Badge over in Melbourne who’s currently smashing it with his Silver Linings band. They put out a great LP a few months back, So Good To You – some of which was recorded in Manchester when Benny was over a few years ago. We had them playing live at Wet Play recently too which was incredible.

You’ve opened a new online store Hi-Tackle recently. What’s the vibe?

Yeah I’m not gonna shamelessly bang on about that. You mentioning it is enough of a plug G.

No sweat we’ll move on then. I have to ask you about this – What is a Full Beam! Banger token?

Ha it’s a 50 pence piece stuck onto a token and laminated. For use in the record shops 50p bins. Vinyl Exchange in Manchester accept them (talk to Russ) and I’m currently in negotiations with Mr Sifter and various charity shops in the area. We all know you can pay big money for a rare boogie record, but there are so many amazing titles gathering dust in the bins if you look hard enough. Just because there are 25 copies from 48p on Discogs doesn’t mean it’s snide. Cameo – ‘Attack Me With Your Love’ – there’s one for you. Think that’s about a quid come to think of it but you get the idea. Haywoode ‘A Time Like This’ – that’s under a quid. A lot of this stuff goes under the radar because it’s cheap as chips.

I’ve heard you referred to as the ‘king of the 50p bins’ – Is that a self-coined title?

Nah man self-coining titles is for turds. Ruf Dug christened me that years ago after we’d been out digging around Manchester. “You should see what Randy can do with a five pound note,” he says. I always head straight for the bins every time I hit a spot and see what I can unearth before contemplating breaking out any folding money. Saying that though, Russ at Vinyl Exchange has had a fair few £20 notes off me over the past couple of years.

Anything you want to add before I let you go?

Yeah get the mix on and turn it up! Check out the radio shows and get a bit of Boogie into your ears if you ain’t already. Also if you’re in Manchester – keep an eye out for some more Full Beam! Social jams in the not too distant future.

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Get your diaries out, Randall play’s Red Laser Record’s ‘Manctaloween’ on Saturday 28th October at The Peer Hat, Manchester with Il Bosco, sonofapizzaman and more TBC. And Wet Play on Saturday 2nd December at The White Hotel in Salford. Tickets for both these events will be available at www.hitackle.com

Also look out for the upcoming RL27 12″ on Red Laser Records. Two tracks of which are on Randy’s mix.