Tag: 1986

Janice Christie – Heat Stroke [1986; London Records, Supertronics]

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Opening with one of two mixes by Tony Humphries, this single for the title track from Janice Christie’s only album luxuriates in its electropop nature by nearly doubling the run-time of the original song, with hollow-body drum machine sounds, bright-popping keyboard chords, and sensual singing wrapped together in tight formation.  A mix by Larry Levan follows, rearranging the base rhythm, playing up the synth bass-line, and improving the focus of a sax break.  Humphries picks back up for the last mix, which starts out by cropping the loops down to a lean beat before filling it back out, though the vocals are kept to doing very little besides repeating the name.  Some interesting playing with the source material, but neither the base nor the remixing goes too far beyond the norm.

Here’s the cover art used in Germany.

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Rainy Davis – Sweetheart [1986; Supertronics]

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Pulled from Rainy Davis’ album of the same name, the base mix of this song opens up its single with a blend of pop vocals and structuring, electro synths and drum machines, and ‘80s NYC hip-hop beats and bass stabs.  Night-themed lyrics and dark-toned bridges gives things an unexpectedly gothy vibe, though it’s one dressed up in bright tones and plastic flash. 

The dub version, which leads the B-side, keeps the backing beats pretty much identical, but the vocals get a treatment that sounds like they were loaded into a sample trigger keyboard and given staccato taps and key-rolls.  It’s followed by a sub-minute bonus beats track, then a ~3-minute a cappella cut, neither of which leaves much of an impression beyond the sweetness of Davis’ vocals.  A little more life to it than the standard late-’80s electropop, but that sense of character gets undermined by the repetitiveness of the lyrics.