mattyg107
Boy somebody listened to cerrone supernature... Not just the obvious sweet drums intro, but listening repeatedly the whole piece copies cerrones song. Not Cowley's finest moment. The vocals could be better too, well the lyrics. Gets monotonous with only verse chants. The two other tracks are amazing, especially loose. People catch you listening you have to explain. I never do though 😅
Favorite track: You Gotta Make It Loose.
We are proud to present an unreleased disco 12” by San Francisco-based musician and producer, Patrick Cowley. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary and influential people in the canon of disco music, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, “The San Francisco Sound.” During the 70s, Patrick was the lighting technician at The City disco in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. This was SF’s largest Gay entertainment complex, where everyone from Grace Jones to Sylvester would perform. Frank Loverde was performing there with his band Loverde when Patrick asked if the band would like to do backups on some songs he’d been working on. Frank, Linda Imperial and Timmy went to Patrick’s studio and laid down vocals for songs, most of which were never released and remained buried in the Megatone vaults.
In 2007 Honey Soundsystem was contacted by the former owner of Megatone Records John Hedges. Hedges’ was moving to Palm Springs and invited us over to his basement to collect over 2,000 records from his collection. Among the archives we noticed three moldy boxes of quarter inch reel to reel tapes. Included was the final mixed down reel for “Kickin’ In”, an epic 9-minute journey through disco, that Patrick recorded with Loverde in 1978. From the introduction of a bouncing arpeggiated Prophet IV to the harmonized vocals that transport the listener to another realm, the song encapsulates the Hi-NRG dance music that Patrick became known for. It was an “up” sound for the gay disco scene, music that would compliment and sometimes enhance all night dancing. On the flip are two earlier songs produced between 1975-77 featuring bass lines by college classmate and studio mate Maurice Tani. Both songs feature Patrick narrating erotic gay sex fantasies inspired by San Francisco’s leather bars, back rooms and bathhouses. These songs show the sleazy side of Cowley’s slow burning, oozing electronic creations with layers and layers of synthesizer, guitar, drum machine and vocoder.
All songs have been mastered by George Horn, who originally mastered all of the Megatone Records releases at Fantasy Studios. “Patrick parted the veil and entered a dark world of forbidden vices, wondrous musical panoramas and bold, strident, hopeful possibilities. Patrick brought the future to us and laid it at our feet.” – David Diebold ’Tribal Rites’
credits
released October 5, 2019
Tape Transfer and No-noising by Joe Tarantino, 2015
Mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios, 2015
Design by Eloise Leigh and Honey Soundsystem
Thank You: John Hedges, Maurice Tani, Paul Parker, Linda Imperial, Joe Tarantino, George Horn, Eloise Leigh.
Dedicated to the memory of Patrick Cowley
(October 19, 1950 - November 12, 1982)
Born in Buffalo, NY on Oct 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco in 1971. Patrick would produce songs for disco
superstar Sylvester such as “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Dance Disco Heat”. By 1981 Patrick released dance singles, “Menergy” & “Megatron Man” Prior to his passing on Novl12, 1982, he recorded 2 more hits, “Do You Wanna Funk” for Sylvester & "Right On Target" for Paul Parker...more
“Boogie Meets Beatdown” on this epic album from the mole, where ambient interludes lead into sudden and scary dark alleys. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 29, 2023