Musicofpluto

Meanwhile.. an interview :) Thanks !!!

Rolo McGinty’s transition from indie darling to respected house producer has been a roller-coaster ride. From E in LA with spliffs with Scratch, he tells his unique story of a life in music.

WORDS: BEN WILLMOTT

“Claudia mentioned she’d got the guy from The Woodentops staying with her. Oakenfold told her ‘He needs to call me, and now!’”

Over a pint of South London pub, Rolo McGinty is recounting the story of the first time he spoke with Paul Oakenfold. It was 1987 and he was staying in New York with Profile Records executive Claudia Cuseta, while adding the final touches to The Woodentops’ second album ‘Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway’.

Leading up to that moment, Oakenfold had been tasked with putting together the first ever Ibiza themed compilation for London Records dance offshoot FFRR - 1988’s Balearic Beats (The Album Vol 1) - and a live version of The Woodentops ‘Why Why Why’ was being played all over the island.

Having been the indie band that The Smiths saw as (at lest in Johnny Marr’s words) their “only serious competition”, this inspired mix of indie, Afrobeat and flamenco suddenly turned them into the toast of clubland.

The widely accepted backstory to the band’s left-field turn - that while in LA they’d taken ecstasy for the first time on the night they recorded it, ending it the perfect vibe of the White Island - is not strictly accurate, says McGinty. In truth, there was much more evolution than revolution involved.

A Year earlier, before Oakenfold came calling, McGinty had visited On-U Sound’s main man Adrian Sherwood to remix the demo version of ‘Why Why Why’. On arrival, he was introduced to the Fairlight CMI synthesiser and encouraged to jam as part of Sherwood’s Barmy Army.

Sherwood’s remix initially had a foothold in Ibiza at more chilled poolside parties and bars rather than peak-time dance floors. Which is why Amnesia DJs Alfredo and Leo Mas picked up on the live recording when they heard it, McGinty recalls. →

Happy Heavenly Birthday to John Peel!
As ever, thank you for the plays, sessions and funny comments from our first session to the day you moved on to where we go! Or where we don't go! Or do we go? We don't know for fact, do we?

Happy International Women's Day

Wowee..!



On ‘Forget Me Not’ feature :)