Mike BC’s Tropical Disco Hustle Floorfillers

When it comes to sounds from around the globe, there are few better sources than Mike BC – a selector born and bred in Yorkshire whose interests stretch across the continents. His blog World Treasures does exactly what it says on the tin. It exhibits reissues and original finds from odd corners of the world, always beautifully supplemented by the Cosmic Slop resident’s wise and informative prose.

His knowledge of global sounds, and passion for a rocking dancefloor, makes him the perfect pilot for the Tropical Disco Hustle club nights, an event founded just over a year ago by George Hartshorn of Brotherhood Sound System. In that time, it has garnered a solid reputation with music heads and young party goers alike. Here, Mike lists a few of the tracks that never fail to make them go wild in the HiFi basement. If you want in, pop down this Saturday.

 

“This is one of the regular plays at Tropical Disco Hustle, it’s got that intro that everyone seems to recognise whether they’ve heard it or not, the killer “uno, dos, tres, cuatro” breakdown and that funky bassline. This video is a great relic of one of Marcos Valle’s biggest hits, he’s still partying and performing great music and is a true legend of Brazilian music. His music evolved greatly during his career and he has created a diverse repertoire. This one is all about partying in the sun. A supreme Brazilian pop masterpiece from this legend, there’s been many great nights at TDH with this one blasting out.”

 

“A song about being musically sick, it’s calypso for the party people. Shadow is a father of calypso music in Trinidad and Tobago, and in his 76th year, he is still an influence. There are so many Shadow hits that get played at TDH, this one is a firm favourite thanks to its lyricism and groove. There are a handful of essential Shadow albums. There has been renewed interest in the artists because of reissues by Jamwax and Analog Afrika, labels that reissued the same ‘Sweet Sweet Dreams’ LP within a matter of months, strangely.”

 

“Was going to play this on the day of the royal wedding, but thought it’d be too mushy, so played ‘Shack Up’ by A Certain Ratio. This is a new one on vinyl from South Africa, pure party starter for lovers and dancers. South African music features quite a bit at TDH, the music policy means we look to create a sound inspired by music from places like West Africa, the Caribbean, South America, but so longs as it sounds right, it could be from closer to home or far-away, we’ve themed nights as well to pay tribute to certain artists.”

 

“This is the tune that inspired George to start the TDH night and continues to blow dancers’ and our minds every time it’s played. It’s got everything, fantastic melodies, a groove from the Tropics and a great rhythm. A very expensive vinyl that got compiled by a few labels thankfully. This style of Caribbean disco is such a great sound and shows the wealth of talent in terms of musicians, singers, studios and staff during this golden age for labels such as Charlie’s Records in the late 1970s and early 80s.”

 

“This one is a bit more obscure and rare, but is a great tropical hustle jam, singing out one of the aims of the night – new music (although it means ‘our music’ in Creole in this banger by Patrick Saint-Eloi and Jean-Claude Naimro)! As well as disco, musical styles such as zouk – an uptempo dance music from the West Indies – sound amazing today, they’re so well produced and suited for the dancefloor. This one is a fusion of sorts, but has that percussive element that we love at TDH and has people throwing shapes on the Hifi stage.”