“It’s your record. You discovered it…You love it for the feelings it conjures…
Thirty years ago some now-forgotten musicians cut that record. Without them this brilliant song wouldn’t exist. But without you – a DJ – that record would be in a bent cardboard box in a basement…
This is the thrill, and the compulsion, of DJing. This need to share music, and to constantly find new music to excite people with, this is the primal force of DJing.”
Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton
The Record Players (DJ Revolutionaries)
Welcome to the Cookie-Dough Guest mix where we invite some of favourite DJ / Producers to answer a few questions and dig deep into their collections and put together a mix of their favourite records.
For this episode we have invited Fingerman (aka Gregg Holmes) to spin some of the records that have influenced him over the years.
The past two years have seen many releases on a variety of top Disco labels such as Midnight Riot, Get Down Edits, Discodat and Chopshop many of which have received high praise and number one positions at Juno Records and Juno Download.
He has also recently branched out opening his own label Hot Digits Music, a Brighton based label that focuses on up & coming producers and well established disco stalwarts alike with the first few releases featuring work from Fingerman himself, Austrailian trailblazer DR Packer, Detroit funky man Pontchartrain and P-Funk rump shaker Tonbe.
At Cookie-Dough HQ we are buzzin’ Fingerman has taken the time out of his busy schedule to put together this special mix for us.
Nice one G!
Track list:
Duff Disco – Eagle Flight “Perfect set opener. I rarely go to a gig and not have a cut by Duff. Solid Edit work.”
Saint Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix Of Two Halves) “Andy Weatherall on the mix. Beautiful retro remix”
Stone Roses – Waterfall (Justin Robertson Remix) “Huge Roses fan. This remix is lush. Reminds me of my early indie clubbing years”
The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds (Pal Joey ‘Cumulo Nimbus’ Remix) “The Orb were responsible for my first electronic music experiences. Timeless music”
Loose Ends – Hangin’ On A String (Fingerman’s Edit Of The Frankie Knuckles Mixes) “Utterly brilliant remix of an 80’s classic. Frankie did them proud here”
A&R Edits – Never Survive (Fingerman’s Crazy Edit) “One of my personal favourite edits… Endorsed by Greg Wilson. Bless him!”
Happy Mondays – Loose Fit (Fingerman’s Up Til Late Edit) “Released on Editors Kuts last year. Always loved this edit… 8. Shockingly not played it out yet!”
David Bowie – Golden Years (The Reflex Revision) “Love Bowie. The Reflex does what he does best here”
Mercury Rev – Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (The Chemical Brothers Mix) “Wonderful track. Very Chems. Very Balearic. Very now”
M – Pop Musik (Todd Terje Remix) “Had to include one Terje tune. This is such a fun record!”
Bjork – Human Behaviour (Underworld Mix 1) “Also HAD to include one Underworld track. This had all the trademark early Underworld vibes. Ace remix. The Dub was only on vinyl… which is also amazing”
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence (Groove Motion Edit) “One hell of a vocal. Groove Motion are a great couple of chaps who make some very useful edits”
Metro Area – Dance Reaction (Fingerman Edit) “My second favourite Metro track after Caught Up. A seminal debut album”
Whirlpool Productions – From Disco 2 Disco (Original Mix) “Originally got this on the back of the LRD remix that did the rounds back in the day. The Original version is the only one for me due to its off kilter production and hilarious vocal drops. Still sounds great today”
Groove Armada – Love Sweet Sound (Extended Original Mix) “Taken from on of their underrated albums this is. Such a great song”
Bryan Ferry – Don’t Stop The Dance (Greg Wilson & Derek Kaye Remix) “Love Derek & Greg’s productions. One of my fave end of session tunes”
Fleetwood Mac – Family Man (Flight Facilities Edit) “Had the fortune of seeing The Mac live this year. What an experience that was! So tight for a band knocking on. I could have picked many Mac tunes but this edit is top dollar”
Prefab Sprout – Bonny (Leo Zero Edit) “One of my all time favourite edits. The last couple of minutes are to die for!”
Q&A What was the first record you bought that made you realize that you wanted to be a DJ / Producer?
Tough question! Dj wise it was probably something on Manifesto, AM:PM or Positiva. I was just in need of some records to practice mixing with and back in the late 90’s dance music was so much more underground than it is today. It could easily been something techno related on a label like Primate, Purpose Maker or Plus 8 though to be fair. I was buying a lot of techno back then.
What record makes you most nostaligic?
My copy of French Kiss by Lil Louis. Its an all time fave that i’ve played at many a house party. I remember first hearing the song at an old Techno night in Portsmouth and it blew me away. Its that breakdown, man. I thought the DJ was messing with my head!
What is your favourite end of night record?
If i’m djing it usually is something a bit “sing-a-long”… Some Fleetwood, a bit of Teddy P. Its a bit cheesy but we all like a memorable end of night track. On my radio show if i’m doing a long stint I’ve ended many shows with Purple Rain… Simply because its epic in too many ways!
Do you have a guilty pleasure record?
Too many to mention. I love a good power ballad. You can’t beat a bit of Phil Collins. He’s a dude.
What is your most treasured piece of vinyl?
I have quite a few rare bits that even though don’t get played much these days have a special place in my heart. A one-sided Super Furry Animals 12″ of Man Don’t Give A Fuck that was recorded Live, a wicked Van Helden remix of Puff Daddy that sampled Bowie (That took me years to find!), an awful lot of rare Basement Jaxx bootleg releases by the boys themselves. I could never part with them.
