Can’t not play
Here’s a small theory of mine, about DJing. There is a very strong correlation with experience and share of set selections that hardly ever leave the bag. Twenty years ago, the stuff I played usually wasn’t much older than two or three months. Not counting appearances at birthdays, weddings and private parties. They always had different rules, and in most cases I avoided playing there. The few times I said yes were either a ton of fun or a horrible experience. But when I played for an audience, it had to be new stuff.
The consequence of this can be witnessed when I look at the Tech House and Minimal section of my collection. Most of what I played back then has transitioned to my Discogs sales inventory. It was fine to play these tracks for a few weeks, but that was that.
It’s not like I woke up one day saying that this needs to stop. Things changed graudally. The share of space in my bags slowly shifted, the part of it that contained stuff that always felt good to play growing steadily. By now, that’s what decides what I take along – not whether the track is a good idea that evening, but rather whether it’s a good idea for a lot of evenings.
Like this one. I love it. A super enthusiastic, driving and marvelously produced House track. I can’t remember ever not playing it when it was part of the selection. What I do remember though is that I kept wondering why this project was such a short-lived one. All we ever got from Peach Melba was this 12″ and a digital-only three track EP five years later.
The reason isn’t lack of talent. If you know, you know: one part of Peach Melba is John “Juan” Maclean. Looking at what he was up to in the years after this was published it seems obvious that he was too busy doing other things. The other half, vocalist Amy Douglas (spelled “Douglass” here) probably would have been happy to go for more – but didn’t have to rely on Maclean to continue her career.
On “Can’t Let Go”, Douglas’ abilities are used like a tool, you can’t really say she provided lead vocals. The only time she gets to show off more than just snippets of her abilities is at the very end, more like an afterthought. That’s far from lamentable though. It’s perfect for how this is put together. It’s a serious study in classic House, highlighting its Disco roots, and in my bag I always keep it close to another 12″ that did this trick immensely well, “Give Me Luv” by Alcatraz – somehow they seem to take the same approach and rigorous take on implementation.
So much fun to play this, never not appreciated. And we even get two more versions. Not just fillers or variations, both the Dub and the Dub of Dubs take the track to a neighboring genre in equally rigorous fashion.
The Dub takes a harder hitting Tech House spin, slapping “Can’t Let Go” right across our faces and making us wonder how this would be a Dub. But yes, in a way it is, if you define it as an instrumental that focuses on a small number of elements. I wish more of my Tech House stuff was as good and pure as this. Hits almost as resoundingly as one of my other old time Tech House favorites – “Mitternacht” by Buttrich and Bolleshon’s short-lived Phunk Diggaz project.
As if that wasn’t enough, the track is given yet another spin, as a “Dub Of Dubs”, transporting it to the more agitated suburbs of Dub Techno. Kind of. I don’t think I have heard a Dub Techno track that starts to shuffle around halftime. Actually, all three versions have their own little rhythmic peculiarities. The main mix also uses the big break during the middle of the track to add some fat and wet and slow hi-hats that do everything they can to work against the smooth flow of the rhythm, making it weirdly funky. The Dub all but fakes its own end after five minutes, only to give us another slap at re-entry.
Maybe this was all the greatness that the Peach Melba project had to offer. Judging by what we can hear on that digital EP Maclean and Douglas put out afterwards, this might just be the case. It’s solid stuff – while this one’s magic for a discerning dance floor.
Release for review:
PEACH MELBA – CAN’T LET GO – DFA – dfa2302
Get the vinyl on Discogs: Click