Ralph Lawson – Influences

 
Music

Ralph Lawson has played a rather large role in the world of the electronic for the past two decades with his label 2020Vision. He holds down residencies at Back To Basics, We Love… Space and Barcelona’s The Loft as well as regular appearances at Berlin’s Watergate and London’s Fabric. Ahead of his appearance next weekend at 2020Vision, we asked the illustrious Mr Lawson to rattle off some tales regarding some of the tracks that have influenced and inspired him.


Ralph Lawson appears at 2020 Vision Day / Night on Bank Holiday Sunday 24th August 2014, click here for more information.

De Lite - Wild Times (Mayday Mix)

I often get asked the question every DJ dreads, which is – “What is your favourite track of all time?” It’s a bit like asking a painter what their favourite colour is. The strange thing is I actually think I can answer it and it’s this one. I realise there were more important records made by Derrick May, as far as their timing or pioneering work, such as ’Strings of Life’, ’Nude Photo’ or ‘It is What it Is’ but as an individual piece of classic Detroit techno music, that perfectly manages to fuse man and machine, he absolutely nailed it with his remix of ‘Wild Times.’ It also doesn’t hurt that I first heard the record just after I swished through the plastic dividers that separated the entrance from the dance floor at The Hacienda in Manchester. The power of the first drop matched by a sea of delirious clubbers left an indelible imprint on my young mind.

  • De Lite - Wild Times (Mayday Mix)

    I often get asked the question every DJ dreads, which is – “What is your favourite track of all time?” It’s a bit like asking a painter what their favourite colour is. The strange thing is I actually think I can answer it and it’s this one. I realise there were more important records made by Derrick May, as far as their timing or pioneering work, such as ’Strings of Life’, ’Nude Photo’ or ‘It is What it Is’ but as an individual piece of classic Detroit techno music, that perfectly manages to fuse man and machine, he absolutely nailed it with his remix of ‘Wild Times.’ It also doesn’t hurt that I first heard the record just after I swished through the plastic dividers that separated the entrance from the dance floor at The Hacienda in Manchester. The power of the first drop matched by a sea of delirious clubbers left an indelible imprint on my young mind.

  • Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

    David Byrne, in general, is one of my most important influences. I love what he stands for as much as his music. I arrived on the New Wave scene well after the early days of ‘Psycho Killer’ so ‘Speaking in Tongues’ was my record. The whole album is incredible and at the time I would shave told you ‘Burning Down The House’ was my favourite cut but over the years ‘Naive Melody’ became the track that stood the test of time. It just keeps getting better with age like a fine wine. No other song captures the naivety of true love better.

  • The Clash - The Magnificent Seven

    The Clash are the single most influential band of all time for me. They were by far my favourite band as a young teenager and I feel lucky for that. Coming from Punk roots The Clash kept more open minds than any of their contemporaries and delved into Dub Reggae and with ‘The Magnificent Seven’ easily hip hop and and dance music. They were on tour in New York when they first heard early hip hop pioneers Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and the track ‘Rapper’s Delight’ and it blew them away. They recorded the track in New York and it became the most played song on the radio and in the clubs in the summer of 1981. Larry Levan picked it up and made it an anthem at The Paradise Garage while Kool DJ Herc cut it up in his sets in the South Bronx. A total cross over dance hit made by a group of punks from England. Genius.

  • Bring The Noise- Public Enemy (Original Version)

    I first saw Public Enemy in 1988 supporting Run DMC. It was one of those shows where the support steals the show, they just raised the roof that night. The whole of ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back’ is incredible but ‘Bring the Noise’ just destroyed my teenage mind. It’s seems odd to place this record alongside many of the other in this list as they are mainly super well produced dance records but actually at the time PE co-existed alongside early house music in the clubs. Before there were even enough house records to fill a set DJs were playing hip hop alongside. And what is even more striking is the message. Even the title of the album is subversive and political. I often get asked “What is different now from back then?” and I reply that the DJs, sound systems, parties and scene are much bigger and better now but what I miss is how special, how revolutionary acid house felt back then. You really felt part of a movement that wanted to change the world. So Public Enemy fitted perfectly into a scene that sought confrontation and revolution.

  • Virgo - In A Vision

    There are so many house music records from Chicago I could name as an inspiration but Virgo Four (later Virgo) stand out alongside Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers) as truly phenomenal. The beauty of house music lies in it’s raw stripped down beats and insistent repetitive groove but Virgo took that and added synth sounds that no one was coming close to at the time and emotive song writing that took the listener to another planet when jacking on a dance floor. The production, to this day, stands out as some of the best produced house music ever made. It was no surprise when the mysterious duo of Eric Lewis and Terry Ivy re-emerged a full 20 years after their ground breaking album ‘Virgo’ with new material that sounded pretty much as good as the music they created at the dawn of it all. And yes I am a Virgo too…

  • Mr. Fingers - Stars(Alleviated Records) 1987

    Cut in the same mould as Virgo, Larry Heard was a ‘real’ musician by trade (drummer), who came into house music and produced some of the best records ever created in the genre. Of course his early hits ‘Can You Feel It’, ‘Mystery of Love’ and ‘Washing Machine’ are far more widely known but ‘Stars’ has a place as a major inspiration for me because, like Virgo, it added more music into the mix. By that I mean more synths, harmonies and melody. It also stands out as different tho everything else. The triplet arpeggio works consistently throughout the track ever evolving though subtle changes in resonance and frequency while the bass and drums just slam. It appeared on his very first album ‘Amnesia’ released in 1988 which makes it even more incredible.

  • Night Writers - Let The Music (Use You)

    I am super fussy about vocals in house music. I don’t play many because I often don’t like the voice or lyrics. It was more the beats that I related to in early house music. The Night Writers vocalist Ricky Dillard alongside Robert Owens, changed that for me. Both are strong male vocalists whose urgent, soulful and almost desperate delivery make you really feel them. They are talking to you and they are telling you the truth. You believe in them. They have the power to uplift the listener and take them to another place which is such an important part of why people go to dance. It is also a fitting tribute to the late Frankie Knuckles, who died this year, and produced this record. A DJ who greatly influenced not just me but millions…

  • Intruder - U Got Me

    The very first record on Murk got me straight away and I have been a fan ever since. This one is included as an influence mainly because of it’s production and sound. I have been striving since 1992 to try to get drums that sound as good as Murk productions. I still don’t know what production tools or desk they used but all their early records on the label such as ‘Reach For Me’, ‘Some Lovin’’ and “Release Yourself’ sound amazing on a big club sound system. I still dig out ‘You Got Me’ for DJ sets and it still sounds sublime. The previous records show my more musical inspirations while the Intruder selection is all about drums, which were my first true love as an instrument. I guess I just love mixing up the beats with beautiful moments of pure music.