Tim Toh’s 8 Nostalgic Gems

Music

All of us love to reminisce about the wonderful feelings we've had when hearing a record for the first time. Fortunately for us, Tim Toh has decided to share his nostalgic indulgence with us in the form of these 8 Tracks. Here's what the man himself had to say about his musical memories;

"I still can remember the days when we not only used to collect tracks. It was definitely about collecting dj mixes and selections too back then. We've had the days where Internet connectivity was still expensive and music was not available everywhere (If you have lived on the countryside). So you had to rely on other channels and capture everything you could. There were only catalogues with long list of names you never heard of and you had to blindly buy and discover new music just by the “cool” sound of the artist and EP name. There was no Shazam and “TrackID Anyone?” on timelines. So you stuck to a mix for a while and listened to it over and over again. I don't think it was better back then. It only feels to me that I had a “deeper” relation to the music I owned and that I knew it inside and out. You heard this music so often that it became the soundtrack of your life. Nowadays you have this abundance of music in every genre coming out daily. You can have plenty of channels to discover new music, which is great, but it's getting more difficult to keep on track with everything. These 8 Tracks show in which context I found new music during this time."

Tim Toh's Endorphinmachine EP is out now on City Fly Records.

LISTEN

T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye (1972)

This tune I discovered on a Super Collider (Cristian Vogel and Jamie Lidell) Mix in 2002 and was broadcasted on a German TV-Show named VivaZwei 2Step (R.I.P. 2003). You had those cool visuals done by various artists and alongside you could listen to a mixture of DaDa-music, Wu-Tang, Zappa, Sun Ra, Enio Morricone. It has been a Friday night and I was hanging in the attic at the house of my parents, smoking, painting and recording music shows. Inspiring moments!

T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye (1972)

This tune I discovered on a Super Collider (Cristian Vogel and Jamie Lidell) Mix in 2002 and was broadcasted on a German TV-Show named VivaZwei 2Step (R.I.P. 2003). You had those cool visuals done by various artists and alongside you could listen to a mixture of DaDa-music, Wu-Tang, Zappa, Sun Ra, Enio Morricone. It has been a Friday night and I was hanging in the attic at the house of my parents, smoking, painting and recording music shows. Inspiring moments!
Mr. Oizo - Flat 55

The album I bought during my work for a big record store in my home town. French music always had a big impact on me, since I lived close to the border of Luxembourg for many years. Until now I can’t deny and resist the influence of Electronic Music from France.
Theo Parrish - Dusty Cabinets

Found on Matthew Herbert – Letsallmakemistakes (Globus Mix/ Tresor). On this mix I heard a Theo Parrish tune for the very first time. I was stunned by the mood and the intensity. Trying to understand, I had to listen to it over and over again. This has been my blueprint for making house music with an edge of soul, disco, funk and techno.
Serge Gainsbourg - Ballade De Melody Nelson

When I visited my uncle for the first time in Hamburg, he gave me a selection of his favourite tracks. It was a quite obvious one, I think he had “Je t’aime Moi Non Plus” by Gainsbourg. I knew Gainsbourg as a chanson singer before, but only realised later on how versatile and extraordinary his music is. So I wanted to learn more about his approach and philosophy in arts and music. This album/soundtrack/EP had a big impact and works well with narcotics and red wine.
Fab 5 Freddy - Une Sale Histoire (Female Version Edit)

When I was a child there was this tape in my parents place I always loved to listen. I guess this must have been the tune where I first got in touch with rap and electro. Nowadays when I want to get a flashback into the ’80s and feel like some graffiti-kid on the streets of NY whose vision is about future and space, I put on this tape.
Recloose - Can't Take It (Herbert's Some Dumb Dub)

There are so many outstanding remixes by Herbert. I often went to the Philharmonic in Luxembourg to attend workshops, shows and concerts of classical and jazz musicians. They have always been really affordable (almost for free) if you were under 25. They offered a wide range of music from pop to avant-garde and booked artists from Carl Craig to Joe Zawinul. The acoustics were amazing and once in a while you could listen to international artists playing a Steinway piano in front an audience of 30 to 50 people. I saw Matthew Herbert playing live during his Plat du Jour tour. He was accompanied by a drummer scratching the beat on a slice of toast, a singer and a chef cooking during the performance.
Cal Tjader - Mamblues

Found on: Fritz the Cat OST, which is my all time favourite cartoon. I watched it during my childhood and it taught me about the spirit and thoughts of the beat generation in the ’70s. When I found ‘The Dancer’ by KDJ sampling Mamblues, I realised the impact of using familiar sounds and hearing this one in a different context was exciting.
Can-Yoo Doo Right Pt.1

Can was a recommendation by a colleague (called “Dizzy”) during my work as a postman. He was a grumpy fifty-three year old man, who walked on the paths of Che Guevara during his summer vacation. Somehow he was the suburbs version of Charles Bukowski. Dizzy lent me a stack of some Krautrock albums and so I listened to Psych Rock while delivering letters in my hood.