In Memoriam: The Canadian Disco Dance Legend "Denyse LePage" Dies At 75

 

Denyse LePage, the Canadian singer, songwriter and disco performer best known as one-half of the influential dance duo Lime, died May 20 after suffering a stroke. She was 75.

Family members, fans and music industry figures confirmed her death in online tributes this week. Messages posted on social media described her passing as sudden and noted that she died shortly before a planned birthday celebration.

 

LePage helped define the Hi-NRG and post-disco sound of the early 80s through her work with Lime, the iconic Montreal-based group she formed alongside then-husband Denis LePage. Together, the pair produced a string of club hits that became staples in dance venues across North America and Europe.

Born in Canada, LePage built her music career during the rise of disco and electronic dance music. Before forming Lime, she and Denis LePage collaborated on several musical projects in Montreal’s vibrant club scene. Their work drew inspiration from European electronic acts and producers such as Giorgio Moroder while developing a distinctly Canadian dance sound. 

 

Then it came Lime to rose to international prominence in 1981 with the hit single "Your Love," peaked No. 1 on the Billboard Dance chart and earned gold-record status in the United States. The duo keep releasing successful dance-floor favorites such as "Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight," "Unexpected Lovers," and "Angel Eyes."  Critics and DJs praised the duo for combining pulsing synthesizers with LePage's commanding vocals.

 

Fans remained devoted to the duo's energetic sound, and modern DJs frequently sampled or remixed Lime tracks for contemporary dance audiences. Music historians often credited the group with helping shape the development of electronic dance music and Hi-NRG production.

 

LePage's death comes less than three years after the death of Denis LePage, who died of cancer in 2023 at age 74. The pair remained closely linked in the public imagination because of their decades-long musical partnership and influence on disco culture.

New Music: Secret Dreams Of Thieves

           

The Liverpool-based band Ladytron are back again to release their new single track "Secret Dreams Of Thieves" taken from the band's new album, it's a tune soaked into 80's synth new wave, the video has been Directed by Daniel Hunt. 

Rocktrospectiva: The Indie Classic "EVOL" Turns 40

Released on May 1986 "EVOL" was the 3rd., studio álbum by the US alternative rock band Sonic Youth, the album was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also their first to feature drummer Steve Shelley, who would remain a member of the band until their dissolution in 2011. The album spawned the single "Starpower."

By this point, the band had developed a cult following in the underground US music scene, but their style had begun to evolve from their earliest recordings. In retrospective reviews, critics cite EVOL as marking Sonic Youth’s transition from their no wave roots toward a more pop-influenced sensibility, with Shelley's drumming style a key aspect of this change.

Sonic Youth was coming off of a string of underground hits, becoming a popular underground live act as well as earning critical acclaim. In June 1985, during the Bad Moon Rising tour, Bert left the band and was replaced by Shelley. The new lineup quickly began working on new material for their third album.

The band signed to SST as, by 1986, label founder Greg Ginn was anxious for the label to move away from its American hardcore roots. Sonic Youth took a break from the tour and finished the writing for EVOL. In March 1986, the band recorded the album at BC Studio with Martin Bisi. EVOL was the second time that the band had worked with New York singer and performance artist Lydia Lunch. Lunch had shared vocals on Bad Moon Rising's "Death Valley '69", and on this record, she co-wrote the song "Marilyn Moore".

Mike Watt played bass guitar on the tracks "In the Kingdom #19" and the band's cover of "Bubblegum". The band encouraged him to play on the former track shortly after Watt's Minutemen bandmate D. Boon died in a car crash. Watt had entered a severe depression following Boon's death and was considering leaving music; he credited the time he spent with the members of Sonic Youth during the recording of EVOL as a major factor in his decision to resume his music career. Watt's next band, Firehose, would support Sonic Youth on their Flaming Telepaths tour.  

During this time, the band began the Ciccone Youth side project, which featured all members of Sonic Youth and Watt. They released a single consisting of three tracks: "Into the Groove(y)" (a cover of Madonna's "Into the Groove") and the short "Tuff Titty Rap" on the A-side (both performed by the Sonic Youth members), and "Burnin' Up" (performed by Watt and Ginn) on the B-side. The project later resulted in 1988's The Whitey Album.

On the vinyl version of the album, the time length for "Expressway to Yr. Skull" was indicated by the infinity symbol (∞); the final moment of the song featured a locked groove. The CD and cassette versions added a cover of Kim Fowley's "Bubblegum" as a bonus track. According to Watt, he and Shelley played the basic rhythm track over Fowley's recording, which was afterwards removed when the other members added their parts.

The album cover features a picture of model/actress Lung Leg in a still taken from the Richard Kern film Submit to Me. Leg had previously appeared in the "Death Valley '69" music video (directed by Kern and Judith Barry). The back cover shows a black-and-white picture of the band in a heart-shaped frame. The album's 10 songs are listed in a different order than the actual track listing. The members' names are listed on the back cover as well, although no instruments are assigned for them. It reads "guitars, vocals, drums", with "bass" hidden beneath the photograph of the band. 

The insert features the lyrics to the songs and the A-side depicts Thurston Moore, with eyes drawn on his hands, holding them up to his face. This photograph was later used for the cover of the "Starpower" single. To the left of this photograph is a panel from the Marvel comic book The New Mutants (found on the second page of issue #14, published April 1984). The other side contains pictures from horror films Friday the 13th Part 2 and Children of the Corn, with a still photo from the 1962 film House of Women featuring Constance Ford and Barbara Nichols. This image is only featured on the initial SST vinyl pressing and vinyl reissues after 2010, and was blacked out for all other releases.

The album has been well received by critics called it a remarkably strong effort, and sets the stage for crystallizing ideas that would soon result in what many considered the band's finest work." Like most Sonic Youth albums, EVOL is packed with so many ideas, so much rigor and obsession, it is too absurd to begin to wonder what they would have done in our current era of endless information. EVOL was described as a noise rock album and a "art punk masterwork" and it was considered as the true departure point of Sonic Youth's musical evolution – in measured increments, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo began to bring form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and with the help of Steve Shelley's drums, they imposed melody and composition on their trademark dissonance.

 

EVOL Track List: 

 

1. Tom Violence

2. Shadow Of A Doubt

3. Starpower

4. In The Kingdom # 19

5. Green Light

6. Death To Our Friends

7. Secret Girl

8. Marilyn Moore

9. Expressway To Yr. Skull

Rocktrospectiva: The Spiritual "Gish" Turns 35

 

Released on 28 May 1991 "Gish" was the debut studio album by the US alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 28, 1991, by Caroline Records. The album was produced by Butch Vig and frontman Billy Corgan, with the latter describing Gish as a "very spiritual album" and "an album about spiritual ascension". The album spawned two singles "Siva" & "I Am One". 

Despite initially peaking at only number 195 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, Gish received critical acclaim, with particular praise directed at the band's distinctive psychedelic sound. It has since been ranked by multiple publications as one of the best rock albums of the 1990s, with Pitchfork deeming "without Gish, there would probably be no Nevermind as we know it."

Musically, Gish has been described as an alternative rock,  hard rock, grunge, stoner rock and art rock album. As a writer, Billy Corgan wanted to find the balance between classic rock of bands playing heavy riffs like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and the sensuality and grace of alternative bands like the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and My Bloody Valentine. 

"For us, it was trying to become this balance point between what felt like dumb riff rock and then the stuff we were really attracted to coming out of the U.K. And then we put those pieces together with the Beatles somewhere in the middle". A song like "Rhinoceros" reflected that balance and what Corgan wanted to achieve: "we could be beautiful, pretty, psychedelic, and then flip the switch and be heavy and play a ripping lead." When composing the songs, Corgan was experimenting taking LSD to get a psychedelic feeling: "LSD gave me the confidence to attempt these things on kind of a weird tightrope wire act".

Gish was recorded from December 1990 to March 1991 in Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, with a budget of $20,000. Vig and Corgan worked together as co-producers. At the time, Vig was still a relatively unknown producer. The longer recording period and larger budget were unprecedented for Vig, who later recalled: (Corgan) wanted to make everything sound amazing and see how far he could take it; really spend time on the production and the performances. For me that was a godsend because I was used to doing records for all the indie labels and we only had budgets for three or four days. Having that luxury to spend hours on a guitar tone or tuning the drums or working on harmonies and textural things... I was over the moon to think I had found a comrade-in-arms who wanted to push me, and who really wanted me to push him.

The inclusion of a massive production style reminiscent of ELO and Queen was unusual for an independent band at the time. Whereas many albums at the time used drum sampling and processing, Gish used unprocessed drum recordings, and an exacting, unique guitar sound. Corgan also performed nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the record, which was confirmed by Vig in a later interview.

Regarding the album's thematic content, Corgan would later say: The album is about pain and spiritual ascension. People ask if it's a political album. It's not a political album, it's a personal album. In a weird kind of way, Gish is almost like an instrumental album—it just happens to have singing on it, but the music overpowers the band in a lot of places. I was trying to say a lot of things I couldn't really say in kind of intangible, unspeakable ways, so I was capable of doing that with the music, but I don't think I was capable of doing it with words.

The album was named after silent film icon Lillian Gish. In an interview, Corgan said, "My grandmother used to tell me that one of the biggest things that ever happened was when Lillian Gish rode through town on a train, my grandmother lived in the middle of nowhere, so that was a big deal

The record was met with largely enthusiastic reviews and credited producer Butch Vig for helping the band achieve a "clearly defined" and "big, bold, punchy" sound for the album, the eclectic mix of musical style on Gish as well, complementing its "pummeling hard rock", "gentle interludes", and "psychedelic crescendos".

 

Gish Track List:  

 

1. I Am One

2. Siva

3. Rhinoceros

4. Bury Me

5. Crush

6. Suffer

7. Snail

8. Tristessa

9. Window Paine

10. Daydream

Rocktrospectiva: The Seminal And Influential "C86" Turns 40

Released on this month 40 years ago, "C86" was a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" (a John Peel-coined description celebrating the self-conscious primitive approach of some of the music) and underachievement. 

The C86 scene is now recognised as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as was acknowledged in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. In 2014, the original compilation was reissued in a 3CD expanded edition from Cherry Red Records; the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, former NME journalist Neil Taylor.

The C86 name was a play on the labelling and length of blank compact cassette, commonly C60, C90 and C120, combined with 1986.

The C86 tape was a belated follow-up to C81, a more eclectic collection of new bands, released by the NME in 1981 in conjunction with Rough Trade. C86 was similarly designed to reflect the new music scene of the time. It was compiled by NME writers Roy Carr, Neil Taylor and Adrian Thrills, who licensed tracks from labels including Creation, Subway, Probe Plus, Dan Treacy's Dreamworld Records, Jeff Barrett's Head Records, Pink, and Ron Johnson. Readers had to pay for the tape via mail order, although an LP was subsequently released on Rough Trade on 24 November 1986. The UK music press was in this period highly competitive, with four weekly papers documenting new bands and trends. There was a tendency to create and "discover" new musical subgenres artificially in order to heighten reader interest. NME journalists of the period subsequently agreed that C86 was an example of this, but also a byproduct of NME's "hip hop wars" – a schism in the paper (and among readers) between enthusiasts of contemporary progressive black music (for example, by Public Enemy and Mantronix), and fans of guitar-based music, as represented on C86.

NME promoted the tape in conjunction with London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, which staged a week of gigs in July 1986, featuring most of the acts on the compilation.

The tape included tracks by some more abrasive bands atypical of the perceived C86 jangle pop aesthetic: Stump, Bogshed, A Witness, the Mackenzies, Big Flame and the Shrubs. C86 was the twenty-third NME tape, although its catalogue number was NME022 (C81 had been dubbed COPY001). The rest of the tapes were compilations promoting labels' back catalogues and dedicated to R&B, Northern soul, jazz or reggae. C86 was followed up with a Billie Holiday compilation, Holiday Romance

Ex-NME writer Andrew Collins summed up C86 by dubbing it "the most indie thing to have ever existed". Bob Stanley, a Melody Maker journalist in the late 1980s and a founding member of pop band Saint Etienne, similarly said in a 2006 interview that C86 represented: The beginning of indie music... It's hard to remember how underground guitar music and fanzines were in the mid-'80s; DIY ethics and any residual punk attitudes were in isolated pockets around the country and the C86 comp and gigs brought them together in an explosion of new groups.

Martin Whitehead, who ran Subway in the late 1980s, added a new political dimension to the importance of C86. "Before C86, women could only be eye-candy in a band; I think C86 changed that – there were women promoting gigs, writing fanzines and running labels."

Some are more ambivalent about the tape's influence. Everett True, a writer for NME in 1986 under the name "The Legend!", called it "unrepresentative of its times . . . and even unrepresentative of the small narrow strata of music it thought it was representing." Alastair Fitchett, editor of the music site Tangents (and a fan of many of the bands on the tape), takes a polemical line: "(The NME) laid the foundations for the desolate wastelands of what we came to know by that vile term 'Indie'. What more reason do you need to hate it?"

The significance of C86 was recognized by several events marking the 20th anniversary of the compilation's release in 2006. Sanctuary Records released CD86, a double-CD set compiled by Bob Stanley. The ICA hosted "C86 - Still Doing It For Fun", an exhibition and two nights of gigs celebrating the rise of British independent music.

Cherry Red's 2014 expanded reissue was marked by an NME C86 show on 14 June 2014 at Venue 229, London W1; acts from the original compilation included The Wedding Present, David Westlake of The Servants, The Wolfhounds and A Witness.

NME C86 Track List: 

 

Side One 

 

1. Velocity Girl - Primal Scream

2. Happy Head - The Mighty Lemon Drops

3. Pleasantly Surprised - The Soup Dragons

4. Therese - "THe Wolfhouds

5. Law - The Bodines

6. Buffalo - Mighty Mighty

7. Run To The Temple - Bogshed

8. Sharpened Sticks - A Witness

9. Breaking Lines - The Pastels

10. From Now On, This Will Be Your God - Age Of Chance 

 

Side Two  

 

1. It's Up To You - Shop Assistants

2. Firestation Towers - Close Lobsters 

3. Sport Most Royal - Miaow

4. I Hate Nerys Hughes (From The Heart) - Half Man Half Biscuit

5. Transparent - The Servants

6. New Way (Qucok Wash And Brush Up With Liberation Theology - Big Flame

7. Console Me - We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It

8. Celestial City - McCarthy

9. Bullfighter's Bones - The Shrubs 

10. This Boy Can't Wait - The Wedding Present

Rocktrospectiva: The Rare Truly Essential "Into The Light" Turns 40

Released on 27 May 1986 "Into The Light" was the 8th., studio album by the British-Irish singer Chris de Burgh. The album is notable for featuring de Burgh's biggest hit, "The Lady in Red." The album spawned other three singles "Fatal Hesitation", "Say Goodbye To It All" & "Fire On The Water." The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, becoming de Burgh's first studio album to enter the top ten.

 

Chris De Burgh's career was a bit like a long Shakespearean monologue, a grand, lyrical flight imbued with romantic poetry who uses his words to channel his testosterone-fueled passion, and this album had a lot of this. "Into the Light" contained Chris de Burgh's highest-charting single with the ballroom elegance of "Lady in Red,"  the song had a sweeping romantic tempo and classy feel. Besides the hit single, much of the album remained lush and mellow in the style of de Burgh's usual ballads and although the music on the album was slow paced, this doesn't take away from de Burgh's appealing blend of dignified lyrics and late-night sound.

 

Another highlight on the album was the energetic "Say Goodbye To It All," one of the best tracks on this album, as much as he's a hopeless romantic, good old Chris doesn't use his feelings as an excuse for silly, saccharine melodies. Instead, he crafts a rich musical repertoire, teeming with diverse moods and instruments, all blending into a benevolent harmony that, precisely, evokes that overwhelming feeling of love. It's a complex undertaking. His charisma and warm, powerful voice work wonders on the haunting "Fire On The Water," with its compelling chorus. Resolutely calm, both rhythmically and in its soaring vocals, this album transported the listener to delicate atmospheres that were sure to resonate.  

 

"For Rosanna," a piano/vocal ballad dedicated to the singer's daughter was enough to realize the sincerity that carries Chris, who is completely immersed in his message. If you're not hard-hearted, you can't help but be won over by this little gem with its understated lullaby feel. The same was for "What About Me," the closing ballad (a genre in which the singer excels), which the electric guitar interludes transform into a breathtakingly beautiful epic. Love gives you wings. 

 

The album found Chris De Burgh to transcend himself, a man who, before becoming a crooner for retirement homes, was one of the most fervent advocates of this intoxicating feeling. The vocals were impeccable, offering a wealth of noteworthy tracks, the singer delivered with Into The Light one of his most remarkable works, and one of his rare truly essential albums.

 

Into The Light Track List:  

 

1. Last Night

2. Fire On The Water

3. The Ballroom Of Romance

4. The Lady In Red

5- Say Goodbye To It All

6. The Spirit Of Man

7. Fatal Hesitation

8. One WOrd (Straight To The Heart)

9. For Rosanna

10. The Leader

11. The Vision

12. What About Me?

New Music: Drag The Bag

           

Inspiral Carpets have returned with their first new single in 12 years – "Drag The Bag" which is inspired by the grind of life and the universal idea that everybody is carrying something according to a press release. The anthemic track is direct, melodic and built for live crowds, it captures the classic immediacy of Inspiral Carpets while sounding completely of the present. Also the indie veterans are hitting the road for a UK tour starting next month.

Rocktrospectiva: The Considered Rap's First Masterpiece "Raising Hell" Turns 40

Released on 15 May 1986 "Raising Hell" was the 3rd., studio album by the US hip hop group Run-D.M.C. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Raising Hell was notable for being the first Platinum and multi-Platinum hip-hop record and it was widely considered to be one of the greatest and most important albums in the history of hip-hop music and culture.

Raising Hell peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, and number one on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums (at the time known as the "Top Black Albums") chart, making it the first hip-hop album to peak atop the latter. The album features four hit singles: "My Adidas", "Walk This Way" (a collaboration with Aerosmith), "You Be Illin'" and "It's Tricky".

It was "Walk This Way" the group's most famous single, being a groundbreaking rap rock version of Aerosmith's 1975 song "Walk This Way". It is considered to be the first rap/rock collaboration that also brought hip-hop into the mainstream and was the first song by a hip-hop act to reach the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. Raising Hell has been ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 1987, it was nominated for a Grammy Award, making Run-D.M.C. the first hip-hop act to receive a nomination.

Returning home to Queens in late 1985 after their extensive touring, they soon put themselves on lockdown at Chung King studios in Manhattan for three months. In place of producer Larry Smith, a cocky new maverick was brought in: Rick Rubin. Even though Rubin's and Russell's names were on the production marquee, the two non-group members oversaw and added to the music on Raising Hell more than created it. "Rick and Russell got production credit, but we [the group members] really did everything", DMC states. "We did that album in like three months. It was so quick because every rhyme was written on the road and had been practiced and polished. We knew what we wanted to do. Rick was all music and instruments. Jay was music and DJing. And me and Run was lyrics. We definitely had a game plan."

Raising Hell features the well-known cover "Walk This Way" featuring Aerosmith (largely the work of its leaders, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry). While the song was not the group's first fusion of rock and hip-hop (the group's earlier singles "Rock Box" and "King of Rock" were), it was the first such fusion significantly impacting the charts, becoming the first rap song to crack the top 5 of The Billboard Hot 100. Raising Hell peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart as the first hip-hop/rap album to do so, and at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Selling more than three million copies, Raising Hell is credited with heralding the golden age hip-hop as well as hip-hop's album era, helping the genre achieve an unprecedented level of recognition among critics and mainstream audience.

 

Raising Hell Track List:  

 

1. Peter Piper

2. It's Tricky

3. My Adidas

4. Walk This Way

5. Is It Live

6. Perfection

7. Hit It Run

8. Raising Hell

9. You Be Illin'

10. Dumb Girl

11. Son Of Byford

12. Proud To Be Black

New Music: Heart Has To Work So Hard

           

Sabrina Teitelbaum aka Blondshell is sharing her new single "Heart Has To Work So Hard."  A brooding, grunge-inspired song about a platonic relationship, she adds in a press release: This song is really about friendship and betrayal, getting stuck in a dynamic and letting things fester. It’s about pain and confusion — no one trains you for the ups and downs of a friendship between two women — but it’s also about a love so enduring that you find compassion no matter what,.

In Memoriam: Rap Star "Rob Base" Dies Aged 59

The legendary rap artist Rob Base, best known for the 1980s hip-hop classic "It Takes Two", has died after a bout of cancer aged 59. The musician, whose real name was Robert Ginyard, created the hit song with his musical partner DJ E-Z Rock, and it is credited with helping to take hip-hop to mainstream success in dance clubs and the pop charts.

 

Base died "surrounded by family after a private battle with cancer" on Friday, just days after his 59th birthday, according to a post on his official Instagram account. "Thank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives," it said. "Rob's music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world. "Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten."

 

A Harlem native, Base was part of a hip-hop duo with DJ E-Z Rock, a musical force that sprung to fame in 1988 with the release of It Takes Two. The song quickly climbed to number three on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

 

The track has been sampled by Snoop Dogg and the Black Eyed Peas, and appeared in films like the 2009 hit romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It was also featured in the iconic video game series Grand Theft Auto in its San Andreas release in 2004. 

 

His partner; DJ E-Z Rock - whose real name was Rodney Bryce - died in April 2014 from diabetes related complications, aged 56. He and Base became friends in the fourth grade, according to Rolling Stone. They released their first single, DJ Interview, in 1986, before dropping their smash hit It Takes Two.

 

Base told Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview the song's creation was spontaneous and that he was shocked by its success. "With It Takes Two, we were at a friend's house and we were just going through a bunch of records," he said. "We had to go to the studio that night and we didn't have anything prepared, but we found and liked the Lyn Collins sample that night and went to the studio," Base continued. "We didn't think that it would cross over and be as big as it became.