Tim Westwood was always dropping tracks from the LP for his daily Electro show on the pirate radio station 'LWR' in the mid-eighties at a time when there probably wasn't that many tracks to choose from the to avoid repetition over the course of a week. 'Jam on it' is a certified classic 12" single from an album that is probably the best album of the genre. Most of them were Electro tunes ('High Noon' by Two Sisters for example was another) inspired by the growing influence of the grafitti scene on me. Coz wrote some great liner notes for the latter.One of three or four records of the thousands that I have that I ever felt compelled to write my name on. They have a comp out on Rhino and another from the Jam-On website that's worth checking out. These are the only two original albums that the band put out back in the day, along with the assorted 12 inch singles from each.
#Newcleus jam on it listen plus
Coz sells CD-Rs of both albums - plus a CD single of Jam On It (also avoid those 90s mixes, it was a bad rerecording of the original track) on his website listed above. The original CDs of JAM ON REVENGE and SPACE IS THE PLACE were Germany pressed and incredibly rare. Relationships between the band and producer were petty bad in fact there's one track on their first album that contains no one in the band at all. I was tremendously confused when I finally found Newcleus on CD - some really bad 90s comps that had a few key tracks and then some unlistenable stuff.
Some comps even mix the output of the two. The kids and producer - and I am a bit unclear on this - went on to use the name, and after 1985 there were several releases using the kids or a completely different lineup. The band included some kids, but most of the 'gimmick' consisted of the band members' voices speeded up. I still have the original vinyl too, but it's shot from trying to scratch on a very cheap turntable. So am I the only one with a deep love for this track? He's an awesome guy, very into talking about equipment he used and such - and also unearthed the demo for the track on his website - something I never thought I would hear! I still have the tape they artificially extended the song for what seemed like FOREVER.Įven cooler, now in the internet age I've been able to trade some emails with Ben (Cozmo D) and have discussed the track a bit with him. And it had staying power - I do remember that come New Years Eve 1984, it was the #1 song of the year on Power 99 FM in Philadelphia.
There aren't a whole lot of songs that represent a time for me like this one does. The origins of the group lay in a 1977 Brooklyn DJ collective known as Jam-On Productions, which included Ben 'Cozmo D' Cenac, his cousin Monique.
#Newcleus jam on it listen windows
I still remember the day my mother bought me the 12" single - I played it end on end, windows open, breeze coming in - I can still smell the air. Newcleus contributed a true electro classic in 'Jam on It,' a Top Ten R&B hit that has been immortalized on hundreds of hip-hop mixtapes and often included in even techno DJs sets. And then before you knew it, "Jam On It" was everywhere - at least in Bucks County, where I was growing up. I remember being on the playground when a friend of mine played me a piece of "Jam On Revenge", which he had taped off the radio the night before. (No headspinning allowed) I didn't have those skills, so I was the kid who brought in a cheap tape recorder and 12" singles recorded on cheap tapes - which gained me a bit of cred with the breakers. It was the tail end of fifth grade, and when the teachers were feeling generous, they would let us gather outside and play some hip hop while the more agile kids would breakdance. The VH-1 Hip Hop Top 100 thread made me think of this track - my all time favorite hip hop track, and the track that became my soundtrack to the summer of 1984.