Back in the mid-nineties, following the success of Goldie's Timeless LP, major labels rushed to sign talent from the drum & bass world. Photek, Source Direct, Alex Reece, Roni Size, Dillinja, Adam F and others all went on to release albums for the likes of Warner, Universal and Virgin. However some artist's projects ended up getting caught up in red tape and never seeing the light of day, the tunes left languishing in the vaults.
This was the case for DJ Pulse, who was supposed to have an album on Warner around 1998. Thankfully Creative Wax, the label co-founded by Pulse back in 1992, has released a handful of these losttracks over the past few years with 'New York' being the latest. As you would expect, it's a blinder of a tune.
It was co-produced by Pulse and Professor Stretch at Eastwood Studios in Milton Keynes back in 1997. You get an immediate sense of that New York atmosphere as the track opens with the sound of car horns blaring, putting an image of yellow taxis on busy streets in your mind. But the serene synths that accompany the traffic put you well above the hustle and bustle, looking down from a skyscraper, on top of the world with blue sky as far as the eye can see. A vocal sample is quickly introduced:
"What sets a DJ apart from another DJ... extensive collection, great sound system, skills on a turntable"
This is the voice of New York hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash, taken from a 1995 documentary entitled Rap: Looking For The Perfect Beat. You can see the scene it comes from here but check the whole documentary if you can. His words bring in immaculately sliced Funky Mule drums before a deep, warm bassline and the Tighten Up break elevate the track even further. The quality on display here really makes you wonder what could have been if Pulse's album had come out back in 1998.
I finally got my copy of this on wax this week and it is especially poignant for me as I was supposed to be flying out to New York for a holiday last weekend. My heart goes out to the people of New York right now, and to everyone across the world who has had their world turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic and lost loved ones. We will get through this and I hope to make it over there once this is all over, but for now this tune helps me think about better times.
Below you can hear a clip of Fabio playing 'New York' on his show on Kiss FM on 4th July 1997 courtesy of Deep Inside The Oldskool. Head over to Creative Wax's Bandcamp to purchase, at the time of writing there are still some vinyl copies available but it's a limited edition of 300 so don't hang around. Though you shouldn't need any other reason to grab this, it's backed by Wax Doctor's sublime 'Q Certain Thoughts' which has a similar story as it was supposed to be released on an album for R&S in 1997.