Wayne Anthony and Tyree Cooper - Awesome Supa Dupa Trooper!
TURN UP THE BASS
In the late eighties we danced our socks off listening to the likes of Tyree Cooper. At the time House / Acid / Hip House was an American import and completely new to us. Young DJs / Producers from Chicago had only just created the new sound themselves so this was entirely new territory. A space normally reserved for major record companies, small independent labels would temporarily claim the space for this brand new genre. Tyree Cooper was amongst the first wave of American producers that would later be hailed as the pioneers of a movement that today is as strong as it was in the late eighties.
I've interviewed Tyree at length in the past and much of his unique story is covered in that meeting so we won't cover that ground here. Only to say the industry caught Tyree out in much the same way it continues to catch eager talent today. Speaking with Tyree about the industry back then reminds me of what happened to countless producers / recording artistes spamming decades. The industry is awash with great white sharks and killer whales swimming the bay for fresh faced talent.
It happened in Jazz, Rock n Roll, Punk, Ska, Reggae and pop music territories. The struggling artist is driven by the desire to get heard or seen by the public at large. The music mogul is driven by sales and bottom-lines but also has the hindsight of knowing the companies future. Who holds the best position is relative to the persons involved in the process. Alas the real lesson to be learned from the past is for talent to stay on top of the business end and that process begins with a solid contract. This marks the start of a very long relationship which should be handled with the diligence of a professional.
Anyway back to the Awesome Supa Dupa Trooper who recently visited London to play a legendary set at Half Baked. Tyree rocked the up-for-it crowd of international groovers with a blend of Classic and Deep House. My sister Shrine-Chick has been working with Tyree's record label for sometime now so we've got to consider Tyree as a member of the family. if you haven't yet listened to a modern Tyree set then you will have a few opportunities to see and hear him live over the coming months.
Tyree now lives in Germany but totally up for playing anywhere in the world. The weekend he came to London, he already played in Belgium the night before and Germany the night before that…A real gentleman and great DJ / Producer / Person…
No comments:
Post a Comment