Tom Moulton – A Tom Moulton Mix Vol. 1

Tom Moulton is one of the most important people in the history of dance music. From inventing the first ever 12" single to remixer to the stars, the trademark "A Tom Moulton Mix" is a mark of quality given to only the finest records -From Grace Jones’ seminal "La Vie En Rose" to the million-selling MFSB disco anthem "Love Is The Message", to over 4000 remixes. "As in Life, there are musical benchmarks against which other works are usually sized up in their field. When thinking of Dance Music, and its now long and proud heritage, there is no denying that one of the yardsticks everyone comes back to time and time again is the visionary body of work that Tom Moulton has accumulated over the course of his long and illustrious career. François Kervorkian January, 2006 Tom Moulton began his career in the early 1960s as a Promotions man at the legendary R’n’B label King Records, home of James Brown, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard and The Midniters and many more. In the 1960s he also began a career in modelling that would run parallel to his music. In 1971, he visited New York’s Fire Island, the infamous gay holiday resort where he describes seeing ‘white men dancing to black music’ for the first time. It was here that Tom Moulton first began splicing up tapes for the discotheque. In the early 1970s DJs played 45rpm seven-inch singles which lasted around 3 minutes. Tom Moulton wanted to extend the time of a song in order to keep people on the dancefloor. His first remix was BT Express "Do It Til You’re Satisfied", followed by "Peace Pipe" which he ‘extended’ to over 6 minutes long – and with this invented the "Remix". He then took this further with Gloria Gaynor’s "Never Can Say Goodbye" which Tom Moulton mixed together as an 18-minute medley, once again designed for dancers. The first time I heard a Tom Moulton "Disco Mix", I realized that this was the definitive version - they were pumped up, spread out, often with a much needed intro & break added. These seemed to be mostly philly-oriented records that I was already in love with, and now they had new added parts, which lots of times was now the best part of the record. It seemed clear that Tom was able to pick the records he would work on, everything had class, which still holds true today, whenever I talk to him, he's working on a wide assortment of sensational music and after all these years, he’s still completely passionate about it all - a real musicaholic. Danny Krivit In 1974 whilst continuing his search for louder, longer records he cut the first 12" single ever along with cutting engineer Jose Rodriguez. (Al Downing – I’ll be Holding On). He also started to write the first ever Disco column for Billboard magazine. Tom Moulton personally delivered many of his original acetates to the underground dance DJs in New York City such as Richie Kaczor, David Rodriguez, Steve Aquisto, Bobby DJ, Larry Levan and Walter Gibbons. In the 1970s Tom Moulton became the most in-demand remixer in the world. "A Tom Moulton Mix" became a signifier of both musical integrity and chart success as Grace Jones, The Traamps, MFSB, Loleatta Holloway, Andrea True Connection and hundreds more all benefitted from the sonic beauty of "A Tom Moulton Mix". "Tom Moulton played a major part in laying the foundations of dance music as we know it today. Over three decades he has designed numerous Disco classics as well as Pop hits ranging from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes to Robert Palmer (he was behind "Every Kind of People") taking them many steps above. Today at 60plus he is still mixing and producing, in a crusade against the current musical mediocrity. From a little corner of his Manhattan apartment, his eyes locked on a computer he is harnessed to deliver the legendary Tom Moulton mix, he breathes life into songs that were gathering dust in warehouses, usually forgotten by their current owners, the Major labels. And what a life that is, one that is vibrant and thrilling, miles away from the droney sound of contemporary club music. Tom is definitely a man of sheer brillance, a quality that is all too rare in our scene, meeting him was one of the best encounters I've ever had. Dimitri from Paris - January 2006" This is the first album to bring together some of the classic and rare tracks that have been blessed with "A Tom Moulton Mix" on the record label. It is the story of one man and his amazing role in the history of the rise of Disco from it’s funk and soul roots to the hedonistic days of Studio 54 and the Paradise Garage... (NM/NM)