Legendary Remixer, Steve Thompson Is Here...

[Bernie]

Just wanted all the DiscoMusic.com members to know that Steve Thompson who has done numerous remixes and production work since the 1970s will be stopping by the forums. He has joined up as a DiscoMusic.com member and will hopefully post in the forum soon so feel free to post any questions for him here. He has already begun to add his personal notes to several records in the Disco Record Vault. Please welcome Steve to the forums and the site!

[markydefad]

Welcome to Mr. Steve Thompson--a remixing legend!!!!

I have so many of his mixes--but the fave is the classic Talk Talk

IT'S MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

with that great breakdown where he strips it down to just the beat and then slowly adds all the components back--

THIS KILLS ON THE DANCEFLOOR!!! :icon_cool:

[markydefad]

Steve Thompson

that's his website...with all the credits..

Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Madonna, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Earth, Wind & Fire. Grace Jones....all the way to Guns N' Roses & Korn!!!!

Back in tha day--I grabbed ANYTHING that had his name on it-- usually in association with Michael Barbiero --their remixes were primo in the Eighties. Great beats that made ya wanna dance!!!

[fabbathanabba]

For me it has to be

A-HA THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON T.V.

FABULOUS! :icon_biggrin:

[remicks]

*****



Welcome Steve !!!!



Aretha's
ANOTHER NIGHT

and of course :




(I would love to know about the vibe of those working on this in the studio .....such positively asserted aggression .... pure non-stop disco exultation ....)



*****

[markydefad]

A closer look at the credits reveals these gems...

"Time Of The Season" - Neil Cloud Orchestra
"Blow My Mind" - Celi Bee
"All Through Me" - Laura Taylor

later...

"Party" - Julius Brown
"Dangerous" - Natalie Cole
"La Isla Bonita" - Madonna
"Open your Heart" - Madonna
"Too Late For Goodbyes" - Julian Lennon

Plus many more!!!!

[markydefad]

How could I forget Steve Thompson's 12" mix of "Begin The Beguine" by Johnny Mathis???!!!!

[markydefad]

I'm finding more, more, more....


"TAKE A CHANCE" by Queen Samantha!!!!

[markydefad]

This is from an old post of mine...regarding the best DJ service remixes:


I've been listening to an old tape on which I recorded the Disconet
"Dance Classics compiled by Steve Thompson".
This is, without a doubt, my favorite medley megamix, paying tribute to the early days of Disco.

Starts with "Let's Groove" - Archie Bell & The Drells (1975)
"Dreaming A Dream" - Crown Heights Affair (1975)
"Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" - Tavares (1976)
"Ten Percent" - Double Exposure (1976)
"Mighty High" - Mighty Clouds Of Joy (1975)
"Down To Love Town - The Originals (1976)
"Free Man" - South Shore Commission (1975)
"Lovin' Is Really My Game" - Brainstorm (1977)

Talk about yer "CLASSICS"!!!!!

It's all beautifully mixed up to the last song which is much faster than the preceding song...so it's just tastefully edited (slip-cued?) in.

[needlefingers]

The dramatic remaking of Don't You Feel My Love by George McCrae.

[remicks]

*****

Good one needlefingers! It's not even on Steve Thompson's list ! :icon_cool:

This one is though ! :icon_cool:






******

[djatya]

Hi steve here
The break by Kat Mandu originally had vocals on it
I used Cissy Houston ,Whitneys mom and other top NY session singers
I decided that the song had more energy as an instrumental
I even participated on percussion. hand claps and the famous whistle
It was alot of fun to mix
all the best,steve



Welcome Steve !!!!



Aretha's
ANOTHER NIGHT

and of course :




(I would love to know about the vibe of those working on this in the studio .....such positively asserted aggression .... pure non-stop disco exultation ....)



*****[/quote]

[BrunoRepublic]

Welcome to Mr. Steve Thompson--a remixing legend!!!!

I have so many of his mixes--but the fave is the classic Talk Talk

IT'S MY LIFE!!

I must agree. This is *THE* version of the song; it absolutely blows away the anemic UK 12" (which EMI still chooses to put on all the Talk Talk compilations). It is how a remix should be: it has everything good about the original album version, and more! The UK 12" is stripped down, sucked-out, lamed-up, and has that annoying 80s mixing cliché where it sounds like they randomly hit the track solo/mute buttons as the tape played back. Ugh.

No wonder this song was a much bigger hit in North America than in Europe, and still remains a staple of "retro" 80s dance programming. I bought a 3-disc 80s dance compilation just to have this version of this track on CD. It also came out on a Canadian compilation a few years prior, but I foolishly loaned it to someone and never saw it again, and of course that comp now goes for big bucks.

[needlefingers]

Hi Steve,

That is veeeeerrry interesting to hear that The Break had vocals.

But I gotta say thank you for that decision. It's always in my bag of tricks.

How about Don't You Feel My Love by George McCrae? That song is great, especially your mix.

But it is so dark and different from its original. Did you tell KC and Rick Finch that it needed more for it to work? And did they do the new instrument recordings for you?

I don't usually gush on this board, but for you and your work, I gotta tip my hat to you. Great stuff.

[djatya]

Hi Needlefingers,
When i got the song i felt it was lacking the club edge, so i brought in studio musicians to add some percussion and club elements to the song
They gave me free rein to do whatever i needed to do
As far as being darker than the original im going to have to listen to the lp version again
its been so long i forgot what the original sounds like
Hopefully i didnt screw up
Thanks for the questions
regards,
steve

[remicks]

*****

Thanks for the reply Steve!

It's odd.... but honestly .... I almost asked how does a song wind up being an instrumental such as THE BREAK .... so its great that you answered the way you did . Surely the temptation is always to apply some lyrics .... Yet I can't imagine words even finding room on that already fully loaded number.

So if you please ......could you please share what it was that Cissy Houston was assigned to sing onto this track! If you don't remember the exact lyrics ... at least what were her vocals generally about ??


(do they still exist? )


thanks

remicks


******

[needlefingers]

Oh you didn't screw up Steve. I love your version. You remade the song at a time when there weren't that many radical remixes being made. And your work on his vocal added more angst and urgency to the lyrics. I like dark disco. You rock buddy.

The original has the flavor of another KC song, Do You Wanna Go Party. An almost sort of "halting" beat.

So that you and others can compare the two, I am posting a sample of both.

Thanks again. Great mix. And for The Break also.

Welcome to the site.

dont you feel my love original mix.wav - 22.49MB

zSHARE - dont you feel my love remix tk 3.wma

[keefelc]

*****

So if you please ......could you please share what it was that Cissy Houston was assigned to sing onto this track! If you don't remember the exact lyrics ... at least what were her vocals generally about ??


******

Thanks for joining us here on the Forum, Steve! I love hearing the stories behind the music, disco that is!

And, like Remicks, I'm most curious what Cissy Houston was to sing on The Break. As much as I love her voice, I just cannot imagine the song with vocals!

[djatya]

Thanks for joining us here on the Forum, Steve! I love hearing the stories behind the music, disco that is!

And, like Remicks, I'm most curious what Cissy Houston was to sing on The Break. As much as I love her voice, I just cannot imagine the song with vocals!

steve here
I remember being in the studio with Cissy and the other singers
We were trying to write lyrics to the song on the spot
After spending at least a couple of hrs nothing really hit us as something being great
So we got them on mic and tried to improvise
So it became a freestyle approach with alot of disco mumbo jumbo!
Thats when i said lets just keep it an instrumental

[markydefad]

Steve,

It's really great that you're answering questions on the forum...you must be a very busy man...I'm impressed that you are taking the time to respond.

I'd like to ask how you made the move from remixing disco/dance music and ended up mixing/producing METAL, of all things!!! It seems a long reach from remixing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" to doing the same for Guns N' Roses & Korn!!! :icon_exclaim::icon_exclaim::icon_exclaim:

Was it just a business decision--this was where the work was or is harder rock your preferred genre?

I now realize I have some of the later stuff you produced, Blues Traveler cd with "Runaround," for instance...I saw the "Steve Thompson" name--but it's a relatively common name and I wasn't sure it was the "disco-remixing" Steve Thompson...the genre seemed very different....why didn't you go the Ultra Nate/Kristine W/Amber dance-mix route??? Or were you fed up with the club music scene???

Very curious to know!!!

[djatya]

I get this question a lot.
Ive always been into all types of music
Its funny, Metallica hired me because they loved the work i did with Madonna.
It was around 1986 . I needed a challenge. Everything i was working on was doing very well. Madonna, Whitney, Aretha, Earth, Wind ,Fire Etc....
I called a friend of mine Tom Zutat a&r for Geffen at the time.I asked him to give me some rock artists to work with
The first 2 were Guns & Roses and Tesla! The rest is history.So being the music industry you are judged by your last project.So all the calls i got was for rock bands.
I was not complaining.
Ive always have been into dance music, but i loved working with musicians Writing , arranging etc...
I always need to be challenged in the studio. I guess thats why im still doing this
I could go on forever but i think this answers your question
By the way Blues Traveler was amazing to work with!!!!
all the best,
steve

[markydefad]

Amazing...Metallica listens to Madonna!!!!

You just never know, do ya???

Did you do your later work here in LA? Or were you remixing on the east coast? Seems like you would have had to be here in LA to work with the bands. Your id says you are in MA now. Do you go into NYC to remix or do you have your own studios at home---in the digital age I guess a lot of this can be done electronically?? Maybe I'm making things up now--I better quit before I expose my lack of knowlege as to how it's done these days!!! :icon_rolleyes:

The Geffen Records building in the Eighties- Nineties was on Sunset, one block east from where I worked at first 9229, then next door at 9255 Sunset. Chrysalis Records was in the 9255 building before they went bust. I always hoped to see Debbie Harry in the building, but never did. :icon_rolleyes:

I see that you did the "Curse Of Blondie"-- their last reunion cd!!! Liked that one a lot. I'm gonna pull that one out and give it another listen. I do have a domestic release on Sanctuary Records from NYC. I read that Giorgio did a remix of the "Good Boys" track--did you work with Mr. Moroder? That would be a dream match, IMHO.

[markydefad]

from the AMG review of "The Curse Of Blondie":

All 14 songs are dressed up in Steve Thompson's chic, modern production — while the album sounds contemporary, it also sounds like classic Blondie. Perhaps this had something to do with the cultural shift that took place between this and the last album — in 1998/1999, rap-metal, trance, and bubblegum pop ruled the charts and all three clumsily found their way onto No Exit. But by 2003, bands like the Sounds and the Rapture were getting big doing virtually the exact same thing that Blondie had done 25 years earlier, and that set the stage for them to release this, their best album in well over 20 years. That doesn't mean The Curse of Blondie is great — after all, both No Exit and The Hunter were awful — and without a widespread release even fewer are likely to hear this. But those who do will probably be pleased to find that Blondie still have some life left.

[markydefad]

OK, back to the disco...

Where did you DJ in New York?

Who were your DJ mentors?

What was your first disco remix? How did you get that job?

Who was Michael Arato, who gets credit with you on the early remixes?

Which remixes from other DJs inspired you?

Which record(s) do you wish you could have remixed?

Looking at your credits, it appears you had some affiliation with TK for the early remixes. How did that come about?

How did this page get so wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidescre en??? It didn't look like this on my computer at home!!!!
Are other people seeing this? Or is it just me??? :icon_eek::icon_rolleyes::icon_confused:

[djatya]

WOW alot of questions!!
I will be doing an interview for Disco Music very soon
It should answer most of your questions
thank you for your interest in my work
Im very flattered
regards,
steve