Disco is not dead, far from it, it lurks in dark corners, behind bassbins. Jason Lev is one of the men keeping it alive and we’re all the better for it.
Jason’s one of those guys that keep the dance music scene alive, but you’ve never heard of and may never ever meet. My first run in with Jason was not actually with him, but with a selection of his Sound Of Gold mixes, blasting out of the speakers at the late, lamented Active Pass Records. This was house before house, proto-house, disco!
The roots of dance music stitched together by one of Vancouver’s dopest selectors and a guy whose crate digging skills run deep.
Hip-hop’s always had crate diggers – dudes who can dig deep and reference history, but house, not so much. It’s always the freshest and new. Jason’s the exception. When you hear that Marvin Gaye tune or that Donald Byrd joint, it’s in a context that makes sense. It’s 60 minutes of pleasure and a lifetime of education.
We can count ourselves lucky that Jason’s gotten it into his head to start a label. Truth Is Light records focuses on the art of the re-edit. Previously unknown disco and r&b joints remastered and re-worked for a new generation. Dudes like Jesse Fisk and Dr. J, that have been vital to the soul and the boogie of the city are involved and as they come up on their tenth and eleventh releases, these 12″ disco specials wont be stopping any time soon.
thanks for the review kuma. i do need to clear something up however. i’m not sure where you would get the idea i personally shop for bigger celebrity dj’s that have happened to have bought records from me. dimitri from paris is a seasoned digger and needs no help with his taste’s or habits. most of us in the upper echelon of collectordom all have dealt with each other and continue to do so. we all influence one another with each big record. no one can take claim for it all, just particular finds.
jason
I was told that by a local record store owner of whom I had great faith in. I’m happy to make a tweak to the write up if you feel it’s incorrect, man!
like i said, it’s not true. i don’t know of a single record collector who was given a job finding another record collector their records. selling and trading yes. doing their buying for them would be a little absurd.