The Amateur At Play Test Pressing Mixes - Episode #4

It's been quite some time since I did the last one of these Test Pressing mixes. Life has changed a fair bit since the last time I did one, if you're wondering what the reason is. I now have an eight-week old son to look after, so there's not quite as much time for getting behind the decks as there used to be!

I'm going to be releasing Volume #3 of my tracks on Bandcamp in just a few days time, so I thought this was the perfect time to do another set. It will have five of my recent creations, three of which feature in this set. I've also featured a bunch of remixes that I've done lately, and some of my current favourites from across the spectrum of house music. 

From an almost techno-inspired Daniel Johns dub that I did a while ago to the very feminine sounds of Jodi Valentín, I think this mix takes in house music in a lot of its varieties. Without further ado, here's the mix. Let me know what you think and feel free to download a copy!

The Amateur At Play Test Pressing Mix – Session #4

Tracklisting:

1. Closer (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Mood II Swing Feat. Carole Sylvan

2. Gettin’ Money (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Dub) – Donald XL Robertson Feat. V.A. Streetz

3. Light In My Heart (Ross Couch Dub) – True2Life Feat. Phillip Ramirez

4. Just Before The Baby Comes – Amateur At Play

5. Turn Off The Lights (Who’s Afraid Of The Dark?) (Satoshi Tomiie Remix) – Kerri Chandler

6. Aerial Love (Amateur At Play’s Ethereally Infatuated Dub) – Daniel Johns

7. I’m So Glad (Catz ’N Dogz Remix) – Marquis Hawkes Feat. Jocelyn Brown

8. Let Loose The Light (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Sterling Void Feat. Paris Brightledge

9. Oxygen (Full Intention Remix) – Paul Harris Feat. Ayah Marar

10. How Does It Feel? (Sean’s Labour Of Love Dub) – Sean McCabe Feat. HanLei

11. Are You Gonna Eat That Record? – Amateur At Play

12. The Difficult Third Track – Scott Diaz

13. Gotta Know (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Rick Marshall Feat. Amrick Channa

14. June (Lilac Jeans Vocal Dub) – Distant People Feat. Sofia Rubina

15. Sample Pack Culture – Amateur At Play

16. Yeh Yeh! – Snazzy Trax

17. What You Desire (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Jodi Valentín

18. I Often Wonder (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – DJ Soul Caizler Feat. Darian Crouse

19. Rasta (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Jah Cure

20. Walking On A Dream (Amateur At Play's Uplifting Vocal Mix) – Empire Of The Sun

21. Can’t Use My Phone (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Vocal Mix) – Erykah Badu

Amateur At Play - Volumes #1 & #2

I've been pondering for some time what I'm going to do with several of the records I've done in the past few months. Frankly, I'm not interested in whoring them out to record labels, only to have my work largely ignored and not being able to do anything with them for months at a time. There's more than enough negativity around, and I have better things to do with my time than chasing up labels or people who have no intention of responding to me.

 

Those who DO want to respond to me, I am more than happy to give the time of day to. But I digress...

So I decided to put them up on my Bandcamp page, in two bundles of five tracks each. There's around 25 tracks in total, and the rest will be uploaded soon. If you'd like to support me, you can give me some money for each of them. You choose how much. A quid would do nicely, any more than that would be wonderful. In a few weeks time, my wife will be having our first baby, and babies are expensive. So any extra money coming in is always helpful.

 

If you do fork out some cash, send me an email with the evidence. Bandcamp will usually send you a receipt, or something from Paypal verifying the payment will do. The first five of you to do this can have a free copy of my Erykah Badu "Caint Use My Phone" bootleg to do whatever you please with.

 

If, on the other hand, you've only just heard of me, would just like some freebies, or are the type who's too stingy to actually pay for anything, grab them for free. You'll be asked for your email address. It may go onto a future mailing list, but it won't go any further. And no, you can't have a free copy of the Erykah Badu bootleg... 

 

Volume 1 can be found HERE.

And Volume 2 can be found HERE.

 

What do you want released next? Tell me, and I might just make it happen!

* By the way, if you haven't paid for it, don't even think about trying it on. Each time someone gets something from my Bandcamp page, whether free or paid for, I get an email address sent to me. It's very, very easy for me to check who's genuine and who isn't, so don't waste my time or yours trying to con me. It won't work, and you're just reducing the likelihood of me letting people have freebies in the future. Capiche?

The Amateur At Play Test Pressing Mix - Edition 3

Hello again, everyone! Time for another set from myself. This one-hour set contains records from, aside from yours truly, Melodymann, Jesse Saunders, Darian Crouse, N'Dinga Gaba and others. Some of my own tracks are available to buy on my Bandcamp page right now. The rest... well, they'll soon be available to buy.

Tracklist appears just below...

1. I Often Wonder (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Dub) – DJ Soul Crazler Feat. Darian Crouse *EXCLUSIVE*

2. Untitled – Amateur At Play *EXCLUSIVE*

3. Loving That I Needed (DJ Spen & Soulfuledge Remix) – N’Dinga Gaba Feat. Sabrina Chyld

4. Power To The People (Paul Hawkins Remix) – Peace Feat. Lee Genesis

5. The House Of Rhodes – Amateur At Play 

6. Keep The Love Going (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Dub) – Byron Stingily *EXCLUSIVE*

7. Heat (Sean’s Baby Dub) – Sean McCabe & Groove Assassin

8. Everywhere (Eric Kupper Remix) – Thomas Blondet Feat. Leyla Chatti

9. A False State Of Play – Amateur At Play *EXCLUSIVE*

10. European Boy (DJ E-Clyps Blacklight Dub) – Lem Springsteen

11. What You Desire (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Dub) – Jodi Valentín *EXCLUSIVE*

12. Sunshine (Demarkus Lewis Dub) – Jesse Saunders Feat. Dani Ivory

13. Can’t Use My Phone (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Vocal Mix) – Erykah Badu *EXCLUSIVE*

14. Notepads In Summertime – Amateur At Play *EXCLUSIVE*

15. Black Dogs In Car Parks (The Different Tune Mix) – Amateur At Play

16. Make Me Feel (Pablo Martinez Dub) – Davide Fiorese Feat. Natasha Watts

17. Danny’s Bounce – Amateur At Play *EXCLUSIVE*

18. High Soul – Melodymann

19. Jam The Mace (Amateur At Play’s Ceremonial Re-Mace) – House Syndicate *EXCLUSIVE*

20. It’s Alright (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Sterling Void Feat. Paris Brightledge *EXCLUSIVE*

The History Of House Music - 1993 [Mixed by AMATEUR AT PLAY]

As it’s a Friday and I’m in a good mood, I thought I’d give everyone who follows me and likes (well, hopefully likes) what I do a present. It might also give you an insight into some of the influences on my music, many of whom actually appear in this set.

 

I did this mix a few years ago now, and it’s been languishing on my hard drive ever since. It’s filled with tracks solely from 1993 and lasts 90 minutes in total. This was around the time I started getting into house music properly. I knew many of these records at the time, but had absolutely no idea who was behind them.

 

Back in those pre-internet days, if you wanted to find out who made these records, you had to go to a record shop and seeing that I lived miles away from any of them, (oh, and the fact I was only 8 years old at the time) I didn’t find out until many years later what they were.

 

The sound quality on this mix wasn’t the greatest, for some reason that has been forgotten in the midst of time. I’ve cleaned up the sound as much as I reasonably could, but this is perfectly okay for listening to in the house or the car or wherever.

 

Without further ado, here’s the mix. The tracklist appears just below the waveform, and yes, you’re more than welcome to download a copy! Let me know what you think in the comments, on Hearthis, via my Twitter page or by sending a message via carrier pigeon - it’s all good!

Like this mix? Download it. Share it with your friends. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter and on this very blog, because there WILL be more...

 

The History of House Music – 1993 [Mixed by AMATEUR AT PLAY]

Tracklist:
1.   Show Me (Masters At Work Wild Dub) – Ultra Naté
2.   Take Me Away (Kerri’s Dark Swing Mix) – Massimino Lippoli Feat. Orlando Jay
3.   Nothing Better (T.M.V.S. Club Mix) – Colourblind Feat. Dina Roche
4.   Let The Rhythm Set You Free (The Bathroom Mix) – House Culture
5.   You Got Me (Q.U.I. Rhythm Mix) – Sabrina Johnston
6.   It Works For Me (King Street Club Mix) – Sabrynnah Pope
7.   I Need To Go Away (All By Myself) (Ralphi Needs Bonus Beats) – Tommye
8.   You’re My Only Man (T.M.V.S. Underground Mix) – Raiana Paige
9.   House Of Freedom (Masters At Work Bass Hit Dub) – Freedom Williams
10. Who Do You Think You Are? (Roger’s Saturday Night Fever Dub) – Saint Etienne
11. Emergency On Planet Earth (Danny’s International Club Mix) – Jamiroquai
12. Move It To The Left (3rd Level Banji Mix) – Sultans Of Swing
13. Some Lovin’ (Danny’s Dark & Lovely Mix) – Liberty City Feat. Bebe Dozier
14. Back In My Life (Morales Classic Mix) – Joe Roberts
15. Conga Te (Mood II Swing Jungle Mix) – Doubleplusgood
16. Hey Mr DJ (Mo’s Hey DJ Work This Dub) – Zhané
17. I Can’t Get No Sleep (KenLou 12”) – Masters At Work Feat. India
18. Trippin’ On Your Love (Roger’s Subterranea Trip) – Kenny Thomas
19. I Wanna Be Your Lover (Kerri’s Trackin’ Ya Dub) – Nu Phonic Feat. Charvoni
20. Looking At You (David’s Vocal Dub) – Peelo
21. Climax 1 – Kerri Chandler
22. Keeping My Mind (Vocal Dub) – Black Rascals Feat. Roger Harris
23. Make My Love (UNCO Dub) – Shawn Christopher
24. Climax 2 – Kerri Chandler
25. Falling From Grace (Murk Main Mix) – Romanthony
26. Love So Strong (Metro Dub) – Lynn Lockamy
27. A Place Called Heaven (Fire Island Mix) – Tension

It's Just Another AAP Housekeeping Post - Edition 1

This is just a quick post to let you know a few things that are going on in the world of Amateur At Play at the moment.

++ There's a revamp going on! You may notice some changes on the blog and across my social media platforms in the next few weeks. In a nutshell, everything's going to (hopefully) look a little more professional, and social media platforms will be updated more than they are at present. When the makeover is complete, I may even give away a track or two to celebrate. Keep an eye on my Twitter page and on here for more information on that very soon.

 

++ I have updated my biography and my contact details. That way, you can find out a little more about the man behind the pseudonym, and how to contact the... well, the man behind the pseudonym. Ahem.

 

++ If you look on the menu at the top of the page, I have added a new section. It's my discography. The premise behind it is very, very simple. If I have made it, it'll appear there. That includes my own tracks, official remixes, unofficial remix projects of my own and any cheeky little bootlegs that I've made solely for my own sets. I'll try to keep it updated regularly with the latest releases from myself.

 

++ I've recently spoken to quite a few people in the world of house music whom I, to put it very mildly, consider to be absolute legends. Conversations are still ongoing, so out of respect for the aforementioned artists, I won't be going into any further detail on that. However, I can state that it's possible that some things may well come out of that.

 

++ No less than two (yes, not one, but two) test pressing mixes are currently up on Soundcloud. Hurry up and catch them, as they won't be up for long. My mixes receive a more permanent home on my Hearthis page, which as I mentioned earlier, will be becoming much more prominent in the future. The first and the second are available from here and here respectively.

 

To borrow the recently used words of Barack Obama, Amateur At Play out!

The Amateur At Play Test Pressing Mix - Session 2 - MIXED BY AMATEUR AT PLAY

A couple of demo mixes from myself, and some more of my many, many unofficial remixes that feature only in my DJ sets, all squeezed into just over 30 minutes. Not everything in here is even totally finished yet...

 

 

1. Black Dogs In Car Parks (Original Demo Mix) – Amateur At Play
2. Thank You Lord (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Vocal Mix) – Connie Harvey
3. Caint Use My Phone (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Bootleg) – Erykah Badu
4. I Don’t Know How To Say It (Original Demo Mix) – Amateur At Play
5. Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless) (Amateur At Play’s Half Asleep Dub) – Crystal Waters
6. Lift Me Up (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Dub) – Halo & Kemal Feat. Arnold Jarvis
7. Heather’s Dance (Mix 1) – Amateur At Play
8. I Often Wonder (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – DJ Soul Caizler Feat. Darian Crouse

Amateur At Play - The Upside Track *FREE DOWNLOAD*

Quite a few months ago, I made this track. I never expected it to turn out quite this way. It was originally going to be something on the more soulful side of house music, but an accidental switching on of the wrong plug-in on my laptop changed the entire direction of the track.

Whilst I'm proud of this one, I never quite knew what to do with it. It may yet appear in a more funky form in the future, we shall see. I put the preview up on my Soundcloud page some time ago, and it proved fairly popular. I did consider sending it to some record labels to see if any of them fancied signing it, but I never got round to it. So I decided to give it away to my loyal fans for free. And here it is.

Enjoy, and if you use it in a set, feel free to tell me about it!

The Amateur At Play Test Pressing Mix - Session 1 - MIXED BY AMATEUR AT PLAY

The premise of this mix is very, very simple. I put it together yesterday afternoon and it contains 17 tracks in total. It features two of my records - one of which is available for free download right now. It features a bunch of remixes that I've done, all of which are, at the time of writing this, strictly unofficial. They may see official releases in the future, or they may not. This is why downloads are, regrettably, not available for this particular mix - if you like the records, links appear below to buy them, where that is possible.

 

The rest of them are just records that I happen to like at the moment. Let me know what you think of the mix, and whether there's any tracks on there you especially like.

 

The tracklisting appears below, or you can just keep an eye on the waveform as it goes through the mix. Links to buy the records, where available, appear below.
 

 

1   Follow Me (Amateur At Play’s Appropriated Vocal Mix) – Aly-Us

2   Jungle Paradise (David Harness Deep N’ Da Jungle Dub) – Jungle Paradise
3   It’s Just Another Piano Track – Amateur At Play
4   Closer (Terrence Parker Remix) – As I Am Feat. Jedd Roberts
5   My Everything (Opolopo Remix) – Wipe The Needle Feat. Michelle Weeks
6   Untitled – Amateur At Play
7   Closer (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Mood II Swing Feat. Carole Sylvan
8   Won’t Be The One (Earl Tutu & John Khan Remix) – Tracebeatz & Bob Feat. Darian Crouse
9   What The World Needs Now (Richard’s 95 North Dub) – 95 North
10  Don’t Quit (Be A Believer) (DJ Spen & Soulfuledge Paradox Stomp Mix) – Diephuis & Eastar Feat. Jocelyn Brown
11  Jam The Mace (Amateur At Play’s Ceremonial Re-Mace) – House Syndicate
12  Black Dogs In Car Parks (The Different Tune Mix) – Amateur At Play [FREE DOWNLOAD]
13  Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless) (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Crystal Waters
14  Spare Me The Details (Rhemi Remix) – Opolopo Feat. Erik Dillard
15  Lift Me Up (Amateur At Play’s Uplifting Vocal Mix) – Halo & Kemal Feat. Arnold Jarvis
16  The Way It Goes (Track 1) (Dj Spen & Soulfuledge Remix) – Kerri Chandler Feat. Troy Denari
17  Dutty Funk (What We Do) (Amateur At Play’s Two Decades Vocal Mix) – Timmy Vegas Feat. Barbara Tucker

The latest Amateur At Play tracks and remixes

In advance of the spring 2016 edition of the Amateur At Play Podcast, which is coming out very shortly, I thought I'd go through some of the things I've been working on recently.

 

First of all, I've uploaded three tracks onto my Soundcloud page. There are quite a few more in the pipeline. The first is "Heather's Dance". It's called that because it samples something from someone called Heather. Yep, it really is that simple an explanation. You can get that one on free download right now.

 

The second is called "Black Dogs In Car Parks". It's a long story, but this one was put together in a car park one afternoon. I had created this slightly schizophrenic sort of house groove and was trying to find some vocal which would fit into it. For some bizarre reason, there's a copy on my laptop of the mental health hotline sketch by recently deceased Irish actor Frank Kelly. So I stuck that on there just for fun, and it seemed to work. So I left it there and you can listen to the preview now.

 

The third is called I "Thought You Were Down?" and is something that I put together some time ago, but never quite got round to finishing. I just couldn't get it to sound right. Investing in one or two new plug-ins solved that particular problem. That, and putting on a more breakbeat-style beat carefully crafted by yours truly. Far be it for me to blow my own trumpet, but I really like how this one sounds!

 

Here are those three tracks so you can have a listen:

Okay, onto the remixes. In this collection, there are no less than THREE remixes of Sagat's 1993 hit "Why Is It? (Funk Dat)" to be found. Why are there so many? Because the parts were recently given away for a Beatport remix competition. The mix that I submitted at the time can be found here, but I'll be honest - I don't especially like it. Not now that I've done these other ones anyway. The Questionable Vocal Mix is just that - a vocal mix, and the two dubs are precisely that.

I especially like the way the Backwards Dub sounds. It's just a shame that I accidentally deleted the DAW file on my computer so have no way of mastering it properly!

Elsewhere, there's remixes of a Chris Burns track from a few years ago called "IYE", a remix that I did of Lady Bee's "Bucka" for a Beatport remix competition - this couldn't be any more different from the original track, and two free downloads are also available. My dub of Ain't Nobody's "A Little More Love" can be picked up for free right now, and a preview of my rework of Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez's 1990 song "Jam The Mace" under his House Syndicate moniker is also up there.

And here are the remixes for you to listen to:
 

95 North - What The World Needs Now *OUT NOW ON TRAXSOURCE*

Here's a track that has the Amateur At Play seal of approval if ever there was one. It's the new one from 95 North! It's called "What The World Needs Now" and is highly recommended from myself. All four mixes will guarantee there's something for all kinds of tastes. You can buy it from Traxsource right now.

 

And if you're looking for even more 95 North, the final part of the anthology follows very shortly! Earlier instalments, along with a very detailed history of 95 North, can be found here!