Track-By-Track: O/B #29
A disco tune so good it could conceivably appear in my Top 50 (I originally wrote Top 20 but let’s not go crazy), I first heard this blasphemous sleazefest of a track in a 6-hour recording of Cosmic Slop, the fundraising party run by MAP Charity in Leeds:
I’ve never had the pleasure of going to Cosmic Slop but I’ve had a lot of fun listening to tales from those who have: a custom made soundsystem that’s one of the best in the country; a wide-open music policy that encourages Loft-style sound adventures; and a crowd that’s there to enjoy both of those offerings to the max. You can hear all of this in the regular whoops from the crowd on the above recording, as they greet each new sonic excursion with expressions of joy and expectation.
In case you needed further persuading that something special is going on at the Hope Foundry building in Leeds, I encourage you to watch this inspiring video about the project – there’s much to emulate here for anyone looking to throw parties while making a difference:
As for the track itself, the sinful vibe of ‘Hell, Dance With Me’ – steamy chords, rattlesnake percussion, sinister glockenspiel, stomping bassline – is ramped up by its evocative, semi-nonsensical lyrics, which I reproduce here for posterity. I suggest you read them while enjoying the actual song, further down the page.
Hell, dance with me
Come on hell
Dance with me…I’m burning
In deadness
Come madness inThis poison
Kills softly
My soul relievesDesire
Your fire
Makes me so weakHell, dance with me
Come on hell
Dance with meRed streaming
Slow motion
Emotions flowImpressioned
In mirrors
My body laysAround me
Inside me
They’re calling meA nightmare
Comes creeping
Mmm…
A better theme tune for the remake of Suspiria is difficult to imagine!
Cappuccino – Hell, Dance With Me (Hispavox, 1980)
(Discogs)
Note: this is an entry in the Track-By-Track series for my mix for O/B.
Track-By-Track is a series that looks back at records you will have heard in my mixes, one by one in the order they were played. Who made them, and when? How did I come across them? And what do they make me feel?