Grand 12 Inches Mixes available on CD

LIEBRAND 12 INCHES
40 separate 12" versions, not mixed
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CD 1 1. BILL WITHERS Lovely Day (‘88 remix) (6:32) Another week and a new minimix to make. Just finished my 4 Seasons remix of Oh What A Night, so those sounds where still loaded in the samplers. Took one of my all time favorites and synced up for some new drums and bass-lines. Went on air as a minimix and a release was just around the corner. Turned out a bigger hit than the sound set-up it originated from. 2. CULTURE BEAT Mr. Vain (Mr. Liebrand) (5:40) Being of the same generation as the producers of Culture Beat, made it easy to get a hold of the parts to make a remix. Sure Ben, we'll send them over. Whenever inspiration strikes, have a go, and I did! 3. MC MIKER G & DJ SVEN Holiday Rap (12” remix) (6:25) A crrrrazy story. Martin van der Schagt hooked up with Sven & Miker G and they rapped on an edit of Madonna's Holiday. Frits van Swoll gave me the result which contained a bit of Cliff Richards song right at the end. I reworked the track altering the parts turned the Richard bonus bit into the chorus and started a search to which instruments Jellybean used for the original. Which drum machine, which synths most could be found in the liner notes on album. Oberheim drums and a brilliant synth player Peter Schön to fill in the last missing parts. The newly recorded musical track turned out so well that we almost got sued for sampling. Sven and Miker G arrived at my home address (still living at my parents back then) and recorded their parts. Miker G went nuts upon hearing himself through a decent microphone with a professional reverb added (PCM70). He had to be unplugged to make him stop. The second time I met them, it was a huge hit all over Europe. The 3rd time I met them the Duo was history.... Never saw Miker G again. Sven is a good friend ever since we met again years later. It is a shame that success and Miker G didn't treat each other very well. 4. FARLEY ‘JACKMASTER’ FUNK Love Can’t Turn Around (12” remix) (7:22) Again a track that began life as a minimix, all within a days work, received some extra production time which upgraded it to the DMC mix you now hear. Strings were taking from the famous Emulator 1. It turned out into a kind of symphonic version. 5. FUN FUN Happy Station (Ben Liebrand rmx incl. drum end) (7:21) Poor Girls. Imagine a Dutch remixer just having a go at a track, chopping it up making crazy edits, using a Korg MS10 to generate sounds very similar to scratches. Then hearing a radio edit needed to be made so I condensed all the madness in a short version. The girls were already on a flight to Holland to perform on TV using this bit of chopped up DJ lunacy without ever having heard it before. It however launched their career big-time and they forgave me in the end. The master you here now is taken from the original edited 12" version analogue master which was part of the 1st Italo mix. The edited Ampex tape was transferred in sections, stopping every 45 seconds to check and clean the heads of tape residue. The point where the tracks blends into the next was replaced by a section of drums in order to have a decent mix-out bit. 6. COCK ROBIN El Norte (reinforced dance mix) (6:58) A difficult track to start with and a difficult act to follow up the massive hit, "The Promise You Made". The track received a treatment in the style of EW&F's System of survival. The master you hear was re-edited from the digitally recorded mix-down sections, and EQ-ed to better fit the sound I was aiming for. You see, monitoring changed over the years and not all speakers were totally true to me, keeping me from the sound I was aiming for. 7. CULTURE BEAT Der Erdbeermund (get into magic mix) (8:09) It is the odd track that stands out! This absolutely goes for this track featuring a well known dude in Germany who recited this bit of poetry. And it worked. 8. NINA HAGEN New York, New York (12” mix) (7:06) Nina Hagen was/is a Phenomenon ranging from cocky to headstrong. I believe she simply did what she liked and this track is all about her view of New York and it's people. The remix features heavy Hip Hop beats and transformer effects. It was re-edited from the digitally recorded mix-down sections where I discovered an extra bit of acappella that you now find added as a bonus. 9. THE PASADENAS Love Changes (Ben Liebrand remix - extended version) (6:53) Not a flashy or pounding remix here, but a mix with the right sounds adding up to a warm feel supporting the composition. Difficult task. Well sounding end result. 10. SPLIFF Das Blech (12” mix) (5:04) Spliff was brilliant. Somewhat alternative narrating their experience "in die disco" , Met them first whilst working on Carbonara and later whilst doing the Frooon (also 100% Spliff) remix. Dar fliegt mir doch das Blech weg. The reel you see on the cover is actually the multitrack of Spliff, Das Blech CD 2 1. BEN LIEBRAND The Eve Of The War (deep space mix) (7:08) This idea popped up at a BBQ at Lex Harding's house. The 1st version was ready a day later and broadcasted as a minimix. Richard Burton's vocals were added and the use of the sampled bits were approved by CBS (later Sony, now Sony/BMG). The track was released under the artist name "Ben Liebrand Remix". The UK release confused everyone by giving the impression it was a Jeff Wayne release in a Liebrand remix. They even stuck Wayne's imagery to this new production making the confusion complete. Number 2 in the UK charts!! 2. CANDY DULFER Saxuality (12” remix) (6:12) Dutch Saxophone goddess Candy Dulfer's song Saxuality receives the Liebrand treatment with fierce hip-house style beats. Re-edited from the digitally recorded mix-down sections. 3. BB&Q BAND Main Attraction (the finest remix) (6:37) Source material for the remix was the 2-track stereo master with a remix in style of The S.O.S. Band The Finest. Hence the name! 4. PIA ZADORA Dance Out Of My Head (the Ben Liebrand mix) (6:00) Official Multitrack remix which received excellent reviews. Even Pia sang better they said. Perhaps that was due to lowering the volume on her vocal tracks and pushing up the more than excellent backing vocals which performed the same vocal lines. Those where the same vocalists Jam & Lewis used for all their excellent studio productions. It works doesn't it? 5. KARL KEATON Love’s Burn (dance mix) (6:28) American Singer living in Germany asked me to produce a ballad. Nevertheless I sneaked in the extra drums and the track became a cross-over hit between ballad and dance-track, radio and club-track. It received an award for best German production of 1991. Best GERMAN production, produced by Dutch Ben Liebrand. Go Figure! 6. BROADS* Sing Sing Sing (ballroom big band version) (7:31) The track started of as a mash-up back in 1982. It was a mix from Charlie Callello's version and the original Andrews Sisters vocals. I was shown how to edit analog tape and this was the first edit I made, combining parts already mixed in sections to a whole mix. This mix served as the demo to re-record the whole thing. Sing Sing Sing was produced by Sander Bos and myself in a whole series of co-productions by the two of us ever since our first collaboration on "Lafleur". It was a complete new recording with a full Big Band Horn Section conducted by Jurre Haanstra, who also played the Toms loop throughout the song. The success of this and the following production opened the Broads up to a wider audience and the club-scene, whilst at the same time drifting them away from the close harmony circuit in which they previously were very successful. Sometimes success has strange side effects. 7. ADVANCE Take Me To The Top (12” mix) (6:44) Created for the second edition of Studio 57 this remix made at the very beginning of my career was heavily based on edit effects and some additional sound effects. The version you hear is taken from the original edited master tapes which were returned to me some years ago. The 25 year old edited Ampex tape was transferred in sections, stopping every 45 seconds to check and clean the heads of tape residue. 8. HIGH FASHION You Make Me Feel So Good (extended remix) (7:33) Produced by Frank Jansen & Johan Daansen these production where of high quality and could easily fit in with material of Change and other Jacques Fred Petrus productions. They all had excellent vocals and were produced in Germany in 1986. I had the pleasure of making the 12" remixes, brought to you straight from the digital F1 masters. 9. BEN LIEBRAND ft. TONY SCOTT Move To The Big Band (jazzy mix) (5:43) Ever since I heard Tony on "The Chief" I was hoping for an occasion to work with him. I was fortunate enough to get him on board with this project which for the first time combined rap with a full big band horn section. Horns were arranged by Gerbrand Westveen and recorded at The Limit Studios. We had 2 trumpet players, 2 on trombone who played the parts in 3 (or 4) takes using different trumpets and trombones. Gerbrand brought his Alt, Tenor and Baritone Sax and played 5 parts on top of the 3 x 4 parts we already had. Everything together resulted in, and sounded like the real thing. Tony did a great job with his rap. The version you have here is the Jazzy Remix featuring Haro Slok on clavinet. On Other mixes, the scratches were performed by DJ Fresh Force who later changed his name to DJ Jean. 10. MDMC* Love Life (transparent mix) (8:28) Love Life was the second production for MDMC and is added here simply because it sounds great. Sander Bos and I spent countless hours tuning and EQ-ing sounds to come up with the final result. Recording it was tedious. The Linndrum II simply did not have the possibility to program tuning for an instrument so all the different tuned high hats needed to be recorded one tuning at a time. We did however have a great time recording all the live percussion played by Eddy Conard. CD 3 1. LAFLEUR* Boogie Nights (12” remix) (8:00) Boogie Nights actually was my first solo production and was recorded at the same time as Forrest's follow up Feel The Need. This project introduced me to the engineer of Dureco Studios, Sander Bos. The co-operation went very smooth and we decided to co-produce from then on. Those were busy days as I was completing to mixes in the same weekend. "Lafleur" in Holland and the follow up for "Forrest" in England. The mix-down for Forrest was done in London and was ready somewhere in the early hours of the morning. Straight from the studio to the airport for another day of mixing the Lafleur track at Dureco Studios. That session ended somewhere at half past 3 in the morning. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and for no reason whatsoever Frans vd Kamp went on my nerves in such a way that he totally managed to piss me off big-time. By the time I had just about had it with that nonsense and was about to blow my top, he calmly said. 'So.... now you're awake enough to get home safely'...... And so I did. Thank you Frans! 2. FOX THE FOX Precious Little Diamond (Ben Liebrand 12” mix) (7:29) Done in 1984 this was basically turning a 7" version into a 12" version by splicing in Instrumental parts and bits that where mixed down extra called out-takes. The resulting 12" was Fox The Fox's biggest hit selling more copies of the 12" version in germany than Michael did of his 12" of Thriller. Not Bad! This version was taken directly from the digital safety copy of the original edited tape. 3. ALF Stuck On Earth (In The Home, Just Kidding) (house mix) (7:26) Another track that started as a minimix and if you consider that internet still was years away, it is a miracle how things started a buzz back then. After several weeks of tracking each and every script writer down, who contributed in the bits of text that were sample,l the paperwork was finally done and the track was released. Yes it is very silly indeed and apparently people were in a silly mood too because the track charted and I even had to do a TV performance with a oversized version of Alf. 4. NOVO BAND Dance Non Stop (deep funk hip-house mix) (6:00) The Dutch dance music scene back in the 80's was crowded with bands that considered themselves credible whilst they were doing funky tracks that all sounded a couple of years out of date. Unfortunately the Novo Band were no exception and this remix illustrated this with an over the top collection of samples missed by bands that stayed on the old funky track. 5. BILL WITHERS Ain’t No Sunshine (the total eclipse mix) (5:42) Made from an amazing multitrack which featured all musicians in one room playing the whole thing in one take. You could hear Bill singing on the channel where is guitar was recorded and on each channel you could hear the rest of the band in the background. The recording was actually a test run for the real thing, take 2.... After several seconds Bill catches a frog in his throat and everyone stops to play on what was supposed to be the actual take. They probably realized that the 1st take wasn't half bad, and to this 1st take the strings where later recorded in a separate session. Performed in an Art Of Noise inspired style, The total Eclipse mix. 6. CANDY DULFER Heavenly City (S2s mix) (6:50) After Saxuality the second remix assignment for Candy, The mixes were approved but not used at the time as Candy did not see the need for Club promotion for this track. It sounds great though, and this therefore is an absolute exclusive. 7. BEN LIEBRAND Feelin’ Good (12” mix) (5:42) One of the tracks that were intended for the follow up of Styles. Sometimes you make a club groove, sometimes it is music. 8. CEEJAY He’s So Devine (acid remix) (5:55) Ceejay who also did the vocals on Give Me An Answer, is here performing the composition written by the guys from the Limit. This remix is the acid version with all the bells and whistles included. 9. MDMC* How About it (12” remix) (7:20) The 1st production for MDMC (Modern Danceable Music Company) by Sander Bos and myself featured some cool stuff at the time. For the breaks we recorded some sounds, went to the Dureco cutting room and got a lacquer cut, which we then used to do some scratching. The scratching itself was basic as it turned out to be pretty difficult to move the heavy lacquer quickly (the thing has a solid aluminum core) and high stylus force kind of dug the needle into the "softer" lacquer surface. The Bass-drum effects where made with a pre production TED drum sample player and recorded at Ad Kraamer's Sunrise Studios. That part was mixed in from 38cm tape syncing the recorders with their pitch control. We used reverse reverbs by ctually running the whole multitrack in reverse and the vinyl cutting ended in and endless loop in the final center groove of the record. 10. DOCTOR’S CAT Feel The Drive (Ben Liebrand rmx) (12:22) As part of another Italo Disco release, Doctor's Cat was a big hit on the dance-floors. Although it sounds like a sampler was used, that was not the case. Each and every note was started in by hand using a second tape deck and a home made pitch control which was calibrated to switch between exact half-tone intervals. Tape decks where cued, and melody's where recorded a note at at time on a 4-track TEAC A3440. A stereo master was edited form material recorded on an Studer A80. That tape was then put on the 4-track TEAC where left would be reproduced from track 1 and right from track 4. The 2 center tracks (2 & 3) could then be used to add effects and melody's, which where mixed down to digital Sony F1. That is what you now have, including the bonus sound effects track. CD 4 1. CERRONE Supernature (Ben Liebrand old school mix) (12:51) What can I say, this is one of the pillars that founded my direction in music. It therefore was an experience to be able to work with the original sounds and vocals on the multitrack. Don't be mistaken, although this totally sounds like being sequenced, every synth was hand played throughout the entire track. So although it sounds like this was a simple case of adding some beats to the original, everything was lifted part by part from the original multitrack, put back in the right spot, re-synced at 127 BPM and repaired, replaced and repositioned where necessary. My goal from the start however was to create a mix with all the sounds I loved, which was pretty much everything on there. Now brought to you in perfect sync and steady tempo with a beat of today. Another futuristic 2010 mix is also made by me as this was written. 2. FORREST** Rock The Boat (special extended version) (10:23) The story of Rock the Boat actually started with a cover version of the George McCrae track "Rock me baby". We recorded a cover version based on one of my early remixes and got Forrest to do the vocals. He however was not able to perform the track on stage or TV as he had obligations to his band at the time. So a guy called Julius Green lent his face to the production. Big mistake! The follow up, Rock The Boat, produced by John Tilly and myself progressed and sounded better and better all the time. We didn't want to risk Julius messing this one up, so Forrest was convinced to be the artist as he was singing it anyway. That was a big step-up from getting payed 500 bucks to lend his vocals, to becoming an artist with a European hit on his hands. The mix you have here is what I remember to be a mix-down made of the work in progress. It is the full length production featuring all the bits that were recorded. It perhaps even catches better the feel I had in mind than the final commercial 12 inch version. John Tilly later produced wonderful stuff for Trijntje Oosterhuis. 3. TLC Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg (Ben Liebrand 12” club mix) (6:18) Taking a hip hop track to the club dance floors always is a tricky job. This one went rather well and sounds full round and spot-on. You guessed, I really like it! 4. CARL LINGER Super Love (12” remix) (5:37) For all that did not know yet, Carl Linger is the guy who performed all the backing vocals on all the huge Salt'N'Pepa hits I was fortunate enough to make, including Let's Talk About Sex. Anyway, he is a great guy and deserved more attention then he got. It also was a strange time with swing-beat not yet appealing to the masses. He would have fit in better with the current urban trends. 5. STEVE ALLEN Love Is In The Air (12” remix) (6:32) I always felt the mix turned out rather thin, probably due to the speakers I was using at the time. Te low-end is now corrected and pumps away happily. 6. JAM & SPOON Find Me (Odyssey To Anyoona) (Ben Liebrand remix) (8:29) Always a pleasure working on a track of these 2 geniuses of sound. Tried to make something different here. 7. DANCE 2 TRANCE Power Of American Natives (12” mix) (5:19) Another fine example of well produced German trance, here presented with the Liebrand approach. 8. RAM JAM Black Betty (Ben Liebrand remix) (5:29) Again a track that started of as a minimix. The first version was sent of to CBS Germany and although many details could have been perfected, this 1st Rough 'n' Ready mix had what it took and got released exactly the way it was. 9. FROON Bobby Mugabe (Ben Liebrand remix) (7:25) Frooon (or is it Froon indeed) was another name for the German band Spliff. They put together this anti-apartheid track filled to the brim with all kinds of samples and even a bit of Prince in there. The Sample Nut I am, they had me on board straight away. Spent a wonderful weekend in Berlin making the pre-mixes, which were complemented with the new grove and all the editing in my own studio back home. The scary thins is that so many years later Mugabe still is doing what he wants. 10. TEQNOH Switching All Systems (12” remix) (5:06) In the days of Techno, thought I'd have a go. Vocals are generated by software on one of the early macs years before the now perfected "speech" was part of OSX. The middle section features some awesome low-end in the bass-line. Just that already was enough for a spot on this compilation. And yes, Teqnoh was actually 100% Ben Liebrand

TRACKLIST CD 1 1. BILL WITHERS - Lovely Day (‘88 remix) (6:32) 2. CULTURE BEAT - Mr. Vain (Mr. Liebrand) (5:40) 3. MC MIKER G & DJ SVEN - Holiday Rap (12” remix) (6:25) 4. FARLEY ‘JACKMASTER’ FUNK - Love Can’t Turn Around (12” remix) (7:22) 5. FUN FUN Happy Station (Ben Liebrand rmx incl. drum end) (7:21) 6. COCK ROBIN - El Norte (reinforced dance mix) (6:58) 7. CULTURE BEAT - Der Erdbeermund (get into magic mix) (8:09) 8. NINA HAGEN - New York, New York (12” mix) (7:06) 9. THE PASADENAS - Love Changes (Ben Liebrand remix - extended version) (6:53) 10. SPLIFF - Das Blech (12” mix) (5:04) CD 2 1. BEN LIEBRAND - The Eve Of The War (deep space mix) (7:08) 2. CANDY DULFER - Saxuality (12” remix) (6:12) Dutch Saxophone goddess Candy 3. BB&Q BAND - Main Attraction (the finest remix) (6:37) 4. PIA ZADORA - Dance Out Of My Head(the Ben Liebrand mix) (6:00) 5. KARL KEATON - Love’s Burn (dance mix) (6:28) 6. BROADS - Sing Sing Sing (ballroom big band version) (7:31) 7. ADVANCE - Take Me To The Top 8. HIGH FASHION - You Make Me Feel So Good (extended remix) (7:33) 9. BEN LIEBRAND ft. TONY SCOTT - Move To The Big Band (jazzy mix) (5:43) 10. MDMC - Love Life (transparent mix) (8:28) CD 3 1. LA FLEUR - Boogie Nights (12” remix) (8:00) 2. FOX THE FOX - Precious Little Diamond (Ben Liebrand 12” mix) (7:29) 3. ALF - Stuck On Earth (In The Home, Just Kidding) (house mix) (7:26) 4. NOVO BAND - Dance Non Stop (deep funk hip-house mix) (6:00) 5. BILL WITHERS - Ain’t No Sunshine (the total eclipse mix) (5:42) 6. CANDY DULFER - Heavenly City (S2S mix) (6:50) 7. BEN LIEBRAND - Feelin’ Good (12” mix) (5:42) 8. CEEJAY - He’s So Devine (acid remix) (5:55) 9. MDMC - How About it (12” remix) (7:20) 10. DOCTOR’S CAT - Feel The Drive (Ben Liebrand rmx) (12:22) CD 4 1. CERRONE - Supernature (Ben Liebrand old school mix) (12:51) 2. FORREST - Rock The Boat (special extended version) (10:23) 3. TLC - Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg (Ben Liebrand 12” club mix) (6:18) 4. CARL LINGER - Super Love (12” remix) (5:37) 5. STEVE ALLEN - Love Is In The Air (12” remix) (6:32) 6. JAM & SPOON - Find Me (Odyssey To Anyoona) (Ben Liebrand remix) (8:29) 7. DANCE 2 TRANCE - Power Of American Natives (12” mix) (5:19) 8. RAM JAM - Black Betty (Rough n Ready remix) (5:29) 9. FROON - Bobby Mugabe (Ben Liebrand remix) (7:25) 10. TEQNOH - Switching All Systems (12” remix) (5:06) BACKGROUND INFO Working with the first samplers, sequencers and drum machines and syncing the lot by hand. Hooking up stuff with trigger pulses and control voltages, all without midi. Just doing the stuff I loved and without having planned or even realizing it, becoming one of the first DJ-Producers. This was back in 1982. In 1983 my “In The Mix” show started on Radio Veronica. This first non-stop-mixed show on Dutch National Radio proved to be the inspirational guide for a whole generation of DJ’s. The spin-off of this show, The Minimix, was a test ground for remix techniques and many of the tracks on this compilation started of as such a Minimix. I always had a passion for music and a great interest for technology. The word "Nerd" proudly springs to mind. I always tried to improve sound quality to preserve my music in the best way possible using Studer butterfly heads on my first modified Revox B77 and by adding digital recording to the set-up as soon as 1984. Back then I mixed down separate parts of a mix (intro, song, break, outro and other parts) to digital and edited those parts on analogue tape thus forming the final mix. For this release I went back to those original digital parts and re-created those edits,joining the parts digitally. Now for the first time I present you these remixes in full original 1st generation digital quality. Enjoy! All Remixes, Additonal Production, Instruments, Engineering, Editing & Mastering by Ben Liebrand. * Produced by Ben Liebrand and Sander Bos ** Produced by John Tilly and Ben Liebrand. Special thanks to Hemmy, Sander Bos, Ronald Prent, Frits van Swoll & John Tilly. EQUIPMENT INVOLVED Studer A80 stereo 2 track recorder Sony F1 Studer A800 24track recorder Mac G5 HOW STUFF WAS DONE Before 1984: -From the I mixed to in segments.Those segments would then be edited together by splicing the tape, making the 12" version. When a copy was needed it was made from to by a professional engineer. The original was the (edited) master. The copy was a production-copy and some degradation was unavoidable. After 1984 -From the a mix was made to The segments could be copied to as many times as needed for multiple versions if needed, and the edited tape would be copied back to . A lossless 1:1 copy could be made digitally. Most 12" versions where made this way untill the first digital editing tools became available. For this release and the pre 1984 remixes, I went back to the which was transferred to . The BASF tapes could be transferred in one go as they preserve very well. Ampex tape however absorbes moisture over the years which results in the rubbing of of sticky goo whilst playing. This also smears over the playback which causes the high end to drop off severly as the tape simply doesn't make proper contact anymore with the playbackhead. Therefore these tapes either need to be baked to get rid of the moisture, or be transferred in sections, stopping every 30 or 45 seconds to check and clean the heads of that residue. For all material after 1984, I went back to the seperate digitally sections recorded on and transferred them to to be re-edited again, but this time digitally avoiding tape hiss and distortion.

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