Walter Gibbons - Jungle Music 2LP

Strut present a new reissue of Walter Gibbons’ ‘Jungle Music’ compilation LP, the definitive collection of Gibbons’ groundbreaking remixes during the heyday of New York’s disco era.

Starting out as a DJ and known for his skilful manipulation of percussive disco breaks at his Galaxy 21 residency in Manhattan, Gibbons brought this ethic to his remixes from the start with his first outing for Salsoul, a re-work of Double Exposure’s ‘Ten Percent’ which completely disassembled the track for the dancefloor. He developed a knack for drawing the rhythmic essence out of both the brilliant and the mediocre as tracks like Jakki’s ‘Sun... Sun... Sun’ were transformed into unique abstract dancefloor beat edits.

The tracks spawned a series of groundbreaking remixes, with many versions only appearing on acetate for his own personal use as a DJ including Gladys Knight’s ‘It’s A Better Than Good Time’. He continued to work with Salsoul (Loleatta Holloway) and West End Records (Bettye Lavette) before branching out to include more leftfield material in his work – collaborations with Loose Joints’ Steve D’Acquisto (Sandy Mercer), Steve Standard (Strafe) and Arthur Russell would all follow, a natural fit for Gibbons’ uncompromising remix style.

After a short time based in Seattle during the late ‘70s, where he played at the Sanctuary nightclub, he returned to New York and, in his later years, he discovered God and refused to play records with a negative message. Tragically, he died of an AIDS related illness during the ‘90s, a largely forgotten figure.

Now revered as a true pioneer of the art of the remix, Gibbons’ key releases are brought together on this essential celebration. Package includes sleeve notes by Tim Lawrence, author of the acclaimed ‘Love Saves The Day’, along with rare photos from across Gibbons’ career as a DJ and producer.