Submitted By: Mo`

Genre: House

Date of Set: 2003

Filesize: 56.70 MB

Total Downloads: 16

Their name says it all – Masters At Work. For over a decade, 'Little Louie” Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez have shepherded dance music down new paths with their inventive production style and imaginative feel for different musical forms. The two native New Yorkers have amassed an overwhelming body of work in that time, one that includes hundreds of original productions, remixes and side projects, redefining the way we think of music in clubs. Vega and Gonzalez defiantly mix everything they can find – house, hip-hop, funk, disco, Latin, African and jazz – into a universal groove. And in doing so, MAW has become a cultural mélange unto itself, emblematic of the multicultural society in which we live.

Our Time Is Coming is the group's third official album, second under the MAW moniker, and first for Tommy Boy Records. Comprised of wonderful new compositions and a handful of their most popular singles from recent years, it is indicative of the ambitiously eclectic MAW sound: a vibrant dance groove culled from a mesh of Latin rhythms, jazz and soul. Vega and Gonzalez composed, produced and arranged the album's ten songs, using crafty studio work and live instrumentation and help from some regular collaborators (India, Roy Ayers) and a few special guests (Patti Austin, James Ingram, Stephanie Mills).

The Beginnings 'Little Louie” Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez officially started their union as Masters At Work in 1990. Vega, a prodigious DJ around New York, met Gonzalez, a producer, through burgeoning house DJ Todd Terry. Gonzalez’s song 'Salsa House' was a favorite of Vega, who fell for its Latin-influenced, everything-goes flavor. Desiring to remix the song, Vega asked Terry for an introduction, and almost instantly the two bonded over their insatiable appetite for music of all kinds.

Vega was born in the Bronx in 1965 and raised in an environment rich with Latin music. His father was an accomplished saxophone player and his uncle was renowned salsa singer Hector Lavoe (of Fania All Stars fame). While Vega embraced the music of his Puerto Rican heritage, it was his pair of club-hopping sisters – regulars at David Mancuso's famous late-'70s Loft parties and at Paradise Garage – who introduced him to the vitality of dance music. Already taken with roller-disco and hip-hop, Vega attended Paradise Garage for the first time in 1980. There he witnessed the magic of DJ Larry Levan, whose ability to blend music from seemingly every genre and era into a seamless groove would foreshadow the spirit of Masters At Work. Through the mid-'80s, Vega began to make a name for himself as an up-and-coming DJ, playing house and freestyle in Bronx and Manhattan hotspots like Devil's Nest, Roseland and Studio 54. He was also doing remixes and original rhythm tracks, including one of his early breaks remixing Information Society's 'Running' for Tommy Boy.

Gonzalez was born in Brooklyn in 1970. As a kid, he initially shunned Latin music, falling in love with the rebellious party beats of hip-hop. He worked as a buyer in a local record store while a teenager, mastering his skills as a DJ playing on the side. In the late-'80s, Gonzalez and a friend began organizing popular neighborhood block parties under the guise Masters At Work. Gonzalez met Todd Terry through these parties and lent Terry the fresh MAW moniker for two eventual club hits – 'Alright, Alright' and 'Dum Dum Cry.' In return, Terry let Gonzalez borrow his drum machine and recording equipment, on which the blossoming producer recorded several tracks for the influential Nu Groove Records, including 'Salsa House.'

The MAW Union The first collaboration between Vega and Gonzalez came in 1990 when Vega produced the debut album for singer Marc Anthony, an underground club prodigy at the time. Writing with India and other collaborators, and arranging the album himself, Vega brought in Latin masters Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri to record the album, and turned to Gonzalez for some beats. Credited as “Masters At Work featuring Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri,” the recording of the album set the conceptual framework for future MAW productions: combining live instruments with sampled beats, and veteran masters with new innovators. Soon others were seeking the MAW sound, and Vega and Gonzalez began remixing artists ranging from Debbie Gibson to Saint Etienne. They also began making their own original tracks, like 'Blood Vibes,' a hip-hop/reggae blend that marked their first original production, and 'Our Mute Horn,' a Miles Davis tribute track that gave a nod to their jazz influences.

As the Masters At Work sound became more pervasive in clubs, they became more sought after by artists and labels, eventually remixing Bjork, Deee-Lite, Neneh Cherry, Soul II Soul, Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, Daft Punk, Incognito, Brand New Heavies, Stephanie Mills and many, many more. Sometimes a MAW remix is literally a re-mixing of the original, like adding a bass line and some minimal keys (Daft Punk's 'Around the World') Other times, their remixes are total re-imaginations of the songs, as was the case with Saint Etienne's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'.

MAW also began producing for their own coterie of artists, like Barbara Tucker and salsa singer India, as well as for artists like Luther Vandross, BeBe Winans and George Benson. These were artists who had no foothold in the dance world but, based on their collaborations with MAW, were given instant respect. In addition to their own solo departures – e.g., Gonzalez’s hip-hop influenced guise The Bucketheads and Vega's DJ residencies at Sound Factory Bar – the group collected some of their own original tracks and released The Album in 1993. Alternating between hard, head-nodding hip-hop and more inspired house tracks, it was their first album released under the Masters At Work name.

Nuyorican Soul MAW alter-ego Nuyorican Soul was born in 1993, a play on their heritage (Puerto Rican), residence (New York City) and style of music (soul). They debuted the guise on 'The Nervous Track' (Nervous Records), giving us a glimpse of the Nuyorican concept – a groove that wasn't just thumping beats but musically sophisticated and engaging as well. A subsequent track, the hot club hit 'You Can Do It (Baby)!' featuring George Benson, helped the project gain critical mass with fans, and after being signed by influential music maestro Gilles Peterson, Vega and Gonzalez recorded the first Nuyorican Soul album.

Released in 1997, the self-titled album was a mix of exemplary salsa, jazz and soul musicians (Roy Ayers, Eddie Palmieri, Jocelyn Brown). There was a discernable Latin jazz influence on songs like 'Runaway' (a Salsoul Orchestra cover), a classic soul feel on the Rotary Connection gem 'I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun,' and a nod to hip-hop with a cover of Bob James' oft-sampled classic 'Nautilus (Mawtilus)'. Yet while the album's cover songs gave a nod to their influences, nobody could have imagined the timelessness of the Nuyorican sound.

Our Time Is Coming Our Time Is Coming combines six new compositions with four popular MAW singles from recent years, all co-written, produced, arranged and mixed by Vega and Gonzalez, who recruited a number of friends and influences to add to the sessions.

The title track boasts the inimitable influence of Roy Ayers on vibes and background vocals. 'Like A Butterfly (You Send Me),' the opening selection, features the lovely Patti Austin on vocals with lyrics co-written by Blaze and background vocals arranged by Austin. The legendary James Ingram appears on 'Lean On Me.' Elsewhere on Our Time Is Coming, the diversity of Vega and Gonzalez rears its head with the Latin-jazz-influenced 'Pienso En Ti,' featuring guitarist and vocalist Luis Salinas, and the deep-house funk of Billie’s 'Every Now And Then.' And it's nearly impossible to throw on the Soca-influenced 'Work,' (featuring Puppah Nas-T with vocals by Denise) and casually bob your head – this is a full-body experience.

It was a dream of Vega and Gonzalez’s to record with Afrobeat king Fela Kuti. Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed when Fela passed away in August 1997. So instead, “MAW Expensive (A Tribute To Fela)” reworks Fela’s signature 'Expensive Shit,' maintaining its dedicated tribal flavor.

Our Time Is Coming is Masters At Work at their finest, a wonderful accomplishment especially given the scope of Masters At Work's robust discography. It's rare to see artists push their creative impulses so consistently and with such acceptance, and even more rare to see it sustained for so long. But as this album reveals, Vega and Gonzalez continue to do so with unequaled ability. If anything, the album's title is too appropriate, for as much as the artists have done in the last eleven years, there is certainly more that lies ahead.

KENNY DOPE

Born in 1970, Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez grew up in Brooklyn's Sunset Park. By the early eighties he was absorbing the hip hop beats that were being played at the local street parties, and in 1985 he started to work in a local record store, WNR Music Center. Along with his partner, Mike Delgado, Gonzalez organised a series of neighbourhood parties under the Masters at Work alias, and these were regularly attended by Brooklyn hero Todd Terry, who eventually borrowed the MAW name for two releases — 'Alright, Alright' and 'Dum Dum Cry'. Terry returned the favour when he lent Gonzalez a drum machine, and in 1989 the resourceful rhythm addict recorded a series of Powerhouse beat tracks for Frank Mendez's cutting edge Nu Groove label.

Gonzalez's Nu Groove work culminated with 'Salsa House', which received heavy rotation from Heartthrob DJ 'Little Louie” Vega. The duo immediately began a prolific relationship, with Gonzalez laying down the beats for four tracks on Vega's album with Marc Anthony, and the new boy established himself as one of New York's most original rhythm generators when he concocted the swinging syncopated beat for Saint Etienne's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. 'I used four or five different kick drums in different frequencies to get what I wanted,' says Gonzalez. 'It took people two or three years to figure out those beats, by which time I had moved somewhere else.'

Gonzalez has spent the last ten years stretching beats to their conceptual breaking point, producing the murky hip hop of 'Blood Vibes', the jazz-inflected rhythms of 'The Nervous Track', the stacked percussion of 'Love & Happiness' and the slamming sounds of 'Close to You'. At the same time, the Brooklyn remixer-producer has pursued an independent recording career that has included the pounding house of the Untouchables on Strictly Rhythm as well as a wide range of hip-hop projects.

Gonzalez's breakthrough as a solo artist came with the recording of the breathtaking Bucketheads album in 1995. 'One night I was driving from Manhattan to Brooklyn with Johnny “D” and we were listening to all of these terrible records. I said, 'Fuck that! I'm going to make some music!'' Gonzalez went home, pulled out a series of classics and produced 'a whole album in three days.' A track called 'The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)' was the standout track, fulfilling Kenny's ambition to make 'something raw, something that was fun.' With its driving drums, screeching sound effects and extended sample from Chicago's 'Street Player', the song was an instant sensation on the underground and before long Gonzalez was gate-crashing the European pop charts with his first major hit. 'That was a big turning point,' acknowledges Kenny.

Following the success of the Bucketheads album, Gonzalez took a break from his solo career, focusing on his collaborative work with Vega. The Nuyorican Soul album marked a particularly important moment, and had Kenny Dope's unerringly creative imprint written all over it. Gonzalez was behind every aspect of the album's creation, and tracks such as 'Nautilus' were hand-picked by the man himself. He also laid down the foundation to all of the beats for the album, and then worked alongside drummer Vidal Davis in the studio. 'He came from Jazzy Jeff's camp,' says Kenny. 'We just clicked.' The album's release marked the MAW man's transition into one of America's most important contemporary producers.

With the MAW-Nuyorican Soul combination going from strength to strength, Kenny is keen to revive his solo career. Having contributed ten of his favourite tracks to a recent 'Stop and Listen' BBE compilation, Gonzalez is about to relaunch his Dope Wax label. The first release is titled 'The Illout' and the second runs under the name 'Brazilica'. A string of Gonzalez classics will follow soon after. At the same time, Kenny is also working on a rap album, Merciless RNS, which he's shopping around, and a hip-hop influenced beats album for BBE called the Madd Rackett is due to be completed this summer. The man behind 'The Bomb' is about to go nuclear.

LITTLE LOUIE VEGA

“Masters At Work still produce the best contemporary dance music. Their music is one step ahead of the rest… They’ve got Latin, house, dance, disco, hip-hop, funk, rare groove, jazz. They’ve got it all absolutely covered. That’s what makes MAW the true masters.” -Gilles Peterson

“Masters At Work marked its 10th anniversary with an elegant demonstration of house music as a generously recombinant beat and a musical embrace of multiethnic possibilities.' -John Pareles, The New York Times

“While many house music remixers are content to take a song and add thumping beats, Vega and Gonzalez re-imagine tunes completely.” -Ethan Brown, New York Magazine

“Little Louie” Vega is the Miles Davis of dance music. Like the impossible to categorize Davis, Vega is constantly reinventing himself and revolutionizing music itself in the process. During his nearly two-decade long career, Vega has crafted some of the most innovative singles in dance music history (“The Nervous Track”, “It’s Alright”, “I Feel It” and “You Can Do It”), kick started genres like soulful house (“Beautiful People,” “I Get Lifted”), and revitalized the careers of legends like Roy Ayers, George Benson and Tito Puente.

Born in the Bronx in 1965, Vega grew up surrounded by Latin music. Vega’s father, Louie Vega Sr, is an accomplished jazz and Latin saxophone player and his uncle Hector LaVoe was a renowned salsa singer who recorded for the Fania label. But Vega’s musical influences didn’t end with Latin music: in the eighties, he was a regular at legendary nightclubs like The Paradise Garage and he attended Afrika Bambaataa’s parties in the Bronx River Projects.

In 1985, Vega began his first nightclub residency at Devil’s Nest, in the Bronx, Roseland, Studio 54 and the Palladium. Vega’s style reflected his eclectic upbringing: his DJ sets included everything from Latin music to hip-hop to British new wave. But towards the end of the decade, Vega became disenchanted with the club scene’s increasing musical segregation. “People’s minds were starting to think in terms of categories,” Vega remembers.

Luckily, at the very same time Vega saw clubland’s creative lights dimming a bit, his soon-to-be production partner Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez was throwing wildly eclectic mobile parties in his Brooklyn neighborhood and cobbling together productions under the “Masters At Work” moniker. By 1987, the Masters At Work name attracted so much attention that Todd Terry borrowed their name-and their style-for the New York house classic “Alright, Alright.”

Terry, in turn, introduced Gonzalez to Vega and the two found an immediate kinship. The pair’s first single under the Masters At Work moniker-“Blood Vibes”-perfectly fused the reggae of Vega’s DJ sets with Gonzalez’s percussive Latin rhythms and hip-hop influenced beats. Vega’s production resume quickly blossomed to include India and Eddie Palmieri’s new generation salsa classic Llego La India Via Eddie Palmieri and even more auspiciously Marc Anthony’s debut Ride on the Rhythm Vol. 1.

Masters At Work productions soon began to take off, too: innovative house remixes for the likes of Tito Puente, Saint Etienne and even Debbie Gibson quickly put the duo at the top of the underground dance music heap. And Vega’s influential “Underground Network” party at Sound Factory Bar in New York created the template for many a soulful house party to come including “Body & Soul” and yielded house music anthems like Barbara Tucker’s “Beautiful People” and River Ocean featuring India’s “Love & Happiness”.

Yet Vega and Gonzalez were still restless, so they created a new project called Nuyorican Soul. With its jazzy horn blasts, ambient soundscapes and wildly arrhythmic percussion, Nuyorican Soul’s first single “Nervous Track” pushed the boundaries of dance music even further. The Nuyorican Soul album, released in 1997, was even more innovative, bringing together gospel divas like Jocelyn Brown, latin soulstress India, hip -hop DJ Jazzy Jeff and soul legends like Roy Ayers under one roof. Like Daft Punk’s Homework, Blaze’s Ten Years After, or Roni Size’s New Forms, the album permanently altered the course of dance music.

Neither Vega or Gonzalez have rested on their considerable laurels since then: the duo continue their frenetic remixing pace, working with and producing the likes of Gloria Estefan, Blaze and Kenny Lattimore; recording the Masters at Work and Nuyorican Soul 2, and solo LPs, as well as appearing in a commercial for Apple Computers; their annual parties at the Winter Music Conference in Miami have earned them praise and attention from mainstream publications like The New York Times and New York Magazine; Vega’s mid-week “Dance Ritual” party at Centro-Fly has become a must for dance music heads and industry alike; and perhaps most stunningly, Masters At Work thrilled thousands of fans with an all-day jam at Central Park’s renowned SummerStage with an all-star roster including Jody Watley, Jocelyn Brown, Roy Ayers and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

These masters have just begun to work.

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