Pitch & Sync’s Crate Dig: #1
Music and sound agency Pitch & Sync’s offices are home not only to some brilliant creative minds but also an impressive record shelf. With the vast majority of the vinyl stemming from ECD Alex Lavery’s personal collection, the music buried within the shelves is vast both in size and genre. With this in mind, the P&S team decided to go on a series of crate digs to unpack some hidden gems as well as old favourites.
First in the series is our music supervisor Jumi, who speaks of her love of Grace Jones, greatest hits albums and remixes.
Nightclubbing - Grace Jones
“First of all, what an album cover! I think Grace Jones is amazing, purely because in my opinion, she’s so authentic and makes no excuses for her actions, allowing subsequent female artists to be similarly liberated. If I were to choose a standout track from this album, it would have to be ‘Demolition Man’. It was written by Sting and it’s one of my favourite tracks by The Police and I heard that version first but I just love Jones’ take on it.”
900 Number - 45 King
“Lord knows how many times this has been sampled! I think this track is the ultimate party starter. I believe the first time I heard it was when it was sampled by DJ Kool for ‘Let Me Clear My Throat’ when I was really little. I think my mum had it on a MiniDisc (remember them?!). The horns are just ferocious and combined with that drum break, it’s just perfect!”
West End Girls (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) - Pet Shop Boys
“I’m known in the office for unironically championing questionable remixes, however, this is genuinely a really good one. ‘West End Girls’ is probably one of the most iconic 80s pop songs and I truly believe that this remix elevates it to new heights. Whilst its already a great song to dance to, Shep Pettibone makes it that bit more vibrant.”
Abraxas - Santana
“Another album with stunning artwork. As a child of the 2000’s, the Santana that I knew was of the Smooth/Maria Maria era, both solid crossover hits, but I was never really familiar with their older work until I watched Woodstock as a teenager. The combination of Chicano and Latino music with psychedelia and blues is just perfect and creates a signature sound, so much so that I didn’t even know that Black Magic Woman was a Fleetwood Mac cover until a few years ago!”
Best of the Doobies - Doobie Brothers
“Part of me feels that it is slightly cheating to pick a greatest hits compilation, however, I have somewhat of an emotional attachment to this as it was one of the first records that I ever bought. The Doobie Brothers are probably one of my favourite classic rock bands and this album proves that their catalogue is all killer and no filler! They’re one of those rare bands that changed their lead singer and maintained their popularity.”
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