1994

Let’s talk about Buzzin Cuzzins ft Romanthony - Let Me Show You Love

It’s time we acknowledged this 1994 house of classics masterpiece, forged at the hands of cult house/techno producer Romanthony.

For a great many folk in the general populous, Romanthony is a name associated solely to his work in collaboration with DaftPunk, providing the vocal fo their 2007 hit ‘One More Time’. But in the world of authentic underground house music, this long standing namesake harps back to the early 90’s and conjures countless memories of a highly respected, multi instrumentalist, singer and truly unique, prolific underground house music producer. From around 1993, I was personally indulging early productions, with Romanthony - Falling From Grace being my first experience of his unique underground sound. Romanthony subsequently went on to create a huge discography of sought after house music classics until he sadly passed away in 2013 aged just 45.

But among a great many Romanthony releases I have amassed down the years, there is one track that stands out vividly in shaping my love for house music, and that record is the 1994 classic: Buzzin Cuzzins (Romanthony) - Let Me Show You love (Crooklyn Mix) on AZULI Records

TLDR

This classic track and me…

ALEX ROSE: BTG FOUNDER

It’s late Summer 1994 and my record collection is really starting to take shape, I couldn’t be happier. I’m working a Saturday job most weekends and spending every penny I can possibly muster, on trips up  to the big smoke (London) to blow all my wages on Vinyl, standard. I’ve got a pile mixtapes from both DJ’s local to me and those playing the underground venues in London and the US that I aspire to attend, not that i’m old enough to get out into the clubs at this time in my life. My mixtape collection was my bible at 15, cassette tapes were way more important  to me than anything else in my life at this point. They were the staple source of underground goodies, feeding my main vein as I tried to endlessly quench my thirst for building my record collection and DJ’ing. 

In the summer of 1994, I was getting my knickers in a twist all summer about a particular track on a mixtape I had, by a DJ called ‘E.L.S’ playing at a night called ‘Tonic’ in Bognor from that year. In typical Tonic style, E.L.S is accompanied on this live DJ set mixtape by the subtle MC stylings of the Tonic night’s mainstay, MC Rusty, what a tour de force ‘Tonic’ nights in Bognor were to the unfurling underground house music scene in the South East of the UK during the early 90’s!

So, myself and my best buddy Mick (my musical partner in crime) are fixating on a track (as we frequently did back then) that we just couldn’t get enough of.. Rewind > play, rewind > play, over and over it goes... The track in question has this super edgy raw beat construct with dubby stabs, subtle bass-line, and what can only be described as an unapologetic repeating vocal ‘bleating’ over the top, with an almost distorted prominence. A rasping, strained, yet deeply melodic vocal chant.. ‘Let me show you looooove’, complimented by a distinct yet subtle instructive call and response line ‘Listen and understand / when I get myself together’ and I’m thinking, ‘I know that voice, I definitely know it, it sounds like the same vocalist that sings ‘Falling From Grace’?, a track I have on Azuli Records…  ‘it’s got to be Romanthony, it’s got to be?!

Unfortunately, given it’s 1994 and Discogs and the internet in general is still yet change the world as we know it, there's only one way get any further info on this one, so it’ll have to be added to my next list of ‘tracks i’ve heard but don’t know what they are’, and i’ll have to hum and sing my rendition of it to those poor soles that work behind the frustratingly high counters of all my favourite underground Record stores in London… wish me luck yeah.

So a few weeks later, when i’ve got another £100 or so in my back pocket - the rewards of working a few shifts at my usual Saturday job, selling ropey double breasted suits to people that worked in offices - It’s off we go!

10am, Three Bridges train station, on the chuff chuff to London Victoria and then swiftly onto Soho and Covent Garden to get stuck right in and spend the day record shopping in Black Market, Uptown, Mr Bongo, Fat Cat, Wreckless, Music & Video Exchange, Quaff, Vinyl Junkies and so the list goes on. I live for these days. On this occasion, I had my long time friend and unwaveringly loyal house and techno devotee ‘Ez’ along for the trip. Ez,’ what a guy, I love him to bits, i’ve never laughed more than I have with Ez, we seriously good fun growing up. The openly non-conformist one of our crew, not up for school and studying, but unfalteringly up for getting up town and being my wingman to do some serious record shopping for a heavyweight dose of the music we loved so much. Ez is putting me on edge out in public, rolling a joint on the train station platform, what’s he like man...  cracking up laughing every time I prang out and think the Station staff are coming… I wouldn’t mind so much but he’s bunking the train too which he finds hilarious…. I digress.

10 minutes after we arrive at London Victoria, (Ez buzzing, skulking past the ticket inspectors) we’re on the Victoria line to GreenPark, followed by a quick jump onto the Piccadilly line, whic see’s us out in the open air at Oxford Circus a few minutes later, winding our way through the usual hoards as we dip into the back streets and head straight for D’Arbley street and the infamous Black Market Records. As we turn left off of Poland Street into D’Arbley street, it’s late morning and the mecca that is Black Market Records, is clearly audible from the end of the street! Man I love this place, the reassuringly familiar 4/4 thud of heavyweight speakers rattling the windows of the front of the shop, standard. 

We enter the shop, it’s packed, it’s Saturday it’s always packed, and it’s the day after Import Friday. I’m 15 years old, I look about 13, I stand 4ft nothing high and I'm hustling for a spot at the counter… man this is always such a mission. I’m surrounded by fully grown men with piles of records stretched out along the counter, I shuffle through as best I can to get a view of the releases wall and somehow muscle my way in. Given I was so young and so small in stature, in such an adult environment, somehow people always seemed to give me respect for being so forward with wanting to get involved, it’s always been like that for me wanting to get into music from such a young age. Or perhaps they thought I was someone else’s kid that had been dragged along record shopping with their Dad for the day, took pity on me and made space for me as they thought I was with someone else. I don’t know, but i’d always manage to get a space, even if it was chin height to the counter! Looking 13 and with my chin resting on the counter or not, I wasn’t phased for a minute, as long as I got to the cream ;)

I settle in. Owing to the wall of vinyl racks, egg box foam covered ceiling and sheer amount of people in what was essentially a tiny shop, the acoustics in Black Market Records were always second to none. They prided themselves on hosting an industry grade nightclub worth system in store which sounded amazing on every visit.  As I familiarise myself again, with how this type of record shopping works, I absorb the depth and punch of the tough beats coming from the man at the decks behind the counter (Roberto Mello as I recall). Walking into Black Market wasn’t so different to walking into a club with a rich sound system, your body takes a moment to adjust to the assault on the senses as your ears are filled with grooves and your body can physically feel the thud of the subs on the kick drums, it’s an awesome feeling.

I begin to scan the release wall… This is an intimidating enough task as it is, as I see track after track after track after track of sleeves with massive white stickers and fat marker pen scrawling in capital letters, stating artist and title of release, over and over again. I love it.  I’ve lost Ez by this point... I know where he’ll be though. He’ll either be up at the back of the shop in the merchandise section, asking to try on one of everything they have, weeding out Black Market and Azuli Records jumpers, T-Shirts, Record bags and Hoodies (he’s no DJ but he was definitely a devoted fan boy), or if he’s not there he’ll be down in the basement thinking he’s cool, trying to chat to ‘Nicky Black Market’, when we don’t even follow the Drum & Bass scene haha... He’ll be alright ;)

So there I am, trying not to bash my chin on the counter, looking up and down the length of the releases wall, scanning for names and titles I might recognise, thinking - wow there’s a lot here… I see artist names and labels I know popping up here and there but don’t have the courage to start asking for tracks yet… and then bang, hang on what’s that?… i’m looking down to the far right end of the store, right up in the corner above the DJ, and I can just about make something out. Sitting along with a few other Azuli Records releases of the time, a Royal blue gloss sleeve with standard artist and release title printed in a familiar rectangular white box… (typical Azuli Records style) - ‘BUZZIN CUZZINS - LET ME SHOW YOU LOVE’... Ahhhhh man! could it really be it?? It's on Azuli Records (A label which was based above the Black Market shop at the time), Romanthony has released on Azuli before… it must be it?? I instinctively and excitedly raise my hand and get someone's attention behind the counter - ‘Excuse me mate, can I get one of those please’ pointing and reading the label out. Sure enough seconds later, it’s in my hand and on closer inspection I can read it more Clearly…

‘BUZZIN CUZZINS feat ROMANTHONY - LET ME SHOW YOU LOVE’ Special limited edition of 2500’ Nooooo! I look back at the rack on the wall from where it came, and there are no more there, it's the last one, it’s the last one! The guy next to me asks me what it is, and I excitedly tell him. He can barely hear me, not that I care and it’s loud in here. I need to know if it is the track I think it is? I pull back from the counter and head for one of the listening decks at the end of the counter with headphones. No chance, they are all taken and i’m gonna be waiting a while to get the chance to hear if it’s the track I think it is… i’m sure it is, it must be!? I go find Ez, sure enough, he’s in the merchandise shop up at the back of the store trying on a pile of hoodies and jumpers, whilst a disgruntled lady shop assistant stands refolding all the stuff he’s been trying on, not that he cares… standard Ez. I give him the low down with the track and I'm so gee’d up about it I just want to just pay up, get out of there for a moment and regroup from the excitement. Sounds pretty sad, but I kid you not, that’s how excited I used to get about finding records…

We regroup outside Black Market and excitedly skulk off around to HMV in Oxford Street, where they also had an excellent range of the latest underground house music back in those days, and sheepishly use one of their listening decks and headphones to finally give it a listen… Alas, there it is, in all it’s raw edgy deep dubby house glory… ‘Listen and understand…’ Yes!… that’s the one: Let Me Show You Love (Crooklyn Mix), another deep, dubby, underground house music weapon nobody else that I know has, added to my arsenal for the next party I DJ at… happy days!

A few minutes later and we’re on our toes back into Soho for some more digging, the day is young!

Check out this rare interview with Romanthony, carried out by Electronic Beats back in 2013

Never forgotten, we salute you!

Anthony Wayne Moore (Romanthony) 1967 - 2013