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Hardkiss Vault (1991-1999)

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 BUY THE HARDKISS VAULT NOW 

Part 1(Big Guns): Track Listing + Liner Notes

title *** artist *** label *** producer(s)

 

01. The Phoenix (Some Day My Plane Will Crash) - God Within - Hardkiss/Original White Label - Scott Hardkiss

     -Kurtis Blow go-go beat sample, unclearable ELO “Fire On High” guitar sample. Jeff Lynn never borrowed a chord progression?

 

02. Rocket Man(Scott Hardkiss Remix) - Elton John - unreleased - Scott Hardkiss

     -Scott’s moody, epic anthem of a remix was big with emotion rather than boisterous sounds. People still ask me about this track.

 

03. White Love (Psychic Masturbation) - One Dove - FFRR - Scott Hardkiss

     -This is Scott at the height of his powers, with some help from Charles Webster. All drama and melody, with a great intro sample of Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke from the Francis Ford Coppola movie, “Rumble Fish.”

 

04. Raincry (Submerged) - God Within - Hardkiss - Scott Hardkiss

     -This is the original version. Created in a garage in Twin Peaks. Mixed in Silicon Valley.

 

05. 3 Moods in a Gurple Pardon - Hawke - Hardkiss - Robbie Hardkiss/John Druckman/Jeff Taylor

     -Goofy Robbie title, moody Hawke melodies, funkin’ Robbie bass line, John Druckman going off on percussion.

 

06. The Phoenix (Throw Your Guns) - God Within - Hardkiss/Original White Label - Scott Hardkiss

     -A dark, dubby, dramatic masterpiece of a remix by Scott; with screaming monkeys and that illegal ELO sample.

 

07. Acid Funk (Scott Hardkiss Mix) - Hawke + God Within - unreleased - Scott/Gavin Hardkiss

     -Scott’s vocals are too funny - that DC/Maryland drawl talking up California and Acid House.

 

08. Texas Cowboys (Beans Is Ready, Boys) - The Grid - Deconstruction - Scott/Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -The best thing about this mix was coming up with the title. Another one was “Round Up The Horses, Storm’s A Coming.”

 

09. Bennie and the Jets(Gavin + Robbie Hardkiss Remix Demo) - Elton John - unreleased - Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -A bit of an experiment that we never felt like we finished. Just found the original parts, so maybe we will?

 

10. Feet (Fungus Mix) - Sandals - FFRR - Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -Gavin and I did this remix on Polk St. at 3rd Floor Studios, with Mark V engineering. We got some of our best sounds out of that room with him. We also did our Drums Are Dangerous remix that appears on Delusions of Grandeur there.

 

11. Acid Funk (Unreleased Gavin Hardkiss Mix) - Hawke + God Within - unreleased - Scott/Gavin Hardkiss

     -We found this on a DAT while compiling the Vault …. a live 808 work out always sounds sooo goooood.

 

12. Feet (Wrong Side of Town Mix) - Sandals - FFRR - Scott Hardkiss(as Next School)

     -This Scott remix, engineered by Charles Webster, just crushed raves. People called it “The Froggy Song,” because  of the extremely prominent frog  sample. Scott loved putting animal sounds in his songs.

 

13. The Phoenix (Steal From The Rich) - God Within - Hardkiss/Original White Label - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Robbie did this remix in DIY studios in Nottingham (get it? steal from the rich?) with Damian Stanley deftly engineering.

 

14. Acid Funk (Raver's Reprise) - Hawke + God Within - Hardkiss - Scott Hardkiss

     -B-boy comes with the sirens and the halftime drumline.  Classic Scott.

 

15. White Love (Higherwatha) - One Dove - FFRR - Jon Williams

     -I was thrilled to be working on something that Eno and Weatherall had touched, but we had no idea what we were doing. We heard the native American vocal on the tapes and just rolled with it - Jon Williams

 

16. Believe(The Hardkiss Mix) - Elton John - Rocket/Island - Scott/Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -We couldn’t agree on a singular direction for this remix, so we fleshed out 3 ideas and wove them together.

 

Part 2(Early & Often): Track Listing + Liner Notes

title *** artist *** label *** producer(s)

 

01. Disappear(Hardkiss Remix) - Mazzy Star - unreleased - Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

    -No one is supposed to know about this …. ssh ssh

 

02. Dreamers(Little Wing Mix) - Damon - Dirty Loop - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Robbie traded this remix for frequent flyer miles to join Gavin and Araceli in South Africa. Met penguins on that trip.

 

03. Infinitely Gentle Blows (Infinite Aural Hallucination Remix) - God Within -ZoeMagick & Sunburn - Scott Hardkiss

     -Sublime twisting of the vocal into a magical incantation, and the best part of the movie, “Groove.”

 

04. Why, Why, Why? (Olympic Terrorist Original Mix) - God Within - Sunburn - Scott Hardkiss

     -We were in Atlanta on stage with James Brown when the Centennial Plaza bomb went off.

 

05. Indian Summer - God Within - Sunburn - Scott Hardkiss

     -Scott’s dreamy Balearic House tale - boy, girl, an electric guitar and an iguana elope to a  Mediterranean Island.

 

06. She Bass(Edit) - God Within - unreleased - Scott Hardkiss

     -With the help of Robbie’s jazz keyboardist uncle, Marc Puricelli, Scott did loads of live instrument tracking in SF and NYC.

 

07. Abandon Ship(Sharks and Mermaids) - Hardkiss featuring Kool Keith - Astralwerks - Scott/Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -Whose idea was this anyway?  Inspired. My favorite part is when Kramer from Seinfeld walks in the door.

 

08. Ganguly - Hawke - unreleased - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Gavin made 3 albums worth of material for a project called Museo Hypnotica. This is his favorite track.

 

09. Trust In Your Soul - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Waiting for his first child to arrive, Gavin wrote this in the hills of San Anselmo, pacing around the studio.

 

10. Can We Pray - Hawke + Swan - Fiji Records - Gavin Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -When Gavin left his equipment in Swan’s living room for 6 months, this would happen spontaneously overnight.

 

11. Joy - Tree of Hearts - Hardkiss/Fabulous - Scott Hardkiss

     -The first time in a recording studio, Scott Hardkiss decides to sample the Smiths and The Beatles. Go Man Go.

 

12. I Feel It - Enlight - Hardkiss/Fabulous - Gavin Hardkiss/Frank Genius

     -It was ‘92 and I was hell bent on making music with Frank Genius above the Noc Noc in the Lower Haight.

 

13. Prague (Levi’s TV commercial) - Hardkiss - unreleased - Scott/Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -Our first TV commercial won all kinds of awards.

 

14. Rain Comes - Robbie Hardkiss - unreleased - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Hyde St. Studios, a Quincy Jones vocal sample, the Dorothy Parker snare fill and some sLower Haight funk

 

15. Lovely Loop - Little Wing - Hardkiss - Robbie Hardkiss

     -A loop taken from Miles Davis’ Jack Johnson soundtrack album, embellished in Wilmington, NC with Johnny Turpin.

 

16. Acid Friendly (Early Demo) - Hardkiss - unreleased - Scott/Gavin/Robbie Hardkiss

     -We don’t even remember making this do we Robbie …. oh …  the luxury of time and the excuse of forgetting

 

17. Now We Know (Demo) - Hawke - white label - Gavin Hardkiss

     -The Lovesky remix of this track made it onto the Hawke album Heatstroke.  This is the original version.

Part 3(Sunburnt Funk): Track Listing + Liner Notes

title *** artist *** label *** producer(s)

 

01. Don’t Touch That - Boozy + Swan - Sunburn - Robbie Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -What can we say? We love screaming electric guitars on funky beats. Prince, Isley Bros, Funkadelic, Swan...we love em.

 

02. Champagne Beat Boogie (Vocal Mix) - Boozy + Swan - Sunburn - Robbie Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -This is the first time Robbie got on the mic. He and Laron had the groove, then wrote the lyrics on the way to the liquor store.

 

03. Everything Is Changing (Boozy+Swan Stripped Mix) - Robbie Hardkiss - Classic - Robbie Hardkiss

     -This started as a remix of “Don’t Touch That” but turned into its own beast, with a gazillion remixes on Classic.

 

04. Salvation - Boozy + Swan - unreleased - Robbie Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -Trouble Funk Express beat, Swan on guitars, and Robbie’s cousin (Super Nick) on go-go percussion. This song is rooted in D.C.

 

05. Seven - Hawke + Swan - Rachdingue - Gavin Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     - Dazzling was the Hawke & Swan live show at The Rachdingue at the turn of the 20th century.

 

06. Monkey Junction - Little Wing - Hardkiss - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Monkey Junction is an intersection near Wilmington, NC, where Robbie finished the Little Wing “Lightheaded” EP.

 

07. Believe On Your Own - Hawke + Swan - Rachdingue - Gavin Hardkiss/Laron McNally

      -The Rachdingue is the only surrealist nightclub in world.  Home to Salvador Dali, Miette and their half son The Fox.

 

08. Champagne Beat Boogie (Joshua’s Bubbly Dub) - Boozy + Swan - Sunburn - Joshua(Iz)

     -Such a groovin’ remix! Think we met Josh at BPM Records back in 1991. He’s been making sick music since before then.

 

09. Champagne Beat Boogie (Instrumental) - Boozy + Swan - Sunburn - Robbie Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -Thinking that a lot of our DJ friends wouldn’t want to play our silly vocal mix, we made this instrumental.

 

10. He's A Skull (Robbie Hardkiss Remix) - Q-Burns Abstract Message - Astralwerks - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Robbie hated his production work on this, then heard Q-Burns drop it at a party and said,”Dang, that bass is fonky.”

 

11. B-Boy Stance(Robbie Hardkiss Remix) - Freestylers - Mammoth Records - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Live scratching, ragga vocals, crazy Nord Lead noises and funky conga/bongo action. This was a fun remix!

 

12. Scam Some Chonch - Pipe Bombs 4 Crackheads - unreleased - Robbie Hardkiss/Wade Randolph Hampton

     -Opening song for the ill-fated Y2K NYE Pipe Bombs 4 Crackheads live show, where Robbie almost brawled with Kool Keith’s posse.

 

13. Marijuana In Your Brain (Dope Smokin Mix) - Lords of Acid - Never Records - Robbie Hardkiss

     -When the label heard the Steve Miller breakbeat, they made Robbie re-do the mix; which wasn’t easy because it was analogue.

 

14. Thing Live - Little Wing - Hardkiss - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Scott, Gavin and Robbie press record and start playing with Thing One parts. A live remix is born.

 

15. Thing Two - Little Wing - Hardkiss - Robbie Hardkiss

     -Funky remix of the 1st song Robbie ever made, featuring a shy Dani Siciliano on vocals and Dave Shul on guitar. Feel the Prince.

 

16. G - Hawke + Swan - Rachdingue - Gavin Hardkiss/Laron McNally

     -‘Non plus ultra plus’ is the Catalonian surrealist motto that best describes this record.

 

Part 4(Namquadisco Plus): Track Listing + Liner Notes

title *** artist *** label *** producer(s)

 

01. To The Discoteque - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -This disco ain’t no ordinary disco but it’s a good start to the album Namaquadisco.  BTW … Did you catch the Under The Cherry Moon sample?

 

02. Fung - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Starts with dialog from Beyond The Valley of The Dolls and launches into a psychedelic beat down.

 

03. Columbo’s Got Sloweye - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -This one is for all the handicapped heros - Superman, Beethoven and Mohammad Ali included.

 

04. Vivos En La Muerte - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Next time  you  drink tequila with friends you must  toast ‘Vivos En La Muerte.’

 

05. Born Under A Lucky Star - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -My lover told me I was born under a lucky star so I wrote a song about that.

 

06. Stationary Tornado - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Laron aka Swan and Gavin got caught in the eye of a storm trying to make techno.

 

07. Lovebug - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Rene Love was plucking away on his guitar at Hyde Street Studios so I recorded his beautiful melody for keepsakes.

 

08. Yellowtangerine - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

      -This song is like getting stuck in a spider’s web. It’s bouncy and sticky and feels like it has no beginning and no end. But if you close your eyes it could be a waterbed after a steamy night.

 

09. I Have Her - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

      -Sometimes you go deep …. way deep

 

10. Shnowed In - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Started as a remix of Vivos En La Muerte this one  became its own thing … gotta love Shaheen on drums.

 

11. Stationary Tornado (Who's A Chicken Hawke Infinite Posse Mix) - Hawke - Sunburn - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Sometime the remix is better than the original …. thanks to Lee Howard for slowing it down and giving it The Lower Haight High.

 

12. Elephant Biltong - Hawke - Harthouse/Eye Q - Gavin Hardkiss

     -You have no idea what this is but, beware,  you shouldn’t eat it.

 

13. Demon Drums - Hawke - Fiji - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Dirty vibey instrumental beats are the antidote for so many of life’s ills.

 

14. My Sweet Lord(Gavin Hardkiss Re-Edit) - George Harrison - unreleased - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Dig … this is a history lesson about a multi million dollar lawsuit between George Harrison and The Chiffons. We'll test you on Monday.

 

15. Beep Beep Love (Curious Yellow Remix) - The Incredible Moses Leroy - Ultimatum Music - Gavin Hardkiss

     -Groovy remix and one of the first outings for Gavin’s Curious Yellow moniker.

 

16. Orchestral(California Acid Version) - Hawke - unreleased - Gavin Hardkiss

     -After discovering this on an eight track which was used for Hawke live shows it was dusted off and polished.

 

 

 BUY THE HARDKISS VAULT NOW 


 

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