That's My Beat

That's My Beat is compiled by Kurtis Mantronik and features a mixture of Old-School Hip-Hop, Disco, Electro and Club-tracks. They reflect the sound of the New York clubscene that Kurtis Mantronix was so much a part of in the 1980s -- where he moved between the exclusive worlds of Hip-Hop, Electro and Disco/House with ease. Kurtis Mantronix is a true legend. As well as his own material Mantronix has produced and remixed literally hundreds of other artists: Joyce Simms, EPMD, India, T La Rock, Dhar Braxton, Tricky Tee, Jocelyn Brown, Just Ice to name a few (as well as diverse artists such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Shirley Bassey and Steve Reich. Kurtis Mantronik's unique musical career started early. (His first release 'Fresh Is The Word' was released in 1985 on Sleeping Bag Records -- aged 17!). From growing up around the birth of Hip-Hop in the Bronx park-jams where DJs such as Afrika Bambaata, Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash would literally plug in their decks to the electricity supply of available lamp-posts to hanging out with Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage and David Mancuso at the Loft, Kurtis Mantronik absorbed all the New York music influences around him and created a musical path that has enabled him to be an artist, producer and remixer respected in all fields of dance music. Kurtis Mantronik's first job was in-store DJ in New York's legendary Downtown Records (aged 15). It was here that he first met Hip-Hop DJs such as Red Alert, Africa Bambaata and The Latin Rascals as well as the rising House DJs of the day such as a young Tony Humphreys and the like. It was here also that he also first met a young Will Socolov who was starting a new record label, Sleeping Bag records. Will asked Kurtis to make a record and shortly after 'Fresh Is The Word' was released. Mantronix quickly became an underground star, releasing in quick succession a string of classic releases such as 'Needle to the Groove', 'Who Is It?', 'King of the Beats' and 'Bassline'. As Mantronix became a star, Sleeping Bag also quickly became THE underground New York dance label releasing many more tracks played, produced or remixed by Mantronix as well as releasing Arthur Russell's legendary project Dinosaur L 'Go Bang' and Larry Levan's classic 'Weekend'. From this base Kurtis Mantronik has continued as one of the few true pioneers in music, be it Hip-Hop, Electro or Dance. This album features the tracks that have most influenced Mantronix and features a mixture of Old-School Rap, Electro and Disco/House. The album is full of New York block-party classics, whether it's the Rap classics 'It's Yours', 'Super Rhymes' or 'That's The Joint', Disco classics from Machine, Unlimited Touch and Suzy Q or classic European and Japanese Electro from the likes of Yello, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yellow Magic Orchestra.