CITINITE

NITE-10

The only major song from the classic film, Purple Rain, to have never previously been released... Finally, after 25 years, comes Dez Dickerson’s lost Minneapolis classic, ‘Modernaire’, mastered from a newly discovered tape recording. As if that wasn’t enough, the record also features a freak-a-holic cover version by Egyptian Lover. Keeping the spirit and energy of the original alive, there are remixes by Hot Persuasion, DMX Krew and Faceless Mind, driven by the searing beats of the 808 and LinnDrum. Also featuring a disco-machine version by Complexxion, this is the sound of the modernaire!

Released – 8th September, 2008.
Limited Edition Red Vinyl Vinyl & MP3– ‘(I Want 2 B A) Modernaire (Dez Dickerson original)’, ‘Modernaire (Hot Persuasion remix)’, ‘Modernaire (Egyptian Lover remake)’, ‘(I Need A) Modernaire Lover (Complexxion version)’, ‘Modernaire (DMX Krew remix)’, ‘Modernaire (Faceless Mind remix)’.

Vinyl available to buy from leading independent record shops, and from these online stores: (links open in new windows)
USA: Turntable Lab, Forced Exposure.
UK: Rubadub, Warpmart, Sounds of the Universe, Boomkat, Juno, Phonica, Chemical Records, Smallfish, Interstellar Sounds, Rough Trade.
The Netherlands: Rush Hour, Clone.
Germany: Loop23, HHV, DJShop.
France: Nuloop, Vinyl France.
Belgium: Punk ID, NEWS.
Denmark: iMusic.
Australia: Spank.
Japan: Technique, Guinness, Amazon.

High quality digital downloads available from:
GBP £, USD $, EUR €: Bleep.
EUR €: Zero".

“Dickerson played guitar with Prince when he was at the height of his powers during the ’80s, and ‘Modernaire’ is an entertaining electro funk/synth-pop romp. However, it feels like a footnote in musical history compared to Egyptian Lover’s sleazy, breaking version, DMX Krew’s live funk rework and, best of all, the gurgling acid and shuffling 808s of Faceless Mind’s remix.” DJ Magazine
“London’s wonderful Citinite outfit has not only unearthed the rare ’80s synth-funk song, but also asked a modern day electro dream-team for remixes: Egyptian Lover, Ed DMX and Luke Eargoggle’s Faceless Mind all add their distinct style to the mix, while a definite highlight comes from the rather unknown Complexxion, who contribute a The Normal/Human League-style interpretation of the original.” Zero-Inch
“We’ve had a sneak preview of Citinite’s new lovingly crafted release, the ‘Modernaire’ EP, and we can only say one thing: goto. Electro boogie doesn’t get any more jacking than this. Support the true heroes of the man-machine revolution. A better taste you won’t be able to find anywhere in the interzone, or outside.” 20 Jazz Funk Greats
“Puro Prince style con quel tocco di originalità che Dickerson sa dare, a completare una uscita già di per sé significativa, arrivano anche cinque remix stellari.” Electronique

NITE-12

Two extra mixes are also available as digital downloads. The first is by Miami-based Private Stock: it’s a fun, new wave electronic take on Dez Dickerson’s original and was sent in only a day after the vinyl EP was released! The second mix is an alternate version of Hot Persuasion’s remix, featuring vocoder and effects, which turns up the electricity even further.

Released – 10th November, 2008.
MP3– ‘Modernaire (Private Stock version)’, ‘Modernaire (Hot Persuasion sfx instrumental)’.

High quality digital downloads available from:
EUR €: Zero".

Dez Dickerson: “Without a doubt, the most widely known and sought-after of my songs is ‘Modernaire’. The song was immortalized in the film, Purple Rain, during my performance onstage with my band, The Modernaires (then comprised of Paul Cassady on bass, Roland Lozier on keyboards, Ernie LaViolet on drums, and the late, great Joe Hunt on guitar). Whilst all but 18 seconds of our big screen debut wound up on the cutting room floor, the song became somewhat of an underground favourite, with some going as far as taking a snippet of the tune from the film soundtrack and looping it!

“Originally, all the music from Purple Rain was to have been included on a single soundtrack album, but Prince continued to write material well after completion of the shooting of the picture. In the end, only his music ended up on what became the Purple Rain album.

“‘Modernaire’ is the most overtly Prince-influenced of anything I ever recorded, for obvious, practical reasons – in that it was to be part of the film and subsequent soundtrack project, it needed to fit well with the rest of the music. Prince and I collaborated on the recording, which also accounts for his strong influence. He particularly pushed for me to find a new singing voice on the track, which he succeeded in helping me to accomplish.

“This song was originally to have been released by Warner Bros. as a single at the beginning of my 1983-84 Kamikaze Tour. In fact, when we started the tour in late 1983, many DJs requesting interviews were aware of the single and asked what the release date was. Prince had arranged for his managers, Cavallo, Ruffalo & Fargnoli, to represent me during that time, and they believed they had it all worked out with the label as far as my deal was concerned. But, in fact, things never did come together with Warner. They subsequently began searching for a deal with virtually every other major label on the planet, from Capitol to Polygram, with several of them verbally committing to sign me. But, when it was all said and done, more was said than done!

“Ironically, I received a call from the business affairs department at Warner over one year after their initial plans to release the single, requesting that I supply them with a B-side and artwork – they were finally going to release it after all. But in the end, (you guessed it) it never happened.

“For this Citinite release we were unable to locate the original 2 track analogue master of the song and have been forced to utilize one derived from a cassette copy of the original master. Surprisingly, the quality is much better than one would expect!”

Born in Minneapolis in 1955, Dez Dickerson was the eldest child of three. His father worked two jobs to provide for his family and so that they could move out of the inner city to the suburb of Maplewood, just north of St Paul, Minnesota.

Dickerson remembers, “When I was 12, I asked my parents for a guitar. In order for them to buy it, many of my relatives from Minnesota to California chipped in. I remember waiting and waiting for it to arrive by mail – I couldn’t wait to get it to start playing all the music I was listening to. When it finally arrived, I opened the case and was devastated to find the neck had been broken in shipping. I had to wait nearly a year for the replacement to come.”

Dickerson began his performing career at age 14 when, like so many young boys, he put together a band. They practiced endlessly in his parent’s basement – his mother remembers the house shaking and things falling off the walls from the volume. Word got out that there was a young kid playing guitar like Jimi Hendrix. Winning a local talent contest got the band signed to a booking agency while Dez was still in high school. Most weeks, his mother was writing notes to school administrators to release him early on Fridays so that he and his bandmates could travel to their shows. At age 18, after graduating from technical school, Dez was playing music full-time, touring the Midwest for the next 9 years.

In 1978, an up-and-coming artist from Minneapolis named Prince asked Dez to join his band. Dez proved to be hugely influential on Prince’s music and image and stayed with Prince’s band for five years, touring across the US and Europe and appearing on major tv shows. Between tours, Dickerson began doing showcase gigs with his own group, The Modernaires. After making a cameo appearance in Prince’s motion picture, Purple Rain, Dez ventured out as a solo artist. Dez Dickerson & The Modernaires headlined concerts throughout the US and opened for Billy Idol as special guest on his 1984 ‘Rebel Yell’ tour.

As a songwriter and studio musician, Dez worked with Aretha Franklin, Vanity 6 and The Time, and by 1988, he was producing albums and writing for artists in the Christian music industry. In 1990, this led to his position as Vice-President of A&R for StarSong Communications. In July of 1994, Dez launched his own record label, Absolute Records and three years later released his album ‘Oneman’, which encapsulated his musical and spiritual journey and signalled his future direction.

Absolute Records website (link opens in new window)

The Egyptian Lover (born Greg Broussard) started out as a DJ in Los Angeles and began recording around 1982. Tracks like ‘Egypt, Egypt’ soon became standards among club DJs, particularly in the breakdance scene. ‘Computer Love (Sweet Dreams)’ and ‘My House (On The Nile)’ were among his most experimental, with the material increasingly flirting with full-blown rap, whilst tracks such as ‘Freak-A-Holic,’ demonstrated his love for the Minneapolis sound. Egyptian Lover remains a major player on the international club circuit, continuing to release records on a variety of labels, including his own, Egyptian Empire.

Complexxion
The sleazy disco noir of Complexxion is directly descended from that of ’80s new wave pioneers. Reviving traditional recording techniques, all music is performed live and produced at his analogue studio in London.

Hot Persuasion
Hailing from the city of Phoenix, Arizona, Hot Persuasion specialised in freaked electronic disco funk. Originally wary of the Hollywood-based record industry, their music was initially confined to desert area nightclubs and is only now beginning to see the light of day.

DMX Krew
Rooted in early electropop and breakdance styles, DMX Krew (also known as Ed DMX) has released six albums on Aphex Twin’s label, Rephlex, and numerous singles for his own label, Breakin’ Records.

Faceless Mind
Faceless Mind is the new project from Luke Eargoggle and Johan Inkinen. Eargoggle has released a number of acclaimed electro EPs on several respected labels and has recently collaborated with Egyptian Lover.