Five Easy Masterpieces: An introduction to mutant disco
Contrary to the bedazzled, mainstream dancefloors it came to dominate, the disco revolution was born from the underground dance scene of New York City. It is only fitting, therefore, that the Big Apple produced its own subversive antidote to the mainstream domination of disco, in the form of the elusive mutant disco scene.
The term was coined by one of America’s greatest independent record labels, ZE Records, when they titled a 1981 compilation album, Mutant Disco. At that time, ZE was the go-to place for recordings of the city’s no wave scene, an abrasive, experimental alternative to the pop commercialism that was beginning to dominate ‘new wave’. With Mutant Disco, however, the label introduced an entirely different sound, tailor-made for underground dancefloors.
Blending the prevailing rhythms of disco and funk with an avant-garde sensibility, the compilation album wasn’t anywhere close to being a commercial smash, but it did lend a name to one of the most diverse and enchanting subgenres of dance music – one that extends far beyond the six tracks originally included on that compilation release. In fact, it is easy to link that inherent sound of that ZE release with a selection of obscure avant-funk records that arrived years prior, as well as the ever-evolving post-punk scene that soon followed.
If you have ever had the pleasure of experiencing a mutant disco anthem on a dancefloor, you will be all too aware of the fact that these efforts are still as fresh, innovative, and commanding of a dancefloor as they ever have been. Yet, the term ‘mutant disco’ still conjures up puzzled faces in discussions, from those understandably unfamiliar with an obscure compilation LP that came out over 40 years ago.
In an effort to revitalise the dancefloors of your listening habits, then, we have collated five prime cuts from the mutant disco landscape, spanning the spectrum from its early influences to the bands that carried its legacy forwards into the underground dances of the 1980s.
Five masterpiece albums to get you into mutant disco:
Material – ‘Bustin’ Out’
An eight-minute stormer which formed the penultimate track on the original Mutant Disco compilation, Material’s ‘Bustin’ Out’ is a perfect encapsulation of the scene’s commanding grooves. Featuring Nona Hendryx, whose 1960s group The Bluebelles had once been the underdog rivals of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the epic track blends the far-out experimentation of Material’s earlier work with a more legitimised, funk-fueled sound courtesy of Hendryx’s powerful vocals.
Perhaps the most empowering track on the Mutant Disco compilation, the song helped to lay the blueprint for the subversive dance scene. Perhaps more so than any other track on this list, it also exemplified the inherent difference between mainstream disco and mutant disco. It’s far less predictable and polished than the disco tracks that reigned supreme in the 1981 singles charts, but it has a rawness and experimental power to it which was unmatched by anything conjured up in the recording booths of major record labels.
Lizzy Mercier Descloux – ‘Fire’
Despite being an essential part of the ZE label since its very beginning in 1978, Lizzy Mercier Descloux did not feature on the original Mutant Disco tracklisting. Nevertheless, her 1979 single ‘Fire’, taken from the Press Color record, fits perfectly into the sound and spirit of the compilation – as signified by the fact that it has been included on virtually every reissue.
A dance-fueled rendering of Arthur Brown’s 1968 psychedelic classic, the single was essentially ground zero for the punk-funk and mutant disco scene, offering audiences an entirely new take on a song that they all already knew thanks to the experimental leanings of Descloux. In truth, there are a multitude of tracks from across Descloux’s discography (with the potential exception of the Rosa Yemen album) which could have occupied this space, but none were quite as iconic or influential as this 1979 masterpiece.
Ornette Coleman – ‘Theme from a Symphony’
Mutant disco didn’t emerge from thin air during the days of ZE. Before then, there were a handful of artists inspiring those experimental sounds, and jazz legend Ornette Coleman was certainly among them. A master of the avant-garde, Coleman’s credentials don’t need to be delved into here, but for his 1977 record Dancing in Your Head, the composer embraced a much funkier side of free jazz, creating the improvisational avant-funk masterpiece ‘Theme from a Symphony’.
For all its jazz-leanings and the off-the-wall improvisations of Coleman on the composition, it is easy to link the sound of ‘Theme from a Symphony’, and Variation One in particular, to the kind of acts that flocked to ZE Records in the years that followed. Arguably, in fact, the song wouldn’t feel all that out of place if it was spliced into the tracklisting of the Mutant Disco compilation record, showing just how essential an influence it was on the blossoming scene towards the tail-end of the 1970s.
Gichy Dan – ‘Cowboys & Gangsters’
Another notable highlight from that 1981 compilation record, Gichy Dan’s ‘Cowboys and Gangsters’, is an unavoidable staple of the mutant disco realm. As is so often the case with the architects of the no wave scene, details surrounding the ‘band’ behind the song are relatively scarce. We do know, however, that this particular track was penned and produced by Ron Rogers, while the incredible uptempo vocals are owed to the late Frank Passalacqua.
Regardless, the song’s catchy, upbeat nature makes it one of the greatest weapons in the arsenal of any DJ, sitting closer to disco than experimental music on the mutant disco spectrum. Lyrically, the song isn’t a masterpiece, but then lyrics don’t tend to matter much when you boast a groove as demanding of foot-stomping, sweat-soaking attention as Gichy Dan did on this record.
A Certain Ratio – ‘Back To The Start’
Far away from the subversive underground of New York City, A Certain Ratio almost single-handedly introduced the gloomy skies of Manchester to the avant-funk and mutant disco revolution, with their second album, To Each, released back in 1981. Largely inspired by a trip to the Big Apple, during which Tony Wilson fell in love with the enigmatic funk-fueled sounds of ESG, the album bears a number of striking sonic similarities to the ZE mutant disco realm.
‘Back To The Start’, as well as being the mid-point of that record, was also its inarguable stand-out. With guest vocals from Martha Tilson and off-beat horn blares giving the song a certain sense of experimental unease which invariably gives way to the driving mutant disco come art-punk rhythm, not only did ‘Back To The Start’ allow mutant disco to expand beyond its New York beginnings, but it also gave the scene real claim to being a precursor to the kind of club-centric, acid-house-inspired dance music that Factory Records and ACR later struck upon.
