Keith LeBlanc was an American drummer & record producer most known as a member of Little Axe & Tackhead. Keith started out as a session drummer with Sugarhill Records in the early 1980s. He formed the Sugar Hill House Band along with Skip 'Little Axe' McDonald - guitar & Doug Wimbish - bass, working with The Sugarhill Gang on songs like ''Rapper's Delight'' & Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five on ''The Message''.
His record Malcolm X No Sell Out on Tommy Boy Records 1983 was one of the early examples of a sampling record. He moved to England & helped creating the sound of funk noise giants Tackhead with Wimbish, McDonald, & British Dub producer Adrian Sherwood. He became known as one of the most innovative drummers / programmers in music.
In addition to his work as member of the legendary On-U Sound posse, LeBlanc continued to experiment with new sounds using his own Blanc Records as a base from which to release pioneering albums, pushing musical boundaries to the extreme.
Keith died on April 4, 2024. Here are three of his releases under the nom de musique DJ Spike...
Baby Bye (Bim Sherman - vocals)
Gaps in Space (David Harrow - keyboards & Wendall Brookes - saxophone)
Mr President
Spike Part One (David Harrow - keyboards)
MPB One-O-Five (David Harrow - keyboards)
German (David Harrow - vocals)
Designer Drugs (David Harrow - keyboards)
Stick Out
Outer Land (Part One)
Spikes Groove
Tick of Time
Micro Chip (Mike McEvoy - ketboards)
Eat This Dub (MC Det - vocals)
Invisible (Andy Fairley - vcals & Doug Wimbish - bass)
C.A.B. (Skip McDonald - guitar)
No Means No (Skip McDonald - guitar & Doug Wimbish - bass)
Unsanity (Doug Wimbish - bass)
Outer Land (Part Two)
Tunes (Part 01)
Stomping
Interference
Tunes (Part 02)
Beat Goes On (Andy Fairley - vocals)
Audio
Flight
Mad Movement
Global 2000
SOS
Change (Andy Fairley - vocals)
Story of Violence
The Mark
String Thang
Hoping you see these, mauz.
NØ
Tasteless Cuts
ReplyDeleteilv-opoom-UgKwtqXM5nN82U4Y_-_Efxr_sGl_j4QeQ
Invisible Spike
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Spike Global 2000
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Thanks very much mate. These'll go down very well here at Leafy Glades.
ReplyDeleteI believe thay would go down very well in any leafy glade. Thanks, RM.
DeleteMaybe not the "first ever sampling record" but that is a minor quibble that shouldn't detract from the greatness of the man's music, his role in hip hop history, and what he brought to the On-Universe. Thanks, Nathan!
ReplyDeleteI was just being expansive because of my love for KLB. I stand corrected & have corrected the write-up. Thanks, jonder.
DeleteBeen a fan of Keith Le Blanc since those heady days 83 and 84 Tackhead On U Sound etc. I had no idea that he was no longer with us. So fucking sad..
ReplyDeletesIR bILLY
Sorry, sIR bILLY to be the bearer of bad tidings. He'll always be with us through his music. Thanks for the comment.
Deletewoauh!! .. Lush!
ReplyDeleteyou posted so much good (extra good) music from my list.
and this Spike Leblanc post is beyond good.
I was lucky to meet the man a few times and even jam live on stage at the Milk Factory in Amsterdam togheter with Consolidated, Hipoprisy and Bomb The Bass
and guess what .. I have no space left on my SD card to dowload any of this supreme october harvest,....
Freakatorium coming day after tomorrow. Stay tuned. Thanks, mauz.
Deletebless
ReplyDeleteI am INVISIBLE
ReplyDeleteLike Invisible Spike, you are visible here now. Thanks, mauz.
DeleteInteresting the participation of David Harrow on Tasteless Cuts. Harrow's a somewhat "forgotten" part of the On-U story. Not for the artists though, as he recently did some projects with Annie Anxiety Bandez and Ghetto Priest. Currently (still?) residing in L.A. Yet another great post btw, so thanks a lot!
ReplyDelete