SWS002 | She Can’t Love You


SWS002 Wide

When disco was declared dead in 1979, dance music was forced back underground, leading to one of its most creative periods. Moving into the eighties, post-disco producers were allowed to explore the new technologies emerging at the time with little corrupting influence from the mainstream and New York became a hub for the new electro-funk and boogie sounds.

Having built his reputation playing the latest US dance imports at Wigan Pier and Manchester’s Legend and Haçienda in the early eighties, DJ Greg Wilson is indebted to that sound and has paid homage to many of the cult hits of the era through his reworks and edits.

Greg had originally intended to edit Chemise’s 1982 underground cut ‘She Can’t Love You’, cherry picking the best parts from the original and dub mix. However this proved unsatisfactory, so instead he decided to take on a full cover, approaching Tyrrell; the guy who did such a brilliant job of recreating Massive Attack and the Rolling Stones – mashed up with Amerie – on his 2005 P.T.A release, which Greg then reconstructed into ‘Two Sides of Sympathy’, one of his most enduring edits.

Having recorded the backing track back in 2011, he needed to find the right vocalist. His first thoughts were to approach Adeline Michele, the singer from Brooklyn disco outfit, Escort. This never materialised and, apart from a fleeting fancy for recording it with NYC based Lady Miss Kier, formerly of Deee-Lite, the track was put in mothballs for a couple of years, until he dug it out just a few months ago to play it to The Reynolds, who’d sang so superbly on his track ‘Summer Came My Way’. Katherine Reynolds took on the lead and Greg instantly knew the song had found its voice. Not only that, Katherine also expertly weaved lyrics from Triple X’s 1999 ‘Feel The Same’ into the track to give it a new twist.

Greg road-tested the recording in a club for the first time in London last December and it’s since become a crowd favourite – the release is greatly anticipated by DJs and dancers alike. Kermit Leveridge, who has worked with The Reynolds on his Blind Arcade project chipped in with the rap section the girls add and also features on a further mix of ‘She Can’t Love You’, this time coupled with his own ‘C’mon Sway’ lyrics. Sweet Tooth T is a project channeling the hallowed sounds of New York in the early eighties but – like with Greg’s DJ sets – the sounds from this groovacious past have been reimagined in a contemporary manner.

‘Such an awesome groove. Will get any dance floor movin’.’
~ Late Nite Tuff Guy

‘I loved the re-version of ‘She Can’t Love You’, played it out a few times, it’s great.’
~ Tom Findlay (Groove Armada)

 

Vinyl & Digital available here
Compilation CD available here