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Can You Feel It (Larry Heard song)

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For other songs by this name, see Can You Feel It (disambiguation).
"Can You Feel It"
Song
B-side"Beyond the Clouds"

"Can You Feel It" is a 1986 house record released by Larry Heard (also known as Mr. Fingers). It is regarded as one of the first deep house records.[2] Its seminal impact on deep house has been compared to that of Derrick May's "Strings of Life" (1987) on Detroit techno.[3]

In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked the song at number 51 in its list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs.[4] And in 2011, The Guardian featured the song as part of its A history of modern music: Dance.[5]

Production

The track was produced using Roland's Juno-60 polyphonic synthesizer and TR-909 drum machine. The Juno-60 produced the six-note bassline, while the TR-909 produced the drumline. Striking pads were also used.[6][7]

Original release

"Can You Feel It" was originally released as an instrumental on Mr. Fingers' Washing Machine EP in 1986 on Trax Records.[8] It became popular in the Chicago club scene and was often mixed with Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.[citation needed] The song later appeared on the 1988 Fingers Inc. album Another Side.

Remixes

In 1987, Rhythm Control released a track called "My House,"[9] which contained spoken word vocals from Chuck Roberts discussing the feeling and meaning of house music. In 1988, the speech from the a cappella version of "My House" was later used in a remix of "Can You Feel It" and overlaid over Heard's original instrumental (with samples from The Jacksons' "Opening/Can You Feel It" off their 1981 The Jacksons Live! album used in the introduction). This speech version of the track was a bootleg and was dismissed by Heard, who has always been vocal in his disapproval of sampling the work of other artists without their permission. Regardless, this quickly became the most well-known version of "Can You Feel It". Both the instrumental and vocal versions have appeared on numerous house music compilations.

A rarer alternate mix was also made with soul vocals from Fingers Inc. vocalist Robert Owens.[10]

The only release in digital quality including both a cappella speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. and Chuck Roberts was a limited edition Jack Trax promotional CD single featuring six tracks.

A remixed version by Rob Smith, using speeches by the UK Prime Minister John Major, was released on YouTube on 22 June 2011.

Use in pop culture

The vocal remix was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the radio station SF-UR.

References

  1. ^ Rave Anthems: The Best Old Skool Rave and Warehouse Classics - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
  2. ^ Iqbal, Mohson (31 January 2008). "Larry Heard: Soul survivor". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Various Artists - The Kings of House, Compiled and Mixed by Masters at Work". In the Mix. 12 August 2005. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ The 100 Greatest Dance Songs | Feature | Slant Magazine
  5. ^ "A history of modern music: Dance". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  6. ^ The Mr. Fingers ‘Can You Feel It’ Bass Line, Synthtopia
  7. ^ Nine Great Tracks That Use the Roland TR-909, Complex
  8. ^ "Washing Machine" at Discogs (list of releases)
  9. ^ "My House" at Discogs (list of releases)
  10. ^ "Can You Feel It" at Discogs (list of releases)
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