Wayne Gardiner
My plan last week was to write a bit about Wayne Gardiner, but a bit of research made me think I should really write a bit about Strictly Rhythm first. Alongside Roger Sanchez and George Morel, Wayne was responsible for producing the records that established Strictly as a giant in House music worldwide. To pick up this interview with Time Out…
…the label’s start was rather inauspicious; its first release, in the fall of 1989, was “Feel the Rhythm of House” by Tylon.
“Inauspicious? It was horrible!” the gregarious Finkelstein recalls with a laugh. “But I can tell you the track that first put us on the map; it was ‘The Warning’ by Logic.
Now I’m not a great fan of The Warning – it’s just a bit too Jazz FM even for me – but Wayne’s first EP for Strictly did have one of my absolute favourites on the other side: The Final Frontier. Yes it “borrows” a great deal from Larry Heard (doesn’t all deep house?), but rather than copying his Chicago style, to these ears it takes those familiar sounds and turns them into something definitively ‘New York’:
Logic – The Final Frontier (Acoustic Mix)
Wayne was not particularly prolific (not compared to Todd Terry or Tommy Musto for example) – he would release one more record as Logic (The Difference) and one as Essence (Moments In House) on Strictly Rhythm – but every single one is considered an absolute House classic. Here’s a selection
Logic – The Difference (A Different Mix)
Essence – Moments In House
Essence – Just A Touch (Jazz Element Mix)
Wayne would then release an amazing EP on Jersey’s Right Area records – a label I hadn’t come across until I started looking into this. Proper old school synth noises on these
Sound Source – Waterfall (All Weather Mix)
Sound Source – A Naked Theme (Source Mix 1)
Finally, Wayne would go with his original mentor Gladys Pizzaro to help establish yet another of New York’s biggest house labels – Neevous Records. Here’s 4 more tracks, could keep going all day but the page will take forever to load if I include too many clips!!
Classic Man – Here’s The Sample (Wayne Gardiner’s Club Mix)
Classic Man – Love (Love Ride Mix)
Track Masters – I Need You So Bad (Loft Mix)
Track Masters – Come On Do Anything (Influential Mix)
Related articles
- Throwback: LOGIC – Blues For You (Hard Dub) (nextupthrowback.wordpress.com)
- Strictly Rhythm (afterthegarage.com)
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https://www.djhistory.com/forum/wayne-gardiner-another-unsung-hero-of-house
afterthegarage 
Wayne is king!