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This next album, ’64-’95 by Lemon Jelly, is a such a privilege for me to talk about. This is my first post in “DJ Meph’s Favorite Albums of the Decade” where I can actually talk about how the album influenced me as a musician, producer and DJ. I started spinning records in 2005 after I met some cats in the Detroit EDM scene that were all experienced DJs. I had heard of this group before from their previous album, Lost Horizons, and remember enjoying the album greatly.

When I heard that they released a new album in 2005, there was no doubt in my mind that I would check it out. When I picked up the record, the sticker on the label said, “This is our new album. It’s not like our old album.” I listened to the album without expectations, and it would forever change the way I approach music.

Each song on the album features a single sample from 1964-1995. Here is a listing of the samples from each track, which I pulled from Wikipedia.

1. “It Was…”
2. “’88 – Come Down on Me” (samples “The Blue Garden” by Masters of Reality)
3. “’68 – Only Time” (samples “If I Only Had Time” by John Rowles)
4. “’93 – Don’t Stop Now” (samples “Waterfall” by Atlantic Ocean)
5. “’95 – Make Things Right” (samples “Before You Walk out of My Life” by Monica)
6. “’79 – The Shouty Track” (samples “Horrorshow” by The Scars)
7. “’75 – Stay With You” (samples “I Wanna Stay With You” by Gallagher and Lyle)
8. “’76 – The Slow Train” (samples “Slow Train” and “I’m a Train”, both by The King’s Singers)
9. “’90 – A Man Like Me” (samples “Sensitivity” by Ralph Tresvant)
10. “’64 – Go” (inspired by “Ringo” by Lorne Green, no evidence of actual sampling. Includes William Shatner)

This album really changed my perspective on musical production and was the start of my new relationship with sampling. I have always been a big fan of hip hop since I was a little kid, but I never really understood how DJs sampled records to make beats. This album opened my mind up to the world of sampling, and paved the way for me to become a record collector and eventually delve into hip hop and turntablism. Today I am obsessed with collecting old vinyl and finding samples to use in new tracks. This album truly helped me find my calling.

The first thing I did after listening to this album was to hunt down all of these samples in MP3 format. Since then I have also begun to search for these samples on vinyl to add to my collection. I also started to look into samples used by other artists like Daft Punk and J Dilla. Today I strive to listen to as  many original samples of music as I can. It helps me to know what to look for when I’m digging for samples on my own.

I used the track ’93 AKA Don’t Stop Me Now as part of an intro to one of my very first mixtapes, which was a chillout mix I made with various breakbeats, disco and house tracks.

On the track ’95 AKA Make Things Right they used a sample from Monica’s Before You Walk Out Of My Life, one of my favorite samples on the album. On the last track, titled Go, they sample vocals from William Shatner, who they worked with previously on his album Has Been.

This album didn’t just have a big impact on me. Due to the band using a sample from The Scars, a new interest was ignited over the band. They used their newfound popularity to reunite and make another album

A subsequent DVD was released, featuring 2D and 3D animations that go along with each song.

I started out as, and will always be, a breakbeat DJ, one of the few breakbeat DJs in Detroit. This album will always hold a place in my heart, a place where I can say, this is where it all started.

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