DJ Sprinkles Midtown 120 Blues Reissue Details
DJ Sprinkles, aka Terre Thaemlitz, had been DJing since the ’90s, but waited until late 2008 to finally release her first official album. That album, Midtown 120 Blues, wasn’t really noticed until 2009, but by the end of that year, it had left a massive impact on those who had heard it. In less than 12 months it cemented itself as one of the greatest electronic albums of the decade, and it’s not hard to hear why. Over nearly 80 minutes, Sprinkles examined deep house with an unprecedented vision and unflinching honesty, crafting a political statement that nonetheless won followers at clubs. Her few spoken monologues spread throughout the album revealed the brutal and painful history of house music and its ties with the transgender and gay communities, while simultaneously showing its transformative and transcendent power through some of the best deep house productions ever recorded. With every year that has passed since, Midtown 120 Blues has been reverently spread to a wider audience, despite having been out of print for some time. But now it will receive a much-deserved reissue treatment.
Next month Sprinkles will reissue the album with handmade packaging and a limited edition poster through her Comatonse imprint. It will be a CD-only reissue, as she explains to Fact, “the bass spatialization effects that give many of these recordings their sonic character are incompatible with vinyl mastering techniques.” During a time when deep house has grown into another buzz word and lost most of its original meaning, Sprinkles’ album only sounds more timely, significant, and necessary. The album has recently been taken off Youtube, but listen to Sprinkles’ fantastic 2013 remix of the Mole’s “Lockdown Party” below.
Midtown 120 Blues will be reissued 5/31 via Comatonse. Pre-order it here.