Why Toffee City?

Firstly, Parliament are one of my guilty pleasures. Their 1975 album Chocolate City, inspired by their love of Washington DC, is an all time great. Bernie Worrell's supremely funky keyboard skills, George Clinton's out of this world vocals and Bootsy Collins' funky rhythm and bass, mixed up with a style that, to a small boy in suburban Northern England in the 70s, was just magical.



Here's what Bootsy has to say on the whole thing:



Secondly, House music and Deep Dish, who along with Murk's Ralf Falcon and Oscar G (also known as Liberty City and Funky Green Dogs From Outer Space), are about my favourite House artists/producers of the time, released a track called - Chocolate City (a tribute to the tribute and a convenient coincidence). It sits in my top 10 of all time House tracks. Have a listen to it.



This track informs an understanding of what I love about House. The dreamy journey that music as apparently unsophisticated as house music can take me on is unmatched by any other genre. This was never more evident to me than when standing in my bedroom, mixing for pleasure and practice, finding whole days slipping away and mix tapes mounting up, with no intention of ever doing anything with them (I must have about 1000 in a suitcase in the loft). There is a meditative quality to it that does far more for me than any religion ever managed.

The third reason is the secret sauce that takes me from Chocolate to Toffee. It's significant to me - but would mean nothing to you, so lets just say the name 'Toffee City' appealed to me and hopefully suggests to others, that there might something worth chewing on here :P /gets coat.