 Rave’s Best Friend | |
|---|---|
| Creators | DJ Dog-Eared |
| Genre | Rave, Electronica |
| Year | 1993 |
| Tracks | 7 |
| Length | 44:49 minutes |
Rave's Best Friend
Background
Rave’s Best Friend was the first album brought out by Dave Crambon AKA. DJ Dog-Eared in 1993. It was a compilation of some of greatest tracks he had been using in clubs and raves since he started in 1989. Some were even songs he created as a kid with his dual tape recorder. Dave was given the use of a Dekaf studio to bring it all together. It’s said that he told everyone else in the studio so he could do everything he wanted by himself. He learned the ropes of the kit very quickly and five weeks later he came out with the master copy of his debut album.
The album saw success in the local music scene as well as further afield. DJs up and down the country realised the power of the album to get crowds in a good mood. If a set was going badly they always knew they could throw on this record on get the party started again. This made it very popular in clubs and raves, but didn’t really sell well to the general public of the UK.
The track Quid Pro Quo was a reimagining and sampling of the song Worth Every Penny by The Refunds. It was easy for him to get the clearance to use the track as both artists were signed with Dekaf Records. In an interview in 1995, The Refunds’ drummer, Henry, said “I like the track, but the drumming is a bit too fast for my liking.”
One of the other tracks, Jump, Skip, Jump, Skip was inspired by DJ Dog-Eared’s residency at the Loco Junction. It came about when the mosh pit surrounded him at his decks. Whenever the crowd jumped the records skipped. As you can imagine the tanked up punters loved this and created their own remixes of the songs together. Although he wasn’t to impressed with the scenario he found himself in, DJDE took this event as inspiration for his track.
Album Art
Over the years DJDE has become synonymous with the dog logo that he has since used on everything including his first album. The trippy pooch was first designed in 1990 by a friend who went to art college. Dave loved it and decided to use it as his logo. So when they were looking for a design for the cover it was a no brainer to include the dog. When he used it for the album they both came up with a deal that would give him a small royalty on every album sale. He agreed at the time not thinking much of it, but with the fees his friend racked up he purchased a cocker spaniel and named him DJ. Which seemed only right.
The dog tags in the background became another icon of DJ Dog-Eared. Whenever someone paid to get into his night at Loco Junction they would be given a dog tag similar. This would be the way that the security knew they had already paid. It became a small craze to try and collect as many tags as possible. It also became a nice design to also include on lots of merchandise and promotional material.
Track Listing
Quid Pro Quo – 6:40
Jump, Skip, Jump, Skip – 4:56
Best in Show – 9:12
Moove It – 7:23
Drill Down, Jump Up – 4:14
Walkies – 3:51
Sound of Scarcity – 8:33