There has never been a thread about Egyptian Lover

I suppose I should mention that he is mid-80s L.A. electro-funk-rap-dance stuff.

egypt egypt = awesome. i'd like to hear the album

The album pretty much follows a formula of variations on "Planet Rock"/"Looking For the Perfect"/"Egypt, Egypt", with the exception of that ballad, but that's hardly a bad thing.

"Looking For the Perfect Beat", obv.

LA Dream Team = awesome

My wife has been trying to sell back her Egyptian Lover CDs to various record stores for the last 15 years but no one will take them.

He's totally awesome for roughly 5 minutes or so and then gets pretty tiresome...

(I probably like him more than my wife does)

some friends and i saw him live a few months back!!! xlnt show!!! shitty hipsteur crowd but what can you do. He kicks ass though.

i mean shitty hipsteur in a beard stroking way
how tf do you scratch your chin to fucking 'house on the nile' u assholes

haha telling people how they must or mustn't appreciate music is the most original rockist trope of them all, even when you're right & they oughta be dancing

(my sister had this album, the beats were good & the synths chilly, the rapping always sounded kinda...y'know..."the pyramids are oh so shiny" wtf are you talking about egyptian lover)

yes, i am a party rockist, i prefer to go to a place where people are, you know, having fun to fun music

Criticizing the rapping is missing the point almost as much as Deej's beardos.

deej you are why they had to invent indie rock, some people have more fun on the sidelines than in the game

"YOU WILL ENJOY THIS MUSIC EXACTLY IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY OR YOU DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAAAAND"

We covered "Egypt, Egypt" at a show at Lincoln Center and I don't think the season subscribers there were, uh, familiar with Egyptian Lover's music.

"YOU WILL ENJOY THIS MUSIC EXACTLY IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY OR YOU DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAAAAND" are way lame

-- J0hn D., Thursday, September 20, 2007 10:38 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

chiding people for not dancing is pretty much the most indie thing you can do these days.

i hope he still looks like that photo

the rapping always sounded kinda...y'know..."the pyramids are oh so shiny" wtf are you talking about egyptian lover)

just a shot in the dark but i think he's talking about egypt

captain save-a-lame

xp

deej do you approve of sampling or do you think music should be kept in its original context?

xpost Alex in Baltimore has a point
xxpost are the pyramids really shiny? what are they made of? nb I haven't been, for all I know they're chrome

he used to have more videos on youtube but
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EfTg3ymB4lg

^^^this is pretty recent isn't it?? solid tho

and deej I am not a non-dancer! I'll bounce my fat ass all over the floor whether people like it or not, I could give a shit, I like to get sweaty. I'm just sympathetic to those who don't want to, i don't think they're necessarily thinking as you think they are. In fact, I'd wager you don't really have any insight at all into why people don't dance, other than shit you're projecting ("if I weren't dancing, this would be why").

xxpost are the pyramids really shiny? what are they made of? nb I haven't been, for all I know they're chrome

-- J0hn D., Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:41 AM (23 seconds ago)

oh noes someone took artistic license with penning lyrics! was a girl name lucy really flying in the sky holding some diamonds?!?#!@?

dude you are reading way too much into my description here. I don't care how boringly you want to listen to egyptian lover in your tour bus, i'm just saying when i go out to listen to a dude play 80s party-electro about fucking women in his waterbed on the nile, i probably want to party & not stand around analyzing it.

yeah I hear you

am0n quit being lame, "shiny" is a non-starter as a descriptor for pyramids and you know it

may if it was followed by "the women here, they have six legs" you'd have something, but no

and deej I am not a non-dancer! I'll bounce my fat ass all over the floor whether people like it or not, I could give a shit, I like to get sweaty. I'm just sympathetic to those who don't want to, i don't think they're necessarily thinking as you think they are. In fact, I'd wager you don't really have any insight at all into why people don't dance, other than shit you're projecting ("if I weren't dancing, this would be why").

-- J0hn D., Thursday, September 20, 2007 10:43 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

are you that sensitive? you can't even say 'this party was kind of lame, people were just sort of standing around' w/out defending them. "Well, you don't know, maybe they were coming from a funeral." ok, a lame party is still a lame party

this isn't some "dancing is BACK, idm is for nerds!" thing. We're talking about going to a club to listen to dance/party music. Everything has its place but i'm sorry, if i go to see egyptian lover i want to do it in an atmosphere that reflects the music

oh sorry didn't see 'yeah i hear you'

Criticizing the rapping is missing the point almost as much as Deej's beardos.

-- The Reverend, Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:37 AM (12 minutes ago)

http://msfcontent.mqube.us/preview/thumbs/images/100x100/45041.jpg

deej I thought it was a matter of record that I am The Most Sensitive Man Alive

xpost yeah as I said I hear you, you're right & I agree actually, I'm just kinda different-strokes-different-folks about shit, also I'm having a hard time seeing the screen in the glare of these shiny, shiny pyramids
xpost word deej!

i hope he still looks like that photo

-- am0n, Thursday, September 20, 2007 10:40 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

+ 60lbs or so, yeah

http://oldschool.terramail.pl/fotosy/egyptian_lover04.jpg

http://www.iloveyes.se/bilder/2006-06%20Egyptian%20Lover.JPG

that looks pretty recent

http://flickr.com/photos/16866536@N00/1021751680

saw him at Studio B, he put on a great show, played classics and his own songs, sang the lyrics, did choreographed dances with his hype man. Pretty awesome.

Song deej posted: muy hot.

I like how this thread has, in spite of itself, managed to pick up at least two points of contention.

www.egyptianempirerecords.com

his site isn't working ... :( you used to be able to buy tshirts from it

http://www.chocosho.com/admin/images/285x380/79625_vertical_1_egyptian_lover__mens_vertic.jpg

^^ Just stroked chin at concert.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j244/egyptianlover661/Tshirtstatoo.jpg

^^^has been shaking booty to egyptian lover since 1983

Oh wow.

'house on the nile' has some fantastic lyrics, something about his waterbed and solid gold speakers.

^^^i bet his neighbors complained a lot too

^^^dont know why ^^^ were necessary in that post

remember when Hashim posted on ILM? he kept spamming us with links to his new breaks stuff lol

i found an egyptian lover cassette in the budget bin when i got my first car and was looking for shit to bump in the tape player. i believe him when he says the pyramids are shiny.

its entirely possible that the pyramids are shiny. shit gets awful bright in the desert, sand reflects the sun etc

http://www.chocosho.com/admin/images/285x380/79625_vertical_1_egyptian_lover__mens_vertic.jpg

my sister had this album, the beats were good & the synths chilly, the rapping always sounded kinda...y'know..."the pyramids are oh so shiny" wtf are you talking about egyptian lover

loool

WHAT IS A DJ IF HE CAN'T SCRATCH
WHAT IS A MC IF HE CAN'T RAP
WHAT IS A BEAT WITHOUT A LIVE CLAP
WELL I CAN DO IT ALL BABY JUST LIKE THAT

oh and let's not forget FREAK-A-HOLIC

http://www.parisdjs.com/images/covers/parisdjs_vintagerobot/The_Egyptian_Lover-Freak-A-Holic_b.jpg

i'm searching desperately to find egyptian lover lyrics page :(

http://www.chocosho.com/admin/images/285x380/79625_vertical_1_egyptian_lover__mens_vertic.jpg

am0n quit being lame, "shiny" is a non-starter as a descriptor for pyramids and you know it

see my waterbed, fifty feet long
with solid gold speakers, to play this song

it is mostly about the original 4 track ep -- http://www.discogs.com/release/43329 -- 'On The Nile' had remade versions of some of the tracks. see also 12" for 'Computer Love (Sweet Dreams)'

& I remember his track for Bobby Jimmy and the Critters was, well, I bought everything he did in 1984

'We Like Ugly Women' - http://www.discogs.com/release/97719

And My Beat Goes Boom (Long Version)

Drums - (Ultimate) Egyptian Lover, The*
Producer - (Genius) Egyptian Lover, The*
Remix - (Awesome) Egyptian Lover, The*
Vocals - (Creative) Egyptian Lover, The*

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?what=R&obid=48819

THE FREAK-A-HOLIC VIDEO (must see):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pjyu6BpJF0

FUKK ALL DA HATTERZ !!!!

Egyptian Lover is THE MAN. A few of my favorites 12"s are "Girls/Voices" and "She's So Fine." The "one track mind" is non-stop genius. Bambaataa ain't got shit on The Lover's early material as far as I'm concerned. And, in fact, Electro may have got it's start on the East Coast, but it really came of age on the west coast. Dudes like LA Dream Team, Arabian Prince/Professor X, Unknown DJ, and Ice-T (in his early days collaborating with Chris "The Glove" Taylor) really kept the electro flames burnin' and dropped some serious next level shit.

And here's a fun fact: The Egyptian Lover taught Luke Skywalker how to program beats ... so dude is like the godfather of Miami Bass and shit.

I must say though that The Lover's 1990 LP, "Get Into It" is kinda weak despite a few good jamz.

http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/uploads/pics/picture_egyptian_lover_turntable_afro_hair_old.jpg

Home of the Egyptian Empire
http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/uploads/pics/picture_egyptian_empire_los_angeles.jpg

and this: http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/typo3temp/pics/cover_rodney_o_everlasting_bass_egyptian_empire_dmsr_00772_1986_front_02_a6230022e6.jpg

freak-a-holic is dope but way different than his other stuff

"if i go to see egyptian lover i want to do it in an atmosphere that reflects the music"

Please put this on a t-shirt.

(Then the beardos can wear it and stroke).

I first heard I Need A Freak through Egyptian Lover. I remember working at the record store when the owner found an Egyptian Lover album and just flipped his shit—apparently he had loved him as a kid, because as a kid he was totally into pyramids and mummies and shit, and hadn't ever put together that Egyptian Lover wasn't actually, you know, archeological until he heard the stuff again as an adult.

You must purify yourself in the waters of the Egyptian Lover's pyramid-shaped pool.

His stuff is a cut above most 80s electro... "Sexy Style" has these great sonar blips in them. "What Is A DJ" is probably my favorite through.

i always had a (maybe) confused impression that he was connected to that club party group thing "uncle jamm's army"...t/f?

he was part of Uncle Jamms Army too

The Egyptian Lover started out as a D.J. in Los Angeles with Uncle Jamms Army doing dances at the L.A. Sports Arena with over 10,000 party people. The Egyptian Lover began recording around Los Angeles in 1983 as a member of the Radio Crew and later that year released "Dial-A-Freak" as part of Uncle Jamm's Army (see 1983 in music). The Egyptian Lover released his debut solo single and club hit "Egypt, Egypt" in 1984. It was followed by more dance hits, including "And My Beat Goes Boom", "What Is a DJ If He Can't Scratch", "Egypt Egypt", and "Girls", with even more that came like "You're so Fine", "The Lover", "Sexy Style", "The Alesby Inn" and "Freak a Holic". Is popularly known for the phrase "doing what I want, seven days a week."

Holy shit, check out the list of members of Uncle Jamms Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Jamms_Army

holy shit it's like a farm team for early west coast dudes!

this site too
http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/groups.html
all those dudes chilled together

my older bro used to go to the parties these guys used to rock

do you guys remember "what's happening now?" it was this 80s spinoff of "what's happening" with some of the same characters but all grown up...anyway one time LA Dream Team guested on the show and performed a song...it went "Yesssss....they're here....Dream Team is here!" me and my friend saw it once on reruns and that was our catchphrase in high school for awhile.

we were dorx ;_;

that's a good record there

http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/typo3temp/pics/cover_la_dream_team_is_in_the_house_dtr_631_1985_front_02_d2370ef08e.jpg

holy crap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqBA22B5KHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yltrGPr_RA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv1jDREKJWc

I have this record....

http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/index.php?id=248.0.html

http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/uploads/pics/cover_hit_hip_hop_on_hot_vinyl_dr_dre_macola_mrc_910_1985_front_02.jpg

Let's jam, let's jam radioactive!!

i saw him a few weeks back. prolly wouldn't have gone if i hadn't gotten free tickets (not into seeing older bands redo their thing). he actually put on a really good show though. great dj set where his hypeman handed him the records in order. all the hits.

the crowd at my show was the complete opposite though. dorky b&t crowd and everyone was dancing. except me. i couldnt' distance myself from the crowd and even though i was really enjoying the music and the show, i wasn't exactly "having fun". oh well, i'm the chin scratching hipster deej wished wouldn't come to the show.

i love the On the Nile album. there's way more guitar on it than i would expect from an electro album.

Most of your songs are very uptempo. What´s the reason for this?
Back in the days we have this famous dance called "The Freak". People dancing close to close very sexy. So as faster the beats the more freaky the dance became. And also I do not like to fuck slow, do you?

jaxon its one thing if there's a room full of dancing ppl and yr not in the mood, its another thing entirely if the whole crowd shows up, he plays shit aimed directly at the dancefloor, and every just sort of stands around like their studying a painting on the wall. its not a museum!

oh man i had that hit hip hop on cassette, they used have this bonkers cutout bin at my wal-mart in HS...i also bought this weird wire thing that was sort of a semi-comp of the first two records mashed together in different order w/some songs missing.

i would do "The Freak" to all of this songs

why because it look interesting

matt, you mean On Returning, which is a comp of the first 3 albums "greatest hits" or sorts.

yep that's what it was...i didn't know shit about wire when i bought it, i only knew them from "eardrum buzz" video on 120 minutes

that comp has Dot Dash which isn't on the first 3 records OR their CD reissues if I remember correctly. Nothing to do with LA Electro though.

Whenever i see a pic of EL i'm treated to spontaneously imagined whiff of activator and spermicide.

oh man Big Butt Ugly Girls

Women rather

did we already decide if he was really Egyptian?

and was the Arabian Prince his protoge?

i also bought this weird wire thing that was sort of a semi-comp of the first two records mashed together in different order w/some songs missing.

Should've been titled Songs Missing.

*boom boom*

Egptians are Coptic in ethnicity, not Arab, so probably no relation. AP was in NWA though.

i dont think they worked together in the late 80s but i think theyve done at least one show together here in LA recently

world seems to go him-shaped when tompkins takes up pen so i dunno if this any of this interview was even 4real or not but still eh?

the first wire album i owned was called *In The Pink*. i bought it in the mid 80's. it was kind of a perfect album really. when i first bought the actual albums all i wanted to hear were the songs on that comp.

what

i said the first wire album i owned was called *In The Pink*. i bought it in the mid 80's. it was kind of a perfect album really. when i first bought the actual albums all i wanted to hear were the songs on that comp.

haha

what

I sort of like his narcissism actually. Is there an Egyptian Lover track where he doesn't namecheck himself in the vocals? Or where his record sleeves don't say "Everything was written, produced, performed, mixed, engineered, and mastered by Egyptian Lover"?

SS: Then the guy from Cybotron, Rick Davis, thought you were dead?

EL: He saw the headline: “Lady Diana Dies With Egyptian Lover.”

EL: One time this girl from the LA Times came up and said, “Wow, you’re better than the Egyptian Lover. What’s your name?” And I said, “DJ Sperm Cell.” LA Times the following Sunday: “DJ Sperm Cell Better Than Egyptian Lover.” With pictures of me in the paper. Some damn fools!

ahahah

Dj Sixth Sense was playing "Egyptian Lover" today on the Friday morning 8 am US eastern time Wrong Song segment of the syndicated Russ Parr morning show (heard on American R'n'b/rap radio stations)

SS: Then the guy from Cybotron, Rick Davis, thought you were dead?

EL: He saw the headline: “Lady Diana Dies With Egyptian Lover.”

-- haitch, Monday, September 24, 2007 11:56 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

hahahahaha

hahaha i was about to quote that and lol too

omg driving back from the studio last night my bass player was playing some Macola Records comp tape that had Egypt Egypt and a bunch of other early LA electro stuff - Bobby Jimmy & The Critters' "Big Butt" was just cracking my ass up, never heard that one before.

BREAKDOWN

hilarious slim longhaired wite kid w/silver space jacket & magma t-shirt on stage at the EL gig, what's on yr ipod? I mean, what are you doing there stood behind some keyboard just clapping your hands.

I had no use for http://www.chocosho.com/admin/images/285x380/79625_vertical_1_egyptian_lover__mens_vertic.jpg but RIP

(Breathing)
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt
Egyptian Lover
Egyptian Lover Baby
Egyptian Lover
Egyptian Lover Baby

Give me a freaky kinky nation
with a total female population
I can deal with that situation
I don't care about my reputation
Give me a freaky kinky nation
with a total female population
I can deal with that situation
I don't care about my reputation

I'm The Egyptian Lover
Sexy Senior
It's not just a name
but an adventure
I mix so fast
I scratch so sweet
there's not another D.J.
on earth who can compete

U know it
Egyptian Lover

Pyramids are Oh so shiny
The women here are Oh so cute
The freaks are on the floor now
Dancing to beats that I compute

(Breathing)

Egyptian Lover
Egyptian Lover Baby
Egyptian Lover
Egyptian Lover Baby

Egyptian Lover

I want you

Sexy Senior

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2734122172_af6fd7eeb4.jpg
"25 years in the game!"

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f185/PappaWheelie/Macola-ThePosseChapter2.jpg

BREAKDOWN

D.J. Battlecat

http://www.cedmagic.com/featured/he-man/battle-cat.jpg

I was going to the game to see the L.A. Raiders
Couldn't get out of those little elevators.
I was trying to get out, I was doing my part...
All of a sudden I think I had to... go eat a hot dog!
Huh-huh, heh heh-heh.

I got the real big bootie in my neighborhood,
All the girls like to slap me cause it feels real good.
I like my big butt because it's so unique,
Not everyone has a custom-made toilet seat.
Huh. huh-huh, huh, huh, huh-huh

I got a Big Butt, a Big Butt
Big Butt, a Big Butt
(Bobby Jimmy)
Big Butt, a Big Butt
Big Butt, a Big Butt

Saw him open for M.I.A. a couple months ago. Crowd seemed to enjoy him, i guess but he kept going on and on about "The way we did it... BACK IN THE DAAAAAAY" and it got pretty, erm, old.

sex bass

ALL OF MY LIFE
IVE BEEN A FREAK
DO WHAT I WANT
7 DAYS A WEEK

the first wire album i owned was called *In The Pink*. i bought it in the mid 80's. it was kind of a perfect album really. when i first bought the actual albums all i wanted to hear were the songs on that comp.

― scott seward, Monday, September 24, 2007 3:47 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

what

― am0n, Monday, September 24, 2007 4:28 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i said the first wire album i owned was called *In The Pink*. i bought it in the mid 80's. it was kind of a perfect album really. when i first bought the actual albums all i wanted to hear were the songs on that comp.

― scott seward, Monday, September 24, 2007 5:28 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

: D

I think this may be my favorite thread I've ever started.

pyramids had polished limestone outer layers back in the day, could well have reflected enough light to be considered 'shiny'.

my camels will bring you home / if that whats on your mind

and was the Arabian Prince his protoge?

― jaxon, Thursday, September 20, 2007 5:33 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

They both were in Uncle Jamm's Army, as were DJ Pooh and Bobcat. I believe E Lover was the main man of that DJ team though.

Bob went on to form the LA Posse, producing LL's Bigger and Deffer (to Rick Rubin's dismay), and Pooh, aside from being King Tee's ace in the hole, I think produced some Snoop eventually (as did DJ Battlecat).

World Class Wrecking Crew and LA Dream Team were the upstarts that were trying to take over Uncle Jamm, and of course, Dre far outshined Egyptian.

The following is part 6 of 9 from the 1983 German documentary Breakin' and Enterein' that kinda downplayed the park jams and focused on the Radiotron youth center, giving way to the fame of Ice T and paving the way for the big(ger) budgeted Breakin'

Egyptian Lover on the wheels:

The footage of Ice dancing earlier in the film is priceless.

pooh's most known for his shit with ice cube but he did a bunch of stuff around that time - i think he was also behind del's first album

np:

http://www.stonesthrow.com/uploads/news/051b4456b75044c457bca2e7f5b9e439.jpg

d^_^b

BREAKDOWN

DJ Pooh did killer shit for all of Ice Cube's prime era projects - Del, Da Lench Mob, Yo-Yo, etc

RIP Rodger Clayton of Uncle Jamm's Army.

http://s1.directupload.net/images/110202/scw2lwx3.jpg

BREAKDOWN

I played "Egypt, Egypt" out DJing last Thursday. I wish I'd done it all current-events-ironic-y, but no.

am0n quit being lame, "shiny" is a non-starter as a descriptor for pyramids and you know it

yes, i am a party rockist, i prefer to go to a place where people are, you know, having fun to fun music

― deej, Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:34 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark

party rockist in the houuuuse tonight

hahahaha

http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/egyptian-lover-rftf

ooh! look forward to reading this

awesome

great story: http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/kraftwerk-changed-my-life-20-artists-pick-their-favourite-kraftwerk-records-of-all-time/2/

haha sweet

http://boingboing.net/2015/05/12/egyptian-lover-egypt-egypt.html

classic exchange with j0hn d itt

the rapping always sounded kinda...y'know..."the pyramids are oh so shiny" wtf are you talking about egyptian lover)

just a shot in the dark but i think he's talking about egypt

When the pyramids were built they were coated in polished limestone and often capped w a golden piece at the top, and supposedly actually _were_ shiny especially in contrast to the surrounding desert. They look rocky and Earthy to us now only because they have been sitting in the desert, periodically raided and dismantled, for thousands and thousands of years.

The old temples and stuff were similarly super colorful; a lot of the original paint remains even to this day.

lol I didn't see that before
xp

SS: Then the guy from Cybotron, Rick Davis, thought you were dead?

EL: He saw the headline: “Lady Diana Dies With Egyptian Lover.”

-- haitch, Monday, September 24, 2007 11:56 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

lmfaoooo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiW7NbkhbJ0

did y'all know that Egyptian Lover released an album this year and every single track has the Numbers/Tour De France beat and it sounds fucking amazing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8x8oFp_-E8

!

http://www.stonesthrow.com/store/album/egyptianlover/1983-1988

And building on that new collection: I talked with the man himself.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/30/the-egyptian-lover-interview-electro-stones-throw-anthology

http://www.hexapolis.com/2014/10/31/historians-concur-great-pyramid-glass-like-shiny-4000-years-ago/

nice piece, ned!

Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BNUV9SiEVg

really cool new video feat. (among many) Lady Tigra of "Cars That Go Boom!"

https://67.media.tumblr.com/afc168482221c8836b3a0dfd7200399d/tumblr_n9oa3z4DJ81twulego6_500.gif
(via Night Flight on Facebook

I'm pretty lukewarm on most of his stuff but man I love "I Cry". Any recommendations on similarly moody 80s electroish stuff?

I don't know but here's Jeff Mills in 1983 scratching side two track two of the first release on Freak Beat Records

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uapn-mknXVU

Wow I didn't know Mills was active quite that early in the 80s