Just in case you missed it last winter (like I did), the groundbreaking documentary "Pump Up The Volume" aired on the UK's Channel 4. It truly is the most comprehensive history of house music ever produced, at least that I'm aware of. [But that's not saying a lot. See my notes in the comments.] A book was published to accompany the television series, but the actual television series wasn't really available to us in the US without satellite dishes or European friends who could record NTSC VHS tapes.
Until now.
(Special thanks goes out to DJ Adam Scott.)
Here are the RealVideo clips for all 3 episodes. The first two episodes are all about how Black gay men created house music. The third is more about what happened to it in the UK - drum n' bass, jungle and all that. Each episode is one hour long and will set you back about 30 MB, so I recommend a broadband connection. To download them, right-click on the link and select Save Target As ... or Download Link to Disk (depending on your browser).
Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3
As a house DJ and a Black gay man, it's so amazing to see these places and these people, and to see them describe so eloquently the feeling that I get when I play house. House music is a phenomenon and a heritage that I claim with pride!
Okay, this series is really about how America handed house over to the UK. The American history of house kinda just stops with how Detroit’s techno blew up the spot in Northern England.
So that means no “Follow Me” … no “Gypsy Woman” … no “Hot Music” … no “Push The Feeling On” … no “I’m Not Gonna Let” … No C&C Music Factory, no David Morales (even though I don’t particularly care for him), no Todd Terry, no Masters at Work (except for corny cameos), no Basement Boys, no Murk, no Deep Dish. No Black Box scandal. No Tracks, no Red Zone, no Loft, no House Nation, no Tunnel, no Sound Factory Bar, no Sugar Babies, no Shelter, no Body & Soul. No Strictly Rhythm, no King Street, no Nervous. And none of New York’s record stores. And very little of the scene that created this music - Black gay men being “strong enough to walk on through the night” in the face of AIDS.
There’s a whole lot of room for another, more comprehensive look at the history of house music with a focus on its origins - its roots, here in America. Then we’d really see how Black and gay this music is …
Preach on!
I have a colleague in Chicago working on this, right now.
I’ve finally discovered that the father of my style of house music is Ron Hardy. Soulful, but harder. Eclectic. Electric. Wild adventure. That future shit … yeah. Can’t wait to show y’all where I’m coming from now!
cant download episodes 2and 3
this is the true story of house.but watch out for a film called maegestic the history of house in a film top…well why would alius and the rest of it be in this documentry thats not house music that’s pop music industrie generated get it right people..you fools…
Hey I was having trouble downloading episodes 2 and three. If there is a prob with the site at the moment could you tell me of anther site that has all 3 episodes
Whatever happened to the links for Episodes 2 & 3 of “Pump Up the Volume?”
please please please try and sort 2 & 3 out…
wow!
…delshawn
Harlem of the South Records JACK’Ville, FL 904.386.3350