Peshay unknowns and his shelved Mo Wax album

I've been quite interested in Peshay's material from his 1996-1997 era for a number of years, and finally quite a few of those stubbornly unknown tracks from then have become known to me over a period of time. He's put out a number of good tunes that he's been known for, but i want to talk about tunes he's not known for! Because he started doing a lot of good stuff from 1996 onwards but much of it has fallen into obscurity.

Why was that? Well, as many people will know, Peshay was all ready to put out an album Miles From Home in 1998 on Mo Wax. However, and details on this are a bit faded over time now, but from what I remember the label got into some difficulty and ended up managing some salvage deal with some other major in which the other planned album UNKLE - Psyence Fiction got released and the Peshay did not.

Of course, "Miles From Home" did finally see a release, but i'm quite positive not in the form it was originally going to take. Peshay's big band jazz sound was always on the naff side, but surely in a sincere way. Instead the album that came out ended up just being a somewhat contrived version of that, with a nod more to what was more marketable, than what was his just his unashamedly emotive excusions!

So, to redress the balance, and to reinvestigate what could have been, here is a little run down of some Peshay material that might have very well comprised or represented that lost album.


Peshay - Jazz Lick
http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/nexus.../nexus002/

• When you start listening to this tune you think oh dear, another dreary Bukem-esqe piece of nonsense. And you wouldn't be blamed. That intro goes on & on and really doesn't say very much! But, and with the mundane washes fading out, it drops into these crucial jazz chords that are just... bliss! Absolutely awesome tune. Fair dues, you have to take the tune in its full context, listening to that tune now the long bland intro is part of the whole. Not a dreary Bukem-esqe tune after all!
  

Peshay - (unknown - like ''Jazz Tune'').mp3 [listen]

• Now this was an unknown to me for ages, and very similar to the last "Jazz Lick". Same kinda sound, same jazz chords dropping in. Not sure if its better than the last, its a matter of personal judgement that. I like them both a lot.
  
  Here is the actual release:
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/compo...ompost029/
  

Manifesto - Find Me (Peshay Remix).mp3 [listen]

• Now these are roughly in time order, although I heard this one about before the previous. I was never too into this tune but gotta say its well cool! Excellent laid back vibes on this. Now, it didn't seem to surface at the time, which was late 1996 early 1997 but before long, another tune came about that was surely made from the same mold. Which was "Miles From Home". I think at the time I felt I preferred this first tune to the latter, couldn't see what the big fuss about Miles From Home was!
  
  Now in the clip i've posted, i got the title somewhat from what Jumping Jack Frost says about it. Another poster on RDB has mentioned another JJ Frost clip and that he indicates Manifesto is actually the label its coming out on. Listening again, it seems he's right. Either way, it didn't come out until 2000, I eventually discovered, here:
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/scam/scam2
  

DJ Peshay - "Jazz Lick" (Metalheadz).mp3 [listen]

• Now this was another tune from late 1996, that Grooverider was absolutely caining back then. I say caining, really I mean I heard him playing it a few times more than once, which was unusual for Ridah really . So he must have liked it.
  
  I liked some of it, but I felt the long sax solo over the beats was a bit over indulgent. Very nice beat work though, and the strange casio keyboard sustain effect on the held chords is an interesting choice! What I also noticed is that it shared the same sax solo as the previous track, indicating me straight to it being Peshay, although otherwise i wouldn't have ever thought it was him. Very unusual track. Definitely worth checking out.
  
  I got that track title from a published tracklist for the Grooverider Essential Mix it appears on, from 26 Jan 97,
  http://www.essentialmix.nu/index.php?mod...iew&id=290
  but we all know its not "Jazz Lick". Interesting to see it listed as being a 'Headz track.
  
  Its odd that this tune then disappeared without trace, until 1999. I mean, i didn't even know until last year. Its such a highly polished track, something that he must have put a lot of effort into. Talk about these tunes coming out at totally inappropiate time scales? It surely must have missed the zeitgeist by then...
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/pivot...s/pivotal1
  

Peshay - (unknown - 'matches').mp3 [listen]

• Now this is special. What a slammer. But why could I never identify it?
  
  Well, yes, eventually I did. And its this:
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/r_and...s/rs97125x
  
  Just check them slamming beats. This is a tuuuune. Not to be forgotten. Are you getting the drift yet?
  

Peshay - (unknown 2).mp3 [listen]

• When I first heard this, my hairs stood up on end. This is just such a lush, completely unashamed love statement! Now I posted this up as an unknown on here not so long back, and thankfuly I got the ID. Some of you liked it, others didn't in equal measure. I say this is a wonderful piece of music!
  
  Yes, that over bearing beat is bog standards. But only by his measure, mind you. And that b-line will make you blush. But why the hell not
  
  This was from about Sept / Oct 97, and all i knew was that this forthcoming album was gonna be a must have. Never appeared on it though, and finally saw a 1999 release under this somewhat odd guise...
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/creat...ds/crse022
  

DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like? (Peshay Remix)
http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/mo_wax/mw087dj

• Now this was some wicked tune I knew to be Peshay, from Randall playing it on Kiss one evening. Its still got that overblown jazz sound that he developed to it, but with a bit of a harder, more rabble rousing edge to it.
  
  Now, and this was a problem with a lot of 'commisioned' remixes of that era - they didn't not seem to filter back to the scene in which they developed, instead no doubt being marketed for a much trendier market. I had no idea what it was for years, other than thinking maybe this was another tune intended for the original album. By accident did I discover the original DJ Shadow track some years later, finally discovering what this tune actually was.
  

Peshay - (unknown 3).mp3 [listen]

• Another unknown, played by Fabio, around Oct 1997, well I liked this also. I was really digging this Peshay sound. So many great tunes. This album was sure to be a classic. Had no idea what it was called but all I could do was wait.
  
  But yet another tune that I had assumed had just simply faded away never to be remembered again. It wasn't on the released "Miles From Home" album. In the end,
  turns out its on this release again, i was happy to discover only recently, when I picked up this release on a whim earlier this year:
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/pivot...s/pivotal1
  
  Never the less, i still get the feeling that some of these tunes would have done a lot better for themselves had they been put together to comprise this LP, rather than being split up and scattered about all over the place
  

Peshay - Switch
http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/island_blue/12pfa1

• Now this was known as the name & title of the track from late 1997, and as I understand, it was intended as the b-side to the soon to be released "Miles From Home" 12". But that never happened, not until 1999 did it come out, turning up on that eventual LP that finally came about.
  

1997 Peshay.mp3 [listen]

• Right so that just leaves one... One final unknown that refuses to be identified!
  
  I remember well hearing this on Kenny Ken's show in mid summer 1997, but I was not taping that show that day. Thankfully someone else did. Never the less, not even hearing it for years, I'd often remember it to myself, it was so very distinctive to me. Its kinda like a cross between his DJ Shadow remix and that tune on Tech Itch Decoder - Circuit Breaker (Peshay Remix). I think Kenny Ken also mentioned this as being forthcoming on Metalheadz if i remember correctly!
  
  Shame that clip is so short, maybe I can get a longer one...
  http://www.rolldabeats.com/release/tech_...ords/ti016
  
  EDIT: This is Peshay - Phobia and is unreleased, better clip of this is now HERE
  
  

- - - - - - - - - -


(unknown) – (flamboyant funky jazzy).mp3 [listen]

• This is one recorded from Fabio september time 1997 and its sooo flamboyant I almost didn't like it (!), but it stayed on tape and ultimately, onto my digital archives.
  
  I was clutching at straws at who it could be, in fact I've just checked my notes and I have it as possibly Photek... i think those intro drums reminded me of KJZ or something, but the rest didnt fit... who could it be??
  
  I only finally discover by accident whilst looking up the Shadows Of The Chemical remix on discogs, in fact I only learnt since starting this thread... and well, its pretty special... I hope you check it out
  http://www.discogs.com/Sugizo-Replicant-...ter/194769
  

(unknown – poss. Peshay) - (unknown).mp3 [listen]

• OK so I knew this was Peshay, this was from the turn of the new year and I think originally had recordings of both Fabio playing this and Jumping Jack Frost, however just this clip now of Frost from the 2nd Jan 1998
  
  Its not the greatest of tunes ever when you compare against others in the music but the thing is I just like this sound, certainly when I compare to anything what was on the "Miles From Home" album this just seems to be far better, its defo one of my faves
  
  As Freefall rightly says this is the instrumental track of a remix that featured on the japanese released Cloud 9 cd, which I got the id of just over a year ago, but much to my disappointment it has some vocals that sound like someone just ad libbed over it... Is the original a collab between Nookie & Peshay?
  
  This really should have been on the album imo
  http://www.discogs.com/Cloud-9-Distant-A...se/1544185

I remember seeing the bill posters about for Psyence Fiction, and being very disgruntled about it! Here was an album that was sure to be a classic, but was being thrown to the wind with an outrageous disregard.