Cerrone – DJ Alex Gutierrez

by DJ Alex Gutierrez Miami/ Rewind 1039 / SFDJA

In 1976 at the age of 15 & 16, two aspiring DJs , unable to get into any of the straight clubs in Miami , found themselves in front of the WindwardResort Motel in Miami Beach. They both agreed that they would say ” We left our IDs in the car ( Those lines worked back then ) Half an hour past their curfew of 10:00pm , they approached the front door and a large bouncer who calmly waved them in, No questions asked . The music was getting louder, the dance floor packed with bodies, and a song that would introduce them to a whole new world of music they couldn’t get at their local record store. The song was ” Love in C Minor” by Cerrone but they wouldn’t find out the name of the song until two weeks later because the DJ had covered the label with tape, a practice back in the day to sound exclusive. I was one of those two kids who would forever be in love with the music known as ” Disco”

Jean-Marc Cerrone born 24 May 1952 is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer. Rumor has it that he had some serious beef back in the day with another Disco superstar Alec R. Costandinos ( Click here for Interview )

His album covers were unmistakable , using controversial images for his European releases that usually had to be sanitized for US Releases. Release after release his tracks became dance floor staples for ” Disctheques” around the world. Here in Miami Cerrone’s tracks especially Supernature have all endured the test of time and can still be heard at bars, nightclubs and events.

Cerrone now tours as a DJ and still performs . He has new material ” DNA” which sounds like a Giorgio Moroder/Kraftwerk hybrid with some Pink Floyd overtones . My personal choice from his new album is “ I’ve got a Rocket “

Happy Birthday Marc

Watch a Full Cerrone Concert

Take a 1/2 cup of his Academy Award-winning theme from the 1978 movie Midnight Express and add 1/4 cup of Donna Summer’s ,Moroder produced track ” I Feel Love” throw in some filters and a couple of Daft Punk vocoder riffs proclaiming that ” 74 is the New 24″ and you have Giorgio Moroder’s New track in over 30 years.
“Dance music doesn’t care where you live,” Moroder said in a press release. “It doesn’t care who your friends are. It doesn’t care how much money you make. It doesn’t care if your 74 or if you are 24 because… 74 is the new 24!”
The track taken from his new album will feature collaborations with a variety of artists, including Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and a few others.
Moroder reemerged back into the limelight with his contributions on Daft Punk’s 2013 release Random Access Memories,and has recently been seen as ” Guest DJ” in a variety of music festivals.

Moroder’s signature sound is all over this track. It is evident that he called the shots in the studio during the creative process. For old school Djs like myself it’s 1979 all over again. The track contains elements from every possible dance genre you can think of smoothly transitioning from Electronic to New Age to Hyper Disco all the while keeping the listener engaged . I’m still a little on the fence on the title of the track ” 74 is the new 24″ which can be a mouth full and may deter some younger listeners who may be turned off by the age gap, but I think the “Collabs” will help with mainstream acceptance.It is great to see these great talents re surfacing. French producer Cerrone has been active in the Dance Music scene for decades. It is time to recognize the men who are responsible for all of Dance Music.

Alex Gutierrez