The Last Optimo Waltz (a wild goodbye dance under the Scottish electro-stars)

"Founded in 1997, it's almost difficult to overstate the impact Optimo (Espacio) has had on Scottish clubland. Beginning as a Sunday night slot during an atmosphere of techno overkill, Twitch and Wilkes decided to do things their own way. Over the course of a decade or so, their painstaking yet irreverent approach to DJing would become hugely influential. Matching R&S Records to Led Zeppelin, DFA to Madonna the club has stood far ahead of the curve almost since its inception. Optimo was there as electroclash emerged, as the post-punk revival started, as nu-disco got off the ground and as UK Funky reared its head." (read more on Clash Music).

Sunday night, Optimo made their last dj show at Sub Club in Glasgow. Few days before, they published a "very, very, very long list" of the 250 most sounded and relevant tracks of their 13-years long residency: a crowdsourced list, mainly made by people's comments on Facebook. I'm not a strong nightclubber, my dancing skills don't go further than a ridiculous smells-like-teen-spirited head-moving with a beer in one hand, and I never had the pleasure to feel the air of Glasgow (except, maybe, in some B&S and Mogwai songs...). Yet, I loved this story and this list: the way it mixes disco & techno, rock & pop, Rapture & Madonna, electroclash and even some classical, it's a very varied collection. So I spotified it, finding about 65% of the songs. Good for a crazy tribute party-night, for a personal self-guide of nice djcrafting, for a drunk northern-oriented cheer, for whatever use you can make of it...  Enjoy!

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The Playlist

(163 tracks out of 250, 65,2%, 13.1 hours)

Loose Joints – Tell You (Today)
Dinosaur L – Go Bang!
Arthur Russell – This Is How We Walk On The Moon
Arthur Russell – Home Away From Home
Grace Jones – LA Vie En Rose
Divine – Native Love
Mekons – Where Were You?
Q Lazzarus – Goodbye, Horses
The Slits – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Creedence Clearwater Revival – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Khan – Say Goodbye
Madonna – Into The Groove
Madonna – Hung Up
Bumblebee Unlimited – Lady Bug (I Just Wanna Be Your Lady Bug)

Ram Jam – Black Betty
Chris & Cosey – Sweet Surprise
Joubert Singers – Stand On The Word (Larry Levan Mix)
Basic Channel – Phylyps Trak II/I
Joakim – I Wish You Were Gone
Tuxedomoon – In A Manner Of Speaking
League Unlimited Orchestra – Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Instrumental) (Remix)
Lindstrøm – I Feel Space
The Ronettes – Baby, I Love You
Karen Young – Hot Shot
Roxy Music – Virginia Plain
Prince – When Doves Cry
James White & The Blacks – Contort Yourself
James Chance & The Contortions – Contort Yourself
Alter Ego – Why Not?!
Gavin Russom – Relevee (Carl Craig Remix)
Edwin Starr – War
Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture Op.49 - Finale
The Only Ones – Another Girl Another Planet
Faze Action – Good Lovin'
The Specials – A Message To You Rudy
Max Romeo – I Chase The Devil
Suicide – Dream Baby Dream
Crème De Menthe – Plastique
Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks (Falling) (Theme)
Sun Ra – Space Is The Place
Delta 5 – Mind Your Own Business
Bush Tetras – Snakes Crawl
E.S.G. – Moody
E.S.G. – UFO
E.S.G. – Dance
Cutty Ranks – Limb By Limb
Shabba Ranks (feat. Chevelle Franklin) – Mr. Loverman
Jacqueline Taieb – 7 Heures du Matin
Farley Jackmaster Funk – Love Can't Turn Around
Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog remix)
The Rapture – House Of Jealous Lovers
Hercules – 7 Ways To Jack
C Cat Trance – Shake The Mind
Sons And Daughters – Dance Me In
Richie Havens – Going Back To My Roots
Faze Action – In The Trees
Sean Paul – Like Glue
Sean Paul – Temperature
Joy Division – Transmission
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass
David Bowie – Station To Station
Cristina – Is That All There Is?
The Knife – Silent Shout
Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers – Egyptian Reggae
Peaches – Fuck The Pain Away
Hot Chocolate – Heaven Is In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac
Echo Park – Suicide Commando
The Velvet Underground – All Tomorrow's Parties
Frankie Knuckles – Your love
TLC – No Scrubs
Material – Bustin' Out
Herbert – Moving Like A Train (Smith N Hack Remix)
Johnny Wakelin – In Zaire
Man 2 Man – Male Stripper
Whirlpool Productions – From: Disco To: Disco
Console – 14, Zero, Zero
Vitalic – La Rock 01
Den Haan – Release The Beast
Midnight Star – Midas Touch
The Stooges – No Fun
The Stooges – I Wanna Be Your Dog
The B-52's – Planet Claire
Beirut – Nantes
Baccara – Yes Sir, I Can Boogie
Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
Blondie – Atomic
Blondie – Rip Her To Shreds
Blondie – Shayla
Blondie – Heart Of Glass
Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone
The Rolling Stones – Under My Thumb
Human Resource – Dominator
This Mortal Coil – Song To The Siren
Public Enemy – Rebel Without A Pause
Sweet – Ballroom Blitz
Bobby O – She Has A Way
Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Shirley & Company – Shame, Shame, Shame
Aaliyah – Try Again
Nitzer Ebb – Join The Chant
Nitzer Ebb – Murderous
Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence
Depeche Mode – Behind The Wheel
Os Mutantes – A Minha Menina
Fleetwood Mac – The Chain
Gang Of Four – Damaged Goods
Gang Of Four – At Home He's A Tourist
Dueling Banjos – Duelling Banjos
John Murphy & David Hughes – Zorba The Greek
The Philadelphia Orchestra – The Blue Danube
Tiefschwarz – Ghostrack (Blackstrobe Remix)
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Raffaella Carrà – Black Cat
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – The Faith Healer
Hot Butter – Popcorn
H. Truman – Underwater

The Flirts – Passion (Canada Re-Mix 1991)

Liquid Liquid – Optimo
Liquid Liquid – Cavern
Liaisons Dangereuses – Los Ninos Del Parque

Amnesia – Ibiza
Soft Cell – Sex Dwarf
Boney M. – Rasputin
Sylvester – Do You Wanna Funk (Italian Boy Remix)
Desire – Don't Call
Colourbox – Baby I Love You So
Nina Simone – My Baby Just Cares For Me
Nina Simone – Feeling Good
Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z – Crazy In Love
Wayne Smith – Under Me Sleng Teng
Banbarra – Shack Up
Ramones – Baby, I Love You
The Flirtations – Nothing But A Heartache
Foremost Poets – Moonraker
Hot Chip – Over And Over (Naum Gobo Remix)
Shirley Ellis – The Clapping Song
Motörhead – Ace Of Spades
Black Sabbath – The Wizard
Sister Sledge – Lost In Music
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
The Juan Maclean – Happy House
The Meters – Just Kissed My Baby
Gui Boratto – Beautiful Life
Doctor Alimantado – Born For A Purpose
Mount Rushmore – You Better
Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus
Audion – Mouth To Mouth
The House Master Boyz & The Rude Boys Of House – House Nation
Dead Kennedys – California Uber Alles
LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
The Birthday Party – Sonnys Burning
Grinderman – No Pussy Blues
Fela Kuti – Zombie
Tina Turner – Come Together
Cerrone – Supernature
Giorgio Moroder – Chase
Donna Summer – I Feel Love
Nathan Fake – The Sky Was Pink (Holden Remix)
The Sonics – Shot Down
The Cramps – New Kind Of Kick
The White Stripes – Truth Doesn't Make A Noise
Question Mark & The Mysterians – 96 Tears
D.A.F. – Der Mussolini

(for the complete Optimo 250 list, go here)

Listen to it on Spotify: HTTP Link, URI. (SR0148)