Dennis Young

In the early 1980s, percussionist Dennis Young co-founded Liquid Liquid, a New York City-based quartet whose experimental groove-based tracks became a major influence on hip-hop, post-punk, and dance music. Liquid Liquid released a handful of EPs on 99 Records, and in 1983, Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel based their classic hip-hop cut "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" on Liquid Liquid's underground hit "Cavern." After Liquid Liquid disbanded in 1983, Young began releasing solo albums on his Day Light Music label, starting with 1985's Concepts. Young's solo material explored free-form funk and dub elements similar to Liquid Liquid, but also incorporated elements of folk, jazz, blues, ambient, and worldbeat, occasionally featuring Young's dusky, Leonard Cohen-esque vocals. Following the 1997 release of a self-titled compilation of Liquid Liquid's entire discography, Young collaborated with several neo-disco and dance-punk artists who had been heavily influenced by his band's music, such as Tussle, Kasper Bjørke, and Headman. Young's solo albums continued on his label, retitled Day & Nite Music, and dance labels Rush Hour and Relish Records released remix 12"s of his solo material. Another Liquid Liquid anthology, Slip In & Out of Phenomenon, was released by Domino in 2008, and the group reunited, played festivals in the U.K. and France, and were the opening act for LCD Soundsystem's final concert in 2011. In 2015, German label Staubgold released Reel to Real, a compilation of previously unreleased Young solo material from the early '80s. Krautrock label Bureau B released Wave in 2016; the collection focused on Young's ambient and new age recordings from the mid-'80s, which were often released on cassette under the name Dennis Andrew. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi