On Thursday night the Vicious Creatures are celebrating 3 years of parties with a night of edits, remixes and classics from disco vigilante Late Nite Tuff Guy. The scandalous alter-ego of genuine techno legend HMC (known to his momma as Cam Bianchetti), Late Nite Tuff Guy (LNTG) puts the acrimony in acronym, the oh in disco, the amp in camp and the dang in dangerous.
One glance at LNTG’s social media stream shows his love and admiration for the late great Prince. Before his show we spoke to Cam about the influence Prince has had on his career……..
What’s your first memories of Prince as an artist and how did hearing his music make you feel?
……….The year was 1981, I was 17 years old and was out at a club (can’t remember the name) on a Wednesday night. I’m out on the dance floor when suddenly this amazing tune comes on, I was hooked from the very first beat. The following Friday night I went to my favourite record store in the city to see if I could find it, and after talking to the guy behind the counter we worked out that the track was Controversy.
I bought the LP right then and there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Std4cKdrbo
What period in Prince’s career stands out for you?
……….Obviously I like everything he’s done but if I had to pick I would choose the period from 1985 to 1988. The 2 Prince & The Revolution LPs, and 2 Prince LPs that were released in that time are absolute masterpieces, especially ‘Sign O The Times’ (the best album ever).
He also created 2 of my favourite albums, the Jill Jones LP (’87) and The Family LP (’85), which includes the original and best version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ (even better than the version Prince and Rosie Gaines released in ’93.
Though many great tracks came out in the years following, I think Prince was at his creative peak from ’85-’88.
How has Prince influenced your career?
……….I think more than anything Prince taught me not to conform. To do exactly what your heart tells you to do. To be me.
Prince’s passing caused shock waves across the global music community but it seems there was a particular sense of loss from those involved in the dance scene. Is this something you noticed, and if so why do you think this was the case?
……….People who know music, who write music, who play it, really understand that he was a gifted singer/songwriter/producer, and even though some of us in the dance community really feel his loss I think it was felt much greater by his peers. Without Prince I don’t think we’d have artists like D’Angelo, Alicia Keys or Andre 3000.
Your ‘Do I Believe in God’ Prince Edit is an absolute classic, a tune that’s played by almost genre of DJ. How did this edit come about and would you ever do another Prince rework?
……….This is the power of a Prince song. The fact that it is played by DJs across almost every genre says a lot about Him.
I chose to re-edit Controversy because I love it and I had plans to do it a long time before it got released, I just needed to find the right groove (sometime it takes a while). When I looped the part that you hear in the intro I knew I was onto something special, I knew it would drive dance floors crazy! It’s really such a simple thing, once again proving that less is more when it comes to creating. I’ve done 3 other Prince tracks but I keep them for myself.
Finally, and probably the most difficult question of all, can you give us your top 5 Prince songs of all time?
……….Oh wow!! You really do ask the hard questions.
This isn’t gonna be easy but I will give it a go.
1: How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
2: God (Vocal Version)
3: Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
4: Joy In Repetition
5: Anna Stesia