According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2024 will be The Year Of The Dragon. The mythological animal symbolises strength, power, health, and good luck. Some say that it ushers in a period of creativity and change, for the better. Thank fuck. Below are a few sides from my shelves that celebrate the fiery beast. 

Have a great NYE. See you, safely, on the other side…

Lalo Schifrin – Enter The Dragon – Warner Bros – 1973

Acclaimed Argentinian composer, Lalo Schifrin, created the score for Enter The Dragon, the movie that, while it made Bruce Lee world famous, was sadly released a month after the martial arts maestro tragically passed away. The main theme is bad ass, opulently, over-the-top, orchestrated, brassy blaxploitation funk. 

Upsetters – Enter The Dragon – Dip – 1974

I’m not sure if The Upsetters’ Enter The Dragon is a cover of Lalo’s tune, but it’s most definitely a Bruce Lee tribute. A rattling, wah-wah’d dub of Cynty & The Monkeys’ Lady Lady, It’s a textbook example of a “bounce down” from Lee Perry’s legendary Black Ark studio.  

Karel Arbus & Eiji Takamatsu – One Wheel On My Dragon – Jansen Jardin – 2017

Eiji Takamatsu was born in Honolulu, but he’s been living in my current Japanese hometown, Karuizawa, since 2008. His musical co-conspirator, Karel Arbus, is Australian, but also based in Japan, close by in Takayama. Their One Wheel On My Dragon is an ambient soundscape, of guitar drones, feedback, and pretty piano, lifted from their 2017 Jansen Jardin cassette, Some Backland Plaza. 

The Dragons – Food For My Soul – Ninja Tune – 2007

Brothers Daryl, Doug, and Dennis Dragon, were The Dragons. Hailing from Malibu, and working as musicians in Hollywood, they were in demand guys, session-ing for folks like The Beach Boys and The Byrds. Daryl was also “The Captain” in pop duo, The Captain & Tennille. Their sole album, BFI, was recorded in 1969 / 70, but never made it past the acetate stage… until Strictly Kev of DJ Food discovered a copy and convinced his pals at Ninja Tune to release it. From that LP, Food For My Soul is a prime piece of blue-eyed soul, that recalls Brian Auger’s mellower moments. 

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Flying Rhythms – Doragon Balls – Zi Koo – 2004

Doragon is the phonetic pronunciation of “dragon” if written in Japanese katakana – ドラゴン. Doragon Balls was the debut release by Japanese trio, Flying Rhythms. Consisting of drummer, Yoshio Kuge, percussionist, Latyr Sy, and Naoyuki Uchida, who’s also played with Dry & Heavy, Little Tempo, and the Oki Dub Ainu Band, the track came out on 12, care of Ki Zoo, a label run out of the respected Shibuya “alternative” record store, Lastrum. A 13-minute plus percussive tour de force, made doubly dangerous by dub, phasing, and stereo panning effects, David Mancuso spun it at his Loft parties, adding, significantly, to its desirability. Chris Galloway, of Pure Pleasure Music and Soft Rocks, tasked me with finding copies when I moved to Tokyo, and so I have him to thank for turning me on. Something that never left my box, its tribal trance dance has parallels with Nisennenmondai’s mad machine-like motorik.

Galaxy 2 Galaxy – Journey Of The Dragons – Underground Resistance – 1993

On Journey Of The Dragons, “Mad” Mike Banks and the Underground Resistance crew loop Jean-Luc Ponty’s Computer Incantations For World Peace to create a Sueno Latino / E2-E4-esque epic. Fidgeting, flickering electro from 1993, when the drums kick in I still get a rush. The E.P. that the track comes from also contains the classics, Hi Tech Jazz, and Astral Apache. It would be hard to think of a techno record that’s more essential. 

Areski – Le Dragon – Saravah – 1971

Le Dragon comes from Areski Belkacem’s 1971 LP, Un Beau Matin, a mix of beat poetry, bongos, and pioneering electronics. Areski was a close associate of Brigitte Fontaine and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and part of an extremely diverse and creative, early `70s  Parisian milieu. The record was first released on Pierre Barouh’s Saravah imprint, and more recently reissued on SouffleContinu.

Vangelis – The Dragon – Charly – 1978

Vangelis’ The Dragon is another product of this underground artistic Parisian scene. It was also recorded in `71, this time for BYG, a label founded by Fernand Boruso, who`d worked at Saravah, plus Jean-Luc Young, and Jean ‘Karakos’ Georgakarakos. A churning chunk of symphonic psychedelic, rock, very similar to that of Vangelis’ previous group, Aphrodite’s Child, it features frantic electric guitar freakouts, while a repetitive violin riff anchors the whole lot. The track remained unreleased until 1978, when Charly Records ransacked the BYG vault. Vangelis was, apparently, not very happy about it seeing the light of day.

Soup Dragons – I’m Free – Big Life – 1990

In 1990, the Soup Dragons’ I’m Free was a huge UK Balearic hit. At The Yellow Book, in London’s Covent Garden, the entire club would be singing, and clapping along. Joyfully joined. Unified. Together. Sporting a smart Paul Smith shirt, white Levi’s, and Palladium pumps, I’d be shaking my curly King Charles locks to the far-out axe solo. A cover of a Rolling Stones song – the b-side to 1965’s Get Off Of My Cloud – the Soupies famously recorded the track way before Andrew Weatherall remixed Primal Scream. However, its release was delayed so Loaded took all the credit for starting the indie rock / dance crossover, and “Hi-Fi” Sean Dickson & Co. were instead wrongly labelled bandwagon jumpers. The `Dragons’ previous 12, Mother Universe, had been charted – probably by Weatherall – in Boys Own Fanzine – “Acid house’s village newspaper” – and founding member of the (Karma) collective, Terry Farley, later remixed I’m Free, in a more reggae, bogle, stylee.*

*Our deepest, heartfelt condolences go out to Terry and his family.