Liquid Liquid – Optimo / Cavern

An absolutely essential EP, the post-disco rhythm group Liquid Liquid’s “Optimo” EP from 1983 is a four-track banger that captures the intersection of disco, hip hop and post-punk fueling New York at the time. Its tracks, most notably “Cavern,” have been sampled by artists including Grandmaster Flash, Guru, Carl Craig, Notorious B.I.G. and dozens more. Better Days resident DJ Bruce Forest remembers, “Cavern is the record that shut down two record labels [99 Records & Sugarhill Records], and easily a top 5 all time record at Better Days. It was one of those tracks that was totally different than anything else I was playing, but I instantly knew the children would go off to it. It was such an obvious lock that I remember getting it on a Friday night, which was mobbed, and threw it in cold at about 3AM at absolute peak, after killing every light in the room. By the end of the second bar of bassline, I didn’t even hear the crash cymbal over the crowd howling. Possibly the most amazing reaction to the first play of a record I ever saw. Sal Principato, the lead singer, wasn’t even singing actual words, but playing Cavern anytime led to instant frenzy.”

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