HoneyChild Coleman Meets Ghost Producer{ The Original 1995 Bedouin Sound Clash ROIR DEMO.
By HoneyChild Coleman
Raz Mesinai and HoneyChild Coleman at Alt Cafe, photo by Karen Levitt, 1990s.
On Sunday nights I used to sing with Gregor (DJ Olive) and Rich (Lloop) in what would eventually become we™ at a Drum and Bass party called WAVE. One night, Olive didn’t bring any records. That’s when he introduced me to Raz. I got on the mic with Raz and sang a freestyle set while he spun Jamaican 45s that he would flip over to the version sides.
I always carried a little Sony cassette recorder to parties and captured the sounds of people talking and dancing – the entire room ambience while I sang. By the time Raz and I finished our first or maybe our third set we knew we wanted to record together. On our first studio day. I was walking around the Bowery and just as I crossed St. Mark’s place, yet another random fool started verbally harassing me. I started spitting large globs of saliva when it occurred. Like “Oh, you want some of this?” “ Then I got to Raz’s house and he started playing me the Pressurizer track, which I immediately began writing the lyrics to and for me became “Spit At It”. Our writing style felt organic and we attacked the songs with ease. They became our debut release. On this new release, we are calling this version “Talk Daggers” And yet, we always come back to that original session. The echo chamber basement resonance…the moody bass against shade thrown lyrics whose emotions I’d long gotten past.
Honeychild Coleman and Raz Mesinai Photo: CP Krinkler
Gregor (DJ Olive) invited me to sing at his Sunday night sort of Drum and Bass party at this little pub on East 11th Street. Eventually that party grew into WAVE and then it moved to artist Tim Sweet’s RV (E 6th street / Avenue B). One night at WAVE, Olive didn’t bring any records. That’s when he introduced me to Raz. I got on the mic with Raz and sang a freestyle set while he spun Jamaican 45s that he would flip over to the version sides. I was really into 80s dub reggae, Casio Dancehall, but I took a real punk rock approach to freestyling Lovers Rock and these guys were super open to it. It was thrilling. I never knew which records they would bring and they never knew what I was going to sing. It felt freeing to really explore and experiment.
I always carried a little Sony cassette recorder to parties and captured the sounds of people talking and dancing – the entire room ambience while I sang. Then I’d go home and listen to these recordings with headphones on while I slept and again in the morning, skateboarding en route to work.
Raz Mesinai performing on percussion with DJ Olive (Sonic Youth, We) on right. Photo: Tim Solter
By the time Raz and I finished our first or maybe our third set we knew we wanted to record together. Shortly thereafter, our first official venue gig was at the Knitting Factory (Tribeca). There was a performance art piece happening while we played, and a large man was spanked in a leather outfit by a smaller man also in leather. I can’t think of anything more polar opposite than the sounds we created at our lab-like table with Raz’s 4-Track and my delay pedal vocals that night. But the crowd felt what we presented and no one left the room, which equated a successful set, haha. After that we cashed in our drink tickets and made plans to start recording.
HoneyChild Coleman / Ghost Producer – Nothing (But Love) on Bandcamp
Raz Mesinai performing at he RV, Lower East Side, 90’s. Photo Tim Solter
On our first studio day. I was walking around the Bowery and just as I crossed St. Mark’s place, yet another random fool started verbally harassing me. This had been going on all Summer, so I started spitting large globs of saliva when it occurred. Like “Oh, you want some of this?” “HRRRACHH!!!!” (spitting sound)! Then I got to Raz’s studio and he started playing me the Pressurizer track, which I immediately began writing the lyrics to and for me became “Spit At It”. Our writing style felt organic and we attacked the songs with ease. They became our debut release. We played more shows together as the NYC underground dub scene bubbled up a bit – The Cooler, The Kitchen, The Tap Room (Knitting Factory), Tonic, parties, galleries, and venues long gone. “Spit At It” frequents sets with my post punk bands (as well as the curriculum for young punks at Willie Mae’s Rock Camp for Girls!) and was selected for the Black Rock Coalition’s 25th Anniversary compilation “Rock’N’Roll Reparations”. On this new release, we are calling this version “Talk Daggers”
And yet, we always come back to this original session. The echo chamber basement resonance…the moody bass against shade thrown lyrics whose emotions I’d long gotten past.
Flyer from Raz Mesinai’s project, Badawi, 1995 at The Cooler, legendary nightclub in downtown NYC.
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