Music In My Mind

Emotional Rescue returns to the music of the Eric Calvi, presenting the collective project that was Exo Fender, a group of friends, musicians, fellow producers, club and studio buddies who came together to create a one-off release.

While the first EP covered Big Mood, their ‘call and response’ to Laid Back’s White Horse, the second release was recorded a year later, this time revolving around Eric’s friendship with DJ and producer Steve D’Aquisto to create the live boogie jam Music In My Mind.   

A Brooklyn native, D’Aquisto began DJing as a teenager in after-hours in the late 60s.  By the early 70’s he was a regular DJ at gay discos, including the legendary Le Jardin and Sanctuary, before eventually getting a personal invitation by David Mancuso to come to his new party, The Loft.  

A regular and friend of Mancuso, together they came to the idea of starting a way for DJs to get better representation, distribution, and promotion from the record labels.  The founders of the idea of the Record Pool, this gave greater legitimacy to the concept of a DJ being a career and integral part of the music industry that laid the foundations of much of what came later.  

At the same time, his friendship with Arthur Russell he described at the defining moment of his life.  Their meeting and then working with Russell in their project Loose Joints yielded one of the all-time disco anthems with Is It All Over My Face? (West End Records), as well the sublime Tell You (Today) (4th & Broadway), plus a string of still unreleased songs.

His long-time friendship with Eric Calvi came from hanging out together at The Loft, inevitably leading to taking down time studio sessions, with the idea to forming an actual band.  As with Loose Joints, the idea was a real live band, with drummer, guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist all brought up together from Philadelphia for a West End session.  Sung by friend Kip Kapland, D’Acquisto and Calvi co-produced Music In My Mind at Quandrasonic Studios and together with Big Mood, the one Exo Fenders 12” was released later that year.  

Again the label brings in Justin Van Der Volgen, one of NYC’s best producers today.  With a string of releases, remixes and edits over the last two decades, he has more recently gravitated to mixing and producer for a myriad of artists. His edit here, however, showcases all his talent.  Straight to the groove, a long looped intro before teasing bass, guitar and vocals come in and the new arrangement leads dutifully to the drop, before the big soprano saxophone finally comes at around 6 minutes in, building his edit to perfection.