Solid Steel Presents: Sesame Street

C is for Cookie:
1. Pinball Number Count: Pointer Sisters (DJ Food Re-edit / Special Extension by Strictly Kev)
2. C is for Cookie (Funky Version: Special Disco Mix by Larry Levan)
3. C is for Cookie (Sweet Version: Special Disco Mix by Roy Thode)
Description from Ninjatune: Well this is a turn up for the books - what's Sesame Street doing on Ninja Tune? Just in time to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their very first show in the US, Sesame Street & Ninja Tune have teamed up to release a super rare disco remix by Larry Levan and the previously unavailable and much loved 'Pinball Number Count' by The Pointer Sisters.

It all started a couple of years ago when Strictly Kev, part of DJ Food, desperately wanted to include the infamous 'Pinball Number Count' on the first 'Solid Steel Presents' mix CD. You know the track, it was super funky and was accompanied by the cool animation of a pinball rolling around strange landscapes. Now this track is the stuff of legends within beat digging circles, DJs have scoured record bins for decades in the hope of finding it included on old Sesame compilations but alas, it was never on any of them.

Fortunately Kev knew this and rang Sesame Workshop in New York asking for a copy of the tape. It never actually made it onto the mix CD but that's another story. What you have here is a composite of numbers
2-12 of the 'Pinball Number Count' animations (number 1 was never created). Kev has re-edited all the key elements and cleaned up the sound while he's at it. And cooing those syncopated numbers and "do-do's" in the background is only the Pointer Sisters on a session
singing assignment.

If that wasn't enough, also included on the release is an extremely rare disco mix of 'C is For Cookie' by Cookie Monster (the original can change hands for up to £100). This fantastic remix is by the late Larry Levan; DJ legend and driving force behind the New York club,The Paradise Garage for 10 years. Many people credit Larry as being the first DJ to play a very eclectic and open-minded mix of music. This was the first remix he did before going on to have a very successful studio career,introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music. As he said at the time "Mel Cheren one day said to me 'you want to mix a record?' There was this song from Sesame Street, called 'C Is For Cookie', and I mixed it, not serious, not getting paid for it or nothing"

Finally, the last track is another beat diggers break nugget and an alternate disco mix of 'C Is For Cookie'. This time late Manhattan disco DJ Roy Thode was the man controlling the faders. Involved in the NY disco scene in the 70's he did remixes for Vanguard Records
and was resident at clubs like 12 West and the Saint. His remix is full of thumping disco breaks that make this more than your average kids record and rounds the package off beautifully.

With all these ingredients in the mix you know exactly what this special release from the Solid Steel crew is doing on Ninja Tune. Look out for more rare Solid Steel selections in this irregular series.