Go Bang! By Dinosaur L
"Go Bang!" by Dinosaur L was released in 1982. It's a New York mutant disco track that was a cornerstone of early house DJ culture. It was a project of Arthur Russell, who was also responsible for "Is It All Over My Face?" by Loose Joints. Go Bang merged disco with jazz, classical cello, dub and no-wave punk energy. Early house culture isn't very jazz, but in Go Bang!, the spoken vocal, the repetitive chant, and the four to the floor beat are all perfect house hooks.
Arthur Russell brought in serious jazz musicians, including trombonist Peter Zummo and trumpeter Peter Gordon. The original album version of the track was incredibly complex, and DJ Francois Kevorkian was brought in to strip the track down to focus on the rhythm. Francois K used the mixing desk as an instrument in the style of Jamaican dub reggae, and he created the iconic "Go Bang! #5" mix. This mash up of influences resulted in a deliberate musical oddity. The 12-inch version became an anthem in the underground dance scene.
Go Bang! #5 By Dinosaur L
When Go Bang! was made, it expressed the philosophy of David Mancuso's The Loft, which was highly influential in the New York club scene, and Arthur Russell had attended. This record wasn't about AIDS, but for some the plea to see friends touched feelings of trauma and grief that were experienced as the record was first being played. There were two waves of trauma that hit the Chicago house scene at different times, the first was AIDS and the second was the exploitation of the music industry. Go Bang! is about wanting to see friends and party, but friends were starting to die in 1982 without reason, because at the time nobody knew why. Arthur Russell died of AIDS in 1992, ten years after Go Bang! was released.
"Go Bang!" by Dinosaur L was famously sampled by Todd Terry.