The Soul Searchers, Dimitri From Paris Ashley's Roachclip (Dimitri From Paris Edit)

For those not familiar with "Ashley’s Roachclip", chances are you’ve already heard its drum break more times than you can count. From J. Dilla to Eric B & Rakim to New Order to Moby, and even in 80s doomed heartthrobs Milli Vanilli, it’s been used hundreds of times and crossing over all genres as one of 10 most sampled breakbeats !

In 1987, a young Dimitri discovers that the "Ashley’s Roachclip" break was the backbone of Coldcut’s legendary ‘7 minutes of madness’ remix of Eric B & Rakim’s "Paid In Full" He digs out the original 1974 song by The Soul Searchers, and falls in love with the rest of the music. Fast forward 35 years later, DFP chops it up in an old school cut-and-splice way, adding a touch of modern technique to beef up the beat all throughout.

The original’s sophisticated funky beat, rolling bass, fuzz guitars, great horns and flute are all present in this new edit, adorning the extended sections of the infamous break.

"Ashley’s Roachclip" is a landmark soul funk number on its own, one that could have easily found its way into a Blaxploitation movie, or a subsequent Quentin Tarantino homage.

While a staple of the UK rare groove scene, it stayed an LP-only track on the second opus by Washington DC’s Soul Searchers ‘Salt of the earth’ Despite finding some later success as champions of the short-lived GoGo sound (in their Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers guise) the drum heavy band never got the laurels it deserved.

Officially licensed from the song owners, here it comes as a limited 7’’ vinyl pressing ! This makes it the second outing on Dimitri From Paris’ own ‘dfp Vaults', a new label aimed at releasing his unreleased secret weapons, whether old or new.