So on my first vacay this year, I went to LA to visit the fam.  I only got to party twice (a club called rhonda and cat toy factory) kuz of forced r&r on the beach.  Despite the par-for-the-club music, I liked the energy and crowd both times.  Probably the best part - in contrast to NY - is that the kids dress a little crazier with half the attitude.  I don’t know, I just never get the vibe in NY that I can dress like an idiot and have fun.  (Aside from Rubulad and Club Vortex).  Anyways, congrats to Justice on throwing a fab first party for thecobrasnake.

Sorry.  I thought I was over and done with gymnastics; I thought that stage of my life was through.  Well…I am, but I still love watching it!

Both the Chinese men’s and women’s teams totally owned prelims.  No competition at all.  Just watch the vids - they will blow your mind.

I recommend “Chinese women’s routines in prelims” and if you scroll down about 2/3’s of the way “Top routines from men’s gymnastics.” Finals not necessary, though I’m looking forward to those, too.

Kimmiz Hits 4 Milfs. Even if it is only for a laugh, this played a large part in me actually liking techno (a genre I thought was synonymous with annoying). But this mix has big bouncey basslines (Lucio Auilina’s Magic M, Donk Boys’ Zonky, Claude Vonstroke’s mix of Worthy’s I’rste, Red Robin & Hilden’s Lazy Jack…etc), but interspersed are random treats like Dolly Parton’s Jolene, some happy hardcore turned German trance song, followed by a kraut show tune, Minor Threat and Roy Orbison. Truly eccentric mixing – kind of reminds me of the Triptych, just done in a more techno heavy format.

Princess Julia – Milky Lunch 1994. The Dalston Oxfam Shopper calls this “progressive house,” which probably was the term for it in ‘94. I’ve been learning more and more about Princess Julia and her clubbing history, and this mix is another piece in the puzzle. It’s really fun house music on the less commercial side of the C+C Music Factory tip.

Mavs – And Did We Mention Our Disco? Live 2005.5.27. This has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. At first it was just for the beginning 30 minutes. Now it’s more for the last 40 or so. Funk mixed into rock/indie classics the way it was meant to be. It ends with Martina McBride’s I Never Promised You A Rose Garden – which is great because it’s just so wrong.

Duke Dumont – Europeans Do It Better Live Hamburg Dec 2007. There are too many mixes of its kind in this scene/genre, including ones by Matt Walsh, Casper Clark, Hannah Holland, Cormac, Warboy, Peter Pixzel, Brodinski - all who I would love to play out on a regular basis. This one was the least boring as a mixtape. The best part of Duke’s live mix is Len Faki’s My Black Sheep (Radioslave remix) - a total stomper - followed by Luciano’s Calypso remix.

Todd Hart Live at Durrr 7.4.08. Okay. For this one, let’s pretend it’s not Durrr and that it’s played at some dingy bar you’re not really expecting anything from. You aren’t paying attention to the music; you’re just there, chillin’, talking to friends. (Just for illustrative purposes, let’s say you’re at any bar in williamsburg). I think around 25 minutes into this mix, I’d start thinking, “wow wtf. this is a really great DJ – what a surprise!” and regardless of what I’d had or hadn’t been expecting of the night, I’d be dancing and having the time of my life.

Todd Hart – January 23^rd 2008. I liked this one a little less than the 7.4 mix, but it’s filled with a lot of really great tunes. I’d only heard the original version of Love Hangover before, so the remix really threw me! Love it. And of course, the Phil Collins track.

James de la Cruz 9.30.06. I stumbled across this mix because I was so bored of listening to his Beneath The Surface mix over and over and needed another James de la Cruz fix. This is just another example of his hip hop style of mixing from a library of world, funk, hip hop, classics…etc - I don’t know why I tried to describe it like that. Basically, the next record is always a surprise and always great.

elbartoliamb_-_niespodziewany_koniec_lata (The Unexpected End of Summer). I cannot pronounce any of that. There are interspersed avalanche-esque moments (guess where I got it from), but it’s enjoyable start to finish. It’s 100% Polish records.

In Flagranti – A Decade of Hero Worship. While myspacing Tomboy, I came across the Gomma.de site, which has a load of fantastic mixes for download. One of them was In Flagranti, who I knew very little about at the time. It comes in 30 some tracks (I don’t know why).

Zines/Blogs
The P.i.X
SuperSuper
Dalston Oxfam Shop
Zarcorp
KCTV
secondhandzine
Gutter Broadcast

Sources
Slsk
Blogs (zshare, mediafire, sendspace, ysi..etc)
Mininova
Beatport

Hatcham Social – Dance As If… I can’t remember the first Hatcham Social song I heard, but this is the one that I fell immediately in love with. It’s so innocent and happy and hippity hoppy. I was very sad for a couple months because I only had it at 96k. It didn’t stop me from playing the low quality mp3 over and over. It’s definitely the combination of the high pitched guitar part with a happy go-lucky bass guitar line and care-free “I could care less I suppose”-styled vocals. There was a forum thread with a wide range of favorite Hatcham Social songs. I think people were posting the most obscure ones they could find, though – because Dance As If… is clearly the best followed by Til The Dawn (also with a danceable, jangly guitar melody). Other topics of interest regarding the band were a) the drummer’s bowl cut b) the band’s attire: colorful button down shirts buttoned all the way, muted by a cardigan c) releases on cassette tape and 128k mp3 (particularly upsetting since I paid money for them) d) their online zine called secondhandzine e) nicola probert’s videos and artwork f) their influences.

Popof – The Chomper (LSD Version). So, unfortunately after hearing this I discovered a lot of Popof’s songs sound the same <shrug> oh well. This one still takes the cake. Skippy rhythms and ridiculous, over-the-top electronics are the hallmarks of this song. If ever there was an aural equivalent of a strobelight…

Tomski & Fredboy – Mos Eisley (Tartlet Edit). Genius. Cheeky. Tacky. Nonsense. I love Tomboy and Fredski.

Proxy – Dance In The Dark. I’m not a huge fan of his latest singles. I think I’ve already raved about this one enough.

Malente – Killer Applikation (Aston Shuffle Badonkadonk Remix). I was listening to a lot of nu-techno. Just day in and day out of downloading mixes and listening to bouncey basslines and swirling sonics. I thought I’d never hear any of its kind in a club in NYC. So it hit me from leftfield when - I was just following my friends and we ended up in a car driving around Brooklyn. I was actually expecting some proper funk music because $mall ¢hange was supposed to be Djing (or so they’d told me) - As we were walking up the stairs to the loft party, I could hear the bass, and some people were actually dressed up. I thought I was walking into a rave just then. I recognized the song and was like, I have to get in there NOW. It was bliss. Almost 2 hours of Durrr and Trailer Trash anthems. Thank you Dominic of The Glass. (And surprise, surprise when I walked outside: it was not even a half block from Dope Jams in Bed-Stuy).

The Violets – Lost Pages. I did have this in 07. But I slept on it. I really like it. It’s one of the albums I can listen to straight through and enjoy every minute.

alright… short n sweet, this’ll be…

songs on constant replay, january-june 2008:

busta rhymes – don’t touch me – it’s good to hear busta having what sounds like FUN after who knows how long (a decade?) the lame thug persona he’s been cultivating for years now doesn’t fit the character we all fell in love with throughout the 90s- that rambunctious, goofy, lovable MC going nuts over some some appropriately nutty beats (gimme some more, dangerous, put your hands where my eyes could see, woo-hah… the list goes on). dunno what his new album’ll sound like, but this track gives me great hope…

prgz – bama gettin’ money (diplo remix) – this is SUCH a reply to three 6 mafia’s “stay fly”! love it! extra points for flipping bad 80s cheese (wham!) into something so menacing.

good dubstep tracks:
silkie – sky’s the limit
headhunter – horny teen
skream – tek-a-pill

most dubstep still sucks, and whatever promise it held three years ago has been rendered obsolete by a conveyor belt stream of wobbly, faux-ragga, cheap-thrill bullshit. but these three! silkie has the EEEEEEPIC synths, headhunter the sleaze, and skream the zombie vibe.

duke dumont – almost all he’s done – he’s one of a small handful of producers making *QUALITY* XXXXXX house (don’t know what it’s called anymore, don’t care) that everyone loves so much nowadays. the trick is, his glitches and edits and whatever other elements he uses actually PROPEL his songs, not just attempt vainly at giving the beat a “hard, distorted” feel. his take on debbie deb’s “when i hear music” is the definitive one, “lean and bounce” achieves the gritty texture everyone’s failed at, and the remix of missy’s “we run this” sounds riotous. awesome!

kanye west – flashing lights (video; first version) – why was there a second version made? was there not enough appreciation for the cinematically mesmerizing accompaniment to one of last year’s best songs? did we need some corny, forced, tremendously clichéd new york sob story instead? blah.

bun b – you’re everything – it has a crazy jodeci sample and that buzzsaw bass (trae – cadillac!!!) that i canNOT resist.

special mention:

sometime before summer last year, i came upon a bangladesh-produced track called “amilly” starring then-unknown (and now completely vanished?) rapper charlie mackenroe. the minimal, massive boom-clack beat was one of the year’s very best, though i forgot to mention it in december. this year, the beat was given to lil’ wayne (it’s “a milli” now), but you know what? the charlie mackenroe version was better! lil’ wayne’s stream-of-consciousness flow is all diminishing returns on this monster of a thumper, and even though this mackenroe guy was a no-mark, at least he gave his version a chorus, shitty as it was. anyway, helluva beat. oh, and there’re an endless pile of freestyles over this beat by a bunch of people now… they all stink!

from the top of mt. fuji, even though that lake makes it look like i’m at surface level…

sets on constant replay, january-june 2008

dj clever – offshore records mix – may – bless offshore records! makes you wish it was 1997, when dnb was the truth.

diplo – mad decent worldwide radio #27 – diplo’s often most on point in off-the-cuff sets like these, truly the sign of a great dj.
PRGz - Bama Gettin Money (Diplo Remix)

ghislain poirier – bring the fire – a ghislain poirier set is always gold before even listening.

dj wonder – april 1xtra dubstep mix – GOOD dubstep, no wobbly inanity, great selection, great sequencing… what a relief!

joker – skream stella sessions mix, may 2008 – the only other good dubstep mix so far this year.

and the very best of the last six months…

two entries!

1) JOKER – SNAKE EATER!!!

godDAMN, what a tune. i was gonna lump it with the other dubstep tracks i mentioned above, but… godDAMN, what a tune! this has it all. in a perfect world, this would be the worldwide summer anthem.

2) RUSTIE!!!

his showcase mix on mary anne hobbs’ radio1 show last april was a revelation in the way few things are nowadays, primarily because rustie has accomplished what is perhaps the most virtuous musical feat of all: culling your influences and morphing them into something unique, distinct, and wholly original. we can talk about how rustie employs a bit of dubstep here, hip-hop there, rnb here and such, but NOBODY sounds like HIM. he’s in a league of his own, he’s amazing, and he’s destined for greatness.

rustie on mary anne hobbs’ 1xtra show – april 23^rd, 2008

rustie & hudson mohawk – 4AM drunken mix

rustie – gutterish mix

everything on this list is easily googleable!

see you in december!

PS- you know what song SUCKS?! Estelle – American Boy. WHAT THE FFFFFF!?! TRASH!!!!
continue reading "Halfa 2008"

My first* DJ gig went well I’m happy to say. I lost sleep over it, and it turned out alright. So, I guess I don’t feel bad for claiming to want to be a DJ now.

*sort of

Tune of the night was Crookers’ Love to Edit. It’s like 7-8 months stale, but I’m pretty sure nobody knew just judging on reaction. (And I’d never heard it played out, so it sounded fresh even though I’ve heard it 1000x on downloaded mixsets). I really did want to bang out some of the more minimal/techno tracks I’ve been into recently, but the system wouldn’t have done them any favors and they prolly would have cleared everyone out, unfortunately. Regardless, I had a good time, my friends had a good time and there was only one person complaining they wanted to hear Biggie.

I saved my tracklist. Obviously, I bit off of my favorite DJs - wasn’t trying to re-invent the wheel or anything - so a big “Thank You” to them. (I was going to hate on myself for playing all hits, but it was my first time - what was I going to do? play filler for posterity’s sake? Na, it’s just a party for my friend’s birthday). Pictures are here.

Update: My buddy Luis and I are doing lists for the first half of 2008 since we agreed our memories suck for our end of year lists. Watch this space.

This Friday is my friend Katherine’s birthday party at Loreley in the LES.  She’s turning twenty-five, or a quarter of a century - same age as me, actually.  There will be a special DJ playing - one of my favorites, and I’m giddy with anticipation.  It’s a secret, but let’s just say he’s someone I’ve wanted to be since I was 18 or so.

Staying in all the time leads to depression. I’ve been almost masochistic in my self-imposed jailing, especially given the recent change in weather. I re-watched episodes of Twin Peaks and Strangers with Candy, and indulged in the occasional SC VOD, though. This week, I discovered Billa’s flickr account (he’s the photographer for SuperSuper magazine) and ended up sinking hours into middle-click-photo, middle-click All Sizes, right-click-v-left-click-ing through his 19k+ photos of East London club characters.

On tonight’s party: It’s nice to feel at home when you go out, to know you’re going to enjoy yourself, to hope for the time of your life and come away satisfied. It was a small slice of fulfillment - til the next one.

Chic - I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit) (pre party listening)

Alexander Robotnick - Problemes D’Amour (Dub) (A song I never thought I would hear in a club until I did tonight)

Lo and behold, there may be a silver lining in it all. But will it happen?

I’m not really ashamed to say I only attended 1 of the 4 parties previously posted here this year. (There were more, but I deleted them) . In short, I’ve missed too many - part of it was my inane new year’s resolution, part of it was the cold weather -> being sick.

After scouring MySpace and Yelp (for parties and hair stylists, respectively), I decided on THE REAL WORLD, and an aggressive, ’80s bowl cut from Mousey Brown Salon (which I don’t recommend at all). The afterparty (location TBA) will be DJ’d by Princess Julia (The P.i.X zine) and The Lovely Jonjo (Durrr). The occasion? My 25th birthday.

(Julian and Sophie)

Fashion UK or fuk.co.uk’s played an important role in my life. I was a sorry, depressed teenager, living in cultureless suburbia, and I really ate up everything I could find through magazines at Tower and sites on the internet, including news items and LFW coverage on fuk.co.uk.

This is really just an ode to them and 2 of my favorite designers over the years who have consistently created in a style that seems to me a complete bubble. I think Basso and Brooke’s Autumn/Winter 05 collection was the one that hit me the hardest.

I would include Julian and Sophie (nothingnothing), but they broke up a while back…not exactly sure what they’re up to now. I do know Julian’s done some really genius MySpace bulletins lately haha, if that could ever be an artform.

Basso and Brooke
Antonio Ciutto
JULIANAND’s MySpace
BLOW PR
fuk.co.uk
SUPERSUPER

Just came across this even though I guess it’s been up for almost 2 years. Anyways, I converted it to mp3 and cut it up, so it’s just his mix and the post-mix interview.

Tracklist:
1. j-zone - pimp palace magic [zone]
2. j-zone - hit n run [zone]
3. nerd - thrasher [virgin/emi]
4. toto - rosanna [cbs/sony bmg]
5. mulatu astatke - emnete [soundway/creative vibes]
6. prince - i wanna be your lover [paisley park/warner]
7. prince - raspberry beret [paisley park/warner]
8. little dragon feat yukimi nagano - test [off the wall 7"]
9. some grime track
10. josh rouse - come back [rykodisc/warner]
Interview

In other Avalanches news, they keep saying they’re almost finished with the 2nd album. I just got bored and reversed their latest Relaxation mixtape.

James de la Cruz on Stylin (straightup.com.au)
The Avalanches’ Yoga Mind Meld Zombie Relaxation Tape (normal)
Relaxation (backwards)

The Swampmaster has additional info.