Theo Parrish

A nice interview with the saviour of house - Theo Parrish.

From Fullbozman.com

Tropical Treats

Rickard Masip from Tropical Treats/Raw Fusion and Recordmania has kindly shared this really cool mix. Within certain circles he's a well known connoissuer of all things rare and funky. Recently back from digging in Colombia.
I've had the pleasure to hear him dj a few times, and he's a class selector as this mix also proves. Here you get to hear a great selection of funky latin & caribbean sounds, some heavy african & reggae tunes.
You need to check out yourself, I guarantee there isn't much you've heard before. Personally I think this is the kind of sh-t I wanna hear on a nice sunny day. Or in a dark, sweaty basement for that matter. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

Jackie Mittoo - Armagideon rock

Eric Cosaque - Guadeloupe ile de mes amours

La Tromba - Calaba calabao

Hafusa Abasi - Hayechi Mnazo

Tilaye Chemwaka - Unknown title ? (45 label is unreadable)

Joey Pastrana - A bailar oriza

Combo de caney - La mini falda

Les Vikings - Ambiance

Les Volcans porto novo - Jomido

Ebo Taylor - Odofo nyi akyiri biara

Ahmed Juma Ensemble - Mama matotoya

Bembinhos - Tiahuanaco

Rafael Labasta - Labasta llego

Johnny Sedes - Carupano canta

Julian y su combo - Salsa y bembe

La Roche - Arpa en salsa

Sweet Talks - Mampam sukuruwe

Cicada - Oli nkwu

Orchestre Veve star - Niturudia

Bruce Ruffin - Save the people

Mayer Hawthorne

Here's the B-side for the next single from Mr. Hawthorne - 'I wish it could rain'. It's on the 'Maybe so Maybe no' 12":


While being on the subject, here's the original for 'Maybe so Maybe no':

Update: Get a free download of 'Maybe so' at Stones Throw

Messages

Here's a great remix by Aaron Jerome, on Victer Duplaix's "Messages". It's out there if you look around. Check clip, it's baaad!

Record Shops

Today I want to pay homage to a few of the reord shops I've visited through the years. Nowadays I don't get the chance to pop into any decent shops too often. Due deference to Internet, there's nothing like walking into a real shop. For good or bad, to be honest. When going to Stockholm, I sometimes avoid going the shops as they're just too good, and It's just a burden to be encountered by these brilliant records that that are going to dig deep holes into your pockets.
Anyway, here's a list of great shops, some still around, that I've been to:

• Vaxkupan. In my hometown (Nkpg), where I seriously started to buy records in the early 90's.
• Recordmania, Stockholm. Simply one of the best shops I've ever been to. http://recordmania.net/
  
• Soul Jazz, London, especially the old one at Ingestre Place. http://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com/
  
• Fat Cat, London. Was always an essential stop on frequent trips to London in the 90's.
• Atlas, London, as Fat Cat crucial for electronic isht in the 90's.
• Reckless, London. There's a few around which always where great for promo's.
• HMV, London. It could actually be really good at times.
• Black Market, London. The basement for Drum'n'bass is just a great memory. http://www.bm-soho.com/
• Honest Jons, London. Cool shop & cool staff. A nice trip to get out to out to west London when living there early 2000. http://www.honestjons.com
• Guiness Records, Tokyo. The look and the records. Only in Japan. http://guinness-records.com/
• Jazzy Sport, Tokyo. Really hard to find on the 5th floor in an office-type of building. http://www.jazzysport.com/
  
• Disk Union, Tokyo. Various branches in focused on different genres. One of the best. http://diskunion.net/
  
• Especial, Kyoto. A quite small but nice selection of jazz and related. http://www.especial-records.com/
  

There's loads more, and hopefully I'll still get the chance to enter a few of them in the future.

Dr. Bob Jones

Check this article on Bob Jones - One of the dj's DJ. 40 years as a club dj and still counting. He talks about being addictive to vinyl records, why today's dj's seem to lack of musical knowledge and are more of technicians rather than musical connoisseurs.
Also good to see that he's part of a new book on the history of the UK jazz dance scene written by legendary dj Snowboy - From Jazz Funk And Fusion To Acid Jazz - The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene
From evilmonito.com

Charles Earland - Coming to you live

One for easter!

Another mix in 2 halves - Fusion & House

A physical education teacher once said the hardest trick to do with a ball, is to hold it still. Obviously you can't do that when you're 9. There's some similarities to my musical taste/dj-ing style. I can't stick to one genre. If it's good, if it's got the funk, it needs to be in. Sometimes it might get a bit messy, and sometimes it just flows.
Anyway, I just got the Judy Roberts LP, and the Black Cock 12", you know it's always nice to test some new tunes. So I took it from there, from kind of fusion-ish to some more modern, programmed jazzy bits. Starting, and showing off with the Pete Dunaway track, not really fusion but an amazing track. Check it out: Download
Tracklist:

1. Pete Dunaway - Supermarket
2. Edu & Tom - Vento bravo
3. Seawind - Free
4. The Judy Roberts Band - Never was love
5. The Mighty Clouds Of Joy - Everything is love (Harvey edit)
6. Blaze - Wishing you were here (Joey Negro rmx)
7. Digital Funk Addicts - Higher level
8. Rick Wade - Harsh Thoughts
9. Lighthouse Family - High (E-dancer dub)
10. Etienne Jaumet - Repeat again after me (Ame rmx)
11. Detroit Experiment - Think Twice (Henrik Schwarz live edit)
12. Herbie Hancock - Nobu (Radioslave edit)
13. Pepe Bradock - Mandragore
14. Motorbass - Ezio
15. Jean-Luc Ponty - Computer incantations for world peace

Shades of Soul

Check this site out! If you got the slightest interest in vintage dance music, you need to go there.
There's loads of live footage, interviews etc. It's all about the soul and related. I watched some of the latin bits; Tito Puente, Willie Colón etc. Yes, we're talking proper Bogaloo! There's also some stuff on Max Roach, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and other soul artists.Unfortunately It's not possible to embed any stuff, but you find it here.

Marvin Gaye - I want you (A cappella with congas & bass) (320)

Unabombers

I did this interview, I belive four years ago. Some references are a bit outdated, but it's still interesting and entertaining. I played the same night, and this was done the day after. So when doing this I was so knackered I hardly could speak, so these parts are rough edits (without my questions).
Pt.1 - Now & then. About the changes in the way the consumtion of popular- and club music has been through.

Pt. 2 Electric Chair. On how keeping the club going, keeping it fresh.

Pt. 3 Manchester & The look. What makes a place creative. Music & fashion - the northern look.

ESG - Moody

One the most iconic songs in dance music. They had a bit of a revival last year, but obviously always of current interest. I think they've been playing live since the eighties, and still having trouble getting paid for use of their breaks in samples.
Great to see it live, check the congabreaks:

Dâm Funk

Stones Throw artist Dâm Funk is one of the future stars of modern soulful music. Residing in L.A., he's a true connoisseur of funk & soul. Try to find any of his dj sets, and you get a lesson in underground and soulful dance music from the early eighties. I've heard some interviews on the radio, he seems like a really cool dude. Check this video:

Dâm Funk - Interview
by on-point

DJ Hero

Activision, creators of the game Guitar Hero, is preparing to release another title for their music game line up - DJ Hero. The game will be packaged with a hardware controller that looks similar to a standard CD turntable. Whether this says anything about contemporary music, i.e rock is dead, I can't tell...One thing is for sure, now all the quasi-dj's playing straight from some software can start to practise the actual craftmanship. F-ck I've seen dudes standing there without any headphones with all the music pre-programmed. What's the deal with that?

Rumours says that Dj Shadow, amongst others, have been developing and testing the game. Thugh it's unclear who'll actually cover the actual Dj Hero.

If you got funk, you got style

A god day is to have som spare time to check through some records. And if the mood is fine, even try to get together a mix. So here you go!
Starting out with a nice 7" from Earth, Wind & Fire and no idea where it would end up. A very random mix, new and old, hopefully with some stringency. Touching some brasilian, latin, jazz, funk & house bits. Specially feeling the Billy Bang track from the Live at Carlos 1 LP. Obviously Percy Faith on Freddie Hubbard's First Light - très cool, from the Corazón LP. Enjoy!
Download
Tracklist:

1. Earth, wind & Fire - Departure
2. Trio Mocoto - Nao Adianta
3. Tim Maia - É Necessário
4. Roni Size - Watching Windows (Nu Yourican Soul rmx)
5. Carlos Santana - Free as the Morning Sun
6. Billy Bang Sextet - Abuella
7. Percy Faith - First Light
8. Dick Schory - Jungle Root
9. Deep Sensation - Funk Heaven
10. Soul Dhamma - Flower (King Britt rmx)
11. Sascha Dive - Deepest America (Moodymann rmx)
12. 6th Borough Project - Planets
13. A Hundred Birds - Jaguar
14. Angela Bofill - People Make the World Go Round
15. Patsy Gallant - Te Caliente

DETROIT

Detroit has always been an influential place in the history of popular music. Since the Motown days it has been established as the progressive city for SOUL music. So much creativity has emerged from the Motor City. Check this 9 minute video on Underground Resistance

45 KING

I've always had a fascination for turntabalists. This is ace!

GHOSTFACE & DOOM - CTW

Get it here!

Jazz Dance

Isn't - "Can you play something that I can dance to" the most annoying thing you can hear when playing your treasurable wax. Anyway, I was playing some hip hop. It was still early on you know, at the time when you can drop some really good stuff. Seconds from, when I was about to go for some Sahib Shihab this girl in a wheelchair rolls into the dance floor. There was no time for getting another record cued up. It didn't take too long before her friend came up and asked the question.

Fair enough, it's not always the most danceable stuff. Shahib Shihab that is.
But this LP with the Danish Radio Group is certainly a rarity that can't be neglected. Even the Japanese re-issue is rare nowadays. Can't remember which track I dropped at the time, but the whole LP is superb.
Check: Dance of the Fakowees(320)

Bob Dog

Not really musically related, but still(?) a culturally interesting phenomena...Swedish pop/rock group Bob Hund is auctioning their first release in six years on the bay. The trick though, is that it's only released in 1 copy. It's a dubplate too, not really that handy. It comes with a record player, which is actually the sleeve/artwork for the release. The designer has also added lots of texts on the record player. If it's the text of the song is unconfirmed. Might come handy as a dubplate isn't playable too long... Check the auction here, but there isn't much time to save any money.

When the funk hits the fan

"This amazing piece of sonic bliss, comes from the highly sought after Re-Member's Only album by King Britt presents SYLK130. We recorded this record live. This was before cd turntables. So we made the song, then the vinyl, then called jazzy jeff and de la soul to cut it live in the bassment of Studio 4 in Philly. History my friends! Unfortunately lost the super 8 tape!"
I don't get much into hip hop nowadays, but I certainly like my rap. And if you do you need to check this out.
This is ace, Jazzy Jeff kills the cuts! Get your download at FiveSixMedia.

Time for some Boogie Action

This is super fresh boogie from Del Richardson. Originally out on dutch label Ashok, this is from the Joy Spring release.

The track is on the flip - Rainbows (320).

Suite For Ma Dukes

This is Carlos Nino's & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's tribute project to the late J Dilla. This absolutely amazing contemporary music. Good to see that it's out soon on wax. Update.
In the meantime check this live video:

Freddie Hubbard Interview

Earlier this year another legend passed away. Freddie Hubbard, a huge, and long time hero for me. Through his early 60's stuff to the fusion years in the late seventies.
I stumled across this interview by Ben Sidran. Check!

The Art of Diggin

I read that the infamous Frank Wilson “Do I love you" 7" is up for Auction. Expected to fetch between £25-75 000 it still hails as one of the holy grails, all-time, all genres. Present owner, Scottish Northern Soul Dj Kenny Burell, certainly made a good investment back in the day. It has probably given him lots of gigs, and an investment that has increased in value. He bought it for £15 000.

It indicates that the need for originality is still relevant within the Dj-community. Although this particular record, and the soul scene is the most extreme, and you can’t always make comparisons with other records/genres. Though, the collecting- and dj’ing art has always been hard to separate (If you’re over, say 25-ish, dj, and genuinely like music). In these cases there are certain paradoxes, which I’m personally part of as well, that clashes between the interest of the music and the need of the original pressing. Hypothetically you could do well with a re-pressing, or even an mp3. But like a friend of mine once said - “An mp3 is as interesting as an anonymous piece of sugar in a sugar bowl”. And I certainly think he’s right, even though I’m not the most hardcore collector I still aim for the original pressing. And most definitely on vinyl. That way these collectors/dj's become purveyors of the culture (and good music) which is getting more and more expendable in these times.
Personally I’m more of a bargain hunter, and that’s where the collecting habits come in. It’s a bit like a competition, and getting a bargain indeed gives the feel of winning a prize. Having the rarest record is could also be considered as a winning formula which gives you “capital”(social and economic) within the scene.

Anyway, I don’t want to make these posts too long. I briefly want to tell you about one of the finest bargains I’ve found – the Nancy Holloway “Hello Dolly” Lp, with the fantastic "Hurts so bad". I think it was 5 or 10 sek, ($1) and in very very nice condition possibly just played a very few times. That’s certainly a good buzz, and makes all this worthwhile.

Check it out: