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MIX NOTES

Live At The Beeiscuit Lounge – Yet another dope Tall Black Guy beat to kick things off, from his 2021 Airplane Mode LP.

Walk On By (Disco Tech edit) – Stockholm DJ Niklas Mellilä aka Disco-Tech put a simple dum break under this Dionne Warwick classic and it just pushes it along nicely.

Fly As me (MikeandTess edit) – As much as I have always loved Anderson Paak, it took me a long time to warm up to Silk Sonic. And as much as I respect Bruno Mars, to me, I get this vibe from him that almost… I dunno… pastiche? Like, he’s great at picking a specific era sound and reproducing it brilliantly. But I find it’s often a little too perfect. Too polished. With none of the looseness and funk and stank of the source material. But as so many of my musician friends continue to remind me, we should STFU and be thankful for anyone keeping live musicians and real song writing in the ears of Gen Z. Fair enough. Plus, this remix kinda slaps.

$payforhaiti – Haitian-American rapper Mach-Hommy from Newark spits in Kreyol and English over yet another dope Kaytranada beat. He is known for keeping it low pro and collaborating with underground producers and artists like the Alchemist, Knxwledge, and Earl Sweatshirt – to name a few. Mach-Hommy gained some notoriety around 2018 for charging a thousand of dollars for his digital release. This strategy paid off, getting hm some real cash and a ton of internet buzz. Can’t knock the hustle. This came out in November of 2021, and thankfully Kaytranada still only charges a few bucks for his EPs.

Now Is Tomorrow – A sleeper cut from Brooklyn’s own Brass Construction, from their sophomore album, “Brass Construction II”, released in 1976. You can really hear the Earth Wind & Fire influence in this, particularly in the vocals on the bridge.

You Gotta Have Freedom – A funky cover instrumental from 1995 of Pharoah Sanders anthemic tune from his 1980 “Journey To The One” LP. From what little I know, Boogaloo was a prominent Swedish Hip Hop group in the 80s/90s. I discovered this song when it was reissued by the amazing underground Stockholm record label, G.A.M.M., that has given me so many gems over the years. Their entire catalogue is digital now, so you don’t have to miss out.

Antiquity – If you aren’t already a collector of Dilla collaborations, you might know LA native Dwight Trible’s voice from his work on Kamasi Washington’s “Epic” LP, or singing with certified legends like Pharoah Sanders or Bobby Hutcherson. I am already a total sucker for spoken word poetry evoking that Astral jazz, 70s vibe, and a Dilla beat just clenches it for me. A spirit speaks! Preach, brother!

El Cinico Magnifico – I’ve been a fan of Glasgow native Ooft! ever since coming across his remixes by way of The Revenge, who shares Ooft!’s knack for long, slow burn, repetitive grooves that just get under your skin. His tracks tend to follow the tried and true deep house formula of: find a simple loop and just let it run. Add in a few ups and downs, via synth builds, and the song is done! Not everybody can pull this off, but when it works, it works.

To Prove My Love – California crooner Ned Doheny always struck me as sort of Bobby Caldwell meets Steve Miller / blue eyed R&B type dude, with a pinch of Steely Dan’s groovy polish thrown in. This song came out in 1979 and sort of put him on the map overseas. This was a coveted record at “rare groove” lounge gigs in the early 90s, which was a sizable portion of my DJing income in those days. Fun fact: the great Paul Thomas Anderson movie “There Will Be Blood” is based on the life story of Ned’s great grandfather, Edward L Doheny, a maverick oil tycoon who started the west coast oil boom in 1892.

La Rumba Experimental (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix) – Two of my never-disappoint musical muses, Gilles Peterson and Danilo Plessow (Motor City Drum Ensemble) collaborating to make something techy and groovy and Cuban at the same time. Myself and everybody else I know always thought Anthony Bourdain (RIP) had the dream job. Traveling around the world, eating the greatest food on earth and socializing with cool motherfuckers in every single city. Second dream job goes to Giles Peterson, who does this exact same thing, but with music. This is from his 2016 release, where he partnered with Cuban Rum producers to showcase contemporary Cuban music, focused around different interpretations of three specific Rumba rhythms. This is Bourdain-level nerdness and cultural hunger that resonates with me, and you best believe I am here for it.

Higher (Afefe Iku Remix) – Always loved this 2013 Osunlade remix of Big Brooklyn Red & Git’s shuffle house groover. Big Brooklyn Red just has a great voice for this type of track, and as a vocalist he deserves way more shine than he ever got.

No Need - Moodymann’s influence is all over tracks like this from London’s Oscar Jerome & Ben Hauke. This was self-released on Bandcamp in July of 2021.

Lavender – Melbourne producer Liam De Bruin spent lockdown in a beach house on Port Philip Bay and managed to crank out some dope deep house that keeps this mix moving along nicely. This came out in October of 2021 on Ennio Styles’ Heart & Felt label, which is well worth checking out.

Love & Hate In A Different Time – I somehow missed this track when it came out in 2020, but lawd a mercy it’s definitely in my top 5 of the year, for sure. Soulful throwbacks like these can very easily sound more like surface-level mimicry, but this does it for me. Singer Jacob Lusk seems to have made a bit of a splash in the 10th season of American Idol, but I can’t watch really that garbage so I’m late to the party. But if you love falsettos like Sylvester or Eddie Kendricks or Curtis Mayfield, I dare you to watch this video and not give them their props.

New Beginning (Piano Mix) – Birmingham Alabama’s Byron The Aquarius joined forces with Detroit space wizard Jeff Mills in 2020 to gather some live musicians and make the soulful broken beat record you’ve always waited for, “Ambrosia” – released on Jeff’s Axis Records. What’s not to like?

Say What? – Speaking of broken grooves, Rotterdam Now & Wow resident Chezz released this in August of 2021 on the Boogie Cafe label out of the UK.

Crayfish Caper (Nuyorican Broken Mix) – More Melbourne movement via Surprise Chef, with a proper broken remix from NYC’s eternal musical gods, Masters At Work. I always assume Kenny Dope is the guy behind MAW’s broken beat records, but you never know? Those cats can do it all. This is from October of this year.

Stay For Long – Keeping this same vibe going, I submit this WheelUP & Brint Story track for your approval. WheelUP is Danny Wheeler, a West London DJ and producer who is a key player in the Broken Beat revival that’s been underway there for years. He taps Alabama MC Brint Story to step in on vocals and the result is kinda perfect for this mix.

Damballa – Stepping in the Way Back Machine we land in 1971, where Chicago Afro Futurist ensemble The Pharaohs are releasing their first album and giving up musical offerings to Damballa, the great Loa spirit and origin of all life in Haitian Vodu. His flag has hung above my front door for the last 30 years, so we’re cool like dat. This band recorded only two records, but produced a few breakaway stars, like saxophonist Don Myrick and a drummer you may have heard of: Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire.

Yenimo – Afrofuturism is alive and well in the music of Onipa – a Ghana meets London collab that started releasing tracks in 2020. Members include Kweku (KOG and the Zongo Brigade), Tom Excell and Finn Booth (Nubiyan Twist), and Tom Excell and Dwayne Kilvington from Wonky Logic’s band. These are all groups who continue to break new ground in London’s ever-vibrant, underground music scene.

Love The Life You Live (Krivit Edit) – Nothing quite like the energy and power of early Kool & the Gang.

Yellow Sunshine – Philly funk unit Yellow Sunshine only recorded one album in 1973, soon disbanding after the record failed to gain traction. But it did get keyboardist Dexter Wansel noticed by Gamble & Huff, as well as Karl and Roland Chambers (drums & guitar) noticed by MFSB. And to top it off, it produced a sleeper B-Boy anthem.

City Life – A side A title cut from the Blackbyrds 3rd LP. You can hear Donald Byrd’s phrasing and arranging all over this. The Blackbyrds were the Jazz Fusion band he formed with some of his Howard University students. This is the album that also gave us “Rock Creek Park” and “Happy Music”.

Sabor Los Rumberos Nuevos – Ángel Canales was born in Santurce, PR and migrated to NYC at age 10. He started out as a timbalist in Ray Jay’s Orchestra. He left to join pianist Mark Dimond’s group, who released a now revered LP called “Brujeria” in 1971, produced bye Johnny Pacheco and Larry Harlow. When Dimond quit his own band due to drug problems, Angel took over and they became Sabor Con Angel Canales. This is from their first album, Sabor, released in 1975 on Alegre Records. Angel eventually started his own label, Selanac, empowering him to operate outside of the traditional salsa infrastructure, bankrolling his own records and tours through his day job as a successful diamond dealer. This earned him the nickname “El Differente”, and he became a real iconoclast of this classic salsa era. You can definitely hear some serious swagger in his delivery on this track.

Para Ochún – El Cantante himself, Hector Lavoe, in fine 1980 form with an all star session band and Willie Colon at the controls. Hector and the band does a great call and response routine, giving praises and flores flores mucho flores to the santos. Nowhere do the different cultures of Nueva York feel more closely connected to me than when you hear the same African spirits evoked in completely different musical genres. The roots are strong and ever present here, and that’s how we like it.

Safari – One last boogaloo jam from 1969 to close out this mix, from the El Rey himself, Tito Puente. Thanks for listening!