DOWNLOAD

 

MIX NOTES

An approximation of my recent live set at the Just Right loft party in the Bronx. I only had a 2 hour window, so there’s about an hour’s worth of extra stuff here that I was hoping to squeeze in but alas, no. The party was fantastic and a good time was had by all. Thanks again to my family Redness, Jaguar Jay and Chris “Beast 621″ Smith for putting me on, and thanks to DJ Paul Quintana for getting things moving. It was also my first time playing off of USB sticks, which are a mindfuck, but have made it possible to fit your entire 10,000-deep record collection inside that little change pocket on your jeans. As Bugs Bunny would say, IT IS TO LAUGH!

Forever In My Life (studio & live remix) – An underplayed LP cut from Prince’s 1987 masterpiece “Sign of the Times”. We used to skip school just to lay around Brian terrizzi’s backyard pool and listen to this record. Sometimes, we would also do whippets and jump off the garage roof. Good times. I added in some heavier drums, and sped it up just a touch, to make a bit more dance floor friendly. When I was messing around with it, I remembered the live version, from his 1988 “Small Club” bootleg, which is, to me at least, his best bootleg ever. The live version clocks in at over 11 minutes, with a much longer breakdown and reprise that I cut out here, since I wanted to play both versions. But you should get your hands on that entire bootleg. It was recorded in The Hague in 1988 and a very good friend of mine was there and even got to dance with Prince at the after party – which is a fact I don’t begrudge her for continuing to brag about to this very day. I mean, who wouldn’t?

Miss You – What can you say about this song? It never gets old. It originated as a live jam that the Stones used to do on tour with Billy Preston. Ian “Mac” McLagan from The Small faces plays keys on the studio version, which was their first ever disco single, and a #1 hit around the world in 1978. It was recorded at EMI’s Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris in the summer of 77. They recorded about 50 songs, many of which ended up on “Emotional Rescue” and “Tattoo You” in the early 80s. Ron Wood had just officially joined the band and “some Girls” was the first album he played on. My sister owned this on vinyl, and I would stare at the pull out die-cut sleeve for hours as a kid. Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli (representing mama Judy Garland), Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe all sued to get their faces removed from the 2nd pressing.

Nights Over Egypt – This has always been a go-to record for me when I’m warming up a room. It’s mellow yet dancey and has really wonderful instrumentation and background vocals that just sound great in a club. It was produced by Dexter Wansel, who was very instrumental in the Philly Sound and played in both Instant Funk and Yellow Sunshine. The Jones Girls were from Detroit and did a lot of work as backup singers for groups like Le Pamplemousse before having their own success at the end of the 70s/early 80s.

Say No Go (remix) – This has always been my favorite 12″ from De La Soul‘s debut album. It’s a UK remix that came out on import, done by CJ Macintosh, who was in very high demand in those days, having won the DMC championship in 87 and being responsible for the monster global group M/A/R/R/S, as well as lots of remixes for Coldcut and Janet Jackson and C+C Music Factory. The chorus hook for “Say No Go” is, of course, Hall & Oates, but the bulk of the groove is a straight lift of Sly Stone’s “Crossword Puzzle” , with the guitar intro from the Detroit Emeralds’ “Baby Let Me Take You” – both dope songs in their own right.

Love Injection – Another amazing jam from the peak of disco (1979) from Trussel, a one-hit-wonder student group from Virginia State College. Fred Wesley from the JB’s produced their one and only album, and this is the stand out joint, by far. The climbing key changes at the end have the amazing effect of amping up a party to its very apex. Just try it.

Keep On Dubbin’ – This is one of those deep NY records that you start to feel ownership over when you live here long enough, probably because most often the people playing it in clubs were actually instrumental in it getting released and becoming an underground classic in the first place. Forccce were a flash-in-the-pan Jamaican Funk band who put out this random 12” called “Keep On Dancing” in 1980, on the JA label Top Ranking International. Francois K got in touch with the label and licensed it to remix it for NY dance floors. He released it on the West End label in 1982. His mix has a heavier kick and some extra percussion and a lot of funky dubbed out FX that helped defined the sound of NY at that time.

Pull Up To The Bumper – Speaking of early 80s dubbed out Jamaican dance disco, Grace Jones is pretty much the be-all end-all of this style, and this track is her best club record by a mile. Recorded at Chris Blackwell’s Compass Point Studios in Jamaica, with an all-star cast of Jamaican session cats like Sly & Robbie and Wally Badarou. This is Joey Negro’s remix, and it’s just unique enough to warrant playing.

Inspiration – A defining 1994 deep house classic from Kerri Chandler and Arnold Jarvis. Vocal records like these set the blueprint for so much that followed. Arnold continues to record an perform, and I’m always happy to catch him live. Super nice guy, and such a rich, wonderful voice that always stands out.

Mental Black Resurrection (Piano Dub EDIT) – Anyone that knows me will recognize this record as one of my all-time favorite house tracks. Glenn Underground has made and continues to make great records, but this is my fucking JAM. Back in 2004 I used to play the A and B sides back to back, which made it like a 17 minute song LMAO. It’s an indulgent piano workout, sure, and despite GU being a Chicago native, a few Chicago DJs I know used to reference it when making fun of NY’s obsession with endless “noodley” keyboard house records. Little did they know that’s a badge we wear with pride, and we’ll gladly take GU in trade for any number of Jackin’ House NY producers any damn day of the week. We’ll throw in Tiger Woods too.

Circulin – I can’t find much info on this group, Keope – other than they’re comprised of Toni Bruna and Marcus Rossknecht, and they’re down with Frank Wiedemann aka Âme, who has his own Berlin label, Bigamo Music. I dig the subtle jungle vibe on this record a lot. I added some drums to get things moving a bit, but it’s nice without them as well. This came out in October of 2017.

Babalu Aye – As we continue in this direction, the Yoruba label is an appropriate stop along the way. This came out in 2015 but it sounds fresh af. Osunlade and DJ Fudge are a really good match IMO. Both are masters of mixing afro house beats with more techy sounds, to create something that works on almost any crowd, but still feels authentically “deep’ to me. Go figure.

Change (Tswex Malabola Remix) – some 2018 South African grooves for you, courtesy of Sir Schaba & vocalist Mapule. Sir Schaba is technically from Lesotho, the tiny land-locked country within SA, that remained a British colony all the way up until 1966, but who’s counting, right?. Tswex Malabola is a South African DJ and producer who’s been making joints since about 2015. He put his foot in this one, riding a similar balance of afro and techy that sounds fantastic on a real system.

Coltrane (Atjazz remix) – A funky update of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, with some words of wisdom from the man himself laid over the drums. Marc Tilley is a DJ & producer from Surrey in the UK. Atjazz did this remix and I continue to be in awe of his ability to make something so simple still be so captivating

My Soul Is My Witness (Kaytronik’s Oh Yeah Dub) – Typical simple and pure Baltimore house music from Karizma, who can do no wrong in my ears. This is a modern abstraction by The Jasper St Company of Billy Preston’s 1973 original, which will get just about anyone out of their seat. Sunday sermon veteran Randy “Fruity” Roberts on testimonial vocals.

Afro Groove – An LP cut from Side A of Blaze’s 2001 “Natural Blaze” LP. It’s a nice break from typical deep house drum programming, and kind of feels like a breakdown dub of a song that was once much more dense. Who knows. About half of this record was on regular rotation in NY clubs in that era, and you can still drop it today.

Tribal Train – Silvano Del Gado is an afro-cuban percussionist from Pisa, Italy. This is nice drum workout that I embellished slightly with the acapella from Ola Jagun & The Ancestral Rhythms 2001 underground classic “Odo Oya” – a collaboration between Boyd Jarvis and Benjamin Ijagun, one of Fela’s percussionists.

Ngeke (Andhim remix) – Another 2018 excursion back East by way of Cologne. This came out on the African label of DJ Moblack, a white dude from Italy named Mimmo Falcone who, since 2013, has made a real name for himself in Ghana as a DJ and producer and promoter of all things Afro House. On this track, South African vocalist Toshi Tikolo teams up with producer Armonica, then gives remix duties to Cologne duo Andhim, who put that real German techno sound underneath it all. The result is fantastic, and one of my favorite records of the year.

Beats & Djembe (Mark Francis mix) – Just some drums and an organ. Not much to it, but it keeps the party going. Shelter acolyte Mark Francis is emerging from Timmy’s shadow and making a realtime for himself as both a DJ and a producer. I caught him live at Lil Ray’s Jamboree in Brooklyn this year and he did not disappoint. Christos Fourkis is a DJ and producer from Aigio, Greece.

Exos – I absolutely love striped down tech house joints like this. Very German. Very simple. Very dope. The kind of songs Âme used to make when he first came out. They don’t do much cuz they don’t need to. They just sound great on a real system and they put the whole room in a trance. Alex Niggeman is an O.G. of this sound, coming up on labels like Poker Flat and 8bit.

Music Is The Answer – NY vet Danny Tenaglia has made way more records that I dislike VS those that I do, but when I like them, I usually love them. This was a big hit for him 1998 and I think it still works today. I used to go to his “Be Yourself” party at Vinyl occasionally back in the day, and the best thing was you never knew where he was going to go. Some mornings would be all boring tribal nonsense, then somedays he would play classics or OG house and absolutely KILL it. He’s an incredibly skilled DJ, and if you catch him on the right night, it’s absolute magic.

It’s The Spirit (83 West mix) – Never get sick of this record. Been trying to find an acapella of this since it dropped in 2004 but no luck. Somebody break me off.

I Found Love – A bit of a gospel tangent continues with Greg Winfield and Kadesh, remixed by B-More master of all things holy, DJ Spen. Desiree Coleman Jackson aka Kadesh is a 6-octave-strong gospel vocalist from Queens whose been hard at work since the 90s. She brings the ruckus here, for sure.

The Spirit’s In It – Now that the spirit is in the building I felt compelled to take it back with this classic from Patti Labelle. It’s pretty much impossible not to love this song. Patti was wise to go with her Philly hometown roots in 1981 and hook up with Gamble and Huff to make her now classic LP of the same name. I will admit it’s sort of a criminal act to start this song after the drums have already dropped, because the intro is SO EPIC, but sometimes a DJ just can’t resist a good blend.

Lovin’ Is Really My Game – I don’t often get a dance floor up in the 130bpm range, so I couldn’t resist throwing Brainstorm’s absolute MONSTER of a track in the mix. I would put this up against “I Feel Love” and “Mighty Real” and any other great track from this era you can name. It’s energy is absolutely unstoppable. The band is on fire from the jump, and when the groove comes back after the break, you get so excited you could do a fucking stage dive. Child, please. Very few disco records do that.

Disco Party EDIT – 1975 on smash. Just the break is all you need from this Trammps song. Dance. Everybody dance.

Groovin’ You (Joey Negro EDIT) – While I’ve got mofos in a singalong frenzy, this 1979 Harvey Mason tune is guaranteed to keep the party going. The kettle drums on this really sell it, nahmean? I discovered this record much later, as a B-side to an RCA 12” of GQ’s “Disco Nights”. Harvey has made a ton of records, as a solo artist and as a studio drummer. George Benson’s “On Broadway”, to name just one.

I Want You To Know – When I graduated from basement parties and first started playing in real clubs around 1990 or so, this record by Victor Simonelli and Larry Levan was a big hit. It was a pretty straight lift of the groove from Soft House Company’s “What You Need”, an Italian record that was a global hit in clubs. House records in that era were often very derivative of each other. Taking a piece of a previous hit and flipping it your own way was kinda considered a compliment. A friendly wink to the dancefloor and your fellow producers. And since it was still relatively underground at the time, nobody really sued over it, unless the record really blew up. The records ended up complimenting each other, and DJs would play them back to back, cuz the crowd loved them both.

Sladkiy Persik – And here we are back in 2018, with a mellow groover from St Petersberg’s Arkady Antsyrev. It means “sweet peach”, so make of that what you will.

Look Inside (dub + vocal) – This Just Right loft party is often populated by club heads I either know by name or by face or by the way they dance. It gives me a great opportunity to play some old Shelter classics like this Glenn Underground joint. I’m so close to records like these, I’m not really sure how well they’ve aged – but I will play them nonetheless – cuz when it dropped, My man Angel, who was working the door, got somebody to cover things for him, just so he could come inside and dance, which is about the highest compliment you can get as a DJ, and it made me immensely happy.

Music In Me – One more 39th st staple from Brooklyn’s own DJ Spinna & vocalist Sean Escofferey, best known as a duo behind the mega hit “(I Love) Days Like This”. I ran a subtle percussion track on top of this, just to give it a bit more energy.

All Alone – More South Africa in the mix, this time from Shimza. I kept the same percussion track running on top and it seemed like a nice bridge between the two. This is one of those songs that sounds kinda whatever on headphones, but sounds really epic in a club, so turn it up.

Ruff Yourself EDIT – After all that nice melodic house, I needed something hard to clear the palette. This did the trick. I thought the acapella of LNR’s “Work It To The Bone” fit rather well with the pitched-down dubbed-out vocal on Berlin native Martin Eyerer’s techno track, so BOOM there you have it.

Eukaryota – This is about the time in these tracklists when I get really tired of writing, and I just bang through the rest of the mix. This is a track by Mauritzio Baiocchi and it came out in 2015. It’s pretty straightforward Afro House, but I like the way the bassline kind of tumbles in on itself.

Over – The flutey keyboard sound on the previous song reminded me of this old Instant House classic from 1991, back when I had no idea who Joe Clausell even was, but I was buying his records religiously.

Cosmic Lust (Lay-Far EDIT) – This is a brand new discovery for me, and my jaw hit the floor the first time I heard it. How this incredible song by Mass Production escaped me for the last few decades, I have no idea, but PHEW I’m glad that’s behind me. This was first released on 7”, back when brands would release an instrumental, just cuz.

Once You Get Started – The goddess Chaka Khan, all of 21 yrs old, back in her Rufus days, just TEARING shit up. Imagine seeing her live in this era?! My heart jumps just thinking about. This song is just insane. The band. The vocals. The harmonies. The breakdown. The production. My god. Just listen.

Band of Gold (Jean Claude Gave disco break) – a dubbed out remix of a lesser known Sylvester track. Anytime his voice wails like this, you just gotta love it. And the drums on this really wake a room up.

Standing In The Rain – This was released as a Don Ray record in 1978, but these days it’s often credited to producer Cerrone. Don Ray was Raymond Donnez, a eurodisco producer and arranger who was down with Cerrone and Alec Costandinos. Like all Cerrone records, the sonics on this are fucking stellar.

Got Moves – John Julius Knight reworks Kenny Dope and Louie Vega’s immortal “Moonshine”, and it’s pretty damn effective.

Love Having You Around – Louie Vega covers Stevie Wonder. I’m not mad. And what the hell is that funky low horn called? Or is it a keyboard? A vocoder, I guess? I dunno. I dig it. Deep House diva Barbara Tucker and Disco legend Rochelle Fleming from First Choice on vocals. Louie knows everybody who was ever cool, obviously.

Thanks for reading/listening. Next Just Right loft party is Sat Nov 10th! COME THRU . Peace.