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MIX NOTES

Golden Years (jeremy sole remix) – jeremy sole is a chicago-born DJ residing in LA and holding shit down on KCRW. This remix is from a 2010 EP put out to commemorate the release of Bowie’s remastered “Station To Station” LP. Jeremy recorded it with live musicians in Brooklyn that included Ticklah, the keyboardist for Antibalas, along with members of Budos Band, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, and Menahan Street Band. Bowie even gave it his blessing. How dope is THAT?

Malunginho – The Abayomy afrobeat orquestra is an 13-piece afrobeat band from Rio. This came out in 2013. I copped it on the 2015 compilation LP A Little Something Radio : Music from the Modern Soul Underground out of Munich, which has a lot of interesting tunes on it.

El Presidente – another one of those weird, random remixes that comes out on the UK label Gamm. They’ve made a reputation laying Hip Hop acapellas over live music – to great effect. The result is always eclectic and usually really awesome. These Jeru verses are from a DJ Honda track off of his 2001 “III” LP. With lines like “conquered more dips than the late Hannibal”, you know you miss Jeru’s flow.

Sad Nile – The Whitefield Brothers are Jan & Max Whitefield from Munich, who were founding members of the early 90s German funk outfit The Poets Of Rhythm. They’ve been carrying a torch for raw, organic funk for damn near 30 years now. This is from their 2009 Earthology LP, which was 15 years in the making. Members of Antibalas, El Michels Affair, and Quantic contributed.

The Rub – Some gangsta-ass shit from their 1975 “Together” LP. The album is kinda mediocre to be honest, but this track is a serious head-nodder.

Peacemakers – London DJ & Producer Marcus Marr, much celebrated for his 2011 nu-disco chugger “Pleasure Moon”, returns to DFA records and picks up his bass to lays down a simple stripped-down groove. I even threw in a dystopian acapella from a 1980 movie you may conceivably recall. You can check out that Pleasure Moon track on THIS MIX.

Soul Walking – a real gem from the early days of disco in 1974 Baltimore, almost a decade before they recorded “Help Is On The Way”, and a few years before the tempos picked up and white people ruined disco (like everything else).

On the Cusp (live) – a 34 yr old Grover, in 1977, playing his hometown Philly Jazz spot The Bijou, with his band at peak performance. Good grief these brothers are just burning that place down. This entire album is flawless, and considered by many to be among the upper echelon of live Jazz Fusion recordings.

Work Song – Finally, Ninjatune releases the first Romare LP, Projections, and lo and behold it does not disappoint. I’ve been following this cat’s progression from his first joints in 2012. Somehow residing in his very own eclectic niche somewhere between London Bass, Electronica, and Deep House, Romare’s Blues-based samples and collaged textures reveal a reverence for the roots of African American music that few have managed to command.

Can’t Get Away (olivier boogie remix) – A slightly beefed up and looped out version of Sixto Diaz Rodriguez’s hit single that never was. You will recognize it from “Searching For Sugarman”, the documentary about his enigmatic, short-lived career and his inexplicably bizarre fame in South Africa, thousands of miles from his hometown of Detroit.

Dust – New Zealander Joe Dukie just has that VOICE, man. It’s like butter. I don’t care what this brother is even talking about, I just want to hear him harmonize with himself. This track is no exception. Matthew “Recloose” Chicoine, also from The D, lays down some beats and lets Joe do the rest.

Shango (daniel haaksman & dj beware remix) – this was a staple at Redhook’s Mr Sunday parties last summer, and it always moved the crowd. Lord Nelson is a Calypso singer from Tobago who made a name for himself singing with Carribean bands in Brooklyn. He’s still on the Carnival circuit to this day.

Friday Night – Some Ghanian High Life music by way of London. The Busy Twist is the brainchild of UK DJs Gabriel Benn and Ollie Williams, who spent 3 years traveling back and forth to Ghana to find the right musicians to realize their musical vision. This came out in 2012 on London’s Soundway Recordings.

Slide in (DFA remix) – Despite being wholly derivative of Arthur Russell and the numerous pioneers of New York’s No Wave scene, I still have a soft spot for James Murphy’s cowbelly, 3-minutes-too-long remixes. He knows how to find a simple groove and just keep it there, letting it evolve ever so slightly for as long as it takes, in just the meandering reverby echo-y way that people in dark nightclubs high on drugs like to hear. A lost art, IMO.

Cool Runnings – As if mastering Detroit techno and then Chicago house wasn’t enough, Berliners are so fucking cool, these days they’re even getting down to Ethiopian Jazz. If not them, then who?

You Better Ask Yourself – The apple really doesn’t fall very far from the tree, does it?.