Aurgasm

Last Tuesday, I received an email from dj, academician and ethnomusicologist Wayne Marshall. Also known by wayneandwax, he holds down a weekly at River Gods in Cambridge, nearly a mile from me. In the email, Wayne invited me to join him to guest DJ at his last night before he heads off to for post-doctorate studies in Chicago.
I accepted but admitted never DJing publicly before and not knowing much about DJ technique–luckily, Wayne assured me this would be fine. Putting together my first DJ mix was much tougher than throwing together party playlists. But for you, I wrote up my process, in case you’d like to do the same!

How to DJ your first set without knowing how

I finished putting together my set with just enough time to drive to the bar. Wayne was a cordial host and the audience was receptive. Playing for a crowd and tweaking dials from a balcony perch was quite a thrill. The free beer didn’t hurt either. :) After my set we had some experimental vocal indie and then some hip hop/rock accordion courtesy of Julz A. Great overall vibe in that place. Chi-town residents, seek out wayne’s future music engagements–he crafts a good time.

In case you stuck with me this long, I’ll reward you with my amateur dj mix. Some transitions are really rough, but I’m pleased with it. Enjoy.

Aurgasm – Breeze and Sweat (55min, 80MB)

Tracklist (cue file)
1. Nuff Wish – Healing In Vain
2. Kinny & Horne – Why Me
3. Dancing Djedi – Body Surfin’
4. Nomo – Hand & Mouth
5. Balkan Beat Box – Sunday Arak
6. Senor Coconut – Mambo Numerique (Featuring Marina And Towa Tei)
7. Quantic & Nickodemus – Mi Swing Es Tropical
8. Amadou & Mariam – M’ Bifé Balafon
9. Quantic Soul Orchestra – Walking Through Tomorrow (Super 8 Part 3)
10. The Bamboos – Step It Up Featuring Alice Russell
11. Mr Scruff & Quantic – It’s Dancing Time
12. Boozoo Bajou – Killer
13. Zuco 103 – Peregrino
14. Captain Planet – The Don
15. Romanowski – Strudel Strut
16. Quantic – Off The Beaten Track (Carmel Remix)
17. Peter, Bjorn And John – Young Folks (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Remix)

dance funk // world breakbeat

Hopefully by now you’ve dropped by Captain’s Crate, the blog of Charlie Bethel, aka NYC’s Captain Planet. The Cap’n has been pushing his eclectic and diverse soundset at parties across The Big Apple for years. His sound is similar to the upbeat jams from Nickodemus, The Theivery Corporation, and Quantic, taking in the best of afrobeat, samba, dancehall, hip hop and house. ‘The Don’ is off his recently released Gumbo Funk EP and features a tight amalgamation of world dance music with serious ass-shaking bounce to it.

They say, “a cross-cultural cornucopia of sound.” I say, straight fire.
Captain Planet – The Don (track 2 on the Aurgasm Summer Soundtrack)
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brazilian // baile funk // hip hop

With a name that translates to “little boy”, you can expect to be surprised by this Brazilian’s music. Curumin will open a song with your traditional brazilian instrumentation – sprinkles of ganza, strums of the cavaquinho, and rubs of the cuíca – but he’ll then roll in his octave-dipping synth bass and his wide ass-shaking beats. He expertly brings together 1970s funk and the hash haze of São Paulo street music, all set to a modern, accessible beat. Curumin’s debut, Achados e Perdidos, was just released on Quannum, DJ Shadow’s side label that also houses Lyrics Born, Apsci, and Blackalicious. [via]
Baile, bossa and a healthy dose of straight-up bounce.

Curumin – Guerreiro
Curumin – Tudo Bem Malandro
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1960′s miami soul // funk

Just like Sly & The Family Stone’s “Dance To The Music” and Archie Bell and The Drells’ “Tighten Up”, this track has an additive instrumentation structure. James calls for the bass player first, followed by the drummer, and then gets some organ action stirring up that pot. Once some horns drop into the groove, you know the hot game is on. This group didn’t make a big record, but they were considered the “number one Miami and Miami Beach band of the funk era.“ And if you listen closely to Shadow’s “Mongrel…Meets His Maker” off Private Press, you’ll spot a sample from the Butlers’ track “Fantasy World”. (danks t’my main cat, Delassus on this track)
A simmering soul number that gets you moving.

James Knight & The Butlers – Funky Cat
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funky house // disco house

[Guest post from D. Laster today] The repetetive bass kicks and hi-hat snarls of house music will never cease to create the perfect late-night dance club moment. Dutch producer Olav Basoski uses a signature blend of hard hitting house beats, filtered disco breakdowns, and perfectious timing to get bodies moving with every track. Basoski has an extensive discography, including commisioned remixes for Moby, Bob Marley, and James Brown. He recently started Rootz Records with DJs Alex Romano and Silverius where he has released a series of transitional tracks for DJs entitled RTZ Tools. Check out this 2005 remix of Rockefeller’s “Do It 2 Nite”, itself a remake of SOS Band’s r&b classic, “Take Your Time”.
Funky, groovin’ house music all night long.

Rockefeller – Do It 2 Nite (Olav Basoski remix)
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