Oftentimes I like to play the “Name that artist” game with my friends. First one to trainspot the tune gets the points. Here’s what I’m guessing the blog equivalent would be:
Once whoever wrote this tune is identified, I’ll post two more tracks from them. And you’ll like those even more. Good luck!
UPDATE:
Wow that was quick! You guys nailed it. The song was composed by Yoko Kanno and performed by The Seatbelts. One post coming up!
jazz // funk // fusion
I met Dennis Rollins last summer at the Edinburgh Fringe, after catching his phenomenal live show at the Baby Belly, deep in the South Bridge vaults. He has a beautiful enthusiasm about him, a real exuberance that gives away his love for what he does– and it comes out in his music, too, which is all smiles and energetic riffs. But he does soft and tender, too, and his cover of ‘Fast Car’ is as calm and thoughtful as you might expect.A trombone virtuoso with a real flair.
Dennis Rollins’ Badbone & Co – Shake It Down (track 3 on the Aurgasm Summer Soundtrack)
Dennis Rollins – Fast Car
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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!
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]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)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”.acid jazz // jam band // electric funk
Britain’s answer to the Greyboy Allstars, Corduroy are an impossibly retro blend of Gat gun drums, chilled-out keyboards, and wah-wahed guitars that swoop and distort like a funhouse mirror. Dad Man Cat, their debut, swings effortlessly from laidback foot-tappers to frenzied, all-out blasts that squeeze dance moves from the most reluctant of limbs. ‘Ponytail’ is a good example of the former, with a theme like beer at a sunset barbecue; ‘Money Is’ showcases the latter, a driving melody from a Starsky and Hutch chase scene. And the album as a whole is just one great tune after another, every bit as good as having an actual band in your living room (better, in fact, because you won’t have to clean up all the cigarette butts afterwards).funky house // french house
This isn’t what I wanted to post. I really wanted to give you the original song straight up. Alas, remixes are a dirty scene; and I can only provide you with an mp3 with transitions on either end. As far as I can tell, no single standalone exists. This is alright with me, this song deserves to have subservient songs on either end. A wide, fat slam-ass steamroller bassline flattens out the foundation of this song, while some hop-skip house action on top rounds out the funky-ass groove. This is straight off of a complilation put together by Les Rhythmes Digitales’s Jacques Lu Cont.Mekon feat. Roxanne Shante – What’s Going On (Jon Carter Mix)
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big band // new orleans brass band
Every song starts with a tuba. Not just your standard oom-pah oom-pah ploppy tuba, no sir – this comes at you ferocious. Following after the famed Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the ReBirth crew throws together a vivid concoction of loud, bright brass slamming you from all angles. You can immediately hear how much they love the music they’re making – the invigorating energy just streams right out of their horns. They don’t stress about slipping a clam, they just let it all hang out.Rebirth Brass Band – You Move Ya Lose
Rebirth Brass Band – Chameleon
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