WMC 2008

Every year it’s more and more like a family affair, with great friends old and new. So many folks to shout out for memorable musical moments, conversation, drinks at the bar, promos packed with treats, and the wonderful opportunity to be a peer and a fan:

King Britt, Vikter Duplaix, Rich Medina, DJ Moni, SunTzu Sound, OP!, Ge-Ology, Spinna, Taylor McFerrin, Ayro & Arnold, Santiago, Rojas & Amalgama fam, Daz-I-Kue, Domu, IG, Ty & UK fam, Miss Kai, Sake Uno, Asya & Fusicology, Erik Rico, Skillz, Dynas, Salah, Ian Friday, Tracy & Nikki, Tiye Phoenix, Aloe Blacc, Karl Injex, Ty G. & HVW8, Derek Mazzone, Dave Nada, Tittsworth & Craze, DJ Enferno, the whole DC massive (we roll deep)… and that’s only a fraction.

Highlights:

Spinna & Scratch going in at the end of the Godfather II party, culminating a celebration of James Brown with an impromptu bit of classic turntable showmanship. The best part was observing two cats at the height of their field having an unscripted moment of fun, like all of us dj’s can remember in our early years having sessions in basements, dorm rooms and garages with our boys.

– studying Jeremy Ellis’ James Brown routine on MPC up close – multiple times – and still not getting it.

– Raw Fusion was carnage yet again, explosive madness and mayhem. Taylor McFerrin & TK Wonder’s final performance of the week was the one to see. They did bits and pieces throughout the week but it all came together at Jazid, from the precision beatboxing to TK’s flow to Taylor’s on the fly beat manipulation. Stoopit. I missed a lot of folks’ sets but Simbad, Karl Injex, Daz, Benji B and Christian Prommer destroyed the spot convincingly enough for me. Ty was getting it in too.

Nickodemus at the OM party. Every year I make it a point to track down certain dj’s I’ve never heard but whose names precede them. I always take away a ton of new concepts. No wonder why Turntables on the Hudson is such a big deal. Took me way too long to see this cat, even though he hits at ESL occasionally.

– Being drafted as a sound tech at the Giant Step Erykah Badu session.

Karriem Riggins‘ bottomless inventory of Dilla exclusives and his own fresh out the lab creations. The Stones Throw party was a great day to bring down the bpm’s and chill under the sun listening and kicking it with fam.

Dãm Funk‘s deep west coast boogie excursions. Get you some.

Lil Dave’s newest creations. Please join me in harassing this man until he puts out a record. Get some flame retardant headphones first.

– Having a cornball fanboy moment meeting Monique Bingham on the street. It seems like I’m destined to miss every one of her performances. Because of this, I suffer.

Ave.To + Stylus + Jahsonic + Adrian Loving + Roy Davis, Jr. combo attack.

– rocking at Co-Op again with SunTzu.

– mango caiprinhas and veggie sausage breakfast biscuits

Puerto Sagua

La Sandwicherie

The Pacemaker. Roddy Rod wants one. Lil Dave wants one. I also covet. It’s like iPod Serato.

– The new Fantom G’s. I’m JUST now getting into Reason. The Roland site shouldn’t even be in my browser right now.

Stuff I missed that I heard was crucial:

– Erro, Amp Fiddler & Louie Vega Roots NYC jam
– Ian Friday’s Libation party
– The Live party with Steal Vybe. We were so dead by the end of the week, definitely didn’t have the energy for a house party that intense. Lamped with Self Born down at Classic Sundays instead.

Big choons that I’ll be caning at least for the next few months, if not for the whole year and beyond (I bet this is the tracklisting for my next podcast):

Erik Rico, “Forever”
Exchange Bureau, “The End of Me & You”
– Rich Brown, “Sunshine” (Re-Love Mix)
– IMC Soul feat. Dawn Pemberton, “Running Back To You”
Alton Miller, “Blues (What Am I Missing)”
– the whole damn Reel People album…. woowweeeeee!!!!!

3 Replies to “WMC 2008”

  1. Conference was great this year! Not too packed so the networking was better than the last few years!!!

  2. Dag…after that kind of mention, I suppose I can’t be TOO mad that you missed my live show on Sunday night! 🙂 Make sure you stay on me to add you to the promo list when the album is released in June. Normally that’s not my biz area, but since Chris is heading into the Army Reserves (yikes), I’ll be heading up our dist list and other bookings. So hollerate!

  3. Norman, Stef… affirmative on all counts.

    And now ladies and gentleman, this post is fortified with video!

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