Yup. Back at it. And it’s Ed’s birthday too. Even got a new podcast for you from the last time we were there.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
1. Gil Scott Heron – Intro
2. Ohmega Red – Chocolate City
3. Wayna – So Long Heartache
4. Chuck Brown – Playing Your Game, Baby
5. Raheem Devaughn & Backyard Band – Guess Who Loves You More
6. MVP – Feelin’ Free
7. Ne’a Posey – Gotta Be
8. Priest da Nomad feat. Asheru & Kokayi – Holding It Down
9. Ne’a Posey & PPP – You Should Be
10. Ave.To – Sand To The Beach
11. Oddisee feat. yU – Searching
12. Tamara Wellons – Corcovado rmx
13. Kenny Allen – Kissing You
14. Kokayi – Own Soul
15. Kev Brown feat. Raheem Devaughn – Heaven
16. Muhsinah – Once Again
17. RPM – Poetry Bum
18. Nicholas Ryan Gant & Pharcyde feat. Amma – I Ain’t Ready
19. Bilal Salaam – Metro Groove
20. DJ Stylus – O Fim Dos Tempos
21. Unspoken Heard – Truly Unique
22. JLaine, TFox & Wes Felton – Don’t Really Know
23. Kev Brown – Allways
24. Kokayi & Foreign Exchange – Where Did The Love Go?
25. Marky, Jazzanova & Clara Hill – No Use
It was only given out on site to folks who attended the party and has languished on my hard drive since then. It’s not that undiscovered new-newness, but a collection of modern DC soul that leans toward the indie and progressive. The main names of the scene over the past decade are included as well as a few bits you might have missed. And of course, there’s a taste of go-go. Without it, this mix would be improper.
I noticed a strong connection between the vibes on this mix and our current combination of warm sun, cool breezes and mild temperatures. I highly recommend this mix for the following activities:
- cruising in the sunshine
- relaxing at a cook-out
- Friday evening pre-gaming
- Saturday morning bunning-up
- Sunday afternoon housecleaning
- hipping people to DMV music
- flaunting your good taste when you pull up next to a cutie at a red light
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Carlton Banks & Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual
Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces
Stevie Wonder – Part-time Lover
Hall & Oates – You Make My Dreams
Alice Russell – High Up On The Hook
Prince – I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
Blackalicious – Powers
Lauryn Hill – Lose Myself
HEAVy – Sam
Joe Jackson – Steppin’ Out
Zo! and Tigallo – Steppin’ Out
Pigeon John – Brand New Day
Gang Starr – Lovesick (Upbeat Mix)
Carlton is a maniac
Pink – Feel Good Time feat. William Orbit
J*DaVeY – Outta The Window
Weird War – Ak-47
Punks Jump Up – Dance To Our Disco
Jamiroquai – Black Devil Car
PPP – Countless Excuses
Luther Vandross – Give Me The Reason
Carlton Banks – I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo
Donald Fagen – Walk Between Raindrops
Doobie Brothers – Taking It To The Streets
Ben Westbeech & Die – Get Closer (Lovers Mix)
Carlton approves
It’s designed to make you dance like Carlton Banks for an entire hour, a dance originally captured in the wild by Eddie Murphy.
Those with shallow historical knowledge might be skeptical that this dance actually existed. For confirmation, check The Boss and Courtney Cox GOING IN on the white people dance, particularly at 3:30. This shit is awesome.
We’ve established that this dance has its own lore, but like any true visionary, Alfonso Ribeiro took existing styles to new creative heights in creating Carlton Banks’ signature movement vocabulary.
It almost feels premature to be rocking this now because it’s such a spring jam. Kissey Asplund does her cutesy space kitten thing and Blu’s Dana Dane impression takes me back to happier times. Who’s Kidkanevil? I’m just finding out myself over a year after everyone else did.
I got Music Fan First right before the first Refuge and been banging this tune ever since. It’s almost cursory to highlight it at this point because its jam status was instantly evident. But I love it. The dancefloor loves it. Other DJs reading this, if you like women, you should be playing it.
SWV had a lot of great tracks outside of their established hits. Many solid cuts fell through the cracks in that transitional period when new jack swing was waning and R&B had yet to merge DNA with hip-hop.
I can’t believe it’s going on eight years since I first got hip to the wave of future hybrid jazzy soul that was rolling out of Scandinavia. The Gothenburg scene was popping in Sweden. Copenhagen was kragenoff. Even Finland was getting it in. The first Nuspirit Helsinki album is so mandatory. It’s held up really well over time.
The B-side wins again, which is why I posted the 12-inch label instead of an album cover displaying this luscious singer. Remember when the flip side of every single contained an exciting new adventure? This tune dropped in 1990 but was never officially released on an album until 1998. By then it was a well-established classic. I feel like I can never be a big enough stan for black Brit soul. Did y’all know Mica dropped a new record this year? Honey had the scoop on that this summer.
Sometimes I feel like the Liquid Crystal Project jazz albums by this Ohio producer best known for his hip-hop work with Lone Catalysts are some sort of well-guarded secret. If that’s the case, they’re a secret I’d rather share.
The Alice in Wonderland theme was Kat’s idea. Ed handled the interlude segments (lady on the Metro = Ed’s mama, Metro conductor = Ed) and I recorded all of the re-envisioned takes on some of our favorite beats at the time then assembled it in mix form. Listen for early versions of the big records that Tami is now known for.
Tamara Wellons – Tamara in Wonderland
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
1. Ferry Ride (reprise) feat. Naima Jamal
2. Caught Up
3. Hold Me
4. Don’t Change
5. Can’t Be Found
6. Blue Skies
7. All This Time
8. Oh Well
9. Free
10. Moonwalk (acapella)
11. Like Rain feat. K’Alyn & Black Picasso
12. And So….
The pre-Thanksgiving session was fresh. No one was there then everyone came through all at once. I almost made Brett repeat his set because he played so many hot records early on. But then he had more hot records so it was all good.
I’ve been running the album version since it came out almost exactly a year ago. But skimming through the remixes online made me miss out on the Yam Who joint that didn’t command my attention until I heard it in the club. In that context it sounds like Tom Browne in his prime consulted on the recording. That means all kinds of dancefloor win is involved. If I still had hair, I think that this song could make me spontaneously sprout a jheri curl. And by the way, dude is from Australia.
I was totally unfamiliar with this one, despite so many big name cats playing it. A little digging hipped me quickly. This is one of those studio alchemists with multiple names for multiple projects, one of which was also on Raw Fusion. I don’t get down with techno but this cut is right in that deep house lane that flirts with techno but stays soulful. Theo Parrish should be proud of this young German who bears his influence. All I envision when I listen to this is some low-lit, sweaty club rub-n-grind action. It’s not just me, is it?
One of those not-new-but-new-to-you joints. I’m never mad at those, but just annoyed that I never really have the right space to play this tune, or when I do I forget to pull it out. That’s why I started this party. The Opolopo mix is broken beat for pop sensibilities and is my favorite but Lanu’s version gets the booties shaking.
Zo!’s Secret Stash was like story hour back in kindergarten with similar anticipation and focused attention as Zo! revealed rare treats from his back catalog. It got so good to him that he previewed a few cuts from his solo album SunStorm. I guess he felt at ease since the rough mixes sounded pretty good on the club system. It reminded me that I’m not the only who has spent a lot of social time with my friends excitedly playing obscure tunes for each other. Thanks to DC heads who showed up to prove that this Refuge thing might work.
Here are some highlights of the set I rocked after Zo!’s show & tell time.
I’ve been following these guys since Soul Travelin’ when hearing hip-hop in this style out of Texas was rare. After a long hiatus as a group while beatmaker S1 racked up production credits, they’re serving up a new EP that forecasts good things for them in the near future. Check out the first video from the M.A.S.K. EP and a highlight from their last full-length project.
That classic Minnie Riperton sample made an appearance in week 1 and will never get old as long as it’s flipped properly. The music blogosphere can sometimes smother a new artist with adoration before they prove that they deserve the hype. In the case of Electric Wire Hustle, I’ll hop on the bandwagon with everyone else and not be ashamed. When Uncle Q led a stream of folks to the booth for a round of “Who’s that’s”, I knew this was the audience pick. This electronic/organic trio joins forward looking soul artists already representing New Zealand on the international stage like Mark de Clive-Lowe, Lanu and Fat Freddy’s Drop, to name but a few. Get like them.
“Hangin’ On A String” was inescapable but I didn’t explore the rest of Loose End’s catalog until high school when I played my Look How Long tape until it crumbled into dust. Then I came up on the cd and wore the grooves out on that. If I had seen this performance when it aired I would have DIED.
While I was bemoaning the bone-chilling weather and its effect on my gathering, a couple rolled in and turned the back of the room into their own special dancefloor.
This song almost broke my iPod’s repeat feature. The album was only released in Japan so it can be difficult to track down but diligence will reward you. Kaidi Tatham is the Herbie Hancock of broken beat. In the seven years since his last solo project as Agent K, he’s blessed us with DKD, Silhouette Brown, 2000 Black and a gang of features, remixes and collaborations. Google all those names, he has more than a few. Jazz chops combined with electronic techniques and soulful sensibilities – that’s where the magic happens.
If you didn’t know about all the soul in the Netherlands, there’s always time to catch up. It’s hard to describe Benny Sings to folks who haven’t heard him, but they always ask “Who is this?” This video is more helpful than any description.
We opened the night with a taste of the Anthony Valadez album. I hope everyone that took it home enjoys the sounds. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, this is your newest meditation/mood setting record, and more than a little bit suitable as the soundtrack for amorous pursuits. I’m just saying.
And here are some more of the treats I was eager to share.
The internets blew the hell up on Tuesday when the multi-instrumentalist of The Foreign Exchange, The Els, and Zo! & Tigallo dropped his Just Visiting Too… project FOR DE FREE. Zo! rounded up the artists you know and love on the Foreign Exchange imprint and covered a slate of jazzy soul classics.
Let’s rewind for a minute and revisit the original featuring Quincy Jones and the incomparable Patti Austin.
So folks were chillin’ and vibing… until they weren’t. Somehow a party broke out. I blame DJ Ten. And a set of soulful house jams anchored by…
Quentin Harris has long been a beast. And Monique Bingham has long been an object of my fanboy adoration. Put them together and you’ve got an anthem that people hear for the first time and swear that it’s always been their favorite song.
Everyone remembers this song. No one remembers the name of the artist. That’s what I’m here for. Next time you see Vickey, ask her to show you her Tara Kemp dance. It’s awesome.
Sure wish I could link to an online purchase site for this one, I played a vinyl re-issue. I definitely need to increase the rollerskating fonk quotient of this party.
Who are you going to tell about Refuge next week? Word of mouth is the best word.
DanceTracks: the other G'wich Village landmark that influenced my life as much as @FatBeatsNY. I missed wthr it also get a hero's farewell. 59 mins ago
