hustle uptown

Whoa. It's been a minute since I posted a mix on the bloggy-blog. Holding down a 9 to 5 and raising twin babies has been a LOT of work, to put it mildly. Thankfully Mo has been holding it down on the podcast front. But I haven't stopped digging....still searching for the perfect beat. I've been trying to focus what little energy/free time I DO have on the monthly residency I'm throwing called Uptown Hustle at the Enormous Room in Cambridge (Northeast peoples, definitely mark the first Thursday of every month on your calendars). Been pushing a very disco/funk heavy future-retro vibe. Some might even call it "nu-funk" (shit, I call it nu-funk when I'm trying to come up with copy for the flyers).

I probably shouldn't say this, because it makes me sound old, but I remember when "nu-funk" was called "big beat," and before that when it was called "funky breaks," and before that when it was called "trip hop." (...and before that when it was all called acid jazz!) Before magazines needed micro-genres to sell issues, everything that wasn't house/techno or "jungle" was called "trip hop." (shit, no one reads magazines anymore. damn I sound old...) You could find Coldcut next to Mondo Grosso next to Metro LA next to Massive Attack. And it was all in the "dance" section of Tower anyway. Ah, simpler times...

Anyway, since I been feeling nu-funk since before it was called "nu-funk", I figured it was time for me to put together a proper mix to promote the night. A sampling of the sort of disco-dripped, funkafied future retro sound that I've been steering towards as I've taken the helm of Uptown Hustle while Mosart212 is doing his bid upstate. In honor of Todd the Rocket's guest appearance on August 5 at Uptown Hustle, here's a promo mix for everyone who just wants to break a sweat on the dancefloor. Don't try to play this mix sitting down....

Mantisounds - Hustle Uptown by Mantisounds on Mixcloud

mantisounds - hustle uptown

1. bill ben & baggio - pusherman

2. wu-tang clan - c.r.e.a.m. (dj moneyshot's travesty mix)

3. totalcult - brown feeling

4. afrika bambaataa & the soul sonic force - planet rock (dj ayers vs jay.soul remix)

5. fort knox five - the spirit of '75

6. fendaheads - sunrise

7. pale the kid - the doll that made the dice behave (rory hoy & lebrosk remix)

8. maelstrom & nap-z - mash the peas (post life the rat disorder mix)

9. funkanomics - last night a dj saved my life

10. jem stone & j.c. - disco daze (disco mix)

11. oasis - wonderwall (dvw remix)(dj ark rerub)

12. michael jackson - don't stop (dmndays re-edit)

13. grateful dead - shakedown street (tommie sunshine & figure brooklyn fire edit)

14. santigold - brooklyn we go hard (shovit gt mix radio edit)

15. donna summer - bad girls (sonicc remix)

16. michael jackson - get on the floor (summerheadz main mix revamp)

17. harvey mason - groovin' you (morsy mix)

18. rockets - golden strings

19. stardust - music sounds better (kid massive mix)

20. earth wind & fire - let's groove tonight (gogobizkitt remix)

21. brothers johnson - stomp (only children edit)

22. prince - I wanna be your lover (dimitri from paris re-edit)

DIRECT LINK TO MP3

Project Hit Record: Trouble Man

(image: tonypapesh)

I saw Mo's last post and thought the "one and done" approach to mixes might be a cool little project (if nothing else a project to consciously battle the OCD/perfectionism/second guessing instincts that most djs suffer from in varying degrees), so I tried my hand at it. I won't lie, I did it last night, and so even though I'm posting the mix as rendered, no mulligans, no obsessing over set lists, just press record and get going, I did give it a listen before posting (is that cheating?). I'm pretty pleased with the turnout, notwithstanding a few battles I had with some disco tracks that didn't want to stay mixed. I also worked in a track that my boys Recon and Earthrok threw down a few years ago called "Bikini Island" under the Lucha Libre moniker. The hook is in Catalan, so I have no idea what those ladies are saying, except I know it has something to do with Ibiza and it always reminds me of summer.

direct link to mix

Mantisounds - Trouble man by Mantisounds

1. trouble man intro
2. chaka khan - fate (todd terje edit)
3. beatfanatic - let us pray
4. beatfanatic - music (Remix)
5. dr. rubberfunk - beats working
6. chris joss - wrong alley street (part 1)(fort knox five remix)
7. brothers johnson - aint we funkin' now (todd terje radio mix)
8. all good funk alliance - top brass
9. featurecast - disco diesel
10. mark ronson - stop me (chicken lips remix)
11. the legion of doom - crazy as she goes
12. u-tern - give it up
13. earth wind and fire - system of survival (ok ma re-edit)
14. the karminsky experience inc. - belly disco (beatfanatic remix)
15. beatfanatic - how deep (deep love remix)
16. omegaman - disco love (featurecast remix)
17. neighbour - pistachio ride
18. omegaman - super hi-fi funk (b-team remix)
19. lucha libre - bikini island
20. krafty kuts & a skillz - happiness

Super Dynamite Soul

(pic: ???)

For all of us who remember a time when there wasn't an internet, or a Google, or cellphones with Twitters and Skypes and MTV videogames, sometimes you just have to take a step back and appreciate what we have available at our dusty fingertips.  As lovers of music - real, good music - it's been especially impressive.  In a few keystrokes you can go from Blk Jks in today's South Africa (fire, by the way, total fire) to Golden Era hip hop videos ripped from the Box and posted on YouTube to classic performances by some of music's greatest jazz, funk, and soul artist, performances from days before I was born, in far flung cities and far away times.  That's what I'm feeling this morning.  My boy Lo sent me a buttery link for the weekend, and I knew it had to be shared with the La MoDa fam.  

My moms was sort of a hippy, so I grew up on a steady diet of public television (on our 13" black and white):  Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Nova, the American Experience, old BBC reruns of Dr. Who, Voyage of the Mimi, public television laced me with the knowledge as a kid.  It almost makes me want to make a donation and rock a PBS tote bag just thinking about how much dope shit I caught on commercial-free public television as a yout'.  

I was obviously too young to see "Soul" when it was first broadcast, but thanks to the wonders of the amazing time machine that is the internet, that wrong can be righted!  WNET Thirteen in New York, who originally broadcast this show, described it thusly:   

This entertainment-variety-talk show was not only a vehicle to promote African-American artistry, community and culture, but also a platform for political expression and the fight for social justice. It showcased classic live musical performances from funk, soul, jazz, and world musicians, and had in-depth, extraordinary interviews with political, sports, literary figures and more. It was the first program on WNET to be recorded with the then-new technology of videotape, and most of the shows were recorded in real-time—not live, but unedited.

Just look at some of the guests:  Earth, Wind and Fire, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Tito Puente, Ron Carter, Willie Colon, Max Roach, are you f*cking kidding me?!?  I think my impressionable young mind might have EXPLODED if I'd been exposed to this much top shelf musical power as a child!  I have spent all morning going through the different episodes of this show, and each one is another gold mine of music and culture (Tito Puente's afro alone is worth the price of admission).  If you love good music, I implore you to spend some time with these episodes. 

http://www.thirteen.org/soul/

On a Crowded Floor

direct download to mix

(pic: Themrock)

Here’s a little mix to ease you from the chillout room onto the dancefloor. Funky midtempo breakbeat stylings of the “organically cultivated, slow roasted” variety. This set is a little more deliberate, I let the songs bubble and blend in the mix a little longer. And the Bonobo song at the end is a perfect example of why I’ll buy literally ANYTHING with Bonobo’s name on it (has Bonobo EVER made a bad song? If so, I haven’t heard it!).

No lengthy discussion of the tracklisting this time, just a linky link and a flash player (I’ll let the music speak for itself, brah)...

Mantisounds - on a crowded floor by Mantisounds

Mantisounds - on a crowded floor

1. krafty kuts - the funk is
2. fort knox five - dodge city rockers ft. mustafa akbar
3. freestylers - b boy stance (dub pistols remix)
4. ed royal & dj enne - vamos irmanos
5. flow dynamics - edit
6. All Good Funk Alliance - AGFA Theme
7. flow dynamics - superjam
8. All Good Funk Alliance - smooth daddy
9. anita o'day - swing, swing, swing (RSL remix)
10. shirley horn - come dance with me (sugardaddy remix)
11. mr. scruff & quantic - it's dancing time
12. NONO - funk master
13. hydroponic sound system - blue notes for the puma set
14. herbaliser - gold rush
15. dj shadow - right thing (z trip remix)
16. goyte - a distinctive sound
17. bonobo - recurring

Cherry Soul

direct link to mix

(pic: cyberanubis)

If I had to choose between going deaf tomorrow and going blind tomorrow, I'd pick blind. Pretty quickly. My moms is a singer, my dad was a jazz drummer, and my childhood was pretty full of music (plus a 13" black and white TV for much of my childhood, and no cable EVER), so it makes sense to me that I gravitate towards the aural. Plus I stopped playing video games that aren't solitaire like 6 years ago (everything after Gamecube is smarter than me). I've been legally blind since the fifth grade, and without glasses or contacts I am a danger to myself and others. Computers can read to you now. The thought of never being able to hear a new song scares me far more than darkness. Never hearing Stevie again? Eff that. No more Bill Withers? Nope. Blind me, please. Without my ears I couldn't hear amazing funk and soul like the selection below. Enjoy, and try to imagine a world where you could never hear this again. Sucks, huh?

mantisounds - cherry soul

Mantisounds - cherry soul by Mantisounds

1. the mary jane girls - all night long

this is the song "Around the Way Girl" sampled. Ah, rooftop romance...

2. the barkays - holy ghost

the killer break is at the end, but the whole song is sloppy, sweat soaked jumpsuit funk

3. george mcrae - i get lifted

So do I, George, so do I....

4. ernie k. doe - here come the girls

this song is so pimp. "I was born to be free. Freedom of choice. Ring that bell. Give all the girls to me." HE'S the one with freedom of choice, to choose from all the girls! King of pimps!

5. garnet simms - stop and check yourself

I like to imagine he's singing to a crazy ass ex...

6. the explosions - garden of four trees

I think there's a sex metaphor in there somewhere, but have never been able to figure out the significance of the "garden of four trees." If anyone knows, please tell me...

7. bobby rush - mary jane

story of my life...

8. bill withers - who is he and what is he to you

Bill Withers is one of my all time favorites. His whole vibe was simultaneously vulnerable and cool, sensitive and badass. That's a tough tightrope to walk, if you think about it, but he killed it. He could tell a story, and most of them did not have happy endings (anyone who has listened to "Better Off Dead" knows what I'm saying). I am totally on Team Withers.

9. candi staton - best thing you ever had

Candi Staton is a badass broad. She's got one of those voices, like Sarah Vaughan or - I'll say it - Amy Winehouse, that's bigger than the singer herself, like she can barely control it, barely harness it to do what she wants it to do. Don't hate on Amy Winehouse just because she's a crackhead with a predilection for cutting. Hate on her because she's SQUANDERING REAL TALENT!

10. bobby womack - nobody wants you when you're down and out

Nina Simone did a version of this song that is totally different, I almost didn't realize they were the same songs when I first heard this. I was talking to someone recently about how timely all these old 70s musical themes, the "life's a bitch, there's no jobs, crime is on the rise, America is insecure" types of songs, are relevant again. Thanks a bunch, W.

11. lee dorsey - yes we can (mantisounds edit)

Si se puede. This song will always be the "Obama song" to me, even though it was recorded 38 years before President Obama was elected. Lee Dorsey was ahead of his time!

12. the meters - handclapping song

Tribe sampled this song for "Clap Your Hands" off Midnight Marauders. Whenever the "what year" game gets played, I always go with 1993. No question. Buhloon Mindstate. Midnight Marauders. Souls of Mischief and that whole Heiro crew. 36 Chambers! Illmatic (came out in early 94, but RECORDED in 93 according to wikipedia, which is NEVER WRONG). The motherf*cking CHRONIC. I worked at Hampton Beach that year slingin' syrian subs and spending my paychecks at the little skate shop in the dining room (it was more like a closet/display case that the owner would wisely keep locked). Skateboarding all night, popping No Doze and pounding Dew for the lunch crowd, then splitting warm pita bread for an hour before getting a fistfull of cash, a new deck, and a tuna wrap with tomatoes, pickes, onions, and hot pepper relish to go. Life was simpler then.....

13. tyrone chestnut - bumping

14. allen toussaint - get out my life woman

this guy knew his way around a f*cking piano!

15. allen toussaint - either either

So nice, I played him twice...

16. lee dorsey - give it up

So funky. The Beastie Boys were right!

17. dianne & carole with the latin watchmacalits - the Fuzz

I definitely got caught up hard in that boogaloo craze that went around a few years ago. I dropped a lot of money on Soul Jazz compilation disks at Kim's on St. Marks back in the olden days. I love the style so much, it's so evocative of a specific time and place in America. I gave a disk of boogaloo music to a guy who grew up in Queens in the 70s, and he told me it took him right back. Plus this song's about getting busted by the cops, which is funny....

18. lemuria - hunk of heaven

Obscure Hawaiian funk. You can almost smell the pineapple roasted pig...mmmm, pork....

19. jimmy castor bunch - maggie

The saxaphone can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Jimmy Castor is the right hands.

20. stevie wonder - all day sucker

Stevie Wonder is ACTUALLY the Best. Ever. It's been proven. Songs in the Key of Life is the standard by which truly great albums are measured, and he also did Innervisions. Case closed. (oh, and I forgive him for the Woman in Red soundtrack)

21. ground hog - bumpin'

22. bohannon - run it on down dj

I think this was on the Brainfreeze mix that Shadow and Cut Chemist put out almost a decade ago (that just made me feel f*cking old!).

23. bill withers - kissing my love

To learn more about my unhealthy mancrush on Bill Withers, see #8 above

1977....Back to the Future

1977 is the year of our birth. Its when it all began. SO we thought it would be fitting to start our blog, and our first mix with the date. 1978, 1979, and the rest will follow.

For this mix we pulled out some of our faves, some came from the vault, others just popped last year. One of our specialties, is the faux-capella edit. We use the AEM 100i (big up to elliot!) to strip away beats from vocals, we can get pretty close sometimes, and then drop them onto a beat in real time. Everything is real time. All the time.

Check out 1977 and let us know what you think. 1978 coming up in a few….

La MoDa - 1977

Multipitch - Jel
Rolf Royce - Fila Brazila
Something For Windy (La Moda Dirty Hair edit) - Bonobo
Freeze Explode - Cassettes Won't Listen
Go Left (ft. Lateef the Truth Speaker & Gift of Gab) - E da Boss
Good Times - Strange Fruit Project
DJ Food Style (La Moda Makin Dollas edit) - DJ Food
Kalimba (Flute Mix) - Freakniks
Chicken in a Box - Krafty Kuts
Notion - Flevans
Nothin Goin' On But the Rent - Gwen Guthrie
Athena - Hercules & Love Affair
Venom (ft. Joe Dukie) - Dutch Rhythm Combo
PPP (PEACE & Rashaan Ahmad) - J Boogies Dubtronic Soundsystem
All I Do (U-Turn Remix) - Stevie Wonder