I’m feeling the effects of that late summer slow down, when going anywhere other than the beach feels like a little bit of a struggle. It’s hot and hazy here in Los Angeles, and I’ve been trying to turn all my recent DJ gigs into sonic portals to the Caribbean. With a steady stream of good new dancehall, reggaeton, afrobeats & soca, this teleportation technique actually works wonders. Seems like Jamaican dancehall riddims have once again officially overtaken pop music (see: Beiber, Drake, Sia, Rihanna) and I’m not complaining, because even the unschooled in the crowd seem a little more open to hearing dembow. I’m having flashbacks to 2003 when Beyonce and Alicia Keys were doing reggae joints and Beenie Man was rapping on Neptunes beats on commercial hip hop radio. Again- not mad about this. Today’s playlist includes a bunch of the recent bangers I’ve been slipping into rotation lately. Some smoothed out bass heavy tropical pop music from Jamaica, Trinidad, Colombia and beyond… Enjoy! Artwork today comes courtesy of the extremely talented Brock Lefferts, check his site out for more trippiness.

I’ve emerged from my music making cocoon and come up for air with a finished album on my hands! It’s a great feeling, I must say. Sadly, it won’t make it out into the world for months, but that’s all part of the process. In the meanwhile, I am happy to get back to more regular sharing of new sounds on here. I’ve been busy absorbing inspiration and stealing tunes during my many dj gigs this Summer, so there’s plenty to go around. This week I’ve got some uptempo funky disco-fied bizniz with new sounds from Mac Miller, Anderson Paak, Ekkah, Miguel (interpolating an old Hot Chocolate classic), Classixx, Jean Tonique, Kraak & Smaak (who pair very well with Mayer Hawthorne) and more. Not sure who to attribute the above artwork to, but as a poodle “owner”, I definitely appreciate Pierre’s message.