I used my Labor Day to fully appreciate of the progress made by our ancestors who fought so hard for safe workplace conditions and the 40-hr week. Their endless toil and courageous defiance enabled the modern comfort that my non-real-job-having-artist-ass enjoys, and so for them, I ate a stick of ganja butter (baked into a sticky pan of rice krispy treats) and dazed out to good music in the company of my homies. The latest additions to my playlist included songs from a few up-n-coming divas who deserve much more shine than I can give, but I’ll do my best to help.

The first song I’m sharing comes from a singer who I met at my favorite weekly party I’ve been going to all Summer- The Jungle Garden – hosted by my friend LinYee. Every Tuesday night, in a beautifully designed Williamsburg lot that serves as a plant nursery by day, a funky smattering of hipcats who love good eclectic music gather under the stars and are treated to a line-up of top-notch DJs. One of said hipcats is a singer I met named Deva Mahal (daughter of a certain other Mahal who I have a known fondness for) who sings in Fredericks Brown. They just had the single release party, which I wasn’t able to attend unfortunately, but keep your eyes and ears out for more from them in the near future- perhaps even an MTR appearance? “Betrayal” is a soulful Afrobeat flavored monster! Press play and try not to shimmy, you will inevitably fail.

I saw Joya Bravo sing at the crazy Hip Hop Howl festival that I performed at on Saturday with The Beatards. The event was historical in that the line-up included just about every single currently grinding NYC hip-hop act I know, which is a LOT. Shouts to all the artists who stormed the sunny Tompkins Square Park stage, but extra loud airhorn blasts to Joya who I’d never heard of before, and who absolutely KILLED IT. Peep her track “Superstar” for more future flavor.

Finally, a track off Brittany Bosco’s album Spectrum 2.0 which is a solid headnodding dilla-esque listen all the way through. I found out about her when the homie Fiona Bloom tried to get her for our next MTR party, which sadly, I don’t think will work out. But, I definitely want to make a show happen with her soon because as you can hear, she’s got something major going on. “You can play your record on me”, wow,  I want to rediscover love like an 8-track someday.

Fredericks Brown :       Betrayal

Joya Bravo :       Piranha

Brittany Bosco :       8-Track

I realize many of you missed this era entirely since I’ve virtually stopped promoting it altogether here on the MTR site, but if you’ve been tuned in for a while you have probably heard about my weekly radio show: “Passport”. For a long minute now, I’ve been faithfully spending one hour every week sharing obscure audible goodies from around the world. It’s been seven years to be precise. Right around this time in 2002, a young and eager version of me first went live over the FM airwaves on 89.1 WNYU. Before that, the same 18-year-old that you see in the photo above was waking up on Saturday mornings for a 9am show that could only be heard on the internet! That was right around the same time that Napster first got huge, so I don’t think too many people were listening, but you gotta start somewhere.

Over the years, I was lucky enough to have a number of great artists & DJs come through the station for live performances and interviews. So this past Monday night, instead of spending my last ever show playing some type of “Best Of”- which would really be impossible- I pulled together a collection of live recordings that I made and snippets of interviews from past guests. There wasn’t enough time for me to get to everything I wanted to play, and some of the recordings get cut pretty short, but at least you can get an idea about what the show was all about. If you ever wondered where I developed my refined taste for funky Bollywood or fuzzed out Brazilian psychedelic sambas- this show was my laboratory. Thankfully, I found a similarly eclectic-minded music enthusiast to carry the torch and keep the show going in my absence.

Big shouts to all the people who tuned in over the airwaves and online, and many thanks to the artists who came through and shared their souls in that stuffy little sticker-covered studio, making the most of two not-very-well-maintained vocal mics. In this episode you can also hear interview snippets from Gilles Peterson & Charlie Gillett from the BBC, who have done and continue to do SO MUCH good work in promoting music from around the world!

Listen: 

The whole city is slowing down right now. It’s finally getting hot (proper NYC muggy nasty hot) and I realize I haven’t made a single trip to the beach yet this Summer, which is entirely unacceptable. I have, however, been doing plenty of damage on the dancefloor. Today I’m sharing a few recently acquired goodies that have been helping me get my exercise (bars and clubs are the closest thing I have to a gym I suppose).

First up is a funky scorcher off the new EP from Pleasuremaker out of San Francisco. I’ve been trying to meet these dudes for eons it feels like, and somehow we missed each other once again while they were out here in Brooklyn last week. OZ, the executive producer of the EP, even came thru my weekly gig at Bembe and dropped off a CD but didn’t introduce himself! I won’t blame him because I very well may have been spinning salsa circles with a chiquita at the time. Get yourself the full EP for more of the good stuff, and check out the weekly Afrolicious party if you’re out in SF.

Next up are 2 perfectly re-mixed tropical tunes that feel very appropriate this time of year. Uproot Andy is someone that you should definitely get familiar with if you’re not already. He’s put out a slew of great cumbia remixes, as well as a merengue-dancehall mashup and a electro-fixed version of Prince Nico Mbarga’s “Aki Special” that I’m really feeling. This “Botellon” track (not just a jug) is maybe my favorite official release from him so far though. Sometimes a few simple touches is all it takes to turn a rootsy folk cut into a dancefloor banger, and that’s exactly what he did here. Seeing him DJ a few weeks back, I was privy to hearing an un-released remix hi did for Chief Boima which was an absolute mind-melter, he told me it would be up on iTunes store soon, so keep an eye out for that and download his Guacharaca Migration mixtape (Aki Special included) or his recent mix for Diesel:U Music Radio in the meantime.

Finally, I got this Amphibious remix off the hollerboard a couple weeks back and it’s been steadily growing on me. Again, it’s just a subtle fattening of bass, extending of grooves, and adding some extra handclaps that turns this latin soul classic by La Lupe into something for a modern dancefloor fiending something new. There was a Sinden remix of this track that came out a while ago too, but that one just killed the soul of the OG for me, so I was really glad to get this take on it. More tracks from the Flavorheard crew can be copped here or on their blog.

Pleasuremaker :       Stuffs His Pockets

Grupo Naidy :       El Botellon (Uproot Andy Remix)

La Lupe :       Fievre! (Amphibious Remix)

The drum break on “One More Try” (which is only in the beginning on Dimitry’s re-edit mix) is so nasty I felt a moral obligation to share it with the world. That’s why I still keep up this blog diligently (even when my so-called partners in crime be slacking). It really feels like my duty- with great music, comes great responsibility to share it. So here’s a couple more dancefloor monsters to keep up the vibe that Ashford & Simpson started. I was reminded of this Crown Heights Affair classic at one of the better NYC summer parties I’ve found- The Kitchen Tuesdays @ Jungle Garden in Williamsburg hosted by my friend LinYee (I can’t remember if it was Amir or Geology that played it, but the music was on point all night). I’ve often written off The Salsoul Orchestra as being on the cheesy side of disco, and while that is certainly sometimes true, this cover version of EW&F‘s “Getaway” comes in like a prize fighter dancing around the ring and then brings to mind a parading circus of boogie-ing elephants, giraffes and zebras- at least that’s what I see. Enjoy the music, and if you’re in NYC, maybe I’ll see you out at the Kitchen party tomorrow night.

Ashford & Simpson :       One More Try (Dimitri Re-Edit)

Crown Heights Affair :       Say A Prayer For Two

The Salsoul Orchestra :       Getaway

Call it writer’s block. I’m feeling three thousand things at the same time and have nothing to say. These songs, which I plan to keep on repeat all day (maybe all week), somehow manage to sum it up perfectly. I guess when you’ve been a DJ long enough, playlists can become the preferred method of expression. Today I’m feeling like the Jamaican John Cusak (somewhere in between Say Anything and High Fidelity).

The Paragons ft. Roslyn Sweat :       Blackbirds Singing (yup, The Beatles)

The Tennors :       Weather Report (Paul Simon! do the research)

Otis Gayle :       I'll Be Around (The Detroit Spinners)

Johnny Osbourne :       Jah Promise (sounds to me like it came direct from heaven)