The BeATaRDs : DangDiggyDang

R. Kelly : I’mma Flurt (BeATaRdS Remix)

Public Enemy : Bring The Noize (BeAtARdS Remix)

Robin Thicke : I Wanna Love You Girl (BeATaRds Remix)

I don’t normally like to do self-promo here in the Crate, however, it would be stupid if I didn’t at least keep all of you loyal readers abreast of the latest happenings – not to mention that if you actually make it out to this party on Wednesday night, you will most definitely have a memorable experience.

So here’s the schpeal. I’m in a group called ThE BeATarDs (Chuck Wild aka Capt. Planet aka Charlie B = ME). We do a monthly party here in NYC called Mixtape Riot!. The party is like nothing else you’ve seen before. We have 4 turntables, which allows us to do live remixes using out own original beats – we produce ’em in droves. These are not mash-ups, mm kay? We’re not taking 80’s tunes, or rock songs, and throwing hip hop acapellas on top of them. We’re making beats in a WIDE variety of styles with the simple goal of making people move. THEN, on top of the live remixes, we perform our own songs – DangDiggyDang is an example of that (even though it’s not finished yet). And of course, no mixtape is complete without a FULL line-up of hot-schitt artists that will make you proud to say you saw them before they went GLOBAL. This week’s party is no exception:

Dandi Wind (Montreal)
Sasha from Jahcoozi (Berlin)
Chris Rob (ATL)
Surreall (Houston)

Southern crunk, throwback soul, future funk, and electro pop craziness all under the same roof for one night alone. For an added bonus, we’ve got a crew of B-Boys, a Double Dutch jump rope posse, and MAAAAD giveaways (Nikes, Mishka Tees etc.). Brought to you by ThE BeATarDs. Check out Mixtaperiot.com for artist bios and more info. DON’T SLEEP. hope to see all you NYC area peoples at the spot: STUDIO B in BROOKLYN (oh yeah, the flyer has the wrong addy, it’s actually 259 Banker – wooops).

And one final shameless plug: even if you can’t come out to the party, you can help us out by voting for ThE BeATaRdS at the URB Magazine NEXT 1000 contest. Thanks!

Moreno +2 : “Deusa Do Amor”
taken from the album “Music Typewriter” on Hannibal (2001)

Antonio Carlos & Jocafi : “Desacato”
taken from the album “Mudei De Ideia” on RCA (1971)

Zeep : “Agua”
taken from the 7″ single on Far Out (2007)

The Girls From Bahia aka Quarteto Em Cy : “Laia Ladaia”
taken from the album “Revolucion con Brasilia!” on Warner Brothers (1968)

I find that one of the most dificult things to do is absolutely nothing. Watching a movie is easy, but that’s something. Reading, although I’ve been pretty bad with that lately, is usually not too dificult. Still, pages are being turned and the mind is at work. When the last page has been flipped, there is a feeling of closure and accomplishment that can’t come from doing nothing. This weekend, a nice hot long one here in NY (thanks to Memorial Day and an early summer breeze), gave me the perfect opportunity to test my nothing skills. In a rare turn of events, I found myself posted up on the sidewalk actually selling records instead of buying them. The cleaning out of my crates was long overdue and it provided an excuse for doing that extremely dificult task of minimizing exertion.

Ok, so technically you could say I was doing something- selling, hanging with friends, bartering. But if you saw me out there, chillin’ in my lawn chair with the boombox playing low, basically giving away records cause it’s about time I freed up some space in my place, you’d probably have to agree I was damn near close to that coveted nothingness. It worked like the opposite of momentum, because yesterday’s pass-out-on-a-blanket-in-the-park was the undoubted lack of all activity. It was truly a non-accomplishment. Suave Brazilian melodies like these help me ease back to that place of peace and contentment. I hope they work for you as well.

Moreno Veloso (son of a certain Caetano whom you may be familiar with) is a true artist of sound. Instruments used in the making of “Deusa Do Amor”- or “Goddess Of Love”- include an iron shovel and sandpaper. The outcome is a stunningly beautiful sunbeam of soul. Check out the whole album, or the second installment of the still unfinished trilogy.

Antonio Carlos & Jocafi (who I’ve posted here before) provide this perennial favorite, from an album that I can’t recommend enough. Funk, psych, soul, strings, samba… all mixed up and executed perfectly more than 35 years ago.

Zeep is a brand new offering from Nina Miranda and Chris Franck (who you should know from their work in Smoke City and Da Lata, not to mention very cool collabos with cats like Troubleman). It’s Brazilian music for dancing and dreaming, produced with all the attention to detail that makes a song last forever. I can’t tell you when to expect their full album, but check out the Far Out Recordings website if you’re looking for more like this.

And this last little piece of Brazilian bounce comes from a record I picked up for $2 at a stoop sale yesterday (on my way to the park, to do nothing). The Girls From Bahia was the name change given to Quarteto Em Cy when they moved to the US in ’67 and tried to break into the mainstream a la Sergio Mendes. Apparently the move wasn’t as succesful as they had hoped, since they ended up recording just this and one other LP for WB – and why the Spanish title??? – but I’m still rooting for them.

The Ska-Talites : Forest Flower
taken from the album “Celebration Time” on Studio One (196?)

Sweet Charles : Soul Man
taken from the album “For Sweet People From Sweet Charles” on People (1974)

Bembeya Jazz : Armee Guineenne
taken from the album “Guinee An X” on Syliphone (1970)

After living in New York City for almost 7 years, I finally became a real New Yorker. The transformation was far from pleasant: I’ve got skinned knees, a yellowish-blue jaw and it still hurts when I blow my nose. But somehow, being jumped by three men in broad daylight on a groggy-headed Friday morning has made me more at home here. I guess it’s partly that, knowing what it is to get mugged (that quintessential NYC hazing ritual), I also know that after the blood dries on the pavement and the last siren fades into the distance, I’m quite alright. A bit shaken, sure, but isn’t a slight neuroticism natural here? So I’ll be a bit more paranoid for a while; my eyes will dart with animal quickness; I’ll place more of my weight on the balls of my feet… any nature channel aficionado would immediately recognize these characteristics as the healthy behaviour traits of Homosapien Nuyoricanus. That’s me.

Today I’m posting some random (and most highly excellent) songs I’ve had sitting on my hard drive for a while that have helped me come to terms with the new New Yorker I’ve finally blossomed into. No lyrical theme, no real musical connection, just good songs.

Jamaican music pioneers The Skatalites are still performing (with altenate members, but still). Just a few of the folks in the band include: Tommy McCook, Rolando Alphonso, Don Drummond, and Jackie Mittoo. Check out the life and times of Sweet Charles, a man who played on more James Brown (and affiliated family) records than I even knew existed. And if you like what you here from some of Guinea’s greatest (who are also still putting out albums and doing shows), then pick up some more Bembeya Jazz on CD.

Ananda Shankar : Snow Flower and Raghupati
taken from his self-titled album on Reprise (1970)

Ananda Shankar : Streets of Calcutta and Dancing Drums
taken from the album “Ananda Shankar and his Music” on EMI (1975)

Ananda Shankar : The Alien
taken from the album “2001” on Shiva Sounds (1984)

As a fan of Indian music, I’m baffled by the apparent lack of recordings made outside the realm of bollywood film scores. It seems as though adventurous musicians in India, the players who sought to stray from traditional or religious music, basically ended up making soundtracks. While the soundtracks themselves were extremely varied in their content and often gave room for wild experimentation, I wonder why these musicians weren’t able to put out albums separate from epic plots and over-the-top melodrama. I imagine that R.D. Burman, Bappi Lahiri, and the Kalyanji-Anandji duo would all have loved to have their own faces put on the covers of their records (or at least have had some album art) rather than always featuring the pictures of the actors from the movies – pretty-faced Bollywood stars who had absolutely nothing to do with the sounds or singing on the album. No matter how cool the cover designs are, it’s still about the movie more than the music. Even now, when I buy CDs from local bollywood vendors, the greatest hits of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar show giant pics of today’s Indian movie stars on the cover- and the music is all from the 60’s and 70’s!?!

All this bewildering music industry business only increases the anomoly factor of the one and only Ananda Shankar. The nephew of world renowned sitar ambassador Ravi Shankar, Ananda was more of a rebel soul. After 5 years studying classical sitar in Varanasi, India, he spent a couple years in Los Angeles learning about pop, rock, fusion and funk – even playing alongside Jimi Hendrix at one point. His self-titled debut contains a short manifesto on his revolutionary attitude towards music:

“The combination of the most modern electronic devices with the old traditional Indian instrument, the sitar, shows how in this present age all of us in every corner of the world can find a beautiful medium of getting along together with an open mind, mutual respect and eagerness to learn in any field. I do not want to be linked with the famous Shankars. I am an ordinary representative of the present youth who want peace and harmony in the world through hard work, discipline, love and dedication to one’s work and respect for the past.”

Get your hands on some of his albums to experience this rare melting pot music more fully.

PS- mow much does the intro of “Snow Flower” sound like “Road To Zion” off Damian Marley’s last album? I know it’s not a sample, but a cool connection nonetheless.

PPS- Big shout out to Oleg and Seong aka “FALYNX” who came through the spot to interview me as part of their self-produced/directed documentary about the state of the music industry. In addition to being filmmakers, these cats are making some DOPE and very unclassifiable music of their own. Check out their future funky sounds at www.falynx.com.

“Passport” broadcast from 5.07.07

“Passport” broadcast from 4.30.07

Just a bit of catch up. I haven’t posted any of these in a while, figured it was about time. You’ll find the usual mix of bollywood freakouts, latin descargas, 70’s sambas, eastern european breaks and mystery cuts…

Tracklistings:
artist – “title” – album – (label)

5.07.07
1. Azymuth “Melo Dos Dois Bicudos” Azimuth (Far Out)
2. Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Titibitis “Kpomokpa Nagan Bie” Jackpot (Makossa)
3. Mulatu Astatke “Kasalefkut-Hutu” Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy)
4. Big Jim Sullivan “Tallyman” Sitar Beat (Mercury)
5. Unknown Asian Artist “Unknown” Unknown Album (Mississippi)
6. Pesnyary “Unknown” Mnie Viasnoju Prysnilasia (Melodia)
7. Okay Temiz “Denizalti” Denizalti (Unknown) 7″
8. Los Pasteles Verdes “Te Quiero” Hipocresia (Orfeon)
9. Johnny Zamot and his Latinos “Bantu” The Latin Soul Of… (Decca)
10. Toquinho “Carolina Carol Bela” S/T (Philips)
11. Sarolta Zalatnay “Ne Hidd El” S/T (B-Music/Finder’s Keepers)
12. Laxmikant-Pyarelal “Dil Aur Deewaar” The Bombay Connection: Vol 1. Funk From Bollywood Action Thrillers 1977-1984 (Normal)

4.30.07
1. Sarolta Zalatnay “Rogos Uton” S/T (B-Music/Finder’s Keepers)
2. Troubadours “No Name Bar” Many Moods of the Famous Calypso Troubadours (Strakers)
3. Sergio Mendes & Brazil 77 “Promise Of A Fisherman” Primal Roots (A & M)
4. Raphy Leavitt “Amor Y Paz” Mi Barrio (Borinquen)
5. Coke “Te Amo Mas” S/T (Sound Triangle)
6. Ananda Shankar “The Alien” 2001 (Shiva Sounds)
7. Aref “Excited” The Best Songs Of The Year In Farsi (Ahang Rooz)
8. Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band “Oriental Mood” Egyptian Jazz (Art Yard)
9. Exile One “Don’t Bite The Hand” Greatest Hits (Barclay)
10. Moussa Doumbia “Yeye Mousso” Assalam Aleikoum Africa Vol. II (Antilles)
11. Banda Black Rio “Gafieira Universal” S/T (Universal Sound)
12. Franco & Orchestre T.P. O.K. Jazz “Tangawusi” Vol. 6 (Disco Stock Makossa)

Senor Soul : Make The Funk Jump and The Mouse
taken from the album “It’s Your Thing” on Doube Shot (1969)

Larry Young : Turn Off The Lights
taken from the album “Larry Young’s Fuel” on Arista (1975)

Gloster Williams and The King James Version : There’s Not A Friend
taken from the album “Together” on Gospel Roots (1977)

People are always asking me how I find out about all this music. I usually tell them the short and simple truth: I spend a lot of time looking. The thing is, no matter how many flea markets I scour, record stores I plunder, and e-bay auctions I dominate, I wouldn’t really be hip to a lot of my favorite finds if it weren’t for the help and guidance of local dealers. Not too long ago I was determined only to buy from the bargain bins. I loved the cheap price of records almost as much as I loved the music. But my stingy ways were shattered when I first started to hang with the big dog dealer cats who make a living off providing amazing tunes to fiending freaks like myself.

Sitting in a living room with 12″ stacks to the cieling, the dealer casually pulls something from a nearby pile. You might not even be talking about music yet, just blah-blahing about the weather when the needle drops. Immediate anticipatory silence makes space for the crisp crackle at the top ot the record. And then… school’s in session. Sounds that comprise your dreams are revealed, the mysterious puzzle pieces that fit just about perfectly into the void of your ever-longing curiosity come into physical form between your fingertips as you flip the record cover over and over again- equally mystified by the genius of the album art and the unknown personell listing on the back. You’ve just been hit by a veritable vinyl bomb, and now you want to take it home. Problem is, the record costs more that your monthly rent. Doh!

Lucky for you, the dealer man knows your limits, or learns them quickly from your astounded reaction; pulling next a piece that is a bit more realistic for a young blood like yourself. A couple light scuffs, a bit of water damage to the cover, maybe a split seam or two, and now this rare gem of a record is within reach even to a broke-ass joker such as yourself. Fine by me. The upshot of course, is that with cordial relations, these dealers might feel generous enough to throw in a copy of, say, Gloster Williams and The King James Version, for good measure- just ’cause you seem like a nice dude.

Today’s funkiness comes from records that I heard and aquired, for reasonable rates mind you (can’t complain with free), from my local dealers. The Senor Soul (there’s supposed to be an “en-yay” not an “n”) album sounds like a fusion between The Meters and War, filled with California sunshine, tight drum breaks and a little bit of latin seasoning. The title track is a solid funky cover of the Isley’s tune. If you see this one, snag it. The Gloster Williams lp is one of those super-indy gospel records that used disco and soul to bring the teachings of the bible to the dancefloor. Sounds a bit like Madlib noodling on the keys at the beginning of “There’s Not A Firend”. And “Turn Off The Lights” from Larry Young is everything funky about foreplay. Vocals from Laura “Tequila” Logan make the mood right.

Many thanks to my dealers for the teachings and for keeping me strung out on the high grade goodness.