Hoping you all had properly debaucherous Halloween weekend festivities. I had a great time breaking in the dancefloor with the first substantial crowd we’ve had yet here at Hotel Vagabond in Singapore, where I’m resident DJ for 2 months. I was also very happy to link up with some local DJ’s here who are similarly focussed on spreading good vibes and throwing fun events- which means I’ve also already raided some tunes from their crates! This week I’m keeping it pretty tropical, with dancehall, afrobeats, and some deep afro-house and techno sounds. Artwork has been jacked once again from Eugenia Loli.

Taiwan MC :       Tell Dem big tune from the latest retro-dancehall riddim by Polish producer Dreadsquad

Konshens :       Couple Up &       Show Yourself not-so-new, but still slaying, from one of Jamaica’s current top ranking

Demarco :       Lazy Body ft. Hotta Maestro more from Jamaica- this hook is just so on point.

MC Galaxy ft. Davido :       Nek-Unek taking things over to Nigeria for some recent afrobeats

Jose Marquez ft. Kakatsitsi :       Belebo deep roots house flavor from Señor Marquez who continues to stay in the pocket

Randomer :       Juju randomly stumbled upon this UK techno producer who went really tribal on this new track

Mory Kante :       Yeke Yeke (Afro Acid Mix)
original mix by Martyn Young from the 1987 12″ that was waaaay ahead of its time. Thank you Lady Flic for this one and thanks to Dean Sunshine Smith for the info.

Jahdan Blakkamoore x Deejay Theory x Kush Arora :       Definitely BIG collabo from some homies you may know, grab the entire EP and support good music

Sauvage FM & Remi L :       Habib! heavy hitting kuduro business taken from this free LowUp comp

DJ Balani :       Balani Sanga new electronic sounds from Mali, grab the whole collection from Sahel Sounds

Clap! Clap! :       Liberty this Italian guy keeps on killing beats with vintage African field recordings

Jil Jilala :       Kouna Kountoum (Sabo & Goldclap Black Rock Edit) nice mid-tempo desert slow-burn from the vibe quest maestro

While most of the time these days you’ll find me sharing newer music here on the site, don’t get it twisted, I still freak out about finding obscure 70’s records like the skinny-necked 18-year-old nerd that I once was. Sometimes I have to return to what it was that got me into all this DJ business to begin with, and the sounds that inspired my early beat making experiments. Maybe it’s the Singapore haze that’s getting to my head, but I’ve been thinking a lot about how to put into words what separates the music I really love from all the crud- the cheese, the plastic pop, the wanky lounge- the music that I say lacks “soul”. It’s a pretty difficult thing to pinpoint, and there’s certainly a multi-dimensional spectrum where songs or artists can find themselves. Perhaps the beat is killing, but the lyrics are cliche. Could be that every note is played right, and all the pieces fit together where they should, but the whole concept and feel of a song is just off. How does one articulate that properly? Sometimes I have to even check in with myself and ask- why do I like this? What makes this stand out from the endless stream of other music out there that I want nothing to do with? I don’t really have any answers today, except that being a professional “selector” for me relies first and foremost on an almost instantaneous gut reaction. All of today’s tunes hit me hard from the opening bars the first time I heard them, and continue to put me in a good place with every listen since. Without further ado, scoured from the 4 corners of the globe, here are a few of my favorite things…

Phil Ranelin :       Vibes From The Tribe

Arthur Verocai :       Dedicada a Ela &       Na Boca do Sol

Nino Nardini :       Tropical

Open Sky Unit :       Sunshine Star

Emilio Santiago :       Bananeira

Alhaji K. Frimpong :       Kyenkyen Bi Adu Mawu

Gnonnas Pedro :       Yiri Yiri Boum &       La Musica En Verite

Los Mirlos :       La Danza de los Mirlos &       Sonido Amazonico

Les Gypsies de Petion-Ville :       Patience &       Pacole

Minoru Muraoka :       The Positive And The Negative

Tabu Ley Rochereau :       Pitié

Mulatu Astatke :       Yekermo Sew &       Ene Alantchie Alnoren

Today marks the official release for “Back To Me”, the album I produced for the very talented singer/songwriter Shana Halligan. We worked on these songs for over a year and a half together- taking many creative twists and turns along the way. Any of you who are familiar with my production history can hear that this project was a swing in a new direction, but I feel lucky to have learned a lot in the process and I’m definitely proud of the outcome. Moody, sexy, sultry, electronic soul. One song is co-produced by T.M. Juke and another is by up-n-comer Yngcult. Shana, who you may know from her previous work with Bitter:Sweet or Thievery Corporation, knows how to find her sweet spot on a beat in a matter of minutes. I think my favorite song on the album is “Something Real” (which I’m sharing here today), but I encourage anyone who likes this track to listen to the rest of the album. there’s also a bonus track “So Crazy” that didn’t make the final cut, but is available as a free download on her soundcloud. If you’re in LA you can check her out at the KCRW sponsored release party at Hotel Cafe on Nov. 12. Please support if you dig it and tell a friend to tell a friend!

Couple of setbacks and detours postponed my travel plans, but tomorrow I get back on track and head off to Asia for 3 months with my new wifey. Home base will be Singapore, where I’ll be residing and DJ-ing weekends at the newly established Hotel Vagabond, doing some playlist curation (professionally for the first time- woohoo!). Then the plan is to hop around the continent a bit and hopefully have some savings left for a proper month of India exploration. We shall see… I’ll be keeping music & gig updates on here as much as possible. Anyone in Singapore or Southeast Asia hit me up! I’m looking to meet people and throw good parties. Bunch of funky new songs for you this week including some uptempo dancefloor burners and a bit of left-field funkiness. Artwork today comes courtesy of the always trippy Clayton Brothers.

Miami Horror :       Sober ft. Queen Magic (Childish Gambino cover)

OverDoz. :       Last Kiss ft. Pharrell

Monika :       Secret In The Dark

Seven Davis Jr. :       No Worries &       Sunday Morning

Tame Impala :       Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix)

Hnny :       For The Very First Time

Psychemagik :       Mink & Shoes

Public Service Broadcast :       Gagarin (Psychemagik Remix)

Crazy P :       Echo

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith :       Omen (Claptone Remix)

Metronomy :       A Thing For Me (Breakbot Remix)

Wowowowow. Ok, that may officially be the longest I’ve gone without blogging since I started Captain’s Crate way back in 2005!!! Apologies, but life happens. And it’s been happening in a very major way. I got married in Mexico and it was mind blowingly fun. Still overwhelmed by the love from so many family and friends all being in one place, celebrating with me and my girl (my wife!). Now I’m kind of getting back into the swing of things, but not really, because the 2 of us head to Asia for 3 months starting in October. I will be able to do plenty of blogging while there though, but most of my other daily routines will be drastically altered, which I’m pretty excited about. For now though, a long overdue helping of some of my favorite songs I’ve discovered and had on repeat lately. Some of these are from the past Summer, but I’m gonna be playing catch up for a while I think. Nothing too dance-y today, more on the deep, soulful, trance-inducing chill tip.

And on another note altogether- I have a new Captain Planet album out! My homies at Bastard Jazz records have compiled 12 of my favorite CP remixes from the past 3 years and put them all together on heavy 2xLP vinyl and digital (iTunes, spotify…).  If you’re a regular reader here you may have heard most of these songs before, but be a friend and support! Spreading the music is always appreciated.

Her :       Five Minutes &       Quite Like (D-Pulse Remix)
echoes of Jungle in the sound of this band

Bosq :       Because You ft. Danielle Moore
funky new EP from this half of the Whiskey Barons duo

Shigeto :       Pulse
deep deep and deeper from this Detroit maestro

Nicola Cruz :       Mantis
really great stuff coming out from this Ecuadorian, we may be doing a remix swap in the near future…

Yuna :       Falling
slept on this soulful Malaysian pop star for too long

Alabama Shakes :       Don't Wanna Fight &       Sound & Color
this whole album, if you don’t have it, change that immediately

Hermitude :       Ukiyo
this Aussie duo has a new album and it’s their best work so far

Tame Impala :       New Person &       Cause I'm A Man
speaking of Australia… what the hell is going on over there? This album on repeat many times

CéU :       Sonambulo &       Grains de Beaute
suuuuuper slept on this one from Brazilian chanteuse. Reggae, dub, and funky textures all over this album

Midnight :       Baptize
chillwave goodness from this crooner

Odesza :       Light ft. Little Dragon
loving this new slow joint from these Seattle monsters