Having not seen real rain since March, I think I can safely speak on behalf of all plant life in Southern California when I emphatically proclaim “fuck yeah”. I still can’t get used to the subtlety of LA’s “seasons”. I’m from the land of changing leaves and Fall breeze, so I actually feel more at home when there’s a gray day or two, or twenty (as is often the case in NYC). In celebration of todays downpour, here’s a similar deluge of great new music.

The Stepkids :       Shadows On Behalf
I’ve always had huge respect for Stones Throw records, but in the past year it seems like they can do no wrong! The releases keep getting better and this debut from The Stepkids is the truth. Psychedelic indy-rocker soul at its best.

Holy Ghost! :       Hold On &       Static On The Wire
These guys are representing classic, grimey, cracked out Times Square NYC to the max. As funky as Chromeo, but more lo-fi and waaay moodier. The whole album is a solid listen and the last track even includes a brazen cameo from Michael McDonald!

SoulParlor :       Real ft. Colonel Red (Opolopo Remix)
wait, did someone just say Michael McDonald??? Real glad to hear something new from Colonel Red (who I haven’t heard from in too long). I did a show with this guy back in like ’06 and was blown away.

Trus’me :       Bail Me Out ft. Dam Funk
While we’re on a retro funk trip, it’s only right to include a little something from the ambassador of 80’s boogie, Mr. Dam Funk

Fool’s Gold :       Street Clothes
These Angelino lovers of afro-pop come correct with an interesting melding of 70’s West African psych and 80’s New Wave disco pop. I dig.

AM & Shawn Lee :       Somebody Like You
Saw these dudes live last week and was extremely impressed, particularly with Shawn’s nipple length white mane that shakes fluidly while he’s rocking out on cowbell or shredding trippy guitar solos. Stay tuned for my remix of their song “City Boy” from the same album, dropping soon…

Casiokids :       Det Haster!
I’m feelin this first single off the new album by this Norwegian electro pop  crew.

Jimmy Edgar & Luke Vibert :       Disco
Very cool collabo from these 2 electro kingpins. The synths here would make Bernie Worrell proud, and I’m glad to hear a lil Beastie Boys sample floating in the mix.

Floating Points :       Marilyn
Don’t really know anything about this guy (or is it plural?). But from all the tracks I’ve heard so far, they have a real knack for the slow build.

Fatima ft. Floating Points :       Mind
Less slow build on this one, but damn if this doesn’t take me back to some late 90’s era Erykah Badu or Jill Scott.

Meant to post this a little while back. I made this mix for Dubspot.com– a cool NYC music production school & culture hub for DJ nerds like myself. They were gracious enough to do a big old interview with me, where I get into some of the more technical aspects of my production style and why I don’t strictly blog old digitized vinyl anymore (although I’m overdue for a bit more of that). If you’re not familiar with the term, “Sypmathetic Vibrations” are what occur when a body at rest begins to resonate in harmony with an external vibration. Geek time, I know. Basically the idea was to make a mix featuring a lot of the contemporary producers who I’m feeling right now, as well as highlight the breadth of my Captain Planet production style (listen for some exclusive unreleased remixes in here too!). A while back I dropped that International Thief Thief mix with my bro Murphy’s Law, which was all those obscure global funk nuggets from yesteryear- think of this mix as the counterpoint to that one. Same spirit, but all new(er) tracks.

Captain Planet :       Sympathetic Vibrations Mix

TRACKLIST

1. Ta-ku – Hey Kids
2. Mayer Hawthorne – Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out (Captain Planet Remix)
3. Lord Echo – Thinking Of You
4. Captain Planet – Get You Some
5. El Guincho – Bombay
6. Amadou & Mariam – Artistiya (Sabo Disco Edit)
7. Crowdpleaser – Nenekri (Mickey Moonlight Remix)
8. Owiny Sigoma Band – Doyoi Nyajo Nam (Quantic Dub)
9. Gregor Salto & Mokoomba – Messe Messe (Afro Dub)
10. Havana Cultura – La Revolucion Del Cuerpo (Captain Planet Remix)
11. Jali Bakary Konteh – Combination (Hatnhoodie Remix)
12. Sabbo – Come To Me
13. Yage – Marimba De Chonta
14. Chip Wickham – Hit & Run (Captain Planet Remix)
15. Round Table Knights – Calypso ft. Bauchamp
16. Omar & Zed Bias – Dancing
17. The Pimps Of Joytime – Keep That Music Playin (Captain Planet Remix)
18. Debruit – Nigeria What?
19. The Hackney Empire ft. Kastro – Fraudian Slip (Uproot Andy Remix)
20. Little Dragon – Ritual Union (Captain Planet Remix)
21. Mia Doi Todd – Paraty (Captain Planet Remix)

The weekend has arrived. I’ve been working waaay too hard since getting home. What better time than now to bring out the weapons-of-mass-dancefloor-desctruction? Some of these tracks are brand new, some have been out for a while but are new to me, all of them are certified international hip shakers. If your pelvis isn’t gyrating by the time you press play on “NYChero” then I highly recommend a trip to the doctor because you may be dead.

Los Rakas :       Borracho (Culea)
I’ve been following this Bay Area duo since they smashed the spanish-version “Hold Yuh” remix last Summer (aka “Abrazame”) and I’m very happy to see where they’re taking it. Their new EP Chancletas Y Camisetas Bordada is stirring things up right at the crossroads of Hyphy (“Soy Raka”), Bmore (“Borracho”), Reggaeton (“Camisetas Borda”), and psychedelic South American styles (“Ta Lista” – my other favorite on here). Very much looking forward to what’s next from them…

Maluca :       Lola
To be honest, I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by most of what I had heard from her (China Food Mixtape = not so hot). BUT then she drops this joint over the summer (and this pretty genius video – if you have no budget, embrace it). Also check her moombahton banger “Que Que” with Dillon Francis & Diplo if you haven’t yet.

Myd :       Train To Bamako (Canblaster Remix)
Give it up for another young funky Frenchman making tropical club sounds that work. Raided this one from my dude Loki

Zeim :       Quem Te Mandou
Kuduro jam from Angola. Unfortunately, more than that I can’t tell you.

Atropolis :       NYChero &       Asi Asi Asi (ft. Noelia Fernandez)
Really digging this whole album. Once again, the Dutty Artz dudes are coming correct.

Chancha Via Circuito :       Cumbion de las Alvas &
Miriam Garcia & Alicia Solans :       Pintar el Sol (Chancha Via Circuito Remix)
I can’t believe I slept on this album! Stunningly beautiful and deeply trance-inducing electro cumbia from this Argentinian ZZK affiliate. The percussion on this record is some of the most creative I’ve heard. Even the slow jams make me want to throw a rave on Machu Picchu.

Nate Mars & Erika Wei :       Make A Sound
trippy electro cumbia from their Giraffe / Giraffe EP. Really love the synth work on here.

Finally got home late last night after 2 weeks of non-stop good times bouncing through 4 cities. The mini album release tour was a huge succes! I know I should have actually promoted all the shows on here beforehand rather than telling you about them after the fact, but I was more than a little bit busy. HUGE GARGANTUAN THANKS to all the people who helped make the trip happen. Every stop was a piece of history for me, and I couldn’t have asked for better crowds.

Starting with the legendary Afro Funke party here in LA with Jeremy Sole, Glenn Red, & Rocky Dawuni (picture above is Brit Laurén murdering the vocals at that party). Afro Funke was the very first party I came to in LA back before I lived here, so it felt like a proper full-circle to be up on stage there with the whole place jumpin. Friday night I joined forces with the Turntables on the Hudson crew (Nickodemus + Nappy G & Amon on percussion) as well as Chris Annibel (Afrokinetic) and the man behind Bastard Jazz– DJ DRM. It was a proper Brooklyn throwdown, with tons of family and friends who I hadn’t seen in way too long breaking a sweat on the dancefloor. Saturday I hit the classy DC establishment Eighteenth Street Lounge, joined by my B.J. comrades DRM & Erik The Red. Having heard about this club for years, I gotta say it definitely lived up to its reputation and then some. Back in NYC I met up with DJ Jeannie Hopper for a hilarious and very informal interview that aired on her WBAI show Liquid Sound Lounge (stream the show here at least until next Sat).

Next stop was the Bay Area, where I went right from the airport to the KALX studios in Berkeley for a great interview and DJ takeover with host Citizen Zain. You can check the 60-min show as a podcast below (new exclusive un-released remixes in the set!). Then I rocked with the Afrolicious crew (finally we met in person!) in SF at the Elbo Room in front of what may have been the craziest cowd of the whole trip. I have never seen people throw up their hands, shouting, jumping and full-on bugging out… to afrobeat. It was the type of reaction I would expect at a Tiesto or Major Lazer show, but I guess in the Bay they take their funk music seriously! I managed to sneak in some time to catch up with fam and friends, and also got my paws on a ton of new music, which will of course be making its way onto these pages starting now…

Superhuman Happiness + Cults :       Um Canto de Afoxe parra o Bloco do Ile (Juan McLean Remix)
such a deep groover! This one did some serious devastation on the dancefloor. A rare example of many chefs in the kitchen working together without spoiling the stew. You can find the rest of the remixes here

Lucky Gomes :       Zeze E Toto (Remix)
from the excellent compilation of modern African bangers put together by Radioclit. Get it here.

Afrolicious :       Thursday Night Kinda Swing
after experiencing what these guys do every week, this track has taken on a whole new meaning! Check the whole EP on ESL Music and stay tuned for more heat from them soon…

Alex Dimou :       Nina & The Band
simple re-edit on one of my all-time favorite b-boy classics

Orlando Julius :       Disco Hi-Life (Edit)
“Enjoy yourself and be happy”. I have the OG lp and I always wanted to do an edit of this one, someone beat me to it.

Ted Taylor :       Ghetto Disco (Edit)
favorite disco discovery in ages. For me, the song starts at the 5:30 mark.

The Congos :       Congo Man (Carl Craig Edit)
another simple edit on a classic, but the subtle touches here make it even more deadly.

Björk :       Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix)
probably the coolest collabo of the year. I don’t know who made this happen, but it’s pure genius, and the definition of Gumbo Funk.

Finally, here’s that radio interview on       KALX with Citizen Zain (new material alert!)

Today marks another big one in my book- it’s the official record release date for my first full-length Captain Planet album “Cookin Gumbo”. This album pulls together some of the best tracks from the 3 prior EP’s I released on Bastard Jazz Records (all re-mastered & sounding better than ever)  as well as a handful of new tracks that I’m really excited to finally unleash out into the world. Captain P was my first ever musical alter-ego, a sonic superhero on a mission to protect the planet’s dancefloors with funk and soul from around the world.  If you’ve been following this blog for a while, or if you’re one of the dedicated few who remember the old Captain’s Crate days, you’ll know that DJ DRM who runs Bastard Jazz Records was one of my earliest supporters, and has since become one of my best friends. I could keep blabbing, but I’d rather let the music do the rest of the talking. Go get it now on iTunes or for you classy old school heads, pick up the CD & vinyl 2XLP (comes with free download) from the Bastard Jazz Webstore.

If you live in the US or Canada, tune in to your local NPR station to hear Captain Planet as the featured artists today on PRI’s “The World”. There’s a 5-minute segment called “Global Hit” that I’m very excited to be taking over for the day. AND, if you live in LA, NYC, DC, or SF then I really hope to see you at one of the upcoming record release parties… all of which are sure to be bonkers.

Here’s another free download off the album in case you still need to be convinced
Captain Planet feat. Brit Lauren – Get You Some by bastardjazz

FINAL NOTE: I swear I’ll go back to posting other people’s music soon! I don’t want this blog to just be my promo outlet, it’s just been strange timing with a lot of different projects coming together at once. As always, stay tuned for more of the hot shit.

This is the album we made. It was supposed to be released a long while back. Got leaked. Was available on iTunes. Basically one fumble after another. But all that being said, I’m really glad that it’s now officially available to you all for FREE.99. I had a great long run with these dudes. We devoted so much of our creativity into this– countless hours spent in our stuffy home studio recording, mixing, laughing, and arguing. I think it’s safe to say you won’t be hearing much else from The Beatards any time soon, but we’re all still homies and will continue collaborating on projects (UTK’s Members Only EP that I produced is getting mastered as I type this…) and getting into trouble (twice we’ve been in jail together). The 3 of us are definitely musical misfits, and this album does a pretty good job of documenting that. In whatever we did, the focus was always on having fun, not taking ourselves too seriously, and getting the people around us to loosen up and join in the party. Bump loudly…
I’m The DJ by The Beatards

DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE ALBUM AS A ZIP FILE RIGHT HERE