One of my favorite things about putting on this party is when I find out about a new artist, post up their music here on the site and write something like, “these guys would be great at a Mixtape Riot! Party”, and then 2 months later it happens!  Fredericks Brown caught my ear with their afro-beat infused soul banger “Betrayal” a little while back and tonight I get to hear them do it live. You can too if you come out! In case you still need convincing, check a bit of footage from last month’s jumpoff. And as a musical offering, a couple tracks from this funky producer that I’m just finding out about way late- MUNK. And yeah, he would be great to have at a MTR party…

Munk :       Kick Out The Chairs
taken from the album Aperitivo on Gomma (2005)

Munk:       Down In LA (Shazam Remix)
taken from the single

Brazil to Benin. Korea to Nuyorica. Come along for the ride.

Pete Dunaway:       Supermarket

Gnonnas Pedro et ses Dadje:       Dadje Von O Von Non

Willie Rosario:       Calypso Blues

Kim Sun:       The Man Who Must Leave

I’ve been wishing for a while now that members of the Dap Kings or El Michels Affair would branch off and do a rocksteady side project using all their vintage analogue recording gear. Clearly, someone down in Jamaica was scheming something similar. Instead of trying to recreate that classic sound in a studio today, why not just sing new songs on top of old records? Simple but genius. To be fair, Bitty McLean has already been doing this for a while- with his 2005 album “On Bond Street with The Supersonics” as a perfect example of this very concept. But there’s something so classic about Courtney’s voice that I rarely hear today. So tender and vulnerable that it almost seems frail.

The chorus on “Lucky Man” usually has a way of staying with me all day after I listen to it once. I don’t have any problem with that, but I thought it only fair that I give you warning. And remember the rocksteady version of The Beatles “Blackbird” that I posted here back during Summer? Well he took that record too and turned it into a salve that should help heal even the most shattered heart. I’m also throwing in a couple older Bitty McLean hits for any of you out there who may have missed these when they first came out. Is this a new trend? Neo-rocksteady? I hope so.

Courtney John :       Lucky Man &       Win Some
taken from the album Made In Jamaica on Jamaica Records (2009)

Bitty McLean :       Walk Away From Love &       I've Got Love
taken from the album On Bond Street on Peckings (2005)

It’s about freakin time! This lil baby side project took so long to finish that I was honestly beginning to wonder if I’d ever put it out. I started the first of these songs almost as soon as I finished my Gumbo Funk EP back in 2005! They’ve changed a lot since then, slowly coming into shape in random broken pockets of time, usually late nights alone- too tired or broke to go out. Big shouts to my boys Billy White (who plays piano on Fumando & Speakin’ Nuyorican) and Leo Mintek (who drops the nasty guitar lick on Lagos Speedway). Huge thanks to my brother from another, Ixley, for once again lacing me with super fresh artwork. And also to DJ DRM who runs Bastard Jazz records and continually pushed to get this done.

It is now officially available digitally on iTunes, and for those of you who are vinyl heads like me, get it at Turntable Lab, Bastard Jazz, or wherever good records are sold!

The title track has been available for a while now on RCRDLBL.com, so I’ve decided to share the last track that I finished (which, interestingly, was also the first of these that I started back in 05) “Lagos Speedway”. It’s a funky Afro-electro dancefloor killer that has been getting really good responses every time I play it. If you watch MTV, you very well might hear some of these tracks in the background on classy shows like The Real World Cancun or Styl’d. But what I really hope is that you hear these songs out a club near you- talk to your local DJ and make sure they get familiar with my funky alter ego Captain Planet.

Captain Planet :       Lagos Speedway
taken from the Speakin’ Nuyorican EP on Bastard Jazz (2009)

Sure, I got hit with the ol’ “I’m dying trifecta” of swine flu, oral surgery & food poisoning… but that’s no excuse for an absence so prolonged as this. I’ll admit it: I dipped out for a minute. But I’m trying to make a comeback. So here goes. Starting simply.

This XX remix has been floating around for a while, but I can’t get enough of it. That purrrfect conjoining of dubstep murk & indie hookery, the simplicity of the song manages to rouse me every time… and by the time the chorus hits. Daaaaaaamn.

Next up. I heard this Hudson Mohawke promo at a record shop in NYC over the summer. Tried to get the dude to sell it to me. He wouldn’t. I guess I wouldn’t have either. The record is dope. The Scottish Mohawke is the genuine article: DMC champ at fifteen, underground icon before 20, and clearly an emerging producing talent. His music finds a fragile experimental harmony between Dilla, Cornelius, early DJ Shadow & Sa-Ra. “Just Decided” clearly leans toward the latter. “Rising 5” is just a good olde-fashioned instrumental headnodder that Pharoah Monche would have turned into an anthem in 1999. Cop the album.

Yet another irresistible Chromeo joint, reworked by dubstep maven Skream, into a slinky stinky slow-burning epic that wouldn’t have been amiss on the Top Gun soundtrack. And I mean that in a good way.

Finally. I got real hype a few months back when I was (re)-introduced to Edwyn Collins. I guess I’ve known about this song forever, but always figured it was some under-appreciated Bowie single or maybe an Iggy experiment. Um, three words : nineteen ninety four. Needless to say the song KILLS it, but it also got me exploring some of the earlier Collins material, where I uncovered this RIDICULOUSLY good re-edit of one of his earlier works as Orange Juice. I defy you to not play air-sax around the 2:40 mark. Impossible.

So that’s that. I guess I’m back.

Florence & The Machine:       You've Got the Love (The XX Remix)

Hudson Mohawke:       Just Decided (Feat. Olivier Daysoul) &       Rising 5

Chromeo:       Night By Night (Skream Remix)

Edwyn Collins:       A Girl Like You &       Rip it up (intermediate edit)

Extra-special limited-edition CMJ dub-version, extended-dance-mix! It’s jumping off tomorrow night once again at SUTRA. The line-up is kinda crazy, so forget all the 200 other CMJ shows going on that night, and come to ours because IT’S BETTER!  Even though it’s not an “official” showcase (wamp wamp). Remember Joya Bravo who I posted here a while back? Yeah same Joya is coming through. Have you heard of Soundwavve yet? Probably not, so let me introduce you with a fresh MP3 of theirs that samples a rock song I like (I forget, is that White Stripes?). We also have a lil cameo spot from Monica Rush. And as always, the Mixtape Riot family will be representing to the fullest with Soul Imperial DJ sets to flip your lid and a Beatards romp through the room to shake shit up. We’re shooting a video of the whole night, so come through and make a cameo if nothing else. Check the lil promo video by our homies Money Mitch and Bruno to get a taste of what’s on the way…

Soundwavve :       Touch Me