Jeff Harms is a song writer I’ve seen a few times around Chicago.  I guess the first time or two I placed him in the “emotive songwriter/dime a dozen” category.  But the last few times I’ve seen him, I’ve been riveted by his songs.  I had a little trouble getting some of his songs available for download, and since I’m uploading his music here, I will gladly buy an album from him.  I was able to get two, and especially “Dorsal Fin”  demonstrates his ability to understate everything – lyrics, melody and instrumentation – while creating a layered song.  As a person, Harms is also very understated.  He doesn’t understand or acknowledge how much people revere his songs.  Some the baddest musicians in Chicago, including Leroy Bach, formerly of Wilco, are all too happy to play with him in any situation.  But he’ll take really small gigs that barely pay, and then thank who ever gave him gig the chance profusely.   Just a very nice guy with no mind on recognition or a career in music. 

Jeff Harms – “      Dorsal Fin “

Jeff Harms – “      40 Hours ” Continue reading…

HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO CAME OUT AND PARTIED WITH US! Big up Miz Metro, Maggie Horn, and of course, Soul Imperial. Shouts to Fiona Bloom (Bloom Effect) and Josh (Fanatic Promotions) who helped blow it up. I’ll pat myself on the back and shout out my Beatards crew too for keeping it live. Word up to Sailor Jerry for the free booze. We’ll post up more pics from the party soon, but for right now, I just want to share the mixtape that we unleashed upon the world last night. This is the first in what is now the Mixtape Riot DJ Mix Series! See that section at the top called “Mixtry“? Well this is what that tab is supposed to be all about. More mixes coming your way with the swiftness. If you’re one of the lucky few that managed to snag a physical copy, hold on to that! Super limited edition printing means those are gonna be up on ebay in a few years for LOOT! haha.

Our fist offering is basically a recorded manifestation of what DJ O and I do live. Some original tracks and remixes, some tunes made by friends and family, and other hotness old and new that we’re feeling (doesn’t matter how you want to label it). If you’re having a house party, throw this mix on for guaranteed results. Or just party in your head while you’re riding the train. Download now and BUMP LOUDLY!

Download BLAST OFF!

Check out pics from the party on Facebook

TRACKLIST
1- Intro/I’m The DJ – The Beatards 
2 – ManWomanBoogie – Q-Tip 
3 – Roof (DJ Ayres Remix) – Wale
4 – Shut Up And Let Me Go – The Ting Tings
5 – Rich Girls (Beatards Remix) – The Virgins
6 – Magnificent Last Call (Beatards Mash) – The Clash vs. ODB
7 – ABC’s Remix ft. Chen Lo – K’Naan 
8 – Raise Me Up – Hercules & Love Affair
9 – 1234 Gold – Soul Imperial
10 -Cool – Snoop Dogg
11 – Rock N Roll Attitude – Calvin Harris
12 – Dilo Como Yo – Chico Mann
13 – Pop Champagne – Telephones (Maggie Horn & Sammy Bananas)
14 – Tic Toc ft. Busy Signal – Rye Rye & M.I.A.
15 – Gettin Jacked – The Beatards
16 – Krazy ft. Lil Jon – Pitbull
17 – Aqui Para Voces ft. Deize Tigrona - Baraka Som Sistema
18 – Ipe Amarelo (Spiritual South Remix) – Quasimode
19 – Good Time – Brazilian Girls
20 – You Really Got Me (Morsy Remix) – The Kinks
21 – Downtown (Beatards Remix) – Peutla Clark 
22 – Outro/My Music – Samuel Jonathan Johnson

It’s OFFICIAL! We’ve been posting here on the new site since January, but it’s taken until mid-April for the whole crew to put together this launch party. WE B FOOLISH. But we also stay busy. Without further ado, on behalf of the entire Mixtape Riot extended famiglia, I courdially invite you all to join us this upcoming Tuesday night at the royal temple of sophisticated-funk: Beauty Bar NYC. Come expecting to sweat. You will. Live performances from Maggie Horn, Miz Metro, and The Beatards plus MTR All-Stars Soul Imperial on DJ duties, free mixtape giveaways, 2 for 1 drinks, and an un-official open bar (find me and I’ll get you a round)! The new mixtape BLAST OFF! mixed by DJ O and me is fressssssh! Come early if you want a physical copy ’cause supplies are LIMITED. Those of you that don’t come out will have to wait to hear the heat. 

I’m posting up a brand new mashup I did this morning. Serani’s “No Games” (Unfinished Business Riddim) is probably my favorite Jamaican tune from the past year. Funny thing is, my first reaction when I heard it from the High School kids I was working with in Crown Heights last summer was that it sounded so much like Tracy Chapman! I know I am not alone. A handful of people have agreed that the likeness is uncanny. Then it was Murphy’s Law who reminded of an actual Chapman original that had a minimal reggae backing beat and would be prime for remix possibilities. The pieces fell into place real easily. Just so happens that I also was reminded this weekend (by a good bearded DJ at a crazy BK house party) of an old school reggae version of another Tracy classic. The other Foxy Brown. Now I’m hyped to make them all into a mega-mix-medley at the end of the party on Tues night. DON’T SLEEP!

TUESDAY APRIL 14th
Official MixtapeRiot.com Launch Party!
BEAUTY BAR NYC - 231 E. 14th St. 
more details HERE 

Tracy Chapman :       She's Got Her Ticket (Chuck Wild Mix)
MTR excluuuuuusive! 

Serani :       No Games

Foxy Brown :       Baby Can I Hold You Tonight

I’ve been hearing rumors for YEARS now that Mulatu (one of my all-time favorite artists) was going back in the studio to cut a new album. At first it was supposedly going to happen with Quantic, which I hope still comes into fruition someday. But when I heard that it finally did end up happening with the Heliocentrics (who I’ve blogged about a few times with various different projects they’ve been involved with), I got even more giddy. Malcolm Catto & crew have a way of making things sound raw, dirty and haunting unlike anyone else (aside from maybe Mulatu circa 1971). Their trademark mix of psychedelic funk is executed under what seems to me magical studio conditions- beyond being analogue/retro, it sounds like they must have a resident voodoo priest during recording sessions. According to this little sneak peek video on youtube, they don’t, but I can still pretend. Anyway, today I’m sharing the first track off the upcoming album. Listening to some other highlights off the album, I really can’t wait to have this beast in it’s entirety. Thanks to the good people at Strut, you can get a good idea of how it all runs together by listening to       this podcast too.

Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics : Masenqo
taken from the album “Inspiration Information” on Strut (2009)

Gonna keep today’s post short and sweet. This is a song that has been absolutely slaying me for months now. A little slice of heaven so potent you might need to sit down so you don’t get bowled over. (I spent an entire night listening to it for the first time, not sure that a song this good actually existed.) From the insanity of the guitar lines (can you say, distortion?) to the incomprehensible beauty of the vocals (any Portugese speakers out there who’d care to translate this, please, hit a brother up), I literally cannot get enough of this track. The Captain reminded me that this song needed to be shared when he mentioned Milton on a recent post over at Soul-Sides.  Now I’m sharing it with you. Enjoy.

Milton Nascimento : Trem De Doido
Taken from the album “Clube Da Esquina” on Odeon (1972)

    

Artistically speaking, I think a lot can be said for a band that can pull off a good cover. A delicate balance exists in the act of re-imagining somebody else’s art: how much to keep, how much to leave; how to imprint the mark of one’s originality without forsaking the historical precedent of the O.G. A good musician will pull and tug certain parts as if from clay so that the resulting form, hewn from the same elemental parts, exists completely anew.

These two covers resonate for me with particular potency for a few reasons. For starters, they happen to be two of favorite Sly & The Family Stone songs of all time. I love too that the music, both original and redone, emerged in similar contextual environments — albeit ten years apart — at the tip of the proverbial spear in their respective genres. These were highly innovative sounds or, at the very least, great examples of recent innovations in the “new” worlds of Funk (a style Sly was instrumenal in creating) and Post-Punk or New Wave (a sound which Magazine pioneered). (Ps. If you’re unfamiliar with either of these mavens, don’t tell anybody; run don’t walk to the nearest record store and drop a few bucks for your own sake.)

“Thank You” comes off Magazine’s 3rd LP, which finds the band in full stride as a juggernaut of the kind of synthy, drum and bass-heavy instrumentation that would inform the sounds of later bands like A Certain Ratio  and New Order. Having left his punk roots behind with the Buzzocks, frontman Howard Devoto’s stripped down arrangements bring to mind a similar phenomenon which occurred a decade earlier as the frenetic pace of barnstorm funk streamlined into its leaner early 70’s mode. It’s no wonder Devoto chose to re-work this material; likely he recognized in Sly Stone certain elements of himself.

As for Ronny… Okay. So the French model-turned-scenester-turned-singer doesn’t exactly reek of “maverick” (survey any given street corner in Williamsburg and you’ll find more of these types than you could shake a fist at), but, for whatever it’s worth, ol’ girl hits this one out of the park. (The sexy breakdown and the subsequent build absolutely KILL IT.) One of only a small handful of singles she recorded under the musical direction of impressive figures like Vangelis and Yellow Magic Orchestra, this explosive composition and unique delivery on a classic does well to cement her into the annals of history, if only as a pretty, androgynous footnote.  Continue reading…