There are more than a few activities I love doing, which I am now finding it increasingly difficult to find time for in my new dad life: bike rides, yoga, record digging, writing blog posts (once a month used to make me feel guilty)… However, there is one great joy (mostly absent until recently) that has now become a daily routine, helping to keep me sane while providing a solid musical education for my baby at the same time. I’m talking, of course, about the living room dance party. I feel blessed to have a generally happy kid, but when I drop the needle on a record in front of her and demonstrate the proper wrist action for turning up the volume, she becomes ecstatic. Bounce, twirl, shake, repeat. I put together this new batch of songs with these dance sessions in mind (apologies in advance to my downstairs neighbors). I have so much more good music to share, hopefully it won’t take as long for me to put up the next post. Cheers to funky Frenchman Claude Viallat for providing today’s visual flourish.

Been a long time since I was in school, but I still always feel the communal good vibes of early Summer when kids suddenly multiply in the street. June feels like a constant excuse to work a little less hard. Partly because of this natural mystic that’s in the air, and partly because I’m 11 hours deep into the amazing patois goldmine that is the audiobook of A Brief History Of Seven Killings, I’m extra inspired to share some dancehall sounds (even if most of these songs aren’t from Jamaica). I also played a bunch of these alongside my homie DJ Nadi up in Mendocino over the weekend at Enchanted Forest Festival and it’s clear that the afro-soca dancehall stylee is hitting hard this year. Wouldn’t be surprised to hear Beyonce on an Afrobeat track before 2017 is done. Enjoy the beats & ciao for now…

OOOF, no time no time, nothing new. Just wanted to drop off a big batch of fresh eclectic tunes before all of you lose faith in this place! I can still deliver the goods haha. Some mellower sounds that have been keeping my head on straight lately while I navigate the nonstop madness. Find someone to slow wine with and press play. Artwork above comes from Kerry James Marshall who has a retrospective up at LA MOCA right now.

Keeping the energy super high today with a selection of global dancehall, reggaeton, kuduro, techno, trap, heavy bass bizniz. Just felt like I needed an injection of high voltage electrons myself to get up to speed this week. I hope this bounty of sonic double D batteries help’s you kick off Monday properly! Shout out to my man DJ Nadi who hipped me to Tomokazu Matsuyama (imagery above) and made the nasty mash-up that I included in this week’s playlist.

Time was once a friend of mine. We’d spend the afternoon skateboarding in the grocery store parking lot, practicing a single trick on a curb for an entire afternoon- fully contented with our day’s efforts. We used to go for long bike rides through the city to the beach, headphones on, music loud, not a care in the world. Time and me would stay up late, then sleep in later. We’d move at a comfortable pace from season to season, watching clouds drift and leaves blow, thinking big rambling thoughts in circles, feeling quite alright without coming to a definitive conclusion.

But oh how things have changed. My old friend time is not the same. These days I’m chasing fragments of thoughts as they flee from looming concrete demands that will not compromise. With time no longer on my team, the daydreams become to-do lists, and the lists are endless. I’m trying to figure out a way to patch things up, I still believe it’s possible, but without time the map is blurry.

From this frazzled state, in desperate need of peace of mind, it’s my oldest homie Music who keeps reminding me that there is hope. That time isn’t mad at me afterall, just busy with his own meanderings, while I’m the one who’s changed. Music still gets me high in 3 minute doses, showing me possible worlds that have yet to be explored. Now more than ever, each effective song is precious. And today’s selection are effective indeed! Very cool flag/blanket above comes courtesy of Nacho Becerra.

Getting back in the swing of things a bit, as 24-hour diaper duty transforms into a cyclical rhythm. I’ve gotta admit I’ve been a bit absent from catching the latest releases, but I’ve managed to snag a few things here and there. Some new era funky stuff to share with you all today, plus a couple non-commercial hip hop joints that are a nice break from the un-danceable new mumble-trap that is dominating top 40 hip hop airwaves these days. I’ve also included a touch of disco and finished off the set with some trippy mellow heartstring material. I hope you dig! For those of you in the LA area, mark your calendars: next Thursday is the proper album release party for “Night Visions” at El Dorado downtown. I’ll be performing live again with Chico Mann, good times guaranteed. Artwork today comes courtesy of Gerhardt Richter, check him out.