The end of an era at least. Quetzalcoatl is returning, ya know, nothing too major. I’m gladly going to be down in Mayan turf (Lake Atitlan, Guatemala) for the solstice, which I’m very excited about. Rather than thinking of it as an apocalypse, I prefer picturing it as the dawn of a higher consciousness- perhaps presenting us with the emergence of a newly evolved funk. Then again, maybe I’m getting my hopes up too high. Some nice selections today that keep me daydreaming more than I probably should. And the pic above comes from the legendary Danny Lyon who has a great retrospective show up now at the De Young museum in SF which I checked out while I was in the Bay last week.

Superhuman Happiness :       See Me On My Way
rad coming together of musicians from Antibalas, Phenomenal Handclap Band, TV on the Radio and more… This song indeed makes me superhappy and I’m definitely lookin forward wo more from this gang.

Boyz Noize :       What You Want (Chromeo Remix)
bout time I had something new from Chromeo. All the right elements are here: vocoder, 80’s synths, disco bass, boogie guitar chops and some simple heartfelt whiteboy vocals.

Steve Bug :       Moment Of Ease ft. Emilie Chick
nice bouncy pop joint with a touch of jazz from Mr. Bug.

Andrew Ashong :       Take It Slow
yessssss. Even if you’re the type of person who rarely is willing to drop $12 on a 12″, this one is worth it!

Tiger & Woods :       Curb My Heart ft. 'EM
nu-80’s boogie ish from this mysterious disco duo

Canyons :       Tonight &       See Blind Through (Mic Newman Remix)
pretty late on discovering these guys, but I’m real glad I did. Slightly experimental indy-rock with some solid disco and electronic moments.

Lane 8 :       For You
haws muzzik (gotta say it with a German accent to sound correct). Loving the classic smooth late-night sound that this producer has been consistently putting out.

Letherette :       Warstones &       Surface
funky fresh beats and head trip shit taken from this great EP.

Lapalux :       The Hours
heavily compressed head nod business from this Brainfeeder crew member.

Flight Facilities :       Claire de Lune
really cool to hear something so atmospheric and chilled out from these funky Aussies.

New bass for your face. Some Moombah, lil bit of Latin, touch of Balkan, and some heavy African joints. My Subsuelo homies are kicking off a new party this Friday at El Cid where music like this will be the  modus operandi. LA heads should come through. Shoutout to my dude Koury Angelo for the fresh pic which was taken at a bar somewhere in S. America I believe.

Pernett :       Rumba Bacana (Nickodemus Remix) my man Nicko comes correct once again on this solid mid-tempo latin breakbeat partystarter.

Carlos Barbosa & Blasterjaxx :       Toca Flute (Sabo Remix) fellow NYC to LA transplant and moombah godfather, Sabo, made this Andean flute bomb even more devastating.

Orión & King Louie :       Tin Tin (Peligrosa Remix) speakin of Sabo, here’s another great moomba track from a recent EP on his Sol Selectas label

Miguel Migs ft. Capelton :       The System (Fellow vs. Jillionaire Remix) conscious dancehall meets heavy global bass on this rework from the richest man in babylon

Fuse :       Antenna hotter than lava Azonto Afro pop from Ghana. Shouts to my girl Azza for the heads up on this one. Hopefully this joint will continue to inspire more public dancing.

CongopunQ, Papy Mbavu & Flamme Kapaya :       Danse du Charlot Scié LOVE this track, which I discovered on the soundtrack to Viva Riva. Watch it, be amazed, then get the full soundtrack of Congolese gems.

Radioclit :       Secousse All Stars more fire from the Riva soundtrack from a pretty familiar face in the global bass scene.

ShazaLaKazoo & Chernobyl :       Zica Memo Feat. Suppa Fla (Gregor Salto Remix) Balkan heater from another of the biggest names in global club music.

Yankee Zulu & Worthy :       Concumbia (Original Mix) never heard of these guys, but this one is seriously infectious. Shouts to DJ Gozar for the heads up.

Boogaloo :       It's Not OK But Alright new one from Boogaloo, if you weren’t already, get familiar.

These old guys have seen a lot of fights in their time. Rediscovered while back at my pop’s farm, the place I was born, deeeep in the woods- I’ll let them go back into retirement after this one last bout. Here on a farm, warming up by the woodstove, may seem an unlikely place to be listening to house music and tribal beats, but somehow this playlist is working for me. Hopefully you’ll find your way to good food, friends and family this week as well, and if not, at least find plenty to be thankful for.

Tensnake :       Mainline ft. Syron
C+C just came back from never being dead! I’m really not mad at Tensnake for this at all.

Moon Boots :       Got Somebody
and now it’s Wayne Wonder getting the defibrillator treatment?!? Nice work Moon Boots.

Chordashian :       Call Me (Chordashian's Night Out Mix)
serious deep synth work from these fellas. Lookin forward to more from them.

Solo ft. Deepshakerz :       Alki Bamba
Not entirely sure who Solo is, but I have other songs from him that I like, and here’s his label.

Liapin :       Redskin
super simple. highly effective. drums and atmosphere.

Matanza :       Tiembla &       Las Indias
SO SICK. You guys out there that like good music need to keep lookin out for more from Matanza. I’m going to bring them to the US, mark my words!  In the meantime, get their full album for FREE

Chris Malinchak :       So Good To Me
so good, so deep… if this doesn’t pull at your heartstrings then you need to get ’em re-strung! I don’t know who this dude is, but he’s killin it. Is that a Luther Vandross sample or what? Don’t ask me how he did it.

Kody Leftwing :       I Need You
more British house, sorry can’t stop. They seem to be hitting this nice pocket of distilled 90’s club meets moody minimal dubby late night funk.  Apparently I need to make more trips to London. Cheers Mr. Leftwing.

Nod One’s Head :       UP
for a lil something different, check these kids from Berlin who are dubbing out the minimal almost to the point of Arthur Russell spaciness.

Arthur Russell :       How We Walk On The Moon (Youth Return To Base Edit)
speaking of Mr. Russell, who I love dearly, let’s go with this extremely tasteful touch-up from the Youthful one.

I met Abu Sou (aka Breixo Martinez Barros) in a record store in Barcelona last Spring. We were digging through soul 45’s next to eachother and started a conversation. It was clearly meant to be, because within 5 mins I learned that he not only knew who I was, but had my music and was just as crazy about funky global disco sounds as I am. I ended up staying with him in BCN for several days, getting shown around properly, and was introduced to a bunch of his friends who are also all record junkies and music fiends. A sweetheart, a rebel, and a sound explorer, Abu Sou can be heard on his ScannerFM podcast or deejaying parties regularly in BCN. I’m happy to present this live mix he put together exclusively for Mixtape Riot– 67mins of funky disco, soulful house, and global goodies. He calls it “Hard Times”  because “Disco and House always grow on very bad social situations, like now in Spain.” Also, this mix reminded me that the Mixtry section has been falling a bit behind, expect more mixes in there soon!

      Hard Times Mixed By Abu Sou

Tracklisting

1. Intro ft. Rev. J.M. Gates – These Hard Times (sermon) – Harte Records
2. ENE! – The Latin Lover (Fuck Abu Raw Mix) – unreleased
3. KZA – Goody Goody – Let’s Get Lost
4. RAZE – Break For Love (Spanish Fly Mix) – Columbia
5. Francis Interno Orchestra – Horizon Beat – Scucci Manucci
6. Fries & Bridges – Forever This – Minority Music
7. Genius Of Time – Houston We Have A Problem – Clone/Royal Oak
8. Debonair – Your Love – House Of Disco
9. Jacques Renault – Go For It – Let’s Get Lost
10. Marvin & Guy – Town – Let’s Get Lost
11. William Onyeabor – Good Name (Auntie Flo Edit) – unreleased
12. Captain Planet – Bokazo – Bastard Jazz
13. Gerry Read – Bozza – Delsin
14. Django Django – Waveforms (Wild Geese Remix) – Because Music
15. Michael Jackson – Thriller (Ooft Music Phazed Edit) – L.E.S.S.
16. Andrés – Skate This Way – LaVida
17. KYM – Give Me The Dance – Award Records
18. Jim Bennet – Hold That Groove – People’s Potential Unlimited
19. Rev. J.M. Gates with Leon Davis & Sisters Jordan & Norman – These Hard Times (sermon) – Harte Records

The moment has finally arrived! Not only is today is the LA premier of Stupid Hype, but it’s also the worldwide launch on CWTV.com. Go watch the first 3 mini-episodes now! DJ with the mullet? Yeah, that’s me. Super proud of my bro and all my friends who made this happen, and really freakin glad to have been a part of the whole project from it’s inception as well. Having spent the last few months in a bit of a 90’s time warp- producing all the songs for this soundtrack (which will be released soon)- I’m gladly getting back to making new music. But I also feel like this may just be the beginning for Hype… Since you can’t all be at the premier party tonite (sad, I know), I’m gladly sharing some of the playlist that we will be doing the running man to.

Big Daddy Kane :       Set It Off

Sagat :       Funk Dat

Inner City :       Big Fun

Technotronic :       Get Up

Tone Loc :       Wild Thing

Doug Lazy :       Let It Roll

Eric B & Rakim :       Don't Sweat The Technique &       I Know You Got Soul

A Tribe Called Quest :       Youthful Expression

De La Soul :       Eye Know

Soul II Soul :       Back To Life

I got inspired last night after the victorious election so I made some tweaks to this P-Funk classic in the hope of continuing our progress towards a funkier future. I’ve always loved the song, but there’s really no drums on the og version and even the bassline is pretty quiet in the mix. Seems like George Clinton’s premonition was more on point than Nostradamus!