From the moment Mixcloud’s “BBE Mixtape
Competition” was announced I knew I would enter, but things being as they are
in my life of late—newborn baby and all—the weeks just kept on passing and the
mix never got recorded.It became clear that I wasn’t going to just magically get my shit together, so I took action.The day before the first round of the
contest ended, I took a train from Puerto de Santa María (where my family was
on vacation) back to Seville (where my turntables are), pulled every BBE record
I own off the shelf, recorded two takes in quick succession, and was back in
time to burp the baby after breakfast the following morning.
While pretty much everyone who reads this blog
knows that I love Mixcloud, relatively few know how important the Barely
Breaking Even label has been to me over the years.I started DJing shortly after the label formed,
and have been steadily buying their releases for over a decade now.Their incredible scope, and taste shown across the board—from
Jazz and Soul to Techno and Drum & Bass—is impressive.
While I’m a huge fan of the original
artistic output of the label—Jazzy Jeff, Pete Rock, J Dilla, DJ Vadim, Cut
Chemist, Osunlade, Tortured Soul, Million Dollar Orchestra, etc.—their
compilations have had an even greater influence on me along my path to musical
maturity.If you’re familiar with
the label, you know BBE is home to some of the best diggers, compilers, and DJs
around—Mr. Thing, Keb Darge, Kon & Amir, Gilles Peterson, Jazzanova, Al
Kent, Dimitri from Paris, DJ Deep, Masters at Work, Muro...the list goes on and
on.These compilations gradually
opened me up to new sounds and ways of thinking about DJing, and over the years
have, on the whole, served as a great guide, resource, and inspiration in the
types of records I buy and the sorts of sets I play. My feeling is that if you stick close
to the label, it’s pretty hard to go astray. Which is why I have much to thank BBE for.
I put this set together with eight of my
favourite BBE compilations, the stellar Roy Ayers “Virgin Ubiquity” album, the
Million Dollar Orchestra LP, and originals of Disco Fox “The Fox” and Cesar
Mariano & Cia “Metropole” (both included on the “Kings of Diggin’” CD, but
not on the LP).It isn't perfect, only the better
of two takes, which is all I had time for.There are couple of sloppy blends, but hey...it’s
disco.So here you have it: my
last-ditch, last-minute contest entry:
Despite having entered the contest just hours before the first round closed, thanks to the widespread support (thank you!) the mix easily qualified for the second round, making it to the fifth place position (in terms of number of listens), and is now leading the pack in terms of community support (number of "favourites")!
As most of you know, I don't typically push or promote my mixes very hard, so this result is such a surprise and honor. Many thanks to DJ Loveontherun, the fine folks at Clubbingspain, and the dozens of others who have plugged and posted links to the mix--and to all of you who have taken the time to listen.
There are still a few days to vote. You can check out the ten Semi-finalists here. Naturally, I hope you'll vote for mine--but the other DJs really brought it and deserve recognition as well. I've listened to all ten, and there are many nice mixes and whole lot of nice music; if you have the time I recommend checking out them all.
If you feel like voting, just log in and click the "favourite" button. It's the one with a heart. If you don't already have a mixcloud account, you'll have to register. It only takes a minute (probably the easiest sign-up process of any online community I've a part of) and you really ought to have an account there--especially if you enjoy sites like mine. I think it's better than Soundcloud; better community, more personal, not so much "soandso has shared a private track to 13245 people," and the opportunity for less-than-famous DJs to stand out with a great mix.
UPDATE AUGUST 4, 2010:
Thanks to the support of many of you, I finished the final round strongly in first place (over 20 "favourites" ahead of the next-most-popular mix). I am honored--and frankly, a bit surprised--that my last minute entry has made it so far. I even got Al Kent's vote, the Million Dollar Disco seal of approval, a disco honor so rarely bestowed that some have come to refer to it as "the Nobel Prize in disco." Haaaa.
Anyway, you can check out the final five here. All of them are worth listening to. And of course it's never to late to show your support by clicking "favourite" or sharing on facebook.
What happens now? The final decision will be made by the panel of judges: DJ Vadim, Richy Pitch, and Kon & Amir. Two hip hop DJ/producers and a digger/record junkie I often argue with on the MDD forum; it would seem that the odds aren't great. Still, my fingers are crossed.
Thanks again to everyone who listened, favourited, followed, commented, shared, tweeted, tracked, blah blah blah...
Yeah, sorry. If it wasn't bad enough that I haven't recorded a new episode in six months, my recent Joomla upgrade has finally made the script I was using so obsolete and incompatible that I've decided to just do the whole thing over again with a different and more user-friendly code. I'll have it all set up in a day or two, and my apologies in advance if this results in old episodes being downloaded again.
The BBE Contest Winner will be Announced Soon
Fingers crossed.
OdDio Selections on Mixcloud
Over the past few months I've been posting drop-free versions of the 40-50 minute mini-sets I put together for the specials done early this year with Chris Galvan and DJ Offbeat.
Mixcloud is becoming quite the site. There are still some interface problems with facebook and many other minor issues, but they're working out the bugs and the site's sleek design and functionality are improving steadily. Just check out this player:
I'm hoping that their model of doing things--which pays royalties to the artists in the mixes people upload, much in the way that radio stations do--will provide an artist-friendly alternative to mp3 piracy. Sign up if you haven't already, and support the site and the ever-growing number of DJs who upload there.
The above mix aired on Lars Behrenroth's "Deeper Shades of House" radio show
in December of last year is now streaming at Mixcloud. According to the DSoH website it has already
been downloaded more than 2700 times, making it one of the most popular
guestmixes in the show's history. It's now available here--in its entirety, without drops and discussion. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do now. If you like what you hear, you can download an mp3 version of the show here. Plue, there are literally hundreds of other shows available for download on the Deeper Shades of House Website. Registration only takes about 60 seconds.
February is Carnaval time, which means this past month I've had Brazil
on my mind. This episode features 20 of my favorite Brazilian records.
The mix focuses on the funkier sounds of Brazil: Jazz Fusion, Rare Groove, and Disco-funk. There are plenty of classics--some well known songs by Azymuth, Marcos
Valle, Paula Lima, and some lesser-known records you might not have
heard before. As always, all vinyl. Aprecie!
If you're in the mood for more Brazilian Wax, check out the Far Out Records Special I recorded earlier this month with Chris Galvan and DJ Offbeat, or one of the Onda Brasilera mixes now archived at Future History of House.
If I remember correctly, it was Lars Behrenroth who first put me on to DJ Offbeat. It was in 2006 o 2007, and I was organizing the occasional deep house event in Minneapolis and looking for guest DJs. Lars sensed that we had a great deal in common, musically, and though I never managed to get him out to the Twin Cities, we sparked an important friendship and correspondence.
Those who have been following the site for a while know that he has featured a number of my mixes on his weekly radio show "Future History of House," and that he, Chris Galvan, and I collaborated on a series of decade-ending label and artist retrospectives. Gerardo Frisina, Far Out, Schema, Especial, Scandanavian Jazz--I was continually impressed by both the depth of his crates and the breadth of his musical knowledge, not to mention his passion for the music and dedication to his listeners. He and Chris recorded a bunch of other specials without my participation (Compost, Jazzanova, Nicola Conte, Strut, 4hero) because I couldn't keep up with their pace of recording every single week.
A lot of DJs talk about how diverse their musical interests are, but few manage to deliver the same variety in their sets. I could mention the wide sampling of genres one can find in an Offbeat set, but that wouldn't be appropriate. Offbeat doesn't play genres; he plays MUSIC. Good music, in the order that seems natural, switching tempos and styles when it feels right. He is one of those rare DJs that can make rapid evolution in a set seem smooth, despite the warm contours and rough edges of each song, the timeless--the polyrhythmic drum track serving as a sturdy backbone. Even having heard literally dozens upon dozens of his sets, he still manages to surprises with his selections and the order in which he plays them. Offbeat is, for me, one of the most exciting DJs out there.
