Monk and Miles understood midnight, the shape of it.  It is round, an imprecise thing.  Don’t attempt to pin it down or grab it; it is fluid.  Make daytime plans at precise times, but at night say: “round about midnight.”

Under the cover of dark, among the long shadows thrown by streetlamps and streetlights, reality meets the imagination.  The two mix and meld, and form a different and much more subjective experience.  Once stable things become shifty and wild. The hours bloat with potential; the shadows are full of possibility.  

This is where midnight logic comes into play.  The mind plays tricks and bends rules.  It is not a time for clarity or precision. You might think you see something or know something, but your thinking—like night vision—is fuzzy, diffuse.

The end of a long day is cause for celebration, and often we let ourselves loose under the sway of drink or smoke—though sometimes it takes far less.  Sometimes all it takes is a thought, a feeling, or the fatigue itself to set us apart from our daily selves, the people we spend so much of our life being.  The middle of the night is the time when we are least self-conscious, when we are most ourselves. Spontaneity and improvisation love midnight.

This episode—Midnight Logic—came together spontaneously one restless, solitary night in Minneapolis, shortly after 12 a.m., when there was little else happening to hold my attention.  It’s a very deep mix, with a Detroit edge that I seldom explore in my sets.  It features a lot of classics (by DJ Gregory, Metro Area, Jazzanova, Charles Webster, Moodymann and Norma Jean Bell) but some new stuff as well (Mike Huckaby’s “Fantasy” for instance, a gorgeous slice of midnight off the “My Life with the Wave” EP—one of the very best house records of recent years).  I hope you enjoy it.

Until next month, stay well and stay up late.

OdDio's Audio Odyssey - Episode 03 : Midnight Logic

• 1. Norma Jean Bell - "You Belong To Me" (I'm The Baddest Bitch Remix) - Peacefrog
• 2. Nutty feat. Daddy - "Mdali" - Miso
• 3. Shur-I-Kan vs. Milton Jackson - "Special Powers" (Shur-I-Kan's Latin Workout) - Freerange
• 4. Viktor Duplaix- "City Spirits" (King Britt's Scuba Trip) - Groove Attack
• 5. Testing the Water - ??? - Testing the Water
• 6. Jephté Guillaume - "Ibo Lele" (Tek Kale Bobeats) - Spiritual Life
• 7. Snooze - "Doremifa Girl" (Ananda Project Experience) - Nightgrooves
• 8. Andres - "Moments in Life" - Mahogani Music
• 9. Point G - "Underwater" - Basic
• 10. Mike Huckaby - "Fantasy" - S Y N T H
• 11. DJ Profile - "Batoblues" - Sound of Barclay
• 12. Jazzanova feat. V. Duplaix - "That Night" (Wahoo Mix) - Sonar Kollektiv
• 13. Benny Blanko - "Groove No. 1" - Playhouse
• 14. Alexi Delano feat. Robert Manos - "Round and Round" (Metro Area Mix) - Strata

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I first met DJ Vadim in late fall of 2006 at One Self’s tour stop in Minneapolis, where I was living at the time.  I had seen him DJ a few times on the west coast before that, but never seen him perform as part of a group.  I was unsure of what to expect, especially because at that time I’ll I’d heard of their album, “Children of Possibility,” was the massive single “Be Your Own” –which I’d been hammering in original, instrumental, and Amp Fiddler remix versions all summer long.

My friend Nathan and I were practically the first people at the Triple Rock.  They hadn’t even opened the doors when we arrived, and when they finally did we found ourselves milling around the venue; we quickly ended up staring at the schwag table, which, I was pleased to see, had a good deal of vinyl on it including the 2LP Album, the “Bluebird” single, and an white-label EP I’d never seen before.  I knew I could get the album for cheaper directly from Groovedis, but I’d never seen the EP before. “What’s on this?” I asked the attendant.  “This?” he said.  I said: “Yeah, y’know, what’s it sound like?”  “Rubbish,” he said. “Total rubbish.”

I looked up.  The man before me, sipping on a coke as he manned the merchandise table—as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, as I was only then beginning to realize—was, yes indeed, Mr. Peare himself.  DJ Vadim—a man who seems so busy on the production and gig front that it’s a wonder he ever gets any sleep—also sells schwag at stops along his seemingly non-stop tour route.  We struck up a conversation: moving to England when he was young, the origin of the sample for “Be Your Own,” where the tour had taken him and whatever destination he was off to next.  I don’t remember how exactly, but we got to speaking in Spanish for a while, then moved back to English. I was struck by his good nature, good humor, dedication, and humility.  Also his Spanish accent, which was, as they say, de puta madre.  My friend bought some mix CDs, and I decided to take home the vinyl, which he explained was a tour exclusive. “Don’t worry,” he said, “You can always sell it on eBay if you don’t like it.”  

At that time I had, for the better part of a year, been churning out new episodes of the ODDIOFILE Podcast every seven days, and so was on a constant lookout for new mixes to share with listeners.  Almost as reflex I asked if Vadim if he had anything he wanted to share, any genre. He said, “Sure,” but explained that it wouldn’t be for a while, not until they finished touring and were back in England, where he had his records, or DJ setup, or something.  I took this for a polite no, and didn’t think much about it until one day, many months later, when a CD mailer from the UK came in the mail.  

If this story has a moral it’s this: always show up early for concerts.  The mix debuted as episode 50 of the original ODDIOFILE Podcast, a few months before the “Soundcatcher” album dropped.  It was one of the most popular episodes, with download counts reaching into the thousands in its first month alone.  I’m happy to make it available once again, as a permanent fixture of the new webpage.  File under dub and hip hop.

   ODDIOFILE GuestMix 02 • Oct. 2008 • DJ Vadim's "ODDIOFILE Mix"

• Sorry, No Tracklisting.

For as long as I can remember, as summer winds down into fall and the heat gives way to cool and overcast fall days, I always find myself mourning the energy, anticipation, and celebratory mood of early summer, when each hour of sun feels like a gift.  I was attempting to capture that energy when I recorded this mix in Minneapolis in early June, just as the rooftop and patio parties were beginning. 

In Seville, summer is a bit different.  I arrived here in July, just as the heatwave began and everyone who could fled town for more temperate weather.  It's a hard time.  You can't be outside for long during the middle of the day, and can't sleep at night, and--if you're as prone to sweating as I am--you have to shower and change your clothes several times a day.  Here people speak of the summer heat as if it were the only current event (as midwesterners speak about the cold during the winter)--constantly asserting and agreeing with one another that yes, it is very fucking hot (cold) indeed.  Even now, three full months after my arrival, it's still quite hot.  It still feels like the pleasant part of summer; the highs have come down from the 100-110 range into the seventies and eighties and I'm able to enjoy sunshine again.  On a nice day, it's easy to forget what month we're in.  It's as if summer has started up again--which is why, even though I'm posting it very late, this episode still seems weirdly appropriate.  Over here we're still wearing sunscreen. 

OdDio's Audio Odyssey - Episode 02 : Sunburn

• 1. Halifax Project - "Hermosa" - Straight Up
• 2. Oscar - "Brazil 3030" (Swag Mix) - Denote
• 3. Grudgemonkeys - "Grudgemonkey Hustle" - Schtum
• 4. Wale Oyejide - "Cooba" (Daz-I-Kue Edit) - Shaman Work
• 5. 4 Hero feat. Lady Alma - "Hold It Down" - Talkin' Loud
• 6. Alison David & Black Science Orchestra - "Sunshine" - Afro Art
• 7. Ron Hall & The Muthafunkaz feat. Mark Evans - "The Way You Love Me" (Accapella) - Defected
• 8. Blunted Dummies - "House For All" - Definitive
• 9. Osunlade -  "Mama's Groove" - Strictly Rhythm
• 10. Savannah - "Night of Music" - Kif
• 11. Root Soul - "Spirit of Love" - (Phil Asher's Restless Soul Boogie Mix) - Especial
• 12. Deep Sensation - "Harlem And 52nd (Take 3)" - Deep Jazz
• 13. Nu Tropic - "Suave" (Patchworks Mix) - Jazzmin

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