In Japan

Comin' down the pipe:

King Creosote - You've No Clue Do You (Atlantic Conveyor Mix)

Midlake - Roscoe (Jody Den Broeder Remix)

Chocolate Trance (w/ Missy Eliot - Cop That Shit Acapella)

Dmitri In Paris - Track 18

Underworld - Beautiful Burnout

Shit Robot - Chasm (w/ Mike Jones - Badd Acapella)

Bloc Party - Banquet

Simian Mobile Disco - It's the Beat

Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Diplo Mix)

Head Automatica - Brooklyn is Burning

Ludachrist - Sea-Bast-I-Am

Prodigy - Girls (Rogue Element Remix)

Hood Internet - Wouldn't Grip Far

D.I.M - Is You (Brodinski Remix)

Six Feet Under - Main Theme (Photek Remix)

Underworld - Born Slippy (w/ Ludacris - Satisfaction Acapella)

Air - Mer Du Japon (Kris Menace Remix)

Big Shit Poppin'

9/9 Olmec Night @ The Mug

9/23 HH101 Party @ Socos

9/30 @ ???

10/5 DayGlo @ N.College Center

 

Summer Sampler

Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl
Acapellas - Rihanna "Please Don't Stop The Music," Suzanne Vega "At the Diner"
Hood Internet - Shorty get Looks
Usher - Love In This Club (MSTRKRFT Remix)
Dizzy Rascal - Sirens (Acid Girls Remix)
Jape - Floating (D.I.M Remix) Vs. Boys Noise - Oh! (A-Track Remix)
Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Greg Kurstin Remix)
Stanton Warriors - Who's Afraid of Detroit?
Acapella - Gorillaz "Feel Good Inc."
Partial Arts - Cruising
Acapella - Spank Rock "What It Look Like"
Stanton Warriors - Make em' Shake It
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Nuckles Remix)
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Okenfold Remix)

What a fucking Summer. I'm not yet in a position to give a full retrospective, but let's just say I haven't had nearly as much time for this DJ shit as I predicted. For some reason sitting down at my computer is never an attractive option when you're lodged in the heart of Tokyo. I've officially fallen in love with this city; coming back is no longer an 'if' but 'when.' The first half of this mix was stitched together before my flight, the rest is my Summer. That deep house you hear - a little nod to the increduble Japanese scene. 'Blind' has been my summer jam so far; can't wait to spin this vinyl. Rounding things out we've got Radiohead, who I'm seeing in about 3 weeks. at APW Oh and did I mention I'm going to Fuji Rock? MBV, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Grand Master Flash? Beeyawh!

まだまだ

Anarchy - Switch Sides
ComaーChi - 放浪
Kemui - Right
Bronk - 渓流にひる便
Kan & Dj Krush - Mosa
MackaーChin - Inori
Kan Freestyle


Not really a demonstration of any mixing skill but here's a little Japanese hip hop produced for the さくらまつりfestivities here at Vassar. A little awkward to play on stage for my teachers and peers, but the project was a blast to make. Since Apple only lets you buy from your national store, I had to order a itunes.jp gift certificate straight from the islands then get the back barcode scanned/emailed over to me. Well worth it, I found some great stuff. Definitely a bit disorienting stepping into an entirely new music scene but I was able to pick out Kan and Anarchy as two aces in there. DJ Krush as well but that goes without saying. Look forward to more in the Jap style over the next weeks, I'll be there through all of June and July. Already overwhelmed and I haven't even left...

From the Dead...

Freshman Mini-Mix

Justice - Stress (Auto Remix) w/ Luda - Stand Up
Madonna - 4 Minutes (Bob Sinclar Space Funk Mix)
Estelle - American Boy (Stockholm Syndrome Mix)
Justice - DANCE (mstrkrft mix)
A-track - Stronger
Mia vs. Ocelot - Our Boyz


Mini-mixes are the shit. New tip named Paper Route Gangstaz from Diplo and Benzi just dropped - Excellent. It definitely takes a unique talent to condense songs into such a short composition. For this one, I tried to keep everything 1:30, including transitions. A little disappointed that I could only fit 6 tracks in, but realistically that was the ceiling. El Presidente requested this mix to provide a bit of ambiance prior to an event he's throwing. I'm not really sure if this is what Joey had in mind but I think it's pretty aight. All the remixes are from this year so it's got that little theme going for it as well. Headbang to this shet. Reflective meta-post up soon....

Soulfire

Coldcut - Colors of The Soul Vs. Lil' Wayne - Fireman

Welcome Mads readers! Today I'm serving up a track I'm especially fond of. Instrumentals courtesy of a fine English trip hop duo you may not have heard of, Coldcut. And of course, that's none other than lil weezy himself on the vox. It's hard not to respect Lil' Wayne, despite him fitting the "self-obsessed hip-hop twerp" stereotype quite perfectly. Nevertheless, he's probably the post prolific rapper out there, spitting out quality mixtapes left and right. I'm working with Back on My Grizzy, another Weezy track, for my next set and it's another mindbender. Just listen to this beat and tell me you don't wanna break something.

Take it easy people, and check out my back-catalog if you haven't already!

Throw Some Funk on Dat Bitch

Daft Punk - Da Funk (Casino Inc) Vs. T.I. - Throw Some D's

I've had these two tracks matched up in my set for a while and finally decided to render them out together. This Da Funk remix is one of the best I've heard - walks the house/disco line with precision. Match that up with TIs drawly flow and you've got a hit. TI isn't your typical pop rapper...or maybe he is; I don't really listen to a lot of TI. One thing's for sure though - Top Back and Throw Some D's are both legit bangers. His choppy flow in the middle of this a capella fits well over the breakdown in the instrumental. It's a shame he insists on keeping his songs locked below 80bpm, but I guess that's a matter of taste. Go go gadget Ableton!

2 Million Wamps

Cmos - 2 Million Ways Vs. Clipse - Wamp Wamp

So here's your classic disco house track, spiced up with a dash of the hottest rapper out of VA since....ever. Clipse blows my mind. I definitely want to start working with their vocals more, maybe trill or keys open doors. DJ Benzi has an entire mixtape out devoted to them but I haven't been able to snag it yet. If anyone out there has this, hit me up! This is an example of a track I don't really see a need to pre-render. I keep the a capella and instrumental separate in Ableton and sync them in real time - easy enough. The payoff of this risk is being able to manipulate or isolate each as I go. Definitely a crowd pleasing move.


wamp wamp, bitches.

March Demo

Chaka Kahn - I Know You, I Live You
Mylo - Doctor Pressure (Dirty Radio Edit)
Chromeo - Tenderoni
Le Castlevania - Trouble in Daylight
Daft Punk - Robot Rock (Radio Edit)
Death From Above 1979 - Sexy Results
Cmos - 2 Million Ways (Axewell Remix)
Annie - Heartbeats (Krazy Fiesta Remix)
Atom - Doomed Thriller
VNDLSM - Every Woman
Ying Yang Twins - Salt Shaker (KillPhil Remix)
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (Unreal Mix)
ABX - I Rhymed Slow in 1991
Daft Punk - Aerodynamic (Daft Punk Mix)
Kayne West - Stronger (A-Track Remix)
Moby - Natural Bitch (Re-Edit)
Justice - DANCE (MSTRKRFT Remix)
Justice - Phantom pt. II
Timbaland - The Way I Are (Better Off Alone Mix)
Adam K - Twilight
Feist - 1234 (Van She Tech Remix)
Destiny's Child/Calvin Harris - Nasty Girls Are Accepted
Fergie - Glamorous (Treasure Fingers Remix)
MSTRKRFT - Street Justice
Bee Gees - Stayin Alive (Teddy Bears Remix)
Daft Punk - DaFunk (Casino Inc Remix)
Rihanna - Umbrella (VNDLSM Remix)
ACDC - Thunderstruck (Tittsworth Remix)
Chicken Lips - He Not In (Vandalism Remix)
A-Track - Wampercycle
Cassie - Me and U (Eli Banger Mix)
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Mercurius FM Remix)
Spank Rock - Orange Alert (DFA Remix)
Twista - Freestyle
Laidback Luke - Excerpt from Essential Mix
Will Smith - Miami (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
Kayne West - Flashing Lights (Diplo Remix)
Justice - DVNO (Surkin Remix)
Public Enemy - Bring the Noise (Ferry Corsten Radio Edit)
Buddy Akai - Cut Me Up (Villains Remix)
Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches (Villains Remix)
Digitalism - Idealistic
Pokemon - Theme Song (Abrahammer Mix

African Atlions

Toto - Africa Vs. Outkast - Atliens

Simple mashup again. This song by Toto is damn classy, definitely deserving of Andre's vocals. If you don't recognize the tune, listen for when the chorus comes crashing back in towards the end. This is a total 80's TV Compilation track. Oh and peep this: (Hilarious)

Later, people

Lil' Phantom

Justice - Phantom Pt. 2 (Boys Noize / Soulwax) Vs. Lil' John - Get Low

Ah the always venerable remix-of-a-remix. I've had this phantom piece sitting in my set for a while now. It's a true Justice banger, no doubt about that, but it is definitely a little bit off putting to the untrained ear. Solution: Pop-rap. Lil' John's grungy vocals complement that sidechain-crushed bassline nicely. I may return to this track to add a little more than one verse, but I don't usually like to play this song for too long anyway so this may be the perfect dose.


Shazam

Ghostbusta'

Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters Vs. Busta Rhymes - Dangerous

So walking back from Girl Talk, I was abducted. Russell, Winston and I, far too drunk to refuse, were led into Davidson, single file, by a similarly intoxicated junior whose name I may never remember. Some illegal shit went down, and then she put on this ghostbusters mashup that rocked my skull. The seed was planted. Last week I finally got around to doing something about it with this Busta Rhymes track. Diddn't involve a lot of effort, but it got the basic job done. I feel like I may need to revisit this in a few weeks to give that extra dash of Live spice, but for now I feel good putting it up.


Hope you like

In Da' Woman

Whitney Houston - I'm Every Woman (VNDLSM) Vs. 50 Cent - In Da' Club

I like this blend. Made this one a while ago but it's been a consistent top dog in my set. VNDLSM keeps pumping out these sidechained bangers and 50's staccato flow works well right on top. Nothing too fancy here. I did test the waters a little bit with a brief vocal chop, but I tend to stray away from those things. I definitely had "Ain't nothin' changed hos down Gs up, I see Xzibit in the club and nigga roll dem trees up" stuck in my head for weeks, had to do something with that line.

Peak party material here.

Nineteen Galangs

RJD2 - 1976 Vs. MIA - Galang

This track more or less marks the beginning of my experimentation with glitch hop. It's difficult to work in this style on a Mac, given the lack of some key plugins. Oooh, if I could just get my paws on a little DbBlue..... In lieu of that, I have something called excessive production. It's not practical, not easy, and impossible to do live, but it comes out sounding pretty straight. This tracks is not so much a mash as a seamless blend. It crosses the line between tracks and then slithers back to finish things off. Got this idea from an obscure RJD2 mix album I came across recently and ripped it right off.

77Nations

White Stripes - 7 Nation Army (Techno Rmx) Vs. Nostalgia 77 - 7 Nation Army (Cover)

This is what you might call a secret weapon. The party's thumping, going at maximum speed. Heavy bass lines dropping left and right, disco sirens blaring, lasers blips flipping through the beat. Then this thumper comes on with a french-compressed sawblade and it looks like its gonna keep on rocking things. It's a familiar one to boot, who doesn't know the white stripes at this point? Then Olmec hits the brakes; whiplash all up in your cervical shit. The vocals in Nostalgia's cover are absolutely killer, and help ease the transition between these two antitheses.

This isn't a song to be dropped lightly, all about the strategic positioning here.