Category Archives: deep house

By Your Side

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So the last day or so, I was reminiscing over some of the old house music tracks I either have or used to dance to. On my own facebook page, I posted youtube links to four separate vids that showed the talents of one Kenny Dixon, Jr. – otherwise known as Moodymann.

Well, while perusing through some of his old records on the discogs site, I found a few gems. Then, I ran across some folks making a claim that he had remixed Sade’s “By Your Side”. Well, that claim has been proven false, however. To be honest? The remix just doesn’t have the typical Moodymann sort of sound to it. Instead, it’s from the boys at Naked Music, which makes much more sense, if you think about it.

Download Sade – By Your Side (Naked Music remix)

Anyhow, that will be one of the tracks listed here. The other is possibly the most well known of all of Sade house remixes. Ben Watt is part of the duo Everything But the Girl, and can you all believe the man is pushing fifty years of age? Wow. Makes me feel that much older, to be honest. Well, here you have his Lazy Dog remix of “By Your Side”, which has easily withstood the test of time. I played this track once at a small gig for a friend a few years back, not realizing that this song was a personal fav of his and his wife’s. So this one is, in a way, going out to Danielle and Fran. A great and unbelievably happy couple that just amazes me with how they do it.

Download Sade – By Your Side (Ben Watt’s Lazy Dog Club Mix)

Since I mentioned Moodymann, I think it’s only fair that I post one of my personal favorites of his. It’s the typical Moodymann, as it’s along the lines of “Shades of Jae” in that it works best as a tool over other tracks, but in the right place? It works on its own. Here’s “I Can’t Kick That Feeling When It Hits”. Seriously a legendary tune. You’d be making a mistake by at least not taking a listen.

Download Moodymann – I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits

And I’m in a subdued state. So no smartass comments this week. Just make sure you support these guys.

Put the needle on the record…

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If you checked out my post here, you know that I have been busy ripping vinyl like a mad man. It’s not a ton of fun…but one good thing that has come out of it is that I am rediscovering my music collection.

I have DJ’ed in Seattle, Orlando, and Las Vegas. While going through my tracks I think I’ve found tracks that remind me of each city or specific gigs.

Well it’s some angle to share some of this music with you. It’s important for me to share this music for a few reasons. With all the amazing electronic music I have procured from the blogs over the last few years…it’s important for me to do the same. To give back in a sense.

When I check hypem.com for the music I am about to rip, I see that a lot of my own great records are nowhere to be found on the interwebs. Some of them must predate blogs…so I want to get some of this quality music out there for you! Although these tracks are old, I can say confidently that I still think they are relevant and will get your crowds fired up!

Fex – Last Train (Marine Parade)
It’s a record I picked up while record shopping after some gigs I had in Orlando. Breaks are King in Florida and this record never goes over that well in the West…but it’s hot and I will continue dropping it.

Download Fex – Last Train

Brett Johnson – Somewhere Between Here and ThereBrett Johnson, Deep House Master
This track reminds me of the fantastic Deep House scene in Las Vegas. The underground electronic scene in Vegas is almost exclusively Deep House and can be heard in many of the long running house parties. If you are looking for a place to check out Deep House in Vegas I suggest Soul Kitchen or Sound Bar. I am sure I picked up this gem at the now defunct Liquid 303 in Las Vegas and it got a lot of spins in the also defunct Utopia Patio.

Download Brett Johnson – Somewhere in Between Here and There

Haitras – It Was (Screw Loose Mix)
Seattle’s Rave scene is second to none. I’ve played to raves up there and they know how to party. I am sure I have played this track there, or something that sounds like it. It’s dark yet energetic. Just how they like it. This song would totally fit into any electro house set even today. Don’t sleep on this one…again.

Download Haitras – It Was (Screw Loose Mix)

Support all of these artists by buying more of their amazing work.

500 Words of Pleasure and a Few More of Pain

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I’m hoping to sell my house and find a new one. The market has made my home a bad investment. It’s too bad. I do love this house and its location, but knowing that I can find a better house for a better price makes it the right time.

One of the bummers of thinking about moving again is the giant vinyl collection I have already lugged through two different moves. The thought of doing it again makes me wanna just leave it here for the next owner to deal with!

I am a “bedroom” DJ. I have been for much of my life. I have “gigged” out, but being a DJ doesn’t pay my bills, and I don’t like alcohol enough to bother playing for an open bar tab anymore. The art of making a mix tape with two turntables isn’t something I can give up. Especially with the excitement that Serato brings me. Serato just enables such a creativity that it makes DJing more fun than ever before.

The plan, then, is to digitize as much of this record collection that I can and then to sell my children…I mean my records… before I move.

This plan stresses me out though. For many reasons:

1. It’s time consuming.

2. It’s like scaling Mount Everest.

…and maybe most importantly:

3. I stress that I am not getting the best quality of my rips from Vinyl to MP3.

I have spent some money on gadgets that promised to make this task easier, to only discover that it either complicates the process or the quality just plain sucks. There are many things to consider in ripping as far as quality. Where do you keep the gain and EQs at? Do you need an archiving needle? Does running it through a particular mixer affect quality?

One issue is that in the current configuration of my studio I have my decks/mixer right on top of some computer equipment. I feel like I can hear some noise on the rips because of it. I am debating on reworking my studio to just make this easier and cleaner to rip vinyl. /sigh

Then there is just the sound of vinyl. The warmth and depth of a needle on a groove comes with its pitfalls and perils. Pops and hissing is inevitable on a piece of vinyl. Especially if it’s an older record like the one featured in this post.

I guess I am using you all as guinea pigs. I ripped one of my favorite house records for you to listen to. Do you think the tracks sound good? Good enough to play in a club or for a mix set? Listen to the following tracks and please let me know in the comments?

Download Nathan Drew Larsen – Five Minutes of Pleasure Two Minutes of Pain

Download Nathan Drew Larsen – Mirari

Nathan Drew LarsenThese two tracks are from the label Simple Soul Records. The label might be defunct now. I can’t find much info about the label on Google, and the website for the label seems to be down. The artist is Nathan Drew Larsen. He is a DJ and producer from the home of house, Chicago. He has a few AKA’s: House of Black Dress; Mise En Place; Emile Coue; Red Shift. Nathan started DJing in the early ‘90s at loft parties in Chicago. Nathan currently records exclusively for Fresh Meat Records, the label he and Mazi, another Chicago house producer, own and operate. Nathan’s 10 years of production draws from the traditions of Chicago’s early deep house scene as well as from his regular use of vintage instruments and effects, his focus on improvisation and live performance, and the clear influence of disparate musical forms including psychedelica, motoric, and pop.

A few more things to note.

For one thing, it might not make sense to rip your vinyl copy of Spiller’s Groovejet to MP3 if some one has done it for you. You could find that track at mykunk.com. It might be a good idea to search the interwebs or hypem.com for the track you’re planning to rip from your collection. You already bought it, so I suppose you can even do this guilt free!

Keep in mind that some of the problems with ripping vinyl can still be found in the MP3s to be harvested from the many music blogs out there. I’ve downloaded tracks from blogs that actually had a record skip make it into the MP3 copy!

The last thing I want to mention is the use of a post-ripping tool that I’ve used to do some cleaning up of the audio files. It’s a tool I use on all my music that I play through Serato. It’s called Platinum Notes. On the software company’s website, they say this about the software:

Platinum Notes makes your tracks sound incredibly smooth. Designed by professional DJs and musicians, Platinum Notes improves your files and gives them warmth, perfect volume, and correct pitch. It removes distortion and clipped peaks.

It’s used by many “superstar” DJs and bedroom DJs alike. I recommended it for any DJ playing digital media.

Summertime, And the livin’ is easy…

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It’s hot, and whenever the weather warms up I think about parties and dropping records. In the comments, share with me your memories and thoughts of summer.

This one is for you!

A little mix tape for the fans. All the music I used was found on music blogs across the interwebs.

Some of my favorite dance music blogs:
– discodust.blogspot.com
– stereogum.com
– electrorash.com

Support your music blogs! Hope you enjoy!

To download some of the music in DJ friendly form, Right click and Save As to download!

SETLIST
Release Me (Tv Rock Edit) – Zoe Badwi

Spraycan (Sharkslayer’s Respect to Nassau mix) – Renaissance Man

Get Down – Original Mix Jack Beats

I Want Your Soul (2007 Wizard’s Breaks mix) – Armand Van Helden

Lady (Harry Choo Choo Romero’s Titanium Dub) – Modjo

1979 (GlowTape!’s 2009 Remix) – Smashing Pumpkins

Subway (Left/Right Remix) – Kilowatts

Junk (Flashover Remix) – Ferry Corsten

Break On Through To The Other Side (BT Vs. The Doors Remix) – The Doors

Get The Party Started (Tyas & Lawrence Partycrasher Mix) – Pink

Don’t Stop Til’ You Get Enough (White Label Mix) – Michael Jackson

Since it’s the holidays, how about some gifts!

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So I fully had the intention of tracking down a bunch of my Jess and Crabbe records for this post. I’ve got six or seven of them. Anything from all three of their “Tribute” volumes to “The Big Booya EP” and more. Well, digging through all my records, I found a ton of stuff I just got so excited about. Not least of which was the one George spoke of in Monday’s post, which is Jackson & His Computer Band’s “Sense Juice EP”. So today, I will still be posting a Jess and Crabbe cut, but I have plenty of other tracks in store. All are in the vein of house music, so just kick back and enjoy. If you’re somehow averse to house music? Well, just imagine being in a nightclub when this stuff is coming much louder and you’re surrounded by people who are just out for a good time!

First up is Jess and Crabbe. These two dudes from France make some great shit! This one if off the EP “The Hell and Back”, and is the title track. If you want to know where the sample comes from? It’s from a hip-hop group called Da Youngstas, and the track samples is “Iz U Wit Me”. I actually had that groups first album. That’s me showing my age, obviously. So here’s Jess and Crabbe’s “The Hell and Back”.

[Download Jess & Crabbe – The Hell and Back]

Next up are two tracks from a mix CD by Cevin Fisher (Dangerous Disco, the Adventures of Double O Cevin) I heard about ten years ago. There were two tracks that stood out – The Avenue’s “I Am (Filthy Rich’s own mix)” and Agent Purple’s “Kings of Spain (Mandrax Lower East dub)”. I somehow found two copies of the first record over the years (hell, I think I may have three, but that just shows you how much I love this song!), and I just recently came across a copy of the triple-pack unmixed vinyl of Fisher’s album, so I got both of these stellar tracks.

[Download The Avenue – I Am (Filthy Rich’s Own mix)]

[Download Agent Purple – Kings of Spain (Mandrax Lower East dub)]

Next up is the aforementioned Jackson and His Computer Band track. I first heard it on Lo-Fidelity Allstars contribution to the “On The Floor at the Boutique” series. It’s called “Makin’ It Happen” and good lord is it funky and just a stomper of a track! Just enjoy it!

[Download Jackson & His Computer Band – Makin’ It Happen]

The last two are classics. Two tracks that just make me love life and the fact that somehow I have managed to stay alive and kickin’. Terrence Parker is a fucking legend. If you don’t know soulful house, please do yourself a favor and look this guy up. This is certainly more my end of the spectrum, as he focuses more on the disco element with “Your Love”, but regardless, his stuff is awesome. “Your Love” has a backstory, of sorts, also. Problem is? I can’t find the story! Instead of even attempting to tell it, I will hope someone is nice enough to read this and explain. Story does go that it was dedicated to a late Detroit DJ and friend of Parker’s, but that’s as far as I will take it.

[Download Terrence Parker – Your Love]

And yes, I said I had two classics. Ever heard of South Street Player? Most people haven’t. What about Roland Clark? Maybe? Well, he did vocals on Armand Van Helden’s “Flowerz” and has been around for quite some time. He does the vocals on South Street Player’s “(Who?) Keeps Changin’ Your Mind” and to top that off? A video featuring the song, also. Some classic ’80’s breakin’. Not sure how it all ties in, but I figure if I start thinking too hard about it, my nose will start bleeding, and next thing I know, I’ll be in my 50’s and just waking up out of a coma.

[Download South Street Player – (Who?) Keeps Changin’ Your Mind]

And yes, this is where I tell you to buy this music! Hey, I did! So should you! And hell, for 99 cents a song at some places? It’s well worth it!