Category: Gig

So after a fun session and meetup on Thursday, I made my way up to Basel the next afternoon to play my usual spots, Amber Bar & Grenzwert. The staff always looks after me and their clients enjoy the music I play.
I was really fortunate that Friday one of my DJ buddies (actually, the person who got me started playing in Basel by introducing me to Grenzwert and owner Cecile), Kat LaLuna, was spinning for Radio X in Soft Space. DJ Feline, who has also hooked me up, was in the house too.
I recorded Friday\’s session at Amber and you can listen to part one above! I\’ll be adding the other parts to my Mixcloud page over the next few weeks. After my session at Amber Bar, I went to see Alma Negra playing at a cool venue, Schall und Rach, that appears to be a jazz club! Unfortunately, I didn\’t last long there–though Diego & Dersu were playing stellar tunes–I was just wiped out.
Saturday afternoon, I went to visit Klara (another spot I often DJ) and saw my buddy Nik, who was quite busy–due to the popular football matches being shown that weekend. That evening I spun at Grenzwert, had a great time and went to bed quite early so I could be on my game to catch the train Sunday midday…
Upon my return to Geneva on Sunday, I dropped off my bags, changed my clothes and \”settled\” for a short while before heading back to Le Cormoran to play a sunset session by the lake as pictured above…

On Monday my host took me to meet an old friend of his in Fribourg. We had lunch with the old friend and his husband (a character) and then the 3 of us (the husband was busy after lunch) were taken around Fribourg on a personally guided tour by the old friend. These pictures are from the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (yes, that one!) First is a stamp (a room & board discount ticket, essentially) for pilgrims on \”The Way\” (El Camino) of \”Saint Jacques\” (Santiago) of Compostelle (Compostela.) Second are figures near the entrance of the cathedral. Is it just me or does the one on the right look like they\’re holding a mobile phone? Unfortunately, because I was concerned about time, we didn\’t get to see the old town of Fribourg–which sounds amazing to experience. Hopefully, I\’ll return another day and get to see that.
Upon return to Geneva, my buddy Moez met me at Le Cormoran and then we headed off to Le Petite Reine for a last minute session before my return to Barcelona!

A few days after my return to Barcelona was a very popular holiday here, Sant Joan. Essentially, it\’s the celebration of the Summer Solstice and is full of fireworks, firecrackers and parties until late… We had planned to see Nickodemus of Wonderwheel Recordings at Nómada Beach Club in Sitges. Unfortunately, he needed to stay in NYC that weekend and had to cancel his engagements. Being the good guy that he is, he recommended me to the owner of Nómada since I was already in Sitges and we have a lot of crossover in our DJ style. Via Los Chicos Altos (me & my production partner Maxey Blaze) I have some releases on Nickodemus\’ label. Above are some pictures from that night courtesy of my \”ride or die\” (who also played a hand in getting me booked for Sant Joan.) Center photo is a fabulous percussionist and sweet human, Miguel Guerrero. Photo to the right is me with DJ Diego DeLippo (Bongo Lounge/Dope Brothers) who played before my set and Big Papi\’s Abraham Figueroa (formerly of Dos Trece.) Unfortunately, we didn\’t get any photos of Jade Rolt who opened and closed the night, but her music is featured in the video below with the \”winged\” dancers.

Another interesting element of the Sant Joan event was the jam sessions that would happen from time to time during the evening. The leader was local legend and one of the more important members of the live music scene, bassist/bandleader/producer Juanlu Leprevost. Juanlu was an original member of Ojos de Brujo, who were so big that some USA labels were licensing their albums. He also founded Calima and is an important member of Fabrica de Colores–which platforms local music artists. At one point Dani Macaco, another former member of Ojos who has gone on to do great things (including collaborating with Michael Franti on a tune with a video shot in Sitges), joined in!

Let\’s close this entry out with a video of people having a good time to some music…