The Bird House

Category: Video

  • Whoa!!

    The last few months I\’ve been invited to be a part of Breaking Sundays an \”electro-jam\” featuring a DJ, bassist (Juanlu of Calima/Ojos de Brujo,) vocalist (Ramon Mirabet,) and guest musicians, such as Cameron Moore, Jordi Mestres, Darryl Clark and others.

    This Sunday for most of the night it was like the video below–Juanlu had another commitment…

    Later, Juanlu came by and brought a friend.  Initially, I thought \”Hey this guy is pretty good…\”  and even by the time the next video was shot, I\’m not sure I knew who was on stage with me…

    …But it didn\’t stop me from dropping the classic Stalag riddim–basis of such dancehall hits as \”Ring the Alarm\” by Tenor Saw,  \”When A Man\’s In Love\” by Yami Bolo and the massive \”Bam Bam\” by Sister Nancy. 

    Ladies and gentlemen, I was honored to be sharing the stage with MACACO!  Former member of Ojos de Brujo (like Juanlu) collaborator with Michael Franti of Spearhead and international star in his own right… 

    He was really fun onstage, captivated the crowd and seemed to be enjoying himself.  Here\’s the funny part: about two weeks ago he was playing in Sitges and I wanted to go to the show, but I couldn\’t as it was sold out.  I knew some of his music and that he was \”big,\” but I had NO idea how he looked…

    I\’m sure there was more video taken last night–as I find it, I will post it!

    I mentioned Michael Franti earlier, so here\’s a video that he did with Macaco that was shot (partly) in Sitges!

  • The Elements (Something Else! on Wtnr Radio.com for 12/6/12)

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    After the Intro, I drop a nice instrumental I found on vinyl at \”The DJ Shop\” in Barcelona (one of the few left,) Discos Paradiso in the Raval.  They have an online store, but if you live here or come to visit, you MUST stop through–the staff are quite nice and the selection is very good!  Following that is an appropriately named track by a great producer I\’ve only recently been turned onto (thanks to Nick Tichener,) Cuetec.  Soundcloud out of Berlin, Germany has really been a great way for DJs and producers to find each other and even listeners can join in the fun!  I highly recommend getting an account and searching for DJs, producers and even music labels you already like.  Sometimes there will be advance versions or free stuff for fans!  I\’ll get you started with pages for T-Bird, Maxey Blaze, Los Chicos Altos, UrbanWorld Records, Spring Strut Records and Wonderwheel Recordings!  Hot 8 Brass Band are definitely *hot* now, but if you\’re a regular listener you already know I love New Orleans music…  Adian Coker brings the UK Hiphop with the usual elements I dig, clever wordplay and a dancefloor-oriented beat!  Thanks to a remix by Yam Who? that I heard on Soundcloud, I was turned onto Genius Collective of Birmingham, UK (Brummies bringin\’ it!)  I chose to play the mellower original version of their tribute to countrywoman, \”Stronger Than Me\” a cover of Amy Winehouse.  You can download on their Bandcamp site here.  In addition to playing new music, I also like to \”dig in the crates\” for older tracks as well…  V.U. (for Variable Unit) is from Berkeley (SF Bay) label Wide Hive and I picked this from a compilation I received from them in \’99
    or \’00.  Seems that there is a trend of making house tracks out of well-known hiphop samples, the example in this set being a \”house-ification\” of David McCallum\’s \”The Edge,\” which was used for Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg\’s \”The Next Episode.\”  Candi Staton had been working in dance music for many years but left to focus on gospel.  Now that dance music regularly incorporates gospel, she seems to have returned–good for us!  Along with a great groove, the message is uplifting in \”Hallelujah Anyway.\”  The next track is the newest from Argentina\’s Ricky Ryan.  He is a heavyweight in the DJ world, having worked with folks like John Digweed.  SBU-1-ZN is another Soundcloud master, from South Africa.  As I told him when he had me listen to \”Dig It,\” I feel this has \”classic\” written all over it!  I wind down the set a bit with Anakelly\’s jazzy take on the Peter Frampton classic \”Show Me The Way.\”  The closing tune, however is a bit of a celebratory one–Earth Wind & Fire getting down from their classic album All \’N All which is 35 years old now!  I manage to sneak quite a bit of their music in my shows–they were super-influential on me as a youngster and musical person…  As a bit of a bonus, here\’s a link to an interview with Larry Dunn, a founding member and ex-keyboardist/musical director, about All \’N All and the group that made it.

    Something Else! Intro – Dj T-Bird
    Scribble – Yennah              
    Soft Lights Sweet Music & You – Cuetec
    Fine Tuner – The Hot 8 Brass Band
    Airs & Graces – Adian Coker   
    Stronger Than Me (Acoustic Tribute to Amy Winehouse) – Genius Collective
    Minus One – V.U.
    The Edge – Robosonic
    Hallelujah Anyway (Larse Vocal) – Candi Staton
    Lemon Aid (Can Costa Mix) – Ricky Ryan
    Dig It (Deeper Vox Mix) – SBU-1-ZN  Feat. Lady Sloenna
    Show Me The Way – Anakelly
    Magic Mind – Earth, Wind and Fire

  • Happy People (Something Else! for 4/19/2012 on Wtnr Radio.com)

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    Just returned from K

  • Interview with the crew (Los Chicos Altos)!

    Urban World Records posted a video of Maxey Blaze, Claudia of Palo Q\’sea and I talking about the new Los Chicos Altos EP, Se Va Mamba.  It is available March 16th at Juno!