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The Something Else! Intro leads us into another sonic journey. \”Goo Goo Wah Wah\” by Wah Wah Watson starts out with some talkbox-guitar funk, like the music from Car Wash set loose from pop-song sensibilities. If the guitar sounds familiar, you might recognize it from Mr. Watson\’s work with Norman Whitfield (who wrote all the music for Car Wash and used to be a Motown house producer) or maybe Herbie Hancock\’s pre-80s funk (e.g., Manchild, Flood, Secrets.) \”Fire Eater\” by Rusty Bryant is one of those classic, but still powerful, Hammond organ-driven, soul-jazz romps that always work for me. \”After the Fire\” by Kabuki features one of my favorite UK vocalists, Cleveland Watkiss aka \”Origin\”–strictly British butter (as in \”smooth as…\”) \”Cumbia Infierno (Toti & Andy Loop Fat Beat Remix)\” by La Troba Kung F

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Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, come inside, come inside…

This week\’s show is one where I feature modern grooves along side their inspirational sources. Our opening example is \”Rhythm of the Drum\” by M64 – Ragen Fykes + Ohmega Watts from the Record Breakin\’ sampler I mentioned last week. The following track provides the electric piano groove foundation, \”Summer Madness (Live)\” by Kool & The Gang. While their biggest songs will always be \”Celebration\” and \”Ladies Night\” from the 80s, they had a long career as a quasi-jazz group that had more than a passing familiarity with the funk (an earlier funk hit was \”Hollywood Swingin.\’\”) \”Movin\’ In the Right Direction\” by Steve Parks is the original break for acid-jazz classic \”Talkin\’ What I Feel\” by the Young Disciples. Both soulful cuts leading into a few tracks that I have always liked–\”Funny (Bone)\” by Chic and classic Eddie Kendricks\’ groover \”Girl, You Need A Change of Mind.\” It\’s nice to hear a Chic song that is just a good groove since the main writers were both primarily musicians (guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards) and later produced smash albums for famous singers: Diana & Let\’s Dance by Nile Rodgers (for Diana Ross & David Bowie, respectively) and Riptide by Bernard Edwards for Robert Palmer. \”GUM (Daz-I-Kue Remix)\” by DnS is another one of those cuts from the Record Breakin\’ Sampler featuring the production skills of Daz from Bugz In The Attic–serious bass, I hope your speakers are ready! Next up a few classic turntablist tracks from fellow Californians and a very talented Parisian: \”Lesson 6 (The Lecture)\” by Cut Chemist (formerly of Ozomatli & Jurassic 5,) \”What Does Your Soul Look Like? (Pt. 4)\” by Dj Shadow (formerly of UNKLE) and \”Deiu Reconnaitra Les Seins\” by French wonder Dj Cam. I have to admit, these last few tracks feel a bit nostalgic for me–they remind me of my mid-late 90s Dj residencies in Los Angeles, helping to define the term \”acid-jazz\” or as the Solsonics titled their track, \”Jazz In The Present Tense.\” Generally people associate \”Superstition\” with its writer, Stevie Wonder, but Ahmad Jamal\’s cover provides us with the intro to the previous song and grooves us to a close for this week. Ahmad Jamal is a jazz piano legend and not generally known for being \”funky\” but, like the wind, the funk doesn\’t care about barriers we put up — it goes where it likes.

Speaking of the funk going where it likes — next Friday I\’ll be funking it up in Camden (London!) Check my Events page for details!

Stream or Download Unless you\’ve been successfully living under a rock until today, you know that Michael Jackson died last week. While I didn\’t want to do a full tribute show (many others would do a much better job than I and I have other music I wanted to share as well) I had to at least give a \”tip of the hat\” to the King of Pop. I start out with a remix I was recently turn onto of a recent Erykah Badu song, \”Honey (Souled Remix.)\” I\’m not sure which I prefer, but this one and Dj Day\’s are both excellent. I\’d heard of Dj Junior from Philly years ago, he has a label called Record Breakin\’ and thanks to Giant Step I have a sampler from the label! \”The Joy (Daru\’s Drop It Mix)\” by Joy Jones is the first of two that I feature from the collection. I really like the interplay between the lead and background vocals — sort of a conversation. Speaking of conversations, the next track features a songwriter I\’ve dug for many years speaking over one of his group\’s tracks (it\’s a bit of surgery on my part.) Just like Quincy Jones, I think Rod Temperton is an amazing songwriter and in my \”mini-tribute\” to Michael Jackson I have a music bed of \”Goin\’ Crazy\” by Heatwave underneath Rod Temperton\’s Commentary on first working with Michael Jackson. You can find the commentary as a bonus cut on newer versions of Michael\’s Off the Wall. So naturally I had to follow that with \”Off The Wall\” by Michael Jackson. He was a great talent and will be remembered for that long after all the other controversies die down. \”Feel The Pressure\” by Incognito is a soulful latin-flavored track with a breezy summer feel. What would summer be without a little reggae? \”Conquering Heart Dub (Blue King Brown\’s Be At Peace Remix)\” by John Brown\’s Body provides that bass to make you feel like you\’re in Jamaica (even if you\’re really in Massachusetts or Australia–where the band and remixers are from, respectively.) Substance M (Dubbwune Remix) by Dj Over-X is a dubstep track I was turned onto thru Soundcloud.com. I\’ve had an account there for a while and just started to make some contacts there. One of my contacts is Dubbwune, who led me to this remix he did for Dj Over-X–which I fell in love with. I\’m glad to be able to feature music like this! I led out of it with a dub-house classic \”Prophecy Reveal\” by the Ballistic Brothers. \”Cafe Cubana\” by Lil\’ Dave is another track from the Record Breakin\’ Sampler but this one is aimed for the dancefloor with the latin drum grooves front & center. Keeping it funky, I get to drop Grant Green track from his album \”Alive\” that you should all know, \”Sookie Sookie\”–famously sampled by US3 for \”Tukka Yoot\’s Riddim.\” Just like last week, I close the show with another Blue Note classic, albeit remixed, \”Move Your Hand (Club Mix)\” by Lonnie Smith & Michael Franti (Spearhead/Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.) It is never a happy occasion to bid an artist farewell, but I am glad that here we can focus on the music and that soon that\’s what most people will be talking about when the name Michael Jackson is mentioned. For those of you in the States have a fun, but safe July 4th holiday weekend — the rest of us will just enjoy another beautiful summer Saturday.

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The Something Else! Intro starts us off on another sonic journey…

Although \”Layin\’ In the Cut\” is the second track on Lonnie Smith\’s Move Your Hand (Pictured) it is our first song \”out of port\” as it were… It is nothing like the bebop he made his name on, but Dizzy Gillespie\’s \”Matrix\” sounded so familiar to me the first time I heard it, so I assumed it was a hiphop break. As Obi-Wan once told a young Luke Skywalker \”Trust your senses…\” Turns out it is used by The Beatnuts\’ \”World\’s Famous\” as you hear next. While we\’re in hiphop mode, it seems appropriate to drop the album version of \”Sounds Like Love\” feat. Debi Nova by Illa J. which has the unmistakable \”J Dilla\” sound. I\’m beginning to believe that Debi Nova must be hot property as she\’s on the Illa J track and Latin Project\’s \”Legal\” also feat. Kool Kojak. I\’m really enjoying Musica De La Noche and it\’s nice to be able to share more of the album with you. Another track with \”world vibes\” and an MC is \”From Day (Swara Remix feat. Kazz)\” by Double S & True Tiger from revolution rising: ethnotechno.com vol.1 presented by dimmSummer. \”Tengo Sed (Gavin Hardkiss\’ Amarillo Curioso Mix)\” by Batidos is one of those tracks I loved to play when I lived in LA, but lost touch with it when I moved. Fortunately, it\’s available digitally now at the I-Tunes store! They are one of my least favorite place to shill for, but some things aren\’t as easy to get if you don\’t live in the USA or UK. Who doesn\’t love Lisa Shaw\’s voice? Pair her with Mr. Petal Pusher and you get \”Do It for You feat. Li\’Shaw (Migs Petal Pusher Vocal Mix)\” by Miguel Migs. This is what house was meant to be! Oh and this too–\”Hold U feat. Manny\” by Roy Davis, Jr. As you probably know, I\’m a fan of the jazz group The Crusaders so I snuck in another one of my favorites by them \”Spiral\” from Those Southern Knights. We close out with another Blue Note jam, \”Down Here on the Ground\” by Grant Green — famously sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for \”Vibes & Stuff.\” Nice bookend track for the set, wouldn\’t you agree?

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I should have known with a name like Illa J that there was good reason to be reminded of J Dilla (aka Jay Dee or James Yancey.) Turns out the legendary producer has a younger brother… According to Amazon.com Jay\’s \”little brother\” John (Illa J) is using beats made by his late brother for his debut album \”Yancey Boys.\” What I start out with is a remix of the lead single \”Sounds Like Love (Carlos Ni

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Hey folks. Although there\’s a new track on the show, I was still kind of digging in the crates this week.

Markus Enochson & E-Man\’s \”I Am The Road (Bugz In The Attic Remix)\” is one of those tracks I always just dug. Good groove, marvelous vocals featuring E-Man (from Jon Cutler\’s house anthem \”It\’s Yours\”) and Rasiyah. Red Astaire\’s \”Follow Me\” was probably the first track I bought on the GAMM label after hearing it on Benji B\’s Deviation show on BBC\’s 1Xtra. A lot of wonderful things have since come out on that label and I\’ve been turned onto some great producers as well as hearing some interesting ideas from talents I was already familiar with. One of the few songs that ever got radio play by NWA was \”Express Yourself\” which is based on the funk & soul classic of the same name by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band — no relation to Eric \”Eazy-E\” Wright of NWA. I find it quite ironic that the MC on this cut (Dr. Dre) is speaking ill of smoking marijuana a few years before the release of his blockbuster album \”The Chronic\” (a reference to very strong \”Mary Jane.\”) Keeping things downtempo, Snowboy\’s \”Oya Ye Ye (UFO\’s Tender Moments Mix)\” is a chilled-out alternative to UFO\’s other, dancefloor-oriented uptempo mix of the same song. From the Orlando, Florida scene Swamburger gives us his ode to the common man and woman \”9 to 5 Poortrait.\” Rather than the gritty hyper-realism associated with hardcore hiphop, this track is actually rather sweet–but it doesn\’t shy away from the reality of poverty and its effect on families. DJ Venom is the son of Jean-Paul \”Bluey\” Maunick of Incognito. Both father and son have a love of Brazilian music and \”Case Solved (12\” Remix)\” is Venom\’s track from Brazilian Love Affair Remixed 2. \”Nice Up the Function (Remix)\” by Mr Scruff feat Roots Manuva would be the aforementioned new track from Scruff\’s Ninja Tuna album. Along with the music, Scruff also does his own artwork–I think he studied graphic design. Much sampled but still not trite, \”I Can\’t Help It\” by Michael Jackson sets up a bit of a soul vibe leading into Rahsaan Patterson\’s \”The Day.\” Back when Jill Scott was super-hot property she worked with a lot of artists, including 4Hero. \”Gotta Get Up (Another Day)\” is a classic soul meets live drum & bass track that came out on both artists albums — Jill\’s Experience: Jill Scott 826+ and 4Hero\’s Creating Patterns. Speaking of classic, Earth Wind & Fire wrote a song many years ago for leader Maurice White\’s (sort of) mentor–Ramsey Lewis. \”Sun Goddess (Live)\” is their version with Larry Dunn (their regular keyboardist at the time) in place of Ramsey Lewis. This is from their great album 70s album Gratitude, which is mostly live plus a few studio songs. The closer this week is a track I played at my Brazelona Sessions gig: Up Bustle & Out\’s \”Lyrica Volcanica (T-Bird\’s Barceloca Remix.)\” Everyone seemed to enjoy it there and I hope that you do as well!

I\’ve been sent a lot of new music since I put together this show, so there will be more new sounds next week!

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Guess I was feeling kinda classic this week, there\’s a lot of \”vintage cuts.\”

\”Mr. Welfare\” by Gladys Knight & The Pips is from the soundtrack to a wonderful, but long-forgotten 70s movie \”Claudine,\” starring Dihann Carrol & James Earl Jones (pre-Darth Vader, Virginia.) The music was composed and produced by the legendary Curtis Mayfield (best known for \”Superfly\” and \”People Get Ready\”) who wrote for many films in the 70s including Superfly, Sparkle & Short Eyes. Hiphop fans may recognize elements of \”Big Sur Suite,\” one of many \”breaks\” from Johnny Hammond (aka Johnny \”Hammond\” Smith.) A well-known name around the house when I was a child was Eddie Kendricks, the falsetto (sometime lead) vocalist for Motown\’s Temptations. \”My People\” was recently covered by Erykah Badu and is Eddie Kendricks\’ song from the 70s to uplift African-Americans (although it is applicable to many others of various heritages) feeling beleaguered by the various torments of the times. Lightening things up a bit, \”Wizard Island\” is an upbeat jazzy track from the 80s by The Jeff Lorber Fusion. As a note of interest, the saxophone on this tune is played by one Kenneth Gorelick — better known as \”Kenny G.\” As you can hear, the guy can really play — too bad about the sappy-sounding stuff he later made his name on. Back when another 80s icon seemed to be ruling the pop world, namely Prince, this next song \”Cool\” popped up and was attributed to a group called The Time. If you listen closely, you can hear Prince all over this track and according the \”real\” credits on an unofficial site for The Time called What Time Is It? Morris Day is the additional lead vocalist, there are background vocals by Lisa Coleman (from the Revolution, Prince\’s band) and all other vocals (including lead) and instruments are by Prince. Roy Ayers is a man who has managed to successfully bridge the gap between jazz, funk, disco, soul, hip-hop and house. \”Don\’t Stop The Feeling\” is Roy Ayers in a jazzy funk mode with some disco appeal–sounds stupid in print, but it works sonically. \”Maxxed Out\” is by sideman extraordinaire, Greg Phillinganes (Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton) flexing his vocoder-funk style. Sounds a bit like Herbie Hancock, but he\’s not a bad person to be compared to, y\’know? \”Robot Return (Modern Sleep Over Part 2)\” by Talc is an contemporary example of the enduring appeal of vocoding (the technique of making instruments, usually keyboards, sound as though they are \”singing.\”) An odd bit of history about vocoders: invented by Homer Dudley at Bell Labs, the technology precedes World War 2 and was invented to transmit more than one call at a time over telephone lines. Later it was used to guard Winston Churchill\’s telephone calls from Axis spy attempts. The musical uses came much later as much of the information about vocoding was kept secret until the 70s. \”Dead End\” is from another 80s jazz album called \”Ghetto Blaster\” by The Crusaders. The main composer of The Crusaders is Joe Sample (the keyboardist) who was speaking on \”Tales (Reprise)\” by Marcus Miller a few weeks ago. The Crusaders were initially known to record-buyers as The Jazz Crusaders and were much more straight-ahead jazz-oriented initially. As they became more \”soul jazz\” oriented their name changed to simply The Crusaders. \”Morris Brown\” by Outkast closes out this week\’s show and is another song from a movie. The film, Idlewild,features both members of Outkast–Big Boi & Andre 3000.

By the way, if you want to dig a little deeper with some of the classic soul & jazz featured on this show, check out some of the \”Blogs I Dig…\”

Enjoy & see you next time!

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Hey folks, something special this week — a theme! In preparation for a gig at a popular Barna spot, Brazelona Sessions (every Tuesday @ Sidecar Factory 12-5am) I decided to go \”worldly.\” Brazelona Sessions is one of the few, if not only, regular world-music dance clubs in Barcelona. My buddy Nickodemus from Turntables on the Hudson (new album pictured) plays there every time he comes to Barcelona (a few times a year.) Although I will be sticking to world-music for that night, there\’s a lot of \”wiggle-room\” — I can play music from as many continents as I want, just as long as it all flows and people dance…

Getting back to the show, the ever-present \”Something Else! Intro\” opens up the show and then we dive head-first into the rhythms with \”What Is This?\” from Sergio Mendes\’ grammy-winning album Brasilero. I\’ve always adored that song and don\’t get enough opportunities to play it. Next up, Finland goes latin with \”Diana Park Nights\” by NuSpirit Helsinki. I don\’t know how it happened, but those Finns really get jazz and latin… \”Ring My Bell\” by Blood Sisters is from one of my favorite cover albums Hustle – Reggae Disco: Kingston, London, New York on the Soul Jazz Label. \”Sips & Magic\” feat. The New York Gypsy Allstars is from the new album by the aforementioned Nickodemus. Bellydance is huge in Barcelona and you can hear why Nickodemus would be able to play here so much. A slight move \”eastward\” in the sound (say, India) is provided by the intro of \”Superbowl Sundae.\” Often Ozomatli is considered a latin-hiphop fusion, but since the beginning they have had other musical influences as demonstrated by this song from their first album. \”Don\’t Joke With A Hungry Mother\” by Spanky Wilson & The Quantic Soul Orchestra Vs Lanu is a slight afro-feeling remix of a track I always liked (Seiji\’s remix of \”Don\’t Joke With A Hungry Man\”.) While looking for electro-house tracks online I stumbled upon \”Acid Bells (Martyn\’s Dark Mix)\” by Efdemin–broken-beat percussion madness. An evergreen for deep house djs & fans is Dubtribe Sound System\’s \”Equitoreal\” for the slight tribal vibe and great groove. \”Wha Blo\” by Phil Asher presents Focus is something I came across on my London trip earlier this year–thanks to the shop Sounds on Portobello Road! We close out with a song I\’ve always loved since it came out in the pre-superstardom era of Michael Jackson. One might wonder what on Earth Mr. Jackson is doing in a world-music set, but \”Workin\’ Day and Night\” is full of exotic percussion (check the tabla pattern at the top) and without at least one surprise during the set wouldn\’t that would be dull?

Enjoy the set and if you\’re in Barcelona June 2nd, come by Sidecar Factory (Pla

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This week I not only do the show that this blog is for, but I have two Dj gigs in Barcelona!

Thursday the 14th I do my monthly \”Dj Dijous\” at Torre Rosa from 23.30-2.30h — funk, house, 80s and fun stuff… Friday I\’m at the Supernova Sessions in Poble Nou (The flyer is to the left) with my buddy Dj B.Boogie playing all that great downtempo goodness — funk, hiphop, reggae, latin, etc… The nice bit is that along with B.Boogie, Lady Emz (host) and myself, Sergio Godoy & Rangel Garcia are joining us on guitar & percussion, respectively! Niceness for the dancefloor…

On to the show… I was friended on Myspace (as we all are at some point) by a band. Fortunately, they are really good! I talked the leader into sending me an mp3 of our opener \”Nobody But You\” by Brixton Boogie, check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/brixtonboogie and tell them you heard about them here! \”Remember Who You Are\” by Sly & The Family Stone is a classic and hiphop break (A Tribe Called Quest\’s \”Afterhours\”) from an album that came out long after Sly\’s prime, Back On the Right Track. While I can\’t say the album is stellar there are definitely some heaters on there, so if you see it ignore the cover art (what Sly is wearing should be outlawed.)
\”Kickin\’ Back\” by Patrice Rushen is from an early album from the jazz/80s soul singer and pianist who is much better known for hits \”Forget Me Nots\” and \”Haven\’t You Heard.\” Many years ago a good friend told me \”Every song that is a hit in the USA, there is a version of it in Jamaica.\” What he didn\’t tell me was that some of them are better than the originals! \”Be Thankful for What You\’ve Got (Dub)\” by One Blood is not better than the original (William DeVaughn\’s version is a tough act to follow) but some of the other tracks from Soul Jazz Records\’ Hustle! Reggae Disco: Kingston, London, New York do out-class the originals. Next up, Ben E. King\’s \”Spoiled\” gets updated for the 21st Century by Bugz in the Attic\’s Daz-I-Kue feat. Bembe Segue & Colonel Red. \”Brothers On The Slide\” by Joey Poppette seems almost more like a remix of the Cymande original–but is good whatever it is… As you all know, or might have guessed, I\’m a big fan of the Bugz In The Attic crew. \”Batacumbele\” by Cachete y Seiji from Hecho En Casa Vol. 1 features one of the founding members, Seiji and gets us into a latin bag which sets us up for \”Roda Piao (Spiritual South Rmx)\” by Azymuth a futuristic dancefloor-oriented samba. \”Ufo In Brazil\” by Weisz gets extra-terrestrial before we get even more \”spaced-out\” with \”Changing of the Herb\” by T-Bird. I like to occasionally dropping in music I\’m working on, it makes this show a bit more unique… Herbie Hancock is known for updating his classics from time to time and \”Butterfly\” is no exception. This version is from an album I really dug, but wasn\’t that popular – Dis Is Da Drum. We close out the show with \”Audio Teleport\” by Stone Detectives, a track that I played for you when I first heard it on Absolute!! Sounds From Tokyo[Compiled by Aroop Roy] Although I generally try not to replay tracks, this just felt right as the closer… Aroop Roy is on the road and sharing with us folks not lucky enough to hear him at home in Tokyo, keep up with his dates on: http://www.myspace.com/arooproy