After what seems like years away, I'm headed back to Rio in a few hours! Because of plane changes and layovers, I won't actually get in until Wednesday morning though. But... Wednesday night, my good friend, Mary Byker, is kind enough to host a little 'welcome back' gig for me at he and his wife's lovely Leblon local, Mekong. He'll also be joining me on the decks as we get eclectic and funky.

I've missed everyone terribly... so, if you're in the neighborhood, do try and stop by and join me in for a cerveja bem gelada or maybe one of their specialty cocktails with mekong whisky. Hmmmmm whisky. It's been a long time and I'm ready for some Rio! Hope to see you all Wednesday!  
                                                                                                    
RSVP on Facebbok and spread the word! xoxo

Just in time to help get you through your monday, it's episode 16 of Deep & Dusted! Starting with a few slow burners and slowly building up to some funky disco edits and classics, Deep & Dusted 16 is the perfect soundtrack to your next night session or tantric sex party. With an unreleased track from Aeroplane, an exclusive edit from JP Soul as well as a couple of my own Sine Qua Non edits, episode 16 will take you there. Dim the lights and turn it up.

Deep & Dusted 16 on Londopn's, The Downlow Radio



Tracklisting:

1. Marshal Hain - Dancing In The City (Original Mix)
2. Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (Drop Out Orchestra Dub)
3. Amalia - All The Funk I Need (Volta Cab remix)
4. Imagination - So Good, So Right (Casual Encounters Dub Edit)
5. Maskio - Dear Sir (Extended Mix)
6. Aeroplane - Big Boys Don’t Cry
7. Charles Veal - If You Ever Needed Somebody
8. Phyllis Hyman - Tonight You And Me (Tee’s SQN Edit)
9. Guardian Angel - Last Funk
10. Q - The Voices of Q (Main Mix)
11. Touch- Just Like A Door Knob (Tee’s SQN Edit)
12. Radiance feat. Andrea Stone - You’re My Number One (Mungo’s Non Edit)
13. Night Bandit - Like A Thief In The Night (JP Soul Edit)
14. Melba Moore - This Is It (12″ Mix)

Super excited about this one! I finally tracked down a copy of one of my favorite disco funk tunes and just finished an extended edit, taking it form the original 7" mix into a proper dance floor version.

From Soundcloud: "Ice was formed in 1970 in Long Island, New York. Soon after the band would relocate to Paris, France and change their name to Lafayette Afro Rock Band, as they are best known. Their sound was a potent blend of funk breaks, disco flourishes and afro themes woven into a thick tapestry of sound. This rare b-side single by them (and my personal favorite), Time Will Tell, is extended here from the original 7" mix into something resembling a full 12" mix with dj friendly intro and outro. If this track doesn't make you wanna dance, check your pulse ;) "

Being a devoted geek to all things turntable related, I was floored by this clip that showed up on my facebook wall today via my old friend, Susan McKellar. The video shows an incredibly unique turntable, designed to 'play' the rings contained in a slice taken from a tree using some type of visual reader in lieu of a stylus. The visual data outputs to an interface where it is run through an algorithm that converts the data into notes on a piano. Amazing and beautiful.  This excerpt from the website explains more:

This new edit from my man, Merlin, showed up in my soundcloud inbox the other day and I found it worthy of sharing with you all.

Merlin has made his name in the hip hop world but his deep crates and eclectic taste transcends simple genre classifications. I think this is one reason we get along so well. It certainly has nothing to do with how we treat each other after a few drinks. But I digress.

Merlin's re-rub of this 1979 hit by Machine slows the tempo down a bit while punching it up with some extra percussion programming, adding some spice to the masala. And like all things spicy, this will make you sweat. Download, enjoy and stop by his soundcloud page and show some love. 

ps - sorry again, bud,  about your nose last time i was in nyc ;)

Wow, it's been a sad week in the world of music. As I sat down to write my last post, a belated obit to funky brother, Jimmy Castor, I learned of the passing of another favorite of mine, Johnny Otis. Only hours later, I learned of the passing of one of Johnny's protégés that would go onto achieve far greater fame than he ever would, Etta James. 

Johnny Otis (1921-2012)
Johnny Otis, born Ioannis Veliotes, was the child of Greek immigrants who grew up in the predominantly african-american area of Berkeley, California. He was enamored with black culture and music and once famously said, “I decided that if our society dictated that one had to be black or white, I would be black.”  This was in the severely segregated 1930's. In his career he would come to fame with his 1950's hit, "Willie and The Handjive" before helping launch the careers and mainstream acceptance of artists such as Little Richard and Etta James, whom sadly would pass on the same day as her mentor (see below). The later part of his career saw him producing unforgettable funk gems such as "Watts Breakaway" and helping to launch the career of his virtuoso son, Shuggie Otis. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Godfather of Rhythm and Blues, as he was often he refereed to as, was 90 years old.

Etta James (1938-2012)
Etta James' life was never an easy one. Sadly today may be the first time she has found peace in many years. The bluesy songstress, known for such heartbreaking songs as "I'd Rather Go Blind", was listed by Rolling Stone magazine at number 22 on their list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In her lifetime, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame after winning the coveted award on six occasions. Her epic successes, sadly, were mirrored by her epic struggles with heroin addiction. Life on the streets was no stranger to her, as documented in her track from 1972, "All the Way Down". She had managed to clean up her act, to some extent, and reemerged in the 1980's with her critically acclaimed album, The Seven Year Itch. She would soon be battling addiction and illness again however, finally succumbing to leukemia and other illnesses today, January 20th, five days shy of her 73rd birthday.

The music world lost a legend of the funk and disco sound the other day. Jimmy Castor passed away at the age of 71. The mainstream listening public may remember him as the creator of 'novelty' or 'party' records, such as "Big But Bertha" but b-boys, djs, producers and crate diggers know the real worth of this man's contribution to the world. His 1972 album, "it's Just Begun", with his then newly formed Jimmy Castor Bunch produced at least two tracks that will live on far longer than their creator. The title track, with its epic drum breaks and Jimmy's urgent sax, still has the power to launch a thousand b-boys onto the dance floor whenever it's dropped some 40 years after it's original release. And it's impossible to even count the number of times the vocal intro to his tune 'Troglodyte' has been appropriated by djs and producers. You know the one... the one proclaiming, "What we gonna do right here is go back. Way back. Back into time!" Yeah, that one! Thank you for all the funky good times, Mr. Castor. We all owe you one.

Featured below is my tribute edit to Jimmy Castor, of one of my favorite disco funk tunes of his, "E-Man Par-Tay". Download it, groove to it, love it and let his funk live on!

Friends of Earth where an obscure Japanese electro band active in the mid 1980's. Their 1987 ep, "Sex, Energy and Star", featured the godfather himself, James Brown, along side Maceo Parker on the sax, covering his classic jam, "Sex Machine". I recently rediscovered this one in my library and new immediately I had to give it the re-rub. The tempo has been bumped up slightly and a fat 4/4 909 kick has been added to propel the groove forward (the original seemed to plod along, imo). Some additional percussion has been added and sections have been edited to suit my taste. Enjoy!

As always, if you like the sound and are unfamiliar with the original, do yourself a favor (and the artist) and track down a copy. Although in this case that may prove exceedingly difficult!

Cultura Racional (Rational Culture) appeared on brazilian legend Tim Maia's extremely rare album, Tim Maia Racional Vol. 1. The story goes that he and his band were holed up ina house in Rio de Janeiro, supposedly working on their next studio album for his label but, in reality, were spending more time ingesting large quantities of mind altering substances. One evening, while under the influence, Tim got ahold of the book, "Universe in Disenchantment", which led the singer to convert overnight to this 'cult of energy'. He then insisted his band do the same and began reworking the album to preach the message of 'rational culture' described in the book and including cover art diagraming paths of energy. His record label was unimpressed, viewing the new album as unmarketable. Angered, Tim severed ties with his label and created his own label, Seroma, to release the project. A short time after (perhaps after the drugs had worn off), Tim became disenchanted with the cult and embarrassed at his album created to glorify the cult. All remaining copies of the Lp were pulled and destroyed, making this album the rarity it is and cementing it's spot in counterculture history. It is now recognized for being the funky masterpiece that it is, with Rolling Stone magazine putting it at number 17 in the top 100 brazilian albums of all time (if you can find it!). 
This edit let's the stoney groove roll along, while dubbing out Tim's repeated vocal mantra, 'We are gonna rule the world, don't you know, don't you know. Gonna put it together', while removing Tim's moreheavy handed preaching. 
Let's make this our personal mantra for 2012! The world is ours! Wishing you all the best in the new year. xo-->tee...