Tonight marks the triumphant return of the infamous RUN VDG party to top of Vidigal! Carnaval is in full swing here in Rio de Janeiro, the streets are packed with costumed revelers and the sun is blazing! But as the sun sets, giving way to the night, the party will continue and the rhythms will shift from the samba machinhas to beats of house and disco! I'll be kicking things off with some laid back tropical vibes until 1 AM. After that, I'll be handing over the reins to my Botafogo Social Club, bruvah from another mother, Mike Frugaletti. Mahara Belgrano will finish off the night, direct from Fishbone in Buzios. Check out some of her styles below and come join us later up on the hill! RSVP here for RUN VDG for discounted admission!
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With family obligations back in the States, January was a quiet month for me, musically. But that's is all about to change! I'm back in Rio and Carnaval is about to begin! Kicking things off properly this Friday, February 8, our Botafogo Social Club crew will again be joining forces with Brazilian Wax to bring you a special carnaval edition of BRAZA! Also on deck for the evening are members of venerable Rio-based crews, SuperRappin & The Groov. The location is a beautiful mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean! So come out and party with us under the stars for a night filled with bass heavy grooves: from disco, house ,boogie, booty, afro beat, electro or old school hip hop, ee got styles to shake every bunda! We are Time Out magazine's "Critics Choice for the evening! Read what they have to say! RSVP for Braza here and receive discounted admission! In honor of the occasion, I cooked up this little edit of a favorite old school electro track of mine, "Shackles" by RJ's Latest Arrival. The edit extends the vocoder laden grooves while introducing some brasilain percussion elements into the mix. Check out the free download below and come out this Friday, February 8th, to BRAZA CARNAVAL! As the Holiday season descends upon us and the mood becomes even more festive than usual around here, I'm preparing to spread a little holiday cheer around Washington DC! With four upcoming gigs this week and next, if you are in the Metro area, hopefully you will be able to catch me at at least one of these unique events! Tomorrow night (Dec. 15), if I'm still in one piece, I'll be rocking the decks with my homies from DC's own, All Good Funk Aliance, for the official Bananarchy after party at Jimmy Valentine's. Bananarchy is a roving event organized(?) by those lovable creatures from Camp Monkey Business, made to coincide with the less-inspired Santacon event, Santarchy. Booze will be drank, the piss will be taken and, hopefull, no one ends up getting nabbed by the Secret Service. If we all make it through the day, the monkey bizz will continue on the dancefloor of Jimmy's until we all get kicked out... which is hard to do there, one reason I love the place so much! On the 19th, you can catch me down at DC's legendary Science Club, alongside the City's own king of the edit, Ed The Metaphysical! I've been wanting to play with this guy for a while now and I'm really excited that it will all be going down. Come early for the delicious veggie food options and stay late to boogie with me and Mr. Metaphysical! Science Club - 1136 19th Street NW, Washington, DC The following night (Dec. 20), I'll be taking over for rare record don dada and proprietor of the venerable Som Records, Neil Becton, for a special night of all Brazilian music on vinyl! What better way to warm your body and soul on a cold winter night than shaking your booty to some hot brasilian grooves! It's all going down at Saint Ex but get there early; this one will be wrapped up by 1am! Cafe Saint Ex - 1847 14th Street NW, Washington, DC The final gig on this weeklong assault on the nation's capitol takes place, fittingly, on the last day on earth, December 21st. Even if you think the Mayans got it wrong, or their calendar has been misinterpreted or the whole thing is just a crock of shite....why take a chance?! Come down to Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club and party like it's the end of the world! I'll be playing a special super extended set of the perfect beats to soundtrack the impending apocalypse while the friendly bar staff serves up the appropriate libations. Complimentary Jonestown Kool-Aid shooters will be dispenssed upon arrival to set the vibe and guests are encouraged to bring the one item they'd want with them if it's all about to end (but no booze. they've got that one covered!). And if you feel like dressing as a zombie/FEMA worker/ hot nubile Mayan ready to be sacrificed to stave off the end of it all, then who am I to deny you? The party goes until the world ends or we all get chucked out, whichever comes first ;) Jimmy Valentine's - 1103 Bladensburg Road Northeast Washington, DC Hope to see you shaking your fine ass on the dance floor at any and all of these upcoming gigs. Remember, DC, I got nuthin' but LOVE for ya, baby! xoxo-->tee...
As we plunge deeper into the depths of winter up here in North America, it may make your bones shiver to even contemplate swimwear. But down in South America, specifically Rio de Janeiro, things are heating up! At least part of that heat is being generated by British designer, Ruth Ferguson and her line, Olga Ollson. While her line of swimwear, cover-ups and accessories may be inspired by and manufactured in Brazil, it can be found in fine boutiques in much less tropical climes around the world. I had the privilege of composing a short bit of original music, along with my good friend and former Gaye Bykers On Acid frontman, Mary Byker, for a past campaign for Olga Ollson. It doesn't sound like anything either of us would have cooked up on our own but that was the fun of working within tightly defined parameters to accompany the visual element. Take a look at the clip below and view the Olga Ollson lookbook here! As I sit here trying to shake off my turkey-induced stupor, all I can manage is typing a few keys on my keyboard to create this post. In the spirit of giving thanks, I must say I'm thankful to everyone that came out for my recent gigs in North Carolina! It was incredible to see so many old friends again after so many years and to meet some cool new faces as well. I've got some pics below so, if you came out, take a look. Maybe you're in there! Below the photos is a new live set recorded in NC. It's streaming below but you can download directly from here. I've also got a few new edits to give away. To the heads that read my blog and listen to my stuff, to you I am eternally thankful for your support in what I do. Every day I count my blessings that I'm fortunate enough to travel the world playing music for you guys and, for this, I can not thank you enough. Love and blessings to you all this holiday season! xoxo-->tee... Below is a two hour recording of part of my set at Rx in Wilmington, NC. Great people and AMAZING food! And now for a new edit to download (for FREE, as always :) A bit of foot-stomping hand-clapping boogie in the way of this edit of this Pia Zadora cover from 1982. The original was by Shirley Ellis in 1965. Clap clap, stomp your feet! Although I got my start djing in the Washington DC area, it was really once I went to university in North Carolina that I really got going, throwing my weekly party, Fresh. It's been a while since I had the chance to come back and I couldn't be more hyped to have four upcomming shows there, beginning tomorrow night in Charlotte! I know I still have a lot of friends in fam down in North Cackalacka and I'm excited to see a lot of you guys again! Let's boogie! Kicking things off tomorrow night (Thursday), I have the pleasure to be playing Keep It Funky at Soul Gastrolounge in Charlotte. I hear great things about this place and I'm looking forward to dropping some deep house, disco and my own productions alongside underground veteran Jay Coop! I've been trying to hook up with this cat for a while and tomorrow it's going down! If you're not familiar with the man, do yourself a favor and download his new mix on Soundcloud....solid mixing, quality track selection and lovely vibes abound. What else do you want?! On Friday night, it's all popping off at the legendary Carborro Station in Carborro, NC. My host for the evening is veteran selector and fellow DC area native, Jaesunel. I've been a fan of this guy since the day we met. His taste is impecable and funky! Expect an ass-shaking selection of funk, soul, house, disco and breaks guaranteed to loosen your caboose. I was supposed to play here a few weeks back but screwed up royally and was in San Francisco at the time. Friday night I plan to make up for it! Take a listen to this set of Jason dropping the funk at We're Bringing It back, a dope outdoor free party that he's a part of that happens every summer. Back when I was going to University in NC, one of my favorite places to play was Axis in Wilmington. Axis has long since shut it's doors bu there's a new place in town, Rx Restaurant & Bar. Co-owner, Dj and all around cool cat, Josh Novicki, is the man responsible for bringing me down and bringing the good eats and fat beats. Some of you may know him as Dj Fingerscales from NYC. Josh recently moved back to NC after years holding down residencies and throwing some of the best undergrounds in Brooklyn and beyond. Wilmington has gained a real asset in Josh and his new Restaurant/Bar. I'll be playing all night Saturday and then I'll be back again for a special Disco Brunch on Sunday morning. No rest for the wicked. Hope to see you all there! I just posted on my Soundcloud a new edit I've finished and I'm really happy with the way it came out! It's available now to you all as a free download as of right now! "Bring It Here" was a hot slice of modern funk/boogie off the mighty underground label, TSOB (The Sound of Brooklyn) by Wild Sugar released in 1980. It was produced by Bill Curtis and Gerry Thomas and featured the vocals of Janice Christie, Linda Blakely and Robin Dunn. While it's a proper tune in it's own right, it will forever be known (or at least recognized) as the source of the horn sample on the Beastie Boys track, "Brass Monkey". For this edit, I removed those funky horns from the intro (the only place they appear in the original) and reintroduced them into the track part way through, using the break down to create the new intro. When the horns do come back in, they emerge over the vocals in a slightly edited way. Dubbed out vocals, lot's of slicing, a bit of filtering, a bit of tape delay and some added drum programming complete the edit. Enjoy! As always, if you dig the edit, do yourself and the artist a favor and check out the original! Flyer for one of my first parties in 1993, held 10 miles and 20 years from where I'll be playing tonight. I have a special gig coming up tonight on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. When my folks moved out of the Washington DC area in 1993, this is where I ended up. One of the first ever parties I produced myself was here on "The Shore", as they call it around here. The event, Disco Inferno, was ostensibly for my brothers 15th birthday but, really, any excuse for a party, right? We rented out a big space above the local Town Hall (and the town police station, as it turned out) and I lugged in my sound and lighting rig along with a dodgey old smoke machine. As the flyer advertised, I played a selection of disco and funk mixed in with the "today's best dance music" to a fairly unsuspecting crowd of teens. One slightly awkward kid took it in stride when I told him I wouldn't be playing anything from his stack of Megadeath cds he had brought for me. He just shrugged, walked out to the dance floor and proceded to do the centipede. I wish all those with inappropriate requests reacted the same as that guy. Tonight, almost 20 years later, I have the chance to come back to where it all started for me and do what I love to do.... make the party "100% Phat" ;) It's that time of year again, the time of year when I return home for a visit with my fam, including my younger brother Telly (aka Teli, aka Ty, aka Telfair, aka Spit Vowel, the blue eyed Siciliano). Those of you that have had the experience of meeting him know that he's a very unique, multi-talented cat. When he's not doing circus tricks, pirate performances or blogging about politics, he likes to write rhymes....really bizarre and surreal rhymes, laden with innuendo and obscure cultural references. As part of our brotherly bonding, he usually asks me to put together a few beats for him to record his flows over. I enjoy the process, not just because it's a chance to relate to and relax with my bro, who I don't get to see that often, but because it's an excuse to work in a style completely different than what I'm usually doing. Not to mention his twisted rhymes (which can be so out there as to make Kool Keith seem as Vanilla as, well, Vanilla Ice) make me laugh....a lot (example: "Harder than a two car garage guarded by two and a half miniature Pits in the yard") . Here's the output of one of our sessions, with me on live drums and production and Telly, as his Spit Vowel alter ego, laying down his verbal variety show. It's not always on beat, often off color but for me, it's right on time. Here's his latest lyrical lunacy, "Belly Rockers", including his own self produced video where he managed to utilize almost every filter in the iMovie toolbox ;) Two quick notes before we begin: 1) This was made for a laugh so take it with a fat bump of salt. 2) This video contains booty and boobies so maybe don't play it around people that don't like booty and boobies. It's hard to believe but after three months of gigs around Europe, it's all come to an end. In less than 12 hours, I should be back in the States, curled up in bed somewhere, catching up on three months of lost sleep. From rooftops in Amsterdam, underground discos in Bristol, art filled forests in Ireland, balearic beaches in Ibiza, castles in Switzerland and a myriad of other amazing spaces filled with beautiful faces in between... it's been memorable to say the very least. I'll have to write a proper post once I've had time to collect my thoughts but, for now, a collective THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone that helped make this possible and to everyone that came out and danced. You'll never know just how much it meant to me!
So, after I publish this post, I'm off to catch the last flight to JFK in NYC and then onto my folks house for some needed rest and quality time with the fam. But I won't be resting for long though. I can't wait to see loads of you at upcoming gigs in NYC, DC, VA, NC, SC, SF, LA, SD and anywhere else someone wants to book me! Until then, keep the faith, keep dancing and keep loving one another. xo-->tee... |
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