quickMix™: Progression

dj omni - quickMix™: Progression
Download MP3

tracklist:
“Legions (Reverie)” by Zoe Keating
“Wait Up” by Q-Tip
“1000 Deaths” by D’Angelo

quickMix™: 3-7 songs. download in seconds.

I am a firm believer that music blends make songs sound better.
And sometimes I just want to get to the blend in a mix.

This quickMix™ contains a song and a blend that I have had in my head for a while now. Starting from the unreleased D’Angelo. I heard a connection to something that had come before in this song. After listening to the stories of how the Voodoo album came to be, it is nice to see Questlove and company reaching back to a recent album for inspiration. The underrated Amplified album is filled with gems from the production duo Q-tip and a soon-to-be J Dilla. Working backwards from there, the electronica-accompanied Zoe Keating builds a mood with her layers of cello melodies that seemed a perfect place to start.

o:{I originally planned to start with the sample source for “Wait Up”, seeing as it also inspired “1000 Deaths”. I couldn't find any information about the original online. If anyone has the Amplified liner notes and can share the sample source, I would greatly appreciate it.}

Late Love

dj omni - "late love mix"
o:{there is explicit content in this mix. apologies in advance.}

I’m a little late for the lovey-dovey vibe, but I can see that the love bug has had a hand in this mix. Some of that love is directed at my city. I spent a night in the Akwaaba Mansion, a black-owned Bed & Breakfast in the heart of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. It’s around the corner from the Lewis Avenue that Big Daddy Kane rapped about on his albums. It is also the setting for the video of “History” by Mos Def featuring Talib Kweli.

Tracklist:
1 Ammoncontact f. Prince Po, Yusef Lateef, & Dwight Tribble – Beautiful Flowers
2 Courtney Pine f. Cassandra Wilson - "Don't 'Xplain"
3 D'Angelo w/ Pino & ?uesto - "Ex To The Next"
4 Donovan - "Get Thy Bearings"
5 Fink - "Q & A"
6 Jazzanova f. Phonte - "So Far From Home"
7 Ty & Kory - "Flyin Away"
8 Tony Toni Toné - "That's All I Ask Of You"
9 The Roots f. JazzyFatNastees - "You Got Me (Me Tienes Remix)
10 Tin Hat Trio - "The Longest Night"
11 Vampire Weekend - "Diplomat's Son"
12 Ta'Raach - "Baaaby"
13 Skillz f. Freeway - "Don't Act Like You Don't Know"
14 RJD2 - "Work It Out"
15 Prefuse 73 f. Aesop Rock - "Sabbatical With Options"
16 Pete Rock f. CL Smooth - "Back On the Block"
17 Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and his 40-piece orchestra – “Hoc ‘n Pucky”
18 Jay Electronica - "Retro Electro"

Must Mention Michael

Even though there has been a mass of media all about Michael Jackson (and not enough about Farrah Fawcett,
Ed McMahon, and even Karl Malden), I have to say that this music video mix by the brilliant Peanut Butter Wolf of
Stones Throw really touched and inspired me. (can you see the beginnings of the moonwalk in the forward sliding robot moves of Dancing Machine?!)

EDIT: Read this great, quick interview with Quincy Jones remembering Michael. So Wise! (and, uh...take a look at all those platinum records in the pic!)

I wanna hear Prince's take on the passing of his competitive contemporary!

Forever ever.

For those, in the New York area, the third annual Donuts Are Forever event is this Saturday at Public Assembly in Williamsburg.  Raising money for a good cause and paying tribute to the king.  And my friend Brainchild is spinning.  Details here.

Crescendos all night!

It’s a crime that “Love 4 Sale” never got an official release. It’s an amazing album. But that didn’t stop Bilal from filling the Highline Ballroom with a crowd that was singing and dancing along to the songs from that unreleased album alongside his well-known classics.

With support from a band filled with talent like the great Robert Glasper on keys and Chris Dave on drums (“Chris Dave, motherfuckers!” was the text I got this morning from my boy Ollie, an amazing drummer in his own right.), the music was wholly on point. They even slipped from Bilal’s “All for Love” to one of Glasper’s now-standard smooth jazz (but funky!) Dilla tributes; this one was “Fall in Love”. The rest of the band consisted of bass, electric guitar, a horn section, and two back up singers – one of which, a big unassuming dude in a yankees cap, was hitting high falsetto notes to rival the headliner!

The music went from faithful renditions of the songs to fun remixes that bounced from blues to gospel to full on rock. The band cut loose with a rendition of Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” that led beautifully in to Bilal’s “Fast Lane”. And all the while, Bilal is being silly and laughing on stage with his band mates. I’ve seen shows where he’s been a hot mess and lines like “I wish I was drug free…” from “Sometimes” really make sense. But for this show he was clear-headed and focused. Everything from the music to the antics and camaraderie on stage to the lighting was working together as each song built in intensity. You couldn’t help but get swept up in it. And for an artist without an album out, that’s more than you could ask for.

o:{too many links? hurmm...maybe.}

This is how it could be done.

On this {I believe second} anniversary of the passing of the DillaGentleman, James Yancey, I was happy to hear the second tribute record from Carlos Niño and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson,
“Find A Way”.

This version is an instant classic because it doesn’t stick too close to the original. It’s just enough and it takes risks {more than just presenting Classical orchestration to Hip Hop heads, which has been done before from groups like Mission and daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra (What is it about Cali?!)}

Equally good is their version of “Nag Champa” which can also be heard on the mySpace.

And just as a bonus, here’s an old interview of Madlib at the Red Bull Music Academy where he explains how he makes music. The best part is watching him dance around and explain that the first Quasimoto album took $50 to make, and that was mainly spent on ‘shrooms!

{Also worth checking is the above pictured album which is available on iTunes}