quickMix™: Progression

dj omni - quickMix™: Progression
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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"

Grammy Nominated: Mos Def

dj omni - "mos def mix"

1. Mos Def - "Jay Electronica Tribute (Live @ Carnegie Hall)"
2. Mos Def - "Universal Magnetic"
3. Mos Def – “QuietDog (Letterman_060809)"
4. Black Star - "Hard Margin"
5. Mary J Blige - "Beautiful (Black Star Remix)"
6. Mos Def - "Auditorium (f. Slick Rick the Ruler)"
7. Mos Def - "Ms. Fat Booty"
8. Mos Def - "U R The One"
9. Mos Def - "Umi Says (Zero 7 Mix)"
10. Mos Def - "Brooklyn Go Hard (Live @ Highline Ballroom)
11. Mos Def - "Black Jack"
12. De La Soul - "Big Brother Beat"
13. Mos Def - "No Hay Nada Mas"
14. Black Star - "Respiration (Pete Rock Remix f. Black Thought)"
15. Mos Def - "May-December"
16. Mos Def x HYPNOTIC - "Make it Funky (Live)"
17. De La Soul - "Stakes Is High (Remix)"
18. BlakRoc - "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)(f. Jim Jones)
19. Black Star - "Bright as The Stars"
20. Mos Def - "Priority"
21. Reflection Eternal - "Just Begun (f. Jay Electronica and J. Cole)
22. Mos Def - "Champion Requiem"

Continuing the congratulatory theme, a long overdue Mos Def mix that barely scratches the surface of this man’s oeuvre. Mos has been nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance “Casa Bey” and for Best Rap Album “The Ecstatic”. The solo performance category has strong competition from Drake, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kid Cudi. Big-up Q-Tip for getting a Grammy nod for his excellent album “The Renaissance” (he deserves a mix of his own).

Mos Def is the definition of multi-talented. Almost as well known for his acting as he is for his music he has been nominated for a variety of awards but has at this point only won a Black Reel Awards in 2005 as Best Actor Independent for “The Woodsman”. (He really should have won Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series in 2004 for “Something the Lord Made”)

Needless say we will be seeing more from Mos.

Grammy Nominated: Phonte

dj omni - "phonte mix"

1. Foreign Exchange - "Let's Move"
2. Phonte - "Like Dat"
3. The Foreign Exchange - "Daykeeper (feat. Muhsinah)"
4. Kev Brown, Oddisee & Phonte - "Beats N' Rhymes"
5. Dave Ghetto, Mystic & Phonte - "Hey Young World Pt. II"
6. Jake One - "Bless the Child (feat. Little Brother)"
7. Little Brother - "Phonte Exclusive"
8. Phonte & Eccentric - "Silky Tay's Theme"
9. Strong Arm Steady - "Best of Times ft. Phonte"
10. Royce da 5'9" & Phonte - "Something 2 Ride 2"
11. Foreign Exchange - "Be Alright"
12. Little Brother - "Breakin My Heart (feat. Lil' Wayne)"
13. Phonte - "Too Late"
14. Jazzanova - "Look What You're Doin' To Me Featuring Phonte"
15. The Foreign Exchange (Nicolay & Phonte) - "Hustle Hustle"
16. RJD2 - "The Shining Path (feat. Phonte Coleman)"
17. Zo! - "My Flame feat. Phonte"
18. Little Brother - "Home"
19. Phonte & Eccentric - "The Time Has Come"

The above mix is a special request from the homegirl, Kemba. And I’m really happy to see the fam Phonte getting the shine he deserves. The Foreign Exchange has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category (with stiff competition from Robert Glasper & Bilal and Eric Roberson respectively).

Phonte Coleman has been everywhere since his debut on Little Brother’s “The Listening” in 2003. He’s a little bit Weezy and a little bit Drake, popping up on other people’s projects as lyricist and/or as singer. He addresses this on the song “Too Late”: “I got a Masters in freestyle (rhyming), and a hook-singing baccalaureate.”

Creatively, Phonte resembles Cee-lo. Former member of a fan-favorite group, talented lyricist and vocalist, and has found Grammy success partnering with a talented producer. The only difference is that Phonte has not released solo albums, but he has hinted on his Gordon Gartrell podcast that a solo album is in the works.

Foreign Exchange has a good chance of winning the Grammy, and it would be well deserved. But it’s only the beginning for Phonte.

mixtape - In The Spirit (finally!)

dj omni - "in the spirit (finally!)"

Continuing the challenge to make a mix a month, I just pushed play and recorded myself playing around. This “quick-one-before-I-go” mix, is called “In the Spirit (finally!)”. And the spirit in question is the Christmas Spirit.

Listening to Benji B and J Rocc goof around and enjoy the cheesiest of x-mas music on Deviation really started this joyous season for me (as well as getting out of the office for the rest of the year!).

I was also inspired by the magic of DJ Questlove at his newly annual Holiday party at S.O.B.’s. The man was sampling, pitch-shifting, and recreating classics on the fly for the people. Amazing show!

Now back to this mix. We start with a little DIY Dwele magic. An ode to a cheap microphone and the support of friends moves into the first Dwele track I ever heard, “Jimmy stay down” an obvious ode to Stevie Wonder who also closes this mix. There are some Christmas songs mixed in. That chipmunk funk is a pseudo auto-tuned Lou Rawls, who has made some of the funkiest holiday sounds ever in this “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas”. Followed close behind by a rare Christmas cover of “Little Baby” called “Purple Snowflakes” (for some reason) by the always-amazing Marvin Gaye. Other highlights include “Do 4 U” by super-group Hawthorne Headhunters featuring PPP favorite Coultrain. Admittedly, I should’ve let this song go longer. Also included is some J Dilla and James Brown business followed by a project that I am REALLY looking forward to from Mochilla: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s orchestral concert for the Dilla-gentleman, “Suite for Ma Dukes”. Mos Def makes a couple appearances in this mix mainly because my song of the moment is his “24-Hour Karate School”! Which I imagine he came up with while walking in SOHO flipping through the Village Voice, seeing an ad and imagining a whole story behind it. Add an erratic beat created by Ski Beatz and the Apple Juice Kid (according to okayplayer) and this song is a bit of mad genius. There’s a Roots song before this that I pray will be on the next album, and a remix of Biggie’s first single by two white boys from Brooklyn that don’t get the credit they deserve for the infectious music they make. And finally we close with a master, not too far from where we began. I hope you enjoy. Happy Holidaze.

A rainy day with Vestax Spin

dj omni - "rainyDaySpin"

I'm not one for the so-called black friday sale madness. But when my family and I made it out on Saturday to the Apple store in the mall I immediately gravitated to a box on the bottom of the shelf advertising the Vestax Spin. It was fun to watch people stop what they were doing and watch and want to play as we convinced the staff to pull the spin controller out of the back room (where some of the employees admitted to playing with it on their breaks) and hooked it up in the store. With only a walk around the mall, I was sold.

The Spin's decks are highly sensitive and easily customizable. It is chocked full of nice features and is really fun to play with. The best bit is the included Mac software called DJAY, which connects to your iTunes library (including your music videos!) and allows you to record your mixes and save playlists.

This is my first attempt at a recorded mix using spin (mistakes and all). I'm sure it won't be the last. I'll try to post one a month atleast.


o:{if enough people ask for it, i'll chop this mix up into tracks and make it available for download. If you want the tracklisting to the mix right-click and save the above image.}

more music video

Very cool interactive video for The Cold War Kids. I've Seen Enough is getting alot of pub in the web design magazines and the execution lives up to the hype. It's a decent song that you can enjoy re-mixing with a variety of instruments and customize the enjoyment of their song.