Pinkpenny Promo

Earlier this month I passed an important milestone (well, important to me at least): I received my first slice promotional music.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I didn’t start this blog, or DJing for that matter, to get free music. I started DJing because I wanted to listen to good music at the parties/clubs I attended. I wish I could say that at all charitable, that it was about sharing great music and giving my friends and fellow party-goers a good time, but no, it is entirely selfish – I quite simply could not stand what was being played and decided that if I wanted to hear anything else, I was the one who was going to have to play it. One can only listen to so much Great Big Sea before one yearns for fiddle-free music. I started this blog as simply a vehicle for my mixes. I wanted people to listen to what I was doing and so set up this site as a place to host online links to my mix archive and announce any live gigs that I might be doing. Since I started it, it’s taken on a bit of a life of its own with editorial content largely consisting of record reviews. Records I bought myself, I might add. It does what it was intended to do, I suppose; it lets those who care know what’s happening with my DJ “career” (a term I use ever-so loosely), but it has never lead to any paying gigs or promotional swag. That is until now.

Pinkpenny records is a net label based in Devon, UK. They sent me, and presumably others, links to two mixes of “You Know Where Your Going” [sic] by TC, a remix by Mr.Vinyl and the original mix. The original is a downbeat track best described as “chilled”. It consists largely of a synthesized saxophone over a warbling synth, melodic washes and a nice stand-up bassline. The original is good; I’ve played it for a few people and it got their heads nodding to the groove. Definitely worth a download.

The Mr. Vinyl remix is an up-tempo version of the original. Mr. Vinyl has dispensed with the saxo-synth, augmented a staccato piano riff, thrown in a gated copy of the synth wash for drama and replaced the stand-up bass with a typical, bouncing, progressive bassline to give the track a bit of thump. As in the case of the original, this mix is effective; good but not great. Competent is actually the word that leaps to mind.

Overall, I think the original works marginally better as a track that the remix, but I’d certainly play both if only they were on vinyl. If only. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, though. Digital promos are better than no promos at all.

The Last Bastion of Analogue

Can someone explain to me why it is so important to signal the death knell of the vinyl record, the terminus of the turntable? What do these early laptop-adopters have invested in software and file formats that necessitates constantly crowing of "the end of vinyl"? What satisfaction do they derive from it? And why when you challenge that assertion are you immediately labeled a "hater" with a "hard-on for vinyl"? Anybody?

NiteLite Snack

Yup, good times at NiteLite last weekend. Although, as I said, the levels on the recording were very hot, and it’s not worth posting. But, I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit: the party, the records, the vibe.

I’m on vacation for the next week or so while our house closes and I had a couple of hours to spare on Friday. My record bag was still packed from last weekend, so all the tracks in the mix were either ones I played or planned to play. The tough part about playing a tag-team set is not clashing too much with your counter-part’s style. My partner-in-crime Mr.Ricardo has a more progressive edge to his selections, so the records I picked out also tended towards the progressive. This is also my first mix using a CDJ, which I’m still getting used to.

Anyway, without further ado, I give you Chef Napalm’s NiteLite Snack

Stage One (Pariah’s Banjo Mix) – Space Manoeuvres
Voltage – Matthias Meyer
Do ‘un Goodur’ (Tom Middleton’s Cosmos Mix) – Crazy Penis
Risingson (Underworld Mix) – Massive Attack
Dubb Me Some’tin Fresh – Halo, Hipp-e, & Tony
Warped Mind – Shed
Mallorca (Sasse Remix) – Wagon Cookin’
Magica – Renato Cohen
BND2 – Andomat 3000
Electrikiss – Eric Kupper feat. K-Scope
Can You Relate – Samuel L. Session
Exit Row (Pirupa & Ruggero Remix) – Steven Lee & Gaby Dershin
Charlotte (Remix) – Booka Shade
Harder Better Faster Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit) – Daft Punk
Shiver (Ewan Pearson’s Bari Girl Remix) – Silver City
Don’t Wanna Die – My Federation

After the nitelites come on...

A bit of a disappointing end to a great night: for no reason I can fathom, the levels on the recording are very distorted. After some testing, I narrowed it down to the mixer; a crap-assed Pioneer! Since there's no adjustment of the levels for the rec-out apart from the individual channel gains and since we kept said gains out of the red, there is no reason for the hot recording other than some internal fault. I've thought for a long time that Pioneer mixers were of questionable quality at an inflated price, and this lends even more credence to that belief. Why people continue to buy/insist on them I'll never understand.

Solstine Anticipation

For those of you who don’t know, the venue for NITELITE has been changed to the Gothic Arches in Saint John. Go check out the Facebook event for more details on that. Personally, I’d just as soon it was on home turf anyway. I think you’ll all agree that travel is nice, but the best sleep comes from one’s own bed.

My partner-in-crime, Richard “Mr. Ricardo” Carhart, is feeling the pre-show butterflies acutely. Strangely, I am not. Despite this being the biggest event I’ve played to date, and for probably the first time, I’m not experiencing any of the paralyzing apprehension I’ve encountered prior to previous shows. All I feel is a sureness, a rightness, a confidence in my skills. That’s not macho swagger or arrogance talking either. I certainly don’t think my (our) set will be the highlight of the event, although I will say we’ve got a trick or two up our sleeves that may make it something special and unique. No, it’s like being prepared for a big exam; I know exactly what will be asked of me and I am ready to face the challenge.

A brief word on our set: the poster says “Progressive/House”; I’m not at all sure that’s particularly accurate. There will be some house, and maybe even some progressive house, but I’d say the majority of what we’ve been playing is closer to melodic, minimal techno, if that makes sense at all. I’m recording, so watch for that coming soon.

If you’re attending, watch out for our sweet new T’s. Saint John DJ Farm in full effect.

Keep the nite-lites burning.

As you can see, I'm doing a tag-team set with my good friend Richard "Mr.Ricardo" Carhart. It's just an opening set, but this is a really big show. Here's hoping it pays off in some more regular gigs.

It'll likely be a very (although I hesitate to use the word) minimal set, although maybe "deep" would be a better way to describe it. Underground sounds, for sure. We are opening, after all. In all likelyhood I'll record it, so watch for that.

A new addition to the cheese tray

I was recently solicited to come up with a "Rave" mix, as opposed to a club mix. When I think of "rave" music I think of trippy, loopy tracks, with short stab-like vocal samples running at around ~130bpm. Ordinarily, I prefer to operate around 120bpm and I like vocal mixes, so compiling something along those lines became a bit of a challenge. The other challenging part about the excercise was not repeating myself by using records I'd high-lighted in mixes before. Here's what I came up with.

Easy Peasy Ravey Cheesey

Easy (Niekisch & Hermann Dub) - Trick & Kubic
Show Me Your Monkey (Punkers Cheetah Remix) - Percy Filth
Your Wildest Dreams (Joey Negro Medusa Mix) - Akabu
Penetration (Olav Basoski Remix) - Alex Romano
Booth Test - Dee Magic
Control Freaq - Felix & Junior
At Night (Alan Braxe Remix) - Shakedown
Star Catching Girl (Sander Kleinenberg's Dub) - Brother Brown
Needy Girl (Boy 8-Bit's Talk Box Dub) - Chromeo
Runaway - Thomas Cajal
Run On (Sharam Jey's Always On The Run Remix) - Moby
Golden Sun (Haji & Emanuel Remix) - Asle
Psycho - Romain Curtis & Ceeryl
Reddie (Paranoid Jack Remix) - Isaac S
Discoteca (Full Length Baby Doc Mix) - Pet Shop Boys
Drumspeak - Paranoid Jack

Beware the Ides of March...almost.

It is a sad thing to be present for the end of something you thought was good and pure. Last night at A Khord I played three hours worth of delicious vinyl for...the barstaff. That's right; not a single patron walked through the doors from 10:30pm until we shut it down at 1:30am. The novelty has apparently worn off and now the fickle audiences of Saint John have moved on to other, lesser events. I'm told that the engagement at A Khord ends on March 27th and there will not be a renewal. I for one will be very sorry to see a club night in such a spectacular space come to a crashing halt.

No recording, I'm afraid. The left-hand turntable had a short in the audio cable and it was causing some dire distortion. It wasn't a total loss, though, as it kept me entertained trying to choose records that could handle a bit of additional distortion. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

Another last minute booking!

I'm filling in for DJ Nexus6ix tomorrow night. My three (3!) hour set will feature lots of the music listed below. Come on down and check out some lush wax in context. For all those of you overseas, I'll likely be recording at least some of it, so stay tuned.

Gotta go pick out some records...

Tender Cuts - February 2008

As I noted in my round-up a couple of months ago, there were some serious contenders left off of my top ten. After spending a bit more time with these records, I feel they are deserving of more recognition than a mere mention.


Tracey Thorn - Grand Canyon (Ada's 1st Dub) (Virgin)
Buy it now here or here.
I was surprisingly underwelmed by Tracey Thorn's recent album Out Of The Woods, considering that most of it was produced by remix genius Ewan Pearson. In fact the only tracks on the album that raised my blood at all were produced by Martin Wheeler ("Easy") and Alex Santos ("Grand Canyon"). On the strength of those tracks, and because I love the sound of Tracey's voice, I kept an eye out for the singles. It's All True yielded a decent disco-inflected effort by Martin Buttrich that, I swear, is on every minimal mix I came across at the end of last year. The real gem, though, showed up on the second 12" for "Grand Canyon". Areal Records regular Ada turned in both a softly pulsing remix and a dub. The backing track is essentially the same for both, but the dub dispenses with all but the most soulful sections of vocal and, for my money, is the sweeter of the two.


Tone-Loc - Wild Thing (Peaches RMX) (Delicious Vinyl)
Buy it now here.
And now for something completely different. It's hard the imagine how one could improve on Tone Loc's 1989 pop-smash "Wild Thing", but I guess Peaches thought she could. To my shock, she hits it just right. As anybody who has heard the song knows, "Wild Thing" is a catalogue of encounters with sexually aggressive women. Written entirely from the male perspective on these fantastical events, Peaches shrewdly realized that she was in the perfect position to fill the other side of the equation: that of the sexually aggressive female. She adds a couple of explicit verses, subtly tweaks the sample to give it that electro-house sound and "Wild Thing" is born again. Track it down, you can thank me later


Eric Kupper - Electrikiss (Nite Grooves)
Buy it now here.
Eric Kupper's career spans the last 20 years of dance music and beyond. Starting as a keyboardist for the likes of David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and Arthur Baker in the early 80s, Eric has been doing mostly remix work for the last 15 years. Checking his remix credits reads like a who's who of electronic music. All that aside, Mr. Kupper’s most recent effort, the “Faith Healer / Electrikiss” double A-side, is exactly the kind of keyboard work-out you’d expect from someone with chops like Eric’s. The one-note bassline pulses away underneath melodic pads while the melody sparkles on the top. The whole track puts me in mind of practically any scene from Blade Runner, and in fact would fit very nicely next to any the pieces from Vangelis’ score. That’s probably why it appeals to me so much; the track has that atmospheric quality that transports the listener to another place and time.

Bolivia in Saint John

I wasn't able to make it out to A Khord for Ultrasound Collective DJs Soundsyster and Flyzzard, but I was able to drop in last night for local nudger Nexus6ix and scene veteran DJ Bolivia.

Arguably the most internationally known DJ from Atlantic Canada, Bolivia has been spinning records for almost 15 years. Even though started playing the university bar at little ole Mount Allison, he's built himself quite a reputation and now plays all over the globe.

Bolivia turned in a solid set of progressive, tribal house; his signature style. Ordinarily, not my cup of tea, but I must admit he made it sound fantastic. In fact, if you go to his website it might even be there for download.

I had to leave shortly after Fred (Nexus6ix) went on, so I didn't get to hear him play. However, he has a new demo available here loaded with honest-to-god classics.

Last Minute Show

Call me crazy, but I love last minute bookings. It rachets up the excitment without drawing out the anticipation too much. I'm given just enough time to think about the records I want to take, but not enough time to worry about it.


Tim from Future Productions called last night and asked if I would like to put in an opening set at his Thursday club night at A Khord. "You bet!" says I. So, I am.


A Khord is a new bar that's opened at 30 Water Street in downtown (or uptown if you're from here) Saint John. It's a really nice place, as you can see from the pics.


I'm on at 10pm, so come on out and have a beer. Or a coffee, whatever.
Facebook Event Link

Favourites from 2007

The general blogosphere consensus seems to be that 2007 was another gray year in terms of new music. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment at all. Even now I have almost 30 releases sitting in my Juno wishlist. In my view, there was more good music released this year than in the past 3 or 4 years combined. I know one thing for sure: this year’s top 10 was the hardest I’ve ever had to put together and a significant number of great records by the likes of Agoria, Ada, Kinky Movements, and Eric Kupper were left behind.

It is nice to see some Canadians in the list, too. Being a Canuck myself, of course I have a soft spot for my fellow countrymen, but I honestly feel both records rose above all the others. And so, without further ado, here are my picks for the best records of the last year.

Miguel Migs - So Far (Eric Stamile’s Old School Revival Dub) (Salted Music)
Buy it now here or here.
I had originally wanted this track to appear on my second Dissensus Cassette Swap offering as it would have fit in perfectly with the theme. Alas, the postman did not ring in time. Eric Stamile takes Migs Latin guitar original and infuses it with some much needed 80s retro-synth action. LT’s (aka Aya aka Lysa Trenier) breathy vocal matches beautifully with the saw-tooth synth chords and combined with the grumbling bassline makes for a sexy groove. The cowbell in the background is a nice touch, too.


Partial Arts – Trauermusick (Kompakt)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about “Trauermusick” before. The only thing I can think to add is that I still love the original, while the Alter Ego remix now grates.


Deadmau5 – Not Exactly & Faxing Berlin (Mau5trap Recordings)
Buy it now here or here or here or here.
Kind of a tie for eighth spot, but not really as they're both Canadian producer Deadmau5 tracks. I’ve been having this argument with myself for a while now: is Deadmau5 trance (shudder) or electro? Trance isn't all bad, I guess; I always liked the warm, melodic chords. The one thing I love about the recent crop of electro releases is that genre–defining, farting, squelching bassline. Deadmau5 has both in spades and combines them to greatest effect in these two tracks.


Tyken – Every Word (Hed Kandi)
Buy it now here or here.
Many critics seem to have a hate on for Hed Kandi. I guess I can understand that, as they seem to have been largely responsible for the recent crop of compilations distastefully slathered with hyper-stylized, headphone wearing, cartoon nymphs. Compilations aside, Hed Kandi really do seem to have a credible stable of house tracks at their disposal. “Every Word” by Swedish duo Tyken is a stellar example of the kind of house Hed Kandi are pushing. The electro bassline grinds in the background, while the filtered, burbling keyboards swing along with the vocal and strategically placed whooshing samples and synth stabs build the energy to a screaming crescendo. It’s perfect peak-time fair, guaranteed to plaster grins and raise hands.


Romain Curtis & Ceeryl – Psycho (Spinnin’ Records)
Buy it now here.
Dutch label Spinnin’ seem to be something of an enigma: they put out a dizzying array of test-pressings, white-labels, and CD singles, as well as being the parent for at least a dozen smaller labels and yet seem to fly completely under the popular radar. This 12” is a classic example. Released only as a test-pressing, it is the best bit of driving electro I’ve heard all year. Little more than a pulsing, hypnotic bassline and a blippy little synth phrase, “Psycho” keeps going and going, without the listener ever getting tired of it. I cannot for the life of me understand why this isn’t huge in the way that Alter Ego's "Rocker" was.


Jamie Woon – Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) (Live Recordings)
Buy it now here or here.
Up until I recently discovered this remix, I had been largely unimpressed by the output of inscrutable London producer Burial. This track, however, is the very definition of remixing genius. Taking the re-arranged folk song “Wayfaring Stranger”, as performed by John-Mayer-sound-alike Jamie Woon, and turning it into a menacing, pulsating, nightscape track evoking not so much a performer onstage as a lone driver singing along with the sound-artifacts generated as the city rolls past the car window. Every time I listen I hear something new and I can scarcely imagine how many audio tracks were assembled into this one remix. A must for quality headphone listening.


Parov Stellar – Rock For & Love (Etage Noir)
Buy it now here or here.
Another recent find that I am sorry I missed the first time. I have often thought that the bluesier (Is that a word?) side of electronic music is largely ignored by producers. Everybody seems to settle on soul, reggae, and funk, while leaving the slower tempo blues stuff on the cutting floor. The notable exception is, I suppose, Moby’s album “Play”, although “Play” dispensed with most, if not all, of the instruments and focused almost exclusively on the gospel/blues vocals. Austrian label boss Parov Stelar (aka Marcus Füreder) successfully mixes blues with house and comes up with two first-rate tracks for this 12”. “Rock For” uses a looped vocal reminiscent of Billie Holiday, couples it with a simple piano riff and a muted trumpet, which I’ve just realized is one of my favourite sounds, and throws down a stomping track that is equal parts house, jazz, and blues. B side track “Love” is even better with stomping breakbeat, pulsing 303 line, chopped up male gospel vocal and, yes, jazz guitar. So good I am literally itching to play it out.


Daft Punk – Television Rules The Nation/Around The World (Live Mix) & Primetime Of Your Life/Aerodynamic(Live Mix) (white label)
Buy it now here or here.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, you know all about Daft Punk’s triumphant world tour and accompanying live album “Alive 2007”. This particular 12” surfaced at the end of July and includes two allegedly live mixes in the mash-up style of the “Alive 2007” disc. After listening to both releases side-by-side, the 12” is either an excellently executed fake or it’s the real deal. Either way is irrelevant, I suppose, as both tracks are phenomenal mash-ups containing vocals and instrumental samples from a number of Daft Punk tracks, the most obvious of which are listed above. Track it down, you can thank me later.


Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Guns N’ Bombs Thizzmix) (Backyard Recordings)
Buy it nowhere or here.
Canadian duo Chromeo have turned in a fantastic album (“Fancy Footwork”) and a string of fun and funky singles. American outfit Guns N’ Bombs give the best track on the album the Kitsuné electro noise it was missing and turn it into a grinding dancefloor freak-out of gigantic proportions. Inexplicably, this, the best remix in the current bunch of singles, is only available on the promo double 10” or CD.


Basement Jaxx – Make Me Sweat & Cool It (Atlantic Jaxx)
Buy it now here or here.
I haven’t bought a Basement Jaxx record since the “Rooty” days. Nothing from “Kish Kash” or “Crazy Itch Radio” did anything for me at all. So, when a yellow vinyl double A-side on their label Atlantic Jaxx, as opposed to their usual home XL Recordings, passed my nose I thought, “Maybe they’ve gone back to their roots (no pun intended)?” And they HAVE! "Make Me Sweat is little more than an acid bassline, some well-placed woo-woos, and a female vocalist (R-O-X-A-N-N-E) exhorting the listener to, "Make me wet, make me sweat!" The second A-side "Cool It" is just as stripped down, with just congas, whistles, vocals and some fun little piano interludes. Despite their sparse instrumentation both tracks have that indefinable energy typical of early Jaxx singles and both work equally well as warm-up and peak-time records. A true return to form for Basement Jaxx and my favourite record of the year.