Charm City Groove

BLUE

2009-04-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

MOON.

Kevin Griffiths - Cantona Kung Fu

SPARTAN

2009-04-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

NOMAD.

dOP - Genius Of The Crowd

WHITE

2009-04-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

WITCH.

Blamstrain - Spring Summer

TAX

2009-04-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

BRACKETS.

Intrusion - Montego Bay

EVENING

2009-04-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

WAKE.

Larry Heard - Mercurian Funk

PROS AND

2009-03-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

CONS.

The Aztec Mystic - Jaguar (Lawrence Burden Radio Edit)

GREEN

2009-03-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

WITCH.

Check out Sweet Surrender

Stimming - Tel Aviv Calling

BRICK

2009-03-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

MOSAIC.

Artwork by Annette Cords

Vakula - Deep Mood

Quintessentials is quickly becoming one of my favorite new labels. Chilled, relaxing, groovy house music.

EARLY

2009-03-14T03:19:00.000-07:00

MORNING BROWSIN'

Artwork by Sheldon Drake

Kenneth Bager - Fragment One (Style of Eye Remix)

LITTLE RED

2009-03-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

RIDING IN THE HOOD.

Fabrice Lig - Cosmic Booty

SAUVE QUI PEUT

2009-03-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

(LA VIE)

Artwork by Allison Sommers.

La Pena - Keep Movin'

SATURDAY

2009-03-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

AFTERNOON.

Check out prints by Dan McCarthy

dOP featuring Noze - Romeo

Big fan of dOP and you can check out even more about them here.

VISUAL

2009-03-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

AGNOSIA.

Sideshow-If Alone (Chateau Flight Dub) [Rapidshare Link]

ORIGIN

2009-03-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

UNKNOWN.

Minilogue - My Teenager Gang [Rapidshare Link]

Minilogue are one of my favorite producers currently putting tunes out at the moment. The two gents hail from Sweden and have been releasing consistently solid music on Wagon Repair and Sven Vath's Cocoon label. The track above, 'My Teenage Gang' is quintessential dub minimal with a solid bass kick and some afro-tribal elements that build through out. I'm typically pretty hesitant/skeptical to embrace the fusion of techno and various ethnic music (chants especially) because the potential for cheese is relatively high; however Minilogue is on point with this jazzy-tech fusion with some nice percussive components.

APPROACHING

2009-03-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

UNSUSPECTING.

C.B. Funk - Subway To Cologne

ROYAL

2009-03-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

FLUSH!

SIS - Sum

PACKIN'

2009-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

PEACE.

Trentemoller vs. DJ Lab - Rauta (Boys Mix) [Rapidshare Link]

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

2009-02-26T05:46:00.000-08:00

GET EATEN TOGETHER!

Beat Pharmacy - Strangers (Featuring Spaceape)

DALI

2009-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

REVISITED?

Seth Troxler - Aphrika

ARTIFICIAL

2009-02-24T06:54:00.001-08:00

OVERSTIMULATION.

STARE

2009-02-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

BEARS.

Mohlao - Individual

Meanwhile Records have been putting out some amazing music lately. First, A Moment's Peace by Bvdub, and now this ambient driven techno work of the same vein. I'm really looking forward to what 2009 has in store for this label.

ANATOMY

2009-02-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

OF A SOMNAMBULIST.

Tony Lionni - Free Your Mind

CROWDED

2009-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

WATERS.

Artwork by Allison Sommers

Almost forgot to insert some music in this post, but I think this will be worth the wait; German techno remixes American deep house with interesting results.

Kerri Chandler - Pong (Ben Klock's Bones and Strings Rework)

SHENANIGANS.

2009-02-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

DJ Jus-Ed - Unbelievably Beautiful

HOOD

2009-02-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

CRAZY.

Acidrain - Next Stop

The Swiss produce some well-designed music. This is off the Mostly Covered In Clouds quasi-full length put out back in 2004; great early hours listening.

MOSCA

2009-02-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

HISPANA.

James Braun - Spanish Fly

Do yourself a favor and pick up this release; a cool fusion of house/techno/dubstep.

ROOSTER

2009-02-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

4PIE.

Spencer Parker - e Lucia (Original Mix) [RapidShare Link]

Tsuba Records is another relatively new label that I'm pretty high on; boasting a stable of artists including Zoo Brazil, Milton Jackson, Audiofly, Danton Eeprom, and Motorcitysoul.

PLAYGROUND

2009-02-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

KISSES.

Jamie Lloyd - May I? (Quarion Remix) [RapidShare Link]

BALT

2009-02-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

AMOUR.

Mr. G-Makes No Sense (Radio Slave's Shaking The Trees Remix)

ICE CREAM

2009-02-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

PEOPLE.

Move D - Heidelberg Gals Parts One Two and Three

WELL

2009-02-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

DESIGNED.

Pierre LX - Gabita

Although a new producer in terms of released work, be on the look out for Pierre LX stuff on Initial Cuts. Pierre brings a fresh, meticulous, and deeply melodic approach to contemporary dance music.

OBEY

2009-02-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

GRENADES.

Justin Imperiale - Drums of Steel

Deep house producer Justin Imperiale blows away past work on Cabana Recordings with his new Drums of Steel EP. A deep Afro flavored tribal groove spiced with jungle snippets and a lush steel vibe make this track a burner.

WATERS

2009-02-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

MEETING.

Luciano and Mirko Loko - Mousa Big Band

TRIBAL

2009-02-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

SHAKEDOWN.

Liapin - Redskin

Connect Four Records is putting out some seriously good music. This is a stellar track with a tribal chanting, congos, bongos and whatever other elements a fantastic house trip requires.

TECH

2009-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

KNOWLOGY.

Milton Jackson - Crash (Original Mix)

GROOVE

2009-02-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

ELECTRIQUE.

Apparat - Contradiction (Lusine remix)[Z-Share]

My favorite track off the remix album of Apparat's 'Duplex' by Ghostly International's Lusine.

Lusine will be making an appearance in Baltimore this Sunday at The Hexagon, one of Baltimore's collaborative quasi-diy spaces that seem to be popping up with slightly more frequency. Peep the flyer.

Mladen Solomun [Diynamic Music]

2008-11-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

Mladen Solomun and his cohorts at Diynamic Music have crafted a winning portfolio of melodically colorful and highly textured tech-house releases. Solomun has also produced 12" for the likes of Sonar Kollektiv, Four:Twenty, Dessous, Compost, and Liebe*Detail. You can check out all his releases HERE.

For the time being, enjoy these following pieces of sunny house and techno.

Solomun - Somebody's Story

Tiger Stripes - Hooked (Solomun Remix)

Ray Okpara [Drumpoet Community/AreaRemote]

2008-11-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Drumpoet Community based in Zurich, Switzerland and run by Alex Dallas and Ron Shiller, has been my favorite record label since I first heard Quarion's 'Karasu' in late 2006.

Mostly consisting of quirky, sometimes tribal, sometimes spacey tech house or deep house releases Drumpoet Community brings a laid-back, relaxing yet fun approach to their musical template. I present to you a couple releases from Ray Okpara, one on Drumpoet Community and the other on Diplomatik. Give both tracks a good rinsing and draw your own conclusions!

Ray Okpara - Orange River, on Diplomatik.

Ray Okpara - Loving Moonbuah, on Drumpoet Community.

Allow Me To Introduce Myself.

2008-11-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

Each man just wants his own legacy. It's why carpenter's are always writing on walls. It's the same idea every man gets, to write his name and the date before he seals off a wall with sheetrock. Sometimes they leave the day's newspaper. It's tradition to leave a bottle of beer or wine. Roofers will write on the decking before they cover it with tar paper and shingles. Framers will write on the sheathing before they cover it with clapboard or stucco. Their name and the date. Some little part of themselves for someone in the future to discover. Maybe a thought. We were here. We built this. A reminder.

Call it custom or superstition or feng shui.

It's a kind of sweet homespun immortality.

In art history, they teach how Pope Pius V asked El Greco to paint over some nude figures Michelangelo had painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. El Greco agreed, but only if he could paint over the entire ceiling. They teach that El Greco is only famous because of his astigmatism. That's why he distorted his human bodies, because he couldn't see right, he stretched everybody's arms and legs and got famous for the dramatic effect.

From famous artists to building contractors, we all want to leave our signature. Our lasting effect. Your life after death.

We all want to explain ourselves. Nobody wants to be forgotten.

Now I can't build a house. I'd get hung up on all the jargon. Seriously, its like speaking another language. Try talking to a contractor. Good luck.

And while the construction industry has passed me over. I've got this technology thing under wraps. I can write a blog. And snap, I will not be forgotten. I can't be. My words will be here forever. Here's to my legacy. My cyber remembrance. My digital footprints.