Various - Island Breeze - Dubby, Tropical & Balearic (2013)

01 - intro (the san sebastian strings - the gypsy camp)

02 - richard schneider jr. - hello beach girls

03 - roberto lodola - marimba do mar (vocal version)

04 - azymuth - estrada dos deuses

05 - tony asha - lion of zion

06 - naturally - sunny gets blue version

07 - cornell campbell - be thankful (niagara 12inch)

08 - vikings guadeloupe - sweet florence

09 - ahmed fakroun - la ya hob (edit)

10 - ilonar staller - cicciolina pane marmellata e me (discodromo re-edit)

11 - ze roberto - lotus 72d

12 - joao donato - o morro nao tem vez (onur engin edit)

13 - original tropicana steel band - spanish hustle

14 - azymuth - dear limmertz

15 - letta mbulu - nomalizo

16 - helen - zanzibar (afro mix)

17 - ivano fossati - panama (nassau dub edit)

18 - noel ellis - version (black gold 7inch)

I made this compilation like six months ago for a friend. At first I meant to call it "Island Breeze - Dubby, DREAMY & Balearic" - but the "dreamy" got all "tropical" over the course of time - while I was selecting & listening to songs for this compilation. Expect to find some classic balearic sounds - mixed with leftfield late 80ies dancehall instrumentals with dreamy synths, island disco, brazilian boogie, italian sweetness & much more...!

After a short intro using the spoken part from the Balearic classic The San Sebastian Strings - Gypsy Camp from their 1967 album The Sea, I am ''mixing'' right into track #2 - the wonderful & joyful Hello Beach Girls. John Schneider Jr. from Germany made this warm, dreamy and latin inspired song, which you can find on his album Dreamlike Land, from 1977. ''…Imagine Jaki Liebezeit on Drums, a guy called Jumpy (Helmut Zerlett) on keys & synths, almighty Wolfgang Maus on Bass and an ironic Mr. Schneider on Glockenspiel, Acoustic 12 String guitar, Synthesizer, Tubelar Bells, Tambourine & Cowbells… See you at the beach!'' (via The Growing Bin). On track #04 we have got another sun touched beauty full of jazz smoothing grooves & some incredibly warm synth sounds - that will bring you straight to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro: Estrada Dos Deuses from Azymuth's 1975 debut album of the same name. Track #05 - Tony Asha's Lion Of Zion takes us right from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to the Ghettos of Kingston Jamaica in the late 1980's - when the digital revolution forever changed the face of Jamaican music. Digital music was taking Jamaica by storm - all started in 1985 by the legendary Under My Sleng Teng by Wayne Smith. ''While the riddim is quite easy the sound of it was outstandingly new - it was produced 100% digital reggae, never heard before at that time! Wayne Smith, a singer for Jammy's, experimented around with a CASIO music box and did some interesting stuff with a slowed down rock'n'roll preset-drum pattern out of which Tony Asha (also know as Tony Asher), keyboardist at Jammy's and one of the few people around who new their ways with the new equipment, build the final riddim. Jammy produced the revolutionary classic of it, which today is one of the most versioned riddims ever'' (via Jahtari). Read more about the Sleng Teng history here. On ''Lion Of Zion'' we have aforementioned Tony Asha going loose over the classic Rumours riddim - which took its name from Gregory Isaacs's 1988 hit tune Rumours. I think some of these digital riddims blend & mix quite well with other 80ies (?!) balearic not balearic songs - the synths, the minimalism or even ambientness, the insistent pulse of drum and bass, scattered and shuffling percussion, the sparness, a certain rawness and sometimes shards of vocals - and all the time being uncompromisingly electronic. And these riddims have swing & bump. Some Detroit Techno/House & or even Acid House tunes spring to mind. I will be sharing some more of my favourite Riddim ''versions'' or b-sides soon... (Isn't ''Balearic'' so often about ''b-sides'' - or those overlooked songs?!). On track #15 - slowly coming to the end of this compilation - we have Nomalizo by South African artist Letta Mbulu. A fine slice of South African boogie funk straight out of 1985 - summer vibes all ova’...

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun." (Anonymous)

Enjoy! DubMe

Beatz & Carrots #14 (January 2014)

01 - james brown - hot pants (dj moar re-edit)

02 - juan laya and jorge montiel - cumbanchero (vocal version)

03 - sergio mendes - mas que nada (tobyone remix)

04 - boogaloo assassins - no no no

05 - bas lexter ensample - lonley feeling

06 - herbie hancok - bring down the birds (raymon lazer reedit)

07 - jj cale - travelin light (jack frost's after midnight remix)

08 - marvin gaye - sunny (mercury edit ii)

09 - greg henderson - dreamin'

10 - the dells - all about the paper (adn edit)

11 - sir own - hooked (kons nite time remix)

12 - smokey robinson - virgin man (jack frost edit)

13 - johnny guitar watson - ain't movin'

14 - superpendejos - sp airlines (fasten your seatbelts)

15 - aswad - red up (kill emil re-edit)

After a long abstinence of posting I am finally back with a nice little compilation of Beatz & Carrots favourites. I haven't updated this blog for more than six months - and those of you who wondered if this blog had come to an untimely end, or if inspiration or motivation had run out, can rest assured that this is certainly not the case. I was simply going through some changes in my own life, traveled a bit, moved back to China - and was somehow lacking the motivation to sit down and spend time sharing my passion for all things musical. Nevertheless I listened to a lot of music in the meantime, discovered tons of new & exciting music - and even spent a little fortune on buying records (diggin' & reissues) while being back to Germany in the summer for three months - having access to my record collection and a record player. So much better than always playing mp3's on my bloody notebook. But if it wouldn't have been for my notebook, mp3's, soulseek, soundcloud and all those great music blogs out there - I would have long died a slow musical death in China during the last 5-10 years.

1 - 2 - 3 - I am starting this compilation with DJ's Moar's super tight edit of James Brown's ''Hot Pants''. Check out DJ Moar on soundcloud for more Soul, Funk & Hip Hop. I like his style. Nothing over-produced. Just straight funkyness & grooves tailored for the dancefloor. Track #03 is another goldie I found on soundcloud. Tobyone's remix of the Sergio Mendes classic ''Mas Que Nada''. According to his profile on soundcloud and an unknown quotation Tobyone is a DJ, mashup artist & surfer based in Portugal and "really good at making mixtapes for my 4 year old, as a warm-up DJ for THE PRODIGY and pretty much everything else in the middle." Sounds good. Track #04 continues with more Latin heat: The Boogaloo Assassins with No No No. I watched some of their videos online - and their raw & high energy live action grabs the audience right from the start with an infectious mix of Salsa and everything funky. The song I am featuring on this compilation is a cover of Dawn Penn's Rocksteady single You Don't Love Me, produced by Coxsone Dodd in 1967 at Studio One. A song which some of you might remember as her Dancehall remake - which was a huge club song in the early 90ies. The Boogaloo Assassins are going boogaloo on this classic, the arrangement is of the hook - and man! they do swing... I first heard Gilles Pettersen play this one in one of his sets at the World Wide Festival in Sete (France) last year. Right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea, blue sky, sunshine... On track #06 we have Raymon Lazer's wonderfully swingin' re-edit of Herbie Hancock's 1966 song Bring Down The Birds. So that's where Dee-Lite found the groove for Groove Is In The Heart? Track #07 is Jack Frost's very own respectful tribute to JJ Cale's Travelin Light. In Jack Frost's own words: ''A modest remix dedicated to a modest artist with extraordinary talent. Something to mix into a set as a tribute to the late JJ Cale...'' JJ Cale - a great artist which I have neglected for far too long. Going to give all his albums a good listen. Check out To Tulsa and Back - On Tour with J.J. Cale - a nice documentary about JJ Cale (Trailer here!). RIP. On track# 12 we've got Smokey Robinson's Virgin Man getting some edit love. Another nice & respectful Jack Frost edit on this compilation. Love that song. ''Virgin Man'' appears on Smokey Robinson's second post-Miracles '74 album Pure Smokey - and it is nothing less. The song opens the door to a side of Smokey that you did not get to see all that often. If the title did not give it away:

"How come people say a lady virgin that's OK
But when the conversation turns around
Virgin Man they always put him down
People say he must be funny
He ain't had a taste of honey"

Check the rest of the lyrics here - or just listen to the song. A Beatz and Carrots tribute to all the shy men out there! Beside being a great artist it also deserves to be mentioned that Smokey Robinson, although Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, was the man who had a great deal in first pushing America's most iconic soul music label toward greatness. As an artist and as the leader of The Miracles, he was responsible for a many hits for Motown Records - but Robinson was also an invaluable behind-the-scenes talent who wrote songs, produced records, scouted and groomed talent, and served as a vice-president at Motown from 1961 to 1988. On track #13 we have another American icon: Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. Ain't Movin' from Johnny "Guitar" Watson and The Family Clone, released in 1981. Big Johnny 'Guitar' Watson favourite of mine. First heard a DJ in France open his set with this song - and I was immediately blown away. Sweet little gem which really carries a groove. The brief thump and pluck of the bass making it funky. Nice little uptempo blues guitar in there, too. Really can't understand why this song's so unknown. It's genius. Have a look at this nice blogpost - paying tribute to more than 40 years of music by the ''Gangster Of Love'', ''Superman Lover'' and ''One Baaaaad Mama Jama''. And check out this string of JGW favourites of mine - sexy, sweaty jams: A Real Mother For Ya,  Superman Lover or Booty Ooty - tasty grooves, filthy horn sections, sweet basslines & pimped out, wicked electric playing... Johnny 'Guitar' Watson in top form... Or check out some of his old R&B (Yeah! Back then still meaning Rhythm & Blues. You could hear and feel it...!) & Rockin' Boogie Shakers: Telephone Boogie or I Say I love yo. AND - unless you're a fan of both funk and the Steve Miller Band, you've likely never heard the inspiration for Steve Miller's The Joker. Today, you can fix that personal failing by enjoying this fabulous performance of the real Gangster of Love live on a German TV show in Bremen/Germany in 1977 (via Not-Pop-Jukebox). Watson died of cardiac infarction on May 17, 1996, while on tour in Yokohama, Japan. According to eyewitness reports, he collapsed mid guitar solo. His last words were "Ain't That A Bitch", probably in reference to the song Ain't That A Bitch... RIP! I am ending this little selection of favourites with track #15 - Kill Emil's re-edit of the Aswad classic Red Up. Taken from Aswad's 1976 debut album on Mango Records. Classic and very special album for me since I first bought it some 23 years ago. Reggae, World Music, Jazz & Soul. Nicely displaying the group's jazz-tinged, roots reggae sound. Give the whole album a listen. It features such vocal highlights as Can't Stand The Pressure and Ire Woman. Also check out Aswad's ''shaka'' tune Warrior Charge. 

Enjoy! DubMe