Happy Birthday! (Beatz & Carrots Anniversary Special #1)

01 - intro - bappi lahiri - let's dance for the great guy bruce lee

02 - elias rahbani - dance of maria

03 - gnonnas pedro - yiri yiri boum

04 - bunny rugs - be thankful

05 - quantic presenta flowering inferno - no soy del valle

06 - cut chemist - povo de santo (instrumental)

07 - cut chemist - povo de santo

08 - grupo saya - canita canaveral

09 - samuel belay - aynotchesh yerefu

10 - thomas chauke - xipereta

11 - skit - jah wobble - cherry blossom of our youth

12 - la ola criminal – sin gas5. maga bo – analys d’amour (inst.)

13 - shantisan - meu filho (carioca funk)

14 - pepepe - el desastre (original de los macuanos)

15 - victor uwaifo - ohue (frankie francis and simbad edit)

16 - jay dee - rico suave bossa nova

17 - willy berking - lillie und luise (vocal - rudi schuricke - 1940)

18 - joe gibbs - he prayed version

19 - seu jorge & almaz - the model (joey altruda remix)

20 - la banda africana - te clavo ma mano

21 - eddie hooper - pass it on

22 - rubens bassini y los latinos - son cubano amparo

Beatz & Carrots is one year old! One year ago on the 31st of October I wrote my first post. And just a day later I posted the first Beatz & Carrots #1 (October 2011) compilation. 12 months later - and there is still a lot of music I want to share and discover with everyone following this blog. There are many reasons why I started this blog - the main reason above all is probably my love for music - and wanting to share the joys of good music with more people. Also, living in China (which is a bit of a blank spot on the World map of music), where it is difficult to find like-minded people who go crazy for a good song, who dig the funky grooves of James Brown, feel the soul in an old Studio One Motown cover, swing & jump to some fresh Cumbia by Mister Quantic, laugh about some weird late 70ies No Wave video, chill to a rare Disco Boogie edit - and wonder what the next Resense 7inch is going to sound like - this blog provides a way for me to stay in touch with other music lovers, exchange ideas, gain new inspiration... I am quite happy how the blog is going. I shared some nice compilations, I am updating the blog more or less regularly, I do get some feedback for the music I share. Of course - more comments would always be nice. They for sure make my day ;-)

So, I thought I use the Beatz & Carrots One Year Anniversary as an excuse to share some of the older Beatz & Carrots compilations I did before I started this blog. Altogether four Beatz & Carrots ''Anniversary Specials'' which I will be posting over the following days. Enjoy & leave some feedback if there is any music your particularly enjoy!

DubMe

Beatz & Carrots #11 (August 2012)

01 - intro - the originals - the whip

02 - souleance - chemise

03 - soul shakers - you ain't my brother

04 - ben e king - stand by me (suonho soul beat edit)

05 - amp fiddler - hope

06 - rokk - patience

07 - featurecast ft greg blackman - get lovely

08 - les edits du golem - we have it made

09 - johnny cash - i walk the line (alkalino rework)

10 - liam bailey - please love me

11 - mungo's hi fi - don't let them horns riddim

12 - dj nu-mark - our generation (re-edit)

13 - mulatu - yegelle tezeta (nicolas jaar edit)

14 - uproot andy & chief boima - sina makossa remix

15 - fabulous arabia - give me love tonight

16 - dj nu-mark - troplicalifornia (main)

17 - gramatik vs. the beatles - don't let me down 2012

18 - john lennon - imagine (nicoluminous remix)

19 - percy mayfield - hit the road jack

20 - talking heads - sugar on my tongue

Brand new Beatz & Carrots Selection. No genres - just music - starting with a nice intro taken from the '50ies raunchy & rockin' instrumental The Whip by The Originals. This video might be the more entertaining version TO WATCH. Track #3 brings us some heavy bouncing funk, catchy lyrics - and above all some irresistible horns: You Ain't My Brother by The Soul Shakers. Recorded in the late 60s, the original 45 rpm single on the 'Amark' label is much sought after - and rare as a hens tooth. But those who want it on crispy vinyl are lucky - it got re-released on Tramp Records a while ago on limited 7inch vinyl. Beside that it can also be found on the first Movements compilation by Tobias Kirmayer. Also check out the heavy hitting old school edit 'To The Beats Yall' by DJ Rudd on Beatz & Carrots #5. Track #5 is an old favourite of mine which I first heard on a Quantic live mix years ago. Took me like 3-4 years to finally identify this song: 'Hope' by Amp Fiddler is a hypnotic funky house shuffle with some added bass bounce. Sexy & very danceable! The next song - track #6 Patience by Rokk is a super rare modern soul gem from 1976 - and it is pure sunshine bliss. No wonder - as it was taken from the great California Soul compilation full of smooth west coast grooves from the sunshine state California. Let me quote from the liner notes of 'California Soul': "Patience" was recorded in 1976 as the lead single to an album by Rokk. The album was never finished because producer Calvin Carter became too ill. A handful of promotional copies of “Patience” were distributed but the song has otherwise never seen the light of day. Label owner Betty Chiappetta had high hopes for Rokk and looked to re-launch her Tollie label with the band’s success. Unfortunately when Carter fell ill the band disappeared and the almost-completed Rokk album is still in Chiappetta’s possession." - - - Would love to listen to that album! Track #8 is a subtle but yet hypnotic edit by Les Edits Du Golem of the 50ies Doo Wop or Teener song We Have It Made by Pete Votrian. Finding track #8 on soundcloud a while ago was a pleasant surprise: Brilliant Alkalino Rework of ''I Walk The Line'' by Johnny Cash. Smooth, deep & elegant! Absolutely diggin' this one! Track #10 - Liam Bailey - Please Love Me is another sweet, smooth & soulful favourite which has been on heavy heavy rotation at my place. Absolutely addictive. Recorded nearly two years ago, this is another song (also check out When Will They Learn) that perfectly showcases Liam's sublime singing, songwriting, and musicianship. '''Please Love Me' is an uptempo song that sounds like the musical lovechild of Curtis Mayfield and Waylon Jennings. A soul track with a country twist, Please Love Me has Liam in a falsetto while tough drums and lush strings dance around his vocals and a country guitar line gives the song an unrelenting bounce.'' (Info courtesy of Truth & Soul Records). Find the 7inch & Digital Download here. Track #12 - DJ Nu-Mark - Our Generation (Re-Edit) is a real crate-diggers rejoice which was available as a free download. It is a re-edit of the original Ernie Hines classic ''Our Generation'' (probably most commonly known as the sample Pete Rock & Cl Smooth use on Straighten It Out). This is what DJ Nu-Mark himself says about this great re-edit: ''I chose 'Our Generation' because the vocal content in this 1972 classic still pertains to what’s happening in the world today. The topic of unwarranted wars and violence still plague our society.'' True dat! Track #13 is a bootleged, unreleased Nicolas Jaar edit of Mulatu's Yekermo Sew, wrongly titled ''Yegelle Tezeta (Nicolas Jaar Edit)". Perfect fusion between the magic multi-layered sounds of Ethiopian legend Mulatu Astatke and Jaar’s magical touch… Close your eyes & let yourself be taken away! Track #15 is an 'old favourite' which has already been on heavy rotation for a few months - after I first got introduced to it by the Prince of Ballard on his Armed Snobbery blog July this year: Fabulous Arabia - Give Me Love Tonight from the album Unlimited Buffet. What can I say? Perfect song. Always making me smile. This is probably my favourite song from their long player Unlimited Buffet - but the rest of the album is equally great - containing ''flawless harmonies, interjections of brass and smatterings of searing guitar, all underpinned by an elastic and funky rhythm section. It's a buzz-funk extravaganza with playful vocals. Think of a wild unique mixture of Shuggie Otis meets the Beatles with a New Zealand twist. And the band is a true NZ allstar band featuring Toby Laing and Joe Lindsay of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Lucien Johnson of The Black Seeds and Julien Dyne (BBE) on drums.'' There is some magic brewing in New Zealand! Check this video for an electrifying look behind the scenes as Fabulous/Arabia 'warms themselves up' for their debut festival performance. Track #16 is another DJ Nu-Mark freebie: Troplicalifornia featuring Mister Quantic - and taken from DJ Nu-Mark's upcoming release Broken Sunlight Series 4. Just watch that video & save me the time describing this upbeat sunshine trip. Happy! Track #18 is a pretty style Dubstep remix by Nicoluminous of John Lennon's classic song "Imagine". Really feeling this remix: strings, piano, beat & John Lennon's timeless lyrics & singing. Track #19 is the first version of ''Hit The Road Jack'' written & recorded by rhythm and bluesman Percy Mayfield in 1960 as an acapella version - before it got picked up by Ray Charles and became the classic we all know. Ray Charles version, which has a strong beat, is a brief but rather comic duet between a fed-up woman and her good-for-nothing man. He tries to wheedle her into letting him stay, but she will have none of it, "'cause it's understood: you ain't got no money, you just ain't no good." I am finishing this compilation with Sugar On My Tongue by the Talking Heads, which Kristof just shared in time on his blog Duendiness. Perfect! Thanks! This song originally should have been on the Talking Heads debut album Talking Heads -77, but only got released many many years later. I got addicted to this song the first time I heard it: tight, punchy, funny, sweet and weird. Maybe that's why the song didn't get released the first time? And because of the lyrics? Sugar standing for LSD?! I assume its not necessarily about popping-around for a spoonful of... ? Anyway - enjoy this fresh Beatz & Carrots selection with or without sugar!

DubMe

This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:30 minutes long.

Beatz & Carrots #10 (July 2012)

01 - intro - jeff barnes - get in the groove

02 - kalle et l'africa team de paris - africa boogaloo

03 - suonho - gypsy woman

04 - pillow talk - sunny

05 - eek a mouse - ganja smuggling (disco tech edit)

06 - chordettes - mr sandman

07 - dj delay - baga cumbia

08 - pernett - cumbia computer (zeb remix)

09 - charles wright & the watts 103rd street band - what can you bring me

10 - fatback band - goin' to see my baby

11 - gianfranco reverberi - nel cimitero di tucson (alkalino rework)

12 - thornato - marimba

13 - little dragon - summertearz inna bottle (nickodemus & zeb remix)

14 - whitney houston - my love is your love (jeremy sole cumbia dubplate)

15 - mary jane girls - all night long

16 - barry biggs - love come down (1984)

17 - nohelani cypriano - lihue

18 - childs & moore - superstition

19 - al jazzbo collins - the three little pigs

Trying to catch up with my monthly Beatz & Carrots compilations. Here is the July 2012 selection. After a nice intro which I have taken of an old Rocksteady song - the fire is on: Track #2 is Africa Boogaloo by Kalle et L'Africa Team de Paris. Well - just as the title suggests: an African boogaloo song. And a wonderful one! Mixing the sweet elements of Congolese music - already including a dose of Cuban Rumba - with the fiery rhythms of the 1960ies New York boogaloo sounds. You can find this song on the very good Honest John compilation The Latinization Of West Africa, which includes more songs in a similar vein. The next song takes on the Latin heat with Suonho's amazing re-edit of Joe Bataan's 1967 Latin dance cover of Gypsy Woman. I have had this song for a long time - but it only lately started growing on me. Now I can't live without it. Play this one out loud - and get boogalized! Sweeter than sugar, nicer than girl watching on a sunny day. Well, you know what I mean ;-) On track #4 Pillowtalk gives us a wonderful edit of the classic track Sunny sang by Bobby Hebb. If you have been following this blog for a while you should know that I am a huge fan of this song & its various covers. Look here fore more sunshine. Eek! Track #5 is a Disco Tech Edit of Ganja Smuggling by Eek A Mouse. And what is even better it is an edit of the live version which Eek A Mouse performed at the 1984 Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica - giving us the full intro and a massive build-up. Big original - and great edit. The only thing I could add - wish the mastering on the edit would have been a little louder. Track #6 gives us The Chordettes with their huge 1954 hit Mr Sandman. Some websites state that "Mr Sandman" is the most popular 50s song of all time! Well - it for sure is "Sweeter than a candy on a stick" (like this girl vocal band is sometimes described). Track #11 is a sweet Alkalino rework of Nel Cimitero Di Tucson ("Last Man Standing" in English), which was composed by Gianfranco Reverberi for the 1968 Django Italo Western Preparati LaBara! (ft. Terence Hill). You’ll most likely recognize this song as the prevalent sample from Gnarl Barkley’s "Crazy". What an amazing Italo Western theme. Can't get enough of those horns. Track #12: Thornato who was also included on the last months Beatz & Carrots compilation with an AMAZING remix of Grupo Socavon's "Homenaje A Justino", is back with yet another tropikal monster tune: Marimba! Another song I can't get enough of! The last time I played at a club here in Chengdu - I played this song twice in a row - and the Dancefloor basically exploded in joyful shouts. Marimbas! Track #13 is a deep haunting remix by Nickodemus & Zeb of Little Dragon's Summertearz Inna Bottle, which Nickodemus shared on his soundcloud page a while ago - saying this: "Now that Summer's over, here's a fun 'lil remix we did of a live "Summertearz" version of the band playing into glass bottles & amp; Yukimi's impromptu vocals over the top." Track #14 is a Jeremy Sole Cumbia Dubplate of Whitney Houston's My Love Is Your Love. Perfect & smooth: Great intro, vocals from the original lady, airhorn, some cumbia bounce... R.I.P Whitney Houston. We continue with another classic R&B song - the Mary Jane Girls' smash hit All Night Long way back from 1983. Original old-school R&B like I like it: great vocals, the beat is hot, melodic and on point. Produced by the late Rick James. Track #16 is Barry Biggs cover of Evelyn "Champagne" King's Love Come Down. "Barry Biggs is The Expert on ultra-sweet Reggaefied version of well known hits. "Love Comes Down" is a classic, also in Barry's own rendering. Throughout his career, Barry Biggs has stayed focused on sweetness, sugar if you will. Spice he let over to others. Barry Biggs is a household name in Reggae when it comes to Lovers Rock even before there was such a thing and this track shows why." (Dubroom Reviews) Also check out this nice Disco Syndicate rework. Track #17 takes us to Hawaii: Nohelani Cypriano - Lihue. Hot Hawaiian balearic disco from 1977 and sought-after underground classic. More info here. I was trying hard to include the next song on this compilation. Track #18 by Childs & Moore from the VA - Goodfoot EP is an amazing rework of Stevie Wonder's classic Superstition: "Almost accapella, full of soul feeling and passion!" I am ending this compilation with an old favourite of mine: Al Jazzbo Collins hip re-interpretation of the classic fairy-tale The Three Little Pigs in a hip beatnik fashion. Taken from the album "A Lovely Bunch Of Al Jazzbo Collins And The Bandidos" (1967 - Impulse! Records). Swingin' Jazz, damn groovy and you have to be fast to grasp all of Al Jazzbo Collins humor: "Once upon a time in the land of Nitty Gritty there lived three little pigs. One of the little pigs was really cool. The other was more on the commercial side and the third was beyond the shadow of a doubt as square as they come..." Brilliant!

Enjoy! DubMe

PS.: This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:50 minutes long.

DJ Farrapo & Yanez - Alien Na Favela (Agogo Records - 2012)

A few days ago I received a promo copy of DJ Farrapo & Yanez's new album Alien Na Favela which is going to be released on Agogo Records in just a few days. I thought I return the favour and try to write a little review for their new album - which actually is also their debut album. In 2005, after beeing good friends for many years and various musical collaborations, Yanez Servadei and DJ Farrapo decided to mix their experiences, which are strongly rooted in the various forms of brazilian music and bring up a fresh mix of electro-brazilian sounds. Several years and releases later the duo is finally releasing their first long player. It's a CD double album. While CD 1 is containing various original songs (many of which have so far only been available on 7inch vinyl) - CD 2 contains a string of remixes by all your favourite remixers in a truly eclectic fashion! Some of my personal favourites include Shantisan's great extended remix of Mojito Com Cachaca (can't get enough of that sweet sounding Clarinet!), Frohlocker's truly brilliant remix of Preciso Mudar (ft. Eloisa Atti & MC Magu). Very dubby, sweet vocals and a rolling bass. Pure niceness! Another favourite is Drumagick's Live Band Remix of the title song Alien Na Favela. Love the raw live energy of the remix - and that crazy wobbling bass. Pure fire for the dancefloor. A song to forget one's everyday worries. Just dancing & feeling the music. Suonho, who must have been busy lately, releasing a handful of 12inches, songs & remixes this year - also provided a great remix of Alien Na Favela in a Broken Cuica Style. The bass is nice, heavy & jazzy on this one. This song definitely is going to roll heavy on global dancefloors this winter. But let me get back to CD 1 now - which provides all the great original songs. Baiano Vem Baiano Vai - if you missed the original 7inch on Afro Art Records back in 2006 - here is your chance to get & play it. My first DJ Farrapo & Yanez song - and still a huge favourite. Hot hot hot Drum & Bossa! Frango Assado - a super catchy uptempo song. Positive vibes all along. And that chicken is just awesome! Must be one of the best intros out there! Whenever I play this one - there is no holding for the dancefloor... happy people & crazy moves! Be sure to check their video (and the chicken!). Carimbo Do Farrapo - probably my new hit song from this album. Previously unreleased. But heard it in quite a few sets this year - so I am really happy to see it included on this album. What a brilliant stompin' groove! Pure tropical sunshine... I am going to end this review with Mojito Com Cachaca. As I said above - I can't get enough of that Clarinet - which definitely adds a sweet & distant swing feeling to this song. Swingin' Brazilian Drum & Bossa with a Clarinet :) This is what DJ Farrapo himself writes about the song:

"In a tall glass place the mint leaves, squeeze over a little bit of “son”, and add two teaspoons of "chorinho". Mix everything, then add cachaça at will. Place the straw and prepare to enjoy this explosive mix by Dj Farrapo & Yanez; after a Mojito com Cachaça even Hemingway would run on the dancefloor."

Only thing I can add - don't forget to be playing this album while enjoying your "Mojito com Cachaca".

Listen to the rest of the album & find your own favourites here (original songs) and here (remixes).

DJ FARRAPO & YANEZ
"Alien Na Favela"
Agogo Records - 2012

Beatz & Carrots #9 (June 2012)

01 - elvis presley - pocketful of rainbows

02 - dj mitsu the beats - masquerade

03 - unknown - air hostess bossa (1966)

04 - james brown - the avenue aint for fuckin hipsters anymore (dj prime fool around)

05 - jackie stoudemire - dancing

06 - the agitators - jb's lick (the dusty groove re edit)

07 - boz scaggs - lowdown

08 - renegades of jazz - moo juice (benji boko boy com remix vocal)

09 - poldoore - banana hammock (original mix)

10 - mr bird - on a sunny day (lazy summer mix)

11 - sibu - arroz

12 - grupo socavon - homenaje a justino (thornato remix)

13 - john schroeder - superstition

14 - lucho bermudez - danza negra (UFedit)

15 - manolis chiotis-feakes - megali mou agapi (1965)

16 - phil pratt & ken boothe - sweet song for my baby

17 - margie lomax - god’s greatest gift to man is a woman (1974)

18 - barry biggs - stop look listen

19 - pretty lights - finally moving (james brown remix)

20 - cuetec - be around

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I have updated my blog. I have been travelling through China, Myanmar and Thailand with a friend for almost six weeks. Lot's of sunshine, good food and even some good funky music in Bangkok. Since early September I have been back in Chengdu/China - but didn't until now find the time, mood or groove to compile another selection of music for the blog. These will be my last 4-5 months in China before I will be leaving for France in January. Working a lot these days, trying to save some money. Winter seems to be embracing Chengdu early this year. Lots of grey days with either a lot of fog - or smog. Usually winter happens to cancels out the sun in most cities and the skies seem to turn gray over most of China. Only a few pockets of sunshine are immune to the meteorological oddity known as "China Winter" and I am NOT in one of them now... 

 

So what better way is there than to start this new Beatz & Carrots compilation (which was actually supposed to have been shared here in July) with the nice Popcorn song "Pocketful of Rainbows" by Elvis Presley from his 1960 album G.I. Blues. Listen to the first few lines of the song and you will understand: "I don't worry. Whenever skies are gray above. Got a pocketful of rainbows. Got a heart full of love..." Track #3 is the mysterious Air Hostess Bossa - a beautiful haunting S U M M E R C H O O N - shared by jupiter tuning center. For more things soulful be sure to check his soundcloud page or his blog. Can't fight the Chengdu grey sky with Brazilian Bossa Nova sweetness alone - so here is some serious serious funk: track #4 - the damn good & HOT James Brown - The Avenue Aint For Fuckin Hipsters Anymore (DJ Prime FoolAround). Thanks to DJ Prime for foolin' around with this one! Track #5, "Dancing" by Jackie Stoudemire, is another musical treat. Real sweet disco floater! Props go out to Mr. Vinyl Addicted who introduced me to this goodie. Thanks again! Now I and I will change the mood. You say I can't do that?! Wait until you hear track #9 Poldoore - Banana Hammock (Original Mix) which was kindly shared for free on the Cold Busted compilation Various Artists - Bust Free 9. Serious re-lick of Horace Andy's song Skylarking from the legendary Studio One. Track #11 is Sibu - Arroz - a brilliant remix of Lucho Bermudez's Arroz Con Coco from Sibu who is based in Athens/Greece. I really like Sibu's remix - the nice intro, building up anticipation for what is going to come. Slowly introducing those beautiful horns - until Lucho Bermudez finally hits the musical listener with the sound of his dizzyingly swift clarinet. Beautiful - and on top of the list of my musical favourites this year! Listening to all those good songs on Sibu's soundcloud page - one is surprised to have not seen any of them getting a proper release yet! Anyone out there?! Among many other songs - I seriously want to see King Kong 22 by Sibu & Joe Nagall being released - so I can play it out loud for the good dancefloor. Thanks to Sibu for sharing this beauty with everyone here at Beatz & Carrots! With track #12 we are staying on the Cumbia path - but going a little up north - to the Afro-Colombian/African-descendant/Black people of the Pacific coast. Listen to the beautiful sounds of the Colombian marimba, a wooden xylophone which resembles the African balafon, played by the Grupo Socavon. Thornato delivers a stompin' remix of Grupo Socavon's Homenaje A Justino. The riddim bares some similarities to Chaka Demus & Pliers Murder She Wrote. A little speeded up?! Beautiful remix - and I am glad that Thornato and the Cumba Mela collaborative finally shared this song on their soundcloud pages. Track #14 is yet again another Cumbia remix/edit. This time we have Ufe from Bucharest in Romania sharing a scorching edit of Lucho Bermudez's Danza Negra with us! Track #15 takes us to Greece. Megali Mou Agapi is a song I can't quite categorize (and why should I?!) by Manolis Chiotis-Feakes, who was one of the greatest composers of Greek folk music and a great virtuoso of the bouzouki. The song was recorded in 1965 and can be found on his Manolis Hiotis - The USA years album. I always thought that song sounded somewhat familiar - and yes! It got sampled by Simon Resoul and Kormac on their equally great song Entre. Track #16 - time for some sweet Rocksteady by Phil Pratt & Ken Boothe. "Sweet Song For My Baby" was the first single recorded by Phil Pratt in 1966. Melancholy rocksteady with great horns and superb understated production. This is Music with a capital M! Track #17 is yet another great song which Yer Darling Daily put on my musical map. The groove on Margie Lomax's God’s Greatest Gift To Man Is A Woman is simply unstoppable… and I also dig the lyrics. Played it at my last gig here in Chengdu - and the ladies almost fainted from excitement. I am ending this compilation with track #20 Cuetec - Be Around. A deep slow soulful house version of I'll Be Around from Otis Gayle. Original Studio One production. I am feeling that bass!

Enjoy! DubMe

Brazil, Samba, Rock! (2012)

01 - intro - sivuca speaks

02 - os originais do samba - favela

03 - jorge ben - o telefone tocou novamente

04 - os mutantes - she's my shoo shoo (minha menina)

05 - eliseth cardoso - eu bebo sim

06 - ed lincoln - eu nao vou mais

07 - dedy dread - o bananeiro

08 - caetano veloso e gal costa - que pena (1969)

09 - sono rhizmo - o-telefono

10 - alessao vilhoso - sol de verao (7 samurai remix)

11 - elza soares - amor perfeito

12 - jorge ben - take it easy my brother charles

13 - maria bethania - mano caetano

14 - shantisan aquela - minha menina

15 - roberto carlos - mi cacharrito

16 - abilio manoel - luiza manequim

17 - jorge ben e trio mocoto - cosa nostra

18 - jorge ben - sou da pesada (7 samurai remix)

19 - gilberto gil - batmacumba

20 - gal costa - tuareg

21 - palov & panama cardoon - favelas

22 - os originais do samba - tenha fe pois amanha um lindo dia vai nascer

23 - d.angelo - muito incrementado

24 - trio tropical show - risada (meloda crise)

25 - os mutantes - baby

This compilation goes out straight to DJ Farrapo from Bologna/Italy! In 2008 I listened to a live mix of his from the Soul Sugar Party in Vienna - playing a Samba Rock set like no one else. Amazing tempo, amazing selection, amazing songs! You can still download the mix on his myspace site. DJ Farrapo is a musicologist, dj producer, samba lover and amateur cook. His ingredients: flavours from all over the world. His brand: a hot mix of pulsing club music. Knowing all this - track #1, the intro to this compilation makes even more sense: "In Brazil we use to call the Rhythm Section the kitchen, because they are the one's who cook. And - we have a beautiful kitchen here." And our main chef is Mister Farrapo, always cooking & brewing some tasty magic. Check out some of his older releases on Discogs or listen to the latest DJ Farrapo & Yanez release here. This is what Agogo Records has to say about their new Remix EP: "The musical spaceship of Dj Farrapo & Yanez is ready to land in the favela, bringing to you a genuine and fresh organic mix of electro-brazilian music. In their first LP, fifteen hot tracks, including their most popular songs, showing that not always aliens come to destroy the world: sometimes they come to dance! This 12" contains six brandnew remixes from this forthcoming double CD album ALIEN NA FAVELA. please enjoy !" And I am pretty sure I'm not the only one looking forward to the first Dj Farrapo & Yanez longplayer!

On this compilation I share some of my Samba Rock favourites from all over the years. Samba Rock is a style of music that was born in Brazil in the 1960's. It combines the sounds of samba, soul, bebop and jazz. In Brazil Samba Rock is a genre of samba and sub genre of rock and most importantly: it amazing music to dance to - whether you are in Brazil, Germany or China! Some of the pioneers of this great style of music are Jorge Ben Jor, Bebeto, Banda Black Rio, Tim Maia and Trio Mocoto. But Samba Rock is still going strong today, with new artists like Seu Jorge, Clube do Balanco, Sambasonics among others. Enjoy this compilation - and keep some cool drinks within reach, 'coz the summer heat is on...

DubMe

Oriental Discotheque - Disco Not Disco (2012)

01 - ahmed fakroun - njoom al leyel

02 - tanya - darladi ladada version

03 - antares - arabian dance

04 - orient express - abdullah dollar (jean pierre massiera '83)

05 - les mogol - madimak

06 - baris manco - aheste (baris k edit)

07 - rachid taha - agatha

08 - djamel allam - edit d'algerie (julian horn)

09 - bjork - crystalline (omar souleyman remix)

10 - elias rahbani - dance of maria

11 - abdul hassan orchestra - disco arab

12 - ait mislayene - el fen

13 - ahmed fakroun - yo son (prince language edit 'soleil soleil')

14 - raina rai - hagda

15 - les edits du golem - sumak

I have always liked the various forms of oriental music from the Middle East. Listening to my father playing some Mohammed Abdel Wahab (check out the classic Abdel Halim Hafez song Ya Albi Ya Khali produced by him) or Farid El Atrache tapes as a child was always deep and fazinating stuff! And the record covers of some of his Belly Dancing albums never seemed to disappoint. In recent years, whenever listening to some oriental music, I found myself mostly listening to music from Nickodemus, Zeb, The Spy From Cairo, Rachid Taha, Natacha Atlas - music which sometimes is summarized/described as global grooves (whatever that means) - music shared on many great Putumayo, Rough Guide to... or Turntables on the Hudson compilations and mixes. Today's compilation is a little different. Kind of Oriental Disco, Disco Not Disco, No Wave, Leftfield, Edit, Balearic, Italo Disco with an oriental theme, Pop-Boogie-Electro, Cosmic... I have always collected "oriental" songs which fit the above mentioned description. One of the first songs for this compilation might have been track #7, Agatha by Rachid Taha. Found it one a nice Balearic mix, whose name I have forgotten. Another early favourite is track# 10, Dance Of Maria by Lebanese musician and composer Elias Rahbani. What a stand out track with great drum breaks, killer organ, flutes... Too beautiful not to cry! Taken from his 1972 album "Mosaic of the Orient". Let me share what Little Danny, who is responsible for the great Officenaps blog, writes on soul sides - he did a great job describing the surroundings of the song: "In 1972 you’d still come across references to Beirut as "The Paris of the Middle East" in current issues of National Geographic; the city was, after all, the region’s nerve center of television, cinema, and radio. And Lebanese pop wunderkind Elias Rahbani was squarely in the middle of it all. His "Song of Maria" works precisely because of its cosmopolitan soul: it’s Eastern melody with Western circuitry, experimentalism with a sense of pop humor, and it’s crammed with flowing Farfisa organ lines, electric bass, keyboards that aren’t mizmars but sound exactly like them, bouzoukis, guitars, and even a few choice moments for you breakbeat aficionados. But, then again, this was 1972, a ravaging decade and a half of civil war was still a few years away, and, as far as Rahbani was concerned, there was room for all of it inside the pleasure dome.“ Read the rest here. The song that really got this compilation rollin' was track #13, the Prince Language killer edit of Libyan singer Ahmed Fakroun's 1983 hit "Soleil Soleil". Find the original here. John Storm Roberts, of Original Music, wrote that "among rai singers, the pop-oriented Ahmed Fakroun stands out on two grounds. First, he is influenced by Euro-pop and French art-rock (...) Second, he's a multi-instrumentalist in both traditions as well as a singer. He plays bouzouki-like saz, mandol and darbouka drum, as well as guitar, bass guitar and keyboards." This is what the jonosaudio blog had to say about Ahmed Fakroun, far the best introduction to this fine musicians I found on the blogsphere: "Multiinstrumentalist Ahmed Fakroun musical career started already in the early 1970's after which he had several lenghty recording and performance sejours in England and France. (In 1974 he recorded "Njoom Al Leyel", which is the first song featured on this compilation. Produced in England by famous BBC Radio producer Tommy Vance in 1974, it features some funky flute workouts over a deep groove. In 1977 he worked together with famous Greek composer and artist Vangelis resulting in the track "Nisyan". Listen to the Les Edits Du Golem edit of the same song on youtube.) In 1983 his Mots D'Amour album was released including the hit single Soleil Soleil to make his mark in world music circles, combining traditional Arab instruments and melodies with modern electronic music and dance rhythms. But then came the US aerial bombing of Libya in April 1986, followed by years of international sanctions and isolation, ...(which) seriously impeded its citizens' freedom of movement and Fakroun's international career plans were effectively put on ice." Here is another lengthy article about Ahmed Fakroun from the BBC website - well worth reading. If you want to further explore Fakroun's musical works, check out his website. Some of his original recordings can legally be downloaded through CD Baby here and here. Track #8 is another song I would like to mention. A brilliant edit of Djamel Allam's Fatiha from his 1974 album "Laissez Moi Rancorter" by Julian Horn. Julian Horn aka. Giulio DJ started his career DJ'ing in Vienna around ten years ago, bringing his love for authentic disco, balearic beats and cosmic leftfield sounds to the plates of many locals. Check out some of his music released on Is it Balearic...? and Elevator People. And don't forget to give this amazing song and video on youtube a listen. Pure feel-good-music! Educated as a sound engineer in London, Giulio's musical visions mostly expand on the themes of balearic disco, fusion jazz, and prog rock. I hope he will soon share another magical edit of a north african, arabic, oriental delicacy! I would have loved to include the 1978 song Do You Love Me by the Bendaly Family from Lebanon on this compilation, but I couldn't find a copy of it anywhere. So, you gotta watch the youtube version right here:

Amazing raw footage that leaves me jaw dropping stunned every time I watch it. And happy! For sure my favourite musical family out there - together with the Jackson 5... Doyo love me? Doyo Doyo...

Enjoy! DubMe

PS: This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:59 minutes long...