Blog Archives

Introducing ROOTS + SOUL- a new NYC Monthly Event

ROOTS + SOUL AUG 15

Very excited to share the news of a new monthly series I have the pleasure of curating right here in NYC!

The festivities take place at the new music venue Meridian 23. Every third Friday of the month, catch yours truly in the mix with a hand picked lineup of the most global and soulful DJs and live acts!

Next Friday, August 15th, we launch the series with live Afrobeat flavors from Underground System and special guest DJ sets from Bobbito Garcia aka Kool Bob Love and OBaH. Not to be missed! 10PM, $10.

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Dem Say Ah Vinyl + Digital Available Worldwide

Dem Say Ah Vinyl

Ecstatic to announce that my new record, ‘Dem Say Ah’ featuring Akoya Afrobeat, is available worldwide now!

Straight Afrobeat/Afro House dancefloor bizness, mixed by the legendary DJ Spinna!

For folks that are looking for the digital version, iTunes got you covered here.

For my people who want to hold and feel the vibrations off the limited edition vinyl, check for that gold wax on Bandcamp here.

Enjoy, spread love + music!

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Announcing DEM SAY AH

Dem Say Ah

It is with great pleasure and joy that I share news about my forthcoming record, Dem Say Ah featuring Akoya Afrobeat, officially out 4/15/14!

What started as a remix for Grammy Award Winning Jazz artist Gregory Porter, morphed into a straight Afrobeat dancefloor situation. For the recordings I came together with Akoya and Kaleta, Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah, Maurice Brown, Chris Rob and DJ Spinna.

For more on how the record came to fruition and to pre-order your copy, visit our Kickstarter page and let the get down begin!

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In Session on The Bobbito Garcia Radio Show

tear drop wax

Got the call to fill in for Bobbito Garcia on East Village Radio yesterday, 12/9 and what a session it was!

Played beautiful records from Erykah Badu, Roy Ayers, Marc Mac & the Visioneers, Bosq of Whiskey Barons, Tall Black Guy, Lord Echo and DJ Day, amongst others!

It’s always an honor to fill Bob’s shoes and he called in three times during the program to comment on the treats and talk sh*t! Lots of laughs and vibes. Shout out to my brother Andrés!

Listen to the broadcast here

*playlist can be found here

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Kaleta on the Bobbito Garcia Radio Show

DJ Center on EVR

Was back on East Village Radio this week for the Bobbito Garcia Radio Show! Always an honor to fill Bob’s shoes and this week’s show was pretty special.

Sat down with Kaleta, the afrobeat ambassador behind Zozo and Akoya Afrobeat Ensembles. Talked with him about his musical upbringings playing with both King Sunny Adé and Fela Anikulapo Kuti, amongst others!

Then, played new/timeless music from D’Angelo, Quantic & Nidia Góngora, Louie Vega & Elements of Life, Kev Brown, Quadron and the Boogaloo Assassins!

Listen to the broadcast here

*playlist can be found here

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Eddie Palmieri on the Bobbito Garcia Radio Show

Eddie Palmieri on EVR

Had the honor of playing records this past Monday on The Bobbito Garcia Radio Show with none other than 9x time Grammy Award winner and living legend Eddie Palmieri in studio.

I’ve been a fan of Mr. Palmieri’s works for years and still remember the day I came across “Azucar Pa”Ti“. My collection was forever changed!

I drop new/timeless music from Quantic & Nidia Góngora, Lord Echo, Dennis Brown and more!

Listen to this incredibly special broadcast here

*playlist can be found here

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Push the Fader Radio – Brazil Special August 2012

PTF Radio Brasil Special August 2012

*All Brazilian Vinyl Mix | Disco É Cultura

Welcome to the August edition of Push the Fader Radio – Brazil Special.

Earlier this year I took a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While in town, I was no doubt searching for the perfect beat!

What I found was a sea of beautiful records and a tremendous amount of music to go through when I got back to NYC, endlessly combing the crates for those forgotten gems. And really, I’m still just at the beginning…

This mix is put together entirely from records purchased during that trip. On this podcast you’ll hear some of my favorite Brazilian artists, classics and versions in Soul, Jazz, Samba, MPB y more!

From Brazil to Brooklyn, with love.

*you can download every Push the Fader Radio Podcast on iTunes for free by subscribing here

 

For Complete tracklisting –

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Center Bumps – Paris DJs Special (Download)

Center Bumps - Paris DJs

* All Vinyl Mix | Cover Artwork by Andrés Jiménez

This month’s podcast mix comes to you courtesy of the Paris based website for all things soulful, funky and deep – Paris DJs.  I’ve been checking for Paris DJs for a number of years now, always updated with the latest info on some of my favorite artists and releases.

When the opportunity came to do an exclusive mix for their site, I was more than happy to put this together. Below are a couple questions you may have regarding the mix and you’ll find the link to download it straight to your digital player here.

What are Center Bumps?

Center Bumps are tunes that I’m feeling that particular week and/or month. They are songs in constant rotation and highlight new and old music that I’ve dug up in that respective time period. I use to include charts in my mailing list emails and people would always write back asking how they could hear that music.  Well, now you can courtesy of these monthly mixes.

Why did you choose to do an all Vinyl mix?

To be honest I’m still high off of Everything in Time being released on vinyl. Vinyl is still my favorite way to listen to music. I have so many gems that haven’t been released digitally, so it made sense to spread love the analog way.

Why Paris DJs?

Djouls and crew been putting it down for years on that side of the Atlantic, always keeping it fresh. With so many people in common, it was only a matter of time til we connected online for a release!

DJ Center – Center Bumps (Paris DJs Spécial) (Download)

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NYC: Fat Beats Record Store Day Event

Fat Beats Record Store Day

Looking forward to being part of the festivities this Saturday afternoon at the Fat Beats Pop-Up Shop.

I’ll be spinning at 2:30PM and the entire day should be full of flavor with performances and DJ sets, celebrating the pieces of wax we love. Check it out!

* ‘Everything in Time’ now available on double vinyl, including bonus instrumentals and the unreleased track, “Workin’ feat. Oddisee

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The Making of the Vinyl – “In a Song (DJ Spinna Remix)” 12″

In true “frolaboration”, the folks at Frolab take us through the process of how the vinyl you hold in your hands came to be- from footage of Middle Child singing acoustic to the DJ Spinna remix, it’s all there- the 12″ cover photo shoot, footage at the pressing plant of the record being made and DJ Spinna dropping originals at his Thingamajig Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Check it out!

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‘In a Song (DJ Spinna Remix)’ – Vinyl Available Today

Spinna

* Photos by Anthony Demby for Humble Riot

Today is a special day- what seems like a secret that we’ve been giddy about and keeping quiet since mid October of last year (when Spinna delivered his mix), gets to fly out and greet the world today, in probably the greatest and purest musical form- a warm piece of 12″ Vinyl.

To me, it’s come full circle- my Spinna crates are THICK, packed with the dopest remixes and banging originals from the Beyond Real architect from the last two decades. I remember always glancing at my record library and noticing that Spinna’s productions took up a whole crate by themselves!

So to receive a taylor-made remix that falls in pocket with any of his greatest work, is a blessing!  As soon as I heard the the track I was immediately brought back to his classic Composition Series and remixes for De La Soul, Das Efx and Mobb Deep, from the ’90s. That was the feeling, but the programming and sounds were updated to now. So I guess the “Back from the Future” title he gave the mix is quite appropriate.

Big thanks to FroLab for lacing the incredible art work you see on the package, Footlong Development for making it possible, Middle Child for saaaaangin(!!!) and to DJ Spinna, for doin’ it like no other.

VINYL only release, available online here

Spinna - In a Song Remix

DJ Center – In a Song (DJ Spinna Back From The Future Remix) by DJCenter

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