Winter has finally arrived…or so Mother Nature informed us today with quite a nice snowfall here in NYC. Many of us stayed inside for the day and had quiet Saturdays, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an equal number of us shuffling in our fuzzy boots from the cabin fever.
As with most early snow days, it’s hard to find the motivation to move, much less actually go out. But that doesn’t mean the party’s over.
Sanna Engdahl, aka La Fleur, the Berlin-based Swedish DJ/producer has brought something to the table that will help keep us more than entertained. Her newest piece “Winter Cabin Mix,” profiles a new updates to her sleek sound. She opens the mix with funkier, R&B-laden sampling tracks and then works her way into the deeper house we all love in her sets. This mix fully embodies winter’s chill with its tone and pace, but it’s sure to warm a place in all of us, starting with the feet.
La Fleur has lots of new developments, so be sure to check out what she’s been up to as of late by following her on soundcloud, facebook, or twitter (Swedish). Also, be on the lookout for her new EP Petals on Fire (Lo:Rise) in February Also, for those of you in Germany, check her out at Panorama Bar in Berlin on the 27th!
La Fleur – Winter Cabin Mix
click to stream ; click the small arrow on the right to download
In the U.S., today is a holiday in honor of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, I recognize that some you may have been forced to brave your 9-5 today and are in desperate need of some motivational music. Equally in need of some musical motivation are those of you are just now waking up after a long night of 3-day weekend partying, equipped with sore feet, a wicked hangover, and maybe the numbers of people you can’t seem to remember.
In other words, we all need a little aural assistance. Yet fret not, mes amis. Retail DJ is here to save the day . . . or at least make it sound a little better.
For today’s I Love Mondays mix, I’ve chosen a new mix from Paris-based DJ French Fries, whose recent feature for the XLR8R podcast is to die for. Though it alternates from slow to fast, interchanging deep beats for lighter house-y ones, one thing is certainly consistent throughout this mix: its awesomeness. He even includes some ballroom “Ha Dance” reworks by Kingdom and MikeQ and some house-y funk care of none other than DJ Sneak! The mix, like most of French Fries sets, is dark and deep with just the right amount of fun hidden between the bass. Have a listen:
Wow…it’s been a while, huh? Grad school has kept me firmly buried 6 feet under piles and piles of reading, papers, and whole host and other work, so Retail DJ got the shaft. Fortunately, Xmas break always works as a great catchup time, so I’ll be posting a little more regularly for the next few weeks. We’ll see what happens once school starts back hehe.
To celebrate my brief (though hopefully extended) return, I thought I’d share some fun music to pump you up tonight.
I recently made a mix to help my fellow classmates get through finals/papers week called “Energy Mix.” It’s a rough, unedited bit that I put together in less than an hour (all improv stuff), but it’s fuuuun!
(click to stream; click the small arrow on the right to download)
Also, the ever-magnificent Ohio-based DJ saint., whom some of you may remember from our exclusive interview with her back in May, has put out a new mix called “Midnight Mix,” a name that is undeniably fitting for tonight’s festivities.
(click to stream; no download)
Enjoy these mixes and be on the lookout for my December/January podcast, which will be coming your way very soon. Party safe tonight, everyone, and have a fun, happy, and healthy New Year!
november 2011 podcast / tribute to the work of joyce muniz
click to stream; click the small arrow on the right to download
or download here (right click + save target as)
tracklist
blawan – getting me down joyce muniz – lovelee day body & soul (ft. eva) – body & soul (matthias meyer & patlac deep remix) joyce muniz – morning love matthias meyer – grassroots deniz kurtel (ft. mykleanthony) – best of (extended mix) joyce muniz – pulp fiction gemini – how can i no regular play – takin’ u back greg paulus – nightime
A few nights ago, I had been up reading for hours and once it was time to actually sleep, my body wouldn’t allow it. I knew I was “in the doghouse” for not having completed a September podcast and was afraid that I was suffering the same “DJ’s Block” for October’s. Luckily, my sleep deprivation comes to my aid at times. After playing around with some old and new music, I put together a podcast that I feel properly reflects the state I’m in right now.
It’s a busy podcast, jumping from genre to genre and growing more and more aggressive as it goes on. It has its dark moments that are evenly eclipsed by lighter ones. It can serve as a party-starter or a soundtrack to some serious lounging; it’s all up to you.
I’ll be back with a new podcast in November and a few updates here and there (including a renovated podcasts page), so don’t forget to come back for more!
Retail DJ October 2011 Podcast
(click to stream ; click the small arrow on the right to download)
Lately, this is what I look like on my GOOD days...
Alas, I am alive. For those of you who don’t follow me on facebook (which you should!), I am in grad school right now (for something completely unrelated to music that involves lots and lots of reading), so my site management has been subpar at best. As most of you who have ever pursued advanced academic endeavors and attempted to have a social life may well know, the toll it can take on your free time, thus rendering any semblance of “social” purely catatonic. Nevertheless, I’m back momentarily from the dead to add a bit here and there. I dusted off my controller the other night – after hours and hours of reading left me in a state of insomnia – and finally put together the October 2011 Podcast (though I technically still owe you for September…let’s let that one slide
I’ll be back here seasonally in the meantime, posting interviews, mixes, and new music and fashion I love every month of so (in more of a magazine-like fashion), so stay tuned. Also, be sure to come back in a few hours to get the October Podcast. You won’t be sorry you did!
I always say that things happen for a reason. Sure, it’s a cliche oversimplification of the way everything works, but it’s a fairly fitting statement in most cases. My experiences in Brazil are no different, each of them bearing some bit of fate that throws things temporarily off-balance, only for it all to work itself out again.
Take, for example, the location I chose to stay. When I was debating between two locations, it came down to convenience and proximity to the subway. I knew that Sao Paulo had just opened its yellow line, so I thought that the hostel I chose was perfect considering its 1-block walk to the yellow line “Oscar Freire” stop. Yet google fooled me good, and as it turns out, the section closest to my hostel (pictured above) is still under construction.
Alas, it’s a 15 minute walk up a steep hill to get to the subway that DOES work, and by that time, my body is so conditioned to the walking that I just end up walking everywhere I need to go. Sure, 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot, but just imagine taking that walk every time you want to go somewhere and with a really heavy bag and crazy feet. And there you have it. My present.
But considering my love for Sao Paulo, I always manage to find a silver lining. For one thing, I am a mere 3 blocks from the Galeria Melissa (the Melissa megastore that I always rave about), Nespresso (I am a total coffee addict), and adjacent (by half a block) to what I like to refer to as “The 5th Avenue of Sao Paulo,” known by others as Oscar Freire. Sao Paulo’s always full of little surprises, and this trip is no different from the others.
While the phantom subway line (I swear it shows up on google maps) was a shock, there were other aspects to life here in SP that came as no surprise. One of them being the sheer excellence of nightlife here for any and every one looking to have a good time. I always rave about the clubs here in Sampa, but until you go to a few, you just.can’t.understand.
Most of the parties are genuine, lacking an uber-pretentious crowd and, without a doubt, given a deliciously intense soundtrack. Sao Paulo has some of the best DJs in the world, and last night did not fail to impress. The party was care of producer L_cio, who many of you may know from my interview with him after our meeting last year around this same time. His vision is called under_line. It’s a music collective and party series that covers underground (or well-known, but with an underground sound) DJs and producers who are adding something new to the club scene here in the city. The party serves as a showcase for multiple forms of electronic music artists and a venue to hold those of us who love them.
The vibe at Tapas Club (Rua Augusta, of course) proved that an underground does, in fact, still exist, and that there’s an audience out there willing to dance until the wee hours of Thursday morning to support it. While there, I had the opportunity to hear all the DJs beginning with Dee Bufato (who is a DJ, Producer, Designer…the list goes on and on), then Hero Zero, followed by DJ duo Guilherme Picorelli and Henrique D´Marte (known together as “Fractal Mood”), and last but not least, the creator himself, L_cio. The styles varied throughout the night from minimal to deep house, tech house, and back again, keeping everyone on their toes both mentally and physically. Though this was #39 of this party series, it’s definitely not the last as L_cio is as prolific an artist as he is a party extraordinaire.
For those of you who may not have a chance to check out the under_line party live, I’ll let the music speak for itself:
a silky deep house set by Dee Bufato:
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a minimal mix by L_cio (recorded live at under_line #37):
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a solid house set by Hero Zero:
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a deep house/tech house live set by the boys of Fractal Mood:
Sometimes I go through these stages of being disgusted with the state of music. Everything sounds the same. Everything bores me. Everything wants me to hear good music so badly that I find the urge to pick up a guitar and take the time to teach myself how to play JUST to hear something different. Then something comes along that saves the day.
This time around, the honor goes to COCOLORES, music masters signed with Exploited (figures, right? this label can do no wrong) who just released their newest EP. Every track of the three is completely solid dance-inducing madness, so don’t miss it. Spend the $3 and gain a whole lot more (available on itunes):
With just two days left between Brazil and me, the anticipation is killing me. Though not my city of birth, Sao Paulo has always felt like home to me. And as I listen to today’s gratuitous dance mix by Belo Horizonte (MG)-based Brazilian DJ Gustavo Peluzo, I get chills thinking of my return.
I first learned of Peluzo during a visit to Vegas Club in Sao Paulo of August 2010. He was the opener for a weekend dance rager that went well into the next morning and his style, which fused deep house, tech house, and minimal burned a hole in my memory. Though his style is normally super energetic, the mix I have chosen for today, while still very danceable, is of a much mellower, sexy sort. May it help your continued ease into the week, though this time maybe with a couple items of clothing removed…Enjoy!
It’s 5:30 am and I am still awake. Though I am working on something about which I am quite passionate, I recognize, as I look outside my window and realize that the sun is up, that I will need to get at least 2 hours of sleep soon. But also, in fully understanding that giving myself only 2 hours of sleep considering the tasks that lie ahead is inhumane, I know that an incredibly high impact mix will be more valuable than a cup of coffee today.
While most of you are most likely still asleep, when you DO wake up, you too might be hit with a ton of the Monday morning bricks. Here’s hoping this mix by Buraka Som Sistema’s J-WOW helps you recover:
Famed Brazilian jelly-shoe line Melissa has a new collection out for (Brazilian) spring/summer 2012! It’s a light, super-feminine line with lots of pastels, dainty details, and even Disney villainesses. It’s quite a contrast to the fall/winter 2011 collection Time Code, which showed its allegiance to the slick, structured stylings of 80s business attire. The Power of Love collection, much like many fashion items for the American fall/winter season, pays homage to the 60s and 70s with shoes fitting for anyone from flower children to disco divas.
Here’s the video “footbook,” along with a few personal favorites + clothes that fit the bill. For those of you in search of looks for next summer (when they will hit American shores) or vacationing in Brazil in the spring/summer, these looks will certainly offer a little inspiration:
Power of Love Footbook:
My favorites + matching looks:
look #1
+
sparkle & fade micro mini skirt, urban outfitters, $34 USD
Fall is right around the corner, but you wouldn’t know it by this weather! It’s still hot hot hot, and many of us are trying to stay in season while simultaneously staying cool. The key? Thin knitwear/jersey items in warm tones that signal the approaching season. For today’s “Get Dressed To This,” I’ve chosen a piece that matches the name of the mix artist Art Department, the Toronto-based duo putting out truly innovative house music. The dress, which comes to us care of ModCloth, looks a bit like it’s made of the fabric usually used for those flowy, bohemian, draped dresses high school art teachers love. But unlike the art teacher get up, this piece is sexy and perfect for dancing on a warm August evening.
The mix by Art Department really needs no introduction. It’s a mellow house mix that works really well for getting ready to go out, and I’d rather let the music speak for itself!
That said, press play and gear up for some fun while you Get Dressed To This:
It’s been a while since this single has been sitting on my “desk,” which is unfortunate because it’s actually a really fun track. But with life happening and all the other things going on, as I prevously explained, Retail DJ was put on the backburner. Well, these recent days have been about playing catchup and I owe a little shoutout to Daví DeShaun Davis, who goes simply by “Daví” for his many artistic projects (which beyond singing, also include choreography and DJing).
I first met Daví at a Retail DJ showcase in 2010 and after subsequent run-ins, can say he’s funny, interesting, and genuine, so it’s no surprise that his music reflects the many facets of his personality. His first single “That Thump (New Music In Yo Ear)” in reminiscent of electro-soul duo J*Davey, but with even more funk.
You can check out Daví live on August 24th at R Bar. For more information on the event visit the facebook invite here. For more on Daví, including his choreography work, check out his website www.bydavi.com.
Everyone loves a little Mondrian, and fashion is so certainly no exception. Decade after decade, the bold, colorblock design finds it way back into the mainstream with geometric patterns and accents jutting out like sartorial architecture at every turn. Though fall sometimes signals the beginning of the end for bright colors, this year, the dull, washed-out creams, tans, and grays took over for summer, meaning that colors would be a welcome alternative for fall fashion. And while big-label designers have always looked to Mondrian’s work for inspiration, there’s enough to go around for those whose money doesn’t grow on trees. Stores like ASOS, H&M, and Forever 21 are offering up solid fall options in an array of colorblocked styles.
I recall seeing the models of Fall 2011 week galloping down the runways on television and thinking to myself, “F*ck. The 60s are back.” I was a little less than excited to know that the era that put forth some of the most beautiful, but also the most garish pieces had found itself in fashion’s favor once again. Though the colors and styles are beautiful, the result once translated to and consumed by the masses can be contrived and costume-y, leading me to dread fall fashion (an honest first considering my love for fall and all its back-to-school madness). Luckily, my fear was proven a tad bit unreasonable, as the quick-consumer fashion response to the Mondrian/Colorblock/60s+70s trend is actually moden, refined, and beautiful. It has clean lines, simple silhouettes, and patterns that add a little life to a season known for . . . well, the death of most flora and vegetation.
One of the other benefits to the trend is that many designs from the 60s and 70s (maybe with the exception of disco bodysuits and tight bellbottoms) were flattering on many body types. With a-line cuts and sturdy fabrics, it’s all a win-win.
Hello, everyone. I have indeed returned to this thing we called blogging, after a brief hiatus. It was a pitiful bit of time off, at best, consisting of doing lots of boring things, though a few exciting things were scattered therein (like my DJ residency in Williamsburg). But all in all, it’s nice to be back!
I’ve returned bearing gifts in the form of music, my most valuable currency of exchange as a thank you for being readers. The gift to which I am referring is the July podcast, of course. It’s a little late in the month, but as I always say, “better late than never!”
This podcast contains music by Turkish “newcomer” (at least in terms of popularity) Deniz Kurtel, Ogris Debris, La Fleur, and a brand new track by Azari & III. All in all, it’s a danceable mix, but it leans on the mellow side with lots of deep house.
But enough talking. I’ll let you get to playing. Enjoy!
*NOTE: this podcast will be available for a limited time only for stream, permanently for download)
tracklist:
deniz kurtel (feat. jada) – the l word (12″ version)
azari & III – manic
sis – nesrib
x-press 2 (feat. david byrne) – lazy (mowgli goes deep mix)
penner & muder – absence
jewel kid – spinola
plastik park meet alexander purkart – musics hypnotizin
la fleur – primula
kerri chandler – all i have is this feeling
round table knights feat. ogris debris – cat power (extended mix)
ogris debris – dark aery (original mix)
Hey everyone. The site is undergoing a slight renovation (not aesthetically, just content-wise), so note that there may be some moments of wonkiness here and there. Also, please note that the Soundcloud account (www.soundcloud.com/retaildj) has also undergone some renovations – namely in terms of mixes. The Soundcloud account (of 36 hours) expires on July 9th, hence my clearing most of the files and leaving only the most recent mixes/podcasts, HOWEVER, never fret. Everything will be available here at Retail DJ for download as long as the site shall live
Also note that any newly released mixes, podcasts, and interviews will also be on Soundcloud for streaming/downloading/sharing, though for a limited time (until the newer pieces come out and thus replace them), but then will be archived here.
It’s no secret that I hate summers in NYC. Though I feel it’s shoved down our throats that we’re supposed to love them – with the free concerts, food, and all – I can’t help but hate them. It’s oppressively hot. You can take a shower, walk half a block, and already need to change out of your sweat-soaked clothes. Don’t even get me started on the oven we call a subway and the putrid odor emanating from every trash-laden sidewalk. Yes indeed, it’s like one big, humid cesspool. On top of that – and we don’t like to admit this – it makes people plum crazy.
But if I were to find a silver lining in all this summer blues I happen to catch a case of every time the temp goes above 80 degrees, I’d have to say it was the music. DJs, producers, and the like tend to create more work in the winter, but actually get around to releasing it in the summer. Additionally, there are all those mixes that come out to encourage people to sweat off their makeup and mess up their hair by dancing (not that New Yorkers actually DO that, but dancing is the motivational concept, of course).
Here are some of my favorite mixes as the moment. Some are a few months old, but I’m not into music fads, so I ignore all that noise about dates. Enjoy these (follow the links for tracklists; click to play/click the small arrow on the right to download):
Retail DJ is a site about incorporating you into the infinite pairing of music and fashion. A love story for the ears and eyes, Retail DJ profiles mixes that can serve as the soundtrack to your life, introduces you to DJs and designers you should know, and lets you peek into the closets of the unique and talented.
