I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am a die-hard fan of the White Light Mix Series. They are some of the best mixes on the web, for sure, if you consider music choice, consistency, and the overall ability to both relax and motivate AT THE SAME TIME. I didn’t know it was possible, but it is, thanks to these amazing musical gems. These mixes are great for a cure of The Mondays because they allow you to be productive while having a little aural fun. For this week’s I <3 Mondays post, check out the newest White Light Mix by DJ Eleven. With its opening of Simian Mobile Disco’s and Beth Ditto’s pairing to an awesome remix of ”Love Can’t Turn Around,” this mix is sure to make your Monday a little . . . brighter.
I particularly liked DJ Eleven’s note on the mix:
“When Matty C first told me about the White Light series, he kept coming back to a description of listening to music while driving at night. Since most of us in New York City don’t drive, traveling music has to be approached differently. So I set out to make a mix from records I never get a chance to play out that would provide the perfect soundtrack to the walking, turnstile hopping, dude-selling-his-beat-tape-out-front-of-Fat Beats-avoiding, taxi-hailing, dollar-van-riding, slice-grabbing, coffee-on-the-run-drinking, and then walking a little more that is getting around the Rotten Apple.”
As a New Yorker who is always on the go with little time to just sit and think EXCEPT when I am in transit (how ironic), I found that DJ Eleven’s note was really fitting. This mix also happens to include a ton of songs and artists we have featured regularly on this site. Holler!
Simian Mobile Disco – Cruel Intentions (Maurice Fulton Remix)
Azari & III – Reckless (With Your Love)
Toby Tobias – In Your Eyes (Tensnake Remix)
Lifelike – L.O.V.E Is What You Need
Farley “Jackmaster” Funk – Love Can’t Turn Around (Lifelike Remix)
Chromeo – Night by Night (Siriusmo Remix)
Housemeister – What You Want (Siriusmo Remix)
Little Boots – Earthquake (Treasure Fingers’ Epicwave Mix)
Curses! – The Deep End (Holy Ghost! Day School Dub)
Bodie Lee – Foxy Tonight (Ajello Remix)
Kris Menace & The Dream – Walking On Lightning (U-Tern Blend)
Empire of the Sun – We Are The People (Shazam Remix)
Walter Jones – I Am Loved
Fred Falke – 8:08pm @ The Beach
Today is the LAST DAY to listen/download the Retail DJ February Tracklist (free music, people, free music!) AND the Cassius live DJ set from the 1999 Winter Music Conference(that is nowhere else on the web, seriously).
Kuduro, Cumbia, Dubstep, and plenty of other super-danceable genres are the focus of this awesome blog. With mixes galore and background info to boot, Generation Bass does a great job in filling in where some other blogs leave off. They also have a great set of links to other music blogs that’s worth checking out. Here’s a little sample of what they’re working with over at GB:
We got this in from Rafa from the Frikstailers a few days back about something new coming out on their label and here’s what he says:
It´s an EP of a great band from our city called Zort. They are kind of our godfathers, they represent our main human and musical influence, in fact we live with the leader of the band and he´s the director of the club we run every saturday (Switch Club).
Grab a free track here and read the rest of the official stuff below:
We’re delighted to announce the release of Zort’s Mambo Poa Martino EP on Revolt Into Style Records.
Formed in Cordoba, Argentina in 1998, Zort have recorded and released a series of albums joining the dots between hip hop, jazz, broken beat, electronica and contemporary classical music.
Their first release for Revolt Into Style kicks off with the energetic electro stylings of rising Berlin star Ben Mono’s remix. A superb blend of vintage house and electro synths, his re-working builds to a stunning climax guaranteed to slay the dance floor.
Next up is Cordoba local Cristobal Paz, who shows a real lightness of touch with his remix. Snatches of vocals weave in and out of slowly shifting percussion on this minimal house treatment. On the flip side we have the original mix, a blend of hip hop beats, synths, live brass and acoustic bass.
The voices are provided by talented residents of the Nairobi Children’s Remand Home, recorded by a film-maker friend of Zort named Martin Granata. He spent time in Nairobi filming a documentary about street football called ‘The Street and the Ball’, and his field recordings at the orphanage were the inspiration for the track, and form the basis of Mambo poa Martino.
To finish we have the Frikstailers brilliant reconstruction, the vocals layered over simple synth lines and beats, with a crescendo of chopped snares, cymbals and FX before the track winds down into silence.
Last night was not the best of nights. I had planned on going to see Vitalic at Webster Hall (and of course getting some amazing footage for y’all), but I was dog tired (even though I had spent all day in bed reading Vogue and watching cheesy romantic comedies in between office emails due to the snow day). I ended up spending the bulk of my night at Pathmark grocery store and Target, buying storage items for my new apartment. Somewhere, between the South African imported oranges and the canvas and leather magazine organizers, I lost my cell phone. This would be the third time I have lost a phone in the past 4 months.
I blame this series of mishaps primarily on my shockingly bad memory. I can leave a room, come back in, and have already forgotten what I had left it for in the first place (was I going to the kitchen? was I headed to the bathroom? did I have laundry downstairs I needed to hang up?). The problem is completely maddening, and sometimes makes me sad. Needless to say, I was more frustrated about being too tired to go see Vitalic than misplacing my phone because it.happens.that.much.
This morning, at the suggestion of my mother, who has become increasingly more tech saavy than I these days , I perused the offerings on eBay. The end result? A Blackbery 7290. These came out in 2004, but considering the fact that my last phone (which was a free replacement care of AT&T) was a Nokia that had a seriously delay in doing well, anything related to the keypad, I felt like I had accomplished something. I finally got a phone that could do more than text and answer calls. This was a step up, but a reminder at how old I am getting (or maybe just at how quickly technology is changing without me).
The good news is that a) I already know how to use the thing because back in my days of legal corporate servitude, I was indeed strapped to my B-Berry, as we’d affectionately call them at the firm, and b) it’s spacious enough to accommodate my enormous hands, for which the phones of today are not so well-suited. The bad news? It’s a little big (though I often have a purse the size of Montana, so that’s a bit irrelevant) and it may not have cutesy ringtones (also not a huge problem because my phone is on silent 99% of the time, one of the reasons why I keep losing the thing without any hope of finding it).
The entire experience reminded me of something odd: I never lose my music devices. I have missplaced an iPod here and there, but always found it shortly after. My tape players and cd players were never too far from sight. Headphones, though frequently broken, were never lost. This is telling considering my obsession with music. I’m hoping that the large size of the old new Blackberry I have purchased will help remedy the problem, though I think I may have to trick myself into thinking it’s actually some source of music if I want it to stay closer to home and not in some abyss where all my other phones have ended up.
On a happy note, here’s Aeroplane’s newest mix. They released this 5 days ago, and while it’s not chock full of bangers like their earlier sets, the last few tracks are worth the buildup.
You read that correctly. Retail DJ is now on MySpace. Why? Because MySpace continues to be one of the best sites, in my opinion, for music artists. Can you listen to tracks of your favorite artists AND keep up with their upcoming shows as easily anywhere else? Not really. So while this may seem like a flashback, there’s a method behind the madness.
I was checking out piperlime.com the other day for black flats to feature in this week’s Get Dressed to This: Vintage Finds when I stumbled across a couple of Rachel Zoe picks that made my heart skip a beat. This momentary lapse in blood circulation was unfortunately not due to excitement. No, it was due to good old fashioned WTF? Check out these hideous shoe horrors they are trying to peddle to us:
ay meu Deus do ceu. SO UGLY. Say it with me, now, “No, Rachel Zoe, no.”
Or what about these? Are my shoes going to a funeral at a bordello? “No, Rachel Zoe, No.”
Speaking of houses of ill repute, I think that might be the only place these shoes would fly. “No, Rachel Zoe, No,”
Ok, let’s not pull a “Carrie Bradshaw” on our feet too. These are outdated, fugs, and I totally saw them at an outlet mall in Brazil for like $15. That $165 isn’t worth it, ladies, trust me. “No, Rachel Zoe, No.”
Recently, the combination of melting snow and a couple of live wires turned manhole covers on New York City streets into hotbeds of electricity, giving a few people a minor scare while sending others to the hospital literally for extreme shock. While I certainly don’t want to replicate the effect live wire electricity has on the common passerby, I’d like to share with you a way to make your weekend a little more. . . electric.
As per usual, this mix on tap features a music mix + mixed drink that will surely make up get up and dance, even if you have to do it in the comfort of your living room because your new boots are too pretty to ruin in the snow.
Today’s music comes to us care of DJ Johnny Blaze, one of the reigning kings of Baltimore club music. He manages to sneak in some amazing tracks, including a sample from Crydamoure’s Waves compilations (vol 1 / vol 2), which, if you don’t already have, you need to buy ASAP. As per usual, the tracklist can be found in the Music Archive:
Today’s drink recipe comes care of eHow. It calls for a lot of ingredients, but the end result is yummy. Hopefully, by the time you’ve finished it, you won’t remember all the liquor you had to buy in the first place:
Electric Kool-Aid Recipe
Ingredients: ice, cranberry juice, 1.5 oz vodka, pineapple slices, maraschino cherries, 1/2 oz melon liqueur, 1/2 oz cherry brandy, 1/2 oz amaretto, 1/2 oz Southern Comfort, 1/2 oz sour mix, 1/2 oz peach schnapps, 1/2 triple sec, grenadine
1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Shake melon liqueur, triple sec and sour mix with three ice cubes in a shaker.
3. Begin layering the liquors in a highball glass, starting with the peach schnapps.
4. In the shaker, layer first the Southern Comfort, then the amaretto, then the mix.
5. Layer the cherry brandy, followed by the vodka.
6. Fill the rest of the glass with cranberry juice
7. Add a dash of grenadine.
8.Do not stir.
9. Top with a cherry or pineapple slice.
In spite of the fact that he would be leaving for Mexico in just a week, singer/songwriter Felix Flores was kind enough to let us photograph him as he got ready his month South of the Border. As we photographed Felix packing for his trip, he continued to impart some pretty sage advice on shoes (Crocs hurt his eyes), revealed his sources of inspiration, and shared his thoughts on the future of fashion as we know it in NYC. That said, put on your favorite tracks and come with us as we Get Ready With Felix Flores!
Retail DJ: So your real suitcase—let’s talk about that! You told us a little bit about what you’re planning on taking, in a general sense, but you didn’t mention shoes. And one of the things I really like about what I notice you wearing whenever I run into you is your shoes. I’m always like, “Wow, those shoes are awesome!” You always have interesting things going on below the knees . . .
Felix Flores: Never heard that one before! [all laugh]
Retail DJ: But it’s true! I’ll see you in these cool socks with flat dress shoes, etc. So what kinds of shoes are you planning on bringing?
Felix Flores: Just a few pairs, really—a pair of flip flops for the beach and the ones I am wearing, which are by H&M.
Retail DJ: Are they really H&M? You’re lying!?!?!
Felix Flores: No, they are.
Retail DJ: Wow. I would have never guessed that they had come from there.
Felix Flores: And I am going to take this pair that my grandma got me for Christmas, a pair of black loafers. I don’t know what else, really. I don’t want to take too much stuff because I want to get things when I’m there.
Retail DJ: And now with all our lovely and fun regulations for luggage, security, and all that, it’s hard.
Felix Flores: Yeah. I was visiting a friend of mine in Florida doing recordings. I took my piano one way and no one said anything to me. But then on the way back, the woman was like, “Oh, I’m sorry. How would you like to pay for your oversized baggage?” And I said, “I’m not going to pay . . .” [all laugh] So she says, “It’s too large,” but I was like, “Well, they should have told me that when I was flying from New York.” She was insisting that I pay, but I asked for her to get the manager. “I’m sure he’ll agree with me. I am not even going to argue with you anymore,” I said. Then she just came back and dropped the subject all together.
Retail DJ: Nice. So going back to packing, do you have a specific method when you pack? Do you pack certain items first before getting to the rest?
Felix Flores: Yeah, I always pack my underwear first.
Retail DJ: Really? That’s what I pack last!
Felix Flores: I do it first –socks and underwear—that way, I don’t forget it.
Retail DJ: [laughs] I do it last because they are typically the smallest items, so you can fit them anywhere. And if you forget them, you can always buy more!
Felix Flores: You know, you’re right. I should probably do that.
Retail DJ: Yeah, but it’s important not to forget. So whatever works! So are you compulsive packer, the type who has to have everything neat or organized? Or do you just put stuff in and let it be?
Felix Flores: I roll my clothes, and I arrange things in layers. I’ll do rows [of clothes] then just stack. So it’s all the same.
Retail DJ: And do you have different clothing items separated into rows, like: pants one row, shirts another? Or is it just mixed?
Felix Flores: It’s mixed. I just go through my closet and throw stuff on the floor, and that’s what I take with me.
Retail DJ: Really!?!?!? How does that work? Have you been successful in that?
Felix Flores: Yeah. If I forget it, then I didn’t really need it. I didn’t remember it enough to care that much about it. Sometimes that’s bad though.
Retail DJ: So you have a little more of a method here, right?
Felix Flores: Oh yeah. I choose what I want first!
Retail DJ: Ok, because I was picturing you literally pulling random things out of your closet, throwing them on the ground, then putting them in your suitcase. I was thinking, “Wow, that must be fun once you get to your destination!” [all laugh] So is your trip expensive?
Felix Flores: Luckily, no. Flights to Mexico right now are pretty cheap, and we have friends down there, so we will only need to find outside accommodations for 10-12 days of the month. January, February, and March are not the best months when you do freelance work like we do, so we’d figured we’d just go down there and work in a better location. A big part of this is networking, meeting people, and expanding.
Retail DJ: How’s your Spanish?
Felix Flores: Good. Though, I mean, I haven’t used it in, like, 3 years . . .
Retail DJ: Uh oh! Does anyone else going with your speak Spanish?
Felix Flores: No, but I’ll be ok. I lived in Spain for a while and did ok.
Retail DJ: That you did. [all laugh] So I wanted to ask you a little bit about the music you listen to when you’re doing this sort of thing. Is there a type of music you listen to when you’re packing that motivates you and keeps you on task?
Felix Flores: Hmm . . . not necessarily a type. I mean, there are always artists I go back and listen to like . . . Kate Bush. I feel like the Hounds of Love album is really good . . . it’s a traveling album. It has lots of drum machine and stuff like that that makes you feel like you’re moving. Another album that helps me focus in general is Phillip Glass. He did the soundtrack for The Hours. That one just makes you concentrate on whatever you’re doing. That’s another good one to pack to. The Knife . . . I was watching the video this morning for “Pass This On.” I love that video. It’s so good. It takes place in what looks like some bumpkin town bar in Sweden. It almost kinda looks like a VWF.
Retail DJ: [laughs] We’re back to that?
Felix Flores: Aaaaand, we’ve come full circle. [all laugh]
Retail DJ: And what of your fashion inspiration? I see you have some photos of music artists up in your room—there’s a picture of Dolly Parton up in the corner over there, for example. I also see some Felix the Cat memorabilia, and God knows what else. I saw so many things. Do you have any celebrity inspiration, inspiration from family members, or is it just . . . you?
Felix Flores: Yeah, I think I am influenced by cartoon characters a lot. Felix is super awesome because he has a bag that turns into anything. It turns into a hot air balloon. He doesn’t ever have to pay for transportation. It turns into a toga. But yeah, I am sure I am influenced by tons of people, but I can’t really think of anyone in particular off the top of my head.
Retail DJ: It sounds like the inspiration is all conceptual – like how they think about fashion.
Felix Flores: Right. I guess I don’t say, “Oh, I want something like that.”
Retail DJ: Also, we touched a little bit on some things you see around the city that you don’t like (i.e. the Ugg boots, generic look), but are there any other trends that just make you cringe?
Felix Flores: The only thing that comes to mind, and I don’t know if people even wear them anymore, is Crocs.
Retail DJ: Nah, people STILL wear those!
Felix Flores: Do they? I know I saw winter Crocs that have fur lining or whatever.
Retail DJ: Yikes.
Felix Flores: That’s the worst.
Retail DJ: But on the subject of Uggs . . . I have never tried them on, but they look SOOOO comfortable. I am tempted, but then I am afraid I will give in and start wearing them for that reason alone.
Felix Flores: It’s not the look of the boot itself that I hate, it’s just the sloppiness and [sartorial] laziness I associate it with.
Retail DJ: I guess it doesn’t help that people don’t pick up their feet when they’re wearing them.
Felix Flores:YESSS!!! Also, not at all into flannel or plaid.
Retail DJ: Yeah, they definitely overdid it. I remember once, when I returned from Brazil, I walked into the Forever 21 in Union Square and saw an entire half of the store—no joke—dedicated to that flannel/plaid pattern in multiple colors.
Felix Flores: It’s like the uniform of Williamsburg.
Retail DJ: Or everywhere! It’s all over the place.
Felix Flores: There’s one exception: My So-Called Life. Of course, they could wear as much plaid as they wanted.
Retail DJ: But that was the 90s, which is where that trend belongs and needs to stay! [all laugh]
Felix Flores: I just think that everything’s a flashback. There’s very little innovation. I want to see spacesuits. I want to see futuristic stuff. I saw this Alexander McQueen show, I think it was Spring 2010, and everything was “alien.” They put prosthetics over their eyebrows and made them look like they had alien faces. Everything looks like Judy Jetson. He uses all these crazy prints on silk, but it looks stiff and involves really severe cuts.
Retail DJ: Yeah, it’s unfortunate that McQueen passed away. He was really one of the people out there trying to do something truly different. Do you ever make clothes yourself?
Felix Flores: Not really clothes. I made the costumes for the video that we shot, and will be making the costumes for the other one as well. I take stuff and alter it a lot, but clothes, no. It takes a lot of skill . . .
Retail DJ: Yeah, and it can be costly.
Felix Flores: It’s expensive. It’s often cheaper to go buy. Though I don’t buy things that often, just when I see something and I really need to have it.
Retail DJ: Do you have any favorite stores or brands? Or stores that you frequent where you find most of your stuff?
Felix Flores: No, not really. I feel like I just wander around until I find what I want. There aren’t a lot of places where I always find something. It’s usually just luck.
Retail DJ: Do you have an item you’ve assigned special meaning to? Something you cannot part with or your clothing equivalent of a child’s blankie?
Felix Flores: I don’t think I do, honestly. I do have attachment to some clothing, but I am also the type that whenever I buy something, I throw something away. I don’t keep clothing for very long. I guess it’s ephemeral to me. I think everything has its place in time. There’s no point in my holding onto something if I lose it because it’s meant to be lost.
For example, whenever I buy a new pair of shoes, I always leave a pair somewhere else. I don’t want to have too much of anything.
To view the entire Get Ready With Felix Flores photoshoot, click here.
Retail DJ: But do you think that “otherness” is becoming—or has already become—the norm?
Felix Flores: Not really. I think if anything, it’s fading away. I mean, sure, you can that because Lady Gaga exists, that it’s the norm. But how many people dressed like Lady Gaga do you see in New York City every day? None.
You see people in black, people in . . . pea coats. You see leather boots that go to mid-calf.
Retail DJ: Because people seem to be plateauing here in terms of fashion, what have been people’s reactions to you and what you wear—particularly, things that are a little bit more “out of the box,” so to speak?
Felix Flores: I feel like I get a lot of negative stares. I get them from a lot of guys—and girls! I am really shocked when I see girls who [give me negative stares] because I feel like women would have more of a natural interest toward fashion, especially in New York. For example, last night, it was Valentine’s Day, and I was on the train coming home and saw all these couples. And they were, like, whispering and pointing. And I was like, “What? I have earmuffs on! What’s so shocking about that?”
Retail DJ: But what was the rest of the outfit?
Felix Flores: Just my black jacket.
Retail DJ: Are the earmuffs very large?
Felix Flores: No! They’re like “regulation size.” [all laugh] But I do also get people coming up to me a complimenting me a lot—people you would never imagine—like little old ladies or, like, war veterans. [all laugh]
Retail DJ: Seriously, war veterans? That’s such a specific, yet random, category.
Felix Flores: Yeah! I had this one guy, who told me he was on the way to the VFW. (Veterans of Foreign Wars (http://www.vfw.org/)) when I was in Michigan, telling me he really liked my look.
But, I don’t know. I don’t really think about other people. I just ignore them.
Retail DJ: Did you grow up primarily in Michigan?
Felix Flores: Until I was 13, and then I moved to Florida.
Retail DJ: What part of Florida were you living in?
Felix Flores: This place called Winter Haven. It was near Orlando.
Retail DJ: So what about fashion there? When you were growing up in both these locations, do you think that traveling and those environments influenced how you dress today?
Felix Flores: Yeah, of course, because I wanted to be nothing like that. [all laugh]
Click below to continue reading What’s Good? Felix Flores (Part Two)
So unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months, you probably know that Sade has a new album out. Though she is 51 years old (yes, I was shocked too), she still somehow manages to look super young and pretty much puts any of those “hot 20-somethings” foaming at the mouth on the tv screen these days to shame, not to mention the simple fact that her music remains some of the most samplicious to date. Oddly, I can’t really listen to Sade in an un-remixed form for very long because, even if the song playing happens to be joyous in spirit, her voice always–without fail–makes me sad. Though, imagine how you would react if you were in a club and someone sampled a little Sade. You would go nuts, right? So for tonight’s Oldies But Goodies, I’ve got a little ode to Sade in tracklist and video form. Sample away–be it via turntable or the power of the mind–and enjoy:
1. Love Is Stronger Than Pride (video): I have actually heard this sampled, and it works really well when sped up and kinda chopped into pieces . . .
2. Cherish the Day – Even better for sampling than the aforementioned, Cherish the Day has seen its go-round in the mix circuit, but it’s versatile enough to continue on the same path. . .
3. Kiss of Life (video) – also heavily sampled, but again, it’s all worth it.
4. Smooth Operator (video) - How could you not love this song?
5. Sweetest Taboo – Whenever I hear this song, I think of car rides to school in the morning (my mom was a big Sade fan, and they always happened to play her on the jazz radio stations in the morning . . . no idea why). Gotta love this attempt at a plot in the video, too:
6. Your Love Is King – Sade, if not hailed only for her musical abilities, must also be lauded for her amazing fashion sense. I don’t think I have ever seen this woman look anything short of stunning. Oh genetics and good styling. Also, kudos for the Spike Lee-esque ”floating” shots throughout the video. Strange, no?
7. When Am I Gonna Make a Living (video) - My friend Kristal had been singing this song all Saturday, then it got stuck in my head, but for good reason. It’s a great song!
We’re going to be participating in a 3 day Vintage sale starting [this] weekend, curated by our friends over at Jelly NYC!
Other vendors include The Shiny Squirrel, Bonnie English, Brooklyn Rehab and Sweet Virginia.
At the vintage sale, expect lots of new vintage goods from us, more than what we have in our online store. We’ve been saving up just for this sale!
It’s going to start Saturday February 27th – Monday March 1st, each day 12 – 8
located at 522 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
In order to get you all pumped for this amazing sale, I’ve decided to base this week’s Get Dressed to This around one of the amazing pieces I found on the Bonnie English Etsy Site and a genius mix by Franki Chan for URB Magazine (which features a ton of throwback tunes, some seriously vintage samples, and a lot of hot new tracks you may have heard HERE once or twice :
2. Time Travel Dress, Modcloth, $78 USD: What a fitting name for a vintage-inspired dress from Mod Cloth. The periwinkle and gold vertical stripes are a cute added touch for this comfy but stylish piece. It’s satin-y finish also makes it great for adding a little shine to a night out.
3. Nine West “Naughty” Black Patent Leather Pointed-Toe Flat, Piperlime, $59 USD: While these shoes are a bit understated, their patent leather helps bring the outfit together. The necklace is practically an outfit on its own, however, so pairing it with shoes that are over-the-top would distract and confuse the viewer (and maybe even the wearer!).
While the look above is more day and drinks, though it can clearly travel on over to night and dancing with the right makeup (and swagger), I thought I’d add one more amazing dress from Mod Cloth (seriously, there are so many adorable and affordable pieces on their site right now, you’d be crazy to not at least go take a peek). Just throw off the necklace, change the dress, and voila! Instant night readiness:
1. French Fries – Predador (BeatauCue Remix)
2. Bobmo – Turn On Drop Out
3. Nouveau Yorican – Boriqua (Harvard Bass Remix)
4. MVSEVM – French Jeans (Style Of Eye Remix)
5. Solo – Minimood
6. Yolanda Be Cool – Villalobos For Presidente
7. The Very Best – Nsokoto (Franki Chan Remix)
8. Pablo Calamari & Velicious – Think About You (Playmode Remix)
9. Gramophonedzie – Why Don’t You (Bongo Players Remix)
10. Computer Juice – Computer Juice (Tai & D.I.M. Remix)
11. Hot Pink Delorean – Let’s Go
12. Drop The Lime – Sex Sax
13. Udachi – P-Funk Skank (Nadastrom Remix)
14. Partysquad – Pull Up
15. L-VIS 1990 – United Groove (Sound Pellegrino Remix)
16. Cassian – Friday Night
17. Ray Mang – Bulletproof
18. Invasion – Spells Of Deception (Boy 8-Bit Remix)
19. Mr. Vega – Play Me At Pacha Louder
20. Dustin Zahn – Stranger To Stability (Len Faki Podium Mix)
21. Mom & Dad – Judas (SonicC Remix)
22. NROTB – Droplet
23. Acid Girls – Lightworks
24. The XX – Crystalized (Rory Phillips Remix)
Here at Retail DJ, I’ve had the opportunity to watch quite a few people get dressed, undressed, and dressed all over again for the feature Get Ready With __?__. But for this special edition of What’s Good and Get Ready With __?__, Kristal Munoz (Retail DJ’s resident photographer) and I went a hop, skip, and a jump over to Williamsburg to meet up with singer/songwriter Felix Flores for a little tea time chat with a catch. You see, this interview and photography session would be about more than just what Felix wears on a regular basis. He came up with the brilliant idea to let us get a sneak peek at his wardrobe for his upcoming trip to Mexico! Though traveling South of the Border for an entire month to shoot his new video and make a bit more music, Felix was cool enough to sit down with us (albeit, in top of a hot pink pig seat!) to give us his sage advice on fashion and to warn us of the dangers of Baltimore fried food. So come with us across the bridge for a bit to find out What’s Good with Felix Flores!
Retail DJ: So what’s going on? You are going out of the country soon, right?
Felix Flores: Yes, to Mexico.
Retail DJ: Can you fill us in on all the details for the trip?
Felix Flores: Well, basically we just finished our first music video. It’s for the song “Steady Hum Drum.” We’re really excited about that! We’re planning on two more videos, and couldn’t think of a better place to shoot than in Mexico. We happened to bump into a friend of a friend who works in an art gallery in Mexico. She’s throwing this big party –an opening for some show she’s doing in March. She said, “you should come down here, and we might be interested in playing your original music video in the gallery. We’re going to try to get you a show in Mexico City.” So, that said, we have all the contacts to get shows there, and the cinematographer we used for the original video, he decided this past Saturday that he was going to come with us too. So that’s great, and we don’t have to worry about anything.
We’re going down there. We’re going to shoot in the desert and everything a whole matador-themed video. We were thinking about getting a bull arena, but we figured that would be just a little bit complicated.
Retail DJ: Expensive, probably!
Felix Flores: So we decided to go with something more natural, and we couldn’t think of a better place than the desert. We originally had this idea of me in the desert covered in scorpions. [all laugh] But we couldn’t figure out how to make that happen without me actually getting stung or using a bad dummy. We thought of using a stand-in, but then we didn’t want to be [held] responsible [if anything happened].
Retail DJ: What is the name of the desert where you plan to shoot?
Felix Flores We are going to choose one when we get there. We haven’t decided that yet because there are a couple of places that we looked at. There’s a place Yerba de Agua, which is this petrified cascade (and that’s not a desert—it’s, like, a petrified waterfall), and there are bathing pools on top. We were thinking about maybe doing it around the bathing pools. But we’re also looking at the desert. We’re not sure where we’re thinking. There are some sand dunes near Torreón. I have a friend who’s a teacher there, and he told us about this. He took pictures of these beautiful sand dunes.
So we’re going to decide later. We’re going to take a week to location scout. We’re going to be there a month.
Retail DJ: Oh wow! I didn’t realize the trip was going to be that long. When are you leaving?
Felix Flores: Monday, February 22nd.
Retail DJ: Wow, that’s great. So soon!
Felix Flores: Yeah! So after we finish the first one, then we’re going to do another one. But we have to give the concepts up to the cinematographer or the director of the video. I am not going to do any of the “creative” or concepts for this video, just the first one.
Retail DJ: Weren’t you working on one here in the city? Is it a two-part video?
Felix Flores: Yes, I was. The first one is the one we just finished up. It should be ready soon. (author’s note: the video has been completed by the time of this publication). So we’ll see. It’s been delayed. We had a music video premier party, but the music video never arrived. [laughs]
Retail DJ: This reminds me of the moment on Real Housewives, when Sherée had a fashion show “with no fashions.” She had no clothes, no models, nada, and just turned it into a get-together. Funny stuff. But in your case, it wasn’t that bad, right?
Felix Flores: No, no! I at least had my piano with me and I performed, but I didn’t have the music video.
Retail DJ: So you’ll be in Mexico for a month, which is a pretty long time. Will you be doing anything there besides just the video? You’ll be performing too, right?
Felix Flores: Yeah.
Retail DJ: Where will you be performing? Do you know any of those details yet?
Felix Flores: Those, I will have later and can give you as the date approaches. But beyond performing, we’re basically taking a small vacation, and we’re going to do a lot of songwriting too and creating concepts for the next bits of work. After this first video comes out, once we put it online, we’re going to start really pushing to try to get some representation and get interest in general from fans. We think the idea in the video we just finished is going to be interesting enough to get some attention hopefully!
Retail DJ: So how do you prepare, in terms of packing, for an entire month of travel? Do you have idea what you’re going to bring?
Felix Flores: Well, I have to bring a little bit of everything because where we’re going (for example. Torreón), it’s not going to be much warmer than here. We looked at the weather, and last week, it was like 39 or 40 degrees some days. But then we’re also going to be in Tulum and Cancún, which is, like, beachwear! Then we’re going to be in Mexico City, where it’s like 60s and 70s. So we’re going to bring sweaters, longjohns. . .
Retail DJ: Sequined pants . . . [all laugh]
Felix Flores: . . . sequined pants. Everything!
Retail DJ: How do you think this trip will compare to your Baltimore trip? (author’s note: Felix had taken a trip to Baltimore, MD a few months ago to perform)
Felix Flores: [laughs] Well, let’s put it this way: I won’t be performing at an all-you-can-eat buffets!
Click below to continue reading “What’s Good? Felix Flores (Part One):
WEDNESDAYS AT KISS & FLY IS BACK
ALEXANDRA RICHARDS DJs
plus DJ DL
Wednesday Feb 24 at Kiss & Fly
Celebrity offspring, the beautiful and talented Alexandra Richards, will be taking to the decks at our resurrected (and highly popular) party at Kiss and Fly this Wednesday!
No cover with RSVP – Click Here.
Kiss & Fly: 409 West 13th Street (between 9th Ave and Washington) . Doors 11pm. 21+ w/I.D.
Admission is at doorperson’s discretion
—-
via GBH:
WHIPPED
Paper Magazine Hosts
Danzie (Ruff Club) DJs
plus Matt+Maia & Alex English
Celebrating Danzie’s Birthday
Svedka Vodka Open Bar 10-11.15
Thursday Feb 25 at Baddies
Local scenester and Ruff Club/Germs resident DJ, Danzie, will be celebrating her birthday with us this Thursday… and Paper Magazine will be hosting… oh, and Svedka will be supplying an open bar from 10-11.15… so this one is going to get a little crazy…
Matt+Maia will be deejaying too, along with Alex English, and Sean March (aka Sean Fightcats) will be joining his friend Danzie behind the decks for a bit.
No cover with RSVP.
Email baddiesrsvp@gbh.tv with your name and number of guests. When you arrive, tell the doorman you are on the GBH guest list.
Baddies: 20 Greenwich Ave at W10th St.
Doors 10pm. 21+ w/I.D.
Admission at doorperson’s discretion.
—
via GBH:
VITALIC
VIKING
Plus JDH & Dave P
Friday Feb 26 at Webster Hall
Booking Vitalic to play our Friday party was probably one of the proudest moments in our history. We are HUGE fans of this guy, and we have been ever since he unleashed what was once referred to as ‘maximalist techno’ onto the world. Our ears buzzed in pleasure as we listened to his single ‘La Rock 01‘, our heads exploded in delight as we listened to his single ‘Poney pt.1” and he made us smile and sing along with his electroclash-style classic “My Friend Dario“. He was championed by some of the coolest electronic artists around at the time, and seemed like the next big thing… then silence… for years… until a recent rash of new singles and videos were released (like this one, this one and this one) and everyone started talking about him again. We listened, and were relieved to hear that the magic was still there. We still loved him.
As far as we know, he has only played New York once before, about four years ago, and he was amazing. Don’t miss this one.
@ Public Assembly (back room)- 70 N. 6th Street, Brooklyn
10pm, 21+. $5 advance tickets here , $8 at the door
For this edition of FIXED we have special guest Beni coming all the way from Australia. Beni is one of the members of the Bang Gang Deejays, and was previously one half of Riot In Belgium, who released the amazing tracks “La Musique” and “The Acid Never Lies”. As a solo artist he has released FIXED favorites “My Love Sees You” and “Maximus” as well as his remixes of La Roux, Alex Gopher, Etienne De Crecy, Tiga, and more. Tickets are only $5 advance for this one, so come out and rage with us!
1. Put your hands on me – Crookers (solo dub mix)
2. Just an illusion – Imagination
3. Over time – Tiga (gucci vump mix)
4. Push the feeling on – Night crawlers
5. Maximus – BENi (harvard bass remix)
6. Toy friend – Afrojack and David Guetta
7. Cosmic rave – Junkie XL
8. Gibbon – Drop out orchestra
9. Say you will – Cajmere
10. Love long distance – Gossip (riva starr mix)
11. Pon de floor how I like it – Major Lazer (beataucue remix)
12. Litzomania – Phoenix (classixx remix)
13. Coma cat – Tensanke
—-
via GBH:
Hesta Pryn After Show Party
With DJ Sets by
Hesta Prynn, Alex English, Twig The Wonderkid
Saturday Feb 27 at Beauty Bar
Join us after the show at Beauty Bar where Hesta will get behind the decks and drop some knowledge!! Alex English and Twig The Wonderkid will also be deejaying.
No Cover
Beauty Bar:
231 E 14th Street (between 2nd & 3rd)
Doors 11pm
As I mentioned previously, I planned on featuring a few new regular posts on the page. This is one of them. Welcome to Now Playing. In Now Playing, I (or friends and special guest artists) will leave a few tracks, what they are listening to at the moment that are worth checking out.
This was featured in the January Aeroplane monthly mix. I fell in love. Now I can’t.stop.listening.to.it. It’s groovy, disco-y, and will make you dance even when you don’t feel like it. Turns out they are managed by Gomma, which now makes sense . . . because Gomma is a label that seems as if it is allergic to putting out anything but awesome music.
video: This video features clips from an old Czech New Wave film . . . random, though typical Gomma (see: video for “Rat Race” by Munk)
2. Matt Van Schie – Saturday Night (G.L.O.V.E.S. Remix) (click here to dl)
At parts, this song reminds me of music from Daft Punk’s Discovery. If you know that album well, you’ll know what I am talking about when you hear the track.
3. Polargeist – Home from the Can (Tensnake Remix) (click here to dl)
Oldschool house feel mixed with a little chill. Best for motivating you as you go out or while having drinks. It’s danceable, but only in that “I’m a model, I do not sweat” kind of way.
4. Savage Snobs – GLOBAL (click below to listen/dl) GLOBAL by Savage Snobs
Luuurv this song. It’s cute, ’nuff said. It’s a hip hop song in the vein of the Cool Kids (of “Black Mags” and 90s revival style fame) and N.E.R.D.
5. Ali Love – Love Harder (Mighty Mouse Remix) (click here to dl)
Ali Love, who dropped Diminishing Returns, has yet another awesome song out: Love Harder. This track was also featured in Aeroplane’s January mix, and thank goodness for it. This track is mellow, yet danceable, sexy yet fun, and makes you feel like you could stop traffic.
6. Chaos dans le CBD – Cheese’s Christ (original mix) (click here to dl)
Heavy groove track. It starts off slow, but then speeds up and gets a little more depth. Reminds me of something I’d probably have heard in that old store Lounge on Broadway (which was one of the coolest stores ever, actually) that is now a Mango or a Victoria’s Secret or some major.corporate.label.store at which I never shop, so I can’t remember its name. There is a part in this song in which there is so much of a “shhh” sound, I initially thought my furnace was coming on or someone was entering my room with a smoke machine. Yet I like it.
7. Delphic – Halcyon (L-Vis 1990 Remix) (click here to dl)
I like this song primarily because it starts off sounding like some typical British pop joint, but then L-Vis 1990 just…wrecks it. It turns into something else entirely, and I mean that in a good way! He makes it sound much darker and aggressive, which I know I sometimes need when I am walking around in the city or on the train and need a little boost of toughness. But then he brings back the sad, sentimental voice of the artist right when you least expect it. And, somehow, it just works.
This song has been stuck in my head for the longest. It’s an old-ish Metronomy song that came out before they straight blew up in the States, but it had been heavily sampled enough for people to be familiar with it if they were into electronica.
Last night, EZRAKH performed at Skybox as part of a Left Night Left / Down 2 Earth collaboration. He killed it, I’m sure. Though just in case you managed to miss any of the talent we showcased recently, here’s a reminder:
Remember that fellow we interviewed a while back, NSR? Well he’s spent err’day hustlin’ and has yet another show coming up. And coming from me, he’s great live! Don’t miss it:
Usually, when I think of Mustangs, the first thing to come to mind is the car. Next? The horse after which is was named. (How’s that for amazing branding?) But right after that, my mind goes to Renaud Deru and Andy Faisca, the Belgian DJ duo that makes up Mustang, one of Gomma’s newest label signings. Continuing with Gomma’s usual funk-filled disco rock and roll sound, Mustang brings it home with this mix they did for Juno Plus:
1. Roberto Rodriguez aka Manolo – Lose Myself
2. The Revenge – Just Be Good To Me
3. Who Made Who – I Lost My Voice (Golden Bug Remix)
4. Erlkoning – Falcon Crest
5. JXL – Heart of Darkness
6. Munk – No Milk (Mercury Remix)
7. Mighty Mouse – Song For Ellen
8. Music Go Music – Warm In The Shadows (Villa Remix)
9. Friendly Fires – On Board (Joakim Remix)
10. Vicious Pink – Can’t You See (French Extended Mix)
Have a happy Monday folks. If anything brings you joy on this less than pleasant day, my hope is that it’s this mix
Anticipation or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure (and sometimes anxiety) in considering some expected or longed-for good event, or irritation at having to wait. Robert Plutchik listed anticipation as one of the eight basic emotions in his psychoevolutionary theory. See also hope. A name for pleasured anticipation is excitement.
Thanks, Wikipedia, for putting into words how I feel about all the amazing stuff in the works here at Retail DJ. Of course, there are our regular posts, but I’ve got a new set of regular features coming your way.
But wait! There’s more!!!!
Our interview with singer/songwriter/fashion daredevil Felix Flores . . .
An interview with Poseedora, a shoe pimpstress who redesigns what goes on your feet . . .
An interview with Katie Bartels, owner and designer for Yellow Socks, LLC, a jewelry hub for beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces
On top of that? We’ve got exclusive mixes coming our way from Shomi Noise, Drlkt Freddie, and more! Get excited.
Keep your ear to the ground and your eyes on the screen for all the fabulousness coming your way, folks. I wouldn’t want you to miss a beat!
About a week ago, I downloaded a new mix by Bobmo, a French DJ whom I remember for his buzzy, almost juke-like tracks from a few years back. He has a new EP out on the Institubes label, and his mix is to promote his new work. Friends with Surkin, Para One, and some of the other popular French DJs who were dabbling in alternative forms of house that incorporated breakbeats and raw techno sounds, Bobmo was then just an up-and-coming youngster, a fresh face on the French music scene.
Now a bit older and with more shows under his belt, his sound has matured too, now something more in the vein of Brodinski, Yuksek, and other French DJs who have a bit more experience and recognition in the scene, at least Stateside. Bobmo’s mix, for example, contains a lot of old tracks that brought me back to the days of my earliest exposure to electronic music, period. He also drops a ton of fun house tracks that seemed almost out of the old Bobmo’s element.
So kudos to Bobmo for this progression, if you will. Though in thinking about Bobmo and a lot of other French electronic artists out there (I should add here that they presently do a mighty good job at dominating the scene, so there are plenty), I wonder about these transitions and what they mean for the future of American consumption of electronic music. If anything, electronica has been a bit of a poster child for the onslaught of globalization. In its borrowing, sampling, splicing, and remixing of music from all over the world, electronic music is the best example of what the new era of intellectual, creative, and market-based exchange has meant. It’s a metaphor, if you will, of our daily lives.
Today, for example, in thinking about my outfit alone, I had an overwhelming sense of the simple fact that everything comes from somewhere else:
my scarf – made in India
my glasses and my hair gel – Brazil
my shoes – NYC
earrings – vintage (aka no idea where they are from)
my jacket - made in Yugoslavia
Most electronic music now is the same. A DJ may be from…Paris, but managed by a German production company that is owned and operated by Brits. During his set, he may drop many a sampled track, some of which may be by DJs in Italy who rework a funk carioca track from Brazil that was discovered by a DJ from the States who often collaborates with singers from Angola who now live in Portugal. . . all on his computer, which was made in Japan. Get my drift?
Electronica possesses the uncanny ability to alter and be altered simultaneously and from many parts of the world. It’s a transformative movement, even though it was certainly not always the most well-received genre (and still faces challenges in terms of people having the patience to listen to it on its own, despite technically listening to it all the time as many pop producers incorporate the exact same elements as electronica DJs). Its only unifying languages happen to be BPM and booty-shaking, and that works out just fine for me.
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.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am a die-hard fan of the White Light Mix Series. They are some of the best mixes on the web, for sure, if you consider music choice, consistency, and the overall ability to both relax and motivate AT THE SAME TIME. I didn’t know it was possible, but it is, thanks to these amazing musical gems. These mixes are great for a cure of The Mondays because they allow you to be productive while having a little aural fun. For this week’s I <3 Mondays post, check out the newest White Light Mix by DJ Eleven. With its opening of Simian Mobile Disco’s and Beth Ditto’s pairing to an awesome remix of ”Love Can’t Turn Around,” this mix is sure to make your Monday a little . . . brighter.
You read that correctly. Retail DJ is now on MySpace. Why? Because MySpace continues to be one of the best sites, in my opinion, for music artists. Can you listen to tracks of your favorite artists AND keep up with their upcoming shows as easily anywhere else? Not really. So while this may seem like a flashback, there’s a method behind the madness.
This weekend, there is an amazing vintage clothing and accessories extravaganza going on in Brooklyn!
As I mentioned previously, I planned on featuring a few new regular posts on the page. This is one of them. Welcome to Now Playing. In Now Playing, I (or friends and special guest artists) will leave a few tracks, what they are listening to at the moment that are worth checking out.
Usually, when I think of Mustangs, the first thing to come to mind is the car. Next? The horse after which is was named. (How’s that for amazing branding?) But right after that, my mind goes to Renaud Deru and Andy Faisca, the Belgian DJ duo that makes up Mustang, one of Gomma’s newest label signings. Continuing with Gomma’s usual funk-filled disco rock and roll sound, Mustang brings it home with this mix they did for Juno Plus:
About a week ago, I downloaded a new mix by Bobmo, a French DJ whom I remember for his buzzy, almost juke-like tracks from a few years back. He has a new EP out on the Institubes label, and his mix is to promote his new work. Friends with Surkin, Para One, and some of the other popular French DJs who were dabbling in alternative forms of house that incorporated breakbeats and raw techno sounds, Bobmo was then just an up-and-coming youngster, a fresh face on the French music scene.
