Back in Portland I did a photo-shoot with Lady Di, excited to show you the rest of the photos.. it was such a pleasure to work with her and the boys from Torso Vintages who were pulling museum grade pieces to style her in…. how does ‘museum grade’ grab you?
Here is a little edit I did of a track I’ve been feeling quite a bit lately, everyone familliar Mouzon’s Electric Band are more likely to know “Everybody Get Down“– but I think this other track also released on Baby Come Back has been slept on a little bit (note, it was apparently the other way around when it was released in 1979) ..
MY SONG WAS REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!
From Wikipedia:
Alphonse Mouzon (21 November, 1948) is a well known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO ofTenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts. Alphonse Mouzon’s popularity as a performing artist first became realized in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
This video is pretty cool– and gives a little glimpse of a side of Portland that has been blowing up over the last couple years. Miracles Club create a kindof Portland-brand of spacey Chicago house, and obviously do it well.. not to mention they fill a nice portion of the dance/electronic scene out there, amongst the likes of Glass Candy’s dark disco and Copy’s 8-bit sounds.
Also nice to see the numerous cameos by some of my dearest friends out there.. shouts out to E*Rock, Maxx Bass, Ryan B and Bree G– y’all crazy for this one.
The first time I saw this video, I had a pretty typical ‘what-i’m-viewing-is-terribly-ironic’ reaction. Now I’m not only feeling the music and style– I’m seriously contemplating practicing those dance moves.. I think New Beat is due for a return.
Also a little background noise (definitely not as good, but for perspective):
Diane Birch with The Phenomenal Handclap Band - The Velveteen Age EP
In a week (December 7th, so 7 days and 12 hours, roughly) marks the release of “The Velveteen Age”– Diane’s collaboration with The Phenomenal Handclap Band. The album is made up of covers– notably within the classic ‘goth’ realm, but more or less they are songs that were rather anthemic to her at that point in her life. Between Diane and Phenomenal Handclap, there is a ton of natural funk and groove– and slight nods (see if you can actually find them!) to some collective favorites like Sea Level’s “Fifty Four”, and Demis Rousos “I Dig You”, as well as some channeling classic vibe from Abba to Morricone to Patrick Adams.
Its an amazing record, I can’t wait for you to hear it!
(Did I mention I designed the cover-art?)
TRACKLIST:
This Corrosion (Sisters of Mercy)
Kiss Them For Me (Siouxsie & The Banshees)
Bring On The Dancing Horses (Echo & The Bunnymen)
Atmosphere (Joy Division)
Primary (The Cure)
Tarantula (This Mortal Coil)
A Strange Kind of Love (Peter Murphy)
Diane Birch with The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Produced by Steve Greenberg, Daniel Collás & Sean Marquand
Arranged by Diane Birch, Daniel Collás & Sean Marquand
Diane Birch - Vocals and Keyboards
Luke Riverside - Guitar
Pier Pappalardo - Bass
Patrick Wood - Drums
Quinn Luke & Patrick Wood - Backing vocals
Check out “Good Day Today” by David Lynch– such a weird crossover, but its pretty rad actually.. I’m also a total sucker for vocoder and sound effects..
I’ve had Serato going on 5 years now (the same ole box), its pretty incredible where they have arrived with the more recent software. I had to take a picture of my kitchen table setup as I was learning how to use the new improvements including built in FX, additional sample channels, etc.. as you can see, the entire set up can be controlled through a midi console, which is one of the coolest of new additions! Generally I hate the idea of computer DJing, but expanding possibilities to midi controllers and beyond makes things a bit more lively through such an interactive medium.
On DJing, generally you will find me using serato for my gigs accompanied by a stack vinyl trying to place (or hide) my laptop as discreetly as possible. However, something that also makes the hardware great is the option to skip songs by physically flipping the control record, a great way to stay closer to the purist vibe.. though its a far cry from the above image– there is nothing more frustrating to me than to see a DJ’s face under the glow of a macbook as they lifelessly go through the evening.
If you have no idea what I am talking about read up on it here.
Lindstrom is coming to New York on Saturday, and in anticipation of this and the rest of his small US tour The Fader just did a pretty cool, concise interview with him.. check it here. Also, listen to this slightly older interview from ‘07– kindof puts this disco phase, that we are kind of seeing the tail end of, into a little bit of perspective.
