The end of the 80’s and the early 90’s was a time when dance music was more than alive, it was the beginning of the pinnacle of rave culture. The italo-house group, Black Box, helped paved the way for the explosion of electronic dance music into the mainstream and top 40, with a little help from singer-songwriter, Martha Wash. Undeniably, Ms. Wash made a massive impact on the music of Black Box, lending her powerful vocals on a number of their top hits, including their second single, “I Don’t Know Anybody Else”, off the Dreamland album.
As a producer that is into female-oriented genres, it’s no surprise that Brooklyn’s Kingdom, has taken the dynamic vocals of Martha Wash, from “I Don’t Know Anybody Else” and digs right into the soul of this remix. “It’s a casual remix I threw together really. Diva / Juke / Crunk / Trance – I really love hearing Martha Wash on the half-time crunk parts because you’re so used to hearing her on high energy beats,” says Kingdom. One that is sure to spread like wildfire. It’s fantastical and he nails it.
Catch Kingdom at Night Slugs, Friday 19 June at Egg, London, with special guests Geeneus, Spyro, Ben UFO, and residents Bok Bok and L-VIS 1990. Check his myspace calendar for more U.S. and U.K. dates and do a search for Kingdom on Trash Menagerie, for all things related.
The weather kind of rules Chicagoans for about 7 grueling months out of the year. 7 long months of sheer suffering. I really don’t know how we cope. Thus, the trend of discussing the weather, continues. Here we are in April; it’s fucking cold and it’s snowing. I’m going to pretend I’m in the skin of Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele, prancing around amidst the heat of the desert in the Mexican towns of Garcia, Xilitla, and Icamole, where the video for “We Are The People“, was shot.
Empire of The Sun truly understand the meaning of creating songs that tug at your heart and your soul. “We Are The People”, is fueled by intense guitar chords, beautiful lyrics and the distinct sounds of Empire of The Sun. It’s no surprise that once the duo puts out a track, it’s quickly remixed.
Hungary’s Tits And Clits also know a thing or two about creating superb, epic music, as heard in the unofficial remix they’ve done for “We Are The People”, part of the Buffet Libre project. They’ve created an extended version and a shorter edit, which you’ll find below. Brooklyn-based, singer songwriter, Kotchy creates a unique and experimental remix, that showcases an array of sounds. Pick up his “I Have To Be High”, EP here and his latest LP, “89″, here. Visit Empire of The Sun’s merch page to pick up some more goods.
I’m back in Chicago after a short holiday in LA. Good times were had, lots of food was eaten and Local Hero of Chicago’s Noise Floor Crew threw it down at Blow Up LA!!! Thank you Anne Lee. Hope to be back for some more adventures, soon.
It’s all about Brooklyn dwellers with this one. For those that have been listening to ‘The Deep End‘, you know it’s something quite special. It is the forthcoming release by native New Yorker, Luca Venezia aka Curses!, aka Drop the Lime. Duo Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel of Holy Ghost, who also live and breathe in Brooklyn and have remixed ‘The Deep End’ to absolute perfection.
The song is pulsating; the guitar that comes in at 1:17 is reminiscent of New Order; the lyrics written and vocals by Maggie Horn and additional vocals by Nancy Whang (The JuanMaclean/LCD Soundsystem), seep into your head. Clearly there is something wonderful lingering in the air, because these lovely ladies also live in Brooklyn.
Truly an epic remix all around. Undoubtedly, this will be a favorite of 2009. To round out the release, ‘The Deep End’ was also remixed by Bart B More and he put his signature subtle, simple, big room spin on it. Look out for the 2nd LP from Curses! out in March on Institubes.
Ever since I saw Kingdom at The Bodega, deep in the heart of Bushwick Brooklyn, I’ve been trying to reconnect with that night musically and spiritually. That particular night the DJ/Producer Kingdom was supporting a project called OMG Michelle, an all-girl rap group named URB’s “Next” 1000 in April of 2008. Their song “You Don’t Know Michelle”, was featured on Annie Mac’s BBC show “Mashup” earlier in the year. But before laying down his productions for OMG Michelle, Kingdom took us through a picture-perfect tour of 90’s R&B and Hip-Hop. Profiled earlier in the year, The Bodega is known for its debauchery and lunacy, so when Kingdom brought a highly diverse group of scenesters to their booty- wobbling knees with Ol’ Dirty Bastard classics, the path was made crystal clear for the New York-Crunk of OMG Michelle.
Despite a short set of material, their energy was focused and fun, but the beats were truly dizzying. What followed the set, and the confirmation of my further monetary and intellectual investment, was when Kingdom dropped back into some R&B favorites just before he led us perfectly into Dexplicit’s remix of Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss”, a punch-drunk bass bouncer that launches the original into fist-pumping, dance floor oblivion. And I thought to myself, well, obviously! From then on my shouts for more Bassline were dutifully answered.
After the show I made sure to start Googling. As I figured, Kingdom’s mosaic of influences and sounds are unlike much of what is going on in American dance music. Also, his ability to pull from the successes of the world’s Urban music landscape is not unlike a certain Baltimore disc jockey named Diplo. So it should come as no surprise that Kingdom’s most recent work was for Noise-Pop duo Telepathe’s song “Chromes On It.” Telepathe have recently been seen touring with Diplo for their Mad Decent Tour this Fall. Along with a host of other unofficial remixes of Rap and R&B familiars, Kingdom’s mixtape’s listen like a true artist’s vision, familiar but wholly original.
Thus the following interview is inspired by Jace Clayton’s (DJ/Rupture) own interview on his radio show Mudd Up! with Kingdom, and a series of previews he did of Kingdom’s upcoming tracks. Not only was I enraptured with the man’s music, but his words were equally well executed and poignant. I’ve since listened to the show numerous times. So when the show was sadly unarchived, I got my own interview, and my own snippets, and now I’m sharing them with you. Attached also is a mix Kingdom put out in May, as well as high-quality tracks of his Telepathe remix, as well as something (unofficially) for Weezy F. Baby. Enjoy!
For those readers who don’t know as much about the work you do, could you share a brief “coming-of-age” about your life as a DJ? How did you come to New York, and what has your work involved up until now?
I moved to NYC when I was 18 to study at Parsons School of Design, and I’ve also remained very connected to Massachusetts, where I grew up. I wasn’t DJing while I was in school, but I was in a rave performance troupe / band with my friends from MA called Memoreis Forever. We did summer tours in 2003 and 2004. I made the beats and did production for the group, and we had a song called Kingdom actually, thats how I got the name when I started working solo. Then around 2006 I did my first party which was a Hip Hop party called Not Straigh Outta Compton. My friends and I threw it in this tiny club behind a liquor store on Graham Ave. in Williamsburg. That technically wasn’t a DJ gig though because we all wanted to be on the floor the whole night, so we would make mix CDs and just let them play. It was the funnest party I’ve ever been to. It’s amazing how much fun it is to be at a party with no DJ to focus on, just dancing. My first real DJ gig was in 2007 when Telfar invited me to play at his party Something Tight (first Thursdays at Happy Ending), that’s where I learned to DJ and I still do that party with him now.
The first mix of yours that I listened to was by complete accident. I was shopping at Opening Ceremony in SoHo and noticed two volumes of mixtapes. After looking at the tracklist and seeing your combination of Hip-Hop, R&B and dance music, I was thoroughly intrigued. How do these genres cross over for you?
I think dance music has always had a Soul element to it, especially early on. Disco, Chicago House, UK Garage, and even the short lived genre of Hip-House, and on and on. It’s a natural connection. Hip-Hop was originally created as a form of dance music and is intrinsically a form of electronic music. R&B is such a broad genre but it certainly birthed disco and House. In the past few years, mainstream Hip Hop and R&B artists have been embracing dance music again, and Ghettotech, B’more, and Juke music have become more and more popular, so they feel more connected than ever before.
Some what off-topic, but as someone who is interested in fashion, I’d love to know why Opening Ceremony was a place you felt best to promote yourself?
I have friends that sell their clothing lines there, and friends that work there, and so many music people shop there. Recently Kid Sister hit me up and told me she heard my mixtape there and was into it so… its nice to hear that people are reacting to it in that environment. I’ve actually gotten a quite positive response to my music in the fashion world, and done soundtracks for a few fashion shows. I’m not sure exactly what it is, because there are some pretty questionable people in that world, but there are also some very innovative, future-minded people mixed in there, and those ones are really enthusiastic about new sounds. I also sell my mixes at an amazing store in L.A. called New High Mart.
Why is this synthesis of sound seem to be so important to the 21st century realm of “dance music,” or even just pop music in general?
It feels a bit cliche but, I think its a certain kind of globalization. Kids in South Africa are making music thats is connected to the music that kids are making in the Netherlands, and in London, and in Angola, and all of it is making its way onto the internet for the world to hear, and that changes everything. In terms of dance music crossing over into the sound of U.S. “urban” and “pop” music, I think that people want to dance right now, they need a way to release the tension and pain of the world.
As for your own sound as a producer and remixer, there are a lot of clear UK Garage and Bassline influences. What appeals to you about those genres?
I’ve always been a fan of UK music, especially when my friend DJ Lone Wolf first played me Grime in 2003. I was fully blown away. From early 2-step Garage all the way up through the current UK Funky sound, there is always a push to innovate the beat, to challenge clubgoers to dance to something quicker and more complex, and the inclusion of R&B and Dancehall influences also makes it such an incredible group of genres.
CD Vinyl, A Kingdom Original
Along the same lines, the UK scene has since Rave/Hardcore/Jungle in the 90’s, been at the forefront of electronic music. They clearly take dance music very seriously, but what do the States have to offer right now, especially since you seem to be interested in bridging some of those gaps.
No matter how much Hip Hop and R&B influence there is in UK music, they may never really understand Hip Hop. When I’ve DJed in London people wanna hear 140bpm all night and bob up and down. It’s so fun because I finally get to play so many tunes that are too hard or fast for the U.S. audience. But it always feels good to be back home where if you decide to drop a Swizz Beats track at 3 AM, people actually know how to dance to it. Hip Hop is fully mainstream in the U.S.A. and I think we have some of the best dancers too. My friend Manara said it and I think it’s true, that dancing in the UK is all upper body. She was surprised to discover that every girl (even the white girls) here in the U.S. know how to wine their battys. lol. We also have such a diverse range of dance musics being made in the U.S., we definitely have something special to offer.
This of course brings us to your own work as a producer. What are you working on right now? Some of your recent tracks were previewed on DJ/Rupture’s weekly show “Mudd Up” on WFMU, and I couldn’t help but notice what a dynamic sound your pushing. What excites you most about the sounds/genres your working with?
The sounds and genres mixing together creating something danceable but challenging is what excites me. Mixing club genres together and adding some extra heavy bass, that’s what gets me going.
Who are some artists you’re looking to in 2009? I see Dubstep playing a huge role in this cross-section of genres you’re interested in, what’s your perspective or predictions do you have for that genre?
To be honest I know close to nothing about Dubstep. Maybe I need someone who knows the good shit to school me? Sometimes I feel like its very male-oriented and a bit ponderous. I’m really into female-oriented genres. Though there’s so few quality tracks coming out of the genre now, I got so excited when Bassline first started to emerge, because there was a female vocal on almost every track.
One of the shows I saw you do this Summer was with OMG Michelle. Tell us a little about OMG Michelle and your work with those ladies?
Those are some amazing people right there… love them. They love Crunk music and Freestyle and club music and have really good energy. We met through mutual friends and they said they wanted to do a track together. I sent them a beat I made with my friend Dennis and “You Don’t Know Michelle” was born. People responded really well to the track, it ended up on Fluokids and then Annie Mac played it on her BBC radio show and shouted out all of our names, that was pretty fun. They understand what I’m all about so working with them is a pleasure, people will definitely be seeing tons more of them in 2009.
You’ve recently released a remix or the Noise/Experimental duo Telepathe who is rolling with the Mad Decent crew right now. How were you approached to do that remix and what were some challenges in approaching a sound so different from yours?
When I was in school I was listening to a lot of the stuff that was coming out of Providence like Forcefield / Mindflayer / Mystery Brinkman, etc, so those other sounds are not so foreign to me. And the sweet vocals remind me of some of the stuff Memories Forever did. Really it was that cascading snare roll that got me, I was really excited to work with that.
Last but certainly not least, we’d love to hear a little about your new night at Mr. Black?
Myself, DJ Magnan, and DJ Telfar do the front room every Saturday at Mr. Black (251 w.30th St.), and our party is called CASTLE. It’s one of the few consistently fun dance parties in the city so I encourage your readers to come check it out. I also have my own monthly I’m doing called Club Vortex where I’ve had guest DJs from all over, but we’re currently looking for a new venue for that one.
Any closing statements?
I’m putting the finishing touches on some brand new tracks (as you mentioned) so I encourage everyone to keep their ears peeled, big things will be popping off soon. Also if people like the tracks and want high quality versions they should head over to my website and cop the mixtapes (kkingdomm.com), and you can always see where I’m DJing next on my myspace (myspace.com/kkingdomm).
The perfect little dash of flash for your subdued look or that cherry on top when you’re dressed to snap necks. They say he who has the GOLD will rule them all. So become a ruler!
The Future holds many exciting things for Mishka, this Wednesday 11/26 their Holiday 2008 Exotica Collection goes live in their online store. Then, come Friday, Mishka is re-stocking their online shop with whatever remaining stock our warehouse has of Fall 1 & 2 and then you’re gonna get the deal of a lifetime when you can purchase gear for 30-60% retail price for the entire weekend.
We got our hands on an infectious dance floor party starting tune – “Girlsbug“, the first track from the EP – “New Crack Swing“, produced by Dances With White Girls, being released on the new and improved Throne of Blood Records.
We’re happy to see NYC based, TOB alive and kicking after going through distributor drama along with well over 300 indie label worldwide, late last year. Unfortunately, we lost a few good one’s along the way. However, as they say, the strong survive, perseverance pays off, and good music reigns supreme, Throne of Blood is proof of just that.
The new New York based label is owned and operated by The Rapture. Originally created as a vehicle to release 12″s singles from the bands 2007 album – “Pieces of the People We Love.” The New Crack Swing EP is the first of many non-Rapture releases to come.
Dances With White Girls – GirlsBug
ALSO THIS HALLOWEEN, NOT TO BE MISSED!
10.31 GHOSTLY + THRONE OF BLOOD
SECOND ANNUAL HALLOWEEN BASH
With Live Performance & DJ Sets By:
Audion (Live)
The Rapture DJ’s
Daniel Wang
James F*cking Friedman
And More!
@ Studio B, presented by Ghostly + Justine D. BUY LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS
Brooklyn-based disco stalwarts Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani – otherwise known as Metro Area - are the latest in the line of artists to step up to the plate with London’s Fabric mix series.
Fabric 43,which is due for release in November, showcases the duo’s love of obscure disco, soul, house, and electronic music, spanning from the late 70s to the mid 80s, and reflects the substantial body of music they’ve produced to date. (See the end of the post for the tracklisting – they’re all quality choices.)
Morgan and Darshan’s first joint entry into the music scene was in 1999 with their self-entitled 12″ (featuring “Atmospherique”), and the duo moved swiftly on to the release of debut album Metro Area (Environ Records) in 2002. Although Morgan and Darshan have produced a number of singles since, they have not embarked on a major MA project like this until now.
I had a chance to talk to Darshan earlier this afternoon – unfortunately I talked a load of rubbish but he quite kindly discussed the Fabric mix, their next album, the global economic meltdown, New York nightlife, remixes, re-edits, and um, how to mix original disco records without making a complete mess of it – which neatly came back full circle to the Fabric mix again.
AN INTERVIEW WITH DARSHAN JESRANI, ONE HALF OF METRO AREA (15th October 08)
A: Can you tell me about the mix that you put together for Fabric? Obviously I listened to it and it was really cool. How did they approach you? What was it like – did you scream when you got off the phone? (laughs) I’m just joking! If I get this recording back, I’m just going to go ‘oh why did I say that?’
D: (laughs) We wanted to do a mix CD and Fabric had offered us a chance to do one a while back and we didn’t take it. We were kind of sitting on our hands a little bit – we didn’t know if we wanted to do one and we’d never done one before so we decided to do one with Fabric because they’re great. And because they’d take care of all of the licensing, which was save us a hell of a lot of time. We knew they’d treat the mix right and give it proper press.
D: We just wanted to represent all of the different angles of what we were into musically, which is something we try to do with our productions. They’ll be a little bit of soulful organic disco and then there’ll be some new wave angular synthesizer side to it. And then also there’ll be some contemporary weird tracky stuff going on. It’s what we do, from all different angles. It’s all about contrast. For every soulful element, we try to have something off to counter that. We try not to make anything totally homogeneous.
A: Yeah, I can really feel it. It just forces your brain into something else. I don’t know if people want that continuous three-hour club mix….(laughs), but if you want to listen to music, well….
D: That was another consideration – people taking it into their homes. There’s also a party mix tape feel to it. You’re right – a lot of mix CDs are continuous, which is just like one sound. Which is cool, but we didn’t want to do that.
A: There was loads of stuff I liked. There was this one section where you put a few tracks that had really great bass riffs – “I Can Feel It” and cloud something…. “Cloud Nine” ?
A: Yeah, and it was interesting, right at the end, the tempo sped up – it was like edging up to the diving board – it really builds you up to something else….
D: You mean it ramps up?
A: Yeah.
D: It speeds up because we wanted to include that Devo song “Freedom of Choice” and the tempo is pretty high. We didn’t want to stretch it – we wanted to play it as close to the original tempo so we had to work up to it and gradually increase the tempo. But that would be really cool if we did a sequel but start at the tempo that we left off and then gradually work back down.
A: I just wanted to ask, because I know it’s a question that’s on a lot of people’s mind – when is your next album going to come out?
D: We’re looking at the second half of next year (2009). We’re going to be finishing new material at the beginning of the new year. So we’re hoping to have it all done by the end of the year.
A: Yeah, it can take a while to gestate.
D: There’ve been a lot of factors since our first album. I relocated to Brooklyn and built a studio from scratch. Morgan had to move also. So it’s logistics and also there’s also the art stuff – gestation, letting all the material (more…)
This is what Trash Menagerie was throwing down during the month of September. Features, interviews, parties, and plenty’a mix and MP3 download. We’re snuggling in for the busy month of October. Have you started thinking about your Halloween costume yet? We’re looking for ideas, so please hit us up and let us know if you’ve got any. Last year we gave you a heads up on how to MAKE YOUR OWN DAFT PUNK COSTUME. Hipster Runoff offered up a bit of inspiration, “WTF SHOULD I B 4 ALL HALLOW’S EVE”, But is it “ok” to be a Justice this year, if you were a Daft last year?
A truly scary option, the United States Vice Presidential Republican
Candidate and current Governor of Alaska – Sarah Palin.
Hmm, I guess she didn’t get understand the memo regarding last year’s Halloween Party. It was a Nordic theme. Looks like she still won anyway, even though she didn’t really come close to qualifying.
Sarah Palin 7 Months Preggers “I can hide my belly in a sexy, yet sophisticated, little black business suit.”
Goodness, her belly is HUGE, she looks like she’s going to pop any day now, right?
This is what Demi Moore looked like when she was seven months preggers . . .
Photo: Vanity Fair
Sarah Palin’s Witch Doctor . . .
Other potential options – “Sarah Palin Mayor of Meth”, “Sarah Palin Miss Alaska”, “Sarah Palin Soccer Mom”. Wow, and to think, the election isn’t even over yet, we’ve still got a few weeks to go . . . goodness, i’m sure we’ll have so many more choices to choose from. Maybe i’ll pull off one of those “couple costumes,” and we can go together as “Foreign Palin Policy“. One of us will be Russia, and the other Alaska, and we’ll stand on opposite sides of the room and say “I can see ya over there, behave yourself!”
