Never Follow Suit

Leroy posted this deep sunny dub in the Dollar Bin Jams Soundcloud group. Ride out the summer with this one...



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Gotta Give It Up

I picked this up for a dollar from a guy selling records on the sidewalk in Park Slope over the weekend. Both tracks are fun little summertime jams: the A-side features a strong vocal courtesy of Jennifer Holliday (making it not really a "dub" at all), and the flip has some pretty righteous guitar wankery going on.


Rodney Franklin - Gotta Give It Up (Club Dub) | Divshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Rodney Franklin - Malibu Shuffle | Divshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Everybody Loves The Sunshine

I am taking a break from semi-obscure dancefloor material to share what I like to call a 'no brainer'. This is one of my favorite tunes of all time, reminding me of waking up on a hot summer Sunday morning, making some iced coffee and sitting outside until it's time to do something productive (read: Monday). Today is the first spot of sunshine we have had in Philadelphia in about five days and Metropolis is tonight. Roy sets the perfect mood for a potentially perfect day; even if I am sitting in my office until 5.

Roy Ayers - Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Mediafire | YSI | 320 kbps

Robotique Mixtape 2.0 : Winter Blues, Summer Muse

One of my New Year's resolutions was to release at least 6 mixes before 2010. It dawned on me that Sangria Beats is nearly a year old. That is twelve whole months with a lot of gigs and a ton of record purchases, yet devoid of any recordings.

That said, it's been a personally tumultuous year for me; the rug was yanked out from under my feet towards the end of 2008 and I was left sitting on the floor wondering what had happened. With a bit of reflection, I picked myself up, dusted off my pride and decided I needed to dive headfirst into DJing; not only playing out, but also putting more hours into the bedroom (insert snide dirty joke here).

Here is the product of several weeks of mixing, getting frustrated, deciding drum sounds did and didn't match, searching for records in the same key and most importantly trying to find a balance between records that get a huge response on the Robotique dancefloor and my own state of mind. Let's face it: successfully selecting records that reflect your own personality while entertaining others is the crux of this art; it's the final piece of the puzzle. The lesson that can be learned, but cannot be taught. Hopefully I was even a tiny bit as successful as I aspired to be!

This was recorded directly to CD on a bitterly cold night in one take using all vinyl records.

Tracklist:

Raw Silk - Do It To The Music (Masters At Work Remix)
Chuck Love - Dream Deep
In Flagranti - In The Silver White Box
Wild Rumpus - Rock The Joint (Reverso 68 Remix)
Pete Shelley - Witness The Change
Downtown Party Network - Into Your Face
Grand High Priest - Mixdown
Johnny Hammond - Fantasy (Faze Action Special Disco Edit)
DD Sound - Burning Love (Edit)
Putsch 79 - Untitled
The Popular People's Front - Get Down Shep
Bakazou - Snake Hip Shuffle (Swag's Hot Shoe Shuffle Dub)
Metro Area - Erodyne
It's a Fine Line - Woman (A Makhnovshchina Repossession)

Billy W. - Robotique Mixtape 2.0 | ZShare

Philadelphia area people are encouraged to join myself and Ryan T. aka Darklord this Friday night at the Robotique monthly. We have moved to a new venue with better sound, a friendly vibe and clean, functional bathrooms. The party starts at 10, it's free and now takes place at Kung Fu Necktie (1250 Front Street).

Last but not least, please join the Robotique Facebook Group for party announcements and special messages from yours truly.

Life's A Beach! / L.A. Sunshine

I leave for four days at the beach today. It's the first proper vacation my wife and I are taking this year. When I say 'proper vacation' I mean one where you go away some place, sit in the sun, don't answer your phone and don't have to 'be' anywhere. Visiting family or driving to see friends doesn't count.

What better way to kick things off than with a couple of gems, one new(ish), one old. Swedish production team Studio does their Scandinavian disco thing with a little help from Todd Terje on the aptly titled "Life's A Beach!".


Studio - Life's A Beach! (Todd Terje Beach House Mix)
ZShare | YSI | 224 kbps

Meanwhile, Aura does the damn thing soulfully on the obscure track "L.A. Sunshine". I'm not going to L.A., but whatever.


Aura - L.A. Sunshine | ZShare | YSI | 228 kbps

Summer Groove

Very obscure, funky disco from The Joneses. Other than one album (predictably titled, Keep Up With The Joneses), this is one of only two singles the group ever released.

A couple of self-serving plugs:

1. Mike Tee and I are back at the Medusa Lounge this Friday for our disco and house monthly, Robotique.

2. I play modern soul, boogie, disco and proto-hip hop every Saturday night at a brand new spot in Philly called The Institute. The beer list is nuts and the venue will eventually grow into a two-floor restaurant/bar/lounge with a roof deck. Come check it out.



The Joneses - Summer Groove | ZShare | YSI | 211 kbps

Hot Summer Night

Here's to an endless summer!

Vicki Sue Robinson - Hot Version | Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Hot Summer Nights

Here's to getting sweaty in the city tonight.

"It's so warm outside."
"And you're so warm inside."

Love Club - Hot Summer Nights (vocal)
Zshare | YSI | 192 kbps