As a DJ, over the years I’ve developed a few routines that I like to break out here and there to keep my sets interesting. Sometimes I do this thing where I’ll play the sample source and mix it into the song using the sample. I call it “Single City.” Other times I’ll loop a section of lyrics and mix that into another song with the same or similar lyrics. I call this “Swing City. How do we filter out the teases? We don’t let them in. This goes for the guys, too, because sometimes the guys are tapped out. But check your lease man, because you’re living in “Fuck City!”

One better-known DJ who has also discovered the wonders of “Single City” (aka a standard DJ routine) is NYC’s Neil Armstrong, founding member of the 5th Platoon DJ collective and Jay-Z’s tour DJ. Armstrong has also appeared on Letterman, Carson Daly (is that still a show?), at the NBA All-Star Game and the Olympic Games.

Additionally, he has been steadily churning out mixtapes for over a decade now, among them Originals, which takes the sample->sample source idea to new levels and DNA of The Blueprint, which serves as Armstrong’s personal tribute to his current MC (both are available for download after the jump).

ArtNowSF is bringing Neil Armstrong to Manor West this Thursday (4/29), along with DJs Lex (Souls of Mischief) and Beats Me (distortion 2 static). Advance tix are 10 bucks and you can buy them here.

Here are the mixtapes. Enjoy:

Neil Armstrong – DNA of the Blueprint

Tracklist
(artist Jay-Z for all)
1 DOA
2 No ID Speaksâ
3 Props to BIG Brother Jay-z – Kanye West
4 Hola Hovito
5 BluePrint 1 Return to the soul samples
6 The Rulers Back
7 Izzo
8 Heart of the City
9 Never Change
10 Young Forever
11 Empire State of Mind
12 What Where I’m From
13 Already Home
14 Reminder
15 People talking
16 Hate
17 Takeover/Run This Town
18 Renegade
19 Real As it Gets
20 All I Need
21 03 Bonnie And Clyde
22 Excuse Me Miss
23 So Ambitious
24 The Bounce
25 Excuse Me Miss Remix
26 Jigga that N*
27 Stop
28 What They Gonna Do Part 2
29 Ain’t No N*
30 Venus Vs Mars
31 Girls girls girls remix
32 On to the Next One
33 What We Talkin about
34 Every Day A Star is Born
35 Thank You

Neil Armstrong – Original (zip file)

Tracklist
1. Mtume, Rappin’ Duke – ‘If U Don’t Know Now You Know’
2. Jeff Lorber Fusion, Bahamadia – ‘Crush On You’
3. El Debarge – ‘One More Chance’
4. Lou Donaldson, The Roots – ‘Another Chance’
5. Isley Brothers – ‘Call Neil Big Poppa’
6. Isaac Hayes – ‘Warning’
7. The Delphonics – ‘Player Haters’
8. Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes – ‘Zulu Nation War Chant’ (feat. Betty Wright / Mary Jane Girls)
9. Mark the 45 King, DJ Kool, Marva Whitney – ‘900 Number’
10. Aja – ‘Whose In The House’
11. Taste Or Honey – ‘Sad & Blue’
12. Dionne Warwick – ‘Mona Lisa Says Goodbye’
13. Gloria Gaynor, Herb Alpert – ‘Release Yo Delf’
14. Underdog There, Wu-Tang Clan – ‘Nuthin To F*ck Wit’
15. Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band – ‘Cherchez Le (Neil)’
16. De La Soul, Aja – ‘Eye Know’
17. De La Soul, Hall & Oates – ‘Say No Go’
18. Leaders Of the New School, Boz Scaggs – ‘Zone Coasting’
19. For The Bitties At Bobs Lounge, Joe Sample – ‘W5PS’
20. De La Soul, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson – ‘Breakdawn’
21. John Leguizamo, Al Green – ‘Lets Stay Together’
22. Shalamar – ‘For The Player In You’
23. Teddy Pendergrass, BUMS – ‘The Door Is Closed’
24. Rick James – ‘Mary Jane’
25. Gap Band – ‘She’s Outstanding’
26. Eric B. & Rakim, Marvin Gaye, Midnight Star – ‘Got Me Curious’
27. Eric B. & Rakim, Aaliyah, Cecil Homes, Helix C. – ‘It’s Been A Long Time’
28. Surface, Kool G Rap, Nas – ‘Happy’
29. AZ, Nas, Gap Band – ‘Life’s A Bitch’
30. Nas, Michael Jackson, Biz Markie – ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell’
31. Biz Markie, Steve Miller Band – ‘Nobody Beats The Biz’
32. Big Daddy Kane, Heatwave – ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin’
33. Brand Nubian, Edie Brickell – ‘Slow It Down’
34. Queen, Vanilla Ice – ‘The Vanilla Cometh’
35. Labi Siffre, Eminem – ‘Slim Shady Reps’
36. Dr. Dre, Leon Haywood – ‘The Next Episode’
37. Isley Brothers, Ice Cube – ‘It’s A Good Day’
38. Herb Alpert, Blacksheep – ‘Flavor Of The Month’
39. Gang Starr, Public Enemy, Joe Simon – ‘U Know My Steez’
40. Maynard Furgeson, Showbiz & AG – ‘Next Level’
41. Grace Jones, LL Cool J – ‘Doin’ It Well’
42. ATCQ, Lou Reed – ‘Cause I Can Kick It’
43. Fugees, Roberta Flack – ‘Killing It Softly’
44. Heatwave, Nice & Smooth – ‘Mindblowing’
45. Partridge Family, Nice & Smooth – ‘Hip Hop Junkies’
46. Tracy Chapman, Nice & Smooth – ‘Sometimes I Rhyme Slow’
47. Souls Of Mischief, Bobby Cobham – ‘From Now Til Infinity’

– White Mike

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There is a long history of ironic, white covers of popular hip-hop and R&B tracks — from Dynamite Hack singing “Boyz in the Hood” in golf sweaters and flip flops, to Little Boots’ recent melancholic cover of Kid Cudi’s “Day N Nite.” In general, these attempts range from the retarded to the horribly offensive — with the rare creative or interesting recreation emerging here and there.

The new Fool’s Gold-repped artist Telephoned has recently joined membership into this group and whether they are one of the rare, successful entries into the sub-genre, I will let you be the judge. One thing I can say for Telephoned is that its members are talented. The group is a collaboration between DJ/Producer Sammy Bananas and DJ/Singer Maggie Horn. Bananas has put out a number of solid dance tracks in the past two years, including a pretty wicked remix of Passion Pit’s “The Reeling.”

(mp3s after the jump)

The duo will appear this Wednesday at Harlot, for MW004 presented by Hacksaw Entertainment. There will be a hosted bar from 7-10 and entry is free as long as you RSVP here.

Friends of The Projects Shane King (Hacksaw Ent) and White Girl Lust (Solid Bump) will provide support. This should definitely be a quality hump day party.

Here’s a sample. Enjoy:

Telephoned – Turn My Swag On (feat. Teli of Ninjasonik)

Kid Sister – Daydreaming (Telephoned remix)

– White Mike

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A couple of things about ducks: 1) the males have giant, corkscrew-shaped penises and 2) they have an unfortunate penchant for gang-rape.

While I was in college, a few friends and I had just finished a delicious and affordable meal at a South Bay Chili’s when we witnessed one of the more disturbing spectacles of our young lives. A group of ducks were gathered near the edge of the parking lot and appeared to be reenacting a scene from “The Accused.” As we walked closer, we saw two ducks holding down the head of what we assumed was the female duck, while a third ravaged her from the rear. This continued for a few moments until the lucky duck (!) got off, withdrew and swaggered off down to the adjacent stream, followed by his accomplices.

At the time we were shocked, but apparently gang rape is as much a part of being a duck as flying through rainbows is part of being a unicorn. Also, female ducks have spiral vaginas with trap doors to mislead duck rapists. All of these things are true (except the part about the unicorn) and you can read all about it here.

(Here comes the segue… wait for it…)

Speaking of ducks, Dirty Bird’s Martin Brothers just released a track with the word duck in the title and hey! one of them is playing at Lights Down Low tomorrow night, 4/24, at Triple Crown.

Anyone that’s followed dance music in San Francisco knows Christian Martin, who most recently appeared among the buffalo at the latest of the fabled Dirtybird BBQ’s this past Sunday in Golden Gate Park.

Headlining alongside Martin is Vancouver’s Felix Cartal, who returns to LDL where once he made his San Francisco debut. Since then, Cartal has blown up as a producer and last month released his first full length album on Dim Mak under the (hopefully) prophetic title, “Popular Music.” I haven’t caught Cartal live, but according to my Projects counterpart DJ Nisus, Cartal put on one of the best performances that he saw last year when he appeared at Ruby Skye.

Providing support is LDL resident Sleazemore, as well as LXNDR (Bad Neighbors) and KONNECT (Trust). Advance tickets are $10 and available here.

Here’s a little sample. Enjoy:

The Martin Brothers – Duckface

Felix Cartal – Volcano (Felix Cartal remix)

– White Mike

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Years before I got into smoking weed, drinking malt liquor and doing drive-bys, The Chronic was released and I, like every other 12 year-old boy on my block, quickly put away the Cooleyhighharmony and jumped full force into G-Funk. It wasn’t that suburban white kids like me could really relate to the content, or that we held real animosity toward EZ or Tim Dog (or knew who Tim Dog was). Instead, it was Dre’s flawless production and the smooth, at-times angry lyrical flow of the Death Row camp that had me singing “bitches ain’t shit” as I rode my sweet GT bicycle home from school.

It’s been 18 years (do the math) and there finally seems to be real evidence that the often-talked-about, never-produced album “Detox” might actually see release this year. Scott Storch, who has apparently been doing some detoxing himself, earlier this month mentioned that the release of the album’s first single “Under Pressure,” which features Jay-Z, should happen sometime this summer.

With an album from Big Boi also set to drop in the summer months, this could be a good year for the aging stars of rap. In anticipation of these alleged releases, here are some olllllld throwback mixes from two of hip-hop’s best known DJs.

(mp3s after the jump)

The first, an impressive set in two parts (and on four decks) by the aforementioned Dre, circa 1987 — pre-Chronic, pre-Snoop, pre-NWA, pre-Dr. Pepper. The second comes from the always solid DJ Riz of Crooklyn Clan fame, recorded on Tim Westwood’s show on the BBC. And yes, he does mix Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game” in there (aka the song that inspired the entire the XX album). I shouldn’t have to say that these are “all-vinyl” mixes, but hey! They are!

Oh, and here’s a bonus freestyle from a young Snoop Doggy Dogg on the Arsenio Hall show. Pretty sick:

Enjoy:

Dr. Dre – Old School Swap Meet pt. 1

Dr. Dre – Old School Swap Meet pt 2

DJ Riz – Tim Westwood Megamix (1994)

– White Mike

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RIP to one of the greatest MCs of all time. What more can be said except that we lost a legend today.

The Bay’s Matthew Africa last month put together a tribute mix to Gang Starr that today serves as a perfect memorial to one of hip hop’s greatest duos. This shit definitely takes me back. Enjoy:

Stream here.

Download here.

(tracklist after the jump)

Tracklist

1. Intro
2. You Know My Steez
3. Just to Get a Rep
4. Mass Appeal
5. Step in the Arena
6. Now You’re Mine
7. The Militia feat. Freddie Foxxx
8. B.Y.S.
9. Take It Personal
10. The ? Remainz
11. Full Clip
12. DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth
13. Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?
14. Jazz Thing
15. Soliloquy of Chaos
16. Check the Technique
17. Credit Is Due
18. Speak Ya Clout feat. Jeru the Damaja & Lil Dap
19. It’z a Setup feat. Hannibal
20. Words I Manifest (Remix)
21. 2 Deep
22. The Place Where We Dwell
23. Suckas Need Bodyguards
24. Flip the Script
25. What You Want This Time?
26. Love Sick
27. Ex Girl to Next Girl
28. The Planet
29. Make ‘em Pay
30. Execution of a Chump
31. DJ Premier Is In Deep Concentration
32. Take Two & Pass
33. Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot)
34. Rite Where You Stand feat. Jadakiss
35. I’m the Man feat. Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja
36. Code of the Streets
37. Tonz ‘o’ Gunz
38. Next Time

– White Mike

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When most Americans think of Ottawa, they picture the historic cholera outbreak of 1832 or the precise urban planning of Frenchman Jacques Greber. However, in addition to being recognized for these fascinating details, Canada’s capitol city supports a pretty solid little house scene. At the center of this lies Disorganized (now Frenzy), a monthly party which for the past 7 years has brought Ottawa’s dance community together to party with some of the world’s top DJs.

Founders DJ Booth and Chameleonic, together known as Jokers of the Scene due to their early difficulties in earning respect from their Ottawan DJ peers, started Disorganized as a small loft party and it quickly grew into one of the city’s premier dance parties. They have since graduated from playing host to that party to touring the globe, signing with record label Fool’s Gold and releasing a handful of original singles, including the massive Baggy Bottom Boys. In addition, they have been commissioned to produce remixes for Passion Pit, Kid Cudi, Acid Girls, Thunderheist, Flosstradamus and Muscles, among others.

Next Friday (4/23), they join The Faint spin-off Depressed Buttons, LA’s Frankie Chan (iheartcomix) and San Francisco’s favorite DJ/Male Model Richie Panic (Blow Up) at 330 Ritch. Advance $13 tix are available here.

(mp3s after the jump)

Here is one of JOTS’s latest remixes, an extended take on Boy 8-Bit’s weirdohouse joint “Wolfen.” Also included: their latest promo mix, which was released last month.

Enjoy:

Boy 8-Bit – Wolfen (Jokers of the Scene remix)

Jokers of the Scene – Bombs Over Belleville mix

Tracklist
1. Jokers of the Scene – Joking Victim
2. B.D.I. – City & Industry
3. Daniel Meteo – In The Mood (Abe Duque Remix)
4. Crash Course In Science – Flying Turns (Terence Fixmer Remix)
5. Tiga – Sex O’Clock (Playgroup Remix)
6. Aberrant – Kirkbride’s Dungeon
7. Stephan Bodzin – Mustang
8. Jori Hulkonnen – Boying in the Smokeroom
9. Fairmont – Mobula
10. Geiger – Bambam
11. Boy 8-Bit – The Keep
12. Mathew Jonson – Ghosts in the Al
13. 2AM/FM – The Path
14. LFO – Freeze
15. Extrawelt – Fernweh
16. The Black Dog – Witches Ov

– White Mike

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Most people assume that using drugs you’ve found lying on a city sidewalk is a perfectly reasonable and safe thing to do. Thus, they’re often surprised when I tell them a story which reveals that perhaps, in some rare cases, found drugs are better left alone.

It was the summer of 2003, the war in Iraq had just been won, Gary Coleman was running for governor and Uncle Kracker was beginning to Drift Away (so sad). In the few years prior, I had developed an angst-fueled obsession with Radiohead and was excited when they announced two midsummer dates at Shoreline Amphitheatre. After a brief defeat at the hands of Ticketmaster, my hopes were revived when a girl that I had been hanging out with and (unsuccessfully) trying to make more than friends was able to leverage her role as passive victim of sexual harassment to score two tickets from her well-connected (but not well-endowed) boss. Platonic friendship paid off and I was graciously given the second ticket.

(mp3s after the jump..)

The day of the concert came, we arrived early at the venue and, before entering, decided to walk around the neighborhood in the hope that we might find a bar amongst the business parks and ample lawns of Mountain View. As we searched, my friend stopped me and pointed to a small box that was lying on the sidewalk:

“Hey, cloves!”

As she picked up the box and opened it, we looked inside to see that one half of the box was filled with clove cigarettes, while in the other half the cloves had been emptied out and replaced with a tiny Altoids tin. Knowing Altoids containers to be a favorite (albeit obvious) hiding place for weed and other illicit substances, I excitedly grabbed the box from her hands and opened the tin. Sure enough, stuffed inside was a dark green bud about the size of a strawberry.

Given our tendency toward cosmic explanations for minor events, we took this discovery to be a sign that we should disregard whatever qualms we might have had about sidewalk drugs, take our find into the concert and smoke it. Here, the Universe’s pro-drug endorsement, however subtle, was undeniable.

So, we bought some papers, rolled the weed up into a joint, found our seats and waited through the remarkably shitty opening act (Supergrass) until Radiohead took the stage. At long last, Thom, Jonny and friends arrived on stage and my friend and I lit up along with what seemed like every 3rd person in the audience and life was good. It stayed this way for about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes until I realized that everything between myself and the stage had become a dark, featureless void and also, that I was probably dying. The unnaturally loud music heightened this realization and the fabled light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel was for me a series of strobes, all of which highlighted the elfin face of Thom Yorke.

Embarrassed by my imminent death and my new found inability to balance standing up on two legs, I attempted to play it off to my female companion as if I were having a good time, only to find that she was not standing at my side. Given this fact, I felt it okay to collapse into my seat and take a breath and, in doing so, found her also seated, apparently dealing with the same affliction as I was. We exchanged a look equal to “What the fuck is going on?” and then she leaned over to whisper to me, “I think I’m going to have a panic attack.” These were not the words that earlier in the day I had fantasized about her whispering to me, but I let it go as I was a bit preoccupied with my crippling insanity.

My friend quickly pushed her way through the aisle and toward one of the side corridors of the venue where presumably she wept or wrote her mother a letter or some such; while I stayed frozen in my seat, gradually becoming more and more aware that I would likely survive the night and then, that there seemed to be a pretty entertaining concert going on nearby and that I could experience it if only I were to stand back up. I managed to do so, my friend eventually returned with a strikingly sunnier (and less panic-stricken) disposition and we overcame our near-death experiences to end up having a pretty enjoyable second half of the concert.

This week, the same friend will be returning the Bay to join me in attendance at one of the two shows that Thom Yorke and his new band Atoms for Peace will be giving at Oakland’s Fox Theater and, despite the apparently happy ending to the above story, we will be abstaining from drugs this time (or at least bringing our own).

For anyone looking to join us, as of this posting tickets are still available via Ticketmaster (not going to link them because fuck Ticketmaster), so don’t fall victim to scalpers until you’ve tried to buy them for face value first.

Below are a couple of dancey remixes of Thom Yorke tracks, including a lovely disco edit by Spank Rock’s XXXchange. Enjoy:

Thom Yorke – Hearing Damage (Whiskey Tango edit)

Thom Yorke – And it Rained All Night (Burial remix)

Thom Yorke – The Eraser (XXXChange remix)

– White Mike

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Everyone loves a good mystery, especially when that mystery is solved by a talking dog and a group of meddling kids. So in 2008 when some quality dance tracks (including the massive “Mars”) began appearing around the innertron produced by the then-unknown producer Fake Blood, there was active speculation in the dancenerd community as to the producer’s identity and whether it was just an alias for an already established artist. Turns out it was, as Fake Blood was until then better known as Theo Keating aka DJ Touche aka one half of the indie-electro band The Black Ghosts.

(mp3sss after the jump…)

Since that mystery has been solved (and without any canine help), Fake Blood has become arguably one of the best house producers on the planet. Friday night he makes his San Francisco debut at Mezzanine with fellow Brit Boy 8-Bit, another of the UK’s biggest producers. The Projects member Nisus opens along with Blasthaus resident Sleazemore. Tickets are $15 and available at Blasthaus

I guarantee that this will be one of the best dance shows of the year. See you there!

Boy 8-Bit

Florence & the Machine – Drumming Song (Boy 8-Bit remix)

Boy 8-Bit – Wolfen (Original mix)

Fake Blood

Fake Blood – I Think I Like It

Fake Blood – Mars (Boy 8 Bit remix)

Fake Blood – BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix (3-14-2009) (2 hours)

Enjoy.

– White Mike

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One of my favorites, French disco edit master Pilooski a month ago released a 12″ vinyl only single whose A-side was a house remake of Nora Dean’s “Angie La-La.” It’s titled simply “AAA” and it is a 9 minute early a.m. house epic. It wouldn’t hurt to be high for this one.

Enjoy:

Pilooski – AAA

Bonus:

Nina Simone – Take Care of Business (Pilooski edit)

– White Mike

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Last week, I came across this mix by DJ Riz — co-founder of Crooklyn Clan and arguably one of the best hip-hop DJs alive. Now best known for his website, where DJs can buy the latest BEP song mashed up with “Love is Gone,” Riz is also kind of amazing behind the decks and apparently the favorite DJ of some of my favorite DJs.

In this short set, he quick mixes classic hip hop and soul. Enjoy:

DJ Riz – Live at Deko Classics Night

– White Mike

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