Sunday, January 12th in Asbury Park, NJ at a secret location, three old friends are getting together to spin records together. We’re not just any old friends, but DJs who have been spinning in the Asbury Park area (and all over) since the ’90s. We’ve spun in defunct places like The Downtown Cafe, the original Asbury Lanes, Langosta Lounge, The Howard Johnsons, Be Gallery, Asbury Art, The Annex, Harry’s Roadhouse, Oddfellows, The Side Hatch, Moonrock, The Saint, and every other joint that let us lug our records into and make people dance. We all had our own style and came together because of our love of music and vinyl records. Whether it was funk, disco, house, reggae, soul or anything else soulful or funky, we put it into our sets, created scenes and contributed to the music scene of Asbury Park. When the area went from ‘the debris by the sea’ to an upper-scale community, we got in where we fit in and spun from The Asbury Hotel to White Chapel Projects to The Convention Center to many other notable spots in the area (and we still do). Here’s a chance to see us all on one bill, which is few and far between…

On January 12th though, we’re gonna bring it back to basics. Two turntables, a rotary mixer, good records and good people. From Noon to 4pm, Adam Jay, Foggy Notion & myself will be spinning a variety of danceable records in Asbury Park and you’re invited. This is an invite only, RSVP event. Once you RSVP, you’ll be given the address.

Follow @yespl.dj and DM to RSVP

See you on the dance floor!

Dig Deeper!

Fresh off of last month’s guest, JKriv (Razor-N-Tape) we welcome the one and only Skeme Richards (The Nostalgia King/ Philadelphia) to Friends and Lovers in Crown Heights Brooklyn on Saturday, January 11th, for the monthly Shake! Brooklyn party!

Skeme is a globe-trotting DJ who has played the party a bunch of times and always brings dancefloor heat to the party. His unique selections of Funk, Disco, and assorted funky nuggets rock discotheques all over the world and we are looking forward to having him back once again.

Saturday January 11th 2024 10pm-4am
Shake!
Resident DJs Monk-One + Prestige
plus special guest Skeme Richards (The Nostalgia King/ Philly)

RSVP Here for reduced admission before 11 PM

Always Diggin’!

Back once again at the best hangout in The Milesquare City of Hoboken, Antique Bar & Bakery. Every second Friday enjoy a bag of funky forty fives from Flea Market Funk that spans genres with one common sound: they’re all funky. So whether it’s Disco, Funk, Latin, Brazilian, Hip Hop or Dancefloor Jazz, it’s a guaranteed good time. All vinyl, all night. It’s free but you have to reserve a table via the RESY app if you want to sit and eat.

Take The Ride.

DJ Prestige (Shake! Brooklyn/ Flea Market Funk)
All 45 RPM Set at 9PM
Antique Bar & Bakery
122 Willow Ave. Hoboken
FREE 21+

Always Diggin’!

This record has really moved me on a lot of levels. When the first tune “Holding On” dropped in 2020, it was so infectious that I had it on repeat forever (and I still do, this time for more personal reasons). I mean, I loved it, and told Tom Noble that probably every time we saw each other. When he eventually played Monk-One and my Shake! party in Brooklyn a while ago, I honestly had no idea he’d got back on the horse to finish this project. So imagine my surprise when this full-length got released at the end of last year. I fell in love with the single again and head over heels for the Lp, which to me, has an immediate timeless sound and feel as classic records should.

Bicoastal disco aficionado, Superior Elevation label/shop owner, and all-around legend of the scene, Tom Noble brings forth a sprawling project 15 years in the making with his House of Spirits full length LP on Razor-N-Tape.

There’s a long history of the making of this record that was summed up perfectly on the Razor-N-Tape site, but here’s the short version: Tom connected with West Coast funk band Orgone through local collector/DJ Dewey Chan after hearing their cover of “It’s Serious” by Cameo. In 2007, they recorded six demos together at Killion Studios in North Hollywood. Tom then enlisted a gospel choir from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to provide vocals, which were recorded in a church home studio by music director Darwin Jones. Many of the songs, including “Holding On,” were written on the spot during the recording process. After relocating to NYC in 2013, Tom returned to LA and Oklahoma to complete the material, enlisting additional vocals from dreamcastmoe in DC. Despite years of delay, Tom finally finished the LP in 2024, 17 years after the original recordings, with Razor-N-Tape stepping in to release it.

The opener “Love Trip”, an uptempo stomper, immediately gets you out of your seat (those background vocals of “love trip!” and bass line are just a few of the many reasons you can’t stop moving). Noble glides through various moods, be it smooth, downtempo R & B in the dreamcastmoe vocals on “Diamond Eyes” or the mid-tempo grooves of “I Get Lifted”. The two singles from the record “Times Are Changing” and “Please Take Me There” plus their remixes by Harvey Sutherland, Makéz and Sizmo have raised eyebrows and moved asses. The smoothness of “Moving Away” is a late-night party that goes deep into the night. Of course, the fave, “Holding On” is there, and gets a new mix. “Time Is Running Out” can not be looked over either, tossing in a little Brit-funk spice into the mix to round out this banger of a full-length.

Call this double pack of dynamite anything you want, but to me, this future classic is my Record Of The Year and, mark my words, its timeless sound will be rocking dancefloors and making people feel good for many years to come, shining for the world (and generations) to see.

Get the record here!

Dig Deeper!

It’s been a while. Making moves, still buying records, still DJing, but as they say: “Life gets in the way…”. Not to worry, this is the first of many mixes I have planned because the record digging does not stop. Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hey, miss all of you, and here’s a brand new all-vinyl mix of a few records I have been digging as of late.

Take a trip into this world of loose reality, an all-vinyl excursion blending European jazz funk, library music, live instrumental hip hop, jazz, psychedelic soul, and more.

Claude Cooper: Listen To Sounds
Ancient Cosmonaughts: Intergalactic Travel
Collage: Mets neidude vagel
New York Trouble: Hong Kong Hang
Mike Wallace: Kids
Sven Wunder: Barocco, Ma Non Troppo
Serg Gainsbourg: Requiem Pour Un Con (Instrumental)
Angelo Outlaw: Loose Reality
Jay Richford & Gary Stevan: Flying High
Jonathan Kirby: Walk On Music For The Sun
Circle: Cosmic Action
Zodiac: In The Light Of Saturn

Stream on Mixcloud below:

Check out the mix here!

Enjoy!

Always Diggin’!

The latest project from Denver, CO’s Neon Brown is a collaboration of sorts with an off-the-radar artist, PUTE. Brown, who DJs and produces, is known for his laid-back and heady style of production, which caught the attention of PUTE a few years ago. This being the digital age, DMs were exchanged, and an unlikely chance put them together where PUTE had an odd verse on the Brown-produced “The Donner Party” by NYC artist Deca in 2019. After the collabo, more messages, some quite off-kilter and bizarre, added to the mystery. Elusive and very private, little was known about PUTE then, As the barrage of messages came through to Brown’s socials on the regular, things would come to a halt when his TikTok got hacked. Unrelated and inappropriate content followed, leading Brown to suspect this former collaborator. However, in a weird change of events, a full album (using Brown’s production) would show up, complete with questionable and strange album art. In a conundrum as to whether to take legal action to stop the use of his work, Brown eventually became fascinated with the project, enlisting a list of his own collaborators to join in and layer this already weird project even further. Artists like Detroit’s Guilty Simpson and Quelle Chris along with NYC’s JScienide and Daniel David (formerly Trailor Limon) contributed to this new project that Brown became excited about.

PUTE is unlike anyone I’ve ever worked with and I don’t understand fully who PUTE is.

As the project grew, his original production now rearranged and assembled by PUTE had him trying to uncover exactly who this person was. By now, due to several samples uncovered by Brown, signs were pointing to a collective or a possibility of something nonhuman. Was it a group of people, or perhaps advanced software, or even AI that had a hand in this? He didn’t know, and this intrigued Brown even more. He had to put this project out. Not only does he encourage the listener to dive deep into the music, but also delve deeper into who PUTE really is. This project will be released digitally on July 23rd with a vinyl drop in mid-August.

Check out PUTE featuring Guilty Simpson “Nothing” below:

Pre-Order the vinyl here.

Dig Deeper!

We caught up with the one and only Saucy Lady recently for a little chat about music, records, and life. Enjoy!

You’ve been very busy lately.  Tell us what you have been up to… 

Besides my 9-5pm job as a program manager for a tech company, I’m continuing to DJ, record tunes, and run my own label so I guess I’m busy.  But I do feel like I can take on more musically.

I’m working on an EP now which is almost done. That’s in the style of what you’d associate my sound.  But I also love acid house sounds and I just got a fun toy for it so I’m experimenting with making some all-instrumental acid house and techno Saucy tracks. Anytime I spin that style I get so zoned in, it’s addictive and really adrenaline-pumping fun. 

Besides that, I also have an idea of a dream electro-jazz funk project in my head so I want to make it happen.  I have so many concrete ideas now, and people I want to work with for this project so that’s my next life goal.

You also have a brand new record label: Dippin’ Records.  How’d you come up with the name and what’s the origin of the label?

It was a struggle to find a record label name that no one had used before.  

You’d be shocked to learn the sheer number of labels that exist on this planet. Somehow Dippin’ was not taken so I grabbed it, formed the LLC with the name, and applied for Trademark.

There’s no fancy history with the name because anything I wanted was all taken. That said, I think it’s catchy, easy to remember, and looks good visually.  Our new catchphrase is “keep dippin’ in the crates”.

You’re latest release Lee Wilson’s “Do Better” is a banger!  Tell us how this collaboration came about and how Yuki’s monolog reprise (which is superb!)  came to be.

It’s actually our 5th release on the label.  Lee Wilson is a long-time friend of mine from Boston, and we’ve collaborated and performed together. I’ve always wanted to release an original tune by him and he suggested a few.

This one in particular caught my ear as it felt fitting for Dippin’.  It was released digitally a few years ago and there are multiple remixes of it.  I wanted a fresh new take on it for the flip, so I asked Yuki to make a remix.  Within a few days, he gave me a couple of options.  Both were incredible and it was extremely hard to choose but we went for the monolog Reprise, an all-acoustic recording that is a good contrast to the original synth-based boogie version.  All instruments are played by Yuki, which is the type of project he calls “monolog”.  The one-man band essentially. The other remix is dope too so I’m going to see if we can release that in the future.

What other releases do you have planned?  Anything you can talk about?

The next release is a cover of Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters’s Watermelon Man which Yuki worked on as a monolog project.

Yuki flew to New Orleans to record Bill Summers, the Headhunters percussionist for the original song, playing a variety of percussive instruments for the track at his home.  Hindewhu, Peruvian pan flute Zampoña, congas, shekere, and shaker.  When I say shaker, I mean his hands.  He rubs his hands together and it sounds like a shaker, it’s crazy wild. His groove is so naturally on, it’s captivating. Even his hands literally have grooves that create sounds that just sit right. 

For the soprano sax, we wanted someone of quality of course so I asked Curtis Fitz Williams from Kool and the Gang to play and he also added some clavs.  

Can’t wait for the world to hear it. The tempo is faster so you can definitely play it at the club and also the flip side is a drum break version so buying doubles is highly encouraged.

-Top 5 Records at the Moment

Just Like You Used To / What A Difference She Made – Jalen Ngonda

Love Explosion – Tania Maria

Nighlife Unlimited – Nightlife Unlimited

XL Middleton & Soul Clap Records present New Directions in Funk Volume 1

Grupo Irakere – Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recital

Danny Krivit told me he rocks New Balance while DJing.  What’s your favorite footwear to wear in the DJ booth?  We gotta take care of our feet!

I usually wear my Reebok, I probably own one too many pairs but they fit me so why not.

NYC food you must have when you’re in town

I don’t really have a favorite, I try to stay healthy when I’m traveling so I don’t typically eat anything extravagant but I’m open to recommendations.

I did have some super spicy Szechuan soup recently that I loved so anything in that part of the globe I’m down to try.

-Last Words: (anything you want)

Come down to Friends and Lovers on Saturday 3/9, SHAKE is one of my favorite parties and you really can’t go wrong.

Love Monk One and Prestige!  They’re the bestest!

Today’s Hot Slice comes from trumpeter Dave Guy, While this record is his debut on Big Crown Records, the man is not new to the scene, as we hear on “Footwork”, his new single that just dropped today on the New York stalwart label.

A longtime friend, collaborator, and contributor to the label, you’ve no doubt heard him on records from the last two decades. A member of The Roots, The Dap-Kings and The Budos Band, Guy’s chops have been all over the most important funk and soul records coming out of The Big Apple for the better part of the last funk and soul resurgence. The man is a beast on that trumpet people. He has enhanced records from notables such as Amy Winehouse, Lizzo, Charles Bradley and Lee Fields. This time he steps front and center (teaming up with Homer Steinweiss and Nick Movshon, players and production) to deliver a record that easily could be 1967, but here we are in 2024 sounding as timeless as ever. The -Side, “Footwork” is a Latin-inspired side and to us, feels like it can get the dancefloor moving with no problem and with its tight production and backing band, we would love to see a long remix a la Grant Green’s “Let The Music Take Your Mind” to extend the party. Side B hits the ’70s soundtrack vibe, adding his own flavor but pushing that feel forward to modern-day for new audiences to grasp, enjoy and dance to. This 7″ is coming out on March 20th, so listen to “Footwork” below, and get ready for more to come from Dave Guy. We can’t wait.

Pre-order the record here.

Dig Deeper!

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Today we have some straight-up aural goodness from the newest signing on First Word Records, harpist Amanda Whiting. This virtuoso and staple on the UK jazz scene is pushing forward as greats like Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane paved the way before her. With extensive touring with her band as well as Matthew Halsall. DJ Yoda, Rebecca Vasmant, and Chip Wickham who is featured in this new project. Holding a CV that includes three solo releases on Jazzman Records, an Albert’s Favourite Remix Project, and a nomination for Jazz FM’s Instrumentalist of the Year, Whiting is not stopping any time soon.

“Intertwined is a song about connection and seeing something from the other side.. Being overcome with positive emotion. Connecting and being intertwined, whether with yourself or with another soul.”

Amanda Whiting

The influences on this track range from Goldie’s “Angel” to hip-hop and drum and bass as well as the odd time signatures that compliment the added ethereal vocals of the siren PEACH. This is just a lovely track that you’ll find yourself playing over and over again. Welcome to the roster Amanda, we can’t wait to see what is in store next for you at First Word. Listen to the track below:

Download the track, out on First Word Records here.

Dig Deeper!

Great to see one of our favorite worldwide artists and DJs Saucy Lady pull up with her brand spanking new record label Dippin’ Records. If you’ve been following her career and vinyl record output then you’re familiar with the dancefloor-friendly tracks she’s been moving butts with since her beginning. Dippin’ Records continues that movement with a floor filler from Lee Wilson and “Do Better”.

She’s taken one of the most sought-after top vocalists and songwriters, an artist that straight up dominates the house music charts, Lee Wilson, and hand delivers the heat to your turntable. Uptempo and ready to get down, this is exactly what you’d expect from Saucy. Boogie bangin’ from the drop, this dancer features a “never before released monolog Reprise version” played by multi-instrumentalist Yuki Kanesaka. Kanesaka plays all of the vintage analog instruments, bringing a heavy, tight groove to your body and soul. Also included is a Feel-Good Radio Remix that hits hard with a deep boogie synth bass alongside the immediately recognizable Wilson’s vocals. This message of positive self-improvement and self-image is the icing on top of this cake you wanna dip your fork in. We are looking forward to more heat coming out of the Dippin’ Records camp! Listen to the 7″ below.

Get the record here.

Dig Deeper!