I’ve been looking forward to this event for a long time; Co-Op Miami. The only other time that I’ve experienced it was at its home base at Plastic People in London in 2003. For the uninitiated, Co-Op is a monthly club night consisting of members from the Bugz in the Attic crew, along with other West London peeps and guests. The vibe is friendly, but the music very bass-heavy and groovy. Peeps at the London home are likely to be introduced to tracks being tested on them before being unleashed to others.

As my third day of activities was winding down, Co-Op kicked off in fine form at the two-level club called Jazid. It’s the second Miami outing for Co-Op; Daz, Afronaught and IG Culture were in force and ready for business on the upper level. Down on the lower entrance level were Seattle’s Sun Tzu Sound crew, or at least two of them…Atlee and J. Justice. I didn’t realize that it was them until after-the-fact, as I was supposed to have met up with J-Justice in person–but oh well, that’s how it goes.

Upstairs was a treat, going from few peeps to a packed floor of spotters and dancers before too long. Got to see Proof from Massive Selector again, along with some of his friends. The Amalgama crew were also there too, as natural fans of the bruk rhythms as well as collaborators with the Bugz, IG and other related peeps worldwide. The action soon took off, and even a couple of ladies persuaded me briefly to put down my camera and dance with them. It’s a skill to dance and take pictures at the same time, but I’ve managed to do that for most of my Miami stay.

Fun on the decks was also had on the upper level courtesy of one DJ Mochizuki from Japan, who apparently owns a club called the Loop. Afronaught expressed how great the sound system was at that club, calling it one of the best in all of their stops. Mochizuki knew his skills and his music, and kept people smiling and grooving. Dunno how many peeps knew him, but he was hard to miss since he was perhaps the most stylishly-dressed DJ of the night. Also upstairs enjoying the music were the likes of the Ubiquita ladies, Aloe Blacc wowing the ladies with his smooth dance steps, and an artist called Replife with whom I had a good chat with (he’s having an album due this year on Simon S.’s Futuristica Music label soon). Can’t forget the Daz man back on the mic…always good to hear him fire up the peeps. Mrs. Daz and 1-2 others did the door and keeping busy, and later on Zil, the label manager from Bagpak Music, showed up with the artist Arch_Typ, who would perform at the Raw Fusion night at the club the next evening.

The night wore me down before it ended. After exiting, I’ve chatted for a bit with Afronaught and some other peeps, as well as Daz and Mrs. Daz. I’ve huddled them together for a group picture. At the moment I press the shutter button, someone bumped into me with such force that I was off-balance for a second, thinking that the picture was going to be off-center. Afronaught and Daz have both noticed that this person who bumped into me was running down the sidewalk with a ladies’ handbag…a purse snatcher! This guy was run-ning through crowds, so catching him wasn’t going to quite happen. I took a second picture, but didn’t realize that the first was alright until later. So when you see those two pics, you’ll know why.

Third day ends, and day four of activities would soon begin.

Highlights:

• Hanging with the Amalgama posse and Simbad.
• Being at my first stateside Co-Op.
• Teasing Mrs. Daz…she’s good for the Daz Man.
• Experiencing the Bugz and IG in action upstairs.
• Being pulled in by not one, but two ladies, to dance with them.
• Dancing and having my pic taken with me and a lovely lady…Vee, I think was what she called herself.
• Proof, Angelo and the San Fran crew repping.
• Saying hello briefly to Juergen from Jazzanova, who was next to the decks upstairs watching along.
• DJ Mochizuki…he’s got style and good music!
• Meeting Replife while having a rest…see you in S.F.!
• Seeing a post-Hella Aloe Blacc slidin’ and groovin’ on the dance floor.

With that, you can see all the pics from the Co-Op event. You can also visit the album to view the complete set of pictures from events thus far, with more still coming very soon!
Thanks to Daz-I-Kue, Mrs. Daz, and Santiago plus the Amalgama crew.

Day Three of my five-day, 20-hour-a-day madness got off to a slightly stressful start. After a good shower and having to wait my turn for the only Internet terminal in the hotel I was staying (wi-fi…what’s that??), my mind ended up being focused on two immediate day events…the Stones Throw event called Hella International, aka the Do Over Miami, and the Scion Sunset Yacht event featuring Masters At Work and others.

I arrived early to the Stones Throw event being held in the back of the Raleigh Hotel, just getting started with Cali’s Haycock kicking things off on the stage. I haven’t seen him since the Do Over event in Los Angeles, a popular, free daytime Sunday event held between May and October of each year featuring choice DJ’s both local and not-so-local. Along with Jamie from Stones Throw and artist Aloe Blacc, they make up the trouble-making trio that make the Do Over happen.

On this day, they were doing it Miami-style, and soon after meeting Haycock I would see Jamie to give him a hello. In turn, he passed me a copy of what would be one of the most sought-after promos during the conference…a nicely-designed boxed set filled with triple-vinyl goodness known as Hella International. And let me tell you that these boxes weren’t just being handed out to anyone, but mostly to those in the scene such as DJ’s, producers, radio cats, and peeps who are really down with the Stones Throw sound and, more importantly, help spread the love.

I needed to make a mad dash, barely staying about 30 minutes, in order to try and catch the Scion yacht. Me being Mr. Organization, I had no clue where the location of the yacht was. I called up Jessica, who told me that I had to travel to the area around 5th Street…a 10-block trek. Talking with the front desk of the hotel, who weren’t able to find the location themselves on the Internet, I was advised to take the city bus, which I did.

After getting off the bus, I went to several places asking for directions as the boarding time grew closer, but was sent every which way. Finally, I called up Santiago from the Amalgama crew, who gave me the news that a friend of his told him that the yacht was already filled to capacity way before the noted boarding time on my invitation! My first yacht trip was scuttled, but he wasn’t too far away and picked me up to tag with him, Simbad and another friend to go to the Stones Throw gig.

After driving around for a long awhile trying to find parking and talking smack, the damnest luck happened as someone pulled out of a parking space that was a few blocks from the Raleigh. After making a quick stop to an event at the Marlin, we separated for a little bit. But on my way there, we were reunited and proceeded to the gig.

Hella International built up a bit with more peeps in attendance. I’ve found Jamie chatting, and after running into Mad Mats from Raw Fusion I’ve asked both Mats and Simbad to follow me for a quick intro to Jamie. They all had good greetings with one another and I left them along while trying to find Santiago. I didn’t get to find him for awhile, and have even mistaken him for someone else as I was talking to him about meeting Jamie…he gave me this quizzical look, this guy. But oh well…I did ran into someone from Om Records who was there that I have not heard from until that moment, who was talking with Santiago; all good.

   
From that point on, I’ve taken in the event for a good part of the day going into night. I’ve ran into Proof from Massive Selector, who was besides himself about the whole Miami vibe. He introduced me to J. Boogie from Om, who played at the party the night before, as well as the one-and-only Freddie Cruger, aka Red Astaire from Raw Fusion and G.A.M.M. in Sweden. I was, in turn, introduced to his singing partner Linn, who apparently is a top vocalist in her country. It was their first visit to Miami, and they were enjoying it. Mr. Cruger and I would talk quite a bit that day. Also, there was Sarah from Pitch Control, whom I’ve met briefly days before when I met Mad Mats for a chat. So the company was all good, indeed.

   
Now about the event, itself; I know some peeps are wondering why the heck is a hip-hop event being held during a dance music conference. In our special music scene, Stones Throw is one of the few hip-hop labels that does a tremendous job of pushing the scene forward with some of the freshest sounds around, as well as having a keen ability to step back and find lost treasures. It’s a label that has earned a tremendous amount of respect in independent music, and for it to be given big ups there is a sign of respect. Judging from the turnout as the day move forward into the evening, the respect was overflowing.

   
The DJ’s on the decks really stepped up to the plate. Benji B. from BBC’s Radio 1 did a nice, deep set that made peeps happy; Madlib was showing why his science on the decks captivates; A-Trak was blowing minds with his scratching wizardry; Aloe Blacc, Wildchild, and others took the mic to whoop up the enthusiastic crowd that have build and build from the late afternoon into the evening.

 
On this day, independent hip-hop took and stand and Stones Throw laid down the law.

Highlights:

• Finally meeting Santiago from Amalgama and the man Simbad and having some quality chat time in the car.
• Finding Mad Mats again; I’ll never forget what he looks like ever again.
• Seeing and hitting up the Do Over homies Jamie, Haycock and Aloe Blacc.
• Meeting J. Boogie for the first time.
• Seeing the Proof man losing himself to the Miami vibe.
• Being introduced to Freddie Cruger and Linn; great time to chat with them.
• Chatting with Sarah for a bit.
• Catching Jessica from SPECTRE and Asya from Fusicology as the evening wore on.
• Witnessing the Stones Throw posse waxing it for the peeps, and watching peeps go mad.
• Everyone on the mic were for real…yes, indeed.
• Copping my very own Hella International vinyl box set…yes!

Want to view all the pics from the gig? Now you can!

Thanks to Jamie, Haycock and Aloe Blacc (the Do Over trio), Santiago from Amalgama, Simbad, Sarah, Freddie and Linn, and Jessica.

It was the fourth day of my Miami trip, and the second day of full-on activity. Even though I’ve only had four hours of sleep, I was both refreshed and excited for what the jam-packed day would bring. Didn’t had much time for breakfast that day, so headed to the Starbucks on Ocean Drive for a quick expresso and munchie combo (yeah yeah, I hear you Starbucks haters…but when you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time to explore, it’s nice to know that there’s an ‘ol reliable on standby).

Om Listening Party - Beach Plaza Hotel

I was already an hour behind schedule, and my first visit was to the Om VIP Listening Party. There was no way that I could stay very long, and I knew this. Still, the few minutes that I’ve managed to stay (roughly about 20-30 minutes) was good.

Got to catch Gunnar, fresh from the Scion party of the day before. Also met other Om peeps including Tamara, among others. The only Om artist that I’ve gotten to meet was Colette, and the few minutes I did have with her was a pleasure; very down-to-earth, but enjoying her successful career all the same. Also ran into a couple of guys who help publish a house music magazine in Japan, and a Canadian film crew shooting a documentary on DJ culture.

From there, it was on to the Godfather/James Brown tribute party. If you’ve missed it, you can read more about it.

Louie Vega Presents the Sunset Ritual - Lummus Park

Meeting up with Jessica from SPECTRE, she clued me in on a private event being held by Louie Vega (Masters At Work, Nuyorican Soul, Elements of Life) and his Vega Records label. The event was known as the Sunset Ritual, which was going to end up being more of a clouded affair than any sunset that could pierce through. Nevertheless, the setting on the beach was a nice one and peeps were dancing on the sand.

Gift bags from Vega Records and UDG were being handed out, but only if you had a ticket. Why the person who was handing them out would not give Jessica a ticket was beyond me; she had an invite and was on the list, after all. But anyways, it was about the music and the vibe and we surely weren’t disappointed. We also got to hook up with one of her friends from the Fusicology crew. We’ve stayed for about an hour, but it was a good hour as the sun went down and the house music was getting festive.

Om: Miami - Y Ultralounge

And talking of festive house music, much later on have me taking a cab downtown, where light rain started to fall shortly after I’ve entered the cab and ended up pouring in sheets upon my arrival. I was very lucky to have had my umbrella, but soon found out that I was a popular guy because people wanted to seek shelter under it. No big deal, so long as I wasn’t surrounded by the whole lot outside.

I was in the club moments later, having fought several aborted attempts to close my umbrella (note to peeps: never try and run underneath an umbrella that’s being closed, lest you wanna get poked!), in the club I went.

As I was beginning to find out, I entered just one section of the club, the floor  filled with dancers and peepers and a DJ already in action. Having been there for a bit and after taking pictures, I’ve started to snake my way around the place, going thorough an interesting corridor intermingling art with bottles of assorted alcoholic beverages in glass encasing along the walls. I ended up in a darkened room with a huge dancefloor, multicolored lighting, a couple of huge multimedia screens, and a small bar that only served two kinds of beer (there were other bars around the club, some having more selections than others). After the DJ played there, a live performance from Landshark happened. Don’t know what the house peeps thought of it, but it was what it was.

Passing through a jungle-decorated corridor outside led me to an outdoor area where DJ’s were performing. Got to later see DJ Heather from Superjane and Chuck Love, among others. Having gone back inside after Heather, the big, dark room had Daz-I-Kue and Afronaught from the Bugz crew going at it. It was very good to have them there, and very good to get into the righteous groove West London-style. Also ran into Proof from Massive Selector, who I would lose for awhile until the last 90 minutes of the night.

I ended up seeing all sections of the Y club, with a much smaller room with a few DJ’s in rotation, and another sizable outdoor garden that had peeps such as Dayhota (Superjane), J. Boogie, Vikter Duplaix and Rich Medina taking things into the wee hours. And with Medina and the like, I’ve found Proof and his S.F. posse getting down and enjoying themselves.

The night ended for me at 4:30am as me and one of the S.F. crew decided to call it a night. We’ve tried flagging a cab; we’ve ended up going street-after-street, block-after-block, with no takers. It’s never been this bad in all of my visits to Miami, and it’s a real shame that transportation was so pitiful during that time of the morning. Finally, a cab picked us up and offered to give us rides to our hotels–at a flat-rate of $20, each! At that point, we’ve given in and paid upfront, as requested. Moments later, another person have flagged down the cab and was also given the same offer. We were told that during peak times like WMC and the Super Bowl a few months earlier, some cabs–especially those who lease their cabs–end up being, um, opportunistic (to be very polite).

But back to the hotel I went, and the day ended with a bit of sleep. Just a bit, because the day would start again in about four hours.

Highlights of the day:

• Gunnar introducing me to Colette.
• Meeting the DJ film crew; look forward to their film.
• Knowing that there a house DJ magazine from Japan.
• Jessica professing a love of house music that I did not know…wow!
• Getting more comfy with the camera.
• Thanks to the desk person at the hotel, found La Sandwicherie…a terrific sandwich place I went to two years ago. Highly-recommended for a great sandwich.
• Proof and the homies….they can party!
• Running into DJ Moni having fun.
• Rich Medina blending the old-school with the modern vibes.
• The Bugz, the Bugz!
• My first Om party…may there be many more.

Hit up for Om VIP, the Louie Vega shindig and the Om:Miami pics…aight??

Thanks to Gunnar and the Om crew, Jessica and Proof.

Yes, still waiting on show 10.11 I know. I will get to it; just fighting with a bunch of elements at the moment, but rest assured that it’s on the way.

In the meantime, got last week’s show to present to you. Plenty of cool new goods up and down, and all of it came off in spite of a rather nasty bit of allergies I’m fighting over (cuz it’s springtime here, ya know).

If you haven’t had a chance yet, visit the show’s web site to check out blogs and pictures from my Miami ‘07 trip during the Winter Music Conference. It’s in the very early stages, with lots more on the way.

Dig in the music, and have a good week!

Title - Artist - Title - Label
Lucky We Are - Wet Cookies - Earthling - Collision promo
Revolution Rap - Joey Jefferson Band - Super Cool: California Soul 2 - Ubiquity promo
Beverly - Mokie J.J. & R.O.B. - Super Cool: California Soul 2 - Ubiquity promo
People Hold On (Metropolitan Jazz Authority Remix) re:jazz - EP - Infracom
Fancy - Spanky Wilson - Super Cool: California Soul 2 - Ubiquity promo
Brothers On The Slide Part 2 - Patchworks and Mr. Day - Favorite
Night Fever - Grand Magneto - Big Smile
Ruffa Jazz - Mr. Windmill and Jay.Soul - CD-R
Tell Me ‘Bout It (Yam Who Remix) - Joss Stone - 12″ - Virgin
Smile - B. Blunt - Change - Boog Entertainment
So Special - Sa-Ra - G.O.O.D. promo
Monday Drive - DJ Sun - EP - Soular Grooves promo
Peterr Boeve - Mr. Windmill and Jay.Soul - CD-R
(It Ain’t) Rocket Science - Alex Phountzi - Archive
Do It (Arch_Typ’s Blacks on Blondes Instrumental) - Arch_Typ - Do it Instrumental Remixes EP - Bagpak
Strange Symphony - Superlouisa - demo
Chord Song - That Subliminal Kid - EP - Still Music promo
We Came From Far (Onionz Off The Radar Mix) - Hawke - Love Won Another: Dance Remixes - Eighth Dimensions promo
Aurora - Stefan Goldmann - EP - Macro promo
Sick N Tired - Ernesto - demo
Toda Mojaita (Dutch Rhythm Combo Remix) - Gecko Turner - EP - Lovemonk promo
Arch_Typ - Love In Slow Motion - Raw Fusion
A&R Part 2 vs. Studio R featuring Capitol A - Ben Mono - Hit The Bit - Compost promo
Numbernine (Back In TYO) - Tsutchie - Samurai Champloo - Ample Soul promo
Miss You - The Dynamics - Big Smile
END BROADCAST

 

 Show 10.13 [119:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I must have gone to bed at around 6am Thursday morning, only to awaken at around 11am. After shooting the breeze with some folks, I got in touch with Proof from the Massive Selector crew, informing me that he’s opening for the James Brown DJ event that Daz-I-Kue from Bugz was organizing. I told him that I’ve had to get some food and then visit the Om VIP Listening event first, but that I would be there.

I have to give major props to Daz. Having found out that no other event in Miami was doing such a tribute, Daz made calls and took action to make it happen. When I rang him up the week before, his enthusiasm for having a James Brown tribute event was unshakable and spirited; he was clearly eager to see it through. Kinda sad that it took someone from the UK to pay musical respect to an undisputed figure in the world of dance and soul music; still, things were moving.

And so after I had a quick bite and a quickie at the Om event (pictures to come soon), to the Marlin I went. The event was just getting underway when Proof was on the decks. He was also passing out a cool-looking James Brown tribute mix that he had done (one of several such CD’s passed out to those who wanted one).

I’ve ran into a few cats while there. Among them, I was introduced to DJ Moni, a DJ from New York earning a solid reputation from, among others, Gilles Peterson and the Giant Step peeps. Talking with her for a bit was great, and she seems to enjoy what she does. I was also introduced to the DJ collective that she’s part of, the ladies of Ubiquita in New York, who would sponsor an event later in the week.

After Proof had his time on, Daz-I-Kue went on for awhile to continue warming up the peeps. Mad Mats from Raw Fusion then went on, and he astounded the dancers and the trainspotters with his immaculate DJ skillz; it’s no wonder that he’s one of the best eclectic DJ’s out there. And coming from the hip-hop background, he surely knew how to put it to great use.

Benji B. goes on with his own thing, and impresses with great skillz and phat tunes. But it seems that there wasn’t a bad DJ at all who combined great tunes and fierce timing; the crowd grew larger (both inside and outside) as time went on, and the passion and respect for the Godfather spilled over into the evening.

I’ve ran into Jessica from SPECTRE in L.A., which was cool since it seems Miami’s the only time I get to see her. We’ve left the event early, but I’m told that it went into the evening with Ubiquita dropping the goods til the police arrived and shut down the party. But all in all, it sounds like the tribute to James Brown paid off in spades.

Highlights:

• Catching Proof doing his first Miami gig…a little moment in history.
• Reuniting with Daz and Mrs. Daz…and she looks great without the hair!
• Seeing and chatting with Mad Mats again before and after his wicked moment ont he decks…wow!
• Reuniting with Jessica, and being introduced to several Stones Throw cats including Madlib.
• Moni Moni Moni and her crew.
• All the jocks rockin’ the decks.
• The great dancers who showed their stuff; really diffcult to capture the essence of their various styles in pictures.

The complete set of pics for the event are available now.

Thanks to Daz, Mrs. Daz, Jessica, Moni and Proof.

Well, at least that’s how it was promoted. Unfortunately, technical problems prevented Juergen (one of the Jazzanova DJ’s) from following through with his set. It’s unfortunate, because to see and experience his eclectic mixes is something all music lovers should have the pleasure of witnessing.

Juergen did return awhile later, as the wee hours brought the audience a live P.A. performance from Sonar Kollektiv artist Clara Hill, performing several of her tunes including some from her recent “All I Can Provide” album.

Afterwards, the dangerous trio were back with loads of goods….old, new, and various styles in the uptempo direction…mainly broken beat, but even drum n’ bass snuck in there. The crowds got wilder, the overhead lights were in motion, and the room got smokier. At around 3am was a surprise visitor to Miami…twas Mark de Clive-Lowe himself Markus Enochson (Sonar Kollektiv, Germany) on the ones and twos showing peeps how it’s done.

Highlights:

• The Bugz and IG together…what more can one ask for.
• Drum N’Bass at SOBE…wot?
• Finding my camera bag buried underneath purses, jackets, and other assorted fashion accessories.
• Running into DJ Chicus from Redbud and Nickodemus from Wonderwheel/Turntables on the Hudson while trying to find access to the upper level.
• Hearing Daz on the mic; think he’s been a bit more comfy at that since the last several times he’s been in Miami. Go, Daz, Go!
• Clara Hill…Clara Hill…Clara Hill.

And that rounds out a rather busy day-into-night-into-morning, which will repeat for the next several days.

Have a peek at all of the pictures from the event.

Thanks to Daz and Mrs. Daz, Chad and Garo from Rooftop Promotions, as well as J-Justice for setting me straight!