Sailing into the sunset one last time this season.

Come join us this labor day weekend. We’re helping jump off Blue Room Group’s introduction of The Funky Brunch at littlefield. Look out for that meshing of music + food happening on Sundays.

Smooth Move is the perfect post-brunch / pre-party springboard to celebrate summer, with DJs mixing a throwback soundtrack that encompasses yacht rock, soft rock, AM gold, quiet storm cuts and everything in between. Expect food on the grill, drinks at the bar, and basking in the outdoor courtyard.

FREE! No cover.

Saturday July 25th, 3-9PM at littlefield
622 Degraw St. b/w 3rd & 4th Ave.
in The Gowanus, Brooklyn
M/R to Union (closest route)
or F/G to Carroll (12 minute walk)

*SPECIAL BONUS*
Soul Korea’s “Mellow Yellow” Mix

The Are and Rappers I Know present Iran, an instrumental album “dedicated to the people of Iran who continue to fight for peace and democracy”

Cop the free download here.

Big up to FaWaMaJam and the whole Rappers I Know collective.

There’s a lot of memory-lane action in this month’s Welfare handout. Empanadamn and Lil Tiger caught a couple of cases of The Nostalgia, and it’s definitely contagious. Thankfully, it’s not lethal. Enjoy the tunes and the memories as we all ride out these dog days of Summer.

(Click the song names to take you to the off-site sharing pages where you can download the tunes. For detailed instructions on how to navigate the sharing sites where we host our files, we’ve got instructions at the end of this post)

empanadamn | All For One, Some For Y’all | Serato-ready
These next few come in support of this month’s upcoming Sound Liberation Front Festival 2009 that the homie lil’ tiger sank his paws into.

Brand Nubian “All For One”
This was the song that set it off for me. As soon as I heard it, I told my one friend who always had money (thanks to his loving, out-of-state living aunt & grandparents) that he had to buy it. Then I proceeded to make a copy of the cassette. Check the rhymes from Sadat (Derek) X: “Don’t play possum / Watch me and I’ll blossom like a rose, and get some new clothes…” Interesting choice in words given the controversial terms used in “Punks Jump Up”.

Brand Nubian “Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down”
In wake of Grand Puba leaving the group to pursue a solo career with Reel To Reel, Brand Nubian released In God We Trust. “Punks Jump Up” was definitely the stand-out track from the album, resonating as the riggiddy-raw credo among many at the time, perfectly chimed with the Rocky Theme. Posted is the clean, radio version because Sadat X’s raps are nicer to people.

Mary J. Blige “What’s The 411?” (Feat. Grand Puba)
Grand Puba puts it down on the queen of hip-hop soul blonde amazon’s debut album. Big kid style.

Jean Carn “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head”
Sampled 70s tune for the Foundation album.

Akinelye & Sadat X “Loud Hangover”
Promotional single in support of the Loud label coming into its own, this track later appeared on Funkmaster Flex’s 60 Minutes of Funk, Volume 1. Lucky for you, this is without all the signature FMF yellin’.

*Did you know?: The homie DJ Tahleim, who also DJs at White Rabbit (Saturdays), was once a back-up dancer for Brand Nubian.
**Bonus attempt: I tried looking for the Sprite commercial with Grand Puba, but the man took it off YouTube. That commercial alone is the reason why I choose to drink Sprite over 7-Up or Sierra Mist. Aight?

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dj lil tiger | where’d you get your khakis at?

The Uniques – Queen Majesty
I don’t really have much to say about this one. It speaks for itself — The Uniques with their rocksteady, classic interpolation of Curtis Mayfield. The Queen Majesty riddim stays timeless and keeps on giving.

Likwid Biskit – Life Is Like A Samba
I can be accused of talking about this dude too much, but I’m okay with that. IG Culture is a fucking genius. Deal. Here’s a track from 10 years ago that he released under the Likwid Biskit monicker with fellow innovator and keyboard savant Kaidi Tatham, who shines his light all over this lovely tune. As always, ride this one all the way through and peep how IG flips the track.

Candi Staton – I’m Just a Prisoner (Of Your Good Lovin’)
An early gem from soul and gospel legend Candi Staton, off of her I’m Just a Prisoner LP released in 1969.

American Analog Set – Gone To Earth
I recently had an indie rock time warp when I went to see Versus and Superchunk do a free show at the South Street Seaport. While I was there, I met up with my friend DRM (of Bastard Jazz fame), and AmAnSet worked its way into our conversation. Since then, I’ve been revisiting them and remembering why they were so awesome. This tune, off The Fun of Watching Fireworks LP was always one of my favorites. It’s kind of perfect, especially how it comes together so brilliantly after the change.

Lorelei – Newsprint
Since we’re taking a trip back, here’s another favorite from my indie/twee/shoegaze days. I first came across Lorelei (not to be confused with either of my beloved Gilmores [yeah, I just went there] ) when I picked up their Asleep 7″ and ended up falling in love with a tune called “Mostly I Sleep.” I was elated when they put out an album called Everyone Must Touch the Stove, and this tune quickly became one of my favorites. I love the energy and all the change-ups, especially the beautiful instrumental shift about three-and-a-half minutes in.

Bonus cut: Mad Kap – Dickie’s Emporium
This actually should have been called Khaki’s Emporium, but who cares? This shit still makes me laugh. Oh, Mad Kap.

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Don’t forget to check out our Welfare archives.

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** INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING **
We host all our Welfare downloads off-site, so what you need to do to download them is to click on the song name in the post, and then look for a download link on the page that that takes you to.

We mostly use divShare, so for divShare follow these steps to download the songs:

– Click on the name of the song. That will take you to a divShare page.

– On the divShare page, look for the black circle with an arrow pointing down. Below that arrow is a link that says “Download original”. Click that link and after a few seconds, the download should start automatically.

That should do it.

If the file is hosted on some other site besides divShare (like ZShare or MediaFire or something) then just look for a link on that site’s page that says download. When you click on the download link, it will probably do something similar to divShare and make you wait a handful of seconds before it starts the download (or offers a specific link to the download).

Hit us up in the comments if you need further instruction. We’re here to help. Thanks.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gibril Kuyateh, aka The GiKu Experience, last week in Brooklyn and immediately caught good vibes. Gibril is a member of AfroMosaicSoul, the Brooklyn-based dance and music collective that hosts the infamous Libation parties at the Sullivan Room in the Village.

A few days after I met him, Gibril sent me a mix he did recently for Soulkomplex Radio in Germany, and I really wanted to share it here. It’s rich with deep, soulful African-inspired compositions that made for a perfect soundtrack to my weekend:

Here’s how he describes the mix:

The goal with this mix was to create a visceral connection that transported the listener to Africa. Talks with DJ Sosue out of Germany were the inspiration. She produced this dope track along with Dele Sosimi (Fela‘s keyboard player) called Wahala Identity Mix … that set the tone when i re-mixed (aka re-experienced) the Wahala track blending it with “Angel Song” ft. Josh from Blaze. At that time, she asked me to do a guest mix for Soulkomplex. My shows can be heard on Giant Step and will be on SmoothTraxx in the next couple of weeks.

¬ CLICK HERE TO STREAM THE GIKU EXPERIENCE MIX ON SOULKOMPLEX RADIO

Here’s the playlist:

01. Dwight Trible / Africa / Main / Ninja Tune
02. Dele Sosimi / Wahala Identity Mix / Sosue Soulkomplex Main Mix / Raw Artistic Records
03. Meitz / (Mayibuye I) Africa / Main / Airdrops
04. Osibisa / Jumbo / Main / Calibre
05. Blackcoffee Feat. Bucie / Turn Me On / Raw Artistic Soul Vocal Dub / Gogo Music
06. Johanna Saint Pierre / En Jaguar Beige / MKL Dub / Lion1 Music
07. Björk / Desired Constellation / Main / Polydor Universal
08. Jose Burgos / Dirty French Horns / Main / Deepa Grooves
09. Stevie Wonder / You And I / Main / Motown
10. Anto Vitale / Broken Wings / Orig. Instrumental / Tea Party Music
11. Josh From Blaze Ft. Chieko Kinbara / Angel Song / Main / Grand Gallery Japan
12. Dele Sosimi / Wahala Identity Mix / Sosue Soulkomplex Dub / Raw Artistic Records
13. Pacific Express / The Way It Used To Be / Main / Gull
14. Letta Mbulu / Whats Wrong With Groovin / GiKu Funk Box Mix / Random Records

In addition to DJing and producing music, Gibril also hosts dance workshops that teach kids what the AfroMosaicSoul crew refers to as the Mosaic Soul style of house dancing:

Mosaic Soul is the next evolution of dance. The newest form of African American social dance has risen from the underground. It carries the genetic traits of its forbears: African dance, Latin dance, tap, modern, popping & locking, break dancing(b-boying), hip hop, house dance, lofting and capoiera to name a few.

Here’s some video of the AfroMosaicSoul dancers demonstrating some of that style at Libation‘s three-year anniversary back in April:

I first experienced the energy of AfroMosaicSoul at the Winter Music Conference in Miami a few years ago, and it left such a strong impression on me that I vouch for just about anything they get involved with. The vibe is right every time. Check out the stream of Gibril’s Soulkomplex mix that I mentioned above. And keep The GiKu Experience on your radar.

One of my recent fascinations is with English singer MPHO (pronounced “Mmm-poh”). Hailing from Brixton in South London, she’s supplied vocals for various UK outfits; some of you may recognize her from the Bugz In The Attic‘s cut “Booty La La“. MPHO (also known as Mpho Skeef) has been hard on the grind to release her debut album Pop Art dropping in the near future. Her first single “Box N Lox” will be available Monday, July 20, at 7 Digital.

Here MPHO covers the CLASSIC tune “Running Up That Hill” by fellow Brit Kate Bush:

Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill” (Ashley Beedle Mix)

Hit her on the Twitter: @mphosays

Took me a little longer to get this out than I had hoped, but it is finally here: the latest edition of my touch&feel:radio podcast. It’s another hourlong Funky House (aka UK Funky) slammer showing off the many splendors of this emerging sound. Check it out and let me know what you think:

[audio:http://www.touchandfeel.org/downloads/touchfeel16.mp3|titles=16.0 Touch and Feel Radio – 13 July 2009 – DJ Lil Tiger Funky Summer (Funky House/UK Funky) mix]
(if the preview doesn’t work, you can listen to the mix here.)

¬ DOWNLOAD IT HERE (right-click and save as)

Full playlist and more info available at www.touchandfeel.org:

touch&feel:radio is a podcast founded by MR. VISH and DJ LIL TIGER that features a dirty-style blend of various types of soulful urban music from around the world. Genres include: Funky House/UK Funky, UK Garage, 2-Step, Broken Beat, Dancehall, Reggae, Soul, Grime, Jungle/Drum and Bass, Hip-Hop, House, Soca and whatever else suits our souls.

We began this little project in L.A. back in August of 2005, but life put the brakes on things a year later when Lil Tiger moved to NY to start a new life, and Mr. Vish moved back to Houston to attend to his family.

After a long break, though, it’s time to bring this baby back and get the music flowing once more. Thanks for sticking with us. Much more to come.

Join the touch&feel:radio facebook page to keep track of updates on the show.

The fact that this has finally been made available to the general public totally slipped past me until I heard it at the end of DJ Sun’s mix this weekend on Soular Grooves Radio. I knew of the song’s existence. Just didn’t know MdCL put it up for download. Latte passing the news on to you — Mark de Clive-Lowe and Philly’s Lady Alma cover of the MJ classic:

** Click the black down-arrow at the far right of the audio preview to download for free **

This monumental event reunited one of hip-hop’s illest collaborative mixtape efforts of the 1990s – DJ Tony Touch presents The 5 Deadly Venoms Of Brooklyn (1997) featuring DJs PF Cuttin (as The Lizard), Mister Cee (The Toad), Premier (The Scorpion), Evil Dee (The Centipede) & Tony Touch (The Snake). The title is based on a Shaw Brothers classic The 5 Deadly Venoms which refers to 5 characters who exemplify kung fu fighting styles of said creatures. The theme has been utilized in various hip-hop contexts from Wu-Tang albums to Sprite commercials.

The night’s celebration of Tony Toca‘s birthday also paid homage to the late Michael Jackson, classic hip-hop joints and good music, period. Special thanks to Squincy Jones, who was in attendance with me. Check Toca Tuesdays at Sutra on 1st & 1st in the East Village. One of NYC’s only parties poppin’ on a Tuesday night.

Photos of the night with awesome captions courtesy of me.

DJ Tony Touch presents The 5 Deadly Venoms Of Brooklyn

PS. Sorry for the lacking title; I didn’t ask him his age. Plus a lady never tells. (Just kiddin’, Tony!) Peace to the piece maker!

The Soundwave electronic music festival in Vancouver Island, B.C, is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this weekend, and to help commemorate the event, Austin’s Chicken George has put together the “Soundwave 10-Year Anniversary ‘Jazztronica’ Mix.” Chicken refers to his style as “Jazztronica,” which could very loosely be described as an amalgamation of funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, electronic, and disco, although really, it should just be classified as Really Really Good Music. His sets aren’t confined to any one sound. He just puts together quality shit. If you listen, you’ll understand:

[audio:http://northwestjungle.com/music/mp3/2009_ChickenGeorge-Jazztronica.mp3|titles=DJ Chicken George – Soundwave 10 Year Anniversary “Jazztronica” Mix]
¬ DOWNLOAD IT HERE (option-click or right-click and save as)

Here’s the tracklist:

01. Roots Manuva – Again & Again & Again
02. The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By (Nice up & Jstar Remix)
03. Nightmares on Wax – 195 LBS
04. Lukid – Veto
05. Super Mario Brothers – Mario’s Theme
06. Mini Groove Orchestra – Pom Pom (DJ Cam Remix)
07. Jurassic 5 vs. Frank Sinatra – I Get A Kick Out of Golden
08. People Under The Stairs – Step Bacc
09. Flow Dynamics – Tremendo Boogaloo
10. Jurassic 5 – Canto de Ossanha
11. Rae & Christian – Trailing in the Wake (Only Child Re-tread)
12. Hydroponic Sound System – Disco Illumination
13. Kraak & Smaak – Money in the Bag (Crazy P Remix)
14. Greenwood Rhythm Coalition – Greenwood Groove
15. Nightsource – Don’t You Wanna ?
16. Jamiroquai – Little L
17. Stetsasonic – Talkin’ All That Jazz (Dimitri from Paris Remix)
18. Outkast Oreja – Spottieottie Vazilando (J-Boogie Blanco Edit)
19. Outkast – Spottieottiedopaliscious

If you dig his sound, be sure to check out his Phunkwatchaheard! Radio mix that we featured back in May.

Chicken will be performing at the Soundwave festival that runs today through Monday (July 9-13), so if you’re in the area, stop by and enjoy the music.

You can also read more about him in this GigaCrate interview from a few years ago.

Dude also puts out music. Check out the two EPs (1, 2) he’s released on the Swedish Brandy label.

Austin’s DJ Protege just dropped his latest mix called “How to Multi-Task.” He’s def multi-tasking with the genres and styles on this. Check it out:

[audio:http://buhbomp.com/audio/friends/HowToMulti-Task.mp3|titles=DJ Protege – How to Multi-Task]
¬ DOWNLOAD IT HERE
¬ click here for the tracklist