I was in Minneapolis this weekend and damn, to say there were highs and lows would be the understatement of the century. On Friday, I was supposed to arrive at about 1:30pm and was planning for a relaxing day of hanging out with Lynn Gehrke, the other DJ that night, as well as my Red Bull friends who were running Flugtag. Instead, I wound up spending 10 hours at Midway and not getting to 414 Sound Bar until 11pm! Let’s go through the events:
1. I arrive at the airport at 11am for my 12:15 flight and try to check in. The kiosk says it cannot find my itinerary.
2. I go up to the desk, they also cannot find my itinerary. After a few minutes, they determine that the travel agent for the club put a hold on the itinerary, but it was never paid for.
3. I call both club owners – they don’t pick up. I call Lynn, the other DJ on the bill – and she tries to call them while I go back up to the counter to figure out my options.
4. Back at the counter they tell me if I want to do standby, it’s a $50 fee and of course, not a guarantee that I will get on a flight. They then look again, and say that I do have another itinerary, but it’s for the 5:40 flight. It is assumed that the travel agent sent me the wrong itinerary. I’m pissed I have to spend the day in the airport but happy I have a flight. They print out my boarding pass, I go through security and get my seat assignment at the gate.
5. I hang out for a few hours and finally get the club owner on the phone. He suggests I stay an extra day since I’m going to get there later and says he’ll pay for the additional costs. I agree and call Delta to change my reservation. They can’t find it – again. I spend an hour on the phone with them and they finally determine that yet again, it looks like the travel agent put a hold on this second itinerary but it was never paid for. So just in case you’re not grasping this – they printed out a boarding pass for me, let me through security and gave me a seat assignment, all WITHOUT A TICKET. In other words, my boarding pass was like a reservation at a restaurant, but no one ever paid for the meal. Why this is allowed, I have no idea. Why no one told me at any point is another mystery.
6. They refuse to help me at the gate and I have to go back out to the ticket counter. Delta wants to charge me $900 just for one way to get on the 5:40 flight to Minneapolis. I tell them to f**k off, but nicer. The club owner gets on the phone with Southwest and makes a reservation for me to pick up at their ticket counter for a 5:45 flight.
7. I get to the Southwest counter and they tell me that yes, I am now confirmed for that flight, but it’s delayed by three hours.
8. I get on a Southwest flight at 8:45pm and arrive in Minneapolis at 10:15pm.
Needless to say, the extra day there at this point was more than needed and I’m so glad I took it. On Sunday everyone took me to a weekly rooftop party at Solara. House music from 4-10pm, completely packed, and sangria everywhere. I was in heaven – the cuts were all jackin house (think labels like Bunchlox, Grassroots, Detour, etc.) sprinkled with some retro tunes like “Sunshine People”. I ran into tons of people including Jen Boyles, former fellow URB writer and now web editor for Minneapolis City Pages, and Terry Mullan and Chuck Love (in the picture with me above). That night, I got to reprise my performance at a packed patio party and served up disco house for the entire set, including CZR’s “Bringin The Funk” and Johnny Corporate’s “Sunday Shoutin”. A fabulous wrap up to the weekend!
This weekend I’m sticking around in Chicago because Sunday is the LOLLA REMIX FINALS! It’s at Double Door, FREE and features last year’s contest winner Punky Fresh, Hot Pink Delorean and Hey Champ (live set) as well as our four finalists battling it out. Everyone gets a free download card with the finalists’ remixes and we’ll be giving away tons of other goodies as well. I can’t wait – there’s tons of buzz about the event and I’ve heard people are planning road trips just to come down for it. Hope to see you guys there! MORE INFO ON THE LOLLA REMIX FINALS.
TUNES! Reepr sent in this remix of the Jump Smokers with Alex Peace’s “Dance, Rock, Shake, Pop”. I was thrilled to see this – Chicago love! Alex is a good friend of mine too so I was excited to hear what was done with his tune. It’s ridiculous. While the original is more of a top 40 club/hip-hop fusion, Reepr fuses it with his own big room club beats flawlessly. In fact, on the break around 2:15, the track goes into the original beats with such flawlessness it easily sounds as though it’s meant to be there.
Jump Smokers feat. Alex Peace: Dance, Rock, Shake, Pop (Reepr Remix)
DallasK‘s take on Tennessee rapper Rufat’s “They See Us” screams rooftop party with 200 of your closest friends. A curious blend of Rufat’s vocals meld deliciously with DallasK’s sidechained synths, making what could have been a more traditional electro remix of a rap track a day-drunk delight instead. The break that falls away into muted notes is a favorite moment, especially when everything crashes back in with the addition of a top note synth.
Rufat: They See Us (DallasK Remix)
Are we tired of “California Gurls” remixes yet? I’m getting there, but I keep getting different variants sent over that all fill a different need. I think this mix by Dave Edwards has some problem areas but it’s a good take overall. I like the gentle waves of sound that don’t mutate much, matching the vocals that are slightly affected to match the overall tone. However, the intro is slightly problematic for me from a DJing perspective and there’s not much clarity between all the layers in the mid-range leading to a slight feeling of the most important parts being muddled.
Katy Perry: California Gurls (Dave Edwards Remix)
Punky Fresh is back! “Sunshine Pill” follows in the same vein as many of their other tracks – there’s a innocent intentional rawness in their production that belies the work going into it. “Sunshine Pill” has fuzzy synths, loopy, loose drums and unpolished stops and starts that show you don’t have to take everything quite so seriously. A complete smile-inducer.
Please ignore the intro to this remix that sounds like the theme song to a crappy Teletubbies spin-off. The real stuff in DivKid‘s take of “We No Speak Americano” comes a mere fifteen seconds later with a heart-pounding kick drum and fierce clap. It’s the intro to a grinding, electro fix of the poppy tune that, while missing a little finesse, serves as a great alternative to those who want something a touch harder to play out. In my opinion, the only thing off are the levels, in particular with that fab kick and clap which becomes more apparent in the break when layered over the original sample.
DivKid vs. Yolanda Be Cool & DCup: We No Speak Americano (DivKid Wrote The Americano Language Remix)
There’s not much new in this track by Three Is A Crowd, but it’s done well and it’s been a while since I’ve heard a Latin-infused track that I’ve fallen in love with. I used to play tons of the stuff but production of the genre has fallen off a bit so it’s refreshing to hear this track. “Sinuca”, featuring Brazilian MC Gi, has a funkiness in it offset by touches that modernize and toughen it up (for example, the synth that pops in around 1:40 – I imagine a parallel, lighter version where that’s substituted with straight piano).
Three Is A Crowd feat. MC Gi: Sinuca
Chicago’s Midnight Conspiracy is back! I’m becoming such a huge fan and to be honest, was a little bummed they didn’t make it to the Lolla Remix Finals. All the judges rated them incredibly high and they were literally *that* close to making it through, and with good reason. Take a listen to their version of Crystal Castles’ “Vietnam” to hear what I’m talking about. Their ability to take any tune and make it into a dreamscape of nu-disco/Italo influenced yumminess is beyond compare. If you like the below, check the remix they did for the Lolla contest here.
Crystal Castles: Vietnam (Midnight Conspiracy Remix)
Two remixes of Fischerspooner (my alma mater from college in Chicago!) I waver between liking and not liking Trash Yourself‘s remix purely from a mastering perspective. I hear all the great sounds – the driving kickdrum, wobbly background pads and rave-tastic synths – but the end result is so poorly mastered that it never comes to its full potential. DJ Jem‘s rendition is completely different, with a more mainstream club-centric beat that keeps an edge with small touches like an interesting cricket-sounding noise and slides on the mainline.
Fischerspooner: Infidels Of The World Unite (Trash Yourself Remix)
Fischerspooner: Infidels Of The World Unite (DJ Jem Remix)
Speaking of DJ Jem, he sent over two more – a mix of “Favorite DJ” and an original called “Don’t Botha The DJ” under moniker The RadioAktives. The first is actually edgier with percussion that’s almost intentionally too hot and thumpy drums while the second is more crossover with a slightly lower tempo and bass that flips between a traditional 4/4 and hip-hop patterning.
Clinton Sparks, DJ Class & Jermaine Dupri: Favorite DJ (DJ Jem Remix)
The RadioAktives: Don’t Botha The DJ
Bonus track:
Since waiting in line, buying drinks and paying to get past the door simply sucks, those in the club will have access to perks like free swag, drink tickets, access to members-only contests, mixes, free tracks and first stab at guest lists. Now that's music to anyone's ears.
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In DivKid’s Americano, you refer to a “fab kick” what is this exactly.
‘fab’ is short for fabulous, and was in reference to how I described the kick drum earlier in the review
Thanks for the post, awsome points..