I met up with a friend of mine last night who I hadn’t seen since last Summer – she called me up out of the blue and I happily arranged for us to head out in Wicker Park. The plan was originally tapas for dinner followed by the No Tell Motel at Debonair Social Club (their weekly burlesque night). As it got closer to dinner, she cancelled and we decided to meet at Debonair. Already a little irritated because of the cancelled plans, I got to Debonair and found out she was late. Not a little…a lot. As time passed I texted her that if she was going to be over an hour late I would arrange for her to be in the show as her punishment. She arrived an hour and fifteen minutes late.

She thought I was joking about the show, but I had already arranged with the staff and the MC to have her perform in the second half. I picked Daft Punk “Harder Better Faster Stronger” for her to dance to and she started taking shots and borrowed a fedora from the bartender. The MC cleverly played it off as if he were picking a random girl from the audience (a random redhead who happens to be named Ginger…I know, we’re so clever) and when the music started, our jaws dropped. She was f***ing sexy and had all the moves down…spanking her ass, coyly removing her belt…and flashed everyone at the end. Afterwards I found out she had always been interested in burlesque and pin-up. Apparently now because I’ve made her do burlesque she wants to see me do roller derby. I’m not opposed, I just need a great name :)

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION: My song “Poppin’ Bottles” was featured this week on About.com! Also, if you Twitter, I have a Twitter account and my label Calamity Jane Recordings does as well!

Dave Wrangler sends me a ton of material and I think this is the first time I have posted something from him. “Beat Is Pumpin’” is pretty tracky and sample driven, but a fun party track nonetheless. A mainline slightly reminiscent of an organ sound along with old-school sounding drum rolls lend a bit of a retro vibe. Would be a great lead in to an older house track!

Dave Wrangler: Beat Is Pumpin’
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What’s with all the retro vibes today? You’ll know what I’m talking about when you hear the first minute of Meech’s “Bottom Of The Fourth.” It gets updated after the break with a soaring top synth that gets complimented by even more synths as the meat of the tune kicks in. I kind of wish that it had a vocal on top – the synths are strong but I’m not sure that they are enough of a hook to carry the whole thing. It sounds like an instrumental of another song to me. On the plus side, I can’t wait to experiment and see what vocals work on top! Barletta lends a remix that gives plenty more punch without being overly intense.

Meech feat. Real Talk: Bottom of the Fourth
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Meech feat. Real Talk: Bottom of the Fourth (Barletta Remix)
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Oh Voyager, how we adore thee. Back again with a monster compression-driven remix, this time of Owl Vision’s “Comorbid.” Voyager, ease up on the compression a touch and add that low-end, I wanna hear it! Low-end nagging aside, this really is quite the rough-and-tumble remix. Those of you who enjoy the dirty tracks should like this – eight minutes with the intensity at 11. Not sure if all eight minutes is needed, but a simple edit takes care of that :-)

Owl Vision: Comorbid (Voyager Remix)
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Pance Party, who I recently posted about, now has a new remix floating around of their song, “Fun Factory.” Valerna’s take is f***ing hard, a grab bag of patterns with one central booming synth. It works, lightening up the tone sporadically to create a ebb and flow that keeps the mood from being just too overwhelming. Big fan of the simple break that keeps the tension building right to the moment it bangs back in again.

Pance Party: Fun Factory (Valerna Remix)
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Mashup done right – D.F3CT combines Erick Morillo’s “Dancin’” (oh how I love that tune) with Filthy Rich’s “Pandora’s Box.” They go swimmingly together, creating a dark and sensual combination that would be perfect for starting off that afterhours set early Sunday morning. This is the first I have heard from the young Denver DJ – hope to see more submissions from him in the future!1

Filthy Rich vs. Erick Morillo: Pandora’s Dancin’ (D.F3CT Mashup)
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I love the Silversun Pickups anyway, so winning me over with a remix is not hard. Chin and Troublemaker take on the band’s “Panic Switch” song inserting a little breakbeat, house and electro, making it all cohesive and relevant to the original song. Kudos! The tempo is also fast enough to help the unusual programming of the remix work in multiple styles of sets, not an easy feat. Also enjoyable, the original vocals are front and center giving it the feel that the song was really built around the vox, and not the other way around (which is the case with so many remixes).

Silversun Pickups: Panic Switch (Chin and Troublemaker Remix)
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Ok, just to make things clear, I hate Lil Jon. Again, I hate Lil Jon. Fortunately for this remix, his cameo is incredibly brief and the focus is on the vocals from the Paradiso Girls. Robin da Hood’s take on “Patron Tequila” is quite solid and even though the vocals really come into play on the breaks, it doesn’t sound like a forced attempt to remix the song. Keeping elements from his production in the background during these moments certainly helps – Robin da Hood has officially made the first Lil Jon remix I can say I like…although begrudgingly.

Paradiso Girls feat. Lil Jon: Patron Tequila (Robin da Hood’s Electro Remix)
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Button Masher – I better get more from you in the future. Two tracks have come my way, one remix and one original. The remix is of Dizzee Rascal’s “Fix Up, Look Sharp” and I’m so happy to finally have a remix that I enjoy and will play out. Button Masher smartly didn’t overproduce this remix, opting for a bouncy synth with a restrained release that retains some of the feel from the original. It gets a little clustered around 1:45 and again later on with the drums and layered vocals starting to sound noisy, but it’s brief, and overall doesn’t detract much from the song. His original, “Finale” is a very smooth electro tune, dreamy and easy to get lost in – it reminds me of something I might hear at Crobar here in Chicago.

Dizzee Rascal: Fix Up, Look Sharp (Button Masher Remix)
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Button Masher: Finale
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I really enjoy these Right Hand Barber tracks – the production is incredibly clean. The synths in all four below resonate and each layer from the hats to the vocal stabs stands on its own. While all four are good and use the same synth for the melody, my favorite is the “Play That Shit” take, simply because I enjoy the actual melody Right Hand Barber chose. All though have fun vocal stabs, a playful use of samples and strong synth work. The only one that stands alone is the Josh Hall remix, with sounds like a definite departure when compared to the rest – a grooving tune that features stabs and melody accents more usually found in deep house production.

Olli Ple feat. McNasty: Play That Shit (Right Hand Barber Mix)
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Right Hand Barber: PRTY (Original Spank Mix)
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Callum B: Raver Flava (Right Hand Barber Mix)
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Josh Hall: Second Guess (Right Hand Barber Mix)
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