Category Archives: Music

Tropicalesque – summer grooves for winter months

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Tropicalesque front

“Tropicalesque” is my latest mix, and it’s a joyful voyage into South American-flavored house music, blending the rhythms of the samba and the jazzy “big band” sounds with deep house grooves. It features tracks from De-Phazz, Ian Pooley, Azymuth, Rinocerose, Romanthony, Richard Dorfmeister, Cesaria Evora, and more. I’ve been a fan of this style for a long time, and I’m glad to have been able to put together a mix I think presents it in a way that both newcomers and fans of this genre will enjoy. If you like this mix, I suggest you check out the eight-volume “Brazilectro” series. Many of the cuts on this mix came from there.

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Catnap – Tropicalesque

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116mb mp3 //// 63min 22sec /// 256kbps 44khz

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New Catnap mix – “November Chill”

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November Chill cover

I’ve just finished up my Fall mix for 2008, and it’s an eclectic blend of chillout classics from the mid-90’s to early 2000’s.  It opens up with a tune by Yoko Kanno, a Japanese composer known for her work on many famous anime including Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell.  Titled “Pulse,” it is the theme from 1994’s Macross Plus, and I’ve wanted to include it in a mix for a long time.  Other notables include Cigani Rusza & Angelo’s gypsy-inflected tune “Demovast,” John Medeski’s rollicking “Swamp Road,” and Nightmares on Wax’s bouncey ode to ‘back in the day’ “70’s & 80’s.”

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Catnap – November Chill

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93.5mb mp3 //// 81min 43sec /// 160kbps 44khz

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Ngoma, Balkan Hot Step, and South Rakkas Mixes

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After all this bike-related stuff, here’s three DJ mixes that I’ve been listening to all the time recently:

Ngoma CD cover

DJ Zhao of the Ngoma Afro-Asian soundsystem seamlessly blends eighteen different flavors of international dance music into one eye-opening and utterly delicious mix.  It takes the world music sounds purveyed by folks like Diplo and Nicodemus to another level where you probably have never heard any of these songs before but will love them all.

Read more and download the mix & tracklist at DJ Zhao’s official blog.

balkan hotsteppers

The Balkan Hot Steppers are responsible for the best Gypsy dance mixes I’ve ever heard.  Their DJ the Typsy Gypsy presents the best of usual suspects like Balkan Beatbox, Gogol Bordello, and Shantel along with lots of obscure and wildly fun sounds.

Grab the mix and check the tracklist here.

south rakkas

The South Rakkas Crew is creating the most forward-thinking and exciting new reggae dancehall riddims, remixes, and mash-ups in the whole scene right now.  They are already famous for riddims like the Chinkuzi and Clappas, and for working with dancehall heavyweights such as Elephant Man, Sizzla, Capleton, Lady Saw, T.O.K. and more.  This DJ mix is from the 2008 World Riddim Cup, held in Japan this year.

Get the mix and the tracklist here, via Mad Decent’s blog.

Ravetrash Summer 2008 Collabo Mix!

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Ravetrash Summer 2008 Mix cover

I’m proud to present a new DJ mix for your enjoyment – Ravetrash’s Summer 2008 “collabo” mix.  This DJ mix was put together by several DJ’s who are members of Ravetrash, an electronic-music message board I run.  Shapeshifter kicked it off with two tracks, and then each DJ afterwards added two more tracks until we had a complete mix.  Participating DJ’s were Mowgli, Phrenzy, Identity, Digital Psykosis, and me.  The style is electro / mashup / techno / retro with cuts by Kid Cudi, Pase Rock, Crookers, Lil’ Mama, Starkey, LFO, Alexander Robotnick, Trevor Lovey, Spank Rock, Fischerspooner, Malente, Bird Peterson, and more.  Check out the tracklist after the jump!

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Ravetrash DJ’s – Summer 2008 Collabo Mix

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77mb mp3 //// 65min 36sec /// 160kbps 44khz

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Classic Italo-Disco and Chicago House Mix

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Catnap - Space Disco Cover Image

Here is the latest Catnap mixtape, “Space Disco.” It’s an hour-long mix of electronic dance music from the late 1970’s and early-mid 1980’s, with two modern hits thrown in to round it out. I got the idea for this after listening to some Italo-disco over the winter and realizing how heavily it has influenced a lot of the popular sounds in dance music right now. The whole indie synth-pop craze, as well as the electrohouse and electroclash scenes owe their existence to these pioneering tracks. Featured artists include Giorgio Moroder, Cerrone, Telex, Fun Fun, Koto, Paul Hardcastle, and more.

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111mb mp3 //// 60min 47sec /// 256kbps 44khz

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The Meow Mix Vol. 2 – deep house & dreamy techno

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Meow Mix vol. 1 cover

Here it is, the sequel to my recent “Meow Mix.” This one goes even deeper than the first, with a mix of classic techno and spaced out remixes. This one is dedicated to the warm summer time nights that are coming soon… enjoy! And as always, feedback on the mix is welcome.

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…or download it here:
Catnap – The Meow Mix Vol. 2
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133mb mp3 //// 72min 49sec /// 256kbps 44khz

full tracklist after the jump…

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The Meow Mix – Catnap’s springtime mixtape

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Meow Mix vol. 1 cover

I just finished up a new DJ mix today. It’s a mix of my favorite tunes in the vein of deep / dubby / funky / vocal / afro-latin house. Some of these cuts are fairly old, others are more recent, but all were picked because they are favorites of mine. All of them are great ear candy and you can dance to ’em too. I think you’ll dig it! Reviews, comments, criticism, etc. are welcome.

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Catnap – The Meow Mix Vol. 1
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114mb mp3 //// 62min /// 256kbps 44khz

full tracklist after the jump…

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