Category Archives: Music

Trax Classics presents REWIND 1984: Chicago

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Listening to old-school acid house often means listening to scratchy old recordings ripped from 20-25 year old mixtapes.  Not this time!  Back in 2000, Underground Construction, a Chicago house label known for releasing literally hundreds of great 12 inches, compiled and released an excellent compilation of hits from the Trax Records vaults.  For those not familar with Trax, here’s a little history from Discogs:

Trax is one of the two original Chicago house-music labels (the other being D.J. International Records). Founded in the early 1980s by Larry Sherman, Screamin’ Rachael, Jesse Saunders, and Vince Lawrence. Responsible for the release of “Acid Tracks” by Phuture, “Move Your Body” by Marshall Jefferson, and many other records that shaped the Chicago and acid house sounds through the 80’s  until the early 1990’s.

Mixed by DJ Rick Garcia, this is a journey through twenty-four of Trax Records’ most famous and beloved anthems.  These songs shaped the future of house music and techno, with their haunting synths and acid 303 lines, as well as soulful vocals by Darryl Pandy and Xavier Gold.  Essential and timeless.

Listen now:

Download here (right click and “save as”)

time: 61:02 /// 114 mb /// 256 kbps .mp3

Tracklist after the jump… Continue reading →

Catnap – Caturday house mix

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Here’s a live 60-minute mix I did on Saturday.  I just grabbed a small stack of house vinyl from my collection and hit record.   It ain’t perfect but i think it flows well and has a nice funky vibe… mix of Chicago, French, and NYC house from the 1990’s.   Featuring tracks by: DJ Sneak, Dmitri from Paris, The Rurals, AV8, Kevin Yost, Jordan Fields, Montefiore Cocktail, Jamiroquai, Claudio Cocolutto, NLC, Aleem, and Bjork.

Listen now:

Download here (right click and “save as”)

time: 60min /// 110 mb /// 256kbps .mp3

Catnap – Pimp Fiction 1998

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Here’s the second mix I unearthed in my dusty backups, a mixtape I made with my friend Zakee on a summer afternoon in 1998.  “Pimp Fiction” is a mash of good stuff, from 60’s and 70’s soul, blues, funk and disco gems to 90’s acid jazz, triphop, and rap.  It’s reassuring to hear such tight selection and I’m glad to be able to add it to this archive.

Listen now:

Download here (right click and “save as”)

time: 70:34 /// 165mb /// 256kbps .mp3

Tracklist after the jump… Continue reading →

Catnap – Tha Dub Wars 1997

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The Dub Wars 1New Dubwars Back Final copy

I made this mix back in the summer of 1997.  I had my turntables out on my parents’ porch and I was getting irie late into the long nights, mixing dub and playing with my first FX box.  It was a wicked little steel box with just two knobs, effect and dry/wet.  All dub is timeless, or exists in a place outside of time, but the “old skool vs new skool” thing is because the tracks alternate between classic 70’s and 80’s jamaican dub to 90’s UK electronic dub.

This dub selection includes King Tubby, Michael Rose, Barrington Levy, Scientist, Michael Rose, Renegade Soundwave, and of course some Bob Marley and the Wailers.  Dig the dub and here and there, listen for me having some fun with my new toy.  Tracklist after the jump.

Listen now:

Download here (right click & “save as”)

time: 69:03 /// 126mb /// 246kbps .mp3 Continue reading →

Carey Ott – Human Heart & The Collector

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Here’s one of my favorite songs by Carey Ott, a Nashville singer-songwriter who I profiled a few months ago.  This one is called “Human Heart” and it’s the title track of Carey’s new album (which you can listen to here).  It’s super catchy and one of my favorites from the new album.  The Human Heart CD single, which includes the awesome  “Ain’t No Upside”  is due out soon.

Listen to “Human Heart” now: [audio:http://www.djcatnap.com/myoozick/CareyOtt-HumanHeart.mp3]

On a recent road trip to Chicago in late September Carey spent three days shooting a video. No script in hand, lots of thoughts and a beautiful sunny day in Chicago is how it started. The director / videographer / guru at large was Jim Quattrocki.  Two more days of intense and thoughtful visions and it was done.  Check out the video after the jump… Continue reading →

Infinite Grey – Live @ Fluid 2003

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bassment_5.10.2008_1Infinite Grey is a one-man deep house machine. He’s been performing at raves and clubs since 2000, playing his gorgeous brand of house live from an impressive collection of hardware. Here is a great quote from his bio that sums up the Infinite Grey experience:

When you see Infinite Grey play live, you are guaranteed to see a live musical performance – not a guy huddled over a laptop. John can be seen turning on and off parts, mixing instruments, shuffling beats, manipulating effects, and playing keyboards live. He plays his tracks using pre-synced looping patterns, which are loaded and mixed together as they play.

This live set of his, from a rave in 2003, has always been a favorite of mine.  At a little under an hour, it has a sparkling “blue sky” quality to it while staying funky and totally house.  Check out his website for more free sets and tracks.

Listen now: [audio:http://www.infinitegrey.com/mp3/grey_fluid_4_24_2003_128k.mp3]

Download here (right click and “save as”)

Time: 50:31 /// 46.2mb /// 128kbps .mp3

Kenny Dope – Hip Hop Forever

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This will be the last Kenny Dope mix to post for a while, but also the best of all.  There have been many, many DJ mixes that blend these classic tracks, but Kenny’s version will always be one of my most favorites because he lets the tracks play out, smoothly beat mixing from one to the next without lots of juggling and scratching.  This is a tribute to the original songs, not an attempt to show off DJ skills or flip the tracks with new beats, and yet it is utterly perfect in the mixing and track selection.  DJ Jazzy Jeff attempted to put together a second and third volume of this series, but in my opinion they just don’t hold up, for exactly the same reason; too many cuts, juggles, and rough blends break up the flow.  Stick with this one, the original, the best…

Listen now:

Download here (right click and “save as”)

Time: 65:29 /// 119mb /// 256kbps .mp3

Track list after the jump… Continue reading →