Today I’ve got three of the best old school funk soul R&B hiphop disco DJ mixes you’ve ever heard. I’ve got one recent BBC Essential mix, and one from the vaults, along with a “vintage edition” of the NinjaTune Solid Steel show.
Click here to check out and download the DJ mixes.
I just ordered a pair of these gorgeous hand-made double straps from Freeman Transport. Unlike MKS or Toshi straps, they are pure oiled leather (not laminated), giving them a simple classy look which is accentuated by the old-school buckles. I’m planning on putting these onto a city bike I’m building in April. They are part of a limited run of just 50 pairs, so go to Freeman’s store and get yours now.
DJ / producers Headnodic (of the Crown City Rockers / Mighty Underdogs) and EvLuv X have put together an hour-long mix of classic hiphop instrumentals that is the best I’ve heard in a very long time. Reminiscent of Mark Farina’s early Mushroom Jazz mixes, it’s a head-nodding blend of jazzy old-school beats. Truly essential – the kind of mix you can put on and let repeat for hours.
Listen here:
Download it here (right click & “save as”)
Here’s my latest two-wheeled acquisition, an Eddie Merckx Corsa, in the colors of the famous 7-11 cycling team. It is an “original model” made of Columbus TSX tubing and features the distinctive flat-topped fork bridge, instead of the sloped fork found on the 2007 re-issue of the bike. It is not the “Extra” model which had a chrome fork and internal routing for the brake cable, however. It has a Shimano Ultegra group on it currently, although that is most likely not the original group, based on details in the 1990 Eddie Merckx catalog.
The previous owner has already set up a Velospace page for this bike, as well as a Flickr stream. Check out Diablo Scott’s blog for a timeline of bikes used by the 7-11 team, including some cool scans of 1989-90 era magazine articles and ads for this bike.
Here’s another side of the ongoing love-affair hiphop is having with electronic dance music. Instead of electro throwback beats and hipster MC’s, the Paper Route Gangstaz, Rusko, and Squincy Jones have been fusing dirty south crunk with a mixture of bass-heavy dubstep, classic techno anthems, and 8-bit Nintendo samples. The result is the freshest sound I’ve heard in months. Check it out (full downloads after the jump):
I originally built this custom Fuji Track Pro frame up with cheap Bontrager parts from a Trek Soho S, but over the last few months I have been upgrading it to a serious beast. The crankset is a Dura Ace 7710 “hollow tech” crankset & matching octalink bottom bracket, which feature hollow-forged duraluminum arms for the stiffest and lightest non-carbon cranks available. It’s matched to Dura Ace 7600 high-flange track hubs laced to a Velocity deep-v wheelset on Continental Gatorskin tires. The front chainring is a Sugino 75 46T while the cog is a 16T Dura Ace. I also added a Dura Ace AX seatpost and a rare gray-colored Brooks B17 Pro saddle. The pedals are MKS Custom Nuevo with MKS Alpha leather double-straps & Christophe clips. Finally, I swapped the 130mm Cinelli Groove stem for a 120mm, and I might drop it down to 100mm soon.
I’ve been riding this bike as a fixed-gear since December, although I have retained the front and rear brakes for safety, and also so I can switch back to freewheel easily if I wanted. However, it is a joy to ride fixed and I’m loving every minute on this bike. Total value is around $1800, so it’s not your average coffee-getter, but I do ride it daily in NYC despite the grit and grime (which you can see in the pics after the jump.)
Lots more pics after the jump!
Atomly, aka Adam Lee, is one of the enduring geniuses of the American electronic music world. His productions span multiple genres and his DJ sets are works of art. Recently, he threw down a gorgeous and sublime set of deep, classic house and minimal techno at the 2009 New Year’s Eve party at The Bunker at Williamsburgh. I danced many of the first hours of the new year at that party but didn’t catch Atomly’s set in person (the festivities lasted almost 24 hours of nonstop music & dancing!) Thankfully, the set was recorded and is currently the best of its kind that I’ve heard in a long time. Check out his website for more.
Listen here:
[audio:http://www.atomly.com/music/atomly_-_blood_and_thunder_nyc_20090101.mp3]Download here:
right click and “save as”
152mb mp3 //// 108min 36sec /// 192kbps 44khz