Well, hey there! Sorry it’s been so long. Looks like we’ve all got our own extracurricular activities keeping us busy. Jay is building hisself a goddamn sweet art car for Burning Man, and I’m attempting to raise a halfway decent human being. It’s not that we don’t have music we want to share, it’s just that we haven’t had the time to share it. If it makes you feel any better, we’re feeling a bit guilty for the severe level of neglect.

And now I’m only hopping on for self promotion! That’s right, I’m dusting off the ol’ DJing rig, and heading out to play a benefit called 404 Beats in San Francisco later this month. The organization behind the event is BAVC (Bay Area Video Coalition). They provide creative media education for low-income bay area youth, including digital audio; something any reader of this blog can get behind. If you’re in the San Francisco area, please consider coming out to support this event. The full info is below, and if the cause doesn’t convince you, maybe the fact that it’s probably one of the only opportunities this year you’ll get to hear me play will.

…

Okay, I can’t do you like that. I can’t just post for the first time in months without providing you loyalists with some new music. So, here’s a sampling of some Electro Blues tracks I’ve been into recently. It seems to me that the sub-genre is on the rise thanks in part to the popularity of Electro Swing, especially in the wake of C2C’s massive Electro Blues club hit “Down the Road”. Like Electro Swing, it combines sounds of the early 20th century with modern elements… elements such as dope beats and fat bass. Here are a few of my favorites, ranging from downtempo to hard-hitting electro. If you like these tracks, know that I’ll probably play a couple at the 404 Beats party, which (in case I didn’t already hammer home the point) you should totally attend. Enjoy!

ELECTRO BLUES:

Son of Dave - Devil Take My Soul

Swing Republic - Cryin’ at Daybreak

K-Thoery - Good & Gone

D-Funk - Banjo Blues

PLAY ALL

404 BEATS DETAILS:

When: Thursday, June 13th, 8PM-1AM
Where: Public Works, 161 Erie St, SF
Get tickets HERE!

UPDATE: I have promotion friend codes for $10 tickets! If you want one, drop me a comment below and I’ll send it to you.

I’ve been listening to a fair amount of what the kids are calling nu disco recently. For my money, I find it hard to distinguish from what they were calling electro house circa 2004 (aka Mylo), but no matter. This recent mix by Mexican producer Bufi exemplifies everything I love about the genre, it’s funky, it’s cheesy, it’s melodic, it’s proggy… it’s just fun. Thought I’d share.

Yesterday, I heard from a former Beatery colleague that the Electro Swing genre had made the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s year-end list of music trends that “must die” in 2013. That’s right, someone out there is over it, which can only mean one thing… the sound is starting to get HOT! We’ve seen it gaining momentum here in the US: a few months ago Beatport highlighted Electro Swing as “an emerging subgenre“, it was all over the playa at this year’s Burning Man, and we’re hearing Parov Stelar tracks in all manner of commercials, from Vegas hotels to hard liquor.

We here at The Beatery won’t claim full credit for this rise in popularity. One could point to the fact that we started highlighting the genre over two years ago, but hey, don’t mention it. All in a day’s work for this modest blogger.

And now this modest blogger presents his latest collection of this tired, has-been, shark-jumping, please-god-make-it-stop Electro Swing. Turn it up, play it out, but please be mindful of all the people in your vicinity who frankly heard enough of this shit in 2012 to last a lifetime. Carry some backup dubstep with you, for their sake.

Cheers!

THE SWING MACHINE VOL. 2 (right-click to download)

And because we owe you guys some content, here’s a bonus track. I couldn’t wait for this to be released digitally, so it didn’t make the mix, but I love this New Orleans/Dixieland stuff…
Monetrik - Swing Flirt !

Track list after the break.

Track List:
1. Ella & Duke - Caravan (Lazlo Remix)
2. Nekta - Listen
3. Swing Republic - Crazy in Love (C@ in the H@ Remix)
4. Monkey Bars - Crustaceous
5. JFB - Wobble and Squeak
6. Bobby C Sound TV - Handyman
7. JFTH - Round and Round
8. Andy Latoggo - Wunderbar (Wie Du Heute Tanzt)
9. The Drapers - Diga Diga Doo
10. Tomato Jack - Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (BMBDS Bella Club Mix)
11. Sound Assembly - Electric Love
12. Alice Francis - Shoot Him Down (Jamie Berry Remix)
13. Jamie Berry - Marvelous
14. Parov Stelar - The Golden Boy
15. Mike Regler - Midnight Rendezvous (feat Isabella Kaiser - Club Mix)

Ah, pre-Burning Man season. The time of year when we DJ’s roll out our new sets, demos for potential playa gigs. It’s a time when, more than ever, we’d like to showcase our tight mixing skills and impeccable track-selection. And it’s a time when, sadly, due to the immense amount of camp-related preparation, those of us headed up to Black Rock Desert have little free time to arrange and edit that perfect DJ mix.

It’s in recognition of this conflict that I present the following live set from our monthly at Raven Bar; complete with beat slips, abrupt mixes, awkward flow, and a track or two you heard on my last podcast. So admittedly, it’s not up to my usual standards. But you know how long it took me to make? One hour and nine minutes. That’s about right for this time of year. Enjoy, and I’ll see you on the playa!

Now where’d I put my duct tape?

DJ Cor - Swingin’ At Raven (right click + “Save As” to download)

*And hey, if you stumbled on this set before heading up to Burning Man yourself and you like what you hear, I’ll be playing at the Mallard Ball at the Duck Pond on Wednesday night. Or, if you’d like an electro-swing DJ to play at your camp, you can find me at the Pancake Playhouse, in the 9:00 keyhole. Or just come by for breakfast!

Hello again, Beatery faithful! This Wednesday, July 25th Jay and myself are very pleased to kick off our new monthly, Beat Du Jour! Drop on by Raven Bar in San Francisco after work and let some funky beats and a few signature cocktails ease you through your mid-week slump. This week I’ll be serving up the electro swing sounds I’ve been cultivating recently, and Jay will dush out the tasty mid-tempo funk you’ve come to expect from the man.

If that’s not enough, there’s a huge lineup of drink specials, including…
- $4 Well Drinks
- $4 Drafts
- $5 Wine Glasses
- $1 OFF remarkable specialty cocktails
- Plus Absolut Vodka specials ALL NIGHT long!

Okay, let’s review: dope beats, close location, cheap booze, no cover. Can’t ask for anything more, right? Great! Then come on out and help us get this thing going!

WHAT: BEAT DU JOUR
WHERE: Raven Bar, SF (Map)
WHEN: Wednesday, July 25th, 5pm - 10pm
More info on our facebook event page.

We’ll see you there!

What up my Beatery faithful, I’ve got a very special set to share with ya’ll today! This mix has been in the works for at least six years, ever since I first started that “World House” folder on my hard drive back in 2006. I’ve always been fascinated with different cultures, different languages, and as I love music with all my soul, I’ve also always been particularly fascinated with all the different instruments, grooves, rhythms, dances and melodies that make each culture unique.

As you may or may not know, I’m starting this series of happy hour parties and one of them has a World House theme! Finally the perfect excuse to get this pile of global grooves off my hard drive and into your ears. I don’t think its any surprise this set is particularly influenced by Latin and Brazilian sounds from my year plus in South America.

As always, enjoy and let know what you think!

DJ Jay - Global Groove - (Right click and “save as…” to download)

Subscribe The Beatery Podcast

The podcast is picking back up! Get ‘em delivered hot and fresh by subscribing above.

Tracklist:

1. Natural Self - “Alright Turn It Up Now”
2. Soul De Marin - “Pom Pom Pedro”
3. Ramon Tapia & Riva Starr - “Freedom”
4. The Cube Guys & Landmark - “No Me Puedo Controlar” - The Cube Guys Mix
5. Mastiksoul - “La Sucia Pimp Mix”
6. Bass Kleph - “Oh Yeah”
7. Milk & Sugar Feat. Miriam Makeba - “Hi-a Ma (Pata Pata)” - DJ PP Vocal Remix
8. DJ Sneak & Riva Starr - “Manduka” - DJ Sneak Cut
9. Cassius - “99″ Tim Green Remix
9. Richard Grey, Alexandra Prince, Nari & Milani - “Mas Que Nada”
10. Super Flu & Andhim - “Mas Que Reeves” - DJ Jay Mashup