Mode.Radio's Weekly Mix #60-- Dubfire--Live at Ultra Music Fest--March 19, 2016

One of my favorite festivals, the Ultra Festival (coinciding with the Winter Music Conference) went down in Miami this past week. My days of going to Miami for the festival are over (yay, mommyhood...) but I still love hearing the sets that are coming up on line from the event.

It's been so long since we've had a good techno mix on Mode, so why not have one of the best, Dubfire? Dubfire was part of the duo Deep Dish. Born in Iran and raised in the US, Dubfire (Ali Shirazinia) started Deep Dish in 1991 with a more house sound. The group won a Grammy in 2002 for their remix of Dido's "Thank You." Dubfire started producing his own tracks in 2007 and has been out on his own since.

Enjoy!

Mode.Radio's Weekly Mix #59--Gilles Petersen (mixed by Will LV)--Phife Dawg Tribute Mix

The death of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) on Tuesday March 22, 2016 left a BIG hole in the hip-hop community. I know personally I reconnected with ATCQ music all this week, thought a lot about the effect of the group on my musical upbringing and watched "Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" documentary.

I had originally planned to showcase a mix from Winter Music Conference/Ultra Fest from Miami (and we're still doing that this week), but once I stumbled upon this tribute on Gilles Peterson's Soundcloud, I knew this had to be put on this blog.

There is another Tribe mix on Mode.Radio from Canadian DJ JoeAve and you can hear it here.

Enjoy both mixes!

Mode.Radio's Weekly Mix #58--jSmall--Sunday Morn Perk

Happy first day of spring!

So I just came back from my hometown of Atlanta, visiting fam and feeling a bit sad that I didn't visit any "framily" (friends that are family) As I was looking for something to listen to to take me back to Music City, TN, I stumbled upon this mix from ATL DJ/Producer jSmall on the Funk Jazz Kafe FB Page. I'll be honest, I haven't heard much from him, but I'm very interested in what else he has up his sleeves because this deep house mix is perfect for the first day of spring. It remains deep, while throwing in a little afro house, which was great!

Enjoy!

Mode.Radio's Weekly Mix # 57--Buttkick--Best of 2015 Mix

The last time we featured British DJ Buttkick was in December, 2014. At the time, Buttkick was just coming back into DJing after a 15 year hiatus. Since then, he has developed a name for himself as a nu-disco DJ with an international following. This mix debuted in January this year and it reflects some of the changes Buttkick has been through this year. 

"I've had an interesting year to say the least, i got married, started a new, quite intense job and delved into the world of music production thanks to Ableton. I've enjoyed every minute of it !"

You can check out his original tracks and mixes on his Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/ian-western

Enjoy!

Tracklisting (with comments)

1. Sister S - Living Ecstasy (Norinton Remix).
A brilliant remix of a classic on Boots R Us Music Label.

2.Yomakomba - Girl From Calabria (Caroline Remix).
One of my biggest. Gorgeous tune with some great synths released on the Spacewalker Label.

3. Leon Sweet - Sunny Bigler (Original Mix).
I was waiting AGES to get a hold of a copy of this. Leon is banging out some great stuff and this blew me away when i first heard it. Out on Trash The Wax Volume 2 on Paper Disco.

4. Tony's Way Back Machine - In The Beginning (Original Mix). Theres various remixes of this track, including the quality MiDiman remix, but this original for me is the best. I'm a sucker for pianos and this makes me smile whenever i play it. Out on Piano Pressure Volume 1 on Pole Position Recordings.

5. Kosmetique - Palace Gates (Rude Jude Remix).
Quality track on Palace Gates EP on Computer Science Label. Brilliant track, simple.

6. Mark Lower - I Got A Dream (Manuel Kane Remix)
This Kane Remix is a stunner, played it loads of times. A pleasure to mix in with. Out on Spirit Soul Records.

7. Deelicious - You Know How.
Brilliant track on Gregg Holmes' label Hot Digits Music. Gorgeous track that swings along. Love it.

8. Mark Lower & Man Of Goodwill - Time To Be Free (Mark Lower Edit).
Second Mark Lower track to make it onto my list. He's done a few collabs with Man Of Goodwill and this is a quality one. Out on Enormous Tunes Label.

9. Cinnamon Chasers - Fields (Original Mix).
Picked this up last week and it blew me away. Gorgeous synths. Out on Modus Recordings.

10. Sonic Future - I Pretended (Original Mix). Probably the biggest tune i have in my box at the moment, possibly along with the last track on this mix. This is stunning, the synths are monstrous. Out on Modus Recordings. This is the @Highlighted Track@ of the mix.

11. Jay Vegas - Say To Ya (Original Mix).
Another quality tune out on Hot Stuff Records.

12. 16 Bit Lolitas - Beat Organ (Original Mix).
When i first heard a mate of mine David Nickleford playing this i nearly passed out. Where these guys got the synth from for the main line i have no idea but it is deadly. Out on Anjunadeep. Probably the biggest tune i have at the moment.

Radio Ready--Soul of the City Mix for WXNA Nashville

Since I left WRAS 88.5 FM Atlanta in 2003, I have always dreamed of coming back to live on-air radio. Well this year that dream is going to be reality as I am starting on WXNA Nashville as on air talent. Since the electronica shows have been taken by others, including Mode.Radio's old friend, Mindub, I have decided to create a R&B/Neo-Soul/House show called Soul of the City. It will air on Thursdays 4-6 PM CST, but the date is TBA due to when WXNA's tower is built.

In either case, I wanted to give you all a sample of what I will be playing. I brought in some old favorites, new songs, songs played on previous mixes, and new artists. I even featured a couple of Nashville residents, Jill Scott (yes, she lives here part time) and Basecamp. Enjoy and look out on this blog for more info on when you can hear "Soul of the City"live!

Tracklisting
Afro Blue--Robert Glasper Experiment feat. Erykah Badu
Love From the Sun--Deborah Jordan
Cloud9--Donnie
Crusin'--Jill Scott
Emmanuel--BaseCamp
These Walls--Kendrick Lamar
Play Dis--Saukrates (ft. Common)
Space--Slick and Rose
Ice King--Res
She's Always in My Hair--D'Angelo
Phone Down--Erykah Badu
I Can't Go For That--Hall and Oates
Looking for Love--Vikter Duplaix
Fly Magnetic--Guru (ft. Dionne Faris)
I Am the Black Gold of the Sun--Nuyorican Soul
Shine--The Dangerfeel Newbies