I?ve recently stolen away enough time to start working on a new mix CD. This one will be entitled back to the party. The last two mixes that I?ve done (while musically diverse) have been very contemplative and introspective in nature. I wanted to do something different this time around. I?ve been long overdue for a celebration. I know of others going through this life that feel the same. So this one?s for all of us who just want to blow off some steam, throw our hands in the air, and surrender to a good beat. I?ve been describing the mix as ?a lo-fi booty shake session.? I just wanted to make a mix for heads to get their groove on to. It was largely inspired by two different events that I spun at. The first was Sound Unity Project 2 (three days of music and camping), which occurred last July in Upstate New York. The second was a party in Poughkeepsie, NY called Squeeshee back on January 31st of this year. Both hold a special place in my heart for different reasons and the playlist consists of a number of songs that were a part of my sets at these functions.

The mix will be about 80 minutes long and will include house, techno, disco, soul, and funk tunes. The process of recording has been a bit unorthodox, however. Usually I record live from two turntables and a CD player straight to tape. After that, I dump everything into the computer and try to clean up the sound. I currently only have one turntable, so I?ve been recording each song individually into my four-track mixer and working the segues that way. IT?S HELLA WEIRD. And kinda feels like cheating. But I didn?t want to bug anybody else in terms of using their setup. That and I?m impatient. I can?t see myself waiting around to record until I either buy a new turntable or get the old one fixed (which could cost more than just buying a new one, in some cases). I suppose that?s what I get, but with the way I work, I can make inferior equipment do some pretty impressive things. But this is the first and last time I?ll record a mix under these circumstances.

Still mixing down the audio, which hopefully won?t be too painful. The 2nd part has already turned out louder and more bottom heavy (mucho bass) than I would like, but the show must go on. We?ll see what comes out in the wash. I want to record a mix after this that?s more experimental, but that will be further down the line and with a more traditional dj setup. Anyway, here?s what made the cut for the latest mix. I hope to have it online by early August, perhaps even before that if time permits. Enough of my babbling, peep the playlist:

mouse on mars*diskdusk*thrill jockey
metro area*dance reaction*environ
the nick straker band*a little bit of jazz*prelude
cookie monster & the girls*c is for cookie (sweet version)*ninja tune (uk)
roy ayers*running away*polydor
cosmic rocker vs. zeb*hashish*codek
djinji brown*chango?s house*seven heads
aardvarck*non spoken (track b1)*delsin (the netherlands)
claro intelecto*tria*ai (uk)
the soft pink truth*soft pink missy*soundslike (uk)
the rapture*killing*dfa
liquid liquid*optimo*soul jazz (uk)
the soul searchers*blow your whistle*harmless (uk)
the joe cuba sextet*bang! bang!*tico
$tinkworx*whut*down low
ezekiel honig*cape cod getaway (john tejada remix)*microcosm music
matthew dear*in unbending*spectral sound
akufen*in dog we trust*force inc. (germany)
!!!*intensifieder ? sunracapellectrohshitmix ?03*touch & go
serge gainsbourg*marabout (bob sinclar remix)*mercury (france)
underworld*rez*wax trax!/tvt
carl craig*tres demented*planet e communications