Casual T - Hands off

Extremely sought after record.

Oscar Perry - Teasin' me

Sexy time in the club.

MORRIS - CAN WE MELT THE ICE

50 Posts! Lisa Warrington - I Like The Way You Do It

WARNING - this record skips a few times in the mix, so just deal with it!



This is my 50th post, so let's celebrate with my favorite sound, low budget disco. This tune has it all for me: sexy lyrics, lo fi production, dope breakdowns, raw instrumentation, super extended grooves, heavy breathing, beautiful vamp at the end of the tune, etc. making this one fantastic production. This is the kind of tune that makes me feel like Im in heaven. "Baby Don't Stop"! Oh that part just kills! When I imagine the perfect dance floor, I picture people losing their shit to a tune like this one.

Listen to this tune, and imagine the party in the photo with balloons at the top of this page going off at 5am.

Welcome to Secret Rendezvous.

Monday Nights in LA = Funkmosphere

You have to love this.

Joseph Colbourne's Exclusive Secret Rendezvous Mixtape!!!

CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD LINK

Joseph is one of the few DJs in Boston keeping that proper disco vibe alive. He ran a deep dance music party called Colors, ran an online radio show with American Apparell, has laced the internet with some nice disco and boogie mixes, and rocked it as our very first special guest at Foreal People in NYC as well. So it is only fitting that he is my first official Secret Rendezvous exclusive guest mixtape.

Props to Joe for doing it right in beantown. I've got to make my way out there soon and go gangbusters at a party soon too. If you are out in Boston be sure to catch one of his sets. Check http://www.myspace.com/colbourne for gig updates, and Enjoy the mix!

OR TRY THIS DOWNLOAD LINK (Quicker?)

Queens, NYC

This is what the kids are up to in Queens, New York. 200 Pound soundsystems on these bikes!

Henri Rich - "Be You" edited by Cubeism on People's Potential

Henri Rich's "Be You" is one of the most sought after, and hardest to get disco 12"s in recent times. This one is very high on DJs and collectors' wants lists, and just too damn tough! Hard as nails funky disco, and fantastic lyrics that deliver. Very few copies of the OG surfaced, so I think people will be happy to have this monster on a proper re-issue, with some nice edit work done by Cubeism of Ebony Cuts. WARNING - The re-issue is a small hole 7" with the vocal on one side, and an instrumental on the flip. So no tears please, you disco DJs can rock 7"s too.

LISTEN TO A CLIP OF IT! Vocal b/w Instrumental

BUY IT NOW!

Play It Loud tonight in the LES

OK real DJ alert!  

I know most of you people already know Darshan from Metro Area.  I was at the last party these guys did and hung out in the booth while he played.  Homeboy DJs on the edge.  His records always look like they are about to run out, he mixes records in from the middle, and I feel really nervous watching him when I'm in the DJ booth.  I get a good kind of anxiety from this.

Henry AKA Son of Sound has been making fantastic house records forever, rolled with the big names in the NYC house scene, is kind of famous, grew up in a tough ass neighborhood, has a new record label called Speak that is making some serious moves lately, is engaged to be married, has a portable turntable, released the In Flagranti record everybody wants, has a funky diverse sound, and he will tear shit up tonight.

Doug Gomez is the quintessential New York dance DJ.  He is Hispanic, wears leather jackets, has been DJ'ing hip-hop/house/reggae/disco-boogie since he 80s, started mixing punk funk in the sets too in the 2000s, doesn't talk much, finally moved out of the ghetto a couple of years ago, he has a cool effects machine, has a wife that is a great DJ too, has put out records on Tirk, Gomma and Speak, but is still relatively unknown and underrated.  That probably means you can get his ass at a good price still.  Book him now before he gets too expensive.

Stop by this one tonight for some proper disco-boogie-nuwave-punkfunk-italo-electro-house action, and make sure to head over to Diamond Bar for Sir Hannett too!  Yes, there is still great music being played in this city by Djs you've probably never heard of.  Go and hear them now before they become famous and start charging covers to get in!

Ebony Cuts Radio Show

http://www.ebonycuts.com/ hosted by DJ Cubeism and Gloria is one of the top notch disco-modern soul-funk radio shows around. They have pod-casts you can download for free off of I-tunes too. I acutally owe them a mix. I'll get around to it very soon, I swear :p

Click to Listen to latest Ebony Cuts Mixshow by DJ Cubeism

Enjoy!

Sir Hannett - Love Loves To Love Love

Your Favourite Greenpoint DJ, Sir Hannett is back with a sweet new monthly....Love Loves To Love Love9/19 @ The Diamond. friday night round up of friends, funk and freak-beat! lots of 7's & 12's mixed up at the bar."my music is red with purple flashes"



Straight from the horses' mouth - "Sir Hannett will be deejaying Friday (tomorrow) night. lots of new music of all genres. a set that will be reminiscent of ye old COCO sets but an entirely new concept, more of what you know and even more of what you want to know more about - http://www.thediamondbrooklyn.com/ "

Super Eagles - Love Is A Real Thing

More funky rock from African continent!

There is actually a great comp of the same name out on Luka Bop. If you want to check out more great tunes like this one, you really should grab a copy.

Here is a link, buy it now! http://www.luakabop.com/africa/cmp/album.html

Must see - I can't believe there are still people that haven't seen this!

I was shocked when I found out some of my friends STILL haven't seen this. A must see, better late than never...

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey

Ok we already know this song is nuts, but whoah, this video is nuts too!

Black Monday on Wall Street Needs Sons & Daughters of Lite - Let The Sun Shine In

Incredible tune. We needed this one today...

I am down with Sonny Hopson!

SONNY HOPSON CD- 1969 Philadelphia AM Radio Broadcast, contains funk and soul music of the day, cool commercials and wild chatter from legendary Philly soul DJ "The Mighty Burner" . This original radio showwill take you back to a precious time in Philadelphia history when black AM radio ruled the airwaves. SELECTIONS: Too many to list , but includes funky favorites as Ann Robinson "You Did It", Emanons "Look In The Want Ads" and supposed different version of Dyke & Blazers "Let A Man Be A Man".

This CD arrived in the mail today and has been killing me all day! You can imagine my child like excitement when the CD came with a surprise enclosed, a free Sonny Hopson pin!

Order this puppy at http://www.funkadelphiarecords.com/ A fantastic website with re-issue vinyl and CDs, so both DJs and listeners alike can get down to the Philly Sound!

Independent Movement UK

Mark Gurney over in the UK is running a terrific website called http://www.independentmovement.co.uk/ which documents quintessential American dance music and British dance culture. He's got photos of NYC and London in the early 90s in the gallery section, great mixes and much more!

Here is a link to a radio show Mark did with Keb Darge full of soul, funk, disco, boogie, unreleased Roy Ayers cuts and much more!  

WARNING - This show is not safe for work either, unless your boss doesn't mind hearing FUCK blurted out of your speakers by a drunken Keb Darge from time to time!

Link to Part 1 of Keb Darge and Mark Gurney Radio Broadcast

Link to Part 2 of Keb Darge and Mark Gurney Radio Broadcast

Enjoy!

Brad Hales - In the Modern Room

Killer Modern Soul mix from Brad Hales of People's Records In Detroit.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD IN THE MODERN ROOM 1

He has a killer blog of really great soul records he discovers in his hometown of Detroit.  Check it out at: http://bradhales.podomatic.com/

Fox 50 - With Love

CLICK TO LISTEN WITH LOVE

Josh Dunn AKA Fox 50 is the third muskateer in the Foreal People crew.  Josh lays down the soul disco boogie thing he does so well, in this mix.  Check him out at www.100limousines.com

King Stampede Radio Show - Love On The Run vs Benguin edition

Trampled under the foot of sound, looking up, swirling around your head disoriented, a light flashes...this is the midnight hour, anything is possible. From Detroit techno, to deep dub versions, Chicago house, different strains of disco, synth weirdness, to heavy psych rock of the world and well beyond. Maybe a mix show, maybe not a mix show, strap on your eargoggles, take a journey into another world and see what happens.

Ron Morelli and Pete Lenoard host the King Stampede radio show every other Thursday night at midnight on East Village Radio. On one evening, June 19th to be exact, they graciously played host to Foreal People DJs Love On The Run (me), Benguin and there was even a quick microphone appearance by Josh Dunn aka Fox 50. WARNING - This mix is not safe for work! There was mucho alcohol consumed, and I was drunk, violent, picking fights with my friends, and dropping F-bombs like the US Military was carpet bombing caves in Afghanistan. Props to Benguin for weathering my drunken belligerent storm. However, beyond all the chaos, there is actually a show filled with beautiful music that we are very proud to stand behind. Ron Morelli sets it off with soundtrack composer Lalo and some cool ambient and soundscapey stuff for the first 15 or so minutes, and sets it up for Ben and I to tag team afro and caribbean disco, and eventually we get into some quality boogie, disco, and even a deep house tune or two. PROPER!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW - WARNING NOT SAFE FOR WORK UNLESS YOUR BOSS DOESN'T MIND HEARING THE WORD FUCK OVER AND OVER AGAIN

PS For the record, Benguin showed up to the next Foreal People with the record in question. Thanks Benguin!

Crate Digging - Don't Do It

Beautiful artwork about the unhealthy obsession of digging for rare records by Stefan Glerum. If you people only knew the lengths DJs go through to find that obscure groove that will make you dance at a party, or scratch your head during a mixtape, etc. Well here is a glimpse, and go to his site to see the rest...

http://stefanglerum.blogspot.com/2008/07/crate-digging-dont-do-it.html

Now stop taking DJs for granted!

Macho City In Philly

This flyer is leather disco TUFF! Don't be surprised if you see Al Pacino sniffing poppers there. I also heard the DJ booth is shaped like a UFO. I don't know much about "Cosmic", but I would think that fits the description! Special guest Ron Morelli did it right at Foreal People in NYC, so you know he is going to lay it down for his fans in Philly...

Good Time Records mix by Johnny Paycheck (Do not listen to while driving or operating heavy machinery)

LISTEN TO GOOD TIMES RECORDS

Straight outta www.goodrecordsnyc.com!  If you like music, then you should know about this guy right here. Johnny has a great record shop called "Good Records" in a small pink building on 5th Street between 2nd and Bowery. It's mostly a vinyl shop, but if you don't have a turntable, no worries as he stocks great mix cds of really eclectic music. There will be plenty more on his shop and his brand in the future on this blog, stay tuned.

This mix crosses all sorts of genres.  According to Johnny, this mix was done on blunted terms.  Expect dub, jazz, soul, brazilian, psych and much more.  This one is Heavy and Hazy!

Voodoo Funk - Root Of All Evil - African Funk mix

If you are deep into digging for music, especially African funk, you most likely have come across voodoofunk.blogspot.com However if you haven't, or just don't fit the description of someone who is loony about digging for music, I am here to shed some light on one of the most amazing record digging websites around.

Frank is a German boy that lived in NYC a few decades ago, and ran a sleaze night called Vampyros Lezbos at BAR XVI. It's a notorious party that some of you may have stumbled across at one point or another. Then Frank moved back to the motherland, and got deeper into soul sounds, and it looks like he had a great soul night over there as well. The next step is where things get really interesting, which is when he moved to Africa for the nest three years, digging up extremely rare vinyl gems. He has become one of the true kings of digging, and he was kind enough to start a blog that both documented his digging adventures, and the amazing music he discovered there as well. He has posted many mixes on his blog, and this one is one of my favorites.

LISTEN TO ROOT OF ALL EVIL

But it gets better. It looks like Frank has moved back to NYC, and is starting his new weekly Afro party at Santos Party House in less than a month. It's on! As soon as I find out more info, I'll post it up. In the meantime, I hope you dig this mix as much as I do.

Brothers Guiding Light

Words don't do this tune justice. Hope you love it as much as I do.

Blu

It's been quite a while that I've been blown away by anything "street art" related. This one did it for me.

Wax Poetics - The Rock Issue

With Bad Brains on the front cover, and Elvis on the back cover, this issue is packed with articles on funky rock music spanning several decades. The cool thing about this issue is that even if you are no record nerd, you will find plenty of interesting articles, and will appreciate Wax Poetics unique point of view on the subject. So while you think you may have seen it all as far as magazine coverage on rock & roll history, you haven't. Pick this unique issue up, I have a feeling it may be a collector's item in the not so distant future.

Happy Birfday Boogie to me

My disco-boogie birfday present to myself. Killah tune!

If you would like to send me rare records for my birthday, e-mail me for the mailing address ;)

Thanks in advance!

NYC Has A Date With The Rain Today - Eddie Kendricks

Thunder storms all day today. Sometimes I like the rain, let's celebrate by listening to the super extended edit of this classic Eddie Kendricks tune.

Heavy Burn at Hot Fudge Part Deux

Ok I am officially feeling nostalgic right now. As time went on, Hot Fudge Sundays would change members. Beau and Christian would leave us to form 50/50, and focus on doing their own drum & bass parties, which are still notorious to this day. Pete & I then had another affiliated DJ crew come in and do their thing with us, and we really started packing the place in together with all sorts of hip-hop, house, funk & soul party freaks.

It got to the point where the owner of the venue starting getting nervous about the numbers, and the wild party* attitude of the crowd that went with it. *read openly burning blunts & long bathroom lines. Sooner or later, the venue owner would ask us to lower the music and "chill things out", as he seemed generally scared of the party. I'm not sure what he thought would happen, or why he was nervous or paranoid* (read venue owner was also standing on those same long bathroom lines*). But his attitude of lowering the music, asking DJs to "chill it out", and being hard on some of the party people soon caused friction between DJs (namely me), our loyal crowd and the venue staff. It finally came to a boiling point, and there were some big confrontations.

One of these confrontations I'll never forget was the staff shutting down the downstairs a little early, most likely in order to file people out, and probably make life easier on themsleves. This led to all the party people being packed in one upstairs room, most likely beyond capacity. It was extra hot, extra smokey, and extra everything. Keep in mind, this is the own venue's fault. At this point, the venue owner got really nervous, asked us to shut down the music, turned on the lights and asked people to leave a few minutes earlier than scheduled.

When you turn on the lights on a crowd that is high and/or drunk out of their mind, and interrupt them mid-song, it is not a pretty sight. People were a little pissy, and being forced to shuffle out by rude staff. The crowd seemed a little pissed off, rightfully so, and as a result were a little resistant to the staff's requests. I was even more pissed off like the rest of our DJ posse, and just not having that shit happen at OUR party! I couldn't stand to watch our party people get treated and cheated like that. Watching people get pushed out really fired me up.

At that moment, I decided to turn the soundsystem back on, push the volume on the DJ mixer all the way up, and I blasted the JBs "Blow Your Head". Even with the lights on, the crowd went absolutely nuts. People were dancing on tables, and whistling and cheering. The staff was screaming at me to turn off the music, and I did not give a rat's ass what they said at that moment! The staff lost conrol of the party and the entire crowd. I played the song in it's entire length, and watched the dancefloor go off in a way I hadn't seen at the party before. If I could pick my favorite moment in Hot Fudge Sundays history, that would have to be it. That moment also ranks high on some of the best DJ moments in my life.

Thanks for the memories guys, and enjoy the tune that set it off that night!

Heavy Burn at Hot Fudge Sundays

We used to do this party in the mid 90s called Hot Fudge Sundays at Bar XVI in the Lower East Side, long before that area became fratboy town. That neghborhood sucks now, but there was a time when a lot of the city's best DJs were setting up shop down there as a result of Guliani cracking down on clubland. The creatives were popping up with small little parties around the LES playing some of the dopest music you couldn't hear in the few big clubs left in the city at the time. Some of my fave Djs that would rock this little venue were people like Evil D from Black Moon, the criminally underated and little known Nick Pepe, b-boy IXL, Voodoo Afro-Frank then of Vampyros Lezbos sleaze fame, and many many more.

As far as our little "Funk Fiends" crew, between Beau, Christian Bruna, Pete and myself, we had two floors of music at Hot Fudge Sundays with a variety of deep sounds. Soul, funk, hip-hop, house, drum & bass etc filling two floors of music. I used to love doing the upstairs warm up in that place with Pete, as we would do the whole sampled breaks and soul music thing to nice up the crowd as they settled into their groove. As the night went on more soul & funk, deep house, disco, and some of my favorite hip-hop would be played upstairs, as the 50/50 boys would drop some serious bass for the packed dancers downstairs. Aaaahhhhh, I could almost smell the burning blunts in that place right now.

Everytime I hear this Gwen Mcrae classic, I can't help think of the early slot upstairs at Hot Fudge Sundays. I feel all warm inside whenever I hear this fantastic tune by Gwen, partly because this tune got heavy burn at Hot Fudge. You probably already know this classic song, but if not, listen and learn. This song has it all from heavy lyrics, to a slow bumping groove, and what an amazing vocal delivery! There is so much feeling in this song, it still floors me every time I hear it. Let's start this week off right...

A Leash Called Love - Sugarcubes

Congrats Rachel & Karim!!!! Today my friend of 25 years is getting married! Karim may be the biggest Bjork fan I know. Me, not so much. However there is one tune I can get down to. This is from when she was still in the Sugarcubes, and with a little help from New Jersey club legend Tony Humphries, this tune has somehow found a place in my heart. Kind of funny that I'm posting a song called "A Leash Called Love" for his wedding day, eh? Welcome to the club Karim ;) Rachel, go easy on him! Just jokes, I love you guys!

Got It!

It's nice when you randomly listen to an odd looking record, and uncover a tune you've been wanting for quite some time. There is a fantastic song on here that I was delighted to score. See if you can find it too!

Red Greg's "Unmixed Soul Mix"

Red Greg is a good DJ that lives in the UK, and I had the pleasure of meeting him when he was he dropped by Foreal People on a recent visit to NYC. What a pleasant surprise, he was super friendly, unpretentious, dances all night, and when he chatted me up it was immediately apparent he has deeeeeeep music knowledge. I can't wait for him to be in NYC again, we need to chill out and go digging together homey!

Anyways, Red Greg blessed the world with this scorcher of a mix, which was basically the soundtrack to my summer. Deep soul, funky gospel, modern, boogie, disco and any other silly subgenre description goes into this mix! But honestly at the end of the day, it's really just great soul music you can shake your butt to isn't it? Yes it is. Here is the link to one of my favorite mixes this year:

UNMIXED SOUL MIX

Enjoy!

JJs Bobby Womack Tribute Mix

I've been a fan of the Six Million Steps website for a minute now. They do great music specials on there like the Philly Soul series, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye & Curtis Mayfield tribute mixes. JJ just gave us this gem, which is the Bobby Womack Tribute Mix. Laced with interview snippets, this mix follows the career of Bobby Womack from the beginning, when he was a young Gospel musician, playing guitar for the likes of Sam Cooke, through his solo career singing and performing secular music, to the disco era and beyond. This mix has been playing on my ipod non stop. I think it may even be one of my favorite mixes this year. So don't sleep, and listen to this mix meow.

JJs BOBBY WOMACK MIX

Enjoy and have a great labor day!