Visiting NY for a quick weekend workshop at Dub Spot After receiving some inspiration from King Britt and having tracked its capabilities since the 2010 SXSW workshops I witnessed by Dub Spot, I decided to jump in and incorporate the APC-40 into production and performance. Of course E’s E (Eric Banta from NYCTrust) has been a strong source of encouragement as well. We made “Tomorrow” with him manning Ableton Live and myself providing the samples and co-production.

Photographer Jasmine Lee Richardson did a photo shoot of some work we started on the next track. This was started at the studio in Houston and will be continued over time (including during this next trip to NYC!). Why not do a quick set at Sycamore, while I’m in NYC. This is definitely one of my fave spots to visit and play while in NY! DJ DRM (Bastard Jazz Records) co-hosts this “Neighborhood Series.” Fun times to be had! 100% guaranteed!

This week I’m hosting a dear friend and colleague: Eric Banta aka DJ E’s E. He runs Names You Can Trust, a Brooklyn record label releasing choice cuts, including a number of 45s. Most recently, I scored a hot 10″ piece of vinyl from NYCTrust: “Young Folks”/ “Wolf Like Me” by The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra. Two amazing salsa covers of the respective indie hits by Peter, Bjorn & John and TV On The Radio

By the way: E’s E and I made a track together for the upcoming One Hundred album, entitled “Tomorrow”.

E’s E plays with me at The Flat on Monday Dec 19th and then again on Wednesday at Onion Creek, where we lay down all 45s.

On Monday November 21, 2011, the week of Thanksgiving, we welcome Nappy Riddem to The Flat for a live performance. Rex Riddem and Mustafa Akbar are the forces behind Nappy Riddem. They hail from DC (as part of the extended Eighteenth Street Lounge and Fort Knox family) and their album One World Sovereignty has garnered some really positive reviews!

Starts at 10pm at The Flat.

At The Flat (where I have done RockSteady Mondays for the last 6 years) we’ve had the opportunity to host DJ Adam 12 (She Wants Revenge member was in town on Nov 7th as the opening act of Peter Murphy). As on previous occasions, Adam 12 brought it!

Next Up: Captain Planet! He’s just released “Cookin’ Gumbo” (Bastard Jazz Records) and is making a stop in Houston to promote the new album. Here’s a quick glance into the secret recipe for “Cookin’ Gumbo”

Before throwing down with Captain Planet on Monday, there is the quick set I did at The Houston Press Music Adwards Showcase. I’m up as a nominee for “Best Club DJ” The set happened at midnight at The Jet Lounge, downtown. The original plan was to do 30min, however due to time constraints was asked to do a shortened set. You can download it here.

Then: the week of Thanksgiving (which The Are and I will celebrate at The Flat, that Wednesday, Nov 23) though we’ve dubbed it Thanksgettin‘ for the last few years!). On RockSteady Mondays of that week (Nov 21) we feature the full band of Nappy Riddem, as they visit Texas to celebrate their new album “One World Sovereignty” (Fort Knox Recordings).

I try to get to the East Coast of these United States about once every two months. The energy, the scene, the music is all inspiring to me. I am fortunate enough to have a standing engagement at the internationally renowned Eighteenth Street Lounge. But this post is not about my dj-ing in DC on a regular basis. This is about experiencing life (and work) in Kensington, Brooklyn (NYC).

THEY GET DOWN ON THE DECK AT ESL!

Several buddies (& colleagues in dj-ing and music production) of mine live in a close radius from each other: Nickodemus (from Turntables on The Hudson), Aaron Schultz aka DJ DRM (Bastard Jazz), and Eric Banta aka DJ E’s E plus Navarro Oneman (both from Names You Can Trust).

The aim of this last trip at the end of June, was to get into the studio with Eric Banta and collaborate on a track for the new album, One Hundred. The industry vernacular for going into the studio to get some work done: “going into the basement.” Turns out Eric’s studio is literally in his basement…well sort of. It’s the first level of his apartment in Brooklyn and has this feel like you’re going into a basement.

I landed in Brooklyn late Sunday night/early Monday morning. The sofa was my bed and after some catching up, I slept (after a long train ride from DC), to rise later that morning to start in on some studio work.

First order at hand: breakfast. Kensington has a few choice establishments and so on Monday morn, we visited The Farm for breakfast. The food is mostly made with ingredients sourced from local farmers and vendors. After a delicious omelette and a bowl of oatmeal (with peanut butter and banana flavoring… all organic!) we returned to the basement to get some work done.

It took us two days to bang something out. I travelled with my drum machine (the Akai MPC-1000 is small enough to fit in my backpack) and (ofcourse!) a stack of vinyl…most for the gigs in DC & NY…some purchased in DC… I have to give credit and gratitude to the proficiency and efficiency of Mr. Banta, to get this track done. He uses hardware, as well, but brings it all together in Ableton Live and is very quick at it. A great pleasure to work with.

YOU CAN CHECK THE SONG RIGHT HERE AND DOWNLOAD (FREE) FROM THIS SPOT (THE NYCTRUST WEBSITE).

Tuesday afternoon I jumped on a bike with Aaron (DJ DRM) and we took the 5 mile scenic stretch of Ocean Parkway to Coney Island to take in some sun and a little bit of food and drink. Coney Island and Brighton Beach, which neighbors it, have such charm!

Tuesday night, back in Kensington, Aaron, a few friends and I have wonderful dinner at Mimi’s Hummus, a delightful tiny restaurant, before walking across the street to Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop where Eric, Navarro, Aaron, another friend (Asaf, the record-dealer) and I take turns playing some vinyl treats (no serato to be found at this gig!). The festivities last into the 2am hour and we all retire very satisfied that it’s been a complete day!