OLD SCHOOL SUNDAYS – BILAL

Anyone remember Bilal? He was that amazingly talented soul singer that released his debut album 1st Born Second in 2001. He was on top of the world. His album features tracks from Super-Producers Dr. Dre, Jay Dee, Rapheal Saadiq, Scott Storch, James Poyser and more. Not to mention guest appearances from Common and Mos Def. It may be the best male soul album of last decade, but after his debut, Bilal disappeared from the public eye. He struggled trying to get a second album out and then lost ground to other singers like Anthony Hamilton, Van Hunt, and Dwele. I have no idea why Bilal couldn’t get another record deal. So record labels if you are out there, find this guy and sign him!

Bilal – Soul Sista

Bilal – Fast Lane (Prod. by Dr. Dre)

Bilal ft. Common and Mos Def – Reminisce (Prod. by Jay Dee/ J Dilla)

JUSTIN FAUST REMIXED

I just got another sampler in the mail from the guys over at DISCOTEXAS.  This time they’re sharing some tracks from Justin Faust with us. The EP includes original material from Mr. Faust as well as remixes from GB faves Moullinex and newcomers Nightriders. Moullinex comes thru with the funk as always and Nightriders drop another funky 8 minute disco epic. Enjoy and hopefully DISCOTEXAS will have some more heat for us very soon.

Justin Faust – Holdin On

Justin Faust – Holdin On (Moullinex Remix)

Justin Faust – Holdin On (Nightriders Remix)

VITALIC LIVE @ AVALON

Every Friday Avalon in Hollywood throws a big dance party called Control. This Friday was extra special as French producer Vitalic came to LA for the first time in I don’t know how long. He was nice enough to sit down with us and explain what a Vitalic “Live” show consists of. We got some good footage of his performance from the night, and as you can tell from the video the dude fucking ripped it. There were some serious Vitalic fans in that audience. Make sure you check him when he comes to your town.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS

Songs from the video:

Vitalic – See the Sea (Red)

Vitalic – My Friend Dario

OLD SCHOOL SUNDAYS – MERCURY REV

Today’s flashback comes from Mercury Rev. This crazy ass band out of NY has been around for about 20 years, but I didn’t get hip to them til about 10 years later. I had been hearing their tracks on KCRW, so when I saw their 1998 album Deserter’s Song lying around at a house party… I STOLE IT! Woah. I don’t ever steal, but I’m glad I came up on this ridiculous album. The band’s producer and former band member Dave Friedmann also produces the Flaming Lips and the new up-and-coming MGMT. I think you can hear some similarities between the three.

Mercury Rev – Holes

Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Highway

Mercury Rev – Tonite it Shows

AFROJACK

I went to the local DJ haven Cinespace this week for Dim Mak Tuesdays. On the bill was 12th Planet and Congorock plus some “Special Guest.” Turns out that Special DJ was Afrojack, a guy whose tracks I’ve been listening to kind of a lot over the past few months. His remixes for some popular tracks have some pretty crazy sounding drops. His live show was pretty entertaining too. He’s got some swagger and stage presence, but I was waiting for him to drop either of these 2. He didn’t, but his new shit sounds promising.

Kid Cudi – Poke Her Face (Afrojack Remix)

Steve Angello ft. Robin S – Show Me Love (Afrojack Remix)

J DILLA TRIBUTE SHOW

I stumbled into the Echoplex last Friday for what I thought was going to be a normal Hip-Hop show. The Beat Junkies were spinning and Slum Village was performing. Sounds like a dope line-up right? But wait there’s more. SV was specifically there to celebrate the group’s founder J Dilla. It had been almost 4 years to the day since Jay had passed. They came out performing all the classic Slum tracks and the Beat Junkies were spinning nothing but Dilla produced tunes all night; Tribe, Common, Q-Tip, De La. It was fucking perfect. Something I needed to break the monotony of all the dance DJ’s I had been seeing.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS

Slum VIllage – Fall in Love

Jaylib – Starz

J Dilla ft. Common & D’angelo – So Far To Go

OLD SCHOOL SUNDAYS – SPAIN

Because it’s Valentine’s Day I am posting some romantic music from Spain. I posted some sad music yesterday so I thought I’d change up the mood. I’ve played Spain for a girl or two in my day and they seemed to love it. I think the ladies fall in love with Josh Haden’s smooth voice. I first heard Josh on Handsome Boy Modeling School’s first album, then really took notice when I heard the shit that Spain was throwing down. These ballads are from their 2001 release, I Believe. To my knowledge it was their third and final album, but the band is still together and plays shows in L.A. from time to time.

Spain – She Haunts My Dreams

Spain – Make Your Body Move

Spain – Oh That Feeling