Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical

A friend of mine hooked me up with a link to mixtapes they've done under the name of True Note DJs. They made these mixes consisting of all things groovy (rap, latin sounds, funk, breaks and whatnots) to promote the great parties they were throwing. If you're interested in the mixtapes, go get 'em here.

The second mixtape kicks off with one of my favorite tunes of 2005, Mi Swing Es Tropical by Quantic & Nickodemus. Yes, it's the track used for the iPod ad. This tune is especially convenient for these gloomy and cold winter days. It keeps me going though I'm freezing my nuts off standing on the bus stop in a blizzard. The reggae remix by ZEB does the trick as well. And yeah, it's okay to enjoy these tracks though you're fortunate enough to live in a warm and pleasant climate.

Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical feat. Tempo & Candela Allstars [320 kbps]

Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical (ZEB's Reggae Remix) [320 kbps]

Sharon Jones - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You (Ticklah Remix)

More Daptone greatness on boogiebanger.blogspot.com. I already mentioned Scion AV's Daptone remix project in my previous post. Ticklah, who used to play in The Dap-Kings but has since moved on to play in Antibalas, was asked to do a remix of some Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' tune for this project. He chose their banging soul groover How Long Do I Have To Wait For You. Ticklah took the vocals and played all the instruments himself and created an amazing reggae tune that is completely different from the original banger. Like mentioned before, the remix appears on this compilation and on a Daptone 7" with a solid dub version on the flip side. If you're feeling this remix, you might wanna check out this one as well.

Sharon Jones - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You (Ticklah Remix) [320 kbps]

The Budos Band - Chicago Falcon (The Washington Sq. Lads Remix) feat. Wale

Because Make The Road By Walking was so amazing I've been listening to other Daptone related stuff a lot lately and rediscovered a nice remix of The Budos Band's track Chicago Falcon. The band is known for making raw instrumental afrobeat/funk whereas The Washington Sq. Lads Remix is completely different with electronic sounds and raps by Wale but still the remix works really well. The remix is taken from Scion CD Sampler Vol. 19. If you're not familiar with Scion AV, check it out. These samplers are part of Toyota's guerilla marketing campaign. The compilations are usually full of good tunes from independent labels. It would be nice to see more marketing campaigns like this one.

The Budos Band - Chicago Falcon (The Washington Sq. Lads Remix) feat. Wale [320 kbps]

Here's a cool video (made by pakratNYC) for The Volcano Songs that appears on The Budos Band's self-titled debut album (2005).

a little princess room & my first give-a-way winner!

And the winner is ~ Janie for my first give-a-way. Yeah! The elves are singing and lighting firecrackers. Boom, boom, kaboom! Soooo much excitement in the air! Congratulations Ms Janie!!!:o)

I gave Janie options for the give-a-way. She choose a acrylic rendering of her nursery. I painted her nursery a few years ago & her twins are grown and ready to have their own room and this is going to be a keepsake for her to treasure for years.

Each of the twins beds had a canopy, for the little girl a pretty pink castle and the little boy had a little brown & white dog on his. This room was so much fun to add special touches with my brushes. Congratulations again Janie and I'll get out to you a quick sketch for approval before painting your keepsake.

This last week I have been a tad busy with the start of this little princess room. I am having a lovely time ,excluding my neck %!*#ouch!!!). To tell you a little bit about this little princess, she loves pinks, lavender & blue ~which her mom says today it's her favorite color. In her room she wants a pretty princess, lots of glitter and sparkles.

This above image is of the princess' carriage, if you look through the window you will see the princess castle. I still have LOTS to do, the walls are going to have white stripes with little pink flowers. The coffered ceiling is painted a beautiful shade of lavender which I will paint soft clouds and put lots of magical stars and on top of the stars will be small touches of glow-in-the-dark paint. I am going to paint a canopy over the bed with a crown with lots of rhinestones and more glitter with some zebra pull backs & some more SPARKLES. I have a princess to paint next to her dresser, a chandelier, family dog on black iron pedestal and lastly a picture of ballerina slippers under the chandelier. I am sure I am missing something.

A close-up of the lantern on the carriage. I think I should add more dripping wax on the bottom. hmmm and maybe more glitter. More magical I think is better for this princess. She loves helping me with the glitter and the crystals.

Close-up of the castle scene. Tell me your thoughts on this room and also if I'm forgetting anything that a princess should have. Well I am off to take a long hot shower and an evening of rest before tomorrow.

Au revoir! ~Miss Kris~

J.Rocc - Cooking Ingredients

Cooking Ingredients is a newish (spring 2008) mixtape by J.Rocc. I love the selection of the mix though I'm unfamiliar with many of the tracks...or maybe that's the very reason that makes it so great. J.Rocc mixes some really obscure jazzy funk and soul with style and grace typical of him. The mood of the mixtape is laid back and occasionally pretty hazy (in a good way) and then boom, all of a sudden you're run over by a killer break. Great stuff!

By the way, J.Rocc started a new blog last month. It's worth checking out. So far there's some Beat Junkies and Melo-D related stuff...surprise and a couple of mixes. Hopefully he keeps updating the blog.

J.Rocc - Cooking Ingredients [128 kbps]

Marvin Gaye - Turn On Some Music

"Now when the music starts,

I'm gonna groove you slow and quiet."

Midnight Love was Marvin Gaye's last album (1982). He made a great comeback with it before his tragic death. He wrote and produced some great tunes for the album. There's more to it than Sexual Healing, for example my favorite Turn On Some Music. It's an overlooked song that highlights Gaye's majestic and sensual voice. I don't know if it's just me or can you hear his life long problem of being torn between bible and bedroom from his voice on this track.

Marvin Gaye - Turn On Some Music [320 kbps]

Btw, if some of you happen to have the instrumental version of Erick Sermon's Music, I would love to have it. The song isn't anything special but I could use the beat on something.

Erick Sermon - Music feat. Marvin Gaye [320 kbps]

Patrice Rushen - Straight From The Heart

Straight From The Heart is Patrice Rushen's best and also commercially most successful album. It was released by Elektra in 1982. The album is best known (a bit too well known after Will Smith abused the tune) for the catchy hit Forget Me Nots. The album is a solid mix of melodic poppish r'n'b and smooth boogie/disco approach. If you exclude Breakout, I'm feeling all the tracks on the album. My favorites of the bunch are I Was Tired Of Being Alone, an upbeat boogiesh tunes and Remind Me which has been sampled on a lot of good songs, my favorite of those being Common's Reminding Me (Of Sef).

Patrice Rushen - I Was Tired Of Being Alone (Glad I Got Cha) [320 kbps]

Patrice Rushen - Remind Me [320 kbps]