Month: June 2008

Welcome to part two of my 2008 Pride series.  The only thing you need to know about this mix is that it’s all about the DRAMA!  You know us queens just love to be overly dramatic, and this mix fits the bill.  From top to bottom, this should put even the dourest person in a good mood.

I’ve pretty much got my set list together for the third mix, though I’m still waiting for the much-delayed ‘Fame’ remixes by DJ Bill Bennett.  Hopefully, Sony will stick to their promise and release them next week (fingers crossed).  If you are a Sony rep or Bill’s manager, feel free to cop me an advance so I can get my next mix finished in a timely manner.  Just shoot off an email located in the ‘about me’ section of this site.  I promised not to share (former Scout’s honor).

Well, that’s about it folks.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Stay tuned, stay focused, and most importantly stay free, gay & happy!  I’ll be back next week with mix number three.  Until then…Enjoy!

Album : Pride Edition v2
Genre : Circuit, Tribal, Progressive
Year : 2008
Total Time : 1:20:02:00

Track : 1
Title : Bring Your Soul Back (Ralphi’s Percussive Soul Mix)
Artist : Ralphi Rosario & Giangi Cappai

Nothing special, but some good filler when you’re kicking things off or just need something to transition.

Track : 2
Title : Control Yourself (Manny Lehman Dub)
Artist : Erin Hamilton

Amazing new tune by Erin that has plenty of mixes to satisfy any floor.  While Manny turns in one of his formulaic mixes, he drops in a mean groove in the middle that I turned around and tricked it up a bit to keep that feeling flowing.  Can’t wait for the vocal version coming out in late July with part 2 of the already fabulous first set of mixes.

Track : 3
Title : Away From Me (DJ Luis Erre Remix)
Artist : Altar feat. Amannda

Previously used the Altar ‘Big Room’ mix on my ‘Splash Edition’, but with so many excellent mixes to choose from, I decided on this even bigger floor stormer that lies somewhere on the Trance tip.

Track : 4
Title : Happy People (Timothy Allan Remix)
Artist : Offer Nissim feat. Maya

Funny how the title suggests something other than what the song really is.  To me, this is a very sad song and probably one of the best things from Offer in a while.  Also check out his original version which was on the ‘Splash Edition’.

Track : 5
Title : Automatic 2008 (J. Louis Tikaro & Ferran Vocal Mix)
Artist : Ultra Nate

It was bound to happen, some new updated mixes from last years mega-smash by Ultra Nate (naughty).  Also check out the excellent Riff & Rays mix.

Track : 6
Title : Give Some Love (Tristan Garner Crossover Remix)
Artist : Antoine Clamaran & Mario Ochoa feat. Lulu Hughes

Hot just got hotter!  Totally feeling the over the top drama production by Tristan.

Track : 7
Title : 4 Minutes (Peter Rauhofer Saves London Mix)
Artist : Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake

While Peter’s ‘New York’ and ‘Paris’ mixes are decent enough, this version is still my fave.  Besides, we all know the UK has better taste in music.

Track : 8
Title : Over The Night (Allan Natal Energy Remix)
Artist : Sentenela pres. Lipgloss feat. Liz

Another song that made my ‘Splash Edition’.  While there are several outstanding mixes that accompany this song, I just can’t get enough of Allan’s massive drama room mix.  Excellent companion to Sara Brightman’s ‘Harem’ from a few years back.

Track : 9
Title : When I Grow Up (Ralphi Rosario Club Vox)
Artist : Pussycat Dolls

While I’m not really feeling the original radio version of this song, Ralphi once again shows why he’s the master.  Totally blown away by this mix.

Track : 10
Title : Hot Sahara (Lenny B Club Mix)
Artist : Fans Of Jimmy Century

If you were disappointed by Gold Frapp’s recent musical direction, no need to worry.  This two piece group out of San Francisco is picking up where the Frapp left off.

Track : 11
Title : Like A Star (Frank Lamboy Mix)
Artist : Kim Sozzi

Haven’t heard much from Kim lately.  Glad to see she’s still around.  The second half of Friscia & Lamboy delivers a solid mix in the fashion of old school Hex Hector (Kim’s protege).

Track : 12
Title : Same Old Fucking Story (Ralphi’s Melodic Vox Remix)
Artist : Cyndi Lauper

Gotta say that I’m so proud if not ecstatic about Cyndi’s latest album.  It’s been in heavy rotation and just about worn out my player delivering one solid groove after another.  Ralphi really turns this song out while retaining the catchy melody of the original.  For a more ‘hands in the air’ anthem, check out the equally excellent Razor ‘n’ Guido mix.

Track : 13
Title : Turn It Up (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Mix)
Artist : Basstoy a.k.a. Mark Picchiotti feat. Dana Devine

One of my favorite songs of the moment gets the Moran & Riggs golden touch.  They turn in a gargantuan mix of epic proportions that will immediately flood the floor with happy groovers.

Well, it’s that time of year again. After kicking things off with all sorts of circuit parties throughout the nation for Memorial Day Weekend, followed by Gay Days at Disney World in Orlando, FL, it’s now time for Pride to take center stage.

More than any other year, I feel this could be the most important Pride in a very long time. With the historical primary season behind us and so many gay issues on the table, the largest being marriage and equality, I thought I’d dedicate the entire month of June to Pride.

This is the first of four mixes that will be released every Friday this month. Because the city barred all festivals in Piedmont Park due to the drought last year, everyone was scrambling to secure venues. Atlanta Pride will take place over the July 4th weekend (one week later than usual) at the Atlanta Civic Center. It will be interesting to see how they pull this off since it will be a combination of indoor and outdoor festivities.

Unlike past events, they will require a $5 admission fee and up to $20 dollars for various concerts. Their overall costs to put this on are twice the amount as usual. Frankly, I think that’s reasonable and won’t be an issue for the majority of the folks. I haven’t decided if I’ll be hitting up the event or bars (in my newly designed T-shirts of course) giving out CDs promoting the blog. I’ll just see how things play out.

As you may notice, the artwork is tied into this year’s general election and many of the issues and challenges the gay community faces. Each mix has its own album cover created by yours truly. Some may ultimately be offensive to people, but I am trying to make an artistic statement or if you prefer, a point. I only mention this, because I don’t want to be bombarded with a bunch of hate mail when the next one comes out.

Rest assured, I put as much time into creating these mixes as I did the cover art. Since I haven’t received any type of feedback other than “love it” (which I always like to hear) I read into something one of our M.I.A. fellow members Tom P. mentioned in an email he sent me a while back.

So, instead of screaming divas all the time, I’m definitely trying to mix things up with some tribal, commercial, big room, electro, dubs, and yes those always fierce divas. Overall, I’m very pleased with the final outcome, and thank Tom for the feedback, even if it wasn’t intended that way. See, I do listen even if you aren’t talking…LOL!

I don’t know where you’re at, but it’s been a scorcher for the past several days here in the ATL. We may actually get some relief this weekend. Then again, our weather forecasters are generally 50/50 on their predictions. Anyway, I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and rest assured, I’ll be back next Friday with part 2 of this series. Until then…

Enjoy!

Album : Pride Edition v1
Genre : Circuit, Tribal, Progressive
Year : 2008
Total Time : 1:19:23.00

Track : 1
Title : Set U Free 2008 (Friscia & Lamboy Vocal Mix)
Artist : Planet Soul

HOT! Classic from the 90’s finally receives a fabulous workover. Works on every level. Funny thing is, back in the day when this was played on radio, I went into Musicland (one of the countless record stores chains no longer around) and wanted to buy the single, but couldn’t find it. I asked the clerk where was the song “Come Into My Black Hole” (I swear to God that’s what I thought she was saying) and the guy just starting laughing hysterically. He goes and pulls the single and hands it to me. Needless to say, I felt like a dweeb (the other thing I thought she was saying in the song…such a dweeb, such a dweeb). Now when I hear this song, I still can’t get my own version out of my head. Essential.

Track : 2
Title : Stamp Your Feet (K j A M vs. Ranny Big Room Re-rub)
Artist : Donna Summer

Absolutely love Ranny’s mix with one exception. His mid-section drop was kinda pointless and didn’t really go anywhere. That’s a good way for your floor to lose interest FAST! Realizing he wasn’t taking advantage of the big beat opener, I dropped it into the middle and then looped additional beats to carry it through to the end of the break. Now, I can honestly say…Essential.

Track : 3
Title : Everybody Everybody (Jose Spinnin Bearlin Club Mix)
Artist : Cyon Flare

Track : 4
Title : Drop A House (Original Mix)
Artist : Heather Leigh West

Okay, this is a novelty at best, but a lot of fun! My partner runs around singing the chorus until it isn’t fun anymore. So I just tune him out. Gonna drop a house, drop a house, drop a house on that BITCH!

Track : 5
Title : Go Go Girl (Twisted Dee Vocal)
Artist : DJ Timbo

Track : 6
Title : Take A Bow (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg’s Encore Club Mix)
Artist : Rihanna

I’ve pretty much made it clear that I’m not Rihanna’s biggest fan. The whole nasal singing thing just doesn’t appeal to me. That being said, something about Tony mixing her songs always seems to work well. Remember Unfaithful? Definitely another winner.

Track : 7
Title : Surrender Me (Wayne G. & Andy Allder London Calling Club Mix)
Artist : Debby Holiday

If you remember back in December of ’07, Dannielle Bollinger had a top three club hit with this song. Originally intended to be the initial release off of Tony’s new label, I guess Dannielle couldn’t wait and released it anyway. This new version has the original Tony & Warren mix with Debby’s vocals, but I chose the Wayne G version for a little freshness. Is it me, or does Debby’s fabulous vocals get kinda washed out?

Track : 8
Title : Love’s Gonna Lead You Back (Manny Lehman’s Dub)
Artist : Jason Antone

Track : 9
Title : Again (Luis ErRe Full On Vocal Mix)
Artist : Jose Spinnin

Track : 10
Title : Rhythm Is A Dancer’08 (Jose Spinnin Remix)
Artist : Snap!

Yet another fantastic 90’s tune gets a re-rub. Jose drops the cheesy rap (prevalent in early nineties dance) and wraps it around a big room tribal beat that blows the ceiling off! Essential.

Track : 11
Title : Keep Coming Around (Starkillers & Austin Leeds Las Vegas Remix)
Artist : Joi Cardwell

Track : 12
Title : Lick My Body (Alex Ocampo Louder Remix)
Artist : Erich Ensastigue

Track : 13
Title : Do It Properly 2008 (Kobbe Voodoo Mix)
Artist : Peter Rauhofer + Victor Calderone = The Collaboration

Nice to see Victor doing something at least. Don’t know much about the original, but this sure is tasty. It would be nice to see Victor hop back in the saddle and start mixing up some commercial music again. Lending his talent to classics by Destiny’s Child, Madonna & Sting among others, will always be fondly remembered. Even though I’ll take what I can get, I’m definitively not lowering any standards here…Outstanding.