N O T T I N G H A M

C U B A

Just got back from La Havana (via Madrid for a gig, big up Lovemonk, K'Bonus, Barbara, Lefto & Frank) ... Of all the places that i've had the pleasure to discover, Cuba is probably my favorite... Its so uniiiiiiique !!!!! I went there with Gilles Peterson, Mala & Vince Vella to produce the next Havana Cultura album (to be released on Brownswood Rec. in autumn) and to record cuban musicians & singers including Roberto Fonseca & band, Aldeanos, Danay, Doble Filo, Changuito, Ostalgia & many more talented artists...
10 days of full on studio including a few days of discovery, interviews & photoshoots, and a even a craaaaaaazy dj gig where Mala & i played some dubstep, house & all things UK to a young mesmerised cuban crowd (they were hearing this music for the 1st time ever !!). Even the cops who came to shut down da party didnt do it & stayed to check it hahaha...
What a trip i tell ya !!! We were hosted by François from Havana Club who brought us to the best places to eat & coordinated our stay there. Tropical weather (Caribbeans) all the way ... The studio we used was also fabulous... Kinda like the big studios in Philadelphia, with big wooden rooms (you could easily put a full orchestra + strings in the main studio!!) and all analog gear, 70's microphones & big large mixing desks, i was in heaven !!! All recorded on 24 inch tapes too ! Heeeeeaven for sound hahaha :-)
Despite the intense recording schedule i still managed to check out a bit of the town and ooooh my days, all these old cars from the 50's & 60's everywhere !!! You dont see that nowhere else !! There's hardly any internet in Cuba and if you have it, its SUPA slow... And despite the friendly & peaceful atmosphere its still remains a dictature... Cubans can hardly travel outside the island (no boats on the horizon) , express fully their thoughts in arts or even have email access in an easy way... Poverty is kind of omnipresent (if you check out the 'barrios' , and not only in Havana Vieja) but peope are well educated ... Increeeeeeeeedible mix of skin colors that makes it a very beautiful nation (imho), and of course the women are gorgeous there hahaaa !! All in all an amazing experience and hopefully i'll be back to check even more places in Cuba. Cuba es la vida !! Viva Cuba !!! :-D

Massive props to : François & Alice, Gilles & Simon, Oreste, Rebecca, Ornell & Abdalla Studio crew, Edgaro, Jo-Ivan & all the djs, all the singers and musicians that i met, the lovely Eyleen (great guide !), Lea & Ricardo from the film crew, Youri Lenquette the bad ass photographer, the french journalists, Vince, Mala (world premiere LOL !!), all the people that inspired me there...

M A D R I D

April Chart

La Havana Heat April Chart

1. Jimpster Alsace & Lorraine (Josh Wink Mixes) Freerange
2. Fix Dr Technofunkenstein EP Night Vision
3. En-Tropic Good Old Days EP Bright Spark
4. Kode 9 & The Spaceape Black Sun LP Hyperdub
5. Neat & Submerse Close EP ARX
6. Photek Rings Around Saturn (Breach Remix) CDR
7. Floating Points Sais Dub Eglo
8. Flako The Mesektet LP CDR
9. Lunice Glow Lucky Me
10. Vessel Nylon Sunset EP Left Blank
11. Tawiah Sweet Me (Greenmoney Remix) CDR
12. Various Artist City Fly Visions EP City Fly
13. C.R.S.T Forever After EP Deep Thrill
14. Mark De Clive-Lowe Koko & Lee Roe Mashibeats
15. Tom Trago Iris LP Rush Hour
16. Son Of Kick Playin The Villain (Machinedrum Remix) Muti
17. Braille The Year 3000 Rush Hour
18. Si Tew When The Clouds Ran Away LP Atjazz Rec
19. LOVEchild Sticky Green CDR
20. Von D & Simbad Watching You Boka

Record Shop Day

Today im selling records amongst Gilles & a few peeps... And its for the good cause !!!

US Trip

Pheeeeeeeeew anotha 2 weeks spent mainly in planes hahahaaaa !!!! Just got back from the States, i'll try to break it down nice & shortly dis time ...

LA : Aaaaaaah what a tremeeeeeendous party that is The Lift !!!! Huuuuge warehouse space in Downtown LA with a super dope sound system it was another claaaaassic gathering, we stopped playin around 6 am so yeah, really good nite... I was guesting with Ron Trent who did a nice soulful set (throwing some afro & funk vibes in the mix), i went a bit more experimental wid some of the UK bass pressure but we dfntly had an open minded crowd there thanx to Jeremie Sole & Eric Wiseacre who have constantly bring good djs for the love of music . Massive thanx to Eduardo Castillo & Mistie, Eric, Jeremie + all The Lift crew, TP Carter, Hossein & all the friends i saw thru the nite.

SF : Few hours sleep then straight from the O hotel to LAX then landed in San Francisco a hour later, then hotel then dinner (OOOOOOH MY DAAAAAYS !!! BEST SUSHI in SF ????? HELL YEAH !!!! I tried Eel with chocolate sauce wich was absolutely mind blowing !!!) then straight to th Club, the legendary End Up... A real institution (i think its also one of the longuest running club there) with a great dancefloor, a wicked outdoor patio & a few spread areas with bars, lights & creatures of the night :-) i had mad fun behind the decks... What i love about this place is that it really draws people from every background at random late hours and every1 is mainly there to dance and to enjoy the sound. Was a deep sunday and all things house that session... Big ups to Carolyn Lotus, Dj Cali, Monica, Raheim & all Sunday Sessions crew.

NYC : Another club to club mission that one !!!! Straight from JFK to club Cielo after a 6 hours flight maaaaan i got there a bit late but hey what can you do ? Started my set around 11.30 ish while François was setting up, couple hours later the Deep Space 'papa' took over and again it was a honor to play there. Wasnt my best performance as i was still messed up from my lack of sleep and plane trips but surprisingly amazing feedback... I guess the people who come to this nite are also super open héhé ... Got time to hang out in NYC a bit (isnt spring the best season there??) and even got invited to check out that mad theatral performance called Sleep No More... (Interesting but confusing play...) . Then thursday was the new Found Love party with Cato, John Dill & Wiseacre @ the lovely Sapphire lil' club, all donations went to Direct Relief For Japan & was a really great atmosphere all nite, dancefloor hardly stopped :-)
Massive shouts to Nat & Busquelo family ladies, Triphina Wilson, Athena, Jay Locke, Op Miller, François & Erica, Eric, Amon, John, Cato, Nicky, Emma, Julija, Colin, Nickodemus (lets finish that tune !!!), Dan Dancer, Yotam and everybody i met & that came to the shows . T H A N K Y O U !!!!

San Juan (Puerto Rico) : Kinda my second home here in San Juan, been coming here for years and bwoooy its changing fast somehow !!! My brother Chuck Maurice runs his club Red Shield (also a restaurant with a top class menu) and brings the "Creme de la Creme" when it comes to electronic dance music, while getting the locals bands involved for live evenings too, cant have nuff praises for Chucky... Saturday nite was a random one, not too busy but always peeps on the dancefloor somehow... started @ 1.30 am and finished @ 6am on the dot... Didnt even feel my set was that long... We got the next few days to vibe in Chucky's lab & finally finish a nu tune (B-Side for the nxt single ???) so yeah, no time for the beach dis time !!
Props to Juan Mauricio Rojas, Rossy, the cooks & staff @ Red Shield, Manuel & every1 who came down saturday...

Miami : Ok im just gonna say 1 thing... I had the BEEEEEEEEEEEST Ceviche EVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER in Miaaaaaaamiiiiii !!! Yep yep yep true... If you ever can make it check out CVI CHE 105 in Downtown Miami, its the real Peruvian deal... Had the most amaaaaazin lunch & the desserts were off the hooooooook as well !!!! SUPA THANX to my man Eric Paredes, Nadia (get better hun !!), Ramon (no mo' JetSki, only whips & whipes LOL !!!) & Shelly, Santiago & all Miami fam... Was a great stop before coming back 2 LDN...
Nxt week is CUBA !!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES !!!!!! :-D

NYC

MONDAY

Deep Space: Simbad (TIME OUT NY)
Cielo, Today 10pm. 18 Little W 12th St (between Ninth Ave and Washington St)
(212) 645-5700cieloclub.com
Subway: A, C, E to 14th St; L to Eighth AveGet directions
$12
Dance-music deity François K and his Deep Space soiree—focusing on dub in all its glorious, echo-drenched forms, but extending its reach to all types of underground dance music—have been ruling Monday nights for years. And, we're guessing, they will for years to come as well—it's simply one of the best things going in NYC clubland. Tonight's shindig should be a hot one, with talented London DJ-producer Simbad spinning his mix of disco, funk, broken beat, house, cosmic material and more.

THURSDAY

FOUND LOVE LAUNCH PARTY w/ SIMBAD - APRIL 7TH - NYC

FOUND LOVE: stumbling upon the obvious and familiar, then looking deeper into the moment resulting in a most unexpected revelation of truth.

WISEACRE, JOHN DILL and NIKKI CREARY welcome you to FOUND LOVE, a new monthly of late night disco, house music, discovery and philanthropy. all profits/donations of this night will be directed toward the relief effort in japan. this party is simply for YOU and US. a place to trust, dance, show affection, give back and do whatcha like. no price needs to be attached to this evening, no dress code, no bottle service and no requests.... this party is for the folks who KNOW. but this party is about discovery, correct? yes. so that said, you must KNOW.

please feel free to join us every 1st thursday of the month at this old skool spot we know as the SAPPHIRE LOUNGE in the lower east side.

SAPPHIRE LOUNGE
249 eldridge (between houston & stanton)
nyc
http://www.sapphirenyc.com/

10pm-4am


NEVER A COVER.... suggested $10. donation @ door for JAPAN: DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL
http://www.directrelief.org/

$5. vodka cocktails 12am-4am

Head-liner: SIMBAD (KEY RECORDINGS / RAW FUSION / BROWNSWOOD REC - UK)

special opening set: CATO (TURNTABLES ON THE HUDSON- NYC)

residents:
WISEACRE (LOUIE and CHAN - NYC / theLIFT - LA)
JOHN DILL (PICKLED HOUSE - NYC)

(((live))) on the drum:
AMON (AFROKINETIC / TURNTABLES ON THE HUDSON - NYC)