Weekend Groove - Downbeatscape Exclusive: DJ Ocean's For Your Mind Mix

Good morning world! I've been in touch with a DJ in resurgence - DJ Ocean, who currently plays poker in Vegas and decided to make a foray back into the realm of deck masters. He crafted this mix exclusively for Downbeatscape. I'm pleased to share this chillout weekend mix for your grooving pleasure:

DJ Ocean's For Your Mind Downtempo Mix: http://www.mediafire.com/?dwaumdqzzkm

OK GO - This Too Shall Pass

This video has been watched nearly 4 million times in 5 days. Incredible.

CNN does an interesting review, sheds some light on the inspiration and work that went into this. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2010/03/05/moos.mind.blowing.music.cnn?hpt=T2

"69-year-old kickass DJ"

For all those bedroom DJs young and old - remember, its never too late to follow your passions and take it from the bedroom to the club:

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - The latest party circuit princess to wow the night clubs and festivals of France with her DJ skills is a British granny who took a shine to the decks after going to a birthday disco for her grandson.

Lifestyle France

Clad in her leopard-skin shrug and dark sunglasses, 69-year-old Ruth Flowers has conquered French clubland from the Cannes Film Festival to the top Paris nightspots with a mix of old-school hits, electrobeat and bling-bling style.

"It started really when my grandson had a birthday party ... they always have a little disco, don't they, after the party," Flowers told Reuters, lounging on a white sofa in a Paris hotel in a green satin bomber jacket and trademark shades contrasting with her white hair.

"I went along quite late and the gentlemen at the door said, 'I don't think you want to go in there, Madame'. And I said, 'Well I rather think I do'," she said.

"I went in and it was very noisy and the lights were flashing, but there was an awful lot of energy and joy."

While Flowers, a trained singer, was more used to church songs, German lieder and classic pop, she was so taken by the party that she decided there and then to become a disc jockey.

"I had no idea at the time of electro music," she said.

However, as someone with interests ranging from history to theater and fashion, she was willing to learn.

A friend put her in touch with French producer Aurelien Simon who taught her how to spin and helped her to develop a style, sprinkling her techno sets with tunes from Abba, Queen and the Rolling Stones.

"In the beginning it was just a little joke but it became serious," Simon told Reuters by phone. "It took four years because she had to learn to use the machines. I explained the basics of electro music, and then she created her own style."

Eye-catching earrings and her sartorial style make Flowers a stand out when she works the turntables, nodding to the beat and clapping her hands above her head.

"It's a little glammy, a bit over the top, but it fits the bill I think," she said of her outfits. "I mean, if I appeared in a cardigan, a sweater and brogue shoes it wouldn't be quite the same."

Flowers is working on a single, due to be released this spring. Some of her friends in London were a little skeptical about her new career at first, but she has drawn encouragement from her family and fans.

She remembers how young people from all over the world came up to her when she performed at the Cannes film festival.

"They said, "you're awesome, we want to be like you'," she said. "I always say -- you don't want to be like me. You want to be you."

(Additional reporting by Sophie Hardach, editing by Paul Casciato)

Pretty Lights - Making Up a Changing Mind

I'm on a Pretty Lights bender. ALL of their music is available for download on the website - http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/ - and to top it off, it's FREE. Though you do have an opportunity to donate via Paypal - I did.

Pretty Lights just leseased their latest EP yesterday. It is called "Making Up a Changing Mind" and is the first EP in a series of three to be released this year. I can't wait for the rest! Click here to go to the new EP.

Pretty Lights - I Can See It In Your Face

These are the two reasons I wander the halls of Hype Machine - 1) new music and 2) new blogs. To demonstrate this, I implore you to follow the links to a new song I found on a new blog via Hype Machine: "I Can See It In Your Face" by Pretty Lights.

Hype Machine directed me to a great music blog called "Potholes in My Blog: Beats, Rhymes and Life." The blog mostly features hip hop, and it gives a nice mention to this electro hip hop jam from Pretty Lights. It mashes a few genres together - hip hop, downtempo electronic, funk and even blues (which hip hop is derived from). The track is amazing - click here to go to Potholes and download it.

Also, if you have some extra time, read the comments - they're pretty interesting. Comments about how people have never heard a track like this and it's genre bending and such. Really cool to read stuff about this type of track, cuz if you've been listening to funk or downtempo with any sort of regularity you know that this isn't new, though it is a REALLY GOOD TRACK. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking these readers, I just think its interesting - shows you how little attention really creative downtempo gets sometimes. Anyway, check it out, you won't regret it.

THANK YOU HYPE MACHINE!

THANK YOU POTHOLES IN MY BLOG!

THANK YOU PRETTY LIGHTS!

Deadbeats in the Mix - 60 Minutes of Deadbeats Remixes

The Deadbeats have been one of my favorite electronic downtempo artists for the last several months ever since I heard of them from a Twitter post from @NightmaresOnWax. The Deadbeats hail from the UK and their tracks are released by Wax On Records, the label from legendary downtempo and chillout gurus Nightmares On Wax. Their latest album, Made In The Shade, is a collection of downtempo sunshine vibes, trip hop tracks that channel Massive Attack and even some chill house. It makes for a truly complete listening experience. The Deadbeats recently remixed and edited their own stuff, and put them in one great mix, presented here for your listening pleasure:
The Deadbeats in the mix by thedeadbeats

And another track for good measure :)
QQQQQ by thedeadbeats

The Upside 2.16.10 - free mix from DJ Erok

Here's my latest mix - a sample of the tracks I play at my monthly DJ night at Enormous Room in Cambridge, MA. This mix leans more towards funk and hip hop with a bit of dub and chilled electronica. Listen here - the tracklist is below and you can download the mix for free here.

The Upside Mix 2.16.10 by DJ EROK, Downbeatscape

Tracklisting:
1. Didn’t Cha Know (Biscope Boot) – Erykah Badu
2. Street Sound – Noah D
3. Originality ft. Sister Nancy – Thievery Corporation
4. Sword Progression – Marcel
5. Strictly Rockers 215 – DJ Vadim
6. Entran – Eddie Silverton
7. Canto De Ossanha – Jurrasic 5
8. Forget Me Not – Wu Tang vs. The Beatles
9. Thrill 103 – DJ Vadim
10. Control of Your Mind (PNFA Remix) – Carlos Reisch
11. Reflection – Numatic Soul
12. Northern Vision – Eastern Sun

Sunday Groove: Six Degrees Records

Six Degrees Records is a "an eclectic, independent music label that produces genre-bending and accessible recordings" out of California (from their Twitter page @sixdegreesrcrds). They've brought us tracks from artists like Bebel Gilberto, Karsh Kale, DJ Spooky, The Outernationalists, Alice Russell and more. The sounds from this label, ranging from bossa nova, funk and folk, simultaneously predict the future while basking in the musical aesthetics of the past - their artists pull much from the history of their culture and influences while setting the bar for what comes next. Here is a sampling of tracks from Six Degrees Records - "Makes Me Happy," a bossa folk dreamer from Brasilian duo Undersea Poem ; "Back Home (Kraak & Smaak Remix)," a funky Brasilian electro beat from Zuco 103, and various funk tracks from Friday's edition of Six Degrees Traveler, the labels weekly radio show produced by one of the company's co-founders. All of these tracks can be downloaded at their site or blog Global Noize .

Undersea Poem - "Makes Me Happy" Directed by Felipe Joffily from Six Degrees on Vimeo.

"Back Home (Kraak & Smaak Remix)," a funky Brasilian electro beat from Zuco 103
Zuco 103 - Back Home (Kraak & Smaak Disco 103 Remix) by SixDegreesRecords

Six Degrees Traveler - Global Funk Edition
Traveler Installment 216 GLOBAL FUNK EDITION by SixDegreesRecords