Terminally Ill - Ill.Gates (New Album!)

I've heard a few Ill.Gates tracks and remixes here and there, and have noticed on social media he's turned into a touring machine. This San Francisco based bass and future producer just released his new album - Terminally Ill - and it is FANTASTIC. It's the type of album you can listen to end-to-end and never get bored, and you know that it's the type of sound that melts your face in your headphones or live - either way you are SOLID.

My favorite tracks on this album are "Ice Bucket" - a track that starts out with an ethereal female vocal and drops some reverberating bass line that is one part house / one part dubstep, but without the over-the-top wobble or transformer creaks that can topple a good dubstep track. My other favorite is the Ill.Gates remix of Minnesota's Thunderdome.

If you like Bassnectar, Minnesota, Pretty Lights, then you'll like Ill.Gates. Listen and download here:

Coming soon (available end of March)! Pioneer DJ DJM-250MK2

For the starting DJ, or the DJ on a budget, this is a perfect 2-channel mixer with all the features you need to get started. DVS for CDJs and Rekordbox, plus inputs for turntables and auxiliaries. It's got the best of the base features from Pioneer's suite of mixers. I may swipe one for my home setup!

#DownbeatLounge Selection - Vol 10 (Feb/March 2017)

Here's what I was listening to February!

Downbeat Lounge Selection - Vol 9, January 2017

Just in time for the weekend! Here's a playlist for all moments of your Friday, Saturday and Sunday - some deep house, airy funk, chilled downtempo and trip hop beats. My favorites from this are:

- Sam Redmore / James Brown - "I Feel Good" great funk soul remix
- Bodhi Collective - Chay & Dead Space - "Night Vibe" ethereal sounds for meditating or moving
- GRiZMATik - "As We Proceed" another hit from GRIZ and Gramatik electro-funk collaboration
- Sleepy & Boo - "Tolerance" a deep house future classic from my favorite NYC house DJs

The Return of the Classic - Mister T (Cold Busted)

Just downloaded this album to work into my lounge sets. Amazing funky hip hop vibes - you can always rely on the Cold Busted label to provide classic sounds.

Thievery Corporation Announces New Album, Shares New Single “Letter To The Editor”

Click to listen to the single - exclusively only on the legendary KCRW radio out of Los Angeles --> Thievery Corporation Announces New Album, Shares New Single “Letter To The Editor”: Lots of new music on the horizon for Thievery Corporation, including a new track today!

Downbeat Lounge Selection (Vol. 8) November 2016

Check out the latest collection of my favorite deep house, soul, funk, lounge vibes over the past few months!
 

*NEW* Pioneer WeDJ app for iPad and iPhone - FREE through Nov 29

For aspiring DJs and those who want to dabble and learn, check out this new DJ app from Pioneer - it's FREE to download through Nov 29. I downloaded it this week and it's pretty fun. You can sync tracks from iTunes, learn to beat match (manual and sync) and just get creative. The interface is simple and easy to use. Check it out!

Downbeat Lounge Selection (Vol. 7) July 2016

Downbeat Lounge Selection - May 2016 (Vol. 7) by E-ROK

Ah! It's a few days into June - but here's the May 2016 Downbeat Lounge Selection (Vol. 7) - featuring 15 tracks I've been enjoying and discovering in June.

Shout out to my favorite tracks in the mix: "Borchi" by Silva, Break Science remix of "Fu-Gee-La", "Toucan Wing" by BoomBaptist, and "Child of the Universe" by Frits Wentink.

As always, this is an eclectic mix of glitch, trip hop, downtempo, chillout and deep house. Enjoy!

Stoked Lounge - New E-ROK Downtempo Mix

I played a few hours the other night for the Stoked crew in NYC. This is a group of amazing people - snowboarders, surfers, skaters and supporters who work with kids in NYC to give them adult mentorship and positive life guidance. Their vibe and energy is a perfect match with my DJ style. Check out this sample of the night.

It's not an E-ROK mix without some Thievery Corporation, Gramatik, Quantic style - bringing that funky downtempo eclectic vibe to life!

MENdar - West Coast Podcast Mixtape Contest 2016 (Deep House)

This is a FLAWLESS deep house mix by MENdar. It's equal parts mysterious, trance-y, deep and melodic. I love every second of it. The flow grabs you. The track selection is perfect, and the transitions are smooth and deceptively simple (but in a very good way). This mix is amazing.

New E-ROK MiniMix: Saturday House Experiment

I was feeling house-y this morning, so I made a mix. Check it out - it's a minimix of a few songs I've been jamming to lately. Some new, some old and classic (Trentemoller!!!!)

Thornato - Things Will Change EP / Chapinero Single

I'm absolutely jamming to this new track "Chapinero" by Thornato - a NYC based producer on Wonderwheel Records (Nickodemus, Zeb, Sid Vaga, Spy From Cairo, more).

"Chapinero" is a worldly house track with dance floor tribal percussion, wood wind gusts and trap inspired rhythms. The song is pure fun and very flexible - you can play it in any party DJ set and use it as a feature track or sample this thing all over the place to create your own monster floor mover.

This is the first time I've heard of Thornato, the producer on Wonderwheel. His album carries the vibe of "Chapinero" through a few other songs, and its a fantastic EP. Anything that comes out on Wonderwheel is going to be interesting, and this stays true. I highly recommend it.

Check out the track and Thornato's EP at Bandcamp:

Downbeat Lounge Selection Vol 6 - April 2016 Wrap Up

Here's what i've been listening to for the past month. A mix of always funky, deep, chilled and sometimes amped up tracks to create an ebb and flow of sound and energy. My favorite track in this list is the new one by Thornato called "Chapinero" - a really fun international house track off Wonderwheel Records (Brooklyn/NYC).

PantyRaid - Wanting Moves

OMG this song is fire. I post pretty much anything that I'm digging on this site, but sway toward downtempo and eclectic funky vibes. Um, this is a bit different. This technically is downtempo / mid temp coming in around 95BPM, but DAMN this is just a bangin track that I can't get enough of.

Downbeat Lounge Selection Vol 5 - March 2016

Here's 15 new tracks, selected and curated by EROK, just for you. This is the Downbeat Lounge Selection - Vol 5 (March 2016). Meant to chill and listen and enjoy as you see fit. This selection features beautiful new bass and melody from Monstercat - one of my favorite labels. There are two Monstercat tracks in this selection - "Lark" by Direct, and "Clouds" by Loosed. Both are airy songs with reverberating baselines and organic, natural melodies - nice 70-90 BPM brooders.

"Musical Genocide" (Grzly Adams Edit) by Gregory Porter is a jazzy break beat - straight forward and groovy jam. And my other favorite in this selection is "Platforming" by Kneebody and Daedalus, an amazing collaboration that I got to see live a few weekends ago at Le Poisson Rouge - my favorite venue in New York City. Enjoy!

NEW DOWNBEATSCAPE MIX: Crescendo Breaks

I posted my latest downtempo mix --> Crescendo Breaks. The title refers to how I approach my mixes like stories - I start w/ a foundation, layering on sounds, themes, and creating an arc that lends itself to listening to the mix the whole way through.

This mix is a selection of tracks that starts out chilled, with some hip hop beats, and crescendos into funky and electronic breaks. Featuring tracks by Gramatik, Thievery Corporation, Nickodemus, Mr. Scruff,  and remixes of Fugees, Nelly and Missy Elliott.

FREE DOWNLOAD - Knowa Lusion - Press Da Break

This new release by Knowa Lusion on Street Ritual records is a wavy tribal trap break with reggae vocals and an airy guitar riff that gives it levity - making this a steady track to use in any mix as a featured track for layering or as a nice transition piece.

However you use it - listen, mix and enjoy - because I've had this break on repeat for two weeks. FREE DOWNLOAD ON SOUNDCLOUD:

JBoogie Dubtronic Science - "Live in the Bedroom" Mix

JBoogie and his Dubtronic Science flow always mesmerize me. Some of my favorite songs and beats come from his mind and energy. His mixes are always on the same level of downtempo electic vibes. Some chilling music for the weekend here: