osaka monaurail in madrid!

this saturday we have a rare chance to see the best in japanese funk, brought over especially from japan by javi bayo (http://www.danzz.es/, http://www.club-expansions.com/). i'll definitely be there so drop me a line if you are thinking of going.

saturday 15 of december, 21:30, sala caracol

tickets on sale in ama records (mercado de fuencarral, calle fuencarral, 45) or upbeat records (calle espíritu santo, 6)

12 euros in advance, 15 euros on the door

the tickets include entry to the post concert party in sala tempo (calle duque de osuna, 8) from 00:30 onwards, with sessions from dj pari, dj harry callahan and of course jesús bombín and javi bayo

check out the videos.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACmzHiwUp80

voces (voices)

i was lucky enough to go to a very exciting event last night, the first concert organised by "voces", a new NGO based in spain, whose aims are to raise awareness (and money) for worthy causes (check http://www.voces.org.es/). they've managed to get support from the most famous and most promising musicians and actors that spain has to offer so its no surprise that the concert was completely sold out (12,000 people!). the musicians seemed to be enjoying it as much as the audience. drop me an email if you are interested in more details.

check out some videos here: http://es.youtube.com/AsociacionVoces

podcast #17 - tribute to jon lucien (RIP)

sadly, jon lucien, the owner of one of the most beautiful voices to ever grace this
planet, passed away recently. so i wanted to dedicate this podcast to his memory; may he rest in peace. thanks for the great music jon.

here is the tracklisting:

serge gainsbourg - ah! melody (philips)
astor piazzola - el viaje (4 hero remix) (chicooligan)
beat konducta - movie finale (stones throw)
beatconductor - marrakech (gamm)
jon lucien - would you believe in me (rca)
land of afro - spooky (freestyle)
boris gardner happening - melting pot (trojan)
wille and the mighty magnificents - funky 8 corners (all platinum)
herbie hancock - wiggle waggle (warner bros)
nono morales - soana (jazzman)
west/rock/woods - love cats (mukatsuku)
? - mirrors of my mind (moton records inc)
QSO vs MR - pushin ronson (rebtuz)
MJ vs Q tip - breathe and stop 2002 (ariston)
dubben - karameller (gamm)
aquarian dream - you're a star (elektra)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker13.mp3

podcast #16 - another new old podcast

i'm afraid i'm having to dig into the archives of old mixes (but still good ones!) because i just don't have time to do a new podcast right now... another tour of north, central and south america is looming. this mix i did for "brokenbeat radio" and "department deluxe" over three years ago but i was listening to it today in the gym while sweating my head off on the treadmill and its not bad, even if i say so myself. when i get back from my travels i'll do another podcast, i promise!

Excerpt From Kojak / A Question Of Honor / Peter Pan Records
Christian Zimmermann / Diary Of A Lost Girl / BBE
Solid Groove / Flookin / Loungin Records
Paolo Fedreghini / Please Don't Leave / Schema
Antonio Ocasio / Amazonia, Corazon De Brasil / Tribal Winds
Russ Gabriel / Jelba / S.M.A.L.L
Studio Uno Band / Di Bi Di / White
The Mighty Bop Feat. Duncan Roy / I Go Crazy / Yellow
Greens Keepers / Bang In Your Face? / Classic
Terri Walker / Ching Ching / Mercury Records
Mafikizolo / Loot / MAW Records
Terry Hall + Mushtaq / They Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog Around / Honest Jons
Erkin Koray / Estarabim / Dogan

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/deluxe.mp3

the full montenegro

so montenegro was great! in no small part this was due to a musical oasis in the old part of budva, called casper (where i was deejaying, of course!) but what really made it was our fantastic host and owner of casper, marko. he made me feel like i was the only one deejaying there out of the 10 or so deejays on the lineup, such was his attention to every detail. i'd also like to give a big thanks to nebojsa (who organised the whole thing) and his lovely wife jelena. i was also lucky enough to meet up with another good serbian friend, zjelko (from cosmic sounds) who was in belgrade when we were there. the only disappointing aspect was that quantic cancelled at the last minute (and i had the honour of filling in for him, as you can see it was sweaty work!). the three sessions i did have all been recorded - i will send a copy to the first ten people to email me asking for one!

podcast #15 - rodríguez special

(from the journal of san diego.) The contemporary expression employed in Spain to indicate a man whose family is out of town and is temporarily a "bachelor" is estar de Rodríguez ("to be Rodríguez), indicating the alias usually assumed during extra-marital relationships, such as "Jones" or "Smith" would be used in similar situations in the United States.

so what better way to use my time other than to do another podcast!

earl bostic - harlem nocturne (gusto)
shankar jaikishan - mishra pilu (hmv)
the polyversal souls - sad nile (fryers recordings)
me & you - the hoop loop (tru thoughts)
mo' horizons - green day (agogo)
nina simone - funkier than a mosquito's tweeter (rca)
the dubben band - dubbicho (resense)
astrud gilberto - beginings (verve)
baden powell - blues a volonte (mps)
nino ferrer - les cornichons (riviera)
roy castle - voodoo girl (cbs)
nostalgia 77 - wildflower (tru thoughts)
idris mohammed - could heaven ever be like this? (kudu)
francine mcgee - delirium (ariola)
herbie hancock - saturday night (gamm)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker12.mp3

not sorted your summer holidays out yet?

so if croatia is the new greece i reckon montenegro has to be the new croatia... and what better reason for heading down to budva than to see me (ajem!) and quantic amongst other great djs playing in the open air! the venue is kids friendly (i'll be there with the whole family) so don't be shy to combine the beach holiday with the party holiday...

the details of the venue are

"Tudo Beleza festival takes place in CASPER, DJ BAR situated in the old town of Budva. It is in CARA DUSANA street. Walking along the yacht port of Budva this is the LAST ENTRY GATE into the Old Town on the right side. After 30m you will notice a magnificent garden in stone covered by lemon trees, with the finest music in the area - this is CASPER."

calling out for anyone who went to the "world peace soul jazz" sessions

i would love to hear from anyone who came along to world peace soul jazz all those years ago in oxford... it was started by a couple of friends of mine - john cusins and chris swales - then i got involved... those were the days - popping down to london to jam records in the trocadero (RIP) and getting vip treatment from ollie... and being able to play anything as long as it was good... giving away free food so we could dodge the esoteric uk licensing laws and keep going until midnight(!) on a sunday. we even had tom from groove armada as a guest dj (in 1992!).

podcast #14

without further ado, here is the tracklisting for the latest podcast... comments please - don't be shy! and anyone in madrid this friday - come down to the boca del lobo in calle echegaray...

tom jones - ain't no sunshine (parrot)
doc severinsen - fever (command quadrophonic)
"rob on acid"
hot rocks - the chopper
enoch light - hijack
steely dan - peg (abc records)
j j cale - right down here (mercury)
ray terrace - michelle (tower records)
warieka hill sounds - africa freedom march (honest jons)
fat freddie's drop - ernie (drop)
nightmares on wax - the sweetest (warp)
kutiman - music is ruling my world (mpm)
mo horizons - green day (agogo)
ben westbeech - dance with me (switch remix) (brownswood)
ben westbeech - get closer (brownswood)
makoto - take my soul baby (good looking records)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker11.mp3

finally, i can watch the beeb in madrid!!

i've been waiting for this moment for over 6 years... and it has always eluded me. to be able to watch the bbc in spain the size of the satelite dish needed has always just been out of reach - just as i was getting used to the cost (and the size) the signal would move to another satelite and the dish would have to be even bigger and uglier (latest was 2 metres diameter!). so i'd pretty much given up hope.

now this is not an advertisment, just that i am very grateful to the person who put me on to this gadget (and to my brother who has it in his house, sapping his internet upload bandwidth) and i think it might be of interest to some of you international peeps! its called a slingbox and the idea is that you leave it connected to a tv aerial and the internet in your country of choice. then you can log on to it via the internet from anywhere in the world and watch your beloved home tv. although after so many years i'm beginning to realise how crap a lot of it is... i still miss it though!!

something to stir up a bit of debate...

(disclaimer: i'm talking about differences between men and women ON AVERAGE, not about all men and women)

lately, i've noticed more and more girls who are passionately into their music. and i have my theory that the internet, itunes and online social networks like myspace have gone some way to level the playing field.

what do i mean? i think that men tend to collect music more than women but are not necessarily more or less passionate about listening to it. and faced with a collector with an encyclopaedic knowledge of records it can be a bit intimidating...

for example, in my experience of deejaying (and of course this may be conditioned on how good or bad looking i am), all the requests i have had from guys have been of the type "have you got such and such track by such and such" and from girls more like "can you play something that we all know"? i think that it is easier (in general) for a guy to go up to a deejay and ask for a request... the girls that come up tend to be more drunk by the time they start asking. the same thing goes for specialist record shops (just make a count of how many guys to girls there are on average) which has a more far reaching effect...

so, my point is that, behind the anonymity of your computer screen and with the ease of finding and downloading related music that you like on the internet, i wonder whether this has balanced out this social bias and left us just with those who are passionate about music and those who are not so passionate (be they men or women).

podcast #13 - summer madness

i'm back from my second tour of central and south america. (not a dj tour, mind.) and that means i can back to the basement... hope you like the show... comments please!

babe ruth - the runaways (harvest)
gianfranco reverberi - nel cimitero di tucson
the andrew oldham orchestra - the last time (london)
onsunlade - acrylic venezuela (yoruba)
four hero - morning child (raw canvas)
patrice - soul storm
jackie mittoo - totally together (studio one)
nouvelle vague - the guns of brixton (peacefrog)
troubleman - lonely girl (far out)
? - ? (cup of tea)
mark ronson - god put a smile upon your face (sony)
johnny pate - you can't even walk in the park (abc)
gil scott heron + brian jackson - its your world (ariston)
first gear - i feel the earth move
mario biondi - i can't keep from crying sometimes (schema)
jazz invaders - love and happiness (social beats)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker10.mp3

maybe i'm crazy...

...but check this out!

podcast #12

i've just been finding too much good music lately to go to waste (either in the shops or hidden in my own collection, collecting dust). so, without further ado, here is this the tracklisting - comments please!! and don't forget to check out my myspace and become a friend! oh yes, and jonmarie dominguez from new mexico has gone to the trouble of creating a dedicated radio madrid group on facebook! thanks for the support!

40 winks - one button (merck)
drop zone productions - wondering
40 winks - melancolia (escapism)
QSO featuring AR - follow me (rebtuz)
quantic - announcement to an answer (tru thoughts)
fat freddy's drop - this room (drop)
johnny osbourne - truths and rights (studio 1)
randy's all stars - batman (impact!)
jackie mittoo - hang em high (coxsone)
mark ronson - stop me
dennis coffey - black belt jones main theme (w)
gp & gf reverberi - session 3
nino ferrer - mirza (riviera)
the latin brothers - las caleñas son como las flores (soundway)
wilson das neves - california soul (ether)
claudette soares - carolina carol bela (philips)
joao donato - que besteira (som livre)
os originais do samba - tenha fe, pois amanha um lindo dia vai nascer (exportacao)
viva brasil - ronco de cuica (sugarloaf)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker9.mp3

growing slowly, but surely

as you can see, the word is spreading - slowly, but surely... its great to think that about the 130 people a day who currently listen to these shows, people from all over the world. people jogging in central park, librarians tuning in while they are busy cataloging, etc. people from every conceivable country (in the last hour i have hits from the US, from japan, from the dominican republic, from france, italy, the netherlands, the UK, germany and, of course, spain). i know it sounds corny, but all i really care about is getting this music HEARD. if i have an ulterior motive, it is just to make sure that more music like this is MADE. so, if you like these shows, please spread the word... its not to everybody's taste but i KNOW there are more of you out there...

new podcast (#11) from bongómez!!

yes, finding time inbetween juggling a phd in cambridge and all the associated drinking activities, john bongómez has put together another sterling session which will keep you entertained until i get another chance to go down to the basement. ¡ que corra la voz ! here is the tracklist:

Clarence Smith - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Soul Jazz)
Andy Bey - I Know This Love Can’t Be Wrong (Atlantic)
John Martyn - Bless The Weather (Island)
Brigitte Fontaine - Brigitte (Saravah)
Babs Gonzales - Lullaby Of The Doomed (Hope)
Mary Lou Williams - It Ain’t Necessarily So (Saba)
Leroy Hutson - Cool Out (Curtom)
Milton Nascimento - Tudo Que Você Podia Ser (Odeon)
Brigitte Fontaine - Tanka II (Saravah)
Joki Freund Sextet - Yogiana (CBS/Sawano)
João Donato - Me Deixa (Odeon)
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombone (Island)
Mark Hollis - The Gift (Polydor)
Family Of Percussion - Here Comes The Family (Nagara)
Duke Pearson - The Phantom (Blue Note)
Saul Williams - Black Stacey (Fader)
Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Dusk Fire (BGO)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/Deep_Podcast.mp3

new record shop in madrid!

miriam checa (podcast colaborator) has just opened a new record shop in madrid called lola pulgada, specialising in jazz, nu soul, funk, hip-hop, downtempo... they've got vinyls, cds, dvds, t-shirts and even books. see the map for how to get there!

podcast #10

can't believe its march already... this year is flying by. anyways, i hope you enjoy the podcast. remember, the more you encourage me, the more frequently i'll get around to doing podcasts... that's the beauty of interactivity! here is the tracklisting:

anandar shankar - renunciation (fallout records)
o p nayar - one two three baby (bombay connection)
re:jazz - gabrielle (infracom)
serge gainsbourg - requiem pour un con
morton and the uptights - taurus (palette)
kai winding - simian theme (verve)
steve ellis - the undertaker song (licourice soul)
dave cortez with the moon people - happy soul with a hook (fania)
the latin blues band - lay an oz on me (speed records)
ray terrace - wade in the water (tower)
brownout - el narco (alternate take records)
grupo irakere - bacalao con pan (avan guard)
library vultures - ronnie's groove
colman brothers - el niño (wah wah)
johnny dankworth - eleven plus (philips)
otto donner - haka blues
mario biondi and the high five quintet - this is what you are (schema)
red astaire - love to angie (house of godis records)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/radiomadrid/heavyusker8.mp3

ps: check out this link
http://www.lacoctelera.com/djbombin/post/2007/03/12/heavy-usker-este-viernes-16-la-boca-del-lobo-

the trials and tribulations of a jazz dj

watch (at least) the first two minutes of this... it's spot on. what i find amazing is that deejaying with jazz records is so "mainstream" in the uk that it's made its way into a tv comedy...

wow... heavy üsker in demand!

i was chuffed just now to see that the 12" i did on hitop records with the remix of cesar mariano's "futebol de bar" was just sold from japan to hong kong on ebay for $20! i told hitop we should have pressed some more of them... :-)

danzz on you tube

check these out (from the opening danzz night):

danzz workshop

the monthly jazz dance night in madrid is going to the next level: javi has organised a jazz dance workshop for kids (or maybe i should say "young people") aged between 12 and 15 years. jazzcotech will be showing their moves! i can just see this turning into madrid's answer to ny's legendary "body and soul" where people of all ages get together... (i might try to pass myself off as a slightly weather worn adolescent.)

the workshop will take place the day after the april session in sala morocco on the 1st of april when we will have paul murphy(!) - one of the originators of the london jazz dance scene in the early 90s - in the house. this is no april fool!!

details: la casa encendida, 2-4 april, telephone 902430322 / 916024641, www.lacasaencedida.com

the places are limited so don't miss out!

i'll be doing a new podcast in the next few days so keep your ears peeled.

DANZZ

yes, its that time of the month again for the second www.danzz.es in sala morocco (madrid). make sure you get there unfashionably early (19:00 this sunday) so as not to miss the masterclass from the jazzcotech dudes and dudesses. as i said, this event is breaking moulds!! for radio madrid listeners there's the chance to catch john gomez on the decks! unfortunately i won't be able to make it as i have to fly to chile on sunday evening... but i will be there in spirit... DON'T MISS IT! even the jazzcotech guys were psyched by the last one, and they get spoilt by the london jazzdance crowd. that's the spanish passion they are missing you see...