If you’ve been paying attention to the moombahton movement, you’re already familiar with DJ A-Mac. Remixes by Calgary’s fastest rising selector have shaken asses from coast to coast and across continents. Next to Dave Nada, A-Mac is the producer with the firmest hand on the nascent genre.
When I interviewed A-Mac in March, he tipped us off to Smalltown Romeo, the DJ supergroup that dominates the Calgary electronic music scene. The triumvirate is comprised of Smalltown DJs Pete Emes and Mike Grimes and disco producer Wax Romeo, and is a force to be reckoned with. The Smalltown DJs’ Hai Karate party has rocked crowds for over a decade, and the duo also owns a clothing and record boutique, Giant 45. So it’s no surprise that when the guys decided to release a series of mixes for Giant 45, A-Mac was one of the first musicians tapped.
A-Mac’s mix is an hour of non-stop house and electro goodness, demonstrating his range as a DJ and cratedigger. It forgoes tracks-of-the-moment for modern takes on classics, like Luciano’s remix of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” or the Plastic Operator’s Tom Petty-referencing “Wont back down vs. Night Fall.” Other highlights include bits of electro-rockers Body Language (“Sandwiches”) and queen of bounce Sissy Nobby (“Lay Me Down”) remixed by Alaska in Winter and L-vis 1990, respectively.
The mix is a cohesive, grooving party-in-a-box. No track feels out of place or forced. By the time the mix concludes with 1967 #1 “The Letter” by blue-eyed-soul group the Box Tops, you’ll be a sweaty mess, yearning for more. Somebody, anybody buy A-Mac a ticket to U Hall and book him for a Red Friday. Soon.
As a bonus, A-Mac has released his moombahton remixes for download on his SoundCloud. And there’s more where that came from: stayed tuned for a TGRI exclusive moombahtoon mixtape this summer!
elivindotorg 