On Nadastrom’s Rum and Coke EP, Moombahton, and the nature of learning.

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This is a summer love story.

Moombahton was the new girl in town. Pretty, foreign and voluptuous, she swept into town with a back story nobody could believe. It was couched in urban legend, the type of stuff that fairy tales are made of. Soon, everybody wanted her, and she teased everyone, flirting with danger, until everyone universally knew she was beyond gorgeous, and then the lust began. The lust of men is an amazing thing to watch, glowing eyes filled with devious plans, wanting to steal her for themselves, and take her, hold her, own her and keep her. Many came close, but all did fail. Moombahton did have but one lover, he who bore her, and when she returned back to him, he released her once more, truly unattainable to but universally appreciated by all.

In 2006, Italian duo Bot and Phra, The Crookers, unleashed a bass and synth heavy sonic assault with hard breaks and electro melodies. People who had never appreciated sounds like these were immediately drawn to it, taken aback by how new, hard and sonically fresh everything sounded. However, all the while, Bmore club producer Debonair Samir likely sat in the corner noting how eerily similar the comparisons were between his “Samir’s Theme” and a string of the Crookers’ releases. There unforunately was never a Samir/Crookers pairing, which, had it happened, would have been unbelievable and possibly advanced both club and electro music as a tandem act farther than Diplo and MIA did after they listened to KW Griff tracks.

This is comparable to moombahton. Dave Nada’s original “Moombahton” track chopped and screwed the entire EDM universe. Into a world where melodic appreciation was a bygone concept of the youth of the average hipster, 108 BPM mellow sounds with percussion, depth, scope and a 2/4 danceable melody took form. In the early months, there were nights where people stood still on dance floors and began to appreciate melody, rhythm and percussion all over again. All the while, unbeknown to a great percentage of the underground universe existed Toy Selectah and Bersas Discos records. Toy is a musical mastermind. A plethora of Latino sounds have passed through his hands and ears as an artist, DJ, producer and label executive. Five years earlier, cumbia, a percussive and undulating Latin medlody, an ever popular sound from beyond the US’ southern border, was blended with rave sounds to create “raverton,” which, surprise, is Moombahton as well. Add to that Disco Shawn, Oro 11 and the great DJ Sabo from the Bersas Discos cumbia appreciation imprint, and moombahton had roots.

What differentiates this story from the Crookers’ is what we get in the Nadastrom Rum and Coke EP from T & A Records. Nada presents to us before his escape to Los Angeles what amounts to a summer school project about Latin rhythms and melodies. In inventing moombahton, and it being a wide success, Nada has earned the right to traverse into the territory of Latin sounds, and have free reign to create. There are clear elements here of the Bersas Discos crew down to Disco Shawn’s vocals on the AMAZING “Trompaton,” and the influence of Toy Selectah, as well as his homies, the Sheeqo Beat involved 3Ball crew and their tribal house, and as always co-conspirator Matt Nordstrom involved as well expanding his already expansive musical palette.

In a culture now as defined by rapid expansion as by great songs becoming swallowed by more great songs making music constant snippets of sonic greatness in a constantly evolved state of noise, Rum and Coke is a standout. Yet again, Nada redefines, by right of education being the plug and knowledge being power that moombahton is his addition to the world of latin rhythm, and the world’s to share.

S*** I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK: Superior Sounds Edition

1. U Street Music Hall and DC blowing away the East coast

It’s really starting to get real down at U Street Music Hall, folks. Between Cosmo Baker (all vinyl set), Sam Burns and Treasure Fingers in one weekend rocking a crowd to their core, alongside the sonic slam dance that was the benefit for DJ Stereo Faith (headed into brain tumor surgery Friday, send strong vibes), the buzz on the underground venue is only getting hotter and higher. Willy Joy returns to keep his DC lovefest going on Thursday, Jellybean Benitez swings through on Friday, and with Paul Johnson, Thommy Davis, Timmy Regisford, Tony Humphries, King Britt, Francois K, Annie Mac, Craze, Klever, Mowgli, Sonic C and so many more coming to the venue alongside a growing in strength crop of local talent, this journalist fully expects U Street Music Hall to be the top underground dance music venue on the East coast by the end of the year. Mixing rabid crowds with top sounds and DJs uplifted to playing high quality sets, few spaces in the country can compare to the Temple of Boom. On a site note, we’re hosting a Michael Jackson Birthday/Motown Happy Hour at the venue on September 25, almost solely based around the idea of hearing what James Jamerson’s bass guitar will sound like in the venue. DC is an absolute treat of a city these days for sure.

2. Say it after me…tribal guarachero.

Anybody who knows me REALLY well will know that my favorite mix of the last few years has been Paul Devro’s Invasion of the Loop Zombies from Mexico. It held a mystical magic to me hearkening back to how I received it, as Taxlo co-chief Cullen Stalin slipped it into my hands at 5 AM on a sweaty Sunday morning at SXSW ’09 after an epic tribal gathering/dirty hipster mess/rave of a Mad Decent party at an abandoned Salvation Army store in a strip mall outside of Austin, TX. Upon listening, the blend of techno with traditional Mexican folk music was a dizzying mess, like being dipped in a full body bath of LSD, and being asked what it sounded like once your head was dipped under.

PAUL DEVRO’S INVASION OF THE LOOP ZOMBIES FROM MEXICO MIX

3 BALL MTY CREW’s MIX FOR FADER

3 BALL MTY’s FREE EP

Fast forward to 2010 and Toy Selectah dropping knowledge on me in our interview that tribal guarachero was coming. In mentioning the members of the 3Ball MTY (think “Tribal”) Crew by names (Erick Rincon, Sheeqo Beat and DJ Otto) and reputation, we should’ve seen what was coming. Well, on Monday, the crew dropped a free EP and mix that has stunned ears nationally and worldwide. Hot on the heels of Dave Nada’s Moombahton, the Mexican response is to take the traditional sounds completely underground and adrenalize them with techno. If you thought this Latin revolution was happening in 2/4 time at 108 BPM, stop EVERYTHING you’re doing and take a listen. The Latin sound now has depth and scope, and the rest of 2010 appears to be quite entertaining to say the least.

INTERVIEW: Cumbia flavored Mexican mixmaster Toy Selectah plays U Hall this Saturday night!

If thinking that Dave Nada’s moombahton concept was some sort of isolated twist of fate, you’re sadly wrong. Underground international sounds have been moving in a direction flavored by cumbia, baile funk, hip hop, club and house sounds for quite some time. The leader in this movement? Monterrey, Mexico’s Toy Selectah, who is absolutely beyond amazing and besides being a record label executive, a consistently leading figure in Mexican music and a man with almost 20 years in the industry, is also one of the world’s most consistently inventive and unique musical forces in the universe. From working with his Control Machete Crew or with his Sonidero Nacional imprint, Toy Selectah is always about a solid decade ahead of where music is headed. I had the opportunity to interview Toy in preparation for his maiden voyage into the Temple of Boom that is the U Street Music Hall, and at multiple times my jaw dropped from the nature of his deep musical knowledge and awareness of the inter-connectivity of underground sounds. Having recently remixed artists as diverse as Lil Wayne, Calle 13 and yes, Vampire Weekend, Toy Selectah is perpetually a leader and rarely a follower of any musical trends.

1. When was the first time you remembered realizing that cumbia and other Latin sounds could be applied to making unique sounds when combined with other genres? Was there a particular song that pushed it along, or was it a concept that you were wanting to try?

Being from Monterrey, Mexico it was a natural thing listening to accordion based music, like Norteño or Cumbia Colombiana…

I get out from home to diggin and what i found there in my hometown was Norteño and Cumbia records to sample, so for me it was a part of the process, been a Mexican kid trying to make Mexican hip hop, instead of sampling R&B, Jazz or Funk, I was sampling Accordion Loops and cumbia percussion breaks…

My first Cumbia sample based track is on the first Control Machete album from 1996, is a short track called LAS FABULOSAS that make it to be used as interlude for our second single called Andamos Armados.

My Hip Hop band from the 90s is probably the biggest hip hop act to date that happens in Latin America.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6yR5avbZ8wQ&hl=en_US&fs=1

2. What is the Mexican club scene like, and how has your style grown because of it? Is it similar to America with the mainstream clubs and the underground spots not having much sonically in common, or, is there a mainstream, underground and scene specifically geared toward the more traditional styles as well?

In America and the rest of the world, lets says that in Mexico I can play the new skool tropical stuff. I’ve been the crazy one that plays Cumbia and tropical music with beats for the last 10 years, sometimes doing and producing beats that make it to mainstream radio and MTV been top 40 hits like CELSO PIñA “CUMBIA SOBRE EL RIO” that even made it to BABEL Soundtrack, but lately New Skool Tropical becomes a trend and been digged by Hipster Kids all around the country, so let’s say that sometimes you need to play from Crookers to Calle 13 to M.I.A. to Tribal Guarachero….

One thing that helps me is that I’m a real DJ not just a genre DJ, if a gig is in a CLUB for the High Class I will murder the place with the hottest DJ Chuckie meets Diplo meets Jay Z meets Cumbia stuff and they probably will not have a chance to notice it! They will just go crazy!
 
In the other way, a circuit of parties for underground genres and sounds its been going to, lots of under 18 EMO meets TEKTONIK meets TROPICAL is going…

Mexico is a big country. I just played on Mexicali in the north ( border with California ) and there is the first city that acts like Deadmau5 or Boyz Noize played in Mexico before even Mexico City! I did a gig with Justin Martin and it was a real trip, the audience space was divided in the middle, one side for under 18 and the other for over 18…. Kids from 10 to 18 been dancing TRIBAL GUARACHERO or DUTCH HOUSE in a TEKTONIK way, while the other part of the audience tripped like PACHA in Ibiza.

http://www.youtube.com/v/gVSIKC6IX1M&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

3. Having worked with a veritable who’s who of music, who have been some of the more personally gratifying artists to work with and why? And how do artists somewhat unfamiliar with your style usually respond to your unique remixes?

Definitely Calle 13 and Vampire Weekend probably recently…

Let’s says, Rostam and Ezra from Vampire Weekend being from New York they been exposed to latin music but when they went to Monterrey we went to the real deal Norteño and Cumbia Spots, after that time in Mexico they probably realise that they want me in!

I think todays connections is about to have the real experience, like go to certain place and get drunk and dance crazy…

Like it was for me been really into Puerto Rico, when I spent days there in clubs and in studio I understood reggaeton since the inside!

It happens to me also when i constantly travel to Panama or Colombia…. you need to be there!

That’s why I’m always open to travel and go, and stay some time in different parts of the world!

4. As a constant and guiding influence behind the scenes as a label chief both on your own and historically with Universal, what do you perceive as the styles and artists in the future of Mexican music that are noteworthy, and why? Also, how does it feel playing a role in shaping the musical future of Mexico and how the country is presented to the world?

I can possibly bet that REGIONAL MEXICAN and POPULAR MEXICAN music will have a really big change and transformation when TRIBAL GUARACHERO makes it to mainstream.

I can see that what kids like Erick Rincon and Sheeqo Beat or Morenito de Fuego ( MC ) are doing now, will be the foundation for something probably as big as reggaeton was the last 10 years…. I’m really happy and blessed with the opportunity to be here now and to been here since 95 as part of the LATIN URBAN music structure!

I was with DJ Blass from Puerto Rico ( he was the one that defines first big reggaeton wave from 2001 – 2003 ) in 2006 and we were talkin deep about how music connects and evolves, Blass was not a TOP producer in that particular era dominated by Luny Tunes, 2 years later Dj Blass became again the POWER HOUSE in Puerto Rico; he produced Jowell y Randy, DeLa Ghetto, Arcangel and suddenly became the hottest producer again! He always told me that back in 2006 -2007 deep talks and theories became the inspiration to be on Top of the game again!

I like to create or connect people to create, its a natural thing for me, been there making beats, doing coffe, making calls, putting the money or looking for the money….
5. Thoughts on Dave Nada’s “moombahton” creation and relatedly the recent rise of DJ Sabo and Disco Shawn’s work with Bersas Discos records. Given your association to cumbia, these must be intriguing times, watching the underground barrelling in your direction…

I respect players some of them know that this thing doesn’t not started yesterday or during the last SXSW, this thing been there going on for years… CELSO PIñA’s song been a must on every mexican radio stations mix shows for 10 years all over US…

Dj Blass, Dj Nelson or Rafy Mercenario been doing 108-110 BPM dembow party breaks and tracks since 1999, actually Cutting Records from NY did a Reggaeton meets Latin House remix album back in the day!

I start using the term RAVERTON in 2007 that basically means or translate to the same concept of Moombathon, i was not tryin to just pitch down or slow DUTCH HOUSE tunes, i was talkin about using DEBOW, Caribbean and Latin Riddims in a RAVE way…

In 2006 as A&R for Universal I did a compilation album of remixes of artist like DON OMAR and WISIN & YANDEL the real powered Reggaeton artist, we did Bhangra Remixes with TIGERSTYLE , Baile Funk remixes with Diplo, Edu K and Deize Tigrona, Hip Hop remixes with Play & Skillz, Cumbia remixes with Sonidero Nacional, Chico Sonido and Myself… 2 years later… Diplo, Play & Skillz, Wisin & Yandel and myself been nominated for the GRAMMYS…

This is like a game, actually a very fun game!

6. Three key tracks, not limited by genre that were most important in your development as DJ and producer and why?

CUMBIA SOBRE EL RIO from CELSO PiñA feat Blanquito Man and Control Machete
ATREVETE by Calle 13
EL MILI by LIL WAYNE my Cumbia Bootleg Remix from the MEXMORE LP

Cumbia Sobre el Rio, is probably the tracks that start and defines NUEVA CUMBIA
Atrevete cause it cross, social, countries, genres and cultural structures…
El Mili cause it probably defines the TOY SELECTAH No Rules way of makin bangers!

THANX A LOT

SHIT I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK

aka avant garde musical water cooler discussion…

1. Mad Decent’s Toy Selectah takes Vampire Weekend’s “Cousins” in a decidedly CUMBIA direction!

Vampire Weekend – Cousins (Toy Selectah Mex-More Remix)

Mexican mix master Toy Selectah is one of my underrated faves of the Mad Decent family. His cumbia/hip hop production style is an acquired taste for sure, but the two steppin’ rhythms of Mexico allow for really easy dancing and are actually quite accessible. Vampire Weekend, the squeaky clean Hahvuhd white guys with a distinct African polyrhythm, when taken to a cumbia level make you think of three things. Christopher Columbus making a mistake, Triangle trade, and the global nature of sound. This remix is phenomenal, and only makes me hope that like last year at SXSW, when the quirky and perpetually entertaining Paul Devro dropped his “Invasion of the Loop Zombies” mix that sounds like a faith healing old Mexican man dropped a mix while on mescaline in the desert, that we get some more Mexican based hotness from the label, hopefully from Toy Selectah.

2. Kitty Daisy and Lewis go rockabilly!

http://www.youtube.com/v/GxW3Ed7GrhQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01

Prior to dropping this column six months ago, they were definitely going to be featured. Kitty Daisy and Lewis are a UK rockabilly trio that consistently turn music on its ear with their adherence to classic rock and roll standards and more than backing up the obvious kitch of the act with clear dominance and knowledge of their instruments. Siblings, the trio are signed to Britain’s Sunday Best Recordings, and over the summer toured in support of Coldplay while they were in the US. I’m not quite sure as of yet if they will be featured at SXSW this year or are considering national touring again, but do go out of your way to check their clips, and do follow this band. Also, they cover “Up the Country,” which until about a year ago, I only thought Canned Heat could cover with any skill. Well, this completely proves that theory wrong.

Unsure of your affection for rockabilly? Well, you likely know who bass madman Drop the Lime is of NYC’s infamous Trouble & Bass collective, and, well, if you ever looked at homie, you’d know that, well, with his ducktailed hair, pegleg pants, gold tooth and rolled up sleeves that well, if he ever dropped a rockabilly mix, it might be kinda fly.

3. Fort Knox Five and Kraak and Smaak remix each other?

The Fort Knox Five/Kraak and Smaak show at 9:30 Club a few months ago was easily one of the more musically expansive evenings of the DC year. Fort Knox Five exist as a collective to destroy all notions of what dance music is at present, and to incorporate as many disparate notions into that definition as humanly possible. Kraak and Smaak are a Dutch duo who drop soulful mixes of just about everything, loving retro hip hop break beats and deep rhythms that evoke disco and classic soul. After their tour together, they joined forces to remix each other’s tracks in a pleasant show of musical solidarity that is par for the course for both acts. Kraak and Smaak take “What Make Ya Dance,” from FK5’s new disc The Gold Standard 2, and take it in a decidedly 90s house direction, a dance floor inviter for sure. FK5 take Kraak and Smaak’s “Ain’t Gonna Take It,” and go in with the funk breaks as per usual, DJ Mat the Alien providing some scratches to make this another pop locking jam from the group.

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4. DJ Pierre drops new Bmore club heat!

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OK. With all due respect, as long as Ultra Nate, Lisa Moody, Thommy Davis, KW Griff, Scottie B, DJ Class, Jonny Blaze, DJ Booman and Rod Lee are all living and breathing, being “Baltimore’s Best DJ to Spin in a Club” as voted by the Baltimore City Paper is an award that isn’t going to mean diddly poo if not won by any of those people. Honest, but completely true. But DJ Pierre won at 18. And he is the future, if there is one, for Baltimore club music. So, downloading his 15 minute mini mix, getting familiar and showing support for the young man is important. He’s still improving, and is leagues away from where he likely wants to be, but his dedication and improvement is more than apparent. I have no problem with dancing to “Dance My Pain Away,” “Swift’s Revenge” and “Pick Em Up” for the next 50 years, but, if this thing is going to evolve, there’s a short list of people this depends upon.