Brooklyn Beats!!! A mothers mind expansion.

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Lets open with some Kinks.

Waterloo Sunset- The Kinks                                    

For this edition of Brooklyn Beats we are featuring my friend Kat Parker. We were colleagues at Scratch DJ Academy, then she moved to Brooklyn only blocks away from me. Our kids are the same age, so we get together once a week for a vinyl session. A vinyl session that often includes up to four children, grilled cheese sandwiches, coffee and a melt down or two.

 

Kat is the mother of 2 :Miles and Sage

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Tom, Sage and Miles

Wife of one- Tom

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Tom in the crowd at the last Grateful Dead show in Chicago. Gotta love him.

Kat is currently the music editor at-   www.nativenwear.com

Check out her mixes and recommendations from the site. You are sure to get turned on some really unique selections.

 

Within our weekly kid  sessions many records get played. So many.  From Willie Dixon, to the Grateful Dead, DMX to Clifton Chenier. T-Rex to The Supremes.

She and Tom have a ridiculous vinyl collection. I truly admire it. It is so thorough. The “Rock Wall” is what I call their rock section, it takes up an entire wall of their apartment. A journey to the top of this wall will shake you up and down for sure, and that is just one side of the place.

On a quick first glance into the stacks you can see Nick Drake box sets, White Stipes 45’s,  and a Tom Waits 12 inch. This is all surrounded by Ziggy Stardust and Dylan. Delve deeper, you will find doubles of a lot of classics. Zeppelin is present, so are the Kinks, Beatles, Willie Nelson, Buddy Guy and Nine Inch Nails. Keep climbing and you are for sure to run into Dr. John jamming with  Syl Johnson, and you my even move past a Digable Planet or two.

I have learned so much from the “Rock Wall” as well as the rest of the collection .  I make it  a point to pull something I have never heard before every time I visit.  These two really love vinyl, and are dedicated to buying what seems like all of it.

Rarely do you find non Dj’s who love to spend hours getting their fingers dirty with the remnants of 50 year old records that have been in a dark basement for 20 years. But they really love buying records in bulk and feasting their ears on all kinds of music.

The eclectic tastes along with a dedication to vinyl really made me want to know what has been spinning on their turntable . (Which is technic 1200) (They also have a full DJ Set up in their bedroom.)

Hereeeeere we go

Kat, what is currently on your Turntable?

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Quarters Album

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- The River

 

What does it sound like to you ?

King Gizzard is this jazzy surfer rock. It’s raw beautiful and polyrhythmic. Looping and echoing back on itself.

The name is amazing, how did you find out about this group?

Well, Tom gets a weekly email blast from Jamie Widders called Widder Weekly. It is a great list of live shows and music listings.  He recommended going to see Courtney Barnett. He said that she was like a female Kurt Cobain. That compariason made Tom and I want to check her out. She rocked, but during the show she mentioned that she was listening to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. From there we got the vinyl.

What track in particular stands out to you?

I love the album and how it feels as a whole.

I really love a record you can put on and listen to all the way through. Not a collection of three minutes songs. I want a lush soundscape. One that has the ability to engage you fully, but is also a vehicle for escapism and mind expansion.  On the other end I have a playful spirit, I love music that allows that to shine. This album gives me all of that.

Put it on, let it play!

Can you put us on to few more artists we should be checking for?

Sure,

Solomon LLori & His Afro-Drum Ensemble

Gbogtbo-Omo ibile-  This track features hubert laws on Tenor Sax  and Donald Byrd on trumpet.  A classic duo. Do check out Donald Byrd and Huber laws, they will make your life better. 

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Novos Baianos- Album-  Acabou Chorare

This is amazing 70’s progressive Brazilian rock. I love listening to music in a language that I do not understand.

Not being able to understand Portuguese  allows me to create my own inner dialogue with the music. I am not just on the receiving end as a listener, I get to contribute my own thoughts to the experience.

Novos Baianos- Tinido Trincando

novosbaianosbocababymoraesgalvo

 

Kat, thanks so much for sharing your music and thoughts with us. It is obvious from your answers that music is a huge part of your everyday life, making its way into all your experiences. Recording those experiences is why we do this, so thank you again.  So glad we got a chance to hear some of them.

We got a lot of great new music to listen to. You broadened the horizon today.

Thank you.

 

Check out more:

https://www.instagram.com/sweaterweathermusic/

What’s the flavor in your ear?

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Brooklyn, if it were an independent city would be the 4th largest city in the United States. Brooklyn represents cultures from all over the world. West Indian, Russian, Jewish, Puerto Rican, African, Brazilian, Irish, Italian. All of these cultures plus many more have helped to build the fabric of life in Brooklyn.

The goal of Brooklyn Beats is to learn more about what Brooklynites are listening to and why. In my travels I will stop people with headphones on, ask them what they are listening to, and why they chose to listen to the artist/genere etc.

Music touches all people, but in different ways. If I can learn from the people what they love and why. I can not only put together DJ sets that move the crowd, but also learn the history and culture of the music. The deeper the knowledge base, the more creative the set. Plus I am a super nerd for learning the details of different forms of music the world over.

 

For the first installment of Brooklyn Beats we are starting close to home. You have probably seen some pics of Aaliyah and Lola around the site. Now let’s talk to my wife Pilar.

An amazing mother of two with excellent taste in music. Being with her has shaped my listening in such great ways. She has turned me on to so many great artists and albums. One thing I really love about her listening patterns, is that she loves “album cuts” She hardly ever plays the top singles from each album, she like the deep inner cuts. Pilar plays ATLiens by OUTKAST all the time (another reason to love her) her favorite song is Jazzy Belle, not Atliens, and not Elevators. I was drawn to that.

Pilar works with the Middle School Quality Initiative, a literacy initiative that works with public middle schools across all five Boroughs of New York City.

Number one Pilar is a Brooklyn native, with impeccable taste, also she is all over the city, sometimes riding the train for two hours or more a day. That’s a lot of listening time.

Let’s find out what she has been listening to.

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Pilar, whats the flavor in your ear?

Artist– Blackalicious

Album/Compilation– Imani Vol I.

What made you choose that today?-

It’s been 10 years since Blazing Arrow was released. That album provided me with a lot of listening pleasure.

Does it have any special meaning for you?

Blazing Arrow made me think, bob my head, and blasted from both my home and car speakers on many occasions. I listened to the new album in hopes it would elicit similar experiences.

What do you like about it?

I love hearing the evolution of artists as they grow and change to make their music relevant to the current times. Their musical progression makes me that much more conscious of my own evolution.

 

Twist of Time- by Blackalicious- Imani Vol. I

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This is the source of the Me and my arrow sample. Pretty sure I saw this when I was teaching in the Bronx some years back. I heard it, and immediately connected it to Blackalicious. Ringo Starr is the narrarator

 

Rocking with DJ Bamboo

For this edition of Brooklyn Beats we go to East New York, Starrett City. This is my man DJ Bamboo. We met working at the Scratch DJ Academy. Now you can catch him at H & M Times Square M-F 12-5

This guy is a master at blending  trap, old school hip hop, breaks, Classics, dance music and reggae all into one banging set. Every time I show up to spin a set after him, he is on fire. Just live remixing, or rocking doubles, or killing a sample set. Always something fresh and official.

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Brooklyn Beats-

DJ Bamboo

What are you rocking currently? – Milo Mills

What made you choose that? –  I love the beat selection and production work.

What track to do reccomened?- Rocky

 

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Rocky- By Milo Mills

 

Check out his soundcloud