In an effort to blog more (really tired of social media), and because I’m terrible at actually recording my sets, I wanted to share some of the records from my bag that I packed and remember playing — although I’m not entirely sure they’re in the exact order — during my opening set at Open House Conspiracy’s September 23rd warehouse party with our special guest from France, Franck Roger, in a series I’m calling “In the Bag.” It had also been a while (many months) since our last OHC event and I’d really missed musical home. It’s the only place where I don’t feel any obligations other than what I’m feeling, capturing the context of the night and space, and the dance floor, usually my friends and kindred, likeminded house heads from our community.
Whether you were there and are interested in getting the titles of some of the music I played (by the way, if you ever want to know what I’m playing in the moment, don’t be shy, just ask and a will gladly share — gatekeeping is some insecure, ego filled bullshit) or you missed out and are curious how it went down, I hope you’ll enjoy these selections and the extra insight into my process and the thinking that goes into my warm up sets. This one actually had way less thought behind it than usual because normally I’ll spend a couple hours a day in the week or most of the time before on the day of leading up to an event going through records and packing my bag, but for this one I only had 30 minutes to scramble and throw as many as I could manage in while also juggling showering and some last minute communications obligations. I either need more help or should really heed the advice that you shouldn’t play your own parties.
Setlist
1. Colkin – No Rush Dream House Spezial, Blind Jacks Journey 2017 (Buy on Bandcamp)
Ever since we hosted him in 2018, pleasantly surprising everyone and winning over their hearts and minds as their new favorite DJ, Luv*Jam is an absolute St. Pete cult favorite. The nicest English countryside bloke, he gifted me a whole box of his records before he made the trip over. They’re always lovely, quirky little bits and bobs. This one is off his Blind Blacks Journey sub label.
2. JT Donaldson featuring Penelope Antena – “Dis Oui!” “Dis Oui!”, Dolfin Records 2022 (Buy on Bandcamp)
I’m a big fan of Ben Hixon’s label and quite a few of JT Donaldson’s productions as well. Breezy, sensuous French vocals and synth swirls, just felt fitting.
3. Open House featuring Pace – Seven Day Weekend (Brennan Green’s Ontario Mix) Seven Day Weekend, Tu Wrong 2006
Brennan Green is a phenomenal remixer. I have quite a few of his records and this one is, of course, cheekily named given our parties are called Open House Conspiracy. It’s been sort of an early warmup anthem for me over the years. Always gets the night marching along nicely.
4. Ex-Friendly featuring Rich Medina – Journey Man Journey Man, People Are Looking At You, 2013
The creative writer in me can’t get enough spoken word vocals. One of my favorites is Ursula Rucker and her fellow Philly wordsmith Rich Medina delivers a truly sublime narrative here complete with a funk-filled backing track. I’ve had this record for a hot minute, probably since I started DJing, and it’s likely you’ve heard me play this one before. My friend Santino, also a DJ and producer, once dubbed me the “journey man,” so this is a bit of a theme song for me.
4. Latecia – Love Will Make It Right (Instradub) Love Will Make It Right, Clairaudience 1998
I’ll keep this short… Ron Trent at his best, exploring the vast expanses of the cosmos on a journey through space and time. “Do it.”
5. Quarion – Callisto Moons Around Jupiter, Retreat 2010
I’d had my eyes on this record for a decade and recently found a Discogs seller who had it with a lot of other items in my want list, so I finally pulled the trigger. It’s charmingly dreamy, totally something I might accidentally space out to while behind the decks DJing and forget I’ve got to put another record on. Thankfully that didn’t happen, but hey, sometimes people like when you let a record play out with a little bit of silence.
6. Motorbass – Ezio Ezio / Les Ondes, Different 1996
I wanted to incorporate some French sounds for our special guest to make him feel more at home. Etienne De Crecy is a legendary producer from France and this one from his side project is a bonafide classic merging the best of Chicago house, Detroit techno, and New York disco all into one. It’s like Ron Trent and Moritz von Oswald meets Philly International. This record specifically felt like a proper nod to Vix Fitz’ art installation in the venue. Something about it just gives whimsical, futuristic fairytale garden feels.
7. Moonchildren – Heaven Beyond Love, Deep4Life 2000
Chris Gray is a genius producer. This has all the elements I love, mental and deep yet driving and heavy at the same time. My friend, Chicago transplant and then traitor Greg Webb, gave me this record as a gift. Not sure if he knew it was a pricier one at the time or maybe he had two copies. Either way, thanks Greg.
8. Djeballi – Hunting Back Thugs on the Corner / Hunting Back, Djebalii 2012
Continuing the French connection with Djebali… I’ve owned this record since I first started DJing. Pretty sure my DJ duo partner at the time (bleek ‘n’ coy days) included it in one of his early mixes. It’s grit and bounce gives it a nice urban, street appeal with carefree vocals like you’re on a lantern lit cobblestone city park stroll.
9. Brawther – Second Nature Sundials EP, B2 Recordings 2023
Brawther has been one of my favorite French producers for proper deep bidness for some time. Bubbly house at its best, but, more importantly, that speaks to the moment I feel I’m in with a short, but impactful vocal sample, “It’s like, like this isn’t just something that… this is like a lifestyle to me, and it’s like a lot of the artists nowadays, it’s like, I don’t know, like they think there’s something else.” After the pandemic, it feels like there’s more newer DJs and events than ever and a lot of them don’t seem to be in it for the right reasons or to have that deeper love for and understanding of it. Also, I gave up a fairly comfy, well-paid position last year in the art, creative, and events industry to get back to focusing on myself as an artist and the struggle of full-time DJing. Supporting other artists, the ones with good hearts and pure intentions, was great and really rewarding, but dealing with all the egos of the nefarious ones just wasn’t worth the stress and left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered, “Why am I working myself to the bone to support these people, always going above and beyond, to make things as easy and comfortable for them as possible when some of them were ungrateful and a handful outright toxic and harmful?” At the same time, I felt like I was letting our community of music lovers down because I was too busy to play out or put on events of my own, which have always offered a different flavor and served as a bit of a respite for this area. This event specifically, at an artist collective run warehouse space, was me getting back to my roots (I.e. Paper Crane). We were also promoting, supporting, and giving back to one of the most humble, down for this life local artists I had met during that time, Bruno Rocha. Sorry, that was a lot, now back to the music…
10. DJ Rouge – Uplift (South Shore Garage Remix) Balance vs Interweaved EP, Interweaved 2023
This record was actually the result of a producer contest put on by Brawther and Chez Damier, which is pretty cool. I’m a sucker for UK garage after spending a summer exploring nightlife (allegedly “studying” and interning abroad) in London in 2011, which started me on my DJ journey when my randomly assigned flatmate had some decks and experience — only right I copped this from Juno. Add in a hazy, deep, and poetic message about humanity coming together for less hate and more peace, less division and more unity, less war and more love… well, they know my weaknesses.
11. Mr Fingers – Closer (Frankie Foncett Dude Mix) Closer, MCA Records 1992
The original of this is an all-time classic and one of my favorite house tracks. I got to see Mr. Fingers live, which is a really rare thing, at Movement in 2017 — a memory I’ll always cherish. This mix is a little less ethereal, while still sensual, and more of a party starter for people to begin filling the floor and getting closer.
12. Pain – Bang to the Beat (Groovy Dub Mix) Bang to the Beat, Martru Records 1990
This is a quite literal banger and a good way to put the party in motion. Because of how sparse and track-y it is, it’s more of a DJ tool to me, so I usually do long mixes in and out of it, not letting it ride too long on its own. “Everybody!”
13. Sugar Bear, DJ Gran “O”, & Kevin Adams – Wild N’ Crazy (Instrumental) Wild N’ Crazy, Baltimore Citi Record Co. 1992
I have a couple Baltimore Citi Record Co. releases I picked up at Beatlab in Atlanta one year during the annual trip for House in the Park weekend that serve as secret (not anymore!) weapons in my sets. I actually played the Instrumental version, which I always do, because the vocals are corny, but that one is unavailable to stream, so here’s the mix that is — you get the idea. If you want to turn a party out, B’more usually does the trick.
14. Mr. Fowlkes – Eddie’s Circus Detroit Beat Down Sounds&Grooves Vol. 2, City Boy 2003
Detroit OG Eddie Fowlkes taking on a disco classic, Martin Circus’ “Disco Circus” (a record which I also have) and turning it into a bumping hip-house influenced acid track? Say no more. I like to imagine the vocal scatting is a mix of “I do boogie,” “I get busy,” “to the beat,” which is exactly what we were doing at this point.
15. Earl Jeffers – Higher Higher, Melange 2021 (Buy on Bandcamp)
After building up the floor with some bouncy cuts, I figured it was time to let people know where we’re taking things, “Higher.” This is the sound that was really the first side I fell in love with when I got into house. The New Jersey house style a la Jovonn (one of my favorite producers), Kerri Chandler, Tony Humphries (who I got to open for in 2019 at Paper Crane), et al.
16. Ka§par – Higher Fire Higher Fire EP, Finale Sessions 2018
Keeping the “Higher” theme going, I always try to incorporate a Finale Sessions release into my sets. The late Michael Zucker was a mentor to me and it was an honor when I was accepted onto his DJ roster for the label. I hope my efforts continue to keep his spirit and impact alive and that I’m making him proud. (P.S. I still have few copies of this record from the back catalogue if you’d like to own one for yourself — the money goes to his sister).
17. Phil Asher – Today’s Tomorrow Sparkle (AJ’s Dance) / Today’s Tomorrow, Moreaboutmusic 2017
RIP Phil Asher. I picked this one out because I had seen Franck did a tribute to Phil Asher. There’s such an epic sound to this record with chords that are a bit melancholy, dramatic rave style synths with an acid tinge, and a big bass line. If there was a record to remember him by, this felt like it. I bought it in Amsterdam at Rush Hour during ADE in 2017. Moreaboutmusic also has also released some records with Mike Dunn that I have. OHC hosted the Chicago legend thanks to the label’s management.
18. Abe Duque & Blake Baxter – What Happened? What Happened?, Abe Duque Records 2004
Maybe this is my Jask moment (IYKYK). On the real though, I had to get in at least one dirty, squelchy acid techno track for the warehouse environment before I ended my set and this one speaks to my disillusion with the industry I shortly referenced above. This record is from two decades ago though, so seriously what the hell happened? P.S. thanks to Charles Webster for turning me on to this when he played it at one of our past OHC parties.
19. Ben Hixon – BDZ N.I.C.E. EP, Dolfin Records 2021 (Buy on Bandcamp)
Okay, I lied. I got in two tracks with that proper warehouse energy. At least, this is the kind of stuff I want to hear in a dark and grimy box, but I also never want to get too far ahead of myself and play too hard before a guest. No surprise it’s Ben Hixon and Dolfin, as I already expressed, big fan over here, and it’s exactly what it says on the tin — N.I.C.E.!
20. The Jasper Street Company – A Feeling (Lenny Fontana Remix) A Feeling, Azuli Records 1995
I wanted to leave Franck with something feel good that might have a familiar feeling. There’s also a special energy in the air when you hand the reigns over to the guest, kind of an anxious tension that gets released as people finally get the moment they’ve been waiting for, to see what they’re all about and the rest of the night entails. People get to hear me often enough, so while I try to keep them on their toes, there’s more familiarity and less mystery there. I usually play the original of this in my sets, but this remix felt more warehouse appropriate. I always appreciate the opportunity to switch it up like this and play another side of the record (in this case the second in a double). Funny enough I discovered this song digitally and then found it later that week in a record package from my mentor Brad Ashwell I hadn’t finished going through. A reminder, I should totally do that more and get to all these records waiting on me rather than going through and buying new ones. Ah, the all too common plight of a DJ with a serious record problem. Even when you have more than you can handle, you still can never have enough.
On a side note, I got to see Basement Boys’ DJ Spen at the 2022 Chosen Few Picnic — highly recommend!