An Ode to Summertime

I feel like it's so cliche, but I can't help but wonder where the hell summer went. It's like I was in Detroit dancing the night away to Maya Jane Coles, and the next thing I knew, it was no longer socially acceptable to wear white pants in public anymore. While I wasn't always found poolside in the sun with a delicious drink in my hand the last few months, you can bet your ass that I most definitely had tunes going on all. the. time.

Which is quite ironic because the ratio of posts I wrote in the last few months to the number of mixes I listened to is atrocious. I guess I could blame it on being "busy," but I'll let you in on a secret; about half of the mixes we listen to, you have listened to already and hey, that's not very exciting.

So instead of posting every week I've been hoarding tracks and mixes which is totally a "Becca" thing to do anyway. If I can't whip out some sweet tracks and/or mixes for people to be impressed by, my job clearly was not done right. Therefore, I'm presenting you with my top 12 tracks of summer. Some of these are "no-brainers". Some of these are more under the radar. Some of these made me stupid happy. Some of these I played over and over again...until my friend's wanted to punch me in the face. Some of these we posted to our Facebook wall, but chances are, you either ignored us (thanks, we love you too) or you completely fail at stalking DPC's Facebook page.

In any case, you may agree, you may disagree, but let's have one last dance before the summer ends and remember how great it was :)

AFTER THE JUMP...

Masters of 'R&B Sampled' Tropical Disco - French Express

With the emergence of this Tropical/Balearic disco sound, there are a few artists that are simply taking the cake. The trend of R&B sampling coupled with a refreshing sound and groove is clearly on the rise, and we can thank the French Express label for opening those floodgates.



Perseus produced a killer EP entitled "Russian Girlfriends" on us about 6 months ago on his French Express label and released it away for free! It included the stand out track "Running back To You",  in which he seamlessly sampled Ashanti's - "Foolish". Just 2 months ago he hit us again with another that  was the opener for The Magician's  "Magic Tape Twenty". It was a stunning track called "Seychelles" in which he sampled Toni Braxton's - "You're Making Me High". Without skipping a beat he gave us another gift, "Love in Zanzibar" where he seemed to have combined the beautiful rhythm of calypso disco and an exotic heart-skipping sampling of Mary J Blige's "I Can Love You".




Free Download: Here



On the same label, DJ/Producer Moon Boots just recently released a huge free download of his own called "Got Somebody" that includes a sampling of 'Top 40' R&B hit by Wayne Wonder, "No Letting Go". When  it first appeared on The Magician's Magic Tape - Twenty-One, I'm positive everyone thought the same thing…"New Perseus?" All the key ingredients are there: tropical, sexy, r&b samples, and xylophone sounding "sexy" synths. And with no track list to confirm, you wouldn't have been crazy to think so. But there is something to me that differentiates Moon Boots . He has a tendency in his tracks to really drive them like a Formula 1 race car; shifting gears and synths with brighter and bigger sounds as he keeps you engaged by his masterful vocal sampling. All the while keeping the signature French Express feel to it.



These track couldn't have come at a better time. It is just warming up here and we are ready for some rooftop jams. I can just see myself sporting at tank top, jorts, a smile, and a tall whiskey ginger; relaxing out on some rooftop while jamming to these tracks as the sun sets. Sounds like a Balearic disco heaven to me. Check out this sweet video that will get you ready for this upcoming summer of sexy disco. In this track, Moon Boots samples the main theme from "Caddyshack", Kenny Loggins' "Make the Move".



Check out some other tracks by Moon Boots: