AbstractRadio session - december 2015

So, some more seductive sonic shenanigans for you, our dear listener.

This time round we're serving up a little mix featuring a small selection of tunes that have crossed our path in recent times, with a hint of disco, a bit of deep, and a smattering of early nineties retro.

Nothing too heavy here – just some quality tunes; everything’s good, but worth a special mention in dispatches are the following: Gene Farris’s disco blast “Show me the way”, a previous t-o-w: Dropout Orchestra’s “I got it”, the laidback swamp-funk of Andhim’s “Walkmen”, the bizarre quirky genius of Sabbag’s “Quantic” and Nice7’s retro gem “Back to 90”.

However, the hands down, no contest, instant knock-out winner of this session’s star prize goes to the devastating, uplifting and exquisitely beautiful Ann Nesby and DJ Spen’s “I Feel” - a very special piece of music indeed, and a genuine contender for tune of the [insert whatever time period seems appropriate to you].

Enjoy, and as ever, thanks for listening.

[any feedback, much appreciated]

select mixes by genre:

House

Deep

Funky

Disco

Choice

Tracklist

000:00	ed wizard disco and double dee	lets go	editorial
004:21	roter and lewis	ready	nite grooves
010:18	sadam ant	baby brother	z records
017:50	funkerman	coming home	tiger
023:13	detroit swindle	sometimes	tsuba
028:51	gregory porter	liquid spirit - claptone	decca
032:32	drop out orchestra	I got it - himwol	peppermint jam
039:20	stefano ritteri	you’re my lover	glasgow underground
043:35	andhim	walkmen	terminal m
049:51	sabbag	quantic	loulou
055:26	gnarly cuts	I tried	gnarly
060:01	mugsy balone	no other love	mb
065:40	leftwing and kody	lost	exploited
071:00	ben delay	move your body	milk and sugar
076:30	nice7	back to 90	noir
080:56	souldrifter	rhythm in my soul	inner city
085:33	richard brooks	painless ways	strobe
090:50	gene farris	the way to go	guesthouse
098:06	sasha braemer	lets talk about	arms & legs
102:59	scalambrin and sgarro	monday track	base trax
107:26	saison	please don’t go	guesthouse
114:02	ann nesby and dj spen	I feel - thommy etc	quantize
116:46	ann nesby and dj spen	I feel - spen etc	quantize
129:11	easter egg	love lives here	noton

-- Total running time – 130.28 --

download from house-mixes.com

Tune of the Week - No.8 - 20.10.15

With so much wonderful music knocking around here in the Abstract studio, we thought we'd take the opportunity to showcase a few very special items that are close to our hearts. Our choices for Tune of the Week may be fresh through the door, or decades old - our aim is that they will always epitomise the ethos of AbstractRadio...

Time to dip your toes once again into the deep, dark pool of modern house music.

Sweed feat. Jalana
- Finally - Lexer Remix -
Deepalma Records DPLM039

Show some appreciation:→

As found nestling right at the heart of our latest session [what do you mean you haven't listened to it yet?], Sweed's "Finally" comes with a variety of [re]mixes - we're heading straight for Lexer's rather fine contribution.

This track is in no small way influenced [ioho] by the recent classic "mashup": Art of Tones feat FCL - "It's You c/w Elephants" - this is not a bad thing at all, as "It's You" is another massive fave here at AbRad.

Mr Lexer has shifted away a fair bit from his standard electronc fare and delivers a great interpretation of Sweed's song. Smooth synth sounds underrpin Jalana's sweet vox., eliciting a suitably emotional ride running through the heart of the track.

Taking the original into account, this is a damn fine remix.

---

Here's the vid:

AbstractRadio session - bigroom - october 2015

Abstractionados!

The more observant among you may have deduced from the title that we've cobbled together a whole host of big, bold banging full-on house numbers for you this time around.

The selection - various barn-stormers and roof-raisers that have been knocking around abrad studios in recent times - is pretty much guaranteed to upset the neighbours. Some tracks are pretty fresh, some a wee bit older.

As ever, there are a number of contenders for tune of the week stuffed into the mix: Lo’99’s “All Night”, Bakermat’s “Leven”, “I Have the faith” by Faith Howard, all tunes by Gramatik, Rene Amesz and the brilliant Nice7, as well as the suitably bonkers Floorplan to finish off, but the prize this time goes to: Sweed’s “Finally” – a gorgeous mellow number we surreptitiously dropped into the madness.

Play as loud as you and any neighbouring countries can bear.

And yes, old school is very much the new nu-skool.

[any feedback, much appreciated]

select mixes by genre:

House

Deep

Funky

Choice

Tracklist

000:00	Parov Stelar	baska brother	etage noir
000:01	Stephano Mattara	the tribe	molto
004:50	Groove Phenomenon	african tribe	work
008:05	Ron Carroll	turn it up	recovery
013:07	Angelo Ferreri	drunk to get funk	olatu
018:10	Andy Reynolds	phat lipp	69 street
023:43	Ruff Stuff	who is	rough
029:02	DJ Mes	some day	guesthouse
033:11	Paolo Barbato	keep on lovin	ocean trax
038:13	Luca Debonaire	pumpin it up	pornostar
043:15	Damier Soul	say it again	pocket jacks
046:47	ATFC	can you feel me	defected
050:34	Squirt D	house music	cruise
055:21	Doorly	96	toolroom
059:23	Bakermat	leven	soundplate
063:11	Knee Deep	gipsy bucket	knee deep
066:42	UB Beatz	it's that time	underluxe
070:28	Rene Amesz	big	toolroom
076:08	Recnak	double crossed	i!
080:14	Nice7	608	suara
084:43	Faith Howard	I have the faith	kingdom
090:46	Rene Amesz	rude boy	this is
095:48	Lo’99	all night	deep sounds
099:38	Sweed	finally	deepalma
104:00	Rene Amesz	rewind	toolroom
107:47	Gramatik	one drink	dream big
114:39	Coqui Selection	the queen	nervous
120:27	Nice7	tekuna	noir
126:45	Gramatik	bringing it back	dream big
131:33	Cyclone	lord of the land	southern fried
136:32	Floorplan	never grow old	m-plant

-- Total running time – 144.46 --

download from house-mixes.com

AbstractRadio session - august 2015

Well, we're still clearing our backlog, and we've decided to give you something "rather special" this time around, shifting back into a more mellow mood...

And so, we bring you an unusual little selection of twisted torch songs, future classics, modern soul and blunted beats, all for your aural delectation.

There are a lot of stand-out tracks on this one - Sarah Winton's "Everyday...", both Lemon Jelly tracks, Quantic's truly wonderful "Keep a Light" and Herb Alpert's "Lemon Tree" to name a few, but we could go on, as everything else is pretty sublime as well.

We hope you like.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

select mixes by genre:

Funky

Jazzy

Lounge

Beats

Chill

Broad

Tracklist

000:00	oslo swan	dreaming	avril
002:59	dual sessions	the man I love	music brokers
006:39	late night tuff guy	I wanna be free	soul cut
014:26	radio citizen	summer days	ubiquity
018:52	prince fatty	milk honey	mr bongo
021:35	afterlife	dub in your mind	hed kandi
024:42	the band	the weight remix	noton
029:00	nostalgia 77	simmer down	tru thoughts
033:01	boca 45	in the city	high noon
037:54	max melvin	sand	maxelect
040:07	quantic	time is the enemy	tru thoughts
044:06	shawn lee’s ping pong orchestra	kiss the sky	ubiquity
046:39	caravan palace	ended with the night	café de la danse
052:22	pig and dan	rimshot shuffle	bedrock
056:03	hardage feat. jocelyn brown	beautiful day	high fashion
060:52	soel	my singing soul	warners
065:46	supreme beings of leisure	never the same	palm pictures
069:46	quantic	I'll keep the light on	tru thoughts
074:07	natural self	feet keep moving	tru thoughts
076:48	roy ayers	holiday - spinna	virgin
080:40	tape 5	the smell of the sidewalk	chinchin
084:34	kid loco	a grand love theme	yellow
088:56	sarah winton	everyday's a new day	incognita
092:42	lemon jelly	a tune for jack	impotent fury
098:27	aandra	musica	ambient fields
103:12	herb alpert	lemon tree	shout
107:10	flashbaxx	something to believe	plusquam
111:11	peza	turn off the lights	midnight riot
117:27	lemon jelly	his majesty king raam	impotent fury
123:47	capoiera twins	propane	hope
127:42	jurassic 5	canto de ossanha	interscope
132:19	giano and michael knight	walking the dog	mri
134:33	get down edits	sneaking in the back	get down edits
137:54	bitter sweet	drink you sober	quango
143:21	josh wink	higher state of consciousness	strictly rhythm

-- Total running time – 149.15 --

download from house-mixes.com

AbstractRadio session - july 2015

So, some more summery shinola for your stereo-sets...

Once again, we're serving up a smorgasbord of some of the quality tunes that have been hanging around, getting in the way of serious matters here at AbRad studios in recent times; kicking off in a fairly light, mellowy mood before injecting a bit of speed and depth into the groove - all on a sort of dubbydiscodeeptribaloldskool tip!

As ever, please take a moment to check out:
All the art of tones' trax, especially the sublime "rainbow song" (a recent tune of the week on AbRad), the disco-drenched madness that is jack le funk's "I like it", and the quirky brilliance that is super flu's "chee pso ng".

There's also the armpit-farting funky genius that is jacklndn's "firing line", DNO's genuinely rather heavenly "sunday morning" and some nice Reefa sampling on anhanguera's "moodywoman".

The rest are pretty special as well.

"Matter in a super position.
Our lives...
Like carts on a track."

Honestly, what's not to like?
Unless, of course, you don't like bass-lines...

Enjoy.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

select mixes by genre:

Deep

Funky

House

Disco

Tracklist

Start	Artist	Track Title	Label
000:00	pretty lights	finally moving	pretty lights
001:56	ks french	take me back	fkr
006:30	ed wizard	sweet 2 me	editorial
010:46	andy hart	MYLNY	freerange
014:43	art of tones	I don't think that's music	local talk
019:14	purple disco machine	no lips	kitt ball
023:16	micky more	another man	groovejet
028:56	jack le funk	I like it	tasty
032:29	the groovers	here's to you mr robinson	razor n tape
037:00	jamie french	that groovy thing	roots for bloom
040:36	dno	sunday morning	great nights
046:55	jacklndn	firing line	nervous
051:40	art of tones	rainbow song	local talk
058:11	lts	soul talking	luvbug
064:17	dank	big fun	panm
070:26	deeplomatik	tribal dance	salted
076:41	stephane ghenacia	mamajunk	kaoz
080:27	art of tones	so worried	local talk
085:28	dj pp	just nina	pp
091:52	deeplomatik	the promise land	salted
098:31	anhanguera	moodywoman	time machine
103:47	siddhar nicciani	devil in the sky	something else
107:19	the deep	love your brother	basenotic
110:05	super flu	chee pso ng	hommage
118:59	david penn	back again	urbana

-- Total running time – 125.25 --

download from house-mixes.com

Tune of the Week - No.7 - 1.07.15

With so much wonderful music knocking around here in the Abstract studio, we thought we'd take the opportunity to showcase a few very special items that are close to our hearts. Our choices for Tune of the Week may be fresh through the door, or decades old - our aim is that they will always epitomise the ethos of AbstractRadio...

When deciding on a new t-o-w, there's much to consider. With a whole pile of cracking tunes to choose from, all with their own distinctive merits, choices often become complicated - we want to give everything we like some accolade, but there can only be one.

One method we employ here at AbRad Towers is to ask the question: "OK, so you obviously rate it now, but how do you think it will sound in six months time? Or six years even?".

Sometimes it is necessary to block out the immediacy of a piece of music to determine its true quality. Tracks can be instantly appealing, grabbing your attention and filling dancefloors, but there's a good chance that sometime down the line that catchy hook will become an annoyance; transformed almost overnight from fresh floor-filler to jaded cliche. For some, this happens the moment a track hits the mainstream - it's hard to be credible to the cool set if M&S are using it to sell life-style choices. For others, the sound becomes dated, or simply over played.

So, this question of judgement is not merely one of: "Is it in the box?", but more "How long does it stay in the box?".

And then, every once in a while, there's "How did we possibly manage to survive for so long without this being in the box?", which brings us rather nicely to ...

Art of Tones
- The Rainbow Song -
Local Talk Records LT060

Show some appreciation:→

Annoyingly gifted Paris-based Ludovic Llorca has been tearing them off for quite some time now, producing a fair number of AbRad faves, including the wonderful The End (under his own Llorca moniker), as well as numerous Art of Tones productions including Elephants (more on this another time) and his brilliant rework of La Fleur's Kattflickan. With "The Rainbow Song" he's back on Swedish based Local Talk Records, which makes this the second swedish AbRad t-o-w in a row. Utomordentlig!

Why do we rate "The Rainbow Song" so highly? Genuinely, what's not to like? Firstly, there's that filthy little bass-line - more than dirty enough to catch the ears of lovers of all things deep, but still keeping things all ship-shape and funky fashioned. There's also the clever use of a vox sample, lifted, we believe, from Musique's "In The Bush" (it's fairly hard to tell seeing as it's been mucked around with so much). Under this there's a summer-drenched keyboard groove pulsing along, effortlessly pushing those feel-good vibes to the max. And finally, there's those pesky cowbells.

Frankly, it's really hard to resist a good cowbell, and this is a pretty good cowbell.

Nice one Ludo, we're looking forward to having many years of fun with this.

Moooo!

---

Here's the original

AbstractRadio session - dirtydiscodubs I - june 2015

More Abstract summer madness...

Here's our latest offering; a heady accumulation of disco reworks, dubs and edits.

This is the second installment of our on-going summer series - each mix is better than the last, independent of the order you listen to them in!

As per usual, every track's a winner, but if you haven't had the chance, please take a moment to catch: eddie kendricks ' "he's a friend", previous tune-of-the-week: 78 edits' "let me down easy", blunted funk project's "get next to me", get down edits' "if you want me to stay", deep n disco's "feel the rhythm" and mercury's - "1994".

Our thanks again to Mr Kenzo for his amazing work in tracking down some of these splendid tunes.

Enjoy.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

select mixes by genre:

Deep

Funky

House

Lounge

Disco

Tracklist

Start	Artist	Track Title	Label
000:00	weepers choice	leaving you	vehicle
004:41	disco tech	get some	discodat
008:12	jay ru	nothing in this world	get down edits
013:27	manuel sahagun	love on dub	development
017:06	b-jam	down baby	superbreak
021:06	ltj	I'll never change	hot groovy
027:52	78 edits	let me down easy	vehicle
033:37	beatconductor	original jam	spicy
040:35	dj steef	groove on	superbreak
047:16	johnny adams	feel the beat	z
051:25	disco tech	get lifted	editorial
056:30	young pulse	all this love I have	gamm
064:49	get down edits	the same love	editorial
070:26	capitan futuro	booty xpress	chopshop
073:21	eddie kendricks	he's a friend	bbe
078:43	blunted funk project	get next to me	bulletproofsonics
086:22	joe bataan	call my name	edr
089:48	wright bettys	lucinda	noton
091:50	get down edits	if you want me to stay	get down edits
098:25	beaten space probe	in your soul	bsp
106:09	deep n disco	feel the rhythm	razor-n-tape
113:00	ltj experience	holding on	irma
117:43	mercury	1994	exploited

-- Total running time – 125.36 --

download from house-mixes.com

We have a new player!

It's cool, it's slick and it's clever.

It may well not be working tomorrow!

Enjoy!

AbstractRadio session - deepnslow - may 2015

Get set for an Abstract summer...

Here's the first in a welter of new mixes for summer listening on your stereo sets, featuring a shed load of laid back house, garage & swamp funk. Each mix is better than the last, independent of the order you listen to them in.

As per usual, every one's a winner, but if you haven't heard them before, please take a moment to catch: luvless - "drive slowly" & "surrounder", jad & the ladyboy - "what sound", the noodleman - "goin down", 3-11 porter - "surround me with your love", blunted funk project - "changin forever", dj fudge - "keep on wandering" and ron basejam's the white lamp - "its you"

Our deepest thanks to Mr Kenzo for his amazing work in tracking down some of these splendid tunes.

Enjoy.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

select mixes by genre:

Deep

Funky

House

Lounge

Disco

Tracklist

Start	Artist	Track Title	Label
000:00	sunner soul	hey	discodat
003:50	jad & the ladyboy	what sound	undercover operations
008:42	detroit swindle	you me here now	dirt crew
012:27	appo	cocaine	chopshop
017:56	voodoo whiskey	blue for you	undercover operations
021:33	78 edits	slick	editorial
025:24	luvless	drive slowly	delicieuse
029:03	session victim	time to let you down	delusions of grandeur
037:12	3-11 porter	surround me with your love	stereo deluxe
045:31	club des belugas	peace will come	chinchin
048:40	jad & the ladyboy	time for love	undercover operations
051:10	tickler tea	the shakedown	jack to phono
056:00	78 edits	you know how	78
059:36	satin jackets	gelee royale	eskimo
066:18	the owl	it was gonna be good	editorial
071:21	the noodleman	goin down	editorial
078:44	luvless	motion capture	foto
080:44	ltj	misfits	editorial
087:18	stupid human	swamp funk	sh
093:43	cipcura	bueno	hotbox
098:40	ltj	and I love him	irma
102:00	goldboy	disco klubb	midnight riot
109:56	blunted funk project	changin forever	bulletproofsonics
114:51	changed	jamaican girl	basic fingers
123:58	luvless	surrounder	rose
128:42	matthew kyle	with my heart breaking	original
132:27	los charlys orchestra	music for the soul	imagenes
137:51	niccolo cupo	beyond love	midnight riot
143:12	luvless	devaluation	editorial
146:39	life on planets	fork in the path	double standard
150:33	chaka kenn	off broadway	mind medicine
157:05	dj disse	taxi to war	music for dreams
200:11	major lazer	get free	because
205:31	dj fudge	keep on wandering	tejal
209:07	the white lamp	its you	futureboogie

-- Total running time – 177.49 --

download from house-mixes.com

Tune of the Week - No.6 - 25.04.15

With so much wonderful music knocking around here in the Abstract studio, we thought we'd take the opportunity to showcase a few very special items that are close to our hearts. Our choices for Tune of the Week may be fresh through the door, or decades old - our aim is that they will always epitomise the ethos of AbstractRadio...

... and we're back.

With a sizeable stack of tunes to get through, it's no surprise that there are plenty of runners for the latest installment of t-o-w. All in all, it was very a close-run thing, but after much debate, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands in the air for:

Drop Out Orchestra feat Yvette
- I Got It H.I.M.W.O.L Remix -
Peppermint Jam Records PJMS 0817

Show some appreciation:→

Drop Out Orchestra are (allegedly) a Swedish collective with a bit of penchant for 80's disco. As you are probably aware (unless you have been installed in a cave), reworked disco tracks are all the rage these days - we're pretty fond of them ourselves - and the fjord dwelling DOO have been cutting a swathe through this particular genre for a number of years, with a haul of remixes under their belts, as well as their own releases on Drop Out Sounds.

However, "I Got It" is a bit of a departure from their standard output. To start with, it's on Peppermint Jam records and so, as expected for a label run by Mousse T, this is squarely on a house tip. (Yes, of course we know PJR release all sorts of other stuff, but they're best known for knocking out quality, albeit fairly mainstream, house music).

The full release comes with four mixes, but we recommend you head straight for the H.I.M.W.O.L. remix, for this is where the magic lies. Here, Australian Glen Dichiera (himwol) has stripped down, refined and reworked the original into an almost unrecogniseable early nineties barnstormer of a track, clearly paying tribute to the classic east coast sound and delivering a slice of soul-drenched heaven that would have seen them bouncing off the walls at the Sound Factory (bar or club) back in the day.

Actually, there's not too much to the excellent "I Got It". Sultry filtered keys slowly build up over solid beats to a single, rather lengthy (72 second long) break, and then it's off again.

Ah, dear reader, but what a break it is: full of Joey Negro-esque washes, and with what sounds suspiciously like a tiny sample from Rhythim Is Rhythim's Strings of Life drifting through it, Yvette's voice floats serenely over the top until the drop, at which point she, er, belts it, and the house summarily goes loopy.

So, to recap: keys, beats, washes and vocals - house music sounds so simple really, but it is rarely done as well as this.
Brilliant, excellent and altogether rather wonderful.

Thanks himwol, more please.

---

Tune of the Week - No.5 - 26.02.15

With so much wonderful music knocking around here in the Abstract studio, we thought we'd take the opportunity to showcase a few very special items that are close to our hearts. Our choices for Tune of the Week may be fresh through the door, or decades old - our aim is that they will always epitomise the ethos of AbstractRadio...

Right, that's quite enough house music for the time being,
why not have something from the vaults instead?

Bettye Lavette
- Let Me Down Easy - Calla 102

Show some appreciation:→

Though recorded prior to her signing with Motown, "Let me down" stands as probably Bettye's biggest hit. That said, it carries many of the hallmarks of a typical Motor City production from that era, with lush strings, stripped percussion and an absolutely huge vocal presence, packed with drama and longing.

Apart from being a rather phenomenal slice of sultry soul, we've chosen this as our latest tune of the week for a couple of other reasons. Firstly, the original release is 50 years old this year (2015), which deserves a mention in dispatches at the very least - of course, some sort of party would probably be a more appropriate gesture. And despite celebrating its golden anniversary, we think "Let me down" has aged rather well over the years, especially when compared to Mary [expletive deleted] Poppins and The Sound Of [expletive deleted] Music (both also from 1965).

The second reason, admittedly a rather tenuous one, is related to one of a number of gorgeous disco edits that have been keeping us happy here, deep down underground in the Abstract Studio. The track in question is, rather unsurprisingly, also called "Let Me Down Easy", by 78 Edits, and features a similar version of Lavette's classic, stretched out with beefed-up percussion and bass, a discrete bit of looping and the occasional judicious use of a subtle filter or two. All pretty simple stuff, but it works like a dream, like quite a fair number of Mr Edits' recent cuts.

More of them on page 94...

---

Here's the 1965 original

And here's the excellent 78 edits version

AbstractRadio Session - early january 2015

Even further adventures into the Abstract world...

The second, more extensive, half of our most recent session recordings of odds and sods that have been knocking around the Abstract studio. Not too heavy on the mixer - just a bunch of lovely house trax, all for your listening pleasure.

As ever, all the tunes are gems, but please check out in particular: Session Victim - "Never Forget", Flight Facilities - "Crave You", Chris Lum - "Big Tool", Dj Romain - "One Step", La Fleur – "Kattflickan", Aldo Cadiz – "Thunder", Art of Tones - "It's You" and a previous tune of the week - Mark Brickman's "Rhythm is Love".

As a special note, we'd like to thank Frank Manno and Mark Brickman for their wonderful contributions - loving the work guys.

Enjoy.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

select mixes by genre:

Deep

Funky

House

Choice

Tracklist

Start	Artist	Track Title	Label
000.00	Session Victim	never forget	delusions of grandeur
004.03	Flight Facilities	crave you	future classic
010.13	Kenny Summit	loves me loves me not	good for you
015.10	The Shazam Experience	venus to mars	rambunktious
021.07	Doorly	the sleazy drummer	toolroom
024.57	Homero Espinosa	give it to me	mouton
030.47	Terrence Parker	when loves the feeling	gfy black
037.23	S Def	infatuation	mi casa
041.16	Vhyce	ostil	no brainer
044.53	Chris Lum	big tool	tango
053.14	Koe	just a feeling of love	tasty
057.33	Doorly	groove me	cajual
060.00	DJ Romain	one step	metrotrax
067.09	Joris Delacroix	be who you want	timid
073:24	Cleavage	need someone	spinnin deep
078.10	Vidaloca & Piem	I’m a man	almibar
083:06	Mia Dora	jezebel	glasgow undergound
090:58	The Checkup	in your soul	large
097.45	La Fleur	kattflickan	power plant
101.51	Shades of Grey	747	beef
106.53	Doorly	rush	toolroom
111.46	Aldo Cadiz	thunder	off spin
118.50	DJ Face Off	ain’t nobody	yaiza
124.13	Art of Tones	it’s you	notonlabel
129.14	DJ Zimmo	disco bizness	pink fish
132.56	Felix Da Housecat	frankie meets pauline	cdr
137.58	Twism	he’s a friend	disco legend
144.16	Soneec	sunworshippers	purple music
150.48	DJ Mark Brickman	rhythm is love	rambunktious

-- Total running time – 158.13 --

download from house-mixes.com