"The Freak" Mixed by DJ IMANI (Broken Beat/2 Step/Mild Breaks)

This mix is pretty funky, and a little out of character, but its a cool mix. Of course I say that about every mix, but hey, I'm not gonna put music up that I don't like. I'm surprised that 2 Step/Garage didn't really catch on here in the Bay area. I keep hearing how diverse it is in Cali, San Francisco especially, but it's not really true in my opinion. The music scene is not as blooming as one would think. Sure there is a pretty good undergroung scene, but the music is always the same, if not total horse shit, and the clubs suck. If I hear another remix of Katy Perry "I Kissed A Girl", I'm gonna run up to the DJ Booth and pull a Chuck Norris on the Douche Bag spinning. Then I'm gonna give the promoter a wedgie that rips his body in half.

2Step/Garage had potential, but was never really embraced out here. The Bay compared to the UK is like that one kid in High School, that is always years behind everyone in style, lingo, fashion (etc). We seem to be the last ones to be hip to different scenes, and by the time it starts to build here, it is already dying out at the source. So we never get a chance to be immersed in the culture. My prediction is the next genre like that will be Dubstep. Mark my words, Dubstep will have a brief explosion, then die, because the Bay area is too concerned with reviving the Hyphy movement. There is even some shit called Crunk-step. That is Retarded! Don't taint brilliant electronic music with ignorance. That's what Ghetto Tech is for.

2 Step was fresh! It was a little prissy at times, especially towards the end when it started to sound like bad Pop music, but overall it had all the elements of good dance music. It was like a fusion of Breaks, Brokenbeat, Deep House, some Ragga/Grime and Soul. Oh well, I pour out a drink to another lost soldier in this crazy music world. This mix has a little 2 step, but not that much, cause I'm not insanely knowledgeable about it.

Download Individual Tracks Here

1 - Slack Society (Featuring Alice Russel) - Dublex Inc.
2 - Hold It Down (Bugz In The Attic Remix) - 4Hero
3 - Word To The Wise - Nos
4 - Spiritual (Opaque Vocal Remix) - Reel People featuring Nathan Haines
5 - Samurai - Jazztronik
6 - Bomb Diggy (Bump 'n' Flex Remix) - Another Level
7 - Jaques Your Bodyrox - Phat Bastard
8 - Freak - Ming + FS
9 - Freak Like Me - Tru Faith Featuring Dub Conspiracy
10 - Freak Break (Scratch Fever Mix B-15) - Lady Saw
11 - Fall Into You (Landslide Dub Remix) - Soulstice
12 - The Big Score - The Fort Knox Five
13 - Tel Aviv - Fauna Flash
14 - Mwela, Mwela (Here I Am) - Jazzanova Feat. Valerie Etienne & Rob Gallagher

"Die Roboter" Mixed By DJ IMANI (Electro, Deep Electro House, Broken Beat, Detroit Tech, IDM)

This title is from Kraftwerk. I Idolize them. I was at a gig on a Sunday night and the spot was DEAD! There was no one in there, so I decided to play a bunch of electro stuff I dig, but never really get to spin. I should probably expand my electro funk library since I enjoy it so much, but I never really get gigs where people are down for it.

There is a Karizma remix of Taylor McFerrin's "Georgia" on this mix. He is Bobby McFerrin's Son. Bobby McFerrin had a ton of albums out, but his major hit was "Don't Worry Be Happy". Taylor was the SHIT at Miami's Winter Music Conference when I saw him in 2008. He played at a spot called Jazid, and Daz-I-Que was there, as well as Simbad and Benji B. The place was packed and it was a beautiful night. This was one of the last nights at WMC and we stayed out pretty late, covered in sweat. Taylor was beatboxing and playing keys, while TK Wonder was on stage tearing the vocals apart. Daz-I-Que from Bugz In The Attic was playing some 80's Electro Soul Like Mac Band, Aurra, and some New Jack too. Upstairs, Simbad and Benji B were playing some Rare Groove .

The photo was taken at the How Weird Fest in SF, completely unrelated party, but I just think this is an amazing pic.

Download Tracks Individually Here

1 - Double Shadow - Junior Boys
2 - 124 - Photek
3 - Georgia (Karizma's Bruk It Down Remix) - Taylor McFerrin
4 - Undefeated - As One
5 - Always Be There - Basement Jaxx
6 - Celcius - Swayzak
7 - Bang The Box - Kaos
8 - Remote Transmitter - Japanese Telecom
9 - Cityscapes - Mr. Velcro Fastener
10 - Silikon - Modeselektor
11 - So Let The Wind Come -Kerri Chandler
12 - I'll Do You [Vernon & Dacosta Dub] - Rookie
13 - Just A Lil' Lovin' (DJ Edit) - Jazzanova
14 - EN CODE (AS ONE remix) - Jazztronik
15 - Who's Afraid Of Detroit? - Claude VonStroke
16 - Bleep Freak - FC Kahuna
17 - This Is It - Mr. Velcro Fastener
18 - Kaos And The Wild Guts - Fun Physical
19 - Trainspotting - Sumo Productions
20 - Japanese Animation - Japanese Telecom