I take the Bay Bridge to work every day from Oakland to San Francisco and I see the daily progress of the new bridge being built. I think it parallels my dilemma as a DJ. I'll explain:
I started as a Trip Hop DJ, and I still love Trip Hop/Downtemp to death, but you can't really play Trip Hop in clubs, so I gotta start focusing on House music more. I feel like I need to speed it up a bit, tempo wise, if I am going to get more booking. I need to play music people can dance to, or else I will be stuck doing happy hours and lounges forever. I really like House music, and have listened to it for years, so I don't mind switching it up a bit, but I need to do some rebuilding right now, like the bridge. I guess this two part mix symbolizes building towards my future as a DJ, and burning the past. It also represents my Oakland roots branching out into SF.
I grew up in Oakland listening to hip hop, but it lacked something. I needed something a little more sophisticated. After I heard a few CD's by DJ Cam, DJ Krush, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Thievery Corporation, I knew I finally found what I was looking for. I realized I was more into the beats and rhythms in music, rather than merely the lyricism. Trip hop had a more refined melody, minus the abrasive lyrical content. I fell In love, hard.
Downtempo/Trip Hop Electronic music soon flooded my library like a Tidal Wave and eventually I started going to raves, so hearing House Music was inevitable. I was a bit of a late bloomer on the House scene though, only getting into in the late 90's. I love Brokenbeat a bit more than just straight up House, but many consider Brokenbeat merely a sub-genre of Deep House, which is a sub-genre in itself. I love Deep House too, so it's all good. Brokenbeat isn't insanely big out here, so I'll probably be spinning mostly Deep House, with a splash of Brokenbeat.
Here is Disc 1-Building Bridges (Deep Tribal/Latin House)
"Building Bridges" Part 1 of a 2 Part "Bay Bridge" Series
Mixed By DJ Imani
Download Building Bridges Tracks Individually Here
1 - Emballa (Louie Vega featuring Jaffa "Album Mix") - Cirque Du Soleil
2 - Bossa Note - Dalminjo
3 - Da Lagrima - Rose Max
4 - Kana - Raw Artistic Soul Feat. Laygwan Sharkie
5 - River Song (Grant Nelson Mix) - Bebel Gilberto
6 - Sol Y Mas (Main Mix) - 4 Siders
7 - Outro Lugar - Salomé De Bahia
8 - Baya Baya - Safri Duo
9 - Meu Coraçao - Hacienda
10 - Le Champagne - Trentemøller
11 - Amora Todo Gas - Peret and Manuel Malou and Nilo
12 - After Hours (Ibadan Mix) - Restless Soul
13 - Musica (NNY Funked Up Mix) - S.O.M. Featuring Barbara Mendes
14 - Air Batucada - Thievery Corporation
15 - Un Dia Mas - Chichi Peralta
Here is Disc 2 of the "Bay Bridge Series" the Trip Hop mix. It is full of dark beats, and samples.This is the most effort I have ever put into a studio mix. It is a complete representation of who I am as a person. I spent countless nights narrowing down my favorite tunes, and searching for the right samples to incorporate. For almost 2 months, all I did was work on making this mix perfect. As if I was putting a best friend to rest forever. I use CDJs to mix, so I made DJ friendly custom edits, remastered certain tracks to have fuller volume, looped a couple of my favorite breakdowns (etc.) I put every ounce of my heart and soul into this one and it still did not come out exactly like I had hoped. It's still an awesome mix, but I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. It has only a couple flaws, but I guess it makes sense if this mix is supposed to represent who I am, since none of us are perfect.
If you think too hard in music, you can screw it up. You just gotta feel it.
Anyhow, this is ME. This mix right here. These are tracks that got me into DJ'ing and describe my brain (if music has the ability to do so). I wanted to make a mix that could express my personality.
1 - Rise Up - Mark Rae
2 - The Ben Identity - Ben Human
3 - Roots - Amit
4 - Interlude - DJ Cam
5 - Taiyou Ga Arukagiri/Polegnala E Pschenitza - Monkey-Ken & DJ Seto Feat.Hazaed & Daddy Shadow / Orchestra & Choir Of Bulgarian Radio
6 - You Can't Stop The Reign (Instrumental) - Shaquille O'Neal
7 - Catch A Rude Awakening - Rae & Christian
8 - Sleep - Dan The Automator
9 - Rue The Whirl - Boards Of Canada
10 - La La Feat Dj Dez (Instrumental)/The Way We Were/Try To Remember (Imani's Mashup) - Slum Village/Gladys Knight & The Pips
11 - Fallout - Hive
12 - The Next Mile [instrumental] - All Natural
13 - Foundation (Instrumental) - Xzibit
14 - Day 3 - Alex Kid
15 - What They Do (Instrumental) - The Roots
16 - Dreaming Of You (Imani's Vocal Edit) - The Blackbyrds
17 - Moments In Bass - DJ Laz
18 - Coffee Talk (Trip Hop Version) - Jazzanova
19 - Time Tunnel - Megashira
20 - Fat Ass Joint - Cujo
21 - Theme From A Dream (Imani's Breakdown Loop) - Desmond Williams
22 - Duel With A So(u)l - A Forest Mighty Black
23 - Someone's Second Kiss - Rjd2
24 - Rhyme War - Eliot Lipp
25 - Koinonea - Bluetech
26 - Emptiness - Benji
27 - Destination Earth (1999) - Newcleus
28 - Gel Lab - Plaid
29 - Piano Playa Hata - Wagon Christ
30 - I'll See You In A Place With Lights (Feat. DJ Imani on the Cuts) - John Tejada
31 - World Famous (Imani Custom) - Malcolm McLaren
Samples Taken From: Gladys Knight, GZA, Grandmaster Flash, Zion I, Gil Scott Heron, Boogie Down Productions (KRS One), Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Hive, Mr. Oizo, Blood Hound Gang, Raekwon, Herbalizer, Troubleman, Ming & FS and "A Children's Introduction to Rhythm"
Download Burning Bridges Tracks Individually Here
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