DEMENCHA » club

COSMO BAKER LIVE @ RIOT ROOM (JAN. 20th) + EXCLUSIVE Q&A

Chris Mills — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:20:40 +0000

Philly-based DJ and producer, Cosmo Baker, is a real student of music and a true master when it comes to rocking parties. Having collaborated with the likes of King Britt, ?uestlove of The Roots and tons more, Baker’s buzz stretches beyond his origin of Philadelphia to further reaches of the globe. While rocking as part of The Rub DJ crew alongside DJ Ayers and DJ Eleven, their joint ragers (started in 2003) built a legendary foundation on the East Coast. Cosmo Baker holds rank as one of the top dogs in the DJ business, spinning everything from hip hop to funk, house to disco and electro wrapped up in a true-to-the-artform style of mixing, turntablism and anticipation for what can work. As reported HERE, one nine year-old in Hawaii even included one of Cosmo’s CDs in a time capsule back in 2007, citing that “I think that’s what a lot of kids like now…I want to see what kids will like in the future…” We’re not sure which of Cosmo’s CDs were given up, but we are sure that whoever opens that time capsule years from now will have some serious funk on their hands. On Friday, January 20th Cosmo is set to unleash his aforementioned funk on the Riot Room in Westport KCMO (4048 Broadway), which you should RSVP TO RIGHT HERE (and get your presale tickets for a measly $5 HERE).

Below you’ll find a quick but very interesting Q&A we recently did with Cosmo in anticipation for what is guaranteed to be a wild night at Riot on Friday the 20th. Here, he talks about his recent gig in Dubai, his long-standing friendship with ?uestlove, Philly’s “big brother/little brother dynamic” with NYC, and what is sure be to another busy year for him.

Demencha: I saw on your website, cosmobaker.com, that you traveled to the Middle-East recently. What country were you in and what took you there?

Cosmo Baker: Yes man, I went to Dubai. It was really an amazing experience, and the city – and country – are pretty wild. Dubai is like Las Vegas in the sense that it’s incredibly opulent and there’s nothing that’s too extreme – aside from the over the top drugs and sexuality that’s so prevalent in Vegas. But there’s also the old world which is just as potent, and really amazing. And people over there party like crazy, which is why they brought me over there. I ended up doing one show but that ended up turning into a bigger project altogether that I’m involved with and am very excited about. With that being said, I’ll be spending a lot of time in the region in the near future. I was also supposed to hit Beirut, Istanbul and Tel Aviv on the past trip but things got shifted and I didn’t want to spend the holidays by myself 6000 miles away from my family. But sooner than you think, I’ll be back there doing the damn thing.

CM: What was the most fun DJ gig you had last year? No festivals, please.

Cosmo Baker: Hah! But one of my favorite gigs was when I played Flow Festival in Helsinki this summer, over there with so many people I adore… But other than that, I don’t know. There were so many good shows this year. I think maybe the first one that came to mind was The Do-Over in Portland in July. So much fun, such energy, crazy vibes flying all over the place. Do-Over is such an amazing party, so I think I’ll stick with my choice.

CM: Tell us about your friendship with ?questlove from The Roots. How far back do you guys go?

Cosmo Baker: Well he’s a few years older than me but we go back to the early or mid 90s. As a youngster everyone used to hang out on South Street in Philly, and when they were still in high school they used to sit out on the corner of Passyunk and South playing tunes. They were called The Square Roots then, and it was Ahmir, Tariq, the bassist was Josh Abrams and the keyboard player was Scott Storch. Yes – THAT Scott Storch. Anyway, there was this “hip-hop” store around there called The Lay-Up and it was the first place in Philly that brought in a lot of the designers like PNB, 555 Soul, Ecko and lines like that, as well as being the place that imported a lot of the hot mix tapes from New York. This was around 1993 or 1994. Now the thing was that The Lay-Up became the place to hang, the epicenter and gathering place of the hip- hop community of Philly at the time. I actually ended up eventually managing the place, but before that we would hang and watch videos and listen to mix tapes, bomb black books and all that
good shit. They had turntables in the back so I used to come down and DJ and often Ahmir would come in as well after playing on the street corner for hours on end. We just hit it off on a musical level, and were friends ever since. It always marveled me on how innate his talent for DJing was, but eventually I realized that this thing called talent kind of superseded application and genre. If you’ve got it you’ve got it.

CM: How rich is Philly’s music scene? And since you’ve lived in both of the following places, is there a kind of second-city-itis that Philadelphians hold themselves to when looking at New York?

Cosmo Baker: Incredibly rich and incredibly soulful, which is something that kind of comes from the tough living atmosphere of such a working class city. And the sustainability of being able to be an artist is something that Philly definitely offers, although sometimes to detriment because the comfortability the city offers doesn’t always light a fire under the ass of people to strive for bigger and better things. But straight up there was always a big brother / little brother dynamic between Philly and New York, with Philly always trying to play catch-up. That’s one of the reasons why the Philly DJ culture excelled in the way it did. It saw it’s lane and it ran with it.

CM: Give us one youtube link to a good example of Philly soul, and tell us why it rules.

Cosmo Baker: Well first of all, TSOP. Second, the REAL NATIONAL ANTHEM. Third, The
PHILADELPHIA FUCKING PHILLIES.

CM: I’d like to think that most DJs are basically required to do genre-jumping, at least to a degree, in these days and times. Would you agree with that? And what are the most poignant sounds over the years that have landed you where you are today as an internationally-respected DJ?

Cosmo Baker: You have to remember that with the true essence and structure of DJing in the sense of nightclub DJs, – from the hip-hop jocks to the DJs in the nightclubs that spun at the original places like The Loft, The Gallery, Paradise Garage… They all were well versed in crossing genres when they played. It’s a more modern thing to have such specialty niche-locked DJs. Personally I just find it boring and restrictive and unchallenging. And as for what sounds have landed me where I am, that’s a little bit tougher to answer because with me it’s more an amalgamation of everything before. The whole being more than just the sum of its parts. But I’ve always listened to a lot of jazz and the concept of that free flowing improvisation in jazz has definitely effected my DJing both in the sound of things but in the application of the craft.

CM: What specific styles of music are getting your crowds off the wall when you gig, now in 2012?

Cosmo Baker: The majority of stuff that I play these days is dance music and disco classics and a lot of them are my own edits and shit like that. The idea of bridging the gap and going from A to B to me has always been kind of this undercurrent. But I still play rap music when I can cause of course I love it and so do people. But a lot of rap and contemporary R&B is such tepid pop music these days. Don’t get me wrong – I love pop music, but it doesn’t excite me as much as other things.

CM: What do you have on deck for this new year? Releases, shows, other projects, etc.?

Cosmo Baker: Boy, let’s just say that this is going to be a very big year for me. Let’s just hope I can make it to the finish line – which will be December 21st of this year, if those pesky Mayans are correct…

D/L: Filip Filipi – “Swag Up, Hands Up” (ft. Hyper Crush, Christian Rich) [prod. Jonathan Lee]

Chris Mills — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:46:08 +0000

The Balkan-born, Canadian living rapper/vocalist, Filip Filipi, has displayed a varied range of styles to our own ears within recent months…and we’ve only heard two of his tracks thus far. The first one still holds rank as a “get the fuck out Dodge” anthem with Mansions on the Moon called “Big City Chaser” (LISTEN HERE). On this, “Swag Up, Hands Up”, we can’t really shake comparisons to Pitbull. Get it now before the download limit is reached. At last count, it was at about ten. Put this in your Serato crates ACE-fuckin-SAP. Apparently the original version of this song contained a sample that could not be cleared, but Jonathan Lee came to the rescue. Regardless, it jumped to #1 on Hype Machine in under 24 hours.
Filip Filipi – Swag Up, Hands Up (feat. Hyper Crush, Christian Rich) (prod. by Jonathan Lee) by Filip Filipi

KC’s DJ B-Stee Cuts The Chorus For New Slaughterhouse Track

Chris Mills — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:19:50 +0000

The Jersey/KC transplant, DJ B-Stee and his hip hop production clan, Klasix, have produced the latest track leaked by the rap mega-group, Slaughterhouse, who are signed to Eminem’s Shady Records. B-Stee specifically lends his “scratch nerd” skills on this one, cutting up a Biggie sample (“Untouchable”?) for the chorus. CLICK HERE for an example of the wide array of styles that B-Stee can and has tackled in the past. We’d love to make some kind of clever metaphor or simile for B-Stee’s sharp DJ cuts + “Slaughterhouse” + prime cuts + meat + Kansas City bar-b-que, but aren’t quite sure how to put it together just yet. You get the idea, though. We’ll let the track speak for itself…

Slaughterhouse – “The Illest” (prod. Klasix)
STREAM/DOWNLOAD HERE

Check the summer 2010 issue of Demencha, featuring DJ B-Stee rocking the cover story:

Open publication – Free publishing – More scene

RECOMMENDED: Duff Step aka Duff Disco [London]

Chris Mills — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:06:34 +0000

We might be six months late, but when trying to mention all the great music coming out of the local scene in the same breath as the best from the East, West, South and overseas, sometimes you get caught sleeping. Who’s really spending 10% of what they were spending on music fifteen years ago? I just went to 7th Heaven here in KC and dropped a whopping $30 on some local mixtapes. And how many of us complain about the lack of good music in a variety of styles? But beyond that, no one has everything.

Background Noise – “Close” (Duff Step Remix)
Background Sound – Close (Duffstep Remix) by Duffstep

If you’re into bass music and unyielding party grooves respectively, London-based DJ/producer, Duff Step and his alter-ego Duff Disco, have soundcloud pages (and a slew of online and vinyl releases) with everything you’d want in an amalgamation of the current shuffled bass music and smooth edit sounds which have been annoying neighbors living below the Demencha HQ for over a year. Duff’s brand of airy, agile and always uplifting bass music under the Duff Step guise is refreshing, a swift uppercut to the balls of the Goliath that current, popular dubstep has become.

Duff Step – “Backseat”
07 Backseat by Duffstep

Duff Step – “My Kiss”
02 My Kiss by Duffstep

Meanwhile the music out of his Duff Disco alias utilizes old disco edit techniques on records that younger club music enthusiasts would probably still remember (Skee-Lo’s “I Wish”, Mark Morrison’s “Return Of The Mack”, etc.). The elasticity of his tracks and mix ventures make just about everything under both aliases worth listening to from start to finish.

Duff Disco – “Grand Master Duff”
DUFFDISCO006 – Grand Master Duff [Out Now] by duffdisco

Duff Step’s debut album, Getting To Sirius, released in February 2011 contains some rather flattering 2-step grooves and retains a lot of the original echos and reverb of dub. Traits that were the norm when dubstep started becoming a contending club sound, at least in Middle America circa 2007-2008. We’re not exactly sure what his Duff Disco brand is up to, as far as upcoming releases, but we suggest you stay tuned to his soundcloud(s).

Duff Disco – Duff Disco Edit Series
DUFF DISCO EDIT SERIES by duffdisco

Can we please have Duff Step and Duff Disco added to the Wakarusa lineup next summer? I might not be able to get as much of his music as I want until the holidays when one of my relatives (or two) hopefully donates an iTunes gift card (or two) to support my wild music collection. But consider it a case of better late than never.

D/L: Britney Spears – “Till The World Ends” [Phantom Remix]

Chris Mills — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:32:45 +0000

Kansas City’s own, ThePhantom*, recently threw out a remix he did of one of Britney Spears‘ newer jams. Pardon our appreciation for pop music, but if you knew how much we loved former Demencha cover dude, DJ B-Stee’s remix of Rihanna’s “Only Girl In The World”, then you should already know we’re co-signing on this one as well…

Britney Spears – Till The World Ends (thePhantom* REPHIX) by thephantom816

p.s. Phantom is up for a Pitch Award this year. The awards show is on Sunday the 14th at the Uptown Theater in Midtown KCMO.

DAVE NADA – Inventor of Moombahton – Live @ Luna 8.26.11 – [KCMO]

Chris Mills — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:16:27 +0000

What’s possibly the most commercial club in the city (not called Mosaic) is about to get Moombaptized in a little more than three weeks from now. Dave Nada, who I initially began to appreciate as being my favorite Baltimore club producer a few years ago, just invented the Moombah sound not too long ago. While I’d hate to go into the fabled story again as to how he invented it, just know this party is going to be off the chain, hook and whatever else. You will sweat.

RSVP FOR FREE ENTRANCE HERE or HERE

KC WEEKEND EVENTS WRAP UP: A First Person Account

Chris Mills — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:36:17 +0000

photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer.

It’s not really all that hot in Kansas City unless you can cut the air with a butter knife. Fortunately for Kansas City party goers who came out in abundance this past weekend, there were four great events that unfolded in a similar sweaty, steamy dance party sort of way. Thick collections of hair strands glued to people’s foreheads was pretty much the standard. But please take this weekend log with a grain of salt, as this is in no way a representation of all the great music events that took place in Kansas City over the weekend. Just four shows that you may have attended at some point if you frequent this website.

My Friday began by heading up to Grinders in the Crossroads for a media hour just before the Section 8 concert (Lil’ B, Mac Miller, Big K.R.I.T., Dom Kennedy, Kid Ink, Machine Gun Kelly, Gee Watts of Kansas City, etc.) was set to begin. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much local, independent press at a show before. Underground Appeal, Face The Town, Pyramidwest, Emcee TV and a slew of others were lucky enough to conduct interviews with the likes of Big K.R.I.T., Mac Miller and more. I met and networked with media types from Dallas, Miami and other cities. I personally wasn’t able to do an interview with Big K.R.I.T. as I had prepared for. He told me that an interview could happen after his performance but I knew that with six local openers and two or three prior acts on the set times list, an interview probably wouldn’t be plausible seeing as how there were other events I planned on getting to that night.

Therefore, most of the media hour for me involved hanging out on the patio outside in VIP, with a bunch of strangers who were probably 5-7 years younger than I. Awkward. Thankfully, I still retained some cool points in my own head when Dutch Newman brought up The Weeknd (look them up now) to a bunch of kids who were still unaware. One girl could barely control herself, crying after she had an encounter with her “man”, Mac Miller. As the gates opened, kids began pouring in. Most of them came straight to the front row of the stage while the DJs were getting started, disregarding any need for alcohol. Save one chubby kid I saw not too far away from the VIP bar who was blatantly licking his fingers and trying to rub the X off his other hand.

The promotion tactics these kids are practicing nowadays are nuts, I came to realize. There were entire groups of people, some close to ten deep, wearing the same shirts promoting their clothing lines, movements, etc. I’ve never seen that many 19-year old walking billboards in my life. I also don’t remember high tube socks with flashy sneakers being as trendy when I graduated high school, at least. I even saw one kid wearing two pairs of Nike socks, a black pair and a white pair on each foot. I could only hope that his mom didn’t pass out the next day while doing his laundry.

Mainly, I was there to see Big K.R.I.T. and local opener, Gee Watts (interview with Gee Watts coming soon to Demencha.com and soundcloud.com/demencha-magazine). Out of the six local openers, all of whom were quite young (save XTA-C), Watts got the biggest stir out of the crowd and for good reason. That dude is a giant. He and the rest of the local openers were only given 2-3 songs a piece, but Gee Watts got the most out of his set, ripping through call-and-response choruses with his hype men, complimented by razor sharp verses that I‘ve come to expect from him after listening to his music for only about a week (better late than never).

Kid Ink reigned down a set of swag-infused rap, with lyrics like “Whatcha drink? Whatcha smoke? You can do them other drugs in the bathroom!” The audience at Grinders, jam-packed with patrons under 21, ate it up like candy. Big K.R.I.T. came out and blasted the venue with tracks off his latest effort, Return of 4eva, and older ones. It was apparent that most of the people at the concert were there for Mac Miller, not necessarily for K.R.I.T. He didn’t have a lot of crowd reaction to feed off of, but he did jump into the crowd with a cluster of bouncing concert goers after his last song. “My Sub”, “Time Machine” and others were fan favorites.

I bounced out of the Crossroads right after. I did not catch Mac Miller, Lil’ B or Machine Gun Kelly, unfortunately, but this turned out to be not such a bad idea once I hit Westport.

I arrived at the Riot Room at about 10:00 for Reggie B and The Solution, Hearts of Darkness, Stik Figa, D/Will and Barbaric Merits. Reggie B and The Solution were the main catch for me at Riot. HOD was set up on the patio, while Reggie B and his band tore through Jimi Hendrix covers, “Get Down With Me” and other songs that have made Reggie‘s music a commodity in the current worldwide soul and funk scenes. The crowd seemed rather wary of Reggie and the band.

The audience inside filled up for their performance soon enough. Reggie’s cousin, C-Note, and Approach tagged along on stage to spit impromptu bars while the band kept jamming away. Torrential electric guitar play and crisp drumming from The Solution along with Reggie B’s own key play and vocals made for a performance that many more people should’ve witnessed. But afterall, picking where you wanted to go this weekend and when probably figured to be no small task.

Stik. Figa and D/Will ran through a set of Top City rap tracks after The Solution was done. Stik asked for suggestions from the crowd for any requests they wanted him to perform.

“KANSAS BAY!!”, I shouted more than once from the back of the dance floor. I didn’t get my request, but Stik still rocked it to a packed floor while Hearts of Darkness funked it out on the patio.

From there, I walked straight across Westport Road to The Union where the Kansascitytechno.com crew were getting down and dirty to a crammed-to-capacity outdoor patio. A free party, it was one in/one out for most of the night.

Photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer

Photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer

Photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer

Photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer

photo by My Friend Annie – KCTDC resident photographer

Freeking (FKA DJ Rob Lee), put on nothing short of a techno spectacle. While Freeking was getting his Richie Hawtin on, the techno revelers jammed into the dance floor made for quite a sight, very comparable to David Heartbreak’s performance on The Union’s patio just a couple of weeks before. Feet were shuffling while smiles abounded. While it may have been KCTDC’s 2-year anniversary party, I get the feeling that this event acted as a real stamp in Kansas City’s dance scene. The party vibe was right and the music was very intense (in a good way).

Music and vibe. That’s exactly what’s been up at shows across the city this summer. If you didn’t get out to any events this weekend then shame on you. (I didn’t even mention the Del The Funky Homosapien show at Riot Room on Saturday night). But for those of us who did, I think all could definitely agree that this past weekend was a rager, for sure. Let’s hope that the venues and promoters across Kansas City can make weekends like this happen more frequently.

(DEMENCHA: Giving Kansas City’s Music Scene a Delusion of Grandeur Since 2005)

[TONIGHT @ Jardine's, KCMO] Pretty Lights Afterparty w/ HeRobust, Leonard DStroy & Brandon Draper

Chris Mills — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 17:50:29 +0000

Yesterday didn’t even feel like Friday. And if you don’t have the monies to get over to Pretty Lights at the Midland this evening, what’s being billed as the PL latenight afterparty is probably a good bet for some great tunes as well. Anticipate surprise guest MCs and instrumentalists throughout the night with one of the tightest drummers in the city, Brandon Draper on the live drums, bass and loops while Lenny D holds down the electronic beats and effects with Atlanta’s HeRobust manning the turntables and keys. Lenny D has been geeking to me about how dope HeRobust is, and coming from Lenny D, this doesn’t sound like something we want to sleep through. Even Mad Decent was rockin HeRobust enough to feature a couple of his tracks on their weekly Soundcloud Roundups within the past several months. So go get your Pretty Lights on and come kick it with a few of the city’s most talented musicians at Jardine’s later for just $5.

Triceratopless by heRobust

Lazer Sword w/ Spinstyles & Dan Matic LIVE @ Conspiracy Room KCMO [Thurs. April 21]

Chris Mills — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:23:25 +0000

This Thursday at the Conspiracy Room of the Uptown Theater, Lazer Sword (LA/Berlin) will be headlining an event that should unfold with some of the heaviest, headiest beats you’re going to hear for a while. Confession: I don’t know much about Lazer Sword, but I do know that Spinstyles is one of the tightest DJs in town and Dan Matic‘s making some super raw tracks right now. Be on the lookout for a forthcoming interview with Dan Matic appearing here on Demencha.com on Wednesday, the day before this show. In related nastiness, dubstep champ, Skrillex (who you might remember from opening up for Deadmau5 in the main room at the Uptown a few months ago…and slaying it), is doing a show on July 13 at the Beaumont in Westport. Also stay tuned to Demencha to find out if that show is all ages or not.

SIDE NOTE: People putting soundcloud links below their names on event flyers is exactly what’s up on 4-18-11.

Here’s Lazer Sword’s latest soundcloud submission:
Lazer Sword Mix for Dazed Digital by LAZER SWORD

~FLAMES~ Miles Bonny – “We” [The Remixes] feat. Tactic, Chrissy Murderbot & DR+

Chris Mills — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:05:09 +0000

http://milesbonny.bandcamp.com/album/the-we-remixes

KC-based (or at one time KC-based), Tactic, Chrissy Murderbot and DR+ all brought flames on this lil’ remix EP deal that Miles put out on Bandcamp a few days ago. If you’ve ever enjoyed a track from any of these remixers, you should listen to each of these tracks and buy the one you like best (name your price)…or just cop all of them and figure out a way to carve out a decent mix in Serato and plug these local beatmakers who are on absolute fire right now. When it comes to club/hip hop music, I think KC’s typically been more known for it’s rap vocalists than beatmakers. But hopefully the tide is turning a bit, or at least evening out.