DEMENCHA » think 2wice

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…

The Union’s 1 Year Anniversary, w/ Norrit, Steez Harvey, LC, & More [12.9.11]

Chris Mills — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:35:38 +0000

(photo courtesy of Brooke Northern)

While the work week rears its ugly head once again tomorrow, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. The Union’s 1 year anniversary party this Friday should serve as the shining event that you can look forward to, blinding you of whatever it is you do Monday through Friday, 9-5. Just remember to bring a willingness to get down, as The Union’s rambunctious crowd has maintained a rep for partying harder than any other venue in Westport over the past 12 months. Sweat out the problems and troubles of the looming week this Friday with the stellar DJ names noted in the flyer above.

DJ B-Stee & DJ Archi – Promo Tracks [Think 2Wice]

Chris Mills — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:06:44 +0000

DJ B-Stee and DJ Archi just dropped a new 2-track soundclouder yesterday through the KC-rooted, Think 2Wice label. (You may remember a post we recently wrote about B-Stee doing the cuts on a new Slaughterhouse leak). On this promo pack, the KC-based B-Stee and Archi are already hearing some rather sparkling feedback from the bloglands. They collaborated on both tracks, with “Broadway” standing as our favorite of the two. Have a listen at the soundcloud embedding below, then DOWNLOAD HERE.

B-Stee + Archi Promo Tracks by Think 2wice

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

New Moombahton: Spinstyles, DJ Archi & DJ B-Stee [Think 2Wice]

Chris Mills — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:30:54 +0000

pictured: DJ Archi

The KC-based Think 2Wice label just put out these soundclouders earlier this week, featuring some brand new moombah flames from the likes of DJ Archi & DJ B-Stee and Spinstyles (all KC heads and very capable producers and remixers). Spin’s jam borrows from OutKast, while Archi and B-Stee cooked up a rather infectious groove that we “Can’t Stop” listening to. Stream these below and if you like what you hear, download the zip file HERE.

Moombahton Is Here (KC) by Think 2wice

Brent Tactic’s August 2011 Music Chart

Chris Mills — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:59:29 +0000

We’ve decided to start a new monthly post here at Demencha.com wherein guest KC-based tastemaker DJ, Brent Tactic, is going to put together a top ten list of sorts from his own personal collection every 30 days or so. Turns out with this first installment, Brent’s still on that moombahton tip and for good reason. There are some serious nuggets within this post. No, there are not any download links for these tracks necessarily, just streaming youtubes and soundclouders, but if you find something on this list that you like you can always ask DJ Google where to get the single at. Also, do NOT under ANY circumstances miss the Dave Nada/Cousin Cole party at Luna tomorrow. But first, feast your ears on some stuff that you’re quite likely to hear tomorrow…

1. THE WEEKND – “LONELY STAR”

2. WILLY JOY – “WOMAN LIKE ME” (DILLON FRANCIS REMIX)

3. DJ MELO – “TOPLESS RIDDIM” (*UNRELEASED*, FORTHCOMING ON THINK 2WICE)

4. DJ THEORY – “SHELTER”
SHELTER by DJ THEORY

5. DJ MELO & PICKSTER – “HEATER” (SAZON BOOYA REMIX)(*UNRELEASED*, FORTHCOMING ON THINK 2WICE)

6. HEARTBREAK – “LEVEL 10″

7. AMAZINGGAIJIN & DJ MOMS – “SABRO” (JAY FAY REMIX)

8. DRAKE – HEADLINES (NADER REMIX)
Drake – Headlines (Nader remix) by Nader

9. DIXONE – “3BALLSTEP”
Dixone – 3ballstep by Dixone

10. HEARTBREAK – “BLAZE UP” (MENDEZ & PICKSTER VIP)
BLAZE UP (Mendez & Pickster VIP Remix ) by David Heartbreak

Royce Diamond – “They Wanna Be” (ft. Reggie B) [NORRIT RMX]

Chris Mills — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:57:56 +0000

Royce Diamond Feat. Reggie B – They Wanna Be (Norrit Remix) by Norrit

You may remember the remix treatment that Norrit doctored for Royce’s “Everybody Move” from 2008, which got quite a bit of blog love from the likes of XLR8R and many others. With Royce back with a new album fresh for the 2011, the pair have come together once again for a remix of RD’s “They Wanna Be” featuring Reggie B.

Sinsues bothering you? Get your snot box knocked clean Saturday night at The Union

Chris Mills — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:03:31 +0000

Moombahton champ, David Heartbreak (NC/ATL), is coming through to The Union of Westport tomorrow night. Accompanying him will be enough awesome local DJs to count on eight fingers. You can also count on NO COVER for this party. We’ve featured a soundcloud track off Heartbreak’s page below. This was one of the first moombahton tracks that really perked our ears up to the whole sound.

Emalkay When I look at you(Heartbreak’s I love Moombahcore Remix) by David Heartbreak

You can also read an interview that Brent Tactic did with the Pitch about this party RIGHT HERE.

United We Dance, Divided We Stand. See you there…

~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.

The Music You Hear In Your Dreams

Chris Mills — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:15:14 +0000

Kansas City’s own youngblood production prodigy, DR+, just put out a new EP – ONETRILLIONYEARSPASSED. Well, kinda new. He says that two of these seven tracks have never been “properly” released, and I must say TRILLION YEARS PASSED IS THE BEST COMPOSITION ON THIS WHOLE JOINT. I’m losing track of all the hot music he’s put out over the past couple of years, plus I never check +’s soundcloud page for new tracks either. However, I have been trying to keep tabs on what this kid is up to as best I can. For those who don’t know, we at Demencha will be conducting a cover story on a handful of up-and-coming producers in the KC area. DR+ will be one, including Church Boy, DJ B-Stee and Norrit.

TRUST IN DEMENCHA.

DR+ – ONETRILLIONYEARSPASSED EP
DOWNLOAD HERE:
http://www.mediafire.com/?kzzb2mmmuwz