Afro Monk

Ill-Esha’s “Making Friends at Altitude” mini-mix sings to me, both literally and figuratively. It ebbs and flows so very nicely with her dynamic beats and soulful crooning. I find myself listening it to the car constantly because it gets me in the mood for anything; it’s 13:53 of BLISS! The mix tastefully intertwines her two EPs together, Imaginary Friends and Altitude Sickness. The releases are quite a bit different so I love how she manages to unite them into one graceful melody. You can tell that she mixed this with straight-up intention. There’s no denying Ill-Esha’s raw talent and determination to be on top of the game…. That’s a winning combination. I really love where the mix goes around 7:30 with “When The Bass Drops” (original w/ I-Cue, Envloop). Overall I am really impressed by this mix that really displays her aptitude for music of all types. There’s denying that Ill-Esha’s essence is overflowing with passion!

Now a mountain girl living in Denver, Ill-Esha is a kind and unique soul. If you ever get the chance to see her live, don’t pass it up. I have seen her countless times and not only has it never once been the same, it has also always blown my mind. Nothing quite compares to her stunning live singing combined with rad beats. I have been lucky enough to be graced with her presence twice on the shores of my home, Lake Tahoe (those are definitely my most memorable times seeing her). Once was for our summer parties called Boom Boom Lagoon on a crystal clear emerald beach laced with granite on the East shore, and another this summer at my favorite and most frequented beach in North lake called Moon Dunes. My birthday was the next day and Elle drank some tequila with me then announced happy birthday to me before playing an unforgettable sunset set. Absolutely killed it and had everyone at the beach dancing! Ill-Esha is for sure one of the most influential females in the bass music scene, and with excellent reason.

Grab Ill-Esha’s Making Friends at Altitude Mini-Mix here on SoundCloud for free! Jam that ish!

This weeks Fire Friday Mix comes from Whitebear. It has been awhile since we’ve posted about Whitebear. This mix caught my attention and have been totally blown away by it. If you’re into weird downtempo organic bass music similar to Tipper this is what you’ve been waiting for. This mix has such a good vibe too it. This mix is one of the better mixes I’ve heard this year. I day dream all day with this music.

I’m not sure if all the music that is on here is new or not but the selection is incredible. I don’t know what’s going on over there in Australia but it must be something in there water because they seem to be creating these amazing producers. It’s my life long dream as a DJ to go visit Austalia and New Zealand. There’s so much talent over there and can only imagine how insanely beautiful it must be. I haven’t done much research on if we can expect a new release from Whitebear but if there is I’ll be sure to post about it. It does look like there’s a N American / Canada Tour being worked out. Be sure to keep up to date with that!

I hope you all have an enjoyable week-end! This mix is something great to put on anytime you want to relax and trip out to some stellar downtempo, The energy shines so much in this mix <3

Tracklist:
Mumukshu- Wakefulness
Kayla Scintilla feat. Alice Spacedoll- Break Belief Bounce (Whitebear Remix)
Whitebear- Fever Dreams
Shwex x Mumukshu- Elements of Antiquity
Whitebear- Auric Sight
Whitebear- Primal Stomp
Whitebear- New Evolutionary Paradigm
Whitebear- Lost in Vibrations
Whitebear- Earthquake
Shwex x Mumukshu- Elements of Antiquity (Whitebear Remix)
Brujo's Bowl- Gyananakashu (Eye of Knowledge)

Here’s a mix from myself for Fire Friday Mixes. There has been so much going on around Trap music. I think that overall this trap craze has gotten a bit excessive but it’s better than other trends (style) out there. This was put together mainly as a promo mix and show you how I would mix and glitch it. Too be perfectly honest it was to see if I even had it in me. As much as we can enjoy a certain style of music the real question is can you mix it.

This came out better than I actually anticipated actually. It was also fun recording it. There’s a certain level of appeal you can go for with trap music and there’s another where you can get straight hood with it. After hearing this mix a few times due to its short nature it’s something I’m proud of. Could I mix a hour of trap? Sure, I feel confident now that I can but who know when I’ll never do it or record a mix that long of solely Trap. That’s the thing about trap, it’s something used to sprinkle up a set but not sure if I’ll go straight trap. This mix is something that works for me when that craving appears.

Hope you can enjoy this even if you love or hate trap. It’s my personal take on it.

Random Fact: I named this mix Mon Calamari as a Star Wars reference. Mon Calamari is the particular species Admiral Ackbar which had the infamous “It’s a Trap” phrase.

Bird of Prey is the featured producer for this week’s Fire Friday Mix. Whenever someone asks me or mentions the most technical and skillful producer’s Bird of Prey comes to mind. I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time around Torin and get his take on a few things. He’s one of those people who take his craft very seriously. He comes from a psytrance background which usually consists of incredible sound design and a level of quality that you rarely find.

This mix is a live recording from Boom Festival. I’ve listened to this mix about 3 times today already. The mix consists of beautiful psychedelic music the whole way through. It also features plenty of Bird of Paradise music which Torin let me know is coming out soon. The complexity of the sound and textures is unmatched. There are not many producers that can capture my attention with the psy chill sound mixed with the dance floor flow that Bird of Prey puts together.

I spent a decent amount of time with Torin this past summer at Sonic Bloom and was enlightened that he has helped influence some of the biggest names in bass music that I’m sure you’ve heard of. It so happens that Seven Lions was his roommate for awhile and helped him develop his production skill set. Another big name he helped out was Nit Grit which has had great success. I won’t lie it’s a bit disappointing to see such a talented producer get so unnoticed compared to some of his apprentices. It’s crazy how the world works sometimes. He also informed me that his tracks under the Birds of Paradise project have gone as upwards of 140+ tracks in a single tune. That’s just straight dedication.

Sit back and enjoy this hypnotic journey Bird of Prey has created with this glorious mix. Also be sure to make it a point to see him play out live. There aren’t many artists out there that can provide such a beautiful soundscapes for early morning sets or late night vibes. He should definitely be recognized a lot more and worth a listen. I consider him to be up there with Tipper when it comes to sound design and production value.

DOWNLOAD: Bird of Prey Boom Festival Live Mix

This week’s Fire Friday Mix comes from Kastle aka B. Rich. If there’s anyone that I’d probably consider the Lovestep guy it’s Kastle. I’ve been following his music for quite some time now. The style and vibe of his music is unmatched. He pretty much grabs a hit or well known track and makes into a sexy seductive remix bringing out rhodes, synths, and drum programing that always delivers that signature emotional sound. There was a good while where every single set I’d usually drop a Kastle track.

He has been quite busy tour, releasing new music, and establishing one of the baddest new labels, Symbols. The talent he has been recruiting is incredible and keeps the that signature Kastle sound that I’ve come to love. There’s not heavy crazy aggro non-sense. This mix is a great example of his previous work as well as the direction of his label. I really love this set because it has plenty of vocals that really hit the spot. The intention of the mix was for winding down after a festive summer many of have had. It’s one of those mixes where you can just sit back and enjoy in the background yet really vibe off of. I really wish there were more pioneers like Kastle around. It’s not common to see artist put mixes like this together and it’s why I wanted to feature this mix.

Be sure to grab ALL the symbols releases as well as this super chill mix from Kastle. His label has already made a tremendous mark on the industry and you can be sure it’ll only continue to grow.

Kastle Festival Decompression Tracklist:
01. Stimming – Change ft. Lazarusman
02. LOL Boys – Changes (Shlohmo Remix)
03. Fybe:One – So What
04. We Sink – Inside ft. Andrea
05. Clicks & Whistles – 2 Much Higher (XI Remix)
06. Ruddyp – Re/Mind
07. TCTS – Lookin 2 U
08. Tony Quattro – Doubt
09. Obey City – My RVM
10. Surkin & Todd Edwards – This Way
11. Figgy – Only You
12. Bambounou – Night
13. Plezier – That Was Me
14. Atlantic Connection – The Jump Off (Brent Still Life Remix)
15. Jason Burns & Brent Still Life – Right Here (We Sink Remix)
16. Troy Gunner – Heads In Hands
17. Swindle – Need To Know ft. Toddla T & Sam Frank
18. Para One – Lean On Me ft. Teki Latex (Salva Remix)
19. Frank Ocean – Pyramids (Kastle Remix)
20. Dauwd – What’s There
21. Koreless – Lost In Tokyo (Jacques Greene Remix)
22. Stickman – Known
23. Kastle & iO – Only You
24. XXYYXX – Overdone ft. Anneka

This week’s Fire Friday Mix comes from JPOD the beat chef! I’ve been on a serious midtempo kick lately and realized there are not post really focused on JPOD. He has been one of my secret weapons lately.

This weeks mix is a bit different due to it being more midtempo oriented but JPOD decided to focus on classic folk rock tunes. There’s tons of familiar tracks from the 60s & 70s re-done JPOD style. It’s something that’s quite different but works great! I’ve totally been jamming out to this mix today and it’s got a real trippy funky vibe to it. Total easy listening though =)

JPOD also recently put out a FREE remix of Smashing Pumpkins. It’s something all of you should grab and help support him via Facebook!

It has been a LONG time since I’ve done a Fire Friday Mix. Now that the Afro Monk team is back and posting on a daily basis I figured it’d be best to start this weekly tradition again. This week we have a mix from the lovely Jillian Ann.

This mix is way HEAVIER than I anticipated but really helped me get focused at work this morning. Jillian explains a bit about her intentions with this mix, “I did for my lover to play guitar to late one night so I could seduce them into bed after… it worked”. I personally don’t see how this is love making music but it’s definitely super intense and bass heavy. The main reason I wanted to post this mix is because I’m a huge sucker for female vocals and she caught my attention awhile ago on the track she collaborated with Love & Light, Know Us. The other reason is that this site gets a lot of traffic dubstep keywords and I don’t really have that much heavy/brostep post on here. If there’s any sort of heavy stuff it at least has to have sexy female vocals and Jillian Ann accomplishes this.

I’ve personally never interacted with Jillian but I’ve seen her around and we share tons of mutual friends but something about her just never made me go say hello. As beautiful as she is there’s no question she has this certain look and presence to her. The photography of her is absolutely stunning but always has a mysterious dark emotion and feel to it. I have tons of respect for her as she makes numerous post about her emotional state and raw feelings online. It’s not easy to express yourself freely online and she does it quite openly. She’s definitely one of the few female vocalist that always make me pay attention to the track just because she’s on it.

Overall if you’re into female vocals, heavy bass lines, and dubstep this is something you should grab!

It hasn’t been a secret on here that I’ve relocated back to my hometown Miami. Truth is I haven’t really made it a point to tell anyone except my close friends. The music community is so vastly different here and knew I was giving up a lot moving back to this market. It’s not meant to be taken in a negative sense. Unfortunately the music I’ve been playing/pushing doesn’t really have much presence here. We all know the meccas are Colorado & California.

I was lucky enough to discover a market in Texas that allowed me to do what I’ve always wanted to do… Play glitch-hop. I became extremely involved in Texas and turned my life focus on music for the most part. I’d go out every night and actually network/talk to people. I’ve always been shy and moved to Texas only knowing my roommate. Texas was a scary move but once I got there it took me for one of the best rides of my life. I was only in Texas for a year but it feels like I was there for over five years. The amount of talented artist is overwhelming! The festival crowd is full force and plenty of homegrown events.

Now that I’m back in Miami I’ve started an entirely new lifestyle. I know that bass music popularity has reached a new height but it has also left me much to be desired. I don’t want to become that bitter old man complaining non-stop. I’ve decided to put this mix out there to target the Miami audience and nightlife but at the same time tip my hat goodbye to this sort of style. It’s fun, party, dance, and rave out music but truth is I’m burnt out and have been for some time now I’m sure. If you follow me on FB and Twitter you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m a mid range bass hater. Yes, I admit it.

It’s time to focus on a positive new attitude and something different that will brighten my spirits. 2012 will be the start of many new things. As I said my lifestyle is quite different now. I don’t go out anymore and I’m going back to my anti-social recluse ways. My nights consist of me laying around my dream apartment on the beach listening to chill out lounge music and playing video games. My roots are in trip-hop/downtempo/lounge. I’ve decided to focus on that for 2012 and create a sister site that will built around that vibe. Expect a soft beta launch around Feb 2012.

This doesn’t mean this site will be executed!!! Ed and Tara have been doing an incredible job and I’ll still be writing post but come to understand I won’t be as active. It’s time to expand the market. I’ll still be around at all the events but keep in mind Miami doesn’t offer acts that I’ve been spoiled with while living in Texas. The bass scene is very alive here but it’s very brostep/moombah oriented which truthfully I can’t vibe with. Along with the sister site launch there will be a new weekly event that will be created to support the new movement here. I’m super excited to see how this pans out.

Now about this mix. It was designed on the fly to get you moving and sing along. There are times where I need to get motivated to go out to the club or bar and these tunes get me all hyped. They are mostly top 40 remixes with me giving them an extra umphhh to them and adding my glitches live. It’s been over a month since I’ve played or even mixed since I’ve been so busy with the move. Not to mention like I said I’ve kept myself isolated in Miami so not looking actively to play out. It was fun to rock out in my new studio to this. Anxious to see what the reception of this mix will be.

I hope you enjoy and have a happy new year!!!

-Afro

Bleep Bloop is the moniker that is Aaron Triggs, a bass music producer out of Northern California.

His style spans from Lazer Blap, Dubstep, and even to wonky-Glitch Hop, always pushing his productions further with every tune.

His sets are polytempo, fun filled sonic journeys comprised of original tunes, and remixes.

Bleep Bloop is signed to Gruntworthy, Lazer Town, and Prime Dub Records so look out for new original tunes on the regular.

We’ll start off with a free remix!

A full mix with unreleased material –

A free stream of his EP –

This is where you can purchase his EP on Addictech entitled, —> “Lazer Bouquet“. <—

For booking contact lazerlazerlazer@yahoo.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/bleep-bloop — Soundcloud
http://www.facebook.com.bleepbloopbass — Facebook
httP://www.twitter.com/bleepbloopbass — Twitter

This week’s Fire Friday Mix comes from the one and only Scott Nyce out of Dover, Delaware. Scott is a DJ legend of sorts around here and it has been a pleasure to get to know him and share the stage with him recently. He has a lot of passion for music and helping build the scene around here. Like myself (and prob just about every other DJ), he doesn’t seem to get much sleep, so you can catch him doing online ustream sets in the middle of the night at least once a week lately. This double-genre studio mix of dubstep and dnb goes hard and will surely help you kick your day in the face!

You can catch Scott Nyce live this summer along with myself, Drivepilot, Minnesota, Dirty Talk, Voodoo Farm, Bassdread, and HMAZZ at Dewey Beach Delaware’s first ever Electronic Dance Music Festival on Friday July 29, 2011. All of the details here: Dewey Beach EDM Fest.  So stoked about this show! Can’t go wrong with a rave at the beach :p

Bio:

Scott Nyce was born in Newark, NJ and later moved to Delaware as a child. He has been a Drum and Bass DJ since 1997 and continues to be highly regarded as an institution in “The Delaware Underground.” As a small child, he was attracted to almost all things underground, obscure, and dark. Scott has been driven by a plethora of musical influences and discovered EDM shortly before turning 15. As he spent the next two years quietly jumping from party to party, trainspotting DJs and observing EDM culture, he became saturated in electronic music. At 16, he discovered the early sounds of Breakbeat Hardcore; the earliest form of Drum and Bass/Jungle. At 17, he decided to buy a pair of turntables, teach himself how to spin, and eventually throw his own parties locally. In about a year and half, Scott was being booked for shows in the Tri-State area and Canada. He has opened up and performed next to artists such as Ray Keith, DJ SS, Dieselboy, Storm(UK), and many others.
In the early part of 2000, Scott began producing everything from EDM to Ambient film scores. He continues to do so today. As a DJ, Scott has performed at events both big and small. He’s played everything from house parties to rental halls, beach parties and parking garages to major music and arts festivals. To date, he has branched out into other genres such as Dubstep, Glitch-Hop/Crunk, Electro, and Tribal House.

Scott Nyce – The Obscene Gardener Of Filth

TRACKLISTING:
1.The Headunit’s Shadow – Building Bass With A Grain Of Mash(intro)
2.Broken Note- Zound
3.Broken Note vs. Machine Code – Knuckle Dust
4.Kane Dubstep – Always Will(The Psychotic Murmur)
5.Addergebroed – Out Of Control
6.Triage – Pitbull
7.Bong – Nosnam
8.Doctor P – Big Boss (H3 Refix)
9.Rrrump – Chubby Decker(J. Rabbit Remix)
10.Jogo – Bunny Rabbit
11.Point Blank – West Side
12.Ajapai feat.Adroa – Decimation
13.Lonestar – Counter
14.Yohanne Simon feat.Nyree – Scream My Name(Balkansky Remix)
15. DZ- Untitled Facemelter
16.Dieselboy – Invid(Hulk VIP)
17.Encode&Davip-Vamonos
18.Encode-Magic Points
19.Fourward-Stuck
20.The Sect – Cyberman
21.Break Feat.Calyx&TeeBee – Don’t Look Down
22.Commix – Satellite Type 2(NRanges&Uberman Remix)
23.Flame – Ghostpunk
24.Hedj&Blokhe4d – Spirit
25.Xilent – Outer Inside
26.Telekenesis – Hate
27.Noisia – Friendly Intentions
28. Xilent – Step One
29.Hybris – Keeping Me
30.Alcrani – Earthbound

Make sure to follow Scott on Facebook so you don’t miss out on all of the late night u-stream sets: Facebook – Scott Nyce

Much love and respect!

-EA (EA@afromonk.com)

soundcloud.com/djeamusic