I’ve been on the road lately trying to get my worldwide airmiles up like the Jetlag King- DJ /Rupture. Miles to go before I sleep or even come close on that one, but the result thus far has been getting to play with a lot of ladies and gents I respect and admire and making friends of them along the way. Coming up in a couple weeks here in NYC, Que Bajo?! and Conrazon are collaborating with SOB’s to debut a friend and inspiration of mine by the name of Humberto Pernett. I wanted to take the time explain to you all who this guy is on a personal level as I’ve recently spent a great deal of time with him in Cali for the Petronio Festival and got to know his story.

Pernett’s dad was one of the founders of el Carnaval de Barranquilla. He grew up around amazing musicians his whole life. His aunt Carmencita Pernett was one of the first artists to take cumbia to mexico. Artists born in this type of conditioning? Femi Kuti comes to mind..

I think just by looking at the record cover you can tell dude’s family were some serious party people.

It was inevitable from his upbringing that Pernett would go on to explore los ritmos de la costa. Tambora, cumbia, bullerengue, puya, mapale sound more like the names of root vegetable or ingredients to a sancocho stew than names of rhythms but then all these styles are so distinctly satisfying on the dancefloor that their cohesion only make sense when you think about them that way.

Taking a blessing from his musical godmother, Toto la Momposina, Pernett would go further south to Bogota where he would meet Richard Blair, a UK-born producer and they would go on to form the band Sidestepper whose 3am: In beats we trust album would reverberate worldwide.

As someone who listened to the 6 degrees music label early on, and a researcher of world music fusion for quite some time I can say with confidence that the music from that album would go on to inspire a great many producers for years to come. Our global/tropical bass scene has a lot to thank them for. Electronic music, indeed, but at its essence their sound was a less mechanical and rooted deeply in Colombia’s rich musical heritage. It was a clearly defined turning point for Latin music.

Moving on to work on his own projects Pernett has continued folding time and space to create his own blend of psychodelic caribbean sounds. Carving a sound very much his own.

I invite you to listen to his soundcloud where he has over 100 original tracks and remixes uploaded

Change isn’t an overnight thing. The last car in the roller coaster sees the turn before it happens. But from where I’m standing, Pernett is a largely unsung hero who has and is helping shape the future of latin music.  He’s someone that we should pay a lot more attention to. He’s so far ahead of the pack that it will probably be another couple years before the world catches up to his sound let alone his performance capabilities.  His ableton live set up lets him trigger and effect tracks, while playing gaita or any number of traditional instruments which he can also effect, while singing and dropping some surreal visuals using his filters on his laptop cam. He’s one of those artists that keeps pushing himself to do more. To be more. And you should too. Be there to see him Oct 9th and feel more.

Que Bajo?! & Conrazon Present

Pernett (Colombia)

Oct 9th @ SOB’s $10 /10pm

In celebration of that and the amazing couple weeks that I’ve just had playing Central Park Summer Stage with Dutty Artz sistren Rita Indiana and Colombia’s Choquibtown, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing with Lisandro Mesa and Que Bajo?! with Bogota’s El Freaky Crew I’m feeling like sharing is caring.

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Las Cuatro Palomas Remix by Geko Jones & DJ Reaganomics

NPR premiered this track a few days ago but here it is for download to the world. Built with my long time homie DJ Reaganomics this is a summer banger you can finish out the year with. I should note that I have been looking for a track ID on the vocalist so anyone that can give me a hard confirmation on any of the leads I have its appreciated.

Katey Red‘s very FIRST music video “Where Da Melph At”

In the spirit of pride week and Gay Bajo?!

Shout to Diego for the heads up & all the visuals!

New Orleans thank you!

I’ve been traveling to Colombia at regular intervals to present a new sound fusing folkloric Afro-Colombian rhythms with modern day electronic music production techniques that harmonize into a synthetic club sound rooted in tradition. Via the internet, the birthplace of Cumbia has become a source of inspiration to a number producers worldwide. Recently, we invited some of the top names in the scene to a bandcamp in Colombia and a filmmaker to document it.  We want to provide an insider view of the impact this music is having on the local scene and how a small network of globally minded producers are defying conventional standards of Latin club music.

We have a couple weeks to get this production costs for completing this project funded. To hear more about how you can help please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Pico-de-Gallos

Somebody call Carlos Slim and tell him I wanna patent first the lazer powered intergalactic taco truck

NEXT THURSDAY MARCH 31ST

Que Bajo?! returns to NYC after touring Miami, Medellin, Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, and SXSW… come hear exclusive new remixes from myself, Uproot Andy, DJ Orion, Toy Selectah, Isa GT and more and check out our guest DJ’s Venus X of the Ghe20 Gothik Party who just rocked the shit out of the fader fort at SXSW and Panchitron from the Peligrosa All Stars crew down in Texas. Pancho’s mixtape stayed in heavy rotation last month for Que Bajo?! fans
Thursday March 31
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleeker St
11pm -$10

THURSDAY JAN 27th !!!!!!

QUE BAJO?! is back!!

It’s the return of the intergalactic gauchitos better known as Uproot Andy and Geko Jones. After a brief winter recess moon-walking across the globe and cooking up hotter than habanero remixes the Que Bajo?! party is back like a zombie Danny Trejo
On January 27th we welcome the Dutch-Dominican wonderkid DJ Munchi all the way from Rotterdam, Netherlands. Moombahton stylee from one of the scenes top notch DJ’s.

We have a couple of special surprises to announce as we get closer to the date but I wanna go ahead and introduce VJ Miixxy who will be controlling visuals for the evening.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I got about 45 minutes warning that Los Gaitero de San Jacinto were performing in Paris the other night. The band has been active since AT LEAST 1940 so there’s only so many chances we’re gonna get to see them.  I was hanging with percussionist Cyril Atef when I got the text. We had been discussing the african origins of colombian music and instumentation while going through choons for almost an hour.  Him tagging along was merely a variation on a meme. I still have to download the video and flicks of the show from my camera but lemme go ahead and do a separate post to tell you about the opening act we walked in on,  a cumbia-fusion meets visual trio from Bogota called retroVISOR

On rhythm section you have Camilo Giraldo Angel & Luis Alfonso Cruz laying down some free range samplodelic tripiness but it was the work of the VJ and concept director for the bands videos, Carmen Gil Vrolijk aka Carmen Electrik that really got me interested in their performance. Criminally brilliant with a side of smokin hot she’s chopping some well fruity slices of video mango that illustrate the flavor of these songs amazingly

she has degree in plastics

In the above tune, Chicha! she collaborated with a Estefanía Barreto & Juan Camilo Quiñones to create an 8 bit video that deals with native inhabitants being pushed out of their lands by big industry, a problem Colombia still faces today particularly with the damage being done from unearthing gold which releases mercury, cyanide and arsenic into the soil and water table. I’m waiting for my copy of their retroVISOR VJ Sessions DVD while doing my homework on what else she’s up to and trying to convince her to come out and session with me when I play in Bogota again

El Guincho, “Bombay”
Pop Negro (2010 Young Turks)

Sept. 29, 2010
Que Bajo?! w/ El Guincho
Santos Party House
96 Lafayette St.
New York, NY
que bajo?! facebook

I’ve just spent 3 weeks in Puerto Rico with a holy shit cast of characters. I haven’t been down to the island in almost five years because of the general apathy that’s become commonplace en mi islita, but the timing was right and I think Puerto Rico may finally be ready for change.

Within days of my arrival I found myself in the midst of some of the top dawgs of the reggaeton and electronic music scenes and I wanna take a few to hip ya’ll to whats gwarnin out there. Its way too much for one post so I’ve broken it up into three that will air this week.

First off, shouts out to Toy Selectah who was also in town to work on some tracks for Calle 13 and Argentine reggae artist Fidel Nadal. At Toy’s invitation, I found myself at Visitante’s home recording studio where C13 have been working on their new album.  Hand’s down, what the boys have built is the most beautifully decorated and acoustically engineered studio I’ve ever stepped foot in. Cherry oak walls engraved with logos from their various releases, persian rugs, top notch gear, blah blah blah. I got to hear what Toy was contributing and what is coming down the pipe is explosive. Visitante their producer, Ismael their drummer and Mark, the dread in the video who doubles his duty as guitarist in the video and the carpenter who’s been building the studio, are all hella cool peoples and you should definitely peep this new single Calma Pueblo which has been riling up the religious censors.

Yo soy el que quiere que coman, aunque no tengan hambre – Residente-Calle 13

I’m the one that wants you all to eat, even if you’re not hungry

I feel like with that line alone Rene’, better known as Residente, summarizes one of the most disenfranchising aspects about life on the island and the reason that his band is so popular. It’s what my friend Yari calls The 100×35 Mentality. There is a serious apathy plaguing the island when it comes to embracing change. New is completely disregarded until its cool and there are very few artists (or members of the general populace) that break norms there. C13 has consistently pushed the envelope. As do we..

Toy Selectah and I played together to a capacity crowd of 550 party people, on a monday night. The resident DJ has been building the night for 4 years and leans toward hip-hop and dancehall. I played about 45 minutes of dancehall cumbia mashups, crunk cumbia refixes, panamanian plena and hip hop in spanish. I’m happy to announce that it was received fairly well received by most of the audience, the bartenders and even by the resident DJ (*you’ll never kill a top 40 hip hop crowd with all new underground sounds, but do dare yourself to try).

The part of the audience that comes to dance liked it more than the guys that were there to drink and pose off but I’d definitely say it was the first time for almost anyone in the room to hear this stuff and something went right because I had alot of hits on FB the following day as a result.

At the end of the night, we had an honest conversation with the DJ about having built something that could change island. He could be the one to introduce a world of new latin sounds to the island, to which he replied… that’s really not my thing. And therein lies the problem on the island. They need more leaders like c13 to set trends and propel them forward. The people are getting tired of la misma mierda. The strike at the University of Puerto Rico en April was a perfect example that the people want things to be done differently. They are willing to stand up for change.  What they need is a movement, and in my next post I’ll tell you more about how I’m getting that ball rolling.

first posted at Mudd Up!

Today I’m going to host WNYC’s Soundcheck from 2-3pm on 93.9FM, then at night – tonight, Wednesday June 23rd – I’ll switch into my DJ /rupture costume and shake up the Que Bajo party.

Tropical enthusiasts will not be disappointed: humid city, rich old cumbias, synthed-up new beats, we got you covered. Geko Jones and I trading off all evening. Santos Party House, $5, 11pm. Village Voice writeup.

para empezar: a nice ‘Cumbia de la Playa’ version, group unknown:

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? – Cumbia

and a 6-minute medley from Ecuadorean genius, Polibio Mayorga. Mayorga’s telltale bounce goes through subtle musical shifts as shouts of encouragement animate a real or imaginary dancefloor. The guy who gave me this CD was worried that, back home, it was old people’s music – but, he said, it would get them dancing every time. There’s little bass in the original; you need to boost the low-end to get an idea of how it’s supposed to sound. “Bass weight”, in dubstep parlance…

I have a wonderful life-affirming Polibio Mayorga / soundsystem hoarding story from Mexico City, will share soon.

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Polibio Mayorga – medley

Fucking big chune.  Dutty Artz familia Uproot Andy kills it again on the remix foot.  If you don’t know the original already you will hear it out of a car near you soon.  Super 2x double marinated remix wherein Los Rakas re-vocaled Hold Yuh Riddim by Brooklyn’s Ricky Blaze (vocaled by Gyptian under the same name) then Uproot Andy took the remix acapella and re-did the beat in his inimitable NY Tropical style.  New Yorkers if you are anywhere around us this summer you are gonna hear this again and again.  And again.  Also check the vocals over the original riddim here.

DOWNLOAD:

Los Rakas feat. Faviola : Abrazame (Uproot Andy Hold Yuh Remix)

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So I know ya’ll got up on Whatagatapitusberry via the interwebs but did you do the extra credit assignment and start diggin for more tunes from Del Patio? Don’t worry about it if you didn’t, there’s always more bandwidth over at the fail blog.

Sensato and Saweso are two Bronx-based Dominican MC’s with a great ear for club music. Wayne Marshall has already contributed alot of thought on their first smash and Toy Selectah’s remix has been on a lot of DJ’s playlist in the past 6 months so I don’t need to get into the fact they have more than 4 million youtube views. They’ve been cranking out hilarious videos for their songs at at a breakneck pace and its paying off. Pitbull and Lil Jon jumped on the ‘berry remix and Voltio is on this next joint which is banging in the latin clubs in NYC and the Dominican Republic. I watched a video of some of their live performance in Puerto Rico longside the top dogs in reggeaton and their stage game is the real deal. He’re’s a new 140 bpm jawn that’s bubbling in NYC right now feat Sensato and Voltio.

La Fila India-DNC ft Sensato y Voltio

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Two things I find interesting from both these guys and Los Rakas are that they let go tons and tons of music online and they both let the accapellas go out alofoke to see what happens in remixlandia. This sort of ‘Just let go’ approach is something alot of artists are scared to do and I think it shows the confidence of both duos. It takes alot of swag to say ‘my verse is dope, sit that on whatever beat you want, I’m still gonna sound fly.’

Hit up watagatapitusberry.com and alofokemusic.org and stay up on their new stuff and more artists from la republica. I’ll be here trying to get both them and Los Rakas on a track together and getting them to play at Que Bajo?! this summer.

Here are some photos from Tormenta Tropical at SXSW. I don’t have time to write a long post but suffice to say I was honored to play with all these great people and have such a great party. You are all legendary and I love you. Photos by El Subcomandante Quito, full album here.

ORION REPPING, JONES SMILING

MALUCA AND HER COOKIES GOING IN

POSE

OK WE’RE MOVING

MS MALU MCING WITH ME

NGUZUNGUZU INCITE MAD SKANKING

RAVERS

ME MAKING A MAD FACE TO NGUZUNGUZU, JUBILEE STANDING BY

MRS ORION

PARTY PPL

ME MAKING A MAD FACE FOR TOY SELECTAH

VAMANOS PUTOS! (LVIS1990 STANDING BY)

ANDY IS ENJOYING HIMSELF

JONES HOLDING IT DOWN (WITH HAIR!)

SHOW OFF

MR WAYNE IN THE PLACE

JUAKALI DEYA

STARK RAVING MADD

TONITE NEW YORK. Fresh from shaking up Austin with the rest of the Dutty Artz crew, esta noche Que Bajo nos presenta:

Uproot Andy (Zizek, Bersa Discos)
Geko Jones (Dutty Artz)
Santos Party House (Basement)
96 Lafayette St.
NYC
$10; $5 w/ RSVP
RSVP at quebajoparty@gmail.com