MONORAIL

the shape of blog to come...

2009-06-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

this is the very last post you'll see here at this old blogspot.

please update your links and bookmarks to the brand new MONOBLOG.

we've already begun posting there, so jump on and enjoy the ride...

so much is happening!!!

2009-06-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

first off, Prins Thomas fell ill, and is recuperating in his Fortress of Solitude in Norway. wish him well! luckily, Marcos Cabral, of NYC's Runaway, is flying in to break your mind at tomorrow night's Holocene 6th Anniversary Party with us and our friends, Linger & Quiet.

immediately after that, we'll be heading to Ascension for a three-way afterparty with some of our favorite local lovers. see the graphic above for all the info you need on that... or, you can head to OUR BRAND NEW BLOG for extensive details!

...that's right. MDY's been holed-up developing the new home for MONORAIL and Monorail Riders alike, and this blogspot will soon be going the way of the dinosaur.

we're going to try and migrate as much of the content from here to there as possible, but just to be safe, grab what you can while you can. we're not making any promises...

but like i said, there's SO MUCH going on, so i gotta run. stay tuned to our myspace, twitter, facebook and of course, MONORAILPDX.COM for all the good shit.

i'm allowed because its my birthday (tomorrow)...

2009-05-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

i swear we'll stop posting about Norwegians here soon... just after next Friday.

in the past couple of days, on a particular social networking site, something curious came my way. doubt i'm blowing up anyone's spot here, but at the first sign of chaffing, i'll pull this, so don't sleep.

i also don't know if its already too late... but the other day i joined this "group" called Coswax Industries and then a day later i was sent a message containing individual download links for 96 Todd Terje edits. for real!

if that well's run dry, i wouldn't want you walking away totally empty-handed, so do yourself a favor and check out this amazing edit of - no joke here - the Eagles by the fresh French edit outfit, Rove Dogs, on the lovely ARAWA.fm blog. ....i can't believe i can't stop playing it.

this post comes unusually unaccompanied by music, but with hopefully enough mystery to make you want to go see if you can't score 9.5 hours of playful, smart, space-disco-house goodness for yourself. or at least 8.5 minutes of it.

and like i said, its my birthday, so paypal me some money to blow on records. seriously. do it.

syttende mai!

2009-05-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

in less than an hour from now it'll be May 17th here in Portland. but right now, folks in Norway are probably just getting around to celebrating their independence. but rather than sing "Ja, vi elsker dette landet", i thought i'd share a few originals and remixes from some of my favorite Norwegians.

the first one is a remix by Prins Thomas who will be here in Portland on June 5th for Holocene's Sixth Anniversary with some familiar faces. enjoy, as i finish getting ready for the first edition of Cult of the Midnight Sun (an obvious reference to Scandinavia itself) at Ascension. STAY UP ALL NIGHT!

Force of Nature - To The Brain (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)

Lindstrøm - Breakfast in Heaven

Infant presents Simon Baker - Plastik (Todd Terje Türkatech Remix)

and here's a bonus from Oslo up 'n' comer, Solli Diskoklubb, that i grabbed from the always great TwentyFourHours blog out of Sweden.

Solli Diskoklubb - Nye Tider

while i'm at it, don't miss Remy & MDY's opening set at Linger & Quiet's new Sunday BBQ party, Dayshift, also at Ascension. summer's getting good already...

pushing past...

2009-05-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

with obvious apologies for my flakey and non-existent presence as of late, i thought i would approach you with a few pretty olive branches in hand to try and shake you from your mirror-rehearsed angry reaction to my sudden reappearance.

it won’t happen again baby.

first, i thought i’d like to start with a new track that’s been my internal soundtrack as of late: a collab between dubstep recluse, Burial, and guilty pleasure, Four Tet, “Moth” (above) creeps in like morning on an all-night cross-country drive when everyone else in the car is asleep and you’re left to yourself and your shitty truck stop coffee. extremely rare to find in its physical form (in the US), this 12" has quickly shot to the top of my want list and could be a candidate for international ordering status...

this picture is for you too.

accompanying that minimal treat is my much self-scrutinized, ”Gettin’ Over Mix”, the result of an idea and feeling for a Sunday morning congregation that involves you & your friends, something to nosh, a cocktail or two, the sun, and the sounds of the Monorail taking you there. i did my best to try and capture our wide spectrum (Remy, MDY and i) in a quick 30-minute mix. all vinyl. all one take. enjoy:

Standing 8 - "Gettin' Over" Mix

...and if you’re not too mad at me, i’ll be playing this Friday the 15th in the third installment of Hall of Records Presents: Wax Broker Riot with fellow audiophile DJ Clearance Duffy. our third outing at the wildly eclectic It’s a Beautiful Pizza, boasts more record dealers, guest DJs, and co-founder Justin Meyer’s birthday. a solid growing concept that’s part dance party, part record sale and all that. come down, drink the kool-aid and be a believer.

for your love...

2009-05-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

i wanted to introduce myself with a mix or one of the edits i'm working on, but while i was looking for a cleaner copy of the Yardbirds' "For Your Love", i was reminded of this gem of a disco version. nearly 12 minutes of glory here; soak it up...

Chilly - For Your Love

if i don't manage to post anything else this week, it's because i'm preparing for a hefty set this coming Saturday at Ascension. i'll be spinning all that good cosmic/bearded/psych disco and a whole lot of weird stuff from 2am til dawn. come get strange:

(click flyer for link to facebook event)

i'm a man, yes i am.

2009-05-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

here's two tracks that are sort of old news if you've really got your finger on the trigger, but are rad nonetheless. old news because they come from last year's "Rong Music Presents Promo Only" CD, which just came in the mail for me with a few records. since i'm not about to wake the roommates ripping records all late, here's the first - an amazing hunk of spacey discofunk edited by How & Why? that had MDY and i scratching our heads yesterday. you figure it out:

How & Why - #9

next up is a choice edit of a Chicago jam from back before the Transit Authority gave them heartburn, done by NYC's Rub N Tug. those fellas are going to be playing all night in LA this Saturday - somewhere - ruining Mother's Day for anyone privileged enough to be there for it. enjoy:

Rub N Tug - Lower Beard Stays The Same

ps: come follow us on twitter!

everybody dance(d)

2009-05-03T23:55:00.000-07:00

first of all, a GIANT thanks to everyone who made it out on Friday for the party - and danced their faces off - it was beyond all our expectations, by far.

we also got some really kind emails from other Portland deejays who were playing elsewhere in town and couldn't make it, and we really appreciate that too. that seriously means a lot to us.

we're very excited about the coming months, and to be living in a city that really knows how to get down.

to all of you folks, i dedicate this song - which i *think* is an edit done by Chicago's Dj Rahaan, though i can't even remember where i stumbled upon it (any info would be appreciated; thanks internets!)...

Chic - Everybody Dance (Dj Rahaan edit) (?)

if you happen to have pictures from Friday, be a peach and hook it up, please. the above picture happens to be the only decent photo we managed to take the whole night, haha...

the next MONORAIL party will be in June at Holocene; stay tuned for more info on that.

and in other news, we've invited a new contributor to the Monorail Blog family - he'll be introducing himself later on this week with his otherworldly sounds. fans of cosmic disco and deep edits and weird gear, look out.

that's all for now. i'm off to finish the second half of this really confusing Godard film... anyone wanna help make sense of this?

and so it begins...

2009-04-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

this Friday's "soft launch" is coming FAST, and we're gearing up. for me, that also means *resting up* - cos if you know me, you know i don't bother sleeping much.

so last night, while my, umm, sleeping pill worked its way through my system, and before i fell into a wonderfully deep sleep, i worked through this lil mix to get your ears ready for what's to come. its a bit cheesy, but you know you like that...

Remy's "Soft Launch" Mix

the mix is also up in the MONORAIL myspace player. go get friendly with that too if you haven't already.

and if the tunes get your feet moving, and you think you've got what it takes - and we know you do - check the post below and get in on the dance crew action. its your time to shine too.

are you ready to throw down?

2009-04-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

if you don't already know, MONORAIL is an intergalactic express delivering the video dance show of your future, while providing a healthy dose of a past you never knew existed. your hosts Remy and Lamar create a soundtrack deep in land of disco-funk and a physical presence from deep in your dreams.

so here's the deal, we need dancers! not professional dancers, but serious party dancers. if you've ever had dreams of being a Soul Train dancer you've pretty much got the idea. we're looking for a group of 25-30 dancers to tape at the beginning of the night and stay to keep the dance floor hot for the party. don't worry, your efforts won't go unnoticed, scratch our backs and we shall definitely return the favor.

if you still don't know what to expect, check out this video from WGPR Detroit's The Scene, Detroit group Felix & Jarvis open the show with their track "Flamethrower Rap"

Felix & Jarvis - Flamethrower Rap

to keep it Detroit, have a listen to ShareVari by A Number of Names to help get into it for Friday's "soft launch".

A Number of Names - ShareVari

another lazy post?

2009-04-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

...i guess you could say that. but its more like a "busy post". i swear i'll get to ripping some music, just after i finish the giant pile of other things i need to do.

until then, enjoy the video above for Beautiful Swimmers' "O Yea" - the B side to their now-sold out 12" on Future Times. if you're in DC Friday night, you can catch them with Tim Sweeney. you lucky dog.

and while you're watching videos on the internet, go here and see what these Vice magazine wannabes think of Nite Jewel's "Artificial Intellegence" video. they'll be playing Portland with Telepathe, Fleshtone, and Linger & Quiet on June 11th. ...at about the same time that my plane will be landing in Cancun, Mexico. bummer right? well, i found this out after i switched my ticket so we could spin the Holocene 3 Year Anniversary with Prins Thomas on the 5th. win some, lose some!

...oh, and before i forget: there's going to be some changes 'round these parts very soon. all good things of course. we may be changing urls. we may not. but monorailpdx.com exists now, and with our party launch coming up, there will be loads of interesting shit flying from our fingertips. try and keep up, k?

eeerrm...

2009-04-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

we've been very bad bloggers lately.

MDY and i are superbusy getting shit ready for the "soft launch" of our monthly "showcase" danceparty (more on that soon, promise), and frankly my trip to Sweden and the all-night Glass Candy/Simonetti/Linger & Quiet dance extravaganza (and breakneck trip up to Seattle that immediately followed) just about have me spent.

but i'm almost back at 100% and will be ripping some fresh hotness and hot freshness for your enjoyment very soon. and if i can wrestle the 808 out of Mike's hands for a few minutes maybe i can get him to let some secrets out too. cross them fingers.

stay tuned for tunes, news, and nonsense... for now, i'll leave you to ponder this slice of amazingness from 1977:

sweden forever

2009-04-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

this one's going to have to be short and sweet - getting ready for my trip to Sweden this weekend for to work the Göteborg Tattoo Expo.

i'll be djing the convention's official afterparty at Trägårn, and maybe a set somewhere else before or after (details soon). if you're in town, come hang out!

here's two strange edits by Swedes - the first is a recent edit by Stockholm's "reactivated" Jackpot, of Czerwone Gitary, Poland's "Red Guitars". there's more from Jackpot over on Sweden's fine Service label. the second is a 1981 edit of Donna Summer's One Love by Dagur Nilsson that this blog tells us is now running Rucksack Records out of Malmö. i recently picked this one up from Juno.

Czerwone Gitary - Coda (Jackpot edit)

Hverfisgötu Disco - Forever (Dagur Nilsson re-edit)

i'll be back in Portland early next week, getting down to business on some new stuff around town. keep your ears to the ground... exciting action ahead.

linger & quiet in space

2009-03-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

not like you need a new reason to follow Tim Sweeney's always-amazing Beats In Space radio show, but right now you need to go hear some really choice selections from our friends, Linger & Quiet who run Portland's Nightclubbing party that MDY and i opened for a few weeks back.

Linger & Quiet on Beats in Space

part two of this installment of BIS is the work The Revenge from OOFT Music. my pal Flufftronix hipped me to him and his blog recently, and may have even given me this edit of his below.

Sister Sledge - Lost in Music (The Revenge rework)

brash & vulgarrrrr

2009-03-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

i don't know if you're keeping up, but i sure am, and today is March 24th. that means In Flagranti is releasing their sophomore full-length, Brash & Vulgar. go check out all the little promo videos for it on their homebase at Codek. yowza.

just last week i received their contribution to the "RVNG of the NRDS" series - four jacked edits of discofied rock and rockified disco. unfortunately for you, its all sold out at the RVNG site, but you can probably dig it up somewhere... here's a cut from that:

Petite Storm - Stahl Rig (In Flagranti's RVNG of the NRDS edit)

and while i was ripping that, i had this Tussle 12" handy, and figured i'd let it out as well. its the A side to the release of the same name. they're touring with Ratatat in April, but not through Portland. maybe next time around we can change that?

Tussle - Here It Comes

and finally, while we're getting vulgar with In Flagranti: all last night and this morning i've been jamming this *super sleazy* mix by Lovely Jon on Sweden's Service Records "radio" page. dripping wet with phone sex ads and porno clips, its a romp through vintage exploitation film soundtracks. get it on here.

EDIT: LOLOL @ Jarvis Cocker's SKIVVIES!!

questionnaire of love

2009-03-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

here's two quick classics.

the first - Deputy of Love - i'm posting because i was reminded of Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rhumba Band earlier in the week over lunch. this is by no means a rare track. it was a no.1 hit in 1979, and saw a reintroduction on Ze Records' first Mutant Disco comp - though there's hardly anything "mutant" about it, just straight-up disco. Fonda Rae's vocals on this are so clear and bright, and there's something about the whole track overall that can only be described as "relentless".

the second is the title track from Chas Jankel's 1981 Questionnaire LP. i picked this record up in Chicago, and its gorgeous from start to finish. i thought this would go well with the other track - maybe its just the big production - and had been looking for a reason to blog some Jankel anyhow. either way, enjoy.

Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rhumba Band - Deputy of Love

Chas Jankel - Questionnaire

i stumbled on that creepy gameshow painting by Richard Telles here.

...and, fuck it, here's another track from that rip, and a Terje re-edit of another from the same LP... aren't i generous?

Chas Jankel - Now You're Dancing

Chas Jankel - Glad To Know You (Todd Terje Re-Edit)

stayed up talking all night long.

2009-03-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

video shot and edited by Aaron Garcia. i'm in it here and there, getting my sweat on just after my flight in. all three bands - Pan De Sal, Afghan Raiders and Yacht - were excellent that night.

i've got a lot of amazing tunes to post, just been too lazy to rip records, sorry. stay tuned, cadets.

i'm so nasty...

2009-03-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

so last night a couple tall cans of Steel Reserve led me to finish up the first in a series of mixes made with some of my favorite low quality vinyl rips. to keep it nice and NASTY! i've made sure to throw in a smattering of fuck-ups and horribly ridiculous voice overs. with that said get to the listening.

MDY - Nasty V.1

introduction/assassination.

2009-03-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

we're pleased to introduce our man, Dameian - known-in-the-night as Standing 8. i'm not gonna go on and on about how great a dj he is, or how he's a real down-ass-dude, or how, if i was having some babies right now, he'd be on my short list of godfathers... instead i'm gonna just copy/paste the encyclopedia entry he wrote about this track, and let you enjoy the aural delight that follows. expect more choice cuts from him from this point forward:

it’s pretty safe to say that the track listing for the sub-genre of "Dance Songs about Boxers" is pretty damn short, at best. so to lay claim as the band to hold the undisputed belt of best dancefloor burners about brawlers, should be an obtainable and realistic goal for any of the bands on said list, and with this, it looks like The Sunburst Band are standing with their arms raised with this cut, about then-world champion Larry Holmes, hoisted proudly on their shoulders. currently the only contenders for this title that come to mind are the UBB approved Experience Unlimited with their certifiable break, “Knock Him Out Sugar Ray”, “Mama Said Knock You Out” and maybe something from the Roy Jones Jr’s rap album (yeah, shelve that somewhere between K.O.B.E. and your DVD of Kazaam). Dillon’s “Hurricane” or Zevon’s “Boom Boom Mancini” really don’t count as “dance floor heat” so they get a gracious omit.

found this 12’ single (research has turned up a 7’ version too) in a box of records sitting on the front lawn of a garage sale on the north side of Indianapolis, near the Children’s Museum. at the time, the cover didn’t really pop at me but the fact that Larry Holmes’ autograph was front and center sparked curiosity and thus, was copped - along with the rest of the box that contained jazz treats from Pablo and various other nondescript local market proto-disco 12’s.

couldn’t really find much about the history of this band but i’ve often speculated that the song was financed by Larry Holmes himself in order to have some nice intro music to win the crowd over on his way to the ring. but what do i know? the guy was World Champ from ’78 to ’85 with a professional record of 69-6 (44 KO’s) and he forced the retirement of famed sport commentator Howard Cosell due to disgust after he beat the ever-loving shit out of actor Randal “Tex” Cobb (the bad guy from Raising Arizona and The Golden Child) for 12 rounds in what’s been widely called “The Most One-Sided Heavyweight Title Fight In History”.

this shit is pure heat. with a taste of DC Go-Go slap Bass and Congo breaks that go on for-fucking-ever, this track is certifiable just off the strength of the 6 minute instrumental b-side alone. but low and behold, the a-side kills it with the early disco rap style that you hear (complete with backup singers on the hook and a 2 minute instrumental intro for the nice-nice mix) and pays tribute to more widely known and slightly earlier artists of the same genre, ala Kurtis Blow, Love Bug Starski or The Treacherous Three. (Doe, you’re sleeping on the vocal).

enjoy.
- St8

The Sunburst Band - The Easton Assassin

i should be packing.

2009-03-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

i leave for Vegas tomorrow immediately after work, for one of those breakneck weekends that i seem to always organize for myself.

it includes this, which i'm pretty excited about:

come hang out and get awesome with me. i think i'll be opening and closing the night, with plenty of time for dancing, drinking and debauchery in between.

for a run-down of the rest of my weekend plans, indulge my ego here. i'm going to be blogging stuff there that doesn't belong here, so if you just can't get enough of my blather here, you know where else to be...

more news: we'll soon be welcoming a new guest contributor to the Monorail. you're gonna wanna stick around for this guy. he's got a lot of love to give, so keep your ears open and your heart free.

over & out.

currency mixtape v2

2009-03-10T01:39:00.000-07:00

another mix of all current tracks, none older than 6 months as far as i know. i think i'm gonna make this a regular thing. its good practice...

last night, i played around with different versions of this mix for more than four hours. at the end of it, i was frustrated, my feet hurt, and what i had was unusable.

tonight, i set up and pulled this off one my first go. there's a few cringe worthy spots, but whatever.

i forgot to mention in the post with the first Currency Mixtape: these are recorded to cassette, then ripped to mp3. maybe it sounds like shit to you, but i appreciate what it does to the fidelity.... what do you think?

Remy the Restless - Currency Mixtape v2

ps: this one's dedicated to Vegas. seeya Friday, lovelies.

pps: i'm in the paper up here! check it: tinyurl.com/coolbrag

take a chance

2009-03-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Amir & Kilian from Sweden's Dw just sent us over their newest creation, a collaboration with Daroc from France. hypnotic, and not just in name, and definitely hits with a bit of melancholy as well. if you know me, you know "i never heard a sad song that i didn't like"... enjoy:

Daroc feat. Dw - Hypnotic France

in other news, i'm working on the follow-up to my last Currency Mixtape this week before i take off for Vegas on Thursday. i'm spinning Friday the 13th there, at ye olde Beauty Bar. then, MDY and i will be back at the Holocene spinning March 18th with the UK's Jack Beats. after that, i promise i'll dust off some more vintage italo and disco stuff, and put together something straight-up cosmic for you all. oh, and go see the Watchmen. its righteous.

seizure inducer

2009-03-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

"wait, i gotta fight robots to get with her?!"

2009-03-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

jason from deepcover tipped me to this across the intarwebs today. i just had to share with you all.

tomorrow MDY and i are opening for Adam Sparkles at Linger & Quiet's NIGHTCLUBBING party here in Portland. its gonna be the jam. come down earrrrrly.

currency mixtape v1

2009-02-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

i've had a burning desire to record a mix this whole week. finally had a chance today.

i've been listening to tons of 60s, 70s, and 80s music for the past month, but this mix is all current tracks. stuff from the end of 2008 through now, with maybe a track or two from the last couple of years. one's a cover of a classic track, so don't be fooled - its recent too.

this is about 50 minutes, live, one take, and straight off the cuff.

ok, enough talk. get to listening:

Remy the Restless - Currency Mixtape v1

(tracklist in the comments)

did you enjoy the sex?

2009-02-16T01:46:00.000-08:00

hope everyone enjoyed their V-Day. ...clearly i need to get to sleep.

Brian Martin - Sex Tonight

let me

2009-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

MDY & i put this mix together last night, while enjoying a good amount of red wine. there's a glitch or two, but whatever - the songs are divine, and this will definitely put you in the proper mood for this weekend's festivities.

"Let Me", a valentine for your ears.

stay

2009-02-10T00:57:00.000-08:00

as you can see from the post below, we're just warming up our engines again, so stick around.

here's a selection from some of the records i picked up in the travels in late '08. it may end up in the mix MDY and i are cutting in celebration of the upcoming holiday, so consider it a preview?

Matrix - Stay (I Need Your Love)

(and i stole the pic from a pretty interesting flickr photog. sayin'.)

gearing up!

2009-02-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

one of our main goals in this changing of phases was to start building up a studio and creating some original material. well there definitely isn't any rest when your trying to grow a scene. this weekend we picked up a couple synthesizers and a sweet groovebox. if you want specifics we now have a Casio CZ-230s, Yamaha CS-1x, and Roland Dr-202 to add some sparkle to our projects.

so stay on the look out for that Count Money and the Draculettes Cover Project Ep. until then, try on some Kapp Ivory.

The Kapp Ivory Project - Shock The World

welcome home.

2009-02-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

hopefully you've noticed: we've been on a bit of a hiatus these days.

after a few months of traveling and partying and djing and doing all kinds of stuff, MDY and i are taking it easy in our new city of Portland, Oregon.

we've been getting out a bit though, exploring the nightlife here and formulating our next plan of attack...

for starters, we're playing what looks to be our Portland debut at Linger & Quiet's Nightclubbing at Holocene, on March 6th, with Philly's Adam Sparkles.

but at the moment we're busy settling into our new lives here, digging up new jams for the dancefloor and preparing some fresh mixes for your patient ears.

until then, here's a few quick shots in the dark:

Dolette McDonald - Extra Special

Hypnosis - Bormaz (Todd Terje edit)

Monster & Maskiner - I Won't Stay

i give my all

2008-12-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

so high school gave me a few things that i'm incredibly grateful for now. training in social dancing for instance, countless hours spent working up a sweat trying to get every last minute of floor time with my female peers. this song was guaranteed to get you close enough to that fine girl Shontelle from 4th period, to touch her just as much as she wanted to let you. check the video below.

the point is, i have a soft spot for this song, so it had to be edited... that's right, Howlermonkey isn't the only re-mixer amongst us - TeenWolf take note!

Ghostown Dj's - My Boo (MDY Love Watch Edit)

stressed

2008-12-22T02:15:00.000-08:00

been pretty quiet here while we've been traveling. there's so much to write about, but i'm stressed to the gills right now, so i'll make this a quick post and give you all a fuller update soon...

the videos below are the work of Norman McLaren, a very early animation pioneer. cool stuff. my suggestion: mute the sound on the videos, and play the corresponding track in the player. while some might call it sacrilegious to do so, i'd like to think McLaren himself would appreciate the recontextualization (is that a word?), and frankly, these tracks sound way better than the audio on each of the videos. as a dj, i don't really have any use for purity anyhow ;) enjoy:

Norman McLaren - Dots (1940)

Octet - Euro vs Dollar (Pilooski edit)

note: Pilooski (Cedric Marszewski) is one-half of Discodeine. the other half is Benjamin Morando (aka Octet and Pentile). go figure.

Norman McLaren - Boogie Doodle

The Units - i-Night

note: The Units are rad.

special place

2008-12-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

first off, this Friday is the last ///RESTLESS dance party in Vegas, meaning ever!!! featuring performances by The Twelves and Nite Jewel, not to mention all of us djs. show up it'll be fun!

somehow, "Try it Out", Klique's 1983 album, missed 8 years of record raids on my parents vinyl stash. now that i've finally heard it, i'm wondering when were my parents cool enough to have bought this. Inside Me gives a good taste of the synthesized boogie this album represents, and I Can't Get Enough from 1982's "Let's Wear it Out" gives away the bands funk origins:

Klique - Inside Me

Klique - I Can't Get Enough

cold yet sparked

2008-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

the party on Friday at B Side Lounge Cleveland was excellent, as was the one previous in Kent last Wednesday. big big thanks to Mike Filly and skaSean, respectively, for setting those up for us...

since then we've been tinkering around in Howlermonkey's studio in Cleveland, working on some freshness, and of course partying a healthy amount - thanks to Great Lakes Christmas Ale, and an energizing malt liquor that conveniently leads us to the following:

SPARKS YOUTUBE OVERLOAD!

LOL BONUS: HOT GOSSIP dancing to '#1 Song In Heaven'!!!

ahhhem. sorry about that. i've been on a Sparks kick after throwing on one of their songs the other night. apparently they're playing LA in February (road trip?)... you can easily track down waaaaay more info on them all over the internet if you were into those clips above.

we hit Chicago on Friday, so look out.

cleveland tonight

2008-11-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

hometown turf for myself and Howlermonkey. should be a blast!

sorry about the sparse updates, more news and tunes soon...

i just can't stop...

2008-11-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

i've been on a Can kick for the past few days, and stumbled on the above video while procrastinating yesterday. i can't stop watching it. the dancing fella is "dipsetmuthafucka", aka Ontario designer, Mike Long. apparently, he filmed himself dancing to all kinds of great classic music: funk, soul, punk, kraut, etc... every single day for a year. no joke.

aaaanyhow... we've been a bit busy in Monorailland, hence the lack of posts. here's a quick update:

- the 11/14 ///RESTLESS party was amazing. our hilarious "So So Daft" set went off without a hitch... well, that's not 100% true - the fog somehow messed with our equipment, so we had a few technical difficulties and had to turn off the machine, but after that it was all butter. check out the pictures here and here, thanks to the indiekrush photogs.

- both MDY and Howlermonkey have been elbow-deep in producing some new tracks. expect a remix, a rad cover, and an original real soon...

- i've been emailing and phoning like a madman, setting up our fly-by-night tour of the Midwest and West Coast... overall, the "tour" is a mix of roadtripping, visiting friends, finding a house in Portland, actually playing gigs, and attending parties we tried to get on the bill for (hey why not, right?).

for word on where and when we're playing, keep an eye on our myspace page, and specifically on this blog entry for the most accurate info. in addition, i'm going to do my best to keep a tour diary as well, with summaries posted right here on the monoblog. expect excessive enthusiasm and gratuitous grainy camera-phone pictures...

- and if you're in Las Vegas tomorrow, drop by my place and buy my shit. i'm going to be a broke motherfucker when we wash up in Portland and don't wanna have to eat my shoes the first week i'm there!:

tonight!

2008-11-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

i stepped out for a drink or three last night with Malachi, and nearly everyone i spoke to mentioned the party tonight... the buzz is there, the vibe is in the air, and i feel a good one coming on. don't miss out, its our 2nd-to-last!!

sadly, our pal Flufftronix will not be making it out tonight, but that means longer sets with our guests Malachi and neOn, and more quality time with us.

and yes, our "So So Daft" set will be both amazing and ridiculous. we'll be playing DP originals, remixes, remixes of theirs, and the tracks they sampled from to create theirs - like the classic cosmic jam below, Cerrone's 'Supernature', sampled to create 'Veridis Quo':

Cerrone - Supernature

Finally!

2008-11-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

so i remember preparing for my first Restless night with Remy and grabbing the early demo version of this, back in December. love on it bitches!

Miami Horror - Don't Be On With Her (Directed by Warran & Rhett) from Moop Jaw on Vimeo.

mr. friendly in beat repeat

2008-11-11T20:39:00.000-08:00

recently the folks over at Finger On The Pulse held a remix contest for Grum's new track 'Whoa'. the original features a sample of Toto's 'Mr. Friendly' ravaged through Ableton Live's Beat Repeat plug-in. here is my remix for the track, which in the words of Remy, is 'Whoa's "laid-back cousin from Miami". you judge for yourselves.

Grum - Whoa (Howlermonkey Remix)

rhythm is... reinterpreted

2008-11-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Feathers of Lead rolls the clock back to the future on Snap's 'Rhythm Is A Dancer' (video above), placing it somehow much earlier in dance music history than its 1992 release, and yet banging-ly current:

Feathers of Lead - Rhythm Is... Reinterpreted

i've been a fan of FoL's productions for a while now, many of which are available on beatport. check out FoL originals 'Adjust' and 'Freak Out', as well as their remix of 'Russiya' by a fellow British Colombian artist worth checking out, Young Monday.

...ok, fixed that link, and while i'm at it, here's a bonus track:

Galaxy II Orchestra - Acid Rain

this was ripped and posted by Alien Delon over at his blog, Kefir80s. don't worry, i can't read it either, but i can listen, and i've been jamming this track all day after being tipped to it recently by Sean Donson of the fabulous ARAWA.fm. keep up on these two - such great sounds...

from cosmic to comic

2008-11-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

in light of recent events...

2008-11-05T23:18:00.000-08:00

...the Monorail Riders are now committed to single-handedly turning the US economy around so that shitty jobs, cheap rent, and a disdain for materialism can once again (sic) provide people with a carefree lifestyle of music, art, travel, and fully-lived experiences.

join our cause, and keep the economy moving, by buying one (or several) of our tee-shirts - hand-screened by Improperazzi's Jon Solo himself, on sweat-free American Apparel.

here, the lovely Ashleigh demonstrates an appropriate color-pairing with one of the womens' tees with a solid print. click her photo to reveal one of the marble-printed tees:

(click for alternate print)

and here, Afghan Raiders' Mikey shows off his gradient-printed mens' tee. click his pic to see some detail of one of those marble-printed:

(click for alternate print)

to order, just email us at monorailriders(at)gmail(dot)com with your size (s, m, l only); quantity; mens' and/or womens'; and print preference (marble, gradient mens' or solid womens'). we'll send you our paypal info, you'll send us $15 per tee (free shipping for our friends in the US, and reduced shipping for everyone else!), and then we'll promptly send you the tee(s).

you can also grab yours in person by showing up to the next two ///RESTLESS dance parties on November 14th and December 12th, where we'll be getting a lot more than the economy in motion...

all proceeds will re-enter the economy via synth purchases, sushi, or cheap booze... i mean, our tour expenses... together, we can pull through these dark financial times, and in style. si se puede!!

BONUS TRACK!:

Disconnection - Cash Money

wired monkey ahead

2008-10-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

hey it's Howlermonkey here with another shameless self promoting post. this time I'm formally dropping my remix of the Wire track titled "Ahead". as you might expect, this track features the ubiquitous slap bass-lines and dreamy synth flourishes that seem to haunt my production.

Wire - Ahead (Howlermonkey remix)

i'm only Human

2008-10-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

so this isn't the most off the street hot new music at all. shit, it might not even seem to fit in with the rest of the posts but eff it. the fact of the matter is when i first heard of Zo! and Tigallo, i was really excited. i mean two young black men from Detroit doing remakes of 80's classics - whats not to like about that formula? i don't know what happened but they took a quick detour from my interest until last Saturday when i made a solo trip out of Vegas to get my head straight for a few hours. prepared to space out with my favorite tools of enlightenment and inspiration, the latest HVW8 podcast and a joint, i drove and drove until i heard it. it was Level 42's Something About You, but with vocals, and production not unlike a Platinum Pied Pipers or Sa-Ra track. if you don't know the original play the vid, if you do enjoy Zo! and Tigallo.

Zo! and Tigallo - Something About You

oh and just because i'm feeling extra smooth here's a bit of Sa-Ra Creative Partners
Sa-Ra - Hollywood

the longer i wait, the harder i'm gonna fall

2008-10-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Ladyhawke - My Delirium

gonna keep this one short and sweet - there's plenty of info about Ladyhawke floating around the aether these days, so rev up your search engines and have at it. i just had to post these new remixes up, simply because i've been jamming the Ladyhawke full-length all weekend, Chateau Marmont's been doing some solid work lately, and i really can't get enough of Fan Death.

plus that video is just gorgeous.... according to Ohh! Crap, there's a whole gang of My Delirium remixes coming out on Modular December 8th:

01 My Delirium (Radio Edit)
02 My Delirium (JBAG Hot Pop Remix)
03 My Delirium (JBAG Hot Pop Remix Edit)
04 My Delirium (Sunship Remix)
05 My Delirium (Sunship Remix Edit)
06 My Delirium (Sugardaddy Remix)
07 My Delirium (Toddla T & Ross Orton Remix)
08 My Delirium (Chateau Marmont Remix)
09 My Delirium (Fan Death Remix)
10 My Delirium (Original)

and here's those two tracks for the road:

Ladyhawke - My Delirium (Fan Death remix)

Ladyhawke - My Delirium (Chateau Marmont Remix) (thx Ohh! Crap)

caught in the act

2008-10-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

In Flagranti appreciation post, part 1!

it should go without saying that In Flagranti's music is Not Safe For Work. ...oh, and so are their amazing videos. they've got about a billion of them on their home base at Codek, but here's a selection of personal favorites, from oldest to newest, up until the end of 2006. more current videos and tracks in a post to follow... stay tuned.

Eskapade. from 2004's Nonplusultra.

Melody Maker & Paroli. from 2005's Melody Maker.

Monarchy's Chair. from 2005's work with Freddie Mas, Teaching Children How To Swear.

Reputation Or Notoriety. from 2005's We Make Love In A House Of Glass, feat. Betty Black of Kudu. ...if you've been to our Restless parties, i'm sure you've heard this more than once!

Genital Blue Room, of the 2006 release of the same name, with Amypop on vocals.

Deceptive Secrecy & Business Acumen. from 2006's It's All Rubbish.

bonus: Business Acumen was rereleased as a 12" single by Kitsune this September, with a cover by DFA's Holy Ghost! and the following remix:

In Flagranti - Business Acumen (You Love Her Coz She's Dead alteration)

check back soon for another orgy of In Flagranti vids...

In Flagranti at Codek
In Flagranti on myspace

in the end its your friends

2008-10-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

hot damn, that Jeffery Daniel can move... that's him in the beginning all by himself... i'm gonna be frank here and say that if you can't get down with that Shalamar track, you're no friend of mine.

San Serac does us one better though, and gives us his rendition of 'Friends' on a split release with Edmonton, Alberta's Shout Out Out Out just released on Nrmls Wlcm (headed by two of the fellas in S.O.O.O.).

Shout Out Out Out's track, 'In The End Its Your Friends', takes a much more cynical look at friendship, but San Serac comes back on the remix and tries to cheer it up with his signature funk touch. alternately, San Serac's 'Friends' is remixed by Paranomasiac (EDIT: who San Serac tells me is Nik 7 of S.O.O.O.) which for the first four minutes sounds like it'd fit well on a John Hughes soundtrack, before it catches on "Canada, Canada...." as the acidic synths pull in and take over.

the split just became available through Nrmls Wlcm, iTunes, and, if you're up in Canadaland, on Shout Out Out Out's mini-tour with San Serac's other project, Stereo Image, with ex-Junior Boy, Johnny Dark. Stereo Image will also have their self-titled debut in tow as well, just released on San Serac's own Frog Man Jake label. check out the tracks below to hear the kind of trouble you'll be getting into.

San Serac - Friends

San Serac - Friends (Paranomasiac remix)

Shout Out Out Out - In The End Its Your Friends

Shout Out Out Out - In The End Its Your Friends (San Serac remix)

bonus: Stereo Image on RCRDLBL

Shout Out Out Out is also taking their dual drummers and truckload of synths into NYC for a few CMJ gigs this weekend, so check them out Friday and Saturday night.

San Serac
Shout Out Out Out
Nrmls Wlcm Records

Howlermonkey - Whispers Video

2008-10-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

video comes courtesy of Pittsburgh based film-maker Ben Hernstrom aka Ambulantic. the landscape somewhat captures the post-industrial wasteland of Pittsburgh's Braddock area. in case you might be wondering, Howlermonkey is the lad in the black leather jacket, and also the one writing this post...

for all of you relentless gear-heads, the synths used within the song are as follows: Korg Monopoly, Prophet V, Juno-60, and Minimoog (not the VST's). it was mixed on a Neve console. no ginger-balls were harmed in the making of this video.

ambulantic
myspace.com/ambulantic
myspace.com/theehowlermonkey

sunday school

2008-10-19T16:29:00.001-07:00

parts: 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

from imdb.com: "Maestro tells the story of how a group of people found refuge and a call for life outside the mainstream, what evolved was a scene that set the ground work for what was to come in dance music culture worldwide, a rare insight into the secret underground world..." (more) Maestro on amazon.com.

the film drags a little, and had a little less music than i think it should've, but this is the roots of dance music and club culture. if you want to know how it all began, this is a good place to start... Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso, the Paradise Garage, the Loft...

Class Action - Weekend (Larry Levan Mix)

set in stone

2008-10-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn three-piece, Fires of Rome, have just leaked a few remixes of their single, Set In Stone, which i caught a few months back. they'll be releasing a digital EP of the remixes on November 4th, followed by a physical CD release in January.

fellow Brooklynite, DJ Angola, kicks his remix in right away with an infectious tribal beat that continues throughout. it leaves most of the song intact, but elevates it to a versatile club track that leaves room to breathe.:

Fires of Rome - Set in Stone (DJ Angola Remix)

M83's Anthony Gonzalez morphs Set In Stone into the kind of soundtrack-worthy space-ballad that keeps this Frenchman in our ears. it has an almost Verve-like flavor to it:

Fires of Rome - Set in Stone (M83 Remix)

in contrast to DJ Angola's lighter tribal touch, and M83's cosmic wanderings, Mo Dj adopts a much more maximal approach. it is by far the most ambitious of these three, with different elements and textures weaving in and out of the complex tribal rhythm. Set in Stone's already urgent vocal track is joined by african chants and and melodies, and -wait- ....YES, that is Michelle Obama's speech from the Democratic National Convention in Denver! how timely:

Fires of Rome - Set in Stone (Mo Dj Remix)

if you're in NYC, you should catch Fires of Rome on November 6th with UK's Cazals and Detroit Techno pioneer, Kevin Saunderson:

the show must go on

2008-10-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

one of our French pals left us a link to this video on our facebook group page. it was too good not to share with you all.

the monorail shown is France's late Aérotrain, an ambitious monorail project that was abandoned in 1977. like most monorails, it was plagued by budget issues, a fickle public, and the whims of a few different political administrations.

the song of course is Queen's "The Show Must Go On". i couldn't possibly mention Queen without offering up a Freddie Mercury favorite of mine: Love Kills. this was Freddie's first solo track; featured italo legend Giorgio Moroder and Queen's long-time producer, Reinhold Mack behind the mixing board; and was part of the Moroder-produced soundtrack for the 1984 re-release of Fritz Lang's 1927 classic, Metropolis.
(credit goes to Red Room NW for the info, an excellent blog for classic 70s and 80s dance tracks)

Freddie Mercury - Love Kills

sneak peak of the new DEEPCOVER x RESTLESS Tee

2008-10-09T19:45:00.001-07:00

behold the new DEEPCOVER x RESTLESS Tee:

of course, that's only a digital sample - the real thing is a work of art...

click the image above to see a photo of one of the marble-printed womens' tees, hand-pulled by Jon Solo of Improperazzi.

the mens' are all a bright orange and yellow gradient print on American Apparel brown; white, navy, or marble print on a snazzy gold/white/navy blue AA jersey tee for all the ladies in the house. each one is unique.

they're available first-come, first-serve tomorrow at ///RESTLESS, following the give-away:

10 tees at 10p - 5 mens', 5 womens' - don't be late!

DeepCover
Improperazzi

EDIT: the Tees are now available in the MRR SHOP in the sidebar on the right!

Hot to Trot!

2008-10-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

MDY just put together a fresh lil mix. hitting just over 16 minutes, its a 10-song jaunt through the classy flashy funky 80's, with a little bit of current flavor. do i smell a bit of 90's too? snap it up, and throw that on as your ride cuts through the cool desert breeze tonight. i see your hips start to shake...

MDY - Hot to Trot Mix

///RESTLESS! 10/10 this Friday!

2008-10-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

we've had this party booked for a long time now, and we've been stoked for a long time!

this party will also be the release party for the new DEEPCOVER x RESTLESS tees. stay tuned here for a sneak preview. we'll be *giving away* 10 of them for free at 10pm, so best be there early!!

check out this action-packed line-up:

outside ($5):
11 CALVARY live
12 CULTURE PROPHET live
1 AFGHAN RAIDERS live

inside (free):
9-11 GRIMEHAUS dj set
11-2 MDY & Remy dj set
2-?? CULTURE PROPHET dj set

click the pics below for links:

CULTURE PROPHET:

AFGHAN RAIDERS:

CALVARY:

GRIMEHAUS:

MDY & Remy the Restless
(your residents, aka Restless Soundsystem):

raising some dust...

2008-09-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

the monorail is under construction...

please check back soon!

...until then, please refer to the links on the right side.