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Showing posts with label Subliminal Sessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Subliminal Sessions. Show all posts

Saturday, 6 October 2007

Monkey Jenga

Yesterday I became the first person to get kicked out of Pacha before it even opened. Thanks to the wonders of organization of Subliminal records, they'd left a load of their promotional bits and pieces at Pacha (all the stuff that hangs from the ceiling and some big illuminated posters and stuff), and they'd only told Ben about it after they all left the island. This of course meant that yours truly had to go make all the packages ready to get picked up by the couriers. Don't ask me why this duty fell on me, I'm not entirely sure. I was actually probably the worst person to send down to Pacha, since I speak about three whole entire words in the Spanish language when required. I didn't feel too bad about it though, since my partner in crime for this task was to be Donald, who most people can't understand when he speaks English, never mind Spanish.

After waking up early, after stressing that we'd never be able to get everything done that we needed to before the courier came, I waited for Donald to come round. 15 Burn energy drinks later, and I'd heard nothing from Donald. Since Pacha closes for siesta at 1pm, we had to get there pretty early, so I grabbed the huge inflatable Subliminal logo that had been lamenting in a corner of Ben's house, and ran across the road to Donald's. Donald answered the door to the sound of "What te fuck a yoo daain here ya maad bastard Fus? Oh shat! Ah forgo we got tae go tae Pacha! FACK!". Turns out it was a case of the usual "phone running out of battery when you've set an alarm to make sure you're gonna wake up the next day to do something important" deal going on there.



After a scary-ass scooter ride with the huge inflatable subliminal thing hanging off the sides of the bike, we arrived at Pacha, and used my skills of mime artistry to converse with the Spanish guys that we needed to find 3 big boxes that belonged to Erick Morillo. This actually proved harder than you might think, as the mime word for box can be easily misinterpreted. Eventually we found them, soaking wet from the previous day's downpour in the workshop area of Pacha. The ceiling hangings were fine, as they were already in their own flight bags, however, the 2 illuminated posters that needed to be sent were huge, and weighed an absolute tonne. Donald went off to the post office, whilst I looked for the address labels so that the couriers knew where the packages were going. I looked all through the office where Ben said they would be, and more deft mimery to the Spanish, I found out that Simone, who was supposed to be the guy sorting out the labels for us was of course off today. I ended up being passed from Spaniard to Spaniard around pretty much all of the day workers at Pacha, until eventually someone took me to see the only English speaking person at the place: Mr Pacha himself, Ricardo Urgell. It was a shame that my first meeting with the owner of Pacha was in an apologetic begging capacity, but desperate times and all that. Ricardo actually turned out to be really nice, and had a look through all the paperwork in the office for me, but still to no avail. Mission non-accomplished. A couple of minutes later, Donald arrived back from the post office with similar disappointing news: A box the size of the poster things we needed to send simply is not available to purchase in Ibiza. Spanish people clearly only ever have to send very small things through the postal service. As we were deciding what the plan of action should be, and trying to get in touch with Ben to see what we could do, a grumpy little Spanish guy came up to us and asked us what we were doing. We tried as best we could to explain that even though we were from Scotland and Yorkshire, respectively, we were not there to steal everything from Pacha, but were there in fact in a 'Erick Morillo's bitch's bitch's bitches' capacity. Of course our hopeless attempts at Spanish only seemed to make matters worse, and he told us in no uncertain terms to politely fuck off.



There was only so much we could do about the situation without being in Pacha, so we decided to call it a day and go home. If Morillo was that desperate for his bits of flashing polystyrene, he could fly over in his private jet himself and pick them up.

Of course as soon as soon as I got home I started getting the phone calls from Ben: "What happened? They kicked you out?? Why???!". Of course in retrospect, the whole situation seemed a bit silly to me, but I could tell Ben was shitting a brick on the other side of the world. After Ben had gone on about packing tape for about 5 years (I'm not sure why, it's not like there's a shortage), I eventually agreed that I would go back to Pacha after siesta, but only if I could find someone that spoke Spanish to go with me to explain that I wasn't here to steal everything. After printing the addresses that we needed out at Linda's, I eventually managed to wake Kiki up, and persuade her that I would probably die a really horrible death at the hands of Ben if She didn't come with me to Pacha. One Spanish explanation later, and the labels were on the packages. We decided that there was no way we could really send the poster things without a box, and the Spanish seemed reluctant to give us any more bubble wrap after I'd popped most of it. Another 50 phone calls from Ben eventually persuaded us that we had to somehow do something with those as well though. I think Kiki obviously pointed her nipples of persuasion at a couple of the Spanish though, because a few minutes later they seemed happy to give us as much bubble-wrap as we wanted. All men are powerless against Kiki's nipples of persuasion. We got about 60ft of bubble-wrap and rolled the poster things up in it, and just covered the whole ugly thing in packing tape to hold it all together. Just then we get a phone call from Ben: "Oh don't worry about all this, nobody told the courier to pick the stuff up, so they won't be coming till next week now."

And so became the longest, most rambling, most pointless blog post in history.

Thursday, 26 July 2007

Ruforia: Chronic Fatigue




Finally the latest installment of the only feel-good force to be reckoned with is here! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I hope it's worth it! Personally I feel this mix has got some absolute gems in there, but then I would say that, because I chose them all. I suppose the only way we'll truly find out is for you to have a listen and tell me yourself!

This mix is dedicated to Timo, for being a true leg end, and for having his birthday. It's important. Once upon a time, Timo didn't like House Music, and denounced it as being faggy and gay. After listening to a few Ruforia mixes, it was all a different story. How strange. Anyway, Happy Birthday Timo, and I hope you like the mix :)

Tracklisting:

  1. Beach Boys - Surfin' USA
    I don't need to say anything. Widely acclaimed as performing the best album ever ever.
  2. Laurent Wolf Feat. Soni Dee - Sunshine Paradise (12" Vocal Mix)
    I've been wanting to put this track on a Ruforia mix for a while - some of the most beautiful interplay of vocal harmonies around going on in this track (maybe even better than the Beach Boys?). Plus it's one of those tracks you can't help but feel good when you listen to it.
  3. Cosmic Love Feat. Gramma Funk - This is the Way We Funk It (Original Mix)
    I picked this up on a tiny whitelabel at Delta Discos last year in Ibiza, and never looked back - I never heard anyone else play it, but that doesn't stop me wanting to dance like a lunatic to it.
  4. Francesco Diaz Feat. Karl Frierson - Say a Little Prayer (Raul Rincon Mix)
    If I had a remix of Aretha Franklin's original, I'd be playing it here, but it seems it was never to be. That doesn't stop this one kicking ass though, and it's got that classic smooth Funky House bassline a.k.a 2004. More please.
    With: Bhernandez Vs. DJ Tyo - Let You Down (Power Dub)
    A pretty bland track, in my opinion, but this sample leads us nicely onto...
  5. Dennis Ferrer Feat. K. Brooks - Change the World (Main Mix)
    A great message in this one, and for this reason alone it deserves to be on a mix dedicated to Timo.
    With: Sugar Caine - White Lines (Vox 29)
    A bit of a teaser for later...
  6. Switch - A Bit Patchy (Kenny Dope Mix)
    I'm sure you've heard this one around, I've heard it everywhere, Digweed even played it at the Giant NYE party, LA, and for sentimental reasons, it's included here. I never get tired of those 60's sounding horns!
  7. Bob Sinclar - Ultimate Funk (Tocadisco Mix)
    A little-known Bob Sinclar one, this, but definitely still worthy. Bob Sinclar is credited with producing one of my favorite songs of all time: Love Generation, and he's one of those artists that seems to be able to do no wrong at the moment. I might even forgive him for being French.
  8. Bionik Phunk Feat. D. Mac - White Lines (Playmaker's Oldskool Mix)
    The original is of course, seminal, you can't argue with that, and I've been waiting for a while for someone to give it a House remake. You'll find a couple of dirtier mixes on Beatport, but this is my personal favorite.
    With: Afroman - Because I Got High (Acapella)
    This being a mix for Timo, there needs to be at least one reference to some nasty California weed in there somewhere, otherwise I wouldn't be doing my job.
  9. Joe T. Vannelli Feat. Rochelle Fleming - Get It On (Summer Love) (Tom Novy Remix)
    Mr. Vannelli's Sweetest Day of May is quite a few people's favorite moment of any Ruforia mixes, and I can see why, although I'm a little unhappy with a lot of the 2007 remixes - they lost a lot of that Soul feeling that was so strong in the original track. Get It On on the other hand seems to sum up everything Subliminal in one track though, those big build-ups that seem to fade away to nothing, and a track so deep you could drown in it. I love it.
    With: Roland Clark - Resist (Acapella)
    It does exactly what it says on the tin.
  10. Skee Lo - I Wish (Aqua Sky Remix)
    A great hip-hop song in it's own right (which is high praise indeed, coming from me), this remix is just plain dirt. Do the robot. Rinse. Repeat.
    With: Erick Morillo - House Music is a Feeling (Acapella)
    One of my favorite acapellas, this one should be in every house DJ's collection.
  11. Micha Moor - Space (Klass Club Remix)
    You'll recognize the hook in this one instantly as from Prodigy's Outer Space, and I've been hanging on for a true House re-make for a long time. Try keeping your arse still during this track. It's not physically possible, I assure you. I love the reggae breakdown, and the way the beat comes slamming back in with more nasty dirt than Courtney Cox in a mudbath.
  12. Muttonheads & Mattieu Bouthier - Make Your Own Kind of Music (original Mix)
    None other than Mama Cass did the original vocal for this track, and I can't stop listening to it right now. A proper sing-along monster, and I'm glad the producers had the sense to keep the original Motown feel to this track. It puts a great big smile on my face every time I hear it :)
  13. Rufus White - Mind Games (Reprise Mix)
    A track I've been working on - the piano is from Five For Fighting's Superman (Which I'm told is the theme tune to Dawson's Creek, but please don't let that stop you from listening to it!). I wanted to make a track which I could use at the end of the set, and I think the result is pretty nice - it needs a little bit more work, but it's definitely getting there. If you want to get your hands on this track, all I ask is a small donation to the Ruforia cause. You can donate securely via PayPal here.
    With: Red Carpet - Alright (Acapella)
    A staple of any good Subliminal Sessions night, I was so happy when I managed to find the Acapella to this track. It's been 3 years since I first heard it, and I still get goosebumps when I hear it now.
Enjoy, Rufx