Friday 31 October 2014

GHOUL BALL clips

The Hous Of Khan's GHOUL BALL was everything!! SO glad to finally see ballroom taking off over here, with a little help from our French sisters! :) Hats off to Harley and D'Relle for making this happen, I wil try and get an interview with those guys up on CVNTY soon. In the meantime, here's footage:






Monday 27 October 2014

RELENTLESSY CUNTY!!

Major h/t to SPF666's Zak for this piece and tunring me onto Relentlessly Cunty, a dj who has devoted his career to mixing, collecitng and cataloging bitch tracks and cunty beats. This is the roots of CVNT Traxx y'all so learn it and learn it good:


Our new Originators series explores specific, underserved scenes through mixes of representative tracks and interviews with prominent artists, as conducted by Zak “SPF666” DesFleurs. The intent is to provide desperately needed historical context for these genres in the age of the Internet, a time when cultural objects are uprooted from their scenes and reworked, repurposed and reappropriated beyond recognition.

The first in our series is DJ Relentless / Jade Elektra (neƩ Alphonso King Jr), introducing us to the cunty voice of ballroom, bitch tracks. Relentless is best known for his Relentlessly Cunty mixes: a multi-volume series that serves as a near-comprehensive survey of bitch tracks.
His contribution is primarily an archival one: the Relentlessly Cunty mixes served as an introduction to many (myself included) to a specific element of ballroom culture that lives on in the endless Soundcloud reworkings of classics in vogue’s most recent rise in popularity.
When did you start DJing? Was it always under the DJ Relentless Moniker?
I guess it all started in 1980 when my Uncle Herbert King moved to Tampa from Las Vegas. He was blind and needed an assistant to help him at his new job at WMNF 88.5. We did a Jazz/R&B show from 1 to 4 PM on Mondays. I had always loved music and had collected records since the age of 5, but this began my love affair with programming. He always told me to “only play what you believe in and love”. I didn’t get the DJ name “Relentless” until 1996 while I was spinning and VJing for The Works and The Break in Manhattan after playing in New York City for the past 4 years. Until then I just used my real name, Alphonso King Jr.
Your uncle gave some pretty solid advice when it comes to djing (and production for that matter). So how did you initially get into the ballroom scene in the first place? What was your house?
My first residency was at Sally’s II (as featured in Paris Is Burning). Ironically, the year before I moved to New York, I watched Paris Is Burning and dreamed of being at a ball. So, when I moved in with The Electrifying Grace (who was the downstairs neighbor to Paris Dupree), I was thrilled. Then Grace got me an audition for Sally’s, right around the time that Dorian Corey and Angie Xtravaganza had weekly shows there, and Willi Ninja, Octavia St. Laurent and Pepper Labeija were regulars.

Check this mix it is EVERYTHING!

Wednesday 22 October 2014

YARINKA COLLUCCI Kaleidascope EP OUT NOW

One of my favourite new producers! Go get this EP from her Bandcamp NOW!
 

Thursday 16 October 2014

Monday 13 October 2014

DIVOLI S'VERE's Tuesday Tracks



Check this - a brand new series of weekly beats by one of ballroom;s finest Divoli S'Vere! There will be a new track droping every Tuesday, so follow his Soundcloud page!



Saturday 11 October 2014

Hosue Of Khan UK's GHOUL BALL

And the night after the World Series party it's the first ever ball in the UK by the legendary House Of Khan! Looks like a little holiday trip to London is on the cards...


Friday 10 October 2014

CVNT TRAXXX @ World Series Label Launch

Proud to be involved in the new label venture form Rushmore of the Hosue Of Trax! Check out the launch party this Wednesday - a sweet mid-week soiree somewhere secret in the heart of Dalston...


Monday 6 October 2014

HOUSE OF SUAREZ Ball pics & Video

WOW!! What can I say? That went OFF! Not only the production and the performances, which were as big and epic as eexpected, but also the Orphans open catwalk category, which anyone with enough nerve can walk. Last year, that lasted about 5 minutes in total (I know cos I played 2 tracks and then it ended) but this year it must have gone on for more than 20! I actually got to throw down and chop up a whole bunch of music, from RuPaul to Tronco Traxxx to Divoli S'Vere. I lost count of how many were walking, it must have been dozens! People are GETTING INTO IT. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get great pics or video from the booth, which was a distance back from the stage, but I got some:





My regulation Suarez Ball selfie: 


And a short clip of the end of House Of Suarez's presentation:


And don't forget, The HOUSE OF SUAREZ Ball MANCHESTER will be at Gorilla next February - get your tickets!

Friday 3 October 2014

LA's BANJEE BALL

LA IS BURNING! The folks at Purple Crush have started putting on balls and they look MAJOR. I've always wanted to know more about the ballroom scene in LA. There's more info and future dates at the BANJEE BALL Facebook Page.







And more from LE1F! Performing his now-classic "Wut" (cough Macklemore stole it cough)

Wednesday 1 October 2014

CVNT TRAXXX @ HOUSE OF SUAREZ BALL this Saturday!

As ever, I will be djing at Liverpool's House Of Suarez Ball, the UK's biggest function, this Saturday. The theme this year is Space Odditty, and it's in a bigger venue. From what I have heard, this produciton is going to be epic!