OK, I've had my issues with Vice in the past (even though I write pretty regularly for Thump/Noisey) but here's two films they have produced recently about the modern NY ballroom scene. Well, involving it - the Icy Lake film also throws back to the late 90s and the long forgotten track of the same name which was an anthem with certain voguers of the era. And big up to MikeQ and Qween Beat, even though that film is 1000% too short! Anyway, enough words, just watch:
Showing posts with label Fade To Mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fade To Mind. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
post-PARIS IS BURNING vogue films playlist
I put together a playlist of short films (and short extracts from longer films) that people should watch once they have seen Paris Is Burning. These films fill in some of the gaps of PIB, give background details and information, and show where ballroom culture is at right now - which is important, as I feel people watch PIB and think they all there is to know about ballroom, which leads to this vibrant, living, breathing, evolving culture being dismissed as some kind of "90s relic", which plays into the kind of co-option and exploitation Madonna is guilty of. VOGUING IS NOT DEAD, IT IS ALIVE AND BETTER THAN EVER!
On this playlist you will find extracts form How Do I Look (the unofficial sequel to Paris Is Burning), footage of Crystal LaBeija in "The Queen", rare footage of Willi Ninja and pier kids voguing in the late80s/early90s, a film about the lost ballroom "classic" Icy Lake from LA's Fade To Mind label, a very short peek inside Vogue Knights (NY's weekly voguing showdown) and a look beyond the US scene to the modern voguers making Paris burn.
On this playlist you will find extracts form How Do I Look (the unofficial sequel to Paris Is Burning), footage of Crystal LaBeija in "The Queen", rare footage of Willi Ninja and pier kids voguing in the late80s/early90s, a film about the lost ballroom "classic" Icy Lake from LA's Fade To Mind label, a very short peek inside Vogue Knights (NY's weekly voguing showdown) and a look beyond the US scene to the modern voguers making Paris burn.
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Mind to Mind feature for THUMP UK, inc interviews with MIKEQ, DJ SLIINK and KINGDOM
Got this piece together for Thump, featuring some of my favourite DJs out right now. I'm pretty fuckin proud of this piece tbh:
If I were to ask you what your favourite dance labels are right now, I
wouldn't be too surprised if you mentioned LA's Fade To Mind and
London's Night Slugs; two closely-related club imprints who have been
setting the bar very high as a network of DJs throwing some of the best
parties on the planet.
Now, you can add Mind To Mind to that list too. Mind To Mind is a new
Fade To Mind offshoot, which - as label boss Kingdom and producers
MikeQ and DJ Sliink explain - is influenced by Night Slugs' Club
Constructions, yet with its own, unique outlook.
THUMP: What made you want to start Mind To Mind?
Kingdom: Will and I who run Fade To Mind had been
thinking a lot about what is at the core of what we do; what would be a
category of music that our artists generate that doesn't get released,
or that doesn't make it onto EPs usually. We came to see that a lot of
that stuff is casual collaborations, and improvised music that our
artists make together, so our concept was to create a release series
that is specifically for collaborations.
Those collaborations can be one off - like, if I happen to be in
London for a few nights, and I make a couple of tracks with Bok Bok, or
whatever the case may be. It's basically to have a space where people
can make tracks together without having to form "a band", or have to say
"We're a duo, we're now called this".
Will Mind To Mind have a similar club-based/DJ tools approach as Night Slugs' Club Constructions series?
Kingdom: Mind to Mind is only really comparable to
Club Constructions in the way that they are both side releases.
Sonically, we're hoping to push an entirely different direction -
although, these tracks on the release from Mike and Sliink are very
rhythm-based and drum heavy, like Club Constructions. But, in general,
this stuff is going to be very free-form. Some stuff will have no drums.
We are keeping it really open format, though. We don't want it to be
just club music. It can be more experimental forms too. Also, you can't
really know what to expect based on who is collaborating. Massacooraman
and L-Vis 1990 have been making a lot of tracks together, and those are
kinda of grimey, but also quite sparse and a-rhythmic. Very creepy,
industrial, dark stuff.
Mike and Sliink, how did you guys meet? Did you know each other before Mind To Mind?
MikeQ: Sliink and I met online first. I already knew
of him and his music being from New Jersey. I always played his music
when I played here in the past, and we had a few gigs together.
DJ Sliink: I met Mike from this video interview and
mix session program in NYC called Noise212 with JP Solis. Mike did his
slot before me, and I was on the next week. I pretty much saw he was
from Jersey and messaged him. Everything was pretty organic. The first
remix I did for him was the 'Ha Dub' remix on Fade To Mind.
How did you start producing music together?
DJ Sliink: After Mike and I met, we found out that
we lived around the corner from each other. We have a lot of tracks
together. We both really dig each other's style, and have a culture
behind what we do. I'm all for the culture.
MikeQ: Well for my debut EP I asked him to remix a
track, and then the Mind To Mind release idea didn't even come until
after we were done with the tracks. For this project, we were just
fucking around and had this idea to clash ballroom and Jersey club. We
passed tracks back and forth and met up a few times at my house, and
this release was born.
DJ Sliink: Mike and I both use Sony Acid Pro and FL
Studio. It's amazing that we use the same thing, as it makes the process
that much easier. We would email demos over and review them, and see
what might work in the club. When we both were home, that's when we
would grab some studio time.
Monday, 7 April 2014
Night Slugs x Fade To Mind pres ICY LAKE
Props to Fade To Mind and Night Slugs for digging out this gem - a lost tibal house jam from the mid/late 90s that Juniour Vasquez would play at the Palladium, as a call for the New Way voguers to get out on the floor. The track itself sounds like it could have been made yesterday, and it's pretty obscure - Vjuan Allure didn't know it, but Aviance Milan testified to it being a vogue anthem at the Palladium.
Here's a lil film made by the labels about the track's making and legacy:
Friday, 7 June 2013
MIKE Q [Qween Beat/Fade To Mind] interview
As I mentioned in a previous post, I interviewed a lot of
people for the Boing Boing ballroom article, but I only got to use a
small fraction of that information in the article itself (even though it
rapidly went from 3K words to 5K). I am very grateful to be given time
and info from people at the forefront of the ballroom scene, so I am
going to be post those unpublished interviews in full here on Cunty
blog.
Ballroom DJs don’t come any hotter than MikeQ. Resident at New York’s weekly Vogue Knights party, founder of the Qween Beat collective and recording artist in his own right, he has done more than most to push this sound out into the world at large.
In fact, it was hearing some of his dj mixes that re-ignited my passion for house music, and cemented my love for voguing culture. At a time when it seems like house music has little new ground to cover (deep 90s revival, anyone?) here is something that is genuinely fresh. Mike always brings a new slant to the genre, while making a direct link to the original house sounds I fell in love with as a child in the 80s and 90s. Best of all though, this is house music simultaneously looking forward while going back to its roots - this is dance music for DANCING TO, not for applying redundant arty pretensions to or for falling into a k-hole to.
Vogue culture, and house music, are alive and doing very well. They are not simply sounds and styles stuck in a 20 year old time warp, they are still restlessly pushing forward and Mike is right there at the forefront. Mike was kind enough to answer these questions for me late last year:
How would you describe ballroom culture to someone who has never seen or heard of it?
I would describe it as a long running culture of pure underground talent. A place where people can come and express who they are or who they want to be and not be judged by the outside world. It is a thriving community of greatness and an open outlet for many talents.
How did you first discover and get involved in this scene?
I first discovered the scene in 2003 after I finally visited a LGBT party I had been hearing about in school. That very day (and only for 10 mins) was I exposed to this scene and that was enough to get me started, the rest is history.
How did you get into DJing? Who were your first influences?
Well I got into deejaying totally by mistake. I had finally taken off as a producer of ballroom, I was still very new at it but deejaying just came along with the territory. It was not something I ever wanted to do, and I ended up being the DJ at the same party I first visited.
When did you get into production and who are your main inspirations as a producer? What set-up do you use to produce your tracks and remixes?
I got into production very shortly after being exposed to the scene. I heard this great music and had seen what people do to it, and that just made me want to hear more of it, being that I couldn’t find much of it on my own. Since day one I’ve used a combination of Fruity Loops and Acid Pro, but along with that I use many things as I am still learning, which is a never-ending thing.
How is Vogue Nights going? Can you describe to us what it is like?
Vogue Knights, which is in it’s second year running, is still going strong. This “Vogue Night" came about after 1. The lack of smaller weekly happenings in NY ballroom and 2. Just somewhere for the younger generation to come out and practice their ballroom skills. First part of the night the lights are out and you just hear music and after 2am, they come on and the battles begin.
You’re travelling a lot now - how does the ballroom scene differ in different US cities?
It doesn’t really change in different cities the ballroom scene is one huge scene, same people, same rules. Every state has it’s own chapter but it’s pretty much all connected.
Voguing has been appropriated by the mainstream once before (most notably by Madonna) do you see this happening again?
It’s happening, maybe not as huge, but you’ve got plenty of celebs voguing in or just attending balls, the likes of Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Rihanna Ashanti, Kelly Rowland. You just gotta look closer.
There have been a few artists lately using some of the language and imagery of ballroom culture in a more mainstream context. What are your thoughts on that?
I don’t at all mind, just if your going to refer to ballroom or try to be relevant to it, at least know your history, know what you are saying. Who, what, why, where, when, and how. And feel free to attend a ball. Otherwise I’m gonna be there like “wtf?"
Who and what is Qween Beat? How did QB come about and what’s coming up in the near future?
Qween Beat is My Label/Team of DJ’s Producers, MCs, Video Artists & More. It originally started in 2005 as just a name for me to put my music under, I then got my first member Gregg Evisu and I’m up to 15 members now. We area collective of ballroom music makers getting ready to take the world by storm. You can expect our first release In the early part of 2013, and many soon after.
Thanks Mike! If you haven't heard/got it already, this is Mike's debut release from 2012 on Fade To Mind:
And this Fact magazine mix is still basically a crash course in all you need to know about Ballroom, as well as a huge mix for me personally, re-invigorating my love of house music with its forward thinking tracks, and a definite inspiration for my own CVNT productions:
Ballroom DJs don’t come any hotter than MikeQ. Resident at New York’s weekly Vogue Knights party, founder of the Qween Beat collective and recording artist in his own right, he has done more than most to push this sound out into the world at large.
In fact, it was hearing some of his dj mixes that re-ignited my passion for house music, and cemented my love for voguing culture. At a time when it seems like house music has little new ground to cover (deep 90s revival, anyone?) here is something that is genuinely fresh. Mike always brings a new slant to the genre, while making a direct link to the original house sounds I fell in love with as a child in the 80s and 90s. Best of all though, this is house music simultaneously looking forward while going back to its roots - this is dance music for DANCING TO, not for applying redundant arty pretensions to or for falling into a k-hole to.
Vogue culture, and house music, are alive and doing very well. They are not simply sounds and styles stuck in a 20 year old time warp, they are still restlessly pushing forward and Mike is right there at the forefront. Mike was kind enough to answer these questions for me late last year:
How would you describe ballroom culture to someone who has never seen or heard of it?
I would describe it as a long running culture of pure underground talent. A place where people can come and express who they are or who they want to be and not be judged by the outside world. It is a thriving community of greatness and an open outlet for many talents.
How did you first discover and get involved in this scene?
I first discovered the scene in 2003 after I finally visited a LGBT party I had been hearing about in school. That very day (and only for 10 mins) was I exposed to this scene and that was enough to get me started, the rest is history.
How did you get into DJing? Who were your first influences?
Well I got into deejaying totally by mistake. I had finally taken off as a producer of ballroom, I was still very new at it but deejaying just came along with the territory. It was not something I ever wanted to do, and I ended up being the DJ at the same party I first visited.
When did you get into production and who are your main inspirations as a producer? What set-up do you use to produce your tracks and remixes?
I got into production very shortly after being exposed to the scene. I heard this great music and had seen what people do to it, and that just made me want to hear more of it, being that I couldn’t find much of it on my own. Since day one I’ve used a combination of Fruity Loops and Acid Pro, but along with that I use many things as I am still learning, which is a never-ending thing.
How is Vogue Nights going? Can you describe to us what it is like?
Vogue Knights, which is in it’s second year running, is still going strong. This “Vogue Night" came about after 1. The lack of smaller weekly happenings in NY ballroom and 2. Just somewhere for the younger generation to come out and practice their ballroom skills. First part of the night the lights are out and you just hear music and after 2am, they come on and the battles begin.
You’re travelling a lot now - how does the ballroom scene differ in different US cities?
It doesn’t really change in different cities the ballroom scene is one huge scene, same people, same rules. Every state has it’s own chapter but it’s pretty much all connected.
Voguing has been appropriated by the mainstream once before (most notably by Madonna) do you see this happening again?
It’s happening, maybe not as huge, but you’ve got plenty of celebs voguing in or just attending balls, the likes of Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Rihanna Ashanti, Kelly Rowland. You just gotta look closer.
There have been a few artists lately using some of the language and imagery of ballroom culture in a more mainstream context. What are your thoughts on that?
I don’t at all mind, just if your going to refer to ballroom or try to be relevant to it, at least know your history, know what you are saying. Who, what, why, where, when, and how. And feel free to attend a ball. Otherwise I’m gonna be there like “wtf?"
Who and what is Qween Beat? How did QB come about and what’s coming up in the near future?
Qween Beat is My Label/Team of DJ’s Producers, MCs, Video Artists & More. It originally started in 2005 as just a name for me to put my music under, I then got my first member Gregg Evisu and I’m up to 15 members now. We area collective of ballroom music makers getting ready to take the world by storm. You can expect our first release In the early part of 2013, and many soon after.
Thanks Mike! If you haven't heard/got it already, this is Mike's debut release from 2012 on Fade To Mind:
And this Fact magazine mix is still basically a crash course in all you need to know about Ballroom, as well as a huge mix for me personally, re-invigorating my love of house music with its forward thinking tracks, and a definite inspiration for my own CVNT productions:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)