10 Jul 2009

dj bakasan - Quick Mix Vol 4

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A friend recently asked several DJs that he knows if we'd each submit
a short mix in order for him to get a feel for each guy's style. As a
budding DJ, he wanted to get a feel for the way different DJs end up
"sounding", even if the material they pull from was generally the
same. Ever since starting this blog a couple months ago, I've been
trying to keep up a pace of posting up a mix every few weeks, so it
didn't seem like a big deal to accept the challenge and send in a mix.
 If the other guys permit, I'll post up theirs as well once they send
theirs in.
 
The rules were as follows:
 
* 20-25 minutes
* Free for all, play anything you want
* Spin a primetime set
* Single take, no post-pro
 
Recorded last night at 2:30 AM.. I really need to find better things
to do than to jump on the decks at that time of night. Like sleep.
 
If I had to define my style, I like to pluck from 3 main buckets,
mainstream hip hop/R&B, old school (defined as mid 90s and earlier),
and less obscure underground acts (Ugly Duckling, Lexicon,
Procussions). I tend toward longer blends as my bread and butter, and
will often use long loops into or out of a song. To mix it up I will
on occasion fast cut over. Since one constraint was prime time set, I
didn't stray too far from bouncing between newer mainstream stuff and
old school, but not so much the stuff I'd pull during opening sets
(underground, 70s funk) or closers (high energy, freestyle, house
breaks).   My primetime sets are often almost exclusively quick mixes.  We're talking 1 verse 1 chorus and out.  At most I'll play 2 verses if the track is met with a particularly strong response, otherwise I'm speeding along trying to keep the crowd intrigued / on their toes with where I'm going next.
 
In any case, hope you enjoy!
--

Far East Movement - Fetish
50 Cent - Get Up
Punjabi MC - Beware of the Boys
Sean Paul - Get Busy
Wayne Wonder - No Letting Go
Jay-Z - I Just Wanna Love U
Dr. Dre - Next Episode
MIA - Paper Planes
Jay-Z - DOA
Masta Ace - Sittin On Chrome
Volume 10 - Pistol Grip Pump
Mary J Blige - Real Love
Birdman & Rick Ross - Sun Comes Up
Wale ft Lady Gaga - Chillin'

26 Jun 2009

The King Of Pop

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This was pretty fucking hard.
 
Doing justice to an icon like Michael Jackson is a pretty damn tall
order. Upon hearing the news, I was shocked. Memories of growing up
in an immigrant household came flooding back--my entire extended
family, 3 generations worth, huddled around a TV watching MJ perform
live, all of us in awe. (I looked it up... viva la youtube, my memory
was of MJ's 1988 Grammies performance).
 
So as a DJ, of course it's only fitting that I'd retreat to my stacks
of records as a shelter from the onslaught of news coverage. And man.
 It was hard. Really, really hard. The man's career spanned over
three decades. His music (and his countenance) morphed and evolved
over time to suit the times. And listening back to his material,
there's a lot of really good stuff. A LOT. More than anything, the
challenge for me was putting together a "complete" tribute.. but it's
effectively impossible. The best tribute to MJ is to just buy a
complete anthology and have it for reference.
 
What this mix represents is just simply what are my personal
favorites. I tried to reach for across the eras as best I could, but
generally stuck to what I felt most popular and notable. I went
through 4 or 5 versions of this mix, not quite feeling any of them
perfectly captured what I wanted---but it finally dawned on me that
likely nothing ever would. This is just the first one I grabbed to
convert to mp3.
 
Hope you all enjoy. And uh, for the occasion I even dusted some of my
old, actual vinyl records to make this mix. Too bad one of my doubles
of Billie Jean has a nasty gash in it that I didn't know about until I
was recording this mix. :(
 
RIP MJ, we'll miss you. Until then, we'll all have one hand in the
air and the other grabbing our crotches in your honor.
 
PS for those of you who know me, contact me if you'd like a high
bitrate version of this on mp3 instead of the lower fidelity one
uploaded.

15 May 2009

Quick mix repost

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My previous hosting at mixable seems to have expired, so I'm reposting some old mixes that I had over there.   Enjoy if you've never heard! :)

13 May 2009

DJ bakasan - Quick Mix Vol 1

(download)

So I've heard you guys loud and clear.  You don't care if each mix is completely 100% on point and something that I pour myself into perfecting.  You want quantity.  And lots of it.  All right, quick mixes w/ rough edges it is.  Kick it off w/ some old school to new (as I always do).  Generally pretty happy with this, though the Busta to Chubb Rock is rougher than I'd like---not super familiar w/ the Busta track.  Hot beat, but I didn't know the structure of the track very well, so was dropping Chubb fairly blind.

Anyhow, enjoy!  First of many more to come hopefully.

De La Soul - Me Myself and I
Hall and Oates - I  Can't Go For That
Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me
Chubb Rock - Treat Em Right
L'Trimm - Cars That Go Boom
Wham - Everything She Wants
Paradiso Girls - Patron Tequila
The Dream ft Kanye West - Walking on the Moon
DJ Felli Fell ft Sean Paul, Pitbull,  Flo-Rida, T-Pain - Feel It
Chelley - Took The Night
Armand Van Helden - Funk Phenomenon
Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
LMFAO - La La La

24 Apr 2009

dj bakasan - Free (stylin')

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Testing out posterous for the first time... love the concept! :D

This is an old mix from 2004 or so.. I even managed to get featured on the Cerritos All Stars web page w/ this mix :D (MUCH love to the boys and girls of CAS http://www.cerritosallstars.com , they're pioneers of online radio for the hip hop heads and some of the best DJs you'll find anywhere.   Period.  The crew over there's been one of my biggest influences as a DJ, so nothing but love and respect.

James Nguyen's Space

Los Angeles, CA

Music's always been a passion of mine. No, I lie. As a child, music was forced upon me in the form of an overzealous Asian mother and the stereotypical forced piano and violin lessons. While my first introductions to music weren't willing over time I certainly came to appreciate those doors being opened to me.

Having long wanted to learn how, in late 2005 or so I broke down, bought a used pair of Technics 1200s, a collection of records, and forced myself to learn the ins and outs of djing.

Since then I've been extremely lucky to have had the chance to spin at places all around Southern CA from the diviest of dive bars to Hollywood megaclubs. I've met people from all walks of life, including the many, many, many super talented DJs that call Los Angeles and the surrounding area home.

I'll be (trying to) posting mixes here, so I hope you guys enjoy!