Vinyl Saturdays: Samba Horizontal

This laid back tune has that classic west coast deep house sound. I like the standout keyboard that trickles down over the rocky pathway to meet up with the smooth long synth notes. The tune feels underground and like almost every other piece of music just sounds better the louder you can play it. Enjoy!

Samba Horizontal - Tasho (right click to save as)
Tasho

Vinyl Saturdays: Dance To The Music

I remember buying this record brand new while venturing around Los Angeles with some fellow record junkies back in 2003. I was completely stoked to discover and buy this track. I'm not sure if I knew what it was about this track I liked so much then, was it the funky disco groove, the tidbits of brilliant electric guitar, or the perfectly clipped sample. Those are the reason I love this track now.
As I listen to songs that are coming out now, 10 years later, I see that this track is still current, in fact I could mix this right in our out of the legendary Daft Punk's new track Get Lucky in a set. Enjoy!

Dance To The Music - Soularis (right click to save as)
Solaris

Vinyl Saturdays: I'm Feelin' High Tonite

This track has aged extremely well. The fact that this song is 11 years old and could still be played in a club today sure says something. I love the whispery vocals that start off the song, but I love it more when the seductive female vocal sample "I'm feeling high tonight" shows up. The song is over 10 minutes long, which means there's plenty of solos and jamming. Enjoy!

I'm Feelin' High Tonite Deep Mix - S.O.E. (South Of The Equator) (right click to save as)
Matthias Heilbronn presents S.O.E.

Vinyl Saturdays: Chicken Dinner

This track walks a line, I'm not quite sure labeling it Drum and Bass is 100% appropriate. Though, the track does have elements of D&B. I enjoy the bassline a great deal. The drums may have been programmed, but I could imagine a talented drummer playing this piece live which is impossible in most Drum and Bass songs. There is a beautiful and colorful expedition that the song travels, that I find interesting and thought provoking. Enjoy!

Chicken Dinner - Ronnie And Clyde (right click to save as)
Ronnie And Clyde

Vinyl Saturdays: The West Wind Circus

Usually when I'm out digging through records I take a chance on something I've never heard of. This Helen Reddy album was that chance not too long ago. I had no idea who she was, or what she sounded like. But I was interested in finding out, so I brought her home with me.
The album is not my favorite, It's not cohesive with her style bouncing around without a base to foot back to. This song caught my ear on the second listen. I re-listened a few times, and really started to appreciate it. The song is dark and eerie, with sadness, loss, and mystery. I also appreciate how this song has a larger dynamic range, the quiet parts are quiet and the loud parts are loud. Enjoy!

The West Wind Circus - Helen Reddy (right click to save as)
Helen Reddy

Vinyl Saturdays: Conscious

This track got me the first time I heard it a few notes after that bassline started digging that amazing groove.  The track builds for a while, then tapers off only to reveal a smooth and collective jam. I feel that the track is overall slightly understated, it stays within many boundaries. Yet the song sets itself apart and keeps every moment interesting with hidden elements that I noticed only after 2-3 listens. Enjoy!

Conscious (gogsey's re-edit) - Stryker (right click to save as)
Stryker

Vinyl Saturdays: The Heart Of Africa

This track, oh this track. That intro is captivating, where is it going I think to myself as it starts out. And then as the drums and bass start to create the scenery that saxophone shows up. Kapow, I'm sold. The track has deep soul, deep groove, but it's fast and upbeat tempo keep the song fit for a dance floor.  This particular record has a skip mid song, and I wonder if that's just this copy or if many copies were manufactured this way. But that's vinyl, take it or leave it -or blog it if you're us! Enjoy!

The Heart Of Africa (Martin's Original Mix) - Martin Solveig (right click to save as)
Martin Solveig

Vinyl Saturdays: Can You Feel What I Feel

This song captures the sound that I could not stop dancing to around 2001.  The drums are strong and fast.  The synths are smooth, soulful, and warm. And that bassline grabs your feet and effortlessly moves them accordingly. I dig the patient breakdown explaining in humble words how this genius of work has come from his fingertips, whoever the sample is of (I don't know for sure).

There is a bit of record noise in the left channel towards the end of the track. I washed this one as best I could, but with buying used records this sorta thing comes along with the territory. Enjoy!

Can You Feel What I Feel Dubmix - Vincenzo (right click to save as)
Vincenzo

Vinyl Saturdays: Water Ride

4/20 is a famous day, and in 2013 4/20 is record store day. What better celebration of such a day than to post another Vinyl Saturdays post!?

This track took me on a journey the first time I heard it. I found it at a thrift store in San Francisco along with about a dozen other records. I could tell they were all from the same donator. After hearing half of the dozen, I went back and bought the other 16 records at that thrift store that appeared to come from the same donation. I couldn't really go wrong for $1/ea!! I'm very pleased with this track as well as many of the other records in that haul. After a wash, rip, and a photo op here it is. Enjoy!

Water Ride - 16B (right click to save as)
16B

Vinyl Saturdays: Shoo Be Do

I picked up this gem from the local thrift store, and was feeling the island vibe right up until I did a quick google search on the band. They're from Kansas City?! Hey, the more obscure the better I say! I love how this song puts a smile across my face. The track is fun to sing along to, it's the kind of jam you dance to with gentle rhythm but strong feeling. Enjoy!

Shoo Be Do - The Blue Riddim Band (right click to save as)
The Blue Riddim Band

Vinyl Saturdays:Everything

The warm smooth fluid sounds of this track from 2000 has the elements of deep house that drove me to buy so many records. I love hearing her voice breathe out that she wants to be my everything. I'm able to vividly picture the euphoria that this song, dense smoke, and a dance floor provide. It's sexy, it's deep, and it's 13 years old -and completely timeless. Enjoy!

Everything Feat. Mea (Miguel Migs' Naked Vocal Remix) - Spero (right click to save as)
Spero | Mea | Miguel Migs

Vinyl Saturdays: Excited

This track from Cpen is a dark and smooth favorite of mine. I fantasize about being in a warehouse in the mission bay area of San Francisco at 4:30am when this track is dropped. The drums are fast and light, the synths are thick and deep, and the song as a whole is a dance floor blanket. Enjoy!

Excited - Cpen (right click to save as)
Cpen

Vinyl Saturdays

I love my records, and I'm finally getting around to them.

It started in the early 2000's with a halfway-impulse purchase of my two Technics SL-1200 MK3D turntables and a Vestax 05-Pro mixer. In order to pull it off I split the purchase across two credit cards resulting in maxing one card out.

At the time I had a hand full of music junkie friends, all of which were either saving up to buy their decks, or had already taken the plunge. We'd spend available days between classes and finals digging through the local record store crates in search of gems. Some stores had listening stations, and we'd easily grind out 4-5 hour store session auditioning hundreds of records. We'd also order records online and meet up weekend nights to drink and listen until we all passed out in front of the speakers.

Somewhere along the line people started graduating and moving away. My turntables and crates of records were boxed up and lugged from place to place as I jumped from job to job and city to city. My crates of records and boxed turntables hibernated under my bed and in my closet for years. I was very close to selling them when all of a sudden I moved into my own place, and finally had room to set everything up.

My setup must have felt like Rip Van Winkle, it had gone to sleep and unknowingly woken up in the far future. The first time I got the tables up and running I realized that every record I owned was nearly 10 years old. The kids were using laptops with their tables these days, and I didn't even own a laptop. So I picked up a used macbook and Traktor Scratch Pro in an attempt to catch up to the times. It was a blast hearing freshly downloaded songs played through the decks and mixer.

After the nostalgia of limitless tracks on my turntables wore off I shifted focus to the small collection of vinyl that I nearly parted ways with. I'm starting to slowly clean, rip, photograph, and document each disc in lossless digital format. This way I can enjoy to the collection that's quietly followed me around since the turn of the century on my phone or in the car.

Also, I've decided to make a new edition of this blog, Vinyl Saturdays. Starting tomorrow every Saturday I'll rip and post a song from my vinyl archives. The track will be the converted from analog to digital using my setup and posted for your enjoyment. I'm looking forward to sharing my re-discovery and (potential new-discovery of b-sides or whatnot) here on The End Starts Today.