minxette blog

We love Chuck Love. That's what we say in my circle of people. (And we repeatedly sing "Spread the Love" until strangers complain). _And_ we love Kaskade. He keeps coming back for more after his intimate and beloved gig at Mell's last summer. He's back this Friday, June 11 at Bar Lurcat with our local talent Love. Expect Chuck to yet again juggle instruments in time with Kaskade's beautiful beats. Expect a flush crowd sipping lager.

And expect to hear a good chunk of Kaskade's new album, "In the Moment" on San Fran's big guns Om label. Urb Magazine named the first album single "Steppin' Out" as the best new track at the 2004 Winter Music Conference. Kaskade, a stunning producer and DJ, regularly gives us unique and soulful songs that contain emotive qualities I often find hard to describe...there's something immutable in "It's You, It's Me", a late-night melancholy welcome on all dance floors.

Tickets are available in advance at Vital Vinyl for $10; you'll pay $12 at the door. Come early for Chuck and stay late to catch the best tracks off "In the Moment".

It was merely sprinkling when we left Le Meridien last Friday around 2.30 a.m., but nearly pouring by the time we reached the Oakwood nine blocks away. This buggery rain is keeping us from certain patio activities and soaking us down after a fine night of dancing. I dream not of soggy, humid evenings keeping us indoors, but of house beats ringing off the hot pavement and brilliant skyline while we re-introduce ourselves to the unequivocal summery beauty of patio nights.

Monte Hilleman's newest groove undertaking, Gallery at the Infiniti Room, brought Matty Heilbronn in from NYC for the first installment of the weekly residency. The Infiniti Room was marked by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the hottest new spots on this vast globe. It has a non-Midwesterly vibe matching the hotel that ensconces it: burnt orange walls dipped in a modern sculpture, and a plush, scarlet back room I like to imagine as straight out of a Star Wars set (the original seventies version, of course), revamped for the new millenium as the perfect spot to make out in the dimness of an upholstered corner. Bartenders toss bottles like circus pros in front of towering, glowing shelves of booze. Slick, pretty, tan patrons abound.

And now, on Fridays, add deep, delicious house music to the mix. Matty brought the old school vibe with him, sprinkling his set with straight-up old funk to some of the newest house cuts. I enjoy more and more the presence of out-of-town DJ's. Bringing in the right and left coasts to mix with our Midwestern talent stretches my my disco affectations beyond my admittedly entrenched love of deep, soulful, vocal- and bass-driven house tracks.

Upcoming at Gallery over the summer months will be local style (Bryan Gerrard, David Drone, Strangelove, Alexia); vocal, local style with Roomsa, Riverside Soul featuring De'Monica, and the unique "Pipes" with Lady Sarah, De’Monica, and Andra Suchy creating spun-gold vocals alongside Jason Heinrichs and Chuck Love. July 9th brings Jask (TBC - Soulfuric, Large, Vino) to town on the heels of his remix work for Vino (Chuck Love's divine track "Close Enough").

We're gearing up for another summer of love, of house beats and (hopefully) warm weather weighed down not by heinous humidity levels, but good fucking house music. Kaskade is returning to Minneapolis, accompanied by the well-dressed, live style of our beloved Chuck Love, at Bar Lurcat on Friday, June 11, 2004. You can get tickets early at Vital Vinyl, they're a mere $10 ($12 at the door). Kaskade's newest Om release, "In The Moment", will certainly be showcased during his set.

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Brian sent a brief email one day, with a subject line reading "best birthday ever". Dmitri from Paris will be arriving on June 12 at Escape, news which made me literally grab the phone and start screeching at my house-head friends "Dmitri is coming! AHGHGHGH!".

This will guaranteed be an unparalleled house music weekend in Minneapolis: Kaskade/Chuck on Friday and Dimitri on Saturday, June 12 at Escape Ultra Lounge. As their website seems to be a sheer waste of my time, I have no ticket info, but hell, I'll be there and so should all you other house lovers.

Tortured Soul once again arrived in the fusty dankness that is the Dinkytowner on Thursday, May 27. I realize two things while I'm there: 1. There are people who _get_ this music, and there are people who don't; 2. I feel privileged to be experiencing them live. Earlier that day I'd been steeping myself in their new, much-anticipated album "This Is Tortured Soul". Being able to hear them live a few hours after they were merely coming out of my speakers felt incredible.

It's that feeling Tortured Soul delivers. Listen to the album, you'll be hooked. See them live--you'll be hooked, addicted, blown away, amazed and if you're not any of those things, you might be one of those people who don't get it, or perhaps you're soaked in gin in the corner and straight up passed out.

Their shows are broken up into two soul-filling sets. Supporting their new album, they play cuts from the album like "I Might Do Something Wrong", "Why", "Fall in Love"; the sets are pure funk and house, powerful, pouring out of the three of them, rolling across the dance floor up through your feet. Drummer/lead vocalist Christian Urich's groove is impeccable and his falsetto literally gives me chills: it's sweet and smooth like the honey butter I used on my toast in childhood. Being a pianist myself, I'm mesmerized by what Ethan White can do on his Moog and his Roland; bassist Jason Kriveloff rounds it out on the bottom, greasing the funk wheels with his deep grooves. The three give a relentless, tight, unbelievable performance.

I can't heap more praise on these guys--they're phenomenal. They're playing the 10,000 Lakes fest in Detroit Lakes this summer, their next stop in MN. Check out more tour dates and album info at www.torturedsoulmusic.com and for the love of god, go see these cats next time they come around!

Marques Wyatt, Solera
Bollywood Soul at the Lounge
April 23, 2004

Prior to Wyatt’s first-ever Minneapolis appearance, I toddled over to The Lounge for not only free champagne, but a truly hot Friday night of Bollywood Soul. An offshoot of Diaspora Flow, a local non-profit arts dedicated to nurturing the artistic expression of people of color, the night is a chock full of bollywood soul (of course), hip hop new and old, R&B…and I am not ashamed to say I love hearing a little Michael Jackson when I’m out dancing. The good old Michael, the one we dearly cling to in light of whatever he’s degenerated into today.

Friday, Danushka Wanduragala (DJ Danu) and his sister, Chamindika (co-founder of Diaspora Flow), each took a turn on the decks. It’s a unique night of dance in the cozy Lounge, bollywood videos projected on the wall, and a crowd blessedly more diverse than you’ll find in most clubs. Drop five bucks at the door and you’ll find a tight, funky night awaiting you.

Later that night, slightly more drunk and further west down Hennepin Ave…

Marques Wyatt coming to Minneapolis contributed a growing roster of impressive house talent bumping into town lately. The last year or so has seen Mark Farina, Danny Tenaglia, Eric Morillo, Kaskade, Andy Caldwell, Miguel Migs, etc. Wyatt is an industry vet logging more years behind the turntables than many in the scene today.

Wyatt is currently touring to promote his new release on Om, “Horizons”. This new mix features the likes of Onsulade, Louie Vega, Kathy Brown and the uplifting vocals of Barbara Mendes, Maiya James and Anane.

He has a smooth sensibility on the turntables, going for the deep soul with a mash up of “The Light” that was a huge hit in Miami this year, or taking us back-waaaay back-to the Bucketheads “The Bomb”. His Solera set kept the party on the dance floor where it belongs, playing a two-plus hour set into what we Minnesotans new to the 2am bar close consider the wee hours.

To update, Marques Wyatt tickets will be $12, not $10 as previously reported. And due to some scheduling conflicts, Kaskade will not be playing Solera on June 5th. Venue is TBD. I'll post venue details as soon as they come flying across the Minx desk.

Spring is coming to a boil, like that first batch of hot tea you convert to iced instead of using to thaw your limbs. The good Roy Ayers advised: "Folks get down in the sunshine"...a funky foundation for summer is upon us, we'll get down and get brown in the sunshine, we'll soak up the rays and the warm nights while the turntables spin the happiest of beats.

Marques Wyatt will be arriving on MN soil on Friday, April 23 at downtown delight Solera. VimLab promotions, recently transplanted to Uptown, helped bring this industry veteran to town. Wyatt is an indispensable part of the house music industry, a "messenger of the deep" who will most certainly lay down the thickest slice of funky shit he can dole out. Tickets are $10 at the door. Om will be giving away goodies at the show; Bryan Gerrard (Celebrity Records) and Monte Hilleman (Vino Recordings) will open.

Martini Blu's no-cover, house music gem Thursdays keep on truckin'. San Fran/Om darling Kaskade will once again return to helm the tables at this dark, sexy little spot. His new album is slated for a spring release and supporting tour includes a June 5th stop at Solera. Martini Blu Thursdays also host local beat-mongers like Alex Jarvis, Alexander East, DJ Retroblast, Jason Heinrichs, Roomsa...as the Martini Blu website frankly gives me great pain, I find it best to get the updated schedule from City Pages.

Thursdays in April will also host Gigi, Bryan Gerrard, David Drone and Alexia at Babalu in the Warehouse district, in conjunction with Gruve Mpls/Chicago. This deep funk project should not only entice house fiends, but cheap booze hounds as well with no cover and half-price mojitos from 11-close.

Folks, get down in the sunshine (ok, we have to wait for the patios/rooftops to open before we can truly sing Roy's refrains). Make funk a requisite part of your spring thaw.