RIP DJ MEHDI

I make a big deal out of French house a lot because it is what opened the flood gates to my adoration of dance music. I didn’t listen to a whole lot of DJ Mehdi as I do a lot of other DJs, but there was nothing that he put out that I didn’t like. He was one of the best, and represented the very best in hip-hop and dance music.

Coming into the office on the morning of September 13th, I was set to start piecing together what eventually became my review of SebastiAn’s recent show in San Francisco at Mezzanine. I was so excited to write about SebastiAn, French house, Ed Banger Records and their influence on local San Fran label Our House Records; all of it with a very sunny disposition. But as soon as I sat down and got comfortable, I saw RIP DJ MEHDI as a trending topic on Twitter. My heart sank. Cruel fate had taken a very integral part of a section of music that I hold so absolutely close to my heart.

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Coachella 2011 Recap

Every spring, my best mates and I make our annual pilgrimage to the desert to attend Coachella. In fact, you can even spot some of us here. Coachella’s 2011 edition was my third event in as many years, and like the others I attended in 2009 and 2010, it was quite the epic weekend.

Here are the Top 4 Sets that made my Coachella Weekend:

A-Trak

My most favorite set of the entire weekend. I had been listening to dub-step for the majority of the day, and definitely needed a break from the 140-BPMs, and boy-oh-boy A-Trak, provided all that I was waiting for. Sporting his trademark fedora, A-Trak, a turn-tablist, spun everything from electro to house, disco to hip-hop. The man may as well have thrown a kitchen sink at us. It was a wonderfully varied set, and my heart leapt out of my chest when he threw out Duck Sauce’s “Barbra Streisand”, then later his “Robot Rock” juggling routine and of course, his remix to Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.

A-Trak in the Sahara Tent. (Yes, that is Gary Busey's head on a balloon) Photo by Joey Pangilinan.