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Interviews & Features
Santigold
Santigold
(Roc Nation, NYC)
Fireside Chat
NYC's queen of cool Santigold on the musical tastes she inherited from her dad, her career start and how to earn respect as a female artist.
Picks Of The Day
Santigold Manuel Göttsching Mount Kimbie Jonathan Richman Legowelt
Live Recordings
DOOM
DOOM
(Lex Records, NYC)
Main Stage - Live at Sónar São Paulo
The most villainous rapper around grabs the mask and the mic doing his thing live at Sónar São Paulo. Doomsday!
Picks Of The Day
DOOM Rustie James Holden Teebs Girls
Mixes
Brenmar
Brenmar
(Hum + Buzz, NYC)
Live at RBMA x Boiler Room, SXSW, Austin
Uptempo bass music drenched in Chicago grit and R&B sheen. Brenmar at the controls at RBMA's Boiler Room session during SXSW 2012.
Picks Of The Day
Brenmar L-Vis 1990 Ulf Eriksson Blawan DJ Spinna
Show Finder Global Network Newsletter
 
David Nerattini
David Nerattini
Superfly, Rome
Extrafly - Vol 45 - Hammondology
Mr Nerattini is a veritable fountain of knowledge on slept-on funk, jazz and rare Italian library records. This episode features two hours of legendary Hammond jams.
RBMA Radio Highlights Soul & Funk House & Disco
Electronic Indie Hip Hop
Reggae Jazz Dubstep & Bass

 
Weekly Spotlight

A Basement, A Red Light, And A Feeling

NY/NJ House Special on RBMA Radio

A Basement, A Red Light, And A Feeling

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? When it comes to the genesis of house music, this classic causality dilemma can easily be applied. Just take a look at any given nerdy house music internet forum and you can dive into an endless debate between keepers of the grail from Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Detroit or total outsiders. Whether you want to take sides - if there is a side that can be taken in this chicken-egg situation and who-invented-what question - or keep a free spirit approach, the influence of New York City (even after and ever since the ‘godfather of house music’ Frankie Knuckles moved from NYC to the Windy City) as an innovator, elevator and dance music city full of tradition is undeniable. As the Red Bull Music Academy will be paying the Big Apple a longer visit in 2012, it’s about time to take a look at its protagonists of the last twenty plus years that have been gracing us so far with special features, interviews or mixes.

Starting with the aforementioned Knuckles who is still the Pontifex Maximus between his birthplace NYC and his coming-of-age city of Chicago, you will get that story and much more in his Fireside Chat. Hailing from almost the same starting point, Club Shelter’s figurehead Timmy Regisford spent the last two decades mainly as the torch-bearer of Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage (guess, where the term garage music originates from?), patron of the house music’s Earth, Wind & Fire reincarnation Blaze, former Motown A&R and first and foremost DJ extraordinaire with 12 hours plus behind the steering wheel. They don’t call him maestro for nothing.

But as much as house music is about the DJ, it was also the producer who played a role in the advancement of disco or so-called club music. A duo whose fingerprints are all over the NYC sound are ‘Little’ Louie Vega and Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez alias Masters At Work. Remixing Debbie Gibson, Chris Cuevas or Trey Lorenz into valuable house tunes, their speciality has always been that certain type of swing that made their city the irresistible house music mecca in the early nineties. RBMA Radio has the pleasure of hosting a special and rare back-to-back classic-heavy set from the dynamic duo: three parts, recorded live in San Francisco.

At the same time, just across the river, Kerri ‘Kaoz’ Chandler took the gospel vibes of New Jersey, inspiration from Tony Humphries’ larger-than-life Club Zanzibar and groundbreaking radio shows and formed his own unmistakable signature that doesn’t need more than a basement, a red light and feeling. Hear him sharing stimuli, anecdotes and production secrets. Works on both sides of the river.

Hot on his heels, his neighbour Todd Edwards established himself as the vocal-cut-up specialist with underground anthems like 'Saved My Life' or his seminal remix for St Germain that motivated folks like Daft Punk and fueled the whole UK garage movement along his way.

Often cited as his predecessor since they share a common love for sliced vocal chords, is Marc ‘MK’ Kinchen. Cutting his teeth under the wings of Kevin Saunderson in Detroit, Kinchen moved to the hotbed of dance tracks in the early nineties after the success of his cornerstone track 'Burning' and went on to gold-wash songs like The Nightcrawlers’ 'Push The Feeling On' or Chez Damier’s 'Can You Feel It'.

The city’s ballroom or vogueing scene is a phenomenon of its own. Spurred on dance floors by DJs like Junior Vasquez and fine-tuned by legendary dancers like the late Willie Ninja, this passionate part of NY club life goes back as far as the 1960s. People like the New Jersey based youngster MikeQ take care of its preservation, cultivation and collaboration in the modern day and age. Get schooled, right here and now.

And last but not least, gender theorist, ball’r and deep house extremist Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles has his very own interpretation of the whole story, while he sings the 'Midtown 120 Blues'. Let’s groove.

Previous Spotlights

A Basement, A Red Light, And A Feeling
NY/NJ House Special on RBMA Radio

Friends With Benefits
Friends of Friends Label Special on RBMA Radio

No Music For Airports
American electronic strangeness creeping overground

Magic Of The French Touch
Radio Grenouille and RBMA Radio on the airwaves

Faster Than Light Propulsion
Warp Records Label Special on RBMA Radio

Not Not Fun
Smooth as silk on RBMA Radio

Martial Law
A Ninja Tune Special on RBMA Radio

2011 Round-Up
Rewind the past twelve months with some of our favourite music from Academy alumni around the globe

Springtime in Fall
Highlights from Primavera Club 2011

15 years of Versatile Records
The quintessential Paris label celebrates its anniversary

Gracias Por Todo, Madrid
Total Recall: Red Bull Music Academy 2011

Merry Go Sound
Madrid 2011 - Term One

Más Matadero
Red Bull Music Academy 2011 - Week One

Amplified Beyond The Beat
Radio highlights from the RBMA World Tour 2011

Deep Fried Dap
Highlights from the Daptone family tree on RBMA Radio

Under The Westway
RBMA x Major Lazer sets from Notting Hill Carnival now on air

No Sleep Till Olganitz
Highlights from Germany's Nachtdigital fest on RBMA Radio

In The City
Festivalwatch: Stadtmusik.FM, Basel

LA Parklife
RBMA Radio goes HARD Summer

Neo Neo
Neopop Festival special on RBMA Radio

Croatia Calling
Hartera special on RBMA Radio

Sète You Free
RBMA Radio goes Worldwide

Another Place, Another Time
Sónar in review on RBMA Radio

Move, D!
Movement Detroit highlights on RBMA Radio

Heatmakers
Boiler Room one-year anniversary and special on RBMA Radio

Nuits Up
Les Nuits Sonores Special on RBMA Radio

Les Yper Sound
Festivalwatch #2: La Villette Sonique, May 27 - June 1

Making Wavves
Young Turks special on RBMA Radio

Far East Movement
Highlights from SónarSound Tokyo on RBMA Radio

The Royal Catalonian
An audio recap of the A Taste of Sonár event in London

Hörvergnügen
A German Sound Exploration

The Devil's Dancers
New Wave + Industrial highlights on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Crossing The Border
James Holden opens his record box for RBMA Radio

Kind Of Blue
Brand new shows from Hercules and Love Affair, and interview with band producer Patrick Pulsinger

Ginga Beat
Portuguese show on RBMA Radio turns 100

Word On The Street
Chairman Mao navigates through old and new on RBMA Radio

In The Moog For Love
Moog music on RBMA Radio

Elevator Music
Elevate Festival on RBMA Radio

Year-End Closing!
The year 2010 in Academyworld

Boogie Wonderland
Boogie past, present and future on RBMA Radio

Night Skanking
Night Slugs Special with Bok Bok on RBMA Radio

Circle Of Dub
RBMA Radio & Tectonic Recordings launch dubstep into outer space

Dusty Fingers
A special selection for vinyl lovers and dollar bin kingpins

Frequency Modulation
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event

Concrete Jungle
RBMA Radio Pop-Up Studio @ Amsterdam Dance Event

Basement Boys
Red Bull Music Academy x Dommune

Flashback
2010 festival highlights on RBMA Radio

Another Revolution
Kirk Degiorgio's Sound Obsession turns fifty

Heat Wave
Major Lazer x Notting Hill Carnival session on RBMA Radio

Lights Down Low
Four hour set from Theo Parrish on RBMA Radio

The Hundreds In The Hands
PanamériKa turns 100

On The Double
Hyperdub Special on RBMA Radio

Green Professors
RBMA Radio at Oxegen Festival

Cabride Reveries
SonarDome x RBMA Radio

Parclife
Primavera Sound Special on RBMA Radio

Move With It
Movement Festival Detroit on RBMA Radio

future roots experiments
dublab focus on RBMA Radio

D10
Dissonanze special on RBMA Radio

Rappin’ All Over
New hip hop shows on RBMA Radio

Zombie Nation
RBMA residency at Fabric kicks off with Brainfeeder

Tech The High Road
RBMA and RA hit the Royal Festival Hall

Sublime Frequencies
RBMA Culture Clash feat. Trojan, Soul ll Soul, Metalheadz and DMZ

Hitek House
Future Garage Special on RBMA Radio

Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah!
Disco special on RBMA Radio

Bubble Metropolis
Detroit Special on RBMA Radio

Listen Death From Above
DFA label spotlight on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Chords Got Soul
Soul singers tune up on RBMA Radio

Dub Be Good To Me
The London-Kingston love affair on RBMA Radio

Making Waves
Mavericks of an era on Red Bull Music Academy Radio

Africa Center Of The World
Continental Focus on RBMA Radio

I Hear You Singing In The Wire
Wichita Records Label Special on RBMA Radio

Northern Soul
WARP/ED special on RBMA

Be Reasonable, People
Warp Records Label Special on RBMA Radio

No Ice Cream Sounds
Notting Hill Carnival Special on RBMA Radio

Yes We Cannes
Festival Pantiero special on RBMA Radio

Break A Dawn
Nachtdigital Special on RBMA Radio

Pips and Blanks
Domino Special on RBMA Radio

Punchestown Drunk Love
Oxegen festival special on RBMA Radio

Beats It
Beats Special on RBMA Radio

Catalunya Calling (Back)
Red Bull Music Academy presents SónarDôme 2009

Dem A Call Us Pirates…
RBMA Radio takes over Lisbon's airwaves

The Wolf Gang
Stones Throw Records Label Special

Lane Stage
St Jerome's Laneway Festival Special