I really enjoy music from varied cultures and places throughout the world, one of the reasons I appreciate travel as much as I do. However, I find the term, ‘World Music’ annoying and condescending. It speaks to The American mindset that there is the American way and everybody else is one big category called ‘other’. In India alone, there are enough musical genre to make this an obsolete term. The same is true for the continents of Africa, South America and Asia. It is sad to me that we glop them all together as one genre, ‘World Music’. Unfortunately, it is some of my favorite sources of music and I do not have a better name for the DJ World Music Party Mix.
DJ World Music Party Mix
mp3j track= “World-Music-Party-Mix.mp3”]
I am a true fan of music from many places globally, some I have had the opportunity to visit, others I hope to make it there someday soon. This particular mix of music includes music from India, The Middle East, Bulgaria, Northwest Africa, Japan, Latin America, Jamaica and other great sources of music. Let me know what you think of the DJ World Music Party Mix!
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about World Music:
“World music is a musical category encompassing many different styles of music from around the world, including traditional music, quasi-traditional music, and music where more than one cultural tradition intermingle. World music’s inclusive nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest in the culturally exotic is encapsulated in fRoots magazine’s description of the genre as “local music from out there”. The term originated in the late 20th century as a marketing category and academic classification for non-Western traditional music. Globalization has facilitated the expansion of world music’s audiences and scope. It has grown to include hybrid sub-genres such as world fusion, global fusion, ethnic fusion and worldbeat.”
I think Peter Gabriel The Book of Love is an amazing song! It blew me away the first time I heard it and still gives me chills all these years later!
Peter Gabriel has been one of my favorite artists since I was a teenager listening to Genesis and my appreciation grew with every solo album he released. It is rare to find artists who can write lyrics and music the way he can that have spanned such a wide spectrum of musical styles and intentions. Strange to think he was a hard-core Progressive Rock writer and performer with Genesis and experimented with rhythms from around the world as a solo artist. Later, he composed the soundtrack to the film The Last Temptation of Christ titled Passion, one of the albums that inspires me the greatest past and present. “It Is Accomplished” feels like an entire soundtrack in one song! Then came Peter Gabriel The Book of Love.
He has written songs of freedom and advocacy like “Biko” that some say was the impetus for Live Aid., as well as featured in The Amnesty International Tour. I remember being overcome with emotion when watching the ending live in TV with the whole crowd totally engaged as each band member left the stage.
His sense of textures and rhythms continue to move me and as a dancer and someone who experiments with movement, find his work incredibly easy to facilitate lyrical and textural dance creativity.
I chose this You Tube of Peter Gabriel The Book of Love for its creative use of love and romance without losing the lush feeling that Gabriel captures in this song. For me, the lyrics in Greek, which I cannot read, somehow added to the effect.
As a special treat if you have never heard the song “Solsbury Hill” before. He wrote this about the leap of faith to leave the band Genesis and fly on his own.
Disco Music continues to gain popularity among those who enjoyed and danced to it when it was at its peak in the 70’s and 80’s, and also gaining popularity with younger audiences who just like to dance to the clean beats and simple rhythms. Since I get asked for Disco Music more and more, it seemed time to create a DJ Classic Disco Mix. Like some of the other genre that involve older music formats, there is so much to choose from, I had trouble deciding what songs to include in the DJ Classic Disco Mix and know I left out some favorites.
DJ Classic Disco Mix
Classic Disco Mix - DJ Mystical Michael
Disco is a genre of music which was popular from the mid to late 1970s. Its initial audiences were club-goers from the African American, Latino, gay, and psychedelic communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco also was a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time.
Musical influences include funk, Latin and soul music. The disco sound has soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady“four-on-the-floor” beat, an eighth note (quaver) or 16th note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a prominent, syncopatedelectric bass line sometimes consisting of octaves. The Fender Jazz Bass is often associated with disco bass lines, because the instrument itself has a very prominent “voice” in the musical mix. In most disco tracks, strings, horns, electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and lead guitar is less frequently in disco than in rock. Many disco songs employ the use of electronic instruments such as synthesizers.
I have been an admirer of David Guetta’s work as well as Usher over the years. In recent years there are some that have believed that Usher had lost his edge and was now just another Pop musician. David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You demonstrates he still has it. It was not that long ago that James Brown had announced Usher as ‘The Godson of Soul’ at The Grammys.
His new works, David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You and “Climax”, Usher is showing some of the ‘oomph’ that has not been as evident in recent years. It is good to see and a great song that every professional DJ can include in our performances!
David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You Music Video
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David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You Story
David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You is a song by French DJDavid Guetta, featuring vocals from American recording artist Usher. It was released as the third single from Guetta’s fifth studio album, Nothing but the Beat on October 21, 2011. It was written by Usher, Taio Cruz,Rico Love, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Frédéric Riesterer while being produced by Guetta, Tuinfort, Riesterer and Black Raw. The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Guetta’s third top ten single, following “Club Can’t Handle Me” and “Sexy Bitch“, as well as his highest peaking in the US to date. As of September 2012, David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You has sold 2,684,000 copies in the US. David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You was also covered by Lea Michele in Glee’s episode “Yes/No” and by Olly Murs for BBC Radio 1‘s Live Lounge in November 2011.
The electro–ballad features the anguished vocals of R&B singer Usher. Guetta told Billboard magazine it’s “maybe the biggest song I’ve made in my life.” He added: “We were in bargaining sessions for a while. Usher was saying, ‘I need this record for my album.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot give it to you.’ After a while he called me back and gave in.” Guetta told MTV News why he chose Usher to guest on this song. “It’s just totally emotional,” he said. “Some of the record is a proper ballad, and then it goes to that crazy dance beat. It’s perfect for him, because he’s famous for his ballads. And he’s also now famous for those big club records that he comes with. He’s an amazing dancer, so I felt like he was the artist that I needed.” Usher told MTV News that this ode to not giving up on love in the face of adversity resonated with him personally. “I think the world wanted a record like that. David Guetta Featuring Usher Without You really spoke to the journey that I’ve actually been on in the last three years,” he said. “Traveling all around the world, music sounds different. There’s many different genres, and when you see R&B and pop and house, as well as electronic, come together, that’s the reality of what music is.”
As DJ Buddha Bar and Global Lounge Music rise in popularity and acceptance, it made sense for me to as a professional DJ create a DJ Buddha Bar and Global Lounge Mix for you to listen and enjoy. I have enjoyed a significant segment of this mixed genre for many years and appreciate every opportunity to share the music with new listeners as a fan and professional DJ.
DJ Buddha Bar and Global Lounge Mix
Buddha Bar & Global Lounge Mix - DJ Mystical Michael
I have been hired for a few Weddings that the Bride and Groom have requested Buddha Bar and Global Lounge Music for their Cocktail Hour music and worked very well. More often I am requested to play these genre as a professional DJ in situations where the event planner wants to create a diverse, intimate and creative atmosphere and mood for mixed crowds when neither dancing or sitting are preferred but still want it to be fun and alive.
Claude Challe (born Claude Chalom in 1945 in Tunisia) is a FrenchDJ and club owner, the creator of the Buddha Bar restaurant/clubs and music compilations.
Challe moved to France at age three. He attended Rabbinical school as a young man. At the age of 19, he opened a hair salon in Paris, and became known as “the man with the golden scissors”.
Challe then abandoned the salon and lived as an expatriate on the island of Sardinia, in a hippie commune. He subsequently traveled to India, Nepal and Indonesia. He uses Buddha statues for the interior design of his bar and restaurant.
Challe returned to France and was introduced to New Age music by the likes of Andreas Vollenweider and Ennio Morricone. He became involved in Parisian nightlife. He managed a series of French clubs, including Le Prive (1974), Le Centre Ville in Les Halles (1979), Les Bains-Douches (1984), El Divino in Ibiza (1992), and Buddha Bar (1996). The restaurant/club became a popular destination and led to Challe’s Buddha Bar mix compilations.
Challe produced the “Reveillon de Mondes”, attended by 50,000 people, and held at Vincennes, in conjunction with Radio Nova.
Challe produces his music and others’ on his Chall’o Music label. He has said, “I consider the art of DJ-ing to be the passion of [my] life. When I’m DJ-ing, I give myself to the people. When I play, I’m in the music.”
The “Buddha Bar” music series is a compilation of lounge and chill out music with touch of world music released by George V records.
The Buddha Bar series was Created by the DJ Claude Challe who compiled and produced the first two albums. The series continues with different DJs including DJ Ravin, Sam Popat, David Visan. Later, The first original Buddha Bar came out “Buddha Bar Nature” composed and produced by Arno Elias (also composer of Amor Amor, Buddha Bar 2) included also a DVD of Nature footage directed by Allain Bourgoin Dubourg.
Enjoy DJ Buddha Bar and Global Lounge Mix and let me know what you think.
I find it fascinating which and when certain 80’s songs like Hall and Oates You Make My Dreams, pop into current music requests again. Recently, I have noticed that many of the Hall & Oates hits are being replayed with enthusiasm. Hall & Oates were sort of their own genre for a little while, often being referred to as ‘Blue Eyed Soul’. This was during the period when musical genre split social and cultural groups to very specific audiences and it was rare for a group like Hall & Oates to reach multiple groups. Another group that had success with this were The Doobie Brothers, especially when Michael MacDonald went solo.
Hall and Oates You Make My Dreams Music Video
This song in particular, Hall and Oates You Make My Dreams, is a great song for a professional DJ since it can be mixed with Pop, Dance, Oldies, R&B and Rock seamlessly. Last Thursday night, Hall and Oates You Make My Dreams worked perfectly with an 80’s Rock set but also on Friday night with some Pop and Dance stuff from the same period.
The other night I was at an event dancing with some friends and the DJ played this version of Glitch Mob/The White Stripes Seven Nation Army. I had not heard Glitch Mob/The White Stripes Seven Nation Army before and it rocks! It is an exclusive mix for the film G.I. Joe” Retaliation. The funny part is that the DJ is someone I trained as a DJ! This is one of the beauties of music; it never ends with its constant surprises and inspiration.
Glitch Mob/The White Stripes Seven Nation Army Mp3
The Glitch Mob - Seven Nation Army Remix (The White Stripes)
I have typically not been a big fan of overplaying remixes and mash-ups but am starting to open my mind lately due to some really fun versions I have heard and moved to in recent weeks, especially, Glitch Mob/The White Stripes Seven Nation Army.
“Glitch Mob/The White Stripes Seven Nation Army was also featured on the February 1, 2011 broadcast of Democracy Now!, where it was linked to the massive pro-democracy demonstrations then occurring in Egypt. Speaking with Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy, host Amy Goodman said “That music is in your ears and head all the time, you said, Mona,” to which Eltahawy replied:
It’s a loop, Amy, because every time I hear the opening lines—”I’m going to fight them off. A seven-nation army couldn’t hold me back”—it just takes me to Egypt, where people—I’ve never seen anything like it. Literally, nothing can hold them back. Mubarak shuts down the internet, shuts down the train system, shuts down almost the entire country, and still they come. It’s beautiful.”
The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)is a classic song and The Beastie Boys are legends that have left a legacy across genre and generations. I remember when I was the professional DJ at a graduation party for a friend of mine. Halfway through the night, my friend Mark came up and handed me a record and said, “Play this”.
“What is it?”
“Don’t worry, just play it”.
It was his party so I played it. It was The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party). I was hooked. Very few artist have been as experimental and creative with their bold attempts to try few things for themselves and for all musicians simultaneously like The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).
The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) Music Video
I have been playing Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan as a DJ for a while and it continues to grow on me. I find myself chanting Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan while walking around going about my day sometimes. As a Multicultural Wedding and Party DJ in New Jersey, I hear a lot of music and listen to a very diverse mix of grooves and jams. This one has taken over lately.
Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan
Fun-Da-Mental - Ja Sha Taan (Transglobal Underground Karachi Deathcult Mix)
If you are not familiar with the group Fun-Da-Mental, they are a British group that are often considered radical for their political views and music. They are a diverse group of musicians that typically produce Islamic World Fusion with Asian and Afro-Cuban beats and rhythms. They have gone through several reformations of their musicians but continued to create powerful, conscious music to dance and raise awareness about the treatment of Asian and Afro-Carribean British populations. I think it is important as a professional DJ we need to support artists that are willing to create music that stands for the rights of people who are marginalized or discriminated against like Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan.
“Fun-Da-Mental is a British-based multi-ethnic hip-hop–ethno-techno–world fusion music group formed in 1991. The group is notable for its energetic fusion of Eastern and Western musical forms, for its outspoken political stance, and for its strong Islamic affiliation and advocacy. Fun-Da-Mental’s political stance has led to the group earning the label “the Asian Public Enemy“. The group’s work has led to international attention and collaborations with artists from Pakistan, South Africa and Siberia.” Wikipedia
Listen to Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan and crank it up! Just make sure you have enough room to move, this is forceful and addictive. You have been warned.
I remember when I heard Jessie J Price Tag for the first time last year around this time. I was prepping for a professional DJ gig in Philly that was a benefit for kids. I try to do at least one gig a month that supports organizations working to make this a better place for all of us. It is hard for me to say no, since I was a counselor and social worker for almost twenty years, especially if it has to do with children. Besides, what is more fun than being a DJ for a kids event? I made sure I listened to all my tracks to be certain I would know what mixes well with what. Kids can be supportive but when it comes to music, they are very specific in their wants and needs and they are not shy about asking or demanding.
As soon as I arrived at the event with my professional DJ equipment still in my hands, the event organizer came over to greet me with a a pack of young girls trailing behind her. She inrtoduced the girls to me and they could not be quiet long enough for me to hear what they were trying to ask me. When they calmed down so I could hear them, these two adorable girls kept begging me and made me promise to play Jessie J Price Tag for them. I was very surprised because Jessie J Price Tag had not made it to mainstream popularity yet and they were only about ten years old.
Jessie J Price Tag Music Video
I promised them I would play Jessie J Price Tag and I did. Of course twenty minutes after I played the song, they asked for me to play again and then thirty minutes later for a third time. The thing about being a professional DJ at an event or party for kids, is you have to break the once an event rule for songs. They will not leave you alone till they break you down and get you to agree. How can you say no to them if they keep comig over with such excitement and enthusiasm?
Besides, it is getting harder and harder to find songs to play for young kids that have lyrics that are not made for teens or adults. In this case, Jessie J Price Tag is about not worrying about money and to dance to forget and not be so serious. A message we all need to hear every ow and then.
Jessie J Price Tag Lyrics
[Jessie J]
Okay, Coconut man, Moon Heads and pea
You ready
Seems like everybody’s got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night.
When the sale comes first,
And the truth comes second,
Just stop for a minute and
Smile
Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious?
Got your shades on your eyes
And your heels so high
That you can’t even have a good time
[Pre-chorus:]
Everybody look to their left (yeah)
Everybody look to their right (uh)
Can you feel that (yeah)
We’re paying with love tonight
[Chorus:]
It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag
Ain’t about the (uh) Cha-Ching Cha-Ching
Ain’t about the (yeah) Ba-Bling Ba-Bling
Wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag.
[Jessie J]
We need to take it back in time,
When music made us all unite!
And it wasn’t low blows and video hoes,
Am I the only one getting tired?
Why is everybody so obsessed?
Money can’t buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we’ll be feeling alright
[Pre-chorus]
[Chorus]
[B.o.B]
Yeah yeah
Well, keep the price tag
And take the cash back
Just give me six strings and a half stack
And you can, can keep the cars
Leave me the garage
And all I, yes all I need
Are keys and guitars
And guess what, in 30 seconds
I’m leaving to Mars
Yeah we leaving across
These undefeatable odds
It’s like this man
You can’t put a price on a life
We do this for the love
So we fight and sacrifice
Every night
So we ain’t gonna stumble and fall
Never
Waiting to see a sign of defeat
Uh uh
So we gonna keep everyone
Moving their feet
So bring back the beat
And then everyone sing
It’s not about the money
[Chorus 2x]
[Jessie J ‒ Outro]
Yeah yeah
Oh-oh
Forget about the price tag
