Xão Productions - Aniversário Mixtape vol.1

It seems like New York has a very active baile funk scene. There's the Nossa crew that keeps bringing out great mixes (just featured Cassiano's Favela Clash) and there the Xão Productions that now celebrates its birthday with a great mix full of cool baile funk blends and remixes. They've been lately doing some cooperation with MC Gringo and played alongside with him in Rio at last year's TIM festival and Gringo has also been over to NYC to do some gigs with them. All together it seems like there are a lotta baile funk parties in NYC coming up by both Nossa and Xão. It seems like I need to go there to check it out!

DJ Comrade - Xão Productions Aniversário Mixtape Vol.1 (download from zShare)

Tracklist:

1. Dennis DJ
2. Mc Gringo Fucky Fucky – (Dennis DJ)
3. Mc Rael – Ai Meu Peru (Dj Gordinho)
4. Mc Maiquinho – Ela Quis Me Imitar (DJ Amazing Clay)
5. Mc Dandao - vai para puta que o pariu (DJ Amazing Clay)
6. Solta Essa Porra!!! (Dj Edgar)
7. Espanca – (DJ Edgar)
8. International Syle Remix feat. Mc Maiquinho e Mc Gus (DJ Comrade vs. Shaka)
9. Sai Fora Remix – Mc Gi (Art Punk)
10. Mc Gringo feat. Ninna – Gringo Vai Embora (DJ Amazing Clay)
11. Aquimenceto do Sambinha – (DJ Amazing Clay)
12. Movado –Phone Call REMIX (Chaach)
13. Coolie / Kopa Baile – Various Artists (DJ Comrade)
14. Zuzuka/ 77Klash – Brooklyn Ghetto Fabulosa (Chaach)
15. Funk Rida feat. Mc Maiquinho, Ousados e Mc Creu (DJ Comrade)
16. Arrastao remix feat. Dead Prez / Mc Gringo (DJ Comrade)
17. Feliz Anniversario (Sexual Eruption) feat. Predadorez/ Snoop Dogg (DJ Comrade)
18. Mc Maiquinho - É a ponto 30 aqui o morro da Chatuba (Proibidao)
19. Busy Signal – Step Out Remix (DJ Comrade)
20. GG – Cocktail Molotov (DJ Junior)
21. GG – Eles Tentam da Desfalque

Blogroll!

There are so many DJs and music fans out there dropping tunes and info about baile funk stuff that for some time now I’ve been wanting to do a proper blogroll of what’s going on. So check out these and thanks for all the baile funk fans for keeping the scene alive!


Fat Planet

Stuart is a DJ running a weekly radio show called Fat Planet in Sydney, Australia. Besides this he’s been writing the exellent Fat Planet blog since 2003. It was selected earlier this year as the best blog for world music by Guardian UK and truly so Fat Planet keeps it coming on full range and delightfully drops also quite a lot of baile funk news in midst. Check out for example this recent post about Big Hits From The Hill: Recent Baile Funk Releases. And don’t forget his exellent podcast; Slang Tang!


Masala

Guillaume and J.P. are a pair of radio DJs from Montreal, Canada and besides hosting an exellent world music show at CISM, they write an exellent bi-lingual (french and english) blog, both called Masala. Both have a keen interest on baile funk and it’s featured regurarly on their blog. Check out these posts (Give Me More Of That Bateria & Masala To Go 7 - Bateria Com Funk) on Macumbinha rhythm from Guillaume’s last visit to Rio.


Mad Decent

Then there are of course Diplo and Paul Devro from Mad Decent that drop a couple of killer tracks every once in a while on their superb blog. Here’s some of the latest: Focki Focki & DJ Edgar. And don’t forget that Diplo’s producing an baile funk documentary called Favela On Blast with a brazilian film director Leandro HBL. It’s on post production right now, so should be out for the summer (hopefully), but I’ll give you more on that later...


Ghetto Bassquake

Vamanos is a DJ based in London and he’s got this Ghetto Bassquake blog where he keeps on dropping baile funk tunes every once in a while... Check out this one on Funketa, a mix of baile funk and Colombian champeta by Isa GT.


Kalleidosonic

Maga Bo is a DJ and a producer working on various styles of world music, but since he lives in Rio, he’s constantly doing also baile funk stuff. He has this Kalleidosonic blog on his Comando Digital project and it’s highlights include the video interviews with Daniel Haaksman and MC Gringo and reports about the Rio violence (Everyday Violence, Rio Body Count & What If This Was Your House?).


Beat Diaspora

Greg is a DJ and a university student writing Beat Diaspora blog that deals with a lot of baile funk issues. (often with a very critical point of view; Seleção do Gringo part1 & Stirring The Pot) But more importantly he’s been curating the release of the Flamin Hotz CD Pancadão do Morro: O Funk do Flamin Hotz, Já É? (Big Hits From the Hill: Flamin Hotz Funk, You Down?) labeled by Greg ”Fair Trade Funk”. Check out also this valid critisism on the Priobidão C.V. CD I also wrote about a while ago.


Otra Luna

Teemu is a finnish all around media worker currently working with the Fundação Dois Irmãos in Rochinha, Rio. His blog Otra Luna features also some baile funk posts every once in a while (Fresh Funk: the Bad, the Good, and the Ugly). Check out also this exellent post about Rio’s hip hop king, MV Bill.


Cabaret Eletrônico

Sabrina Fidalgo is a brazilian journalist living in Germany and currently doing an documentary about baile funk. Her blog Cabaret Eletrônico features also baile funk themes like this Sany Pitbull interview.


Man Recorder

Man Recordings chief Daniel Haaksman does also a blog with a lot of label related info and mish mash.


MC Gringo

And finally something from the lighter side: MC Gringo has a blog also, some funny stuff up there..!

MC Gringo - Buzzing in Rio

MC Gringo is coming up with a big buzz. He has an EP called ”Gringão” out, shows with Mr. Catra, a radio show called ”Xão” with DJ Amazing Clay, an documentary is being made about him, he’s singing live at João Soares, one of the biggest brazilian talk shows, really, what next. Well he’s coming back to his roots, doing a tour in Europe.

All in all MC Gringo is really an interesting case: A german guy singing baile funk in portuguese and doing shows in Rio. And he has an interesting history too: he used to play in a punk band back in Germany, but the met a brazilian girl, got married and moved to Brazil. When in Rio he got swept away by baile funk and started writing his own songs. Some og those are now represented on an 12” EP out by Man Recordings. You can read more about both, the new EP and his personal history at the Man Rec website.

You familiar with german might also wanna check out this interview on Spiegel Online.

He’s said to be one the hardest working artists in the scene, always ready for a gig, no matter how far it is and how hard to get to. And hard it also gets every once in while; trying to enter the highly competitive baile funk scene in Rio isn’t really easy for anyone, not to mention a foreigner, like Gringo. Check this youtube preview about a documentary being made about him.



This is the jam session at the talkshow (that's DJ Amazing Clay at the MPC)



And the MC Gringo european tour dates:

29.1. London, UK, Notting Hill Arts Club
1.2. Bristol, UK, tba
2.2. Stuttgart, DE, Bassschule, w/Schowi+Passion
3.2. Cologne, DE, Stadtgarten, w/ DJ Daniel Haaksman
8.2. Vienna, AT, Planetarium, w/Joyce Muniz
9.2. Geneva, CH, Zoo/Usine, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman
15.2. Marburg, DE, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman
16.2. Ingolstadt, DE, Maki Club, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman
21.2. Nürtingen, DE, Provisorium, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman
22.2. Sat, Feb 23rd, Zurich, CH, tba, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman
23.2. Zurich, CH, tba, w/DJ Daniel Haaksman