It’s just amazing how certain things fall on your lap.  They fall in place so naturally that you realize it was meant to happen and that it’s going to just BE because it IS…Ok– I say all this because….

Again- how life is just so incredible– my dear friend Brandon of Chief and Mischief- he lived here and actually introduced me to Roxy Cottontail who’s become a dear friend- well– he moved to Japan and started a clothing line, moved his girlfriend there and together they started Chief and Mischief.  They send me samples from time to time for all my cute hip girlfriends- well now I have boys t’s too…
Chief and Mischief

Brandon introduced me to Shantell Martin who is British and lives in Japan.   She then got in touch with me and sent me these amazing links to her work and her concept ‘HIDDEN ORA’s’.  She’s a well known VJ in Japan.   She’s now in NY for one month just to soak it all in and asked would I happen to have an outlet for her to show her work to NY - her U.S Debut…Well- I just happen to produce a ton of things all the time- when do I sleep - so of course I said YES and being a fellow Brit– always must look out for us BRITS and that she’s a woman too– we got to look out so Yes and YES and YES YES YES!

Shantell Martin

So ‘HIDDEN ORA’ makes its U.S debut in NY twice this month.

July 16th at SUTRA for STRICTLY SOCIAL and then for KISSEY ASPLUND’s Birthday BBQ on the rooftop at Studio B on Wednesday, July 23rd.

So– we’d been emailing and on phone at this point and I said- let’s meet up for a drink prior to these events!  So we did!

Last night at DROM for World Class International where my friend Barry Heyman KIND B DJ’d along with Ramsey and special guests… I decided to invite a few folks down-  wanted also to meet Sarah from Studio B- we’d been talking back and forth so Sarah showed up too along with some other friends.

In the house was Ayo from MultiKulti, Mehmet from Drom, Nickodemus, Brett Aaron, Seb, Rekha and others– was low key and fun - the music was incredible!  Love the vibe at DROM and the food is phenomenal!  My boys from Vimby almost came through…

Shantell got along with everyone– she’s super cool, talented and friendly.   Little did she know that her relaxing trip to soak in NY is about to get BUSY!

Take a look at this:::

shantellmartin.blip.tv

and some photos from last night:

So- stay tuned and be the one to get your AURA(ORA) read! Drawn- re-created for the world to see!

Say you were the first!!!

What’s it all about!   We’ve been hearing her name now buzzing in places far and wide.  I first caught sight of Kissey Asplund when British MC  TY called her up on stage surprisingly at The Knitting Factory show back in April.  That’s where it started!  I’ve been in touch ever since.  She came to my birthday party at Frank’s Lounge– we had a long chat, couple glasses of wine in the meat packing  -some Italian place and we laughed, waxed poetic, talked about the climate, the business, music and lots of it and we people watched of course..   and now!!  Couple months later— I am working with KISSEY.

Here’s a video from a recent project called ‘Plethora’ on K7 Records.

Kissey is in NY and U.S all of July….Doing tons of promo, interviews and performances.

Kissey Birthday- Rooftop BBQ at Studio B on Wednesday, July 23rd ft

OP,  Barry King, Zalvinas and Yellowtail,  Machinedrum, Kissey and VJ Shantell Martin’s ‘Hidden Ora’.

Free… 7PM

July 29th-  NUBLU

July 30th- SOL VILLAGE at SOB’s…

Kissey Asplund

I love fashion!

I love silhouettes

I love weird fashion

The less sense = Better!

yEAYA

My friend Amalia (who’s is over in Sweden now wrapping up her album with Opolopo) sent over this amazing, AMAZING hat link the other day. You know when you are working and having a little slow day and you start to chat-mailing and send links?

This Artist Nagi Noda (by the way do check out some other stuff also) has created this hat series. Go on to this link to see hair-hats in raindeershape, rabitshape, lionshape etc etc blonde, black, redhair…

Nagi Noda has been around for a while and done some cool stuff I know friend and pohotgirl Cat has dropped her name when we talk about cool videos. Nagi e g did this commercial for a sodacompany in 2006

Ok, I’m going to go and get one of those hats now.

//K

Originally from Dominica, grew up there and spent rest of life and residing in Atlanta now- HESTON is truly a well-rounded artist.  Songwriter, Musician, Artist, Producer, Arranger and Father.   Talk about a multitude of talents and now– the public- YOU - finally can hear his creation.
His debut album - a collection of gorgeously moving and vivid picturesque songs that take you on a journey of pain, compassion, love, spiritual, heartbreak, desires, confusion, darkness, struggle and a ton of other emotional rides.

‘Storyteller’ is Heston’s long and endured creative baby.

Heston

Also- we’re doing a special CD exclusive sale with SOULTRACKS CD of the month.

Please click there and support… Be one of the first folks to have an autographed copy of Heston’s  dynamic

‘Storyteller’.

Big shouts to Soultracks and Music Choice this month!

Also- listening party for Heston at SUTRA on Wednesday, July 16th- LA’s  ‘Strictly Social’ - cutting edge soul music monthly coming to NY for 1 night only….

Have to big up my homegirl dear friend Sharon Carpenter who I’ve watched come up over the years and super proud of her. She’s a real star and she’s shining bright.

Can’t wait to see the dresses she wore…She’s supposed to send me flicks of those soon.

In the meantime- you’ll be seeing tons more from Sharon as her star only grows brighter.

Sharon Carpenter

Here she is live from The Red Carpet at The BET Awards…

Remix Hotel happens in various Cities across America.  I’ve been to a couple in Miami, Atlanta and NY.

They’re produced by the magazine Remix along with Shocklee Entertainment’s Jo-Ann Nina and Hank Shocklee.  Shocklee.

This one happened over the Friday, June 27-29th- Friday- Sunday.  Tons of panels, demo sessions, performances, and networking.    SAE Institute of Technology.

One of the highlights was Rane/Serato’s clinic  with Grand Wizard Theodore. The inventor of Scratching and early Hip Hop pioneer.

Other highlights were DJ Big Wiz and DJ Jazzy Jay.

I wasn’t able to make Friday and Saturday but I spent all day today checking out the partners, sitting in on demos and making new acquaintances.

I checked in with Pioneer, Stanton, M-Audio, Vestax, Rane, Roland, B&H, Discmakers, Dub Spot, Korg, The Dynamic Producer, NARAS and others.  Was great to re-connect with folks as well as meet new people.

I spoke on a panel with some very esteemed panelists- Dru Ha of DuckDown, Tony Drooten of Seven Seas Entertainment, Andre Tourres of Wax Poetics who I’ve been communicating with but never met for years now and Wendell Hanes and moderated by Hank Shocklee called ‘Independents Day’ - from home office to corner office..The entrepreneurial route.

The room was full with eager students, up and coming producers, DJ’s, start ups and just hungry for knowledge young and older folks.  Was great energy…

Got to big up Remix Hotel...More people need to know what’s up with this great event.

It’s extremely educational with all the great workshops- you get to demo all the latest products /gear and quite frankly it’s an engineer/audio/video/producer/dj and music lovers dream!

I finally got to meet Kylie Swenson after emails/phone conversations over the last 8 years.  She’s the editor of Remix Magazine.

I just have to get this off my chest…..How society has changed so– how we do things so differently now.  How’s it’s so common to clearly communicate via text or IM solely without having to lift a finger to dial a number…What’s next…Dating without physically going on dates/outings.

Having SEX via TEXT….Is this the new craze!  God if it is— I hope it’s just a phase and short lived.  I must say– I’m experiencing my first text relationship- well initial text.

Not that I want my whole private matters out there like this- so I won’t share in or neither bore you with the details but we met last Saturday night at an absolutely fab affair– elegant bash shall we say- where the Pommery was flowing!   We danced all night- the chemistry couldn’t have been better— the end of the night came– we parted ways/ we exchanged numbers/emails and he said I’d love to see you…

There it was!!!  As clear as day….

I heard from him Monday via text asking how I am and what day this week we could hang out.  Wednesday he says- I say ‘No- I may have a work function that night - how about Thursday’-  Perfect he says.

We’ve had small dialogue since then/idle stuff via email and text…  and now Thursday is close to upon us and are we Going out- is it firm? Is it confirmed- is it a date?   My mum says it’s 50/50…What do you mean 50/50-  Mum!!!  We’re going out tomorrow night!

Well— like I said– I’m not used to initiating my first encounter after meeting in this manner…All my relationships/dates/boyfriends have always jumped at the bit to call- at least in the beginning.

I’m perfectly fine with TEXTS….Absolutely fine but don’t we need to establish things first– introductions….I suppose we all do this via the above too….

Am I ready for Text dating- Am I ready to embrace our shift in paradigm and New Era!

Am I ready to do things completely different and change up my GAME-  my game!!!!

Ok–  tune in Friday–   Do I have a date or not!!!!!

I’d like to also know how everyone else feels about this matter…..

Dear Fiona *stop*
Kissey here*stop*
tooootally tierd tonight *stop*
been in a space/place I didn’t expect*stop*

Some spaces I walk into I just step into the mood sceptical. I do. I become sceptical and go in auto-defence -mood in these certain spaces.

Today I stood in a Djstore and proved my Dj-worthiness to a 20 year old guy. It’s never the old ones, always the younger ones. Did I pull it off? H*ll no! I haven’t mixed house in 7 years and I was never a tight bpm mixer. (I’m a electronic hiphop girl) NEVER.NEVER. So why did I do it? And in front of this 20 year old dude? …I don’t know…I guess I was proving my worthiness to be in the “space”.

Technical space.
This is not a woman vs man thing. No, this is the “revenge of the nerds” in reallife. BIG TIME. Agree?
I am a nerd, but I see myself as a quite playful and sophisticated one. (everyone that disagrees, hit the comment box). A nerd that loves to collect stuff, comics, games, I use to play computergames rather than playing with friends, I wear fake glasses (without glass, only frame) when I type…to get in connection with my nerdiness, walk around at home and feel nerdenly good. Nerdfare equals welfare.

But this is about nerds that knows: In this space you are mine and I’m going to get you good!
Which spaces am I referring to? Music departments, Dj-stores, Where you can by anything technical, anything technical at all…that requires that you have read… tada The manual.

The manual.
This is the Nerds secret weapon. Who does…who CAN really READ the whole manual. I SKIM through the manual if I’m lucky 3 pages out of 500 will tell me something-something about what I think I should know.
These guys/people/overhumans READ the manual, and they REMEMBER the manual.
I knew this girl from back in the S.A.T-days she remember the whole dictionary, she knew every single word, Aced it! today : she’s a doctor. She tapped in to the Nerd-force.
Good force, Beat force, Nerd force

Oh! This subject is too big for me to break down in one post. But my point is:
I was in the space today, actually working. I’m helping out a dj/light/sound company over here and I found myself TRAPPED in the space. Spaceofobia. Survival. SURVIVAL!!!
So I did the most embarrassing housemix ever in my life. And said:
Well that’s been a while….

And I think because my poor mix that we somehow/somewhere bounded. He went:
Yeah I know, I think it’s hard too..

How to level with a nerd:
Show your weakness or totally blow their mind with facts so complicated he/she will get cross-eyed and almost pee themselves out of excitement = Love

***over-stop-come and out ***

Hm….that’s a nerdy post….

Love//K

Kissey’s myspace

Kissey’s SomeWhatStrangeLife