Monologues.

DJ Spen plays 51st State Festival on August 5th in London. More details at https://www.51ststatefestival.com

Something a bit different on Monologues this month as we partner with London's house/disco/garage mecca 51st State Festival to present a legend of soulful house music, DJ Spen. One of the most prolific and popular producers in that end of the spectrum, his career stretches back to the glory days of US house and garage in the mid-’90s, when he was part of the legendary production outfit The Basement Boys. He counts hundreds of production credits to his name, with collaborations alongside Karizma and Todd Terry and remixes for Michael Jackson and Diana Ross along the way. His Quantize Recordings and unquantize labels are two of the scene’s best-selling imprints, and with such a huge body of work behind him, choosing what to pick on this mix can’t have been easy. It’s an honour to have him as a guest.

*How would you describe your sound?*

I describe my sounds as being soulful, funky, disco, jazzy, feel good dance music.

*What and who inspires you and influences your sound?*

A plethora of people and entities influence my sound from Gamble and Huff, to Parliament Funkadelic, to Curtis Mayfield and Quincy Jones, to Soul II Soul, to DJ Premier, to Jazzy Jeff, Dr. Dre and the list goes on.

*Can you tell us a little about this mix and what it means to you?*

This mix is a combination of many of the sounds I love to put together. Hard and gritty, to smooth and melodic dance cuts. It was a joy to put together!

Tracklist:

Black Motion - Rainbow (DJ Spen & Michele Chiavarini Remix) [Defected Records]

Namy - Colors Of The Universe (DJ Spen Remix) [unquantize]

Jasper Street Company - I Wanna Be Happy (Dave Anthony & DJ Spen Remix) [Basement Boys Records]

Junior White - In Da House (DJ Spen Remix) [unquantize]

Pauline Henry - Heaven (DJ Spen & Reelsoul Remix) [Groove Odyssey]

DJ Spen & The MuthaFunkaz present Marc Evans - The Way U Love Me [The Sound Of Defected]

Spencer Morales ft. Randy Roberts - Without Your Love (DJ Spen & Thommy Bootleg Dub) [Quantize Recordings]

MF Robots - The Night Is Calling (DJ Spen & Gary Hudgins Remix) [Quantize Recordings]

Sharon Brown Adams - We Got The Funk (Spen's Low End Theory Mix) [Quantize Recordings]

Richard Burton - Bad Luck (DJ Spen Bootleg Mix) [Groove Odyssey]

Chiwoniso - Gomo (DJ Spen & Soulfuledge Remix) [Soul Clap Records]

Next Monologues parties:

Aug 12 - Number 90, London - Cody Currie + Ben Gomori http://bit.ly/2sTNWmw

Sept 1 - Farbfernseher, Berlin - Black Loops + Ben Gomori http://bit.ly/2sNqUCA

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