MM Cast 03: RAFA

Spanish born dj, Rafa has built thru the years a vast knowledge of electronic (and not electronic) music, this obsessed digger has one of the most "well-handpicked" record collections in Berlin. His addiction to vinyls is well reflected on his sets where Rafa vary from Balearic to House, elektro, wave and some (almost) forgotten gems.

If we talk about Rafa we must mention "Way to Calypso", what it started as a brand of selected dj mixes where the Balearic Beat was the main character, evolved into an amazing youtube channel where to get lost in. A notorious music library made for the ones who loves to discover new music every day and where our friend Rafa shows a little slice of his huge record collection.

He has signed some mixes for infamous label and radio "Cómeme" where the spanish dj shows his skills entering in darker territories as Trance, new beat and synth wave.

Rafa has shared the booth with dj's from the likes of Vladimir Ivkovic, JASS and Estimulo to name a few and, last but not least, he is also one of the minds behind the berliner party collective "Ceremony", brand that has earned itself a great reputation on the underground local scene.

A man who feels the music in a different way, basically wakes up and goes to bed with some beat in his hears, constantly moving forward on the long way to Calypso.

TRACKLIST:

1- Residentes Balearicos "Il Respiro"
2- Peyote Dreams "State of Mind" (Slack Mix) Roza Terenzi’s Slow Buck
3- Marabdona (Jeku edit)
4- Longhair "80s Haircut"
5- Timothy Clerkin "Acia"
6- Lemon Grass - Julie Must Fly
7- Bonnie & Klein "Accasun" (Gustaaf Remix)
8- DJN4 "Bollognaise"
9- Cargo (Yücca M edit)
10- Undo "Epidemia de Baile"
11- Cato Canari & Dj Dog "Para Siempre" (Italo Balearic Vocal Mix)

TASCAM DR-05

Way to Calypso

MM CAST 03 - Rafa

Some of my favourite records played with love at Red Light Radio. 

Highly recommended for your Balearic Summer Holidays... 

I hope you enjoy it, thank you for listening!

Rafa at Red Light Radio. 11.5.2018

A sub-heavy, early morning dream house motivator from the Russian producer @lipelismusic.

Part of our 2018 charity Advent Calendar in aid of Julie's Bicycle, a non-profit that supports the creative industry to take action on climate change.

Download & Donate: http://bit.ly/Day11_Lipelis

All money raised through Bandcamp sales goes directly to the Green Riders campaign, so please give generously.

Day 11: Lipelis - Science & Art

Lamellen - Monty Roberts - Dekmantel (DKMNTL061) - 12"

https://shop.dekmantel.com/release/6216

a1.	Horse Massage
a2.	Spider
b1.	Oyster
b2.	Railrunner
b3.	Pippo Denemarken

Slow things down into a full balearic groove with this latest EP by Dutch production duo Lamellen, the collaborative efforts of Rimer London, and Lyckle. Barely breaking a sweat over 100bpm, these smooth sunset synth rhythms, full of muted 80s Italo funk, and breezy drum machines, syncopated with the warm, exotic blend of retro keys and ambience, set the EPs five tracks coastal, vibrant dynamic.

Rimer London a.k.a. Rimer Veeman, having collaborated with Bas Bron (a.k.a. Fatima Yamaha) as Comtron in addition to being one of the faces behind the enigmatic disco project Le Le, is no stranger to conjuring up exotically gleeful, synth productions. Having been working together for some time with Amsterdam-based song writer and talent Lyckle, it was inevitable that their veritable wavey blend of retro grooves, and sultry sunshine music was to be find its way out into the fold.

'Horse Massage', the ever so slightly subdued, tape-filtered, ocean-swept EP opener, with its melancholic lead piano line, is almost the soundtrack to something very poignant and beautiful. Perhaps it’s a reference to Monty Roberts, the original horse Californian whisperer, from which the record takes its name. ’Spider' meanwhile ups the energy, with a Korg bassline that’s reminiscent of old, TV show intros, replete with an Eastern groove, and full-on near disco-like keyboard stabs. Flip the record and 'Oyster' grooves in a playful, understated style like a Domenique Dumont joint released in another galaxy on Music from Memory. 'Railrunner' with its light guitars, rolling synth-bass line, is balearic charm in its fullest, evoking a feeling of being in the sea, or like contemporary discarded Arthur Russel joint, albeit one reworked by Phil Mison, for those smooth summer evenings. 'Pippo Denemarken' takes the record into mild-Gigi Masin territory, with its washed over, psychedelic feel and Casio-keys melodies.

DKMNTL061 // Lamellen - Monty Roberts EP

Waves crashing on a remote beach, melancholic chords and oriental riffs : this balearic beauty is an ode to a long lost love...

Out soon on Talking Drums - Drum Chums Vol. 2

Kamboja (Edit)

We would like to be honest with our listeners!
When you want to hear some great rare tracks and outstanding selection who you gonna call? Of course - canadian selector, so we thought and we did. We are extremely happy to announce that ninth episode was recorded by Montreal-based one and only Dominic Simard-Jean aka Aqua Marina! Please enjoy each of the ninety-six gently recorded minutes!
Track ID request to @aquamarinamtl

De Kat Memwa #9 w/ Aqua Marina MTL

First up in a new series of Music From Memory mixtapes is Austria based Giuseppe Leonardi (@giuseppe-leonardi) with this contribution suitably named Universal Choreography. Q&A here below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hi Giuseppe! So, first please could you tell a bit about your background and about how you got into making music?

GL: I grew up living in Vienna where my mother is from, and my father is from Bari, southern Italy, hence the name. My family has always been very musical and after my first experiences playing drums in a gospel church, I soon also started playing guitar in a punk rock band at age 14 with my Korean friend, who significantly opened my musical horizon. I consider myself an autodidact and besides having studied sound engineering, I taught myself to play drums, guitar, bass, keys and any other instruments I can get my hands on. This past year, besides playing as a dj, I´ve had my first live experiences and preparing for a live set for a festival this spring. So it´s an exciting transition time regarding my musical development. 

MFM: We think your sound is very unique, the sort of genre bending and transcending kind, made with a lot of feeling. What and who do you regard as your influences? And how would you describe the process of making your music, is there a specific kind of Giuseppe workflow or are there any favorite instruments you can't do without?

GL: Thanks. One person that immediately comes to mind in terms of who influenced me, not only musically, is Frank Zappa. He has inspired me a lot, with his way to surprise with the unexpected. I try to expose myself to different genres that cannot be weird enough in order to get fresh new ideas. I record at my home studio where I overdub all instruments using analog gear mostly from the 80s like the ’79 Pearl Syncussion drummachine and more recently the MAM vocoder built in Bavaria. I don’t have a specific workflow - Just drawing from inspiration, life and making sure I always eat my veggies.  

MFM: Do you remember how you came up with the ideas for writing the tracks that ended up on the Second Circle release? Would you say it has a typical Giuseppe Leonardi signature sound?

GL: The ambiant ones where recorded a few years ago while working on a job in Venice, where I had to boom operate interviews with some actors. In my spare time, I went to the sea using the equipment recording the waves of the ocean. Kannibalentanz and Orpheus were actually inspired by Maloya (music from La Reunion) and was created a few days before the final selection was defined. People often say that they can recognize a particular signature sound in my music, but its not my intention.
Its difficult for me to describe my music  but I was happy to see it being called: “heady and pleasingly melodious, that actually gets better with each successive listen.”... thanks Juno. 

MFM: So, thanks a lot for making the very first contribution to our new mix series! Maybe you could tell a bit more about the mix, what inspired you, how and where you recorded it, how you came to this selection? 

GL: I am of course excited to be the first to release a mix compilation and did spend some time putting it together. My musical influences and inspirations are very broad, which I tried to transmit. I consider my mix a collaboration with all the great people that I have gotten to know, learned from, and shared music with over the years. These include people like: dj Nomad, Julian Horn, Lauren Hansom, dj Sofa, Nu Guinea, Jan Schulte, Goldcut Crates, Phaserboys, Bayete, Sebastião de los Miedos, Tingel Tangel, Walter Daniel, Noel Dinse, Marie, of course the big god-papa, Mike Burns and many more. Ultimately, the tracks that I assembled, also reflect my own creations. I hope you enoy it!

MFM Mix 001: Giuseppe Leonardi

The idea behind the mix was to blend 3 musical styles with tracks between 1991 and 2019 with a certain coherence. Dance floor oriented. The mix was recorded in Berlin on the 2nd of April, It was a sunny day. 
Discover more about Rafa here
https://www.facebook.com/WaytoCalypso/
@still-deep

Radio Cómeme - Preguntas Básicas by Rafa

Toquemos fondo juntos en ese lugar que soñamos...
Descubre más sobre Rafa:

- Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/still-deep
https://soundcloud.com/way-to-calypso?fbclid=IwAR1EC-r2hG0sZhCHnAyqHB2kuwT5oc1c1FaHOv3KO_8IzrzMMJkkvPkI_nA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waytocalypso/
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/WaytoCalypso/

Rafa - Discoteca Podcast 53

First Way to Calypso for Cómeme Radio by Rafa. 
»Faith has brought us here.« @still-deep

Way To Calypso 01 by Rafa

Searching for Calypso.

Next up . . . .

7 June 19. Disco Train at Krack Bellmer, Berlin
8 June 19. Ceremony 09 at Sounds, Berlin
12 July 19. Way to Calypso at S.location, Berlin
13 July 19. Ceremony #10 at Sounds, Berlin

Past . . . .

11 May 18- Red Light Radio, Amsterdam
11 May 18- Way to Calypso special edition at Canvas, Amsterdam
18 May 18- Ceremony at Sounds, Berlin
23 May 18- Ceremony at Sounds, Berlin
17 June 18. B2B/Joan Bernat at Chalet, Berlin
6 July 18. Past Forward at Arkaoda, Berlin
7 September 18. Estimulo Show at Cashmere Radio, Berlín
7 September 18. Ceremony 4 at Sounds, Berlin
3 November 18. Vladimir Ivkovic, JASSS, Ossia, Rafa at The White Hotel, Manchester
28 November 18. Past Forward at Farbfernseher w/Kryptic DJ, Berlin
7 December 18. Ceremony 5 at Sounds, Berlin
24 December 18. Way to Calypso at Audio, Gijón
9 February 19. Ceremony 6 at Sounds, Berlin
16 February 19. Cashmere Radio Texture Mix, Berlin
1 March 19. Disco Train with Rafa at ​Crack Bellmer, Berlin
23 March 19. Ceremony 7 at Sounds, Berlin
19 April 19. All Night Long at Schlesische Str. 35, Berlin
27 April 19. Ceremony 8 at Sounds, Berlin
5 May 19. Drag Liquid Brunch at Kake, Berlin
31 May 19. Prince Charles, Berlin