In the May episode of "Chill With The Chola," I played a tune that I happened to stumble across entitled "Little Bit of Feel Good" written by Jamie Lidell and remixed by Senor Coconut. While May's podcast is chock full of cool tunes from genres such as brokenbeat, lounge, nujazz, and funk, "Little Bit of Feel Good" quickly became what I consider the "stand out" tune of the entire set.

This morning I decided to take some time and listen to more of Jamie Lidell's music and man-oh-man... I am so glad that I did! I guess I have been living in a box or something because I had never heard of him before I found Senor Coconut's fantastic mix. This cat writes super cool tunes! After just a brief listen to the previews of his latest album "JIM," I quickly jumped over to Amazon.com to purchase it.

The minute you start to listen to this album it will already seem somewhat familiar to you... it's like an old friend that just moved back to town. It sort of has this classic funk and soul feel to it. I personally hear some of the best elements that artists like Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, and Jamiroquai ever brought to the table, but, with a new twist. To be compared to those three artists is nothing to shake a stick at, and, it certainly means you are doing something right. 

I have really been on this "classic sounding but totally new" kick for the last few months and Jamie Lidell has hit the nail on the head with this album. A blend of music styles from the late 70's and early 80's, mixed with a raw and simple production quality make me feel like I am listening to an album my parents were playing when I was a kid. I like that! It really puts a smile on my face.

I encourage you to head on over to Amazon.com and listen to this album. If you like it, and I am pretty darn sure that you will, buy it. In a music culture inundated with songs from bands put together by record executives and radio stations that are belting out crap from every American Idol winner (or loser for that matter,) "JIM" is an absolute breath of fresh air. We need to encourage artists like Jamie Lidell to continue writing and releasing music.

Buy it, and be happy! :)

I just wanted to share a downtempo podcast with you that I really enjoy. The name of the podcast is "Groove Cafe" and is produced weekly by "Cristian Trouble J.", all the way from Italy!

This is a chillout podcast that I look forward to seeing updates to every time I open my feedreeder. Cristian's taste in music is much the same as mine. He plays a ton of very stylized downtempo such as bossa nova, nujazz, lounge, relaxed house, etc. I really do enjoy his show and look forward to it weekly.

As entertained as I am by this show, I do have two small complaints about it. Number one, the MP3 in the enclosure is only published at 64kbps and is compressed down to 22khz, roughly half of CD quality. As a podcast producer myself, I can somewhat understand the rationale here. Bandwidth and storage can be expensive and that is something that I deal with every month. However, reducing the audio quality of episodes is an unfortunate way to cut costs and I would be much happier with less active episodes in his feed.

My second complaint is that Cristian uses "audio drops" between EVERY song… it can be exhausting by the end of the show. While I completely believe in self promotion, I have never been a big fan of doing so over the music, or excessively throughout a mix. Use a drop maybe three times in a mix and I don't think it will even change the flow of your show. However, promoting your show after every mix can completely kill the dynamics and feel of a podcast.

Ultimately you have to remember what you are doing when you produce a downtempo podcast... you are trying to allow people to chillout. And reminding them that they are listening to "Groove Cafe" after every song can completely take them away from that dream of the Caribbean the last song induced.

In addition, if I am listening to the podcast, I already know it is called "Groove Cafe" and that it is produced by "Cristian Trouble J." I either got the mix from your page or already subscribed to your podcast so, what is the point?

Anyway, all in all, this show is full of fantastic music and aside from a couple of minor complaints, it really is one of my favorite shows. Check out Groove Cafe HERE.

If you are the type of downtempo fan that actively seeks out podcasts, radio shows, streaming stations, etc, then chances are, you are well aware of the Dave's Lounge podcast. Dave's Lounge has basically become synonymous with the "Downtempo Podcast," and rightfully so!

I have been an active subscriber of this show from early in its inception and it is one of the only podcasts to remain in my feedreader since I first learned what RSS even was.

This show is a weekly podcast, generally around 30 minutes in length, and, it is “broadcast” from Durham, North Carolina. It is produced like a short radio program and is very professionally done. Dave provides commentary between songs to provide artist names, song titles, and web links but, it is typically after two to three back-to-back songs. This gives the show a great flow.

Even if you do not prefer podcasts with voice over’s or commentary, I think that you will find that this show is very tastefully done. Dave’s voice is quiet and somewhat timid which lends itself to the overall “chilled out” vibe of the show. He is by no means your typical DJ screaming shoutouts in to a microphone. J

Dave’s Lounge is a great place to get associated with new artists in the downtempo genre. I myself have purchased quite a few MP3’s and CD’s from artists that I have found through his show. However, I do find that his show features more of the “alternative” side of downtempo which I am not as interested in compared to other sub genres such as Lounge or Nu-jazz. That is not to say that he does not explore sub genres of all kinds, just that, like most downtempo podcasts, the show tends to have a common theme or vibe from week to week. Artists such as Natalie Walker, Artemis, and 8mm have all been featured on Dave’s Lounge and the styles in which these artists work somewhat define the overall feeling of the show.

In many ways, Dave’s Lounge helped influence me to create the “Chill with The Chola” podcast. After listening to his podcast for quite some time, Dave kind of taught me that an average music fan really could create a very professionally produced show which was influential to listener and artist alike. While his podcast gave me my “Downtempo fix” from week to week, it also left me longing for the styles of music that I have come to love so much and, that I have started to share through my own podcast. Maybe, in my own way, I might influence someone else to start their own podcast someday… that is a cool thought. After all, this umbrella term which is “Downtempo” really does encompass a HUGE range of styles. There is plenty of room for all of us!

Anyway, if for some reason you have not stumbled on to Dave’s Lounge on your own, be sure to check it out HERE. There are over 100 episodes for you to catch up on so, get to work! ;)

After preparing my music selection for January 2008's Podcast titled "It’s a Nu Year," I noticed that I had included two songs that bare the name of Canadian artist "Alister Johnson" as a credit.

The first tune was entitled "Day Job," a remix of a cheeky little song that pokes fun at "cubicle living," (at least in my mind) and the eternal struggle to leave that life behind. "Day Job" was originally written and performed by an independent band named "Sunshine State" and it is quite charming all on its own. However, Alister really changed the entire dynamic of the song by laying down a super smooth samba rhythm accompanied by a big, fat, upright bass pattern which makes the song super cool and stylish. This is right up my alley and I was hooked the very first time I heard it!

The second song was entitled "Like a Star" and is an Alister Johnson original. This song is a broken beat tune with a unique R&B vibe that is created by mixing solid vocals from Vancouver based vocalist Alonzo with smooth beats, great strings, and a funky clav solo. Very nice stuff.

Anyway, usually I try not to include multiple songs or remixes from the same artists on the podcast. I generally want to expose listeners to as many artists as possible within an hour to hour and a half long show. However, I really liked both of the songs and decided to let it slide this month. I did decide to do a little more research about this Alister fellow though. :)

This month was really the first time that I had been exposed to Alister's music, so, I wanted to learn more about him. I spent some time listening to more of his music on his Myspace page and am glad that I did. He has released music under the name "Alister Johnson" as well as "DJ Catalist," and, it is definitely worth a trip to his Myspace page to listen to some of his creations in the flash player.

After some digging, I was able to find a full bio of Alister on the www.RobertStrauss.com site. Here is a copy of that bio...

Growing up in Peterborough, NH, a small town in north eastern US, Alister Johnson drew his first influences from the sounds of hip-hop producers DJ Premier, RZA, Pete Rock & Large Professor. Armed with a turntable and Cool Edit, an audio sampling program popular in the day, he soon began making hip-hop beats of his own. Now, at 22 years of age and based out of Toronto's The Hive music studio, Alister aka DJ Catalist, is hard at work making a name for himself, and here's why....

Alister has given his special touch in production to remixes for artists such as FEIST, Hird w/ Yukimi Nagano, LAL, Layah Jane and more. New Orleans based MC Voice is yet another artist he has lent his musical styles to, creating the beats for her single Know Rhythm (Public Transit Recording). Some of Alister's upcoming projects will include remixes for James Bryan's project Sunshine State and the fabulous Elizabeth Shepherd Trio.

When he is not working on tracks for other artists, Alister is making music with a team of writers at The Hive for television shows and commercials. Featured on spots for Visa, Kellogg's and Samsung, as well as contributing tracks for 2 shows on the Discovery Channel, Alister is definitely being heard throughout the music industry.

As Catalist, Alister has produced for local MCs Louwop the Dirty General and Scot Free; but he is perhaps best known for his production efforts on the 'unofficial' remixes, the DJ Catalist re-edits, of Nina Simone, James Brown, Love, Ruth Brown, and Billie Holiday. These demo versions have been circulating among DJs around the world, and have been playlisted by the likes of Quantic, and Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio One.

His debut single, "Like A Star" (Do Right) features the vocals of Vancouver based Alonzo as well as local artists Chris Rouse & Leonie Griffiths. In fact, Alister loves this song so much that he has created 3 versions, all of them unique and outstanding - take your pick. And just to show his versatility, Alister has also given us a slightly harder, Bruk-Beat killah "Feel It".

Whether he is creating music for television commercials, or music for a hip-hop MC to spit their best over, Alister has become one of the fastest uprising artists to look out for in 2006. Stay tuned for more from this multitalented and diverse producer.

Take some time to listen to Alister Johnson's music and if you like it, buy it!

I just wanted to share a fantastic online music store that I found with everyone. Well, actually, they found me!

Bagpak music started emailing me their "Weekly Selects" about two months ago. The email is basically an informational listing of all of the featured releases for the week. I am not sure how I ended up on their mailing list but, I am definitely glad that I did.

This site has some of the coolest nujazz and broken beat music I have been able to find yet! There are tons of record lables included in the store and releases from Freestyle Records, Wah Wah 45s, and Sunshine Enterprises are some of my favorite.

Bagpak also includes genres such as House, Deep Tech, and Jungle in addition to fantastic nu-jazz, broken beat, afro beat, and lounge so it is worth checking out even if you are not a downtempo DJ.

As far as navigation is concerned, I feel the site is a little cumbersome compared to larger sites such as Beatport or Traxsource . My main issue with the site is that there is not a quick way to preview a release right from the list view. You actually have to click the release and view the details before you get a player. In addition, I find the list view to be a bit cluttery compared to the track list view in Beatport. That being said, this site is a smaller store which has releases that are not yet available on Beatport and I can deal with the navigation issues to score some sweet tunes.

My only other complaint about the site is that they only seem to take Paypal at the moment. That was not a big deal for me as I am an avid user of Paypal, but, it may bother others.

All in all, my experience while browsing and purchasing music in the Bagpak store was quick, relatively easy, and I was very happy with the downloads. If you are downtempo, nu-jazz, or lounge DJ, or, even just a downtempo lover, this site is worth a visit. You can check out some of the songs I scored from Bagpak Music in the January episode of "Chill with The Chola," HERE.

I am back to work today after a nice Christmas holiday and of course I was on the hunt for some cool new downtempo music. Well, I stumbled on another very cool podcast that his hosted on Podomatic and wanted to share it with you.

The Jazz Horizont- Archives are a list of archived shows produced by M.W.D. for a local radio station in Hungary, RadioMI89.9. I have listened to four or five episodes today and liked what I heard enough to add a subscription to my feedreader.

The Jazz Horizont show seems to be an interesting mixture of jazz influenced hip-hop, nujazz, nesoul, afrobeat, etc. Some of his episodes featured house and brokenbeat as well but, I would sum up what I have heard as being very "urban influenced."

His shows are not neccessarily the right choice for chilling out (in my opinion), but, they are entertaining to listen to while working, and, I expect them to be a nice addition to the sound track I listen to in my car on the way to work. :)

Check out this show if you dig hip-hop, trip hop, or if you like some urban flavor in your downtempo sets. My favorite set that I have listened to so far is from 11/29/2007 and you can check it out HERE.

I ran in to a new downtempo podcast today titled "Beane's Noodle Hotpot." The podcast is hosted with the same provider as my podcast and I am actually a little surprised I had not run in to it earlier.

Beane produces a live show on http://www.myhouse-yourhouse.net every Sunday from 1:00-4:00pm GMT and his podcast seems to be an archive of that show. The podcast seems to be commercial free but Beane does voice overs that are similar to a typical radio program format.

The Noodle Pot features a very eclectic mix of downtempo music. He plays anything from Paul Mcartney to Flytronix and features styles such as funk, neo soul, nujazz, and drum 'n' bass. The show is all over the place but really is a lot of fun. It is definitely something cool to pop on while at work!

I definitely enjoyed both episodes that he currently has posted and have added a subscription to this site to my feedreader. Check out his show from 12/02/2007 HERE.

As I sit back and reflect on the experience of producing the "Chill with the Chola" podcast for its first complete year, I really could not be more pleased.  I have found some amazing artists this year, helped promote their music and talent to people all around the world, I have learned a ton, and, I have had so much fun doing it! That being said, I also had to ask myself, "so, what's next?"

Over the past year, I have been thinking about how to expand the show a bit. However, I don't really want to mess around with a good thing. People have asked why I do not have a "talk portion" of the show in which I review albums, labels, etc. I could maybe even interview an artist or two. While this does interest me on some level, I really want to produce a podcast that is talk and commercial free. I would like the music and the mixes to speak for themselves.

So, after some thought, I decided a great way to expand the podcast would be to create a companion site for it. Think of Definitive Downtempo as a "magazine" that accompanies the podcast.

One of the big bonuses to separating some of the written content off of the podcast page is that it will allow me to be more creative with reviews. Throughout the last year I have felt somewhat rushed and pressured when it came time to write a review of an artist or album. This is because I would typically produce the audio portion of the show first, then, spend any extra time I had before the monthly podcast deadline creating links and writing the text portion. Now I can release the podcast and tracklist on time every month and then post reviews, articles, and interviews on this site when I am feeling the most creative.

Definitive Downtempo's BLOG will be a little more "free flow" than the "Chill with the Chola" podcast. There will not be a set schedule as to when new content will be added. It could be daily, it could be monthly, who knows? If I come across a great new artist, album, or site, I can come here and post an article about it right then and there. That excites me!

Another feature of this site is that I now have a great place to post my Definitive Downtempo CD Collection. If you are anything like me, than you are always on the prowl for new downtempo CD's and MP3's. Well you may have just struck gold because I have compiled a HUGE list of some of the most influential downtempo, lounge, chillout, and nujazz artists and provided links to purchase both new and used CD's! I will be updating this list regularly as I find new artists that strike my fancy.

I am looking forward to another great year of podcasting and I truly believe that the addition of Definitive Downtempo to my media network will help me provide a richer experience to all of my fans. Most importantly, I feel that this site will help me better promote the most important aspect of the show... the artists that create the music that you and I love so much!

Stay Tuned for more,
The Chola