Rob and I were blessed to meet him and spend time with him; we were awed by his presence. Rest in Peace Chuck.

Eric Hilton

The May 20 event will be in and around the 9:30 Club, 815 V Street, NW starting at 3pm

Tickets are available for purchase now and include all you can eat food from 25 of DC’s finest restaurants serving their culinary creations

Music is curated by Eric Hilton and features a DJ Set by Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation, Bone, Fur and Feathers, Nappy Riddem, and The Archives

The selection of fine reinterpretations starts with a funked up boom bap remix of Oblivion feat. Azeem & DJ Zeph by Chicago based producer Maker (from the group Qwel & Maker), which is full of Indian influences and features fat rocking drums.

This is followed up by Kabanjak himself doing an epic drum heavy version of Peace In The East, which leaves a lot of room for beautiful strings performed by UK string duo, Entropik.

Then comes a remix by Emch from Subatomic Sound System in New York City who will blow your speakers with its big bass. This remix is an up-tempo version of Give It To You feat. Monsoon.

And while speaking of bass we present you DC residents Second Sky & Thomas Blondet who give Calvert Street Rock a fresh new Dub outfit that puts the Melodica in the spotlight of this song. The original version is a homage to ESL Music & Thievery Corporation headquarters (located on Calvert Street in Washington DC) and to Augustus Pablo (who brought the Melodica to the attention of Reggae lovers worldwide).

Kabanjak´s more Afro and Latin dedicated project Deela (on Switchstance Recordings) comes up next with a more up-tempo broken beat remix of Anti Pop Song, bringing you a contagious bass-heavy groove for the dancefloor.

Next up is longtime friend and collaborator DJ Brace, who is one of Canada´s finest scratchers and producers who did all the cuts on the Ancient Astronauts album Into Bass And Time, on Kabanjak´s solo album Tree Of Mystery and he remixed Classic feat. The Pharcyde from AA´s debut album We Are To Answer. His remix of Still A Soldier shows of his fine skills as a producer and DJ with his trademark style of warm and tight beats combined with killer scratches. To round up this remix and give it a real organic feel Brace invited some friends to his studio to add Kora (Zal Sissokho) and Darbuka (Guillaume Fouquet). The result is full of beautiful harmonies with forward rocking beats and scratches.

Bay Area resident and eclectic beats & grooves maestro J-Boogie is the next in line. J chose to remix the song Last Night feat. Akua Naru and added some lush Latin flavor and deep bass, which give room for Akua´s lyrics to flower out through this beautiful song.

To round up this release and pay dues to all the beat-addicted Hip Hop and Funk heads in the world we added the instrumental version of the Maker Remix for Oblivion.

Occupy This Album features “Unified Tribes” by Thievery Corporation (featuring Mr Lif) as well as Nickodemus’ track “A New York Minute” (featuring The Real Live Show, Sadat X, ILLspokinN and Rabbi Darkside).

Album Features fan favorite and never before released tracks From Ani DiFranco, UNKLE, David Amram, Joan Baez, Tom Chapin, Willie Nelson, Rain Phoenix, Patti Smith, Anti Flag, Girls Against Boys, Garland Jeffreys, New Party Systems Featuring Kyp Malone, Yoko Ono, Amanda Palmer, Dar Williams, The Mammals Featuring Pete Seeger, David Crosby & Graham Nash, George Martinez & The Global Block Collective, Jackson Browne, Yo La Tengo, The Guthrie Family, Matt Pless, Filmmaker Michael Moore, Mogwai and More!

Musician and Selecta extraordinaire, Congo can generally be found in one of two places. If he’s not on the road drumming with DC’s own, Thievery Corporation or See-I: he’s  jamming out to fresh vibes at the mysterious Lillypad studios.   He is developing a unique blend of Afro-Latin Dub, as he evolves in to his own on the DC music scene. This EP-his first solo outing-proves that the sound is here, and Congo Sanchez is the ambassador.  His over-all taste, and musical personality are a delight, with a superlative sense of rhythm and a musicianly approach to arrangements and melody.

“I embodied Afro-Cuban and Haitian rhythms while accompanying for world dance classes, and began composing pieces for Solo Percussion and Chamber Jazz Ensembles….built a DIY home studio and started to produce my own beats with these ideals in mind.”

Congo produces and performs everything on the EP, with two notable exceptions. Karen Joy McCoy plays shimmering violin on “Democrazy,” the opening track, while the horn section from Ikebe Shakedown – Morgan Price, sax; Jason Colby, trumpet; Nadav Nirenberg, trombone – add their blazing ensemble work to “T.E.T.O. (strut)” . Congo lays down subtle keyboard textures and multi-layered percussion tracks throughout, giving the music an otherworldly vibe rooted by his earthy backbeat.

“During college, I took interest world music. I learned of the Yoruba and Fon traditions of West Africa and how they remained vital throughout colonialization in the Western Hemisphere. All the time re-discovering these rhythms and melodies in music that I listened to growing up in suburban America.”

Congo Sanchez knows his roots and leads the listener on a fascinating journey along the vibrations of DC’s outernational sound.

A Live Musical Cooking Variety Show.

Join ESL Music, Amstel Light & Marvin Restaurant for an intimate evening of culinary creativity with Chef Jeff Jew. Hear all the inside tips to make your next dishes extra special. Step inside the kitchen as we launch ESL RADIO LIVE in Washington DC and sample the dishes!

Event starts at 6pm
Montserrat House
2016 9th St NW
Washington, DC
FREE TO ALL.

ESL RADIO LAUNCH WEEKEND
Friday April 13th, 2012

AFROLICIOUS
(11pm – 1am – full live band)
ESL Music – San Francisco, CA
http://www.afrolicious.org/

THUNDERBALL
(9pm – 11pm – dj set)
ESL Music – Washington, DC
http://www.thunderballdc.com/

Green Lion
(8pm – 9pm – opening dj set)

Upstairs at Montserrat House
8pm to 1am
21 & up
No Cover

THIEVERY CORPORATION
Official Pre-Launch Party for ESLRADIOLIVE.com

Featuring DJ Pleasuremaker
Guest Appearance by Eric Hilton

Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel
999 9th Street Northwest, Washington, DC
6pm to 8pm

Ever wondered where DC’s best DJ’s square off in one venue? Eighteenth Street Lounge on Saturday with Will Eastman and Farid in the Gold Room housing you all night. Eric Hilton from Thievery Corporation and ESL familiar Thomas Blondet keeping it moving in the main bar.

KICKOFF CELEBRATIONS SCHEDULED FOR
APRIL 13, 14 AND 15

(Washington, D.C.) – ESL Music and The Eighteenth Street Lounge are proud to present a brand new 24-hour online radio station called ESL Radio. This 24 hour music channel will consist of a blend of the best of downtempo, lounge, afrobeat, electronica, reggae and world music. Listeners can tune in at www.eslradiolive.com.

To kick off the new station, ESL Music and The Eighteenth Street Lounge will host three events in the D.C. area:

When: Friday, April 13, 6:00pm
Location: Montserrat House / 2016 9th Street, NW
Details: “The Gourmet Lounge,” a radio cooking show featuring Chef Jeff Jew from Marvin Restaurant, preparing dishes to sample. Thunderball and Afrolicious will follow with a live DJ set with many live musicians jumping in to perform. This event is made possible by Amstel Light and is open to the public.

When: Saturday, April 14, 6:00pm
Location: Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel
Details: The ESL Radio Kick-off Pre-Party includes a DJ set by Afrolicious and a chance to meet Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation. Admission to the Renaissance event is free and open to the public.

At 9:30pm, the party moves to the world famous Eighteenth Street Lounge with a DJ set by Eric Hilton in the Main Room and a DJ set by Lounge co-owner Farid in the Gold Room.

When: Sunday, April 15, 6:00pm
Location: Eighteenth Street Lounge
Details: “The Vibe with Sleepy Wonder Radio Show,” featuring special guest, international reggae sensation, Shinehead. Following the broadcast, the Rhythm and Culture party continues with residident Lounge maestro, Thomas Blondet. This event is sponsored by Heineken.

“There will be no shortage of fun and dancing this weekend.” says ESL Music’s Phil Hawken. “Make sure to get to these events early,” he added. ” We’re going to have some fun with this platform. ESL Radio is now a window that lets fans of the Eighteeth Street Lounge and Thievery Corporation get behind the scenes of this movement and hear what’s going on – live. ”

For information and interviews contact:

Rob Connelly
ESL Radio
(603) 969-8430
eslradiolive@gmail.com
www.eslradiolive.com
www.facebook.com/eslradiolive

After a highly praised debut, Washington DC’s The Funk Ark is back with an even tighter follow up album. Less than a year has passed since the release of From The Rooftops on ESL Music and the world funk ensemble has established itself as one of the strongest players in the scene both in the studio and with their high-octane live performances.  High Noon is the title of The Funk Ark’s sophomore release and was recorded and produced by Adrián Quesada of the Grammy award winning group, Grupo Fantasma.  The new album is available on iTunes, Amazon, and through our webshop.

“They’re a strong frontrunner in the resurgence of the Afrobeat genre.” – Okayplayer

AM & Shawn Lee Prepping for Spring Tour

More shows TBA including dates in NY, WA state and more in Europe!

Following on the heels of the first EP this takes the Afrolicious sound to another level of songwriting, production, and dance heavy beats. Focusing on more uptempo tracks like title track Pleasuretime, and Never Let No One each featuring vocalist Fresh is Life from Trinidad, the hybrid of Afro-Beat and Disco-House is emphasized on these tracks and reflect a hybrid that has been explored since the first days of the Afrolicious party. Revolution is a hard hitting breakbeat with Afro-Beat, Funk, and electronica all meeting on a sure fire dance floor banger. Written as a news broadcast set to a funk beat and reflecting the various global movements over the last year. Featuring Pleasuremaker on lead vocals, other strong vocals were cut by Rhonda, aka Red the Black Blond, Ziek McCarter, and Diamond all from the Afrolicious organization. Finally Yacouba Diarra makes a return appearance on Bade Malou, a more uptempo follow up to the ‘Dub For Mali’ title track on the debut Afrolicious release. The deep and meditative vibes meet a danceable beat and baseline, and psychedelic effects are juxtaposed against the Ngoni, an acoustic stringed instrument from Africa. Here we have West Africa meeting breakbeats, electronica, dub effects, and psychedelia.  Pleasuretime was produced by Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation, and co-produced by Pleasuremaker. The two bounce ideas off of each other betweeb their busy touring schedules and are also on track to finish the remainder of the full length album to be released later in the year! The connection of Rob Garza w- Afrolicious makes for some tasty productions that combine the best of organic and electronic elements, seamlessly brought together here in the mix by engineer Gianmaria Conti (Italy,Thievery Corporation live sound engineer)

Afrolicious will be releasing a full length album later in the year and touring the country both as a live band and as Dj and percussion.

Pleasuretime EP is available through iTunes & Amazon!

“Nothing like following up an auspicious debut with a new set that defies sophomore slump… this is a killer, uncut dose of pure bomb.” – Midwest Record

As always, stay tuned for more exclusive information about the release!

These have all been road tested and they all tear it up something fierce!

Get it on iTunes!

National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on over 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station at the following link by selecting a state from the pull-down menu: http://www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/?prgId=39  …or, worldwide, fans can connect to the WXPN Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm EST, here: http://www.xpn.org/music-artist/xpn-stream

Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available on the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/programs/world-cafe/

Be sure to check out AM & Shawn Lee while they are in Paris for the next three nights! Details below!

AM & Shawn Lee London and Paris Promo tour 2012
Feb 08       Radio acoustic performance “Ouvert La Nuit” 9pm   Paris, France
Feb 09       Gilbert Instore, 6pm          Paris, France
Feb 10       Les Nuits Zébrées de Radio Nova @ La Machine du Moulin Rouge Paris, France Doors at 8:30, Set at 10pm

Karimba takes Novalima’s music to new heights, introducing both new sounds and traditional rhythms like the Panalivio, Zamacueca, Ingá and Tondero, while maintaining their distinctive Afro and dub sound. Their reputation at home in Lima has allowed them to work with the top traditional musicians in the city, inviting vocalists Pepe Vasquez, Rosita Guzman, and Sofia Buitron as well as guitarists Roberto Arguedas and Felix Casaverde (former guitarist for Chabuca Granda), in addition to members of the live band.

From the driving rhythms and furious percussion of tracks like “Mamaye” and “Luna Ciega” to more pensive tangents like “Revolucion” and “Malivio Son” Novalima’s Karimba is a joyous whirlwind of sound and song not to be missed!

Karimba is available for purchase in our shop, through iTunes, Amazon and from fine record shops near you!

Novalima’s ESL Music debut album “Karimba” is coming out TOMORROW 1/31! Preorder your copy today through Amazon.com.