I'am writing this from a hotel in Seattle, I have been spending the weekend wandering around waterfront, dodging in and out of shop doorways to avoid the rain and digging around through punk record stores to find to find the one or two black LP's that slipped through the net. If you are a Seattle native and know where I should have been looking and are willing to share, then by all means hit the comments button.
It seems fitting that seeing as my weekend has been slightly introspective and out of context that my offering today is also.
Around two summers ago I was riding my bike deep through the avenues, heading toward sunset beach, when I came by chance accross a garage sale. A gentleman was stood inside the garage door next to untold boxes of records, mostly marked 'funk', some marked 'disco', and I was casually told that he was clearing out some records to 'make space for more records'. It was a treasure trove, I remember being sold a clean copy of the Kebekektrik ep for $2 as well as a bunch of other cuts I still play out to this day, simply so the man could have an extra bit of room in his apartment. This is how I met DJ Om, part of the Bay Area's digging royalty.
Om can be credited with discovering and breaking many of the soulful funk jams found on the slew of Bay Area reissue compilations that came out over the last decade. He has traded or sold to DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald, Soul Sam, John Manship, Egon, just to name a few, as well as playing out alongside acts such as Madlib, the Gza, Flying Lotus and Pharcyde. I only mention this so the proper weight can be attributed to the selection chosen for the new mix he debut's with Beatelectric today, many of these soul 45's are so completely off the radar that even if I did have a name for them it wouldn't make any difference, your not finding them, others are truly being broken for the first time, and a couple are simply classics.
Despite my pleading to the contrary he decided to give no playlist, but if you look into the broken heart depicted on the cover you can perhaps make out the writing on some of the records spilling out from the centre. As per usual, if you do a commendable job of ID'ing the tracks there is a Beatelectric t-shirt in it for you. Here is what Om had to say:
This is a chance to look into the mind, thoughts, and feelings of Deejay OM and experience the soul-wrenching and heart-shattering experience of my "break-up" or "heartbreak" mix. A mix which has great personal meaning, and was made as a means of healing my own pain. It is intended to be a panacea, a medicine which helps to heal others going through the same struggle. I've offered it as a free download so that it may spread and help to heal the wounds inflicted by those caught in the heat, or aftermath, of the hearts battle for love. It is a concept mix which is patterned after the thoughts, feelings, mixed emotions, and changes one goes through once the break-up begins and carries through to the end by dealing with what truly came to be...like it or not, it's about putting yourself on the line, being heart-broken, and learning to pick yourself up and move on. Each and every song has been hand picked because of content, feel, and overall message and was then placed in the mix corresponding to the stage of where one is at processing their lost love, and most importantly their own broken heart...music heals....and whether it's the music and bitter tears of Jesse James, the very rare Jackson 5 song and their hopeful search for something to fill that void in your heart, the anger of the Berwick Players, or the encouraging words of Frankie Beverly to dry your eyes and stop crying...I guarentee this mix will make you feel something deep down within. It is the blood from my soul...music for a heartbreak.
