Being heralded as the face of an international movement must be kinda tough. Such is the perilous-but-also-probably-effing-awesome position that Michael Cox, known to many more as MikeQ finds himself in.

Increasingly being dubbed reigning king of the HA, soundtrack to the international vogue / ballroom / house scene by such folks as Vanity Fair and XLR8R, MikeQ’s debut release on Fade To Mind is another landmark in a year that’s held many.

Fresh off tearing up Tokyo alongside Koppi Mizrahi, (who’s hugely responsible for the emergence of the scene in Japan) and a relentlessly powerful Mixpak FM 90 minute vogue mix filled with track names like “10,000 Screaming Faggots” and “Gurk That Shit”, the Fade To Mind release can be seen as an introduction of sorts to ballroom beats, featuring collaborations with legends Jay Karan and Vjuan Allure, and remixes by rising young stars of the Jersey Club scene Nadus and DJ Sliink.

But vogue’s reputation for primarily soundtracking clubs where queer, transgendered folks of all ethnicities went to dance brings up lots of issues about representation, and more personally, fears about the vogue sound being co-opted without recognition or support for the scene that birthed it.

This year saw Boddika and Joy O sampling Robbie Tronco’s “Walk For Me” into the much sought after “Swims”, but not before Tronco threatened them with a lawsuit for unauthorized sampling. Because this release is still listed as forthcoming on Swamp81, it appears this has been resolved, but the original implication was that Tronco did not take kindly to his source material being reworked.

Also gaining popularity is a selection of what’s been dubbed by some as ‘hetero-HA’- music that takes on the vogue vernacular without giving any other part of the gendered or social environment surrounding the creation of the scene much thought.

So to clarify, maybe it’s not MikeQ who’s in a perilous position, but dance music’s relationship with mining scenes for their authenticity and then repeating the idea in progessively less interesting rehashes. I’m not suggesting that MikeQ invented vogue, but of course, neither did Madonna.

Anyway, even if you think the social/political/sexual politics behind genres is fucking boring, all you really need to hear is the infectious scat improvisation of Kevin JZ Prodigy on “Feels Like” to understand why this is hot. Further showcasing the energy behind the music, this video of MikeQ and Kevin JZ Prodigy live at the Fade To Mind LA release party is just madness.

Below, “NuCunt” stretches out Kevin’s vocal words into a splice-and-dice snare workout that’s sure to work some reverberating magic on pansexual dancefloors ‘cross the nation.

Most important tho – The new MikeQ EP is out on Fade To Mind NOW on iTunes. GRAB IT!

DJ MikeQ, “NuCunt” by The FADER

“This week, Talabot released another batch of new music, the “Families EP”, via Young Turks. To commemorate the occasion, Talabot has put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series, an offering that finds the mysterious auteur hazily winding his way through sun-soaked house, spacey disco, washy techno, and all points in between.”

XLR8R Podcast 197: John Talabot (link to XLR8R)

Tracklist after the jump.

01 Holy Other “YR Love” (Tri Angle)
02 Good Parts “Temptation 100″ (Star-Fi)
03 dBridge “Wonder Where” (NonPlus)
04 Matthew Herbert “Kerstin Basler (Pional Unofficial Edit)”
05 Unknown
06 Missing Linkx “Got a Minute” (Philpot)
07 Aera “Daidalus” (Aera)
08 Kornél Kovács “Baby Step” (Studio Barnhus)
09 Unknown “See the Music”
10 Schakarchi & Stranéus “Clinton Hill” (Studio Barnhus)
11 Shatrax “9″ (Shatrax)
12 Arto Mwambe “LoveLift (Osborne Remix)” (Brontosaurus)
13 John Talabot “Leave Me” (Permanent Vacation)
14 Maria Minerva “Disko Bliss” (100% Silk)
15 TT “Party Girl (Talabot Friendly Edit)”
16 Jo Jo “Mind Games” (Il Discotto)

Absolutely due thanks go to XLR8R for providing us with a sublime collection of Tom Trago’s peak time diverse house influences, even though it’s void of any of the productions featured on his recently released jaw dropping piece of work known as the “Iris” LP.

XLR8R Podcast 194: Tom Trago (Via XLR8R)

“His exclusive mix does not disappoint, as it’s heavy on his own pensive, jazz- and soul-tinged productions, including several unreleased songs and remixes. Jaar is ostensibly a house artist, but this mix explores different moods, tempos, styles, and eras; it even manages to squeeze in tracks from Bob Dylan and Pharoah Sanders without losing the plot. We imagine that we’ll be hearing lots more from Jaar in the years to come, but the man already appears to be operating at the top of his game.”

Nicolas Jaar – XLR8R Podcast, Feb 8th 2011 (link to post)

Tracklist after the jump.

01. Bob Dylan “Love Sick” (Sony)
02. Nicolas Jaar “What My Last Girl Put Me Through”
03. Wendy Kane “After Laughter Comes Tears (Nicolas Jaar Edit)”
04. Nicolas Jaar “Materials (Nico’s Bluewave Edit)”
05. The Enticers “Thief (Live Set Edit)”
06. Pharoah Sanders “Meeting John Coltrane”
07. Nicolas Jaar “Variations” (Circus Company)
08. Nicolas Jaar “Hage Chahine (feat. Will Epstein)” (Wolf+ Lamb)
09. Nicolas Jaar “Dubliners” (Clown & Sunset)
10. Nicolas Jaar “Colomb” (Circus Company)
11. Nicolas Jaar “Avalanche (Tribute to Leonard Cohen)”
12. Nicolas Jaar “Russian Dolls” (Clown & Sunset)
13. Nicolas Jaar “Encore”

“2010 was a good year for French producer Canblaster (a.k.a. Cédric Steffens), as the Club Cheval resident and former Bubblin’ subject debuted with the Jetpack EP and also dropped a string of hyperactive, genre-hopping remixes for the likes of Spoek Mathambo, Drop the Lime, J-Wow, Teki Latex, and others. Many of those efforts appear on this exclusive mix he’s put together for the XLR8R podcast series, an absolutely stacked DJ session that somehow squeezes in more than 50 tracks, the majority of which are unreleased. It’s the first salvo in what promises to be a frantic 2011 for Canblaster, who next month will be releasing his second EP, Master of Complication, on the Nightshifters label. Whether he’s experiencing sonic ADD or simply allowing his youthful exuberance to run wild, Canblaster’s DJ stylings appear to be just as schizophrenic as his production work, as his podcast bounces between hip-hop, R&B, house, rave, juke, electro, tribal guarachero, and more. Considering that the guy used to compose video game music for a living and cites Basement Jaxx as a major influence, it’s not exactly surprising that fun is always a major component of his musical equation.”

Canblaster – XLR8R Podcast, January 25th 2011 (link to XLR8R post)

Big tracklist after the jump.

PS. Watch out for his upcoming EP on Nightshifters.

01 Trey Songz “I Want You”
02 DJ MikeQ “Transform Ya” (Qween Beat)
03 Eccy “Old Snake Rapier (Myd & Sam Tiba Remix)” (Slye)
04 Lucid “Bukake Ballroom”
05 High Powered Boys “Work” (Sound Pellegrino)
06 Marcus Price “Bubblegum (Sam Tiba Remix)” (Palms Out Sounds)
07 Jam City “Magic Drops” (Night Slugs)
08 Myd “Victoria II”
09 Dr. Gonzo “Bust Dem Up”
10 Blackwax “Airway”
11 Drop the Lime “Hot As Hell (Canblaster Remix)” (Trouble & Bass)
12 Myd “Octodip Futurolook”
13 Myd “Pistolet (Sam Tiba Remix)”
14 Mumdance “Don’t Forget Me Now (Douster Remix)” (Mad Decent)
15 Mr. Vega “Planisfear (Bandulu Remix)” (Rot10 Musik)
16 Bambounou “unknown” (Young Gunz)
17 Spoek Mathambo “Mshini Wam (Canblaster Remix)” (BBE)
18 French Fries “Charlotte (Canblaster Remix)” (Young Gunz)
19 Out One “Foggy Road”
20 Shaun D “Spanish Fly (Kingdom Remix) (Canblaster Tribal Edit)”
21 DJ Javier Estrada “Danza Del Fuego”
22 Yeah! Woho! “Pushing (Canblaster Remix)” (Top Billin)
23 Confield “Polaroid (Luckybeard Remix)”
24 Klipar “Imperial March (Myd Remix)” (No Brainer)
25 Mr. Tweeks “Money (DEMO)” (Pelican Fly)
26 Myd “Hee Head”
27 Jay Weed “Dazzled”
28 Seiji “More of You” (Seiji)
29 Mu-Gen “Fizzdom (Sam Tiba Remix)” (Scattermish)
30 Gregg Evisu Feat. Jay R “Bitch Who Are You ???” (Qween Beat)
31 Toasty “Reflect” (Distance)
32 R1 Ryders “Just A Feelin’” (Royal One)
33 DJ Cobra feat Javier Estrada “Gatla Tlao (El Veneno de la Serpiente ID)”
34 Erick Rincon “Tetris Tribal” (Tribaleros)
35 AraabMUZIK “Whistle (Instrumental)”
36 DJ Assault “Bangapella” (Jefferson Ave)
37 Salva “Issey Miyake” (Frite Nite)
38 Richelle “Mascotte” (Pelican Fly)
39 Richelle “Mascotte (Mr. Tweeks Remix)” (Pelican Fly)
40 Jimmy Edgar “Midnite Fone Call” (Warp)
41 Damu “Flibberdiflobberdifloo”
42 Jukes of Hazzard “Pumpz in the Bag *VIP*”
43 DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad “Bob it Low” (Ghettophiles)
44 DJ Assault “Big Knots (Dub)” (Jefferson Ave)
45 Canblaster “Lost in the Shell” (Nightshifters)
46 SebastiAn “H.A.L. (Munchi Bootleg Remix)”
47 Rude Kid “Winter Remix” (Are You Ready)
48 Brey “Dilligaf”
49 Canblaster & Panteros666 “Blue DJinn”
50 Canblaster “Triple Ring” (Nightshifters)
51 Klever “It Gets Hot (Canblaster Remix)”
52 DJ Jonty “Grindin (Kastle Edit)”
53 Crystal Kay “Girl’s Night” (Sony Japan)

Brodinski – just in time for Christmas – comes through with a follow up to his Best Of Everything compilations of electro and hip hop that hit the web hard back in July. This volume sees the French top class producer/dj commission some of his dj/production buddies such as Bok Bok, Brenmar, Dubbel Dutch, French Fries, J-Wow, Nguzunguzu, Renaissance Man and Wildlife! for 16 tracks of outstanding club worthy swag. (Via XLR8R)

Brodinski – Best Of Everything Vol. 2 (zip file, ge.tt)

Tracklist can be found after the jump.

1. Aaliyah -Rock The Boat (Mawkus’ Panty Dropper Blend)
2. Amérie – One Thing (French Fries Remix)
3. Filip Filipi feat. Shanell – Can you Rock (Nguzunuguzu Remix)
4. Lil Wayne – I’m Single (Renaissance Man Remix)
5. Big Sean – Bullshittin’ (Tony Senghore Remix)
6. Soulja Boy – Pretty Boy Swag (Club Cheval remix)
7. Cassie – Me & U (Brenmar Remix)
8. Ciara – Ride (Wildlife Remix)
9. Lil Scrappy – Look At Me (Bok Bok Refix)
10. Young Dro, T.I. & Gucci Mane – Freeze Me (J-Wow Fast Lane Refix)
11. Party Boyz – Ha Ha Bitch (Manaré & Marvy Da Pimp Remix Feat. Spank Rock & Joke)
12. Drake – Over (Mikix The Cat remix)
13. Usher – Little Freak (Savage Skulls & Douster Remix) ft Marcus Price
14. Ciara – Deuces (Dubbel Dutch Remix)
15. Rihanna – Hard Ft Young Jeezy (Beataucue remix)
16. Young Money – Bedrock (Djedjotronic remix)

PS: Grab the exclusive download of “Taking It Down” over at XLR8R.

“Bill Salas is a Chicago boy through and through. Sure, the producer better known as Brenmar resides in Brooklyn these days, but his tracks clearly demonstrate that the guy brought his hometown’s love of hip-hop, R&B, house, and juke along with him. Over the past year, he’s built a name for himself on the back of bootleg remixes of DJ Deeon, Cassie, and Aaliyah, not to mention a few of his own originals. Early next month, he’ll be dropping an official release—the At It Again EP on Discobelle—but that’s just the beginning; another single is planned for Ikonika and Optimum’s Hum and Buzz imprint, as are collaborative efforts with LA duo Nguzunguzu and Washington producer Cedaa. (The latter project is known as Amber, and the collabo’s first offering appears right here on this mix.) On top of his work in the studio, Brenmar is also in the process of starting up a NY version of London party So Bones. (The UK edition is headed up by Robin Carolan of Tri Angle Records and 20 Jazz Funk Greats.) Given his busy schedule, it’s borderline miraculous that we pinned Brenmar down long enough to put together this exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series, and it’s fair to say that he’s gone above and beyond our expectations. To be honest, we would have been pleased with a standard-issue DJ mix, but Brenmar included several new edits, all of which are exclusive to the podcast and will never appear anywhere else. On top of that, he even took our (admittedly dated) podcast intro and fashioned his own remix out of it! Oh yeah, he also found the time to tour through UK bass, house, hip-hop, R&B, and more. The transitions are quick and Brenmar serves up plenty of different flavors, but we’re happy to taste them all.”

XLR8R Magazine Podcast #173: Brenmar

BONUS: His remix for Teengirl Fantasy just went up over at DIS Magazine.

Teengirl Fantasy – Dancing (Brenmar remix) (direct link)

Tracklist for the mix after the jump.

01 Brenmar “Intro”
02 Prince Club “Body Holly”
03 Jay Sean “Like This Like That (Brenmar Edit)”
04 French Fries & Chaos In The CBD “With You” (Young Gunz)
05 JTRP “Moon” (Deep Teknologi)
06 Nehuen “Intriga” (Altobajo)
07 DJ Znobia “Bonus Track”
08 Brenmar “Taking It Down” (Discobelle)
09 T. Williams “Getting Mine” (Enchufada)
10 Amber “Empire”
11 Deborah Cox “It’s Over (Dubbel Dutch Remix)”
12 Brenmar “Boy You Got Me”
13 Christoph Andersson “Tuxedo (Brenmar Remix)” (Hurst)
14 Velour “Booty Slammer feat. Marques Houston (Brenmar Edit)”
15 Brenmar “You Make Me Say (Ikonika & Optimum Remix)” (Discobelle)
16 HeavyFeet “Are You Dumb? feat. Miski (Dre Skull Remix)” (Stamp! Beat)
17 Psychonaught “One Wish”
18 Electrik Red “Put Ya Money On It (Africa)”
19 Twista “Cocaine feat. Yo Gotti” (EMI)
20 Fatima Al Qadiri “D-Medley (Physical Therapy Edit)”

XLR8R Podcast #168: Toddla T (direct link)

Tracklist after the jump.

01 Natalie Storm “Cosa Nostra (Toddla T Dub)” (Ward 21)
02 Mr. Lexx “Dem A Pre” (Ward 21)
03 Lee Perry feat. Roots Manuva & LSK vs. Moody Boyz “International Broadcaster” (On U Sound)
04 Donaeo “I’m Fly (Redlight Remix)” (My-Ish)
05 Slick Don “Say That Again (Toddla T Special)”
06 Toddla T feat. Wayne Marshall “Sky Surfing (DJ Q Remix)” (Ninja Tune)
07 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs “Blood Pressure” (Greco-Roman)
08 Lady Chann “Sticky Situation (Toddla T & Seiji Remix)” (Girls)
09 Congorock “Babylon” (Fool’s Gold)
10 Geeneus feat. Ms. Dynamite “Get Low” (Rinse)
11 Robyn “Hang With Me (Hot City Remix)” (Konichiwa)
12 Benny Benassi presents The Biz “Satisfaction (Afrojack Remix)” (D:vision)
13 The Partysquad “Pull Up” (Hollertronix)
14 Delano “Big Bad & Heavy (Serial Killaz Remix)” (Philly Blunt)
15 Clipz vs. Jammer “Party Generation”
16 Die & Interface “Bright Lights (Rockers Remix)” (Clear Skyz)
17 Private “My Secret Lover (Diplo Remix)” (Relentless)
18 Big Boi feat. Yelawolf “You Ain’t No DJ” (Def Jam)
19 Giggs feat. Shola Ama “Blow Em Away” (XL)
20 Zomby “Strange Fruit” (Ramp)
21 Skream “Fields Of Emotion” (Tempa)

“Of all the figures in the post-dubstep diaspora, few have been as instrumental as Bok Bok. As most readers of XLR8R probably know, the London-based producer/DJ is also the co-founder of the Night Slugs imprint, which has quickly established itself at the top of the heap when it comes to the forward-thinking house and bass music that continues to spring forth from the UK’s long-running hardcore continuum. His place in the canon of UK dance music aside, it’s worth mentioning that Bok Bok (a.k.a. Alex Sushon) is also a highly skilled DJ who is just as likely to pull out a classic house or grime tune as he is a futuristic dubplate. As such, we’ve been hounding him for the past year to put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast, and he’s come through in fine style, littering his mix with unheard gems from Night Slugs brethren (Girl Unit, Jam City, Optimum), fellow UK heavy hitters (Geeneus, Ikonika, Untold, Terror Danjah), and a few unexpected jams that still go down smooth—after all, it’s hard to argue with kwaito, Dam-Funk, or Azari & III in any mix.”

XLR8R Podcast 165: Bok Bok (direct link)

Tracklist can be found after the jump.

01 DJ Gazzeto “Cruel 22″
02 Egyptrixx “Liberation Front” (Night Slugs)
03 FaltyDL “St. Marks (Cosmin TRG Remix)” (Rush Hour)
04 Royal P “Between Us”
05 S-X x Ramadanman “Woo Glut”
06 Jam City “Magic Drops” (Night Slugs)
07 Geeneus “Unknown”
08 Untold “Come Follow We”
09 Lil Silva “Patience”
10 Ikonika “Sea Synth” (Hum & Buzz)
11 Fis-T x Wookie “Down On My Night Hunter (Martelo Edit)”
12 D1 “ET”
13 Girl Unit “IRL (Bok Bok Remix)” (Night Slugs)
14 Terror Danjah “Minimal Dub” (Hyperdub)
15 Jam City “Aqua Box” (Night Slugs)
16 Optimum “Broken Embrace” (Night Slugs)
17 Slimzee vs. Geeneus “Log Off” (Dumpvalve)
18 Azari & III “Indigo Dub” (Turbo)
19 Cubic Zirconia feat. Dam-Funk “I Got What You Need” (Lucky Me)