Party II
THE PURISTS
0235
“COMING THROUGH. DJ COMING THROUGH.” Security courteously yelled. There is no shock that LV has an entourage of eight that trekked through the thick mass of privilege minutes earlier. After all, Louie is the host with the most. His charm oozing through the soundtrack he curates. His ability to make any cast of characters feel inclusive. The music he plays is diverse. Journey through disco, house, gospel, classic house, deep, dark, Afro/Latin, to ancestral. All the while, his playlists embody warmth. Never cold or distant. Calculated on the fly. Ethereal in essence. Spiritual to the core.
“Sacude” A voice shouts. All it takes is one voice. That voice to kickstart an authentic party. When the tapping of pitter-patters and the rattlesnake hiss sounds, the tambourine shakes. The time arrives. Kick left. Kick right. Into empty pockets of space. Shuffle. Step. Spin. Rear room, near the bar, and bathroom. Stretch out the arms. Inhale deeply. The sweeping air smells fresh. Finally!
Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr stands proud. Proudly showcasing his heritage. Even playing songs in native tongue, Spanish. After all, the Puerto Rican comes from musical lineage. His father a jazz musician and cousin a vocalist. Name dropping Hèctor Lavoe. A Lil’ Louie too caught the bug to careen his life in music. Playing records as a young adolescent. His remix of a teen pop princess propelled him into the industry. Predating his solo album with an unbeknownst Marc Anthony. Before partnering with Brooklyn homie, Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez founding their legendary status as Masters At Work. As the saying goes. The rest is his story.
Earlier, when the music played failed to clear the room, perhaps, the job was better suited for Father Time. By 0245 the crowd is reduced to half its former size. People’s counterparts disappeared out the door. Yet out of those left in the room, entirely too many bodies still face frontward. Their wide eyes and dilated pupils staring constantly at the DJ. Through the haze of the fog machine their appears additional bodies arriving to dance to Tony Touch’s “Sacude” (Manoo Touch Mix).
The floor is warmed. The space transforms. Almost, immediately into an entirely distinctive event. The hour of the flow arrives. When the music and movement syncs. Yogi squats. Elongated leg stretches. The torso bent low to the ground. Mother Africa calls her own to dance. To Nulu Recordings of Marlon D’s “Kiwi” (AfroPunk Mix), Stefano Ranieri’s “Bless the Town” and Vega Recordings’ Luisito Quintero & Louie Vega featuring Nina Rodriguez “Yemaya” (Manoo’s Touch). The music breaks. For low swung hums. A lady ululates. Loudly reverbing throughout the soundsphere. Leaving Manoo’s featuring Ahmed Sosso’s “Toro Yah” and Da Capo’s “Umbovukazi” to fill the gaps.
Brilliance shines best on E.O.L Soulfrito’s “Upright Love.” The Louie Vega Kat Mix is a most stellar standout. Hear the recorded percussions shaking as the kick drum smacks. Fingers snapping to the melodious strums of the upright bass. The environment recalls jam sessions from 1920’s Harlem. When orchestrated strings flutters through the air, Nina Simone crooning, “I Put A Spell On You,” falls from the heavens before Honeycomb Music’s Josh Milan commands “Take That.”
With his right arm outstretched, his left hand turns knob after knob. His grip firmly spinning the jog wheel around and around as dizzying keyboard chords fade in and out. Bam! The music pulls back to the fore. High definition. Surround sound. As screeches and whomps saturate every square inch of space. This is a theatre of resonance. The venue’s immaculate acoustics leaves no eardrums with major hearing loss hours later. Music that sounds best. Loud. Chords warping, fading, and slamming on dancing heads. Jaws drop. A few arms besiege the air. Oof, those gun fingers. “LOUIE PLAY DAT SHIT” A Vega fanatic screams amongst onlookers. Vega shows off! Making a new anthem out of an anthem from many moons ago, Black Coffee’s “We Dance Again. The instrumental played in performance mode.
“Doh, doh, doh,” The sound of a very familiar bassline captures the ear. A sonorous “bong” from a beating gong sounds. When the four-on-the-floor drops the body erupts. “Jaydee’s “Plastic Dreams” excites. The classic is the perfect ender to dance down the stairs and out the club.
0408
“Don’t you love when your body is tired? And you get a second wind. And you keep dancing anyways. Your mind does not think about anything. Your body does not feel anything. It’s like a rush,” says a friend walking to the car who sums his experience of the night. “I love when that happens.”
Sadly, most of the people who attended will never understand.
wrds: aj dance
(above) grphc: aj art
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Tags: #dancefloormagic #housemusicexcellence, afro house music, dance, dance music, deep house music, flash club, flash dc club, house music, house music dancing, Lil' Louie Vega, Louie Vega, masters at work, nuyorican soul, vega recordings, Washington D.C.