our NY correspondant Flav

All right so Saturday just flew back from Tampa Florida, from spring break, arrived went straight to Dance Tracks in the city, down town east side, place is in the latter stages of a touch up, got a sick little sound system in there 2 decks and tunes for africa, very dangerous place, they have comfortable couches to chill and listen to the DJs spin and 7 tables for you to listen to tunes, spent like 7 hours in there ans did'nt want to leave, spent like 51 US bucks not to bad really, so hard to decide whatrecords you actually want to get as there r so many good tunes, and every time the DJ plays a tune your like Fuck what is that? rush up and politely ask and he ablidges shows you where it is etc, nice. Got the solu music Fade track just re-releaed on Wave-really nice getting loads of play time at body and soul and shelter and every where, also Blaze' how deep is your love Timmy regisfeld shelter remix(this is the sickest tune man, not sure if you heard it, but the first time i heard it fuck me! so nice) got the joey negro remix of don't change/change for me-can't remember it right now but it was originally done my Osunlade on Yoruba, another epic track, fuck it I'll get into the shelter report for ya, give you a track listiong later.
went to Shelter with my girl at like 1130, paid like 12 bucks to get in, really nice price, there's 3 levels to the place, ist was a sort of ambient chill/wierd room spent no time there and di'nt see anyone in there. @nd floor had the coat check and the bar, at the bar they had these puerto rican cats wackin away on the bongos and other crazy percussian instruements wes really cool, did'nt spend too much time there either though, just got a couple of drinks and went up stairs. Up stairs is the main room where the sound system from Twilo is Phazon system-amazing. Timmy was'nt spinning as we entered, warm up fella was on, there was like 7 people there at this early stage I sat dwon and got a feel for the new setting and just watched the dancers, their amazing they spin and glide and just move, one black guy was doing back flips forward flips then spinning like 20 times before going to the grounf then breaking, this all sounds very energy consuming etc I'm sure it is but he just seemed to glide in time to the music, he's a shelter head in the truest sense probably even a garage head from way back in the day, watching these cats just blows ya mind they feel the music so intensly and move accordingly and have been doin it before isnce way back when. The room is not fancy op up scale in any means, (no need) it's whte with spray apinted designs of dancers and images all over the walls looks cool, theres a stage at the back I guesse thats where Patti will do her thing, the black fella was dancing on that stage. I sat there just taking in the place and the music for a bout an hour, it takes me a wee while to get up and get into it, usually just one track though spurts me off, then I don't stop. any way so the place picked up quick, but I was'nt to sure at first as the crowd did'nt look like the crwod I remebered at Vinyl, there was alot of white kids, it kinda looked a bit more like the sort of people who go to centro fly ie people who arn't there for the music and don't really feel it as much, but this was quashed after a while Timmy came on and was fairly hard at first, not sure if he was catering for the new crowd? I was worried. My worries disapeared though when he started getting more soulful, and more black cats and house heads came, you can just tell the people who r there for the music. The point I remember when the music really got good was just after Timmy played Big love and roger sanchezs old tune can't remember the name right now, after that he tore te place apart, and the real shelter heads took over dacin and creating a awesome vibe, he really connects with his followers and they love him, week in week out they've been here for him for whatv like 10 years, and he's been there for him, so they were kinda pissed when Vinyl decided to can shelter, and thry're stoked now that they got Timmy and a place to meet and dance. The night took off fro there, tunes were soulful and really nice, he mixed well and blended songs on top of each other really nicely, play one kinda harderv track then bring in a soulful vocal stomper over the top, for example Erro Change, when he dropped his remix of How deep is your love oh my goodness the place went crazy, the sound system is so sick that when the strong initial beats were going you could feel each beat hittin you, but unlike vinyl which is very loud as well I never at one stage in the night got saw ears, he was twaekin the system, suck a powerful nice sound system could play merry had a little lamb and it would change your total conception of the song, you know what I mean. Tracks that really stand out and there were a lot were MAW unreleased track "in time" watch this space man, this song is soooooooo hot, will be performed live down at Miami soon wish I was there. Shaun escorfesy-days like these, Might do somethig wrong tortured soul, played this one track like 3 times through out the night really nice vocal track hav'nt found out what it is yet will do though was really nice, played really good jackin house at stages as well, jsu sends every one in there nuts, plave goes off. He played a little bit of gospel house which the crwod absolutelly lost there shit too, one was happy day---oh happy day, when jesus came down etc was'nt really feeling this track that much but another gospel track that I don't know the name of goes "we fall down, we get up, we afll down we get up, -but we never--ca'nt remember-" heard it b 4 at shelter at vinyl really nice track. Just remembered he played 'keep movin' mr scruff just after erro change for me, was great(running out of superlatives man). Overall the sound was more of a soulful/gospelly classic sound as apposed to the sound at body and soul which takes many angles, Joe claussell with the tribal african cuban drums mixed with funk and soul and pure energy, Francious with the old school disco, soul and deep darker kinda detroit techno-octave one for example -what a track then danny with his jazzy soulful shit they complament each other so well, but beleave me when Joe Claussell gets up there you better be ready, he's gunna make the crwod work, pure energy. Timmys the same he makes the crowd work but not quite the same as Joe Claussell. Not sure where I'm at now hope this is all right? I get to like 5 in the mornin and I'm still chargin, we stay till like 545, so I can't really give you the full report as yet. Cause I know from other times there after 6 or 7 in the mornin Timmy really goes at it, pullin out classics that I persoanlly have never heard, but i remember from vinlyl, the shelter heads know them oh so well, they brake out singin as they dance/break dance-you will not see better dancers than these anywhere so cool to just watch them or attempt to the shit they do, I'm like "damn I wanna do that" I really feel that black people have some extra soul chromosome where they can just dance like anything, was funny back hime over christmas no one compares to these dancers and know one feels it or shows it as much as the dancers and people at the clubs here. Check www.bodyandsoul-nyc.com for an example, those photos are what it is like but on the sides you have break dancers and what not, check the cat by the speaker is amazing and visually really diverse and different, a breath of fresh air coming from my conservative white boring college where kegs and dave mathews rule-hate it, get to the city to release. Anothet thing no one that I can see is on drugs st either bosy and soul or shelter, or any of the other parties that I have really been too, apart from centro fly where drugs are more apart of it,, prob cause they can't getv what they need outs the music with out it,
I've fucken babbled here sorry, hope this gives you a wee taste?
Peace Flavourflav