A member of the most influential DJ crews of all time, Shortkut has been, hands down one of the innovators that has brought the art of DJing to where it is today. His contributions to The Invisibl Skratch Piklz, the Beat Junkies and Triple Threat DJs has not only broke barriers, but pushed DJing to levels that the originators of the art form couldn’t have imagined. The word turntablism is synonymous with Shortcut (but don’t sleep, the man can ROCK a party), and his 20+ year career that includes DJ battle champion, producing, and DJ product designer shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. This veteran is a legend in the DJ game. Definitely an influence of DJs everywhere, it is with great honor that I bring to you one of the best DJs in the world, the one and only Shortkut. Enjoy.

Follow Shortkut on twitter.

Listen to Shortcut mixes on mixcrate.

Check out his website here.

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If it weren’t for great record stores and people who run them, where would diggers and music enthusiasts get their vinyl fix? Of course you’d dig somewhere else, but anyone who’s spent time in a record store has met an owner or employee who has turned them on to some never heard of gem, genre, or record label that has changed their digging perspective. Before there were dedicated sites (like this one), forums and the like, the record store dude was the man who put you on to dope records. Cool Chris is the guy who put everybody on to everything. A constant curator of rare grooves, Jazz, Psych, Latin, Disco, Brazilian and beyond, Chris has been holding it down in SF since 1994. A world wide destination for producers, artists and DJs, the Groove Merchant is synonymous with quality, and Cool Chris is just that. It is with great honor and pleasure that I bring this legend of the record game (and great DJ, digger and all around record guy) “Cool Chris” Veltri to the pages of Big Ups. Enjoy!

Check out the Groove Merchant Facebook page.

Listen to an interview with Chris from 2009 that gives the background of his involvement in Groove Merchant Records here.

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This week in Big Ups we have the talented DJ Unexpected, one half of The Diggers Union with Hevehitta. You may not have heard of Unexpected (but you should have!), but that’s what Big Ups is all about, exposing you to people you might not be aware of. Unexpected is a guy who does his thing and does it well. A crate digger, DJ, mix tape king, producer and champion of the black gold aka records, we are happy to have him grace the pages of Flea Market Funk this week. Not to mention he has the pipes like Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, this guy has the voice for radio that people would kill for. As Unexpected would say: “Enjoy and Be Educated” by one of the best and most humble dudes out there. Enjoy.

Check out DJ Unexpected on twitter.

Check the Diggers Union website.

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This week’s Big Ups brings up to the Hawaiian Islands, where we visit Roger Bong, who runs the very cool site called Aloha Got Soul. Roger focuses on Hawaiian music, specifically Funk and Soul that originated from Hawaii. This is the first project that documents and highlights this very specific genre of Black Hawaiian music that I know of. Heralded by people like Craig Charles and Trip Magazine among others, I’m very excited to bring this to the pages of FMF today. Last month, Roger released Hawaiian Salt, an all Hawaiian Funk and Soul mix that is “Local Made, Local Played”. This mix is one of those that you need to play on a sunny day, grab a drink, a book, and relax. Thank You Roger for starting this very unique project and sharing this music with the record collectors from outside of Hawaii. We’re looking forward to checking out more of these Hawaiian gems and what you dig up around the islands. Enjoy this truly unique project.

Check out Hawaiian Salt below:

Visit Aloha Got Soul here.

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The name Ian Wright may not ring a bell to a lot of you, but it should. Ian was one of the innovators (along with Keb Darge) in the scene shifting from Northern Soul to Deep Funk, especially in the 7″ game. His re-edits and remixes of tracks gained notoriety in the scene, and his involvement in the Sister Funk compilations is legendary. If you haven’t heard them, well you need to catch up to speed. It’s with great pleasure that I bring Ian Wright to the pages of the Big Ups series this week. He was buying all the records you want now, but years before. You will never turn up a clean copy of “Hung Up” these days by luck. Wright had the foresight to grab all these now classic rare groove and Deep Funk records back then, the sounds that shaped the scene. Enjoy another heavyweight in the record game this week.

Check out Ian Wright live from this past year at The Soul Inn

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This week we travel to Paris to Big Up Djouls from Paris Djs. Paris DJs is a team of creative music strategists monitoring emerging music trends. They produce Reggae, Afro, and Soul, among others things. Djouls runs the website and the record label itself, and is an accomplished record digger and DJ. Paris DJs are on the cutting edge of good music, and promote it through their very popular podcast as well as live gigs throughout the world. They caught my ear with a remix of Jungle Fire, and since then I have been checking up on them regularly to see what kinds of stuff they had going on. You should too. These guys are the real deal and Djouls knows his music. Enjoy!

Vist the Paris DJs website.

Like Paris DJs on facebook.

Follow them on twitter.

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Super excited for this week’s Big Ups. E da Boss is a talented DJ, producer, record digger, and vocalist. You may know him from the superb 45 sides released on Timmion Records as half the duo of Myron & E. He is also a selector in the Bay Area’s legendary 45 Sessions with DJ Platurn and DJ Enki plus esteemed special guests, as well as a member of The Pendletons. Recently, his Myron & E project got picked up by Stones Throw Records. This project features some real deal Soul singing and production. E da Boss is preserving this long lost art form of Soul music and spreading the gospel of vinyl records wherever he goes. The highly anticipated full length is off the charts, so make sure you check out a live show when they go on tour. Learn more about E da Boss today. Enjoy!

Check out Myron & E on facebook.

Vist the Stones Throw website to pre-order the new Myron & E full length.

Check out the Pendletons on soundcloud.

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For those of you not familiar with Sloppy White aka Scott Williams, today is the day you get familiar. Not only is Scott one of the most bad ass graphic designers out there today, he is also a DJ and part of the Soul Summit team out of the City of Wind, Chicago, IL. I was already familiar with the Summit, a party that’s been packing them in since 2010. However, in a freak chance, I bought one of his prints for the MCA tribute in Chicago and have been a fan of his work ever since. The Soul Summit has had some great guest DJs and is the Funk and Soul party to get down to in Chi-town. It’s with great pleasure that I bring you this talented graphic designer, digger, and DJ to the pages of Flea Market Funk this week. Cubs win! Enjoy.

Check out Scott Williams Design here.

Check out more info on the Soul Summit here.

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Back in the day I was an extreme lurker (and sometimes thread contributor) to the infamous Soul Strut website. I liked to add stuff that I knew, but the level of knowledge dropped was off the charts. You had real deal vinyl record collectors and dealers, plus known producers waxing poetic on all kinds of topics. This community could be harsh if you half stepped, and the gifs (“Take that shit to the Breaks.com!”, and “Walk away son” among others) had you rolling off of your desk chair. Throughout all of this, a dude named Meaty Ogre used to be one of the guys who I always listened when he posted. I knew he was a deep record guy, and I was delighted to hear that over the last year or so he had started his own record label, Cherries Records. If you are not familiar with Andrew Brearley, here’s your chance to get to know this heavy weight in the record game. Representing Chicago, IL, and Cherries Records proper, enjoy this week’s interview here on Flea Market Funk.

Like Cherries Records on facebook.

Check out the Cherries Records website.

Follow Cherries Records on twitter.

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This week we travel to Paris, France to talk with Franck Descollonges from the excellent record label Heavenly Sweetness. Heavenly Sweetness is music label specializing in not just Jazz, but all genres that are soulful, and would, in their own words put out new and original music. Their newer releases are “music to reflect the multicultural melting-pot that was so dear to Don Cherry’s heart”. That is deep, and so are their releases. The stable of artists includes Blundetto, Guts, Doug Hammond, Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band, and others. They have also put out some compilations that are really hot such as Digging the Blogosphere and Freedom Jazz . So get up, get into it, and get involved with the diversity of label owner, DJ, and all around music lover Franck. Vive la musique!

Check out the Heavenly Sweetness label here.

Follow Heavenly Sweetness on twitter.

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Double K has been holding down the Parkdale Funk in Toronto, Canada for a long time. He knows what he’s doing and does it well. Not only he a top notch digger, but a spot on DJ (live and on the radio) whose selections run the gamut from Deep Funk to Raw Soul, essential Reggae, Early Rock and beyond. A digger after FMF’s own heart. Besides the music stuff, Double K reps Toronto to the fullest and is a really good dude. If you’re ever in the T Dot O, make sure you stop by one of his nights. Here’s what he had to say in Big Ups. Enjoy.

More info on the Parkdale Funk website.

Keep Diggin’!

DJ Haylow is a talented digger, DJ, writer, designer, and documentary film maker. He is the impetus behind The Roy Ayers Project, a documentary on the life and times of the great Roy Ayers. Haylow is a busy guy, and we’re happy he took some time out of his hectic schedule to sit down with us and get the Big Up treatment. Enjoy some words from one of the Left Coast’s good guys and remember: “Music is the universal language”.

DJ Haylow website.

For more information on The Roy Ayers Project, go here.

Keep Diggin’!

When you look up hardworking in the dictionary, it’s most likely you will see DJ Amir’s likeness. The man has been tirelessly unearthing gems by himself and with his DJ partner Kon for more than a minute (google one of his classic joints “Microwave Boogie” for starters to see what I mean). Their On Track series was a huge influence on this writer, and since the beginning of Big Ups I have been trying to get one of the busiest dudes in the business in this interview series. His latest project, 180 Proof Records, has been releasing a steady stream of classic and unreleased material from the vault’s of Detroit’s Strata Records, and along with the myriad of DJ gigs he does, he can now put label owner on his CV. DJ, musical ambassador, historian, vinyl advocate, label owner, and all around great guy, Amir continues to fight the good fight preserving music and the vinyl medium. I’m more than honored have him on the pages of Flea Market Funk today. Enjoy!

Check out Amir’s label 180 Proof here.

Like 180 Proof on facebook.

Follow Amir on twitter.

Keep Diggin’!

In this week’s Big Ups, we visit an American musician living in London for the last 20 years. We’re talking about the talented musician Shawn Lee. Whether it’s putting out releases with his Ping Pong Orchestra on Ubiquity Records, working with Money Mark or Amy Winehouse, performing on the Tonight Show, or touring the world, Lee does it his way. And he does it well I might add. He recently took time out from his busy tour schedule with AM to discuss records, musical instruments, and anything else that came to mind. Please enjoy Mr. Shawn Lee.

Check out Shawn Lee’s website.

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This week we have a real treat in our Big Ups series. If you are a fan of Modern Funk and Soul, or the artists who are making music (recording in the same manner as well) as a lot of these long, forgotten funky artists, then you have to give JJ Whitefield a huge thanks. Without this man, there would be no Truth & Soul and there would be no Daptone Records and those that followed, there would be no Funk and Soul music scene from the 1990′s on. JJ Whitefield and Bo Baral put out the 1993 classic Practice What You Preach record by their band The Poets of Rhythm. Channeling their inner Meters and JB’s among others, this record set the bar for the new Funk and Soul movement in the United States and lead the charge to the frenzy it is today. Real music played the way it was played by real artists back in the day. They were able to capture the music and struggle within the music and brought it back where it belonged: to the people. It took German musicians to play music like American Funk and Soul artists in the late 60′s and early 70′s to get us back into this beautiful music again. Recording under a bunch of monikers including The Whitefield Brothers, Bus People Express, the Soul Saints Orchestra, the Pan Atlantics and more, JJ has been a huge contributor and preservationist of this special sound. The Poets have just released an Anthology on Daptone Records which is available now, so don’t sleep on this double vinyl. It’s an honor to have this great artist and performer get the Big Ups treatment today. Also, JJ, please send Flea Market Funk some Leberkässemmel, I think we’re in love with that food without even trying it! Enjoy.

Check out some more info about JJ’s music here.

Keep Diggin’!

Here’s a fella I was introduced to by Mr. Krum. You know w hen you speak to someone for the first time and you immediately have a connection? Sigher is one of these people. We instantly bonded on break dancing, Hip Hop culture, skateboarding, BMX bicycles, and of course, records. Sigher is a record collector, crate digger, and producer for the UK Hip Hop group Gutter Snypes (among others). Beat maker and champion of all things vinyl, Sigher knows his way around the MPC and a box of dusty records. For those of you that don’t know Russell, here’s a chance for you to get up close and personal with this dedicated vinyl fanatic and all around good guy. Word has it he is pretty nice with a football still, so maybe in between making beats and digging England can call him up for World Cup 2014, they’ve got some injuries. Please enjoy Sigher from the Gutter Snypes. He’s got some great things to share.

Keep Diggin’!

I first came across Tarik Thornton during one of my many mixes I have contributed to Larry Grogan’s Funky 16 Corners. Fellow digger and AP 45 session alum Larry has a yearly pledge drive, where different selectors contribute a mix of their choice. Tarik Thornton has been contributing for a while, and his mixes, song selection, and crate digging are top billin’. Representing New Orleans, but holding it down in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this week’s Big Ups gives some shine to a fellow digger, damn fine DJ, and all around good guy that most of you aren’t aware of. it’s with great pleasure that we bring Tarik Thornton to the pages of Big Ups. Feel free to check him out and the rest of the Minneapolis cats doing it lovely in the Twin Cities the right way. If you don’t know, now ya know!

Keep Diggin’!

Mick, or the DJ formerly known as Mick Boogie is a man on the move. Maybe you haven’t heard his name, but you’ve seen him: Bing and Adidas commercials, Style Channel’s “City Girls Diaries” and MTV’s “Rap Fix Live” among others. His client list is a who’s who of the celebrity world: Jay Z, Kanye, LeBron James, and J Lo to name a few. He’s DJed from Miami to Dubai and all places in between. Mick has perfected the DJ as a brand, and if you’ve ever heard him spin, he is known for his diverse music taste and talents. Whether it’s Madison Square Garden, 1OAK, or any number of fashion companies he’s worked with, the result is always the same. People love him. I met Mick as he spun in the 30 degree weather in a jacked up Red Bull hummer at Red Bull Arena this past year and we spoke on music, DJing in subzero conditions, and getting him here on FMF. It’s my pleasure to have Mick in this week’s Big Ups. Go Brooklyn, Go Brooklyn, Go Brooklyn.

Get more info on Mick at his website.

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Here in Big Ups, it’s a celebration of people doing big things in their own right. I feel that it’s a disservice to not let our community know about these champions of the music and how they impact it on the regular. There are plenty of hard working individuals that put blood, sweat, and tears in every day to make a difference. It’s a pure love, a lifestyle, and FMF thinks they need to be recognized. Brian Poust, aka Agent 45 is one of these people. A long time Atlanta, Georgia DJ, crate digger, record dealer, and music historian, Brian has put in his time in the record and music game. When I first approached him, his modesty at what he does prevented him from doing the interview, and I finally shamed him (not really) into doing it. If you’ve ever bought records from Soul Force’s monthly list (and if not, I suggest you get on it), that’s Brian. He digs up some great stuff, and I have bought some fine pieces from him in the past. It’s with great pleasure that I can bring a stand up dude and the epitome of an all round crate digger straight from the ATL to the pages of Big Ups this week. Enjoy!

get on the Soul Force list here.

Keep Diggin’!

This week’s Big Ups is special to me. A long time ago, I received a Nightmares On Wax recording of Smoker’s Delight which I loved. It spoke to me almost twenty years ago and it has always been one of my faves. It was funky, and well I could bug out to it. Fast forward a few years later and his DJ Kicks record came out on K7!. A fine mix that blended Hip Hop, Electronica and funky tracks by ATCQ, Kenny Dope, Nightmares On Wax (of course), Paul Nice, D.I.T.C. and others. I was hooked on his sound even more. That mix introduced me to the Martin Brew track “Side Steppin’ “, which is an amazing record in its own right. His music CV is large, putting out records on his own label and Warp Records (he’s the label’s longest running artist) and his style has changed and evolved into many sounds, but it has always remained funky. These days, DJ E.A.S.E. is a busy guy, residing in Ibiza, making music, DJing, and his Wax da Jam party (5+ years strong) is the go to event on the island with such notables as DJ Shadow and Roots Manuva among others stopping by to bless the party and its communal, funky vibe. A guy making great original tracks, doing it his own way, uniting people through the universal language of music, I’m really excited to have E.A.S.E. take time out of his busy schedule to give us an insight on the man behind Nightmares On Wax. Enjoy!

For more information on Nightmares On Wax and the current tour here in the States, visit the website.

Check out Nightmares On Wax on facebook.

Keep Diggin’!