For all the public discourse about the changing nature of NYC, the Borough of Brooklyn is still one of the most diverse places to be found on Planet Earth. It’s a place where cultures previously separated by oceans and timezones literally live on top of each other with more respect and harmony than you’d imagine. And it’s exactly this kind of inter-borough cross pollination (along with a healthy smattering of Coney Island Love) that inspired NYC producer, remixer and globe-trotting DJ Nickodemus to create Wonderwheel Recordings.
Wonderwheel started in 2004 as an vehicle for the musical output from Nickodemus and a roving cast of friends like Quantic, Balkan Beat Box, The Spy From Cairo, The Pimps of Joytime, Zeb, and of course the influential Turntables on the Hudson compilations. Fast forward to 2012 as the great music industry recovery slowly continues, vinyl sales continue to rise, and great new music and talent pour in more than ever – we present to you The Wonderwheel Spins 2012, a compilation showcasing what the label’s got in store for the year, as well as a great overview of what’s come before – in the form of a massive backcatalog mix by the infamous DJ Nu-Mark!
Things kick off on disc 1 with the Middle Eastern Dub vibes of “Taksim Square” by the Spy From Cairo, off his recently released Arabadub album, followed up by Nickodemus’s uptempo remix of “La Rumba Bacana” by Colombia’s mad scientist of Cumbia, Pernett. Brooklyn-based funk squad The Pimps of Joytime make an appearance with “Keep That Music Playin’”, which gets a big dancefloor re-working by Captain Planet, while Nickodemus gives us a tease of his upcoming international Hip-Hop project A Global Minute and his new Moon People album with “A Tokyo Minute”, and “Peaceful Island Vibes” respectively. Plenty of new signings to the label make appearances as well – check the latenight boom-bap of Malik Work & The Upstagers, the homegrown Brooklyn music of Mobius Collective, and the explosive sounds of Beirut based MC/producer Ram6 l’Hamorabi.
Disc 2 is a crazy whirlwind through all four corners of the globe as Jurassic 5’s DJ and party rocker extraordinaire DJ Numark digs deep into the Wonderwheel archives to craft a 40 song megamix of his favorite joints from the catalog – cutting & mixing Turntables on the Hudson classics like “Mariposa” and “Cleopatra in NY” right alongside brand new sounds and remixes from the likes of The Spy From Cairo, Pimps Of Joytime in his own signature style. It’s a unique combination and a definite must-have!
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