Hey City Zen!

New DJ set thinking of raving bodies under the techno or house disco ball. I have dropped all these tracks one way or another in my live DJ sets in the last 6 months or so. Tracklist and podcast below. Slippy Body is also available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #BaileFunk, #Bass, #DJ, #DJSet, #House, #Music, #Techno

2023 was another hardworking year, full of fun travel  for work and with friends and family. Unfortunately, war, horrible World leaders and nationalism made it particularly sad and dangerous! Despite it all,  I continued to DJ #happymusic to full clubs again. Every year is a great year for music, with such amazing tracks, even if perhaps fewer great albums. I am sure I missed really excellent stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 40 Albums (plus a few live collections), Top 100 Tracks, Top 20 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets). The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.

Labels: #2023, #BestOf, #DJ, #Lists, #Music, #YearEnd

I really loved going back to live DJing in 2022, mostly at Roterdão Club in Lisbon's Pink Street. Here is a mix of various bits from those sets I collected the bits most inspired --- but not exclusively --- by 80s electro-disco from New York City. Tracklist and podcast below. What a Street Feeling! is also available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #80s, #Disco, #DJ, #Electro, #Funk, #House, #Music, #NYC

2022 was a hardworking year, though full of fun travel and reconnection with friends and family---thank you vaccines! I was particularly delighted to get back to DJing to full clubs again. Every year is a great year for music, with such amazing tracks, even if perhaps fewer great albums. I am sure I missed really excellent stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 40 Albums (including soundtracks and live collections), Top 100 Tracks, Top 20 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets). The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.

Labels: #2022, #BestOf, #DJ, #Lists, #Music, #YearEnd

Muito se tem falado sobre os Coldplay ultimamente. Desconfio muito dos que menosprezam o valor da banda porque "homens do rock" têm sempre muita dificuldade em aceitar as bandas bonitinhas, especialmente as lideradas por homens atraentes---talvez até porque sintam essa atração de forma homofóbica. É interessante depois ver e ler algumas mulheres seguir esse preconceito para serem parte da intelligentsia cultural, mas isso é outro assunto. Isto foi visto no ódio racista e homofóbico dos roqueiros ao disco nos anos 70 e 80. Mas o maior paralelo com os Coldplay são os Duran Duran nos anos 80 (e até Bowie anteriormente). Raro era então o homem que assumia gostar---e mulher quer quisesse ser parte da intelligentsia do "sete" e "Blitz" também. Era pop plástica maquilhada, e o verdadeiro artista queria-se grunge e feio, tais Jaques Brels recusando falar com o "maricas" do Bowie. Mas hoje quando passo música deles, o pessoal mais velho que na altura supostamente detestava, salta todo para a pista, hungry like the wolf, como se fosse a música da vida deles. O importante é viver la vida e gostar sem preconceitos. Não gosto de tudo dos Coldplay, mas não duvido que marcam imenso o presente e que quem desdenha agora, um dia vai ouvir com nostalgia.

Labels: #Music

I had forgotten to post this live set, which I did in December in Madrid for the cocktail reception at the Complex Networks 2021 conference. It goes from Deodato's Jazzy/Groovy take on Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra to techno (the set went on to a few more techno tracks ommitted here), but strongly grounded on Disco/Funk/EuroDisco. Tracklist below. Also Sprach the Jam is available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #Disco, #DJ, #Eurodisco, #Funk, #Jazz, #Music, #Techno

2021 was a year full of personal change. Despite the pandemic, it was really a very good year personally. I switched jobs, with awesome conditions and some of our work was published in great venues. It does feel good to have your work appreciated!  It was also a great year for music and I even got to DJ again a little. I am sure I missed really excellent stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 40 Albums, Top 110 Tracks, Top 30 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets),  Live albums and EPs. The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.

Labels: #2021, #BestOf, #Music

So here is another DJ set I played live on twitch on February 21, 2021. This was a Sunday lounge set, a mood driven by euro soundscapes, from Space to Italo Disco and French touch, but also House music and very much still on the groovy side of things. Somehow the imagery from Roberto Rossellini's L'Amore with Anna Magnani and Federico Fellini fits. Again, sort of like a first set at the Riot Bootique, at least up to my mash-up of Digitalism with ABC; it windsdown into eurotarsh land from there for the end of the night :) Hopefully, at some point DJ Angst and E-Trash, will return to our cybernetic DJing whenever possible. Tracklist and podcast below. Lumière D'Amore is also available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #DJ, #House, #ItaloDisco, #Music, #SpaceDisco

This has been an almost ethereal year, largely locked at home. The day we enter a new lockdown, I feel that someday soon we will be free and again together on the dancefloor. So here is a DJ set I played live on youtube om January 15, 2021, already seeing a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, when we can be with those we love. Somehow the aquatic neo-baroque photographic art of Christy Lee Rogers beautifully captures the mood again. This set has a Soul vivem stepping up to Disco, House and Afro-House. Again, sort of like a first set at the Riot Bootique. Hopefully, at some point DJ Angst and E-Trash, will return to our cybernetic DJing whenever possible. Tracklist and podcast for Some day available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #Disco, #DJ, #Funk, #House, #Music, #Sould

After a crazy travelling year of 2019, like everybody, I was stuck at home (on both sides of the Atlantic) for most of 2020---though still travelling like crazy January to March, and a few times over the Atlantic. Maybe because of all this, I listened to even more music, which was one of the few things that kept me sane, really.  Yet another great year for music, despite it al! I am sure I missed really great stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 50 Albums, Top 120 Tracks, Top 30 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets),  Live albums and EPs. The top tracks and remixes are assembled in a Spotify List as well.

Top 50 Albums of 2020

Grouped alphabetically in 5 groups below. 

Labels: #2020, #BestOf, #Music

This has been an almost ethereal year, largely locked at home. As we are about to enter new lockdowns, I miss the dancefloor. So here is a redo of DJ set I played "live" on youtube in September, dreaming of dancefloors where we can dance (house music all night long) with somebody who loves us. Somehow the aquatic neo-baroque photographic art of Christy Lee Rogers beautifully captures the mood of being safe at home, but longing for the connection of the dancefloor---we are one World under the roof, ain't that the truth! This set pretty much follows the typical crescendo of a first set at the Riot Bootique. Hopefully, at some point DJ Angst and E-Trash, will return to our cybernetic DJing whenever possible. (House Music All Night Long) With Somebody and tracklist are available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #Disco, #DJ, #Funk, #House, #Music

None of us can DJ live these days (I miss the Riot Bootique party in Bloomington!!) I was supposed to DJ next Friday at Roterdão Club in Lisbon, but it's no go, of course. So here is a DJ set from home inspired by a crowd-sourced pandemic playlist I enjoyed during the lockdown. “Hello, is this thing on?” is also inspired by life on Zoom and thought of as a soundtrack to us starting to go out there carefully. It is not at all a club set but more like a mixtape. DJ Angst and E-Trash, will return to our cybernetic DJing whenever possible. Tracklist and podcast below. Hello, is This Thing On? is also available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #DJ, #Music, #Pandemic

In these quarantine days, the last time I DJed live already feels like an eternity ago, but the last Riot Bootique party in Bloomington was only a month ago. We were supposed to host it again tomorrow night, but, alas, all clubs are closed and for good reason. Instead I am posting one of the two sets I played at the last party, errors and all. It was a great Funky seduction, with a full house of people from all over the World. DJ Angst and E-Trash, will return to our cybernetic DJing whenever possilble. I (E-TRASH) am supposed to DJ at Roterdão Club in Lisbon with DJ Gabe on May 22nd, but let's see how the pandemic unfolds. Tracklist and podcast below. Funky Seduction is also available on E-Trash's site (Username: apollo, Password: feelingfree).

Labels: #Disco, #DJ, #Funk, #House, #Music

I remember a meeting in the 00s with Portuguese science minister (and physicist) Mariano Gago (made possible by the tireless João Sentieiro) in his office. I was pitching a doctoral program and collaboration center in computational biology with a focus on complex networks and systems. I told him that in the XXI century much more training & funding for epidemic modelling, and multi-level bio/social/technical network complexity was necessary. He was not happy at all when I said that funding for these problems would be much more more useful to society than funding particle accelerators at CERN. When we got some funding for the idea (from his funding agency and others but much less than CERN :), the first person I brought in was Alessandro Vespignani who was so nice to agree to help the program. He ended up collaborating with Gabriela Gomes and others during his visit to get funding for Epiwork and InfluenzaNet. I wish Gago and all science funding agencies had taken this area more seriously. We need a CERN and an NSF-STC for pandemics and complex multilevel networks and systems.

In the meantime, we have to witness the late and sad response of EU and USA leaders to this pandemic. No government in the West comes out looking good from this pandemic. With all the lead time they had since the outbreak, they cannot match the type of response we have seen from China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Leaders in the west still do not understand network, multilevel complexity where viruses travel in technological networks to impact our health, society and economy. The idea that they were not able to track and test travel flows out of Wuhan on transportation networks, rather than direct flights, demonstrates governments still do not understand network complexity---or don't care to.

There has certainly been loss in leadership from Obama to Trump; Obama, after all, lead the effort to contain the Ebola outbreak. For sure this does not look good for the USA. But what to say of European leaders? They cannot muster leadership if the US Emperor is a #TerriblePresident? It is even more pathetic that European leaders, who are not as terrible as Trump and know he is useless, cannot take a leadership role in this instance. I hope this is the ultimate wake-up call for the West, rather than our end--- previous civilizations have fallen from the impact of disease.

Oh, well. In the meantime, let's follow our social containment before we can regroup. Towards that, here is a #StayHome playlist for a hopeful quarantine. I am still hopeful that the younger generations will learn from this and do better than current western leaders have.

Labels: #ComplexNetworks, #ComplexSystems, #Covid19, #Music, #Pandemics, #TerriblePresident

Did I travel in 2019! Still another great year for music! I am sure I missed really great stuff, but here is the best City Zen of the year that made my radar. Top 30 Albums, Top 100 Tracks, Top 26 Remixes/Edits (from E-Trash's DJ sets), and Live albums. The top tracks and remixes areassembled in a Spotify List as well.

Top 30 Albums of 2019

There are definitely 5 albums that stood above for, consistency, innovation or surprise, and which I listened the most to (alphabetically):

The Chemical Brothers - No Geography
Crazy P - Age of the Ego
Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Thom Yorke -Anima

The other 25 alphabetically:


Top 100 Tracks of 2018

Top 26 Remixes and Edits of 2019

Labels: #2019, #BestOf, #Music