WARMER MIXTAPES #618 | by Justin Wolverton [Michael Jukeson]

You caught me at a funny time. I just moved out to Brooklyn and have been cycling through old playlists of mine as I explore my new home. It may seem like a best of rather than a right now but it ends up being a nice blend of both. 

Photos by Lucy Ping.

1. Roy Davis Jr. | Gabriel (feat. Peven Everett) (Live Garage Version)
This song makes me wish I were from the UK, only because I wish I naturally said garage the way they do. Anyway, whoa. Those vox. This song in a word? Smooth. It is an eyes closed kind of tune. Those horns. I could dance around to this for hours on end, finding a subtle nuance with every time I hear it come round. If this song doesn't move you, you need to get your batteries checked.

2. Burial | Shell Of Light
Burial is just great, isn’t he? It is like he has stolen a part of me and whittled it into a song. I feel that way about nearly all of his songs, this one especially. Maybe everyone can relate to that, maybe not. I do not mean to say he has stolen this song from anyone, just that this song is so relatable. It is almost like this song is a close friend of mine. The kind of friend you could just sit in a room with and not even say one single word. Just sitting there, together in Silence. A really beautiful tune.

3. Bobby Brown | Two Can Play That Game
No shame here. This is my jam. Heated. Everyone has his or her own dance floor anthem and this is mine. MINE. Critically? Who cares? Sometimes you just need to get down. The piano in this track is so cheesy, but oh so very good. Actually, the whole track is pretty cheesy now that I think about it. Whatever. Such a jam! This is the kind of get down tune that you accidentally hurt yourself to, pulling your groin and all that.

4. Agaric | No Way I Know I Feel (Axel Boman Remix)
I really need to shake this dude’s hand. Seriously. This song brought a moment of Clarity to me. It is a really wonderful piece of work. This song, to me, is very much like the moment when you realize exactly what it is that you have forgotten for some time. It was on the tip of your tongue one moment and then it was gone. Here it is again. You realize priorities after listening to this song. I won't say it is simple and I won't say it is complex, but it is something. It is like a Time machine. A tease. A random encounter with a friend you haven’t seen in years, the hours pass by as you remember the good times. Incredible tune.

5. Yes | Roundabout
The dynamics of that intro, those harmonics, whoa. You just have no idea that you are about to be locked into the groove of grooves. The bass man is MOVING. I mean this track really takes you places. My best friend’s dad put me on to this track and many thanks to him for that. This song operates in another spectrum. It straddles that gap between needing to dance around and needing to sit down to be able to take it all in. And then! Those harmonics come back, offering you a deep breath right before you are thrown overboard into the Vastness of the groove again. To me, this is a perfect song. What a vision!

6. Kidnap Kid | Vehl
Voice. Eyes. Hands. Lips. A work of Art that also operates on the dance floor? Yes please. Perfect. For me, this tune is a lot like a line from some cliché romantic comedy, i.e. You make me want to be a better person. This song inspired me to want to make better Music. What more can you ask for? I was inspired when I first heard this track, still am. I am big fan of all his tunes/remixes but this one really stands out for me. If you haven’t checked it out, get with it. Way cool video too!

7. Pachanga Boys | Time
What a journey! Mesmerizing tune. Epic. I fell in Love with this song the very first time I heard it. It is certainly a long one, but it doesn't feel stretched in the slightest. Everything feels honest about this one. It is one of my favorites to end a long deep set with, especially when the authority that binds you says one more song. They really knew what they were doing with this one. Way to be.

8. Danny Tenaglia + Celeda | Music Is The Answer
When those verby vox come in at the very beginning, chills. Then that bass line comes in and I am done. I love the very being, no, the essence that IS this song. Dance floor heat. The business. That kind of oh my word tune that you wait all night for on the dance floor. It will always be one of my favorite tunes to play out/hear out. I have no idea when I first heard this one. Shame. Truly classic.

9. Blawan | Getting Me Down
Yes. This one. Yes. The suspense. The way the vox fits like a glove. Those drums. Whoa. There was a while where it seemed like everyone was trying reappropriate Brandy tunes, but Blawan knocked this one out of the park. He transforms the entire mood of the track. It is hauntingly smooth and beautifully dark. Stumbled across this one a while back but it has been in rotation ever since. Love playing it out, love playing it at home. Way cool. He done flipped it all nice like and junk.

10. Frédéric Chopin | Fantaisie-Impromptu (Played by Arthur Rubinstein)
This song is my childhood incarnate. I would be lying in bed, all tucked in, and I could hear the rustling of pages, the hum of the piano strings as my father would ready himself for whatever piece he might play that night. He would always play at night, never really asked why, but it is something I am ever grateful for. He would play any number of pieces and would regularly change it up, but I remember this song above all others. I remember distinctly, lying there, wondering if I could ever make something so beautiful. My heart swells whenever I hear it. I mean, what a beautiful piece of work. I would urge anyone to just put this on and close your eyes, let everything melt away and marvel at the amazing beauty of this work.