Happy New Year! Hope 2008 is a good one for you. At the moment, I’m watching Barack Obama speak on the television after his victory in the Iowa caucuses. 2008 is starting out really well! I’m a huge Obama fan. Delighted to think what changes he may bring if he were to win the Presidency.

I used to curate a music series here in Chicago with my buddy Raichiro Iijima at the old venue 3030. It was called Impetus Concert Series. The idea behind it was that we’d get artists to submit unreleased music and give it out on complimentary CDRs the night they would perform. It was super fun, and I was really proud of the shows we put together.

I never really thought about there being a connection between what I’ve done on Bird & Whale and what Rai and I did with the Impetus Concert Series until recently. But, once again, I find myself trying to pull together music. Of course this time it’s on the web as opposed to an actual venue. I’m afraid there’s still a lot of bugging my friends to either produce or just come and listen. The association to Impetus seems particularly appropriate with the posting of these two mixes.[Editor's note: I broke these two mixes into different posts with the new format but you can find Daniel's mix here.] Daniel and Kate’s mixes are very different, but it’s just the sort of juxtaposition that I adore in music. They really compliment one another well and make you more aware of how each approach the music they chose and music in general.

Kate Simko is a super talented and prolific producer and DJ from Chicago. Delighted to have her talents represented here on the site. She travels all over world with her music. Each trip to Berlin or Santiago makes me more envious. Her DJ set is a live recording she did in Philly a few months ago. Its orbit is all electronic. To hear more of her music please visit her site http://katesimko.com/.

Daniel Huffman (aka Frogboy) is an old friend of mine from Texas. We lived together in Denton and went to art school together back in the day. He’s the one that really opened my ears to a broader range of music, and I blame him for the total obsession that followed. It didn’t feel right to have a collection of mixes without Mr. Huffman on board so I’m really happy he was able to put together a mix. Also to give credit where it’s due and regress ever so slightly, I should also mention that the premise of the Impetus Concert Series (to give out CDRs the night of the show) was Daniel’s idea. Daniel has played in a ton of different bands over the years. You can hear his solo project, Frogboy, here.

Kate Simko – Philly 7-14-07:

1. Audio Werner – Just Wanna Get Down (Guido Schneider remix)
2. Mikael Stavostrand – Can You See Through My Eyes
3. Andomat 3000 – Entr’acte Music
4. Miskate – Wizards Are Lucky
5. Jamie Anderson – Time is Now (Radio Slave remix)
6. Andres Bucci – Get Down
7. Siobhan Donaghy “Don’t Give It Up” (Carl Craig Dub remix)
8. Butane – How Long Can You Go
9. Petre Inspirescu – De Bou
10. Melchior Productions – Different Places
11. The Black Fu – Fog Dust vs. Detroit
12. Chris Carrier – Don’t Look Back
13. Shonky – Olympia
14. Tim Xavier, Camea – The Special Sauce
15. Samim – Masua
16. Peace Division – Audio Slave B
17. Dachshund – Larium Side Effect
18. Half Hawaii – Into You
19. Samim – Radiative
20. Soylent Green – On the Balcony
21. Ric y Martin – Sini Est
22. Dimbiman – Do the Dimbi
23. Ernesto – Horizon
24. Trentmoeller – Moan (Radio Slave remix)
25. Anja Schneider – Lily of the Valley
26. Bloody Mary – Apparence
27. Kerri Chandler – The Invaders
28. Dandy Jack & The Junction – Guerra de la Estrellas
29. Life Soundtrack (Radio Slave remix)
30. Tim Xavier, Camea – The Main Course
31. Pier Bucci – Hay Cansuelo (Samim remix)
32. Theo Parrish – Falling Up