Jam of the Day: NY So Hi (Eli Escobar) from Up All Night LP

My dear friend Brett “Daddy” David (my hommie from NYC) just happened to roll through Beirut this weekend to say hey and now I’m in a NYC state-of-mind. I download the new full length LP from Eli Escobar (Up All Night) last week but haven’t really had a chance to listen to it and so when this came on shuffle this morning, I started jamming right away – it made me a bit homesick and nostalgic for NYC, but don’t worry boys and girls, my love for Beirut night life and party people is going to keep me here for a long time to come. You can’t get rid of Tara Jane that easily. I’m like a bad penny. Suck it.

But back to the music…can I just say this LP really doesn’t suck? I sort of wish I was onto this months ago – but I missed it. Bad disco!

For those of you who don’t know this cat – he’s a NY local who’s been doing his thing for well over a decade now, and is part of the Night People NYC crew. And he’s also a man after my own heart when it comes to finding and sharing music. I’m a really lazy blogger, so here’s a bit from his bio: “As his name has grown among artists, so has his influence. In 2007 he launched the ever-popular blog, outsidebroadcast.com, very simply demonstrating not only his love for dance music but his dedication to finding it, and ultimately sharing it. Through this outlet, Eli has become a source that DJs pay attention to, often presenting new or forgotten gems, remixes, re-edits and of course free DJ mixes, often accompanied by Eli’s insightful commentary which gives context to the music he shares, ultimately offering a great read as well as listen.” Word up, brother! Keep doing the thing!

The boys over at Traxsource asked him to give a low-down for each of the tracks on this debut album, and it’s always kind of nice knowing the back stories behind the music we love so here’s the man in his own words on this one:

“This might turn off some of the analog purists out there, but honestly I don’t really give a sh%t. So I made this one on a plane actually. I was flying home from L.A. (which I like to visit, for like 2 days) and was so amped to get back to New York so I figured I’d try and make a feel good New York anthem. I always travel with a hard drive filled with wave files of my disco record collection in case I wanna make a beat on the road. So I just looped up that Sylvester song, added the vocal samples and couple of drum sounds and boom. I remember I was nodding my head and moving around in my seat so much and the woman trying to sleep next me was kind of annoyed! I never changed a thing about it after that day. Maybe just the intro or something. I was just using it as a DJ tool for my sets, but Jemz (my label partner) was very adamant that we use it as a real song. He was right!”

You can check out more of what he has to say and get a feel for the album here, download that shit here, and hook up the vinyl version over at Turntable Lab (if they still have some copies) – or just go here. You guys know my birthday is coming up, right?

In the meantime – press play or something: