at (le) poisson rouge (158 Bleecker Street, New York City)
Club-savvy New Yorkers know Alex English as the resident spinner at the GBH-affiliated Girls & Boys bash, the long-running affair that’s currently packing the main floor of Webster Hall on Friday nights. For that reason, people tend to assume that English is solely a spinner of electrorock, electro-house and other sounds with a buzzy bassline that a hipster-heavy crowd will find palatable. But the veteran spinner’s range is actually much wider, as evidenced by this nicely glitched-up (but still pretty funky) IDM mix, featuring music from Warp Records, Ninja Tune, Rephlex and other esteemed electronic-music labels.
DJ Sega
Robert “DJ Sega” Taylor Jr. isn’t your typical young boy. Only 20 years old, he espouses a knowledge of and enthusiasm for the finer points of music better than heads twice his age. Taylor’s father, DJ Brother Rob, raised him on classic soul, and his obsession with music grew from there. “I love every genre, from classical to heavy metal,” he beams. “I understand it and love it all. If you see me without my headphones, then I’m going through something and there’s a problem.” Currently holding residence Friday nights at Jamz Roller Skating Center with DJ Dee Square, and Sundays at Pinnacle, Taylor is one of Philly’s most respected “party music” DJs.
As a producer his stock has exploded with “Woo Hah!” and the track currently forcing kids to Wu-Tang their asses off, “Ghetto Hokey Pokey.” Asked to describe the nuances that differentiate Baltimore, Jersey, and Philly club music, Taylor breaks it down: “Baltimore club is more for the club scene. It’s hype, and has a lot of horns,” he explains. “Jersey club is a little more mainstream simply because they chop it up more to make remixes of mainstream hip-hop, and they use a lot of bass. Philly club has elements of both—without as many horns, and it also has a lot of bass. I try to add some soul to it too.” Ever positive, Taylor is a man with a mission, “I just want people to hear my music and feel whatever bad situation they’re in either doesn’t exist or won’t be a problem for long. When you dance and hear music that makes you move, you get a feeling that it’s gonna be all right.”