AtV presents vol 1 : Azamat B. (Fr)

We're very stoked to finally see this project come to fruition. Starting a mix series is something that we've been thinking about doing for a long time, and it's dope to finally be able to share it with you.

Azamat Bogdanov is a DJ & producer from Perpignan, France, who now currently resides in our very own Montreal. This full-bearded tastemaker is one of the most versatile and innovative club DJs currently slanging tunes in the city, and his recent foray into production with ITFW is making a lot more people take notice of his talent, deservedly. He's also a member of the French DJ/producer collective La Big Familia, and as mentioned several times, a resident DJ and curator of the Boomclap weekly at Blue Dog Motel.

Every Saturday afternoon, Azamat B. broadcasts a live Ustream show on Radio Los Santos, and usually invites a slew of guests, who have more often than not played at Boomclap the night before. Chillin at home and streaming his and his guests' (who've included Canblaster, DJ Rashad and LOL Boys, to name a few) sets rates pretty high on the list of laid-back hangover cures, a welcome conclusion to the usual Boomclap weekend debauchery.
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Once Azamat B. agreed to do the first Avenge The Virgins mix, I was definitely intrigued by what kind of vibes he would bless us with. Would it be a ghetto rap set, a hedonistic uk bass rave set, or a hands-in-the-air straight house set?
Well, it turns out that he actually chose to do it on a relatively underground/unknown style of house music, Ballroom or Vogue house, birthed in dark, swanky LGBT clubs.

I knew next to nothing about it, although I had heard its heavy influence on a few of my favorite artists, like Azari & III. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that it is actually an extremely wild scene (see: Paris is Burning), with a huge focus on sexual, groovy ass house music. For 52 minutes, Azamat B. takes you on a manic journey from the late eighties to 2011, building the vibe up to a rolling crescendo, then descending into sensual two-step territory . The song selection and mixing is pretty much beyond reproach, and Jackin Around features solid tunes from the great ballroom producer DJ MikeQ, as well as recent output from Tom Flynn, Maurice Donovan and Boddika.

For most of us, this is also the first preview of an unreleased Prince Club tune called 'Utopia', which is sounding positively amazing, and a rad original by dapper don Sinjin Hawke called 'It's Over'.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado

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Avenge The Virgins presents Jackin Around by Azamat B.
(Download link on the soundcloud player)

Jackin' Around by AzamatB.

Tracklist:

01. LNR- Work It To The Bone [House Jam Records]
02. Size Queen feat. Paul Alexander - Walk (Paul's Groove) [Tribal America]
03. X-Press 2 - Muzik Xpress (Club Mix)[Junior Boy's Own]
04. Toni Braxton - Make My Heart (Geoffery C's Raw House Dub)[Code Red]
05. Sinjin Hawke - It's Over [Unreleased]
06. R Tyme - Use Me (MK Mix) [Trance Fusion]
07. West Norwood Cassette Library - Blonde On Blonde [Teal Recordings]
08. Marcello Napoletano - Everyday Madness [Rush Hour]
09. Maurice Donovan - Satisfied [The House Sound of SSSSSS]
10. Dj MikeQ - Make You Gag feat. Ms. Theresa [Qween Beat Productions]
11. Robbie Tronco - Runway (As a House) [Henry Street Music]
12. Tronco Traxx - Walk 4 Me (Sound Factory mix) [Henry Street Music]
13. Green Velvet - Flash (Jamie Jones Remix) [Cajual Records]
14. Tom Flynn - Bianca [Size]
15. Prince Club - Utopia [Unreleased]
16. Boddika - Warehouse [Hotflush]
17. Marble Players - Marble Anthem [Marble Music]
18. Claude VonStroke & Christian Martin - Peanut Butter Jelly Time [Undefeated]
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Once again, we'd like to give a big shout-out to Azamat B. for dropping this magic on our asses and educating the masses.

If you dig the swag, pass this around. It's pretty much an all-purpose mix. You can make awkard love to it, you can roller-skate to it, you can get more or less buck to it, and hey, you can even vogue to it. Ballroom vibes will be huge in the coming year, trust.

Azamat B. soundcloud
Radio Los Santos
La Big Familia

ITFW- Haters / Aaliyah EP

First of all, large up Discobelle for dropping a big post on Montreal boys ITFW and releasing the EP for free yesterday.

(I seem to be on a very Montreal-centric kick recently, for some reason. Well, whatever, it's all love, I'm sure you don't mind. Ça déborde de talent icitte, tabernak. )

ITFW, one of our city's finest DJ/producer duos, have been gaining a steady amount of love and respect since their massive tune Surgeon was featured here (modesty? heh), and released on Truancy Records' first compilation album about month ago. The strength of that release has definitely put them on on many people's 'names to watch in 2011' lists, and we're always down to support the local scene.

Made up of two expatriates now makin' big moves in Montreal, S.H. & Azamat Bogdanov, IFTW are very well known in Montreal for their distinctively swagged-out take on r&b/rap/bass, as well as for their fantastic DJ sets. We've mentioned the name almost weekly, but some might not know that these guys are the curators and resident DJs every at Boomclap on fridays at Blue Dog Motel, along with Markus of LOL Boys. Real heads know the deal, this is one of the dopest weekly parties in the entire city.

Today, we're happy to introduce you to yet another delirium-inducing ITFW release, the very raw and heavy Haters, an original tune that samples Rick Ross' The Boss to great effect. It combines the unmistakeable swagger of Rozay with heavy synths, phenomally deep bass and drums pulled straight out of Juke.

This is some 2011 Knuck If You Buck shit. Dopest song to throw bows to released this year, if you ask me.

Haters by ITFW

As well, ITFW has blessed us all with a 5 song EP of Aaliyah remixes. Although Aaliyah tunes are more-or-less sacrosanct, ITFW are well aware that they are treading on sacred ground and do her legacy justice with these rad reworks. I've been waiting a while for new material from these guys, so to have all this stuff dropped on my lap yesterday was quite the treat.

You should definitely not miss out on this release, so we've included the link to download it here.
Scrole it out, people.

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Another reason I'm profiling these dudes today, besides the fact that their music is tight, is that one half of ITFW, Mr. Azamat B, was kind enough to do the first Avenge The Virgins mix for us. It will drop in the next few days, so you need to tell your wives, husbands, your siblings and possibly your kids. It's going to be major.

Building hype, son

m.

forbidden

How y'all doing this fine morning? Happy St-Patty's day, you glorious maniacs. Hope you dig the tunes.


Ciara Surgeon (ITFW Remix) by ITFW

Montreal, stand the fuck up. This is an majestic remix of Ciara's Like A Surgeon, reworked, remodeled and swagged out by Montreal duo ITFW. This has to be one of the most mesmerizing r&b remixes that I've heard in a while. It is tremendously smooth and sure to decimate any unsuspecting dancefloor it is dropped on. This tune will be included on the highly anticipated (seriously, it's going to be so rad) Truants Compilation Volume 1, dropping on March 28th on Truancy Records. Ghetto, sexy and futuristic vibes, all in one.

Soundcloud

Lethal Bizzle ft Grime All Stars- Pow 2011 (Roska remix)

While Pow 2011 is nowhere as good as the original, it is still on its way to becoming the Grime anthem of the year. Yesterday, prolific London producer Roska dropped this unbelievably heavy and funky remix of Lethal Bizzle's track, which features verses from JME, Wiley, Chipmunk, Face, P Money, Ghetts and Kano. Roska is the forward thinking don of the UK futuristic bass scene, one of London's champions and heralds of dope drum fills and cerebellum-melting sub-bass. Roska, Roska, Roska...

Soundcloud

Munchi & Dave Nada- Brazzers Theme (Munchi's Fuck That it's Bangbros remix)

We at Avenge The Virgins are big fans of Dominican/Dutch boy wonder Munchi, who has definitely made a huge mark on club music and is somewhat responsible for the huge takeover of the Moombahton/Moombahcore movement. I profiled him last August, so I'll skip the long description of why I think he's dope, and just leave you with this insane remix he did for Mad Decent signee Dillon Francis & Moombahton creator Dave Nada. This tune basically boils down to a very simple formula: Hardcore porn + Ballistic bass = Munchi. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Soundcloud

Kaz Kyzah- I need a beat

I miss Hyphy a lot more than you'll ever know. sigh. This shit slaps.

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I apologize if this post is a bit incoherent, I'm drifting in and out of sleep, haha. If you dig the tunes, please don't hesitate to let us know what you think in the comments. Feedback is always welcome!

(p.s) The big homie Stranger Day sent us a really dope tune recently, a rap edit he did of Girl Unit's Wut. He even namedrops Avenge The Virgins in it, which we are beyond stoked about. It's supposed to get played on DJ Benzi's radio show soon, which is why we haven't posted it yet, but we are really looking forward to sharing it with you. Keep your eyes peeled for that, I know you'll love it.

-Matt