The Black Madonna
The Black Madonna
18-12-14
By Dan Beaumont
The Black Madonna has had quite the year in 2014. We fell in love with her from afar via some standout mixes, stellar word of mouth, on-point interviews and through booking all of our favourite DJs at Chicago’s legendary Smart Bar, where she just happens to be talent buyer by day and resident by night. She makes her first appearance in the lazer pit on January 3rd so we thought we'd have a look inside her record box...
A record where the vocal gets you every time?
Hit It N Quit by Jamie 3:26 and Cratebug.This is one of the best records ever made and the vocal is scorching. It's really become a signature record for me.
A record that reminds you of when you first real dancefloor experience
Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order. I remember spinning around on a dancefloor when I was 14 in a tiny club in Kentucky when the arpeggio comes in. Heavenly experience. It sticks in my mind clearly over 20 years later.
A record that is forever Chicago
Gotta go with The Percolator by Cajmere. I used to have a Percolator ringtone on my phone and when it would go off it didn't matter who was around. Grandmas in the grocery, bus drivers, teenagers: everyone knew just what it was. I think it's the national anthem of Chicago.
A record that was passed to you by a DJ mentor
You know, I wasn't really friends with my mentors. My "mentors" were people who made the mixtapes I loved. I learned to DJ essentially completely alone in a college radio station. So many records I play came to me from knowing the sets that my "mentors" played, but I don't think any of those were ever given to me. I had a lot of DJ friends, but I wasn't lucky enough to have a close, trusted mentor in that way.
A record that who’s lyrics could be about your life
Getting Away With It by Electronic.
An album you listen to from start to finish on a regular basis
Metro Area, Metro Area. I heard this right when it came out. It appeared in my local record store in Kentucky, Ear Xtacy (RIP). It actually took me a while to warm to it. My ears just weren't ready for the whole idea. What made me really pay attention was the use of Miura in a DJ Hell mix. He did something with that record that framed it for me in the way I needed to have it framed and suddenly the whole record made sense. I think no matter what I do as a producer, I'm still returning to this record. As a producer, as a listener.
Your favourite Smart Bar anthem
You Can't Hide From Yourself, Teddy Pendergrass. Our main man Derrick Carter rinses this one. I have several specific memories of him dropping this in his legendary 7 hour sets. No bassline has ever been bigger. Those stabs. The horns. It's pure Derrick.
A record that's missing from your collection
The 12" of Losing My Mind by the Pet Shop Boys. I have never owned it, believe it or not. I probably have dozens of PSB records, but this just isn't one of them.
A record that you can't listen to because it makes you too sad
What's Going On by Marvin Gaye.
Join The Black Madonna for Battered Sausage alongside Severino, Nadia Ksaiba and more on Saturday 3rd January at Dalston Superstore from 9pm - 3am.
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The Black Madonna