Wyllys: We’re always looking for new DJs and tunes here at Hidden Track. What’s on your current playlist? What’s your style behind the decks?
Justin REM: I love Tech House and anything banging – D Ramirez, Lee Coonvs, Mark Knight. Really anything on The Toolroom Label is just killing. So is Justin Martin over at Dirtybird.
Wyllys: Dirtybird is the WORD. Thanks Justin. Be sure to catch Justin’s set as well as the untouchable LA Riots this 4th of July.
Another Burlington beat veteran is the uber-loveable Craig Mitchell. Craig is synonymous with any form of soulful beats. It can be House, Funk, Hip Hop, Soul…whatever, and Craig is going to put his signature loving touch to the mix. His joy behind the decks is palpable and you have to come see him play whenever you come up here. I got a chance to catch up with Craig over the phone today as well for a very enlightening conversation about the rich culture of House Music in Burlington.
Wyllys: What lead you to house?
Craig Mitchell: I mean…growing up in the Midwest – Michigan. That was where it was at. There was that Motown thing goin’ on and Detroit had this Techno vibe that was emerging. I would buy weird records as a kid. I was always the odd man out and never wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I was buying like Tangerine Dream and Juan Atkins records and all this obscure shit that I had no idea what it was but it was weird and it was GOOD. I mean, Prince was a bad ass too. Some of his records had this 7 min jams that were made to rock a House party.
And that was the thing about House,man, it brought all cultures together. Black, Puerto Ricans, Suburban White Kids all just getting down to this new sound that the Midwest created. However, the crazy part is I didn’t hear any of my records or any of these House classics in a club setting till I got to Burlington.
Wyllys: That’s crazy. So your first clubbing experiences were here. What was the name of that place?
Craig Mitchell: It was called Border and it’s where Metronome is today. This DJ named Todd Warner, who I called God Warner was AMAZING. He would do this after hours every Saturday night. He’d put all the booze away and waited till a line formed around the block. Sometimes you waited in line till 1:30/2 AM to get in but then BAM…House would be bangin’ till 6 in the morning. People just getting down on the classics. He had some epic mixes in there.
Wyllys: So Burlington seems to have a rich House Culture. Who else is a B Town House Hero.
CM: Little Martin Pendergrast of MP Squared. A lot of people don’t know he’s from Burlington. He is fantastic. Also Grammy Winner Morgan Page is from Vermont. He worked his way up through the ranks eventually doing some work for Bedrock and now he’s just killing it. Here is a recent video of a song he song he remixed.
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Wyllys: What’s your playlist like these days?
CM: Dubfire, Afro Jack, but really all over the place.In Miami they want to hear the classic NY and Chicago vibe. Dominican Republic loved the deep dark and twisted shit. It was like minimal and dissonant and the weirder it got they loved it. Got to depend on the mood of the room. New Guys: DJ Q.D.E.O, Eliot Dehoyos, Danny Buddha Morales.
Wyllys: Thanks for your time Craig. Keep killing it out there.
Here is a recent mix from Craig Mitchell…
So don’t sleep on Burlington. Come on out to the Green Mountains and have a banger of a night. Wyllys plays next at the VIP tent at Camp Bisco. See you there, flatbrims!
One Response
Wyllys, thanks so much for supporting the rich house/tech/dance vibe here in Burlington, VT and letting the world know. BIG HUGS and MUCH LOVE,
cRAIGmITCHELL