8th Edition of the amazing Boogie Mixx series by Arni Kristansonn
Funk connoisseur Arni Kristjansson took a hiatus from his Boogie Mixx series but he is back with a vengeance with the 8th volume of the series focusing on the 7″ format.
It all started with a compilation of 12-inch mixes of D-Train songs he picked up in a local thrift store in Reykjavik, Iceland, that kickstarted his passion for the soul music of the boogie era. After collecting locally and sourcing records online, he moved to the record mecca of Tokyo in 2008 where things took a turn.
“It was like digging in a bottomless well. If that makes any sense. There was no end to the variety of artists, releases — whether they were major label, local or private press.” At the time he studied at Tokyo University of the Arts where he got his MA in Music (Cultural Studies) in 2011. His research focused on the infiltration of dance music into Japan.
Record collecting was not only fulfilling the collector side but also was a means to relieve stress. “All of my classes were in Japanese and I found out half-way through that I had to hand my thesis in Japanese. Those day-long digging trips across Tokyo really were a de-stresser, plus I found all this amazing music to enjoy.”
Since 2008 he put the best tracks he found into mixes and now 7 years later he is putting out Boogie Mixx 8 as a free download, keeping in the tradition of the series. “The first one was meant as a thank you to the SoulStrut.com online community of record collectors” he says.”I reached 1000 posts and put the mix up to share what I had found by that point.”
What puts the 8th installment apart from the previous mixes? “Well, I’d started to exhaust major and minor label albums, as well as 12-inch singles, so I dug more into 7-inch singles which I hadn’t really done before. It’s still a mix of boogie, modern soul, funk and a bit of disco like the previous mixes. Hopefully I’ll have some unexpected songs in there but most of all I just want people to enjoy it, regardless of whether they are familiar with the genre or not.”
Boogie Mixx 8 is out now and available as a free download. All of his previous Boogie Mixxes are available at www.arnikristjansson.com
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