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Transform Your Space With Music and Art: DJ Constantine 'Connie’ Price Reveals the ‘Arthouse’ Soundtrack
Episode 31029th July 2025 • Not Real Art • Crewest Studio
00:00:00 00:39:01

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Are you ready to transform the energy in your home? It might be simpler than you'd think. In our latest episode, we sit down with Dan Ubick, widely celebrated as DJ Constantine "Connie" Price. He explores the ways in which music shapes our environments and enriches our living spaces via the innovative Arthouse project.

This unscripted television series follows everyday individuals as they interact with local artists, explore studios, and discover original artwork that resonates with them—all while keeping within their budget. As Arthouse continues its crowdfunding campaign, Dan unveils the exclusive playlists he’s curated for donors and explains how listeners can get involved to make a tangible impact. 

For just $30, backers will gain access to the official Arthouse music playlist titled "Chill," curated by Dan himself to boost creativity and relaxation. But that’s just the start—contributing $25 will secure a limited edition show poster, while a $30 contribution also allows you to nominate an artist or town to be featured in future Arthouse episodes. For those feeling particularly generous, higher-tier contributions open the door to exceptional experiences, such as a private piano performance by the acclaimed Steinway artist Ric'key Pageot for $2,500, or the chance to receive an Associate Producer credit and an invitation to the wrap party for a $10,000 donation. All contributions are tax-deductible and will directly support the filming of the Arthouse pilot episode, slated for this summer in Chicago. 

A longtime composer, producer, and record collector, Dan's insights into how music enhances the creative experience are both enlightening and refreshing. In our conversation, he also shares anecdotes from his treasure hunts in record stores, showcasing his eclectic taste and continuous quest for hidden gems that ignite his creativity. His passion highlights the importance of accessibility in the arts, as he articulates how Arthouse aims to link everyday people with local artists and original works—creating an artistic community that thrives on inclusivity.

To learn more about Arthouse, support its mission, or nominate your favorite artist for future episodes, please visit Arthouse on Indiegogo

For more information, please visit https://notrealart.com/dan-ubick-arthouse-playlist

Transcripts

Speaker A:

The Not Real Art podcast is intended for creative audiences only.

Speaker A:

The Not Real Art podcast celebrates creativity and creative culture worldwide.

Speaker A:

It contains material that is fresh, fun and inspiring and is not suitable for boring old art snobs.

Speaker A:

Now let's get started and enjoy the show.

Speaker B:

Greetings and salutations, my creative brothers and sisters.

Speaker B:

Welcome to Not Real Art, the podcast where we talk to the world's most creative people.

Speaker B:

I am your host.

Speaker B:

Faithful, trusty, loyal, tireless, relentless host.

Speaker B:

Sourdough coming at you from Crew West Studio in Los Angeles.

Speaker B:

How are you people?

Speaker B:

Thank you for tuning in.

Speaker B:

We do this for you.

Speaker B:

It's all about you.

Speaker B:

And we really appreciate you showing up, being here with us today.

Speaker B:

So thanks for that.

Speaker B:

I want to thank also our fiscal sponsor, Arterial Arterial.org because of their sponsorship of the show.

Speaker B:

You can support us with a tax deductible donation by going to notrealart.com or to arterial.org and supporting the show.

Speaker B:

Your generous support helps us keep everything free.

Speaker B:

Free to enjoy, free of advertising.

Speaker B:

And we can't do that without your support.

Speaker B:

So thank you so much for making a contribution.

Speaker B:

Okay, as you know, it's the last week of the month, and you know what happens the last week of the month?

Speaker B:

I drop an auditorial where I get on my soapbox and talk about something that's on my mind.

Speaker B:

Well, today I've been so enjoying some music that I wanted to talk about.

Speaker B:

So you've heard about our Art House project.

Speaker B:

I can't stop talking about it.

Speaker B:

I'm so excited.

Speaker B:

We're doing a crowdfunding campaign.

Speaker B:

Please, please, please go to arthouse tv show.com and contribute to our Indiegogo campaign to raise the money we need to shoot the pilot.

Speaker B:

We have so many amazing perks, and actually, two of the coolest perks we have are two music playlists.

Speaker B:

The official music playlist for Art House.

Speaker B:

One is for chill and create, which is a mellow vibe, so great for chilling and creating.

Speaker B:

And the other playlist is the get up playlist, which, of course, you can't help yourself.

Speaker B:

You got to get up and dance to this playlist.

Speaker B:

Each playlist is about three hours long, about 100 songs, 50 songs each, but 100 songs, they're incredible.

Speaker B:

And I've just been listening to these playlists nonstop, basically for the last month when I got them.

Speaker B:

And you can have them too, for a $30 donation.

Speaker B:

If you go to the arthouse tv show.com Indiegogo crowdfunding page, you can get these playlists for a $30 donation.

Speaker B:

Which is a great value considering how great this music is.

Speaker B:

You're getting three.

Speaker B:

And so it's incredible.

Speaker B:

I wanted to tell you about it today.

Speaker B:

And then, then, you know, as I thought about it, because usually with auditorials, it's just me ranting and raving like I'm doing now.

Speaker B:

But then I thought, well, wait a minute, let's just do one better, you know, let's change it up today.

Speaker B:

Let's actually have a guest on with me to talk about it.

Speaker B:

And what better guest than the DJ himself who curated the music for us?

Speaker B:

DJ Constantine, AKA Danubek, friend of the show, friend of the crew, colleague, confidant, partner in crime, the one and only Dan Ubik, AKA DJ Constantine.

Speaker B:

And so I called up Dan, I said, dan, I really would love for you to curate the official music playlist for our Art House project that we can use for perks.

Speaker B:

And he didn't hesitate.

Speaker B:

He's like, I'm on it.

Speaker B:

And within a matter of two days, I had, well, maybe three days, but I had two playlists that were just amazing.

Speaker B:

Like I said, three hours each, six hours of music, over 100 songs total, and I just can't stop listening.

Speaker B:

But, you know, Dan is just that kind of guy.

Speaker B:

I mean, he's a producer, composer, multi instrumentalist.

Speaker B:

He grew up out here in Southern California.

Speaker B:

His father was a jazz bass player.

Speaker B:

His mother, of course, listened to the Beatles at classic music, and she's an artist, so she'd make jewelry while she's listening to Bowie and Traffic and yes and Genesis and Zeppelin and on and on and on.

Speaker B:

And of course, Dan couldn't help himself.

Speaker B:

And he followed in his father's footsteps as an artist, as a musician, and now he has.

Speaker B:

I mean, what doesn't he do?

Speaker B:

I mean, he's a arranger and multi instrumentalist, producer, engineer, dj, plays all over town, has a recording studio, records artists, produce artists, and then of course, he's also the host of our podcast, the Conduit Music Podcast.

Speaker B:

So check that out when you get a chance.

Speaker B:

So I wanted Dan to come on and talk about these playlists that he curated for Art House.

Speaker B:

They're incredible.

Speaker B:

I want you guys to get them, please go to arthouse tv show.com and contribute $30 tax deductible.

Speaker B:

$30 and get the playlist and we'll get it over to you.

Speaker B:

It's incredible.

Speaker B:

And if you're feeling generous, maybe you want to give 60, we'll send you both.

Speaker B:

But you can't go wrong.

Speaker B:

And I know you're going to love It.

Speaker B:

So, without further ado, let's get into this conversation I had with the one and only DJ Constantine, AKA Dan Ub.

Speaker B:

Dan Ubik.

Speaker B:

Welcome to the show.

Speaker A:

Thank you, Scott.

Speaker B:

Good to be here.

Speaker A:

Thanks for having me, man.

Speaker B:

Man, you're.

Speaker B:

You're like our returning champion, you know, like, I, I love it.

Speaker B:

I, I don't even know how many times, because you and I have worked on so many projects now over the years that it's hard to kind of keep track.

Speaker B:

Like, okay, what was he okay, was he on the podcast or did he make the podcast?

Speaker B:

Did he host the podcast?

Speaker B:

And you know what?

Speaker B:

But you're back, you're back on the, on the show here today.

Speaker B:

And I'm so grateful that you're here classing up the joint.

Speaker B:

And people might be wondering, sort of like what hat you're wearing right now, because you wear so many different hats both in your daily professional life as a, as a world class musician and producer and music engineer.

Speaker B:

You might be wearing a hat that, you know, because people know you as the host of the Conduit podcast.

Speaker B:

So they might say, wait a minute, is Dan back to talk about some new episode of the Conduit?

Speaker B:

But no, actually the hat you're wearing today is that of DJ Constantine, one of the many dimensions and the many facets of your amazing artistic life.

Speaker B:

And I'm so grateful that you were able to come on and talk about what DJ Constantine has been up to lately, at least as it relates to our little world here at Crew Studio.

Speaker B:

And just to give the audience a little bit of context here, some of some people might be familiar, but we've been developing this show project called Art House.

Speaker B:

And it's an unscripted television show about real people meeting real artists to buy real art without breaking the bank.

Speaker B:

Which is awesome, right?

Speaker B:

And we're gonna go.

Speaker B:

Art House is all about going to, you know, kind of smaller communities.

Speaker B:

You know, we're not going to New York, LA or Miami.

Speaker B:

We're going to Toledo, we're going to Topeka.

Speaker B:

We're going to, to, to Hachapia and town of pa. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker B:

All the teas.

Speaker B:

It's exciting, this project.

Speaker B:

And you know, because it's art centric project and because we're really doing our best to, you know, democratize art and educate people about art.

Speaker B:

You know, not just how to buy art or, you know, meet artists or art making, but, you know, as we got into this and we thought, you know, music is obviously art and, you know, we need.

Speaker B:

We.

Speaker B:

What is the Official music for Art house.

Speaker B:

What, you know, what, what, you know, if somebody's watching the show, what might the music be playing?

Speaker B:

Or better yet, if somebody is like, wants to really kind of live the brand, if you will, as the cool kids say, you know, what kind of music should they be listening to?

Speaker B:

And of course, we're doing this crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, and, you know, I want to encourage everybody to go check it out and please give us a shuckle or two.

Speaker B:

You know, one of the fun kind of perks was, you know, hey, let's create this sort of official art house music playlist.

Speaker B:

And when I first thought of that, I thought, you know, the only person in the world, as far as I'm concerned, that's qualified to put this very idiosyncratic, important playlist together is, of course, the one and only DJ Constantine, AKA Dan Ubik.

Speaker B:

So I called you up and I said, dan, what do you think?

Speaker B:

And you said, hell, yeah, it's true.

Speaker A:

I love putting playlists together and inspiring playlists together.

Speaker A:

That's.

Speaker B:

Well, that was.

Speaker B:

Yeah, that was a very.

Speaker B:

That was a very long ramble.

Speaker B:

But I mean, the initial.

Speaker B:

The initial ask of you was, hey, man, can you come up with some.

Speaker B:

Some songs, some music, some.

Speaker B:

Some.

Speaker B:

Some sonics that people might want to listen to to get creative and to kind of, you know, get their creative juices flowing?

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And then.

Speaker B:

And then, not only did you do that, but then you pivoted and said, hey, man, I'm going to do a playlist for.

Speaker B:

For, you know, when it's time to dance, you know, like, get up and groove, you know.

Speaker B:

So you've created two playlists and the official Art House Inspiration Chill and Create playlist and the official Art House Inspiration get up playlist.

Speaker B:

And this.

Speaker B:

These are basically three hours of music, each playlist, six hours total, almost.

Speaker B:

I mean, how do you do it, man?

Speaker B:

I mean, this is some deep cuts here.

Speaker A:

Oh, man.

Speaker A:

Well, you know, I mean, I'm surrounded by musicians and DJs, so we all kind of turn each other onto stuff by going to see each other, you know, you.

Speaker A:

Oh, man, what was that one song you played?

Speaker A:

So I'm, you know, constantly finding out about new music, searching on the web, listening to my friends who are as musically obsessed as I am.

Speaker A:

But then I also have, like, my mom is a jeweler for the last 60 years.

Speaker A:

She listens to music while she's doing making her jewelry and is totally inspired by that.

Speaker A:

My friend Megan Allsopp is.

Speaker A:

She does all kinds of beautiful stained glass work up here in the canyon and clay work, you know, with their kiln.

Speaker A:

I have friends who just do art across the spectrum, painters, you know, every.

Speaker A:

Every form of art there is.

Speaker A:

And so initially, initially I was thinking about music that doesn't have words in it.

Speaker A:

Most of it, just because that can be kind of distracting.

Speaker A:

So kind of the Chill and Create playlist that I made has a lot of stuff that's instrumental, a lot of jazz, a lot of bossa nova, samba music, and also music from different cultures where maybe the listener doesn't speak Swahili or Portuguese or French or whatever it might be.

Speaker A:

So they're just listening to the melody and listening to the uplifting melodies by not being.

Speaker A:

Being distracted by the words, which is kind of nice.

Speaker A:

And then the ones I chose that do have words I felt are pretty uplifting and positive words just to kind of put on while you're doing your creating, while you're doing your own art.

Speaker A:

The get up and Dance playlist was meant to be.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker A:

You know, on this roller coaster ride of a life us artists all live.

Speaker A:

You know, sometimes we get down and we.

Speaker A:

What songs would kind of bring people up out of their slump and get them out of bed, get us out of bed, make us feel like, you know what, I'm going to just jump up and get this day started, maybe put it on my, you know, playlist on my phone and just go for a walk and have this on and just start moving.

Speaker A:

So I feel like there's a good balance.

Speaker A:

One playlist for maybe while you're working, one playlist to get out and walk and breathe and get inspired, you know, so those are things I need all the time.

Speaker A:

So I just felt like every song I put in there is something that picks me up in both of those scenarios.

Speaker B:

Yeah, well, that's the thing.

Speaker B:

I mean, it really comes across, at least for me, how intentional you were about the curation of these artists and this music on both playlists.

Speaker B:

I mean, there is like the amount of thought, of course you're, you know, boy, do you have your 10,000 hours.

Speaker B:

Probably more like 30,000 hours at this point.

Speaker B:

So it's not, you know, I know you put like good time, you put.

Speaker B:

You put a fair amount of time into this stuff.

Speaker B:

But, but, but, but based on the, the.

Speaker B:

My reading of it, I mean, it just feels so thoughtful, so intentional that, that, you know, for a neophy like me, I think, my God, how many hours did you spend doing this?

Speaker B:

But you're a pro, right?

Speaker B:

So you Know you, you know, you, you cut that in half.

Speaker B:

But, but it just is clear to me how thoughtful and considered every song is.

Speaker A:

Oh, thanks.

Speaker A:

Well, you know, it's a different kind of discipline DJing live when you're playing a party because you're kind of reading the room to see what's going to fit.

Speaker A:

You're also time sensitive.

Speaker A:

This one's ending, I got to throw on something else real quick.

Speaker A:

Sometimes it's exactly what you had in mind, sometimes it's what you could find that maybe works.

Speaker A:

But with playlists like this, I really got to kind of dig in, find a flow that works a and really choose songs that I felt like fit in with the vibe of each of the two playlists.

Speaker A:

So that was.

Speaker A:

It's a super fun thing to do for me because I just love so much different kinds of music.

Speaker B:

Well, and that's another big point.

Speaker B:

I mean, because the word that comes to mind when I think about these playlists is the word eclectic.

Speaker B:

And there's just so many amazing artists on here that I've quite frankly never heard of.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

And yet it all works, it all comes together and you know, that's the difference.

Speaker B:

Like when you work with a subject matter expert, a real industry pro like yourself, I mean, the levels and layers to something that you bring to it, you know, because of your depth of knowledge.

Speaker B:

It's just so obvious on these playlists because, yeah, sure, there are plenty of artists in music that I recognize that I was, you know, heard before, familiar.

Speaker B:

But I'm going to say at least half, if not two thirds to me was all new.

Speaker B:

And you know, I like to think of myself as being a fairly savvy music listener, but indeed, you really surprised me and really delighted me with some of these deep so called deep cuts or whatever.

Speaker A:

I so appreciate that.

Speaker A:

I mean, that's part of the digging experience for me as a record collector is really just finding that new inspiring song I didn't know about.

Speaker A:

Like, I have a list in my what I'm looking for, hoping to find copies of list in my discogs.

Speaker A:

But my favorite thing when I'm digging for records is just seeing something look looks interesting that I know nothing about throwing it on the turntable in the shop and just being like, oh my God, what is that?

Speaker A:

I never heard that.

Speaker A:

Or just having a friend, you know, any of the DJs I know around town from Novena on KCRW and Anthony Valadez and Jeremy Soule and all these people that I'm so grateful to know a bit.

Speaker A:

Mario Caldado has turned me on to so much amazing Brazilian music.

Speaker A:

I mean, it's just endless.

Speaker A:

I'm so grateful to know so many people around and, you know, you just find artists that you didn't know about or you find a Monkees song.

Speaker A:

I'm looking at my playlist here that's like, I like the Monkees.

Speaker A:

I like Daydream Believer and all those big Monkees hits.

Speaker A:

But my friend Andrew turned me onto this song, me and Magdalena.

Speaker A:

And I think it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

Speaker A:

Like, I didn't know the Monkees did songs like that, you know, and when I.

Speaker A:

When he played it for me, I was like, holy crap.

Speaker A:

It's like a Brian Wilson or a Paul McCartney John Lennon song.

Speaker A:

It's just like that deep and beautiful.

Speaker A:

So it's just like, you know, you just find those ones that you never would have thought and there it is all of a sudden.

Speaker A:

So I hope people find hidden gems in here that inspire them and make them feel great.

Speaker B:

Well, and not only is the sort of song list curated with such great thought and intention, but then it's as a good DJ does, right?

Speaker B:

It's organized in a way that is.

Speaker B:

There's a logic, right, to the cure, to the actual, like, ordering of the.

Speaker B:

Of the music and.

Speaker B:

And you just go on a journey.

Speaker B:

You just take us on a journey.

Speaker A:

Well, that's important to me as a dj, is playing songs where, like, you don't want to play too many up really intense songs, one after the other after the other after the other, because the listener's just going to be like, it's just too much to take in.

Speaker A:

People need to breathe.

Speaker A:

People need to cleanse, you know, like, it's like a sushi dinner.

Speaker A:

You have to eat ginger in between each one and kind of have something new happen and something totally different.

Speaker A:

You know, have a rock, have an upbeat one that's fun and kind of makes you move around, and then have a quiet one that kind of soothes you for a second.

Speaker A:

So the flow of it is very important to me.

Speaker A:

So I'm.

Speaker A:

Thank you for noticing that.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Now, the flow is key.

Speaker B:

The flow is key.

Speaker B:

And this, by the way, what I'm saying and what we're talking about or what I'm saying applies to both playlists.

Speaker B:

I mean, because they are very different vibes, of course, but.

Speaker B:

But the logic and the intelligence and the.

Speaker B:

The deafness of your.

Speaker B:

Of your.

Speaker B:

Of your hand is apparent on both playlists.

Speaker B:

And, man, I mean, you definitely.

Speaker B:

I can.

Speaker B:

You know, it's interesting because if.

Speaker B:

If I.

Speaker B:

If I'm working, and it even depends on, like, what kind of work I might be doing, but generally speaking, if I'm doing real deep work, I can't listen to music with lyrics.

Speaker A:

Yeah, same.

Speaker B:

I just, you know, and by the way, sometimes I can't even listen to jazz music when I'm working because jazz is such a.

Speaker B:

Like an intellectual.

Speaker B:

For me, it's such an intellectual exercise as much as anything.

Speaker B:

Because you want to think about the music, right?

Speaker A:

A lot of it can be.

Speaker B:

Yeah, well, a lot of it.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker B:

And.

Speaker B:

And.

Speaker B:

But.

Speaker B:

But the Chill and Create playlist that you have is so.

Speaker A:

Is.

Speaker B:

It's just so thoughtfully and carefully and professionally sort of put together that at least for me, man, I love listening to it while I work.

Speaker B:

I mean, it just really, really sets the tone and creates the vibe for me to do real work and enjoy the work that much more.

Speaker B:

And it's not at all distracting.

Speaker B:

The music.

Speaker B:

It is nothing but sort of complimentary and inspiring and supplemental, you know?

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker A:

Oh, that's good.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

Chill and Create, man.

Speaker A:

Just throw it on.

Speaker A:

It can be in the background.

Speaker A:

A melody maybe will just inspire.

Speaker A:

Oh, that was pretty.

Speaker A:

What was that?

Speaker A:

And then you dig in deeper when you have a minute.

Speaker A:

But as you're sitting there doing your creating, it can just be a lovely kind of pillow for you to rest on as you're creating a good mood.

Speaker B:

Well, and the same thing applies to the get up playlist, because every man that gets going.

Speaker B:

I can't work to that.

Speaker B:

I'm too busy dancing.

Speaker A:

Good, good.

Speaker A:

Get out and ride your bike.

Speaker A:

Get out and walk in the mountains.

Speaker A:

All these things that we're so lucky to do out here in California and so many places.

Speaker A:

But, yeah, get out and breathe and remember how lucky we are to have the day on this planet.

Speaker B:

So of all the songs that you have, and I mean, again, it's almost six hours of music between the two playlists, but I think, based on my calculations.

Speaker B:

So about three hours each.

Speaker A:

50 songs on each one, I think.

Speaker A:

Or 51.

Speaker B:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A:

Baker's dozen of sorts.

Speaker B:

I mean, this might not be a fair question, but I'm just curious.

Speaker B:

Like, like, like, do you know what song on this list is, like, the oldest song that you've known versus the newest song that you've done?

Speaker B:

And when I say known, I mean, like, discovered.

Speaker B:

So, like, is there a song on here that you discovered 20 years ago, and is there a song on here that you discovered last Week.

Speaker A:

Yes, and.

Speaker A:

Yes.

Speaker A:

And there's songs from 40 years ago, and there's songs that were made this year on these.

Speaker B:

Amazing.

Speaker B:

What are the tracks?

Speaker A:

What's the oldest song, the song I've known about for the longest time?

Speaker A:

Well, there's a song called Sabor Ami by Edie Gourmet and Los Panchos.

Speaker A:

That's a famous old Mexican folk song.

Speaker A:

I found out about it because Los Lobos did it on their first record called the Band from east la.

Speaker A:

So I heard their version first and of course was like, this song is just gorgeous.

Speaker A:

What is.

Speaker A:

What is this?

Speaker A:

And found out they got it from Edie Gourmet and Los Panchos.

Speaker A:

So I've known about that one for a long time.

Speaker A:

Let's see.

Speaker A:

Koomba by.

Speaker A:

By orchestra.

Speaker A:

Baobab.

Speaker A:

I've known that one a long time.

Speaker A:

Sporting Life by James Brown from his Black Caesar soundtrack.

Speaker A:

You think James Brown.

Speaker A:

It's going to be like some wild, funky, funky thing.

Speaker A:

And it is funky, but it's also kind of mellow and nice.

Speaker A:

So there's a few I've known.

Speaker A:

Bluebird by Paul McCartney from Band on the Run.

Speaker B:

Sure, yes.

Speaker A:

Fire Dance by Gabor Szabo.

Speaker A:

He's like one of my favorite guitar players, this Hungarian guitar player.

Speaker A:

I've known that record for years and years and years.

Speaker A:

I love it.

Speaker A:

Small Talk by Sly Stone, I've Known A Long Time.

Speaker A:

Brighter later by Nick Drake.

Speaker A:

So a lot of these I've known for a while and ones that I've recently found out about, this Fundo de Quintal, the Pago Diando.

Speaker A:

It's a batukada, like a Brazilian drum record that my friend Bobby turned me onto.

Speaker A:

High On a Rocky Ledge by Moondog.

Speaker A:

I found out about from Jeremy Soule.

Speaker A:

He's a huge Moondog fanatic.

Speaker B:

Shout out, Jeremy.

Speaker A:

Yeah, Jeremy's always got great tunes.

Speaker A:

He turns me on, too.

Speaker A:

What else?

Speaker A:

Let's see.

Speaker A:

Cool down the Pace by Gregory Isaacs.

Speaker A:

I always knew Night Nurse and the other songs from that record, but my son Leo got me into Cool down the Pace.

Speaker A:

So those are.

Speaker A:

Oh, we've got My Dog.

Speaker A:

My Little Inspiration just came in.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And then from the.

Speaker A:

From the get up one.

Speaker A:

Gosh.

Speaker A:

The one that I recently found out about is this Antonio Adolfo y Brazuca Brazilian group called Trans Amazonica.

Speaker A:

That is just the coolest Brazilian song ever.

Speaker A:

Let's see what else is on here.

Speaker A:

Ooh, this Nina Simone record called Silk and Soul that I found out about a couple years ago and just found a copy on Vinyl for not too expensive because it's pricey on Discogs.

Speaker A:

I found it in the wild called Some say that's a beautiful one with Aretha Franklin's drummer on it, or Bernard Purdy, one I've known about for a while, but it just came out on 45.

Speaker A:

Again is Tikla, my friend from New York who plays with the group Antiballis, the Afrobeat group, but he also does all these great reggae and rocksteady productions.

Speaker A:

He has this mashup of kind of Jamaican and salsa influences.

Speaker A:

Tikla versus Axelrod.

Speaker A:

The song Mi Sancito, that's a remake of an old salsa song.

Speaker A:

Then Stalag from King Tubby.

Speaker B:

I mean, on and on and on.

Speaker B:

I mean, there's just.

Speaker A:

That's a famous old Jamaican rhythm bomb bomb by Sister Nancy, who's just playing it in Topanga in a couple weeks at the Reggae on the Mountain festival.

Speaker A:

Still sounds amazing.

Speaker A:

Amazing Sister Nancy.

Speaker A:

I mean, there's so many.

Speaker A:

Like you said, there's 50 songs on each of these.

Speaker A:

Tighten up the.

Speaker A:

You know, the old da da da da da da.

Speaker A:

There's a version by Al Escobar and his orchestra that my friend Clifton, DJ Clifton, shout out.

Speaker A:

Amazing LA DJ turned me onto a few years back.

Speaker A:

That's an old Fania 45.

Speaker A:

That's killer.

Speaker A:

Nancy Sinatra's Happy.

Speaker A:

You think Nancy Sinatra, you think of these Boots Were Made for Walking.

Speaker A:

But her version of her song Happy has some of the funkiest drums on it ever.

Speaker A:

I got into that a few years back.

Speaker A:

There's so many.

Speaker A:

There's so many good songs.

Speaker B:

It is.

Speaker B:

It is it.

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker B:

And I mean, you know, you could go on and on and, like, you know, I mean, like you said, there's 100.

Speaker B:

100 songs on two lists here.

Speaker B:

Totally.

Speaker B:

It's incredible.

Speaker B:

It truly is incredible.

Speaker B:

And one has to wonder, you know, how the sausage gets made sometimes.

Speaker B:

Right?

Speaker B:

I mean, at the end of the day, you know, obviously you were able to kind of jump on this like you did because of the 10, 20, 30,000 hours of experience that you have in this artist life that you live.

Speaker B:

You know, one of the things that.

Speaker B:

That.

Speaker B:

Yeah, and you kind of already mentioned sort of a list that you might have that.

Speaker B:

Of music that you're looking for, things that you.

Speaker B:

You hope to acquire.

Speaker B:

But when you walk into a record shop, it's just like a kid in a candy store.

Speaker B:

I mean, how do you even start?

Speaker B:

Like, is the view.

Speaker B:

Is it.

Speaker B:

Like, what do you have a process that you sort of are faithful to no matter the Shop?

Speaker B:

Or do you just sort of read the room and kind of go where your instincts take you?

Speaker B:

Like.

Speaker B:

Like, how do you.

Speaker B:

And I'm guessing you're spending hours in some of these shops, but, I mean, what is the method to the madness?

Speaker B:

How does the sausage get made?

Speaker B:

How do you find those little golden nuggets buried in the haystack there?

Speaker A:

Oh, man.

Speaker A:

Well, I hate to say this, it's totally embarrassing, but every time I walk into a record store.

Speaker A:

Every time almost.

Speaker A:

And it's not like because I'm getting older and I have some kind of prostate problem, but I always have to pee right as I get into a record store.

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker A:

It's like I get so excited.

Speaker A:

This is totally weird.

Speaker A:

I'm admitting too much maybe, but I'm telling you, I walk in, I get.

Speaker B:

There, it's like my kid plays a book, everybody poops, it's fine.

Speaker A:

Luckily, it's not a poop.

Speaker A:

I don't have to instantly poop when I get a record store.

Speaker A:

Into a record store, but I almost always have to pee.

Speaker A:

But yeah, anyway, so side anecdote there.

Speaker A:

But, yeah, I mean, I always have, like, whatever.

Speaker A:

I have, like, every year in my itunes playlist, I have songs that I'm just, like, loving that I don't have on vinyl, what I've just found out about.

Speaker A:

So I'm kind of have ones that are in my head at the time that I'm always looking for in stores.

Speaker A:

And then I just look, you know, I just look and look and look.

Speaker A:

And like I said before, it's always kind of more fun to.

Speaker A:

That's a label.

Speaker A:

I know.

Speaker A:

You know, that's.

Speaker A:

It's probably going to be good.

Speaker A:

Let me throw it on the turntable.

Speaker A:

Oh, my God.

Speaker A:

How did I never know about this one?

Speaker A:

And there's one that I just didn't even know about that I found, you know, that was a buck or whatever.

Speaker A:

So it's really.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

I mean, time spent.

Speaker A:

Lots of time spent.

Speaker A:

But those are kind of my two things.

Speaker A:

I have running lists in my head on my phone, and then I just like to kind of dig and see what I find, too.

Speaker B:

And.

Speaker B:

Good sign if you have to pee, maybe.

Speaker B:

Bad sign if you have to poop, Excellent sign if you get an erection.

Speaker B:

You know.

Speaker A:

That'S never how.

Speaker A:

I don't have a sexual reaction to music yet.

Speaker B:

Yeah, maybe.

Speaker A:

Maybe Barry White and Marvin Gaye, I guess.

Speaker B:

Give it time.

Speaker B:

Give it time.

Speaker B:

Sexual healing and whatnot.

Speaker A:

Exactly.

Speaker B:

I. I've never had to indulge in a.

Speaker B:

In a way as you do, because I'm not a dj.

Speaker B:

But, but I, but I do love going into a record shop.

Speaker B:

I mean, you know, for no other reason.

Speaker B:

It's, it takes me back to my youth because, you know, the cool kids these days, well, the cool, really cool kids these days love record shop.

Speaker B:

But many kids these days are just streaming music.

Speaker B:

They, they don't necessarily have that experience of going and finding the album or buying the album or throwing it on a turntable, but just the, the sheer volume of music, the sheer volume of artists.

Speaker B:

Has anybody ever quantified?

Speaker B:

I mean, my God, how many records have ever been recorded and produced?

Speaker B:

How many artists have ever recorded a song?

Speaker B:

I mean, it must be countless.

Speaker B:

I don't know that anybody really knows the answer to that.

Speaker A:

Oh, it's countless.

Speaker A:

And it's like, you know, most all of the DJs I know are pretty humble people because as soon as you think you know everything, you don't really know anything.

Speaker A:

You know, it's like I, I know a lot of Jamaican records, I know a lot of Brazilian records, but then I hang out with so and so and so and so.

Speaker A:

I'm like, didn't know that one.

Speaker A:

Didn't know, you know, like, it's, it's endless.

Speaker A:

And certain parts of the globe here in the States, Jamaica, Brazil, Africa, there's a lot of places where you just, certain eras were so prolific with good music that it's like you could never get to the bottom of it all.

Speaker B:

Yeah, man, it's just an embarrassment of riches in that way.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker A:

But that is, that is the pot.

Speaker A:

The most positive thing I found about streaming is, you know, no, they don't pay artists as much as they should be paid, but it is kind of like the library.

Speaker A:

Like I used to go to the library and when you could check out records back when I was a kid, you know, right now that's streaming for me.

Speaker A:

Oh, what's that?

Speaker A:

You know, how's that, what is that?

Speaker A:

Like, I can check it out there and if I really dig it, I go buy it, you know?

Speaker B:

Right, right.

Speaker A:

But it saves you from kind of like going and spending a bunch of, you know, your hard earned money on something, getting it home and it's not great.

Speaker B:

Yeah, well, but you know, you, you mentioned streaming and it's like as an artist, right, you have a love hate relationship, I'm sure, with streaming and, but you know, one of the downsides for me, because I'm not looking at my royalty check getting smaller and smaller because of course I don't get royalty checks because I'm not a musician.

Speaker B:

But the.

Speaker B:

But, but, but as a music listener.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

One of the things that I don't like about streaming, I mean.

Speaker B:

Well, let's start with the positive.

Speaker B:

One of the things I like about streaming is that of course, it's very convenient and easy to do.

Speaker A:

Absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker B:

Just let it play, let it shuffle, whatever.

Speaker B:

But the downside of that is I may or may not have somebody telling me what the hell I'm listening to.

Speaker B:

You know, one of the, one of the things that's great about listening to a great DJ on KCRW or some other station or whatever is that they're going to likely tell you the artist and a little bit about the music and the artist.

Speaker B:

You're going to have context, you're going to be able to have some knowledge and some history and some learning around that artist, around that song.

Speaker B:

With streaming, it's just like streaming, no breaks.

Speaker B:

And you might hear a great tune and if you don't take time to stop, you know, look at the song, favorite it, hard it, whatever, save it to your playlist, whatever, you may not know who that was.

Speaker B:

And if it, you know, if it's five minutes later and they moved on to the next song, you may, you know, you may not be able to figure out, well, who that artist was.

Speaker B:

And so, I don't know.

Speaker B:

I mean, just being able to have someone like you who, who understands not just a great song and, and, and what, what somebody might want to dance to, but to, to know the artist and the history and the, the origin story of that music is just.

Speaker B:

For me, it's priceless.

Speaker A:

Absolutely.

Speaker A:

There's so many positives about streaming and artists doing playlists on Spotify or Apple Music or whatever it might be.

Speaker A:

That's amazing because you're right, you get all that insight that someone might have all of their 10,000 hours of experience choosing these curated playlists for people to listen to.

Speaker A:

I think that's amazing.

Speaker A:

Really.

Speaker A:

The only thing I don't like about streaming is that these CEOs of the companies are billionaires and they're not sharing that money with all these artists they're making money off of.

Speaker A:

That's really the only thing I don't like about it.

Speaker A:

The platform itself and what it does is amazing.

Speaker B:

Amazing.

Speaker B:

It's amazing.

Speaker A:

I just don't like.

Speaker B:

Are you speaking of platforms, Speaking of platforms, what do you, what do you tend to listen and stream from?

Speaker B:

Do you.

Speaker A:

Are you a. I have, my kids have everything.

Speaker A:

I just log into The Apple Music one.

Speaker A:

It's easy for me because I have an iPhone, so I use Apple Music.

Speaker A:

I don't have Spotify.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

I recently started listening to Spotify because I've always been Apple Music guy, really.

Speaker B:

And then in recent months, really, I bit the bullet and signed up for Spotify and they've added this new feature, it's the DJ feature.

Speaker B:

And of course it's an AI empowered kind of dj, but it actually does a really interesting job of serving up music that is both.

Speaker B:

Well, it's all built on my kind of profile and listening history or whatever, but then it's able to play and insert and suggest other music based on the profile.

Speaker B:

And usually with the stream, with the referral kind of, if it's Netflix, you know, say, oh, you, you watch this movie, so you might like that movie.

Speaker B:

I generally hate that, you know, as a, as a rule.

Speaker B:

But whatever AI that Spotify is using for this DJ function, it really is surprising.

Speaker B:

Like it will break out some stuff.

Speaker B:

It's like, wow, okay, now that really feels like something that I do want to hear based on a previous, you know, selection or something.

Speaker B:

And, and, and yet there's also a voice.

Speaker B:

Like the DJ has a Persona and a voice and he'll talk to you and he'll tell you a little bit about the artist and it's, it's a, it's a really weird thing, but it's also really kind of amazing.

Speaker A:

Oh, that is cool.

Speaker A:

Yeah, that is amazing.

Speaker A:

I wonder if you could get the Australian woman's voice that does my Google Maps to be my dj.

Speaker A:

She can mispronounce names in Spanish.

Speaker B:

Yes, yes.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

So I don't know, man, I don't know.

Speaker B:

But it's incredible that you as a human and I think all these AI tools on a certain level, I think puts a premium on the handmade, the human made, the, you know, real handmade human made artwork and music and so on and so forth.

Speaker B:

But translating that human knowledge that you have as a, as a real working DJ of three decades or whatever it is, I mean, you know, that's what's baked into these playlists for art house and that's that kind of humanity that you're bringing to this, that you brought to this.

Speaker B:

And man, I couldn't, I can't thank you enough.

Speaker B:

It's a wonderful, wonderful job there, man.

Speaker A:

Musically obsessed record collector for three decades, DJing maybe 15 years.

Speaker A:

I finally started doing it about that long ago.

Speaker A:

All my friends were DJs and they're like, dude, you have so many records, you got a dj, you can make money and buy more records.

Speaker A:

So just full disclosure, there's folks who've been doing it way long, but, yeah, I think about 15 years now.

Speaker A:

I've been doing it it, but so much fun.

Speaker A:

I love DJing for people, love making curated cool playlists for people.

Speaker A:

So, so grateful to get to do it for you guys.

Speaker A:

Well, I, and hopefully inspire when you.

Speaker B:

Do it for us.

Speaker B:

We love when you DJ our events.

Speaker B:

You, you've done a few of our events and of course, we've worked on several projects together.

Speaker B:

And, and you, you, you bring, you bring the, you brought the juice yet again, my friend.

Speaker A:

The juice.

Speaker B:

The juice.

Speaker B:

Well, speaking of juice, I know you're a busy man, I know you've got things to do, but.

Speaker B:

But before we go, you know, you've had a chance to look at Art House and think about Art House.

Speaker B:

Obviously you've curated this playlist for Art House.

Speaker B:

What do you, you know, as an artist, as somebody who's, you know, we've worked together, you know, why do you think Arthouse, as a project, as a TV show, why do you think there's value in it and there's a meaning to it?

Speaker B:

Like, why, why do you find it to the extent that you find it, you know, to be at a.

Speaker B:

To be.

Speaker B:

What's the word?

Speaker B:

I want, you know, I don't know, a meaningful show.

Speaker B:

Like, what, what resonates with you about it?

Speaker A:

The thing that resonates with me about it is, you know, we, in our society, there's, you know, we need doctors, we need lawyers, and thank God for all them.

Speaker A:

And people who, you know, do amazing things and are on different pay scales than, you know, others are artists, for the most part, are, you know, kind of living pretty month to month.

Speaker A:

And I think pairing people and communities with local artists is just about the coolest thing you could do because it gives all those.

Speaker A:

It beautifies people's homes, it gives people, you know, just income for doing their amazing craft that takes years and years to do.

Speaker A:

And I think the more we can, we can give people work to do these beautifications, whether it be paintings or sculptures or stained glass or music is just about the coolest thing you can do with your money.

Speaker A:

All of the amazing artists in your community could really use some support to keep doing this beautiful stuff that they do.

Speaker A:

So thanks for doing this, Scott.

Speaker A:

It's awesome.

Speaker B:

Hey, man.

Speaker B:

Hey.

Speaker B:

Thank you.

Speaker B:

Well, you're welcome.

Speaker B:

And thank you.

Speaker B:

And you know, my passion for years and Years have always been about really helping artists tell their stories and promote their work.

Speaker B:

And, you know, we want to do that in novel and interesting ways, but we also want to do it in a way that has mass market appeal.

Speaker B:

The so called art world's done a very good job of making art as a positioning art, visual art in particular, as a luxury item that should be collected and, you know, for economic benefit or what have you.

Speaker B:

And the truth of the matter is there are millions and millions of independent working artists and communities all over this country that need support and need, you know, to be lifted up and celebrated and elevated and, And.

Speaker B:

And that's what, you know, a show like Art House does, because we're not, you know, we're.

Speaker B:

We're going to Toledo, we're going to Topeka, you know, and, and we're gonna talk to those artists there, you know, we're gonna work with people there.

Speaker B:

And, you know, you talk about the earth without art is just meh.

Speaker B:

You know, I believe that art isn't a luxury.

Speaker B:

It's fundamental.

Speaker B:

And whether it's music or visual art, we need it in our lives.

Speaker B:

Because at the end of the day, it's not an economic asset, it's a spiritual asset.

Speaker A:

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker A:

It's a spiritual asset.

Speaker A:

It lifts you up, lifts you up every day, whether you're looking at it or listening to it or holding it.

Speaker A:

Buy a print, buy an lp, buy a small sculpture, buy a small piece of stained glass, whatever you can afford, whatever is in your budget.

Speaker A:

But artists all need support and it's so cool to give it to them.

Speaker B:

Right on, brother.

Speaker A:

Let's keep this art beautiful.

Speaker B:

Thank you for supporting our project.

Speaker B:

Thank you for being you brother.

Speaker B:

And just keep on keeping on.

Speaker A:

You are so welcome.

Speaker A:

And that's the plan.

Speaker B:

Dan Ubig, DJ Constantine.

Speaker B:

Thank you, brother.

Speaker B:

Thank you.

Speaker A:

You're so welcome, Scott.

Speaker A:

Love you, bud.

Speaker B:

Love you, man.

Speaker B:

Peace.

Speaker A:

See you soon.

Speaker B:

Oh, yeah.

Speaker B:

Thanks for listening to the Not Real Art podcast.

Speaker B:

Please make sure to like this episode, write a review, and share with your friends on Social.

Speaker B:

Also, remember to subscribe so you get all of our new episodes.

Speaker B:

Not Real Art is produced by Crew West Studios in Los Angeles.

Speaker B:

Our theme music was created by Ricky Pageau and Desi Delauro from the band parlor Social.

Speaker B:

Not Real Art is created by, we edit podcasts and hosted by Captivate.

Speaker B:

Thanks again for listening to Not Real Art.

Speaker B:

We'll be back soon with another inspiring episode celebrating creative culture and the artists who make it.

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