AJ Dance Legacy

BAKE A CAKE

The Dutch may not be famous for eloquent cuisine or musically inclined palettes as they are for wooden shoes or tulips but Tommy Largo showed BPM Sessions how to musically “bake a cake” from scratch.

DJ/producer Tommy Largo hails from one of Netherlands larger municipalities Arnhem, known for its greenery and parks. Arnhem’s population of over 700,000 situated between the Veluwe nature reserve and the Rhine river, located in the eastern region of the country may not be known for jackin’ house music but a quarter of the city’s population belongs to the creative arts industry, fit for the sounds of funky house to jack form Tommy Largo’s stereo system. Although the Dutch are described as being very reserved and respecting of privacy, Tommy Largo “gezelligheid” (had a great time) the small group of gatherers assembled for the monthly installment of BPM Sessions at the Music Room.

The Music Room sits underneath the warm smells of a pizzeria where sixteen lanes of concrete interstate divide the Old Fourth Ward district from downtown. Safely nestled within the pizza eatery’s basement, Music Room’s interior appears a bit snazzy walking down a flight of steps that provide a grand overview of the brown- washed room. This is the see and be seen stairwell that makes for an extravagant entrance and gives the impression you are “IT” as heads turned to eyeball your descent. A lavish birthday celebration was set to begin next to the exhibitionist stairwell in a quaint cozy lounge where red balloons attached to leather chocolate lounge chairs and chocolate sofas danced in the air. The cozy lounge appeared very welcoming and unassuming until a note read, “reserved.”

At the mouth of the stairwell there sat a newly built, varnished, brown, hardwood, 6 feet by 8 feet dance floor lifted a couple of inches off the concrete floor. Upon that sat two giant speakers positioned kitty- corner on the floor next to mud-brown painted walls. The spacious square- shaped bar behind the dance floor saw little action. The people seated at the bar seemed heavily concentrated in conversations while others observed the opening DJ’s play in a custom built spacious DJ booth across from the bar against a brick wall. To the right of the elevated DJ booth, sat another open, spacious concrete area for dancers. There, a projector showcased a late 1980’s comedy movie against a white wall to the backdrop of funky house music. Those few engaged in the dance preferred this space of knee-hard concrete compared to the feet friendly wooden dance floor towards the room’s derriere. However, the space’s most compelling feature was the orthodoxies distributed about the venue. Several Jesus and Mary figurines and trinity fish symbols decorating the venue severed as sober reminders of the spiritual side. Not to mention the keeping at bay of evil spirits.

Anyways, shifting the focus back to Tommy Largo’s baking skills or it should be said mixing skills. The base ingredients needed to bake a cake from scratch start with flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, milk and salt. The mix’s framework or flour for the cake consisted of a mixture of unadulterated funky 4 count jackin’ beats that made the body jack for joy. Two eggs or in this case groove driven bass guitar lines provided the connecting structure needed to keep the mix together. Next, one and one third cups of sugar filled funky samples ranging from sexy saxophones to swirling keys provided the necessary sweetness of jack. A half teaspoon of salty electronic beeps and burps punched a bit of tech-house into the musical mix. Three teaspoons of baking powder for that Chicago acid house combined with the liquid of milky vocals definitely caused the room to rise with anticipated joy. Of course, a sweet isn’t sinfully decadent without some fat or phat. The one fourth cup of unsalted, buttered phat musical rhythms and the same amount of vegetable oil of phat melodies used for extra added moisture did the trick. However, the sole ingredient to not be left out-and if it is left out does the cake or mix no justice- is the one teaspoon of pure Chicago Jack extract added for aromatic flavor. Just a dab did the trick because a little Chicago Jack goes along way. Trust me.

Tommy Largo briskly mixed the ingredients (music) on the 1’s and 2’s using a state of the art mixer. The beats were baked fresh in preheated hot stereo surround sound speakers for 30 to 35 minutes. The toothpick test- stuck in the center of the freshly baked treat only to emerge clean and smooth-proved the beats were dance floor ready and jack worthy. After a 5 minute cool down session out came the whipped frosting of smooth funk topped with a few chopped strawberry vocals. Yes!!!!

It was the mix’s harmonious flavors from swing house to Tommy Largo’s own funky houser, “Bake A Cake” that made the room sway from left to right. Other notables included DJ Gemini’s, “Where Do I Go?” Tommy Largo’s upcoming, “More Love To Give” and the whimsical Chris Carrier’s ““Beat Du Matin.”

The end result was a melt-in-your-mouth morsel full of robust flavor of funky dance beats that jacked the body. Served up on a heaping platter of foot-stomping and hand-clapping rhythms the sounds fell fresh on deprived ears of jack lovers. The mix, so moist, fell from the speakers and fed the hungry mouths. The music, so easy to swallow, caused the once hungry mouths to moan deep, “hmmms” and soulful “yummms” of filled satisfaction. The cake proved this is what has been amiss in the city’s house music scene.

The night’s only sizable issue had nothing to do with the music but the crowd, or the lack thereof. For a fecund international DJ/producer to travel across the pond and deliver jackin’ house-worthy of industry attention the support of souls could have been far greater and more appreciative.

Photography by Luis V for Dynamite Entertainment Group DEG