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Classic mixes and more

Ricardo Torres — 2010-04-17T20:15:53-07:00

People are always asking where are my classic mixes from the early 2000's. The reason I don't keep everything here is mainly because of space and bandwidth but now you can find them on the new WCC site. We have completely revamp our site for 2010. You have to check it out. Big up to Kevin for doing this. Here is the description from the WCC site for The Vault:

As we’re doing a bit of 2010 ‘house’ cleaning to the website in order to make it a bit more fan-friendly, we certainly couldn’t remove ALL the mixes we’ve done over the past 10 years. So for a limited time, we’ve decided to create “The WCC Vault” of classic mixes.
Here you can find a range of mixes from house, to downtempo, to funk, soul, and all around amazing music that we’ve put together over our journey through the past 10 years. Hope you enjoy and certainly feel free to pass these along to all that might enjoy.

WCC RADIO EP-028 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2010-04-17T20:20:56-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-028 (April 2010) is ready for download on the radio page either as an AAC or MP3 file. I apologize for not updating the blog often but I've been real busy these last few weeks with personal and professional things. I've been keeping up to date with the radio shows but I haven't been posting entries about it on this page. I did not skip a month you can find WCC RADIO EP-027 on the same page as EP-028. You will notice that there is new drops on the last two shows. They are done by our LA friend Louis Hale who does killer spoken word. Actually he and Torin (of the WCC) have done an amazing track that they are shopping right now. Can you say Defected Peak Time? This is going to destroy the dance floors this summer. In the meantime enjoy EP-028 (and 27 if you haven't download) and rate it on the radio after you've listen to it. Stay soulful!

New mix "FALLING"

Ricardo Torres — 2010-02-22T17:18:15-08:00

This is one of those mixes that just came about cause I was in the mood. It is not my most "underground" mix but I think it's pretty uplifting. To be honest I did this just for myself to try to cheer me up as music has that healing power sometimes.

With tracks from Miguel Migs, Lisa Shaw, Tortured Soul, Blaze, and Samantha James, among others, you can see the direction and the sound of it. The title could mean a lot of things but don't read too much into it. House music is about positivity and love and we all need a little bit of that in our lives sometimes. We are not perfect creatures but we have to try to do the right thing as hard as that is sometimes. You will find this one in the current mixes page. I hope you like it.

This Saturday Feb 27th WCC vs 3 Amigos

Ricardo Torres — 2010-02-22T14:28:02-08:00

Saturday February 27th is the date. Two of Los Angeles’ heavy weight crews (we mean that literally cause we have Torin) will have it out and the battlefield will be BALANCE.
Get ready for The West Coast Collective vs The Three Amigos. Kevin, Dustin, Torin, and Ricardo of the WCC have been training hard and we have been practicing our ninja house moves to take on these worthy opponents. We are sure that Adam Auburn, DJ Depth, and David Bullock of the Amigos haven’t been sitting on their butts either.
Someone told us that one of their secret weapon move is something called the “Dirty Sanchez”. We’re not sure what that is but we have no fear cause Torin’s spatula can stop anything!
This epic legendary battle will be know in the history books as “Hollywoods HOUSE MUSIC NINJA Showdown”.
RSVP HERE to get in Free before 11pm!

WCC vs 3 AMIGOS video flyer

Ricardo Torres — 2010-02-22T14:23:55-08:00

WCC RADIO EP-026 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2010-02-05T22:58:59-08:00

WCC RADIO EP-026 (February 2010) is ready for download on the radio page either as an AAC or MP3 file. Second one of the year already. The first half of the show starts off and stays pretty soulful but picks up to some peak time tracks on hour 2. New tunes from Jay-J, Guy Robin, Reelsoul and others. Classic 90s garage from Butter on the great Smack label, classic Joey Negro and some amazing edits that you won't find at any store by Mario Dubbz and by Jask of Thaisoul. I hope you like this episode and as always tell me what you think by leaving a comment and/or rating the mix on the radio page.

The second I Love LA is coming

Ricardo Torres — 2010-02-05T22:51:59-08:00

Don't forget also February 27th at BALANCE. WCC vs The 3 Amigos. It's going to be crazy...

WCC vs The 3 Amigos February 27th

Ricardo Torres — 2010-01-08T09:49:26-08:00

WCC Live @ BALANCE Dec. 26th

Ricardo Torres — 2009-12-13T19:09:05-08:00

The WCC are finishing the year strong with a rocking after x-mas party at their favorite house club - BALANCE Los Angeles. Dustin, Torin, and Ricardo will be throwing down and will make you lose the extra pounds that you gained during the holiday. You will dance baby! We will play lots of classics and some of the best house tracks of the year.

Again we will be recording the full 6 hours and broadcasting live audio and video for those who can't attend on insoulwetrust.com We really hope to see you there! It's going to be hot - we can feel it!

City Sonar Vol 3 is here

Ricardo Torres — 2009-12-13T17:55:27-08:00

So who likes Deep House? Well, it seems like a lot of you because people can't seem to get enough of the City Sonar series. This was never intended to be a series but because of the great feedback it got I did a vol 2. Now vol 3 is here and it's pretty clear where the trend is going... as long as you guys dig it there will be more of City Sonar. This one has some nice old and new skool deep cuts. I think it might the deeper one of all the sets so far. It's very dubby with not too many vocals. I always try not to alienate people too much by going too underground with my mixes but since this series is really meant for the heads it doesn't matter. WCC Radio takes care of the cross over House and City Sonar just takes you deeper into that journey. I hope you enjoy the latest installment of this Deep House series. Please let me know what you think of it by leaving me a comment and rating it on the mixes page.

WCC RADIO EP-024 Special Classics Show

Ricardo Torres — 2009-12-07T12:25:24-08:00

WCC Radio EP-024 is here. Last one of the 2009. Two freakin' years already!! Actually if you count when the show was called "Shameless Sessions" then it's been longer than that and boy do I have a treat for you with this one. I was in San Francisco for the Thanks Giving holiday to hang out with my bud Jay-J. He was doing a gig with his old producer partner Chris Lum at Temple on friday and then on Saturday he was playing with Julius Papp and David Harness at Mars Bar for a classics night. OMG they blew the roof of that place. The music was incredible, the mixing was flawless and the crowd gave me hope about the scene again. All the old heads came out. They left the kids with the babysitter and came out for one reason only: to dance! Watching and listening to these 3 veteran of the West Coast Sound playing back to back and switching it up every 30 minutes was so inspiring (BTW Jay-J recorded the set and he will have it as a podcast soon). Hence EP-024 which are some of my favorite classics. Not the usual stuff you hear in these classics show but more like the stuff that wasn't overplayed. If you were a club rat like I was in the mid to late 90's you will go "hell yeah" and raise your hands in the air as you listen to this set. You might have to take out the baby powder for the full experience (the heads know what I'm talking about:) I had to dust off some the old vinyls for some of these tracks so I apologize in advance for the fluctuating sound quality of the set. I also need to thank Jay-J for hooking me up with some of these tracks that are virtually impossible to find anymore and will never come out as digital.

It's funny that after I wrote that entry about our scene things seem to be showing signs of improvement. The San Francisco trip certainly made me come back with a smile and new energy and hope. Here in Los Angeles things seem to be picking up also. Some new local events (that actually play soulful house) are filling the clubs. Tortured Soul played this past week end and the place was also packed with happy people that just wanted to get their groove on. We might turn this ship around after all. Thank you to all who contributed to the entry and wrote in their two cents.

Please let me know what you think of this episode. Thanks to all who have supported the show these last two years. Hope we can keep it going for a lot more.

Is Soulful House Dying?

Ricardo Torres — 2009-11-10T16:24:49-08:00

My site and my newsletter is a vehicle to let you guys know about new mixes and upcoming gigs. I rarely rant or use the newsletter or my site to stand on a soapbox but I do feel that this subject is connected to those two things and I would like to talk about it and ask your take on it. The Soulful (deep, funky, whatever) House scene has been changing a lot over the last few years. The recent worldwide recession and financial crisis has left the music and clubbing business almost dead. Here, in Los Angeles, it is so difficult to have people come out. The heads are being very selective about where they go when they do go out. The piece of the pie has gotten much smaller and all the promoters are fighting for it. When a house promoter has an event and people don't come to it, week after week, they start to second guest the style of music they picked for their night. Especially when they see the Hip Hop club across the street packed or the club next to it that plays cheesy electro with a line of people to get in. So guest what? we have less and less house nights which in turns means that (soulful) house DJs have less gigs (where they really make their money) so they start making other type of music (like freakin' hard electro) so they can get gigs and so on, and so on. It's like a domino effect.

Is that how a scene dies? Or if you look at it in another way, is that how a scene is re-born? As our house nights are leaving the big clubs I noticed that they are going back to the underground where they originally came from. To me this is not a bad thing because the people who are taking it there are the ones who still do it for the love of House (yeah I know it's a cliche). This is easy for me to say because I'm not making a living out of producing House Music or playing gigs. I don't think I will ever compromise the style of music I love to play and listen to so I can get more gigs or get more "fans". I would rather stop playing out and only have 50 people download my mixes than to start playing like David Guetta (no disrespect to his work and style). At least I'll know that those 50 people really appreciate it and are of the same mind set as me. I know that just like me when that bass line kicks in they are going to close their eyes, say "dammmmm" and start bopping their head (don't do this while driving). I totally understand those who are changing their soulful style to something that is more popular, after all like everybody else they have to eat and pay the bills. I'm just glad that I'm not in that position.

Another argument that I'm also hearing is that the younger generation of clubbers don't dig the soulful stuff and prefer the harder techno / electro beats. I'm not convinced about that. I do agree that a soulful/deep house sound is for a more mature listener but I just feel that the new heads need to be exposed to it more. A good example is the Martinez Bros. These guys were introduced to House since they were toddlers and grew up, thanks to their father who was a Paradise Garage head, listening to this style of music. Look at them today. They are really successful DJs and travel all over the world spreading their sound. Another good example is also a young singer from Spain named Laura Estrada (one of her tracks is in the latest radio show - track 6). This girl is a future House Diva in the making. She has an incredible soulful voice and listening to her you would never guest she is only 20 years old. It's not just DJs and singers but also club promoters / managers who are trying to do their part. I'm not sure if this is public knowledge yet so I won't get into the details but I was recently talking to a someone who will manage a fairly large new club in Europe (that opens next year) who will stick to House and who said that they don't want the usual same old tired DJs. Things like that give me hope for the future and the survival of House.

My question to you is how are things with Soulful House where you live? I know how they are here in Los Angeles and the West Coast in general. Is it the same in your city? If you have an opinion or want to respond to this rant leave a comment below.

(getting off the soap box)

WCC RADIO EP-023 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-11-10T18:34:06-08:00

WCC RADIO EP-023 (November 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC or MP3 file. This one starts off real soulful and then picks up with a mixture of deep, classics, and jakin' tracks. I hope you enjoy the November episode of WCC Radio and please rate it on the radio page after you listen to it. Next up is City Sonar vol 3, the now popular Deep House series of mixes. Thank you all for the support.

Back in Montréal

Ricardo Torres — 2009-11-01T23:47:20-08:00

On Wednesday November 4th I'll have the chance to play back in my hometown of Montréal at an event called "Les Mercredis DJ" which takes place at Mange Boire in Little Italy. I will be playing with up and coming producer and DJ Bacanito who has had a few releases on UK's Baldeelox label. It's going to be a really fun night of great people and great straight up House Music. If you live in Montréal I hope you can stop by and say hi. I will probably start spinning around 9 or 10pm. I heard the food is fantastic there also so if you plan to come early and eat I suggest to make a reservation.

Mange Boire is at 6961 St-Laurent street / corner of Bélanger. If you need to make reservations call 514-242-2316

IPhone Web App of the site

Ricardo Torres — 2009-11-01T23:43:10-08:00

If you own an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch you will be interested to know that I build a web app version of my site optimized for those Apple gizmos. It is a micro site that will allow you to stream WCC Radio and the mixes right off your mobile device. You need to be in a wifi zone for it to work. The web app will also work in a cellular zone if your using it on an iPhone but because of the size of the mixes' stream 3G works best. This mobile site will be handy if you want to listen to one of the mixes and you haven't download it yet. Besides the mixes there is a way to send me a quick message and my bio. You can also create a button for the site that will go straight into your home screen for quick access.

There is no special address to go to either. When on your iPhone or iPod Touch just type djricardotorres.com in your Safari browser and you will be automatically directed to the web app. I still need to populate it with all the radio shows and studio mixes but the latest ones are there to get you started.

WCC RADIO EP-022, Sandra & Torin

Ricardo Torres — 2009-10-10T13:43:41-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-022 (October 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC or MP3 file. I think this one has turned to be one of my favorites. This show just glides with soulful tracks bordering the deep side. It really sounds like one of my live sets. I think it came out good because I didn't put too much thought into it and kind of didn't pick the tracks in advance. I had an idea of what I wanted to play but in no particular order.

Early in the set there is a very cool and soulful edit from Jask of Maxwell's "Ascenssion" that always gets people to the dance floor early. The bass line kills it. Mr Patron is also back with more bootlegs that just take you back and makes you want to sing along. Rambone Sold (not their real name but sounds just like it ;) comes back strong with a Marvin Gaye bootleg which is not your usual putting an accapella over a house beat. It's an amazing production of the classic "Heard it Through The Grapevine". My friends Yogi & Huski from Random Soul (sounds familiar?) were also visiting Los Angeles from Australia this week. They were staring their US West Coast tour and they have hooked me up with some of their amazing, yet unreleased tracks that will be coming out in the near future. Check out "Just Bounce" and "Got To Get Up" - funkin' jackin'.

The big news this month is that two people that are very close to me have brand new releases. The most beautiful girl in the world, AKA my wife Sandra Lima has 3 releases out and one of them is with my WCC brother Torin Rea. First, her track with Irish producer Scope is #4 on Beatport's Deep House chart. The track is called "This Rhythm" and you can hear it on my latest CIty Sonar Deep House mix. It's track #4. For now this release is exclusive to Beatport. She also has a new song on Reel Grooves with UK producer Greg Dorban. The Stereo Mutants kill it with their remix of "Get To Me" (track #9 on this episode). You can find this release on Traxsource.

Finally Sandra has her first track out with our friend and my WCC partner Torin Rea. "My Kind Of Saturday Night" (track #19 on this episode) is a fun, funky track that will get any dance floor going. This production killed it when Torin played the first draft of it at Balance a few months ago. Torin also has another release out with another LA singer named Erin Powers called "Duplicity". I will play this one on the next show. Both of these tracks will soon be available on the Baldeelox label from the UK. They are now out as promos for DJs to get their reactions.

I hope you enjoy WCC RADIO EP-022. Let me know what you think of it by rating it on the radio page after you hear it or leave a comment here. Please also support Sandra and Torin by purchasing their tracks and keep House Music alive!

Opening for Random Soul @ BALANCE

Ricardo Torres — 2009-10-02T00:05:09-07:00

This Saturday, October 3rd, I will have the pleasure to open up for my friends Yogi & Husky of Random Soul at BALANCE. They are kicking off their US tour here in Los Angeles. If you live in the LA area do yourself a favor and come check out these guys. Yogi is an amazing singer and he also plays keyboards during their DJ sets. I hope to see you there. I'm playing from 10pm to about 12:30am and Random Soul will close the night.

City Sonar Vol 2 now available

Ricardo Torres — 2009-10-02T00:09:46-07:00

I really didn't think I was going to make a regular series out of the last City Sonar but it seems there is a lot of Deep House fans out there who want more. So ladies and gentlemen the City Sonar series is officially a ... series. Vol 2 is now available for download in the current mixes page.

WCC Radio is not so much Deep even if I throw in a Deep House tune from time to time. I felt I have slowly gotten away from it over the years. That style is really how I started playing house music all those years ago. Also my first mixes online (in 2000!) were Deep House. They were hosted on the Deep House Networks and I know that some of you have those even if you can't find them online anymore. I'm glad there are still kats out there who are enjoying good Deep House. It seems the new generation of kids who are into house music like the harder (dare I say Electro) tunes when they go out and the Soulful and Deeper stuff is being played less and less in the clubs. It's sad but it might not be a bad thing. If anything those two styles will be pushed underground again and they will find their roots and come back even stronger. I for one am looking forward to that.

I hope you enjoy Vol 2 od City Sonar. I think this one is deeper than the last one. New and classic deep house tracks (some that I even played on vinyl). One notable mention is the Makam remix of the track Attica on Freerange. Wholly poop that track is incredible. It reminds me of the great Deep House from the late 90s and early 2000. Makam kills it as it goes from Deep to Funky and then back again. Like the boys at Stompy say it's the talk of the town. Keep it Deep!!

WCC Live @ BALANCE with live broadcast

Ricardo Torres — 2009-09-06T14:22:39-07:00

Yes it's that time again. The WCC will be doing their 6 hour little deal at BALANCE this Saturday Sept. 12th. I know that those of you who don't live in Los Angeles really care cause well... you can't be there. This time you will have the chance to kind of be there virtually. The nice folks at In Soul We Trust will be broadcasting live our full night (video and audio) on Ustream.com. You can watch the broadcast on Ustream or right here on this page since I will embed the video and the chat for that night. I hope you get a chance to join in and jump on the chat board to talk to us. If you are nice we might even take requests :)

If you live in LA no excuses and make sure you come support us. Experiencing the WCC live in person with the proper sound system is in another league than watching it on your computer plus we are better looking in person since the camera adds like ten pounds on us.... See you Saturday!

BALANCE is every Saturday at Club King King.
6555 Hollywood Blvd. @ Whitley. Enter in back.

10pm-4am... 21 & over with ID

WCC RADIO EP-021 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-09-06T00:03:20-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-021 (September 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC or MP3 file. I'm not quite sure how to describe this episode. My last mix, City Sonar, was very deep and this set is a lot more "Funky House" as they say in the UK. Definitely more peak time clubby with a some updated cool edits of past popular songs. There is a nice throw back to 90s with DJ Dan's "I Don't Care" and that processed robot voice that so many funk groups were using then. In term of the new stuff I'm really digging the Soul Purpose EP which has two killer tracks (both in this show) and the new Sonny Fondera EP which I think is really bringing Jackin' to the masses. I have to admit that MJ has been overplayed lately but I couldn't help myself and I included another one of his remixes. In my defense it is the remix of the title track from my favorite Michael album "Off The Wall". The chorus "So tonight gotta leave that nine to five upon the shelf, And just enjoy yourself" is one the most beautiful melodies and I fell for it again! I promise that I will leave Michael "on the shelf" in the future episodes and let him R.I.P. After that MJ remix I kicked into Disco gear with one of my favorite feel good songs "I Feel Good Things For You", some Donna Summers and a great re-work of A Taste of Honey's "Boogie No More" by Dorfmeister vs Madrid De Los Austrias. Overall this a great set to listen to while your doing your cardio at the gym. It's a lot of the tracks that I have on my iPod when I'm at the gym.

If you are a House snob and want a more deeper and underground sound (just kidding about the House snob remark ;) you'll be happy to hear that I already picked out most of the tracks for City Sonar Vol2. I'll have that mix on the site in about two weeks just in time for my next SS Radio show. I have been getting great feedback about Vol 1 and Deep House is still my first love. The City Sonar series is making those people who thought I was getting away from Deep House happy. WCC Radio for the bumping, soulful, funky house sounds and City Sonar for those who prefer it Deeper, darker and dubbier. Everyone happy!

Jay-J's LOVE ALIVE is finally here

Ricardo Torres — 2009-09-05T23:32:28-07:00

My good friend Jay-J has spent the last two years crafting his debut artist album, LOVE ALIVE which is a smooth collection of meaningful and positive songs about love and sensuality. I also pretty much spend the last two years talking about it on this site as I saw the album progress from a few rough ideas on his laptop to what it turned out to be today. More than just "dancefloor music", Jay-J delivers the goods and raises the bar with this strong, lyrically driven, warm and uplifting album. Not bound by any particular genre, Love Alive touches upon a wide range of music ranging from soulful house to downtempo chill to R&B and electro. Thoughtful lyrics and beautiful vocals are provided by Big "Brooklyn" Red, Michelle Shaprow, Charlene Moore, Brian "BAM" Morgan, Judy Albanese and Fabian Leo with lush sounds and edgy instrumentation performed by a slew of notable musicians including Scott Wozniak (Large/Defected) and Tim K. (Home & Garden/Collette/Lucy Woodard/OM Records).

The remixes are also coming and they are going to be hot! I again had the privilege to hear some of them and I am itching to play them out and on the radio show but I can't yet.... for now they only live in my car until the promos come out. Some of the names that are remixing for Jay-J are Miguel Migs, Jon Cutler, JT Donaldson, Giom, Ron Carroll, Morten Trust, Random Soul, Roberto De Carlo, Joshua Heath, Ethan White (Tortured Soul), DJ Meme, Deep Josh, Harley and Muscle, Christian Alvarez and many more.

Jay-J has a dedicated web page to the album on his site where you can see videos and hear radio interviews about how the album came about. You will also find there links to all the different retailers that carry the album and all of it's bonus tracks. Please visit the LOVE ALIVE page to get all the details.

As I mentioned previously Jay-J had contest which allowed fans to remix the title track from his album. The quality of all the remixes was really amazing and it was hard for him to pick the winner and the runners up but after many hours of listening to the submissions here are his 3 picks in their respective order (my favorite was #2 the Jon Milson remix):

New Studio Mix - CITY SONAR

Ricardo Torres — 2009-08-19T21:47:14-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a mix that is not a radio show. Doing WCC Radio once a month doesn't give me too much time to do other regular sets. The last one, Happy Hour on the West Coast, was done in December of last year. I decided this time to keep it strictly Deep and underground to differentiate it from the radio show. Ladies and gentlemen I give you CITY SONAR - vol. 1. This is a really moody late night set with a pinch of soul on two or three cuts. The majority of the tracks are just head bopping deep tunes with some live edit acapellas layered in. I hope you dig it and find it different. Don't forget to rate it and let me know if you like it cause I'll do more. I want to make a series of Deep sets - that's why this is volume 1. Download as an indexed ACC or regular mp3 on the Current Mixes page.

Why I DJ (minus the Cocaine)

Ricardo Torres — 2009-08-19T21:44:54-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-020 special extended live set

Ricardo Torres — 2009-07-27T00:05:03-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-020 (August 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an indexed ACC or regular MP3 file. I can't believe that we are already at 20 episodes into it. If you've downloaded all of the episodes you should have around 40 hours of house music from our little show. If you were a listener when the show was called Shameless Sessions than you can double those hours.

Since it's the 20th episode I took this show out of the studio to give you the live recording of when I had the chance to warm up the dance floor of BALANCE for my friend Jay-J last Saturday night. This is my full set before Jay-J jumped into the decks so this show is a little longer than usual. Almost 3 hours. You might hear a couple of songs that I had already played in EP-019 but in a different context. If you've never experienced BALANCE this will give you a taste of what that amazing club is all about. It was a great night and as usual the crowd was awesome with it's amazing dancers. The show fades out when Jay-J started his set. You will get a chance to hear him when he puts up his portion on his podcast. Just for the record you will hear a bunch of "Jay-J" drops especially near the end. He really isn't that narcissistic. That was me doing those to f@#$k with him because he is a such a low key and humble guy... I was trying to embarrass him. I didn't succeed.

The show can also be streamed or podcast on SS Radio UK but this is a two hour edit of the show.

LOVE ALIVE promo video

Ricardo Torres — 2009-07-12T22:08:33-07:00

As mentioned in the last post Jay-J will be releasing this summer his first full artist album named LOVE ALIVE.

To promote it Jay-J and I had an idea to create a video which includes a 2 minute medley of all the tracks in the album. The idea is to make it go viral. We will soon upload an HD version of the video on YouTube where people will be able to embed it in their blogs and so on.

In the meantime you can it preview it right here.

Opening for Jay-J @ BALANCE

Ricardo Torres — 2009-07-12T22:02:59-07:00

I am so freaking excited about this coming Saturday night. I'll have the privilege and the honor to open at BALANCE for my favorite producer and DJ in the House Music scene. The legendary and only Jay-J. He truly is my inspiration and I aspire to be as good as him someday. He defines the West Coast Sound like no one else. I'm not just saying that to suck up to him cause over the years he has become more than a friend. He is family. So my admiration for him is genuine (plus I know enough dirt on him to black mail him:)

Jay-J is touring right now to promote the release of his first artist album LOVE ALIVE. I've had the oportunity to hear the finish album and it is amazing. The artists lined up to do remixes for the singles of this album are the cream of the crop in House Music. People like Miguel Migs, Kerry Chandler, Random Soul, Chuck Love, Giom to name a few. Not only that but Jay-J is also giving the opportunity to an unsigned up and coming producer to remix the title track of the album. If you produce that could mean YOU. Jay-J will pick himself the winning entry and the remix will be release on his label Shifted Music. There is also additional prices from some of the sponsors.

The contest officially starts on July 17th. So on that date check out the Shifted Music Remix Contest for all the details and on how to get the samples and sound files to do your remix.

If you live in Los Angeles or will be here next Saturday please come by. It will be a night to remember. If you live somewhere else keep an eye on when Jay-J will be visiting your city with his tour.

WCC RADIO EP-019 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-07-05T14:05:31-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-019 (July 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC or MP3 file. Summer is officially here on our side of the hemisphere and this show reflects that with light summer tunes from the pass and present and then really picks up on the second hour. This show is meant to be played loud in your convertible car as you drive up the coast. Ok maybe that's no everyone but I'm sure you can substitute the Pacific Coast Highway with what ever is a scenic road in your corner of the planet. We tend to forget here in Southern California how lucky we are to have this scenery. I for one often get inspired just by driving or biking up and down PCH.

One of the sad things that the month of June will be remember for was the passing of Michael Jackson. I don't care what he did or did not do in his personal life and we can debate that for years to come but the one thing that no one can argue is that he was an amazing musical talent and genius. So, among the thousands of DJs that are paying tribute to him I finish the show with my favorite Michael Jackson song of all times, "Rock With You" from his "Off The Wall" album produced by Quincy Jones. Of course this isn't the plain album version but the amazing Masters At Work remix of "Rock With You". This is not a bootleg but a remix that was commissioned by Epic, MJ's label. What an honor it must have been for Louis Vega and Kenny Dope to be asked to do this. I'm sure it means even more now. RIP Michael Jackson.

The WCC is on Twitter

Ricardo Torres — 2009-06-03T22:59:20-07:00

The WCC has joined the next social networking fad, Twitter. Dustin, Kevin, Torin and myself will be Twittering to update you when we have new mixes, new gigs and anything else WCC. If you Twitter join us and let's give new meaning to Uniting People Through House Music.

WCC Live @ BALANCE this Saturday June 6th

Ricardo Torres — 2009-06-01T21:31:32-07:00

This Saturday June 6th the WCC will be back at what has become almost a rotating residency at our favorite house club, BALANCE. Dustin, Kevin and myself will be playing for another 6 hours. We will be recording again to post the set in the near future. Actually chances are that you will soon be getting 12 hours of live music from the WCC since I still have to post the set from our last time there which was April 25th. I still have to index that 6 hour set and I've been busy with work so it's my fault it isn't up yet but soon I promise.

If you live in Los Angeles or are going to be visitng the city on that date please come hang out with us. It's always a good time and I love to meet people who support us.

BALANCE at King King. 6555 Hollywood Blvd. @ Whitley.
Enter in back.
$10 b4 11, $15 after... 10pm-4am... 21 & over with ID

WCC RADIO EP-018 is ready

Ricardo Torres — 2009-05-30T15:46:55-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-018 (June 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an awesome ACC file or the tired old style MP3 (can you tell I'm not a fan of this format). I guess this is the first show of the summer. When does summer start anyway? After living in Southern California for 14 years it feels like we are in a permanent summer here. How quickly I forget my winter cold Montreal roots. I love my hometown but I just couldn't take those winters anymore. It doesn't matter where you live this show has some hot tunes. For once I do not have any white labels in this set. That means that you music collectors and DJs out there can easily find any of these tracks at the popular dance music digital retailers like Traxsource, Stompy or Beatport. If there is any time to support the artists who make this great music it's now. A lot of them are struggling in these hard economic times and we don't want them to stop doing what they do best. I urge you to please go to these sites and buy the tracks you like. You can easily do that by clicking on the labels' name of the track list from that show on my site. That will take you to where I purchased the track.

I'm very happy with this show. I got to experiment again with some accapellas and some live edits using 3 decks. You will hear that with Osulande's "Momma's Groove" and Jay-J's "Keep on Rising". I have to give props to Yogi and Huski from Random Soul cause I heard them do that live edit of "Keep on Rising" and I thought I give it a try. I also found some great house remixes of Janis Joplin and the Doors. If you don't now who those artists are then I feel like a relic. I wasn't sure about these cause it's real hard to do a house remix of a classic rock tune that is not cheesy but Latenight Society and Mr Patron came through with two of my favorite tracks from this month. Check out "Southern Comfort" and "Storm Riding".

About a third into the show the set gets real Jackin' and Funky with great tracks by Tommy Largo and Jazzy Eyewear but the highlight and my favorite track this month is the craziest and funkiest in the set. It is courtesy of two guys from Belgrade, Serbia who go by the name of Gramophonedzie. "Why Don't You" is one of most creative house tracks that I've heard in a while. It guarantees to get the party started where ever you play it. It's not for nothing it is in the top 5 of almost every House Music download retailer. I played in Belgrade a few years ago with Jon Silva of Pesto Music but I don't think these guys were around then. I would have love to have met them.

The set ends with and old forgotten B-side from Naked Music and Miguel Migs. If it wasn't for my compadre Dustin Brown of the WCC I would have completely let this track go into House memory lane. I heard him play it during one of our jam sets and it reminded me why I felt in love with the West Coast Sound. This Atjazz remix of "Take Me to Paradise" is everything that is right with sexy soulful House. If you like it then you will like Dustin's new mix that will be up soon that includes this track and many more like it to bring you back to circa 2000 when Naked Music was in his glory days.

You can of course do a direct download of the show on my radio page or you stream the show online or subscribe to the podcast on SS Radio UK.

WCC RADIO EP-017 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-05-03T23:24:36-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-017 (May 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC or MP3 file. In this episode we have more of the same and I mean that in a good way. Lots of white labels from producer friends who've done really cool edits / mashups or unreleased mixes (thank you Jask, Jay-J, Random Soul, Zack Hill and Raul Kahn). We start off with some sexy vocals and then pick up with some great new Jakin' tracks from the Little Men, Giom and Frankie J among others. The second half of the show gets more soulful with a Random Soul remix out of Jay-J's new artist album "Love Alive" which will be out this summer. You will also find another Jay-J track in there that dates a few years back and features Latrice Barnett. "Love Is" was the big single of her debut album Illuminate but here we find an unreleased mix done by Jask of Thaisoul. Why was it unreleased? I have no idea but it should have been. As of now it's my favorite mix of that song. Check out the tracklist to find out about all the goodies this month.

You will also find a lot of these tracks (and more) in the last recording the WCC did at BALANCE on April 25th. We have another 6 hour set that will be available for download soon. The live recording from March 14th is available now. Don't forget to rate EP-017 after you've listen to it. Thanks!

WCC back at BALANCE April 25th.

Ricardo Torres — 2009-04-18T13:16:57-07:00

The West Coast Collective is back at Los Angeles' primo House club, BALANCE, for another full 6 hour of soulful and funky beats. Dustin, Torin and myself will start taking out those summer tunes to welcome the the hot Californian summer nights that are on the way. Join us on the dance floor April 25th. Click here or on the flyer's image to see a bigger version.

I have 2 fans!

Ricardo Torres — 2009-04-18T13:12:50-07:00

I have two new fans. My status of international bedroom DJ is groing ! LOL

Full BALANCE set from March Available

Ricardo Torres — 2009-04-16T12:01:52-07:00

The full 6 hours BALANCE set from our gig back in March is now available for download on the West Coast Collective site. Instead of one huge file with the full 6 hours we divided the set into six 1 hour segments to make the whole thing more manageable. If you play these files back to back (especially in iTunes) you will hear no pause or fade out at the end of one of the hours. The whole thing will feel like the original 6 hour set. It is available as ACC with the tracks name imbedded in the file and indexing or as a simple plain old MP3.

The West Coast Collective will also be back at BALANCE Saturday April 25th for yet another 6 hour House Music extravaganza. We will be again recording the whole night for future postings. If you live in LA or will be visiting around that date we hope to see you cutting the dance floor with us.

BALANCE set from March and video.

Ricardo Torres — 2009-03-31T09:57:33-07:00

On March 14th I had the pleasure again to play with my boys of the WCC at our favorite club BALANCE. It was one of most fun night with an amazing enthusiastic en responsive crowd that really knew their House Music. We met some amazing people who after talking to them reminded us why we love to do this. We did record the full 6 hours and we are going to make that set available this week on the WCC site. It will be available as MP3 and/or ACC with track ID and indexing. Instead of having one huge 6 hour file we broke it off into six 1 hour sets just to make it more manageable and that you can play seamlessly back to back. If you have and know your way around an audio editing program you can splice them all together as one big set. We've posted the sets on our Facebook fan page where you can stream them to check them out. Again they will be available soon for download. I will send a quick mail to everyone when they are ready.

We've also added short video clips of that night on our Facebook fan page but if your not on Facebook you can check out the videos on this new video page on my site.

The WCC will be back for a full night at BALANCE on April 25th. We are going to be welcoming the summer West Coast Styleeee.

WCC RADIO EP-016 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-03-30T15:59:49-07:00

WCC RADIO EP-016 (April 2009) is ready for download on the radio page either as an ACC (better) or MP3 (booooo) file. This month we go back to our original format which is fresh tunes mixed with rare (and sometimes obvious) classics that still hold up the dance floor today. New music from Martin East of Kapa Music (my pick this month), Random Soul, Tortured Soul, Richard Earnshaw and others. Also an awesome remix of Marvin Gaye "What's Going On" from 1200 Warriors and the classic track is courtesy of Lisa Stansfield. I don't know why but lately I've been seeking out her tracks and especially her old remixes. She had such an incredible soulful voice and she reminds me of what was good and positive about the 90s. I got my hands on some of her accapellas and I'll see if I can do a bootleg of one of her tracks with the help of some of my friends who know what they are doing.

Speaking of accapellas I did some experimenting and live edits at the beginning of the mix with that real jazzy track from Stacey Mallory and over the Martin East track. And last but not least a very rare Jay-J / Chris Lum remix featuring Latrice Barnett. From what Jay-J told me this was the first time that Latrice had worked with them. The stories goes that Latrice was at Moulton Studios to record with Chris and Jay-J the classic "Summer Time" that came out on Loveslap. Both producers were also finishing a remix of Brancaccio & Aisher's "It's gonna Be a Lovely Day". They had an idea to throw some vocals over the remix and asked Latrice to improvise over the track to warm up her voice. The result is track #17 of this episode. This remix never came out because the label didn't like the vocals. Big mistake. I think it's amazing, the best version and now vary rare. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to rate the show after you've listen to the whole set.

WCC RADIO EP-015 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-03-01T21:14:18-08:00

WCC RADIO EP-015 (March 2009) is ready to be downloaded on the radio page. It's March so this is the Miami WMC edition of the show and I did something different with this episode. Instead of playing some of the new tracks that will be hot at this year's conference (not that impressed so far) I did a set with 19 tracks that really floated my boat from previous conferences. These are tracks that range from the last 10 years or so. I picked these tracks because they made an impression on me when I heard them for the first time in Miami. Don't expect anything too underground. These are high energy tracks that really made people dance and have summer written all over them. Very Miami you might say. Think Defected and In The House of the late 90s and early 2000. I hope you like it and next month when I'm back from the conference with new tunes I will return to a deeper more underground sound. I will also post in a few days details of where I'm playing in Miami for WMC.

You will also notice that on the download page you will find two links for the mix. One is for the ACC and the other is for an MP3. Please only download one. I recommend the ACC for reasons outlined here. If the ACC doesn't work with your player only then download the MP3. Bandwidth costs money and I don't want to pollute this site with advertisements so I can cover the costs of the extra bandwidth.

Playing this Thursday @ Juice

Ricardo Torres — 2009-02-07T20:57:22-08:00

This Thursday February 12th my partner in crime Torin Rea from the West Coast Collective and I will be throwing it down at the premiere of new Deep House night in Hollywood called JUICE. It's a free night and the weekly party will be held at Vice on Hollywood Blvd. This new night is the brainchild of the co-creator of Incognito which is very respected promoter in Los Angeles so you know it will be done right. No cover so no excuse! Torin and I hope to see you there and support this new House Night in he middle of LA LA land.

New Video Tutorial for iPod on ACC Mixes

Ricardo Torres — 2009-02-07T19:58:44-08:00

As promised here is the second video tutorial on how to use our new ACC format mixes with your iPod. This one is shorter and pretty straight forward. Like I showed you in the first video tutorial for iTunes you can skip the tracks, see what's playing and all that jazz. You've probably figured all this out already but in case you haven't here it is.

Radio Interview

Ricardo Torres — 2009-02-01T00:53:13-08:00

I did and interview last month with Craig Stewart on his Soul Horizon show that airs on Raunchy Rhythm Radio. Take a listen to this 10 minute conversation if you want to find out more about the man behind the site ;)

WCC RADIO EP-014 available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2009-01-31T23:44:24-08:00

WCC RADIO EP-014 (February 2009) is ready for your listening pleasure on the radio page. This is the first mix in the ACC format with higher quality, track indexing, playlist embedding, and a bunch of other features as outlined in the previous post. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial to find out all the features and advantages of ACC over MP3. I'm also excited about this show because the classic track(s) take up the last 30 minutes of the show. It is a tribute to Eddie Perez of the Smack crew fame and who goes by the name of Mentalinstrum. Smack Productions put out some of the best and unforgettable Garage from the mid 90's. Eddie as re-release a lot of their classics on digital and I couldn't be happier since I had lost a lot of my Smack Crew vinyl that was out of print. I can't wait to play some of this stuff live again. It's going to set the roof of Balance on fire when we play there just before WMC. Enjoy the mix and don't forget to rate it after you listen to it.

New Video Tutorial for ACC mixes

Ricardo Torres — 2009-01-31T23:00:39-08:00

As of EP-014 of WCC Radio all the shows and future mixes will be in the ACC (.m4a) format. I am super excited about this because this format is miles ahead of the tired MP3. You are probably already familiar with this format since it's what you get when you buy music from the iTunes store. Basically this format will work with your favorite media player on your computer or any of the popular portable players that people use (iPod, Zune, etc). There are many advantages to the ACC format such as higher quality encoding but the coolest feature is that I can now index the mixes. This means that you can jump from track to track and see what's playing at the moment just like with a CD player with out affecting or hearing gaps in the continuous mix. There are other nifty features to this format and it's all outlined in this little video tutorial I created that explains everything. I will be doing another tutorial on how this works with your iPod. I hope you enjoy it and that you learn something new. The ACC format should work just like the old MP3 format but for what ever reason if it doesn't for you please let me know through the contact page and I will send you a link to an MP3 version. I will do this temporarily for the next few mixes as we go through this transition but eventually I won't offer that format anymore.

Early but just in time for your NYE party. EP-013

Ricardo Torres — 2008-12-29T21:53:21-08:00

I had quite a few people who asked me if I could have the latest WCC Radio show ready for NYE. Seems a lot of people are staying in and having house parties this year and they want the WCC to be their personal DJs on their iPods. I think that's pretty cool. I found out that there are even bars around the world that are playing our mixes regularly on their sound systems. Personally I would prefer to be playing there live but at least they are playing our selections :) I always wonder how many people listen to our mixes regularly. I have a counter that says how many downloads there is but that doesn't count if there is a 100 people listening to the mix at a bar or lounge and how many people give the mixes away to their friends and so on. Either way I hope you get to enjoy the first WCC Radio show of the year at your NYE party and dance your ass off. This episode is meant for the dance floor. Soulful, bouncy and uplifting. 2008 was a weird year with a lot of ups and downs. I'm kind of glad it's over (like the Bush administration). The first track really sets the mood for 2009 with "I'm in a Better Place" from my friends Yogi and Husky of Random Soul. The lyrics give hope for the coming year. This feel good track is coming out in February on Barcoda Recordings and will have a bunch of remixes. This is the original mix with vocalist Kristen Pearson. From that point on the tempo stays up and if you are around my age you will love the classic track which is perfect for when the party is reaching it's peak point. I've also change the cover art for the show to come more in par with the rest of the new look for the WCC and the dark colors look dope on the iPhone or iPod Touch. The early download is on the WCC Radio Page and the podcast and streaming will be available on January 4th after it airs on Raunchy Rhythms and SS Radio UK. I will post those link as soon as they are available. I hope you have a great NYE but above all stay safe and please don't drink and drive. We don't need to lose any house soldiers during the festivities. See you in 2009 and much love!

New Guest Mix For Soul Harmony

Ricardo Torres — 2008-12-17T20:59:35-08:00

I've just completed a new mix for the Soul Harmony Podcast called "Happy Hour on the West Side". You can stream and subscribe to the podcast at the website. There is also a little Q&A so you can find out a little more about me. Alternatively you can download the mix on this site in the current mixes page. This mix is a standard 77 minutes so it will fit on an audio CD for those who are still burning them. It is also at 192kbps which is a higher quality than the rest of the mixes on the site which are at 128kbps. This is my little Holiday present for all of you. I hope you get a chance to rock it during your Holiday parties and that you enjoy it. Coming up next in the first week of January is the first WCCR show for 2009. Be good and be safe during the Holidays festivities!

WCC RADIO Episode 012 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-12-07T21:36:14-08:00

WCC RADIO EP012 (December 2008) is now available for download or for streaming and podcast on SS Radio UK. WCC Radio has completed it's first year. We've had over 11000 downloads of the show from this site alone. That doesn't count the SS Radio podcasts which averages about 300 a month. I would like to thank all of you for your continuous support and spreading the word about our little show. We will continue to bring you quality house in the coming year. I hope you enjoy the last WCC RADIO for 2008 and don't forget to go rate the mix after you've listen to it.

WCC RADIO now on Raunchy Rhythms Radio

Ricardo Torres — 2008-12-05T11:15:47-08:00

WCC RADIO has found another home for it's monthly show. Besides SS Radio UK on the first Sunday of the month we are now also on Raunchy Rhythms Radio on the first Friday of the month. You will get to hear on Raunchy Rhythms the mix before it is posted and available for download. We premiere with WCC RADIO EP012 (December 2008). The shows air the first Friday of every month at 22:00 GMT. Click here to find out at what time the shows play in your corner of the world.

WCC RADIO Episode 011 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-11-10T23:01:36-08:00

WCC RADIO EP011 (November 2008) is now ready for download. If you prefer to stream it online or subscribe to the Podcast you can do so at SS RADIO UK. There is a new feature with this mix. Torin of the WCC showed me a neat trick that allows me to imbed the tracklist in the MP3 file. In itunes you can find it under the "lyrics" tab in the info window of the mix. If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch you can see the tracklist by touching the artwork of the mix while it is playing. Try it out it really works. Don't forget to rate the mix after you've listen to it. Enjoy it!

Spinning in NY this week end.

Ricardo Torres — 2008-11-10T22:57:37-08:00

If you live in NY City I invite to attend this event this Friday the 14th where I'll be playing along with Scott Wozniak, Luis Baro, and the legendary and grammy award producer Eric Kupper. There is no cover charge and the party goes til 4 am! Hope to see you there if you are in the city that doesn't sleep.

And We Are Back...

Ricardo Torres — 2008-10-13T21:15:13-07:00

The site is back! I had to take it offline for a few days to give it a new facelift and to deal with some issues with the files downloads. It's all good now. I also trimmed some of the fat of the site (such as the galleries) and left what people really come here for. Might add some new content in the future and bring back some the really old mixes. Thanks for your patience!

WCC RADIO Episode 010 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-10-13T22:14:59-07:00

WCC RADIO EP010 (October 2008) is now ready for download. You will hear quite a few main street artists in this episode (Prince, Snoop Dog, Soul 2 Soul, etc) but don't fear! These are bootleg house remixes done by some of the finest of the house crop (that Christina Aguilera remix is so dope). Listen before you judge :) If you prefer to stream it online or subscribe to the Podcast you can do so at SS RADIO UK. Hope you enjoy the tunes.

WCC RADIO Episode 009 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-09-07T17:36:37-07:00

WCC RADIO EP009 (September 2008) is now ready for download. If you prefer to stream it online or subscribe to the Podcast you can do so at SS RADIO UK. This episode is all about the underground. Not my usual soulful sets but a little more deeper and jackin’. I crave the days in the early 90s when our parties were in dark warehouses were the only light was from the mixer and turntables. Even if this set is nostalgic to me it doesn’t haver too many nostalgic tracks. They are pretty new. It just goes to show you that the underground is very alive. It’s just still...underground. Close your eyes when you listen to this episode and let it take you back to those days. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how you feel about it by rating it after you heard it. I’ll know if you guys want more sets like this.

WCC RADIO Episode 008 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-08-11T22:55:18-07:00

WCC RADIO EP008 (August 2008) is now ready for download. If you prefer to stream it online or subscribe to the Podcast you can do so at SS RADIO UK. I apologize for the show being a week late. This was due to my best friend and Great Dane "Geronimo" passing away last week. He will be greatly missed since he was such a majestic and amazing dog. Episode 08 is dedicated to his memory. Hope you enjoy the tunes.

Sandra's single climbing up the charts

Ricardo Torres — 2008-07-19T19:00:12-07:00

Sandra single "Higher" is doing really great in the different digital download charts. The EP came out July 10th and it has reached #12 on Traxsource, #8 on Juno in the Funky House genre, and #7 (Jay-J's dub), #12 (original), and #14 (Jay-J's remix) on Stompy's soul genre. All of these charts are out of the 100 top tracks from each respective site. The second remix package has gone out as a promo to some of the jocks and radio stations and will be available in early august. This package includes mixes by Justin Michael of Hermosa Recordings, Torin Rea of the West Coast Collective and additional remixes by Jon Silva of Pesto Music. If you are interested in purchasing the current package it is available at your favorite digital download site:

Traxsource
Juno
Stompy
iTunes Music Store
Beatport

New mix "West Side Summer"

Ricardo Torres — 2008-07-19T19:47:46-07:00

A brand new mix that is not a radio show is available for download in the current mixes page. I wasn't planning on recording a new mix but this one kind of just happened. Sandra's new single is doing great, the WCC might start a new residency night on the West Side, and my VFX business is cranking out the jobs even in these hard economic times. Basically I don't have much to complaint about and I'm happy, so when I'm happy I like to jump on the decks and the result is this summer mix. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to rate it.

Solo Casa - WCC night

Ricardo Torres — 2008-07-19T19:14:22-07:00

Sunday July 27th starting at 8pm the West Coast Collective invades Santa Monica with an exciting night of soulful beats less than a mile from the Pacific ocean. We are having a special party for our friend David Barton who is going back to Manchester, England but not before he gets to drop some tunes with the WCC. Also on the decks will be Soulsessions' Sal Antaloss straight out of the Netherlands. The whole event takes place at Main, a new club right in the middle of Santa Monica's trendy Main Street. If this night goes well there is a very good chance that the WCC will turn this into a regular monthly or bi-monthly thing. Please come join us while we do it west coast style on the west side of LA. This event has no cover charge.

WCC RADIO Episode 007 now available for download

Ricardo Torres — 2008-06-30T22:02:26-07:00

WCC RADIO EP007 (July 2008) is now ready for download. Episode 07 includes the usual new and old favorite tunes plus some exclusive and unrelease tracks. If you prefer to stream it online or subscribe to the Podcast you can do so at SS RADIO UK. Hope you enjoy the tunes.

Ricardo Live @ BALANCE tonight

Ricardo Torres — 2008-06-28T15:49:48-07:00

Tonight I have to pleasure to open up for Joshua Heath (Salted Music) at Los Angeles' hot spot for house on a Saturday night, BALANCE. If you've never seen Joshua throw it down do yourself a favor and come check him out. He is an incredibly talented DJ and producer. This is the guy that Miguel Migs like to go check out and play.

I'm playing from 10:30 til 12:30 or so and then Joshua goes on til 4. If you are in the LA area I hope to see you on the dance floor tonight.

HIGHER available exclusively at Beatport

Ricardo Torres — 2008-06-16T22:14:00-07:00

With huge support from House jocks, radio stations and tastemakers all over, Pesto was able to place this massive summer tune on a couple of upcoming compilations already. Raisani Miami Sessions (Dubai), Ibiza Global Radio, Open Bar (NYC) and Clubstar (Germany) - they all had a reason to put "Higher" in their mixes. Finally, Sandra Lima's debut on Pesto is happening and here are six reasons to look forward to the outdoor season: DeepHouse icon Jay-J contributes two smashing mixes, Jon Silva adds some mid-90ies flavour and The Mulder is pleasing us with his top-notch DeepTech sound. Sample some of the mixes with this Beatport Player. This is the sound of the summer 2008!

WCC RADIO Episode 006 is posted - Amsterdam maybe.

Ricardo Torres — 2008-05-27T10:47:05-07:00

WCC RADIO EP006 (June 2008) is now ready for download. If this episode had a name I would have called it "Bass". The first half of the show as some wicked deep house bass-lines that just make you nod your head and raises your level of being cool by ten. I also did a live edit of Doobie J's "Cant Stay Away" vs Andre Harris' "10 things Not To Say To a DJ" and it turned out pretty good. I had some people asked me where I got that remix. Sometimes 2 tracks are just meant to go together.

This episode is a week earlier than schedule and that is because next week I will be in Europe for a few days. I will be in Cannes, France from the 28th of April to the 3rd of June for a friend's wedding. Then I'm off to Amsterdam for a few days. Officially I'm not going to gig but I might make a surprise stop to one of the SoulSessions night over there. I always have my music with me. If something is confirm I will post it on the blog and send an email out to let people know. If you live in the Nice area in France and know of a good house night there to check out please let me know through the contact page. Enjoy EP006!

Sandra's "Higher" availble on Raisani Compilation

Ricardo Torres — 2008-05-09T12:08:02-07:00

Sandra's new track "Higher" is getting a pre-release on the Raisani Miami Sessions 08 compilation. This is the Jay-J dub which is a peak time stomper. For the full vocal mix plus the other remixes you will have to wait until the end of this month for the full release on Pesto Music. For now you can purchase the dub on Traxsource. Higher is track #5 of the compilation. You can also preview the full track on Sandra's MySpace page.

Live @ BALANCE this Saturday May 10th

Ricardo Torres — 2008-05-09T10:31:43-07:00

If you live in Los Angeles you know where to be on Saturday May 10th but if you don't you can still catch us live via SS Radio UK. We will be broadcasting our night Saturday May 10th, 10pm PST. Click here to find out the time of the broadcast in your city. 6 hours of non-stop booty shakin' house!

WCC interview on LA's #1 Hip Hop Station (!?)

Ricardo Torres — 2008-05-09T10:22:39-07:00

Ok, ok. In all fairness it was on a Electronic Dance Music show called PowerTools and it did air at 2 in the morning. Still check it out and listen to our manly voices. I'm the one that sounds like a chipmunk. You can also catch an exclusive mix I did for the interview. Click on the play button below.

WCC RADIO Episode 005 is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2008-04-27T14:43:27-07:00

WCC RADIO EP005 (May 2008) is now ready for download. I'm really happy with this episode. It's my favorite of the year. I don't know why it just flows. I got to listen to it while driving on the coast with my sun roof open and enjoying this 90 degrees Californian spring. For a second I just forgot al of my troubles and got lost in the music. Hope you can do the same. Don't forget to rate it after you listen to it (might be just me who like it). Enjoy!

WCC Fan Page on facebook

Ricardo Torres — 2008-04-18T11:42:16-07:00

I just started a WCC Fan page on the social network facebook. For those of you who are part of FB it will be an easy way to keep up with our mixes, podcats, gigs, etc. Join the WCC Fan page here.

Opening for the Groove Junkies @ BALANCE

Ricardo Torres — 2008-04-04T21:59:16-07:00

This is short notice but Saturday April 5th I'll be opening up for one of my favorite house duos, the Groove Junkies. Of course all this goes down at the top Soulful House club in Los Angeles: BALANCE. I hope to see some of you kats on the dance floor!

ricardotorres.net is now djricardotorres.com

Ricardo Torres — 2008-04-03T15:08:15-07:00

The site is absolutely the same and if you go to ricardotorres.net it will still re-direct you here for a while. I'll be using the ricardotorres.net domain name for other things not related to DJing. So update your bookmarks:

http://djricardotorres.com

Also don't forget to update the RSS Feed if you are subscribe to it. Please let me know through the contact page if anything is not working right as you browse the site. Thank you.

WCC RADIO Episode 004 is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-30T21:59:07-07:00

WCC RADIO EP004 (April 2008) is now ready for download. I added a new feature to the track list, a link to buy the individual tracks from the mix. When you click on the track's label it will take you to digital download site (Traxsource, Stompy, Beatport, etc) where I purchased the track. It won't take you to the exact track but it will take you to the label's songs on the digital download site. It makes it a lot easier to find the song and to narrow your search. Give it a try and please go out and support the labels that are giving us such great and beautiful music.

What prompted this new feature was the whole Defected incident that happened to me last week. I figured by including this it will make the labels (and artists) happy. If they still don't want me to include their music it's their lost. You will notice that this set has 2 Defected songs even after I vowed never to play anything from them. Call me a sell out but dam these tracks are good ;) The ironic thing is that one of those tracks is one I removed from the Pesto Mix and both are, as of now, unreleased (you can find them on Traxsource but they are digital edits, these are the real thing). How did I do it? They gave me permission! Go figure... Maybe they think I have something to offer. So if you purchase tracks from their store tell them it's because of Ricardo Torres ;) Enjoy the mix!

So True....

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-28T14:06:39-07:00

On a lighter note... This feels good to watch after the ups and downs of this week.

OK, I like DEFECTED again...

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-28T12:19:10-07:00

Defected has won my respect back. We've been in discussion with them about this whole unauthorized use of their tracks for the last few days. Let me be clear that they are not changing their position and policies. Both parties have now a much better understanding of each other's opinions. I think we both agree that the whole "seeking compensation" might have been premature and I believe it's not going in that direction. We've also agreed to open a dialogue with them if in the future I/we use their tracks for online mixes. Something that would benefit all of us.

They won back my respect because this exchange would have never happened with any of the big commercial labels. They are basically saying that they are also and still part of our small community and they are willing to talk even to us smaller guys to resolve these issues. All of this would have not happened with out your help, the people and headz who visit my site and listen to my mixes. Thank you all for your support.

In other news WCC RADIO EP004 will be up this Sunday. Maybe with a Defected track. Maybe.... ;)

DEFECTED responds

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-28T00:53:56-07:00

I guess some of those messages that people have been sending to Defected due of this incident and what people are discussing across the different house forums must have gotten to them. Pesto received an email from the Head of Promotions and Music exploitation of Defected to address the situation. The tone is very different than the first email. He makes a case for their side of the argument. You can read it here and make up your own mind about this debate.

Thank you to those who email me in support and to those who took the time to write respectfully to Defected about this matter. Long live our community.

PestoMix up again - New & Improved

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-27T01:46:31-07:00

The NEW PestoMix is now up and its IMPROVED since it does not have any Defected tracks in it. If you are wondering why read the post below this one. This whole thing with this major label has left a real sour taste in my mouth and I feel it has tainted something I hold sacred which is the spirit of House Music. I also found out that I'm not the only one of their ex-supporters that they have done this to. Check this out. Please go out and support small independent labels like Pesto, Barcoda, Compost, Poji, Shifted Music and many others that are keeping the spirit of House alive and let's leave Defected and its sub-labels chase bedroom DJs for compensation. I'm sure they will make lots of money and pass the profits to their artists (yeah right). I hope you enjoy the mix.

And I Really Used to Like DEFECTED...

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-26T10:19:00-07:00

Some of you are wondering what happened to the DJ Mix I did for Pesto Music. Well within minutes after Pesto posted the FREE podcast they got this email from Defected:

"I have received a newsletter with a Pesto mix that includes 2 of Defected tracks that are unreleased. Defected has not granted you any authorisation to use them and we control the copyright. Please remove them from this mix immediately. You are giving our music away for free when you do not have the rights. We will seek compensation for this illegal usage."

First of all I purchased those "unreleased tracks" on Traxsource directly from Simon Dunmore (Defected's boss) Top 10. They don't even seem to know what tracks they are releasing or selling. Second, a big "respected" label like Defected coming after a small independent one man label like Pesto and threatening to sue them for giving them free promotion just floors me. Defected is in their legal right to do this but is it morally right? I've been a big supporter of Defected for years I have PURCHASED every single release I have from them vinyl or digital. No more. This is a slap in the face to our community. If this is their attitude then they will go down just like all the other main stream dinosaur labels that are crying that their profit margins are shrinking and are coming after the end users. I will re-do the PestoMix with out any tracks from Defected. Only tracks from labels that support and understand DJ culture. If you care to voice your opinion to them you can do to the label manager at their contact page here. The email above came from "Business Affairs and Licensing Manager". If you do contact them please be respectful. Like I said they are within their legal rights, I just feel they don't know how to pick their battles.

Playing live @ Universal City for Mondial

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-25T23:47:22-07:00

There is a new Thursday night happening here in Hollywood called Mondial. The whole thing launches Thursday April 10th, 2008 at the famous Rumba Room in Universal Citywalk. The concept for Mondial is very interesting. The main room downstairs will cater to a more commercial crowd with main stream club music and a live band playing Rock en Espanol but the more intimate room upstairs will be nothing but Soulful House hosted by the West Coast Collective. I will be playing all night on April 10th and if things works out we will be rotating the different members of the WCC for future dates. I personally think that it will do great since the promoters are experienced,they know what they are doing and they are doing it right. I'm also excited of having the crowd from downstairs coming to check us out and discovering the style of house we play and hopefully make a few converts. For more info about guest list and all that jazz check out the front and back of the flyer.

New Mix for Pesto Music

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-25T23:08:58-07:00

Pesto Music asked me to do a DJ Mix that coincides with the release of my wife Sandra's new track coming out on their imprint April 20th, 2008. Sandra's new track called "Higher" will be coming out in two EPs. The first one (Pesto 011) will include Jay-J's (Shifted Music) mixes and Jon Silva's aka The Mulder (Pesto Music). The second EP (Pesto 011R) will have remixes by Justin Michael (Hermosa Recordings), Thomas White (Natural Rhythm), and our own Torin Rea (WCC). We've already passed out some promos to a few jocks and we are getting great feedback. You can hear Jay-J's vocal mix in my set (track 11). If you are part of the Pesto community you will get this mix as an iTunes Podcast. If not you can download right here. You will also notice that this mix is at higher bit rate. The mixes on this site are at 128kps but as of the PestoMix they will be 192kps. Bandwidth is getting cheaper so I'm passing on the savings to you :)

WCC RADIO Episode 002 is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-09T17:08:13-07:00

WCC RADIO EP002 (February 2008) is now ready for download. If you are wondering why it's here after EP003 then read the entry below. The point is that it's here now so you are getting two shows this month :) The first hour is deeper and darker than I usually play but the mix brings the soul back in hour two. Check it out and let me know what you think of it by rating it after you've listen to it. Enjoy!

WCC RADIO Episode 003 is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-02T13:17:47-08:00

WCC RADIO EP003 (March 2008) is now ready for download. Some of you are probably wondering where is EP002? Last month when the radio show was schedule to air on SS RADIO the WCC was also playing live at BALANCE here in LA. We did a live broadcast from the club that a lot of people got a chance to tune into. Unfortunately the recording of the night had some glitches. Torin is trying to fix it and if he can we will post that set. I then promised that I would record a new EP002 and post it even if it was late. My life got crazy during February (read the post below) and I wasn't able to do it. I still want to do an EP002 not to break our streak so hopefully I can get that done with in the next week or two since I'm finally coming back up for air.

I'm really happy with this EP003. It's Deep, Jackin, Funky, and Soulful and I have for you a preview of my wife Sandra's new track "Higher" that will finally be out before the summer on Pesto Music. There will be remixes by Jay-J (Shifted Music), Justin Michael (Hermosa Recordings), Thomas White (Natural Rhythm) and of course Jon SIlva (Pesto Music). There are also a couple of other remixes floating around including a WCC remix by Torin Rea. What you hear in the set is Jay-J's dub mix. His vocal remix is also slammin and has the quality you come to expect from Jay-J. Justin Michael's remixes are pretty amazing also. Think "big room Dennis Ferrer" type. Thomas' version will of course be Jackin' a la Natural Rhythm and I'm sure the very talented Jon SIlva will have some nice surprises for us since he is the one that did the original mixes. I'm also looking forward to hear what Torin is cooking up.

Thank you for your patience

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-02T12:49:46-08:00

Wow. February was one of the craziest month that I've ever had. Because of this, the site and the mixes have suffered. I've had a few people emailing me wondering if I had disappeared and quit the DJ biz :) I think a lot of the newer people don't know that I'm not a "professional" DJ and that I do this as a hobby. By "professional" I mean I don't make my living out of it (I've been DJ'ing for over 20 years). What I really do for a living is Visual Effects for feature films and mainly TV commercials. I own my own VFX company and I am the main artist. This past month was completely out of control. One job after another non stop. I am not exaggerating when I am saying that I was working 12 to 14 hour days every single day in February (including the week ends). I even had to find somebody to replace me for my residencies because I just could not take myself away for a few hours to go DJ. I was mainly working on a feature film that's coming out this fall called City Of Ember and a Fiat commercial that will run in the European Union. If you live in Europe and see a TV commercial with a bunch of Fiats driving in the Moroccan desert that's my work. Most of the cars are CG (created in the computer) but they look photo real.

On top of that my best friend in the whole wide world, Geronimo my Great Dane, got really sick and ended up in emergency care for a few days. We found out that he has a genetic heart condition that is common in big dogs. I knew this would happen one day (I've had Great Danes all my life) but not this soon. He is only 4 years old. My goal right now is to make his quality of life as good as possible for what ever time he has left. I'm optimistic that he will get better so I'm not writing him out already. My last Great Dane lived until he was 10 1/2 years old (their average life span is 7 to 9 years).

Again, thank you all for your patience. I do this site and my DJ'ing for the love and passion I have for House Music and because I like to share it with the world but sometimes life gets in the way.

If you live in Québec, Canada

Ricardo Torres — 2008-03-02T12:36:39-08:00

Friends of our in Québec City are looking for a missing person that is part of their family. If you live anywhere in the Province of Québec, or Canada for that matter, please take a look at this link for the French info and this link for the English info. You never know, you might have seen Marilyn in your area. I hope you have.

WCC @ BALANCE brodcasting live on SS Radio

Ricardo Torres — 2008-02-02T01:25:19-08:00

Great news about our live gig this Saturday February 2nd at Los Angeles' top and hottest house club, BALANCE. We will be broadcasting our performance live and in real time to the World Wide Web thanks to SS Radio UK. Our live show starts at 10pm Pacific Standard Time on Saturday February 2nd and we will be playing for 6 hours. If you are not in this time zone check here to find out what time it starts where you live.

All you have to do to tune in is to go to SS Radio and click on your favorite media player to stream our gig. This performance will go right into our regular WCC RADIO show. We will be recording the whole thing so you will be able to download the full set at a later date. Hope you can tune in.

Guess What's Happening Feb. 2nd?

Ricardo Torres — 2008-01-26T12:35:17-08:00

Click here to find out. It's so going to rock again :)

Not House but at My House...

Ricardo Torres — 2008-01-22T22:10:02-08:00

Those of you who know me know that I love animals. Sometimes more than people. I just wanted to introduce you to our new baby that showed up at our house during the holidays. Her name is Zoé and she is a French Bulldog puppy who is 12 weeks old. The big guy is my best friend Geronimo. He is a 175lbs Harlequin Great Dane who is 4 years old. I've had Geronimo since he was 7 weeks old. As far as I know, and according to Guiness World Record, Geronimo is the second tallest dog alive. The tallest one is another Dane called Gibson. Gibson is 42.2 in tall and Geronimo is 41.5 in. Just to get a perspective here is Geronimo standing next to Jay-J and I wouldn't call Jay-J short.

Anyway, I degress. Geronimo is seeing here bonding with his new adoptive sister and he is very patient but he does show her who is boss at the end. She is the size of his head. Enjoy.

Tracklist is Complete for Balance Live Set

Ricardo Torres — 2008-01-09T22:01:07-08:00

All of the tracks for our 6 hour set at Balance back from November are accounted for. If you downloaded the set and are curious as what those are you can check it out here. BTW the WCC will be back at the best House Club In Los Angeles on February 2nd, 2008. Mark your calendars cause it will be another epic night...

WCC RADIO Episode 001 is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2008-01-06T17:54:33-08:00

The first WCC RADIO show has been posted and ready for download. As I told you in the last posting the format will remain the same as Shameless Sessions it is just the name that changes. The show will air once a month on SS Radio UK but I will try to bring it up to a bi-monthly edition if my schedule permits. The show is not exclusive to SS Radio so if you run an internet radio station and are interested in airing the program please contact me.

The first hour of the show is a mix of newer and older tracks and the second hour is a tribute to my favorite West Coast producer (and friend) Jay-J. It is an hour of some of my favorite remixes and original productions (he has over 300) of this Grammy nominated producer and DJ. I am also keeping the tradition to end the show with a classic track. This month is a dope Michael Jackson underground remix of Off The Wall. This was when MJ was normal and with darker skin... I found this one as I was digging through my crates.

New to the site is a rating system for the mixes. At the bottom of each track list page you are able to vote on the mix from 1 to 5 stars (5 being best). After you listen to the mix please rate it so I get an idea of what people are digging. The rating is also available for the old mixes so if you have a favorite one go vote for it.

In other news the WCC will be back at BALANCE LA in February. Stay tune for the date and details. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

6 hour live mix for your NYE from the WCC

Ricardo Torres — 2007-12-27T14:43:50-08:00

First of all Happy Holidays to you and all of your love ones. I want to thank you for the support that you have given me through out 2007. I can't believe this year is already over. It certainly flew by for me.

As a "Thank You" and a late holiday gift I would like to offer you the full set from our last gig at Balance here in Los Angeles. This is kind of rare that you will find sets like these online because it is 6 hours long! It is our full night un-edited. If you are looking for music for your NYE party this year you just put this on and you are good to go. It starts off smooth and then just peeks with some old, new and rare tracks that we like to take out when we play live.

You will find the tracklist for all 57 tracks on the download page with who was playing what. Basically Torin Rea, Dustin Brown and myself were rotating every 4 tracks so we kept it fresh. We compliment each other when we play but we all have a little bit different style (in a good way).

This download is pretty big, 317 MB. On a standard broadband connection it could take from 10 to 20 minutes to download so please be patient when you do. I need to thank Pablo Godel of Server Grove Networks for letting me host the mix on his servers. If it wasn't for Pablo's help I wouldn't be able to offer this mix to you because of the amount of bandwidth it would eat up with all the downloads that it will have. If you need any kind of hosting solutions please check out Server Grove Networks and give them a try.

Again thank you for 2007 and have a wonderful, safe and fun New Year Eve and stay soulful trough-out 2008!

Last Shameless Sessions of the year is up

Ricardo Torres — 2007-12-01T22:49:08-08:00

The last Shameless Sessions radio show for 2007 is now available for download. For this one I actually took out some of my old vinyl that I haven't played in a long time. These are a bunch of old white labels that I hardly take out anymore since turntables are hard to come by at clubs these days. For the last few years I've been playing mainly digital files from CDs on CDJs. You will probably hear the sound difference from these old records when you hear them in the mix. I played the hell out of these tracks and they are a little worn out. Don't be alarm if you see Michael Jackson or Diana Ross on the track list... You might be pleasantly surprise ;)

Balance, this Saturday Nov. 17th

Ricardo Torres — 2007-11-12T14:25:02-08:00

I am very excited to announce that I will be playing this Saturday November 17th with the my WCC family at the prime house club in Los Angeles, BALANCE. The cream of the crop of house DJs play at BALANCE when they come to LA. It's one of my favorite clubs in town and where I like to get my groove on. It's an intimate venue with an amazing sound system. Dustin Brown, Torin Rea, and myself will be rocking a 6 hour set until 4am! Check out the flyer for more info and check the pics from the last time we played there together.

The Mailing List is Back

Ricardo Torres — 2007-11-04T19:26:17-08:00

In the last few months I have received quite a few emails from people wondering what had happened to my old mailing list or why I wasn't sending any updates. They were wondering if they had been dropped from it. I would send an email once or twice a month to let them know about new mixes or gigs. When I re-did the new site and I included a blog I didn't think I would need the list anymore since people can subscribe to it and get the updates right here. Well, the list is back! New and improved. When you join now you can chose your interest so I can send you an email that is relevant to what you want to be informed about. For example most people want to know when I have a new mix up but not necessarily when I have a gig in Los Angeles if they live in Barcelona. The emails are also in HTML format now so they look much better than the old ones. You can join on any of the site's pages by entering your email and clicking join on the sidebar to your left.

Shameless Sessions Mix For November is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-11-03T20:11:20-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of Novermber is available for download. It aired Sunday the 4th on SS Radio UK. This is one of my favorite one from the year. I'm getting a lot more adventurous with the accapellas ;)

Playing at Balance November 17th

Ricardo Torres — 2007-11-03T19:52:39-07:00

The West Coast Collective is back at Balance on November 17th 2007. Dustin Brown, Torin Rea and myself will be rocking the prime house club in Los Angeles for 6 hours from 10pm to 4am. This is with a doubt my favorite place to play in Los Angeles. The energy from the headz there is amazing. Check out some of the pics from the last time we played there.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Ricardo Torres — 2007-11-03T19:06:16-07:00

Almost a month with out any updates.... I feel bad. It's the same for the West Coast Collective site. I've been stupid busy since I got back from Ibiza. Some of you know that I own a Visual Effects company that I founded almost 4 years ago. I don't just work there, I run the company with my partner and I am the lead artist. When I started Below the Radar I figured I would work less and have more time for my favorite hobby (DJing of course) since I would make my own hours. Boy was I wrong... Being successful means that you are working non stop with lots of returning clients. That's where we are right now. In a business where a lot of our competitors are down sizing or closing we are expanding. This year we've double in size and are well off to make more than our numbers from last year. When I got back from Spain I had to jump right away and finish a big television campaign that I had started before I left for Suzuki Cars. If you live in the US and you watch TV you've seen some of the new ads that are running. As soon as that was over I was on two BMW commercials for the Chinese market that had tons of visual effects and CG. I was working 12 to 14 hours a day for three weeks straight (including week ends). The only break I had was when I was playing at my residency Glow. After that it was back to more Suzuki and right now I'm finishing a job for Bridgestone that is a real funny commercial. We are also bidding for three really good commercials for the Italian market that involves people who turn paper thin but live in a 3D world.

October is also a big month because all of my close friends have birthday in that month including me. Sandra, my wife, is in October and so are 9 other of my friends. Two of them on the same day as me, October 23rd. For my birthday we celebrated at Glow since I was playing there and since it was close to Halloween everybody dressed up in real great costumes. Every girl was dressed as a "sexy (insert what ever you can think of here)". I loved that my wife Sandra came as a "Crazy Ho". She had a real sexy asylum straight jacket costume. The biggest surprise was that my good friend Jay-J came all the way from NY with his girlfriend to attend the party. I love Jay-J. He has become a close friend. One of the perks of that is that I get to hear and have a chance to get my hands on a lot of his new productions and remixes that he is working on for the launch of Shifted Music. Unfortunately I can't play these on any of my radio shows or online mixes until they are officially release or come out as promos. I do play them at live gigs and I can tell you that the reaction I always get is "OMG what was that?!" Be on the look out for a real sexy track with Michelle Shaparow that will remind you of the good old days of Naked Music, a peak time dance floor destroyer with Jay-J's partner in crime Latrice Barnett, a track with Random Soul that just oozes soul when you play it and of course Jay-J's artist album. Anyway the party was a blast and I will put up some pics as soon as I can gather them from all the people who were there.

Finally I would like to apologize to all the people who have email or contacted me and whom I haven't reply to yet. My goal this week is to catch up with all of that and if you wrote to me I will reply even if it's late. Thank you all for your understanding and support!

Shameless Sessions Mix For October is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-10-07T13:12:17-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of October is available for download. It aired Sunday the 7th of October on SS Radio UK. Just to make it clear; My Shameless Sessions shows airs every month on the first Sunday of the month not necessarily the first week of the month. I had quite a few emails this week asking me where the mix was. I even had one that said that "it's been more than week and where is the fuckin' October mix?". Wow, did not know that people got so emotional about these sets. I hope it's clear now when they come out. Peace and enjoy the "f@#&ing" mix ;)

How Cool is This?

Ricardo Torres — 2007-10-05T00:26:11-07:00

Didn't even know that there was a video for this classic track. The video has reminiscence of Madonna's Vogue video but the music is so much better. How good does India also looks? This was 1993. I didn't even recognize her. Is it a stand in? Thanks to DJ Menny for pointing me to this video.

New mix "Glow Nights"

Ricardo Torres — 2007-09-23T22:21:20-07:00

I posted a brand new mix that is not a radio show. It's been a while since I had done one that's your standard 70 minutes set that fits on a CD. "Glow Nights" captures the vibe of the residency I had for about a year now in Marina Del Rey, California. The tunes are high energy and they are meant for the dance floor. You will recognize a lot of the tracks in the set but these remixes might be brand new to most of you. Let me know what you think and enjoy. Also a new Shameless Sessions coming up in the first week of October.

WCC T-Shirts are here

Ricardo Torres — 2007-09-23T22:12:13-07:00

A lot of people have asked me about the t-shirt I'm wearing in the bio page. The truth is that we had 4 of them custom made for all of the WCC so we can wear them when we all play together. There has been so much demand for these dam t-shirts that we decided to start selling them on the WCC site. So if you are interested in one of them go to the the WCC store and check them out (we even got some cool tank top for girls). They are selling fast.

Shameless Sessions Mix For September is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-09-02T18:03:04-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of September is available for download. It aired Sunday the 2nd on SS Radio UK. If you want to the listen to the online stream with the voice overs you can do so here on SS Radio and you can also vote and leave comments on it. Fun with acapellas , some unreleased promos, and some nice classics. Enjoy!

In Barcelona and Ibiza this week

Ricardo Torres — 2007-09-02T17:36:24-07:00

Sorry for the lack of activity on the site lately. I got slam at work with a huge campaign from one of our biggest client and I was trying to get everything done before my trip to Spain. I was working 12 to 16 hours days but I got everything done and now I'm here in Spain with my wife Sandra and my mate Jay-J and his girlfriend. We are in Barcelona till Wed the 5th and then we are off to Ibiza. If you live in Barcelona and know of any good parties with good soulful house please let me know through the contact page.

Shameless Sessions Mix For August is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-08-05T17:48:03-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of August is available for download. It aired Sunday the 5th on SS Radio UK. If you want to the listen to the online stream with the voice overs you can do so here on SS Radio and you can also vote and leave comments on it. The shows includes that great track from Vernon & Dacosta "As Darkness Falls" that I was talking about in the post below. Enjoy!

Track 3 solved!

Ricardo Torres — 2007-08-05T12:51:34-07:00

Track #3 was finally solved by Alexandre from France. It is "I Heart Bougie" from Ken EBC (East Coast Boogiemen). The track is not out yet but will be release on Amenti Music (as track 1 that I was also looking for) in September. The mix you hear on the sample is the Toka Project Coast To Coast Mix.

To recap here all 3 tracks with their respective IDs. Thank you to all who helped.

- "As Darkness Falls" (Glom Remix) by Vernon & Dacosta feat Apple Rochez available on Amenti Music (thank you Mourad from France):

- "See Yo Face" by The Inland Knights available on Flavor Records (thank you Joe M from San-Francisco):

-"I Heart Bougie" (Toka Project Coast To Coast Mix) from Ken EBC available on Amenti Music (thank you Alexandre from France):

Last Minute Gig Change. At GLOW Tonight.

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-27T15:20:37-07:00

I was suppose to be at the Ritz tonight but I will be at Glow instead. It's going to be a beautiful warm night at this chic outside lounge / bar in Marina Del Rey. I'm playing from 8:30 pm to 1:30 am (loooong set) so if you are in the area come get your groove on.

Track 2 solved.

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-26T09:15:15-07:00

Alright we are on a roll. Mystery track # 2 was ID by Joe M. It is "See Yo Face" by The Inland Knights on Flavor Records. You guys are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks Joe! Just one more to go... what is track #3? To me it sounds like something Mark Farina used to play back in the days but with an updated sound.

Track 3:

Track 1 solved.

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-24T12:06:47-07:00

Mourad from Paris contacted me to give me the ID of track #1 from the post below. It is "As Darkness Falls" (Glom Remix) by Vernon & Dacosta feat Apple Rochez. You can find the track on the Amenti Music label. Thank you Mourad! One down two more to go. Anyone?

Need Track ID help

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-20T11:01:02-07:00

My friend Torin Rea from the West Coast Collective turn me on to a great DJ set called Inspiration from Oriental Funk Stew. Great funky set but I can't find a tracklist anywhere for it. There are three tracks that I really in this mix and I'm hoping that some of you might ID them for me since I never heard them until now. They might be old, they might be new and that's the beauty of house music, it always sounds fresh not matter how long it's being around. Here are some snippets of the unknown tracks that I'm looking for. If you have any info on them please let me know through the contact page or leave a comment right here with the link below. Thanks for any help!

Track 1:

Track 2:

Track 3:

Divine Love made the top 20 on Traxsource

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-20T10:46:16-07:00

A big thank you to all who supported Sandra's release on Traxsource last week. We made it all the way to number 11 in the top 100. Not bad at all. Of course the track is still available there so if you want to get your own copy got o Traxsource to get it.

Divine Love Available on Traxsource!

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-12T10:16:45-07:00

I am so happy and proud on my beautiful wife Sandra. Her first single on Barcoda Recordings was just released today for purchase as a promo on Traxsource. I am stoke also because Barcoda is one of my favorites labels with an amazing catalogue of hits in the short period that it's being around. The head of the label is Andy Lee, aka Central Avenue, who is also one of my favorite producers from the UK.

"Divine Love" is an uplifting tune perfect for those warm summer nights. The track was produce by Russian duo White Caviare composed of DJ Asya and Denis Teremski. Sandra performs and wrote the lyrics for the song. There is a total of 7 mixes. The original mix is very melodic and smooth. For the dance floor duties two big hitters, Central Avenue and M.o.D., come really strong with their remixes. My personal favorites are the Central Avenue vocal remix and the Deep Headz Dub Remix. I will be rocking these tonight in San-Diego. You can hear previews of all the mixes and purchase them on Traxsource. Go support Sandra (and House Music) cause she rocks!

Playing This Thursday in San-Diego

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-09T22:51:15-07:00

This Thursday July 12th I will be playing in San-Diego, CA at an event hosted by my good friend DJ ALA called DIVE. Dive is located at Candelas in downtown San-Diego. If you live in SD why not stop by and get your groove on.

Artwork for the Mixes is Complete

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-07T21:00:58-07:00

I finished putting all the artwork together for my mixes that are online on my site. Not only does the artwork show up in the mixes page for downloading but also in the MP3 file itself. This means that when you play the mix from iTunes, an iPod or an iPhone you see the artwork in al it's glory. Pretty :)

New Single from Sandra on Barcoda

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-07T14:25:01-07:00

My beautiful wife Sandra has a new single coming out on Barcoda Recordings from the UK. "Divine Love", produced by the Russian duo White Caviare drops in a few weeks with dope remixes by Central Avenue and M.O.D. You can get a preview of the original mix on Sandra's MySpace page. You will be able to purchase it on Traxsource and other legal digital download sites.

Tomorrow, Sunday, at Dragon in Hermosa Beach

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-07T13:46:41-07:00

My WCC crew and myself are taking over Dragon in Hermosa Beach for 6 hours tomorrow Sunday July 8th. No cover, you just need your bathing suit and shorts. Charles Feelgood is playing before us (opening ? :) ) from 1pm to 5pm . We are on from 5pm to 11pm. All the info is here.

Pictures from Balance in Los Angeles

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-02T01:33:04-07:00

The WCC had an incredible night at Balance in LA last week. The place was rocking until 4 am. Blink Of An Eye Productions have posted some pics from the night. Check them out here. I'm the dork with the grey "Trust Your DJ" T-shirt.

New Look to the Site

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-02T01:14:07-07:00

You're all probably wondering why I changed the look of the website again in less than 3 months? First of all it is to have a common look with the West Coast Collective site. I'm working on that site right now and the layout will be the same but with a different color scheme. Check out the new mixes section, a la iTunes, that now has artwork for the mixes (eventually the art will be imbedded in the MP3 file). Some mixes still have artwork missing but I'm working on those. Secondly, it's because it's real easy thanks to CSS. Basically I change a couple of common files in the site and voila. The back end stay the same, I basically just change the "skin". I know nothing about web development but I've been able to achieve this by using an amazing piece of software on Mac OS called RapidWeaver. If you want to quickly build a professional looking site check out RW.

Shameless Sessions Mix For July is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-07-02T01:10:05-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of July is available for download. It aired yesterday on SS Radio UK. If you want to the listen to the online stream with the voice overs you can do so here on SS Radio and you can also vote on it.

Glow tonight and Balance tomorrow

Ricardo Torres — 2007-06-22T09:25:16-07:00

I'm playing at Glow in Marina Del Rey tonight for a 4 hour set. The weatherman says it will be a beautiful clear night (since it's an outside lounge) and it will a great way to warm me up for tomorrow night wich is our big West Coast Collective event at BALANCE in Hollywood. Glow has no cover charge but Balance does so if you are one of my supporters and you want to come on Saturday please e-mail me me through the contact page with your name and how many people you are bringing and I will put you on the guest list. Please do this before 5pm Saturday. Try to get there before midnight because the place will probably reach capacity by that time. We are playing until 4am ! It so going to Rock :)

Playing at SPACE Ibiza in September!!!

Ricardo Torres — 2007-06-09T01:26:12-07:00

I just got news this week that I will be playing with my friend Jay-J at club SPACE in Ibiza, Spain September 7th, 2007. You guys have no idea how excited I am. This will definitely be the highlight of my DJ career. I'm still waiting for the details but it looks like it will be a new terrace that they have at the club. There will probably be more dates during that week and in Barcelona. As soon as I get all the details I will post it on the blog. Yikes!!! :)

Playing at Glow tonight

Ricardo Torres — 2007-06-09T01:21:12-07:00

I'm playing tonight Saturday June 9th at my residency Glow in Marina Del Rey. If you live in the LA area come and chill at this beautiful outdoor lounge. No cover. You can check out the pics from the grand opening in the galleries page. Hpe to see you there.

New Photo Galleries

Ricardo Torres — 2007-06-09T01:16:04-07:00

I started including new photo galleries to the site. They are mainly of events that I played at or that I have attended. More will be coming up as soon as I sort more of the photos. Check them out in the galleries page.

Shameless Sessions Mix For June is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-06-03T18:56:29-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for the month of June is available for download. It aired earlier today on SS Radio UK. If you want to the listen to the online stream with the voice overs you can do so here on SS Radio and you can also vote on it.

Official Grand Opening of GLOW

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-29T23:40:27-07:00

Some of you know that I've had a residency at Glow in Marina Del Rey for a few months now. Well, this week end is the official grand opening and it's going to be awesome. This will be a 3 night opening starting this Thursday with our down tempo night followed by our mid tempo / deep house night on Friday and finally Kevin Christopher and myself will bring the heat on Saturday with a night of soulful house. The heat will also be with us since the weatherman predicts a warm and clear night this Saturday for this upscale outside lounge. Click here for the flyer and all the info on Glow's Opening Night(s).

BALANCE Los Angeles June 23rd

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-14T22:22:10-07:00

I am very excited to announce that I will be playing with the my WCC crew at the prime house club in Los Angeles, BALANCE. The cream of the crop of house DJs play at BALANCE when they come to LA. It's one of my favorite clubs in town and where I like to get my groove on. It's intimate (300 capacity), amazing sound system and it goes until 4am!

Grammy nominated producer and the godfather of the San-Francisco sound, Jay-J, will be playing there this Saturday May 18th. If you live or are visiting LA you have to come to this club. Check out the pictures from previous nights.

Shameless Sessions Mix For May is posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-13T22:20:00-07:00

My Shameless Sessions show for May is available for download. It aired earlier today on SS Radio UK. The versions on my site is with out voice overs but if you prefer to hear me talk (why?) you can catch the stream right here on SS Radio and you can also vote on it.

Radio Shows For 07 Are Posted

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-11T18:28:22-07:00

All of my Shameless Sessions radio shows are now posted. On my old site I used to replace the one that was online with a new show every month. Now I will leave them all available for the whole year. I will post the show for May this coming Monday after it airs this Sunday the 13th on SS Radio UK.

Comments For The Blog

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-11T08:16:47-07:00

I just fixed some issues with the RSS feed that would send you to a "Page Not Found" error when you click on a link from the feed itself (thank you Peter). I also added the availability to add comments on the specific entries that I post on the blog so go ahead and leave me your feedback. Just click on the Comments link under an entry to speak your mind.

All Archived Mixes are up

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-10T10:45:08-07:00

I just finish posting this morning the rest of my legacy mixes going all the way back to 2002. These were available on my old site except for one that I added called "Later At The Loft". I'm also re-mastering some of the first mixes I posted on the web which were on Deep House Network back in 2001. They were only available in Real Audio back then and the quality was poor. Next up are the My Shameless Sessions for this year and the guest mixes. Hopefully I can have this done in the next few days.

Archived Mixes Are Coming Online

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-10T00:09:25-07:00

I just posted 7 mixes from the archives that range from 2004 to 2005. Included in there is my most downloaded mix, BLANC, and two live sets that I did back in the days for Planet Soul Network. Those were my first radio shows. I still have another 7 to upload in the archives and also, on a seperate page, all of my Shameless Sessions radio shows for 2007.

Main Mixes page is up with new mix

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-08T12:42:37-07:00

Sorry for the slow update of the site but work has been crazy busy lately as we got awarded a couple of big jobs. I just posted the new main mixes page. You will find in there the current mixes. I will create other pages for the archived mixes (before 2006), guest mixes, and Shameless Sessions radio show. Check out the new interface and let me know what you think or if you have any problems. If you are on a mac (or PC for that matter) the mixes should NOT open in a blank page with Quicktime like they used to. No need to do a key combination when you click on download mix. The link should automatically download to your desktop (or where ever you download files).

At the top of the list is the live set I recorded from the Jay-J and friends party we did in Miami WMC 2007. I will also so post soon my May set from Shameless Sessions.

New site coming soon

Ricardo Torres — 2007-05-01T15:32:35-07:00

I'm completely redoing my site from A to Z. New look and new functionality. I am also changing to a new web host provider that is offering me more bandwidth. That means that I will be able to offer you more mixes at a better quality. With more bandwidth I will also be able to keep online all of my Shameless Session mixes for the year with out removing them from month to month.

You are looking at the home page which also is a blog that you can subscribe to through an RSS feed. If your browser supports RSS or if you have an RSS reader you will know immediately when new mixes are online, when I have new gig dates or anything else that I post in here. Just click on the RSS link to the right of this page.

As more pages for the site come online I will inform people through the blog. For now it's only this home page and the contact page. Keep watching this space.