At events when we spin music for cocktail hour – be it at a wedding, corporate event, private party, fashion show, cruise, or virtually any other kind of gig – there may not be any expectation to build a dance vibe, but there definitely is a subtle craft to DJ-ing music while people are having drinks. The time when people arrive and mingle at an event before a dinner, presentation, or a reception is a time, we believe, where the vibe should be upbeat and bouncy and often, just a little bit sexy. On the other hand, the music shouldn’t be too loud or "in the way" that guests have to yell while conversing. Basically, when we spin at a cocktail hour, we want people to mingle comfortably, but we also like it when we see a few heads bouncing, or somebody’s hips moving a bit as they wait at the bar for a drink.
Often we like to play fun, uptempo instrumentals at a cocktail hour, from the ’60s soul-jazz of Ramsey Lewis’ "Wade in the Water" to the mellow hip hop of a piano version of Soul II Soul’s "Jazzie’s Groove" to the Latin-tinged lounge electronica of Nicola Conte. But rarely do we find an instrumental that fits into as many genres as "Sen Sa Shun" by blues guitar legend Freddie King (pictured). I recently discovered this fun, infectious track and I anticipate adding it into our cocktail set immediately. Like many of King’s more well-known instrumentals like "Hide Away" and "The Stumble," he doesn’t have a wasted lick in the roughly three minutes of the song, a song that seems to dare you not to move some part of your body to its gritty, pleasant rhythm. What I think is so impressive about this tune is how it has distinct echoes of so many genres in it: blues, soul, early rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, surf music, and even a twang of country. And it’s all blended together so perfectly, just like a great cocktail.
Listen!
September 4, 2008
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