Que Bajo?! kicked off in 2008, and Remezcla’s love affair with the resident DJs of this monthly NYC party extends back to the early days. Now, as Geko Jones and Uproot Andy prepare to celebrate the party’s third birthday this Saturday at Le Poisson Rouge, we’re looking back at our coverage of Geko and Uproot, and sharing a scrapbook of memories with our dear readers. Reminisce with us, get pumped at work, or listen to their amazing stuff for the first time. And everyone head over to Le Poisson Rouge for the incredible bash this Saturday!
*sniff sniff* They grow up so fast!
Remezcla: What inspired the party’s sound? Did you know there’d be an audience for it?
Uproot Andy: The idea was to bring together a wide array of different kinds of Latin American dance music, old and new, in one place. We shared a mutual love for folkloric music and also for modern bass music and we wanted a place where it would make sense to put those things together. As well, we were exploring all the new music being produced in Latin America that was being ignored by the mainstream Latin parties, and because we knew that the Latino community in New York was far more diverse than the club scene would have suggested that there would be an audience for it out there.
RE: How has the party grown and changed?
UA: The party has grown from a tiny little Tuesday night in Brooklyn to a big lively jump off, and the music has continued to develop and evolve as music always does. We are always looking for new sounds, whether it’s truly new or just new to us, and we wouldn’t want the music to just stay the same all the time. But in a lot of ways the party hasn’t changed so much. Plenty of the people that were coming in the first year are still with us, and it’s maintained a similar vibe.From the beginning our crowd has always been the type to walk in and just start dancing, whether it’s a big party or a small one. We don’t get a lot of wallflowers.
RE: Where will Que Bajo?! be in another three years?
UA: It’s hard to imagine what Que Bajo will be 3 years from now. We are both touring more and more and working hard on making new music. But hopefully the party will still be what it is today: a really fun dance party with an exploratory sound.
Timeline
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Remezcla Recap 2008 – 12/15/2008
Uproot Andy is named “Best on the Ones and Twos” of 2008. The love affair begins.
Introducing … Geko Jones – 2/18/2009
The title says it all.
Our Top 5 LAMC Moments – 7/13/2009
“The Remezcla booth at the LAMC was pumping with beats from international DJs who were in town…But the resident DJ was NYC’s own Uproot Andy, and when he got behind the turntables, no one could resist it.”
Que Bajo DJ Tour – 9/15/2009
Tour announcement! Did you make it to any of the shows?
Los Rakas’ Abrazame (Uproot Andy remix) – 6/5/2010
We appreciate Los Rakas’ thug swag as much as the next guy, but everyone knows it was with Uproot’s help and a little lovesicknesses that Los Rakas became as recognized as they are now. (The crowd at The Spot were a little disappointed they didn’t perform Abrazame, not that we’re complaining…we just love the song.)
D’Marquesina’s Top 10 Favorite Mixes of All Time – 8/24/2010
Puerto Rican tropical DJ party duo D’Marquesina shows love to other artists in the game. #2 on the list is Uproot’s mix of Kingston Town. “Merengue + Skanking= good combination of fast and slow together.”
Ceci Bastida’s Canta el Rio (Uproot Andy/Outernational Remix) -11/4/2010
It’s possible that we as Remezcla know this remix better than we do the original. Uproot takes one of the best of 2010 and kicks it up a notch, creating an incredibly danceable pop remix.
Boogat’s Perfection, featuring Geko Jones and N-Ron – 12/27/2010
“Its beat combines mambo samples with a cumbia loop, produced by New York’s Geko Jones and N-Ron and Boogat’s rap is catchy (and funny) enough to turn it into a dance-floor hit.”
“Pa La Escuela Nene” (Geko Jones vs. Frikstalkers) – 2/24/2011
“In preparation for a Colombian carnaval event happening in New York, DJ/producer Geko Jones grabbed this bullerengue song by Colombian folklorist Maria Mulata and mashed it up with Frikstailers‘ “Dancehallete” from their latest EP Bicho de Luz. The result, an irresistible dance track that can arguably bring the heat from the tropical carnaval to the cold winter in the Big Apple, or anywhere else you play it.”
Geko Jones at The Spot – 7/16/2011
Our video interview with Geko Jones, in which he explains his name. “Gekojones!”
And for good measure!
Que Bajo?! in the Village Voice