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Here it is! The final Dave’s Lounge podcast, a look back at the trip around the sun that was, and music that made an impact on us along the way, with a few parting thoughts at the top of the show, as is tradition with the Yearbook episodes.
With only the 2017 Yearbook left, I decided to use this episode to do one last sweep of my inbox for new releases, then play some favorites from many of the bands that I’ve developed such great relationships with over the years. I wouldn’t dare call it a retrospective, because it’s impossible to fit 12 ½ years of music into a hour, but it’s a fine cross-section of music that I hope all of you have enjoyed during my time in doing this show.
I made a major announcement about this show this week. You can read more details about it 
For the November 19 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP, I take a look back at my trip to DJX Fusion Weekend in Philadelphia and one of the most interesting DJ experiments I’ve ever experienced. If you missed the full broadcast, you can hear my live 2:00 AM mix from that weekend on the 
I’m not a fan of Daylight Standard Time. It gets dark far too soon during these cold months, and it disrupts everyone’s sleep schedule. I would like the governments of this planet to pick a time zone and leave it alone. This needless disruption won’t stop me from delivering some new music to you this week…
Last year, I did a show that was two hours of free music from Cold Busted Records. This time around, I’m splitting up the free music between two labels. I’ve got another hour of music from the Bust Free series, and I’ve got music from the brand new Chillhop Records compilation Chillhop Essentials Fall 2017.
The October 1 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge naturally divided itself into four-song sets of different styles — one alt-pop set, one chill instrumental set, and one slightly more eclectic beat-oriented set, bookended by a couple of very chill tunes. If you enjoy this show because of all the different styles of music you hear on it, you’ll really like this one.
It was a bit of a mad scramble to gather all the music for this week’s show, but I managed, and it turned out pretty good. This playlist focuses more on instrumentals as it goes, and it showcases many different styles of downtempo. Because there are lots of different ways to chill.
The amount of chill trap I’ve played on Dave’s Lounge has grown over the last few years, so perhaps it’s time I acknowledged it a bit more. The July 30 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP opens with a set of chill trap and some related tunes. From there it leads to some chill instrumentals, and even a bit of electro-blues at the end. If you have enjoyed the evolution of downtempo over the years, you’ll love this mix.
The July 9 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP touches on a wide spectrum of downtempo styles — smooth chilled downtempo, instrumental hip hop-styled beats, and even some reggae and R&B-flavored tunes. Chances are there’s something in here you’ll enjoy, whether you’re a long-time listener or a first-time downloader.
As was the case last year, this year’s Independence Day weekend show celebrates musicians who release their music independently, with no backing from a record label, major or otherwise. The internet has allowed musicians the opportunity to connect with fans directly, and those fans are finding the musicians they like and supporting them. Many artists featured on Dave’s Lounge fall into this category, so let’s take a moment to celebrate the fact that this is even possible today.
The June 25 broadcast on Dave’s Lounge on WHUP was, with a few exceptions, heavy on instrumental tracks. It’s heavy on sampled music as well, thanks in no small part to a set from the new Chillhop Records compilation 
The June 11 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP was my first show in the studio in a few weeks, and it featured some new vocal tracks, some new instrumental tracks, and a few tunes from the vault. Live shows have a different feel from recorded shows, and this show and the last show demonstrate that pretty well.
So this show was prerecorded, as North Carolina FC, for reasons that completely escape me, decided to kick off its game with the New York Cosmos at 4:00 PM on a Sunday afternoon, right at the hottest time of a typical North Carolina summer day. I did my best to get into the spirit of that and get the terraces singing, but it wasn’t much fun — probably because we lost.
When 
Getting the May 7 broadcast home to distribute on the podcast feed proved to be a much tougher task than I had anticipated, thanks in no small part to a dodgy USB thumb drive. I had to make an extra trip to Hillsborough in order to obtain this episode properly. It’s been just that kind of week around these parts. If you’ve been having a week like that, hopefully this beat-heavy mix — which features a set of music from Uncomfortable Beats’ new pay-what-you-like compilation, 
This week was Begathon Week at WHUP, the week where all the station’s hosts remind listeners that we’re a simple community radio station running on a shoestring budget, and we need your support to stay on the air. Mixing that message in with two hours of listener favorites from the last 12 years of Dave’s Lounge seemed like a good idea.
Where the April 2 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP was very chilled and spacey, the April 9 broadcast is much more down to earth and beat-oriented. Both aspects of downtempo have been part of this show for years, and my hope is that you’ll have an appreciation for both of them.
The amount of extra-chilled music I was able to find the week before this broadcast inspired me to do a show that will put you in a very relaxed mood. Those of you who enjoyed Dave’s Lounge #290 will find a lot to like in this one.
The March 26 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge might be a bit light on new releases, but it makes up for it with quality tunes all the way through and a welcoming of a spring season that feels much needed after a dreary winter.
Perhaps you didn’t notice this when it first aired, but the March 19 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP was actually pre-recorded. My local soccer team, the recently re-branded 
This week’s show offers two different types of sets — one that’s a little more beat-oriented with some R&B elements to it, and one that’s much more chilled out and slowed down. Either way, you’ll find a lot of music to enjoy in this hour.
You might have noticed that I’m a bit late in getting the March 5 broadcast out to the podcast feed. WHUP makes a WAV file of each broadcast available on their network a few minutes after the show is done, and I usually transfer that file to a thumb drive before I leave the studio. For whatever reason, the file transfer cut off the WAV file at around the 50-minute mark — which I didn’t discover until the next day.
For the January 22 broadcast of Dave’s Lounge on WHUP, I decided to focus on some of the labels with whom I’ve established relationships over the years. You’ll hear tunes from Sine Music, Loodma Recordings, Cold Busted Records, and Soulection. You’ll also hear a few tunes from the “lost” episode of Dave’s Lounge (#182), which is no longer available online because of a copyright issue.
The final radio show of 2016 looks back at the music of this past trip around the sun, finds the tracks that both its host and listeners enjoyed most, and shares them without interruption. For this yearbook, I did my best to include tunes that listeners had mentioned that they really like. I’ll try to come up with a better system for listener input next year.
With the 2016 Yearbook episode approaching, this week's show seemed like a fine opportunity to look back at the music that made it into some recent end-of-year yearbook episodes. There's a bit of new music in the first set, though longtime listeners will recognize much of the rest.
When I first started doing the radio show in the spring, it was still light outside when I left the station. Now that winter and the dreaded Daylight Standard Time are upon us, it's dark outside when the show is over. I accept that this is how it is in the winter time. I'm still not a fan.
At the beginning of the November 20 broadcast of Dave's Lounge on WHUP, I told a story, and I played a song associated with that story. It was a story about me, my wife, a lot of ice, and a great singer who passed away recently. Sadly, that was a song that I don't have permission to play on the podcast, so I had to cut both the song and the story from this download.
While I've done plenty of shows that featured one artist's music, I had never done a show where an artist performed live — until now!
While I have always tried to keep Dave's Lounge focused on electronic music, I've always had an appreciation for a well-written pop tune. That usually plays itself out in my selections for this show. For the October 30 broadcast of Dave's Lounge on WHUP, I decided to put together a set of “pop exceptions” — songs that aren't necessarily electronic, but still manage to fit in well with the music I've played and promoted over the years.
A few notes about the October 16 broadcast of Dave's Lounge on WHUP:
The October 9 broadcast of Dave's Lounge was my first live show back in the WHUP studio in about five weeks. It was also the first time I attempted to do a live Facebook video feed of the show from the studio. Sadly, I could not post that video to the show's Facebook page, thanks to the site's Content ID system flagging a song I played. (And I won't be playing anything from that band anymore on this show, either.) Still, the video chat was fun, and I suspect I might do it again soon.
A funny thing happens when you spend several weeks playing older tunes and letting other people host the show — suddenly, I have a ton of new music to play for you! The first hour contains all new and recent releases. The second hour contains tracks from the new Bust Free 20 compilation, which is a free download from our friends at Cold Busted Records.
Last Sunday's broadcast was another trip through some of the great music you might have heard during the early days of the Dave's Lounge podcast. I had actually forgotten about a few of these. Sometimes it's good to go through your music collection and see if there's anything you might have been missing. After all, as the late, great Prince reminded us, “If it was good then, it's still good.”
Last Sunday's broadcast continued our journey through the back catalog of music played on the Dave's Lounge podcast back in the day. (Amazing to think this show has been around long enough to have a “back in the day” period now.) We spotlight some music our old friends at Nettwerk Records, a label brave enough to stand against the RIAA and its heavy-handed tactics toward their own customers. We also dig up some gems, including a few I forgot I even had…
After a bit of frustration from the previous week's show, I decided to dig back into the archives of the Dave's Lounge podcast and take another listen to some of the music that made me want to record a show every week in the first place. Suffice to say, I found a TON of great tunes that I hadn't heard in a while. I thought I might play some of them for you this week. And next week. And the week after that.
Somewhere along the way, Dave's Lounge was listed in some promo catalogs as an electronic music show, without specifying that it's downtempo electronic music. The end result has been years of submissions of house, trance, techno, and other forms of club music that I generally wouldn't play. On occasion, though, I make a few exceptions, and last Sunday's radio broadcast featured a few of those exceptions. You wouldn't think of them as “club bangers”. Perhaps that was the point of playing them.
This week's show, which aired on WHUP on July 31, features several selections from the brand new Sine Music compilation, Cool Off Chillout Vol. 4, which will be out on August 19. It's available for pre-order now on Amazon through 
If you've been tuning in to Dave's Lounge on Sunday afternoons, you might have noticed that I've been on a little break lately. That's a good thing, of course; we all need breaks from time to time, if only to recharge our batteries and remind ourselves why we do some of the things we do. It's time now, though, to get back to the music — and my word, are we opening with a hot one, courtesy of one of my favorite hip-hop producers of all time.
A day before the USA's Independence Day, the July 3 broadcast showcased independent artists and labels — which is nothing new at Dave's Lounge, of course, but it also explained why this show has focused so much on independents, even in an environment where that's no longer 100% necessary. We need independent music now more than ever, if for no other reason than to ensure the artists we love can earn a living without big corporations taking money out of their pockets and using copyright to shut down anyone trying to promote them.
Thanks in no small part to a brand new and epic opening track from Kutiman, the June 19 broadcast features several tunes that aren't particularly electronic, but still made it onto the podcast over the years. There's some electroblues, a little funk, and a bit of acoustic guitar-focused tunes, but it all comes together to make for some great music.
Know how there are some days where you just want to stay home and watch TV? The June 12 show was one of those days for me. I didn't go out and find a whole lot of new music, so I slapped together a catalog show and played it for the radio audience while I sat in the studio and watched the Germany v. Ukraine match on my phone. (Of course, Germany won.)
Before I took off for Washington, D.C., for a long weekend with my wife, I recorded this show for last Sunday's radio spot — a two-hour mix of free music from our friends at 
While my preferences lean toward vocal downtempo, this week's show focuses on instrumentals, with two hours filled with past yearbook selections and a few new tunes that fit right in. This is a mix that all the coders out there will enjoy.
This week's show was pre-recorded, in large part because last Sunday was Mother's Day, and I wanted to spend the afternoon with my mom. The second hour of this show contains my live fusion mix from the 2015 Tobacco Road Blues Exchange, which I've posted to Mixcloud before — 
11 years ago, I launched a podcast in my living room. Now that it's on the radio, I can finally play some of the music I've wanted to play for a while — some of the music that made me such a huge fan of trip hop and downtempo in the first place.
As a life-long Prince fan, I had always hoped he would soften up his anti-internet stance and allow podcasters the opportunity to play at least one of his songs. Alas, that never happened. Thankfully, two of his most famous protégés, Wendy & Lisa, did make a song from their self-released 2008 album “White Flags Of Winter Chimneys” available to podcasters. I jumped at the chance to play it then, and it makes a fitting tribute now to the man who launched their career.
Here it is: my first radio show in more than two decades!
You might be wondering why this podcast took a longer break than usual. If so, you'll want to hear what I have to say at the beginning of the show — right after another stellar new track from Submotion Orchestra, of course. Dave's Lounge is on the verge of becoming more than just a podcast soon. Keep an eye on this space for details, and enjoy this week's selections.
When Kawehi sent out copies of her new Interaktiv EP to Kickstarter backers, she asked everyone to keep a lid on things until February 24. I do hope she doesn't mind that I'm jumping the gun by a couple days on this opening track of hers, because it is spectacular! The new EP — which is her best one yet — will be out on 
This week's show is a bit later than I had planned, in part because of a long and unexpected family road trip over the weekend, and in part because I didn't see point in trying to compete for attention with the Super Bowl — although this week's playlist probably makes for a better halftime show than the one we got. It features a few classics from some old yearbook and anniversary episodes, too, just because I got to hear them again during the long weekend drive and felt they were worth sharing one more time.
This week, I'm recording the first show of 2016 on my new laptop, so if my voice sounds a little different, it's a result of a couple of my old audio plug-ins no longer working. I'm attempting to recreate those old settings in different plug-ins, so bear with me while I work the kinks out.
I've written in the past about 
You liked them. You picked them. And here they are — your favorite tunes from the Dave's Lounge podcast for the year 2015. If you haven't added any of these to your music collection yet, use the iTunes and Bandcamp links below, so we can all support the artists who make all this great music.
I love spinning tunes for dancers in Philadelphia. They're a great bunch, and they're far more appreciative of my style than they have any right to be. Here's the mix I played for them earlier this month, recorded live on Traktor DJ for the iPad.
This week's show starts off with two happy accidents. The first comes courtesy of Evil Needle. I was originally going to play a catalog track of his from a Soulection compilation — until I stumbled across the song that opens this week's show. It is absolutely amazing, and you should click on that Bandcamp link below and get yourself a copy.
Last week, I got to do one of my rare live electronic sets for fusion dancers here in Durham, NC. You can stream the entire set on my Mixcloud page:
This week, we dig into the "defunct bands" database and find a new entry. 
(Note: This is a revised version of Dave's Lounge #310. I explain why at the beginning of the show.) 
If you've been listening to this show for a while, you might notice that I don't say anything right at the start of the show anymore. One of the biggest reasons for that has been a lack of new things to say. Coming up with quality intro lines that I haven't used before eventually got to be difficult enough that I eventually decided it might be best to let the music carry the introduction. Good thing I've got a tune that can do just that this week.
As the rain fell and the thunder shook the sky, I took a moment to reflect on Dave's Lounge turning ten years old very soon. I'm starting to put together the 10th anniversary mix now, which will be released as show #308 on May 8. Once upon a time, I envisioned the 10th anniversary as being a big live concert with a bunch of my favorite artists from over the years. Alas, 
This week, we welcome another true legend of trip hop to the lounge. If you listen to this show regularly, chances are you have some 
"It's been a long, cold, and lonely winter…"
If you're snowed in this week like I've been, I hope this week's show warms you up a bit. I've got new music from not one, but two really good new albums coming out next month. The second single from Natalie Walker's new album, Strange Bird, is part of this week's show, as well as the title cut from Mr. Echo's debut release on Cold Busted, which contains some fantastic beats. You'll be hearing more from both of them in future episodes. 
Ever gone through your old tape or CD collection and found a mix you really, really liked and just wanted to listen to it over and over again?
I know I left everyone waiting a while for this one, but I think you'll find this first episode of 2015 was worth the wait — especially the part about the brand new Natalie Walker single that leads off this week's show and is 
As our lonely little planet once again turns a corner and makes its way around the sun, we look back at the year that was by taking a moment to examine what our media landscape has become. We live in a world where the recording and radio industries are run by big data, and it turns out we're the ones supplying a lot of that data. We live in a media environment where a breach of a movie studio's computer security can somehow morph into a “terrorist threat” against “American interests”. In this sort of environment, it helps to understand who's really delivering a message like that and why. It also helps to realize how that environment gets funded, and what we can do to change that.
And before you know it, another calendar year approaches its end. This week's episode is the last regular show before the 2014 Yearbook episode, which will also be show #300. We approach that milestone with a bunch of free downloads in this week's playlist, including several tracks from the new Cold Busted compilation 
In case you missed my live set in Philadelphia last weekend, visit my Mixcloud page — 
And I can't stop loving the place.
