Distriction: Happy Hour
July 21, 2008 at 6:59 pm
In a district that sleeps alone, save for your few back-pocket lobbyists sharing space under the covers, post-work social events are networking for some, but that seldom found chance to breathe for others. In a city bursting at its seams with political rhetoric and hot air, founded upon agendas far deeper than hidden, it is not every night that one is able to find an hour away from “D.C.” much less one which could be remotely defined as “happy.” What a joy then to stumble across a lounge whose happy hour not only raises one’s spirits, but soothes the soul. The Eighteenth Street Lounge is a three story bar/club/lounge with a playlist more exclusive than its guest list. The locale only plays its own artists, only those from the ESL record label. Not a gimmick, but rather a complete synthesis of the atmosphere. An hour at ESL is an indulgence of the senses; there is nary a bar — D.C. or anywhere — that can boast a panoramic deluge of taste, touch, sight, sound, and yes, smell reflecting their own distinctly unique vibe.
While I cannot provide social lubricant to wet the palate, I’ve opted instead to let your ears indulge in sonic delights. Each artist showcased below is from the Eighteenth Street Lounge label, the artists which make the hour ecstatic. Enjoi.
Joe Bataan - The Bottle
(Salsoul Classics, Vol. 1/ 1992)
Federico Aubele - El Amor de Este Pueblo
(Gran Hotel Buenos Aires/ 2004)
Karmisky Experience Inc. - Exploration
(The Power of Suggestion/ 2003)
Federico Aubele - Besos de Sal
(Gran Hotel Buenos Aires/ 2004)
Quantic & Nickodemus - Mi Swing Es Tropical
(Ritmo Tropical/ 2004)
Chris Joss - You’ve Been Spiked
(You’ve Been Spiked/ 2004)
photo credit: IntangibleArts
I am surprise nobody ever write a novel about ESL lounge. It’ll be the ultimate noir piece. DC politics and all.
btw. ever been to ESL? I had the impression it’s some sort of super slick bar, Tokyo style. But it turned out to be a pretty ordinary city lounge.
Thievery Corporation - Richest man in Babylon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thievery_Corporation
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C.-based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton and their supporting artists. Their music style is dub, acid jazz, Indian classical and Brazilian (such as bossa nova) fused together with a lounge aesthetic. Formed in the summer of 1995 at D.C.’s Eighteenth Street Lounge. Rob Garza and Lounge co-owner Eric Hilton bonded over strong drinks, dub, bossa nova and jazz records, then decided to see what would come of mixing all these in a recording studio. From this, the duo was born and their self started label Eighteenth Street Lounge Music began to emerge on an international level.
The duo caught the ears of underground DJ’s with their first two 12″ offerings, “Shaolin Satellite” and “2001 Spliff Odyssey” and with their 1997 debut LP, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, they had already begun to define a new genre of electronic music and connect with an international community of like-minded souls. Though the terminology has varied (downtempo, chill out, leftfield and a myriad of other permutations), they have been at the top of their game ever since.
id never heard of it — i know, don’t judge — until a colleague had a shindig over there last week. because id never heard of it i was floored at the whole history and mystery around it.
but like you said, when i got there, it was really chill and loungy; completely different than the hype builds it up to be, but in a good way.
i fell in love with the music so going there for the first time was really the motive behind the list.
when did you go?
and yes, what a piece that would be … if i wasn’t such a procrastinator i would make that piece myself, but yknow … that’s a big if. politics and dc are what make esl so esl, its so not my idea of dc; like a trapdoor elsewhere.
I don’t remember when, more like ages ago. I remember that and fugazi about DC.