The blog was a runaway success. In 2011, Shimkovitz launched a record label, reissuing a long-out-of-print record by Nahawa Doumbia, a vocalist from southern Mali. Her voice is the star of the record, soaring across registers, backed by undulating plucked guitar rhythms (played by her husband) and a variety of percussion instruments. Simkovitz has since reissued numerous gems from across the continent, and shows no signs up letting up.
DJ gigs came shortly thereafter. Armed with two cassette decks and a mixer, Shimkovitz plays out using original tapes from his collection, cueing up tracks before gigs and deftly handling any mishaps (cassettes — and cassette decks — definitely aren't built to last, unlike a bag of records and a pair of Technics 1200s). Music-wise, his sets are all over the place, encompassing a range of genres, styles, and moods, including many sounds inspired by Western music and a whole bevy that aren't. No matter what, though, the tracks he selects are lovely on the ear and ecstatically rhythmic — this isn't the dance party you're used to, and that's what makes it so great.
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