DJ Seduce

DJ Seduce’s masterful mashup of Afrobeats, Brazilian jazz, Latin funk, and downtempo grooves — injected with the occasional flamenco guitar, bongo breakdown, piano jam, and ethereal flute — makes for a mesmerizing musical menagerie. Whether he’s kicking cowbells and sharp snare beats into a samba (as he does in his mix of Captain Planet’s “Samba Radiante”) or fusing woozy Creole jazz with sax-saturated neo-funk (as in The Jazzinvaders’ “Banga Banga Jazz”), Seduce creates a cohesive coagulation of cultures. Even when he’s blending a mambo with an urban hip-hop beat and throwing a brass section into the grind (see his mix of Red Astaire’s “Mambo El Kingston”), there’s no sonic stumbling in the vibe. Foreign Affair: Volume One is definitely more melting pot than tossed salad, and the reward for the listener is that the music magically invokes a mood — you know, like music was meant to do before spoon-fed singles and trite Top 40 hits became all the rage. This mix moves the listener to dance and daydream. It’s the perfect soundtrack for grinding against beautiful bronzed bodies on a Saturday night, and a great complement to a cup of Costa Rican coffee on a Sunday morning.