Another West Coast, US of A exclusive right here…
Rong Music’s Fre$hro aka RoLo released one of Cosmic Disco’s favourite EP’s of ’06 that featured the fantastic slow burner ‘Arrow Highway’ as well as the futuristic Hip Hop of ‘My Flow’ both of which still get heavy rotation on our playlists.
As a result we tracked down the man responsible who has kindly provided us with an excellent Balearic mix of all things that float his boat, both old and new.
Here’s some biog info on the man Fre$ro aka RoLo:
“Fresh Ro” aka Rolo was introduced to DJ’ing when he was 13 years old while spending the summer of ‘79 in a small town near Guadalajara Mexico.
Inspired by his cousin who was only 15 an already working at the towns only disco as the light guy and warm up DJ. During this period there was no age limit or laws that prohibited minors to get in and drink alcohol in the disco, so Rolo made sure he stayed the summer every year for the next 5 years.
When Rolo returned home back to Los Angeles he convinced his dad to buy him some equipment ,being that his dad was an owner of one Los Angeles first Mexican music venues, he did not hesitate to buy equipment and records. For a couple years his dad had him DJ at weddings and sweet 15 birthday parties to pay off the equipment. Soon after Rolo was rocking all the neighbourhood parties and was known as the ‘Mexican kid with all the latest jams’.
Then around 1982 popping and breaking started getting big and Rolo joined a crew as a popper and DJ. With a combination of Electro, Disco and Funk, Rolo gained a good reputation as a DJ and was asked to play some of the legendary Eastside one off parties held in backyards and numerous venues. He also was asked to DJ at many dance contests and it was here he was given the name Fresh-Ro.
In 1984 Rolo bought himself a Roland 808 and started programming beats with his friend Chilly who had a keyboard. They released a couple records that did decent locally under the name “The Next Generation” but when Chilly moved Rolo decided to take a break on production and focus on other things.
In the late 80s still DJ’ing locally and in Guadalajara, Rolo and his older brothers open up “Club Monopoly’s” in Riverside California. It was considered the inland empires best Hip-Hop and R&B club that catered to a predominately black clientele. There Rolo was the resident DJ for 10 years and he got to open up for many of his favourite Hip-Hop groups like Gangstarr, KRS One, Cypress Hill ,Jurassic 5, Aceyalone and many more.
That is where he met the emcees that he still works with to date. Being that the music he spun at the club was not what he really wanted to play Rolo had to seek other outlets to satisfy his passion for House music and Techno, he tried many nights at the club with no success so Rolo decided to try something in Mexico. Having already met a Local Puerto Vallarta DJ with the same vision, Rolo and Popo decide to build a small house scene around 1992.
Parties were initially held at small bars and around 1996 the parties where held at many outlandish jungle locations outside of the town. A couple years later the gatherings where called “Organic” and they started inviting serious talent every 4 months.
DJ’s who played guest at these parties have included Harvey, Eric D, Jamie Thinnes, Lance Desardi, Dean Decosta, Garth, Doc Martin, Osunlade, Solar, Liza Richardson, Cocoe, Valida, Rashida, Jihad Muhammed, Juan Nunez, Little Chris, Danny Zee and Jasper.
Organic is still being held at Popo’s residency “Desantos” in Guadalajara. At Present Rolo has returned to his Roots as a producer and is working on some tracks as “Fresh Ro” with his emcees and new talents that he meets, also Rolo will continue to organize events in Mexico and is planning to soon get back started on a scene in L.A.
Clocking in at just over an hour this is a stunning mix of Balearica and Slo-Mo House with a dash of Art Rock and 70′s Soul thrown in for good measure. We think you will agree that not only does RoLo produce stunning tracks but he is also a selector of the highest quality.
Show Fre$hro some love and leave your comments below.
Fre$hro’s Eastside Winter Mix
- Soichi Terada Shinichiro Yokota Feat. Naoko Shimada – Sun Shower
- King Crimson – The Sheltering Sky
- Neptune- Zodiak Trax 1
- Sorcerer- Surfing At Midnight
- Miki Concept - La Force De La Nature
- Holy Ghost- Walking On Air
- The Countach – Aqua Marina
- Polyrock – Your Dragging Feet
- Studio – West Coast
- Amanda Lear - The Sphinx
- The Futures- Party Time Man