By Craig D. Lindsey
For the past twenty years, Houston-based DJ Andre Sam-Sin, better known as DJ Sun, has been spinning music that he calls “soular grooves” (which was also the name of his long-running — and now-defunct — public-radio show), which ranged from acid-jazz to downtempo dance music to soulful house jams. As of late, he’s been releasing some mellow yet funky music of his own. Last year, he dropped Qingxi, a full-length “soundtrack” inspired by an ancestral journey he took to China in 2015.
As the savvy spinmaster that he is, DJ Sun must have a have a few favorite soundtracks in mind, right? Here’s his top 5:
1. The Godfather (1972)
The first installment in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic gangster saga (which celebrated its 45th anniversary earlier this year) also boasts a classic score from the late Italian composer Nino Rota.
“The Godfather was the first major iconic movie I encountered. Nino Rota’s compositions throughout capture the epic tale with mood, pace and style. What a choice of composer! By the making of The Godfather, Rota had been immensely prolific in scoring Italian movies, and he didn’t disappoint in The Godfather.”
2. Car Wash (1976)
The Joel Schumacher-scripted ensemble comedy has a heavy-hitting cast (Richard Pryor! George Carlin! Danny DeVito!), as well as hit songs performed by ’70s R & B group Rose Royce.
“Car Wash represented another movie I grew up watching, and it encompassed a great balance of disco, funk and soul. Two sets of words: Rose Royce (the band that played most of the tracks on the soundtrack) and Norman Whitfield (producer). What a fun movie to go with an equally up-to-the-task soundtrack. This was a true smash when it was released, despite it being a double album, which tended to ‘weigh down’ releases of that era.”
3. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
Mira Nair’s erotic, historical romance film (which can be seen on Tribeca Shortlist) features an equally exotic score, courtesy of veteran composer Mychael Danna (Moneyball, The Ice Storm, Exotica).
“Kama Sutra, for obvious reasons, has a very sultry set of compositions. What’s compelling about this soundtrack is its authenticity while maintaining a (for the time it was released) modern but classical take on Indian-influenced music.”
4. Jackie Brown (1997)
We’ve talked about this movie (which you can also view on Tribeca Shortlist) before. This is Sun’s take on its lasting influence.
“Quentin Tarantino has soul! An obvious statement, but what stands out in his soundtracks are those obscure tracks by artists who may be familiar from ‘one-hit wonders,” but have ‘undiscovered gems.’ The Elvin Bishop (of ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love’ fame) song ‘She Puts Me In The Mood’ is not officially on the soundtrack release, but appears in the movie and fits amongst the more familiar classics by The Brothers Johnson (‘Strawberry Letter 23’), Bobby Womack (‘Across 110th Street’) and several others. The use of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Inside My Love’ and Randy Crawford’s (& The Crusaders — nodding to Houston, here!) ‘Street Life’ are genius selections for the feel of Jackie Brown that confirm the above, obvious statement. The anticipation of songs used in a Tarantino film for me has the same draw as the actual script and production of the movie.”
5. Wild Style (1982)
Charlie Ahearn’s underground gem practically ushered in hip-hop’s golden age, introducing audiences to breakdancing b-boys, outlaw graffiti taggers and future hip-hop legends like Busy Bee Starski, Grand Wizard Theodore and the Cold Crush Brothers.
“I had the honor and privilege of both interviewing and hanging out with Charlie Ahearn. He has amazing stories that he tells about the making of Wild Style, the one movie that actually captures the birth of hip-hop through the music captured in live recordings, which have been sampled on classics such as Nas’ Illmatic album and anyone else who documented that they were well-versed in the history of hip-hop. Wild Style, for all on the crest of breakout of hip-hop in the 90’s, cite it as the document to reference, be it through sampling or scratching important phrases that represented ‘the birth.’
