I felt like this was never going to get released! lol, jk. It did take a long time though. I mean when I first heard the original track I was on the couch on my laptop in NOLA, and the weird part is that I can not remember for the life of me right now whether it was in July or May (I was there three times this year). Anyways, it matters only in chronological matters but I feel like I remember receiving Don Rimini's mix when I was in Mexico, I was in bed.

So Rachael plays me the music and I immediately wanted to produce the project, as well as wanting to go out and play the music at some bar in the quarter. We did go out, but the night was dead, and really all the clubs in the quarter play LITERALLY the same music -- so dull. But I left NOLA and I knew that I wanted to do it.

The remixes really are like ace, as usual. Everyone did their own thing with the track and I feel like it's an incredibly fun project, and I feel like all the remixers just went with it. I of course needed to have a juke mix in there (I'll never not be a 7th grade girl with my hoop earrings) and I even shot the video in October when I was in NOLA before coming home.


I feel like this is one of the most polarizing projects I've done tho. And I feel that way because the project is so flamboyant, and while most people don't care, it really pushes against the hyper-masculine thing going on in dance music at the moment. So I was extremely cognizant of that through out the producing and development of Gina. I didn't want to make Gina anti-woman, nor make it a class, or race thing (which is why I wanted Gina to be a bear). Really, Gina, for me is not only the other fake-o person who thinks they're all that -- but also it talks, to me, about that feeling that I feel that we all carry inside of ourselves (at least sometimes, even I can feel like a Gina) and that's kinda cool.

So, another project, another day, and hopefully you like it and have as much fun as I've had with it.

Labels: Don Rimini, gettoblaster, gina, inner rebels and less hate, juke, londy, new orleans, pour le plaisir, screamin rachael, someone from lithuania with a friend named jorge

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Ciao a tutti! Yes I'm hurrrr. Well let's get started on what has been going on and upcoming things from me. A bigger post, yes but I like do whatever.

Thank you to Nicole from Latino Post for writing a feature on me and my work! I feel like I came somewhat out of the closet with this one because I'm finally comfortable revealing my age.

http://latinpost.com/articles/4209/20131202/jorge-cruz-an-artist-unafraid.htm Sometime I also found out Resident Advisor reviewed Screamin' Rachael: Queen of House (the album that I put together) and one yay for a review, two yes it wasn't the best review but these were all issues I knew people would have with the release which is exactly the point of the release being put how it was put together. I'm not saying the reviewer was wrong or w.e but it proved the exact points that Rachael and I discussed would be being brought up when it was time for people to talk about their opinions on this album. Luckily for every so-so review 3 great reviews topped that one. The only thing I will say about this is that first off, thank you for even taking the time to write anything, and second thank you for validating exactly how I thought this album would be reviewed by some. But again, everyone has their opinions and no beef no foul. I'm more happy to have a review from RA :) http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=13780

Labels: 2013, 2014, 34 mag, italian, jorge cruz, latin post, monamiejorge, queen of house, resident advisor, screamin rachael, updates

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So this was the bonus track that I was talking about before in this post for the Screamin' Rachael: Queen of House album. So I designed the vinyl for it and I also made the album cover for the digital store which mirrors the b-side of the album. The pressing plant was originally against the b-side and later on I learned they did not want the vinyl to be colored. Both of which I obviously implemented for the design. The vinyl sold out, duh. You can find both things online.

get'er digitally here: https://traxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/u-used-to-hold-me-the-todd-terry-remixes

A-Side

B-Side

Labels: design, jorge, monamiejorge, screamin rachael, todd terry, trax records, u used to hold me, vinyl

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Okay so basically after I put out that Joe Smooth mixtape for the 25th Anniversary (in 2010) I heard one of Rachael's songs on the tape ("Dance All Night") and I was HOOKED on it, as I usually am (am I the only one who will listen to one song for days, hours?). From there I obviously started to know more and more music mainly because I was archiving all the music onto bandcamp and so when I listened to "Love Is In The Air" at some moment in time I just had to put this album together. I didn't even know her other music at this point but that's me, I see one thing I like and I try to make a platform or something so it can be appreciated by everyone!

I've recently realized that I've been like this since I was like 5 and controlling/playing that Christian Castro CD for one of our dinners with family friends, and then they went "Ohhhhh" and I guess since then I've been hooked on the idea of showing and telling. I had obviously some previous things happen but that one really stands out, as well as the time Elisa and I went to a Halloween party where I was online in the beginning talking to an oinline friend from Brown that I met on Camfrog. I was bored, and wanted to make the night special for myself. So I took over the music, and I honestly felt like it was my party because previously they were playing some lame music (like frat rock) and everyone was just sitting on the couches and shit. The party was super tho because they had decorations, and food (themed food) so I just took over the stereo with my then iPod touch. Let's just say, the euphoria of 1) making a party 2) playing Dirty Sanchez's "Youth In Asia" to a mixed crowd and having them go wild was just enough to make my Halloween experiences. Later I cuddled for the entire train ride from Addison to Congress with a super cute boy I met that night who had a girlfriend (who was ditched for me and was literally in the next train car) but that it neither here nor there.

The point is my life was built up to do things like this for a while. So then I put out the 25th Anniversary Collection (of which the album was curated by me) at this point I had expressed that I wanted to put her album together but obviously when the time was right, and when I felt like it -- I just can't perform if I don't feel like it. So obviously they nagged me once in a while about it, and at that time there was no real direction as to where it was going to go, or what it was going to be -- it could have been a new album mixed with music from her catalogue; it could have been an album of just new studio music, w.e! The point is that there was no direction and I had yet to put any work into it, but it was in the back of my mind.

So in the summer of 2012 I put together SUMMERTRAX because I heard Rachael's song "Extacy" and at that same time "Starships" was out and I was like I want a summer album, so I did, and "Extacy" was my "Starships" (meaning it was like a summer jam). Which later was chosen by XLR8R as a free download and later became one of the top most downloaded songs of 2012. At this point I only really knew maybe 10 songs of hers but I was determined to get the songs I loved of hers the time of day.

So as the year began to wind down I began asking for music and Rachael kept giving me the same stuff on cd's (at this time I could not back out from putting the album together, and I really didn't want to because the songs I did hear were just like homagah!) but I also realised that maybe the album would be only 10 tracks or something -- I would never just put out to put out. Fortunately, or unfortunately I had problems with my laptop at the very end of the year and then Rachael gave me hers (gurl needs to work!) so she gave me her laptop to work, and I of course just looked through her iTunes (maybe we did talk about the fact that she only gave me the same music over and over again; and at one point I even asked her to give me vinyl so I could pick music out of) the point is that once I opened up that iTunes it was gold, GOLD! From there I literally at first began to scan solely for her music but the files were so unorganized that the task became somewhat very daunting, but work is work, haha. I ended up just pulling (I like to have a very fashion-ey, artistic way of thinking about how I work. It's like I think of how people would pull a bunch of coats or dresses or photographs at once and then widdle them down) the songs and loaded them onto my iPhone (it was winter at this point) and took my dogs behind the offices behind this are by where I live and just listened. Already I knew it was going to be crucial to put these in a very specific order because it was very jarring to hear them the way I did and also even some of the songs that I love now I thought nothing of originally because of the way they were jsut randomly placed to other songs. "Love Is In The Air" was always the album opener tho (gurl I take that Michael Kors advice [via Project Runway season 1, holla Wendy!] when it comes to opening a show -- in this case an album). So from there it was pretty easy to just Anna Wintour the shit out of it. Yes, no, def no, and hell no-ing things and I really put the album together more stylistically as opposed to having it be a narrative or trying to tell a story (of which I did on the 25th Anniversary Album, and SUMMERTRAX). I mean I put everything out stylistically but sometimes I sacrificed or added certain songs to enhance the narrative I was going for like for the 25th Anniversary album which was really about my depression/ how I felt the label was at that moment in time and about displaying black avant-garde music I chose songs based on their names. Songs like: "Help", "I've Lost Control", "Time Marches On", etc.

So w/ this one it never was about me wanting to tell a specific story, just a great sonic record but maybe it was my unconscious or something -- but I did put the album together in a way that tell Rachael's life. Like the first songs are about partying, then life after the party (sex) and then about real life struggles, etc. That is obviously a very condensed way of saying how Rachael's life was but you can ask her more about it. We literally in April had a discussion at her table and without provoking the conversation or anything gelled exactly how I had put the album in order (maybe I'm telekinetic).

At the very end before the final version of the album was submitted by me I was still combing through her iTunes to make sure I didn't miss any songs (I had, of course) so I ended up literally clicking through every single song and ended up finding "Joy", "Let's Play House", and maybe a couple more -- can not remember but those really stood out because I can't imagine not having them in the album. At that point also the album needed to be filled it was kinda bare (it had more than 20 songs) but it needed padding, I knew the album needed more so clicking on every song was great! Also this is how TransTRAX (another comp coming out this year) was born. Because naturally I ran into songs where I went like "oh hey gurl, what?!" and so thats that.

Okay so when I first started out I was honestly just wanting to do the art for everything from posters, to albums -- I had no interest in running a label, putting out music, etc. While that was nice I felt like I needed to give my art a platform to properly be displayed. This means: Basically if I am going to be part of something it was to be at a certain level, especially if it going to 1) have my name on it 2) if it is going to have my art on it. So this thinking led to me basically running the label publically while Rachael did all the defending and serious work behind the scenes. I just wanted to be part of something I would be proud to have my name on, and with no one else there I just ended up taking over many things. I'm saying all this because it has a lot to do with how I branded this album.

I knew this album was fantastic, and I knew it could go two way if the press shots, the album cover, and the press were not up to par. Some may think that why do all that work? Well I just spent a large amount of time trying to build the house now I need cute furniture inside of it, you feel me?

The album cover was born out of me just playing with this photograph of Rachael's that was on her page on Facebook. and then I just decided to being painting it, somewhere in the haze. Maybe because I put the album together, I just had a natural reaction to it with my hands. I don't know because I have no solid reason as to why it is that, or why I chose to paint, etc. It just came out of me.



Later on in April I knew I needed to have the proper press shots for this album because at this point how can you have 1) an amazing album 2) an amazing cover and then come out with lame-o press shots. So I shot them when I stayed with Rachael over at a park near Lake Point Tower next to Navy Pier. In the beginning the lighting was all crazy and we were about to leave but then the magic happened. I also, as many of you know, have become a makeup lover (paintingggg) and nails, and so I did that and styled it! (wow so many hatssss, haha) Maybe I am OCD, but it's my work godamnit![Willam reference]




The at night we shot the "punk" looks and I also shot the promo video (hell no, I won't not have one. every project I've made thus far has had one). Yet again, makeup'd and styled it, as well as shooting and editing. I don't have a factory of people working for me a la Jeff Koons. This was shot on the third floor garden at Lake Point Tower facing the southside.


So then Rachael had worked on the bonus track with Todd Terry (errrrr….. he made his own Mixes, or something) and so I also designed that vinyl but because it was a bonus track and not really a song that was part of the album like the others *** a bonus track usually is the oddball track in an album that is chosen for many reasons. Because it didn't fit (stylistically, time-wise, the artist wanted it on there, etc.). Hence why that was on there. So I made the vinyl a complete opposite as to what the album is like. I said red-on-red vinyl because what's sexier than a dripping red vinyl? amirightorwhat? and then we ended up having a two face design mainly because why just have one design when we can have two?!! The backside mirrors the single's digital cover. also I chose red because the scale of the vinyl sticker will look hotanga!

view the book here: http://issuu.com/jorgecruz88/docs/screaminrachaelqueenfhouse

This post was really about branding and about the album so in a different post I'll post things like soundcloud stream and reviews we've gotten, etc.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention: I also made the promo's that were sent out. We did not have physical cd's made so of course I was not just about to burn songs onto any CD. I obviously chose that the promo's have the tracklisting mirroring that of the album. So it was the first couple of songs, and then I made little cards along with stickers! I love these memorex writable cd's (they're sold as printable) but they are the perfect way to be able to write on them. I handsigned each CD, there were supposed to be 3 types of signatures to indicate in what order they were being burned and all this other stuff. But gurl, I've already forgotten. Signed each of them in milky penssssss.

Labels: branding, design, monamiejorge, photography, queen of house, screamin rachael

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I made this promo film for the upcoming Screamin' Rachael: Queen of House album that I curated. I also had a photoshoot and it was pretty awesome. I'll post those photographs later.
I also styled, and did the makeup for this. As a side note the day before we had an interview with Feast of Fun and so we went to Walgreens because we needed makeup brushes and I had also told Rachael that we needed to amp her nail color because I was wearing OPI's "Just Spotted the Lizard" from the Spiderman collection, and I didn't want her nails to be outshined by mine (she was wearing a muted gold color). So anyways, two days before or so I had seen online (at the polishaholic) that Essie was coming out with a resort collection, "In My Cab-ana"so that stuck in mind, and well it was there as soon as we walked in. We were at the Walgreens on Illinois next to the AMC. So I made her get it and so that's the color that she is wearing in the film. I had actually done her nails 10 minutes before we left, also I made her get Sally Hansen's Rapid-dri top coat, so phew. So if anyone from Essie is listening to this, and when this video goes viral on all those websites from press, I hope you consider this, and decide to send me more info on your collections ;)

Labels: essie, film, in my cab-ana, in my cabana, jorge cruz, Just spotted the lizard, monamiejorge, nail polish, nails, OPI, promo, queen of house, screamin rachael

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Labels: extacy, free download, graeme park, mp3, screamin rachael, summertrax, xlr8r

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Labels: dj fade, joe smooth, jorge cruz, monamiejorge, nic sarno, screamin rachael, the flow, top billin, trax records

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Labels: house, jorge cruz, monamiejorge, New York, screamin rachael, trax records, trax short

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Labels: daryl pandy, jorge cruz, love can't turn around, monamiejorge, screamin rachael, trax records

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Labels: jorge cruz, monamiejorge, screamin rachael, trax records, trax short

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same, work by me

Labels: Frankie Knuckles, jorge cruz, marshall jefferson, monamiejorge, ron hardy, screamin rachael, trax records, trax short

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Labels: jorge cruz, monamiejorge, screamin rachael, trax records, trax short

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