Baltimore’s DJ Karizma is playing at Cielo on Friday night, if you live anywhere near New York City and are the least bit interested in electronic music, you should go see him. Karizma has long been one of my favourite producers and DJs, the soulful house and garage he has put out over the years with DJ Spen under their Basement Boys alias is some of the finest music to emerge from the genre. But in more recent times, Karizma’s harder-edged solo productions have been making waves across the pond, shaping and informing the new strain of funky house music that’s been quietly evolving on the London pirate stations, and has now all but replaced the grime scene as the music du jour in the capital.

Karizma’s music is rugged and stripped down, yet hauntingly soulful (the influence of J Dilla’s work is clear and present). This year and last, tracks like ‘33rd Street Anthem‘ and ‘Twyst This’ (the track in the video above) have been hitting hard on the pirates, while leading lights in the London scene such as Rinse FM’s DJ Perempay cite Karizma as a huge influence on their work. Tickets for Playtime with Karizma are $10 beforehand or $20 on the door. Check him out if you’re nearby, he’s an incredible DJ.