33Hz, Teki Latex, and Surkin at Hiro 11/29/07

Arrived at Hiro a bit before midnight. 33Hz went on just before 12:30. They definitely have a very retro sound, throwin back to Prince, MJ, etc. Their playing is also very tight and clean. Yet for some reason, barring a handful of dudes in the front, nobody was getting down. It seemed like most people were just talking and not even paying attention. Whack. They were very good, not something I would listen to all the time, but good. Things of note:

When the screen came down for their background visuals it said "visuals by poltergeist" so I thought that was whoever did the visuals'name...but actually, the visuals were scenes from the movie Poltergeist, messed around with and repeating, etc. It was awesome. Haha.

At some point they totally sampled Sinden's Beeper and played along with it which rocked.

Teki came out toward the end of their set and 33Hz served as the backing band for live versions of Disco Dance With You and Travailler at which point I freaked out and totally felt bad for my friend Eddie who was stuck at work and would have been equally freaking out if he were there.


After 33Hz, Teki dj-ed. I don't remember much of what he played, but it was very good. A lot of highly danceable jams mixed with a pop classic here and there. He also played some of his own and TTC's stuff and sang over it which was dope. He did Telephone which was excellent and he ended his set with Travailler (again) but really did it right. He came out from behind the booth and got in the middle of the crowd. It was a lot of fun. Also got a moment to chat with Teki later that evening and he mentioned that he had just started dj-ing. Could've fooled me. Definitely a well-rounded, really fun set.

Surkin went on right after Teki and he absolutely KILLED IT! which was awesome enough, but then you realize he's like 20 years old and tearing it up. Seriously, the dude was just furiously turning knobs the whole time, still was when I left at 3:30. He played a lot of good electro, good crunchy stuff - opened with Boys Noize and things stayed at a constant bang for the whole set. Also, the crowd got progressively better as the night went on. A lot of the people who were just there to be out had gone which left a pretty big group of people just fiercely getting down. I haven't seen it so (relatively) crowded at 2:30 at Hiro.

Here are some pictures:

Teki Latex and Surkin at Hiro

Surkin's at Studio B tonight along with a ton of other people. Don't sleep!

Read more...

Another great weekend in NY

starting Tonight:



Teki's one of the many men of the French rap group TTC. He's been doing dj sets and singing over them lately, which is how I think it's going down tonight. It's also the Paris Texas release party which is a new track featuring 33Hz, Teki Latex, and Devin the Dude. I listened to it a lot this morning...and I really don't like it. It's just doing nothing for me. You can hear the original version on 33Hz myspace, and Palms Out has some remixes which I haven't listened to yet, as well as an interview with Teki. Also, the young, but banging Surkin should be killing it. 33Hz is performing live too.

And, if you're not into any of that, or if it somehow ends up sucking, tonight's also the Dirtybird monthly at APT with Claude VonStroke and Tanner Ross. Claude is excellent and APT's basement gets packed when he comes to town. Expect it to be loud and sweaty. He did an Essential Mix for BBC earlier this month that's quite good.


Friday night in BK, Cut and Trouble & Bass throw down yet again:



If the first one is any indication, Masters of the Universe II should be awesome. Dana and I have been talking about how excited we are about it pretty much every day this week. I actually don't know much of Diplo's stuff and none of the South Rakkas Crew or Drums of Death. I'm just going for Surkin and the Trouble&Bass dj's and hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the rest.

The Cut and Trouble&Bass crews have a bunch of mixes floating around the internets right now that the Captain has conveniently put into a blog post. There's some stuff by the other acts dj-ing friday there too.

If you're looking for something to do earlier Friday night, definitely check these guys out:



Check this post to get a better idea of what they're like.

Saturday I am going to see Ween with my bro! and if I didn't see an inherent problem with drunk hipsters and rollerskating I would probably head here afterwards to catch the excellent Jacques Renault :

Read more...

Let Forever Be

I love the Chemical Brothers (you know). This is one of my favorite videos which you will find amusing even if you don't like their music:



I stumbled upon a little clip about how it was made which is pretty cool/interesting since I've loved this video for years but didn't know much about it.

Read more...

Sondre Lerche at the Music Hall of Williamsburg 11/26/07

*written sometime around 12:30 last night, finished up today*

This blog has unintentionally come to focus mainly on dj's and electronic/dance music, but I listen to a lot of other stuff. Stuff you probably can't picture someone who writes things like, "ahhh it's 4am and I just got home from seeing Simian Mobile Disco and they banged!!!" listening to.

Tonight I went to see one of those musicians...Sondre Lerche. He's a 25 year old guy from Norway, who sings and plays the guitar (both acoustic and electric). He sometimes plays with a band, the Faces Down (but tonight's show was solo). His music is generally very mellow, but has its rocking moments too. Sondre's lyrics are thoughtful, and even the most poppy of his tunes seems to have more depth than most. As much as I was semi repulsed by the yuppies of the future and couples ready to register at Pottery Barn that surrounded me at tonight's show, I honestly have no shame in aligning myself with them in being a Sondre Lerche fan, because he really is a talented musician.

ps - you just got saved from a tangent about how Sondre Lerche is good music to listen to when you are at the beginning of a relationship and everything is working out, and how when it doesn't work out it's great music to take naps to on your 2 hour morning commute, along with even more vague allusions to past relationships. Haha.

Anyway...both of those things happen to be true. I actually can't think of a time that is bad for listening to Sondre Lerche...other than maybe when you really want to hear some banging dance music.

Tonight was a nice evening off from banging dance jams and getting home just before the sun rises. Thanks to the combination of me chronically leaving my apartment early, and the G-train being jacked up I arrived at the Music Hall of Williamsburg perfectly on time for Sondre's set. I was shocked at how empty it was. Well, not empty, but just not packed the way I've seen many Sondre shows before. I remember seeing him at Bowery when it was sold out, and also at a pretty packed Webster Hall. Maybe it's because he's playing 3 shows in the area this week? In any case it was nice to not have people on top of me and I got a great spot toward the right, directly in front of the stage. Sondre started a little after 10 and played for about an hour and a half.

I know he started with these three songs, in this order

Don't Be Shallow
Everyone's Rooting For You
Airport Taxi Reception

I really, really like Don't Be Shallow, but wasn't really ready for it. It kind of flew by before I could enjoy it.

These were all in the middle, though I have nooo idea of the order:
Say It All
After All
Two Way Monologue
Stupid Memory
Minor Detail
Human Hands
Modern Nature
To be Surprised
I'll Be OK
Dead Passengers
Tragic Mirror
I Wanna Call It Love
Happy Birthday Girl

The encore (there was another song in there, probably out of the list above, just can't remember which - might've been Modern Nature):

Phantom Punch (his version without the Faces Down ROCKED! Seriously he tore it up and he yelled this one note at the end and held it forever and it was brilliant.)
Sleep on Needles (waiting impatiently for this song is why I can't remember the first song of the encore. It's probably my favorite song off of Sondre's Faces Down album, and performed live it's really great and lively).

It was probably one of the best Sondre shows I've been to. It was nice to have a smaller crowd than usual. His performance was excellent and he played every song I wanted to hear. The only one I might have wanted to hear which I didn't realize until I wrote the review was Dead End Mystery. Other than that he hit all my favorites.

Another great thing about Sondre is he is hilarious, 99% of the time without trying to be. I think it has something to do with him being foreign, maybe even specifically from Norway because I noticed Erlend Oye is funny in a similar, not trying to be, way. Because he's not trying to be funny it's kind of difficult to convey the humor here, but he touched on living on the bad side of the freeway on South 4th St. in Williamsburg, mice, breaking guitar strings, mispronouncing the word memories (mammaries) the first time he performed Stupid Memories, meeting everyone from The Office and Patrick Swayze at the premiere of Dan in Real Life, and what was probably everyone's anecdotal highlight...hearing the song Gasolina by Daddy Yankee blasting outside of his Williamsburg apartment, followed by a short lived and half-hearted attempt at covering it which was in itself worth the price of the ticket.

A couple of pics:




If you have nothing planned tonight you can probably make it to his show at the Bowery Ballroom if you hurry!! Haha...I meant to post this earlier in the day but I found myself unexpectedly running all over Manhattan for work this afternoon. There are still tickets left for his show at Maxwell's Thursday. I've never been there but from what I hear it's nice and small which is the perfect setting to see Sondre.

Read more...

Filter

Look who's on the cover of Filter next month (available on Friday).

ps - I'm still loving Zhiguli's Lazy mash-up!

Read more...

Electroma Screenings

If you missed it back when it was at the Sunshine in August, Daft Punk's Electroma is playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 22nd, 2 screenings - one at 9pm, 2nd at midnight. Tickets are $10, and go on sale at noon on the 23rd (this Friday). First show tickets here, and the 2nd screening here.

Also, forgot to mention, URB has an interview with one of the actors from Electroma, discussing life inside the helmet.

Read more...

Thanksgiving

After work today I will be scurrying to Grand Central to catch a train, then a ferry, home to suburbia until Sunday, possibly Saturday. But if I were here I would probably be doing one or both of these things tonight:



Devlin & Darko (the Spankrock dj's) were pretty good at Hiro last week.

I'm a little familiar with Kap10Kurt. He's on Plant Music - a good label if you ask me. I really like his song "Die Sleeping", but it's pretty mellow. I also heard his new song, Dangerseekers, which I liked a lot, but it was a remix by Rolf Honey so I really have very little idea what his show will be like tonight.

The other thing going on is this:



I don't know anything about any of the bands, but go see Mike dj! We have similar taste in music so it will obviously be awesome. Haha.

I am thankful that there is nothing that awesome happening while I'm not in the city this weekend. I'm also thankful for the amount of great stuff going on next week, Yea-yuhh!! (and also, obviously thankful for a lot of other more important stuff).

Happy Thanksgiving! Get yo turkey (or whatever) on!

Read more...

Why I love the Beeb Blog Right now

David Byrne VS Kavinksy & SebastiAn - Lazy Testarossa (Zhiguli Mix). Dope!!!

Read more...

New Presets song and Principles of Geometry

Today on their myspace you can preview a new song by the Presets - My People.

Just listened to it once. I still have mixed feelings about the Presets. I saw them as openers twice without ever hearing any of their stuff beforehand. I think the dude's Aussie accent coming through when he sings throws me off or something. Anyway, about 3/4 through the song I was thinking it was good but nothing crazy...and then it proceeded to get really good. Check it out.

Also, I read about this band in a myspace bulletin, and James from SMD said they were really great so I checked them out. They are pretty good. They don't really sound like anything else I'm listening to...they start out kind of atmospheric, but then get crunchy and subtly bang. It's a nice change...

Read more...

I knew I forgot something

Tonight Hollis Browne is playing at Fat Baby.

I've posted about them before...they sound classic rock-ish, a little bluesy too but very energetic. I got into them because my friend Chuck used to manage them and thankfully they rock.

So yeah...check them out. Go!!

Read more...

Chromeoooo

A couple of my favorite Montrealers - P-Thugg and Dave 1, aka Chromeo, have just announced a couple of US shows in January following their UK and Australia tours over the next few months. And they are:

January 18th at El Rey Theater in LA

January 26th at the Bowery Ballroom - Tickets

Read more...

Degenerates - Moby and Tommy Sunshine at Hiro 11/15/07

My Degenerates experience last night was much better than last time. I arrived just before midnight. There was a line, but it wasn't too bad, maybe 10 minutes. As I walked in "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads was playing. I love that song, and somehow have never heard it on a big system, so things were off to an excellent start.

The Spankrock dj's were on at that point. At first I wasn't that into their set. They were playing good, older stuff - Michael Jackson, Bucketheadz "The Bomb", but their transitions weren't really there. By the time I got back from coat check (I think I waited longer in that line than the one to get in, there was just one poor guy working there!) the room had filled up considerably. It became hellish to navigate, but there was still plenty of room to dance in the front toward the right so I parked myself over by the steps and waited. Spankrock's set had picked up a bit. They were playing more current stuff (Put Your Hands Up for Detroit, and a weird, unexpected, but very good remix of Hang Me Up to Dry by Cold War Kids) and the transitioning into and out of songs was much better.

They played for just a bit more, and a little before 1:30 Moby started. The first song or two was hip hop, but I think that was mainly Spankrock finishing up and phasing out. Things got more dance oriented pretty quickly. I have pretty much no idea what he played, but it was good. Very energetic with a bit of an old school feel. The 2 songs I knew, Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At? - dope on a big system and a lot of fun. Towards the end he played some of his own stuff and everybody lost it. Then he dropped Underworld's Born Slippy and everyone lost it more.

Also, people were just bugging out over Moby in general. They were just bugging out that he was there. There was constant pressing of peeps right up against the stage for his entire set. If anyone left and a gap opened up, another Moby-iac stepped up and filled it in. They weren't even really dancing - they were standing there all starstruck and kind of moving a little bit. It was weird.

Moby finished his set a little before 2:30 at which point Tommy Sunshine went on. I don't think you can adequately prepare yourself for one of his dj sets. I had never seen him dj before. I actually didn't know who he was until I kept seeing him out, and then got an email about an album he was putting out and made the connection. In any case...he's quite a character when you just look at him - the beard, the long hair, but then seeing him actually dj-ing with his beard and long hair - it is quite the scene. It is just all over the place. It reminded me of Cousin It from the Adams Family crossed with the Yip Yip aliens from Sesame Street. I mean that in the best way possible. He was fun to watch, and his entire set banged pretty hard from the get-go with no let up. Again, no idea what was being played. It seemed like more current stuff, just stuff I am not familiar with at all. It seemed more edgy and rock driven if that makes sense, even though it was definitely dance music. Early in his set I think he sampled the siren from the Chemical Brothers' "Song to the Siren", but I couldn't tell for sure. Whatever it was it sounded pretty cool. I left at about 3:30. The place stayed full pretty late for Hiro, but by then the crowd was pretty small. Tommy was still going strong when I left.

Pictures of course:

Degenerates - Moby and Tommy Sunshine at Hiro 11/15/07

You can also see what Moby had to say about the evening here.

Read more...

This evening

Spank Rock, Moby, and Tommy Sunshine at Hiro. Flyer and info on the last Degenerates night in this post, first review of seeing Moby dj in this post.

Read more...

Tim Fite/Shaniqua!

After I got into Tim Fite I found out he used to be part of "Little T and One Track Mike"...but then I forgot to look into it. Pitchfork offhandedly mentioned it in a recent post about Tim touring with my Brightest Diamond. Apparently this video was pretty successful and was shown on MTV quite a bit in 2001, but it's new to me and too hilarious and awesome not to post:



Also, Tim is playing at the Gramercy Theater with my Brightest Diamond on Saturday. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss it, buy you should try not to! I don't know anything about My Brightest Diamond, but can't say enough good things about Tim. His live show is energetic, interactive and quite zany. His rapping and sampling are like nothing you've heard before. If you haven't heard any of his stuff before prepare yourself and then brace for impact. It might be a bit weird at first, but give it a chance and you will love it.

Read more...

Overdue stuff

Hopefully will post soon:

Fixed 3 year anniversary with Erol Alkan and Justice at Studio B
DFA Halloween at Studio B
David Byrne Presents: How New Yorkers Ride Bikes

Read more...

Take that, Monday!

Read more...

Tonight

If you don't feel like doing this, here is another option:

Read more...

Mr. Flash at Hiro 11/8/07

Got home from Hiro a bit ago...

Met my new music twin (Paul) there around 11.

There's a line - whack.
They start announcing that single guys aren't getting in - whack.

A few minutes later we are in and the place is EMPTY.

GBH is great about booking big acts, but the whole scene at Hiro is really ridiculous.

Anyway...probably about 1:15 Mr. Flash finally goes on. Opens with Genesis by Justice, follows it with some other Ed Banger goodness, mixed in with a little of this and that (dropped the Way It Is by the Prodigy), and a couple of more Justice tracks. All was good and banging...and then it just all started to wind down. A bit before 2:30 we agree to bounce and without fail, Mr. Flash starts to bang again. The wheels were already in motion though, so we left. Got this pic of the bearded (Ed) Banger on the way out...



Overall, it was a decent set. Definitely started with a bang, and if there wasn't that big lull in the middle, definitely could have been up there with some of the better dj sets I've heard this year.

Read more...

Friday!

David Bruno comes up with something awesome for you to do yet again:

Free, at Studio B, cheap booze, bangin disco...why wouldn't you go?

Read more...

What's going on this week:

Tonight:



I only saw Pink Skull perform 2 songs back in September, but they were both very good. Hopefully this dude is an equally good dj. The boy seems to like his sprinkles (ps - my boss is a weirdo and calls them jimmies!)...and if that's not a sign of a good dj I dunno what is. If not, it's definitely worth going out to see Jacques.

Wednesday Mathhead is dj-ing at Supreme Trading. There's a flyer, but it might put you into a fit of epilepsy. If you don't mind that, check it out here.

Thursday...the event I am most excited about this week. Yet another bearded, and also another "Mr." of the Ed Banger crew passes through our city:



Not on the radar as much as some other peeps on Ed Banger, but he still brings it. Check him on Hype Machine

Not sure what's up for Friday yet...

Saturday night:


I am very hesitant about this one. I saw Patrick from M.A.N.D.Y. dj a couple of months ago and it was not a good experience. I am hoping it was just a variety of external factors - crowd, venue, etc. Trouble & Bass haven't steered me wrong yet. They will be spinning that night too so even if M.A.N.D.Y. is horrible it should still be a decent night.

Read more...

Felix da Housecat and Alexander Technique at Rebel 11/3/07

Got to Rebel about 12:30 last night just as Alexander Technique was getting started. It was really loud and banging. I think I need to start wearing earplugs soon. Damage was definitely done last night. I had never seen Alexander spin before, but suspected he was probably good because he does the DJ's Are Not Rockstars parties with my friend Van. He absolutely KILLED IT last night. He was dropping these killer rock remixes - Baba O'Reilly, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Song 2. Also a ton of good new stuff - Sinden's Beeper, ending with the MSTRKRFT remix of D.A.N.C.E. followed by We Are Your Friends. Serious fun.

You can catch him and Van tonight at DJ's Are Not Rock Stars at Cielo:



Felix went on at 2. He was on fire from the beginning. He opened with Shake and Pop, followed it with Smack My Bitch Up, this song I know but couldn't think of the title and now have no idea what it sounds like anymore...it might have been Serious Trouble by Zongamin, but I'm not sure. Phantom and Phantom Pt. 2, Rollin and Scratchin with a very faint sample of Silver Screen Shower Scene it the background (but he never dropped it! evil!)...it's all a bit of a blur after that. Overall an excellent set on a really loud system.

Felix-

Read more...

If I had some money to go to the record store...

I would. WFMU Record Fair this weekend.

Also...200 Orchard is about to get fucked. Read about it here and sign the petition.

Read more...

Tomorrow night

Get down:



Interview with Felix

or



Italians do it better ;) haha

Read more...

'Sup Magazine

I first heard of 'Sup magazine when Disconap posted about their CMJ party with the Black Ghosts. Unfortunately it caught me at a moment of weakness and I did not go. But it got me reading 'Sup's blog, so something good came out of it. They posted a bunch of interviews recently that are quite interesting. I like this cheeky one in which James Ford of SMD interviews the Klaxons and I really enjoyed this one with Boys Noize that discusses how he started dj-ing and created his own label.

Read more...