Pharrell (Fluo Kids), 33Hz, and Alan Braxe at Santos 8/28/08

Alan Braxe at Santos Party House - 8/28/08
This past Thursday night at Santos was one of the most fun nights out I've had in a while. The vibe at Santos was great. Got their early to beat the cover. It was already pretty full and people were merrily grooving to Pharrell's (from French electronic music blog Fluo Kids) excellent set that was a melodic blend of more groovy house/slightly discoey jams than I expected - really a great set.

33Hz went on close to 12:30, and as much as I hate to say it - it was not one of their best sets. They opened with one of my favorite tracks - "Crazy All the Time" and it took me a moment to notice because it sounded totally different - as did all of the tracks, because they added some robotic vocal effect to ALL the vocals for the entire show. It just sounded bad and drowned out/took away from everything else good that the band was doing.

A little before 1:30 Alan Braxe went on. The past couple of times I've seen him over the past year I didn't have the greatest time. The first was more my issue, and the second time the set just wasn't doing it for me. Alan's set at Santos Thursday made up for any shortcomings of the past two. French fire from beginning to end - a perfect balance of classic and updated French house with tasteful hints of electro. It was a blissful set. Can't remember too many specifics of what he dropped other than his & Fred Falke's remix of "Bossy" by Kelis, teased with "Music Sounds Better With You", Lumberjack by Alan Braxe & Kris Menace, and the banging ending of his set which consisted of Soulwax's "E Talking" into "Hung Down" by the Presets. The whole time Alan was really into the set, clapping, smiling, etc and the crowd gave it right back. Another night of serious fun.

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Download: Sebastien Tellier - L'amour Et La violence (Boys Noize remix)

I've recently been reminiscing about Sebastien Tellier's excellent New York debut performance at Hiro last month. Boys Noize also has recently reappeared on my radar as he is coming here in October with A-trak for the Attack of the Unibros Tour. Now imagine the immense joy I felt when I saw that two of our Best Beardsmen of '07 joined forces in the form of the Boys Noize remix of Sebastien Tellier's "L'amour Et La violence". Download it below!

Sebastien Tellier - L'amour Et La violence (Boys Noize remix)

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James Ford, Klaxons, and Simian Mobile Disco (new album for end of '08!) News!

Simian Mobile Disco debuting their live show at Studio B last July

You can read the whole article here on BBC Newsbeat, but here are the main points:


Regarding James Ford producing Klaxons' second record:

He told Newsbeat: "I think they're still trying to push forward so I don't think it's going to sound too much like the last record." ...

Ford said: "They're trying to keep it melodic and vocal because that's one of their great strong points.

"It's going to be really exciting."

Regarding the Last Shadow Puppets:

Ford produced The Last Shadow Puppets' self-titled debut album and played the drums during their sets at the Reading and Leeds Festivals this weekend. You might remember that James was the drummer for Simian.


Regarding a new Simian Mobile Disco album:

Ford also revealed his own band, SMD, are working on getting an album out towards the end of the year.

He said: "We've already done a track with Gruff Rhys from the Super Furry Animals, which is great, and one with Beth Ditto from The Gossip.

"It's looking good so far."

And...James is getting married next month! Congratulations on all accounts!

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New Royksopp album due out October 2008!

For as far back as I can remember I've had really wild, intricate dreams...nearly every night. Sometimes they involve bands and deejays. Recently I had one in which I was going to see Royksopp at Irving Plaza (which I have actually done twice in reality), got separated from my friends, nearly got in a fight with some crazy girl that was dancing with her hand in my face, and then walked past her to find my friend Jason whom I had no idea was going to be at the show or that he even liked Royksopp.

Anyway...that got me thinking. What the hell have those Norwegians been up to? Seeing Soulwax made me remember how much I love live electronic music and Royksopp was one of the first live electronic acts I ever saw. The first time I saw them (which was at Irving Plaza) the only other electronic act I had seen live was the Chemical Brothers. Despite having only the Chems' monstruous live show to compare it to, Royksopp still totally blew me away.

Their last release was a contribution to the Back to Mine compilation series which came out in April of last year, and their last studio release was The Understanding waaay back in July of 2005 with a great live EP, Royksopp's Night Out released in between in June of '06. So I did some sleuthing on the internets and found an article posted YESTERDAY from the Music Information Centre Norway:

Röyksopp set to return in October!

Some more info on what it might sound like:

From an interview on BBC's Radio 1 last April: "I think, it's safe to say this a bit more uptempo, there aren't that much vocals compared to other two albums. We are back to more instrumental bits. It's more progressive; not progressive like in "progressive house", but more progressive as in "progressive rock"."


Both Robyn and Lykki Li have been confirmed as contributing vocalists.


And according to a news article written in Norwegian (that I thankfully found translated along with much of this other info on the Royksopp Forums):

"We have spent a lot of time in the kitchen, where we have made music in a well-known Röyksopp-outfit."

"It (the music) will be some summer-fresh, accesible salads, but also some heavier, not too accesible elephant beefs."

"We think that robin is very good, especially her newest album is great!"


A couple of tracks called "I Wanna Know" and "Korene" leaked at some point. I managed to find footage of Royksopp performing both of them live for the first time last October:

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Soulwax 2 Many DJ's remix of Hey Boy, Hey Girl by the Chemical Brothers

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in the past 2 posts. My all time favorite deejays/producers - the Chemical Brothers have been remixed by one of my new favorite deejays/bands/producers Soulwax. It's the Chems' classic, "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" and you can download it for free here after signing up for the Chemical Brothers' newsletter. I've only listened to it once so far and am still figuring out what to make of this marriage between two of my favorite artists. Despite that about halfway through I realized how devastating it will be once someone drops it in the middle of a set on a good, loud system. I can't wait!

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Soulwax October North American Tour Dates!

Soulwax is coming back here (and Canada and Mexico) in October! Big ups to Mitchell for giving me the heads up on this!

Oct 24 Irving Plaza, New York
Oct 25 Opera House, Toronto
Oct 26 Double Door, Chicago
Oct 28 HIFI Club, Calgary
Oct 29 The Plaza, Vancouver
Oct 30 Mezzanine, San Francisco
Oct 31 Hard Haunted House, Los Angeles
Nov 1 BorderNoise, Juarez (Mexico)

None of the tickets are on sale yet, but definitely stay up on it. Their show here at Irving Plaza just over a couple of weeks ago (though it feels like forever to me) was the best show I've been to this year. Check out the review if you haven't already.

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Soulwax at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza 8/6/08

Soulwax @ the Fillmore @ Irving Plaza - August 6, 2008 (CRED)

Sorry for the delay on this review!

Because of the amount that I go out, I don't get as excited as I used to about shows that are coming up. With the number of good events happening, one after the other, there's really not much time for a lead up - there are no pre-show countdowns anymore. I get really excited months ahead of time when I first find out an act is coming through New York and the next thing I know the show has come and gone. However, with Soulwax, anytime I heard a remix of theirs in the past month I found myself getting excited for the show. When it was finally August it only got worse, and the day of the show I was climbing the walls with anticipation.

Whereas there were a few instances this year in which other acts I was similarly excited about disappointed, Soulwax did no such thing. They were the complete opposite. Not only did they fulfill every expectation I had of them based on my 2-night Soulwax bender last spring, they crushed them. When I saw them last April, Soulwax was essentially playing their Nite Versions album live, straight through, which was awesome in and of itself. This time around they mixed up some great tracks from Nite Versions along with some of their always awesome remixes, which as impossible as it seems, only got better when performed live. From the second the brothers Dewaele took the stage along with Stefaan Van Leuven and Steve Slingeneyer it was a sheer eruption of live guitar, synths, bass, and menacing drums which had the crowd continually losing it for the entire hour+ Soulwax was on stage. Soulwax's live show is great because they take their excellent standalone tracks and remixes, far from being in need of resuscitation, and deliver them with a fury that seems as though their lives depend on it. This was hands down, no contest, the best electronic show I have been to this year. Not one of the best (which I've said about a few acts already) the best.

True to last year's form I've been having trouble letting such an amazing evening go, resulting in watching tons of live Soulwax footage on youtube. Here's some from last Wednesday night that really captures the live Soulwax experience (and gives you some idea of what they played - nobody stopped dancing long enough for a setlist):

Gundamfrenzied was right up against the stage which is a great way to experience Soulwax. Just to warn you - clip #2 gets very shaky almost immediately, but really makes you feel like you're there and gets a good shot of the crowd. Clip #3 - Get Innocuous! Clip #4 - great footage of the segue from Miserable Girl into Another Excuse.

I'm surprised I have yet to run into divinejudge1 at a show - we are at all the same ones and I always end up watching his videos afterward on youtube. Here are 10 great ones he took from the upper level:



These are the last two I promise - some great live versions of Soulwax's great remixes (in the thick of things on the main floor):

Gravity's Rainbow

Phantom Part II

You can find more footage like that in Soulwax's documentary, Part of the Weekend Never Dies, which chronicles the band's tour over the course of 120 shows as well as interviews with fellow musicians, and footage from the road. It's been screening in Europe and at all the shows on this tour (I unfortunately missed it at Irving). It comes out on DVD in the US on September 9th. And I know I've already posted them, but I love the trailers:



Radio Soulwax - Part of the Weekend never Dies - Are You Filming


A little bird told me they were coming back in the Spring, but it actually looks like it'll be sooner than that. More info in a post to follow immediately!

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Vote for Fardoche!

Remember when I posted some new, weird, electronic goodness from Fardoche back in February? You might not (I can't believe how long ago that was), and if you don't it's definitely worth checking out. Anyway...he's entered a contest to come up with the new "sound signature" (basically a little sound clip that will be associated with the brand) for Sennheiser. He's one of the 30 finalists. There are judges for the contest as well as an online voting element. I really like his entry so I voted for it. You can vote one time and I'm pretty sure voting is open until the end of August (I just can't find where I originally read it to confirm). You can check out all the entries here and vote as well. The prize is a 5,000 euros or 30,000 euros if Sennheiser chooses to acquire the unlimited user rights to the sound signature which needless to say could really help him crank out his new record. So please check out Fardoche's entry and consider voting for it!

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New David Byrne and Brian Eno album available for purchase/download

As of today you can order the new David Byrne and Briano Eno album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It's available here in 3 formats - Digital only, CD + Digital, and Deluxe which includes:

* Custom package limited edition design by Stefan Sagmeister
* Four exclusive bonus songs
* A short film about the album by Hillman Curtis
* Holding Pattern screensaver app customized for this release
* Everything That Happens booklet
* Immediate download of all digital files, including screensaver

The physical cd's won't ship until around Novemeber 30th. The digital media is available now. You can also listen to a streaming version of the whole album:



David will be touring, covering the new material from this album as well as the 3 previous Talking Heads and Brian Eno collaborations - More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light. Tour dates are here.

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Clarification from Fake Blood

Fake Blood is pretty awesome. His remixes are great. Some further evidence of his awesomeness:

Ok... I need to clear something up.

People seem to think that when I do a remix, I ask the artist to record the words "Fake Blood" so I can use that in the track.

That's NOT how I do it.

In every remix I have done, the words "Fake Blood" are created by me chopping up the ORIGINAL acapella, and assembling the words with individual vowel and consonant sounds...
No new vocals are used, only the same one heard in the original song.

And yes, even the Little Boots one was done like that.

SANG
x

ps - anyone figure out who he is yet? I know, but I'm not telling :P

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Chromeo Fancier Footwork East Coast Tour Dates!

Chromeo has just announced East Coast tour dates:

New neon legs, a new light show and of course, the entire FaFo record, played track by track (we're thinking of including the interludes in there as well)...

Here are the dates:

October 1 - BOSTON, Paradise (buy tix here)
October 2 - NEW YORK, Webster Hall with Peanut Butter Wolf (buy tix here)
October 3 - PHILLY, Trocadero with Midnight Juggernauts (buy tix here)
October 4 - WASHINGTON DC, 9:30 Club (buy tix here)

I just saw Chromeo at All Points West last weekend and their set was tiiiight. You should go see them if you can.

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All Star Football Tournament happening at V Festival August 16th!

From the Sun via NME:

Members of The Verve, The Charlatans, Kaiser Chiefs The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, The Kooks and Travis are set to take part in an all-star five-a-side football tournament at the V Festival this weekend (August 16). Bands from the north of the country will be pitted against bands from the south (The Sun).

Pretty hilarious/awesome. Hope everyone who's playing is careful. Remember when James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco broke his collarbone last fall? He did it while he was playing football with the Arctic Monkeys!

Btw...all these guys are British and this is UK festival, so by football they mean soccer.

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The Brighton Port Authority - Free Welcome Pack Download

Remember back in May when I was all up on the Brighton Port Authority and the David Byrne/Dizzee Rascal collaboration, Toe Jam (before every other blog and their mother was)? Well, now the lovely BPA is offering a free welcome pack for download if you sign up for their newsletter (which you probably will want to do to keep up with them anyway, right?). Here's what you get:

- Free download of 'Toe Jam' (Database Dance Mix)
- Free download of 'The Tapes Have Been Found' video
- Free download of stills from the 'Toe Jam' video.

Click here to subscribe to the Brighton Port Authority newsletter and download the Brighton Port Authority Welcome Pack.

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MSTRKRFT at Webster Hall October 10th!

That's all I got info-wise. It's thrown by the GBH folks. Will post the details as they emerge. Start preparing now for the weird Webster Hall crowd and the banging system and of course, MSTRKRFT.

The past two times I saw them weren't as good as the first time I caught them at the B last October, but the time they played Webster in May was closer. Super short review of that show here and some great photos by Ryan, here. MSTRKRFT's show at Studio B in March was decent, but hard to enjoy because the club was ridiculously overcrowded - the worst I have ever seen it. Never got around to writing a review for that one. Here's hoping the third time's a charm!

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Underworld - interview, Art Jam, and All Points West

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to interview Karl Hyde of the legendary electronic music group, Underworld, for themusic.fm. They're here in the US to play the All Points West Festival in Jersey City on Friday and the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on Saturday. They are also here to work on their art installation, Beautiful Burnout, which has been in New York at the Jacobson Howard Gallery since last Friday and will be continually modified through the final day of the installation on the 15th. You can check out the work in progress here, but I can't wait to see it in person.

Check out the interview! Karl had some very interesting things to say about electronic music as well as the events I mentioned above. Also, for someone who has played such an influential role in electronic music I cannot stress how humble and easy to talk to he was - a wonderful guy.

If you are around New York or Baltimore this weekend and have the funds, definitely try to see Underworld at All Points West or the Virgin Mobile Festival. I saw them for the first time last year in Central Park, and despite not being familiar with all that much of their material (just some of their classics and tracks off of their most recent album, Oblivion with Bells) I had an amazing time. It was the #2 show out of all the ones I went to last year, and they were second only to the Chemical Brothers who are my absolute favorite artist ever. It probably was one of the top 10 shows of my life thus far - yes, it was that good. You can read my review of the show here.

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Soulwax tonight!!!!

Tonight Soulwax is performing live at Irving Plaza + a 2manyDJs set! It is going to be absolute mayhem! I can't wait! Here are my accounts of last year's mayhem. Here is some footage from Soulwax's documentary, "Part of the Weekend Never Dies", which will also be screened tonight at the show:



Radio Soulwax - Part of the Weekend never Dies - Are You Filming


I just checked and tickets are still available here. $30 since it's the day of the show, but easily worth it. See you later!!!

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A-trak and Boys Noize - Attack of the Unibros Tour

I dedicate this blog post to Busssy Paul and the fact that the beginning of our friendship was based largely on facial hair. And also WTF is up with the spies?! Our ideas are getting copped left and right!

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David Byrne and Brian Eno - Stange Overtones - First Listen - Tour Dates!

I just listened to the first track (Strange Overtones) released from the new David Byrne and Brian Eno collaboration Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

I really don't know what to say about it, other than I loved it instantly. One of my old roommates from college once remarked that there is something about guys singing in very high pitched voices. At first I thought she was crazy, but then I listened more closely to the track that prompted her remark ("the Wisp" by Simian) and understood what she meant.

I've come across other examples of it in my listening since then (Sondre Lerche's "Tragic Mirror") and now "Strange Overtones" can be added to that list. Simian and Sondre's tracks are much more mellow and somber overall, and while "Strange Overtones" starts off with similarly high vocals, the mood and tone of the song is gradually lifted by rich instrumentation with the onset of the chorus. I don't think I have ever so instantly loved a track. Well done.

Don't worry David, go download the track.

Also, here are the tour dates (only David Byrne will be touring, not Brian) that have been announced so far:

Sep 16 2008 - Bethlehem, PA - Zoellner Arts Center - Baker Hall
Sep 17 2008 - Baltimore, MD - Lyric
Sep 18 2008 - Newport News, VA -Ferguson Center for the Arts
Sep 20 2008 - Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheater
Sep 21 2008 - Nasheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Sep 22 2008 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Sep 23 2008 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
Sep 25 2008 - Austin, TX - Paramount
Sep 26 2008 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits (Zilker Park)
Sep 28 2008 - Alburquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
Sep 30 2008 - Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum
Oct 2 2008 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys
Oct 3 2008 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Oct 4 2008 - Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theater
Oct 6 2008 - San Francisco, CA - Davies Symphony Hall
Oct 8 2008 - Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Center For the Arts
Oct 9 2008 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
Oct 11 2008 - Park City, UT - Eccles Center for the Performing Arts
Oct 12 2008 - Denver, CO - Buell Theater
Oct 14 2008 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
Oct 15 2008 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst
Oct 17 2008 - Omaha, NE - Kiewit Concert Hall
Oct 18 2008 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
Oct 19 2008 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre (Reserved)
Oct 21 2008 - Lousiville, KY - Louisville Palace Theater
Oct 23 2008 - Cleveland, OH - Allen Theatre
Oct 24 2008 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theatre
Oct 25 2008 - Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Memorial Hall
Oct 26 2008 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Opera House
Oct 29 2008 - Toronto, ONT - Massey Hall
Oct 30 2008 - Montreal, QUE - Metropolis
Oct 31 2008 - Boston, MA - Wang Center
Nov 1 2008 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata
Nov 3 2008 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
Nov 5 2008 - Albany, NY - Empire State Plaza
Nov 7 2008 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
Nov 8 2008 - Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre

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Sebastien Tellier at Hiro 7/30/08

Last Wednesday the triangle (+Rachel and George, who could easily pass as Sebastien's twin) went to Hiro to see Sebastien Tellier. Firstly...it was weird being at Hiro so early. I think Seb went on around 10. He had a full band with him. When he came out onstage, looking as ridicufrannnssshhh as ever in his white pants, black shirt, and blazing silver jacket we all knew we were in for a bit of a ride.

Going into the show I had heard 7 of the tracks off of his album, Sexuality. I really liked them...but they never really came to fit into my regular listening. They were just a little too mellow compared to what I've been listening to and I could never really find the right time to listen to them. Thankfully Wednesday's show changed that...

The vocals were perfect - sounded just like the album. The band was incredibly tight, really knew the material. Together, their live delivery of the songs off of Sexuality was flawless and breathed new life into the songs. Everything sounded so much richer and you really got a better sense of the Thomas Bangalter (whoops!) Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo touch that went into this album. Also, hearing the songs live gave me a better sense of what they actually are...ultra finely crafted, electronic-influenced pop songs. People need to remember that pop didn't (and doesn't) always refer to the top 40's garbage we deal with today...it's not a dirty word!

Anyway...that's more of the technical side of things. On to showmanship...Sebastien Tellier is totally out of control. He had a persistent, mild to moderate pelvic thrust going for the entire 1-1.5 hour performance. He was moaning at various points in the evening (especially during the end of Kilometer). He got further with his microphone than most people get on a first date. It was that kind of show. I think overall everyone left Hiro feeling very hot and bothered, but in the good way for once.

There are just a few pics below as well as the setlist. Also check out Paul's review which features some video that Mike took (electro fam-layyy in the house! yeaah!).

Setlist:

Kilometer
Divine
Une Heure
Fingers of Steel
Indians
Roche
Look
Broadway
La Ritournelle
L'Amour et la Violence

encore: Sexual Sportswear

Sebastien Tellier

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