DJ Mehdi and Busy P at Santos Party House 9/18/08

Just got home from an amazing 4+ hours at Santos.

DJ Mehdi went on around 12. He spun a good hour of current, brand new, and just a few months old, electro which included tracks from Crookers, the Bloody Beetroots, and Surkin among others. He also dropped what had to be some old school disco track which had Paul and I absolutely losing our shit...unfortunately I can't remember any specifics at this point. For his solo set Mehdi was the good spirited dj that I love...bouncing from side to side, smiling, and singing along. This part of the review would have been much more specific and probably more favorable had I not ended up in a super crowded part of Santos, where everyone seemed to be passing through.

At 1:30 Paul went home like a responsible adult and I grabbed another drink and worked my way toward the front of the floor from which I witnessed most of Busy P's set, as well as the hour+ that he and DJ Mehdi switched on and off. Somehow they managed to put together a set that was as excellent as I imagined it would be, yet totally unexpected. Here are just a few selections (there are gaps between some of these tracks, while some were actually played one after the other) from the mix they spun of dance classics, brand new tracks, and everything in between (a few of the tracks in the beginning of the list might be from Busy P's solo set - it was a bit of a blur):

Justice - Stress
Daft Punk - Oh Yeah
The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax remix)
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Armand Van Helden - Necessary Evil
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro
MGMT - Kids (Soulwax remix)
The Chemical Brothers - Do It Again
Justice - DVNO
Daft Punk - High Life
Rye Rye - Shake It To the Ground
Klaxons - As Above, So Below
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place
Trevor Loveys & Sinden - Organ Grinder
Franki Valli & The Four Seasons - Beggin' (Pilooski edit)
Pixies - Where Is My Mind?


So awesome and so much fun.

Some pictures:

From DJ Mehdi & Busy P at Santos Party House

Here's one by one of my readers, Jose:


Check out a bunch more he took here.

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Busy P & DJ Mehdi at Santos tonight

Just a friendly reminder:



The last time I saw Busy P in March he spun an excellent, diverse, fun set.

Every time I've seen DJ Mehdi, his sets have been great and also really fun.

I've seen them Busy P & Dj Mehdi deejay together (for only 10 minutes) and it was great.

So tonight...if you can...you should go.

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Mid-week Vids #2

Somehow I had never heard the classic Prodigy track, "Charly", until a week ago. This is the British cartoon where they got the cat sample. I love it!



In case you missed it: Mid-week Vids #1.

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Feadz surprise guest dj set at Arlo & Esme tonight

This was just announced last night:



Feadz killed it at the Yard on Sunday. KILLED. One of the best deejay sets I've seen in a while. He played everything...electro, house, classics, b-more, UK stuff, French stuff. It was really varied and wonderful. If I didn't have an f-ing cold from going out from Thursday-Sunday (and wasn't saving my energy for Busy P & DJ Mehdi at Santos tomorrow) I would definitely be going to this tonight. More info here.

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Chemical Brothers NOT Producing MGMT's Next Album

Thanks to a tip from the Chemical Brothers forum (which I should've checked to begin with), according to a recent post on MGMT's myspace blog:

"Also, contrary to another internet rumor, though they be rad dudes, the Chemical Brothers will not be producing MGMT's next album."

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Panda Toes Deejays in New York tonight!

I read way too many blogs. Panda Toes is one of them and tonight they are deejaying at Plan B in the East Village. They post some good jamz so I imagine their deejay sets would feature the same...check it out!

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Trevor Jackson at Mini Rooftop NYC 9/12/08

By the time I heard about the Mini Rooftop, all the events I was interested in were already filled up. So I basically got over it right then and tried to forget about it.

Then Friday afternoon, out of nowhere I got a message from the the été d'amour facebook group:

Party tonight.
7pm to midnight.
Music by Trevor Jackson (London) & Chateau Flight (Paris).
Open bar all night.
RSVP ONLY:

yea-yuhh! There were only a couple of events I wanted to go to on the Mini Rooftop and this was one of them. I have really wanted to see Trevor deejay again, ever since the debacle at Love in February.

I arrived around 10. The party was moved indoors from the roof since it had been raining earlier in the evening. The roof was left open so you could go up and hang out, but the deejays and bar were inside, 1 floor down. There were two long backless couch/bench things to lounge on. People were mainly chatting. There were literally three people dancing. I was a little concerned because while I didn't care so much at the moment, I really hoped more people would be dancing by the time Trevor started.

A little bit before 11 he went on, opening with a banging remix of "Situation" by Yaz, and spun a blissful funky electro set until the party was over at midnight. Thankfully by then five people were dancing and the delicious free booze made me feel like that was enough for me to hit the floor. So I danced my ass the entire set and had a great time. For the most part the place stayed in chat/mingle mode...at most the floor got maybe 15 people full.

I talked to Trevor for a minute before I left. I thanked him for the great set and asked if he was deejaying anywhere else in NY this weekend. No :( He thanked me for dancing which was pretty awesome.

I went to see Linus Loves at Le Royale afterwards, but could not shift gears from funky to regular electro so I left after 30 minutes or so.

Here a couple of pics of Trevor deejaying:

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Who are "Outsiders" now headlining the Soulwax show on October 24th?!

nobody! just a stupid Ticketmaster/Livenation listing error!

The name of the event is "Insiders" and it's being curated by Pete Tong:



see?

Tickets are officially going on sale tomorrow at noon through Ticketmaster, Livenation, as well as all Ticketmaster locations, and the box office at Irving Plaza.

On October 24th during New York City’s CMJ Music Festival, UK DJ extraordinaire, forward thinker and BBC's very own Pete Tong will be teaming up with Live Nation and launching the premier of a new music platform; the Insiders Music Series. “INSIDERS brings together an exciting combination of the hottest electronic artists and dj's for one extended night in the legendary Irving Plaza venue. A cutting edge 'micro' festival in the city.” Explains Tong who aims to showcase some of the worlds biggest and burgeoning electronic acts from all over the world, all under one roof and for one night only this October at New York’s historical Irving Plaza.

“This is an exciting and groundbreaking opportunity for the business of electronic music...” - Pete Tong


With only a handful of artists breaking through into the “big time” in America, it dawned on Pete that with a little help from his friends and associates in the music business, they could join forces with a mainstream heavy weight promoter such as Live Nation and bring together the worlds best electronic and indie acts of our time. "I am excited to collaborate with Pete who has had unprecedented success and remains one of the celebrated architects of modern electronic music. We each bring a unique yet complimentary perspective that will not only set this event apart from all others but lay the foundation for several years to come.” states Live Nation New York Senior V.P Jason Miller who jumped at the opportunity to work in conjunction with one of the worlds most instrumental voices in exposing and developing electronic music globally "this event brings some of the worlds most cutting edge dj’s together with outstanding live artistry” Miller continues.

The goal is to highlight and celebrate a cross pollination of genres, all somewhat considered left-of-center but each possessing the potential to gain mass appeal in the mainstream arena - Insiders is destined to provide a jam packed, quality festivalé of fun and music, redefining the future of electronic music. William Morris Electronic brokered the deal.

While I think it would be great for electronic music to experience the more mainstream success and acceptance it has in other countries, I'm not certain putting together a single evening event with a $55 price tag and 7 acts (8 if Soulwax is doing separate live and 2manydj's sets) is the way to do it. I could go on, but I'm going to stop there. I'm excited to see Soulwax again. I think they're worth the $55. I'm interested in seeing the Whip and I'm sure once I look into the other acts further, I'll probably be looking forward to seeing at least one more of them. When you do the math it's not that bad.

In other math and perhaps the more pressing question than the one of price...with this many acts and Irving's curfew...how long can everyone's set possibly be?! When Soulwax headlined last month their set was only an hour long...an awesome hour that left me satisfied at the time, but needing to see them again ASAP...

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October 24 Soulwax Tickets Update!

BAD NEWS: I just tested the Livenation link to purchase Soulwax tickets at noon and it is not working.

GOOD NEWS: Livenation is offering exclusive "Back to School" pricing of $10! on select shows at the the Fillmore at Irving Plaza (as well as at the other venues listed below) and I think Soulwax might be one of them because of the yellow "special offers available" ticket next to the show. The promotion ends at 10pm tomorrow so I would try getting tickets at noon tomorrow which is the time Ticketmaster has listed for them to go on sale. Other venues offering $10 pricing on some shows below:

Blender Theater at Gramercy

Roseland Ballroom

Hammerstein Ballroom

Warsaw

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Soulwax Tickets for October 24th show at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza on Sale Tomorrow (9/11) at noon!

Tickets for Soulwax's October 24th show at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza go on sale here tomorrow (September 11th) at 12 noon!

The bill is listed on Livenation's website as follows: Outsiders, Pete Tong, Soulwax with Rob Da Bank, The Whip, Luciano, Late of the Pier, James Lavelle.

BUT!

On Ticketmaster the show is listed as "Outsiders featuring Pete Tong and Soulwax", going on sale here at 12 noon on Friday (September 12th). Tickets are $55...worth it, but DAMN!

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Chemical Brothers to produce new MGMT album

...excuse me...WHAT?!?!

I am not sure how I feel about this. Hadn't really been feeling MGMT but in all fairness I've heard maybe 2 tracks...might've been remixes too...and I kind of liked one of them but wasn't sure. Hah. I guess I will have to investigate. I also need to check out Soulwax's remix of MGMT's "Kids".

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Mid-week Vids #1

'allo! I am going to try to post a video (music or otherwise) that I find awesome every Wednesday. Here is the first one!

An unofficial video for Patrick 122 (Mr. Oizo) featuring a crazy Russian animation with sheep!

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Ete D'Amour Outdoor Party at the Yard w/ DJ Feadz, Stretch Armstrong, and Holy Ghost - Sunday September 14th

A nice line-up to rock the Yard!



Feadz, Stretch Armstrong, and Holy Ghost

Advanced tickets available here.

Not to mention the already insane amount of awesome stuff happening next week - if you're using a feed reader click through to the full site and check out the shows list on the left!

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Chemical Brothers' best of, "Brotherhood" out today!

The Chemical Brothers' best of album, Brotherhood is out today!

It includes some of their hits from past years as well as recent tracks "Keep My Composure" featuring Spankrock (previously only available on the "Heroes" soundtrack) and "Midnight Madness".

I love the Chemical Brothers but there is a lot of overlap with this album and Singles 93-03, BUT! there is also a deluxe double-CD version of Brotherhood which includes Electronic Battle Weapons 1-10 which is awesome:

Since '96, Electronic Battle Weapons have acted as the laboratories for the duo's pioneering musical high-jinx, not to mention providing some of The Chemical Brothers' most memorable mixes. Until this album, the Electronic Battle Weapons series has only been available on limited formats, and this is the very first time they have been widely available in single format.

The tracklisting for Brotherhood is below. Titles that appear on both albums (Brotherhood and Singles 93-03, so you can see what I'm talking about) are in bold:

Brotherhood Tracklisting:

1. Galvanize
2. Hey Boy Hey Girl
3.Block Rockin' Beats
4. Do It Again
5. Believe
6. Star Guitar
7. Let Forever Be
8. Leave Home
9. Keep My Composure
10. Saturate
11. Out Of Control
12. Midnight Madness
13. Golden Path
14. Setting Sun
15. Chemical Beats

Still worth buying for the 2 new tracks + I cannot stress the awesomeness that is getting all the EBW's.

Also, check out the video for the Chems' newest track, Midnight Madness below. The goblin totally freaks me out, but the track is boss, especially out on a big system:

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Random shite - Volume 1

I have discovered a couple of things recently, mainly relating to music production, mixing, etc. that have been surprising, awesome, and made me go "hmm" all at the same time.

This first happened about a week ago when I was exploring my new favorite website, Soulwax.info. I was going through the "Productions" section and found that Soulwax had produced some stuff I've been digging for a while now, ie Das Pop's "Fool for Love" and "Disco Sirens" by Midfield General.

THEN...just a few moments ago I read this on Phoenix's myspace blog:

***** ALBUM UPDATE *****

We've chosen the path of most resistance
We're late but happy
It will be worth the wait

Ps: We're about to start mixing with our friend Zdar (United!)

Zdar?! as in Philippe Zdar? aka 1/2 of Cassius?! Yes...that is the Zdar they are talking about.

It's a small world...

Check out Philippe's solo myspace here.

You can download a new-ish Phoenix track, "Twenty One One Zero" after you give a bunch of info to Cartier.

And check out some great footage along with commentary from Stephen and David Dewaele, from Soulwax's recent Myspace Secret Show in London:

Soulwax: MySpace Secret Shows

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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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New Music from David Byrne and Brian Eno!

David Byrne and Brian Eno just finished their new record Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It's their first collaboration in 30 years. David is going to be touring and covering material from the new record, the 3 Talking Heads albums they worked on together (More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light), and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (which David and Brian worked on together in 1981).

In August the music will be available via this Web site, free for streaming and it will also be available for purchase as both a download and in physical formats. One of the songs will be available free of charge.

It is going to be awesome. This is probably as close as you and I will ever get to actually seeing the Talking Heads.

Btw - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is awesome. I've had it for a while and have just heard scattered songs from it, but it's really interesting - a lot of awesome samples among other things. I really like the track 'Jezebel Spirit'. You can learn more about the whole album here.

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Fixed and Fred Falke at the Tribeca Grand 7/12/08

I got back from Montreal around 8 Friday night. Serious fun, which I will hopefully explain more about later. Hit the floor hard many nights. Last Sunday night we caught these dudes, Team Canada at a little bar called Blue Dog Motel. A tiny place with a healthy amount of dancing going on. The music was good. One of the best things about the trip was hearing different music! I'm always battling hearing the same 15 tracks when I go out in New York. Totally not the case up there. Anyway...one track Team Canada dropped was Fred Falke's remix of "Golden Cage" by the Whitest Boy Alive. It's excellent and not played out nearly enough. It was either later that night or the next day that I said to Eddie - "I can't wait for Fred Falke to come to New York".

I get back here, check Dave's takeover to see what's going on since I was in an internet bubble (I only checked my email once during the entire trip- it was awesome) and proceeded to freak out as I read: "-- FIXED BACK AT TRIBECA GRAND. Back where the magic started, the FIXED boys are back in the basement with Parisian remixer of the moment FRED FALKE. " Seriously...I was looking at the laptop saying get the fuck out!

So...the next morning I emailed/texted/sent smoke signals to everyone I knew who would be remotely interested...unfortunately only Solid Goldberger had the good sense to come out. Everyone else missed an amazing live set. Amazing. Possibly unseated the Black Ghosts from the best show I've been to this year.

Firstly...the Tribeca Grand is a great place for a party. The room is small, people get down like crazy, it's great. Got there a bit after 12 to hear JDH and Dave P dropping one of the best sets I've ever heard from them...the whole thing just banged. Around 1:15 Fred went on and played relentlessly (save for a monitor meltdown that held things up for about 10-15 minutes right in the middle of his set) until nearly 4! He played the entire Music for My Friends EP, and tons of his remixes. I honestly am not sure exactly what he was doing up there...I was far away for the first half of the show, but towards the end he was playing all the basslines on an actual bass guitar and it was boss. It was one of those nights where the music was flawless, relentless, and you couldn't stop dancing even for a second. Fred ended the night with a super extended version of his track "Rubicon". Perfect. Here's some pics/video:

Fred Falke at the Tribeca Grand 7/12/08

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Montreallll!

I am leaving for Montreal in 6.5 hours! I'm only gonna be up for 5 days, but it's going to be seriously the fun. Check out the my Montreal Muxtape while I'm gone. It's full of Frannnshhhh goodness, and random stuff that was playing on Montreal's lovely radio stations when I was there last summer.

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Devo afterparty tonight

Electro triangle extension, Andrew, is throwing the Devo afterparty at Le Royale tonight:



The last time I went to one of his parties I danced my ass off until the lights came up, aka SERIOUS FUN. Check it out and be sure to RSVP for no cover!

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Updated Show List

Hello...

I just did a long overdue update of the shows list, which is in the left hand column (now at the top). If you read this blog using an RSS reader, you should also check the site periodically b/c I usually add a lot of shows to the list even if I don't write posts about them.

Anyway...check out the list - insane amounts of stuff coming up.

Also...I am aware of the fact that the "reviews to be posted" list is totally out of control. I'm workin on it.

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Record Makers starts sister visual arts company

via the Record Makers (the label originally co-founded by Air, home to artists such as Sebastien Tellier and Kavinksy) myspace blog:

"Innovation is the key to everything that Record Makers do. This is reflected in our attitude to signing artists, often choosing to work with talented people whose ideas don't conform to whatever happens to be in vogue at the time, whilst possessing strong concepts that underpin their musical vision. The goal is to help the artists make the most of their abilities but with a certain sense of style, as demonstrated by the label's commitment to producing quality visuals and videos to accompany their releases. In support of this, a sister company focusing on visual arts has been set up by Record Makers as they make their first forays into the world of film production."

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Tim Fite tour dates

Tim Fite is touring with the Watson Twins and a couple of the dates are in New York:

July 10 - Tim Fite at Music Hall of Williamsburg
July 11 - Tim Fite at Mercury Lounge

The rest of the dates can be found here.

Check out a great little Q&A Current TV did with Tim below (and get yourself to one of his shows!):

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Chemical Brothers Electronic Battle Weapon 10 and Best Of on their way

via Mixmag:

Good news for Chemical Brothers fans: Tom and Ed are back with a new Battle Weapon called 'Midnight Madness' this summer - and Mixmag was one of the first to hear it.

With some typically scorched synth work and a chorus that's reminiscent of Kraftwerk's 'Man Machine', only a handful of DJs have been given the club track to date, which is due for release early in August on vinyl.

There's good news for collectors too. There's an updated Chems Best Of incoming called 'Brotherhood' with a limited bonus CD containing all the Battle Weapons to date plus 'Keep My Composure', the duo's unreleased electro Spank Rock collaboration.

Tom and Ed w/ their electronic battle weapons at Hammerstein 9/21/08 - photo from here.



If you've listened to the Chems at all you know these tracks never disappoint, and if you haven't you really should get crackin'.

Even Erol (Alkan) loves it, "EBW 10 has been the opening track in my recent sets. Its rather special, kinda almost balearic techno."

Can't wait to hear it!

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Simian Mobile Disco limited edition t-shirts

Check out the four limited edition triangle-fied t-shirts London designer Kate Moross created for Simian Mobile Disco. The designs correspond to SMD's album title and are (clockwise from top left) Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release:




There are only 72 of each style made. You can purchase them and other SMD stuff here

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Simian Mobile Disco - remixed

Wichita is releasing an album called Sample and Hold which features remixes of the tracks from SMD's Attack Decay Sustain Release, done by a number of deejays. I'm especially looking forward to the Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve remix of "Love", but the rest of them look promising as well:

01 Sleep Deprivation (Simon Baker Remix)
02 I Got This Down (Invisible Conga People Remix)
03 It's the Beat (Shit Robot Remix)
04 Hustler (Joakim Remix)
05 Tits & Acid (Oscillation Remix)
06 I Believe (Pinch's "I Believe in Bassline Therapy" Remix)
07 Hotdog (Cosmo Vitelli Remix)
08 Wooden (Danton Eeprom Remix)
09 Love (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Remix)
10 Scott (Silver Apples Remix)
11 Clock (Chrome Hoof Remix)

The album is scheduled for UK release on July 28th. No word yet on release dates elsewhere.

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Simian Mobile Disco to mix FabricLive 41

James and Jas are doing the next Fabric mix! Check out the tracklist, then prepare to wait until September 16 (US) and August 4th (everywhere else) to get it:

01 Tomita - The Firebird – Infernal Dance Of King Kastechi [Clean Version] – SonyBMG
02 Sisters Of Transistors – The Don – This Is Music
03 Simian Mobile Disco – Simple - Wichita
04 Hercules And Love Affair – Blind [Serge Santiago Version] – EMI
05 Smith N Hack – Space Warrior – Errorsmith and Soundhack
06 Discodeine – Joystick – Dirty
07 Shit Robot – Chasm – DFA
08 Perc & Fractal – Up Tool – Kompakt
09 Metro Area – Miura – Environ
10 Worthy – Crack EI – Leftroom
11 Moon Dog – Suite Equestria – Roof
12 Fine Cut Bodies – Huncut Hacuka – Chi Recordings
13 Bentobox vs Chordian – Aemono - Imprimé
14 Jelo & DeadMau5 – The Reward Is Cheese – Rising Trax
15 Simian Mobile Disco - Sleep Deprivation [Simon Baker Remix] – Wichita
16 Popof – The Chomper [LSD Version]– Turbo Recordings
17 Raymond Scott – Cindy Electronium – Basta
18 Paul Woolford Presents Bobby Peru – Erotic Discourse – 2020 Vision
19 Moebius Plank Neumeier – Pitch Control – Sky Records
20 Plastikman – Spastik – Mute
21 Green Velvet – Flash – Relief Records
22 The Walker Brothers – Nite Flights [Album Version] – SonyBMG

As excited as I am for anything new from these guys, I really, really can't wait to see what the follow up to Attack Decay Sustain Release is going to be like, especially now that a lot of their gear was broken in flight.

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Brighton Port Authority - Toe Jam video

Here's the video for the Brighton Port Authority track, "Toe Jam" (featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal), that I posted about a few weeks ago. It's pretty crazy:

THE BPA 'TOE JAM' FEAT. DAVID BYRNE & DIZZEE RASCAL

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Black Ghosts US Tour Dates

Oh ieeee want nothing

but the love of the next stranger that walks through that Dooooo oooor oorrrr
ooor ooorroo ooorrr ooorr oorrr

Black Ghosts US tour dates - DO NOT SLEEP:

July 19th - Brooklyn, NY - Studio B (Fixed, with Dave P and JDH)

July 23rd - Toronto, ON - Wrong Bar

July 24th - Chicago, IL - Smart Bar

July 25th - San Francisco, CA - Mighty (w/ Holy Ghost! DJ set)

July 26th - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo (w/ Does It Offend You, Yeah?)

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Fatboy Slim Will Still Be Fucking in Heaven

Norman Cook actually is not retiring the name "Fatboy Slim". Via NME:

"Norman Cook has denied he is laying his Fatboy Slim alter ego to rest.

In a statement his management said they "categorically" confirmed he will continue under the name and is getting ready for festival appearances at Rock Ness, Glastonbury, Wireless, Creamfields and Brighton Beach.

Reports appeared yesterday (May 14) that the DJ was killing off his famous name.

Fatboy Slim is currently finishing work on his album 'The BPA (Brighton Port Authority)'. No release date has been set."

More about "the BPA" and initial rumors of the name change here.

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Fatboy Slim is Fucking in Heaven

via NME:

"Fatboy Slim, aka DJ Norman Cook, has decided to retire his famous moniker.

The DJ was cagey about explaining why he had made the decision, or what his new stage name will be. However, NME.COM has learned that he is working on a new album under the name Brighton Port Authority.

Cook told The Sun: "Yes, I am ditching the Fatboy Slim name, but I can’t tell you the new one. I’m going to take the Fifth Amendment on that question and not say because I'll get myself into trouble.”

Despite refusing to confirm his new title the DJ did, however, joke that he was changing his name to "Madonna"."

I just looked into Brighton Port Authority. There's a track in the player called "Toe Jam" that features David Byrne which isn't that surprising since they've worked on a musical together about Imelda Marcos called "Here Lies Love". The thing that shocked me was the song also features Dizzee Rascal. David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. David Byrne makes me frequently stare at my computer in disbelief.

ps - Here Lies Love looks like it's in the process of actually happening. You can try to follow the progression of it here.

David actually performed some of the songs from the musical a little over a year ago as part of his Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall. I went to see it and it was really great. I never wrote a proper review, but here was my impression of it:

Saturday night was amazing. You could tell how much work everyone involved had put into it. The performance was flawless. The two female vocalists were very good. The percussion and band were dead on. From the beginning you could tell it was going to be good. David was dancing and playing the guitar. Everyone was moving and it was all very upbeat. David prefaced pretty much every song with a little bit of background information...in a very "entertaining, without trying to be" David Byrne-esque way. At the end of the night I was very moved by the whole experience. It was extremely entertaining and well performed. It also had a great narrative quality. Despite it being a "song cycle" and not a full musical or "disco opera", you really came out it with a picture of Imelda Marcos and some of her life. It's probably one of the best shows I've been to.

I really hope it gets made into a proper musical. I think it will be amazing. Disco opera!!!

Back to the Brighton Port Authority project:

There are also some other collaborations: "He's Frank" featuring Iggy Pop and "Should I Stay or Should I Blow" featuring Ashley Beadle

Also, I am kind of freaked out that there will be no more "Fatboy Slim". I've seen him deejay twice. He plays such happy, fun, sets and really gets into it. I hope he keeps doing them even though he's no longer Fatboy Slim. Also, someone please book him to deejay here again already. It's been almost 4 years.

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The Black Ghosts at Glasslands Gallery 5/10/08

The Black Ghosts were awesome. I could not stop dancing. It reminded me of when I first started going out to see deejays - every night was amazing and I would come home drenched in sweat, see the sun rise, and wake up with my feet aching. I would be in a euphoric state for weeks and could not wait to do it again.

They started out with "Something New". Then they dropped some good dance beats, would do that for a while, then Simon would sing another one of their songs, basically alternating like that from 12:30 until 2:00.

Some songs that I was able to recognize were...a Bloody Beetroots track (but not 100% sure), Mars Needs Women by Meat Beat Manifesto (which I recognized b/c of it being on the Chemical Brothers' 'Brother's Gonna Work It Out' album, which I highly recommend), and "From: Disco to Disco" by Whirlpool Productions.

The other original tracks that they performed were:

I Want Nothing
Any Way You Choose to Give It
Some Way Through This
and one other that I hadn't heard before.

Here are some cellphone pics. Not great, it was really dark in there...and it's a cellphone:

The Black Ghosts at Glasslands Gallery

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Lack of updates! Sorry!

Hello...
Sorry for the lack of updates (this week especially). There was a fire in the apartment above mine on Sunday night. Serious fun. Thankfully everything is fine except for the kitchen and bathroom. Things have been a bit nuts this week, running around a lot and such. Feeling a bit tired and out of it. Hopefully things will start to normalize after this weekend. Looking forward to hitting the floor Wednesday and forgetting everything that is bothering me at the moment:


Brodinkski is deejaying that night too.

ttfn.

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