Yes, kids you read it right - Van She have done a remix of Ladyhawke’s single “Back of the Van”, and its steaming hott.
Just to give you a refresher course - Ladyhawke is the alter ego of New Zealander Pip Brown. Pip plays the drums, guitar and synth on the track this fabulous track and it was the first song she wrote for Ladyhawke back in late 2006
“Back Of The Van” was produced by Michael De Francesco from Van She and has also been remixed by Fred Falke and Mock & Toof.
Ladyhawke is already gaining speed with a celebrity cult following in the form of Courtney Love and electro-queen Peaches, who recently invited her to Berlin for a week of recording and hanging out.
This remix will be released officially from April 1st with limited copies available from the modular online store here. But hey why not preview it right now below?
Got my hands on the new release (17th March 2008) from a local favorite, the Brighton Breaks label, for which Northern breaks/electro recluse Sam Hell teamed up with the ever-so-young, but wise-beyond-his-years breaks head Rektchordz, and boy are you in for a treat!
I’ve written about SH plenty on these pages, but Rektchordz is definitely one to get cozy with. The boy’s credited with a hefty stockpile of tracks and remixes – he’s out on BreaksFM, BombTraxx, Unstable, Trans:Verse, to name a few – and they’re all belters.
Blipvertz - Sam Hell & Rektchordz [Brighton Breaks]
“Blipvertz” starts with Sam Hell’s signature big chunky breaks, followed by a casual assault of bleeps. The track has a one-minute intro before it all totally kicks off. Turn up your speakers and get ready for it.
Subliminal? Quite possibly. For those who were born before 1980, the reference might not be lost on you; “blipverts” were the lightning-fast tv commercials that overloaded viewers’ nervous systems and killed them on ’80s Reaganomics-inspired tv show Max Headroom.
Boolash - Rektchordz [Brighton Breaks]
“Boolash” (Rektchordz works alone on this one) is a super-catchy, quite minimal tune with a funky bass groove throughout. I like it a lot and I’m sure you will too. I will be very surprised if I don’t hear this one played out incessantly this spring. Very surprised.
Love ‘em and buy ‘em is the new catchphrase. I expect a sensory overload when I hear both tunes on speakers better than my shit ones, that’s for sure.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with them; these little tykes are heading up an influx of great music fresh out of South Africa. Johnny Neon & counterpart - Funk Punk Ben make up the formidable duo that is Johnny Neon. They make eclectic tunes that will certainly make you shimmy yourself into a daze. With the cyber hyper electro tinged beats and an infusion of well-pronounced vocals these boys will definitely wet your electro appetite.
Check out their video for single ‘Heart Attack’ below, and watch out as you are at risk of suffering the same fate, as this tune is more fabulous than leopard print Manolo Blahniks – drool worthy!
Yet another fantastic bass heavy mix off the No Love Lost Records Mixtape Project series. This one coming from Bushwick, Brooklyn’s DJ/producer AC Slater. Don’t worry, he looks nothing like the horribly tan, extra beefy, character off the 90’s show, “Saved by the Bell!” What you’ll get is a whole lotta bassline with some solid remixes, a slew of great tracks and a Jeff Spicoli intro – “Make up your mind duude! Is he gunna shit or is he gunna kill us?!” Influenced by early 90’s hip hop and some old school rave music, this mix is sure to cause some dancefloor (or bedroom) madness!!!!
01. Jeff Spicoli (Intro)
02. L-VIS 1990 - Change the Game (VIP Mix)
03. Unkle - Restless (Fake Blood Remix)
04. 50 Cent - Fire (B. Rich Straight Fire Remix)
05. AC Slater - Bassline Time (Dirty Freek Remix)
06. Stupid Fresh feat. Stellar MC - Get The Fuck Up
07. Cadence Weapon - House Music (A1 Bassline Remix)
08. Sinden & Count of Monte Cristal - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
09. Bitwise - Remote Execution (B. Rich Remix)
10. AC Slater - Jack Got Jacked
11. AC Slater Featuring Lismore - Up Against the Wall
12. Freestylers vs Cameo - Push Up Word Up (AC Slater Remix)
13. Moby - Alice (Drop the Lime Heavy Bass Remix)
14. The Presets - My people (D.I.M. Remix)
15. Robin S vs Steve Angello & Laidback Luke - Show Me Love vs Be (Hardwell Remix)
16. Kid Dub - Techno Boy
17. Ron Carroll - Walking Down The Street (Bart B More Jackin Down The Street Mix)
18. Purple Crush - Shopping on the Dancefloor (AC Slater Remix)
19. AC Slater - Party Like Us
20. Math Head - Do Damage (Passions Remix)
21. Math Head X Passions - Turn The Music Up (AC Slater Remix)
22. Jeff Spicoli (Outro)
The Teenagers made us feel somewhat youthful, careless and kinda dirty with their impetuous hormones – but with the arrival of Late of the Pier, our attention has been utterly distracted with their half naked bodies prancing on stage in their videos. (see “Bathroom Gurgle” and live performance videos) I’m feeling even dirtier than I did when I first listened to The Teenagers, because with Late of the Pier you get real teenagers.
With two excellent singles, “Space And The Woods” and “Bathroom Gurgle”, out in 2007, it goes without saying that in 2008 the four-piece out of Castle Donington, U.K. will surely cause pulses to race and legs to wobble!! Riiiighhhtttt? Guaranteed.
February 2008 came and so did the pretty gold wrapped compilation from Kitsuné Maison, with Late of the Pier’s, “Broken (Fairy Lights Mix)” featured in all its glory. Speeding into March, “The Bears are Coming”, off Parlophone, arrived and with plenty of remixes from Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, Emporer Machine and Joakim. This is just a taste of things to come as they’re headed back into the studio to finish off their debut album with a man we so do love producing it – Erol Alkan. Expect only great things!!!!
This is a tad old, dated back to December however, just a snippet of what the people from the Digitalism camp had to say…
Black Kids, Dead Kids, the Whitest Boy Alive … which bands will make it big next year?
Dave Simpson hears nine industry experts’ predictions
The next big thing’s next big things
Last year’s success stories give their tips for 2008
Isi Tufekci, Digitalism
We think Late of the Pier could be bigger than Klaxons. They have three different sounds in one track: cool indie, 70s synths and techno, all at once. They’re really young and produced by Erol Alkan, who does things like make a guitar sound like a saxophone. Another band we like are the Heavies, who are a mix of disco and funk - and the guy has an unbelievable voice. At the other end of the spectrum we like the long-awaited comeback album by an old band, the B-52s. They’re back in Love Shack style. We like the Hot Chip album, too. It’s a mix of 70s and 80s, but sounds like now.
Read the rest of the article, 2008? It’s the year of odd band names and purchase their single “The Bears are Coming”. When you buy the 12″ you get a free pair of rainbow trippy goggles. As a special treat everyone who purchases the download will be entered into a competition to win one of 10 personalised, hand-distorted Late of the Pier tee shirts. All UK orders have free postage.
While fully immersed in their new tour “Music Tastes Better With You”, Buffetlibre DJ’s have edited the sequel to one of the most celebrated sessions of last year – another helping from the Verbena Selected series. As with the last session, which received more than 15,000 downloads in less than 3 months, Buffetlibre DJ’s have left the task of choosing the tracklist to their favourite artists of the moment. With names such as Simian Mobile Disco, Midnight Juggernauts and Dragonette collaborating last time round, now it’s down to The Gossip, Dj Mehdi, Cut Copy, Shy Child and Busy P, founder of the French label Ed Banger. So, to discover Busy P’s secret love of Deee-Lite, Make Model’s weakness for Le Tigre, and the eighties touch that made Girl Talk fall for Jane Child.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Verbena Selected 2 has arrived accompanied by Verbena Rewind 2. In this new set dedicated to the 80’s, Buffetlibre DJ’s have followed the advice of several national and international music sources in putting together the tracklist. Contributors include - Discobelle, Electric Zoo, The Beeb Blog, Discodust, Electrorash, Proyecto Batidora, Red Threat, Trash Menagerie, Get Wierd Turn Pro, Madrid, Acid Boys, Streetkiss, iheartcomix, Kidz by Colette, Pretty Much Amazing, Cause=Time.
I loved Tapes n Tapes last album, and “Insistor” was is bit hit with me, the new album seem to have some edgier moments to it, good stuff. (Hope their live performances have gotten a bit better, wasn’t especially feeling them, unfortunately, but they great outta the studio.)
Does it Offend You, Yeah? - Whip It - Devo Cover - Live @ NME Awards
And I think Does it Offend You, Yeah? Might be in the running as one of my new favorite bands, so while this track had been blogged to death, I don’t give a F!@#$ . . . Seriously, yes, “let’s make out”.
This blazing Kap Bambino track, “Hunger Texas” – is making BBQ sexy. This one goes out to all our friends at SXSW in Austin this week. I’m taking the liberty of making it everyone’s official theme song. I hope the music is as good as the damn meat. THE MEAT, that’s all ya’ll talk about!
Duffy, sexy, sultry, delivering the blues, she’s kind of like blond, sober, version of Amy Winehouse. I wonder how long she’ll be able to keep that up. Getting wasted always makes for good new writing material.
The Breeders have been on hiatus since 2002. Its a little known fact the the band was started by Kim Deal of The Pixies. The Breeders are full of all kinds of history, research, them, interesting stuff. Well its amazing that they are back with a new album, “Mountain Battles”. The Breeders , in my opinion, they rock even harder than they did back in 90’s,loving the entire album - Bang On is right.
When are The Kills coming back to New York? They need to let me take them out for a night, New York is still all that, maybe they’re just not going to the right places. If they are looking for “Midnight Boom”, I know where to find it.
When The Black Keys opened for Radiohead on their last US tour, I missed their performance, because I was “getting ready”. Still kicking myself for that one, definitely some stupid girl s&*%. But in my defense, no one told me what time their set was starting, they just told me to get over to “the spot” for “the pre-game”. Speaking of games, make sure you spend some significant time on The Black Keys website, killing nerds, Atari style.
The Blows, great name for a band, cute, from Spain, named their album Upskirts, and sing songs about going to a Disco, seems like they’ve got a lot going for them right now.
The Charlatansalso known as The Charlatans UK (why this is, i don’t know.) I started listened to them when I was a wee little teenager. Their last album, Simpatico was released in 2006, they are proof that solid bands stand the test of time. Cheers to that, and to many more.
The Mae Shi - L.A. punk, making their way through SXSW with a buzz. They wrote a song, “Boys In the Attic” - and i’m going to have to dedicate it to my boys,Molly Shannon, Molly Shannon.
MSMS are a secret gem hidden away in Seattle. They recorded their entire first album in their attic. Keep your eyes and ears on this band - I have this “feeling” about them.
There is nothing more persuasive to me than nicely packaged goods and striking visuals. As a child of consumerism, image is so important in creating a look, brand or simply a way to define ones self. The music industry has always had a symbiotic relationship with artists and designers, influencing each other throughout time. When music and design are showcased together, the two combined, can cause quite an impact.
Enter the hell raising design/Dj duo, “Team Skull” and “Team Dead” of EatDisco and European Animal, whose roaring all out party fun and fantastic flyer designs are luring the kids in like Willy Wonka did with his chocolate factory. Although they may not have an ‘Inventing Room’, or special effect bubblegum like the kind Violet Beauregarde got her hands on, you are sure to find a plethora of reasons why you should attend one of their parties, OR art showings. Read on as they tell us a bit about their unique projects and what’s ahead!
After kick starting something pretty special in the summer of 2007, EatDisco continues to bring some of the most exciting DJ’s and producers to that little dot on the map, Newcastle upon Tyne UK. Working closely with the European Animal design team, EatDisco (also known as promoters and DJ’s Team Skull and Team Dead) have forged the perfect blend of cutting edge electronic music and high end illustration. This has resulted in a much needed injection of enthusiasm and originality into an almost static club scene.
“All in all we’re trying to bring not just our favourite DJ’s from around the world to Newcastle, but we’re still pushing to really open up the city’s weekend offerings. We’re trying to keep as many of our parties free or charging next to nothing to ensure maximum levels of fun and enjoyment.” Previous guests have included Hostage, Liars Club and Machine Drum. EatDisco have also just teamed up with friends, Paris Is Burning to raise the bar even higher, throwing even bigger parties which will feature Tronik Youth, Strip Steve, Kap10Kurt and some big surprises!
European Animal, outside of working on promotional material, have also been enjoying similar levels of success at a pretty speedy rate, having had two big shows in the last year. The first took place at Paris’s En-Marge gallery, the second as part of a paste up exhibition at Common in Manchester, UK. Photos of both shows, along with a selection of their other work, can be seen on the website. Next in line is a collaborative project working with the Stiff Couture clothing label, ran by Kitsune’s Punks Jump Up, launching later this year.
EatDisco have quite a lot lined up over the next few months both in their home town and further a field, seeing them at nights in Scotland, London, Berlin and New York!
“We hope things are going to continue to grow at the rate they have been recently. We want to attract more people and open up their eyes to the fact that things are finally changing in Newcastle.”
Check out EatDisco’s gig dates on their myspace calendar and be ready for some fine action as they take over Fake! Club in Edinburgh on the 12 of April along side Hostage – who graces our presence with some updates and a brand new track!
So what has Mr. Alan Parley, known to most as ‘Hostage’, been up to these days?? He is kinda like a machine, cranking out tune after tune, playing loads of gigs and rioting into the wee hours!! He’s been spotted in Sweden supporting Hijack at Drama, London and Preston alongside the ‘Ibiza Rocks’ GASH DJs and this month he’ll be supporting Duke Dumont for 2 nights on the 28th in Doncaster and the 29th in Glasgow. Rest assured, he has been doing lots of raving and because of it, he’s in bed sick as a dog. If you’re in his area, bring the man some hot soup!!!!
One of Hostage’s latest tunes, “Oh Snap!! - Bill Cosby Sweater (Hostage Remix)”, has been blowing up all over the land (here it is below in case you haven’t heard) and he says it all came about whilst chattin to a U.S. rapper out of Maryland called Oh Snap!! who sent over an accapella. He took that and created “this wonky hard fidget tune round the rap – rap-attack!!!” and says, “it has been goin down real nice”. He has a lot to grin about, with yet another of his tunes, “Stab Up” which has had proper plays off Radio 1!! My-oh-my and we’ve got yet another – “Big Wheeze”.
Mr. Hostage has lots in store for those that are lucky to catch him at various gigs (check his myspace for that), playing a roccodisco showcase in Rome come April and an Australian tour sometime in June. Rave on.
Representing Cape Town, South Africa, the The Bulgarian has been producing music in various forms for over 10 years. Since 2006 under The Bulgarian moniker, he has been singularly resolved to grab you by the neck and shake you down for all your cash using nothing more than quirky, pounding fidget house beats, almost to the point of minimalism, and in a style he refers to as “Kwaitech” suggesting a tech offshoot of South Africa’s native Kwaito sound.
Its relentless, unforgiving and wholly ingratiating.
