So Sony was nice enough to send us a pair of their new Piiq headphones to give away on our blog (woohoo, free stuff for readers!), and based on the fact that their website is soundtracked by a never-ending loop of MGMT’s “Electric Feel,” it would seem that YOU- yes, YOU whiteboy hipsters- are their target demographic. The model that we’ve got for FREE are called Triqiis, and apparently they’re light, durable, and high-fidelity all at the same time; the website says they sound great, and I just picked up a another model in the Piiq line, which sound awesome for how small, light, and sturdy they are. Great for DJing. Maybe not so much for mixing and mastering. Oh right, and they’re sexy; nice colors palette, sleek design, hip aesthetic. That’s enough corporate ass-kissing for now.
ANYWAYS, leave a comment with your email address and the winner will be randomly selected, contacted within a week, and will receive a free pair of these sweet headphones at no cost, not even shipping!
And by the way, here’s a summer anthem that I’ve been playing at basically every dance party. It’s going on a decade old, but it feels fresh as ever and it’s just bangin’ SUMMERY RAGGA for the beach partiers.
Have some headphones, have some free 320 kbps dancehall reggae, have a great weekend.
Hello new friends, Max Pearl (aka, DJ Kat Fyte) here checking in as the newest contributor to Trash Menagerie. For my first post, I’d like to take all of my new readers on a guided journey of those winding corridors and dark hiding-places that I like to troll as I make my way through the blogosphere. That means recommendations, people!
I’d like to keep it multi-media, as much as possible, so here are a few treasures that deserve some exposure, from audio-visual art music to critical commentary on the state of the contemporary moment.
First up, here’s an astoundingly well-edited promo video for the current reigning champion of the drum machine, AraabMUZIK. I’m pretty sure that everything you’re hearing in this masterpiece is generated by this dude triggering samples off of the MPC console he’s working with, even the gnarly chug-a-chugs!
In this day and age where DJs are exchanging their turntables for laptops and MIDI controllers, yet trying to find ways to keep digital DJing as impressive for the eyes as it is for the ears, an MPC prodigy is pretty much exactly what we’ve been looking for to satiate our tiny attention spans. SOMEBODY BOOK THIS DUDE AND I WILL GLADLY ATTEND YOUR PARTY AND BUY EVERYONE BEER. By the way, ‘dude does much of the production for the one-and-only Cam’ron and the Dipset crew. Makes sense.
WARNING: THIS NEXT BIT GETS A LIL’ GEEKY
But seriously, if you like bass music, you like critical rants and conspiracy theories about technologies of control, and you’re as floored as I am by the Afrofuturist philosophies espoused by everyone from Lee Scratch Perry to Sun-Ra to British theorist Kodwo Eshun, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of Kode9′s new book, Sonic Warfare.
In the simplest terms, he addresses the use of sound as a structuring technology- a sonic architecture, if you will- from night-time sound bombs used to create an environment of paranoia and fear among the colonized, to high-pitched frequencies used in malls to prevent teens from gathering, all the way through to the careful crafting of good or bad vibes by soundsystems operators in the context of the global dancehall session. Kode9, by the way, is the curator behind the virtually infallible Hyperdub record label, a leftfield electronica institution that’s centered around wonky hip-hop and dubstep, with releases from acts like Ikonika, Burial, Zomby, and Joker. Act like you know.
Lastly, let me round out yet one more border to which my artistic and cultural interests extend, and make the jump from super METAL gangster beats and Sonic Warfare over to the contemporary state of Latin American and Caribbean party music! I don’t mean to blow up anybody’s spot if you’ve been hoarding music from this bizarre little outlet in the global digital, but these guys deserve some props! Check out the wonderful, regularly-updated music blog, Flow Cartagena, “EL BLOG OFICIAL DEL DANCEHALL Y REGGAETON,” for seriously cutting edge reggae/hip-hop everything. Much of the music available at this site is from amateur producers and remixers, and a lot of it is unreleased, bootlegged, or really poorly mixed and mastered. Still, you can find some gems if you’re willing to hit up google translator and spend an hour navigating the sketchy mess that is this website’s interface.
One of my favorites is this track here, an upbeat, layed-back hip-hop joint from Jiggy D and Mosta Man. Just so you trust me that this site is in fact quite bangin’.
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Here’s a release that I’ve been waiting for (or rather: longing for) for quite some time: Lisbon-based collective and label Discotexas are releasing their “Forbidden Cuts” today. The EP features three tracks by Moullinex, Xinobi and Rockets. You should recall the latter from a post on these pages.
I can only speculate about the origins of the title but this is dangerously addictive stuff from a wonderful crew that is now making their way from the blogs to some of the coolest labels in dance music: While Moullinex is getting his full-length ready for Gomma, Xinobi’s “Day Off” is finally seeing a proper release on Work It Baby soon and Rockets debut 12″ is going to be released by Alavi’s RoXour!
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It’s their love for details, the warmth in their tracks, awesome production, and – of course – their ability to make people dance that makes me want to proclaim a new genre right now. No more French touch, this is Portuguese house!
Featured here not long ago and further represented by the The Guardian in the UK, our Bay Area representative Chief Boima has just released something we teased at last time. Under the Dutty Artz banner, Boima has put together a remarkably fresh collection of Rap/Hip-Hop re-workings that utilize African rhythmic and melodic sensibilities. Song include Birdman (”Money To Blow” feat. Drake and Lil Wayne), Akon (”Right Now”), The Jacka (”Glamorous Lifestyle” feat. Andre Nickatina), Fabo & T-Pain (”Own Step”).
If this doesn’t quite fill your need for Chief Boima productions, keep your eyes peeled for his forthcoming Techno Rumba EP, out on Dutty Artz soon. The EP will feature Boima’s original productions and remix work from DJ/rupture & Matt Shadetek.
Whether driven by their influences or written from pure discovery (most likely a merger of the two) CASXIO sounds like a band that stepped out of the seventies and transported their sound into the present. The glowing neon keys and funky back beats on their Seventeen EP are simply seductive. Hearing this music makes you just want to shake your ass and throw up those ones (you know, that index finger gun you flash and wave when the funks got hold of you). It’s actually a tease, as we only get two newbies here; “Seventeen” and “Boiling Point”. The other three tracks are remixes of the title track.
“Seventeen” is a song that would fit beautifully into an uplifting scene from a disco documentary, or Pete Tong’s record bag during sunset at Café Del Mar in Ibiza. Floating vocals, a pounding 4/4 kick, the crash of cymbals and the short, driving guitar rifts make this track the perfect choice for soundtrack work. It’s vintage without sounding dated. “Boiling Point” kicks things off on a somber piano tip, making you think for a second that an electro ballad maybe coming. The mood is mellower here, but the chorus reels the funk back in. This is solid head-bobbin’ music, the kind that triggers your swagger a little bit.
The Glass drops serious funky, deep tech house knowledge with their mix. The wah wah of the acid bassline makes it bang nicely. It’s perfect for that 5am get-em-back-up-and-moving set on the decks. Golden vs. Public bump 80’s flash and synths with their interpretation. They even toss in the classic electronic triangle stab (think “Ring My Bell”) for good measure. Skrillex AKA Sonny Moore pitch the BPMs up a bit for their remix. Again we get a taste of classic 80’s club culture: Thumping pads and synths arranged for the big city dancefloor, claps, quick loops, catchy chorus and all. This is party music for the unpretentious.
Stuck for something to do this Halloween in London? Well somewhere at an undisclosed location, evil scientists have been developing a serum of broken beats, basslines, Digital visual and spray-can art, so potent it will raise the dead. After what has seemed like an age Graffiti Breakz is proud to present the effects of our serum…
…..We give you Graffiti Breakz – The Resurrection.! Sat 31st Oct ’09 (Halloween)
Graffiti Breakz has gained the reputation of being one of the only events in London to successfully combine Breaks, Hardcore Breaks, Drum and Bass’ Live music and Live Graffiti art all under one roof
Now with a larger venue and longer opening hours we will be adding to the mix Dubstep’ Electro/Dubstep, Live Breaks acts, Full Graff art Instillations, Full Graff Art Galleries, More Giveaways, Brighter Lights, and Louder bass to create a vibe re-born; stronger and more electric than any Graffiti Breakz so far..
All 3 rooms will be in session to their full potential. As you enter the rhythm factory you‘ll be met by the artwork of some of London’s leading artists showcasing at the Graffiti Gallery.
As you pass the gallery instillation, and live 6’x4’ Artwork being created in the front bar you arrive in the main room bursting with Live Acts’ DJ Teams, visual displays and much more.
Drifting further into the East London venue, you will find dirty dubstep, kick driven breaks, and the addictive rumble of dark and dirty bass.
Gracing the stages of the 2 Dance floors we have a line up that includes award winning Djs; Apply The Breaks, pioneering producers; Ctrl-z, inspiring funk soul band; Junkyard scientists, and leading the way in the live breaks scene; Diverted. With Duel Calibre’s tear-out sound belting through the 7k rig there’s be something to wake every corpse
Check out the Blogs on the face book groups or Graffiti-Breakz website for competitions, and ways to get involved with Graffiti Breakz from the inside!
Just a quick note…there will be GB merchandise giveaways on the night for the Graffiti Breakers with the most Gruesome Halloween outfits!
After 2 years of successful parties at The Purple Turtle in Camden we have taken time out to regroup and come back at the scene ‘which is our passion’ with a fresh and expanded ethos that insists on bringing the best music and the best visual experiences together to produce a night that cant be forgotten.
