Andy Butler & Sirhan

If you haven’t experienced the magic of Hercules and Love Affair yet, than you’re surely living under a rock and really missing out on something. Combine fresh disco sounds with the almighty genre of classic Chicago house and you have a starting point. The brainchild of Dj Andy Butler, the debut album was released on DFA records and featured tracks with Anthony from Anthony and the Johnsons doing vocals.

It is easily one of the top releases of the summers living up to all the hype around it and squashing the novelty of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transsexual membership of the band. Delivering a solid full length record.

Luckily for Trash readers, Mr. Andy Butler granted us with an interview when they rolled through Chicago on a short tour.

Sirhan: How is the tour going?

Andy Butler: Great, we’re also getting ready to do this and then some dates in Europe. Club dates. This is going to be fun because we are actually headlining and not doing some festival with its mix of wacky bands and stuff.

Sirhan: Yeah, everyone always think festivals are great but as a band it must be hard because there’s so much going on and people might miss you or might not remember you.

Andy Butler: Or might not even make it on time.

Sirhan: Festivals, its too much its like coco puffs with chocolate milk and chocolate syrup on top.

Andy Butler: That actually sounds great.

Sirhan: So, whats after Europe? CMJ?

Andy Butler: Actually, We are doing a private event in Central Park for Chanel.

Sirhan: Holy shit! So you are going to get to rub elbows with Karl?

Andy Butler: Yeah. Hopefully. Maybe.

Sirhan: Do you know if he is a fan of the band?

Andy Butler: I don’t know, I would hope so.

Sirhan: He seems to be on the up and up with music and has great taste. Would you ever do what Justice did for Dior or Daft Punk for Louis Vuitton?

Andy Butler: I have already been commissioned to make three pieces of music for Chanel.

Sirhan: What kind of music do you make for Chanel???

Andy Butler: Really beautiful dreamy disco with amazing vocals.

Sirhan: I am so very jealous because it’s so exciting. If someone told you 10 years ago you would be doing this what would you think?

Andy Butler: Oh that question! The truth is I never dreamed of this, I never thought one day I’ll be playing my compositions in front 3000 people. I don’t know I was a simpleton. My thoughts would only extend to friday and saturday. But sometimes I would know I was going to be recording a trumpet player on thursday. In small doses and small bits things were coming together. I was just being creative and making things for the fun of it. Eventually it got to a place where people got involved and to a place where I could take a demo to DFA and they wanted to put it out. It happened fast but in the most pleasant of ways. Everything feels like a blessing instead of me feeling like it was something I was dying for…

Sirhan: Is the band hand picked by you?

Andy Butler: It’s a handful of session players and some friends and the singers. I knew Nomi before the whole thing. It’s kinda of the backing band. Some of them played on the record. But its definatly a community and family. It’s been the same people all year. I am already thinking of next year and thinking that things will change. Maybe in the not so far future a different show will take place. This has been fun though. It’s been a bit of a challenge because its 8 people on the road.

Sirhan: Do you vibe together?

Andy Butler: Totally, we’re all sorta mellow. We are not a hardcore bunch. There’s no extreme partying. And we have all been easy people and there hasn’t been any personal shit. I mean you have 8 people in bus. Maybe because some of them are stoner’s.

Sirhan: Yes. I can imagine you’re playing for and probably get worn out and do you only have this bus?

Andy Butler: Yeah, I mean you see maybe there’d be some agitation or something. The only real thing was Kim Ann would get kinda bummed about the smells. Towards the end of the tour you might have a lot of stinky boy feet and socks and shoes. It was gross.

Sirhan: Speaking of partying, How is it after shows are people wanting to party?

Andy Butler: Thats how we differ, unless I am djing I am not going out. Kim Ann is the same way. We probably end up eating granola or something afterwards. I’ll go out but its to hear music. if there isn’t really stellar music than it’s really hard for me to hang. The other kids are more personable. I tend to be more interested in solitude and trying to get the alone time I can on tour.

Sirhan: So, are than any crazy groupie like fans?

Andy Butler: Sometimes we have some kids coming to the buss wanting autographs. Nomi attracts a fair amount of people. Kimmers too she gets a lot of girls that like to come and hang out.

Sirhan: What does the family think of the music?

Andy Butler: You ask that as a joke but on some level everyone cares what there parents think. My mother is great she knows all the words to the songs and comes to the shows and dances. My dad i dont think he listens to it or gets it because he might still wish I was working in an office. My brother thinks its great. He’s in a band and he’s really excited.

Sirhan: Was music a big part of your upbringing with your family?

Andy Butler: No, I mean the first record i remember dancing around to was Steve Miller Band a track called “Abracadabra”. I actually play a b-side of that now when I dj. My brother and I were obsessed with music.

Sirhan: He’s younger?

Andy Butler: Yeah, so we have the trickle down theory. He listens to the record and gets it. He knows all the references. My parents didn’t play any music at the house at all. There was a piano at the house. I would hear music at school and come home and try to play those songs. Music was a way of me occupying myself and enjoying my time. Music wasn’t present in my house.

Sirhan: All the places you’ve gone so far what’s your favorite?

Andy Butler: Switzerland. Every time, I say that people are surprised. Although the shows we have played there have been lukewarm. I love how it looks. It’s beautiful. Its well kept and a lot of nature and even in the city. I got a nice Swatch there and some great records. I got some chocolate. Its really great.

Sirhan: Do you have time to explore while on tour?

Andy Butler: No, every time we are Scandinavia its always short. But the best show we played was in Ireland. It was called Electric Picnic. The sound was perfect and afterwards Sinead O’connor played. I am a huge fan and to see her play “Nothing Compares 2 U” with the whole crowd singing along, it was magical.

Sirhan: So have you had better reception when you’re not in America?

Andy Butler: I thought it would be like that but however every New York show has been sold out. LA and San Francisco have been crazy. It’s only been coastal though. We’ll see what Cincinnati thinks.

Sirhan: Wait, when are you playing Cincinnati?

Andy Butler: No. But I hope too for now its only coastal.

Sirhan: What’s the crowd break up?

Andy Butler: I don’t know. It’s young and old, gay and straight but it seems to be all cool people. All people in the know.

Sirhan: So, besides Chanel any other corporate things on the way?

Andy Butler: Well, there has been songs licensed.

Sirhan: Do you have control over what gets licensed?

Andy Butler: Yeah definitely, it has to go through us.

At this point in the interview we start trailing off getting personal and talking about Chicago’s Latino punk rock scene and Los Crudos. And how a lot of America’s current dance scene is made up of a lot of kids who grew up in the hardcore scene. We were talking about the rave scene and St. Louis and Superstars of Love. The tape ran out and Andy had to go to another interview. There was a ton of people lined up to interview him and we were very lucky and privileged to have the chance to sit and chat with him for an whole hour.

The show was amazing a full hour of great music that had most the crowd dancing and every enjoying themselves. I had at least 6 other people in attendance with me that were blown away. If you get the chance than you should definitely go!

Hercules And Love Affair - You Belong
Uploaded by macken_entertainment

Hercules and Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Dub)

Cut Copy - Far Away (Hercules and Love Affair Remix)

Fan Death and Hercules and Love Affair - Blind Death (Immuzikation Blend)

Milwaukee’s greatest thing since beer, cheese, and sausage is production duo, The Glamour. Comprised of strawberry stud Asher Roth and handsome hearthrob Richard Gray. The Glamour takes a bit of french touch, LA Electro, and midwestern party rap and mix them together for some good clean fun. Always pleasing their audiences with genre bending dj sets full of energy and presence. They are also some of the nicest and most hospitable dudes around. They got the attention of Urb magazine, who named them one of the next 100 and also IHEARTCOMIX put one of their songs on the nationally distributed Scion mixtape.

It was only matter of time for a group of their caliber, with their looks, talent and positive attitude that they would get scooped up by a record label and release there tunes “officially”. And what a label to be on, turns out the boys were signed to Calamity Jane.

Calamity Jane Recordings, is Strictly Rhythm’s newest imprint. Run by Scott Richmond and Dani Deahl, the label works in an interesting way where they find new artists and pair them with world-renowned remixers, and represent them with some of the most respected names in house music.

And on “Fly by Night” the label achieves exactly what they envision. The Glamour has 2 original tracks followed by remixes from The House Moguls, Tommie Sunshine, and Hatiras. The record is definitely a must have for both young and old.

Check out the sample that the record label provided and purchase this record HERE.

The Glamour - kidz night (The House Moguls Remix)

This is what Trash Menagerie was throwing down during the month of September. Features, interviews, parties, and plenty’a mix and MP3 download. We’re snuggling in for the busy month of October. Have you started thinking about your Halloween costume yet? We’re looking for ideas, so please hit us up and let us know if you’ve got any. Last year we gave you a heads up on how to MAKE YOUR OWN DAFT PUNK COSTUME. Hipster Runoff offered up a bit of inspiration, “WTF SHOULD I B 4 ALL HALLOW’S EVE”, But is it “ok” to be a Justice this year, if you were a Daft last year?

A truly scary option, the United States Vice Presidential Republican
Candidate and current Governor of Alaska - Sarah Palin.

Hmm, I guess she didn’t get understand the memo regarding last year’s Halloween Party. It was a Nordic theme. Looks like she still won anyway, even though she didn’t really come close to qualifying.

Sarah Palin 7 Months Preggers “I can hide my belly in a sexy, yet sophisticated, little black business suit.”

Goodness, her belly is HUGE, she looks like she’s going to pop any day now, right?

This is what Demi Moore looked like when she was seven months preggers . . .

Photo: Vanity Fair

Sarah Palin’s Witch Doctor . . .

Other potential options - “Sarah Palin Mayor of Meth”, “Sarah Palin Miss Alaska”, “Sarah Palin Soccer Mom”. Wow, and to think, the election isn’t even over yet, we’ve still got a few weeks to go . . . goodness, i’m sure we’ll have so many more choices to choose from. Maybe i’ll pull off one of those “couple costumes,” and we can go together as “Foreign Palin Policy“. One of us will be Russia, and the other Alaska, and we’ll stand on opposite sides of the room and say “I can see ya over there, behave yourself!”

“Sarah Palin Miss Alaska”

Anyway, Sarah, this song is dedicated to you . . .

Disco Villains - Move Bitch
Get more Disco Villains

TRASH MENAGERIE SEPTEMBER FEATURES

NEW MIX - TALIESIN “VIRTUAL LIGHT”
2008 End of “Summery”
Division Kent - Gravity in Your Face
Dskotek Emerges From the Rabble of LA
Why Republicans Should Go Down!!!
Bloggers Beware!
Bass Welterweight Kanji Kinetic
Revolver Disco
On A Mission
ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH
London Airwaves Festival Line-up Announced!
The BOX is ON
This Juan’s for You
Sarah Palin Beauty Queen
Diesel 30th Anniversary Parties!
Mystery Jets - Half in Love with Elizabeth - Delorean Remix
The Presets & The Aria Awards - They are like . . . GRAMMY’s, YO!
Midnight Juggernauts - Into the Galaxy - DANGER Remix
Charlie Ash
Miss OddKidd - Don’t Be Afraid To Sweat - Remixes - Drop The Lime & Goldielocks
Salem - Dirt Video
Rewind Chicago 1990’s Rave - Hardcore Jungle
Uproot Andy-The Great Migration
Spitzer’s - Rainy winter in Sydney
New Madlib Album & J Rocc Podcast on Stones Throw
Death Set Live at Studio 1087 pt 1 of 2
FOOLS Remixed GOLD
The Rapture !K7 Mix - Unmasterd
Crying Blood Ties in VV Brown, Holland, Weatherall, Death In Vegas, !!!
Little Boots - Meddle - Designer Drugs Remix
Yo Majesty Makes it Clap
Hold On! Hot Chip Touch Too Much
PLAYBACK - Episode 1 - Andy Butler - Hercules and Love Affair
Krudmart-Steve Kream’s Autumn Love Mixtape
Hey! Hey! Its Hey Champ!
MSTRKRFT - Fist of (oh my) God Tour
Micachu live at DURRR
A Black Hole is Opening
Bang! Bang! Eche!

TRASH MENAGERIE SEPTEMBER MIXES

Bite This! Robotic Mix From Montreal’s DJ Spaz
Little Boots - Computer Fairyland Mixtape
A Very Vanilla Mix from London’s Lesser Panda
4AM Jess vs. Proper Villians
Ruffneck DJ Set @ Brockout! Chicago, 1995
DJ Trace w GQ & 5-0 @ Psychosis - Chicago, 1995
Uproot Andy - Guacharaca Migration
The Toxic Avenger Live at Piknik Electronik - Montreal
Jon Hillcock Xfm Mixes

TRASH MENAGERIE SEPTEMBER LISTINGS

NY’s New Favorite Place to be on Friday’s
N.A.M.E. festival 2008 - Edition n° 4 - France
NewPop + Dj Mehdi, Local Hero - Chicago!
MSTRKRFT Fist of God Tour
Somewhere In The Universe There Must Be Something Better Than Man’ 2nd Birthday - Brighton
Sinden at LOVE 9/20/08!
POP MONTREAL 2008 FINAL LINEUP ANNOUNCED
Atmosphere on Tour & on Kimmel
2008 DECIBEL FESTIVAL : FULL LINEUP & PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
Italian Invasion - LA

GET IN TOUCH WITH THE TRASH MENAGERIE CREW - CONTACT@TRASHMENAGERIE.COM

Here’s a great video from Chicago’s, Hey Champ a hot new trio in the scene making some fresh tunes. The video is for the band’s new single “Cold Dust Girl“. This is one of those sneaky songs that you hear at night and wake up in the morning with its melodies still infecting your thoughts. Then you immediately want to hear it again. It’s just that fresh.

The first exposure to the world for the trio was when a blog accidentally posted their remix of Scenario Rock’s “Perfect Love Antidote” as Ed Banger’s distorto super producer Sebastian. When the remix was discovered that it was really Hey Champ, the trio’s take on the song was strong enough to gain plenty of acclaim. It is even available on itunes (Europe only) and was put out by a major label Sony.

Their sound can easily be compared to the likes of Van She, Cut Copy, Fred Falke and Les Rhythmes Digitales. Mixing rock with elements of house all based over an abudant amount of synth action. Sometimes playing out as a full band and sometimes doing dj sets, Hey Champ is paying their dues quickly. Already featured in UR Magazine with an upbeat, good times mix. Gaining bookings more and more and even getting rapper Lupe Fiasco attention enough for him to write about them on his blog. It is also entirely possible that the group will be scooped up at anytime by a record label.

Enjoy the video and the mp3 and check the groups myspace to keep updated.

Hey Champ! - Cold Dust Girl

Even though September is coming to an end, streetwear supply company Krudmart’s September mixtape will continue to beone of my favorite mixes of the fall season.

Entitled, Autumn Love, Krudmart head honcho Steve Kream hand made this wonderful mix that stresses the feelings of fall. It’s getting darker earlier, the air is getting colder, leaves are changing colors and both sexes are wearing more clothing but romance, sex and love seem to be the highest this time of year.

Besides having great taste in music, Krudmart has great clothing and wares for purchasing. You can pick up a Mishka shirt, a pair of APC jeans, Sabre Vision Sunglasses, and head out on the town with Autumn Love playing on your headphones.

Krudmart also has a blog and twitter

http://www.krudmart.com/blog/

http://twitter.com/krudmart

http://www.myspace.com/krudmart

Tracklist:
1. The Jets - Crush On You
2. Fred Falke - Wait For Love
3. Holy Ghost - Hold On
4. Nicolette Larson - Lotta Love
5. Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Metronomy Mix)
6. Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
7. Herbert - The Audience
8. Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
9. Morgan Geist - Most of All
10. Spiller - Groovejet
11. Human League - Don’t You Want Me Baby
12. When in Rome - The Promise
13. Masters at Work - Deep Inside
14. Pnau - Baby (Breakbot Remix)
15. The Juan Maclean - Love is in the Air
16. Knee Deep - Big Love
17. Puzique - Don’t Go
18. Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
19. Luomo - The Present Lover
20. Royksopp - Remind Me
21. CSS - Lets Make Love (Spank Rock Remix)
22. Felix Da Housecat - Ready 2 Wear
23. The Similou - All This Love

PS cover art was made by Curtis Vodka.

Krudmart September Mixtape - Steve Kream - Autumn Love

My favorite band, The Rapture, also DJ. They are soon releasing a mix on K7, and oops, it leaked. This is the un-mastered version. They have two of my favorite tracks back to back - Armand Van Helden “Flowerz” & Cajmere feat. Dajae - “Say U Will.” Paul Johnson’s “Get, Get, Down”, I think this was the tracks where he showed the world, not only could he produce, but also sing. Also included in the mix the unreleased track from the forthcoming - Dances With White Girls EP “Everybody’s Got to Make a Living”, which is soon coming out on their own label - “Throne Of Blood“, the EP is currently “in promo”, expect it to be making the blog rounds soon!

Gabe, cute fan, & Vito - photo credit: Amy Wimmer

Download The Rapture !K7 Tapes

THE RAPTURE !K7 TAPES
01. Earthquake Shake - The Undisputed Truth
02. Daytona 500 - Ghostface Killah
03. The Word - Junkyard Band
04. Holy Ghost - The Bar-Kays
05. Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll - Vaughan Mason & Crew
06. Tee’s Happy - Northend
07. I’m An Indian Too - Don Armando’s Second Avenue Rumble
08. Fantasy Lines - Arcade Lover
09. Disco Circus - Martin Circus
10. Club Soda - Thomas Bangalter
11. The Passion (Phonique Mix Down) - Kiloo
12. Flowerz - Armand van Helden
13. Say U Will - Cajmere feat Dajae
14. Where’s Jason K - Syclops
15. Township Funk - DJ Mujava
16. Cpstyre - Donk Boys
17. Everybody’s Got To Make A Living - Dances With White Girls
18. Why Not?! - Alter Ego
19. Get Get Down (Extended Mix) - Paul Johnson
20. Austin’s Groove - Kid Crème
21. Going Back To My Roots - Richie Havens
22. Afro Arps And Minimoogs (S2) - Galaxy 2 Galaxy

Also download and listen: The Rapture Retro Essential Mix - BBC Radio One

(and yeah, I just realized, this should probably be in our “mixes” section, another “oops”)

Who doesn’t enjoy a good Bordeaux, especially when it comes to music? Boxon Records is Julien Minet’s dirty sexy record label out of Bordeaux, France that features prominent music artists (Tom Deluxx, Eclier, Toxic Avenger, Philipe de Boyer, Pro7, etc), and the incredible graphic designer Anem.

If you like teeth grinding, head banging, body shaking electro-trash music then this next one is for you. Coming out in late September, I had a sneak peak at the new Boxon album and it is fanfreakintastic. There are two separate and distinctive mixes of Tom Deluxx’s “Mushion Heroes” on here and they are both pure goodness. Who are the faces behind them?

First is Philipe de Boyar, the Suisse DJ/Producer who does a mixture of House/Electro/Breaks. He’s not a newbie to the scene, having already had tracks popping up in MIXMAG and is set to have releases on Erase Records, Hammarskjoeld Records or his own digital imprint Rockville Music as well as other labels. His version of “Mushion Hereos” is slap-in-your-face hard and reminiscent of the same energy you get with the Toxic Avenger.

The other version is by Pro7, an international party player who has already tricked with the likes of Sebastian, Teenage Bad Girl, TTC, and more. His version is very slightly lighter than the de Boyar one, with a little funky feel. Caution: these two tracks are not at all to be confused with each other, even if they stem from the same original! They are completely different takes and both quite enjoyable. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear them both pounding in clubs in the next 2-3 months.

Also from Boxon as of late, the latest video from Paris production company Born To Film of the Toxic Avenger’s “Bad Girls Need Love, Too”. It captures perfectly the style of Toxic — edgy electro with a rock feel. Tattooed ladies and Lolita like nymphs are in the video rocking out in this beautifully shot video clip with amazing color saturation. C’est tellement sexy et j’adore!

In other news, Boxon veteran Tom Deluxx has a new EP coming out this October, and I’m on the edge of my seat to hear it, especially if it sounds anything like the remix he sent us, “Fake” by GRS Club, who also have an EP arriving this October!

Putain c’est la classe! Anem is doing the artwork for the album. Including the fresh preview up top Boxon sent us!

Grs Club - Fake (Tom Deluxx Remix)

Tom Deluxx - Drama Queen (Eclier Grinded Version)

Tom Deluxx - Mushion Heroe (Pro7 Remix)

The LA electro/blog house/hipster music scene is a very strange place. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the world (that I’ve seen, at least) where the stereotypical bloghouse lifestyle has been more heavily adopted by youth culture. A vast number of our readers hail from LA, I’ve played for more kids on a tuesday there than when I play anywhere else on a weekend, and we get more “music” submissions from the absurd amount of young LA DJs who are the star of their tiny faction of the scene and feel that their MIA/Young Jeezy/Daft Punk mashup is going to rocket them to international stardom. Don’t get me wrong, LA is one of my favorite places on earth. Almost all of my favorite American producers/DJs/friends live and thrive there (Guns N Bombs, Acid Girls, Harvard Bass, LA Riots, Dirty Dave, Paparazzi etc.), the fans are the most fist-pumpingly excited fans I’ve encountered in this country and I’m out there pretty consistently soaking up the sun.

Imagine my surprise, though, when I receive an email from a young LA producer, Dskotek, and it contains two tracks that are not just passable as blog fodder, but are extremely original, well produced, clever and totally playable! I was so surprised, in fact, that I had to verify with a LA friend that this kid was real and it wasn’t some hoax. And sure enough he’s a staple at many of the club and warehouse parties scattered across SoCal. He keeps a local schedule that rivals many of the worlds biggest DJs (a feat only possible in LA).

As for the tunes, I’m providing you with two. The first is a remix of a tune by Mockin’ Bird (who doesn’t seem to exist anymore) called Hissi. The original’s a bouncy little electro-tech track and Dskotek maximalized it adding subtle trancey stabs, well placed edits and filters and looping the thing to death. In the end, it reminds me of something DJ Dan might do. The second is an original work called Sinfonia which proves that Dskotek knows what he’s doing in the studio. The layering and instrumentation is really complex and excellent and the whole tune a very dense, non-linear feel to it packing surprises at every turn. The quality of production is surprisingly good making this tune so much larger and more playable than the rest of the bloghouse rabble.

Be sure to keep an eye out for this kid and my guess is he’s hard to miss considering that if you walk into an LA warehouse on any given day you’re likely to see him DJing there.

Mockin Bird - Hissi (Dskotek Remix)

Dskotek - Sinfonia

If you saw Division Kent’s new album, Gravity, walking down the street it would be the most darkly sensual woman with a cigarette hanging out of her parted lips asking you for a light. Somehow this group manages to pull off breathy female vocals and slithering sounds without sounding like a couple of depressed emo kids.

To give some background, Division Kent is based out of Zurich, Switzerland and currently signed to Sony BMG. Made up of Andrea B. and Sky Antinori, this duo is officially seducing the US in October when Gravity is expected to be released. Listening to the tracks takes you on a musical trip, with ethereal music and vocals that could probably bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your face at the same time. I will say that my particular favorites are “L’heure bleue”, “No Kryptonite” and “In the headlights”.

So in order to show our love for them and you, we’re posting a few tracks illustrating the style and variations that encompass Division Kent and some of the killer remixes that have come out of this album already. Want a literary preview of our remixers?

The Phantom’s Revenge out of Nîmes, France is a disco tap! Listening to their remix makes me wanna boogie nights, sleep never, and bust out the glitter.

From the Netherlands, expect to get Shook‘d up with… some Jane Fonda spandex. This remix is a dream complete with 80s fadeouts, leggings, and a Pretty in Pink attitude.

The intro on this version by L.A.’s Keenhouse, sounds like something you’d hear as the background music on a Discovery Channel show about spiders, when they show the spiders building a web in like 10X speed. Then it quickly gets into the sexy French lyrics.

Not in the US? Well, it’s already been released in Switzerland if you’re over there. In early 2009 it will be released in Germany, Austria, Benelux, and the UK. The Euro edition comes with a bonus CD of nothin’ but remixes. All in all not a bad little package here. Enjoy!!

Division Kent - Offshore (The Phantom’s Revenge)

Division Kent - L’Heure Blue (Shook remix)

Division Kent - L’Heure Bleue (Keenhouse Remix)

Summer is coming to and end, its been a good one, kept me busy, got to do some traveling, made my way across the country and back a few times, ran into old friends, made some new ones, found myself at more day events and festivals than clubs, which was really great. Soon enough its going to be cold here in New York, and ill be taking shelter in a club and paying $8 for cocktails. Since i’ve been slacking in the post department, i’m going to try and make up for lost time with a “summery” of my 2008.

Santogold @ sound check for Radio 1 - Annie Mac show, WMC March 2008

Saw Santogold perform a few times, although unfortunately, I missed her dates with Coldplay. I did however see her just about everywhere else I went, on the side of buses, in the subway, in magazines, TV, on the wall of Terminal 5 when I went to see Brian Jonestown Massacre (Joel performed, it was great, nobody got in a fight, bummer.) Anyway, you get the idea, Santi is everywhere, repping in style for Converse Connectivity. I have to say, the campaign is pretty tight, they did good, no one is trying to shove blatant adverts your way, the micro site is crafty, there’s a lot going on, you can even design your own kicks, and sonically, the artists on board, I genuinely like and listen to. Someone in the marketing department did their homework.

Santogold - L.E.S Artistes - Switch Remix

Want more Santi? Here you go, Santogold - Creator - Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix And just about everyone I know won’t say no to more cookies - Danger “14H54″ Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix, exclusively on @ Itunes - get it HERE

Brian Jonestown Massacre, Terminal 5, New York July 25 08

Crowd gathering for Radiohead - Lollapalooza Chicago, Aug 1 08

Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely one of the highlight’s of my summer, I traveled from NY with Spank Rock and crew - Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and Natalie. Their schedule was as full as it could for the weekend, press, after parties, and of course, their Saturday performance on the Citi Stage. Everyone rolled in Friday night, and headed over to the festival site for Radiohead.

I ran into the Foals, which was a super unexpected and pleasant surprise. I grabbed a piece of lawn and had a few drinks with Yannis and Jack, caught up, talked about the past year, how things have changed since we had last had seen each other in New York, when they were recording their album. They’ve got the typical touring band schedule, traveling constantly, playing tons of great festivals, waking up and not knowing where they are. Yannis and I tried to recall what it was that we were debating a few months back in regard to minimal techno (we are both fans - Minitek!!! ), never did figure it out. Soon more Foals came to graze, a grass fight ensued, and it was truly an “Electric Bloom” moment when they started shoving chunks of earth down each others shirts, it was my “Warning Call” to make an exit, so I galloped away to wait in the mile long line for a Vodka and Vitamin water.

Foals - Electric Bloom - Postmortem -arQon remix

While I was waiting in line, Radiohead took to the stage, all day everyone I ran into was gushing in anticipation of their performance, I was no different. It had been almost 2 years to the day that I had seen them last, also in Chicago, but in a theater setting, this time, it was outside to a sold out crowd of well over 70k, I love festivals. When Radiohead went on, the masses were well into it as expected, I had a side view, so I wasn’t able to see much of the production, that being the massive LCD’s and light show, or even much of the band for that matter, but hearing was good enough. What I was able to see was the woman at the front of the stage signing Radiohead’s lyrics, dancing, and clearly having the time of her life. (Note to self - learn sign language, what a great gig to have.) During their performance I was filled in on the fact that Thom Yorke is in fact a big fan of Spank Rock, and listed the album, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, as one of his top 10 albums of 2007, my eyes bugged out of my head a bit. Really?

Spank Rock is also a big fan of Radiohead and Thom Yorke. For a slight second I wondered if there was anyway for the two of them to meet, considering they had this mutual artist respect thing going on. But I also realized it was probably next to impossible, i’m sure everyone and their mother was probably trying to have a chat with the band that night, plus, it was a massive show. I put to rest the idea trying to make the introduction, got back to reality. The band did a few encore’s everyone was blissed out, it was a very memorable evening. We took off right as they were doing their last song to avoid getting caught up in the mass exodus. 70k people all leaving at once is a bit much. After parties were popping off all over the city, Foals were DJ’ing, Bloc Party, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, all kinds of madness, but I was exhausted, and Saturday was going to be crazy so I called it a night.

Saturday, well, I ended up not hitting after parties, but went to a local bar and tied one on with some old friends. We made a late night run to Rockstar Dog’s, ordered a couple of “Los Lobos”, and “tots” and yeah, we felt like what we ingested. When we woke up the next day we asked ourselves what the hell were we thinking? Oh! We were not thinking, we were drunk.

No time to be hungover, there was stuff to do, no rest for the wicked. I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel, to meet up with the Spank Rock crew for Spin & Metromix’s gifting suite. They threw down, excellent grub, fancy juices, energy drinks, spa services, and sweet schwag. This was good, I was starting to feel better. Then it was interview time, Ms. Amanda Blank was losing her voice, and was under Dr.’s orders not make a peep until the Lolla performance later that afternoon. She made a clever name tag and attached it to her shirt letting everyone know, hey, I can’t talk, and worked some sign language of her own. The girl is amazing, she still managed to convey what she wanted to say, and charmed everyone.

Spank Rock & Amanda Blank Interview for Metromix @ Lollapalooza, Aug 2 08

Interviews were over, the crew split up, Spank Rock (Naeem, solo) and I jetted off (actually crawled through major traffic) as he was DJ’ing at the Diesel store. It was his first gig outside of Philly, he’s been dj’ing regularly every Monday night at a party he started called The Jang House, it all goes down at the Barbary. I’ve been told by many this night is hot, and hella fun, so it’s on my “to do” in the very near future list. I’ve never heard Naeem DJ before, he plays an eclectic mix of retro, disco, mash-up’s, heard some Prince, said ‘oh yes, I love this too!”, when he threw on a remix of MGMT’s, “Electric Feel”, we both agreed the video was sexy as hell and wish we could have been in it.

It was nearing Spank Rock’s 5:00pm stage time, we high tailed it outta the Diesel store, jumped in a car, and headed to the Lolla site. The first thing that reached our ears when we got on site, MGMT, of course, go figure. We sighed, got over the fact we were missing their performance, and jumped on a golf cart that delivered us to the Citi Stage. Booka Shade was just wrapping up their set. For me, seeing them provided some solace for the MGMT loss, hey were amazing as always. Spank Rock took to the stage and performed to a charged up crowd, Amanda’s voice was in top form, the crew brought the party, Plastic Little jumped on stage and did a guest spot, everyone was caught up in their energy, the stage and the audience may have well been one.

MGMT - Kids - Skyve Reuters Bunkalifony Edit

The Lolla performance was over, but the day was is not, one more interview with Fuse TV, then back over to the Hard Rock for an after party performance with Mark Ronson and Spank Rock. We were starting to feel like we might be hitting the wall, festivals are fun, but they are hot, and have the ability to suck the energy out of you. Besides being tired, everyone was hungry, we had dinner reservations at the China Grill, which thank god, we didn’t have to go far for, as it was adjacent to the hotel. Dinner was excellent, but now we were really tired, time to rest. We made our way out the door mumbling about various things in our food comas, then everyone got really quiet. After we walked outside the door, we looked at each other, and all at once started talking - “hey that guy looked really familiar?”,”do you know that guy?”, “who was that?”, “was that Thom Yorke?”, “That WAS Thom Yorke.” We snapped out of our comas. Damn, It’s Thom Yorke.

All things considered, Thom being a fan of Spank Rock, and vice versa, we should go over and say hello, right? It was kinda too ironic that we were having dinner in the same place at the same time. But everyone agreed, interrupting him, or anyone for that matter, during dinner, who probably already has a hard time in the “peace & quiet” department, we didn’t want to go there. So we continued on to our rooms where we twiddled our thumbs. It was definitely one of those “what would Jesus do?’ moments.

We discussed the irony at hand. I thought Thom & Naeem should meet, it was kind of a no brainer. And I admit, I had my own selfish reasons, I also really wanted to chat with Thom first hand about music industry politics. I think i’ve easily done 20 + posts about Radiohead and/or Thom. When the band released In Rainbows, it was kind of a big deal.

Everyone I know carefully watched how the band’s, name your own price, self release, limited edition box set concept was going to unfold. For weeks it was the hottest topic of conversation. So the release day came, people got online and placed their order, and continued to watch the concept unfold. In my opinion, it was a beautiful. No, Radiohead didn’t fix everything that was wrong with the industry, and what they did, most bands can’t really afford to do. (I discussed this with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, read it here). They did kick open the door of the major labels, and sent a very strong message. They gave their fans a choice, they made room for both artists and others in the industry, to do even more inspired and creative things, perhaps even take risks they might not have before. They let people know, that yes, you can release music in a non-traditional way and it can work. Not only that, you can do it on your own, they exact way YOU want to do it, real freedom of expression. And isn’t that what everyone wants? Not only in art, but in life.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I live for these kinds of moments, i’m all for pushing the envelope, DIY, thinking outside of the box, stick it to “the man”, all those common cliches. I feel i’ve fallen off course at this point, so let me get back to the story and how it all ends.

I lived in Chicago for 16 years, it just so happens that I know the manager of the China Grill, I figure I might as well take advantage of that, so I head back to the restaurant, tell him the story. He tells me that Thom and his friends were almost done with their meal, and adds that they are really pleasant, he offered to ask them if they would be so inclined to meet us. I agreed this would be appropriate, and so it goes, “Thom would love to meet Spank Rock”.

I made my way back up to our floor, and my heart fluttered a bit when I told Naeem, come on, we’re going to go and say hello to Thom, and so we did. I hung back as they spoke about music, production, the writing process, how it can be difficult and unnerving process. As an artist, you second guess yourself, wonder if what your writing is good enough, you feel pressure to create something and your not always sure where you’re going with it, or what it is you want to create. Thom shared that he most certainly felt like that, and felt most everyone does, its part of the process of creating, and if those moments where you question yourself didn’t happen, that would seem to be a bit odd, and that perhaps was when an artist should worry. So as it turns out, Thom’s just like the rest of us, word. We spoke about their performance the day before, I told him I really only got to see the woman signing, he said she was great, stole the show. I got my politics on, we discussed the interview he and David Byrne did with Wired Magazine, on the real value of music.

Thom said it was an interesting interview, rather quiet, not as much talking between the two of them as one might think. Which kind of surprised me, I would assume they would carry on for hours. However, I’ve seen a few live interviews with Byrne, he’s incredibly intelligent, insightful, (I closely follow his industry politics as well), but I could see why a bit of silence between the two, might be the case. There is a particular interview Byrne did that stands out, with Daniel Levitin (author of This Is Your Brain On Music), you can check it out at Seed Mag online. We also discussed the In Rainbows release, Thom was very humble, when I expressed how I felt about the release, he said the release was just a minor start toward rebuilding an ailing music industry, and that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly when it comes to radio. We had been carrying on for some time now, espressos were to be had, they were off to a show the next day, and exhausted from a day of boating on Lake Michigan, we had our own show, call time was just an hour away, we said our goodbye’s and floated away.

Radiohead - Ceremony - Thumbs Down - Webcast

Spank Rock hit the stage for the Spin & Metromix after party, the room was packed, but the crowd was a bit lethargic, however, when these guys hit the stage, it doesn’t take long to get a room going. Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson were in attendance with their posse, so in honor of the occasion, Spank Rock finished the set with Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge. I think the posse was caught off guard, as they exited the room before the song was over. Funny stuff.

Amanda Blank & Natalie - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2

Naeem - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2

I also hit a few Rock The Bells shows - saw Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Mos Def, Nas, even a stellar, surprise performance in Denver from Black Star.

Nas - Rock The Bells, Columbia, MD July 27 08

Black Star - Rock The Bells, Denver, Co Aug 23

All in all, great summer, and as this post is quickly becoming a novella, I shall end it here, and leave you with this entertaining video of what I can only assume are cheerleaders learning new dance routines at summer camp to “Bump”. The dude the runs out to lead them rocks.

I was never into Baltimore Club. I am sick of hearing shitty remixes of stupid songs and I feel that once you hear one song you have heard them all. I never really understood it. However……these dudes somehow manage to get around the parts of it that I dislike. And I can listen to them all night without getting bored. Brick. Bandits. Kill. It. I have seen these guys go at it several times and I have never been disappointed. They are a serious party. All of them. Also for the record they do not just play baltimore club. I have heard Tameil kill it on the house music tip. So good.

Thursday 8/21 it’s SO on. I know this is last minute but the Brick Bandits have decided to pay Brooklyn a visit. I don’t know if you have happened to catch any of these DJs yet but you have no excuse. They have been all over the place lately and if you have missed them you need to switch your party schedule up a little. Time for some action. I am SO excited about this.

For you New York people, Galapagos is no more. They are under new ownership and the venue is called Public Assembly. They have exchanged their old sound system for some serious BOOM and Thursday is definitely the night to test it out.

I am 100% confident that DJ Tim Dolla, DJ Tameil and DJ Sega are going to rock a serious dance party so let’s do this. I will be there Djing as well. Most likely tag teaming with my favorite Philly kid Nick the V. Here is a little preview of what the night is going to be like. Get Wild.

Also the first time I heard the Digital Cable song I lost it. Brooklyn you know what I am talkin’ about!

Tameil feat. Tim Dolla - Stayin Alive

Tim Dolla - Digital Cable

Dj Tameil - Gypsy Theme

Dj Sega - Where’s Your Head At

Rico Tubbs is a name that’s been floating around many of the blogs in 2008. Tracks of his have been popping up here and there and they have been met with great accolades from some of the biggest tastemakers spanning numerous genres and subcultures. Now, a brand new album, Knuckle Sandwich, packed with Grade A bangers, has just been unleashed to further his dance music domination. It seems, though, most people haven’t a clue who Rico Tubbs actually is.

He is by no means a n00b to the scene. He’s been DJing and producing in his native Finland since ‘94 starting in UK Hardcore and Hiphop and leading into Big Beat, Breakbeat and whatever else you can call his music now. In his home country, he is an electronic music legend producing under his real name Riku Pentti and comprising one half of The Skillsters, credited with producing the first Finnish Hiphop album in history. From there, thanks to his avant garde scratching abilities, Rico joined the venerable big beat troupe, The Bombfunk MC’s as their DJ/Producer/whatever else.

Once big beat faded, Riku reinvented himself again, always retaining that funky hardcore/hiphop vibe, and reemerged in the peaking breakbeat scene as Rico Tubbs and the pseudonym Infekto. Releasing records on KissFM DJ Jay Cunning and Atomic Hooligan’s label Menu Music, he immediately became known for making some of the best peaktimers of the heyday of new school funky breaks. Gradually, his unique breaky sound began to infiltrate the blogs and that brings us to the present.

What sets Rico’s sound apart from everyone else is that he clearly embraces every type of music that he’s ever liked and uses it indiscriminately throughout his tunes. It’s not fidget, its not breakbeat, its not hardcore, its not b-more, but it’s an amalgamation of all of those and more used in an unapologetic, bold manner. Rico’s new album exemplifies that fact and was purposefully filled to the brim with club bangers.

To celebrate said album, available now on Juno, iTunes or wherever else you might find proper music, here’s a taste of what Rico’s been putting forth; a VIP mix of his squelchy bass banger, Hot Girls Dope Boys, done especially for TM. And just to further solidify his authenticity and prove that he’s been doing this since many of you were just a glimmer in your fathers eye, here’s an oldschool hardcore mix that he provided us, containing some of the real classics. So sit back, have a listen, read this short interview and then buy the album. It’s sooooooo good!

Rico Tubbs - Hot Girls Dope Boys (VIP)

Rico Tubbs - HardcoreJungleTeknoRave 91-93

01. Altern-8 : Evaporate (1992,Network)
02. Djs Unite : Djs Unite (1992 ,XL)
03. Shut up and Dance : The green man (1992,shut up and dance)
04. A Home boy, A hippie & Funky dread : Now is the future (1992,Rising high )
05. Two Undercover : Unite (1992,De ja vu)
06. Kaotic Kemistry : Space Cakes ( 1993,Moving Shadow)
07. Q Bass : Hardcore Will Never Die /E type version (1991,Suburban Base)
08. Sonz of a loop da loop era : Far Out (1991,Suburban Base)
09. The Prodigy : Full Throttle (XL,1993)
10. Dance Conspiracy : Dub War Chapter 1(XL,1992)
11. Run tings : Fires Burning (Suburban Base 1992)
12. Krome & Time: This Sound is for the Underground (Suburban Base 1992)
13. Acen : Trip 2 the moon part 2 (Production house 1992)
14. Manix : Alright Wid Me (1993,Reinforced)
15. Manix : Hardcore Junglism (1992,Reinforced)
16.Underground Software : Different ting (1992,Reinforced)
17. Cloud 9 : You got Me Burning (1993,Moving Shadow)
18. Soundclash vs Hackney Hardcore : Hear Gunshots (1993,Strictly Underground)
19. Foul Play : Finest illusion (1993,Moving Shadow)
20. Ltj Bukem& Tayla : Bang the drums (1992,Good looking )

Local Hero: Lets kick it off with an easy one. What are you listening to right now?

Rico Tubbs: Italo disco,”Dance Mania” Chicago house stuff , some 60’s psych rock and Bengas album have been on heavy rotation.

LH: You’ve been producing and releasing records since 1995 in your native Finland. Tell us about some of the early Rico Tubbs projects.

RT: When I got my first releases out it was the time of big beat - sample heavy fun party music. Not much different of what I do now - the hip hop samples and rave elements can be heard through all my production from day one.

LH: Not many producers from the breaks scene have been able to crossover to the electro/blog house scene as successfully as you have. Was this crossover success intended? If so what did you put into the music to garner the crossover appeal?

RT: The crossover was not calculated in any way. My production style is based more on chaos than clear vision and I think Ive done tunes in most genres of electronic music. As a producer/dj you should anyway be intrested in new things and it always amazes me how many purists there are who are stuck into their little box. Now I feel that electronic music is in its most exciting phase in many years.The trend now overlaps the most with what I love in dance music : big and quirky basslines,hip hop or rather hip house and rave.

LH: Seems like you’ve kept quite busy djing so far this year. Whats been the awesomest party you’ve played this year?

RT: I have to say Glade.That was the first festival of that magnitude Ive played. Everything was well organized and the atmosphere was great.

LH: What was the musical aim of your new album? What were you trying to accomplish with it?

RT: My aim was to get a coherent album full of club bangers. I tried to make it so tight that you’d want to get the whole thing - not just pick and choose just 1 or 2 tracks as often is the case among dance albums.

LH: You’ve always maintained an aggressive funky sound but without being cheesy. How and from what influences did you derive the Rico Tubbs style?

RT: When Rico Tubbs was born the sound was influenced by stripped down funk of JB’s and sillyness of Parliament - with some heavy fart bass. Its gone a long way from that during past 5 years but the heavy bass groove is still the core. Now you can hear more of the influence of my hardcore favourites : Altern-8, Manix and early Moving Shadow/Suburban Base. There also some speed garage/bassline there of which I’ve always been a fan of.

LH: Now that the albums done and released, what comes next?

RT: Theres been a lot of remix work of which the latest is for Tittsworth 12 Steps album. Theres also an EP coming on Herve’s label later this year and a track on Finnish b-more club label Top Billin’. There might be a remix album of “Knuckle Sandwich” as well if everything goes by the plan - first out will be Tes La Rok and Muffler remixes of “Gangsters”.