If NYC has Machine Drum and norm REX (I’d tie in the rave up of Trouble & Bass too), LA has Fly Lo, edIT and The Glitch Mob, Glasgow & Edinburgh have LuckyMe and London has Patchwork Pirates and Thugs & Hugs, then Montreal has Turbo Crunk. The laser bass destroyers / sweat shop party / soundsystem / collective of Mofomatronix, Lunice, Blingmod and Megasoid (alias of murder beats stalwart Sixtoo aka Speakerbruiser and Hadji Bakara of Wolf Parade aka Robert Downey DJ). It’s swangin’ electronic-sonic alchemy, low end twisted bassbin beats and rap music. The future of hip hop? It’s definitely the now. Got the city on lock.
Mofos: We are two dudes with a one-track mind. Obsessed with all the same filthy rap, disgusting electronic music and sweaty clubs, we try to synthesize all of that into a hybrid live PA/DJ set using laptops, midi controllers and sometimes hardware. A serious and honest love for crunk, hyphy, pop, grime, dubstep, and techno keeps us interested and inspired by a multitude of genres and scenes.
Terence: How about the Turbo Crunk crew… how did you all hook up?
Mofos: Turbo Crunk is Megasoid, Blingmod, Lunice and ourselves. We had been fans of Sixtoo since our early high school days, and started attending the Megasoid nights as soon as they started up, in a tiny 150 person capacity cave-like venue called the Zoobizarre, at which we had our own monthly (Bass Culture). We crossed paths when their man Blingmod played our night and completely murdered it, and we found out about Lunice, this dude attending the same college as us, through Rustie’s top friends, which still boggles my mind to this day. As we were clicking away at profiles on MySpace trying to find some new heat, we came across Lunice’s page, then noticing he was actually from Montreal. A few days later a saw the dude walking down the hallway of my school. Completely nuts.
Terence: What’s up in Montreal right now? How’s the summer doing for the bass heads and gal dem?
Mofos: Montreal is a very vibrant city and the nightlife is out of control. After-hour burners and loft parties are the summer steelo. So are 700-person boat parties and renegade outdoor soundsystems (Megasoid have firmly established themselves as the ultimate party-rockers).
Terence: What do you think about quality control vs. availability of music within online communities?
Mofos: We are definitely saturated with music nowadays, although it’s great that it’s all available and that so many people can find an output. This is the ultimate democratization of music, as anyone with a guitar, synth or software can materialize their ideas and have people listen to them. It also gives a chance to the most obscure regional rap movements to surface. No one would have heard of “Whoop Rico” or “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” outside of The South if it wasn’t for YouTube and MySpace!
Terence: What’s the secret to making crap ya’ll self basslines and dynamite claps?
Mofos: We finish our tracks an hour before showing up to the club, and we end up performing them and shouting at each other, going: “Yeah, I think this one knocks hard enough, this one needs louder claps…” We are also fans of hyphy and dubstep, whose sound aesthetics are surprisingly similar: crazy bass and high ends from space.
Terence: Can you drop an outro message in your best Canadian slang…
Mofos: “Double Whopper on my side, like We’re Burger King…”
Nick Catchdubs was nice enough to give us his new mix AND an interview. He is one of my favorite New Yorkers and his label with A-Trak, Fools Gold (maybe you have possibly heard of it?) is killing it right now.
4AM: How and when did you meet A-Trak?
Nick Catchdubs:Roxy used to do Friday night parties on Bowery - I want to say the club was BLVD? Dust La Rock, who would later go on to be the Fool’s Gold graphic designer, did the flyers, it looked like the back of a dollar bill with a Debbie Deb quote about “fog machines and laser rays” on the top. One night, A-Trak and I DJed together, we got booked to do shows in San Francisco and LA soon after, and over the course of hanging out we realized we had a lot in common with music, humor, and haberdashery. From then we just stayed friends, sending mp3s back and forth and talking shit.
4AM: How did you and Trizzy eventually come up with the Fools Gold idea?
NC: He ran the Audio Research label in Montreal for almost a decade with his brother Dave, and realized it had such a strong history as an underground/indie hip-hop label that his new, more electronic-influenced stuff wouldn’t fit. He decided to do a new label and asked me to start it with him. I had already helped out with the launch of Mad Decent (I designed the logo and some of the original Bonde Do Role art, and was brainstorming a lot with Diplo in the early days) and this was an opportunity to get more deeply involved with putting out new, original music. We came up with the name and concept, and then just went from there putting out records.
4AM: Did you have any idea it would take off like it has?
NC: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t always part of the plan!
4AM: How many hours a day would you say you listen to music?
NC: I’m going THROUGH music constantly - mostly just to check out all the new songs that came out that day, find stuff to play when DJing, or give people a once-over on MySpace. But as far as actually sitting down to fully digest albums and mixes, I only get to do that when I’m traveling or in the car. But I do try to schedule chores around the house around particular radio shows - taking a half hour to do the dishes during DJ Enuff or Mr Cee’s Old School At Noon.
4AM: Best gig ever?
NC: Hmmm - there’s been a bunch of really good ones. “End Times” with Caps N Jones a year or two ago (Switch was randomly there and introduced himself at the end of the night, I was geeked) and the recent Wale “Mixtape About Nothing” release party are two local ones that come to mind right away. Whenever I play with Diplo it’s always fun - just this Sunday we did the Mad Fools party in Central Park and the afterparty at Santos Party House, and over the past year we rocked New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, the New Yorker Festival (old folks get loose!) and a Mad Decent party at Studio B that was the first NYC Blaqstarr show. They were all great.
4AM: Worst gig ever?
NC: Not gonna hurt anyone’s feelings by naming the corporate event in question…
4AM: Most glamourous star studded models and bottles gig ever?
NC: Do “hipster celebrities” count? Lets keep that bag of snakes closed, I’m gonna go with this private Rihanna show at Highline Ballroom that ended up being really fun and unpretentious. I was worried about having to corny it up but I mostly played dancehall.
4AM: Best request ever?
NC: A girl asked for Outkast “Bombs Over Bagdhad” during a set of fast tracks. Yes, of course I can do that!
4AM: Worst request ever?
NC: Bee Gees.
4AM: First record ever bought?
NC: The first records I bought with my own money were Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, but the first record I ever picked out in a store was the Garbage Pail Kids soundtrack. I couldn’t tell you any songs that were on it, I just loved the Garbage Pail Kids. Who doesn’t?
4AM: Last record you bought?
NC: The Syclops I’ve Got My Eye On You CD. The last mp3 was Lee Jones “Aria” on Beatport.
4AM: First DJ mix that made you say “this is what I want to do” to yourself?
NC: I was collecting records and listening to DJs on the radio all my life, but it wasn’t until the summer I graduated college that I realized it was where I wanted to go with music (which is pretty late in the scheme of things - I had been playing in bands and things like that up to that point). There were a few mixes I heard all around the same time that made the lightbulb go off - Spinbad’s ’80s tapes, Mark Ronson’s promo mix for Digiwaxx for his Here Comes The Fuzz album, and most blatantly, Hollertronix’s Never Scared. They were each presenting music that I liked in new combinations - I figured it would be fun to do that on my own.
4AM: Describe the perfect weekend
NC: Friday night getting real paid, Saturday night going to someone else’s party as a private citizen (but still drinking for free), Sunday walking around (no rain), catching a movie and a good meal.
4AM: Favorite place in NYC to DJ?
NC: My apartment. Sorry, city, but you are going through a “transitional period” right now.
4AM: Favorite DJs/producers right now that are not on Fools Gold?
4AM: What song have you played out so bad that you never want to hear it again?
NC: There’s always a time and place for Calabria horns. ALWAYS.
4AM: Best live show you have ever seen?
NC:Portishead sounded amazing at Coachella but the show had no atmosphere. For me, the best shows are always the ones where the artists defy nature and technical difficulties to pull through, that “oh shit!” factor is unbeatable. Feist played at the Fader SXSW tent in 2005 and the wind nearly knocked her over but she just got more and more psyched by it, almost possessed. Peedi Crakk played at the Fader CMJ space two years ago after getting lost in Chinatown, pulling up to the spot minutes before curfew, and still killing it.
4AM: You used to be the editor of Fader correct?
NC: You like that segue right? I was an associate editor there for three years, before leaving to DJ and work on Fool’s Gold full-time last July.
4AM: What was the important thing you learned from working there?
NC: I had no magazine or music industry experience whatsoever when I started - I wasn’t even trying to be a writer, I was just asked to do some stories and interviews, they liked my style, and the job sprouted from there. It was total school for me. I got to travel for the first time in my life and see different artists operate in their home environments. I witnessed records go from creation to label to PR to magazines to stores (and got to learn from other people’s mistakes for free!)
4AM: What should we look out for in the Nick Catchdubs future?
NC: I just finished a mixtape for Timbaland’s new artist Izza Kizza , and an all-Fool’s Gold mix for a 2xCD compilation we’re doing with Scion. I’m really slow on the production side, but I’m working on remixes for El Guincho (out on Mad Decent) and U-God from Wu Tang Clan’s new solo single. I did a remix for MIA’s “Bamboo Banger” that is supposed to (finally) come out as well on XL. I’m working on some original music too, so I can actually put out a record of my own on my label!
4AM: What shoud we look out for in the Fools Gold future?
NC: Tons of records - Kavinsky, Treasure Fingers, Sammy Bananas, Four Color Zack and Pretty Titty, Jokers of The Scene, Nacho Lovers, Trackademicks, Bag Raiders, Congorock, Crookers, LA Riots, Malente, Kid Sister’s full album, that Scion comp, and some surprises of course…
4AM: Favorite Simpsons episode?
NC: Just one? That’s un-possible! I love them all. 22 Short Films about Springfield is my favorite now, but it always changes. Itchy And Scratchy And Poochie is up there too.
01. Pase Rock “Get Money Kids”
02. 50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
03. Trap House “Step Into”
04. Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto (GrandTheft Remix)”
05. Dukeyman “Shine”
06. DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
07. Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
08. Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause”
09. Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
10. Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
11. Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
12. DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
13. DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
14. Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
15. Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
16. 2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
17. Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
18. Loefah “It’s Yours”
19. Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
20. Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”
NC: I didn’t want to add to the pile of “new music” mixes with interchangeable tracklists - some of this is brand new, some of it isn’t out yet, some of it is “recent vintage” (or old as hell but new to me), but it all has a nice swag to it. Retro? Not retro? Most of my current favorites have similar elements (throwback house/rave samples, fast raps, dancehall vocals, breakbeats, sometimes all in the same song) so I figured, why not put a bunch together for a picture of where my head is at this summer? I hope you enjoy the listen, I had fun connecting the dots.
Pase Rock “Get Money Kids” 50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
“Get Money Kids” is far and away my favorite song of the past few months, it’s like Pase and Eli sat down at the computer and said “Man, the Juice soundtrack really needs more hip-house…” I usually mix it live into some sped-up Serato loops of 50 and Milk Dee to keep the $$$ theme alive.
Trap House “Step Into”
Way too many WUBBA WUBBA WUBBA basslines lately, but this one still manages to stand out - a crowd-pleaser that breaks the formula juuust enough. Thanks, Australia.
Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto” (GrandTheft Remix)
On the school bus everyone knew chants from club songs like “Beat that bitch with a bat…” and “It’s time for the percolator…” from the older kids, but no one really knew it as “house music.” It wasn’t until a party in 6th or 7th grade when this girl played “Witch Doktor” and “In De Ghetto” on cassingle that I realized a whole separate thing was going on. Sammy Bananas hit me a few weeks ago with this new mix of “In De Ghetto” by DJ GrandTheft of the Eh! Team, it chops up the original without getting too flagrant.
Dukeyman “Shine”
Shyne finally gets out this year. You know he converted to Judaism in prison? L’chaim!
DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
As we continue on with the Bad Boy flips, this track is a MONSTER. I think it is gonna be on the “DJ Sega Saves Hip-Hop” EP that’s coming soon.
Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
Lots of goodies on the MDC album, but this one is a particular favorite. Best dancehall song on the subject since Vybz Kartel “Breast Specialist”?!?
Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause” Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
The Vegas song really just a vocal and some handclaps, so it’s a lot of fun to loop other shit up on top, and Crookers made it easy with their open drum intro (PS - excellent remix package on the new Moby single!) I cut the Grandmaster Caz verse with cue points but that’s not because he isn’t awesome - a few years ago Ayres and I hung out with the legend himself at the Heineken “Amsterjam” festival on Randall’s Island, where Caz was MCing the mash-up tent, also starring Diplo, DJ P, Princess Superstar and Matt and Fancy from Fannypack. Viva 2005! I think I bought Fantastic Four “Thing Hands” at Target when we got back to Brooklyn that day.
Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
Obviously I’m biased, but this is one amazing-ass record. Something old, something new…lots more from Toronto’s premier techno scholars on Fool’s Gold very soon.
Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
I didn’t know about this remake until A-Trak started playing it on the last label tour. It’s been in my rotation ever since, with the DJ Big Red track batting clean-up.
DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
Dance music took so heavily from Baltimore club over the past few years, and now the veterans are going off in new directions of their own. It’s inspiring to see a label like Unruly reinvent themselves - the recent King Tutt and Chavy Boys EPs and this hypnotic, electronic Will Roc track are some of their best.
Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
I know absolutely nothing about Loco Dice, but this has been a late-night sureshot of mine, it bumps like a less zany Detroit Grand Pubahs. “We in Brooklyn baby, this is how we get down!”
Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
Trevor Loveys and Co’s stuff as Lil Bo Tweak manages to feel incredibly current while referencing jams of yesteryear with all the samples and even the name (Lil Mo Yin Yang, anyone?). Conversely, the 2 Bad Mice came out in 1991 and sounds like it could have been made this morning.
Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
Loefah “It’s Yours”
I wish more dubstep felt like these two instead of zzzzzzzzzz.
Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
Had to drop straight out of the Loefah with this. The beat is just a Beastie Boys loop, but goddamn! Another recent favorite that never really broke in NYC. Dallas rappers’ haircuts are too crazy for us.
Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”
This isn’t a half-assed “A Millie” - Bangladesh is doing some neat shit with the Chuck D sample chorus and oddly-timed edits, and Busta’s flow is off the wall. “This shit be soundin like a thousand mosquitos buzzin/ Like hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm hmm…”
Over the past year, the masters of infinitely spastic sounds, The Death Set, have gone back and forth between U.S. and E.U. cities, wreaking havoc to all who’ve witnessed their assaulting, in-your-face sets. They spew the kind of energetic music that should be blasted during moments of skateboarding, heated love making, getting piss drunk, fits of happy rage, getting your first tattoo or simply being overjoyed that life is fucking good.
It was just a few years ago that New York City, and the thought of conquering the land of the free, was but a glimmer in Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco’s eyes. “We did an Australian tour with our old band Black Panda with Brooklyn band Japanther. It was really inspirational and pretty much decided that we would move to New York and tour and destroy the states,” recounts Johnny. With that motivation, the two friends picked up and left the Gold Coast of Australia and headed to America.
Destroy the states they did. In a short span of time, Johnny and Beau found their calling in the grimey warehouse scene of Baltimore. Since planting their feet there, they’ve done a good amount of globetrotting playing gigs with the likes of Bonde do Role, Monotonix, Team Robespierre, Matt & Kim (current F Yeah and VICE tour). In July they’ll rode trip with The Mae Shi in support of their recent full-length April release, ‘Worldwide‘, on Ninja Tune off-shoot Counter Records. Quite frankly, The Death Set have gone beyond conquering the states – they’ve chewed it up, spit it out and are still storming ahead.
With a penchant for noisy lo-fi punk flooded with distorted guitars and screeching vocals, drum-machine beats, with elements of dance-punk, The Death Set meld a pool of sickening sounds that could very well rob you of your hearing and quite possibly melt your face. They’re like the bratty, bastard kids of Ian McKaye that have taken bits of cool from Minor Threat, The Dead Boys and Le Tigre, and created a totally unique sound of their own – and unlike McKaye, they’re all for crowd surfing. The Death Set are maddening cool and will elevate your adrenaline 5 notches and bring on a sweat-induced frenzy to any party, basement, club, warehouse, living room or roof top bang-off – You’re sure to be chanting “TheMotherFuckinDeathSet” and feeling amped at the end.
Continue on for some photos, video footage, remixes by etan and Pfunkt, gig dates and an interview with Mr Johnny Siera (done in between The Death Set’s European tour in May, prior to their U.S. tour with Bonde do Role)… Yeah, it’s a head spin of a lot… Cheers to Johnny for taking the time to answer in detail, amidst a grueling schedule!
Q&A with The Death Set Lovestar: For those that don’t know, fill us in from point A of leaving the Gold Coast of Australia, going to Sydney, picking up and moving to the states; Brooklyn, then ending up in Baltimore.
Johnny Siera: So Beau and I met on the Gold Coast of Australia. It’s a surfing town near Brisbane on the East Coast. Really beautiful but pretty devoid of anything inspirational. We did an Australian tour with our old band Black Panda with Brooklyn band Japanther. This meant really only about 5 dates though. But it was really inspirational and pretty much decided that we would move to New York and tour and destroy the states. No doubt.. We first moved to Sydney, wrote a bunch of songs, put a picture of NY on the wall, then moved. After a stint of being broke and first hand experiencing how rad Baltimore’s warehouse scene was we moved down there. It was a fairly easy decision.
Lovestar: Any story behind ‘The Death Set’ name, how it came to be?
Johnny Siera: It was always meant to be a kind of gang or club type feel. But it has that kind of polar opposite thing going on which I like as we’re really the most un-scary band you don’t know.
Lovestar: How many key people in the group and who goes on tour?
Johnny Siera: Beau and I wrote the record. Beau doesn’t come on tour right now as he works and trains as a tattooist. So on tour it is me, Peter O’Connell on guitar, and two live drummers Jahphet Landis and Joey Sulkowski. Of course with all the electronic backing tracks blasting out of our system. We’re especially close with a bunch of peoples like Ninja Sonik, Matt and Kim, Bikes in the Kitchen, Chief Magazine, Tod Seelie and Emily Rabbit who we are in crew called the Newmore Swithblades.
Lovestar: You’ve just wrapped up another U.K. tour – What were some of the highlights? Did things get real rowdy?
Johnny Siera: Yeah it was real rad. Just like anywhere some places and shows are rowdier than others but kids were spazzing for real. The UK can sometimes have a “cooler” atmosphere so it was fun to fuck shit up.
Lovestar: Your full-length, “Worldwide” is already out in Japan and the U.K. and is about to drop in the U.S. on April 22 on Counter Records - Ninja Tunes offshoot. How did it happen that you ended up getting signed to Counter Records?
Johnny Siera: When we first moved to the states, we moved with our pal from Annapolis whom we lived next door to in Sydney, Sniper Dan He now actually runs a rad letterpress gallery called The Arm in Sydney. Through that contact we met Emily Rabbit who put out our first two EP’s. Through her we met Spankrock… Following? Anyways we crashed on Spankrock’s floor the first bit we were in the states and became friends. So when they toured we hung out and met the Ninja Tune (Counter) kids and I guess they just kept tabs on us because when the record was done I sent it to them and they were super stoked. In the end we worked it out to have the record come out on Counter and I’m super psyched.
Lovestar: How long did it take for all 18 tracks off “Worldwide” to come together and what went into the process?
Johnny Siera: The actual process of writing was probably a year but that included touring as hard and often as we could. Then probably another year and a half where I had to leave the states, solve visa stuff, mix and change labels. The process of writing was pretty relaxed. We recorded it ourselves and pretty much just ate rice and tofu, watched hip hop videos on youtube, went skateboarding then wrote for a bit over the course of a year or so. The whole process was real DIY and we were able to tweak it til we were happy. And yes, we wanted it to sound the way it does. With distorted vocals, synths and drums which is why it comes across as lo-fi.
Lovestar: What were you guys doing prior to forming The Death Set?
Johnny Siera: I was living in Japan for two years and traveling and partying, going crazy as much as I could. Beau was living on the coast DJing making electronic music. Its funny because we both made both electronic and punk music but at different times and we kind of met each other in the middle.
Lovestar: Does Australia have as great of a music scene as it seems? If so, what was your motivation to leave?
Johnny Siera: When I was living there it was more of a ecstasy drenched electro scene which was most prevalent. Which is fun and cool but not really too much of a scene that supported more experimental stuff. When we were playing Sydney it was more of the fact that we would just be playing the same clubs again and again and we wanted to tour like the bands we would read about like Black Flag etc. So the motivation was to tour. For me I wanted to be a band where playing shows defined the music rather than writing a record then touring it.
Lovestar: What triggered everything to come together and really start happening for you?
Johnny Siera: To be honest, it was positive thinking. I know it sounds cheesy but every day I would devote a time to affirm, visualize and feel out where I wanted to be and it was crazy to watch it unfold.
Lovestar: Discuss the music making process that you go through and who does what
Johnny Siera: Beau and I both write the songs. They are usually written in a rock way where the structure, and lyrics are written first usually on guitar or in a more electronic way where I will be sitting around messing with a sampler of synth then the structure is written on top of that. I would then work on the electronics with Beau stomping around the room giving input. Anything goes in there from the obvious organic guitars and vocals to outboard gear like MPC’s, synthesizers and laptop programming. Pots and pans on one track even. Whatever seems good at the time.
Lovestar: Would you say your music professes positivity, messages of hope?
Johnny Siera: Yeah definitely, but I wouldn’t say we profess it. A lot of it is just personal struggles going on in my own head and the songs I guess being the documents of dealing with it. As I said before I really do try hard to be aware of what’s going on in my head. I know how important that is, and how I’m the only one responsible for it. But sometimes it is simple spazzy punk rock with out swing on it. Most songs cull anything superfluous and is direct as possible.
Lovestar: Music influences – past and present and how you take these bits and apply it to your sound
Johnny Siera: Hip hop, electronic music and punk are the three styles that I have lived with pretty much all my life. I would like to think “Worldwide” is a little beast vomited out of the mish mash of those styles going on in our heads.
Lovestar: Have either one of you ever had your hand at Djing?
Johnny: Yeah Beau DJ’d for a while and I do it every now and then. More laid back and relaxed rather than dance floor burner style.
Lovestar: Between a lot of time spent making music, touring and performing, what do you find yourselves doing in your spare time? (if there is any of that!)
Johnny: Pretty much 99% of my energy is revolved around this band. And has been for a long time. But in my spare time I guess I like the usual things like hanging out with my friends, going out and getting crazy and the like. Riding bikes and skateboarding when I can.
Lovestar: This question is for Johnny – Do you feel you’ve mastered balancing on drum kits?
Johnny: Yep, Its one of the main reasons we got live drummers :)
Lovestar: What’s in store for the immediate future, do you have a secret mission?
Johnny: Tour TOUR T O U R ! ! ! It’s insane this year. After finishing this tour off with Bonde Do Role we head back to Europe and the UK then another US tour followed by two Japan tours including Fuji Rock and Australia. We are going for it.
Quick questions… LS: Tell us about… LS: Your worst battle scar from a show JS: Beau picked up a light and smashed his head till a bloodbath remained. Real gross. Pic on myspace. LS: Your special microphones JS: Are dead as they were too abused. LS: What makes a basement so special to play in JS: Recipe for a good show for me is simple… Small confined space, positive energy, LOUD music and a crew of crazy unpretentious nerdy kids.
The Death Set Tour Dates: (through July)
Thur 3rd July // Chicago, IL @ Hide Out w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Fri 4th July // Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Sat 5th July // New York @ Hugs w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Sun 6th July // Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab w/ Fuck Yeah Tour Vice Tour
Tues 8th July // Kalamazoo, MI @ Rocketstar Cafe CANCELLED! Wed 9th July // Chicago, IL @ The Abbey Pub w/ The Mae Shi
Thur 10th July // Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick w/ The Mae Shi (more…)
Unofficial video for “Time to Let Go” by Sally Shapiro
Damien and Matthieu Spitzer sure do get around!! Fresh off their Australian tour, they’ve got a new remix and are gearing up for some more gig dates in France, Switzerland, China, Canada and the U.S. (Check the dates below). The Spitzer brothers were asked to remix, “Time to Let Go“, a song from Swedish disco pop sensation Sally Shapiro. “Time to Let Go”, will appear on Sally’s forthcoming remix album, “Remix Romance Vol 2″, to be released on the 17th of June. (An mp3 release only but with hi-res artwork) The second of two Sally Shapiro remix sets.
If you are in the mood to stare off into the midnight sky and dream of catching a shooting star passing by, then Sally Shapiro should be playing in the background. Heavily influenced by 80s italo disco, she makes me feel like I should be floating above the clouds with her ephemeral voice and moving lyrics by song-writer and production partner, Johan Agebjörn.
Currently there are 3 remix versions of “Time to Let Go” by Spitzer, CFCF and Lindstrøm. The Spitzer version of “Time To let Go”, is perfectly smooth with little vocals, adding in electro bits, creating a lovely beat and melody. Though they stray from the original, they still capture the essence of Sally Shapiro, breathing a new life into it. Stay tuned for new music by Spitzer, coming soon!!
10th May // Nuits Sonores, Lyon, FR
16th May // Salzhausn Zurich, SWI
22nd May // Bar Rouge w/ Agoria & Oxia, Shangaï, CHIN
24th May // TBA w/ Agoria & Oxia, Hong Kong, CHIN
20th June // Foufounes electriques, Montreal, CAN
21st June // Webster Hall w/ Danger, NYC, USA
29th Aug // Cognac Electro, Cognac, FR
Ace video by Three Legged Legs!! These zombie dancers are fucking cool!! All the better that they’re dancin’ to Chromeo. Speaking of the Montreal/NYC duo, just read that Vice Records will release a deluxe edition of their second album “Fancy Footwork” on 17th of June! Will it be packaged in chrome??
Zune Arts, the program that aims to bring the best creative minds together to collaborate on inspiring works of art, has released a new video: “Piece of Me, Piece of You.” The new work is a short film created by Three Legged Legs and features the musical styling of Chromeo’s “Fancy Footwork.”
Beyond listening to the music that arrives to the Trash mail, I like reading the bio’s that often accompany it. Especially those sent from other countries where the translation is way off and sounds like a garbled mess in English. They make me laugh. Then you get the pretentious, tangled verbage that you can’t understand and don’t bother reading. Inject something like, “FEMME are definitely not pussies” and I’m kinda interested.
Formed about two years ago, FEMME have been playing sold out basements in their hometown of Montreal, and spreading their sound to Ottawa, Toronto, NYC and beyond. They describe themselves as, “electro-glam-rock that are quite in touch with their feminine side – A dark, romantic, twisted dancefloor blackhole, where Nine Inch Nails and N-Sync get it on and spawn a wild and fresh electro, rock infused jam”. Well I don’t know much about N-Sync – Clearly they’ve got their personal take on the eighties coldwave and boy-bands.
Their first EP release, “Bathtub Clashes“, out 22 of April on Saboteur Records, contains two original FEMME tracks, “Bathtub Clash” and “Crimes and Nightcalls”, plus remixes (and 2 exclusives to Trash!) by Cosmo, Rawalpindi and CFCF (+ CFCF Remixes). On “Bathtub Clash”, they sing about random, obscure things like giant bathtubs, placebos, infection, and black water. Nothing has to make total sense these days, especially when there is a nice vocal behind. Cosmo and CFCF give the tune two totally different sounds.
FEMME are currently honing their art with live sets in the U.S. and Canada, and are in the process of recording their first full album, set for release in early 2009 on Saboteur. We may never know if Julien and Sidney of FEMME really are pussies, but I like their attempt at showing their ‘macho’ side, “We’re NOT pussies!!!!!!” (Guaranteed they’re going to be hearing the pussy thing repeated to them over and over if that bit stays in the bio.)
Ultra 8201 just made my day . . . I am so excited, I am so excited! (and perhaps living under a rock?!?!?)
I LOVE me some Presets, I wonder if their ears are ringing, because I was listening to their earlier releases, “Beams” & “Girl and the Sea” this afternoon and talking to my girl Lynnel about when they were finally going to releasetheir new LP - “APOCALYPSO“. This news is wicked awesome.
The Presets were my first introduction to Modular, which lead to being turned on to Cut Copy, and all the rest. I very vividly remember playing “Girl and the Sea” to death the month I made the decision to leave Chicago and move to New York. It was a bittersweet time, and that EP, and particularly, the title track “Girl and the Sea” were the soundtrack of my life back then. I think I shed a tear or 2 on a few occasions. Luckily, “Girl and the Sea” was followed by “Kitty in the Middle”, and that track is all “sexy time”, so I didn’t stay emo for long. But, its cool, because whenever I hear these songs, it totally takes me back. *Sigh*, music is pretty amazing like that, the way it triggers memories, thoughts, feelings, experiences. Gotta love it!
I have been lucky to see them live several times, when they opened for The Rapture, and they’re even BETTER live, then when recorded and “studiofied”, which is a rarity for most acts. I don’t know which show to go to in NY? Maybe both?
The Presets Tour Dates
03-21 Manchester, England - The Warehouse Project
03-22 Middlesbrough, England - Empire
03-23 Liverpool, England - Chibuku @ Barfly
03-29 Sydney, Australia - V Festival
03-30 Gold Coast, Australia - V Festival
04-05 Melbourne, Australia - V Festival
04-06 Perth, Australia - V Festival
04-26 Maitland, Australia - Groovin the Moo
05-03 Townsville, Australia - Groovin the Moo
05-20 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre *
05-21 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine *
05-22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *
05-23 Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge *
05-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Plaza Club *
05-26 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
05-27 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge *
05-29 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
05-30 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub *
05-31 Toronto, Ontario - Anti *
06-01 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Music Hall *
06-02 Boston, MA - Paradise *
06-04 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
06-05 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
06-06 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s *
06-07 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
*with Walter Meego (I have their new album in my possession, but haven’t had time to listen to it yet, dammit!)
Get ready to lose your fucking heads as JFK and Al-P of MSTRKRFT have kicked off their U.S. tour starting in Seattle, 26th of February, hitting a load of cities, SxSW, and finishing off at WMC in Miami on the 28th of March!! More than likely your body will be jacked beyond control, your ears will be blown and if you weren’t already, you’re sure to become a hardcore MSTRKRFT lover. By the end of it all, head in hands you will be looking up at the boys saying look what you’ve done to me.
Along the way, the guys will be joined by some STELLAR favorites, THE BLOODY BEETROOTS!!!!!! Couldn’t quite believe it when I saw the billing, especially since two of those shows with them will be in Chicago and NYC!! LA RIOTS, FELIX CARTAL, LAZARO CASANOVA and Z-TRIP will also make appearances on the tour!!!!!!!!! SICKKKKKNESSSS
++ We are giving away 6 FREE tickets to 3lucky people – 2 tix per person – for the Chicago show on Saturday, 8th of March!
All you have to do is subscribe to the Trash email list –located on upper right side of site –using the code word: MSTRKRFT. Winners will be randomly picked and notified by March 6th. GOOD LUCK!
To purchase advance tickets for $20, you can do so at: Want Tickets
Feb 26 2008 NEUMOS (ALL AGES), SEATTLE 8:00P
Feb 27 2008 HAWTHORNE THEATER, PORTLAND
Feb 28 2008 LEGENDS @ HARD ROCK, SAN DIEGO
Feb 29 2008 HENRY FONDA THEATER, LOS ANGELES
Mar 1 2008 NOISEPOP FESTIVAL at MIGHTY (21+) SAN FRANCISCO 8:00P
Mar 2 2008 EL REY (ALL AGES), LOS ANGELES 8:00P
Mar 3 2008 JET (21+), LAS VEGAS 8:00P
Mar 5 2008 BELLY UP (ALL AGES), ASPEN 8:00P
Mar 6 2008 THE CHURCH, DENVER 10:00P
Mar 7 2008 STUDIO B (19+), BROOKLYN 8:00P Mar 8 2008 VISION (21+), CHICAGO 8:00P – WIN FREE tickets to this show!! + +
Mar 9 2008 THE TRALF (ALL AGES), BUFFALO 8:00P
Mar 11 2008 SNACKS @ 202 S. 13th St (21+), PHILADELPHIA 8:00P
Mar 12 2008 OTTOBAR (ALL AGES), BALTIMORE 8:00P
Mar 13 2008 MASQUERADE (18+), ATLANTA 8:00P
Mar 14 2008 RICH’S (18+), HOUSTON 8:00P
Mar 15 2008 SXSW @ VICE (FORMERLY EXHADOUS), AUSTIN 8:00P
Mar 16 2008 THE PALLADIUM (ALL AGES), DALLAS 8:00P
Mar 22 2008 METROPOLIS (18+), MONTREAL 8:00P
Mar 25 2008 MANSION, MIAMI 8:00P
Mar 28 2008 ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL, MIAMI 8:00P
Cosmo is back with a load of goods! He has teamed up with Mister Ed (up and coming DJ/promoter from Montreal), from Nu Ravers on the Block, with a remix of “Ce Jeu”, by the French group, Yelle. Lots of sidechain action on this and a great one for those on the dancefloor!!
He has also sent us two other tracks including a remix of “Armageddon”, by the early 90’s breakbeat hardcore duo, Altern-8, that played gigs in “chemical warfare suits” and “gas masks” filled with Vic’s Vapo Rub – A classic back when he was a young lad at the tender age of 17. (Hostage has also remixed an Altern-8 track, “Frequency”) Check the old skool video below, it’s a real pleaser! “Teaser”, is another great track that will definitely wind things up at your next session. I love it, and think you will too.
Some more exciting projects finalizing soon, that include a 5 song EP with Cosmo’s group, The Junkies, which is about to be released sometime this January on Petrol/emi. His remix of Shiny Toy Guns’, “Rainy Monday”, was picked by Universal/Motown Records for immediate release as both hard press and digital. Nice one.
I’m about to jump on a plane and head to the great Midwest. I only have 20 minutes, so this post won’t be as in depth and link up as I would like it to. Perhaps i’ll revisit in the next few days and do it up proper. Perhaps not : (
I’ll be spending my NYE in Chicago at Smart Bar with Dave Taylor, known to most as Switch. He produced M.I.A.’s latest album “Kala”, which hit many “Top of 2007″ lists this year, including #1 on Rolling Stone. He’s also been doing a bit of production work on Sanogold’s debut album. It’s a bit ironic that Santi was also named Rolling Stone’s #1 artist to watch in 2008. SO! Without further ado, here is my Top of 2007 list (to the best of my recollection).
These things can be difficult, I always feel someone or something is missing . . . ufff!
Favorite Track of 2007
“Hustler” - Simian Mobile Disco
This was more than just a track, it was an anthem!
“Drop The Phone / Down On Yourself” – Shy Child
Albums of 2007
Simian Mobile Disco - Attack, Sustain, Delay, Release
Dandelion Gum – Black Moth Super Rainbow
A Place to Bury Strangers – A Place to Bury Strangers
The Ponys – Turn the Lights Out
The Black Lips - Good Bad, Not Evil
+ - Justice
Joakim - Monsters & Silly Songs
Mystery Jets - Zootime
Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If . . .
Spektrum - Live At The Gymkhana Club
Plastic Little - DJ Lowbudget Presents The Immaturity Mixtape CD
Noisettes – What’s The Time Mr. Wolf
Party Crew of 2007
Trouble & Bass / Cut – Brooklyn, New York
Promoters of 2007
Fixed - NYC
I Love Neon – Montreal
Ricardo Tejada - Mexico
Favorite Weekday Party of 2007
Tuesday’s at 205 w/ Jacques Renault & Justin Miller
Best Parties of 2007
Daft Punk after parties – Ed Banger, Throne of Blood, Mas
- Mighty, San Francisco
- Green Dolphin, Chicago
- Studio B, Brooklyn - New York
Justice after party with Erol Alkan - Fixed
Masters of the Universe – Trouble & Bass / Cut DJ’s + Diplo, Surkin @ Studio B
Best Performances of 2007
The Reactable (sorry this was the highlight of her set) w/Bjork – Friday @ Coachella
Coachella, Saturday in the Mojave tent - !!!, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, & The Rapture
Kings of Leon @ The Aragon, Chicago
Daft Punk & The Rapture @ Greek Theater, Berkley
Daft Punk @ Lollapalooza, Chicago
Daft Punk & The Rapture @ Keyspan, Brooklyn
Rock The Bells – San Francisco
Simian Mobile Disco @ Gramercy Theater
Philip Glass – Einstein at the Beach, Carnegie Hall
Craziest Performance of 2007
Spank Rock, Yo Majesty, Santogold, Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and half of the audience @ The Fillmore, NYC during CMJ. Can’t even explain, you just had to be there . . .
Best DJ Sets of 2007
Laurent Garnier @ APT
Drop The Lime (on more than one occasion)
Diplo (again, on more than one occasion)
Busy P @ Dafter Party, Green Dolphin, Chicago & at Studio B, Brooklyn
Favorite Producers of 2007
James Ford
Mark Ronson
Switch
Favorite Remixers of 2007
The Glimmers
Van She Tech
Erol Alkan
DJ Mehdi
Favorite Bands/Acts of 2007
Home Video
Illinois
Ghostland Observatory
Shy Child
Noisettes
The Warlocks
The Rapture
Plastic Little
Spank Rock
A Place To Bury Strangers
My Favorite New DJ of 2007
Still at #1 of all time - Laurent Garnier
Diplo
Drop The Lime
Star Eyes
Pase Rock
Artist / Designer of 2007
Dan Stiles, US
Face, Face, Face – Mexico
So Me, FR
Dust La Rock, US
Best DJ Mixes of 2007
Go Commando – JDH & Dave P – Defend Music
Fabric 37 – Steve Bug - Fabric
Fabriclive 36 – James Murphy & Pat Mahoney – Fabric
Favorite New City to Party in
Philly, yo!
Favorite Labels of the Year
Transgressive, UK
Ed Banger, FR
Ghostly, US
Modular, AU
Downtown, US
Favorite Books of 2007
This Is Your Brain On Music – Daniel J. Levitin (Audio Version)
The Culture Of Collaboration – Evan Rosen
Favorite Music Subscription Service of 2007
Emusic
Best Music Discovery Sites of 2007
Last.fm
Hype Machine
Forward Thinkers of 2007
David Byrne
Thom Yorke
Jay-Z
Favorite Manager’s of 2007
Pedro “Busy P” Winter - Daft Punk, Justice, Ed Banger Crew
Oli Isaacs – Simian Mobile Disco, Black Ghosts, Findlay Brown
Music & Technology Publications of 2007
Five Eight Magazine – UK
Wired – US
Drinks of 2007
Jack or/ Jameson & Ginger
Vitamin Water – Endurance (the peach-mango kind!)
You loved “Parisienne” and “Montreal Dreams”, now Felix Cartal, welcomes you to another fantastic destination city, “Vancouver”. For the moment, he steps away from the ‘noisier’ side of things, and creates a superb, slightly minimal track that seems to leave you in suspense, but keeps to that perfect steady groove. I’m hearing some fidget house, ala Switch, Crookers, in this one, and absolutely love it!! As if you didn’t know, the mans got skillzzz, and he is clearly here to show us his best side (see above). Read more about Felix as he brings it to the table in a feature done this past October, aptly named, “Felix Cartal“.
Fool’s Gold kicked off their exciting tour on October 4, at Club Soda, Montreal and are heading to a city near you!!!! Be on the look out for this new label inspired by A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs!!
Fools Gold: “After a non-stop summer of boombox detonations and stadium invasions, the entire Fool’s Gold roster gets extra-shiny for their Fall tour of the US and Canada. It’s everything you’d want from a night at the club: new-school rap princess Kid Sister, tag team DJ sets from the world-renowned A-Trak and his brother from another DJ Mehdi (Ed Banger), electro madness from Daft Punk’s favorite DJ, Kavinsky, the Cool Kids‘ back-to-the-future boom, and brand-new jams from Nick Catchdubs, along with surprise guest appearances along the way.
DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs founded Fool’s Gold earlier this year, bringing together the hip-hop and electronic music they play in their sets through official releases like Kid Sister’s debut single “Control” and A-Trak’s Dirty South Dance remixes (in stores now). “This DJ scene that we’re a part of in North America has influenced music scenes across the world, but ironically there aren’t enough labels that represent it,” says A-Trak. “That’s where Fool’s Gold comes in.”
Dim Mak Collection will be producing limited-edition tees for the tour, featuring original artwork by Fool’s Gold in-house graphic designer Dust La Rock. The label will use their tour momentum to launch a slew of releases for the rest of the year, including new singles from Cool Kids, Kid Sister, Kavinsky and new signing Kid Cudi, an EP of ’90s dance re-edits by Sammy Bananas called High Top Fades, international bass rattlers from Jokers of the Scene (Ottawa) and Bag Raiders (Sydney), and more.
Following these North American dates, A-Trak and Mehdi embark on a two-week European jaunt that the bass bros have dubbed “The DJ Mehdi & A-Trak Spectacular Review.” A-Trak’s also been shaking dancefloors on his own, with thumping official remixes for Digitalism (Kitsune), Bumblebeez (Modular), Architecture in Helsinki (Polyvinyl) and Roc-A-Fella’s own Kanye West.” Tour dates after the split! (more…)
