Tickets for Beautiful Losers premiere here.
Tickets for after party here.
As mentioned, one of the artists involved in the London Film Festival screening of Beautiful Losers, is Nosaj Thing - the moniker of L.A.-based producer Jason Chung. Producing since the age of 13, he got his start working off a “hand me down” archaic PC, that struggled even with word documents. With a “donated” copy of Reason, a demo version of Ableton Live and a computer mouse (he couldn’t afford a MIDI controller), Nosaj Thing began making music.
Proving, when your focus is strong, all you really need is a machine that works.
Now 22, Nosaj Thing creates beat driven, experimental electronic music, and has received Artist-to-Watch accolades from XLR8R, remixed Daedelus and Elliot Lipp, won Plastic Little/Turntable Lab’s remix contest featuring MF Doom, and won L.A.’s prestigious Project Blowed beat battle.
Comparisons run along with Ratatat, DJ Shadow, and Boards of Canada. A survey of his record collection will turn up pieces from Aphex Twin, Stereolab, Radiohead, Daft Punk and Eric Satie. Nosaj Thing has been kind enough to share some music with us. Check out the tracks below. They are masterly crafted, intricate layers, of gritty, yet warm beats, beautiful synths, techy tweaks . . . i’ll go as far as saying they are down right sexy. Nosaj Thing is without a doubt, one to keep your eyes and ears on!
Nosaj Thing’s self-released EP, “Views / Octopus,” is now available on iTunes.
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!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hey guys! New contributor Jesse Mann here, writing all the way from NYC. I’ll be bringing you the bestest of the bestest in the realms of disco old and new, dirty house, and beautiful techno. For my first post I want to tell you all about an upstart duo making waves with their eclectic and organic sound.
The Canyons come from the magical land of Oz (that’s Australia to you and me.) Over down under, the hip and bright-eyed young kids are the ones that rule the musical roost. Canyons are no different in their youthful stature, but musically they are far more mature. Their debut EP on the wonderful Hole in the Sky record label called the “Lovemore EP” is a four-tracker of raw, soulful mid-tempo goodness. Elements of dubbed out disco, classic electro and psychedelic rock mix with pleasant grooves for a wonderful summery sound. I have been spinning “Apples and Pears,” the EP’s lead tune religiously for months now (I’m a DJ here in the apple) and it will instantly get feet moving and mouths smiling. These guys are not trying to fit into any hot trends of the moment, and the diversity on this EP is proof. They do whatever they please, and listeners are all the more rewarded for it.
Thank goodness someone else has taken notice! The boys have now been commissioned to remix a current blog darling from Modular Records. Their latest remix of Ladyhawke’s “Dust Till Dawn” has hit the blogsphere ahead of the self-titled debut album, Ladyhawke (released 22 September) and once again The Canyons show their versatility in spades. Rather than try to describe it, why don’t you just take a listen below? And for a different flavor see what Glasgow’s Linus Loves has done with the Ladyhawke original.
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…”
Hailing from not one territory, rather spanning four, Hong Kong, Italy, Canada, and London, the Sunny Day Sets Fire quintet are making our world a bit brighter with their latest full-length “Summer Palace” released 8th July on IAMSOUND. A collective pool of worldly influences, SDSF offer up a smattering of catchy pop riffs, shades of psychedelia and spacey bits, giving them a surreal sound.
Ever since their February remix EP release of “Stranger” (IAMSOUND), featuring CSS, XXXChange from Spank Rock, The Cool Kids and Diplo, we’ve been anticipating the delights “Summer Palace” would bring our way. This is the stuff that you hope to hear upon opening up that special music box or toasting your marshmallows at the bonfire. The latest remix of SDSF comes by way of Triobelisk who ignites “I Dream Along” with wandering synth rhythms. Read on as he clues us in on how it all came to be.
“IAMSOUND was looking for some new folks to make some promo mixes for the SUNNY DAY SETS FIRE upcoming album last year and I ended up on their radar, so the mix is kind of an “early” Triobelisk work as it is a tad more open and focuses on synth rhythms similar to my other material during this time.
I initially approached the track a little bit like a minimalist take on KAVINSKY as I’m a big fan of his 1986 EP so wanted to capture a similar “adventure” feel to the composition on the first half. I strayed rather far from the original song but I wanted to create something completely different with only the background chorus vocal to be the recognizable motif in order to make a “have I heard this before” feeling to club-goers/listeners. If I were to make keywords to the track I would write: adventure, 80s, driving, miami and flash gordon.” – Triobelisk
Stay tuned as Triobelisk is in the studio creating some spacey disco, cinematic-type tracks for your consumption!!
Gatekeeper is a Chicago based duo that obviously borrow elements of that era and expands on it. While of course elements of horror music have been already been used in songs like “Phantom” by Justice and record label “Italians do it better“. Gatekeeper also mix in bits of early industrial and hints of house and techno. And by referencing the past they have created some amazing and fresh music. Then the music is backed by an actual live performance, with lights and synthesizers, not a dj set like many production duos are choosing. The live performances create quite a bit of energy and buzz with audience, making them move and dance from first note to last. With every show getting more and more packed all through word of mouth and strength of the Gatekeeper live performance.
The boys were also kind enough to send some tracks our way and told us that new music is on the way and a ton of live shows to follow. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!
Three days of neo-rave armageddon and they weren’t joking either.
The London-based party outfit Bangface have been running their outstandingly cool club night for the past five years in the inner armpit of London, a vision they describe as a “neo-rave explosion of acid, jungle, rave hardcore, drum n bass, breakcore, techno and electronica”. No, seriously.
After successfully running a dance tent at electronic music Glade Festival, they decided to organise their own festival.
The three-day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) festival was hosted at Camber Sands Butlins, which is a 3,000 person capacity 1960s family holiday camp. Apartment-style “chalets” provided basic accommodation and on site there was a pub, a shop (which sold inflatable rafts and booze), a swimming pool, an amusement arcade a kids play area. It was kitsch supreme.
I nearly died when I saw the lineup. Fuck me, I’m there.
BANG ROOM: Dave Skywalker, Knifehandchop, Bogdan Raczyniski, Krome and Time, Ceephax Acid Crew, Ragga Twins and Vibert, Aaron Spectre, Venetian Snares, Scotch Egg, X&Trick, DMX Crew, The Flashbulb, Kid606, Remarc, Phil Hartnoll (Orbital), Altern-8, The Panacea, Bong-Ra, Shitmat, Saint Acid.
FACE ROOM: Steve Strawberry, Global Goon, DJ Rephelex Records, Model 500, DJ Stingray, Modeselektor, Richard Devine, Radioactiveman, Si Begg, Aba Shanti-I Soundsystem, Kelpe, Dopplereffekt, Mat Carter, Mala (Digitial Mystikz) Kode 9, Plaid, M-ziq, Mike Dred, The Doubteful Guest, The DJ Producer.
Costumes are the way forwards. Photo from the bangface website.
Friday night, pulling up to Butlins and seeing large posses of neon rainbow ravers reminded me of some prepubescent wet dream from the late 80s. People were super friendly, though, and everyone was stocking up on booze in the shop.
The party was GO! I lost my brain pretty early in the evening, but I distinctly remember the space-age, Commodore looking Detroit legends Model 500 - like they invented techno? That’s amazing. Their music drilled tiny holes in my retina.
And everyone around me had amazing outfits. People really went to town. The vibe could have easily been skeezy and slightly sinister in the hands of another organiser, but it was clear everyone felt safe to have fun and go for it. Lots of guys chatted with me with no horrible ego or strange misconceptions. How refreshing!
Party a go-go. Photo taken by Andrew Crowe.
Glowstick jiggling. Photo taken by Andrew Crowe.
Early Saturday morning I woke, to the sound of vodka, sun, and special dreamy slowness spent on the grassy artists’ residence courtyard. Whereas normal campers where still pumping gabba out of their windows at 8am, we had Kraftwerk. Nice.
At noon, Kat & I headed over to the rave pool party (pictures below). The DJ, who wore a wetsuit, played drum n bass and jungle. There were a hundred water fights and underwater feats performed. SPLASH!
The ultimate rave pool party to end all pool parties. Photo from the bangface website.
During the day, I met up with some friends in the Queen Vic pub and danced to Ceephax’s wonky, wrong tunes and quirky jokes.
My friend Good Ben apparently kept harassing Normski on the 24-hour BANGFACE TV, which every room got on their chalet tv. Ben asked the annoying Normski how old old he was, just to wind him up - which didn’t go down too well. After an apology, Ben made a shout out for his ipod and phone, both which got stolen. “Thud face firm crew al-dente to the core” was his final message. The Norm, we discovered, was 41.
The night was mainly drifting between the rooms, which all seemed to be drum n bass, some darker shades than others. Fucks knows who we saw? It was just about having fun and trying to find friends you’d lost and bumping into other friends. We ate fried chicken and danced and then early in the morning, headed to the beach.
Pete on Camber beach. Photo taken by Andrew Crowe.
On Sunday, it was like one long slightly sober dream come true: Luke Vibert, Long Range, Jackson & His Computer Band, Chas & Dave, Beardyman, Squarepusher.
I got my horn taken off me by security, who rushed into our chalet - whatever. I got another one!
Then at about midnight, we got invited to a gabba party in one of the chalets and amongst trees full of glowsticks and funny kids and people leaping into the air, Bong-ra showed up to the party. Tres cool.
Unfortunately, I started seeing black flurries of bunny rabbits behind the chalets and went to sleep listening to the kilk-klik of the police tape flapping in the wind outside the living room in Good Ben’s chalet. Scary stuff!
Squarepusher, the legend, on bass, live. Photo from the bangface website.
Chas and Dave perform to unbelieving fans. Photo taken by Simon Clement-Hawes for www.virtualfestivals.com
Monday was full of fear and loathing, but we managed to stop in Hastings for some fish n chips at a seaside pub and toured the Old Town, combing through bric-a-brac to regain our sanity.
It took me well over a week to recover. Can’t wait til next year!
If you fancy a taste of the madness, BANGFACE 56 is on Friday 11th July 2008. Their lineup features N-JOI • LUKE VIBERT • ED RUSH, RAIDEN • MILANESE feat. BEN SHARPA, MARK N • SIMON UNDERGROUND • CHEVRON, YOUTH TV + ST. ACID & BANG FACE HARD CREW. The party takes place at ELECTROWERKZ, 7 TORRENS ST, LONDON EC1, from 9pm-6am. £9 TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW: TICKETWEB.CO.UK
IN RECORD SHOPS: SISTERRAY • PHONICA • KNOWHOW. This month’s theme, in case you like dressing up, is Freedom.
Or catch them at Glade. We heard that they weren’t doing a tent there this year, but it’s all LIES!!!!!!!!
Many people have been endlessly asking me, “What about the Portishead remix album? What about the Portishead remix album? When is it going to be done?” Well it is finally done and ready for consumption. For those who dont know, The Noise/Floor Crew, started by Lady Foursquare, Angel Alanis (my partner in War Games) and myself, has been in the process of remixing the entirety of Portishead’s “Third” since about a month before it came out.
It began as one critically acclaimed remix of “Machine Gun” that was begging for more drums and snowballed into an all out reinterpretation of Portishead’s minimal masterpiece. Most are by NFC but we enlisted a couple of other producers, namely Flufftronix, 12th Planet, ASiH and A. Black, to round out the album. A few tracks were left in a somewhat recognizable state but most were torn to shreds and reassembled into an almost unrecognizable form. The individual tracks cover a broad range of styles from house to electro to minimal to maximal that all came together to make one hell of an album.
Is it better than the original? Am I allowed to ask that given my involvement? I guess it depends what you’re into, but our take certainly brings it out of the lofty art-rock realm and without dumbing it down. Anyways, I’ll quit talking it up and let you be the judge. As this is not a sanctioned remix album, I’m curious to see what Portishead will say about this since, in the past, they’ve been so staunchly against remixes of their own music. Below is a link to the entire album in a tidy .zip along with a lengthy (tl;dr) description of who Noise/Floor Crew really is. I thought I’d also give it to you track by track as well but I’d recommend listening to it as a whole album. And be sure to go to somewhere besides itunes (damn the man) and buy Portishead’s album as well.
You say you’re searching for that perfect summer tune?? Well here is a lush edition to your pool of summer favorites. “Walking On A Dream“, by Empire of the Sun, remixed by Aussie producer/Dj extraordinaire, Sam La More has pure golden summer splashed all over it.
With this tune comes a long history with remixer Sam La More (Sam Littlemore), a man who has had his hand in countless productions over the years beginning with his 2003 club hit “Takin’ Hold” on Underworld Records, which brought the label much attention earning them “Label of The Year 2003″ by DJ Magazine. 2006 took shape for his project Tonite Only with partner Groove Terminator (Simon Lewicki) and two notable remixes “All This Love” for The Similou and “Pictures” for Sneaky Sound System landed them on everyone’s playlist.
Sam has produced and remixed music for a whole gang of artists that include P. Diddy ft. Kelis, Gwen Stefani, Nelly Furtado, The Similou, Robbie Williams, Princess Superstar, Potbelleez, Sneaky Soundsystem, Ladytron, Darren Emerson (Underworld), GusGus, Black Eyed Peas and many more. He is highly recognized for his production along with Nelle Hooper on Gwen Stefani’s 2004 single “What You Waiting For”.
Currently living in Sydney working on solo projects, as well as writing, producing and performing for younger brother Nick Littlemore’s (who is also part of Teenager with Pip Brown) fantastic Australian electronic act PNAU. Love that bouncy sun icon on their profile page and the rest of the happy characters! Sam just played a gig for the lovely folks at DURRR and will be supporting PNAU along with Operator Please this August on The Embrace Tour in Melbourne! He has also remixed this years Ministry of Sound’s The Clubbers Guide to 2008.
