Chromeo and DJ Mehdi

It's been almost a week since we found out about the tragic death of the too-young Ed Banger DJ Mehdi. One of the first confirmations of the awful news, as we pointed out in our post, came from Mehdi's friends in Chromeo via Twitter. Dave One has since posted a lengthy memorial to their friend on Facebook along with the above picture. You can read the whole thing below.

Earlier this month, Chromeo added a 11/4 Terminal show to their tour with Mayer Hawthorne and Breakbot. That Terminal 5 show has since sold out, but they've since added a second show at the same venue the next night. Tickets for the 11/5 Terminal 5 show are available for AmEx presale and Internet presale (username: chromeo, password: tickets) now and go on sale to the general public on Friday (9/23) at noon.

Updated dates and the words on Mehdi, below...

Continue reading "Chromeo remember DJ Mehdi (read their story), add 2nd Terminal 5 show (updated dates)"

"We lost our brother. No words."- Chromeo

"Damn...RIP MEHDI" - Drake

DJ Mehdi @ the Mad Decent Block Party 7/30/11 (more by Erez Avissar)

Tragic news this morning... Resident Advisor reports:

According to reports, French electronic artist DJ Mehdi has died.

Details at this point are extremely scarce, though it has been said that the DJ and producer fell to his death from a mezzanine along with two friends, both of whom have been hospitalized. Paris Social Club posted this message on its Facebook page this afternoon: "Following the death of DJ Mehdi, we have made the exceptional decision to close the club tonight. An evening of silence in honor of the artist. Thank you for not commenting on this status."

Mehdi Favéris-Essadi was born in 1977 in the suburbs of Paris. He got his start as a hip-hop producer, and found his signature sound by combining the style and attitude of hip-hop with elements of electro and house. Arguably his most important break came in 2006 when he released his album Lucky Boy on Ed Banger Records, the Parisian label that would be his home for the rest of his career. Over the years he collaborated with the likes of Daft Punk, Cassius and Chromeo. His most recent project was a collaboration with Riton called Carte Blanche.

DJ Mehdi is survived by his wife, the French model and artist Fafi. Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.

RIP DJ Mehdi.

Continue reading "DJ Mehdi reported dead (RIP Mehdi Favéris-Essadi)"

photos by WEIRD MAGIC

Gang Gang Dance and many others performed live at the free Mad Decent Block Party at the South Street Seaport on Saturday. Here are some pictures (from the second half of the day). They continue below...

Continue reading "pics from the NYC Mad Decent Block Party @ South Street Seaport (Gang Gang Dance & much more) "

A-Trak at Terminal 5 (more by Brook Bobbins)

After a pair of appearances at Coachella (as himself and as part of Duck Sauce) A-Trak will hit the road for a string of US dates with Kid Sister and The Gaslamp Killer dubbed the "Magic 8-Ball Tour". That "Magic 8-Ball" rolls into NYC on April 30th at Terminal 5. Tickets aren't listed yet. All dates are below.

Meanwhile catch A-Trak with Art Brut, White Denim, Lissy Trullie, and The Suzan at Webster Hall on March 4th, aka night one of the two night Downtown Records party that continues at Terminal 5 on March 5th with Miike Snow, Major Lazer, Santigold, DJ Mehdi and others. Webster tickets are still on sale, though Terminal 5 is sold out.

If you don't have a ticket for the Terminal 5 show, you can still catch DJ Mehdi at his own headlining date at Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 4th with JDH & Dave P (Fixed). Tickets are still available.

Speaking of dance parties at Music Hall, Holy Ghost!, who opens for Cut Copy at two of their three upcoming Terminal 5 dates, will headline Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 29th. Tickets are still on sale.

Midnight Magic, who just played Music Hall with Escort, opens the 4/6 Cut Copy show which is the only Terminal 5 show with tickets left.

All current tour dates and some videos below.

Continue reading "A-Trak tour dates, DJ Mehdi, Midnight Magic & Holy Ghost! too"

Miike Snow at Webster Hall (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

Downtown Music, LLC is an independently owned company which operates Downtown Records, Downtown Music Publishing, Downtown Music Services (Licensing Group), RCRDLBL.com and Downtown Recording Studios. Downtown Records is comprised of its Downtown and Mercer Street imprints and joint venture partners Dim Mak, Fool's Gold, and Mad Decent Records.

Downtown Records was founded in 2006 and they'll celebrate their fifth anniversary at Terminal 5 on March 5th by roping in some big names on their labels/imprints. Miike Snow will headline the show and will bring along Major Lazer with Santigold (who now has her own pair of Vans) and Ed Banger DJs Mehdi & So Me. Tickets are currently on AMEX presale and go on regular sale at noon tomorrow (1/28). The show marks four appearances in a row at Terminal 5 for Miike Snow, though the last was a DJ set.

The NYC date is one of two US dates scheduled for Major Lazer. They'll also take on Miami on March 12th as part of the 9 Mile Music Festival along with almost the entire Marley clan (Stephen Marley, Damian Marley, Julian Marley, Kymani Marley) along with Inner Circle and many others. More details, including ticketing, can be found at the 9 Mile Music site.

Major Lazer and related tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Major Lazer playing Downtown Records birthday w/ Miike Snow & Santigold, 9 Mile Music Fest w/ Marleys"

photos by Sharese Ann Frederick

Ed Banger's DJ Mehdi signs a fan

Bassnectar closes out the final day

"Bassnectar, arms flailing and Cousin It hair flying in all directions, brought the loudest set of the weekend, inspiring two concertgoers to scale a 30-foot support pole inside the tent." [NYU News]

Fresh off a recent appearance at Electric Zoo 2010, Bassnectar will return to NYC to play Terminal 5 on Nov 6th with Beats Antique (DJ set) and Emancipator. Tickets are on sale. The show is part of a larger US trek for the electronic artist that extends until the middle of December (and that was previously listed without the NYC show). All dates below.

In terms of new material, he says:

This week i finished the latest Bassnectar EP, 'Wildstyle' which is the most bonkers collection of music i've ever created. Each song was crafted with you in mind, and how your body and soul will be affected when the waves of this music are crashing through your cells. We will have more info soon with regards to release, but it will definitely become centerpiece of the fall soundtrack.

In the meantime, and as promised, we have our fourth and final set of 2010 Electric Zoo pictures in this post. You can also check out PART 1, PART 2, and PART 3, before continuing with PART 4 below...

Continue reading "the final set of Electric Zoo pics & more Bassnectar dates "

photos by Andrew St. Clair

"Dutch this, Swedish that! Germany's answer to house, Boys Noize, put on one hell of a set. Almost every track he dropped was welcomed by a roaring cheer. Technically he was breathtaking and proved once again why he is the future of electronic music." [Dancing Astronaut]

Here is Part Two of our continuing coverage of the 2010 Electric Zoo Festival that took place over Labor Day Weekend on Randall's Island in NYC. We had multiple photographers and reviewers on hand. Andrew's pictures of Saturday (day one) were posted HERE. His pictures of day two (Sunday), continue below...

Continue reading "Electric Zoo 2010 in pics - part 2 (A-Trak, Armin Van Buuren, Boys Noize, Diplo, Steve Aoki, JDH, Dave P & more) "

Delorean @ Glasslands in June (more by Chris Doss)

MoMA's annual summer season of parties at PS1 in Long Island City, aka Warm Up, returns on July 3rd and there are lot of familiar names on this year's lineup. That is due in part to this year's curators being Dean Bein of True Panther Records, Jon Galkin from DFA, Kris Chen (XL), Ronan from LPR, writer Brandon Stusoy (Stereogum, etc), and Robin from Tri Angle. Check out the full schedule, directions and more info below...

Continue reading "2010 PS1 Warm Up schedule announced (Delorean, MEN, Big Freedia, Questlove, DFA, Animal Collective DJs & more) "

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Virtual Snoop Dogg introduced the Gorillaz set, but Blur's Damon Albarn appeared in the flesh, with a few special guests including Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, De La Soul-who kicked their own old school jams earlier in the day-and Little Dragon's Yukimi. One unique rhythm transcended the next, showing the mutability of hip hop and dance music. And then that was it, suddenly. The festival ended and tens of thousands of people started wondering where they left their car keys...

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

--

Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

Justice @ SXSW 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Surf City show coming up at Mercury Lounge.

As previously mentioned, there's a Haiti benefit at SOB's tonight (1/28) with Styles P, Immortal Technique, Mickey Factz, Cormega, ChinahBlac, Eprhyme, and more. Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of SOB's, Lord Finesse is celebrating a birthday there with "The Legendary Rakim" on February 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Tanya Morgan (a hip hop group that has nobody named Tanya in it) plays SOB's on February 22nd. Tickets are on sale.

Roxy Cottontail hosts a Dim Mak-presented show at Santos on February 11th "featuring Ninjasonik, Japanther, Fashen, Team Facelift, The Auctioneers, Jonny Famous, Gina Turner & (Not So) Secret European Guests". Dim Mak band The Willowz play Pianos (with Delta Spirit) the same night, but they are from California. Tickets are on sale. Oh, also I think the guest is a DJ or DJs...

Ed Banger celebrates their 7th Anniversary at Terminal 5 on February 12th (Justice (DJ Set), Breakbot / DJ Mehdi / Busy P. / and Friends). Tickets are sold out.

Ed Banger will follow the Terminal 5 show with an afterparty at Webster Hall ("GIRLS&BOYS w/ED BANGER RECORDS AFTER PARTY , SEBASTIAN, SO-ME & More!"). Tickets are on sale. Flyer and new FAKE Justice track below...

Continue reading "Styles P, '(Not So) Secret European Guests', Ed Banger, Fake Justice, Japanther, Surf City, Tanya Morgan & other tickets"

Are you allowed to throw yourself a seventh birthday party? If so, shouldn't your biggest act at least play "live" instead of "DJ"? Not that there's a difference really - well unless you actually would prefer to hear them mix other people's songs in addition to their own... for $41+service charges. Tickets are on sale. Flyer and more info below...

Continue reading "Ed Banger 7th Anniversary show happening @ Terminal 5"

by Showtrotta

Electric Zoo (more by Zach Dilgard)

While from the outside, Electric Zoo (Sept 5-6, 2009) might seem like a 2-day hell, overrun by fake-tanned, heavily hair-gelled masses and their female counterparts, the actual experience (at least for me) was far from it. While my jaw dropped in horror as many of the element described above boarded the ferry to Randall's Island at the 35th Street pier, and I was only further freaked out when the entire boat broke out in a sing-along to "Now That the Love Is Gone" by David Guetta (one of many deejays playing the festival), once I arrived the dread of dealing that all day, subsided.

For starters, the festival grounds were very accommodating size-wise for the number in attendance. When I first arrived around 12:30 on Saturday, there was ample room and even as the day wore on and the grounds filled up, I never felt that I was trudging through a crowd to get where I wanted to go. Along with the size of the venue, the diverse spread of deejays (who were grouped at four different tents/stages vaguely according to similar genre/sound), kept my interaction with club-goers whom I would rarely run into under normal circumstances, to a minimum. In the instances where I was confronted with people straight out of My New Haircut (NSFW!) I couldn't say a bad thing about them. Everyone at the festival seemed to be too happy to be there, and dancing their asses off, to care what was going on around them, or to do anything too outwardly annoying to ruin anyone's time.

continued below...

Continue reading "the 2009 Electric Zoo Festival in review"