DOWNLOAD: Miike Snow - Animal (MP3)

Swedish duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg are childhood friends who spent time playing in bands and working on various projects in studios throughout Gothenburg. After separate moves to Stockholm they reunited in 2000 when their paths crossed with American Andrew Wyatt to write a pop album for a someone else. The release was small, there was little distribution and an alleged large sum of money was lost in the process. The three stayed in touch and a friendship was formed and in 2007 Miike Snow was born.

Karlsson and Winnberg's backgrounds in the DJ scene and punk bands alongside experiments in progressive electro and new rave lead to a series of writing/producing stints with Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears -- culminating in their Grammy win for Best Dance Recording with her song "Toxic." Wyatt has been a member in Black Beetle (with Joan Wasser) and The A.M. (with Michael Tighe). He had an album come out this year with the band Fires of Rome as well writing and producing the new Daniel Merriweather album with Mark Ronson. [Downtown Music]

The guys in Miike Snow were to play their first North American show at Santos Party House on Tuesday, May 19th, but that that, along with the band's other scheduled dates, was postponed.

Instead that first North American tour will happen in June. Dates include a June 6th Brooklyn show at Studio B with Natalie Portman's Shaved Head ($5.00 tickets), a June 20th show at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg and a June 22nd show at the Mercury Lounge (although in some places the Merc show is listed as happening on June 21st). At the MHOW show, Miike Snow will open for The Maccabees (Hatcham Social are playing too). Tickets are still on sale for that gig too. No tickets for the Mercury Lounge show yet. Lollapalooza on August 8th is also on the band's summer schedule.

The group's self-titled debut comes out on Downtown Music till June 9th, but it's currently available early on iTunes.

A pair of tracks from that record are available for free from RCRDLBL. Those include album operners "Animal" (which is also above) and "Burial," both with several remixes, and Miike Snow reworkings of Vampire Weekend's "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" and Peter Bjorn and John's "It Don't Move Me."

Album art, track list and all upcoming tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Miike Snow - MP3, debut album & first 2009 tour dates"

DOWNLOAD: Simian Mobile Disco - In the Mix (N-Joy) 11/7/08 (MP3)

Ulrich Schnauss @ Webster Hall - November 7, 2008

The past few weeks have been amazing dance-wise. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before there was some type of lull. I wouldn't say last week was bad...just nothing like the few weeks before. I started last week off early Thursday night at Hiro for the Hours showcase which featured Fires of Rome and Cazals. I only caught the last few songs of Fires' of Rome set, but their playing was tight and sounded very true to their album which somehow combines elements of classic rock with hints of 60's/70's and a bit of dance. Going into the evening I was more familiar with Cazals and like their material better than Fires' of Rome, but overall wasn't that engaged by their performance, though their playing was good, and the live versions of their tracks "Somebody Somewhere", "Poor Innocent Boy", and "Both Sides" were excellent and really stood out. The rest of the tracks however, just seemed to breeze right by. In all fairness, Cazals' keyboardist was absent, which I imagine took a way some of the more electronic/dance elements of their sound. Overall it was a decent night, just a little less dancey than I would have liked.

more about last week, and lots of upcoming events, below...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Boy 8-Bit, Justin Martin, Simian Mobile Disco, Ulrich Schnauss & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Kevin Saunderson - Live @ Sunday Best @ the Yard, 7-13-08 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fires of Rome - Set In Stone (Dada Life Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghislain Poirier - Cosmopolitan Bass Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghislain Poirier on Solid Steel Radio - 10/3/08 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kill the Noise Presents: TURN OFF / TUNE IN - VOL. 2 (MP3)

In the wake of the always fun, yet draining CMJ Music Marathon, two adages came to to mind: no rest for the weary and part of the weekend never dies. Like a dance-intensive extension of CMJ, last week in dance featured many acts from across the globe, though ultimately (at least from where I was standing) the French owned the dancefloor.

Strangely enough, my week in dance began, not in a club, but rather at the IFC. Thursday night I was fortunate enough to catch an intimate screening of "A Cross The Universe", the documentary by Romain Gavras, So Me, and Justice. I have to admit, I had a few preconceived notions going into this screening. I really didn't think I was going to like it based on the (NSFW) trailer. Images of kids going bananas, some more asininely than others, brought back entirely too many bad memories of the crowd that surrounded me at Justice's shows last fall at Terminal 5. I'm all for going crazy and having a good time, but there are enough people acting like assholes without a documentary glorifying them.

I don't want to spoil it, but after some initial footage of throngs of crazy Justice fans, it became apparent that this wasn't going to be the typical show-to-show tour documentary. Instead I found my preconceptions of a 90 minute long fan-film, crushed, and replaced with a shocking, behind the scenes look at Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge's adventures, mischief, and misadventures. Romain Gavras paints an unexpected and hilarious portrait of the pair, matching them with an equally amusing array of supporting characters from tour personnel to friends on the road, who dare I say, ocassionally steal the show away from French duo.

The film plays at times like a comedy more than anything: It's the Xavier and Gaspard show, only there's no acting and no routine. It's not so much that what is happening is funny (ok, in many cases it is), but rather Xavier and Gaspard being completely deadpan as event after hilarious event transpires. Initially funny situations and predicaments are transformed into laugh riots as Xavier barely responds, directing frustrated eyerolls and looks toward Gaspard. As amusing as I found this film, I thought it succeeded in giving the audience a very real image of what life is like on the road with the French electronic act as they experience their sudden rise to fame. However, as I left the theater there were ultimately two things I could not stop thinking:

1. Wow. That was f-ing hilarious and
easily better than any comedies I've seen this year.
2. I really can't wait to see Justice again!

Luckily I didn't have to wait long at all....

continued below....

Continue reading "the Thursday & Friday night in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Justice, a documentary, Josh Wink, Ulrich Schnauss & more...)"