photos by Autumn Andel

The Treasure Island Music Festival went down over two days on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, juggling two stages and acts that ranged from Death From Above 1979 to Cut Copy to St Vincent. The bands and sets were staggered so that changeovers allowed for the audience to see all of each band which, on day 1, included appearances from Death From Above 1979, Geographer, Aloe Blacc, The Naked & The Famous, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT (who play NYC in December), Battles, Dizzee Rascal, Chromeo, Buraka Som Sistema, Flying Lotus, Cut Copy, and Empire of The Sun...

"Sometimes a performance impresses you simply because of its natural and flawless flow. This was Chromeo on Saturday [10/15 at Treasure Island Music Festival]. The Montreal duo known for creating modern 80s-inspired electro-synth pop got one of the largest crowds of the day moving immediately as they opened with "Fancy Footwork." The hits kept coming with classics like "Don't Turn the Lights Off," "Bonafied Lovin," "Tenderoni" and set closer "Night by Night." Chromeo over the years has cemented themselves as one of the more fun and original acts in electronic music, Saturday was no disappointment whatsoever."
-[SF Station on the highlights at TIMF]

Belated pictures from day 1 of the Treasure Island Music Festival (which happened on 10/15) continue, more YACHT and Chromeo included, below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 -- day 1 in pics (Chromeo, DFA1979, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT, Cut Copy & more)"

photos by Diana Wong

Tangerine Dream & fan

The annual music festival Moogfest took place this Halloween weekend down in Asheville, North Carolina. Countless bands we know and love played over the course of its three days including The Antlers, Atlas Sound, Austra, Anika, The Field, AraabMuzik, Flying Lotus, Chromeo, TV on the Radio, Moby, Matthew Dear, Tangerine Dream, and many more. And that was just Friday. Friday pictures are in this post.

As NPR points out:

"Tangerine Dream has wore many hats during a prolific 35-year career: Krautrock, New Age, film scores and pioneering synth music, to start. The group has consistently worked at a steady clip, generating 116 (!) live and studio albums in spite of its many personnel changes. Edgar Froese, the creative force behind Tangerine Dream, is the only remaining original member."

Continue reading "Moogfest 2011 - Day 1 in pics & streams (Tangerine Dream, Moby, TV on the Radio, Austra, Chromeo, Antlers & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

Thundercat

Thundercat, who just released his awesome debut LP, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, on FlyLo's Brainfeeder label, will bring his jazz fusion bass and hip hop beats to NYC on November 8 at Le Poisson Rouge. No openers have been announced yet. Tickets are on sale now. No other dates have been announced yet.

Thundercat and FlyLo were recently interviewed by Pitchfork.tv for their Over/Under series. You can watch the video of that below.

In other Brainfeeder news, Matthewdavid will be in NYC this week for CMJ at the Panache showcase at Knitting Factory on Thursday (10/20) (it starts not long after we clear out from our day party). Tickets for the showcase are still available (or use your CMJ badge). That's his only CMJ show but he'll stick around the east coast and return to NYC to DJ at the DaM-FunK show at Highline Ballroom on October 25. Tickets for that show are still available. He also appears at Union Pool the day after that.

All dates and video below...

Continue reading "Thundercat is coming, Matthewdavid even sooner"

photos by Erez Avissar

"If Gang Gang Dance was the massage, then Flying Lotus was the happy ending of the night. The whole venue was packed with students when FlyLo sauntered on stage just short of nine o'clock. The audience went nuts as the producer asked the crowd if their answer (to no question in particular) was "yes" or "no." Students were in the mood to flail their arms aimlessly and pretend that last night was still part of Electric Zoo as Flying Lotus started his long DJ set." [NYU Local]

Continue reading "Flying Lotus played LPR twice on Thursday (pics)"

If you're an NYU student, you should be in line at the moment for the free Flying Lotus/Gang Gang Dance/Light Asylum show happening at Le Poisson Rouge today (9/8). If you're not an NYU student, you should quickly take a nap because FlyLo plays the venue again later tonight. 11pm doors. FREE.

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Blu - "Amnesia" (MP3)

Blu

Jazzy West Coast rapper Blu plays Public Assembly on September 23 with Ari Why & The Invisible College and Voli. Blu released the Amnesia EP earlier this year, which included the track of the same name. You can download that track above and watch the video below. He is set to release his major label debut LP, NoYork! at some point this year, though no official date has been set yet. The album features production by frequent collaborator Exile, Flying Lotus, Samiyam, Madlib, and Daedelus and guest vocals by J*Davey, Edan, and others. Blu & Exile also play Rock the Bells in NYC this weekend with Fashawn.

Sean Price will also play the Brooklyn venue on September 30 with Natural Elements, Maffew Ragazino, Rasheed Chappell, Johnny 3 Rounds, Stark the Dutch, Zeps, and Ugly Brains. The flier for this show is below. Sean Price will also be at Rock the Bells this weekend as part of the supergroup Random Axe with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson.

Video and show flier below...

Continue reading "Blu & Sean Price playing Rock the Bells & Public Assembly (dates, MP3 & video)"

Flying Lotus at Terminal 5 in 2010 (more by Brook Bobbins)

Flying Lotus, Gang Gang Dance, and Light Asylum are playing a free show at Le Poisson Rouge on September 8 presented by the NYU Program Board. Doors are at 6 PM for the all ages show but admission is open to NYU students only.

Gang Gang Dance recently announced a tour that includes a NYC show at Bowery Ballroom during CMJ. Tickets go on sale Thursday (9/1) at noon.

Speaking of Flying Lotus, he recently announced a multimedia project with Miwa Matreyek. The project, titled The Mapping of Countries Yet to Come, is set to premiere at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock in LA in June, 2012. According to CFAER:

These multi-disciplinary Los Angeles artists will collaborate together for the first time this year to find inspiration and direct sampling of northeast Los Angeles' imagery and sounds to create The Mapping of Countries Yet to Come, a piece that celebrates the present communities surrounding Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock.

In other related news, Thundercat, who was on FlyLo's Cosmogramma LP and his Brainfeeder label, put out his album The Golden Age of Apocalypse this week via Brainfeeder. You can stream the entire thing below and purchase it here.

Light Asylum open for !!! one day after the LPR show at their 9/9 Bell House show. Computer Magic are on that bill too. Even sooner Light Asylum play a free show at Union Pool on Saturday (9/3). Light Asylum will also open for Austra at the 10/5 Bowery Ballroom show the day before Austra open for James Blake at the sold out MHOW show. Tickets for the Bell House show and the Bowery show are still on sale.

Updated dates and album stream below...

Continue reading "Flying Lotus, Gang Gang Dance & Light Asylum playing NYU show & other stuff, Thudercat album streaming"

DOWNLOAD: SBTRKT - "Wildfire" (Drumma Boy remix ft. Shabazz Palaces) (MP3)

Back in June, we announced the killer initial lineup for Moogfest 2011 (October 28, 29, 30). That lineup just got even better with additions including TV on the Radio, Special Disco Version featuring James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, St. Vincent, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, YACHT, John Maus, Araabmuzik Baths, Zomby, Active Child and more. It was also announced that Brian Eno, part of the initial lineup, will be presenting Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings and "Illustrated Talks" as part of this year's fest.

The initial announcement also included Suicide, Tangerine Dream, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Austra, M83, Little Dragon, Passion Pit, Toro y Moi, Moby (full band), The Flaming Lips, Battles, CANT, Brandt Brauer Frick (who will be on a US tour that hits Glasslands), and more.

Speaking of CANT (aka Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear), he revealed the song "Believe" from his upcoming debut LP yesterday. Stream the track below. The album comes out September 13 on Chris' own Terrible Records. He's also got an upcoming tour surrounding Moogfest which includes a show on October 25 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of SBTRKT and Little Dragon, Drumma Boy remixed the SBTRKT song with Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano on lead vocals. Shabazz Palaces is also featured on the remix (compare that to Drake's version). Grab the track above via Gorilla vs Bear. Shabazz wrote on Facebook today, "Besides the release of Black Up, I don't think I've seen one article on here create such a surge of activity as this Wildfire Remix has. Amazing."

Sampha, who sings live with SBTRKT and on his album, also recently released his own song, "Indecision." Stream the track below. Moogfest is one of the stops on SBTRKT's recently announced US tour that also hits Bowery Ballroom on October 31 (with Araabmuzik) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 1. Tickets for both shows are still on sale.

Little Dragon plays a BV-presented Record Release show at Music Hall of WIlliamsburg TONIGHT (8/16). The show is sold out, but if you don't have tickets you can catch them in NYC again on their headlining tour which hits Terminal 5 on October 14. Tickets are still on sale.

Song streams and full Moogfest lineup below...

Continue reading "updated Moogfest lineup, new CANT & a Shabazz Palaces/Drumma Boy SBTRKT/Little Dragon remix (MP3s)"

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

by BBG

"Matt Talbott tells me there's some Hum shows coming this fall! I don't have all the details yet, but here's what I know: there will be one on September 10th, and it won't be in Champaign. A show in Champaign is possibly going to be planned for September 9th, and they are playing Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX in November." -[h-u-m.net]

Hum released You'd Prefer an Astronaut in 1995 and the follow-up Downward Is Heavenward in 1998.

Though they haven't confirmed Hum, Fun Fun Fun Fest did recently "leak" some more of their Austin festival lineup. The first leak had Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, and X (performing "Los Angeles"). The second leak added Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot and Kid Dynamite!

That now makes two upcoming shows for Kid Dynamite who are also playing FYF Fest in LA.

Treasure Island Music Festival is returning to San Francisco, CA on October 15 and 16. The lineup includes Cut Copy, Beach House, The Hold Steady, Flying Lotus, Death From Above 1979, YACHT, Shabazz Palaces, The Antlers, St. Vincent, and many others. 2-Day passes go on sale Wednesday (7/27) 10 AM and single day tickets on Friday (7/29) at 10 AM.

Speaking of St. Vincent, if you haven't already, check out her new track at StrangeMercy.com. The full album is out September 13th via 4AD. More info and tour dates HERE. Still no info on tickets for her Met show.

Full Treasure Island lineup below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Fest announces 2011 lineup, includes St. Vincent (who recently released a new song)"

Quincy Jones, Aloe Blacc, and Kanye West

The above photo comes from crooner/MC Aloe Blacc's site and a benefit show that featured the three. So far, no indication that the trio will form a mega-trio, although if possible it will have to wait until Aloe Blacc returns from his current tour in the EU. Aloe Blacc spent Saturday night (6/25) playing Glastonbury in the UK alongside names like Radiohead, Pulp, Beyonce, and countless notable others. Check video of his performance below.

Aloe Blacc will spend the bulk of July touring overseas before heading back to the US to prep for a new batch of East Coast dates in early September. Those dates include a return to Highline Ballroom on September 2nd. Tickets are on sale.

In other news, Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint has landed a home at Def Jam which is part of Universal (which just lost Common to Warner Brothers).

Kanye's GOOD Music just released Big Sean's LP Finally Famous this week. What do you think of Big Sean? As Pitchfork pointed out, Flying Lotus is not a fan ("This Big Sean album is not sweet. I dunno why I try to like this stuff. I want my time back! same wack ass post drake cadence,talking about the same shit i heard in the last rap album i bought(nothing).more autotune.more snare repeat"). Flylo does however like the new Shabazz Palaces.

Speaking of Flying Lotus and Aloe Blacc, they both performed with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble in LA in 2010. Pharoahe Monch performs with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble in NYC in July 2011.

All Aloe tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Aloe Blacc scheduled more dates, GOOD Music joins Def Jam, Common joins Warner Brothers"

Pharoahe Monch at Fun Fun Fun Fest in 2010 (more by BBG)

In addition to the free show at Weeksville Heritage Center, Pharoahe Monch has a few other NYC shows in July. He plays B.B. King's on July 12 with Heltah Skeltah, OGC, and Black Rob. Tickets are still on sale.

Pharoahe Monch also appears as a guest with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson ensemble at Harlem Stage on July 9 in Annunciation Park (entrance Amsterdam Ave. and W. 134th Street). Jazz vocalist Jose James and Zap Mama will also be guests at the FREE show that Taylor McFerrin opens. J. Period is the evening's DJ. This one runs from 5-9 PM, with 4 PM gates. "In addition to the live music, concert guests enjoy food and hand-made products from local vendors, and an American Airlines raffle. Blankets only, no lawn chairs allowed."

If you haven't heard of multi instrumentalist/dj/arranger/composer/music director/producer/educator Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, you probably at least know some of his collaborators like Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Rihanna, Flying Lotus, Aloe Blacc and countless others. His ensemble performs original music, covers of unreleased J Dilla tracks, and will pay tribute to Gil Scott-Heron at the Harlem show.

A similar show happened in LA in 2010 with Flying Lotus as part of the ensemble and with special guest Aloe Blacc and Bilal. You can listen to that entire peformance, and watch some video from it, below....

Continue reading "Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble playing free Harlem show, Pharoahe Monch playing other shows too"

Kanye West & Big Sean @ Irving Plaza Tuesday (Joshua Laboy)

Maybe it was all the excitement of summer finally arriving, but for whatever reason, NYC shows have been pretty heavy on the special guests lately. Here's a few we know about.

Reggie Watts was the secret guest that joined Glenn Kotche and Buke & Gass during 'Wilco weekend' at NYU for the Jab Abumrad's Radiolab Concert on Saturday (6/18). Reggie was a secret because of the two Summerstage shows he's playing this week including the one in Red Hook Park TONIGHT (6/24).

Reptar was a secret guest at the Thee Oh Sees Brooklyn Bowl show on Saturday (Reptar played Governors Ball earlier that day). And as predicted, Thee Oh Sees themselves were the secret headliner at Death by Audio the previous night (6/17).

Reptar, who also opened for Art Brut at Music Hall last night, will open for Foster the People at Terminal 5 on September 27th. The only mystery here is how Foster the People are big enough to headline Terminal 5 already! Tickets are on sale.

Ted Leo showed up as a special guest at the Eleanor Friedberger show at Europa during Northside. Bradford Cox was in the Audience. Catch Ted again at the free South Street Seaport kickoff party for the 4Knots Festival that Eleanor plays at the South Street Seaport a week later. It was just announced that Eleanor will also open for Deerhunter at their Webster Hall shows in August. (Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox must have really liked her set) Tickets for both Deerhunter shows are still available.

As also recently mentioned both Clams Casino and Neon Indian (DJ) were added as last minute surprises guests to the Northside show at Cameo on Sunday (6/19). The show was one day after Neon Indian played Governors Ball. Monday night Cameo hosted semi-secret DJ sets by YACHT, The Miracles Club & Midnight Magic, all who played MHOW on Sunday.

Kanye West showed up at Big Sean's Irving Plaza show on Tuesday (6/21), the same night Big Sean appeared on the Bon Iver episode of Fallon. Despite two of Kanye's friends being on Fallon on the same night however, Kanye did not make an appearance on the show (not even backstage). Videos from Irving Plaza below.

Justin Vernon did not show up at the S. Carey/David Bazan show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (6/22), as we hoped he would. S. Carey is a member of Bon Iver's band and played with Justin the two days previous on both Fallon and Colbert.

Speaking of Fallon, Bob Mould (who DJs his Blowoff party at Highline Ballroom tonight) showed up and surprised people by playing a Sugar song backed by the Roots on the show. Mould recently performed live with the Foo Fighters during their set at Sasquatch. Video of that special guest appearance is below.

Lenny Kravtiz's daughter Zoë Kravitz and her band Elevator Fight played Southpaw with J*Davey on Tuesday (6/21). Lenny showed up to watch his daughter, but he wasn't the only crowd member blowing up Twitter. Drake was also in the audience to catch the show. FADER grabbed him outside the Park Slope venue for a quick video interview which you can watch below.

Flying Lotus & Just Blaze @ Music Hall (via the Comedian)

Flying Lotus headlined two Brainfeeder showcases (his label) this week. The first was at Bowery Ballroom on Monday (6/20) and the second at MHOW on Wednesday (6/22). Apparently trippy instrumentals aren't the only thing FlyLo digs when it comes to hip hop producers, because Just Blaze (Jay-Z, T.I.) showed up to play with him at the MHOW show. Flying Lotus also surprised NYC by playing a free late show at Le Poisson Rouge too.

Following in FlyLo's footsteps, Ivan & Alyosha gave NYC a gift in the form of a last-minute free late show at Mercury Lounge.

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn played with Eddie Vedder at Beacon Theatre on his tour with Glen Hansard.

And while opener Glen Hansard (Swell Season, the Frames) helped Vedder recreate "Sleepless Nights," the tender duet the pair shared on "Ukulele Songs," and the crowd found their voices and their feet for several of he night's tunes -- "Porch," "Unthought Known" -- the biggest roar erupted when Vedder invited Crowded House/Split Enz frontman Neil Finn to the stage for an impromptu collaboration Vedder jokingly called an "unrehearsed collision." With longtime friend Finn on organ, the twosome blended delicate harmonies on Hunters And Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me." Finn took up a guitar and sat down next to Vedder to trade verses on Finn's Split Enz hit "I Got You," which found Finn playfully calling out chords to Vedder during the bridge. "It turns out we play that song differently," Vedder quipped, "But since he wrote it, he's right."

Decked out in a trio of long white lab coats, Finn (organ) and Hansard (guitar) returned with Vedder for the second encore, the rousing "Big Hard Sun" from "Into The Wild." [Billboard]

As you know, Stephen Colbert was the special guest with The Black Belles on his own show last night (6/23). He performed with the band and also recorded a single with them which is now on sale via Third Man Records. Jack White actually also appeared on the show this time for his third and final appearance during StePhest Colbchella '011 and then appeared with Colbert again today (6/24) at The Lot at the High Line. Jack and the Black Belles were also spotted last night (6/23) bowling at Brooklyn Bowl. According to Questlove (who was DJing the venue), he "has bowling game."

Tonight (6/24) is the another Doveman show at LPR. Lisa Hannigan (who played 3 sold out NYC-area shows this week) and Mike Doughty are billed as openers, but according to Doveman, some secret special guests will be showing up as well (as usual).

Last but not least, as hinted, and confirmed earlier today, Fucked Up are the special guest at 285 Kent Saturday (6/26) with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage. Tickets are on sale at Record Grouch. Iceage also played a secret show at 538 Johnson while they were in town for Northside.

Any special appearances we left out?

Videos below...

Continue reading "This Week in Special Guests (Kanye West, Reggie Watts, Reptar, Neil Finn, Drake, Just Blaze, Doveman & more)"

"Might do an extra NYC show tomorrow. Experimental shit. We see" - Flying Lotus

Flying Lotus came to town to play sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom (6/20) and Music Hall of Williamsburg (6/22). How was the Bowery show? If you missed it, and don't have a ticket for Music Hall, or maybe you just want to go on a 3-night FlyLo marathon, you're in luck. Flying Lotus made good on his promise (see above), and has added a FREE FULL BAND SHOW at Le Poisson Rouge TONIGHT (6/21). Doors at 11:59pm. You may need to call out sick tomorrow.

Check out a video from Bowery Ballroom last night, below...

Continue reading "Flying Lotus played Bowery, playing free show TONIGHT"

Via the Vine:

Electronic musician Flying Lotus--aka Steve Ellison--is no stranger to the world of Radiohead. Not only did Thom Yorke guest on the producer's critical-fave of last year, Cosmogramma, the Radiohead frontman took Ellison on tour as a guest of his then-touring side project Atoms For Peace. Flying Lotus' influence hangs heavy over the "free jazz, cut-n-paste" approach of Radiohead's most recent album The King of Limbs, and just last week, Yorke turned up at a club in downton LA to mix side-by-side with Ellison.

So it comes as little surprise to hear that Flying Lotus claims that he has been tapped to remix the King of Limbs, according to an interview in the Colorado Springs Independent:

Indy: [Thom Yorke] was also on your last album. Are there any more collaborations like that in the works?

FL: Not that I know of. They wanted me to remix the new Radiohead record, and I've been trying to mess with that a little bit. But I haven't gotten to it yet.

Indy: Tell us what that'll sound like when you're done with it?

FL: It's too early to say, man. I have no fucking clue. It's difficult to work with, because the pieces that they gave me, there's no real a cappella. It's like piano and voice at the same time.

Indy: So you can't separate them.

FL: No, I can't. So I have to come up with some shit that's a little similar to the record, I guess, to an extent.

Flying Lotus's next live date is the Sasquach Festival, and in June he will headline a pair of Brainfeeder showcases (his label) in NYC. They take place at Bowery Ballroom on 6/20 and Music Hall of Williamsburg on 6/22 with appearances from labelmates Thundercat, Austin Peralta, Teebs, and Dr. Strangeloop. Tickets for both shows just went on sale

In related news, Gaslamp Killer and Matthewdavid, both of which have releases on Brainfeeder, will play a show together at Knitting Factory on 5/28 (tickets). A few days later, Matthewdavid will join Sun Araw Band at 285 Kent.

All tour dates, videos and songs, below...

Continue reading "Flying Lotus playing 2 Brainfeeder showcases in NYC, made a new mix, working on new Radiohead album remix"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Matthewdavid - Like You Mean It (MP3)

Gaslamp Killer at LPR (more by Chris Doss)

Gaslamp Killer will bring his throbbing electronic beats to Brooklyn, as he has added another NYC date at Knitting Factory on May 28th with Matthewdavid. Tickets are on sale.

For those of you counting at home, that makes TWO NYC dates for Gaslamp Killer, who'll also open the festivites at Terminal 5 on 4/30, alongside the turntable wizardry of A-Trak, the cocaine-storytelling of Clipse and Kid Sister as part of the Magic 8-Ball tour. Tickets are still available for that 4/30 show, but you can also try to win a pair of tickets. Details on the BrooklynVegan contest are at the bottom of this post.

Knitting Factory show opener Matthewdavid has been quickly climbing upwards in the electronic world after releasing the International EP on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label this past March. Matthewdavid (real name Matthew McQueen) tells Pitchfork that he and FlyLo, who are both part of the LA beat scene, met back in 2006 at a FlyLo gig at Low End Theory and have influenced each other's sound since. Like FlyLo and other Brainfeeder musicians, Matthewdavid creates instrumental hip hop beats with an experimental spin. He douses glitchy beats with a layer of ambience, while occasionally throwing in dubstep-y bass. He recently followed up his EP with the Outmind LP released April 19 via Brainfeeder (despite having his own label Leaving Records). The album features contributions from Flying Lotus, Niki Randa, and Dogbite. Download the track "Like You Mean It" off Outmind above.

All tour dates, the contest details and some videos are below....

Continue reading "Matthewdavid released 'Outmind' (MP3), playing Brooklyn w/ Gaslamp Killer who is on tour w/ A-Trak (win T5 tix)"

Big names and regulars aside, there are a few bands I want to highlight on the just-announced Sasquatch lineup: Wolf Parade ("indefinite hiatus" rumors be damned), The Flaming Lips (performing "The Soft Bulletin"), Death From Above 1979 (now three reunion shows total), Guided By Voices (they're not done yet), and... Archers of Loaf (!). The full lineup of the fest that goes down in Gorge, Washington in May (Memorial Day Weekend), is below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 lineup announced (Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, Wolf Parade, DFA 1979 & "The Soft Bulletin" included)"

photos by Brook Bobbins

A-Trak looking spiffy

"A Trak has proven himself to be one of the most talented DJs around, period. I had a chance to watch his set from the "backstage" area at Terminal 5 last night and was thoroughly blown away. Flying Lotus put on an incredibly energetic performance that set the stage for A Trak, who rocked his turntables in a tuxedo atop a 2 story platform covered in lights and LCD screens. Visually, it was a spectacle in its own right. Needless to say the crowd lost it for dance floor anthems like 'Anyway', 'Barbara Streisand', 'Shake It Down' and his 'Indestructible' remix. Amidst the furious scratching and beat juggling he is famous for, you could hear hints of hip-hop rhythm working their way into the electro until ultimately you found yourself dancing to straight up rap music." [Electronica Oasis]

A set of pictures and some videos from the Thanksgiving event continue below...

Continue reading "A-Trak, Tiga, Flying Lotus, Miike Snow, Yelawolf & Destructo performed @ Hard Fest Turkey Soup @ Terminal 5 (pics)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

DOWNLOAD: Evan Voytas - Our Thing (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Evan Voytas - I Took a Trip on a Plane (MP3)

Evan Voytas @ the BrooklynVegan day party, CMJ 2010

"Evan Voytas is an LA-based singer/multi-instrumentalist. Born in rural Pennsylvania, Evan was raised on the oldies, listening to his father's cassette tapes of Elvis and the Righteous Brothers. As a teenager, he discovered jazz. At age 18, he moved to Harlem where he immersed himself in various religious texts and 70's new age paperbacks. He grew a beard, moved to the desert, moved back, shaved the beard, played lead guitar for a few pop acts, toured the world, moved to a farmhouse on a dirt road in Pennsylvania, started recording music, and finally ended up in Los Angeles.

Since then, Voytas has released a series of self-produced EPs and singles. His latest single, "I Run With You, Spirit Animal," is a 3-minute race through a magical realm. Set to a score of soaring synths, fun guitars, and fake-ass drums, Evan's lyrics typically address "feeling good" or "feeling bad," with underlying mystical themes of the unknown, nature, and outer space." [Evan's official bio]

I first heard Evan's music not long before CMJ, when I was booking the BrooklynVegan shows. And it didn't take many listens to know I wanted him to play, especially since it might be the only chance I would get to see him... which is exactly what happened.

Evan went on right at 12:15pm at Public Assembly on Saturday, and his undeniably catchy and addictive, falsetto & synth-filled, smooth disco pop jams were the perfect way to start the day (some would classify him as chillwave). His live show was as satisfying experience as listening to him on record - full band included (he has performed solo in the past). If you missed them during CMJ, I'm sure they'll be back soon (but at the moment they have no upcoming dates scheduled).

In the meantime, listen to what Evan has streaming at MySpace, and on his Muxtape. And check out the videos below, and grab the MP3s above, one of which is the brand new "Our Thing". That track appears on Evan's new Tomorrow Night We'll Go Anywhere EP (out now digitally, out physically on November 22). Check it out. To quote The Line of Best Fit, "On first listen, I was transported to a private party where a (slightly) less camp Scissor Sisters were grinding seductively to Purple Rain-era Prince, all whilst Ariel Pink was dropping ketamine in the toilets."

Fun fact: Evan sometimes plays in the backing band of both Flying Lotus and Gonjasufi.

More pictures of Evan performing at the BrooklynVegan/Converse party, and those videos, below...

Continue reading "new Evan Voytas MP3 & EP ++ CMJ pics, videos & more"

by BBG

A-Trak at Williamsburg Waterfront (more by Andrew St. Clair)

A full two months before his big brother plays the same venue as a member of Chromeo, A-Trak will headline Terminal 5 on 11/27 with Tiga, Flying Lotus, Yelawolf and special guests as part of "HARD NYC Turkey Soup 2010". Tickets for the Thanksgiving weekend show go on sale Friday 10/15 at noon.

The show is one of four US dates for A-Trak, with the others being the previously discussed HARD Haunted Mansion in LA on 10/31 with Flying Lotus (his only other date) and the Bloody Beetroots (who play Webster Hall this Friday), Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX, and a pre-Halloween show in Chicago on October 30th with Chromeo. All dates below.

Meanwhile, A-Trak's project with Armand Van Helden, Duck Sauce, recently released a new video and single for "Barbara Streisand". The star-studded video features cameos from Kanye West, Pharell Williams, Buckshot (rapper), Smif-n-Wessun, DJ Premier, Chromeo, Diplo, Ezra Koenig, and so many others. Watch that with all A-Trak dates below...

Continue reading "A-Trak, Tiga, Flying Lotus & Yelawolf playing HARD NYC Turkey Soup 2010 & other dates ++ Duck Sauce"

words by Kon Glikos, photos by Zach Dilgard

Flying Lotus / ravers

As we were saying, This past Labor Day weekend saw the second installment of the Electric Zoo festival, taking place on Randall's Island. The two-day festival boasted a line up of over 70 artists on 4 stages, catering to most genres of electronic music. The line up ran the gamut. Commercial dance DJ's/acts such as: The Chemical Brothers, Moby, Armin Van Buuren, and house and techno staples the likes of: Richie Hawtin, Claude Von Stroke, and Steve Bug found themselves along side each other on the bill. In addition, artists such as Martyn, Erol Alkan, and Aeroplane represented genres like dubstep, electro, and nu-disco.

Highlights on Saturday included a blistering live techno set from Reboot, taking place in the Sunday School tent. In the evening, Major Lazer brought the crowd into a frenzy with their all-encompassing musical mash-ups. Over on the Red Bull Academy stage, Flying Lotus's much anticipated set had its moments of brilliance, namely a re-edit of Radiohead's Idioteque towards the end of his set. The Chemical Brothers closed out the night on the main stage, starting off with a string of new songs, signifying a musical directional change, giving way to older crowd favorites. Additionally, the visual production paired with their music, made their performance memorable for the thousands that listened in.

Day 2 started off on a high note, with Jon Hopkins's thoroughly original take of a live electronic set, which seemed largely improvisational. The next time slot called for witnessing a meeting of the techno minds back at the Sunday School tent. Techno heavy weights: Martin Buttrich, Mattias Tanzmann and Davide Squillace performed a track for track DJ set that was mainly composed of their favorite techno classics. It quickly became one of the highlights of the weekend. On the main stage, Moby played his DJ set to a sea of people in full on festival mode. His set was a retrospective, made up of tracks from dance eras gone by. What he played was a nice contrast to the seemingly endless stream of commercial trance and progressive house sounds coming from the main stage all day long. He was one of the top main stage performances all weekend.

While the aforementioned performances made up what I thought to be some of the most significant of the weekend, there was no shortage of cringe-worthy music being performed. For example, the countless musical crimes being committed in the Hilltop Arena tent (aptly re-named the Jersey Shore tent by many), aided in shedding some of the festival's musical credibility. Still, the premise of this festival seems to be that there is something for everyone because "you get what you pay for". Only time will tell if this is the electronic music festival that New York City deserves.

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As promised, here are more pictures from last weekend's event. Part 1 is HERE. Part 2 is HERE. Part 3 continues below...

Continue reading "Electric Zoo in pics - part 3 (Flying Lotus, Moby, Reboot, more) "

Heartless Bastards @ ACL 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

today in NYC
* Meat Loaf @ Jones Beach
* NY Philharmonic in Central Park
* Electric Six, Township @ Maxwell's
* Smiths speed dating @ Black Rabbit Bar
* We Are Scientists, Rewards @ Bowery Ballroom
* Nels Cline & Jenny Schreiman @ Village Vanguard
* The Rassle, Radical Sons, Laserdiscs @ Union Pool
* The Acorn, The Loom @ Mercury Lounge (Early Show)
* The Blind Boys of Alabama & guests @ Lincoln Center
* Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens @ Stuyvesant Town Oval
* Small Black, Beach Fossils @ Mercury Lounge (Late Show)
* Pepper Rabbit, Candy Claws, Blair, Baby Alpaca @ Glasslands
* Soft Landings, Diamond Doves, Jared Van Fleet @ The Rock Shop
* Chiddy Bang, Daniel Merriweather, Gordon Voidwell @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Catherine Russell and Cat & the Hounds Swing Band @ Lincoln Center
* Organs, The Sweet Sixteens, The Poppets, Fools On Sunday @ Cake Shop
* Lights On, Black Hollies, The Nouvellas, Himalaya @ Knitting Factory
* Harpoon Pole Vault, Bee Mask, Zaimph, Mi Or & The Pedestals @ Zebulon
* The Heartless Bastards, The Builders and the Butchers, Peter Wolf Crier @ MHOW

Tickets are on sale for BEAK> @ Bowery Ballroom.

Dave Hill says,

Hi there. Do you like Morrissey, the Smiths, and/or making out with people? Oh, great, because [tonight] at 8pm, I am going to be doing my futuristic, one-of-a-kind combination Smiths/Morrissey music/speed dating event I like to call "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (pretty clever of me, huh?) at Brooklyn's best bar, the Black Rabbit, which is located right there in Brooklyn.

The Acorn continue their NYC run of shows

Tonight is your second and last chance to catch Candy Claws.

The Heartless Bastards headline their first of two NYC shows tonight.

The Stuy Town free music series continues with a Naomi Shelton tonight.

Improv Everywhere brought Star Wars into the subway. Video below...

New Flying Lotus video for "MmmHmm", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Kutmah aka Justin McNulty

Details on the situation are vague, but sources told L.A. Weekly that McNulty, who was born in the U.K. and moved to Los Angeles at the age of twelve, was picked up by authorities at his home on the morning of May 5. By that evening, he had been transferred to a facility in New Mexico. The DJ does have an attorney and, given the response of his friends, it appears that all efforts are being made to keep McNulty in the United States. Freekutmah.com debuted late last week to collect donations for McNulty's legal fees. It was followed by a PetitionSpot page that, by Sunday evening, had collected over 2700 virtual signatures in support of the DJ.

Kutmah was supposed to play with Flying Lotus as part of his Cosmogramma release shows in L.A. this week.

More info on the situation and videos of Kutmah are posted below...

Continue reading "Free Kutmah! (LA DJ is process of being deported) "

photos by Rachel Carr

Devo

"An aggregate 225,000 people bought tickets to see a [Coachella] roster headlined by Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz during the April 16-18 event at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.

The previous attendance record was set in 2007, when the headliners included a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Final figures are still being tallied, but AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said the gross will exceed $20 million.

Phillips said the future looked bleak for AEG Live's nascent All Points West festival, which took place in 2008 and 2009 across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.

"We're probably going to kill it," said Phillips. "As beautiful as (the site) is, it's very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river. All Points West is an experiment that just didn't work." [Reuters]

Continue reading "more photos from Coachella, more confirmation that All Points West is not happening"