First we found out the cities and then the venues and now the artists are announced for the 2013 Mad Decent Block Party tour. This is what they have to say:

he MDBP 2013 artist Lineups and official event trailer are live! We're rolling through 13 cities this year featuring Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis and RIFF RAFF on select dates + More. Starting July 19th in Calgary and ending September 15th in San Diego, 2013's Mad Decent Block Party will be setting off on its largest festival undertaking to date, bringing a full day of musical performances and tons of fun on-site activities

A limited number of Fanclub tickets go on sale tomorrow, which will also come with a FREE 30 day premium Mad Decent membership to their subscription service at https://drip.fm/mad-decent/. General tickets go on sale Friday & Saturday, VIP will also be offered at that time.

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party lineups announced (Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Rockie Fresh & many more)"

London's Mount Kimbie will be in Austin next week for SXSW, playing the Ray Ban / Boiler Room Warehouse on Saturday, March 16 with Chief Keef & GBE Squad, Mount Kimbie, Death Grips, Lunice, and Baauer b2b RL Grime, as well as Shlohmo, Skream, and "very special guests." For those not in attendance but will be near a computer, the show will stream on line at Boiler Room's website. And if you are going to be in Austin, you can RSVP here.

Meanwhile, Mount Kimbie have been hard at work on the follow-up to 2010's Crooks & Lovers which they say is "nearly there." Hopefully status will have changed to "out now" by the time of the electronic duo's full North American tour with Holy Other, that kicks off here in NYC at Bowery Ballroom on May 30. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (3/8) at noon. All tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Mount Kimbie working on LP #2, playing SXSW, and touring with Holy Other (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Hip hop production duo TNGHT (aka Hudson Mohawke and Lunice) is quickly becoming larger than the sum of its parts, and after playing Music Hall of Williamsburg in November (one of three international shows that month), TNGHT have announced their return to NYC, which will happen at the larger Webster Hall on April 17, in between their sets at this year's Coachellas. It's one of a few upcoming dates for TNGHT scheduled at the moment, including a just-announced slot at Barcelona's Sonar Festival. Tickets for the Webster Hall show go on sale Friday (2/15) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (2/13) at noon. All currently known TNGHT dates are listed below.

At TNGHT's last NYC show, Kanye West came out on stage with them as they dropped his track, "Cold." Following that appearance, and the fact that TNGHT member Hudson Mohawke contributed production to Kanye's Cruel Summer album, it's maybe not so surprising to learn that Hudson Mohawke has signed to Very GOOD Beats, the production component of Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music label (he will also keep his pre-existing contract with Warp). The other half of TNGHT, Lunice, also recently posted a mix (via Pigeons & Planes) that features TNGHT's remix of G.O.O.D. Music's "Clique." And, TNGHT have shared their new-ish track, "R U Ready," which Kanye was heard playing at a Victoria's Secret party during Fashion Week 2012. You can stream that track and Lunice's mix below. Why G.O.O.D. Music didn't just sign TNGHT instead of only Hudson Mohawke? Don't question Kanye West.

All streams and a list of all currently known dates below...

Continue reading "TNGHT doing stuff w/ G.O.O.D. Music, playing shows (dates)"

Rockie Fresh

As mentioned, Chicago rapper Rockie Fresh will release his new mixtape, Electric Highway, on January 21 and play a record release show for it in NYC on January 23 at SOB's. We already knew that Lunice (aka 1/2 of TNGHT), who produced the new Rockie Fresh single, will be opening that show. And last since we last spoke, fellow Chicago rapper Sasha Go Hard, who's been to NYC a few times, has been added. Sir MIchael Rocks (aka 1/2 of The Cool Kids) has been added too. Tickets for the show are still available.

Sir Michael Rocks has plans to release a new album, Banco, this year. Until then, you can grab his free mixtape, Lap of Lux 1.5, which he released in December. You can also stream that mixtape in its entirety below.

Sasha Go Hard recently made a video for her song, "Pretty Fly," which you can also watch below. The song will presumably appear on her new mixtape, Round3 Knockout, which is due out February. She recently revealed the cover art for that mixtape, which you can see below.

Along with the Sir Michael Rocks and Sasha Go Hard stuff below is a stream of the new Lunice-produced Rockie Fresh single and the flyer for the SOB's show.

Continue reading "Sasha Go Hard and Sir Michael Rocks releasing new material, added to Rockie Fresh's NYC show (video, streams)"

it's 3D...

Chicago rapper Rockie Fresh began releasing mixtapes while he was still in high school. After a steady stream of solid tapes from 2009 - 2012 (Rockie's Modern Life, The Otherside, The Otherside Redux, Driving 88), Maybach Music picked the young rapper up this summer. They'll be releasing his new tape, Electric Highway, on January 21 and his as-yet untitled debut LP later this year. Check out the video for Electric Highway's lead single "Nobody" at the bottom of this post. You can also download "Nobody" via a widget (in exchange for your email address) below.

Rockie Fresh will be playing a pair of select Electric Highway release shows. One of two takes place at SOB's on January 23 with support from Lunice, and the other happens in his native Chicago on February 2. Tickets for his SOB's show are on sale now.

All known tour dates, the video for "Nobody," and a widget for "Nobody" are below...

Continue reading "Rockie Fresh releasing 'Electric Highway,' playing release shows, including NYC with Lunice (dates, streams)"

Smif-N-Wessun at MHOW in 2012 (more)

Slick Rick is playing Brooklyn Bowl on January 11 with F. Stokes. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Big Daddy Kane is playing with a live band at BB King's on January 24. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

M.O.P., Smif-N-Wessun, and Ka are playing Highline Ballroom on February 17. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

A stacked Lo-End Theory show with Sean Price, Roc Marciano, Buckshot, Meyhem Lauren, and more is going down at Highline Ballroom on January 20. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Rockie Fresh, who hails from the fertile Chicago scene is making his way to NYC for a show at SOB's on January 23 with production great Lunice. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Freddie Gibbs is playing Santos Party House on January 30. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Trinidad James and Vinny Cha$e are playing SOB's on January 30. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Shabazz Palaces collaborators THEESatisfaction are playing SOB's on January 31 with Njena Redd Foxx (who we heard on the track "Ima Read" with Zebra Katz). Tickets for that show are on sale.

Tickets for the Talib Kweli show at SOB's are on sale now.

Tickets for the Aesop Rock show at Irving Plaza are on sale now.

As mentioned, Wale is playing Bowery Ballroom on Monday (1/7). Tickets for that show are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Continue reading "Slick Rick, Roc Marciano, Rockie Fresh, Freddie Gibbs, THEESatisfaction, Smif-N-Wessun & more upcoming rap shows"

by Andrew Sacher

Salva at BEMF 2012 (more by Oliver Correa & Amanda Rohowsky / HiFi Cartel)

LA producer Salva released the impressive Complex Housing LP and Yellobone EP back in 2011, and he's been spending most of this past year playing shows and dropping remixes, like his remix of Kanye's "Mercy" with RL Grime, which you can stream below. Now Salva is set to return with a new EP in 2013 called Odd Furniture, which comes out on February 12 via Friends of Friends. The cover art and tracklist are below.

Salva will be supporting the EP with a North American tour that includes dates with Brenmar, Lunice, Shlohmo, and Daedelus, the latter of who is on board for Salva's NYC show which happens on March 2 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet but check LPR's site for updates.

Daedelus also recently released an EP, Looking Ocean, which came out via Scion/AV. You can download that EP for free below.

Song stream, cover art, tracklist, EP download, and a list of all dates below...

Continue reading "Salva releasing new EP, touring w/ Daedelus (dates)"

Kanye w/ TNGHT at MHOW - 11/30/12 (via Holly Liss)

TNGHT (aka Lunice and Hudson Mohawke) played Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday (11/30), their third of three shows in November (the other two were in London and Toronto). While on stage, they dropped Kanye West's track, "Cold" off of his Cruel Summer album, which Hudson Mohawke did contribute some production to (but not for that song). And though he didn't actually do much, Kanye himself came out on stage for about 20 seconds during the song to hype the crowd. You can watch a video of the appearance below (via Nah Right).

You can catch Kanye for a longer period of time at the upcoming 12/12/12 Sandy benefit at MSG and at his three pre-New Year's Eve shows in Atlantic City.

TNGHT have also recently made fans out of Flying Lotus aka Captain Murphy and Kendrick Lamar, the latter who freestyled over their track, "Higher Ground" for Gilles Peterson's BBC 6 radio show. A stream of that freestyle and the TNGHT/Kanye video, below...

Continue reading "TNGHT played MHOW (watch video of Kanye West on stage with them)"

TNGHT, the all-star instrumental hip hop duo of Lunice and Hudson Mohawke, who surfaced earlier this year with a self titled EP on Warp, have announced two North American shows to take place this November, after their show at London's Oval Space (11/15). The first happens in Toronto on November 29 at The Opera House with BADBADNOTGOOD and Mymanhenri and the second happens in NYC the next day, November 30 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with guests. TIckets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (10/26) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (10/24) at noon.

A list of all dates, fliers for their upcoming shows, and a recent live video of the duo are below.

Continue reading "TNGHT playing London, Toronto & NYC in November (dates)"

Danny Brown at MoMA PS1 - 8/25/12 (via @gjhart)

Perhaps keeping MoMA PS1′s contemporary aesthetic in mind, [Danny] Brown started his set with, "Witit," a bonus track from the re-release of his 2011 album XXX. "Witit" was the perfect starter for the first half of the set, which solely featured songs and verses from 2012. The crowd didn't seem to be as familiar with his recent works, especially his guest verses from Childish Gambino's "Toxic" and Ab-Soul's "Terrorist Threats," but they were engaged nonetheless. "Black Brad Pitt" and "Blueberry," tracks with EDM (electronic dance music) instrumentals and producers, had people particularly enthralled. A number of rappers are attempting to embrace EDM without compromising their gruff images, but few do it as comfortably as Brown who makes a living on both sides of the proverbial fence. [Respect Mag]

In related news, a video recently surfaced from a show that promoters Livin Proof put on in London this past July. In the video, Danny Brown is seen in the studio with TNGHT (aka Lunice and Hudson Mohawke), and many are speculating that it means Danny Brown and TNGHT have collaborative material in the works. If it's true, maybe it will sound something like this?

The Livin Proof video, the video interview from MoMA PS1, and a list of all remaining tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Danny Brown played Warm Up w/ Just Blaze; possibly collaborating w/ TNGHT (videos and updated dates)"

Diplo jumping off MHOW's balcony - 8/5/12 (via Diplo)

The Mad Decent Block Party returned to NYC this past Sunday (8/5), happening for the first time in the newly-christened Williamsburg Park instead of South Street Seaport, where it's been in previous years. Unfortunately, due to the storm that hit NYC on Sunday which picked up during Erol Alkan's set, the party was shut down early before headliners Major Lazer (the project of Mad Decent label boss Diplo). Before the party did get shut down, we got sets by Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, Riff Raff, Baauer, and more. You can check out some videos of the performances and the rain below.

After MDBP's cancellation, Diplo tweeted that Major Lazer would do an extra long set at the afterparty at Music Hall of Williamsburg, which also had sets by Erol Alkan, Lunice, and Jim-E-Stack. The party got pretty crazy, as you can see in the picture above of Diplo jumping off MHOW's balcony, but it didn't appease everyone. One angry MDBP attendee took to his blog to say, "Diplo (Major Lazer) invited the attendees from the free all ages event to a $10/21+ after show......Thanks a ton MAD DECENT." Granted, MHOW is also significantly smaller than Williamsburg Park and the party was announced way before the weather shut down the block party so it would've been hard to get in regardless, but he has a point that it doesn't totally "make up" for the cancellation. Major Lazer will be back in NYC for a much larger (paid) show on October 27 at Terminal 5 too (tickets).

Videos below...

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party shut down early due to thunderstorms; Major Lazer took the party to MHOW"

Major Lazer at Governors Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Diplo's Major Lazer project (which Switch is no longer a part of), who is set to play the Mad Decent Block Parties this summer, have just announced their own NYC show, which goes down on October 27 at Terminal 5. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/3) at noon. A full Major Lazer tour has not been announced yet but a few other North American October dates exist, all of which are listed below.

Meanwhile, we recently mentioned that more details for the summer's free Mad Decent Block Parties have been revealed, and that the NYC party will go down on August 5 at Williamsburg Park with Major Lazer, Erol Alkan, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, Riff Raff, Mr Muthafuckin' eXquire, Reptar, Zebra Katz, Bosco Delrey, Baauer, Kito, and Paul Devro. The party is free and all ages but RSVP is required.

Mad Decent has also just announced that they'll throw a Puma-presented official (21+) after party at Music Hall of Williamsburg that night (8/5). The only performers listed as of this post are Erol Alkan (who plays the party in Williamsburg Park) and "guests." Tickets for the party are on sale now.

A list of all currently known Major Lazer dates below...

Continue reading "Major Lazer touring (dates); Mad Decent Block Party official afterparty happening at MHOW"

Bonde Do Role at Bowery Ballroom in 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Back in June, we mentioned that the Mad Decent Block Parties were returning this summer and then earlier this month, they revealed a list of artists, but didn't say who was playing each city. Now venues have been revealed for all five parties and the lineups for NYC Philly, and Toronto have been announced as well. The FREE NYC party will happen on August 5 at WIlliamsburg Park (in previous years it was at the South Street Seaport) with Major Lazer, Erol Alkan, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, Riff Raff, Mr Muthafuckin' eXquire, Reptar, Zebra Katz, Bosco Delrey, Baauer, Kito, and Paul Devro. The parties are free and all ages but RSVP is required. All announced lineups are listed below.

Speaking of Lunice, his collaborative project with Hudson Mohawke, TNGHT (pronounced "tonight") released their self titled debut EP this week (7/24) via Warp/Lucky Me. If you've yet to hear it, you can stream the entire thing below.

As for Bonde Do Role, the block party will be their first NYC show quite a while. You may remember that their original singer, Marina Ribatski left the band in 2007 and was replaced by two other singers, Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor, who joined the band by winning an audition done with MTV Brasil. Ana has since left the band too and they are now a 3-piece fronted only by Laura Taylor. The new incarnation of the band put out their first album in five years, Tropical/Bacanal, last month via Mad Decent. The album was co-produced by Diplo and Filip Nikolic of Poolside (who have two NYC shows this week). The album features guest appearances from Caetano Veloso, Das Racist, Cecile, Rizzle Kicks, and The Death Set (who also has a NYC show coming up). The video for album track "Kilo" and a stream of another track, "Bang," which features Kool AD of Das Racist, are below.

Updated Mad Decent Block Parties info, the flier for the NYC party, video and streams are below.

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party lineup revealed (Williamsburg Park is the NYC venue); TNGHT EP; new Bonde Do Role out now"

Action Bronson at Red Hook Park in June (more by Eric M. Townsend)

As mentioned, Mad Decent Block Parties are returning this summer, hitting Toronto, Philly, NYC, Chicago, and LA. When we last spoke, lineups had not yet been announced. They still haven't revealed specific lineups by city, but we've now got the full list of artists who will be playing Mad Decent Block Parties this summer and it includes Major Lazer, Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Spaceghostpurrp, Lunice, Jacques Greene, Casey Veggies, BADBADNOTGOOD, Baauer, Jim-E Stack, Bosco Delrey, Flosstradamus, Three Loco (aka Andy Milonakis, Dirt Nasty, and Riff Raff), and many more.

As mentioned, the parties are all ages and free, and RSVP is open.

The full lineup is listed below...

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Parties lineup revealed (Action Bronson, Mr. MFN eXquire, Spaceghostpurrp, BADBADNOTGOOD & more)"

by Andrew Sacher

Kode9 at the American Museum of Natural History in 2010 (more by Zach Dilgard)

BBC Radio 1 DJ Benji B is bringing his London dance party Deviation to NYC for the first time on July 4 at Le Poisson Rouge, which is being co-presented by Red Bull Music Academy. The party is a series of one-off events for Deviation in honor of their 5th birthday, which they will celebrate this October. The party will feature a DJ set Hyperdub label head Kode9, and a live set by Lunice. MC Judah will host and Benji B will also DJ, like he does at all Deviation parties. Tickets for the show are on sale now. The flier is below.

Kode9 spoke to FACT last month before playing a set dedicated entirely to Hyperdub artist Burial. They spoke about how the label grew since the release of Burial's Untrue and how they have been expanding into new territory and releasing more albums than ever before (like Laurel Halo's great new album, Quarantine). In regards to DJing, Kode9 said:

I've been DJing for around 20 years. The only thing that has changed really is that I now have more dancefloors with people on them, and this has changed the way I play, and some of the music released on the label.

Lunice, in addition to his solo material which he will presumably be playing at LPR on Wednesday (7/4), has been working on a collaborative EP with Hudson Mohawke under the name TNGHT (pronounced "tonight"). They'll release an EP on July 24 via Warp and LuckyMe. If you're a fan of either producer's solo material, or any kind of heavy, wonky hip hop beats, TNGHT should be right up your alley. Check out "Bugg'n" from that EP and a teaser mix of the whole EP below.

Lists of all dates, streams, and the flier for the LPR show are below.

Continue reading "London party Deviation coming to NYC for show w/ Kode9 & Lunice, who is releasing 'TNGHT' EP w/ Hudson Mohawke"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"Crazy sweaty super awesome weekend with the most amazing girlfriend @tamaraaaah!! @lunice and @ganggangdance absolutely killed PS1!" - Teddy Kerk

"Miracles club at PS1. This is really dope." - Pictureplane

"Lunice destroying PS1 right now" - Alex Kim

"SYD OFWGKTA is not dj-ing at PS1 today. Still a great day so please come out. LUNICE will be nuts + Gang Gang Dance sound system!" - Kris Chen

"GANG GANG DANCE KILLING WITH A MOONBAHTON SET @ PS1" - khaled elsayed

"Gang Gang Dance" @ PS1

Warm Up continued at PS1 on Saturday (7/23) with the stacked lineup of Gang Gang Dance (DJ), Lunice, The Miracles Club, and Laurel Halo. Unfortunately, OFWGKTA's Syd tha Kyd never made it out, though she was originally scheduled.

The show was Lunice's second of two NYC shows last week. The first was the night before at Bowery Hotel with Pictureplane, who made it out to PS1 (tweeted above) before his own show at 285 Kent.

Gang Gang Dance will play NYC again this Saturday (7/30) at South Street Seaport for the free all ages Mad Decent Block Party.

The Miracles Club also have upcoming shows in NYC this week. On Thursday (7/28) they play Glasslands with Vockah Redu (who plays Warm Up this coming Saturday), and on Friday (7/29) they play a FIXED party at Public Assembly with Midnight Magic.

More pictures from 7/23 Warm Up below...

Continue reading "Gang Gang Dance, Lunice, The Miracles Club & Laurel Halo (but not Syd the Kid) made people dance @ PS1 (pics)"

"Wake n baked up, on route to NYC for the weekend." - Lunice

You may know Lunice from the remix he did with Diplo for Deerhunter's "Helicopter", his insane dance moves, or from his instructional cooking videos (watch/listen to all of it below). We just posted a track he did with ST 2 Lettaz of G-Side (you can also listen to it below). Over a year ago Dazed Digital wrote:

Lunice Fermin Pierre II is many things. The prolific Canadian young gun first found net celebrity with his cult YouTube dance videos, his intergalactic B-Boy stance scored by the beat pack - the discordant wave of club banging hip hop producers that include San Francisco's Lazer Sword, LuckyMe's Mike Slott and LA's Nosaj Thing. Lunice's own 80's inspired, glitchy soul thizzes across official remixes for Big Dada whilst the blog platinum bootlegs of MOP, Lil Mama and Aaliyah keep his ManyBrain.blogspot.com family in check.

He's got some upcoming dates including two this weekend in NYC: July 22 at Bowery Hotel with Pictureplane (DJ), Teengirl Fantasy (DJ), and Cool Places Soundsystem (in case you were wondering where that TBD NYC show on July 22 was going to be). Check out the flyer below, and note that RSVP may be required for the free party. Pictureplane & Teengirl Fantasy play live on July 23 at 285 Kent.

Lunice also plays Warm Up on Saturday, July 23 at PS1 with Gang Gang Dance (DJ), Syd tha Kyd, Miracles Club, and Laurel Halo.

He's also on the bill of Mad Decent Block Parties in Chicago and LA. He's not on the NYC party at South Street Seaport but Gang Gang Dance, who he shares a bill with at PS1 are. More Lunice dates below.

Speaking of Mad Decent Block Parties, Claude VonStroke was added to the NYC show and as hinted at, Curren$y was added to the Chicago date (now that he's done playing Pitchfork). Updated lineups and dates below.

All Lunice dates, videos, stream & updated Mad Decent lineups below...

Continue reading "Lunice is coming (2 NYC dates, 1 w/ Pictureplane), Mad Decent Block Parties update linueps (Lunice included)"

crowd @ Warm Up 2010 (more by Zach Dilgard)

The full schedule for MoMa's 20l1 'Warm Up' season at PS1 has since been announced. The dance parties happen at the Long Island City location every Saturday from July 2 through September 3 from 2 PM to 9 PM. Admission is $15 and includes access to all exhibitions and 'Warm Up.' Check out the full lineup below.

As discussed, Four Tet and Matthewdavid play 'Warm Up' on July 9. STBRKT (who recently collaborated with Little Dragon) along with FaltyDL and others are also on that bill.

Other days feature Delicate Steve, Odd Future DJ Syd tha Kyd, Black Dice, Juan Maclean, Blood Orange, Solange, Grimes, Tanlines, Sun Araw and many other DJs, producers and and bands. Das Racist, Simian Mobile Disco, Ford & Lopatin, Gang Gang Dance and a few other groups are performing DJ sets.

More info and the full schedule below...

Continue reading "PS1's 2011 'Warm Up' lineup announced"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"I had never seen Deerhunter or even heard one of their records but I really enjoyed their powerful but dreamy and spacious sounds. Half of Williamsburg made the L train trek over to the island for this (I thought I was on Bedford Av) and the sold out show sure pleased everyone. The four Athens-originating Atlanta-based musicians had good stage presence and attitude and to me sounded a lot more interesting and original than a lot of other indie rock bands out there right now."
[Mark Urselli]

Continue reading "Deerhunter played Webster Hall w/ Real Estate (pics, video & setlist), got remixed by Diplo & Lunice (MP3)"