PRESS RELEASE:

The Creators Project will return to New York from October 15 - October 16 by transforming the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn into a colossal two-day arts and technology festival.

After spending the year traveling the world, VICE and Intel's The Creators Project lands back in New York with a marquee lineup of live performances and original Studio works by groundbreaking artists, musicians, designers and filmmakers.

This year's festival will take to the streets of DUMBO, Brooklyn, erecting 30-foot sculptures, showcasing works from over thirty leading international artists, and featuring dozens of live music performances. The event will also include the world premiere of Karen O's psycho-opera, Stop The Virgens, along with film screenings and panels.

Original artworks include Life on Mars Revisited, an immersive short film of David Bowie's classic space-rock anthem from legendary music photographer Mick Rock and filmmaker Barney Clay; 'A Physical Manifestation of Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space,' a cathedral-like physical manifestation of the song created by Spiritualized's J. Spaceman and acclaimed film director Jonathan Glazer; and Origin, a striking thirty by thirty foot audiovisual installation by UVA and composer Scanner, which will be the largest responsive work ever created by the UK based artists.

The festival runs:
Saturday 12-10pm
Sunday 12-8pm

Except for Karen O at St Ann's, it's all free with RSVP.

Lineup, venue list, etc, below...

Continue reading "Creators Project announces 2 day DUMBO fest (Florence & the Machine, Atlas Sound, Company Flow, Four Tet, John Maus, more)"

It used to be where Issue Project Room was located. They moved and the outdoor Gowanus Canal space opened as the Yard, which then changed to BKLYN Yard. Always a mystery as to whether the outdoor venue will return each year, last summer it was shut down just as it was getting started. You might remember when all events were cancelled in June which was followed by the weekly daytime dance party 'Sunday Best' un-cancelling but becoming alcohol-free, and then cancelling again (and moving to Brooklyn Fireproof).

WELL, they haven't given up! Sunday Best, put on by the people behind Mister Saturday Night, have changed their party name to Mister Sunday and will return to the space this summer, though the location is now known as Gowanus Grove (identity crisis!). They write:

We've been keeping this one under our hats for a while, but the time has come to spill the beans. In just over a month, on Memorial Day Weekend, we're introducing Mister Sunday, the outdoor, Sunday afternoon spinoff of Mister Saturday Night. Clever name, we know.

If you ever came to Sunday Best at BKLYN Yard, you'll know the place: it's the same canal-side, tree-spotted plot of land at 400 Carroll Street between Bond and Nevins in Brooklyn, now rechristened Gowanus Grove.

If you never made it down, let us count the ways you're going to love it. First, kids and dogs - you can bring them. We love them, and we don't get to see enough of them on Saturday nights. Second, superb food - we're teaming up with Brooklyn Flea to install a small but ace team of food vendors. Right now, we've confirmed Mile End, who will be serving a bunch of stuff you can't get at the storefront in Boerum Hill, and we're soon to confirm at least one more. Third, our friends from Botanica, the best little bar in the five boroughs, are taking care of the booze.

And last, but certainly not least, is the music. The Mister Saturday Night residents, Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin, the gents that pull the strings to bring it all together, will be playing records each and every Sunday through the summer on the big, blue soundsystem. There'll be guests alongside them occasionally as well. Moodymann, Todd Terje, Horse Meat Disco, Optimo and Space Dimension Controller will all take their turns, and on opening day, Four Tet will drop by.

And that's all there is to say about that. We'll see you outside.

Stay tuned for whether there will be non-Mister Sunday events held there. Mister Sunday flyer and current lineup below...

Continue reading "BKLYN Yard is now Gowanus Grove, will be open this summer"

photos by Chris Doss

Theo Parrish in a loft Saturday night

"There were a lot of great moments that went down on Sunday-Kendra Borowski dumping a pitcher of water over her own head, Eamon standing on a planter behind the DJ booth shooting a strobe light onto the crowd, Traxx (who was in town from Chicago) screaming his face off for what must have been five minutes in front of the DJ booth when JG Wilkes dropped a Jeff Mills track, and Justin doing his own screaming through a giant (dirty) traffic cone.

But the most epic moment of all was probably when, as Optimo dropped their namesake track by Liquid Liquid, Sal P (the Liquids' frontman) happened to be dancing right next to the DJ booth. Of course we handed him the mic. Jason Rule, a gent who's joined us at the vast majority of all Sunday Bests ever, caught it on camera." [Mister Saturday Night]

It was a busy weekend for Mister Saturday Night who hosted Theo Parrish at a loft party at 12-Turn-13 on Saturday night (the pictures in this post), and then hosted Optimo at the above-described Sunday Best party the next day. The final Sunday Best of the summer goes down at Brooklyn Fire Proof with Doug Singer over Labor Day Weekend.

More pictures of Theo Parrish, the Liquid Liquid video described above and more, below...

Continue reading "Theo Parrish DJ'd a loft (pics), Liquid Liquid sort of played at Sunday Best (video) "

BKLYN YARD 2009 (more by Sarahana)

BKLYN Yard (previously The Yard) will be back in summer 2010, with weekend events running from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend. They'll be doing Beer Garden Fridays, Summer Saturdays and Sunday Best.

Sunday Best will host resident DJs Mister Saturday Night (Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin), Doug Singer and a whole special guest schedule, which is posted below (Dam-Funk spins there June 13). Sunday Best writes:

It's official, folks. We'll be back on the Gowanus! Justin Carter, Eamon Harkin and Doug Singer are already digging through records for their best outdoor jams, and we can already smell Margarita Hernandez's huaraches and taste the cold sangria. BKLYN Yard has announced a bunch of great new additions to their space -- not least of which is a bocce ball court -- and we're happy to announce the full lineup of guests who will be playing alongside the residents this summer, an eclectic grouping of folks from New York and abroad who specialize in everything from rare Nigerian disco to shimmering, summertime techno.

Advance tickets for Sunday Best are available.

More on the parties, a flyer and the full BKLYN Yard schedule (including an Asobi Seksu show) is below...

Continue reading "BKLYN "the" YARD returns in 2010 - Friday Beer Garden, Summer Saturdays & Sunday Best - full schedule"

part 1, part 2.1, part 2.2.....

SMD @ Museum of Natural History, Mar 28, 2008 (JKART)

There's a lot of options for dancing in NYC this weekend. I've already highlighted Optimo at Studio B. Even more below.....

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (04/04/08) (part 2.2) "

by Showtrotta

DOWNLOAD: Optimo - BBC Essential Mix (MP3) (info)

Optimo are two deejays from Scotland (JD Twitch and JG Wilkes). They run a weekly party at the Sub Club called Optimo Espacio where they strictly book bands only and leave deejay duties to themselves. I was about to call their deejay sets 'eclectic' until I read in their FAQ that it was a term they dreaded. I will leave it to them:

"To put it simply, we believe almost every type of music in existence contains something of worth (yes, even country and western!) and we could never think along the lines of saying what our favourite type of music is...Fundamentally though it is about musical risk taking, trying to pull off insane mixes and most importantly Fun."

Check out their BBC Essential Mix (MP3 above).

Also, JDH & Dave P (Fixed residents and throwers of great parties such as the one Optimo are playing tonight) have put together:

"A RAD RAD RAD NEW PLAYLIST FOR YOU! GO TO THE MAIN SITE TO CHECK IT OUT! IT'S THE PERFECT SOUNDTRACK TO LEAVING YOUR JACKET AT HOME AND GOING OUT AND GROOVING TO ALL THE LITTLE FLOWERS POPPING UP OUT OF THE GROUND!"

Check out Optimo at Studio B in Brooklyn tonight. Tickets are $10.00 in advance/$12.00 at the door. Advance tickets are available online at Music Today and in-store at Other Music (15 E. 4th St.) Flyer below...

Continue reading "Optimo - @ Studio B tonight, essential mix MP3 download"