DOWNLOAD: Icebird - "Charmed Life" (MP3)

RJD2 at Terminal 5 (more by Diana Wong)

RJD2's previously discussed project with vocalist Aaron Livingston called Icebird is playing a handful of dates with RJD2 (he plays his own set too) this month that include a record release party in NYC at Brooklyn Bowl on 10/11. Tickets for the NYC show are still available. All dates are listed below.

Icebird's new LP, The Abandoned Lullaby, hits store shelves Tuesday (10/11) via RJD2's own RJ's Electrical Connections imprint. Download "Charmed Life" from the LP above. Stream it and watch the video for "Going and Going. And Going" below along with a video shot at Webster Hall, and all tour dates...

Continue reading "RJD2 touring w/ his own Icebird project, LP out this week (MP3, video & dates)"

photos by Diana Wong

Honestly, I'm a little mind-blown right now. Phantogram and RJD2 opened for The Glitch Mob, and they were nothing short of incredible. I was surprised by how people didn't really seem to know RJD2 though, because when we got there, there was a lot of talking going on and not much dancing. It was still really beautiful, but I'm just surprised more people weren't dancing...

Phantogram also blew me away, with their fly lead singer, Sarah Barthel. Rocking a Karen O. hairstyle, she headbanged, and played the hell out of the keyboard. It was really hard to not dance to.

All I can say is that the Glitch Mob was able to make me dance way more than I expected, and that's all I'm ever trying to do. Their sound was perfect too, not too heavy on the bass. They also opened their set with Daft Punk, which was probably the wisest move they could've made because it was such a crowd pleaser. -[Et Musique Pour Tous]

The Glitch Mob headlined the dance party (well, sort of) at Terminal 5 on Friday 7/22 with RJD2 and Phantogram. The show is part of The Glitch Mob's current and ongoing set of dates with Phantogram that puts them in Montreal tonight (7/27) at SAT.

The Glitch Mob recently released their new We Can Make The World Stop EP. Stream all three tracks at their site. All tour dates are below.

RJD2 returns to NYC to hit Webster Hall on September 2nd. The DJ/producer also has some other tour dates as well as a new project on the way:

Hey folks, I wanna let you all know that I've got a new group called Icebird, and my label is putting out our album on Oct. 11. I did all the production, and this awesome singer named Aaron Livingston (who sang "Crumbs off the Table" on The Colossus) did all the vocals. I'm pretty damn excited about how the album came out; we'll be giving away tracks starting august 2nd to preview. Stoked for you to hear it!

Look out for that LP on 10/11, and check out more pictures from Terminal 5, with all dates, below.

Continue reading "The Glitch Mob, Phantogram, and RJD2 played Terminal 5 (pics, more dates & Icebird)"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

B.O.M.B. Fest went down over Memorial Day Weekend at Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT. You already saw the Dan Deacon pictures from the first day of the two day fest. Now here are the rest from that Saturday (May 28th) (we have no pics from Sunday). They continue below...

Continue reading "B.O.M.B. Fest 2011 - Day 1 in pics"

RJD2 at Webster Hall (more by Chris Doss)

A little more than a year after he last played the venue, RJD2 will return to Webster Hall again on Sept 2nd, but this time as part of the club's Friday night "Girls & Boys" party (aka more club night than concert). RSVP and get in for $5 before midnight ("Neat and trendy appearence a must"). Flyer below.

RJD2 is also scheduled to team with The Glitch Mob and Phantogram on July 22nd at Terminal 5 (more concert than club night). Tickets are still available for that NYC show. All dates are listed below.

In other news, RJD2 recently announced the winners of his Insane Warrior video project. Video and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "RJD2 adds Webster Hall show & other dates"

RJD2 at Webster Hall (more by Chris Doss)

The Glitch Mob, Phantogram, and RJD2 will team up to play Terminal 5 on July 22nd. Tickets go on AmEx presale on Wed, 3/23 at noon, and regular sale on Friday.

No word on whether RJD2 will also perform material as part of his alter ego, The Insane Warrior, who released a debut LP called We Are The Doorways last month.

"A strictly instrumental affair, the album "We Are The Doorways" was loosely inspired by horror and sci-fi film scores of the wonderfully fruitful period of 1976-1984. Several things mark this record - for one, there is a departure from the concise nature of most modern pop-oriented records. Expansive, open passages - often with no rhythmic elements - recall the work of both Eno and John Carpenter. These give way to spastic outbursts of energy in places. At other times, the tension-meets-groove aesthetic of Dario Argento's pet Goblin give birth to some surprisingly funky cuts as well."

Stream that LP below, and head to the bandcamp page to learn how you can submit your own "visual or audible companion to any of the tracks."

RJD2, who also plays Camp Bisco in July, was just down at SXSW (as was Phantogram) but only played a single show which was with Chiddy Bang on 3/15 at The Belmont in Austin (Chiddy Bang also played the BV/Feed The Beat party at Emo's the next day). Videos from the Windows Phone-sponsored SXSW Interactive shindig can be watched below.

In related news, RJD2 is part of a new DJ Hero 2 "indie hip hop" bonus pack that is out now and also features Jaylib, Charisma & Peanut Butter Wolf, The Perceptionists, and Atmosphere.

The Glitch Mob, who will be at Ultra Music Festival in Miami at the end of this month, is also confirmed for STS9's Re:Generation festival, as are STS9, Bassnectar, Beats Antique, The New Deal, Big Gigantic, Tycho, Emancipator, Little People and Lynx, and others TBA. The fest, which takes place in North Plains, Oregon's Horning's Hideout, goes down from June 23-26.

Everything mentioned above, and all known tour dates, below...

Continue reading "RJD2 played SXSW, is the Insane Warrior, playing a show w/ Phantogram & the Glitch Mob, doing other stuff too"

by BBG

Digital Retribution: When I last interviewed you, you said of the Dead Kennedys reunion, "I thought it was fucking pathetic, though, when The Dead Kennedys went out without Jello as their singer." What I meant to say instead of whatever monosyllabic witticism I spouted is: What's the difference between DK and the reformed Misfits, who GWAR toured with?

Dave Brockie (aka Oderus): I think there is a big difference, but don't expect the original product in either. I like Jerry and I would rather have him out touring and having fun than have him working in his machine shop. You can't blame him for wanting to cash in on how great The Misfits were, and enjoy himself in the process, plus give all of his pals jobs in his crew, and show his kids the time of their lives! So in that aspect, I think Jerry and what's left of The Misfits is cool, as long as you don't go in there expecting to see Glenn Danzig! I feel Jerry has earned the right to do whatever the fuck he wants through 30+ years of dedication to this music. Jerry never lets up, he is always gigging. Whereas the Dead Kennedys thing was just a one-shot money grab. They knew they could get away with it, do a year or two, cash in, and bail...and also, The Misfits actually got away with replacing their singer, with Mike Graves, and did a couple of great records! That was when we toured with them, and that was great! American Psycho is a great fucking album!

With 46 acts spanning multiple genres, all worth at least checking out, and most worth more than that, playing on four stages in a 10 hour period along with side attractions like a bungee jumping thing and a mechanical bull, and with three of us at Fun Fun Fun Fest, it shouldn't be surprising that it took us ONE, TWO, THREE, and now FOUR posts to cover just the pictures from Saturday. They continue below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 4) - Gwar, Jeff the Brotherhood, Municipal Waste, Dam-Funk & more"

photos by Tim Griffin

The Dwarves

Appreciative crowds turned up at all four [Fun Fun Fun Fest] stages [this past weekend], and the festival's vaunted circus atmosphere was out in force -- with plenty of traffic at the mechanical bull, the Eurobungy, the skate ramps and the arcade games set to free play. After a few weeks with unexpected, last-minute cancellations and other problems, Moody said the organizers were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"All the snafus [like Devo cancelling] happened before the fest. We don't have a record of great luck, you know? Whether it be weather or bands or whatever," said Moody. "So when that kind of thing starts happening you start to wonder, 'Oh (expletive), is this gonna be another year with some weird curveball?' We were just hoping it wasn't a run of bad luck and it wasn't. We got a little bad luck before the festival but all kinds of good luck at the festival."

Even the dust cloud had a silver lining.

"We love the dust this year, because at least it's not raining," Moody said. "We hated the dust when it first happened a few years ago, but after it rained last year we were like 'Bring on the dust!'" [Austin 360]

The 2010 edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest, complete with constant dust in the air (a few smart people wore masks or bandanas over their face), is now over (and it's true, the dust is a bit uncomfortable, but the mud and rain last year was worse).

You saw pictures from Friday night, and the first half of Tim's shots from Saturday (11/6). Here are the rest of that day (with more coming soon). They continue below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 2) - Cap'n Jazz, Dwarves, MGMT, Dirty Projectors, GWAR, Delorean & more"

photos by Chris Doss

"If I didnt have so much love for RJD2, I would have run screaming from WebsterHall (electro hell) but glad I stayed, he killed it as always" - Channing Ritter

"RJD2 set killed, to the shorty in the grey dress with the elvis impersonator cuffin, please send me a craigs list missed connection" - Downtown's Prodigy

""RJD2 is using a Super Mario puppet!!!" - Seika Iwaø

"The intent behind "Inversions of the Colossus" lies halfway between the classic in-between albums EP, and an instrumental version of "the Colossus". So there were 7 vocal songs on "the Colossus", and I knew that releasing instrumentals of these would be smart. After all, a lot of people buy rjd2 albums for the production, not for the vocals-just being honest here! :) SO-all of those 7 songs become instrumental versions of themselves. then, there are 7 "new" songs. 2 of these new songs are vocal, so it's not ENTIRELY accurate to call this a completely instrumental album, but it's very close.

All in all, its 14 tracks long. The title was chosen because I want to make sure it's not seen as an entirely new album, but at the same time "Colossus-Instrumentals" is not an accurate title. so, "Inversions of the Colossus" is about as close to an accurate description as I think I can get." [RJD2]

Inversions of the Colossus is out now. You can check out the video for "The Glow" (which rj just held a remix contest for), along with more pictures from the show Friday night at Webster Hall, below...

Continue reading "RJD2 inverted the Colossus, played Webster Hall (pics)"

Miike Snow @ SXSW 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Like Cocorosie, La Roux and Miike snow have both just added headlining NYC shows at the large Terminal 5. La Roux, whose last show in NYC was at Webster Hall, plays there on June 7th. Miike Snow, who just played SXSW and plays Webster Hall (and Music Hall of Williamsburg) this week, plays there on October 6th. Both shows go on sale Friday at noon.

Going on (pre)sale much sooner: Pretty Lights, RJD2 & Chiddy Bang at the venue on June 4th ("VIP ticket includes 4 hour open bar.").

words by BBG, photos by Bryan Reilly

RJD2, not holding an MPC or a turntable

[Rjd2] first appeared in a robot suit, introducing himself using voice-processing software before jumping to his rig of turntables, samplers, and computers for a virtuoso half-hour mix of hip-shaking beats and fist-pumping hooks. Beneath a screen showing clips from B-movie horror films, shoot-'em-up gangster flicks, and '60s mod-rock performances, Rjd2 seamlessly worked in bits from throughout his catalog, from Deadringer's "Good Times Roll Pt. 2" to The Colossus' "Let There Be Horns."

But when he brought out a band and picked up an electric guitar for a 15-minute set of funk instrumentals and soul jam songs, the show lost momentum. While perfectly adequate, Rjd2's guitar-playing and singing on songs such as "Work It Out" lacked the crunch and euphoria of his DJ set.

The rest of the 90-minute show fared better and moved less jarringly from solo turns to duo work with drummer Sam Brown to a pair of full-band songs with singer Aaron Livingston. It flowed from visceral beats to dubbed-out spacey interludes to focused songs while rarely losing the groove - until the encore. Rjd2's range is impressive, but it needn't include an acoustic guitar ballad. - [A review of the Philly date via Philadelphia Inquirer]

RJD2 played Highline Ballroom on Sunday, March 7th, with Break Science and Happy Chichester as part of an ongoing tour to promote his new album The Collossus on RJD2's own imprint RJ's Electrical Connections. Pick it up in various forms.

He recently dropped a video for the track for the very 2001-esque "A Spaceship For Now" which is in addition ot "Let There be Horns" which surfaced earlier this year. Both are viewable below, along with full tour dates and a more pics from Highline Ballroom...

Continue reading "RJD2 playing Highline Ballroom w/ Break Science & Happy Chichester (pics), continues on tour (dates)"

Eugene Mirman @ Bell House earlier this month (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* The Beets @ Ace Hotel
* Sourvein, Ramps @ Charleston
* Summer Cats, Onward Chariots @ Bruar Falls
* Xenia Rubinos, Arrington De Dionyso @ Pianos
* Hans Chew, Soft Black, Zachary Cale @ Union Pool
* Kidrockers w/ Beach Fossils, Bottle Up & Go @ Living Room
* Data Dog, Dearling Physique, Eric Lindley @ The Cameo
* RJD2, Break Science, Happy Chichester @ Highline Ballroom
* Title Tracks, Pretty & Nice, Gold Drum, Mussels @ Cake Shop
* Care Bears On Fire, Tangents, Jack Skuller @ (early) Cake Shop
* Awesome Color, Tyvek, Talk Normal, CSC Funk Band @ Market Hotel
* Little Women, Ryan Power, Buke and Gass, Sam Mickens @ Death By Audio
* Jason Anderson, White Pines, Matt Jones, The Long Eye @ Public Assembly
* Tearing the Veil of Maya w/ Eugene Mirman & Michael Showalter @ Union Hill
* Washed Out, Small Black, Pictureplane, Oneohtrix Point Never @ Mercury Lounge

Washed Out and Small Black play two nights in a row at Mercury Lounge together.

Awesome Color and Tyvek's tour together (which includes SXSW) comes to Market Hotel for a show with Talk Normal (who'll be at SXSW too) and CSC Funk Band. Talk Normal goes on tour with Xiu Xiu and Tune-Yards after that.

Little Women are a twisted, beyond-energetic jazz quartet that's putting their first full-length, Throat, out April 13th on Aum Fidelity. (((unartig))) recently put together a video retrospective on the group. They play Death By Audio tonight with Ryan Power, Buke and Gass and Sam Mickens.

"The sound awards usually go to the loudest movies, which mean "Avatar" or "The Hurt Locker" this year. "Avatar" may have the edge because this category favors blockbusters like past winners "The Dark Knight" and "King Kong." But I'm betting on "Hurt Locker" here for two reasons. There's a lot of love for this film and voters will want to spread it around. Secondly, it probably strikes voters as the loudest film because it's about bombs going off (or not going off). Recent winner in this category was another war movie up for best picture, "Letters From Iwo Jima."" [LA Times]

RJD2 hits Highline Ballroom tonight. While in Philly he was interviewed by Joe Walker of Breakfast at Sulimay's. Check that out below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday? (besides the Oscars)"

Trail of Dead @ SXSW 2009 (more by BBG)

tonight in NYC
* Furthur @ Radio City Music Hall
* Winter Antifolk Fest @ Sidewalk Cafe
* Bang on a Can All-Stars @ Merkin Concert Hall
* Jupiter One, The Bloodsugars @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Bill Frisell/Ron Carter/Paul Motian @ Blue Note
* Loren Connors, Alan Licht, Lee Ranaldo @ Issue Project Room
* Electric Tickle Machine, Hooray For Earth, The Creeeps @ Cake Shop
* The Subjects, Arms, Uninhabitable Mansions, Frances @ The Bell House
* Rocky Votolato, Golden Bloom, Peasant, Thieving Irons @ Mercury Lounge
* Midnight Masses, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Union Pool
* Chico Mann, Boogaloo Assassins, Bobbito Garcia,Turmix @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Curren$y, Stalley, Mikkey Halsted, Tiara Wiles, Rich Hil, Skotch Davis, Nero @ 92YTribeca
* Pure Horsehair, Daniel Carter/Justin Veloso/Shahzad Ismaily/C Hoffman, Little Women @ Zebulon

BoaC All-Stars play music by Nik Bartsch, Oscar Bettison, Christine Southworth & Dave Longstreth (who will be in attendance to introduce their work) at Merkin Hall tonight.

LPR celebrates the release of El Alcalde Del Barrio The Architect of the Nuyorican Sound, a new disc from Joe Cuba, the Latin boogaloo king, who passeed away last year. The free event has live sets from Chico Mann, The Boogaloo Assassins and spinning by DJ Bobbito Garcia and DJ Turmix. RSVP to rsvpfaniany@waxpoetics.com.

Brooklyn Bowl is hosting a benefit for Williamsburg Neighborhood Nursey School.

Americana and jazz tonight at at Zebulon from Pure Horsehair (the first) and Daniel Carter/Justin Veloso/Shahzad Ismaily/C Hoffman and Little Women (both the second).

Loren Connors and Alan Licht play together at Issue Project Room.

Into the Night Sky is the sixth album from avant guitarists Alan Licht and Loren Connors, the first after 2003's In France (FBWL). Since 1993 these New York City artists have evolved an instrumental dialogue merging shades of electric blues and minimalism. These two epic pieces -- one from 1996, the other 2006 -- recorded live in concert clearly show far their desolate sound world grew over a decade of collaboration while the core of layered guitar complexities and alien melodies remain. The atmosphere conjured by the Licht-Connors duo is unmistakable -- the ebb of eloquently shaped feedback -- while the harmonic patterns recall 20th century classical music.

Lee Ranaldo opens.

RJD2's new video for "Let There Be Hours", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

DOWNLOAD: RJD2 - Games You Can Win (MP3)

"10 years! My god, that is a LIFETIME! I can't believe I have been making records on a national level for 10 years. In 1999, I was just making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Fast forward to 2009, and I'm . . . making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Okay, to be fair, some things have changed -- a bigger studio, I OWN the studio, I OWN the independent label, and instead of driving 10 blocks to a gig in my hometown, I fly 10 hours to a gig in another country. But when it all comes down to its most basic level, the goal is still the same -- to make a piece of music that is going to hopefully rearrange your brain, or at least provide some relief from real life for a moment or two." -RJD2

The first single, "Games You Can Win" (featuring Kenna), off RJD2's forthcoming record The Colossus (due January 19th), is available for free above. RJ will be touring - with a full band - behind the album in January, February and even into March when he hits Brooklyn venue Music Hall of Williamsburg (March 6th) and Manhattan club Highline Ballroom (March 7th). Both shows are with Break Science and Happy Chichester. Tickets for both NYC shows go on sale this week (Music Hall on sale Thursday, Highline on Friday). All dates, the new album art and more info, below...

Continue reading "RJD2 - new album, MP3 & 2010 tour dates (2 NYC shows)"

"Hard Fest" will bring a special summer electro-lineup to L.A. on August 8th. Tickets for that night, which features Underworld, Chromeo, Crystal Castles, Crookers and many others, are on sale now.

Some of that lineup (but not much of it) will be coming for Hard Fest NYC when the party visits Terminal 5 on Saturday, October 10th. The bill for that includes Crookers, Major Lazer (Soundsystem), Rusko, Jack Beats and Destructo. Tickets are on sale.

Other dance-themed festivals (if you can call this a festival) happening in NYC this summer include the Brooklyn Electronic Music Fest, and Electric Zoo on Randall's Island.

Major Lazer (Diplo + Switch) were just in NYC in June for a show at SOB's, which was accompanied by an in-store (to promote their debut) and a video shoot at Studio B.

A video clip from their SOB's gig, with a Hard Fest NYC flyer and the full L.A. lineup, below...

Continue reading "Hard Fest coming to LA (in August w/ Underworld) & NYC (in October @ Terminal 5 w/ Crookers, Major Lazer and more) "

DOWNLOAD: Lindstrøm - The Long Way Home (Prins Thomas edit) (MP3)

Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair @ Studio B (more by Ryan Muir)

Hercules and Love Affair (aka Andy Butler) is releasing a new DJ mix called Sidetracked... July 21st on Renaissance Recordings. Butler will be making DJ appearances throughout the summer, mainly in Europe. One U.S. gig will be at the July 3rd Firecracker party at the Hammerstein Ballroom (tonight). Also at the event, as mentioned by Showtrotta, will be Steve Lawler, Tiefschwarz, Victor Calderone, Damian Lazarus (live) and Audiofly. Tickets are still on sale.

Butler will be at Lollapalooza on August 8th, and he'll be making an appearance at NY's Electric Zoo Electronic Music Festival, taking place September 5th and 6th on Randall's Island. Other acts at the fest include Special Disco Version (featuring LCD Soundsystem/DFA's James Murphy & Pat Mahoney), Felix Martin & Al Doyle (of Hot Chip), Lindstrom, Frankie Knuckles, Prins Thomas, and many, many more. Above you can check out the Prins remix of Linstrom's "The Long Way Home" off the latter's Where You Go I Go Too. Tickets to the fest, including 2-day passes, are on sale now. Electric Zoo's current lineup is posted below.

Another electronic music suaree, the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, is on the way as well, happening August 8th at the Old American Can Factory. The fest's headliners will be Juan MacLean (live) and RJD2; full lineup is still on the way. Tickets are currently on sale.

Electric Zoo lineup with Hercules and Love Affair comp info and tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Electric Zoo on Randall's Island, BK Electronic Music Fest, Hercules and Love Affair DJ sets & CD & more..."

LCD Soundsystem, RJD2, Devendra Banhart, Mum, The Decemberists, Neon Neon, Devlin & Darko, My Morning Jacket, VHS or Beta, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, Tim & Eric, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are among the artists contributing tracks to Causes 2, an album to benefit Darfur (out March 2009).

Causes 1 is out now and has tracks by Animal Collective, Bloc Party, Death Cab, Spoon, The Shins, Bright Eyes, Cornelius and many others.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and the Decemberists are also among the artists who contributed to Dark Was the Night, a new comp to benefit the Red Hot Organization which will be released in February.

Sharon Jones just announced some tour dates. My Morning Jacket will be at MSG on New Years Eve.

A video trailer for Causes 2, below...

Continue reading "Causes 2 - a new CD comp for Darfur w/ LCD Soundystem, My Morning Jacket, Decemberists, Sharon Jones & many more"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Flaming Lips

Josh Ritter and NOT Franz Nicolay

RJD2

WARNING: This post contains nudity, jam bands and adult situations.

Jam on the River is an annual two-day music festival in Philadelphia. This year (May 24-25, 2008) the bill featured RJD2, Disco Biscuits, Josh Ritter and many others... including The Flaming Lips. Kyle took some pictures and the rest of them are below.....

Continue reading "more pictures from the 2008 JAM ON THE RIVER festival "