"The Snow Ball Music Festival [in 2011] was chill, in more ways than one. Besides the expected below freezing temperatures Avon gets in early March, the atmosphere of the festival and attitude of the attendees were very relaxed. The tents were set up on snow instead of concrete, and so dancing the first night was no small fete as everyone was slipping on the ice. By the end of the weekend, any movement at all was unpleasant as people were standing in puddles of water, beer, and probably some bodily fluids or stuck to the ground in thick mud. The crowd left their clubbing attire at home and sported their neon ski coats instead as they drifted through the clouds of cigarette and marijuana smoke. Despite the cold weather and the impossible dance floor, most importantly, the music was good." [cause=time]

The SnowBall Music Festival, for people not afraid to watch bands playing outside in freezing temperatures ("We recommend that you come prepared for snow and winter conditions. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40° range during the day and in the teens at night. Please dress accordingly."), is returning to Vail Valley in Avon, CO from March 2 - 4, 2012. This year's lineup includes Big Boi, Big Freedia, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (who just announced a Bowery Ballroom show), Deer Tick, Gauntlet Hair, Major Lazer, TV on the Radio, Thundercat, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and others (listed below)

Early bird and holiday special passes are sold out but regular passes and tickets for the festival are on sale now. Don't forget your "Warm Jackets, hats, gloves, and snow boots."

Current lineup below...

Continue reading "Snowball Music Festival is outside in the Winter in Colorado (2012 lineup) "

by Andrew Sacher

Skream & Benga

Dubstep originator Skream recently talked to UK mag the Quietus:

Quietus: A lot of people would say with the Skrillex stuff, that it's damaging to dubstep, it's perverting the sound.

Skream: But what are we gonna do, form a united front against Skrillex? Honestly, it's pathetic, I think, it's ridiculous. Either listen to it or don't listen to it. There's still nights playing the stuff those people want to hear. It's just bitchiness, it really is. You haven't got to like his music, you don't particularly have to like him, but there's no reason you can't like what he's done - he's smashed it. He's up for five Grammys. He must be doing something right, you know what I mean?

I think it hurts a lot of people over here because it's a UK sound, but it's been someone with influences outside the original sound that has made it a lot bigger. The bad side of that is that a lot of people will just say 'dubstep equals Skrillex'.

But in all honesty it genuinely doesn't bother me. I like the music he makes. People will fucking burn me for saying that [laughs]. There'll be effigies out in the fucking street! It just is what it is man, you've just got to keep yourself moving. The fact that dubstep, the word - you know I hate saying the word, I love what it is but I just hear it so much now. But even though it's so big now, that means that everybody else is earning a bit more money. Even if you're playing the deepest deepest sound, you're still earning that little bit more money because you're playing dubstep. Whether you want to admit it or not, you are.

Skream is a little more lenient with the Skrillex type stuff than James Blake who called it a "direct misrepresentation of the sound" and Rusko, who said, "brostep is sort of my fault but now I've started to hate it." Rusko told SPIN that his new album, due out in January, is "completely a reaction to the masculine, dance-floor orientated, distorted mess that is the current state of dubstep." Skream's collaborator Benga is also working on a new album that is "different to what's going on at the minute," but like Skream, he says, "I'm not bothered. I'm happy that a lot of people like the music." Skream does admit that the dubstep going on at the moment is a "fad" though, and wants to make sure that when it "dies out, he's still standing."

Skream probably still will be standing, but until that fad dies out he'll be embracing it in NYC on February 4 at Terminal 5 when he and Benga open for Skrillex, along with Koan Sound and FlyLo associate Tokimonsta . Tickets will probably sell right out Thursday (12/22) at noon. They're on AmEx presale now.

(Speaking of Tokimonsta, she recently remixed Eight and a Half, the new project of Broken Social Scene's Justin Peroff and members of The Stills who play two NYC shows in February - both on sale this week.)

If the Terminal 5 show is exactly the kind of electronic show you don't want to be at (I wouldn't blame you), Tycho, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Beacon play the same day (2/4) at MHOW and tickets just went on sale.

Skrillex, who is also one of the many electro artists playing a cruise ship in January, also plays Roseland Ballroom on 2/3 (one day before Terminal 5) with Zane Lowe and Spank Rock who also recently toured with Ke$ha, Spank Rock has also opened for Bjork, and who toured with Big Freedia and friends this year too. From Iceland to Bushwick to mainstream pop to brostep, everyone loves Spank Rock. UPDATE: Skrillex plays Webster Hall while he's here too.

And speaking of James Blake, his new video for his cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" which stars Rebecca Hall is below.

Also best of luck to James Blake collaborator Bon Iver who is going up against Skrillex for "Best New Artist" in the Grammys (you know, because Bon Iver was a new artist this year), not that Justin Vernon will care if he loses anyway (as he shouldn't).

James Blake video and a ton of Rusko tour dates (including New Year's Eve in Chicago), below...

Continue reading "Skream likes Skrillex (and is opening for him in NYC); Rusko says new album is in reaction to brostep (and is touring)"

photos by Leia Jospe

Rusko & fans

Clean or dirty? Uplifting or brutal? Those were choices dance-music fans could make on Saturday, the second day of the weekend-long Electric Zoo 2011 on Randalls Island. They could go for the polished tones, warm chords and step-by-step buildups of trance and house, the overlapping styles that have long dominated dance clubs worldwide and that gave Electric Zoo its headliners: Tiesto on Friday, David Guetta on Saturday and Armin van Buuren on Sunday. The unsubtle four-on-the-floor beat of trance has been a longtime staple of European pop hits, and in recent years American acts like Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and Rihanna have also embraced it.

Or they could get knocked around by the squirmy, distorted bass lines, sudden blasts and saw-toothed bits of melody of dubstep, which after years of enjoyment by devotees is now making itself known to a broader United States audience through D.J.'s like Skrillex, whose fans screamed with joy on Saturday afternoon. [NY Times]

Due to a family emergency, a BV photographer wasn't able to make it to all three days of Electric Zoo at Randall's Island over Labor Day weekend, but Leia did get there for the first day (the Friday that Plastikman didn't happen), and came back with this fun set of pictures. They continue below...

Continue reading "pics from Electric Zoo 2011 @ Randall's Island"

Giant and very-varied Labor Day Weekend electro festival Electric Zoo returns to Randall's Island on September 2-4 and just announced 14 more artists to its already big lineup which is split across four stages (times three days).

The fest this year features performances by big names like Moby (DJ set), Rusko, MSTRKRFT, Richie Hawtin as Plastikman, Chromeo, Boys Noize, Calvin Harris and Diplo. The lineup also includes smaller but familiar and exciting names like Daedelus, SebastiAn (Live), SBTRKT, Nicolas Jaar (Live), and many more. The whole thing is listed below.

SBTRKT meanwhile has dates coming up in July.

SebastiAn, who has had singles floating around for a few years now, and more recently a film score, finally released his first proper full length Total on May 30 via Ed Banger. The album is 22 songs of Daft Punk-esque aggressive French House and features vocal contributions from Mayer Hawthorne and M.I.A.. Check out a soundcloud stream of the M.I.A.-featured "C.T.F.O." (which stands for chill the fuck out) and the full tracklist also below.

More tour dates for Diplo, Chromeo and Rusko, along with the EZ lineup, and stuff, below...

Continue reading "Electric Zoo expands lineup (SBTRKT, Nicolas Jaar, MSTRKRFT, MANY more), SebastiAn released 'Total' on Ed Banger"

photos by Brook Bobbins

A-Trak @ Terminal 5 on April 30th

HARD Events, Cloud 9 Adventures, and Bowery Presents have announced the first Holy Ship! cruise (which is the new name for "HARD Cruise"). The cruise leaves Ft. Lauderdale on January 6 aboard the MSC Poesia with stops in Port Lucaya, Bahamas and a private island, returning to Ft. Lauderdale on January 9. The lineup includes Fatboy Slim, Diplo, Rusko, A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Skrillex, Destructo and others. Tickets go on sale June 15 via the Holy Ship! website. The full lineup is listed below.

A Pre-Cruise kickoff party will take place at Revolution Live in Florida on January 5. More details and lineup to be announced.

On January 8, 2012 the cruise stops at a private island where Fatboy Slim, Diplo, Buraka Som Sistema, and Dillon Francis play the first ever Holy Ship! Beach Boutique party.

--

Fatboy Slim also plays the new Dance.Here.Now Festival which is taking place on the Beach at Governor's Island from July 1st-4th, 2011 (Paul Van Dyk, Benny Benassi, and Victor Calderone are also headliners at the Pacha-presented event). Early Bird tickets are on sale at their website.

A-Trak played a headlining show at Terminal 5 back on April 30th with Clipse and the Gaslamp Killer. More picutres from the show with the full Holy Ship! lineup and flyer, below...

Continue reading "Holy Ship! (not Hard Cruise) lineup ++ Fatboy Slim also playing 'Dance.Here.Now' on Governors Island ++++ live A-Trak pics"

photos by Brook Bobbins

The Rusko & Doorly tour hit Terminal 5 in NYC on Wednesday night (4/27). Pictures from that HARD-presented show are in this post.

HARD also presents the LA date of the tour which is also the last date of the tour.

LA is also where HARD is holding a 'Summer Festival' on Saturday August 6th. That craziness will include sets by:

"DUCK SAUCE, Boys Noize, CHROMEO live, RATATAT live, Skrillex, ODD FUTURE, JAMES MURPHY AND PAT MAHONEY DFA TENT SPECIAL DISCO VERSION, DIGITALISM live, Jack Beats, KARLSSON and WINNBERG / MIIKE SNOW DJ SET, Caspa, NERO, Noisia, Emalkay, CARTE BLANCHE live featuring dj Mehdi and Riton, BUSY PICTIONARY featuring BUSY P and SO ME, Holy Ghost ! live, SIRIUSMO, GESAFFELSTEIN, GASLAMP KILLER, DESTRUCTO, Juan MacLean, Shit Robot (The Shit Robot Show), Still Going, Nadastrom, DILLION FRANCIS, Acid Jacks, Visuals by Vello V2 labs, + more."

Tickets are on sale.

HARD Cruise sails out of Florida in January, and though no lineup has been announced for that yet, I'm sure the lineup will contain at least a few of the artists mentioned in this post.

More pictures from Terminal 5 are below...

Continue reading "Rusko played Terminal 5 w/ Doorly & Destructo (pics), playing other HARD events (dates)"

photos by Brook Bobbins

Like last year, Mad Decent will host a series of free outdoor dance party/concerts in select cities this summer. The "4th Annual Mad Decent Block Party" tour will bring Diplo and friends to Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and possibly a 5th U.S. city. Without getting too specific, they're promising Rusko, Major Lazer, and many more. Exact dates and lineups TBA.

Last year's NYC event was a crowded one at South Street Seaport on Saturday, August 7th with an advertised lineup of Eli Escobar, Max Glazer, Janka Nabay, Ricky Blaze & Chelly, Maluca, PO PO, Bosco Delrey, DJ Sega, Bathroom Sexx and Paul Devro. And it looked like this...

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Parties returning this summer. Last year's NYC one was @ the Seaport (here are some pics)"

DOWNLOAD: Rusko - Feel So Real (Dubbel Dutch remix) (MP3) (via)

Rusko @ Electric Zoo 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Get ready to dance. DJ's Rusko and Doorly are heading out on a North American tour together in April and March, hitting Terminal 5 in NYC on April 27th along the way. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon, and general sale begins on Friday.

The show, and maybe even the tour, is sponsored by HARD, so not surprisingly Destructo's name is also on the Terminal 5 bill, just like it is for the March 18th (Crystal Castles) & 19th (Simian Mobile Disco) HARD shows at the same venue.

Rusko is also on the now-fully-announced lineup of Ultra Music Festival which is happening in Miami in March. He plays the same day as the Klaxons whose March and April tour is now also fully announced.

All Rusko dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Rusko & Doorly --- 2011 Tour Dates (Terminal 5)"

by BBG

Symbolism?

In case you somehow missed the crush of commercials on cable television, MTV has a new and possibly NSFW show called Skins based on a UK series about teens, sex, drugs, mental health and family. Skins, whose demographic seems to be "hip teens" who like nudity (read: teens) and pervy would-be pedophiles, will be celebrated at a FREE NYC party at the tail end of this week.

Rusko, Sleigh Bells, Klever, Drop the Lime, and Kill the Noise will perform at an undisclosed NYC location on January 14th. The party jumps off at 10PM and you must be 16 to get in ("16 to party, 21 to drink."). More details, and directions on how to get in are on the Facebook invite though even with an RSVP, "ENTRY BASED ON CAPACITY AND IS NOT GUARANTEED."

Sleigh Bells' "Kids" is the theme song to Skins, which premieres on Jan 17th. And the show is Sleigh Bells' only U.S. appearance in the coming months. The duo will spend the rest of January into February in Europe. All dates are listed below.

'Skins' party DJ Rusko went on a HARD Fest tour over the summer with Crystal Castles, Sinden & Destructo, though he wasn't on the bill when the tour hit NYC's Terminal 5 in August. Rusko won't be there either when Crystal Castles and Destructo play the same NYC venue on March 18th, 2011 (also a HARD show), and Rusko won't be there when HARD and Destructo return to Terminal 5, one night later, for a March 19th show with Simian Mobile Disco, Skream and Benga, and Fake Blood. Tickets are on sale. It's a "HARD Weekend" (flyer below).

Before then, Simian Mobile Disco are going on tour with Juan Maclean and Blondes (dates below). After then, Crystal Castles, Simian Mobile Disco AND RUSKO (and many others) will play the Ultra Music Festival in Florida (Friday, March 25, Saturday, March 26 and Sunday, March 27, 2011 in downtown Miami's Bicentennial Park). Currently announced lineup at the link.

All SMD & Sleigh Bells tour dates, flyers and some videos below....

Continue reading "Skins is coming... (MTV party Friday w/ Sleigh Bells & Rusko) + a HARD Simian Mobile Disco gig, Ultra Music Fest, other dates"

by BBG

Boys Noize at HARD NYC (more by Zachary Alex Stern)

Boys Noize will team up with Rusko for a date at Webster Hall on 10/29. The two electronic artists, who both just played Electric Zoo (and who both played different dates on the recent HARD tour), are criscrossing in NYC, but each are hitting the road for much larger separate tours in promotion of their latest LPs, Power and O.M.G.! respectively. Full tour dates for both are below.

Three weeks after Boys Noize/Rusko, look for Z-Trip to bring his cornucopia of beats to Webster Hall (11/19), his only East Coast date so far. Full dates are below, as well as a recent (and awesome) Marvin Gaye/2Pac blend by Z-Trip commissioned by Afeni Shakur.

Continue reading "Boys Noize, Rusko & Z-Trip are playing NYC shows & touring (not together)"

Crystal Castles @ Fun Fun Fun Fest 2009 (more)

Asobi Seksu @ Bowery Ballroom 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub
* Marah @ Bowery Electric
* Clinic, The Clox @ Maxwell's
* Ashley Bathgate @ The Stone
* Leon Russel @ Highline Ballroom
* Prefuse 73 @ Studio Square (DJ set)
* The Lemonheads @ the Crazy Donkey
* Meta and the Cornerstones @ Zebulon
* Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio @ Jazz Standard
* Tears for Fears @ the Wellmont Theatre
* The Giraffes, Freshkills @ Mercury Lounge
* Hacienda, The Naked Heroes @ Mercury Lounge
* Asobi Seksu @ 383 Carroll St across from BKYLN YARD
* Todd Goldstein, Birds & Batteries, M.T. Bearington @ Pianos
* Ibomba - International Bass Digital Cumbia Future Club @ Knitting Factory
* The English Beat, Bad Manners, Chris Murray @ Webster Hall
* Crystal Castles, Sinden, Destructo, JDH & Dave P @ Terminal 5
* Juliette Lewis, Dearly Beloved, ShiraGirl @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Abe Vigoda, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Hollerado, Passive Aggressor @ Death By Audio
* Nat Baldwin, Dead Western, Skeletons, Little Women, Nine 11 Thesaurus @ Silent Barn
* Gasoline Silver, Jonathan Kane's February, Dave Soldier with Sean Hagerty @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Sons & Heirs (tribute to the Smiths and Morrissey), Andy Rourke of the Smiths (DJ Set) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Waking Lights, Soft Black, The Benjees, Sea Ghost, I'm Turning Into, The Caterpillers @ The Schoolhouse
* Peter Zummo Ensemble, Glissandro 70 (DJ set), Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra, Tim Sweeney (DJ set) (Warm Up) @ P.S.1
* Buke & Gass, Forest Fire, Kate Ferencz, Infinity Hotel (Skillman Street Arts & Music Fest, presented by Outlaw Gallery) @ 191 Skillman St

The Giraffes and Freshkills play a free Sailor Jerry-sponsored show at Mercury Lounge tonight (much like The Greenhornes and Des Roar do in September).

Crystal Castles headlines the HARD tour that hits Terminal 5 tonight. Rusko is also on the bill, as he was at the 9:30 Club in DC. Video from that show (taken by the one and only Scotto) below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Virtual Snoop Dogg introduced the Gorillaz set, but Blur's Damon Albarn appeared in the flesh, with a few special guests including Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, De La Soul-who kicked their own old school jams earlier in the day-and Little Dragon's Yukimi. One unique rhythm transcended the next, showing the mutability of hip hop and dance music. And then that was it, suddenly. The festival ended and tens of thousands of people started wondering where they left their car keys...

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

--

Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

After extremely accurate early leaks and then much teasing, Lollapalooza oficially announces this year's lineup. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

Crystal Castles @ ATP NY (more by Ryan Muir)

Crystal Castles will be playing NYC's Irving Plaza on April 14th with Pictureplane (and LA on April 12th). Tickets for that are gone, but now there are many more chances to see - love them or hate them - the electro duo. They'll be on tour in Europe with dates scattered throughout April, June and July, and then this August they'll be headlining a HARD Fest-organized tour along with Rusko, Sinden and Destructo. The tour's LA stop (at Los Angeles State Historic Park) happens on August 7th and also includes Soulwax, Diplo, Tiga, Digitalism, and Green Velvet on the bill. The tour comes to Terminal 5 in NYC on August 21st. Stay tuned for tickets. All dates below.

And yes that's the same HARD Fest (and the same Destructo) who were just at the same NYC venue with Major Lazer and Boyz Noise and...

More pictures Zach Stern took at Saturday's show (like the above), at the link.

HARD Fest is hosting other shows (that Destructo is also playing) this summer too. M.I.A. is playing two of them - one in LA (with "JOKER, Rye Rye, Theophilus London, 12th Planet, Borgore, Ninjasonik, Nguzunguzu, Gaslamp Killer, Destructo & much much more TBA") on July 17th, and one in NYC at Governors Island (with "Sleigh Bells, Theophilus London, Skream, Benga, Ninjasonik, 12th Planet, Nguzunguzu, Borgore, Destructo & much much more TBA") on July 24th (tickets).

Both Crystal Castles and M.I.A. will be putting out new records this year (as will M.I.A.'s NYC opener Sleigh Bells). Crystal Castles also have a Record Store Day single, "Doe Deer," on the way.

All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Crystal Castles announce more 2010 tour dates, a 'HARD' summer tour w/ Rusko, Sinden, Destructo "

Camp Bisco...

Camp Bisco 9, the three-day Upstate music fest put on by Disco Biscuits in its ninth year, will be happening July 15th-17th in Mariaville, NY, about 3 hours north of NYC. It's set to have two main stages, a DJ tent and a late night dance tent, and the initial lineup includes LCD Soundsystem, Ween, Girl Talk, Major Lazer, Diplo, Thievery Corporation, Gift of Gab and more. All of the currently announced acts are below.

Tickets are on sale now.

2009's fest included Nas, Chromeo, The Orb, Dr. Dog, Flying Lotus and Special Disco Version (LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy & Pat Mahoney)

Ween's next NYC-area show is in NJ on May 20th.

Still waiting for the next LCD Soundystem NYC show announcement. Meanwhile they've already announced Coachella, Bonnaroo and other dates (along with a new album).

More Camp Bisco info and a flyer are below...

Continue reading "Camp Bisco's 2010 lineup includes LCD Soundsystem, Ween, Girl Talk, Major Lazer, Thievery Corporation & more"

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

"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: Starkey - Trouble & Bass mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Frankie Knuckles live @ Sound Factory, 1991 (part 1) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Frankie Knuckles live @ Sound Factory, 1991 (part 2) (MP3)

the Bloody Beetroots @ Love, April 24, 2008 (thecobrabird)

Hopefully the massive amount of dance happening Thursday night didn't leave you too drained as it is only the beginning. From Friday straight through Sunday something good is going down every night.

Friday night (April 25, 2008) will have you making decisions yet again. Luckily the options are diverse enough that it should just be a matter of determining what you're in the mood for: dub, electro, or techno.

Trouble & Bass is back at Love for their fourth Takeover (which happen on the last Friday of every month). The parties feature New York's own Trouble & Bass deejays, along with special guests. This month's includes Rusko and the Tomb Crew, with Star Eyes and Mathhead of Trouble & Bass.

Rusko is known for his upbeat take on the traditionally darker, lower-tempo dubstep. Despite being only 22 years old, he's already done a lot. He was recently voted best newcomer in the Dubstepforum Awards and just completed Fabriclive 37 with his partner Caspa. XLR8R describes the mix as:

...over one hour of in-your-face low-end, peppered with samples of cockney thugs and MC Hammer, and designed to appeal to fans of jump-up jungle, knock-out fights, and square bass waves that make you do mad squiggly dances.

You can check out some clips from the mix here.

The Tomb Crew is also going to be at Love on Thursday. Drop the Lime caught up with them while deejaying in the UK during the fall:

They are basically the T&B Doppleganger crew of UK.. mixing grime with bmore with dubstep with Electrohouse, Bassline and oldschool jungle.

Do you agree?...........

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2, the weekend)"