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"

Justice @ SXSW 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Surf City show coming up at Mercury Lounge.

As previously mentioned, there's a Haiti benefit at SOB's tonight (1/28) with Styles P, Immortal Technique, Mickey Factz, Cormega, ChinahBlac, Eprhyme, and more. Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of SOB's, Lord Finesse is celebrating a birthday there with "The Legendary Rakim" on February 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Tanya Morgan (a hip hop group that has nobody named Tanya in it) plays SOB's on February 22nd. Tickets are on sale.

Roxy Cottontail hosts a Dim Mak-presented show at Santos on February 11th "featuring Ninjasonik, Japanther, Fashen, Team Facelift, The Auctioneers, Jonny Famous, Gina Turner & (Not So) Secret European Guests". Dim Mak band The Willowz play Pianos (with Delta Spirit) the same night, but they are from California. Tickets are on sale. Oh, also I think the guest is a DJ or DJs...

Ed Banger celebrates their 7th Anniversary at Terminal 5 on February 12th (Justice (DJ Set), Breakbot / DJ Mehdi / Busy P. / and Friends). Tickets are sold out.

Ed Banger will follow the Terminal 5 show with an afterparty at Webster Hall ("GIRLS&BOYS w/ED BANGER RECORDS AFTER PARTY , SEBASTIAN, SO-ME & More!"). Tickets are on sale. Flyer and new FAKE Justice track below...

Continue reading "Styles P, '(Not So) Secret European Guests', Ed Banger, Fake Justice, Japanther, Surf City, Tanya Morgan & other tickets"

"Inglewood police dispatched a riot unit, and by 1:25 a.m. Sunday, more than 17,000 attendees had been sent home." -LA Times

Balcony climbin' @ Hard Summer '09 in L.A. Saturday night (downtownlobby)

A back door of the VIP section, where tickets began at $125, flew open and fans ran in from the parking lot in what [concert-goer Will] Fan described as a "stampede."

"We saw about 200 kids run right through the bar area," said the 35-year-old Sherman Oaks resident. "It was a little scary. I saw the bartender push one kid down, but everyone else just ran around him. Eventually, security was able to stop more people from coming in. But the kids ran out of the bar...and basically hopped over the balcony and onto the floor. Then the music stopped."

The sold-out all-night Hard Summer concert, which featured a lineup that included U.K. dance duo Underworld and Canadian electronic rockers Crystal Castles, was halted at about 10:50 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which cited "hazardous life-safety things taking place inside the event."
[L.A. Times]

Hard Summer '09 @ L.A. Forum (beltran)

"We were required to shut down Hard Summer at The Forum Saturday [August 8th] night by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They declared the event a "hazard" after seeing concert-goers jumping from the balcony to the floor. The Inglewood Police Department backed the decision of the Fire Department and assisted in clearing the venue.

While we, the promoters, worked with the authorities to consider other options to continue the concert, ultimately they made the decision to end it. We are happy to report that there were no major injuries.

We are offering refunds to all concert-goers and are deeply disappointed that the fans were not able to see this incredible show come to fruition." [official statement]

Underworld and Chromeo were among those who were supposed to play.

Hard Fest NYC is set to take place October 10th at Terminal 5 where we doubt any problems like that will happen. Crookers and Major Lazer (Soundsystem) headline, and tickets are still on sale.

LA refund info and the continued Hard Summer story with videos (showing people climbing, falling & jumping over railings and ledges), below...

Continue reading "chaos at HARD Fest LA causes shut down - people broke in, climbed over balconies, etc (VIDEOS) --- refunds available"

Justice is DJing at Webster Hall on Thursday, October 29th. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 31st at noon. The NYC gig is one day before the French duo DJ the Voodoo Experience Music Festival in New Orleans.

Justice is on Ed Banger Records, which is headed by Busy P (Pedro Winter). Busy P will be in NYC with DJ Mehdi (also on the label) for Electric Zoo Fest, which is taking place September 5th and 6th on Randall's Island. Other artists playing Electric Zoo include Frankie Knuckles, Lindstrom, and Special Disco Version. That event is also one of Andy Butler's DJing appearances -- he also has scheduled a pair of Hercules & Love Affair shows in NYC on August 14th and 15th.

Busy P will also be at HARD Fest's L.A. party on August 8th with Sebastian (another Ed Banger act) and A-Trak. Note: HARD Fest NYC comes to Terminal 5 on October 10th (but with a different lineup).

While A-Trak isn't on a the Ed Banger label or playing HARD in NYC, he IS spinning with Theophilus London and Treasure Fingers this Friday (June 31st) at Webster Hall. Tickets are still on sale.

Busy P is also used to be the manager of Daft Punk, who, as you may have heard, are scoring the new film Tron Legacy. The trailer for that movie is now online. Check it out below, along with the flyer for the A-Track show this Friday and all tour dates...

Continue reading "Justice DJing Webster Hall where A-Trak plays Friday + other Ed Banger tour dates +++ the Tron Legacy trailer"

DOWNLOAD: Kevin Saunderson - Live @ Sunday Best @ the Yard, 7-13-08 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fires of Rome - Set In Stone (Dada Life Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghislain Poirier - Cosmopolitan Bass Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghislain Poirier on Solid Steel Radio - 10/3/08 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kill the Noise Presents: TURN OFF / TUNE IN - VOL. 2 (MP3)

In the wake of the always fun, yet draining CMJ Music Marathon, two adages came to to mind: no rest for the weary and part of the weekend never dies. Like a dance-intensive extension of CMJ, last week in dance featured many acts from across the globe, though ultimately (at least from where I was standing) the French owned the dancefloor.

Strangely enough, my week in dance began, not in a club, but rather at the IFC. Thursday night I was fortunate enough to catch an intimate screening of "A Cross The Universe", the documentary by Romain Gavras, So Me, and Justice. I have to admit, I had a few preconceived notions going into this screening. I really didn't think I was going to like it based on the (NSFW) trailer. Images of kids going bananas, some more asininely than others, brought back entirely too many bad memories of the crowd that surrounded me at Justice's shows last fall at Terminal 5. I'm all for going crazy and having a good time, but there are enough people acting like assholes without a documentary glorifying them.

I don't want to spoil it, but after some initial footage of throngs of crazy Justice fans, it became apparent that this wasn't going to be the typical show-to-show tour documentary. Instead I found my preconceptions of a 90 minute long fan-film, crushed, and replaced with a shocking, behind the scenes look at Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge's adventures, mischief, and misadventures. Romain Gavras paints an unexpected and hilarious portrait of the pair, matching them with an equally amusing array of supporting characters from tour personnel to friends on the road, who dare I say, ocassionally steal the show away from French duo.

The film plays at times like a comedy more than anything: It's the Xavier and Gaspard show, only there's no acting and no routine. It's not so much that what is happening is funny (ok, in many cases it is), but rather Xavier and Gaspard being completely deadpan as event after hilarious event transpires. Initially funny situations and predicaments are transformed into laugh riots as Xavier barely responds, directing frustrated eyerolls and looks toward Gaspard. As amusing as I found this film, I thought it succeeded in giving the audience a very real image of what life is like on the road with the French electronic act as they experience their sudden rise to fame. However, as I left the theater there were ultimately two things I could not stop thinking:

1. Wow. That was f-ing hilarious and
easily better than any comedies I've seen this year.
2. I really can't wait to see Justice again!

Luckily I didn't have to wait long at all....

continued below....

Continue reading "the Thursday & Friday night in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Justice, a documentary, Josh Wink, Ulrich Schnauss & more...)"

Sebastian @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NYC - May 7, 2008(ameliemelo148)

palm tree roof lounge at Studio B (sarahheiman)

Early Friday evening (May 9, 2008) Midnight Juggernauts hit Bowery on their North American tour along with Shy Child and Holy Ghost.

Then what?

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (FRIDAY NIGHT)"

zee vhat happens vith zee Daft Punk money ....

Continue reading "VIDEO: an interview with Busy P (Pedro Winter)"