A-Trak, Lord Finesse and Roc Raida (R.I.P)

They say that the good die young, and that was definitely the case for the legendary Roc Raida, who passed from this mortal plane two years ago. In memoriam, A-Trak will link up with DJ Premier, DJ Stretch Armstrong, and the rest of Roc Raida's crew, X-Ecutioners, for an event to remember the turntablist and pioneer. Tickets are still available for the 10/25 event at Brooklyn Bowl.

A-Trak just played NYC on Saturday night as part of a SPIN CMJ event with the Rapture & Crystal Castles. Pictures HERE.

In related news, Duck Sauce (featuring A-Trak with Armand Van Helden) recently released the new single "Big Bad Wolf" to iTunes. Check out the video below.

Continue reading "Roc Raida tribute/benefit w/ A-Trak, Premier & more this week"

The Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival will take place across five venues (all of which are on N. 6th St in Williamsburg) this year, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Public Assembly, The Cove, Cameo, and Zablozki's from November 11 - 12. The lineup includes Four Tet (DJ set), Diamond Rings, Matthew Dear, Reggie Watts, Kingdom, Nguzunguzu, Daedelus, and more (with more TBA). Tickets are on sale now. The currently announced lineup is listed below.

Reggie Watts meanwhile plays NYU's Skirball Center tonight (10/23) and will appear as a guest at The Talent Show at Littlefield on October 26th.

Diamond Rings is releasing a limited edition 7" to accompany the European release of his debut LP Special Affections. The 7" features album track "You & Me" and a cover of Teenage Fanclub's "Mellow Doubt." You can stream that cover below.

Matthew Dear also plays Moogfest which takes place in Asheville, NC not long before BEMF.

Lineup and song stream below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival 2011 -- 2 days @ 5 venues (lineup)"

PS1 last Saturday (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The final lineup for Warm Up @ PS1 Saturday:

Prince Language / The No Comprendo / NegroClash & Stretch Armstrong / Plant Music / New York, NY
Das Racist (DJ set) / Greedhead / Brooklyn, NY
Vockah Redu / C2K Entertainment/ New Orleans, LA
Ital / 100% Silk, Lovers Rock / New York, NY
XXXY / Ten Thousand Yen / Manchester, UK

The first line of that lineup of pretty confusing, but my interpretation is: Prince language, who is a part of The No Comprendo & Negroclash, is DJing with Stretch Armstrong of Plant Music.

Das Racist will be DJing and not performing.

Vockah Redu will be performing some Bounce. We may need to fight about it, but Bill went to the other Brooklyn show and said, "i like Big Freedia, but Vockah Redu is a step up if you ask me. Great show at Glasslands."

XXXY plays Friday night at Tammany Hall before his Saturday set at PS1.

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 Brook Bobbins

In the Stretch & Bobbito world, mainstream was a four-letter word.

...For the eight years it ran, from 1 to 5 in the early hours of Friday morning, "The Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show" gave early exposure to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and the Wu-Tang Clan, who eventually went on to mainstream stardom. But for every one who made it, there were several who remained in the underground, happily or otherwise.

Of the many guests on Thursday night [at Le Poisson Rouge, Feb 10th]-- including Raekwon and Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan -- the underground stalwarts were the fiercest, and often the most visibly moved. There was the fantastically gravelly Rock, of Heltah Skeltah, who performed a bit of "Laflaur Leflah Eshkoshka," and Artifacts, who were the night's first guests, and whose "Wrong Side of da Tracks" was still sturdy, more than 15 years after it was released.

After solo sets, Masta Ace and Buckshot collaborated for an impromptu reunion of two-thirds of the Crooklyn Dodgers, the one-off group assembled for the soundtrack of the 1994 Spike Lee film, "Crooklyn." Nice & Smooth closed the night, and almost stole it, with vintage hits, a tribute to Guru of Gang Starr, who died last year, and boundless energy.-[NYTimes]

Continue reading "Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito reunited w/ many special guests in the house (pics from Le Poisson Rouge)"

by BBG

L to R: Stretch Armstrong, Bobbito, and Lord Sear (via)

One of the greatest underground hip hop radio shows of all time will celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a show at Le Poisson Rouge on Feb 10, 2011. Lord Sear will join Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito at the venue "with special surprise guests" and tickets are on sale. No word on the "special surprise guests", but knowing the long list of MCs and DJs that have blessed the show over its existence (names like Jay-Z, The Notorious BIG, Junior Mafia, Artifacts, X-Men, Souls of Mischief, Diggin In The Crates, Nas, etc, etc, etc) it wouldnt be that far fetched to expect someone great. XXL recently ran a piece on Stretch & Bob's greatest freestyles - it's a must read/hear.

The news of the reunion show comes a little more than a month after the death of WKCR's "Squeeze Radio"..

Hip-Hop radio at Columbia University's WKCR is on its deathbed and... the legendary crew of Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Garcia, as well as DJ Sucio Smash, [have] broadcast their finale [on 10/21].

...Sucio Smash inherited the "Squeeze Radio" show's time slot--1am to 5am on Fridays--from the ballyhooed "Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show." Like its predecessor, "Squeeze Radio" (WKCR is 89.9 on NY's FM radio dial) provided a place for listeners to hear the latest hip-hop music while offering an alternative to the strict, and repetitive, playlists of mainstream rap radio.

"What DJ Sucio Smash and Squeeze Radio provides is an alternative for hip-hop fans who have grown tired of the politics behind commercial radio," says Rob Markman, Deputy Editor of XXL Magazine. "Since 2001 "Squeeze Radio" has cut through industry politics and given fans hip-hop in its purest form. It's a shame that rap fans are going to lose this outlet." -[MTV News]

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - I Lost Time (MP3)

Bologna, Italy's A Classic Education will be here for CMJ, playing six shows:

WED Oct 20 7:00P The Delancey (Lefse & I Guess I'm Floating Showcase) NYC
THU Oct 21 8:30P - Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party @ Backstage (formerly The Annex)
THU Oct 21 10:00P Trash Bar, Brooklyn
FRI Oct 22 12:00P Pop Tarts Suck Toasted @ Cake Shop
FRI Oct 22 6:00P Pianos
FRI Oct 22 8:30P The Charleston, Brooklyn

Note that one of the shows on their list is the Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party. You can RSVP and stream tracks of the artists playing at Hype's site, and check out full lineup and flyer, and more, below...

Continue reading "A Classic Education returning to NYC for CMJ, playing 6 shows including dF & Hype Machine's party (dates & lineup)"

The Very Best were scheduled to play some CMJ shows, but plans changed last minute due to travel complications. Those complications must have been worked out because on October 31st Flavorpill is hosting "Gods and Heroes", a show with The Very Best, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, DJ Stretch Armstrong, Subswara, Small Change and more at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Tickets are on sale. Open bar all night. The money is going to charity. Flyer below...

Continue reading "The Very Best can come here now - they're playing Flavorpill's Halloween party @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple "

Last week I only made it out to Fixed on Friday. While I wasn't floored by Annie Mac and Dada Life's selections, their energy behind the decks was infectious and had the crowd going wild in the basement of the Tribeca Grand. It was really a great time, regardless of whether you were super into the music, or not. This week there is a lot going on. Consider this you warm-up to CMJ...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 1) (Amanda Blank, One Step Beyond, Dim Mak, Holy Ghost & more) "

DOWNLOAD: Âme - Setsa (MP3)

Dixon

A cold has prevented me from hitting many a dancefloor so far this week. As I mentioned at the end of part 1 of the Week In Dance, Micachu & The Shapes play the second New York show on their tour, at Le Poisson Rouge tonight (10/2). Check out a video of Tim Exile (who played Santos Thursday night) remixing Micachu & The Shapes, live, below and don't forget that following the Micachu show Martyn, Kotchy, Starkey, DJ Sharmaji, and Samiyam will also be at Le Poisson Rouge (11pm, now changed to 21+).

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) (Dixon, Tim Exile, Micachu, Mixhell, Stretch Armstrong, Toxic Avenger & more)"

Stretch Armstrong @ Été d'Amour
@ the Rivington Hotel Penthouse - June 14, 2009

Hopefully all the rain we've been getting lately hasn't kept you from heading out to dance. Unlike this weekend, last weekend's weather was pretty good for dancing outside. I got a late start and arrived at the BKLYN Yard for Sunday Best just before Jus-Ed began his set. The two hours that followed were brimming with great house music, which even included some live vocals from Madafi Pierre:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 3)"

words by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Faith-Ann Young

Truth told, it was hard to pay any attention to any of the music because randomly, three drunk chicks in silver spandex bodysuits and green painted legs came onstage and did a little bizarre, nonsensical, inebriated dance tease (doubt they were professionals as they were having difficulty balancing or even standing still in their stilettos...while visibly wasted). When the crowd grew bored of that (after throwing beer cans and dollar bills at the girls' feet), men dressed as apes came on stage and freaked with the drunk man-woman-alien chicks.

I asked around if anyone knew if this was customary for N.A.S.A., but no one had a clue what was going on.... - Faith

N.A.S.A., the duo of Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, will also tour the U.S. in February and March playing an official SXSW showcase at Emo's on March 19 (plus a few other Austin gigs - see below) and a performance at Coachella on April 17.

N.A.S.A.'s recent album, laden with guest spots from Tom Waits to M.I.A. and RZA, also sported interchangeable artwork from five artists - who seem to be taking turns illustrating the group's videos. Marcel Dzama (who worked on the video for Department of Eagles' "No One Does It Like You," to be unveiled at MOMA) drew N.A.S.A.'s "The People Tree," a song that features David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab and Z-Trip. Artist Splunny created the video for "Hip Hop," below, and the band's newest video, for "Way Down," was illustrated by artist Sage Vaughn. Obama-artist Shepard Fairey (who will be at Coachella) made a video for "Money," discussed here. All of these and more will be collected on the N.A.S.A. documentary in the works.

All tour dates, videos, and more pictures from the last LPR show, below...

Continue reading "more N.A.S.A. videos & tour dates + pics from Le Poisson Rouge where they play again tonight"

DOWNLOAD: Tittsworth - WTF (Nadastrom remix - Stretch Armstrong Edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tittsworth - WTF (Eli Escobar remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Presets - This Boy's In Love (Lifelike remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Runaway - Use Me (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Midnight Juggernauts - Into the Galaxy (Grandmaster Flash remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Daisy O'Dell - (3 live mixes): Electro Bounce, Groovy Disco Breaks, and Boogie Hits (yousendit MP3 link)
DOWNLOAD: Mikix The Cat - Freeze (Kanji Kinetic remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Captain's Holiday Mix '08 (Mediafire MP3 link)
DOWNLOAD: Evil Nine - All the Cash (Glitch Mob Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: John Acquaviva - November '08 Mix (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Drlkt Freddie - Airtight (MP3)

Fake Blood is not Soulwax

I took two nights off after my early start Wednesday night, leaving me eager to hit the B Saturday night for a party that featured a nice mix of deejays that were both familiar and new (to me). I arrived in time to catch the tail end of Van Scott's set which featured a dancey Lykke Li remix, a super-voded mix of Little Boots' "Meddle" (which I later found out was by Treasure Fingers), and lots of other recent tracks.

Franki Chan followed with an excellent mix of some tracks I didn't recognize along with some new favorites including Whomadewho's "TV Friend" (one of the remixes that just came out at the end of last month) and a lovely hybrid version of the Soulwax remix of the Chemical Brothers' "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" that featured the original "super star deejays" vocal sample instead of "2manydj's" but as far as I could tell, retained all the instrumental parts from the Soulwax remix.

Princess Superstar took the evening in a highly dancey meets retro direction, dropping some current stuff mixed with some updated, oldie but goodie classic 90's tracks. Her set segued into Larry Tee's with the pair performing a live version of their hit "Licky" that's had dancefloors freaking out since last winter. Larry's set had everyone getting down and remembering what an innovator the pioneer of electroclash was and continues to be.

The night ended with a bang that unfortunately, hardly anyone was left to see: Nadastrom absolutely killed it. I'm not sure what specifically was great about their set ...it might have been the song selection, excellent mixing, just the right amount of wobbly bass...but one of the most satisfying elements of their set was the enthusiasm the pair maintained as the not too big to begin with, Studio B crowd dwindled down to a few handfuls of people:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (Fake Blood, Lifelike, Larry Tee, Tittsworth, Moby, Evil Nine & more)"

Midnight Juggernauts @ Le Poisson Rouge - September 13, 2008 (CRED)

Last week/weekend in dance was one of the best I've had in a long time.

Thursday night at Santos, Cassius' Boombass played a more mellow set compared to the Cassius set from '02 that I remember so fondly. It picked up at times, but around 3:30 when the music took a retro turn with Pump Up the Jam and This is Acid, I headed home.

Friday I found myself last minute at Été d'Amour's party on the Mini Rooftop which wound up being awesome. From there I headed to Robot Rock where I couldn't tell if Linus Loves set was just ok, or if I was just having trouble shifting gears from Trevor's funkier style to Linus' more straight-up electro.

Saturday night I witnessed the best performance yet from Midnight Juggernauts. I think it all boils down to the soundsystem. Though the Bowery Ballroom show was better than seeing them at the cavernous Terminal Five, I thought the Midnight Juggernauts' spacey, guitar-driven, electro-peppered tracks found their perfect balance thanks to Le Poisson Rouge's impeccable soundsystem. I didn't have the best spot either. I watched the the show from a spot off-center, to the immediate right of the stage. All of the more subtle, electronic loveliness, previously obliterated at Terminal Five, and overshadowed slightly less at Bowery Ballroom, fully came through, delighting the audience with the electro-space sound that brilliantly shines through on Dystopia.

Sometimes it's better to quit while you're ahead, but instead of heading home after the great Midnight Juggernauts show, I headed to APT to see Kaos. His set was a nice mix of modern and classic disco I've come to expect from him, but the place was DEAD, especially for a Saturday night.

Sunday marked the great end to a nearly flawless weekend in dance. Holy Ghost started things off on the mellow/discoey side at the Yard, followed by a great set by Stretch Armstrong. He played a great mix of literally everything, a lot of which I wasn't familiar with along with some current tracks I love (the Boys Noize Happy Birthday remix of Cut Copy's Lights and Music). Unfortunately it was early, and daylight and nobody (myself included, despite almost doing it multiple times) had the nerve to hit the floor. Once Feadz began his set people gradually started getting up to dance. Going in I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Feadz. I don't like Uffie so I never really took the time to check out Feadz extensively. It became apparent almost immediately that I had been missing out. A set that began with a hip hop track quickly moved from genre to genre, touching on techno, house, b-more, and everything in between without a single misstep. The young Frenchman treated the now packed floor to a nearly 2-hour set that was as bouncey as he was, bopping up & down as he scurried between the decks.

I never made it to Minitek over the weekend, but I heard it didn't all go as planned.

A week like that is going to be hard to top, but before we get into that, we have a contest! We have 5 copies of the deluxe, double-CD edition of the Chemical Brothers' Brotherhood to give away. Details on how to win are at the bottom of this post, under all the Friday night events....

Continue reading "the Friday night in Dance w/ Showtrotta"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Mr Lif - "Presidential Report, Vol. 1" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mr Lif - "Presidential Report, Vol. 2" (MP3)

Mr Lif returns! The now former Def Jux representative has inked a NYC show in his calendar, Nov 4th at the Knitting Factory, with P.Casso & the A-OK Collective plus Breezy Brewin' (of indie hip hop heroes The Juggaknots). Tickets are on sale.

Mr Lif dropped Mo Mega on Def Jux in 2006, but 2009 will see the release of his new record I Heard It Today on his OWN label Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises. Due on Inauguration Day (January 20th), Lif will drop "1-2 songs every three weeks until Election Day" and one song following the election with his "post-electoral thoughts". All the songs will be collected and released with bonus unreleased material as I Heard It Today. J-Zone, Edan, and Illmind have all contributed production to I Heard It Today (you'll only be able to catch Edan perform this weekend at ATP with special guest Dagha).

Mr Lif has been commenting on the news via a series of free tracks he calls "Presidential Reports" (first two available for download above). Lif is also videoblogging on his "I Heard It Today News Network".

The Knitting Factory show will be hosted by John Robinson and WKCR's own DJ Sucio Smash, who can be found every friday from 1-5AM on 89.9 (aka 89 Tek 9) hosting Squeeze Radio (podcast here) with Timm See, spinning the latest in indie hip hop. The 1-5AM friday shift has long been a revered place on WKCR, most notably held by the now legendary The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show in the mid-nineties. Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito's show, which was named by the Source Magazine (before that whole Benzino nonsense) as "the best hip hop show of all time", also centered around indie hip hop and featured freestyles by then up and coming artists like Biggie Smalls (before he changed his name to The Notorious B.I.G.), Big L, Cam'ron & Ma$e (then known as Killa Cam & Murda Mase), Wu-Tang Clan, and sooooo many more. Stretch has posted some of those legendary freestyles for download over at his blog.

by Showtrotta

Erol Alkan @ Studio B - May 3, 2008 (CRED)

Lots of good dance went down here last weekend, but I was out of town! Luckily one of my dance partners in crime, Paul (Thump Thump), made it out to Studio B on Saturday for Erol Alkan's set:

"Everything about Erol was great last Saturday. The crowd - packed but not that gross, disgusting, Studio B packed. Most everyone was into it, and then Erol crushed it, but not in a "hit you over the head with bangin' tracks" kind of crush. It was more of a complete set, not banger after banger. I liked it because he selected very good, obscure tracks (very few Ed Banger songs) and made them flow. He teased up tons of build-ups and blended them into other build-ups, and then released. It was really, really, one of the more seamless dj sets that I've heard in a while.

Continue reading "Erol Alkan played Studio B // the Wed night in Dance........... (events @ R Bar and/or Studio B TONIGHT)"