The United States of Bass show from Red Bull Music Academy shook, rolled, dropped it, and broke it down. A comment was that Assault was the star of the show, exchanging set times to assist other djs, and playing more than one set. Definitely meeting Nick Hook and eating cold sesame noodles with Tessa were highlights. Lots of video forthcoming from this one.
Briefly:
Salva - extremely memorable combo of UK funky, tasteful trap/dubstep, and club anthems (french montana)
Afrika Bambaataa - Lots of different genres here - not much hip hop though? He has an insane show of dancers and rappers and singers on stage with him and it somehow comes together. Sounded like he had bad needles though and sound kept going in and out.
Big Freedia - One of the top reasons I went - Freedia went in - even outdancing ass shaking the women next to her during one song. The main problem here is it wasn't loud enough.
Drop The Lime - It's so wild to me how these dudes can play zero music I know off the radio and still keep a room full of people going nuts.
Egyptian Lover - Didn't observe
Drop The Lime
Afrika Bambaataa
Salva
Thanks for visiting - and Peep all of the photos on my gallery
With the recent recognition as a result of his prominent place on the latest studio effort from Daft Punk, seeing this living legend and disco pioneer is now harder than ever! Seriously Output will be transformed into a mecca of dance music with yet ANOTHER dance music hall of famer Francois K on the bill. Tuesday 5.21: Onra
Le Poisson Rouge - 10pm - $15
This Parisian producer is extremely diverse, mixing hip hop samples Shadow or Dilla might have chosen side by side with house-sounding analog synth work and drum machines. Lots of my favorite of his tracks are collaborations so it will be interesting to see who he brings with him on tour.
Wednesday 5.22:
(Click "Read More" to see my pick for Wednesday and Thursday this week)
When the multi-talented super-homey Alex Burkat told me there was going to be an outdoor party in Brooklyn this Sunday I didn't hesitate. After a killer mother's day BBQ with MH the Verb in the Bronx I scooped LongArms in the East Village and headed down to Gowanus Grove.
When we got there it was immediately clear we were in for a great time, with folks lined up all the way to the street to get their IDs checked. The best aspect of the Mister Saturday Night series parties for me is the crowd. It is a cornucopia of ages, races, genders, and walks of life; and everyone is getting down.
Under the poplar trees there was a place to get drinks, a much longer line to eliminate them, a Ping-Pong table, and a shorter line for food by the entrance. In the center of the grove, a sacred circle of speakers enclosed the church-goers. Right away I spotted Burkat dancing behind the DJ with a few friends. Behind him I ran into some of my very good Pittsburgh super-power crew including Leigh and Ryah of Raw and Nakturnal fame. They were in town staying with some other rad folks in Brooklyn, and the night was teed up for magic.
After a delightful chat with old friends by the river over bronx pale ales and mexican cokes, the sun set, and the temperature dropped a good twenty degrees, propelling us towards the dancefloor. The music got louder, the bass was heavy and the anthems were energizing. The crowd got rowdy and pretty soon one woman was even crowdsurfing. Check out my video below for a recap of this incredible party. Major thanks to Burkat for keeping me in the loop and Justin and Eamon for gathering and organizing.
Sometimes you move to escape your troubles and find that you've packed them in your suitcase next to the socks.
There can't be a worse smelling neighborhood in the world than Chinatown in NYC. The noxious combination of manure, fresh seafood, dying vegetation, and hot urine could make a Calcuttan cringe. I always thought the facemasks were for pollution but now I know why they are so popular.
I do love it here though - everyone's an artist in New York if you dig deep enough, and I found a great bar last night where the DJ was playing Biggie and Outkast and I sang along with the employees and danced until they asked me to leave.
I like hanging with the servers more than the served.
Camera is a Canon 60D with 17-40mm f2.8 sigma
I used the isolate blues filter in lightroom for the effect.
One of the best ways to learn about new good music in a hurry is to trawl the internet for playlists from DJ's you respect.
Recently I was asked for my top three currently performing DJs and I listed A-Trak, Shiftee and Z-Trip. I guess it's kind of obvious that I'm into turntablism.
Shiftee posted a screenshot from his Traktor of the songs he played to open his set in boston this week, and I've transformed the screenshot into a youtube playlist, which is easier to listen to.
One of the biggest discoveries for me was new music from Buku. I've been following this dude on soundcloud for a minute, ever since I heard about him through some of my Pittsburgh connections, but he has been making some MAJOR noise in 2013. Shiftee played "Say Deez" but I've shared "Say Wut Again" which I liked as a bit of a variant to the heavy trap vibe of this post. " Wise Up!
Another interesting new name for me was Walter Ego. I've included the video for "In Control" which features UK Funky elements, grime synths, and a strong narrative from emcee Slick Don. The video is no slouch with black and white views of a London neighborhood, a fisheye lens, and some creative editing.
I've been really feeling this producer out of Boston that's been sending me a steady supply of fresh music the last month or two named Moduloktopus.
If you peep the soundcloud you will see dude has a ton of work which has been really popping off lately. In addition there are some super raunchy vids that you won't want to watch in front of the wife and kidz.
Boston has been one of the centers of the new Trap production movement, with supergroup M|O|D now recognized as heavy hitters following a huge showcase at SXSW and major touring slated for Spring and Fall.
What do you think about the video? The production? Thanks for checking out DUTB!
