Friday, May 29, 2009

Ghislain Poirier feat. Face T

Fresh off part one of my tour with Ghislain Poirier, Face T, and South Rakkas I must say I was well impressed. Ghislains live performance alongside Face T and drummer extraordinaire Chris was nothing short of amazing!

Heres two videos of the same track, one is the official video and the other is live!





Tour picks back up June 5th in Calgary and June 6th in Edmonton with same crew and an additional performance by Rye Rye! stoked!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Crazy Cousinz - UK FUNKY





The Crazy Cousinz are at the forefront of one of the Uk's newest dance music sensations UK FUNKY!

The soca/dancehall drum patterns and relentless dancefloor energy of funky house have made it a perfect fit for bashment-dominated DJ sets in the last couple of years - particularly the tunes and remixes featuring ragga MCs.


In the last few months, some of the biggest tunes in the London rave scene have featured bashment-influenced vocals: Donaeo's Party Hard, Lady Chann's Your Eye Too Fast and Ms Dynamite's Bad Gyal. Heatwave MC Rubi Dan has been busy too, dropping his distinctive London/Caribbean flow on funky house releases by Chinski and Grievous Angel.

And of course, the trend in funky for tunes calling out dance moves - Migraine Skank, Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes and the hilarious but excellent Stupid Skank - is a direct nod to Jamaican bashment dance songs like Dutty Wine, Gully Creepa or Row The Boat.
Two way traffic

Now it seems that rather than just absorbing and adapting Caribbean influences, the sound of UK funky is crossing the Atlantic and starting to cause waves in Jamaica.

This is just the beginning of something huge! Dont Sleep!

MP3: Aidonia & Crazy Cousinz - Bounce

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Introduction




Greetings fellow music lovers, my name is Mr. Sofalumpkins, I have been asked by this fine group of gentlemen to contribute to this blog, I'll be writing on a wide range of topics, all music related of course, but I guess first off, I should tell you all a little about myself.

I am a trans-dimensional gestalt entity who entered this host body on November 1st 2008, the previous "occupant" had gone way beyond the terms of the lease and was for all intents and purposes "squatting" so he had to be forcibly evicted, the technical term for this event is "soul jacking", please refer to your cosmic instruction manual for further reading on; what to do when being soul jacked, how to avoid a soul jacking, plus, contacts for all the relevant agencies that deal with "post jacking stress disorder" and all the "post corporeal rehabilitation groups".

Now thats all cleared up I can broach my first topic for this blog;

The state of the industry...

Contrary to popular and wide spread belief, there is NOTHING wrong with the state of the music industry, all that has happened in recent years is that all of the holes in the present model, though i now refer to this as the old one, have been highlighted and are now starting to cause massive failure with it. Things are not as bleak as some will have you believe, the sky is not falling, its just its chemical make-up that is changing, let me elaborate on this.

The problem with the old model is that it is based on the notion of how we exploit "intellectual copyright", we have to be clear about our choice of words here and no other word than "exploit" can be used in this context. Now lets put that word into another context and see what results we get "exploitation of children for cheap labour" for example is a great context within which to understand why exploitation is a bad thing. Okay, so you may argue about the use of the word "exploitation" within the context of "intellectual copyright", well, you wont get very far with that argument as the right to "exploit" the "intellectual copyright" of an artist is made explicit in every legally binding document within the industry.

You may well ask what the problem is here, well, its very simple, music can be copyrighted, but when you consider that every possible arrangement of chords, melodic structure and rhythm have already been covered by the classical composers and tribes in africa that developed the first poly rhythms you have to ask yourself who owns the music the industry wishes to exploit? Anything over 50 years old is copyright free in europe, i believe its 75 in north america, so, if its all been done before, and it is now out of copyright, its free for all to use and abuse, so who owns it? This oxymoron is made all the more troubling when you consider that most modern music is made from samples and, well, just noises, theres actually little to no musical content whatsoever, so how can you copyright something that cannot be scored? So now this comes down to the ownership of the recording, but this implies some kind of performance surely?

My point here is simple, the only thing a musician can rightfully ask to be paid for in terms of intellectual property is the actual performance itself, that being the case, on the surface the dance music industry appears to have been living in a bubble economy, and, unfortunately, that bubble is about to burst.

Embrace performance, or die, this is how evolution works, and embrace change and the new model, or go the way of the dinosaur, and in keeping with this new ethos i present to you my first free track available for download below.

Juakali





JUAKALI [Subswara NYC]
http://www.myspace.com/juakali

Is the resident MC of New York City’s premier Dubstep event; Dub War and more recently, the internationally fueled bass driven Sub Swara NYC. He is the featured vocalist with the live Dub band Dub Liberation Front (formerly Babylon Station) and is continuously recording his Island reared vocals to riddims that move body or soul.


JUAKALI - Come From Yard

CLASSIXX!!!!

This video rules! This song is even better!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Brutalist Architecture Vol. I

This mix has been sitting on my hard drive for ages now, weathering all sorts of forces intent on dragging it into a deep, sordid gutter of "never finished". Computer crashes, non-stop exams, the mysterious disappearance of programs in the middle of the night, a week and a half stay in a computer tech's dusty back-room, and a tremendous slip-and-fall on a patch of stubborn ice that just wouldn't melt. But, it's all over, and the finished product is a click away. (PS, "Vol. I" implies that there will be a Vol. 2, and so on and so forth, at least theoretically. Watch for more installments.)


Hotspur Pop's Brutalist Architecture Vol. I

Run-time: 26:27

Intro) House Music / Aniki, Hoes and House / Top Billin
1) The Flash (Scuola Furano Remix) / Act Yo Age
2) Elton Runs the Place Red (Hotspur Pop's Shoe-Gaze Mash) / KiNK vs. The Bulgarian vs. Malajube
3) Wheely Boy vs. Yo Maj / Jaymo
4) Where Is It? / Blatta and Inesha
5) Get Down / Jack Beats
6) Fake (A1 Bassline Remix) / Alex Roots
7) Push the Feeling On / Nightcrawlers
8) Speaker / KC Flight, ATFC, Seamus Haji
9) God Is A Slacker (Lee Mortimer Remix) / Dem Slackers
10) Heartbreak Scorcese ('96 Bulls Remix) / Snob Scrilla
11) Beatburger (Mikix the Cat Mac Honey Remix) / Mendel
12) Movin' Around / Mikix the Cat
13) Bingo Players Get Up (Diplo Remix) / Bart B-More
14) Lucky 13 / Act Yo Age, K.I.S.S.I.N.G. / Nas (acapella)
15) Vouxhall / Riva Starr
16) Step Off (Lazy Ants Remix) / Blatta & Inesha ft. Congorock
17) Back Up In This (Nadastrom Remix) / Designer Drugs
18) Ski Hard / Armand Van Helden ft. Christian Rich
19) Shoes (Noob Remix) / Tiga
20) Nothing 2 Step 2 (Idiotproof Remix) / Thunderheist
21) Take Me to the Hospital (Hostage Remix) / The Prodigy
22) Sex O'Clock / Tiga
23) We Gonna Give You the Lesson / Mr. Miyagi
24) Jakk'd & Skrew'd (Dem Slackers vs. Mom & Dad Remix) / Jon Kennedy
25) Jack U (JFK MSTRKRFT Edit) / Felix Da Housecat and Diddy
26) AA 24/7 (Nacey Remix) / Dance Area ft. Austin Boston
27) Hello (Nacey Remix) / AC Slater
28) Erotic Discourse (Audiojack Remix) / Paul Woodford, Bobby Peru , Clock Work / Juelz Santana (acapella)
29) Disappear (Mikix the Cat Remix) / Star Eyes
30) I Took The Night (DJ Ayres Flatbeat Mix) / Chelley vs. Mr. Oizo
31) Infonia Della Notte / Dennis Ferrer
32) Connect the Dots / Daz the Dominant
33) Blinded By The Lights (Nero Remix) / The Streets



Bonus oontz oontz:

The Big Bass Blowout. w/ Juakali,Joe Nice & Freaky Flow





JOE NICE




31-year-old Baltimore Dubstep DJ. The most famous American DJ playing Dubstep, Nice founded New York's irregular Dub War club night, which has hosted performances by prominent British Dubstep artists such as Hatcha, Youngsta ,kode9 , Mala and Loefah . He performs regularly in New York, London (including at scene pillar DMZ) , and elsewhere. He first heard Dubstep in 2002, at the Baltimore venue Starscape, and began playing it that same year. He has been praised for his charisma and stage presence. In 2005 music journalist Martin Clark also praised him for his access to new dubplates (in contrast to other American Dubstep DJs) and willingness to play tracks by lesser-known producers. In 2007, Nice was selected as one of URB magazine's "Next 100".

http://www.myspace.com/joenice



FREAKY FLOW



Freaky Flow plays on a regular basis at major events throughout Canada, the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Austria, England, and Slovenia, making him the most booked drumandbass DJ in Canada. Notably, for years, all of Flow’s sets featured lyrical-mastermind, MC Flipside, on the microphone, but with Flipside’s mid-2004 decision to quit touring with Flow and focus on his own stage show and studio work, Flow now finds himself rocking crowds again all on his own, just like back in the day.

http://www.myspace.com/freakyflow

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Calvin Harris & Passion Pit




Mr. Harris can do no wrong at the moment.

Passion Pit "The Reeling" [ Calvin Harris Remix]

beautiful.

WOLFGANG GARTNER




Wolfgang is judging tonights dj comp as well as djing the party party at Y alongside myself and the rest of the Y crew.

In the often serious world of dance music, it’s good to see somebody still having a bit of fun. Meet Wolfgang Gartner, or as he's known to his parents; Joey Youngman. At first glance the name Wolfgang Gartner is a fairly recent blip on dance music’s collective radar, but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover a robust discography, amassed by a seasoned veteran of the music industry.
Currently residing in Austin, Texas, this 26-year-old California transplant has been producing dance music since he was 11 years old. While most kids were playing Nintendo and after-school sports, Youngman was syncing a drum machine to a keyboard and teaching himself to make tracks. His career didn’t hit center stage until 2003 however, when after a decade of pounding on the industry’s door he landed his first big break and began putting out records.
The early years of Youngman’s discography boasted releases and remixes on dozens of respected house labels like Tango, Om Records, Naked Music, Doubledown, and his own imprints; Fetish Recordings & Jackin Tracks. He donned a slew of production aliases including Mario Fabriani, White Collar Criminals, Frequent Fliers, and a few other colorful guises that helped to spice up an exceedingly frequent release schedule.
In 2004, Youngman signed onto the esteemed Blue Collar Entertainment roster and started focusing more time on his other passion: DJ’ing. The move sparked a series of global tours and increased his exposure to audiences around the world. To date, Joey Youngman has performed on every continent. From Japan to South Africa, Russia, Ibiza, and everywhere in between, the air miles have stacked up along-side his innate ability to work a dancefloor.
2007 marked a major step in Youngman’s career with the introduction of his new moniker: Wolfgang Gartner. The new name was created to explore a new sound, without feeling confined to the musical boundaries of his previous projects. “I was getting bored with house, with that whole sound,” he says. “I basically hadn’t evolved musically since the late 90's and had been rehashing the same ideas over and over. Something just snapped and I decided it was time for a complete change.”
It was apparent from the first Wolfgang Gartner release that Youngman was onto something big. In a period of less than a year, Wolfgang Gartner had landed 3 top-10 singles on Beatport.com’s sales chart, a Pete Tong “essential new tune of the week” on BBC’s Radio 1, two video game licenses, and a plethora of DJ support and accolades within the industry. It was early 2008 when Youngman made the decision to pursue the Wolfgang Gartner project full-time. “It’s so hard to do 2 things really well at the same time,” he says. “I realized that I had to pick something and stick to it. So I decided that this new style is the direction I want to go, and to focus all my time and energy on Wolfgang Gartner.”


MP3 - WOLFGANG GARTNER - WILDCARD

La Roux - Bulletproof

La Roux latest is a accompanied by a very slick video and song isnt too bad either.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Agile as a Cat

Me stretching in the morning.
No special theme, no rhyme or reason, no common thread today. Just music I've been listening to almost on repeat (almost) for the past few days. I'd like to share.
Mikix the Cat, in particular, will always have a hallowed spot on my iPod, Walkman, CD Player, Stereo, Hi-Fi, Phonograph. He's been dubbed one of "France's most interesting musicians", and it's easy to see why if his recent Movin' Around EP is any indication. These two tracks have especially caught my attention; both bring high energy, but with a certain tight control that I love.
And more...

Monday, May 4, 2009

ITS BANANAS!




Sammy Bananas of ATRAKs Fools Gold label and the other headliner on the treasure fingers show this friday at Pawn Shop, is on fire right now!!!!

Just finished remixing Nothing 2 step 2 by Thunderheist and ill let you be the judge over at his MY SPACE but i think he really out did himself on this one and thats big as Sammy tunes have regular rotation in my sets and many others acorss the globe. Heres the low down on the man Sammy Bananas!


Rising Brooklyn remixer and party maestro Sammy Bananas lives up to his name by crafting ecstatic tracks that ditch trendy production tricks in favor of pure pop satisfaction. He's already remixed the likes of Chromeo and 45 King, and his latest Fool's Gold EP Braids & Fades is a tribute to the biker-shorted divas of the 1990s, chopping up their r&b hits into uptempo club tracks. The approach has already made fans out of influential BBC DJ Annie Mac and platinum producer will.i.am, who ran up to the DJ booth at Sammy's last LA show to shout "YOU made this?!?" The new record is a follow up to the equally catchy and early 90s rooted High Top Fades EP which saw release in late 2007.

Early in this year, Sammy stunned the DJ community with his inventive bootleg of N.E.R.D's "Everyone Nose" which he rechristened as "All The Girls." He debuted the remix on the Screaming Bloody Murder tour in which he traveled North America with A-Trak, Sinden and Steve Aoki. The track was played across the world and became a staple in sets by heavyweights like A-Trak and Flosstradamus. Sammy is always working on new material, so keep on the lookout for his remix of Tittsworth's "WTF" coming out on T&A Records as well as his take on Trackademic's "Enjoy What You Do" dropping later this fall on Fool's Gold. Sammy continues to spread his net ever further with a European tour this October, and a trip to Australia planned for early '09.

"Sammy IS straight up bananas. He ripped it at LAX and I can't wait to have him back!"
- DJ AM

"Wow I love these! I don't know which one to play on the radio!"
- Annie Mac

"In a musical climate where so many DJs and producers are doing the same thing as the next guy, Sammy Bananas is a breath of fresh air. His music is full of character and can be best described by one word: funky"
-A-Trak

Heres some freebees for ya'll courtesy of Sammy himself!

Sammy Bananas & Maggie Horn are TELEPHONED

TELEPHONED - Pop Champagne (Ron Browz Cover)

HOLLYWOOD HOLT - Hollywood (Sammy Bananas Remix)


TELEPHONED - Can't Believe It (T-Pain Cover)


SAMMY BANANAS - LADIES (via RCRD LBL)


SAMMY BANANAS - ALL THE GIRLS (Everyone Nose rmx)

CHROMEO - TENDERONI (SAMMY B PUMP THIS PARTY MIX)

FRI. MAY 8th Oh Snap! & SMR present...

SAMMY BANANAS & TREASURE FINGERS @ PAWN SHOP - FOOLS GOLD DISCO PARTY

Friday, May 1, 2009

A Selection for Your Night-Swim Home

Wet Cars
A big fan of the night-drive, I've been told many times, usually by hoarse-voiced and slumped-over friends: "Dude, this iPod is a fucking seamless soundtrack to everything passing by my window." The bums are out, crowds are thinning, and some poor saps are desperately loading Pukey McGee into the back of a cab.
A remix of the '92 gem, Renaissance Man builds the original riff until a foghorn-esque groan signals the arrival of a simple, throbbing kick with its own crackling energy. Complete with children's laughter and a non-threatening, side-to-side rhythm.
Idiotproof takes on Canadian duo Thunderheist with a remix that never loses its finespun bounce, Isis' vocals cut into 3-word statements and laced in for emphasis.
Bonus ethnicity: