Skinnerbox

Being one of the most underrated Berlin electronic acts in my eyes, Skinnerbox have been mealy roaming the Berlin scene and it wasn't until this year that Iftah Gabbai and Olaf Hilgenfeld presented a longer list of upcoming shows on myspace.

Since 2005 they have turned empty dancefloors and lawns into collective outcries and always pressed the button that made me stay for the one last drink and kept me from calling it a night. Fusion visitors might know them from their gigs in the „Bachstelzen“ (i.e. wagtail) area and they are regularly seen at „Bachstelzen“ parties in Berlin (where I first took notice). Beautiful Tech-house composed during live sets through laptop and moog. No turntables. Check it out and give the guys some props, they’ve been dwelling the cellar for too long. Also check out their management at manicmusic.com

Download a live set from Oct. 2008 here

Skinnerbox on Beatport

Kanio

I first heard of Kanio a couple of months ago. This guy is rising up pretty fast. He's a London based producer who has been getting some well deserved critical acclaim lately and was nominated for "Best Minimal Artist of the Year 2009" on Beatport, where he accomplished 5 top ten and another 7 top 20 productions. Claude Von Stroke and Richie Hawtin are among his admirers. Here are a few of my favorites.


Kanio - Happyslap (Oblivion Remix)


Difi - 24 Bit Bleep (Kanio Remix)


Max Cooper - Harmonisch (Kanio Remix)


Spektre - Deal With It (Kanio Remix)


Kanio - The Hitcher

Elia - Kats (Kanio Remix)

Harmonisch - Serie (Kanio Remix)

I'll leave you with a handful of Kanio's mixes to download:

Feb 08 mix

Jan 08 Mix

May Mix

Oct Mix

Feb 09 Mix

Buy Kanio's music on Beatport

Photo Tribute to Uffie

PHONIQUE at RISE BOSTON!!!

Long time favorite of mine, Phonique will be gracing the decks at Rise this Sunday! Get ready for a hell of a Memorial Day weekend!


Phonique (aka Michael Vater) is a staple of Berlin electronic music. He has been releasing minimal and techno tracks since the beginning of the century, mostly with Steve Bug (PokerFlat, Dessous). Here are some Phonique must-haves from back when:

Phonique - The Red Dress (Tiefschwarz Remix)


Phonique feat. Erlend Oye - For The Time Being


DON'T MISS IT!!!

Song of the Day: Subscape - Transaction

Sub-Scape - Transaction (Dub Police)


This track's in Caspa's Fabric Promo Mix. Phenomenal.

MAD DECENT IS MAD FUNNY

Diplo, the outlandish DJ from the Iladelph, has been very busy over the past few years, working with DJ Low Budget, M.I.A., Santo-now-Santi-gold, Spank Rock, Amanda Blank, Andrew Levins, Nina Agzarian, Justice, Switch, and hundreds of other musicians from all over the world. So busy and important that now he's got people making iPhone Apps for him!

Watch Diplo himself give the demo for Mad Decent's first iPhone App:

Mad Decent iPhone App from Mad Decent on Vimeo.

also, on a completely relevant note, check out these tour dates!


Monday 06/01 @ House of Blues - Santigold with Amanda Blank and Trouble Andrew
Thursday 06/18 @ House of Blues - Major Lazer

Moderat feat Busdriver

Finally picked up Moderat's new album 'Moderat' out on Bpitch Control - it's phenomenal. Moderat is a collab between Bpitch's Apparat and Modeselektor.







This track is my favorite upon first listen. FUCK Busdriver is the shit

Moderat - BeatsWaySick [feat Busdriver]


You'd better go see Moderat while they're on tour, cuz you won't see either of these artists on this side of the ATL for a while

Friendly police just...keeping the peace?

Guns and vests? Helicopters? Note to self - never play a live show in Utah

Artist of the Day: Propa Tingz

Propa Tingz, aka BreakBeatBuddha, originally from the UK, now holds it down in the Bay Area. His style is described as, "a devious, bass-heavy blend of Breaks and glitched-out, Dancehall vibes for the Headz." He's collaborated with some big artists like KRS 1, Bassnectar, Busta Rhymes, Mala Rodriguez and Beenie Man. He's widely known as the pioneer of 'Glitch-Step' - a combo of Bay Area Hyphy, Dirty South Crunk, UK Bass and Glitch. Check out this vid from his last tour:


(yea, you should probably be tripping for full effect - but still nice vid)

Here's a couple tracks to get to know Propa Tingz:

Lil Wayne - A Milli [Propa Tingz ill tingz remix]

Now that there are 999 remixes of this song, I believe this makes 1,000 - and it's definitely one of the heaviest.

FreQ Nasty vs Propa Tingz - Peacemaker [dub]

This track was originally showcased on FreQ Nasty's FABRICLIVE.42 mix.


Here's the main attraction - another gem from Rob Booth's (aka Surgeon) awesome Electronic Explorations radio show - an exclusive Propa Tingz mix.

Propa Tingz - Electronic Explorations Exclusive Mix download


Tracklist:

01. Propa Tingz - Babylons Scared (the “16 Bit” Proply Scared Remix)
02. Food for Animals - Mutumbo (Raffertie’s Bigger Bass Remake)
03. 16 Bit - Chainsaw Calligraphy
04. Sukh Knight - Up in Smoke
05. Propa Tingz - PropaTingz”
06. d.i.m. - Is You (Jantsen Remix)
07. PropaTingz V Freq Nasty - Peacemaker
08. Buraka Som Sistema - Luanda Lisboa
09. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat (16 Bit Remix)
10. PropaTingz - Wickedest Sound
11. The Scarlet Harlots - Backlash (Rafferties Bigger Bass Remake)
12. Salva - American Grime
13. M.I.A. - Bird Flu VIP (PropaTingz Dirty South Rerub)
14. PropaTingz v Ric Ross Hustlers Concerto
15. KRS 1 & Heavy Weight Dub Champion - Rise (PropaTingz Glitch Step Remix)

Drinkmusik presents: Fancy Rat Mix

It's time for a new and exclusive Drinkmusik mix! Indulge in 40 minutes of dubstep with lots of hard hitting head-bopp material. Yeeeah! Let us know what you think!






Denna – Fancy Rat Mix

right click here to download


1. Major Lazer – Hold the Line
2. Rusko – Twitter Dat
3. Bun vs. Ill Bill – Choppa
4. Nero – This Way (Denna Edit)
5. Ital Tek – Cyclical
6. Reso – If Ya Can’t Beat ‘Em
7. The Others – Kingpin
8. Mad Professor – Your Rights My Rights
9. Grifta – Dub Buxton
10. Deadmau5 – I Remember (Caspa Remix)
11. Kid Kudi – Day N Night (Rusko Remix)
12. Benga – 26 Basslines
13. Toasty – The Knowledge
14. Denna – Aboulia
15. Zomby – Spliff Dub (Rustie Remix)
16. The Streets – Blinded by the Lights (Nero Remix)

50 WEAPONS

So here's the skinny on 50 Weapons. It seems that Berlin music gurus Modeselektor have attempted to release something under the radar. In 2006, a track was released anonymously on a fresh new label out of the UK. It didn't garner too much attention but was uploaded to the Modeselektor Myspace soon thereafter with the 50 Cent acapella. The vocal sample at the beginning is featured in BPitch Control's Boogy Bytes Vol. 3 (mixed by Modeselektor).

"Unknown" - 50 Weapons 001 or
50 Cent - Just A Lil Bit (Modeselektor Remix)


No fooling us here. Definitely Modeselektor. However in the past few weeks, I have been reading the odd this and that about a new 50 Weapons release. Fortunately, this is the case. They've changed it up a bit by preparing a 12" double sided single. The duo had some killer material lying around and had local buddies Siriusmo and Housemeister put their own unique touches on them. Here are some snippets.


50 Weapons 002 - Side A (Siriusmo edit)


50 Weapons 002 - Side B (Housemeister edit)


Keep your ears open for these tracks. I'm sure they'll get lots of play in the near future. Plus you might be able to hear them at the Moderat show, coming to a venue near you!

Pascal Kleiman

Most of you have probably heard of this guy, but I haven't. Pascal Kleiman DJs with his legs because he has no arms. Check out these videos:





Pretty amazing.

Moderat US Tour

Now here's a show you'll definitely not want to miss. Three man rave machine Moderat, made up of BPitch Control's masterminds Modeselektor and Apparat, will be promoting the release of their self titled first album "Moderat" this month by touring through the states for a couple of weeks. They'll be accompanied by Pfadfinderei, who will be sure to bring some crazy visuals. The show will be amazing!
"Moderat" is their first recording since the EP “Auf Kosten der Gesundheit” (“At The Cost Of Health"), which came out in 2003 and was the only piece we got to hear from them until now. Well it was worth the wait. The sound has completely matured, their first single "A New Error" already blew away critics' minds and the next release will surely do the same. Sascha Ring lends his voice to "Rusty Nails" for some Arcadia style vocals over a sweet garage beat. Again you will hear elements of both Modeselektor and Apparat. They just work so well together.

They'll be stopping by the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, where we also got to see Deadmau5 last month.

Tickets are around $15 and will go fast. Get 'em while you can!

05/19 Seattle, WA - Neumos
05/20 San Francisco, CA - Harriet
05/22 Los Angeles, CA - Paladium
05/23 Denver, CO - Beta
05/24 Boston, MA - Paradise
05/27 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
05/28 Montreal, QC - Metropolis
05/29 Toronto, ON - Circa
05/30 New York, NY - Webster Hall

Moderat - A New Error

Moderat - Rusty Nails

Moderat Trailer


Moderat - Ruedersdorf (DVD Interlude)


Moderat & Pfadfinderei

Hotflush Recordings

Hotflush Recordings has been getting some more recognition lately. Straight out of London, this label has brought forth some pretty innovative artists and some darn good music. Much of it has that muffled underground sound, which is awesome.

(From their Bio:)
"Hotflush was started in 2003 with the aim of giving a platform to music which doesn’t fit into a certain category. In a dance scene divided into genres and sub-genres the value of music is lost, and Hotflush seeks to bridge gaps between areas of the scene to stimulate the sharing of influences and ideas."

Hotflush claimed Scuba, Mount Kimbie, Sigha and DZ (who we talked about a while back) as some of their proteges over the years and has quite an exciting lineup of more talents for future releases. Don't forget to check out their mixtapes! Free stuff! Wooo!

Untold - Dante

Download

Mount Kimbie - Maybes

Download
Yeah, we posted this a while ago. It's worth another one.

Qualifide - Just Being Fooled (Brokenbeat Mix)


Toasty - The Knowledge


Search & Destroy - Candyfloss


Buy Hotflush Recordings releases on Beatport

Sigha

Sigha (pronounced "S-eye-ah") of Hotflush Recordings has been releasing some pretty cool tracks this year. He describes his productions as having a heavy bass sound, which is true, but the overall feel of his tracks is very mellow and spacey. I guess in that sense he's kind of like Burial. The tempo and beats are technically danceable, but you can just as well space out to work or whatever while you're listening to it.
Sigha also throws his own "Medium" party at the Plastic People club in north-east London. And when he isn't playing or producing music, Sigha is standing behind the counters of London's famous BM Soho record store, where I'm sure you'll be able to find some of his own music too. You will also find it here.


Sigha - Expansions

Download

Sigha - Remembrance


Sigha - On the Strip

Download


Buy On the Strip/Remembrance

Sigha on Beatport

Projekt Festival

The Summer Solstice Projekt Music and Arts Festival

All I need to say is Benga & Skream - Thursday June 18th. Who cares if it's in rural Maryland - it's their only stop on the East Coast (only other stop in the US is in San Fran on the 19th). Spinning together or back to back, I don't care. I WILL be there...oh yes, I WILL be there.

At first glance, this looks like a semi-weak festival other than these two heavy-hitters of dubstep on Thurs nite. But Leon Sonkin, Shpongle, Conspirator, The Egg and many more will also be there, as well as a live painting exhibit from the artist Alex Grey - scope out some of his work on google images.

The tix are pretty damn cheap, $105 for a 3-day fest. And who doesn't like summer camping?


Tunes to persuade:

Skream - Midnight Request Line


Skream - Blue Eyez


Skream - Oskilatah


Buraka Som Sistema & Skream - Blipstream


12th Planet - Control [feat. Emu] [Skream remix]


La Roux - In for the Kill [Skream let's get ravey mix]


Benga - 26 Basslines


Benga - E-Trips


Benga - Crunked Up


Benga - Night [feat. Coki]


Leon Sonkin - Live at Silk City Diner 05.25.08



Even better, some vids to wheedle:

Artist of the Day: B.Rich

As far as I know, B.Rich is the most successful electro-house/dubstep DJ on the Boston scene at the moment. He's got credible artists like HeavyFeet, 2 Bit Thugs, SLUTTT and AC Slater remixing his originals, while he's also providing some pretty worthy remixes himself for Knowlton Walsh, Raffertie, Aniki and Bryan Cox - taaaaaa name a few. And his live sets are certainly not lacking. Last time I saw him was opening up for The Bloody Beetroots here in Bostonia.

Aside: Check out this promo video for The Bloody Beetroots' track 'Warp' on Dim Mak - the footage is from the Boston show


Sadly, just as I was getting into B.Rich's original tracks and remixes, he is packing up and moving out of town, probably to much bigger and better things. I take this as a sign that he is going to settle down and produce produce produce.

So I want to share a few tracks witcha, just in case he happens to be swinging through your taint of the woods anytime soon.

B.Rich - Ain't Here To Party [feat. Whiskey Pete]

This track is from the new Ain't Here to Party EP released last month on Palms Out Sounds - definitely grab this fine specimen on beatport.

B.Rich - Everyday Hustle

This lil doozy hit the public in March I believe on the self-titled release with A New Hope Records.

B.Rich - Everyday Hustle [AC Slater remix]

Here's a remix of Everyday Hustle, which is nearing beatport's #1 spot for overall downloads this year. Probably just an easy ticket to a World Tour, that's all. This track is absolutely ill.

AC Slater - BanGer [B.Rich remix]

And this is one of B.Rich's first official stabs at dubstep, returning the favor for AC Slater on his BanGer release with Party Like Us Records.


Keep an eye out for more B.Rich, hear you me.

Burial & Four Tet

Garage wunderkind Burial teamed up with Four Tet to bring us two sweet new tracks. Now we've all heard of Burial, but Four Tet is a guy who isn't quite as widely known, even though he's been around for much longer. Straight out of London, Four Tet's tracks have been featured in commercials and TV shows such as House. He has a dreamy sound to him that definitely complements Burial's, although his own productions sound very different.
The record is titled "Moth/Wolf Cub". Both tracks are excellent. The Burial touch is noticeable in both of them, but they have an edge to them that steers away from his usual sound. That's what collabs are for.
Get the vinyl here.

Burial & Four Tet - Moth

Download

Burial & Four Tet - Wolf Cub

Download

Four Tet - Ribbons

Download

Burial - Unite

Download


Buy Moth/Wolf Cub

Get Burial on Beatport

Get Four Tet on Beatport

The Prodigy on tour

The Prodigy will be touring the US this month to promote the release of their newest album, "Invaders Must Die". Personally, I'd give it a 4 out of 10. There's a couple of good tracks on it and the whole thing is well produced. But some of it just doesn't really appeal to me that much. That's just me. Regardless, with over 16 million records sold to date, The Prodigy is the best selling dance project of all time. Q magazine named them among the "50 bands you must see before you die". And these guys do throw down a sick live show. I remember seeing them on their "Fat of the Land" tour in '97. My head was tickling from the inside and my eardrums felt like they were about to burst the entire time. And we were spat on by the Firestarter-guy. It was awesome.

May 18 @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC
May 19 @ The Electric Factory, Philadelphia
May 20 @ House of Blues, Boston
May 22 @ The Fillmore, Detroit
May 23 @ Congress Theater, Chicago
May 26 @ Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim
May 27 @ Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles
May 28 @ The Warfield, San Fransisco
May 30 @ Wamu Theater, Seattle

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

Download

The Prodigy - Stand Up


The Prodigy - Out of Space

Download

Had to add this one. Classic tune.

Buy Invaders Must Die