Last Tuesday night, we made our way to Highline Ballroom for Chiddy Bang’s Opposite of Adults’ Release Party. Featuring Chiddy Bang, Donnis, XV, 2AM Club and Samuel, the night had many surprises in store for eager fans.  We arrived just in time to catch 2AM Club’s great crowd interaction. As they sang “Worry about you,” the audience chimed along. Next up, XV stepped up to the plate, commanding the stage with an awareness as he delivered sharp verses to some heavy beats. Playing several tracks from his mixtape, Everybody is Nobody, the audience took heed to every word. From Smallville, Kansas, XV showed that he has game, and that he can certainly play with the rest.

Donnis blew the roof off the house when he jumped onto the stage. The Atlanta-based rapper exploded with metaphors and presented a fresh accent of country cool and grammar. One of XXl Magazine’s 2010 freshmen class, Donnis exercised crowd control like an experienced pro. Having seen him several times, he has certainly grown up from his freshmen days, but still knows how to play. When he brought up Jim Jones for a number, the audience erupted in fervor and excitement, and it didn’t stop there. Following up, the live and instrumental infusion of Chiddy Bang added a fresh touch of indie hip-hop to the music depository of the night. With a hodgepodge of styles, Chiddy Bang has a knack for creating great combination of melodies intertwined with lyrical play. Their live variations and tracks from ther new album, The Opposite Of Adults, was a treat for the audience – especially when they unveiled a new song produced by Pharrell Williams.

Overall, the entire show had a great vibe, and for their first sold-out show in New York City, we’d say Chiddy Bang hit this one out of the park. The audience came for fun, and by the expressions around the room, they certainly got it. Check out photos from the night by Oliver Correa.

Last Saturday, HARD Summer Tour hit New York City’s Terminal 5 as the second to last stop on their nationwide journey bringing dance music to the masses. Terminal 5, whose capacity is set at 3,000 heads, was completely sold out; packed wall to wall on every level with enthusiastic partygoers who were nearly bursting at the seams with energetic excitement. New Yorkers JDH & Dave P started off the night with an opening set of disco tinged house music, which provided the perfect appetizer for Destructo’s heavily electro influenced set, heating the dancefloor up in earnest. By the time Sinden took the stage, the crowd had been reduced to one heaving organism that was pressed up against the barrier as he spun a set of solid bass music, bring in elements of house, dubstep, and garage. Canadians Crystal Castles closed out the night with their explosive performance of experimental electronic music created through the use of a live band.

Thanks to our good friends over at URB Magazine, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with UK producer/DJ Sinden who has revitalized the club scene with his own brand of forward thinking remixes and productions, clever mash ups, and genre-melting DJ sets. Although Sinden’s sound is associated with different forms of house music, his original influences while growing up stemmed from hardcore hip-hop, the kind that you have to be over 16 to purchase (in the UK), and that your parents would confiscate and destroy if the records were ever found. He sights Public Enemy and N.W.A. as primary influences, which then lead him to branch into the discovery of electronic music through jungle and garage. Pulp Fiction’s “Alex Reece”, which he describes as soulful, sparse, quirky, minimal, and different, fundamentally changed his perception of electronic music and inspired him to truly embrace dance music.

His new label, Grizzly, is in many ways set to reflect Sinden’s own eclectic taste and his desire to keep things fresh and constantly pushing forward. Although house has always been the unifying focal point for the music Sinden has been involved in with regards to both his own production and DJ sets, Grizzly in many ways represents a move away from the traditional 4×4, and an attempt to create and experiment with new patterns and ways of looking at club music.The direction that the label will take is still very fluid, with Sinden’s own innate sense for sound acting as the primary compass – certainly nothing to complain about. Sinden’s own transition into UK Funky and more cutting edge sound has mostly stemmed from a boredom with the over-saturation of generic basslines, which stirred up a desire to move forward and keep things interesting, through tapping into unique micro scenes from all around the world, such as guarachero and old go-go rhythms. In this sense, he has never been much of a “genre” artist, preferring to dabble in many different areas and switch up his production, keeping us hanging on his every release.

Sinden will head back to the studio at the end of this year to work on some solo material, but there’s plenty from Grizzly to keep your dancing shoes moving until then. You can look forward to the release of a collaborative record between Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx’s disco alias Jon Gionvanni and Sinden, as well as new material from Bassanova (Grahmzilla and Jess Jubilee’s project). You should also keep your ears peaked for Sinden’s remix of Lone’s “Once in a While”, which is sure to be a killer track, and as always, future releases from his role as one half of The Count & Sinden.

Check out the full photo gallery from this edition of HARD Summer HERE.

Fresh off the “All Hearts” tour with Robyn and Kelis, Dan Black is stepping out on his own with a headlining engagement at Bowery Ballroom on September 9. The British singer-songwriter has been on a bit of a hot streak lately – his new single, “Alone”, will be released this week with a remix by MJ Cole, and his video for “Symphonies” has been nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards.

CLICK HERE to buy tickets for his show on September 9th, and in preparation for what is sure to be a fantastic show, check out his Weird Science mixtape HERE and his VMA-nominated video for “Symphonies” after the jump.

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Miike Snow’s performance was the one I was most looking forward to on Øya’s second day. And while Richie Adomako and Kenroy George reported on one of three sold-out NYC shows back in March, I personally never had the pleasure of seeing them live.

The band took the stage in matching black jackets and white theatrical masks, which coupled with the lights, fog and ambient intro, gave off an eerie vibe reminiscent of the Phantom of the Opera. They launched into “Cult Logic” and “Burial”, removing their masks in one fell swoop during “Black & Blue” to reveal the full emotional range behind their music.

Physically watching each member’s contribution to the sound made me appreciate the complexity of each song even more. While the entire set list came from their eponymous debut album, the live interpretations were not mere regurgitations of the originals. Miike Snow pushed the boundaries of each song’s structure, adding improvisational breaks to several album favorites, including “Sylvia” and “Black & Blue”. As expected, they ended the show with a rousing rendition of their first single, “Animal”.

Click through for photos from Miike Snow’s Øya performance, or CLICK HERE for more snaps of the festival.

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Øya’s Friday line-up was by far the most popular – single day passes sold out less than 20 minutes after their release. Stacked with MVPs like Die Antwoord, Flaming Lips, La Roux, Major Lazer and Robyn, the line-up was not only  good on paper, each artist delivered solid performances that collectively made the third day of the festival Øya’s best overall.

Check in throughout the week for highlights of individual performances…

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

Thursday was sunny and gorgeous, perfect weather for an outdoor festival. We kicked off our day with some appropriately tropical tunes, with Norway natives Casiokids and the LA-based Fool’s Gold (not to be confused with Fool’s Gold Records). Miike Snow was a definite highlight – their live set highlighted the complex layers of their music. LCD Soundsytem was great as expected, and it was especially nice to see Brooklyn’s own Yeasayer, who we’ve never had the pleasure of seeing live.

The beautiful weather rekindled our spirit of musical exploration and gave us more freedom to wander from stage to stage. Over the course of the day, we caught glimpses of Broken Bells, Lindstrøm & Christabelle and Jonsi.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

Øya got off to a rainy start on Wednesday, where dedicated poncho-clad fans came out in droves to take in a wide variety of both local and international acts. We checked out performances by Imperial State Electric, Gaslight Anthem, Sleigh Bells and M.I.A., and stumbled upon a hilarious scene during Fucked Up’s set, when the lead singer stripped to his skivvies and sang from the audience, stopping for a photo opp along the way (above).

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

The night before the official start of the festival, Øya kicked things off with the annual Klubbdagen (Club Day), where nearly 80 local bands played in 25 venues scattered around Central Oslo. Armed with the official Klubbdagen map and our iPhone (which will surely come back to haunt us with an astronomical phone bill), we navigated the streets of Oslo, making stops to check out The Last Heat at Juicy På Sukkerbiten, Tre Små Tøser (which loosely translates to “Three Small Hussies”) at Blå, and Phone Joan at Gamla.

And since the experience was just as much about exploring the city as it was about exploring the music, we’ve included some snaps of the sights we encountered along the way.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

Last Thursday, Green Label Sound brought electro-funk pioneers Pee Thug and Dave 1, otherwise known as Chromeo, to the stage of the Bowery Ballroom in a spectacularly sexy display of light, energy, and sound. Native New Yorkers Telephoned and Holy Ghost! opened for Chromeo, warming up the expectant crowd with their individual flavors of party music.

In recent years, Chromeo has gained a stellar reputation for their cheeky brand of pop music which oozes sex and attitude through every synthesized note. The two French Canadian musicians have been known to describe themselves jokingly as the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture, but the breakthrough of their second album Fancy Footwork demonstrated that their success is no laughing matter.

Taking the stage of the Ballroom to the roaring sound of the crowd chanting their name, the duo took their places behind their signature well heeled legs of light, accompanied by three backup vocalists in little black dresses. Playing the whole set with dark shades on, Chromeo exuded cool while maintaining a vibe of accessibility and fun. The crowd went wild for tracks like “Tenderoni” and “Needy Girl”, singing along with every lyric and seriously getting down to the funky bassline. Using an impressive array of keyboards, synthesizers, drums, guitar and a talk box, the artists each employed multiple instruments, demonstrating without a doubt that while their show may be flashy, their music is built on a foundation of serious talent.

Look out for Chromeo’s third album Business Casual, which is set to drop September 14 and features their new single “Don’t Turn the Lights On”. Check out the full photo gallery from the show HERE.

Hailing from far-off Melbourne, Australia, Andrew Szekeres, Vincent Vendetta and Daniel Stricker, otherwise known as the Midnight Juggernauts, shook the stage of Santos Party House for another outstanding event courtesy of Fixed this past Thursday with their energetic performance of live instrumental dance music. They were joined on stage by HEALTH, who warmed up the expectant crowd, anxious to get their feet moving and heads bobbing.

In a triumphant exhibition of musical exuberance, the Aussies performed using a range of instruments with each band member utilizing multiple tools. These included (among others) multiple sets of drums and keyboards, drum machines, bass and vocals, thereby creating the hybrid sound of electronic experimental rock music they are so known for. Showcasing both material from their new album like their single “Vital Signs” as well as old favorites such as “Road to Recovery”, the Midnight Juggernauts managed to communicate to both old fans and those just tuning in. Parallel to the vivacity of the music was the energy of the artists themselves ebbing and flowing with that of the crowd, which had been reduced to one big heaving mess of sweat by the end of the show.

Hot off the May 28 release of their second full length album, The Crystal Axis, the Midnight Juggernauts rolled through New York City as part of their ongoing tour, which is set to continue to California, head back to their motherland, and finally cross the pond to take on the United Kingdom. Check out out the full list of coming tour dates on their Myspace.

CLICK HERE to check out the full photo gallery, and stay tuned to see what exciting talent the Fixed crew sends our way next!