Are you still scratching your head and trying to figure out where you will be counting down the final seconds of 2011? Well, if you’re looking an eve of epic festivities, look no further than to our friends at MeanRed.

MeanRed is gathering your favorite Brooklyn DJs to shake your inebriated bodies into the New Year. AND- you will be in Brooklyn, which means far far away from the horrific chaos of Times Square. Nick Cathdubs, Jubilee, Kaviar Disco Club, and Blue Jemz will be bringing the beats until the wee hours of morning. There will be a champagne toast and an open bar between 9-10 PM! The event is being held at Lorelely, Brooklyn’s best beer garden-turned-club! This event is only $20! So cheap for such great music and an open bar? How could you possibly resist?

Tickets for MeanRed’s New Years Eve event can be purchased online until 6pm the day of the show.

We’re also offering one lucky HiFi reader a pair of tickets to the event. Enter after the jump, the contest will close on Wednesday, December 28th at noon. Good luck!

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Join us tonight as HiFi gets in the festive spirit with a free ho-down on one of coolest dance-floors in NYC. We are very excited to bring along two of our favorite DJs, Ital & Jubilee, to spin tunes for the night!

ITAL (100% Silk/Not Not Fun/Planet Mu]
_Formerly on 100% Silk and freshly signed to UK electronic staple Planet Mu, Ital’s stock has risen tremendously in the past year, bringing an invigorating live show to Brooklyn and beyond. Before he makes an even bigger splash in 2012, we’ve invited him to play some records at our little get-together.

JUBILEE [Grizzly/Nightshifters]
_While Brooklyn’s bass sweetheart has moved to the sunny state of Florida, she’s always got a lot of love waiting for her here. We welcome back one of our favorite DJs for this special holiday one-off.

HiFi Cartel Residents

OLLIEDHALI / SPECTACAL / AQUARIAN

The awesome folks at THE MONOCLE ORDER are working with us to bring you the freshest perspective on a party. One half sunglass pop-up, one half burning man vibes, we are so thrilled to be housed under their roof!

THIS EVENT STARTS EARLY @ 8pm with a photobooth and designer sunglass mixer followed by wicked tunes for the night!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15th / THE MONOCLE ORDER / 220 BOWERY / NYC / DOORS 8PM / LIMITED CAPACITY

Article By: Mark Dommu
Photos By: Jenna Gard

This Saturday night those of us looking to boogie made the irritatingly inconvenient trip to Terminal 5 (seriously, T5 is so out of the way) for HARD X MOUTH TAPED SHUT, a party in celebration of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The night promised to be a good one, with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy opening for Italian electronic duo The Bloody Beetroots. I’m a long time Beetroots fan and have seen them spin several times, always waking up sore and happy the next day, so I went in with high expectations.

The event was 18 and over and free, which meant that about 80% of the crowd had black x’s on their hands. I wondered several times if HARD had been handing out flyers to NYU freshman in Washington Square Park. I’m also not sure how exactly the event had anything to do with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, aside from the fact that Rooney Mara’s head was everywhere…I guess that’s enough?

Proxy and Eye started out the evening, getting the initially small crowd dancing. When Proxy finished up the audience started calling eagerly for James Murphy, only to be met with a ridiculously long wait for his set. After about half an hour someone finally announced that there were technical difficulties and we were placated with Trent Reznor and Karen O’s cover of “Immigrant Song”, which debuted this summer with the first trailer for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

After an hour of oddly low-tempo filler music (one prolific teenager behind me commented that, “this music is not, like, nice”) Murphy finally appeared and rather halfheartedly apologized for the wait, citing problems with a turntable…or something. He promised the audience, “We’re gonna have as much fun as you can in a short period of time with your clothes on.”

He was…not exactly telling the truth. After such a long wait, Murphy’s set was rather anticlimactic. The set started off with a funky tribal beat that stayed smooth and easy and got everyone dancing. For the most part Murphy’s set sounded like Miami in the 70s, and also maybe the 90s. There were a few interesting moments throughout, one drawn out warping sounded like a spaceship taking off, but for the most part it was an altogether uninspired set and Murphy seemed to be disinterested in the whole affair.

Almost the second Murphy finished the crowd started chanting for the Bloody Beetroots, and the crowd went wild when they appeared. They started with a bang and tore relentlessly through a thrashing, thumping and glorious set. If you’ve never seen the Bloody Beetroots spin before than you are seriously missing out. It’s the kind of set that you have to flail and jump around too. I could feel the bass pounding in my chest, making my face throb with every pulse.

The Bloody Beetroots are certifiable bad asses and they also clearly care about their audience having a good time, They were invested in the crowd’s enjoyment, at one point coming out form behind the DJ booth to rev everyone up. The crowd was losing their shit, I was almost kicked in the head by three different crowd surfers and did not care.

The Bloody Beetroots definitely made the entire night worthwhile, and on the way home I kept thinking about alien’s in boat shoes dancing to James Murphy’s set…so there’s that. I did wake up the next morning sore and happy wit the thump-thump still pulsing in my head, so mission accomplished.

For Jenna Gard’s full photo gallery: click here

Looking to dance your ass off this weekend? This Saturday night the Bloody Beetroots will rock the shit out of Terminal 5 for HARD x MOUTH TAPED SHUT, an event celebrating the release of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The electronic duo will spin a DJ set, supported by James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem), Proxy and Eye. Surprisingly this show is FREE! All you need to do is RSVP! Unfortunately, the RSVP list is now full, but if you get to the venue early chances are high that you will be able to get in for free! Terminal 5 will be the place to be at 7 PM. See you there! For more information about the event, click here.

Tonight, Yelle will be taking over the Music Hall of Williamsburg with Housse De Racket in towe. According to the rave reviews we have been reading left and right, both French pop-duos rocked Webster Hall last night. Yelle is fronted and named by Yelle, nee Julie Budet, a sparky gamine with a deceptively demure schoolgirl voice. Joined by producers GrandMarnier (Jean-Francois Perrier) and Tepr (Tanguy Destable), Yelle first arrived amid a flurry of 80′s inspired pop, with the likes of CSS and New Young Pony Club all revered for their take on brightly colored electro. Unfortunately tonight’s show is sold out, but we strongly suggest checking out Craigslist! Show starts at 9, doors open at at 8, see you there!

Wednesday, November 30th – Tiesto @ Pacha - Advance Tickets
Part 1 of the Pacha NYC 6-Year Anniversary Celebration! Whether it be the 250,000 revelers coming together at Ipanema Beach in Rio De Janeiro, the adoring clubbers who descend upon Privilege in Ibiza on a Monday night every summer, or the 25,000 fans en masse at Victoria Park in London, all are in attendance for the same reason: they have come to see Tiësto, the world’s biggest DJ/Producer! Tiesto is also performing on Thursday, December 1st at Lavo. For more info: click here

Thursday, December 1st – DARKSIDE Debut @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - Advance Tickets
DARKSIDE (Nicolas Jaar + Dave Harrington) began when a converter plug exploded in Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington’s Berlin hotel room during their summer tour. When the smoke cleared, they knew their twin, white Genelec speakers were fried. But rather than retire for the night, they both plugged into a computer and merged sounds, forming DARKSIDE. For more info: click here

Thursday, December 1st – BESPOKE + Mano Le Tough @ 4 Vandam St - Free with RSVP
Bespoke launches next Thursday, December 1st at the brand new art gallery, nightclub + lounge located at 34 Vandam St., aka Work in Progress.  Admission is free all night, simply RSVP to be placed on the guestlist. Expect exceptional electronic music-an aural and visual feast featuring some of the most forward-thinking DJs/producers at one of the most interesting and exciting new venues to come to New York in years. For more info: click here

Friday, December 2nd – Verboten Presents Rebel Rave @ Good Units - Advance Tickets
Damian Lazarus and the infamous Rebel Rave Tour descend upon New York for one night only, and Verboten’s got em. Join the Crosstown Rebels head and his gang, including Lee Curtiss (Visionquest), Clive Henry (Circoloco, Peace Division), Culprit’s Droog, and the New York debut of Subb-an, for an incredible throw down of epic proportions. For more info: click here

Friday, December 2nd – BLKMARKET with KOZE & Robag Wruhme @ TBA - Advance Tickets
On Friday 2nd December, we celebrate co-founder and resident DJ Fahad Haider’s Birthday Bash! For this night we have invited some close friends of ours to share the decks for the celebration. DJ Koze and Robag Wruhme have both been invited to play extended sets for the party. Also joining the lineup is Shadi Megallaa with residents Taimur & Fahad. If that’s not enough this event is also DJ Koze’s first record label night in the U.S. Ladies and gentlemen lets get ready for the Pampa records showcase! For more info: click here

Friday, December 2nd – Loco Dice @ Pacha - Advance Tickets
Part 2 of the Pacha NYC 6-Year Anniversary Celebration! Loco Dice is someone who can puzzle together intangible moods with a direct approach. Via his DJ sets or his productions on labels like M_nus, Cadenza, Ovum, Four Twenty and Cocoon, he merges perspectives in his delicate sense for sounds and reflective atmospheres, underpinned with solid, physical grooves inspired by the hip hop that was his early sonic stomping ground in the mid- to late ‘90s. There’s something there for the dreamers, as well as for the 9-to-5ers who just want to lose everything in a moment of abandon on the dancefloor. For more info: click here

Friday, Dember 2nd – Digitalism (Live) @ Webster Hall – Advance Tickets 19+
Digitalism have been responsible for some of the most outstanding tracks of the genre. ‘Zdarlight’, ‘Idealistic’, ‘Digitalism In Cairo’ (an amazing Cure remix), ‘Jupiter Room’, ‘Pogo’ among others, helped Digitalism stand out from the crowd. Recent tracks like ‘Circles’ from their new album ‘I Love You Dude’ just press the point further; these guys are awesome. They will be playing for us this Friday at our Girls and Boys party at Webster Hall with Nadastrom and Data Romance. We are looking forward to this one.

Saturday, December 3rd – Jeff Mills @ LPR - Advance Tickets
The Axis visionary and techno icon JEFF MILLS returns to New York for a very special night at (le) Poisson Rouge! Basic NYC is excited and honored to welcome Jeff to LPR for his long-awaited return set, where he’ll be featuring his latest spellbinding music – his new score of the 60′s Sci-Fi film classic “Fantastic Voyage”, his brand-new double album on his own Axis Records label. We’re bringing in extra sound and visuals for this night, which will feature an extended set from the always-amazing Jeff. Don’t miss out on this intimate performance from one of the world’s most important artists. For more info: click here

Saturday, December 3rd – Octave @ National Underground - Advance Tickets
Dasha Rush [ Fullpanda | Sonic Groove | Berlin ] Mike Parker [ Prologue | Mote Evolver | Buffalo ] Jeff Derringer [ Perc Trax | Chicago ] 11 PM – 6 AM, For more info: click here

Sunday, December 4th – Mark Verbos, Jacques Renault, Walker & Royce @ Brooklyn Terrace -  Advance Tickets
Nurvous Records and Benny Soto present three of the top dj’s in the evolving nu-disco genre. We are giving away two lists spots to anyone who gives us a shout on our Facebook page.

11-11-11 was a magical day for NYC’s music scene. Plaid and the Gamelan Dhara Swara played at LPR, it was the first night of the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, Paco Osuna was spinning at Good Units, and MiM0$a was rocking out at Webster Hall alongside Alex English. Energy levels were high and HiFi was on a mission to catch as much music possible for the eve.

Le Passion Rouge was first on the list. We made our way through the doors with plenty of time to down a few Vodka-RedBulls during happy hour. As happy hour concluded, the Gamelan Dharma Swara took the stage. This 15+ person group performs the music and dance of Bali in the NYC area. Gamelan was dressed in beautiful authentic Indonesian attire and played a myriad of instruments that I can not name. An orchestra of percussion, woodwinds, and xylophone-like instruments was spread across the stage. Their structured tunes sounded atonal and chaotic, yet your ear could grasp the tonal center that remained audible through a maze of accidentals and modes. The group finished with two dancers acting out the story behind the music onstage. They were confronted by an evil daemon, but victoriously forced the daemon away.

Plaid took the stage next. I was unaware of what to expect from the avaunt guard Warp duo. They managed to deliver a very true representation of their studio tracks. The entire set itself felt like one long continuous song with very few rests. Much of the set had this distinct under water sound, which mirrored their opening video montage of a girl swimming and encountering a deadly octopus. Whimsical melodic lines were laid on top of structured rhythms and patterns. Soft synth lines ran back and forth from spacious simple sounds to dark and heavy drones. When looking out into the audience, their confusion was visible. Throughout the first 15 minutes of the set most everyone stood still. As time progressed, everyone started dancing to the tune of their own horn. It looked crazy, but it made sense. Plaid took the crowd on a symphonic journey through their heavy beats. A part of me wished they had jammed out in downtempo. The set was great, and overwhelmingly powerful, but the constant change from fast to slow became somewhat exhausting. However, the creation of tones produced put our ears in music heaven for the entirety of their set.

We left LPR and heading directly to Williamsburg for BEMF. Friday night was Cold. Quite frigid to say the least. We huddled on the subway for warmth all the way to the Bedford stop. After securing our wrist bands, we ran into The Cove for warmth and successfully succeeded with the disco funk beats pouring out from the decks by Nick Hook. We danced to his tunes and stared at the beautiful green lazers bouncing around the room. The Cove was not the only poppin’ place at that time. BEMF had taken over all of north Williamsburg, with showcases at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, Public Assembly, Cameo, and Zablozki’s. It was visibly obvious that The Cove was slowly but surely filling up, and by the time Hudson Mohawke took over the decks, you could barely move. The recognizable Shower Melody opened his set and the crowd went nuts. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a glimpse of Hudson, but knowing that I was dancing to a set curated Ross Birchard himself, made it all worthwhile.

In the midst of Hudon’s set, I fled over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to catch the Fischerspooner DJ set by Casey Spooner and Lauren Flax. Casey looked dashing in his black suit with bright purple hair. He and Lauren plunged into a fresh remix Casey had made featuring Patti Smith. From there on out, deep house beats pulsated through the airwaves in the MHoW and it felt like we danced until the sun the came up. Or 3 AM. As the audience filed out, with exhausted yet elated looks on their faces. HiFi stuck around to chat one on one with Casey Spooner himself. Casey is a very kind and humble man. Sitting, talking, and drinking beers with an artist of his caliber was mind blowing, and probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. (The interview will be up in the next few days.) By 4:30 AM we stumbled back into our apartment and fell into a deep deep sleep.

11-11-11 was a magical day indeed. The music witnessed that evening was the perfect combination of the finest from BK and the UK. BEMF was as great success as well as the early show at LPR. We can’t wait for next year. Cheers.

On Tuesday, November 22, Nervous Records and Société Perrier will bring a night of house to Cielo. Headliner Norman Doray is coming all the way from France in celebration of his latest album, “Amsterdam to Ibiza” (out on Strictly Rhythm), following an opening performance from New York’s own Theo, who recently released “School of House” (Nervous Records).

Tickets for this Nervous Tuesday even can be purchased online until 6pm the day of the show.

We’re also offering one lucky HiFi reader a pair of tickets to the event. Enter after the jump, the contest will close on Saturday, November 19 at noon. Good luck!

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Plaid is not just for hipsters, country music stars, your grandfather, or Scottish kilts. That statement was not meant to offend, nothing beats wearing a heavy plaid button down on a cold New York City day like today, but I am not talking about anything clothing related. The Plaid I’m speaking of is the group of two master curators and creators of sound, the London based duo, Andy Turner and Ed Handley.

Apologies, but I must take a few minutes to gush about how phenomenal these two musicians are. A friend introduced me to Plaid about three years ago, and still, I find myself picking up on new details within the same tracks live listened to hundreds of times over.  Plaid is not a group that can be labeled, nor can you fit them into a box. Their compositions are whimsical, spacious, and organic. All of these components (not simultaneously of course) are present in their unique sound: ambient, breakbeat, chiptune (video game music), disco, downtempo, drum and bass (on the lighter side), electronic art music, glitch, IDM, synthpop, melodic, atonal, all fused together with characteristics from every genre imaginable. The tranquil yet complex tunes that are birthed from these two have the ability to take your breath away.

The group is signed to the one and only Warp Records (thank you Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell) that has signed A-List, head of their time talent such as Aphex Twin, Bibio, Grizzly Bear, Hudson Mohawke (who is also playing tonight at the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival), Squarepusher, and !!!. Plaid released their first album in 1991 and their most recent album ‘scintilli’ a few months ago. Sharon O’Connell of Time Out London said the following of ‘scintilli’:

“The euphoric immediacy of the whole record belies its painstaking, dazzling multifaceted beauty and ‘Tetris’ like construction, which makes pick a highlight impossible.”

We will leave you with a few of our favorite tunes from Plaid. Hopefully you will purchase your ticket HERE for their show tonight at LPR, and we will see you there! Happy Friday.

Stills- Plaid

Missing- Plaid

Wim Plug, Mark Kneppers and Oscar De Jong are the studio core of Kraak & Smaak. Their 80′s inspired disco funk vibrations resemble a hypothetical hybrid between Curtis Mayfield and Jamiroquai. After originally bonding over a slavish devotion to vinyl and a love for classic funk records, this trio went on to record their debut album, ‘Boogie Angst’. Picked up in the UK by Radio 1 and in LA by KCRW the band quickly acquired fans, especially in the Los Angeles TV and Film community. This led to their music being used in hospital chick show Greys Anatomy that in turn spiraled to widespread use in other films and shows.

2011 is the year that Kraak & Smaak will take center stage with the release of their third studio album, ‘Electric Hustle’. The first single, ‘Dynamite’, has already become the most added electronic record at American College Radio and the band debuted their new live show at Eurosonc Festival to a rapturous response ahead of a mad summer touring.

DJ magazine IDJ describes Kraak & Smaak as a “must see live band” and New Yorkers you are in luck! The trio will be performing live tonight at DROM. Admission is FREE until midnight with RSVP. Otherwise, admission is $10. You can RSVP here. Check out their video for ‘Squeeze Me’ below. See you tonight at DROM! 85 Avenue A (between 5th and 6th streets) 21+ with ID, doors at 10 PM.