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

It was almost a year ago when I first caught wind of the French pop-star Yelle. The record label I was working for was promoting her new album “Safari Disco Club” and received hundreds of her albums and posters. I was immediately drawn to Yelle because she had a strong style resemblance to one of my favorite female rockers, Karen O. Upon first listen of her album I was sold. I do not speak French and did not understand a single word of what was going on, but I did know: it sounded happen, was impossible to not dance to, and was upbeat. Good enough for me.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg was sold out and filled with an ecstatic audience on December 9^th. Yelle took the stage in her iconic ‘mop’ like body suit that could have come straight out of Christian Joy’s closet. Behind her GrandMarnier and Tepr had started playing their pop-heavy synth lines and warming the crowd up. Yelle burst out into song and the audience went nuts.

That night I was able to appreciate music as a universal language. Though I hear that saying often and it was a core principle in my college curriculum, witnessing the phenomena live brought the saying full circle. The mass majority of the audience didn’t speak French and could not sing along with Yelle. But everyone knew how to dance. Everyone knew how to hum along with the catchy melody lines. That ladies and gentleman is art.

Yelle stripped down to an ‘ode to America’ Budweiser onesie that could have been glued to her body. She yelled out, “My English is not very good and your French is not very good, but I love Brooklyn, and this has been my favorite show of this tour! Thank you!” I can’t tell you which songs were played but I can tell you that they were played well and with emotion.

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.

Fischerspooner is THE band that jump started my electronic-music obsession almost ten years ago. When I was offered the chance to sit down and chat with Casey Spooner (half of the Fischerspooner duo), I gasped and squealed like an over-enthused 13-year-old girl and immediately accepted the offer. Though I tortured my brain for days on end to come up with ‘the best’ interview questions, as soon as I sat down with Casey and cracked upon a Stella, my preparation dissolved into thin air. Casey was (and is) a kind, gentle soul and easy to talk to. He looked dashing in his classic tuxedo topped off with long flowing coattails and a top hat. As soon as he removed his top hat, a head of purple hair glistened in back-stage-light and I thought, “Damn. This man is one elegant rock star.”

He was eager to share his experiences and our scheduled ten-minute interview turned into an hour-long conversation. His tone was genuine, sarcastic, and informative. It was the perfect conclusion to my BEMF experience and a night I will forever remember. Below are some highlights from our conversation.

HiFi: This is your first time at BEMF in the 4 years it’s existed. What do you think of it so far?

Casey: Well, I can’t be the best judge of it since I showed up 15 minutes before my set and now it’s 4 in the morning, but I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. I’ve always thought, well “I live in Brooklyn, why can’t I be a part of it [BEMF]? I AM Brooklyn electro. I invented it!”

HiFi: Your set tonight was very disco heavy. Are you gravitating towards a deep disco sound in your solo career?

Casey: It’s really hard to get away from disco. The more you DJ, it gets so exhausting, so tiring how psychotic modern dance music is. At first it’s fun, it’s two-tonic and aggressive, all these weird screeching, screaming, noodling, computer sounds, but that’s kind of like tonight. I was doing that and then all of a sudden I wanted to play something else. Lauren and I are about to embark on a world tour next week and I wanted to play this track that we had just created. That track was very euro, very cheesy, so I did it. I played it, and then realized I couldn’t stop there. So then I started playing these electro ragas, and realized I couldn’t end there, but people were dancing so I went back to disco. It was kind of a weird set, and not what I was expecting to play, but that’s the beauty of live music.

HiFi: Are you currently creating music?

Casey: I actually started the set with a remix I produced that I literally had to go home and download the final version before I got here; it was the Patti Smith track. That was the premier; I was testing it to see how the final mix sounded. I actually wanted to play it again!

HiFi: You should have! Have you ever repeated tracks in a DJ set?

Casey: I’m so bad like that. I love to have one song and just play it over and over and over again. I DJed a friends house party and I just didn’t want to stop but I didn’t want to play anything other than these two songs so I did it, and the audience was like. “Ohhh Kay, can you please stop?”

HiFi: What tour are you about to embark on with Lauren?

Casey: Lauren and I are about to go on a DJ tour. We’re heading to Paris, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Milan, Florence, then and Athens, Greece.

HiFi: Have you performed live in South East Asia before?

Casey: No we haven’t. And everyone has always told us to go to Japan, I feel like they are my people! When we released the album on EMI, I tried very hard to get us to go over to Japan, but they only wanted us to do press in the UK and LA. I had never gone to Asia until last year and I wanted to open the market up for us over there. We DJed last year in Bangkok, Singapore, Bali, and Fuji-Rock (a big music festival in Japan). So now we’re going back and I can’t wait.

HiFi: Do you incorporate any of your solo work that you did on “Adult Contemporary” into your DJ sets?

Casey: Gosh, that’s so funny, you know I probably should. There is one remix of Faye Dunaway that could work. I’ve tried but it’s really tough. People come to the Fischerspooner DJ set wanting hard electro. So I feel obligated to stick within certain genre, obviously I’m playing ragas and Larry Levine, but that’s just because we’re at home and it’s comfortable. But when you’re headlining and playing for 2,000 people, you HAVE to play Emerge.

HiFi: Do you like your track Emerge?

Casey: I like it, but I don’t have to hear it. It’s such a cliché. But, there are songs that I love that I never get sick of. But I never would’ve imaged that I would make one of those “Underground-Cult-Hits”, but I did. So I am thankful that I got to make something like that.

HiFi: Do you prefer performing live or curating the music through a DJ set?

Casey: I am not a technical person. I hate computers, I don’t program music, I don’t know how to do anything. I never wanted to be a DJ because I grew up in Chicago and was immersed in the most amazing scene with all of these incredible DJs. I don’t feel like I transfer myself through machinery- it’s just not my thing and it makes me sleepy. The other thing is, if the music is really good and going well, the last place in the fucking world I want to be is standing behind a computer. I want to be enjoying it and dancing. I feel that right when the music gets good, I have to cue something and it makes me feel like I miss the party because I’m working. It is fun but to me it’s not as powerful as performing a live show. That is the great thing about performing with Warren [Fischer, the other half of Fischerspooner) because he’s manning the machines while I’m in-front and together we’re creating art and that art is our own world within our music.

HiFi: What is it like to tour with this world you created?

Casey: AWESOME. I fight and struggle to stay in that world. For our last record we spent two years developing the show and three years touring it, so for five years I was living in that world. But at the end of this past summer I sat down and realized, “I have performed this show and perfected it to its finest degree, and now it’s time to move on.”

HiFi: How did Fischerspooner start? Was there this small-scale alternative world that just happened when the two of you first performed together?

Casey: When we first started there was no big plan. It started with Warren Fischer, Karen Fischer and I working on a film project. The film project was a pitch for a TV show that a production company asked us to do. It was kind of lame, Warren was frustrated with being a commercial director, he wasn’t making music, and he had this amazing band in Chicago called Table that made beautiful, complicated rock music. So I said to him, “You really should be making music. Why don’t we take some of this film footage, you can score original music to it, and try it as a new way to incorporate music.” That’s what we did. After a series of events, we created this song and were asked to perform it at Starbucks on Astor Place. It was me doing this experimental theater, electro, dancing act while I was speaking in an Indian accent taking personal experience and putting it into song. It was mildly offensive, sort of filthy, and the punch line was “Do you want to see it? If you like it, you try. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to try.” And we looked at each other after the performance and said, “Oh Shit! This is interesting! Let’s do this again.” From there record companies started chasing us. But I was not naive. I was thirty when we started this whole process and knew that if we were going to do this, we had to be in total control. And it was like, “No.” We signed with EMI and all of those cliché things you hear are so true. It got out of control and I thought, “What the fuck happened? I was supposed to be an artist and now I’m dealing with corporate bullshit.”

HiFi: So do you think you will put out a 4^th Fischerspooner album?

Casey: We’re talking about it now. I’m not opposed to it, but I’m so bored with the format. It’s so formulaic. So I think we will put out an album, I’m just not positive.

“A song can enter the solar plexus and activate a dream world. It can achieve the power of other forms of narrative—the novel, film, a play—in less than three-and-half minutes it recruits matter from the unconscious, the recesses of the heart, the heatlightning of the soul. When forty women are gathered in a room, singing these songs, another world is conjured, something not quite recognizable, not quite ours, and this is why art can be beautiful: because it has the power to transform us, to transport us to other places whether they be subterranean, molten, aquatic, or interstellar. So welcome to our planet where the scum runs deep, the speed tastes so sweet, and the Virgens run wild. Let’s begin at the end… “ –Adam Rapp

The curtain to the stage dropped and Karen O’s signature voice cautiously sang through the opening lullaby. The last words to delicately fall out of her mouth were “Let’s begin at the end.” As that message resonated throughout the theater, it became apparent that the end had already started. As the audience was ushered into the theater, we had to walk through a tunnel lined in translucent chiffon-like walls. On the other side of the walls were the Virgens themselves, whispering haunting phrases such as “the speed tastes so sweet” and “the scum runs deep” while pushing through the barrier and invading your personal space. This haunting thematic element set the tone for the eve.

This work can be the spark for hours of conversation, delving deeper into the thick of the plot. However, I dare not give away the story itself for that would diminish fragments of the theaters authentic magic. The classic battle of good versus evil runs deep through the spine of this tale and plays a pivotal role in Karen O’s character. While watching the scenes unfold, my mind danced back in time to a past Dramatic Literature course and I began to view this dramatic work as a jigsaw puzzle. Christian Joy’s imaginative mind worked its magic at full force and shined through the simplicity of the Virgens and Karen’s decadent attire sculptured out of hair and various loud fabrics and colors.  The “Players” were clad in midnight blue, almost black, nun-ish robes that resembled death, lies, and darkness. The “Virgens” could have stepped out of the first scene in Fischerspooner’s “Emerge” video. They were very bare; minimally clad in white cloth that resembled bandage wrap. The white cloth was also wrapped around their knees and elbows, possibly healing broken joints or holding them together?  As the snow fell from the sky in the end all I could think of was “Softness. Compliance. Forgiveness. Grace.” from “Angels in America.” A new beginning could now form post catharsis. (Also, take note that the trees in the opening scene are white in a black forest. In the closing scene, the colors are inverted.)

Watching Nick Zimmer play with such enthusiasm and passion was as much of a treat to be a part of. The chorus was lead by a live conductor while the band lined both sides of the stage. Every last detail of this work of art was carefully thought out and executed to perfection. If there were anyone in the world I could sit down and have drinks with, it would undoubtedly be Karen O. Her mind is a beautiful and brilliant mystery that birthed this masterpiece.

“Since the music was written it called out to be something more; even though I still can’t describe exactly what it is we have created, I can’t imagine it being anything else, nor can I see a more perfect collective of artists and friends answering that call.” Karen O

“One must from time to time attempt things that are beyond one’s capacity.” Auguste Renoir

The Creators Project was the City’s best kept secret this past weekend. For those who are unaware, the Creators Project is an ongoing global arts and technology initiative created by Intel and Vice in order to support visionary artists, musicians, and filmmakers who are using technology to push the bounds of creative expansion. The energy and intent behind this event was clear and successfully executed. Boundaries were pushed into unknown fields. Numerous exhibits visibly left participants lost for words and musical acts conjured tears of joy and appreciation.

Saturday was nothing less of a quintessential fall day. The abundance of joy from DUMBO’s sea of guests palpably radiated off their skin and into the cool October breeze. Vice and Intel had strategically planned out every underlining detail for the day. The crowd was the perfect size (you never had to wait in line for anything and could move around freely without ever feeling cramped), security was tight and on-point, all of the pop up spaces were flawless and original, VICE’s onsite team was hands on and helpful, and the event truly revolved around the art. A wrist band and email RSVP confirmation were required to attend the event (Saturday only). Once the blue band was secured, you were allowed to walk freely to and from the various buildings housing installations.

A few of photos from the galleries are displayed below, yet these mirrored images do not serve the sculptures justice. ORIGIN, for example, morphed into a glow in the dark rubix cube once the sun set in the sky. Hundreds of participants were found laying down on the floor of the installation, absorbing the vibrations of the sounds and looking into the sky of changing colors. ORIGIN is open through the 23rd of the month, we urge you to go check it out! The musical shows we were able to catch moved us beyond words. The archway was a treat of venue- hosting a very European, outdoor and natural aroma. The shape the arch created its own echo and captured lingering sound beautifully. The masterminds behind the soundboards knew how the manipulate this as A$AP ROCKY + CLAMS CASINO, Four Tet, and Florence + the Machine all hailed high from the stage.

This was one of the most put together, well organized, and artfully mesmerizing events I had experienced in a long while. Click here to check out the full photo gallery here. We can not thank VICE and Intel enough for the opportunity to be part of the Creators Project and we can’t wait for next year!

R&DAZZLE By SOFTlab:
R&Dazzle is an asymmetrical, graphically camouflaged structure that hides within it an inverted kaleidoscope of color and fractured light. Using simple materials like wood and paper in their constructions, SOFTlab pioneered a new design practice that is perfectly in step with the future.

DISKINECT: By Team Diskinect
DisKinect explores the disconnect that exists between virtual and physical reality. Using a hacked Kinect controller, users contral a four-foot puppet suspended in mid-air. The puppet mirrors the user’s movements in an imperfect symbolic gesture that references the way our digital representations take on lives of their own.

SIX-FOURTY BY FOUR-EIGHTY By: Zigelbaum + Coelho
What if pixels could break free from the confines of the screen and into our physical environment? That’s the idea behind Six-Forty by Four- Eighty, an interactive lighting installation composted of magnetic, physical pixels. The pixels change color in response to touch and communicate with each other using the body as a conduit for digital information.

STRATA #4 By: Quayola
Quayola’s Strata series studies the visual language of classical paintings and architecture , using custom software to analyze and deconstruct the improbable tensions and collisions existing between the old and new. In this multi-channel immersive video installation Strata #4, he takes inspiration from works of Flemish masters like Rubens and Van Dyck, creating an unlikely harmonious dialogue between classic and digital aesthetics.

ORIGIN By: United Visual Artists, with music from Scanner
Origin is UVA’s latest work in a year-long project from The Studio, which begin with the re-design of Coachella’s main stage. There, UVA presented a moving mass of light, metal, and sound, before transforming the same sculpture into two more forms. Now, they present a 30-foot audio-visual cubic lattice- the largest interactive work they’ve ever created.

SOIL By: Cantoni +Crescenti
Soil is a multi-paneled seesaw from Brazilian Creators Cantoni + Crescenti. The piece is a reactive, aluminum floor installation composed of 50 planes that undulate as you walk across, throwing your world off-kilter. The duo custom design every component of their interactive projects-from nuts of bolts-creating pieces that are stunning to both see and physically experience.

Chairlift performing at the Archway.

A$AP Rocky + Clams Casino performing at the Archway.

The packed crowd at the Archway during Fourtet.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Summer has come to a close and the spicy scent of fall is thickly coating our deep, fine, east coast air. Bliss is effortless this season. Strolling through the West Village while sipping on a hot apple cider and watching the auburn leaves delicately make contact with the charcoal pavement is enough to make an infectious smile dance upon your face. Though the city is putting on a wool sweater, the music industry is about to shed its glitz and glam as world-wide raw talent infiltrates the isle of Manhattan for CMJ.

The HiFi Cartel has been blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of the CMJ Press scene for the past few years, as this is one of the most exciting ventures to take place in our homebase. Many refer to CMJ as the “SXSW of the North”. CMJ is short for College Music Journal, a music events and publishing company whose name has become iconic through their upcoming festival. The entertainment industry is about to takeover NYC between October 18th and 22nd. In five short days there will be over 1,300 artist performances and dozens of cutting edge inhibiting more than 80 of this city’s greatest venues, nightclubs, and theaters with over 120,000 fans, music industry professionals, college radio tastemakers, bloggers, press, filmmakers and musicians.

Though HiFi is well versed with the ins and outs of CMJ, I am not. A true virgin if you will, fresh blood to a familial scene. Intimidation fueled by excitement resonated throughout my body once I learned my name was on the press list. Now, I had to figure out how exactly I was going to navigate through CMJ 2011 while balancing a 9-5 job. CMJ’s schedule is any college student’s dream, but I refused to let my lack of a 16 credit schedule bog me down. If industry heads and musicians alike can make it work, so can I.

Panels, Music, Film. Those are the three official subdivisions of the festival. My nerd self was literally bouncing out of my office chair once the panels were announced. Any and every trend and current event within this beloved, eternally-changing industry is going to be discussed by the masterminds reacting to this change: licensing, film and music intergration, branding, DIY culture, social media, how to launch a start up, etc. If you have the opportunity to attend even one of these panels, I urge you to please take advantage of this opportunity. A list of recommended panels by CMJ can be found here.

You might feel overwhelmed by all of the acts and figuring out who and what you’re going to get to. Fear not. A list of all of the official CMJ shows can be found here. Also, shortly following this article, we are going to post a “CMJ LineUp” that will let you know what is going on where, from us to you. Another interesting factor on top of all this CMJ mania are the unofficial CMJ showcases. Fader Fort and Fools Gold are putting their best talent foot forward and having the kings and queens of their labels perform. These events are free, open to the public, and entrance is based solely on capacity.

I wouldn’t dare try to express the excitement felt through my clumsy words, but this is going to be an experience that will last me a lifetime, I’m sure. If you have any recommendations for HiFi, let us know!! We would love to be an audience member in your show and are looking forward to supporting our fans. Rest up, because once Tuesday hits, coffee and Redbull will most def become a part of your CMJ diet. Cheers.