OK, we can say it now. We’ve got less than one week until the worlds most educated party people touch down in Croatia for the much-anticipated premier of Dimensions Festival (unless you are a true-G and already getting down at Outlook).

Let’s talk about the artists we just can’t wait to see:

Little Dragon

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Little Dragon gives a performance that mustn’t be missed!  Lead singer Yukimi Nagano’s strong and sensual voice, paired with the perfect mix of percussion and electronic sound, makes for nothing less than perfection.  After seeing the band recently at Celebrate Brooklyn’s free summer concert series, we are even more eager to reunite in the forts of Punta Christo.

Levon Vincent

American born artist, Levon Vincent, aims to provide us with positive vibrations through his tropical, methodically manicured, and joint weakening sound.  There is nothing we won’t give to hear “Double Jointed Sex Freak pt. 3” on the shores of Pula.

Mount Kimbie (live)

This British duo took us all on a glorious journey through space after releasing their first and only full length, titled “Crooks and Lovers”. It was announced earlier this year they were signed to Warp records and are currently working on a second album. Let us thank them for taking the time…Dimensions wouldn’t be the same without you.

Δkkord (photo)

A lot of things are left uncertain when it comes to supposedly U.K. born collective, Δkkord. One thing, however, is for certain, based on a few releases that blessed us in 2012, we know they can make a proper bass tune.  Part break-beat, part techno, listen below for a taste. We can’t wait to experience the mystery that is Δkkord.

Machinedrum

Brooklyn’s own Travis Stewart has taken the music world by storm. Whether its owning his own record label, collaborating with the amazing Praveen Sharma to produce the sounds of Sepalcure, or just plain smashing things up under his stage name Machinedrum, we love and support Travis to no end. Can’t wait to see you in Croatia.

As we prepare ourselves for another dimension, lets give thanks that we are among those going to experience the wonder that is Pula. Dimensions 2012, here we come.

Words / Amanda Rohowsky

July 20-27 was a busy week at Cultivora, which means they have tons of new festival news to share.

• Laura Baker-Finch went to the inaugural Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, last weekend. Check out her festival coverage and head to Facebook for more of her festival photos.
• Catalpa NYC kicks off tomorrow on Randall’s Island. To prepare, take a look at the festival’s non-music activities, the pros and cons of the official mobile app, and plan your days with the artist schedule.
• If you’re in town for Catalpa, read Joseph Sunder’s guide to Downtown Manhattan Style - it has all the best stops for musicians to get suited up.
• Lollapalooza is also fast approaching. Cultivora has a Spotify playlist and a view at the festival’s mobile app as well as a look at Jason Rezvan’s overlapping sets dilema and  why he thinks all festivalgoers should watch a part of Black Sabbath’s Lolla set.
• This past Tuesday, Cultivora’s office was flooded with new albums, EPs, singles, and videos to jam out to. In case you missed it, here’s what’s new and worth a listen this week.
• At a loss for what to do music-wise in NYC this July 27-August 1? Look no further than Cultivora’s NYC Music Guide – they’ve compiled all the best live music events in the city into one handy guide.
• Rose Mardit gave us a look at Detroit’s Backpack Music Festival – where techno and charity go hand-in-hand.

Coming Up: Australia’s Splendour In The Grass kicked off in Byron Bay today and will continue throughout the weekend. NYC’s Catalpa also takes place this weekend, check back with Cultivora next week for their photos and coverage.

We at HiFi Cartel are excited to announce our upcoming event at Brooklyn’s Glasslands, featuring the likes of some proper badmen…and a badgyal. Stopping off in NYC as part of their Surefire Sound Spring Tour, we bring you the likes of Addison Groove (LIVE) and Doc Daneeka on April 28th. Opening up the night will be bass sweetheart and Miami-based producer/DJ Jubilee. Check out more info on the artists at the jump.

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We’re big fans of the street dance documentary, Flex is Kings. Check out the trailer above and be sure to visit their Kickstarter page to support finishing this film. They are hosting a fundraiser tonight with a live concert and special performance.

When: Thursday, April 5, 2012
Doors 7:30 pm
Performance 8:00 pm

Where: Bond Street Theater
303 Bond Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
SUBWAY: F/G to Carroll, M/R to Union

Also Flex is Kings won Project of the Week on IndieWire. Now, we enter Round Two – Flex Is Kings is in the running for Project of the Month. If we win, we’ll get a meeting with Sundance. We need your votes.

Voting ends Friday at 5pm EST, so vote now and vote from every IP address you have. Note: every computer and phone has a distinct address – vote from all your devices and tell all your friends.  Three clicks, no personal info and you’ve helped us tremendously

Flex Is Kings is an independent feature length documentary about street dance in Brooklyn. It’s almost done and now we need your help!

This is a story of urban improbability. East New York is an impoverished section of Kings County with one of the highest crime rates in the borough. And yet a large and growing group of young men have transformed their streets into a stage.

Flex Is Kings looks at the culture of flexing, a unique and vibrant dance form in deep Brooklyn, and the realities of the dancers who practice it. We, the filmmakers, have followed a group of dancers for over two years and have shot over 275 hours of film.

Flex dancing channels the grittiness of East New York into choreographed violence: guns battle, bones break, and hearts are ripped from chests. Using dance to illustrate their everyday lives and their inner aspirations, dancers jump into beautiful and imaginative dream logic and feats of daring: monsters roam train cars, young lovers meet, souls fly from bodies.

Last Thursday night, Pusha-T delivered a high-energy headlining performance at Gramercy Theater in NYC. He performed songs from his latest EP, Fear of God II, as well as music by Clipse and his collaborations with Kanye West from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He also announced Clipse’s upcoming release, slated for 2013.

Check out more pictures from his performance after the jump.

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This Thursday, Pusha-T will headline New York City’s Gramercy Theater in support of his new EP, Fear of God II.

While Pusha-T may be best known as one-half of acclaimed duo Clipse, and for his contributions to Kanye West’s hit song, “Runaway”, make no mistake, 2011 has been a huge year for the artist. He stepped out with his debut solo mixtape, Fear of God in March, and followed it up with a star-studded sequel, Fear of God II, released last month. The EP features the likes of Diddy, Kanye West, Pharrell, 50 Cent and Tyler the Creator.

Gramercy Theater is, in my opinion, one of the best venues in the city – don’t miss your chance to see Pusha-T in such an intimate setting. Openers include NinjaSonik, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Gilbere Forte, Emilio Rojas and Jasmine Solano. Get your tickets HERE.

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.