Contest: Win Tickets to See Calvertron and Rico Tubbs with Trouble & Bass and Fixed

Marjana Jaidi / June 07, 2010

Before you plan your summer escape, Trouble & Bass is bringing us one final installment of No Escape from New York before taking a little vacation of their own. Not only is this month’s party the “Heavy Bass Champions” edition with Calvertron and Rico Tubbs, Trouble & Bass is also teaming up with Santos Party House and Canal Rubber to bring a fresh summer breeze to their monthly staple.

Alex Calver – one of the UK’s most established electronic music DJs – is bringing his most recent alter ego, Calvertron, to our side of the pond. Over the past 8 years, Alex Calver has released over one hundred 12” vinyls under various aliases; Calvertron mixes electronic beats with vocals from a wide range of styles including hip hop and rock, expertly accented with bass in all the right places. Check out his Trouble & Bass Smashcast below out below or download/subscribe HERE.

Trouble & Bass Smashcast 007: Calvertron

Hailing from Finland, Rico Tubbs has been steadily cranking out party beats since he exploded on the scene in 2002. Citing James Brown, The Prodigy and Biz Markie as his biggest influences, his first single, “Flashlighter”, was inspired by the 1977 Parliament classic imbued with massive amounts of bass. Rico Tubbs often selects funk-based tracks to remix and possesses a sort of musical Midas touch – every track he touches turns into bass-heavy gold. Check out his take on Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Next Episode” below.

Dr. Dre – The Next Episode (Will Power & Rico Tubbs Remix)

The evening will also feature performances by Class Actress and Dominique Young Unique, along with DJ sets by Fixed’s JDH and the Trouble & Bass Crew. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the show – CLICK HERE to enter.

Come back on Wednesday for the Trouble & Bass edition of our “Behind the Decks” series, featuring interviews with Drop the Lime, The Captain, Star Eyes and AC Slater, and don’t miss the Trouble & Bass crew on July 29 when they team up with Fixed to bring us Breakage and Zombie Disco Squad. CLICK HERE for tickets & info and check in with us next month for your chance to win tickets. No Escape from New York will be back in full effect this September.

Additional reporting by Rawi Chebat

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST

Outside Lands Announces 2010 Line-Up

Marjana Jaidi / June 01, 2010

With the help of video DJ team Eclectic Method, Outside Lands has announced their 2010 line-up. The annual festival, held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, will feature performances by Kings of Leon, The Strokes, Al Green, Gogol Bordello, Nas & Damian Marley, Bassnectar, Chromeo, Pretty Lights, Mayer Hawthorne & The Country and more. A few changes this year: the festival has been moved to the middle of the month, and reduced to two days from the usual three. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (June 2) and are $125 while supplies last (more info HERE). Be sure to check out the video announcement after the jump…

Photo Gallery: Holy Fuck and Nice Nice at Le Poisson Rouge (May 28, 2010)

Richie Adomako / June 01, 2010

Following the release of their debut album, Latin, Holy Fuck has taken their act on the road. Joined by Nice Nice at Le Poisson Rouge, the group took the stage this past weekend and created a cordial environment. With 35 mm film synchronizers and toy keyboards in tow, a lit floor illuminated them as they spewed skewed and manipulated vocals over drums and electric guitars. During moments and breaks of improvisation, the two electronic mixers seemed to sense one another through process before transitioning to songs like “Red Lights”, “Stilettos”, and “P.I.G.S.” These resonating songs inspired by their new album were splendid in a live environment, and were heightened by the band’s aggressive attitude on the stage. In the end, the audience begged for more, chanting in unison, “Holy Fuck!” Appropriately, the band gave them one more song to continue with their head-knocks and body rocks before gracefully bowing out.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM

In case you missed it, check out our recent interview with Holy Fuck.

Photo Gallery: Fixed Presents Simian Mobile Disco at Santos Party House (May 27, 2010)

Marjana Jaidi / May 28, 2010

Last night, Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw took over the decks at Santos Party House for one of the best Fixed parties of the year. The party drew a sizable crowd that included Armand van Helden, Telli Federline of Ninjasonik, Alex English, and more. As always, Fixed residents JDH and Dave P held it down with solid opening and closing sets.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

Contest: Win Two Tickets for Dark Disco with MJ Cole, Ikonika, Michna, Actress, House of House, Kenny Dope and Egyptrixxx

Mitch Strashnov / May 26, 2010

Everyone in New York looks for big things; from big DJs, big clubs and big buzz, it’s all about the size of it all. Enter Dark Disco, MeanRed’s seminal event dedicated to all things massive. Originating from their Central Park event last year with Drop The Lime and Boys Noize, the MeanRed crew go darker and deeper in this installment; housing a multimedia extravaganza in the L.E.S. establishment Element. The fun starts with an atmosphere that will include ice sculpture art, textual imagery and much, much more, but the spotlight is on the group of artists who are coming together to provide the audio goodness for the 7-hour bash.

The artists taking the trans-Atlantic trip over are nothing short of epic; with Werk Discs head honcho Actress (off the heels of his amazing sophomore album, Splazsh), Hyperdub heroine Ikonika and UK Garage don MJ Cole providing the forward-thinking vibes of what’s across the pond with a spread of funky, dubstep and anything in between. Joining them will be NYC heroes Nick Hook (of Cubic Zirconia), Ghostly-based bass crooner Michna, and mythical house master Kenny Dope. In addition to all this, Canadian bass bomber Egyptrixx comes to round out a night full of amazing tunes.

Click through for a chance to win a pair of tickets. Advance tickets HERE.

Major Lazer x La Roux = Lazerproof

Marjana Jaidi / May 26, 2010

In a surprising union, Major Lazer (Diplo + Switch) has teamed up with La Roux to create Lazerproof, a mixtape that combines Major Lazer’s electro-dancehall bangers with tracks from La Roux’s eponymous debut album. No stranger to the realm of mixtapes, Diplo has collaborated with M.I.A. on Piracy Funds Terrorism and Santigold on Top Ranking, creating mixtapes that fuse the respective artists’ debut albums with a selection of hip hop, dubstep and reggae beats. La Roux’s songs have seen their share of dubstep remixes, making her collaboration with Major Lazer a little less surprising (bonus: check out tradehooks compilation of the best La Roux remixes HERE).

Lazerproof balances the familiar with the unfamiliar, while delivering surprise after surprise. Some songs are close derrivatives of their respective archetypes - the Costra Nostra Edit of “Cover My Eyes” adds a ska beat while keeping the melody and vocals intact. “In For The Kill” gets reworked twice, first in “Independent Kill”, where Candi Redd raps over the original melody, then again in ”In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream”, which takes Skream’s pervasive remix and laces it with a stripped-down beat from “Pon de Floor” for a curiously subtle result.

“Magic (Falling Soldiers Dub)”, a less obvious interpretation of “As If By Magic”, takes the vocals from its poppy predecessor and lays it over a reggae dub. Stripped of its synth undertones, the song takes on a completely different mood. The two closing tracks – “I Said It (Major Lazer Dubplate)” featuring Opal and “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)” featuring Gyptian – left us mystified. Although there are two La Roux songs that didn’t get the mixtape treatment (“Saviour” and “Reflections Are Protection”), neither resembles the tracks in question.

CLICK HERE to download Lazerproof from the Mad Decent blog, a free download if you get it today (Wednesday, May 26). Last we checked, the server was having some issues, so if you need it right this second (as we did), head over to the Stockholm Beat Connection for an alternate download link.

We leave you with two samples from Lazerproof: “In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream” and the mysterious “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)”. If you can figure out its origins, by all means, enlighten us in the comments section below.

Major Lazer & La Roux – “In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream”

Major Lazer & La Roux featuring Gyptian – “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)”

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Rock the Bells Announces Line-Up + Tour Dates

Marjana Jaidi / May 25, 2010

Rock the Bells 2010 has landed, bringing a slew of hip hop greats to four cities across the nation. Headlined by Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One and Slick Rick, the line-up also includes Street Sweeper Social Club (led by Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello), Clipse, Jedi Mind Tricks and more. Lauryn Hill is also slated to appear.

Though the line-up is stacked with hip hop veterans, we initially disappointed with the scarcity of current and up-and-coming artists. However, Rock the Bells is shaking things up this year with a new twist: the four headliners will perform their debut albums from start to finish – Slick Rick’s The Great Adventures Of (1989), KRS-One’s Criminal Minded (1987), Rakim’s Paid in Full (1987) and the Wu-Tang Clan’s groundbreaking Enter the 36 Chambers (1993) – a move that may have been inspired by Public Enemy’s outstanding performance of It Takes A Nation of Millions at last year’s Root’s Picnic in Philadelphia.

Rock the Bells hits New York City’s Governor’s Island on August 28. For updates on the line-up, set times and tickets, visit the official Rock the Bells website.

Contest: Win Tickets to Experience Ellen Allien at Santos Party House

Oliver Correa / May 25, 2010

BPitch Control label boss, fashion designer, international DJ and recording artist Ellen Allien will be dropping by New York City this Saturday for Fixed at Santos Party House. She just released her fifth solo full-length, Dust, and continues to push the envelope of electronica as pop. This Saturday will be a special one as she takes us on a journey through outer space beats and minimalistic vocal buzzs. Fixed’s JDH & Dave P will be the supporting cast on May 29th.

We’re giving away two pairs of tickets to this once in lifetime occasion, one pair through Twitter, and one pair through our site. Enter the contest after the jump…

Chromeo Announce “Business Casual” Album Release + Tour Dates

Marjana Jaidi / May 24, 2010

This summer, Chromeo will embark on a 23-stop tour in support of their upcoming album, Business Casual, slated for release on August 17. Mixed by longtime Chromeo collaborator Phillipe Zdar, their third studio album will carry on their trademark funky synth-pop jams with “sentimental-yet-electronic pop music”. The album’s ten tracks include “Night by Night”, which was released through Green Label Sound last fall.

The “Business Casual Tour”, presented by Green Label Sound, will also feature New York’s own Holy Ghost!, fresh off a four-night stint at Terminal 5 with LCD Soundsystem. The tour starts on July 26 in Washington DC and will hit NYC’s Bowery Ballroom on July 29 - tickets go on sale this Wednesday, May 26. Check out Chromeo’s video for “Night by Night” after the jump, then head to the Green Label Sound website for a free download of the song, along with remixes by Skream and Siriusmo.

I’m On A Boat: Flosstradamus Hits NYC June 16

Marjana Jaidi / May 24, 2010

With good weather comes outdoor concerts, barbecues and cruises. The Rocks Off Concert Cruise is back in full effect, bringing Chicago-based duo Flosstradamus on June 16. Autobot and J2K (Kid Sister’s brother) will bring their unique mix of club, hip-hop, house and juke aboard the Temptress as she sails around New York City for a three-hour tour.

The cruise boards at 7 PM and departs at 8 PM from West 41st Street. CLICK HERE for tickets and more info, and check out the Flosstradamus remix of Matt & Kim’s “Yeah Yeah” below.

Matt & Kim – “Yeah Yeah” (Flosstradamus Remix)