After a ten-week absence, I celebrated my return to NYC with a killer double header. The night started at Good Units with Fixed’s JDH and The Twelves, then the party continued at Webster Hall, where Girls & Boys was in full swing with a DJ set by Karlsson & Winnberg of Miike Snow.
CLICK HERE for photos from The Twelves and Good Units, and HERE for photos of Miike Snow at Webster Hall.
This past weekend, Downtown Records celebrated its five year anniversary with two fantastic nights of music. The first night at Webster Hall featured The Suzan, Lissy Trullie, White Denim, Art Brut and A-Trak. The following night at Terminal 5 featured Miike Snow, Major Lazer and Santigold, with DJ sets by DJ Mehdi and So Me.
One of favorite labels, Downtown Records (home to Fool’s Gold and Mad Decent, among others) is celebrating its five year anniversary next month with two awesome nights of music, right here in New York City.
On Friday, March 4th, Downtown will take over Webster Hall for the first night of festivities. We’ve always had a soft spot for Japanese quartet The Suzan, but they really blew us away last week when they opened for Chromeo at Terminal 5. If you haven’t already (and even if you have), make it a point to see this band before they head back to the motherland. The line-up also features A-Trak, Art Brut, White Denim and Lissy Trullie. Tickets available HERE.
The party continues on March 5th at Terminal 5 with Miike Snow, Major Lazer with special guest Santigold, DJ Mehdi and So Me. I think the line-up speaks for itself. As a matter of fact, it’s already sold out.
CLICK HERE to get tickets for the first night at Webster Hall, and if you’re not familiar with the entire line-up, fret not, our friends at RCRLBL have you covered with a free playlist. Check it out HERE.
What better way to burn off thousands of excess Thanksgiving calories than to dance the night away? Last Saturday at Terminal 5, we did just that with Turkey Soup, the latest installment of the HARD series that featured Destructo, Yelawolf, Miike Snow, Flying Lotus, A-Trak and Tiga.
Destructo (aka Gary Richards, founder of HARD) started the show on a strong note, debuting Hard’s elaborate new set-up, complete with a raised DJ booth. Next up, Yelawolf took over the mic, demonstrating the chops and charisma that could catapult him to mainstream success.
When artists make the jump from band member to DJ, the results have varied considerably, ranging from amazing (Passion Pit’s Shuttle) to disastrous (I’m not naming any names). We weren’t quite sure what (or who) to expect from Miike Snow’s DJ set, but any skepticism immediately vanished once they took over the decks. Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg delivered a killer set, and were appropriate representatives for the band – the duo has worked together under the pseudonym Bloodshy and Avant, writing and producing records for the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and more.
Flying Lotus, brilliant as always, stepped up his game by supplementing his set with a bassist and drummer, making this his first New York City appearance with live instrumentalists. I’m not sure if this qualifies as his ∞ project (it wasn’t billed as such), since past ∞ appearances have included a fuller range of instruments (guitar, keys, harp, violin, saxophone, among others). Nevertheless, the band was a great addition that made his music more hard-hitting and added depth to his set.
Looking sharp in a grey tux and bow-tie, A-Trak played a set that drew heavily from his growing list of hits. The crowd was still going strong as Tiga closed out the night.
CLICK HERE to view more photos by Lauren Marsh, and HERE to check out videos from Poison Ivy.
The fall season is officially upon us, and while we’re not looking forward to the cold weather, we can’t complain about the slew of amazing artists that slated to perform in our fair city next month. Click through for a roundup of the hottest tickets coming to town, and don’t forget, CMJ hits NYC at the end of October…
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.
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.
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.
We were already amped about the massive line-up for Øya Festival in Norway, but after seeing the list of artists scheduled to perform at Nighttime Øya, our anticipation has gone through the roof. Øya has teamed up with some of the best clubs in Oslo to keep the music going after the park closes at 11 PM. Diplo, Caribou, Four Tet, Jamie XX are among those who will illuminate the nightlife scene in the nation’s capital each night after the festival.
As for the festival itself, Yeasayer, Die Antwood, and the Flaming Lips have been added to the roster, which was finalized last week. They will join the list of previously announced artists that includes M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Robyn, La Roux, The xx, Sleigh Bells, Miike Snow, Major Lazer and many, many more.
Tickets for Øya Nighttime events will be available at the venue and in advance at the festival. Discounts will be given to those who hold a festival pass, which costs around $330 for five-days. CLICK HERE for tickets and info.
The summer just got a little more exciting. The initial line-up for Oslo’s annual Øya Festival is so huge, there’s no way we can pass this one up. Robyn, M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Miike Snow, Major Lazer, The xx and Raekwon are just some of the artists on the initial line-up, along with several local Norwegian acts. With both Diplo (Major Lazer) and Robyn on the bill, we’re hoping that their recent studio collaboration will manifest itself onstage.
The five-day festival will be held from August 10-14 in Middelalderparken, a picturesque medieval park surrounded by sandy beaches, the Oslo Fjords and the Oslo skyline. Those who are environmentally conscious will be happy to learn that Øya has been officially named the greenest festival in Europe.
A five-day pass will set you back roughly $330 and are available HERE. Single-day tickets are also available.
Last weekend, Miike Snow played three consecutive sold-out shows in New York City. Not bad, considering the Swedish trio formed in 2007 and didn’t appear on the U.S. music radar till the release of their eponymous album in May 2009. The trio – frontman Andrew Wyatt and production duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg – may have been wearing white masks as they took the stage at Bowery Ballroom for their final performance, but there was nothing anonymous about who they were or to what they were delivering. This audience knew their music.
Extra sentiments of electro and syth added surprises to their familiar songs, while smoke and syncopated explosions of light flooded the stage. As Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg took to electronic instruments that relied on their DJ and production skills, Andrew Wyatt went back and forth on the piano and guitar. On the microphone, Wyatt was an excursion of emotional bursts, using his voice as a juxtaposition to their long synth-based interludes between songs and switching his range and tone with ease. While the group may have been familiar to the audience, they added a certain element that created a feeling of nostalgia, yielding an astonishing live set in both performance and production.
Check out photos from Miike Snow’s performance at the Bowery Ballroom by Kenroy George, and click through for their video for “Silvia”
