The second day of the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival took the energy from the previous day’s festivities and doubled it, with all of Williamsburg awash in the sound of beats and dancing feet. Rubble from the night before was still littering the streets as the darkness set in, the energy picked up, and New York City’s cool kids emerged from their hangovers to start the party all over again.

At the Public Assembly Loft, Tim Sweeney stepped in around midnight, spinning his signature blend of house and disco, grooving right along with his rapt audience. Jackmaster the took over to great cheers, proceeding to drop a set of serious bangers; nothing short of a greatest hits of house and techno from 2011. As Julio Bashmore’s “Battle for Middle You” came floating out from the speakers, the entire crowd sang along, as best they could to en electronic track. Scuba’s “Feel It” was also a huge hit, getting those last few people who weren’t moving to hit the dancefloor. Braille followed, proving without a doubt that he’s a DJ in his own right (although everyone loves a good Sepalcure performance).

Downstairs, Fout Tet played to a truly packed house, with people so crammed in they were spilling out from every door. Kingdom and Girl Unit went bass heavy, focusing on the lower and more dub centric spectrum of sound. Meanwhile, Thugfucker spun deep house next door, with no shortage of pretty girls pressing up toward the DJ booth. The house was still packed when the lights went on at 4am, and the bleary eyed population was evicted into the streets in search of an afterparty. BEMF, why’d you have to go? We look forward to seeing you again next year.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PHOTO GALLERIES FROM DAY 1 AND DAY 2

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.

The Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, now in its fourth year, is just a few weeks away. The two-day festival, taking place Friday and Saturday November 11-12, will be held across more than five Williamsburg venues. A 40-strong lineup is in development; Matthew Dear, Diamond Rings, Four Tet, Hudson Mohawke, Braille, Dubbel Dutch, and Daedelus are among the artists announced.

Compared to last year, production company MeanRed has doubled the capacity. This not only allows for significantly more musical performances, but also for street art projections, installations from local experiential artists, and a food truck lot.

The festival will run from 4pm-4am. Primary venues are Music Hall of Williamsburg, Public Assembly, The Cove, Cameo, and Zablozki’s; all will be 21+, with the exception of Music Hall of Williamsburg (18+). $45 buys a 2-day pass.

In addition, MeanRed will host a pre-BEMF Dark Disco party, which will feature Lvis-1990 and will be held at a secret location in Chinatown on Saturday, November 5. Advanced tickets are $10, or $15 once those sell out. Alternatively, a ticket to both the pre-party and BEMF can be purchased for $50.

Tickets to BEMF and the Dark Disco pre-party are available from Ticketfly. HiFi will continue with festival coverage as information becomes available. See you on North 6th Street!

This Wednesday, October 19, FIXED is back with their annual CMJ Freakout at Public Assembly. The OAK-sponsored event will feature Teengirl Fantasy, Still Corners, CFCF (dj set), Chad Valley, Warm Ghost, Radio People, Lemonade, VDRK, Free Magic, along with special guest JD Twitch (aka Optimo), and of course, FIXED’s own JDH and Dave P.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 day of. Doors open at 9pm for those 21+ with ID. Make sure to get there on time to enjoy a Reyka Vodka open bar from 9-10pm. Get advanced tickets HERE.

Simian Mobile Disco have released a video for their newest single Gizzard out now on their own label Delicasies. The single is available both digitally and on 12″ vinyl. This three minute and forty second track tells a concise story similar to Sleep Deprivation while maintaining the Eurodance feel of all the tracks released on their second full album, Delicacies. The duo announced that every track released on their new label will “take the name of an exotic, and often bizarre, delicacy from around the world.” No word as of yet on their third full-length release, but SMD will be spinning two DJ sets here in New York City on August 6th. This Saturday afternoon you can find them at MoMA’s PS1 Warm Up event and Fixed is presenting them at Public Assembly in the evening. Click here to purchase tickets.

April 22, Ramadanman (otherwise known as Pearson Sound) performed at Public Assembly along with Zed Bias, Salva, DJG, DJ Shiftee and Enoe & Max Echo as part of the Surefire Sound showcase. Public Assembly was completely packed wall-to-wall full of eager party goers who, if they were anything like me, had been waiting for what seemed like a lifetime to see Ramadanman in New York City. And he did not disappoint, fulling living up to his reputation for virile, genre-stomping percussive sound. Through an invigorating blend of his own productions and crowd pleasing tracks such as Girl Unit’s “WUT” and Joy Orbison’s “Sicko Cell”, Ramadanman had the entire room dancing all the way through his set, even if that meant having to rub up against a few strangers due to lack of space.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FULL PHOTO GALLERY.

Shuffling into the back room of Public Assembly, we weaved over to the far side, getting cozy amongst the suby sound system and the filling crowd.  Anna Lunoe warmed up the house with a wide selection of tracks.  She was a delightful opener with striking elegance in her style to her charged delivery.  This brilliant DJ from Sidney Australia brought confidence onto the dance floor.  Cuing up tracks as well as her dance moves, one only had to follow the swish in her hips to notice she was delivering her own swing.  Staggered bass kicks, vibing Latin rhythms, and spun back decks that snapped straight into rhymes atop driving subs.  Catalyzing these first drops of sweat, Lunoe launched the crowd into their flow for the night.

Climbing the stage steps, Orlando Higginbottom of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs dropped behind the curtain for a quick costume change.  Emerging in a black cloak adorned with silver stegosaurus spikes lining the crown of the hood, he stepped up to his table of wire woven electronics.  Anna Lunoe faded out one last song into an effected draw, allowing TEED to pick up the energy where she left off.  Immediately the crowd followed his command.  Tapping through his computer, and swiftly dodging over to his Korg we anticipated his every composition.  Shifting his attention to the mic the music emptied into a clearing allowing his effect-pedal etched vocals to drift through the space.  Shoulders relaxed and ears softened into the melodies of his lyrics.  Then only beats after his last word in the chorus, the surge plummeted.  We found ourselves in the air after the perfection of treacherous sound erupted through the floor.  These infectious drums pounded through souls the entire performance.

Never knowing what might come next kept all eyes locked on the head dressed conductor.  His slightly somber attitude asserted a confidence over his drifting set.  However the understated vibe did not take away from his music’s energy. Constantly switching between dodgy bass lines, vocal breaks, and tense builds, the set flew seamless.  I constantly found my self praying for the release of an album.  But then again, it might be impossible to translate the spontaneity of his live act to into the realm of a full-length recording.  While dropping into one song he had the crowd following his every move, clapping along with hands overhead throughout the build.  The bass finally let out and the entire audience jammed along with him, jumping and twirling, hands still clapping in the air.  In that very instant driven by his enthusiasm for carefully articulated bass and techy percussion, Orlando Higginbottom accomplished what he came here to do.  Enable this crowd to confidently unravel themselves into the undeniable joy of his sound.

2Following this unforgettable one-man band came the second Australian.  Beni hopped on deck striking quickly towards a specific direction.  His enthusiasm was not well received in part of the crowd, which soon made their exit after TEED had left the stage.  Charging through some opening tracks, the dancing feet soon started to stutter over the electronic breaks.  His selections were slightly more acute than the breadth that Lunoe and TEED had covered.  Between the faithful TEED fans leaving, and the sonic energy now sculpted into a new shape, the remaining Public Assembly patrons seemed to dwindle.  There appeared to be a longing for the familiar deep droning tribal bump that fueled the night up to this point, but this was already left behind.  Beni tried to twist through his set and grab the audience, but they had already seen what they had come for.

Despite the flickering crowd at the end, this past Saturday at Public Assembly rumbled with international talent.  Lunoe conjured up the dancing spirits inside us all and handed over the rhythmic wand to TEED.  Then orchestrating our travel through sound Orlando Higginbottom enchanted the room with his ingenious resonance.  Wandering atop the charm of his vocals and then dropping straight into shredded pulsations the crowd lost its self in his magic.  Either fully satisfied with no room for more, or just simply out of the know about the massive talent to follow, the crowd dissolved leaving Beni little to work with.  I am grateful to of had my calendar marked for this event, because if you were there that night, no matter what time you exited the doors of 70 N6th, there was certainly an echoing pulse in your step the entire walk home.

Sifting through the event emails a while back, this popped up and made its self a highlight on my calendar for the month of March.  On Saturday the 19^th, Public Assembly will host Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs alongside Beni.  Brought to you by the beautiful people at MeanRed Productions, this show will restructure perspectives on what it means to perform dance music.

Coming straight from Austin with a slight detour through Montreal and Toronto, TEED finally lands in Brooklyn.  The performer behind the dinosaur headdress is Orlando Higginbottom, who has built his career starting in his hometown of Oxford England. Growing up with his dad as a music professor for Oxford University, composing, performing, and teaching have all been part of his development.  Orlando’s expressions have been recognized by the likes of Annie Mac, who aired his very own ‘Household Goods” on Radio 1.  There after the song received a spaced-out-tickly remix by Justin Martin.  Now he finds himself stepping on stage at some of the year’s largest events including HARD in LA and SXSW.

Stepping on stage the same night is the Australian extraordinaire Beni.  Trekking throughout the world for his career, Beni has stepped along side Gang Bang Deejays, and produced with Riot In Belgium.  His sound has been identified on a global scale; working in remixes for Tiga, Digitalism, Fischerspooner, La Roux, and Alex Gopher.  Most well known for his single ‘Maximus’, Beni’s sound stretches deep into the reaches of funked up disco to the deep acidy club jams.

Grab your tickets here:

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs & Beni @ Public Assembly Sat. 19

It’s Friday Night and we arrive at Public Assembly shortly after midnight.  Breezing past the bouncer out of the cold, windswept waste of N6th and into the musty, cavernous warmth of PA, it felt like a good time to be showing up to a party—especially a Flashing Lights throw-down featuring Mad Decent beat-smith and pan-global party-starter Douster.  Straight to the back room, past the gate and through the door and…where the fuck are all the people?  Residents Dj Ayres and Nick Catchdubs were at the decks pumping out a mish-mash mix of big name house, hip-hop, a little dubstep—anything and everything to get people warmed up and moving.  The only problem being that the room was far from full.  Outside of two raver girls pulling cartwheels and break-dance moves straight out of Electric Boogaloo, the dance floor was sedate.  Maybe people were home making seven-layer dip for their Oscar parties.  Whatever.  We were there to party, and the dudes on the tables delivered.

Around 1:30, with the room slightly more full, Douster took the stage and kicked out a mind-blowing, continent-hopping Afro-cumbia set.  Hailing from Lyon by way of Buenos Aires, the man’s sound casts a big net.  He layered trance synth buildups underneath propulsive Latin and West African percussion.   The bass bounced and croaked, and the ravey synths swept in and out and gave way to 8bit bleeps while feverish drums, handclaps and whistles beat time. He pulled tracks from all over the place—new cumbia, kuduro, dancehall.  Remixes included a bubbling, two-step workout of Major Lazer’s “Hold the Line”.  This is new world order music that would sound just as natural blasting out of tinny speakers in the favela, the massive sound system of an Ibiza mega-club, or here in a dank back-room in Brooklyn.  Douster took us on a non-stop journey, pausing with each track to add a new layer—a new flavor to the mix.  His transitions were so smooth that they felt nonexistent. The music just flowed from one place to another, hopping borders, styles—hop, bounce, skip, jump, step, and stomp.

The only drawback on the night was the crowd, or lack thereof. Douster’s multi-culti dance party should be shaking rumps and kicking up dust wall-to-wall, country to country, so the spare crowd was a bit of a buzz-kill and also cause for surprise.  Step your game up NYC. Flashing Lights is bringing the beats and you need to bring the bodies.

If you want to be in know regarding all things Douster, take a look at his artist page over at Mad Decent and, for a taste of this mad scientist’s mixology, check out this tape he put together for Fader HERE.

This Friday February 25, Flashing Lights returns to Public Assembly with another edition of their infamous party! This time around, Douster joins the usual crew DJ Ayres, Nick Catchdubs, and Jubilee, for a night that’s sure to be filled with awesome beats and good times, not to mention more than enough rave juice.

Youthful French producer and ZZK Records compatriot Douster has been making a splash with his clubby European take on the various tropical rhythms (and riddims) emerging from around the globe. Whether it be dancehall or kuduro, cumbia or UK funky, Douster can be counted on to deliver an uptempo, chopped-and-sliced dancefloor filler.

Check out this brand new tour mix that he just did for The Fader to get you pumped!