Originally from North Wales and hailing from London, The Joy Formidable is a three-member indie rock band who made their way to the music scene in 2008. Acclaimed by the Times (UK), who described them as “dreamy indie pop” and regarded as one band to watch by the Guardian (UK) upon the release of their debut single “Austere” in August 2008  – the group is of pure sensation with regard. Their syncopated style draws on a contention of riffs that are backed with the resounds of pleasing and rejoicing melodies. The reavealing voice of lead singer Ritzy Bryan plays off their forceful drums and raw guitars to create a sound that is fervently fit for a  jaunt. It is also nice to come across a band that isn’t trying to sell you anything. Their music is their brand – and a good one that is! Tagged with the likes of the Editors, White Lies, and Passion Pit, The Joy Formidable will be making a stint in New York City from January 8th to January 12th. (Their exact schedule is below.)

Selling out their debut UK tour, the heavily creative group is more than the sense of optimism they omit in song. True artists, we can only imagine them live…for now. With four dates to choose from, we certainly won’t miss them. Check out their tracks “Austere” and “Cradle” below. Click through for the video of their recently released track “Greyhounds in the Slips” featuring Paul Draper.

The Joy Formidable - “Austere”

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The Joy Formidable - “Cradle”

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The Joy Formidable – 2010 New York Tour Dates

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If the Grim Reaper had to sing, he would probably sing about death. Cage, the New York-bred rapper and indie-rocker may not meet the reaper’s demise in song but gives him a run for his money in a fashion reminiscent of Charlie Daniels’ Johnny in “The Devil Went To Georgia.” In such a case, the Reaper should have been at BB King in New York City this past Friday for the “Depart From Me Round 2″ tour.  With Shinobi Ninja and Tame One setting the stage, Cage’s appearance was met by fans who were eager for his story-driven lyrical journeys. Backed by DJ Chauncey, he spewed over beats in the familiar form that garnered acclaim in the New York underground and independent hip-hop scene. With a cult status following, the audience responded to every single jagged and jilted word in his lyrics.

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The British rave band is the latest example of electro’s pollination to different styles of music. The dynamics of Hadouken! combines the genre-hopping tactics of dance music in a catacomb fit for the mainstream with appeal to the underground. Their second album, For The Masses, is already being compared to the innovative breakthrough scales of the Prodigy and Chemical Brothers. (If you can, imagine the metamorphic fragmented doors that were opened by the mainstream releases of Fat Of The Land and Dig Your Own Hole.)

Established in late 2006, the talents of Hadouken! took hold by word-of-mouth and internet fandom, ultimately leading to the success of their 2008 debut album Music For An Accelerated Culture (an appropriate title given the musical style of the band). The album debuted at number twelve on the UK charts and number four in Japan with little to no media attention or press. While we await the release of their widely anticipated album and the announcement of their North American tour, the group has released a bass-heavy EP of the track “M.A.D.” (Mutually Assured Destruction), with reworks by Detboi, Plastician (known for producing “Snoop Dogg Millionaire”) and Phace.  Click here to check out the EP, where four of the six tracks are available for free download.

The band will make the cross-over to the US markets in 2010 with For The Masses, slated for a February release. In the meantime, check out  two tracks from the EP below and the video for “Turn The Lights Out” after the jump.

UPDATE:  Hadouken! will make their first stop in the us at the Mercury Lounge on February 8th 2010.

Hadouken! – M. A. D.

Hadouken! – M.A.D. (Detboi Remix)

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German DJ and producer Timo Maas delivers more than enough surprises to fuel a revelry fit for an Armageddon.  Exhibiting creativity behind the decks and mixing with a unique selection of tracks, Timo Maas is a hybrid of an artist within the commercialization of Electronic Dance Music. DJs like Timo are the fresh air relieving from the cycle of methodology that often stifles the stigma of expectations when it comes to popular music – all while progressively pushing the threshold of familiarity. The Grammy-nominated producer emotes originality and a sense of his surroundings and audience. Timo Maas has worked with Kelis, Sweden’s Neneh Cherry, Placebo’s Brian Molko and contributed to soundtracks like The Italian Job (2003), Riders, FIFA Football (2003 and 2004) and a Budweiser commercial.

For the grand opening of Dance.Here.Too. at Santos Party House, Timo Maas created an electronic carnival, supported by a style and grace, that is nothing short of an enchantment. With treble and base on rectors that reformed faces in “the House,” it was an unfamiliar Santos. Fitting, his hash of a style combines familiar and unfamiliar tracks (some yet to be released) to hook the audience along with melodies and effects at the turn of knobs and twists to a frenzy of pure sounds sparking enjoyment. From ethnic Indian to Argentinean/Brazilian tracks, Timo’s capability on the stage is like a force of wind through a tunnel. The room was packed, yet everyone found some space to dance – dipping to the ground and rising while reaching up in the air. Timo inspired a dance of unison that only a ritual could conjure.

While he is considered to be a house DJ/producer,  Timo Mass’ progressive style blows the roof off the house. Keeping the fires of a party ablaze in full force is very hard to do in New York City, yet Timo managed to keep the room alive until close. After a splendid eclectic set, our hope is that he will return to New York with another delivery soon.

Click here for photos by Kenroy George from the grand opening of Dance.Here.Too., and click through to check out Timo Maas’ interpretation of Tron for his video “Ubik”, featuring Martin Bettinghaus.

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Last week, Kelis took to her Twitter account to leak “Acapella”, the lead single off her upcoming album. The album, which is “pretty much finished“, will include tracks produced by David Guetta (“Acapella”), Boys Noize and Major Lazer (aka Diplo and Switch).

The singer was recently featured on “Scars”, the title track from Bassment Jaxx’s latest album, and also collaborated with Crookers on the track “No Security” for their upcoming release, Tons of Friends. With that top-notch roster of producers, it’s safe to say that Kelis is going in a more electro-dance direction for her upcoming album. The record is set for a spring release through Geffen Records via Will.I.Am Music Group.

Check out “Acapella” below, click through to listen to Basement Jaxx’s “Scars” and the video for Crookers’ “No Security”.

Kelis – “Acapella”

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After a long wait – two years to be exact – Kid Sister (aka Melissa Young) has finally released her debut album. Originally titled Dream Date and set for a July 2008 release, Ultraviolet came out this week with beats and synths from Fool’s Gold Records founders A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs. With the help of XXXChange, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Rusko, Herve & Sniden, Yuksek and Spank Rock, Kid Sister creates flows with lexical quirks that makes Ultraviolet an enjoyable listen. The Chicago native joined the coveted club of female rappers in 2007 with her breakthrough billboard chart single “Pro Nails”, featuring Kanye West. Kid Sister got her start while touring with Flosstradamus (her younger brother, Josh Young makes up half of the duo), when she caught the attention of A-Trak, and the rest is nothing short of bumping erotic beats and warranted dancing.

The release of Ultraviolet makes it clear that Kid Sister has grown into a persona, taking the time to harness the interests that she garnered from her collaboration with Kanye West.  Many artists take their brink and rush for the glory, but by allowing herself the time to mature, Kid Sister yielded a magnetic and fun album of polished dance tunes and charismatic lyrics.

Tonight (Wednesday, November 18), Fool’s Gold Records will celebrate the album’s release at Griffin with DJ sets by A-Trak, Nick Catchdubs, DRek Martinez and others (click here to RSVP). You can also catch her live with Flosstradamus at Webster Hall on November 27th.

Update: Click here for photos from the release party

Check out Rusko’s dubalicious remix of “Pro Nails” below, and click through for the “Right Hand Hi” music video and track list for Ultraviolet.

Kid Sister – “Pro Nails” (Rusko Remix)

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What do you get when you combine Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and  Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age)? Kept a secret within friends in hereabouts fashion, the mix of these guys is the musical crescendo of a rock super-group. Them Crooked Vultures (aka TCV) is a living superpower of Rock and Roll – taking pieces from some great bands and creating what can only be considered a musical alliance. Even-though the group’s assembly was hinted in the press prior to their first performance in Chicago this past August, they managed to keep a sense of secrecy about their ways while somehow selling out shows in less than 15 minutes.

It’s a shame we missed them when they played at Roseland Ballroom in October, Them Crooked Vultures aren’t scheduled for another show in New York any time soon. If you’ve ever wondered what the Super Friends of Rock n’ Roll would sound like, then this is it. Infused with jilted melody, this album is like a stewing pot boiling with a number of ingredients to taste.

Them Crooked Vultures, their self-titled debut album, is due for release on November 16 in the UK and November 17 in the US under Interscope and Sony Music. In the meantime, the group has released the entire album on YouTube, and it is quite a trip.

Click through to check out their teaser and the album below.

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Featuring UK superstar trance DJs Above & Beyond and the Dutch phenom Fedde Le Grand, the Halloween bash at the Roseland Ballroom was one to…wait for it… die for.  In celebration of the release of Above & Beyond’s latest compilation Anjunabeats Vol. 7 and Fedde Le Grand’s debut artist album Output, the event highlighted some world’s premier trance and progressive house, and if ever there were hollows amuck in closets or haunted houses needing much relief, Fedde Le Grande and Above & Beyond certainly know how to cure it.

Throw in a little bit of base, drums, lights,  costumes and you’ve got a temporary haven in New York City to deck the halls of Halloween. If this weren’t a monster mash in the least, then it was certainly fit for a graveyard brought to life with music. With renditions of “Put Your Hands Up for Detroit” for New York, and Prodigy’s “Breathe” over Simian’s “We Are your friends,” there were enough beats for headless horsemen to go on murderous frenzy jousts in a cemetery – yes, peculiar and sick! With beats dropping like they’re lit coal – too hot to handle with bare hands, Fedde Le Grand picks them up and sets them ablaze. This is his technique to work up the crowd – lighting them up and then igniting with a flair of beats and sounds to a technical conundrum – good DJs do this. With ease, they have the ability to take a hold of the crowd’s fate and enjoyment and play with it – swinging them like a pendulum as they go along.

Click through if you dare…

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The New York bred singer will release his first solo album in the US on November 3rd. Known primarily as the front man of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas‘ Phrazes for the Young will surely take him on a new solo career path. What does this mean for The Strokes? Well, they’re already halfway through the making of a new album, their first since the release of First Impressions of Earth in 2006.

After creating a stir in NME magazine about performing solo, and releasing quite the teaser video, Julian put on a show in Tokyo this past August. Footage from the show leaked on the web and disappeared within a couple of days - so you know RCA wanted to keep this album under wraps. We managed to get our hands on an advance copy of Phrazes of the Young. We’ve had it for a solid month now…listening, diverging, going back to it, and letting it all sink in.

Click through to read more…

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Now that it has happened, it was pretty much inevitable. Hip-hop’s rock star, Weezy (aka Lil Wayne) takes on partying with Weezer, in the style of a mash-up. With the release of “Can’t Stop Partying”, imaginable as a cross between Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” and Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock”, this catchy tune may be fit for a few replays – like the  memory of a good party… or rather the good remnants of it. Check out the track below.

Weezer’s upcoming album Raditude, which hits stores on November 3rd, includes the Jermaine Dupri-produced track, ”Can’t Stop Partying”, one of many catchy songs on the band’s seventh studio album. The alternative rock (and sometimes emo) band continues to capture youthful spirit and frivolity in their music. While a bit more mainstream than their trademark style, this album delivers the fun that is synonymous with Weezer’s six prior albums.

Meanwhile, Lil Wayne just released another mixtape, No Ceilings. The guy churns these things out like he’s got an assembly line system. Borrowing from Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West and others, Wayne freestyles with a barrage of lyrics to familiar tunes (without remuneration, since the album is free). His mixes are also where he unveils up-and-coming artists in the works. Typically, a Lil Wayne mixtape release is only the beginning of others to unfold, including collaborations. After all, his delayed rock album, Rebirth is set for release in December. Click here to download the mixtape (via usershare).

Weezer featuring Lil Wayne – “Cant Stop Partying”

Click here to download this track

Lil Wayne – “I Gotta Feeling”