Last Sunday, The Bloody Beetroots rocked The Palladium in Los Angeles for Hard’s second consecutive night. Led by Bobby Rifo on guitar, bass and keys, the duo-turned-trio (re-dubbed “The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77″) delivered nearly an hour an a half of hard-hitting electro infused with punk rock and heavy metal. Tommy Tea manipulated the live tunes through his set of mixers, while the band’s newest member, Edward Grinch, kept time on the drums. Dim Mak founder Steve Aoki made a few cameos throughout their set. Sinden, Designer Drugs, Jokers of the Scene and Destructo also performed.

Don’t miss Sinden this Saturday when he joins the Trouble & Bass Crew and Zombies for Money at Santos Party House. CLICK HERE to RSVP for reduced admission. Hard will return to New York twice this summer, first with headliner M.I.A. in July, then again in August for the first-ever Hard tour, headlined by Crystal Castles. Tickets and info HERE.

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Last week, the third and final phase of the Ultra Music Festival was posted, adding LMFAO and Sander Kleinenberg (among others) to the already massive line-up that includes Damian Marley and Nas, Passion Pit, Tiesto, A-Trak, Bassnectar, Crookers, The Bloody Beetroots, Major Lazer, and hundreds more.

This year will feature some special collaborations – Florence (from Florence and the Machine) will join Swedish House Mafia on the Ultra Main Stage on Saturday, and Kelis, whose sound as taken a turn towards electro, will team up with Benny Benassi for a few songs.

Four new arenas have been added to the festival grounds – the UMF Ibiza Tent, the UMF Brazil Tent, the Root Society Dome, and the Heineken Dome Experience – bringing the total to a staggering ten (yes, TEN) stages.

Another new addition to Ultra is Sonic Forest, an interactive installation by artist/composer Christopher Janney that will entice festival goers into a unique environment with aural and visual components. Sonic Forest is composed of eight-foot tall aluminum poles that trigger melodic and environmental sounds as people move through the “electronic trees”. Independent drummers will be present in the Forest during various parts of the installation. Sonic Forest has been featured at Bonnaroo, All Points West, and Coachella in the US, and various festivals around the world.

This is shaping up to be the best Ultra to date, and is certainly not to be missed if you’re going to be in Miami for the Winter Music Conference. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets, and be sure to check out The HiFi Cartel Guide to the Winter Music Conference for more events in Miami that week.

As co-creator and weekly resident DJ of Girls & Boys, Webster Hall’s acclaimed Friday party, Alex English has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the DJ world. In the past year alone, Girls & Boys has played host to Xavier de Rosnay, A-Trak, Boys Noize, Crookers, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Deadmau5 and Chromeo, among others.

With over 20 years of DJ experience under his belt, Alex English has become a fixture in the electro scene in New York City. Apart from his residencies at Thom Bar on Thursdays, Webster Hall on Fridays, and the Tribeca Grand Hotel on Saturdays, Alex also deals with booking the all-star DJ line-up for GBH parties at Webster Hall, Tribeca Grand, and North 8th in Williamsburg.

Tonight, Alex English and Dan Physics will make their debut as Disko Dali when they open for Justice’s sold-out DJ set at Webster Hall. Though Alex came up with Disko Dali back in 2001, he and Dan didn’t start working together until this past summer. The duo writes and produces original dance music and has done remixes of artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Dragonette, and Depeche Mode (check out some of their remixes on their MySpace page, or listen to their remix of “Plastic Caramelo” below).

Over the last few weeks, we traded emails with Alex to discuss his DJ career, influences, and upcoming projects. After the jump, read an excerpt of the interview that transpired.

We compiled photos documenting some of Alex’s exploits around New York City to celebrate The HiFi Cartel’s 100th Photo Gallery… click here to check it out. Be sure to listen to the Disko Dali remix of Plastic Caramelo’s self-titled track, streamed below, and check back soon for the Alex English edition of HiFi Essentials.

Plastic Caramelo – “Plastic Caramelo” (Disko Dali Mix)

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Its been over a week and we still haven’t recovered from the Electric Zoo music festival. For the first electronic music festival in New York City, we would say it was a success. With a great selection of music from DJs in house and dance, The Electric Zoo proved to be more than a festival. It was an event that gathered a dance and music culture from the tri-state area, and bringing along its taste-makers from parts of the world - including New York’s own Danny Tenaglia and Roger Sanchez. With four stages, there wasn’t a moment where a stage was empty, yet the crowds were manageable and one could move about with ease. With some sun, it seemed like an oasis on a playing field for dance and music lovers – made more apparent as the night fell and draped the sun underneath the city skyline to massive lighting effects on the stages.

Packed with an audience that knew their music, the DJs met them in return with their A-game – hooking the crowd along with every notch of beat thrown their way. Roger Sanchez, the Queens native, sent the audience into a frenzy with his rendition of Fat Boy Slim’s “Right Here Right Now.”  With a remarkable set list, English DJ, Ben Watt created some excitement with his take on MGMT’s “Kids” and Kaskade’s “Move for me”. Always a crowd favorite, Steve Aoki delivered by keeping the crowd on their toes and jumping throughout his set. Like the Rockstar-DJ he is, Steve commanded from the stage and fueled the audience with a barrage of beats combined with his touch of sound effects – all while making use of the great sound system in place by playing with the channels. With a vocal break in his hard set to The Bloody Beetroot’s “Warp”, Steve hopped on his table, and with extremity, screamed in tune with the track.

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