My friend (and artist) Phil Frost, who’s designs have graced the album covers for musicians such as DJ Shadow and hardcore group Sick Of It All,  currently has a show of his work at the newly opened Prism Gallery in Los Angeles; located on the Sunset Strip (former location of Tower Records).  The show is called Mind The Gap and spotlights the work of both Phil and fellow artist Barry McGee. 

The show opened on Friday, November 20th and will run until February 2010.  Apparently, Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Joe Hahn (Linkin Park) were in attendance at the very successful opening night. 

If you are in the Los Angeles area you should take a moment to see the gallery; I’ve heard that both Phil and Barry really outdid themselves with incredible amounts of original work for the show.  According to some reviews the sizes of some pieces are truly staggering. 

For more on the show and pictures of the open night, click here.

…are these five albums:

1) Disc Two Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ “White Lunar”

2) DJ Shadow’s “The Outsider″

3) Nirvana’s “Sliver: The Best of the Box”

4) Prodigy’s “The Fat of the Land”

5) The White Stripes’ “De Stijl”

And you?

Rocking it,

-Shady

i was in town one afternoon in early july 2003. i had to drop something to the department of education for my brother. in the evening i met my friend to go to a play written by a friend of ours. in the interim, i picked up muzik magazine – it had p diddy on the cover! his much-lauded let’s get ill was, apparently, about to reshape the dance music universe. well, with the benefit of hindsight, we all know that never happened…

more important was the free cd that came with the magazine. i think i’d heard of the dj, erol alkan, a few months previously in the sunday times magazine, as one to watch. those profiles are all well and good, but mean nothing if you can’t hear what he’s about. this cd changed all that. the section of my diary entry (yes, i keep a diary) concerning the magazine read as follows: “Got Muzik with cool electro stylee cd.” if you forgive me for using the word stylee, you’ll understand what the relevance was. up to this point, i had moved from euphoria-style trance in the late 90s, to global underground and renaissance in the early 00s. a little of funky house had entered my sphere but not so much that i’d ever be tempted to enter that world permanently. this erol alkan chap helped redefine the sounds i was listening to. i must mention james lavelle, whose gu022 had ventured outside the prog-house mould and belatedly introduced me to the likes of dj shadow, as well as the solo work of thomas bangalter. i also got to know the beast that is unkle – but that’s a story for another day. this is about erol.

unfortunately i wouldn’t see erol in the flesh until 2006, but that wasn’t for lack of trying. once i was sick. once he played the trinity ball and i couldn’t find him. once he was playing just hours before i flew to prague. once i was in america. and so on. when i finally did see him, i wrote this.

you’ve read a lot to get this point. now you can just enjoy the mix.

Erol Alkan presents One Louder

01 Playgroup – Make It Happen (Zongamin Mix) (Edit)
02 Mitsu – Hush
03 Duran Duran – Girls On Film (Night Version)
04 The Faint – The Conductor (Thin White Duke Remix) (Edit)
05 Codec & Flexor – Crazy Girls Make My Heart Go Boom Boom
06 Headman – It Rough (Chicken Lips Mix)
07.a Goldfrapp/Benny Benassi – Train (Ewan Pearson Dub Mix)/Satisfaction (Acappella)
08 Grand Popo Football Club – Men Are Not Nice Guys (Goldrun Remix)
09 Tom Gillieron and Ravi McArthur – Now It’s Dark
10 Kiko/Alex Gopher – Italomatic (Kiko & The Hacker Remix)/Party People (Acappella)
11 Ferenc – Yes Sir I Can Hardcore
12 Archigram – Doggystyle
13 Uminski – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Fan made Video

DJ AM back from the grave in DJ Hero

I don’t have the new ‘DJ Hero” game. However, what I do have is this YouTube channel with all of the music. Needless to say it fucking rules and gives DJs the attention and spotlight they deserve. Even the late DJ AM. Check out my full column on the game’s music here.

-Kegan

20 Watts played Asobi Seksu, DJ Shadow and more on WERW

Eric, Chris and Caitlin are in the studio this evening spinning an hour of new music, an hour of trip-hop and an hour of local songs! Tune in by opening iTunes and selecting radio > college radio > WERW or by clicking this link. We’ll be in the studio until 1 a.m.!

Want to talk to us or request a song? IM werw1570, tweet @20_watts or call (315) 443-1278. The third caller gets Chris Parker’s voice on their voicemail… it doesn’t get much better than that.

New tracks are in bold, local artists are italicized.

And don’t forget to tune in to 20 Watts’ Audiocandy+ shows on Wednesday and Thursday from 9-11 p.m.!

artist: Asobi Seksu [read our review of Transparence]
title: New Year
album: Rewolf

artist: Echo and the Bunnymen [13/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Life of a Thousand Crimes
album: The Fountain

artist: Omar Rodriguez Lopez
title: Azoemia
album: Xenophanes

artist: Pants Yell!
title: Rue de la Paix
album: Received Pronunciations

artist: Wale [15/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Chillin’
album: Attention Deficit

artist: Yeasayer
title: Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix)
album: Ambling Alp

artist: Memory Tapes
title: Bicycle
album: Seek Magic

artist: Future Islands
title: Little Dreamer
album: Post Office Wave Chapel

artist: Grizzly Bear
title: Slow Life
album: New Moon OST [read our coverage of New Moon]

artist: Bibio [16/20 watts -- read the review]
title: Lovers’ Carvings (Leatherette Remix)
album: The Apple and The Tooth

artist: Arcade Fire [by request -- thank you for listening!]
title: Lenin
album: Dark Was The Night Compilation

artist: Atlas Sound
title: Doctor (Five Discs Cover)
album: N/A

artist: A Sunny Day in Glasgow
title: Shy (Ernest Gonzalez Remix)
album: N/A

READ THE 20: YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TRIP-HOP

artist: DJ Shadow
title: Midnight in a Perfect World
album: Endtroducing

artist: Portishead
title: Glory Box
album: Dummy

artist: Massive Attack
title: Unfinished Sympathy
album: Blue Lines

artist: Tricky
title: Hell Is Round the Round the Corner
album: Maxinquaye

artist: Kid Koala
title: Fender Bender
album: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

artist: Portishead
title: Machine Gun
album: Dummy

artist: Rob Dougan
title: Clubbed to Death
album: N/A

artist: Blockhead
title: Triptych PT 1
album: Music by Cavelight

artist: Wagon Christ
title: Tally Ho
album: Tally Ho

artist: Red Snapper
title: Like A Moving Truck
album: Making Bones

artist: Becoming X
title: Sneaker Pimps
album: Sneaker Pimps

artist: DJ Shadow
title: What Does Your SOul Look Like Pt. 2
album: Preemptive Strike

artist: Massive Attack
title: Inertia Creeps
album: Mezzanine

artist: No Connection
title: The Weight
album: Lovely Devils

artist: Lemuria
title: Mechanical
album: Get Better

artist: Mayflower
title: Movie Quotes & Inside Jokes
album: Awesome Stuff

artist: Alex Kerns
title: Clamor On
album: Lovely Letters

artist: This Day & Age
title: The Bell And The Hammer
album: The Real Stuff

artist: Goo Goo Dolls [by request -- thank you for listening!]
title: Iris
album: Not Good

artist: The Screw-Ups
title: Don’t Care Much About Reggae
album: EP

artist: The Felice Brothers [see photos from last night's show]
title: Greatest Show on Earth
album: The Felice Brothers

artist: Moustache [by request -- thank you for listening!]
title: That French Song
album: Love is French

Maxi CD release of the track from Toy’s Factory, the Japanese Mo’ Wax kindred spirit.

Enjoy

Info

Featuring Ian Brown, there are many, many variations of single releases of this track. This is the two disc release of MW108.

Enjoy

Info for CD 1
Info for CD 2

Though the grand design had been developing and people were noticing, with this album, the full blown cult of UNKLE is born…and rightfully so.

An essential album.

Part1//Part2

Info

Teaser promo of UNKLE’s soon to be legendary Psyence Fiction release. Plays as one single track although 8 tracks are listed on cover.

Enjoy

Info

The song that brought UNKLE into the light with DJ Shadow on board. Features Thom Yorke of Radiohead on vocals. A legendary track.

Enjoy

Info

The Bristol sound, also known as trip-hop, was born from the British hip-hop and house scenes of the mid-1990s. Artists like Massive Attack, DJ Shadow and Portishead took the hybrid genre and turned it into a hip-hop-influenced electronica that harnessed a fanbase that reached between the Atlantic. The listening experience, likened to a “musical trip,” is one intensely focused on the abstract, atmospheric qualities of the genre. It has grown over the years to encompass turntablism, acid jazz, electro and dance into a hybrid genre that continues to expand into the contemporary hip-hop scene.

So what’s the very best of trip-hop? 20 Watts’ JOHN LUPOSELLO has the answer in our eighth 20 installment. Watch for new 20s each Thursday, only on 20 Watts, and check out our previous 20s below!

One of my favorite songs of all time, in any music genre, is Fuel Injected by Swollen Members. The song sampled a track by DJ Shadow called Organ Donor. The song has one of the greatest Organ / Piano rifts ever! I recently came across this video and thought it was pretty amazing. The first 2 minutes is kind of boring, a lot of setting up (like the original song). But if you fast forward to about 2:15 or so, it starts picking up. The kids hand eye coordination is through the roof, especially since he’s working on such a small screen.

I think I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home lately.  Here’s what I’ve been listening to in the car, in no particular order.

1. Blur – Blur (Virgin 1997)
2. The Sexy Accident – Mantoloking (independent 2009)
3. Spiritualized – The Complete Works, Volume One (Arista 2003)
4. Sam Billen – Headphones and Cellphones (The Record Machine 2009)
5. DJ Shadow – Private Press (MCA 2002)

Blackalicious – “Swan Lake” ["Melodica", Solesides, 1994; producer: Chief Xcel, DJ Shadow]

samples

The Stylistics – “People Make The World Go Round” ["The Stylistics", Avco Records, 1971]

fabio

DJ Shadow – Endrotucing

I bet you’ve already heard DJ Shadow; he’s a stern favourite of advertising execs and BBC sound editors. As soon as you’re familiar with his stuff, he’ll haunt you like a ghost. Next time you see Jeremy Clarkson rev a brand new Italian sports car or o2 brag about their latest deals in a cutting edge ad, don’t be surprised if you hear the glitched drums or ethereal synths of DJ Shadow’s 1996 debut album. It’s famed for being the first album to consist entirely of samples; it’s even in the Guinness book of world records.
Sampling, for the uninitiated, is essentially cutting up chunks of other people’s recordings and transfiguring them into your own musical ideas, and to a lot of people that sounds like cheating, the Verve, for instance, have to pay 100% of their royalties for Bitter Sweet Symphony to Mick and Keith because of some strings that are sampled from a cover of a Rolling Stones song. However this album stands as indubitable proof that sampling is just as valid as regular writing styles, no matter what money hungry, coked up, rock stars think. Shadow mixes samples from an unholy range of sources including: Mettallica, A Tribe Called Quest, Bjork, the Blade Runner Soundtrack and countless numbers of obscure bargain bin records to create a sound which is completely alien to all its sources. Expertly cut up hip hop beats accompany a schizophrenic organ, doom metal drones add darkness to Rick James funk resulting in amazingly intricate soundscapes that are so removed from regular music they can, in fact, soundtrack virtually anything.
Shadows warped taste combined with his virtuosic DJ skill made this album the benchmark for experimental music in the mid 90’s notably influencing the likes of Radiohead, J Dilla and Danger Mouse. Unfortunately Shadow never regained this kind of form with the exception perhaps of the UNKLE collaboration ‘Psyence Fiction’. Notable in his demise was 2006’s ‘the Outsider’ which featured an ill-advised foray into crunk and a Kasabian collaboration. How 10 years can change a man.

- Hugh Crail

A KCRW affair is always a classy one. This year’s Halloween Masquerade did not disappoint. From the gorgeous setting at the legendary Park Plaza to the central casting styled beautiful people in costumes fit for a movie shoot, there was everything needed for a visual and aural bacchanal.

The grand staircase of the Park Plaza was jammed with incredible ensembles ranging from clever to kitschy. There were the topical and predictable, like a Galifianakis in blu blockers with baby from The Hangover, to costumes so intricate they had moving parts which lit up.

There were hats and gloves, masks, tails and plumes, which scraped floors and door frames. The amount of glitter, feathers and fur left in clumps on the floor of the women’s bathroom made the place look like a kennel in Vegas.

Each level in the historic Neo-Gothic hall had a full bar, spooky projected visuals and grand gothic décor. Out in the back, the premier foodie trucks, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Koji Korean barbeque, Border Grill and Kool Haus served up treats to hungry ghouls.

Gothenberg’s electropoppers Little Dragon dressed in all black like Dieter dancers with brightly colored Aztec paper masks, played their synthy tunes for an enthusiastic crowd in the Bronze room. As Yukimi writhed and waved her oblong tambourine and atoned ala Siouxie over the poppy goth beat, the well dressed crowd didn’t waver for a moment.  She rewarded the audience by dancing harder and singing to the back of the house with Evita arms outstretched. There was a massive response for these Swedes. Angelinos want more Little Dragon and they want it immediately.

Little Dragon by Jeremiah Garcia

Upstairs, the crowd for Sea Wolf was just as great, even though Little Dragon’s set overlapped theirs – the only unfortunate problem during the evening – Alex Church and company took the stage decked out a la Day Of The Dead in black skeleton jumpsuits and white skull faces. True, I was a bit disappointed he wasn’t dressed as Teen Wolf (luckily KCRW DJ Eric Lawrence WAS dressed as the MJ Fox character) but that’s where my disappointment ended. Alex sang the new songs with a confidence I haven’t yet seen from him, which will serve him well once the New Moon hoopla snowballs into insanity.

The band launched into old favorites like ‘Songs For The Dead’ and ‘Black Dirt’, asking Big Bird, Super Mario Bros, Jack and Meg White, and several slutty showgirls in the front row to join the band on the stage steps. As they played their hit ‘You’re A Wolf’, the scary visuals being projected above dissolved into the twins from The Shining which almost pulled focus from the newly charismatic Alex Church. Almost.

Sea Wolf by Jeremiah Garcia

Downstairs, DJ Shadow took the decks with 45s, of course, spinning funk and old school favorites. In my eyes, Shadow was the ‘get’ of the night and the clear headliner. He is one of the premiere DJs of his time.

DJ Shadow by Jeramiah Garcia

Unfortunately, his crowd was a bit thin, due to the set times overlapping and the fact that he was up against the Jonestown-like fervor of Edward Sharpe and an electronic rave that Jason Bentley was commandeering on the top floor. I’ve never seen men in full Amadeus regalia and powdered wigs dance in a room that was hot enough for a Bikrams yoga class. It was like Bentley had them in a Trance trance and none of them could pull their overly made up bodies away.

Bentley's crowd by Jeremiah Garcia

Many people filed in the ballroom to watch the final band of the evening, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, perform. Alex Ebert and his polyphonic spree type cult of musicians crowded onto the stage and launched into pleasant singalong sounds. It’s funny to think of Ebert this way. I remember him with the bi-level razored hair and skinny Ima Robot jeans when his songs ‘Scream’ and ‘Dirty Life’ made me do a lil’ indie dance. That was before he made a pilgrimage to Pioneertown and started dressing in all white, all the time. Now, everyone is entitled to a sea change both musically and looks wise. I just wish I liked the new music as much as everyone else around me did. Even the guy dressed as a Golden Shower, danced like a Manson family member on a Joshua Tree LSD binge.

Edward Sharpe and Spree by Gary Leonard

I went back downstairs for more DJ Shadow and for some Garth Trinidad who brought the obvious missing element: Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Decked out as Moses, he used his great, ahem, staff, to part the wheat from the chaff and really make the zombies dance. On the floor. In the round.

Garth/Moses and his big staff

Thriller night, indeed. Something for everyone and each one of the senses provoked, the masked masses danced straight into the early hours of All Saints Day.

Alice Cooper In Wonderland

DJ Shadow – Building Steam With a Grain of Salt

A rather random, yet epic trailer to what’s considered to be the most anticipated musical game of the year (tell me what you think, in the comments). The possibilities are virtually endless with what you can mix in DJ Hero, however only a limited amount of songs can be mixed, that is… Until some genius plays the game for two hours before realizing ‘Hey, you know what? I wanna hack my DJ hero to mix ANY song.’ I’ll give it two months, max. And as an added bonus, a trailer featuring everyone’s favourite electronic duo; Daft Punk.

]]> http://hajlajfloryda.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/come-with-us-into-the-realm-of-imagination/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:09:17 +0000 richie michigan http://hajlajfloryda.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/come-with-us-into-the-realm-of-imagination/ http://makemusicnotbabies.com/2009/10/31/halloween/ Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:26:12 +0000 Violette http://makemusicnotbabies.com/2009/10/31/halloween/

Because I’m sick of hearing “Thriller,” here’s my Halloween playlist:

01. DJ Shadow – The Organ Donor
02. M83 – Graveyard Girl
03. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll
04. Oingo Boingo – Insanity
05. Misftis – Halloween
06. Rob Zombie – Feel So Numb
07. Ramones – Pet Sematary
08. Metallica – Die, Die My Darling
09. Sisters Of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection
10. Deadmau5 – Ghosts N’ Stuff
11. White Lies – Death (Crystal Castles Remix)
12. Metric – Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT Remix)
13. TSOL – Code Blue
14. The Horrors -Jack The Ripper
15. Islands – Creeper
16. Foals – Electric Bloom
17. 45 Grave – Party Time
18. The Bravery – Hatefuck
19. Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell
20. Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party

WATCH/LISTEN HERE: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=56904347485683E3

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!