On Sunday, Knife Party headlined a phenomenally unique show at the Beekman Beer Gardens, along with openers Alex English, Sazon Booya, Nick Catchdubs, and closer Hellfire Machina. As we previewed a few days ago, we were quite enthusiastic about the show. Knife Party has really succeeded in making a name for themselves as some of the finest producers in dubstep, and what’s impressive is that their first show ever was only 10 months ago one August night in Ibiza.
The show was supposed to be at the Brooklyn Terminal Project, a brand new venue that promised many exciting concerts and raves. The venue had to be changed, as Brooklyn Terminal Project has moved all of their scheduled shows to other venues due to delays in the opening. But the show felt completely at home at the Beekman Beer Garden, a trendy, fun, and relaxed hotspot that isn’t usually associated with concerts, but seems to be hosting plenty this summer. Walking past the tent of music where music was being played, there is a neat little artificial beach with couches, a foosball table, and even an arm wrestling table,all surrounded by a gorgeous view of the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Alex English opened up the show at around 5:30,and while we missed most of the set, English is a staple on the New York DJ scene, and always deliver a premium, groovy set. Sazon Booya came on after English, and Sazon delivered a quality and seemingly never ending set of moombahton. Sazon, who opened up for Skrillex earlier in the year, really nailed his set, and the ambiance during his set was probably the best of the day. Seemingly everyone was just smiling and kicking it during Sazon’s set, whether it was the ragers up front or the scenesters out back. It might as well have been a pool party. Sazon also played at EDC NY recently, and we are pretty certain we will be hearing more from them in the future!
Much more bloody bloody Knife Party after the jump! (more…)
It’s heartening to see both parties and artists ripen like a fine aging wine, finding their footing and gaining the recognition that they deserve. That is exactly what is happening for NYC producer David Berrie, creating music under the progressive moniker of dBerrie, and the recurring Electric Beach event, held at Santos Party House, which dBerrie headlined this past Saturday.
dBerrie has been a production wiz for several years now, but 2012 has been his long over-due thrust into the spotlight. Undoubtedly, his remix of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know‘ has put him on the radars of many of today’s best DJ’s. It has gathered support from Fedde Le Grand, Deniz Koyu, Swanky Tunes and many more. Last time he graced Electric Beach he premiered it. Since then it’s been all hugs and handshakes. Returning this past Saturday, he gave New York City a lot to smile about.
dBerrie – Future Bot vs. Kaskade – Angel On My Shoulder (Acapella)
Producer/Remixer of EDM hits such as ‘Tung’ and ‘Dangerous’, Deniz Koyu graced Cielo with his presence this past Thursday in New York and completely demolished the club. Dance.Here.Now made it a memorable night by kicking off Deniz Koyu’s tour at one of NY’s most prominent venues. With a ruthless crowd, phenomenal track selection, and Funktion-One sound system, there wasn’t room left to ask for much more!
Aspiring DJ/Producer Tyler Sherritt began the night with tech that set the tone right for the main act. Deniz Koyu started off with an ID and then continued to mix in a onslaught of electro and progressive missiles. He played some of his own, including ‘Hertz’ and ‘Hydra’, and also others that are popular on the dancefloor, such as Nari & Milani’s ‘Atom’ and Tommy Trash’s remix of ‘Toulouse’. I also vividly remember Deniz mixing Sandro Silva and Quintino’s ‘Epic’ right into Bingo Players’ ‘Rattle’ and watching the whole crowd lose it! I highly recommend catching him at one of his upcoming shows if you weren’t there to witness the madness.
Wednesday, April 18th @ Splash Ultralounge Boston, MA
Thursday, April 19th @ Yost Theatre Santa Ana, CA
Friday April 20th @ Wood 35 Montreal, Quebec
Saturday April 21st @ The Mid Chicago , Illinois
Tucked away in the Catskill Mountains is an artifact of New York’s former prosperity. Kutcher’s resort, a sprawling 400 room hotel complex straight out of the 50’s (60s?), was home to the second annual Rock N Roll Resort festival which stretched from Friday March 30th through Monday morning. Kutcher’s nostalgia drenched lounges, lobbies, bars, and ballrooms housed four sound stages as well as vendors and visual artists.
Day 1:
The first night kicked off with Simon Posford’s Goa Trance project ‘Hallucinogen’ in the main ballroom, the Stardust Theater. Posford was accompanied on stage by the visionary painter Alex Grey and his wife, Allyson. The room filled with energetic faces as the Grey couple began a live painting that would span over the length of the weekend.
At 2 o’clock, Posford and the Greys took the stage again, this time with Posford performing under the moniker Shpongle. The set had a slower, groove-oriented vibe, melding punch-y, bass heavy drum patterns, Indian influences, and glitched vocals.
The night’s most satisfying set came from Lespecial. The astonishingly creative and tight three-piece group filled the Launch Pad (a banquet hall on the hotel’s second floor) with beautifully unique sounds. Lespecial’s set ranged from a reverb soaked reggae dub cover of the Beatles infinite ‘Because’ to a floor shaking samba.
Day 2:
Conspirator, an experimental electronic jam band, took the main stage at 11:00 p.m., immediately captivating the fully packed floor. The band’s sound was incredibly full-bodied with thick bass lines and precise and intricate drumming.
The most potent set of the night came from OTT. Playing off a mysterious board of electronics, OTT wove together a deep and exotic set of otherworldly dubby jams and ambient sound-scapes, undoubtedly the most impressive and unique use of bass frequencies all weekend.
Following OTT, the Launch Pad stage boasted a late night Dopapod set of blistering guitar solo’s, funky syncopation and time signature changes.
Day 3:
A worn looking, and thinned out crowd filled the Stardust Theater for Conspirator’s second set Sunday night. The black clad four piece delivered again, teasing the audience with Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and getting Disco Biscuits fans hot and bothered with renditions of ‘Orch Theme’ and ‘Digital Buddha.’
Lespecial closed out the weekend in style playing the final set in the Soiree Lounge, an intimate stage by the hotel’s main entrance. The most notable part of the set was the laid-back reggae dub jam accompanied by Eli of Dopapod on melodica.
Pictures after the jump! Or check out our gallery here
Bay Area producer and bootleg king Ken Loi has an extremely loyal following – a fan base that made a strong showing at Santos Party House Saturday night, despite the date being Easter eve, not necessarily seen as the biggest party night of the season. That it was technically Easter when Loi hit the decks did not seem to matter to the partyers dancing their hearts out as Loi went through a full repertoire of his crazily named, and even nuttier on the ears, mash-ups and original productions.
An intro of electronic music IT kid Miike Snow’s ‘Devil’s Work’ was only a tiny taste of what Loi had in store, as elaborately layered and smashed bootlegs came out of Santos’s booming speakers with wonderful regularity. Starting off with Nero vs. Nicky Romero – Crush On Toulouse (Ken Loi Mashup TT 2) and then straight into Afrojack vs. Eurythmics – Lion Replica Dreams Prutata 2 Vox (Ken Supamashy POO) the stage was set for two hours of classic Loi.
Oasis vs. Eric Prydz – Wonderwall 2Night (Ken Loi Bootup)
Despite the tough weekend, Aussie Tommy Trash completely packed the main hall of Webster Hall Friday night for the venue’s weekly Girls & Boys electronic music celebration. Known for sweaty, crowded raves, Webster consistently provides a home for the craziest dance parties of the week. Tommy Trash brought the raging full throttle with an action packed set showcasing many of his signature records.
Tommy’s wild appearance (think lion-esque with a mop of wavy hair) was only enhanced by his enthusiastic and emphatic head-banging throughout the course of his set. The room was already buzzing when Tommy came on stage, opening with his 2011 production ‘Monkey See Monkey Do,’ which quickly slid into Skitzofrenix & Jeff Doubleu – Rushin’, which hit all the right spots with it’s robotic acid thumps. Another favorite of Tommy’s sets, Avesta – Arena, soon followed and then the crowd completely erupted when the first bars of Dada Life – Kick Out The Epic Motherfucker started vibrating out of the sound system.
Imagine it’s the weekend before Easter and Passover and you are stuck in NYC…what would you do? For hundreds of dance music lovers, the Thursday before this observant weekend meant praying at the alter of dBerrie, Funkagenda, Zedd and Fedde le Grand at the storied Hammerstein Ballroom for the second installment of Cosmic Opera.
With massive amounts of hype surrounding the first operatic act in February, with headliner Axwell and support from Deniz Koyu and Thomas Gold, creator Justin Cohen sought to maintain the level of expectation steady for the middle chapter of Cosmic. With a recap video that may have smoothed out some of the kinks that actually existed, the bar was set high going into the last Thursday’s show.
With several improvements being made, including the addition of LED light screens behind the DJ booth, additional speakers for increased volume in the gigantic ballroom and a rare 3D laser installment suspended high above the stage, Cohen had clearly worked to respond to naysaying comments stemming from February’s shows asserting that Cosmic Opera just wasn’t as special as he had promised it to be.
Much more review and photos after the jump! (more…)
Oh what a night to be a dance music fan in NYC. Saturday, March 31 was just one of those days that makes you thank your lucky stars that you live in (or near) the Big Apple. Following a stop at Terminal 5 for Anamoly with looks from Pierce Fulton, Felguk, Martin Solveig and Laidback Luke it was time to head for the real part at Pacha for a late night set from the stars of the Russian house mafia, Swanky Tunes. Although Stas, Vadim & Dima have been on the international front for a veterans length of time, their exposure stateside is rather recent, and we are thankful to have them.
Named a ‘Mutant Monster‘ by John Dahlbäck in his weekly podcast, Swanky Tunes’s most recent release ‘Apogee‘ dropped yesterday to critical acclaim. They have a new collaboration with Tiësto feat. Ben McInerney entitled ‘Make Some Noise‘ which will be released as a part of Tiësto’s ‘Club Life Miami‘ album April 24. In short, their pipeline is full and they are delivering the goods on a consistent basis. Swanky Tunes’s return to NYC, following sets at Pier 94 and Pacha on New Years Eve, was no different. Playing from 4:30-7 AM, those in attendance were enthralled as if it were a 2 am set. Click through for the full deets and video! (more…)
This past Wednesday, Best Buy Theater was treated to one of the the most exciting line-ups… well, ever. Bass Fueled Mischief, AEG, and Scion A/V teamed up to bring Skream & Benga’s US Tour to Best Buy Theater with support from some of the biggest names in UK Bass: Plastician, Jackmaster, Hijak, and SGT Pokes. Interestingly enough, this was the least packed I’ve ever seen Best Buy Theater. The entire back seating section was closed off which accounts for at least 30% of the space and I STILL had breathing room up until Skream & Benga took the stage. Regardless, this created a really intimate vibe and it was really something to experience!
Hijak opened the show at 9:00PM, followed by Jackmaster who took the stage at 9:45PM. They dropped some AWESOME tracks, warming up the crowd and readying it for a huge night.
Plastician
Plastician took the stage around 10:30PM, playing a super intimate set of A LOT of UK vibes, old school dub, and some of his own classic tracks such as his ‘Bad Like Us ft. Doctor‘. I think he was catering to a lot of the more old school fans considering the demographic of the specific crowd that was at Best Buy Theater (including some big names like Keith Shocklee of Bomb Squad/Public Enemy/Power5, the Trouble & Bass family, the Dub War NYC family, etc).
Notable Tracks:
Cato ft. Doctor – Brap (Plastician VIP)
12th Planet, Skrillex, & Kill The Noise – Burst ft. GMCFOSHO
Emalkay – Flesh & Bone ft. Rod Azlan
Dismantle – Destroy
Trolley Snatcha – Make My Whole World
Buraka Som Sistema – Hangover (BaBaBa) (Caspa Remix)
Dismantle – Computation VIP
Flux Pavilion – Hold Me Close
Rusko – Jahova
Coki – Tortured
Skream & Benga w/ SGT Pokes
The dons finally took the stage around 11:30PM with one of the best MCs, Sargent Pokes. For me, this was when the party REALLLLLY started. Skream and Benga played a top notch set but who could expect anything less from these two. Their set opened up with Benga’s ‘Smack Your Bitch Up‘, something I’ve got really accustomed to since they’ve done that every time I’ve seen them. They even dropped an EXCLUSIVE surprise track: Benga’s VIP remix of he new track ‘I Will Never Change’. They closed out the show with Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name Of’, accompanied by a chant of ‘We are having a lovely time!’ courtesy of Pokes (no but really… I’m not kidding) and twin stage dives by the two. No Skream and Benga show is complete without their stage dives! But as all good things must come to an end, another Skream and Benga show goes by and all we can do is wait for the next one.
Notable Tracks:
P Money – Left The Room (Skream Remix)
Skream – XMAS Day Swagger
Benga – I Will Never Change
Rusko – Somebody To Love (Skream Remix)
Magnetic Man – Mad
Skrillex, 12th Planet, Kill The Noise – Right On Time
Buraka Som Sistema – Hangover (BaBaBa) (Caspa Remix)
Dismantle – Computation VIP
Flinch – Light It Up
Skream – Scrooge’s Revenge
Skream – Anticipation
Skream – Anticipation (Netsky Remix)
