Dank Cubes

Marvel-ous.

Modeselektor & Apparat = Moderat

Thanks to my Newcastle correspondent, Moderat have been brought to my attention. As you can see from the quote below, real musicians who are passionate about the production of their music still exist.

"In recording Moderat’s self-titled album, the three men began by renting studio space at the legendary Berlin Hansa Studios (where Bowie recorded 'Heroes') in order to record the album in analog with the help of the studio’s vintage tube technology and an old EMI console from 1972, restored especially for Moderat." - BPitch Website via Goonie.

I don't even want to try and explain this music, just listen to it.

Modeselektor - Sucker Pin <--- From 'Happy Birthday!' Just a really good track.


Boys Noize - Shine Shine (Apparat Remix)


Moderat - Rusty Nails


Moderat - Out of Sight

Come Out to Plaaaay

I do love a good movie sample. Here Malakai have taken the vocals from the scene just before the epic fight at the end of the 1979 cult classic "The Warriors" on their track aptly titled "Warriors" from their album Ugly Side of Love that was released earlier this year.

Malakai - Warriors

*There's also a Herve re-fix getting around of 'Snowflake', it's worth tracking down. 

Classixxxsshhhh

Classixx are Michael David and Tyler Blake were formally known as 'Young Americans', however they had to change their name for unknown legal reasons (Obama up in their grill?). Comin' straight outta L.A, David and Blake actually stand out from the other over zealous, talentless, artificial producers (i.e LA Riots, I Heart Comix dj's, Dan Oh etc).

One of the first things you realise about Classixx, is their dedicated focus to melodies. Snares and even harps feature frequently along with long drawn out bass lines. They're becoming quite notorious for remixing tracks and taking them to a completely new level.


BeNi - My Love See's You (Classixx Remix)

Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Remix)

Guns N' Bombs - Riddle of Steel (Classixx Remix)

Classixx & Villians - I'm On It

BONUS CAMERA GINA.

*** Thanks David, link fixed for the Villians track. 

Hell City Glamours & Gay Paris - The Oxford Art Factory

I'm sick of generalisations. There is a terrible 90's hangover stereotype of Kings Cross, much the same as Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. Generation X and the Baby Boomers have sufficiently branded these areas as "dirty, drug-infested" blah blah. Yes there is the occasional stabbing/shooting, group of emo's and junkie to boot, however it has come leaps and bounds since being thoughtlessly labeled years ago. There has been an influx of speak-easy bars and enjoyable clubs over the past few years, which brings me to The Oxford Art Factory, an undergound music club that is easily one of Australia's premier live music venues.

Hell City Glamours formed in 2003, however they only recently made it over to this years SXSW Festival where they caused a stir amongst label jerks and Austin rollers. In a time where Wolfmother, Eskimo Joe and The Galvatrons (that is the last time they will ever be mentioned on this blog) are considered to be at the forefront of Australian 'rock n roll', it's refreshing to see that actual hard working thrash rockers still exist.

On tour for their "Josephine" film clip/single launch, HCG never fail to put on a show that is reminiscent of real rock n' roll - shots of JD mid song, crowd parting guitar solos, leather and hair...so much hair. They seemed somewhat hesitant to plug their new single and even moreso when it came to mentioning it was being played on channel v - however they backed it up with an unblievably solid performance.

They opened with "One Night Only" which set the standard for the evening. Tracks from the 'Hey Man' and 'Broken Glass, Beatless Hearts' e.p's kept the groupie punters at the front content before launching into 'Josephine' followed by most of their 2008 self titled LP. All in all it was a cracking set and was uplifting to see that real Australian rock n' roll still exists. Expect big things as post SXSW acts never last long in the underground...

Hell City Glamours - One Night Only

Hell City Glamours - Josephine

Los Lazer

The o-g. (Circa 2006 from Los Margaritos' "¡Canibalismo en Africa!")



Recycle?



One of the most remixed tracks (currently) and has sufficiently flooded hype machine and the blogo-sphurrr. They're touring towards the end of the year - (Parklife, sureley). Anyone who saw Diplo last year will know how good this will be.

Major Laser - Hold the Line (Poirier Remix)

Major Laser - Hold the Line (Edu K Remix) <---Heaps decent.

Heaps Hot

***Fuck off Pedestrian, I posted it first.

Ratatat, Quan, Qua, Phdj - Manning Bar

The Manning Bar is another iconic live music venue in Sydney. It doesn't ooze as much charisma as the aforementioned 'Dale', but holds it's keep. Located in the middle of the educational mecca that is Sydney University (seriously, anyone who studies there - I'm jealous), the Manning Bar is close to perfect. I'd been excited about this gig for a long time now as I haven't seen Ratatat live before and had only heard great things.

We got there in time to see the openers Qua. The sold out crowd ditched their cigarettes and probably tried to get a drink...(they would have been able to if it wasn't for the stoner bartenders who were practicing their red bull pouring skills) and ventured inside. The two-piece from Melbourne had a rather simple set up however they really made the most of it. Originally a solo act, Qua had a small array of tech hardware from samplers to midi's etc along with a sunglass bearing gentleman playing a drum machine and some bongo's. I'd liken him to El Guincho, Four Tet and a lighter more subtle version of Pivot.

Qua - Lapsang Souchong

Phdj of Purple Sneakers fame was doing a fine job of warming up the crowd with his unmistakable mash up skills. Foals, Crystal Castles, The Smiths and XXXchange within about 7 minutes of each other. And he's a super nice dude to boot.

Up next was Quan - not to be confused with Qua, this is Quan from Regurgitator doing his two-piece Korean rap/hip hop project...if you can call it that. His opening track was bearable, mainly because of its comedic value. In summation, it was Quan with a drummer (who had woeful dancing skills) attempting to wax lyrical to under produced beats with cliche samples. And the visuals were basically the lyrics to the tracks with the occassional picture of a horse? Fucking rubbish.

Quan really wasn't an appropriate main support act for Ratatat, however they took to the stage amidst perfect lighting and a touch of smoke just to certify their god-like cult status. Opening with 'Shiller', the piercing sounds of their mini harp sent a shiver through everyone. Running through most of 'Classics' and their first self titled LP before demonstrating that their extensive touring (4 shows along the east coast in one week alone) has made them masters of their live performances in particular LP3.

These guys essentially pioneered a new hybrid of instrumental/psychedelia in a time when New York had not much to it's name. Bearing in mind this was pre The Rapture, The Strokes, Interpol etc. Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have an onstage presence that works ideally as Stroud swills his bottle of Jamesons and swaggers around the stage long hair flailing while Mast focuses melodically on the technical side of things.

Their performance was nothing short of fascinating. The crowd were involved from the beginning, however Stroud and Mast gradually raised the intensity and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, they play 'Wild Cat'. Uncharacteristically (I thought) because it seems like such a encore song but it goes without saying that it is an incredible song and sounds phenomenal live. The crowd were relentless and beseechingly demanded an encore, too which they did not disappoint. Falcon Jab and an extended version of Lex left everyone musically fucked.

Ratatat - Lex

Dubstep on Ramsey St

Everyone's favorite soap is now aiming to appease the masses with a cheeky reference to the genre of dubstep in one of their recent episodes. One can't help but think it was to mollify and associate with their solid following/fan base in the UK (i.e where the genre has its roots).

Various street press and other opinionated publications now consider Caspa & Rusko to be sell outs due to their new found notiriety (Their Fabric mix was fucking killer). Along with Skream...apparently they have all succumb to the almighty dollar. I haven't really seen much evidence to back this up, but street press is gospel yeah?

Dubstep is one of the fastest growing genres I can think of and the crew/scene in the UK seems to be really tight and dedicated. I've been lucky enough to see Rusko and Harmonic 313 live and they are genuinely talented composers. I thought I'd post some tracks that I like regardless of popularity. Some left field minimal and heavier tracks, enjoy.

Caspa - Back to '93

Ital Tek - Red Sky

DMZ - Ancient Memories (Skream Remix)

Skream - Midnight Request Line

Benga - Night

Armand Van Helden - Bonkers (Doorly Dub Remix)

Bird Peterson - Zutopong





Yeah Zeke, put a fuckin donk onnit! Well mental.

Young Lovers Never Die

The Young Lovers aka "Herve" aka "Action Man" aka "The Count" aka "Voodoo Chilli" aka one part of 'Machines Don't Care'...you get the point, the guy has more aliases than a prohibition whiskey bootlegger. Only thing is, he's super fucking talented.

Herve's done dub and electro, Action Man's done house, The Count has inadvertantly done top 20 with Sinden, Machines Don't Care have just done electro-banger brilliance. So, just to prove he is a musical virtuoso, he's gone and put together The Young Lovers - which is essentially a horn-oriented funk project. Very jazzy, smooth basslines and just toe-tappingly enjoyable.

His self titled album is due out soon and from what I've heard so far, it's pretty fucking incredible.

The Young Lovers - Love You Madly <---Insanley good.

The Young Lovers - You Make Me Dizzy

And if that wasn't enough, I've also got him pipped for Dubstep Remix of the Year for his masterpiece that is "The Science of Fear" by The Temper Trap.



*Both tracks only at 170 KBPS, apologies.


GUTS.

Lost Valentinos, Ted & Francis and Tennis at The Annandale.

The Annandale or "The Dale" as it is so lovingly referred to by the regulars, has a solid standing in Australian Rock and Roll history. With simple black and white photographs of seminal musicians from the past few decades. (I.e Richard Ashcroft, Craig Nichols - Pre neurological/narcotic meltdown, The Finn Brothers, Peter Garret - Pre political satan-esque sell out, etc etc), it is one of Sydney's most revered venues.

As it was my first time there, I arrived quite early to peruse the premises and get a feel for the place. To my surprise almost all of the musicians who were playing were quite happy to walk around and chat to the punters.

'Tennis' were the first support band. They absolutely blew me away. The 5-piece from Sydney (who, judging by their demo have recenlty signed to Modular) were very modest and quite happy to play for the 12 or so people in the crowd. I've heard that they have been touring mainly around the usual Sydney haunts and Modular Records being the tour enforcing demons they are will probably have them on a support slot some time in the near future...let's just hope they don't wear them out like Tame Impala.

Listing their influences as Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Brian Eno, Pixies, etc etc it's hard not to dismiss them with the other Sydney indie darlings (Amy Merideth and Mercy Arms anyone?) however, they actually delivered. The lead vocalist demonstrates a perfectly tuned Thom Yorke/Jeff Buckley whaling voice along with some fine guitar plucking skills. Judging by everyones reaction, the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy them as well. They ran through about 10 songs and ended with a marathon solo and distortion fest. Expect big things from these guys...hopefully not too big just yet. (R.I.P Temper Trap)

Tennis - Dancing On A Knife (WOW Remix)


Next up was Ted & Francis aka Like Woah!. (One couldn't help but think this was a Kitsune biased gig with Lost Valentinos and T&F both signed to the label). I've heard a couple of their tracks floating around, i.e Kitsune Maison 6 etc and wouldn't really consider myself to be a fan and their performance did nothing to change my thoughts. They failed to continue the happy vibe that Tennis began with and just droned through their tracks unenthusiastically. Their blend of dreamy pop and lo-fi trance did nothing for the crowd either, who were less than impressed.

Ted & Francis - I Wish I Was A Polar Bear(Arctic UrgencyEdit)

And finally, Lost Valentinos. I still haven't been able to find out why they changed their name from "The Valentinos". (There is a pub down the road that is called 'Valentinos'?) These guys have always been rather apathetic when it comes to official releases and track information, having released three EP's, 2 singles from the new album and still no solid confirmation on a release date.

Now, I've seen them twice before and they failed to pique my interest, but I thought I'd give them another chance. They delved into their back catalogue with some of my favourites (Man With a Gun, Rain, Kafka and so on) before moving onto their newer tracks and the crowd reacted quite well. 'Bismarck' and 'Serio' were the obvious stand out tracks. So after what seemed to be years of building a decent rep and recruiting Jonathon Zawada for their artwork and Fan Death for a re-work, they seem to be well on their way to stardom and with the amount of hype "Cities of Gold" is receiving, there isn't too much preasure to deliver... And they had Dave Ma direct their clip, I still don't know how they pulled that.

Lost Valentinos – Midnights (Fan Death Re-Work)

DON'T CALL IT A COME BACK.

Now that I live in a cultured town the blog will be back up and running.

Reviews, tracks etc.

Well plastic.