This is probably one of the more exciting tracks I've heard in some time. Be sure to listen on good headphones:

Amon Tobin- Foley Room

Brazilian Girls- Last Call (Carl Craig remix)

Sly Mongoose- Bad Pulse

Hot off the presses: My Q&A with Ewan Pearson is here.

Also, my review of Justine D's new mix in Earplug:

On the latest mix in the RVNG series, Justine D — best known as the woman behind New York's Motherfucker party — reveals a wide range of influences with a proclivity toward dance music's dark side. Compiled and mixed with assistance from Optimo's JD Twitch, the mix doesn't aspire to the Glaswegian duo's cut 'n paste, time-stretched mastery, opting instead for clean transitions between early electronic sounds (the Orb), contemporary underground disco (Danny Wang), industrial (Nitzer Ebb), and goth (Christian Death). With an obscure Weatherall remix of My Bloody Valentine sitting nicely amidst newer tracks from the likes of DFA's Hot Chip and Delia & Gavin, Justine D sets herself apart from legions of vacant-eyed party promoters as a true purveyor of underground sounds from the last 20 years. (CJN)

Zoot Woman- Taken it all

On Rotation:

Tobias Thomas- Please Please Please DJ Mix
Panda Bear- Person Pitch
Dixon- Body Language Volume 4
Grandadbob- Pictures (Quiet Village Dub)
Pär Grindvik- Casio
Jurgen Paape- Take This
The Vulva String Quartet- Cranberry Song
Reinhard Voigt- Charge your dreams
Jonas Bering- Inside
Kalabrese- Rumpelzirkus
Motivi_Tuntematon- I don't feel good when you're not around
Optimo Walkabout DJ Mix
DJ Koze vs Sid Le Rock- Naked (DJ Koze remix)
JPLS- Program 2 (Original Mix)
Mathias Kaden- Pentaton (Original mix)
Herbert- The Audience (Martinez Cosmic Re-Edit)
MIA- Bittersuss
JJ Cale- Ride me high (Joakim edit)
Lazy Fat People- Club Silencio
Triple R- Selection 5
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid- The sun never sets
Will Saul- Pause
Hug- Tiny stars
Gavin Herlihy- Praia Brava
The Mole- Jingover

I'm also keen to check out this Air- Late Night Tales, which I seem to have slept on. Thanks to Blacknoise to pointing it out. The tracklisting looks amazing.

And, I encourage everyone to go buy a new 12' or a hi-res copy of Mathew Jonson's Marionette and listen on good headphones as loud as you can stand. Also, and go check Hercules and Love Affair.

Gov'nor Sherburne on the latest Pole album, which is well worth your time. As a side note, I really love his use of "waxy analog delay."

A top-ten I put together for the fine folks at RVNG.

Susanna And The Magical Orchestra- Love Will Tear Us Apart

My review of Tracey Thorn's new album, Out of the Woods, in this week's Flavorpill:

Following a 15-year stint in UK duo Everything But the Girl, Tracey Thorn makes her long-overdue re-emergence with Out of the Woods. Enlisting noted DJ/remixer Ewan Pearson, Darshan Jesrani of Metro Area fame, and a cast of other notable producers, Thorn surveys early New York dance pop, pre-house, and post-disco sounds. Appropriately, she turns in an incredible cover of avant-disco composer Arthur Russell's "Get Around to It," sharpening the original's blurry tones with a crisp pop gloss and her warm, distinctive vocals. Thorn shows variety with some slower, gentler pieces that allow her voice to shine, but the album's true strength lies in the dance-oriented side of her songwriting. The lead single, "It's All True," melds throwback drum machines and vivid percussive elements to a buoyant bass line, while "Grand Canyon" is an pop anthem in the making, flirting with that elusive sweet spot between melancholy and consolation.(CJN)

Fabrice Lig- Meet U in Brooklyn

A nice interview with Henrik Schwarz over at Earplug.

Minilogue- The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Sir Richard Carnes from Tape has kindly forwarded on a lovely mix he recently did for Arveene's show on Irish radio. Here's a download link.

1) LFO - Tied Up (Spiritualized Electric Mainline Remix) // Warp
2) Force Of Nature - Sequencer (Rekid Remix) // Mule Musiq
3) Lexx - Slow Burning (Mudd Remix) // Bearfunk
4) Lindstrom - Monsteer // Dialect
5) Mock'n'Toof - Suck // CD-R
6) Vincent Markowski - The Madness Of Moths // DC
7) Junior Boys - Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix) // Domino
8) Ink & Needle - Two // Tattoo
9) Hearthrob - Golum // M_nus
10) Emptyset - Acuphase // Future Days
11) Efdemin - Just A Track // Dial
12) Akabu - I'm Not Afraid Of The Future (Joey Negro Medusa Mix) // Z
13) Ferrer & Sydenham Inc - Timbuktu (Sydenham And Faber Vibe Out Mix) // Ibadan
14) Throbbing Gristle - Hot On The Heels Of Love (Ratcliffe Remix) // Novamute
15) Partial Arts - Trauermusik // Kompakt

Speaking of Nordic countries, I just returned from my second Iceland trip. Here are some photos taken by my lovely and talented travel companion. Stay tuned for a "three perfect days" lineup of things you should do and see while you're there.

A sneak peak of the confirmed acts for this years Mutek festival in Montreal, running from 30th May to 3rd June:

Matias Aguayo & Roccness
Gui Boratto
Chic Miniature
Cobblestone Jazz with The Mole
Colleen
Digitaline
Gangpol & Mit
Heartthrob
Kode 9
Michael Mayer
Mr Oizo
My My
Onur Ozër
Rhythm & Sound
Shackleton
Jesse Somfay
Ricardo Villalobos & Friends
Wighnomy Brothers

Luciano- Saulitude
(from the recent No Model No Tool release on Cadenza)

THIS IS APACHE BEAT



I don't write about rock music often on this blog, but I do feel I need to highlight a track from Brooklyn-based Apache Beat. My good friend and EIC of The Pop Manifesto, Ilirjana Alushaj, is the front woman, and I think they have a tremendous amount of potential. Plus, they get bonus points for the esoteric NEU! reference that is their name. This is a rough demo that Ilirjana says has changed slightly in terms of lyrics, but you get the idea. As for forthcoming output, "Tropics" is being released as a 7" in April with the b-side remixed by Tacteel of TTC/Institubes fame on Summer Lovers Unlimited. Find out about the band via their Myspace page.

Apache Beat- Nightengale (Demo version)

An interesting concept down in Oz: "The Portable Film Festival is an annual online festival presenting the best in short film and internet video culture. From the second we open our virtual doors, you can take our programme away with you – or maybe just some of the programme - and do whatever you want with it. All you need is a portable device like a video iPod, Sony PSP, laptop computer or fancy mobile phone."

More info here.

Check out the new blog format for Stylus' Beatz By the Pound column, where I am a semi-regular contributor. Editor Michael Gill and all of the contributors have been doing an amazing job.

Tim Hecker- Dungeoneering

I'm really enjoying my friend Justine's new mix, just released on RVNG. I'll try to corral her in the next couple of days for a quick Q&A on her approach to the selections, working with JD Twitch, etc. Here's the track listing:

01. Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - Swastika Girls
02. The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds (7" Mix)
03. My Bloody Valentine - Soon (Andrew Weatherall 12" mix)
04. Shocking Blue - Acka Raga
05. Nitzer Ebb - Warsaw Ghetto
06. Turntablerocker - Love Supreme (Reduce to the Dub)
07. Daniel Wang - Like Some Dream (I Can't Stop Dreaming)
08. Ministry - All Day Remix
09. Glass Candy - I Always Say Yes
10. The Cars - Moving In Stereo
11. Hot Chip - No Fit State
12. Arthur Russell- Make 1,2
13. Chic - I Want Your Love
14. Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - Black Spring
15. David Bowie - 1984
16. Crass - Walls
17. Malaria! - Kaltes Klares Wasser
18. Human League - Marianne
19. Christian Death - Romeo's Distress
20. Death In June - Nation
21. Goblin - Suspiria
22. Syd Barrett - Love You
23. The Zombies - Don't Go Away

Want a well-designed newspaper? Go to Europe.

A lot of the so-called "mashups" that were all the rage a few years ago usually struck me as crass and unnecessary. However, there are a few that just clicked on a deeper level. One was the Beach Boys and Spacemen 3's Ecstasy Symphony which I had on my computer in college. That one has since vanished, as did the track below for a bit, but I managed to recover it from Fernando at My Own Language.

Superpitcher & Pet Shop Boys- Dry Heroin

A combination of "High and Dry" and one of Superpitcher's earlier successes, "Heroin." The two work together beautifully, and I've been listening to this on repeat. If anyone has a better version, do let me know.

I know this is out of my normal strike zone a bit, but don't miss this: Yo Majesty for Life. The highlight, in "Kryptonite," is an acapella version of the "Push it" hook. So focused.

DJ Koze vs Sid Le Rock- Naked (DJ Koze Remix)

For a limited time only-- a nice mix from Mike Shannon:

Mike Shannon- Live @ Loft Electroclub 27-01-2007

A Reuters interview with Tyler Brule, Chairman and EIC of Monocle-- my new favorite magazine. I just spent a good part of the weekend digesting it, and highly recommend picking up a copy. Next issue is out March 15th.

Jeff Samuel- I think they are trying to say something

Daft Punk- Make Love

Since I haven't been posting music as regularly as I'd like to, I'm inviting my good friend Kendra Borowski to contribute to the blog. She's a cracking good DJ (stay tuned for some online mixes), and has absolutely incredible taste in all types of music. I'll still be writing about media, branding, new tracks, etc.

Kiran Sande's new electronic music column at Fact magazine. Go read.

The Blue Lagoon, Iceland, February 19, 2007

Sorry I've been MIA. Some new tunes for you:

Hot Chip- No Fit State (Audion remix)
Herbert- The Audience (Martinez cosmic re-edit)

Thoughts on Iceland, the launch of Tyler Brule's Monocle magazine, etc forthcoming.

The essential second installment from My Cousin Roy's Wurst Edits series:

Runaway- Ain't Afraid to Beg

According to the one-sheet:

"Runaway is a Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based duo comprised of techno auteur Marcos Cabral (he of Trapez fame) and disco gadabout Jacques Renault (Editions Disco). Marcos didn’t want us to mention that when he was a teenager in the late 80s, he used to perform as a mime in downtown Manhattan so that he could save up enough money to buy turntables and a mixer. Jacques was a bit embarrassed to let out that he was conceived in the back of a limousine while his father was on a “diplomatic” mission in Monaco in the 70s. (He’s now the French ambassador to Zimbabwe and has no relation to the Renault automobile company.) Quite remarkably, this is their debut single."

???!!!

Back again from another trip out to LA, and every time I make the journey, it makes me realize how low consumer expectations have been lowered in regard to US domestic travel. A partial antidote: Engadget with a great, hands-on post re: Virgin America. Huge photoset here.

One of my favorite electronic acts in 2006, Cobblestone Jazz, just completed a session on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide. If you missed "India in Me" or "Dump Truck", hotfoot it to your local record emporium as soon as you can. Check out their live set here, and be on the lookout for more material to come on Wagon Repair this year. Also, well-placed sources tell me that Circlesquare has signed to the label following the demise of Output, and will be coming out with a new LP over the summer or so. Stay tuned for more.

Zaha Hadid's design for a new arts center in Dubai. Influx has more.

Just back from LA, and I must say there is nothing worse that swapping 80 degree Sunday drives through Malibu Canyon for these frigid temperatures in New York. Arg.

Anyhow- A hectic schedule has prevented me from posting a lot lately, but here are a few tracks I've been enjoying:

Deerhunter- Hazel St.
Six Organs of Admittance- School of the Flower

Building The Cicada Sings Our Love Song- Building Castles out of Matchsticks (Aidan Baker remix)

Kindly direct your browser to this excellent Greg Wilson interview.

If you haven't yet, go check out the newest installment of the Pop Manifesto.

iPhone- Overcoming the Carrier Barrier (Forbes.com)

Has Apple made a serious miscalculation charging $499-599 for a device that must be used on Cingular? According to the above article, the industry wide average cost to cancel an existing carrier contract is $179. On top of that, how many people have an existing iPod or PDA that doesn't quite need replacing? What about concerns over an easily scratched touch screen (as was the problem with earlier iPod generations) and poor battery life? Steve Jobs is a master of marketing (ie: the sizzle), but one has to wonder how this will play out (the steak).

On top of all these concerns, the company is ratcheting down more restrictions in regard to DRM (Digital Rights Management). This NYT article has a lot more detail on the matter.

An excerpt:

Here is how FairPlay works: When you buy songs at the iTunes Music Store, you can play them on one — and only one — line of portable player, the iPod. And when you buy an iPod, you can play copy-protected songs bought from one — and only one — online music store, the iTunes Music Store.

The only legal way around this built-in limitation is to strip out the copy protection by burning a CD with the tracks, then uploading the music back to the computer. If you’re willing to go to that trouble, you can play the music where and how you choose — the equivalent to rights that would have been granted automatically at the cash register if you had bought the same music on a CD in the first place.

So, to summarize the problems facing iPhone- consumers are being asked to do the following in exchange for this beautiful new piece of equipment:

1. Sign up with another carrier
2. Pay a price that is around 5 times the cost of a new cellphone with contract
3. Toss out their old PDA/iPod
4. Subject yourself to lackluster battery life and all of the bugs and design oversights that come with buying a v1 product
5. Subject yourself to overbearing DRM restrictions

Perhaps the truly Mac faithful will be happy to swallow this pill, but I have some serious doubts that the company will make their ridiculously high sales projections (29 million before September 2007, says one analyst) for the v1 device.

If you're a fan of the Pilooski edit series from the folks over at Dirty, then check this exclusive mix over at the ever-reliable Music for Robots. Also, check this affiliated music blog-- one of the best I've seen in awhile.

März- The River

J Spaceman- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Live at The Lowry, 11.24.06)

Photo credit

Photo credit.

Dimbiman- I Can Hardly See It Shining In The Sunlight

Virgin America has launched a viral campaign to make the case that they should be able to fly US routes. Check a walk-through of the incredibly impressive planes here.

At present, the US DOT has rejected their proposal due to "concerns" about the ownership structure. Due to antiquated laws, it must not have over a certain percentage of foreign ownership. I think one of the real reasons may be rooted more in the lobbying of existing US carriers who are fearing having their lunch eaten in a lucrative market.

If this plays out, and Virgin America cannot fly, I fear the real loser may be the US flying public. As domestic air travel continues to spiral down in a race to the bottom (despite improving numbers for many airlines like American), what Virgin seems to be bringing to the table would be a breath of fresh air to routes that badly need it: NY to SF, and NY to LA.

Here's the link to the petition on their website.

My interview with Tim Sweeney is in the new Pop Manifesto. Go check it.

Brennan Green- Divisadero

A quick teaser for the forthcoming Arthur Russell documentary.

A must-read interview with J.Spaceman.

An excerpt:

Today, he plays down the brush with death, which has never been made public ("It's not the sort of thing you 'announce'"). However, he seems more forthcoming than in the past. He vividly remembers waking up in intensive care. The first thing that shocked him was that wards are shared. "It's not like in the movies," he says, where there's one person on their own with machines and doctors all around them. Pierce was in with six other people, each with their own heart monitor, beeping away, an experience he found "really beautiful".

"Everyone's heart machines are going at a different rate," he smiles, "you've got all these weird polyrhythms." He knows it sounds stupid, but there he was, on the brink of death, "listening to this music".

When the other five people in the ward died around him he thought, amazingly, "Your odds are looking good now J, because someone's got to get out of here."

A Pop Manifesto planning session:

colinjnagy: flat beds on aeroplanes
colinjnagy: sunrise over the north atlantic as viewed from 35,000 (under a duvet)
colinjnagy: with a hot toddy
colinjnagy: that is how i want it to feel
colinjnagy: ARE YOU WITH ME?????
yokoilinono: YES
HAHAHAHHAHA

Not sure how I slept on this Lovefingers mix from Beats in Space. Go check it-- it is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the show in the past few months. Also, check the last quarter of the Michael Mayer mix, where he certainly pulled out some special selections to suit the BiS vibe.

Andreas Dorau- 40 Frauen (Superpitcher mix)

Speck Mountain- Hey Moon

If you find yourself in NYC, go see them on Saturday night in Williamsburg at Rolyn/Glasslands Gallery. The bands start at eight. Nate at Unconscious Repeat has more MP3's over here, and for more info on the band click here.

Troy Pierce feat. Gibby Miller - The Day After Yesterday

I heard Konrad Black start out a Watergate set with this back in April of last year, and then let it drop off my radar. Well worth a listen. An added bonus is that the vocals are from Gibby Miller of MOC fame. ???!

Kiran Sande (aka Mr. Soft) with the definitive wrap-up of techno in 2006. Go read.

A new music blog from friend and longtime co-conspirator Aaron Rietz:

An Indian Too

He's got a new mix up to download here, and this is the tracklist:

1. Chrome - (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco [Ralph]
2. Chelonis R. Jones - Deer In The Headlights (Radio Slave Remix) [Get Physical]
3. Nass - Untitled (Side A) [Teile]
4. Someone Else + Miskate - Ooo Yeah [Microcosm]
5. Green Velvet - Shake & Pop [Relief]
6. Radio Slave - My Bleep [Rekids]
7. Paperclip People - The Climax [Planet E]
8. Mekon - Boy Bitten (Padded Cell Remix) [Pias]
9. Betty Botox - I'm An Indian Three [Botox]
10. Cosmic Sandwich - Battle Twig [My Best Friend]
11. Fedde Le Grand - Put Your Hands Up For Detroit (Claude VonStroke Packard Plant Remix) [Data]
12.Reel 2 Real - I Like to Move It (Mr. Oizo White Label Mix)
13. Audion - Mouth To Mouth [Spectral]
14. Heidi Vs Riton - Vejer (Jesse Rose Remix) [Get Physical]
15. The Knife - Silent Shout (Troy Pierce Barado En Locombia Mix) [Mute]
16. Kerri Chandler - Phuck This Cowbell [Max Trax]
17. Luke Solomon - Ghouls (Claude VonStroke's Beats From The Grave) [Rekids]
18. The Juan Maclean - Love Is In The Air (Mook & Toof Remix) [DFA]
19. Hot Chip - Boy From School (Erol Alkan's Extended Re-Work) [EMI]

A throwback track for you today:
4 Hero- 9 By 9 (M.I.S.T. remix)

Brian Eno- Dunwich Beach, August, 1960

Also, Beats in Space tour photos here.

Greetings from overcast Key West. I've been catching up with a lot of reading, and this NYT article was a recent highlight. It is about the Italian espresso company Illy, and their plans to build up their retail presence and differentiate themselves from the omnipresent Starbucks. Now, I'm as guilty as any of going to Starbucks for my daily fix, but it's more for the lack of halfway decent alternatives than for the product. After all, anyone who has tasted a proper latte knows that it isn't a large cup filled with warm milk and a little splash of espresso. More on that here.

Some key excerpts:

Illy expects to post $330 million of revenue in 2006, selling coffee as beans, ground and in individual portions, or pods. It is expanding beyond its traditional professional food trade, like hotels and restaurants, and this fall opened the first three of its Espressamente bars in the difficult Chinese market, in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Illy is one of three big Italian coffee makers, along with Lavazza and Segafredo Zanetti, but it is arguably the leader in marketing coffee as a fashion accessory.

and

Last year, it opened Galleria Illy in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in Manhattan as a way to test a new market. The next step will be to introduce Espressamente in the United States, he says, as soon as the company can find a property. Mr. Illy said the company had “solid roots and a reputation” in America. ‘’We believe the cultural barriers are not insurmountable,” he said.

The point is, while Starbucks started out as a well designed, retail chain for discerning coffee drinkers, it has morphed into the modern day equivalent of McDonald's. The quality of the beans has gone down, and the art of making coffee has been diminished. They've automated a lot of the processes (which probably minimizes their training costs), and lost what first made them special. If I were running Illy, I would really seek to capitalize on this with the discerning class and that looks like what they're doing. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the coming year.

Check this out: www.fromthebasement.tv
Performances from Thom Yorke, White Stripes, Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid.

In case you missed it, here's my review of Benoît Pioulard from last week's Flavorpill/Earplug:

Benoît Pioulard, Précis
Kranky
Released October 2006

Thomas Meluch's Benoît Pioulard project finds him melding his love for field sounds, reel-to-reel recordings, and the carefully crafted, vintage electronic tones of Boards of Canada with a deep knowledge of folk and pop structure. The 22-year-old's rooting in drone and ambient music leads off the album with "La Guerre de Sept Ans," a series of simple, tense guitar loops that build into a wall of blissful static, then flow into "Together and Down," a melancholy seafarers' song. Like this poignant contrast in styles, many songs beautifully combine textured electronic elements with live instrumentation to add depth to the songwriting. On "Patter," gelatinous synthesizer tones seep into the spaces between acoustic guitar notes, while "Moth Wings" demonstrates Meluch's mastery of nuance: simple piano tones are captured and processed through a tape delay, resulting in a crusted, antique sound, like that of old vinyl recovered from the attic. (CJN)

Also, if you haven't lately, go pay a visit to Unconscious Repeat, one of the best music blogs on the internet. In fact, make a playlist in your itunes for it.

Happy Holidays.

Are you a Socialight?


A quick update from the road: Some friends of mine, Michael Sharon and Dan Melinger have been working on an interesting project that has finally come to fruition. I've been working with them to raise awareness for the launch alongside my colleague Peter Himler, and I think it holds tremendous potential.

In essence, Socialight is a platform that allows people to tag information, media, etc to a defined place, anywhere in the world. There's also an interesting social networking element to it, and it seems most people start out using it on the web interface initially to tag their favorite places (stores, restaurants, bars) and generally good finds around the world.

An excerpt from the press release:

First developed as part of a project at New York University’s Interactive
Telecommunications Program (ITP), Socialight lets both individuals and publishers post location-aware content that can be “pulled” via search or “pushed” as part of a spam-proof, opt-in channel exactly when and where it’s most relevant.

For example:

• Curious about the real estate around New York’s or San Francisco’s Union
Square? Subscribe to a real estate channel and view rich media listings
using your mobile phone – pushed to, or pulled by you while you’re out
walking in the area.

• Want the inside scoop on the coolest, hard-to-find shops in London? Use
your mobile phone to see what your fashion-forward friends have tagged in a
particular shopping district.

• Looking for restaurant reviews from friends whose opinions you trust? Use
your cell phone to access their creative take on the food and service...before
you’re led to your table.

• Take a walking tour of virtually tagged landmarks around Boston, enriched
by trusted tidbits of information... off the official tour map.

• Or, create your own channel based on your personal preferences and
insights and share it with your friends.

It may seem like an abstract concept at first, but go create a username and play around. After you make a few Sticky Notes from the web interface, go and give it a try on your mobile. They are still working out some minor kinks here and there, but I think once you spend some time on it, the true potential becomes quickly apparent. Let me know what you think. My username is cjn208.

Also, for an in-depth interview with Socialight CEO Dan Melinger, go check the Q&A over at Emerge Trends.

Relax. It's only a ghost.

Photo Credit: Gordon Hull

Essential listening:
Trevor Jackson Solid Steel DJ Set

Also, check the 12' wrap-ups over at Tape.

Just back from a trip to Cologne-- pardon the budget cameraphone photo. It was a quick 2 day jaunt to see some friends, buy some presents at the Christmas markets, stockpile the Continental miles, and generally check out a new city. On Friday night, I went to the Total Confusion party put on by Kompakt's Tobias Thomas, and where Michael Mayer and BPitch's Sascha Funke also played for the duration of the night. What stood out to me is the friendly, small-town vibe of the event (Michael Mayer worked the door for a few minutes), and it seemed that everyone knew each other, and were friends/supporters/collaborators. I'd heard that these nights start out with an hour or so of ambient music, and was pleasantly surprised to arrive early to hear Mayer playing just that.

It had to be an hour and a half before the first kick drum, and I found it such a refreshing change to the NYC dynamic, where all too often, DJs have no sense of pace, and you find yourself arriving at a club wanting to relax and catch up with friends to a soundtrack of a DJ playing barnstormers at 130 bpm at 11:45 at night. Needless to say, there was a slow and steady build up that peaked out with Sascha Funke's inspired set at about 5 am. All in all, a really memorable night with a great group of people, and I was back in NYC for a late Sunday brunch.

Spinoza's got a new mix up right here. Check out the Troy Pierce track that he leads off with. Incredibly good.

According to the latest comScores, Myspace is now rated the number 1 most visited site on the internet. So why is all the advertising on here still mostly "click the rabbit win a free ipod" or others that have little or nothing to do with the main demographic (flash ads for Jim cramer's Mad Money, etc). Is it that advertisers are that slow in adapting to new media buying, or am I missing something?

Greetings from Atlanta. A quick update of two things I've really been enjoying lately:

Ricardo Villalobos- Fitzheuer Zieheuer

Since I hear our friend Ricardo doesn't like his music to be sold in MP3 format, I bought the limited edition Playhouse CD with both the title song, and Fizbeast, a more stripped-down drum track. Judging by the fact that one friend said he got vertigo from listening to it, and another said it completely screwed with his sense of time, thats all the reason to go pick one up. I won't delve into the sound here, aside to mention its probably the deepest thing he's done, and contains Gypsy brass. Yeah.

Blitzen Trapper

According to Daniel Gill at of my favorite publicity shops, Forcefield PR, this is one of the better unsigned bands in America. I'd have to agree. Go listen and download via their Myspace page.

Also well worthy of mention is the forthcoming Pantha Du Prince LP on Dial. More on that later...

A must-read for anyone with an interest in the transformation of traditional media:

A Modest Proposal for Reinventing Newspapers for the Digital Age
by David Hirschorn

Ada- Call the Tune
Liars- Don't Techno for an Answer
Optimo- Essential Mix

PS. The new Konrad Black remix of Snax is the sound of Prince moving to Kreutzberg. Stop by this Myspace page to check out his new stuff including the original Honeymoon's Overdose with Mr. Jamie Lidell.

I found most of these to be spot-on. Written up by my friends at Influx Insights, a division of BSSP:

Influx Insights predictions for 2007

1. Hordes of "Borat" imitators over-run adland
2. Skaters and surfers adopt country club apparel as their signature looks are further co-opted by Hot Topic et al
3. Trans fat ban spreads from New York across the country, transforming the way Americans eat
4. Race returns to the forefront of the popular consciousness after several decades lurking in the shadows
5. Sports teams and leagues start to build and practice game strategies on Second Life
6. McDonalds comes out with McOrganic Meal
7. RyanAir partners with JetBlue
8. 24 hour fitness partners with wii
9. itunes launches a concert tour
10. YouTube starts charging the networks to place their content
11. A global ad agency joins forces with a media company to form a new content hot shop
12. Ask A Ninja signs a 3-year deal with Comedy Central
13. Bloggers will be legible for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008
14. XM and Sirius merge
15. The Gap partners with a leading French design house
16. Pitchfork launches a magazine
17. Companies test their advertising using internal prediction markets
18. Hollywood studio agrees to a $100 million budget for the 17-year old winner of their consumer-generated content competition
19. A Second Life avatar has a No1 hit
20. Home Depot joins forces with Whole Foods to create the first sustainable home improvement store
21. Flickr takes over New York's Central Park for the "People's Photo Show"
22. Best Buy launches an electronics store for kids

Kirk Degiorgio- Starwaves (Original Mix)

Revl9n- Walking Machine (SebastiAn remix)

A post of interest: The Corruption of Social Media and the "New" New Media Literacy

Some music:
Gabriel Ananda- Ihre Personliche Glucksmelodie (Dominik Eulberg remix)

I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to get the Beatport bug. In addition to the piles of promos I'm lucky enough to receive, I regularly buy a lot of music online through the itunes store, the Kompakt MP3 store, and via emusic. But, I let this one pass me buy for some reason. I spent a few hours on the site today trawling through their catalog, and most impressively, through a wide array of downloadable charts. I don't buy as much vinyl as I used to, and spend about 90 percent of my listening time on my laptop through Sony MDR-V6 headphones, so being able to buy 320 kps tracks (and only the track you want, rather than a 12 dollar import-only vinyl 12' with one good track), is really nice. So much of P2P file-sharing yields corrupt or low quality files, and it seems like more pain than it is worth. So, go check it out when you get a second, and be sure to listen to some of the stuff I picked up today:

Chateau Flight- Baccula
Elbee Bad- Show Me
Latex- The Porcupine
Gabriel Ananda- Doppelwhipper (Live)
Grindvik- Sepia
The Mole- In My Song
Loose Change- Kosovo
The Missing Link- 911
Matt John- Hologramm
Paul C- Minitools

Some new music to come. In the meantime, check out the latest Viva Radio installment

Melon- Spring (Original Mix)

A repost:

Hey Man, Slow Down
Forward-thinking producers free themselves from high tempos

In the worlds of house and techno, beats-per-minute counts have traditionally strained forward, assuming that dance-floor impact is directly proportionate to tempo. But now, several DJs and producers are reaching back to dance music's roots to focus on a core, hypnotic groove that has gone neglected in recent years. Though the late-'80s Belgian "new beat" sound — rumored to have started with a DJ playing 45 BPM acid records at 33 — emphasized this ethic, it largely disappeared in '90s subgenres like techno, trance, and even house. But today, it seems, producers are rediscovering the appeal of a slow, plodding, yet powerful 4/4 beat used in lieu of barnstorming tempos.

"Before house and techno became so dominant in the clubs, dance music ranged from below 100 BPM to above 130 BPM, with an entire spectrum of tempos and rhythms played within a night," says Greg Wilson, a hugely influential British DJ at the forefront of the early '80s electro-funk scene. "For me, one of the flaws with the dance-music culture of the late '80s and early '90s was that the majority of DJs began to believe that a record had to be uptempo and 4/4 to be suitable to play. As a result, a whole area of dance music was generally ignored."

A "faster equals better" sentiment has held true for much house and techno music produced throughout the past 15 years; jungle and speed garage offer obvious examples of dance music's desire to accelerate. Aside from disco nouveau producers like Metro Area and Danny Wang, who have never ventured far from disco's groove-based roots, it's been difficult to find many DJs selecting peak-hour tracks that fall below 130 BPM. One exception is Ewan Pearson, who says he "rarely goes over 126 [BPM]" and that "slower doesn't mean deeper or mellower; it ends up being quite hypnotic — trance-y, in the old, acid-house sense."

But more and more DJs and producers have started to rediscover the effect the sluggish, New Beat-inspired groove can have on an educated dance-floor crowd. The intensity of Motiivi:Tuntematon's "1939," included on Annie's DJ Kicks installment, is made all the more urgent by the fact that it never ventures above 110 BPM, setting adrift grumbling synthesizers and howling filter sweeps. Pearson's "Slow NRG" edit of Alter Ego's "Beat the Bush," meanwhile, is a techno anthem transformed into a lumbering, panting beast, and Sebastian's "Dolami" also shows that techno doesn't have to break the BPM bank to attain the same raw energy and intensity that faster records seek to achieve.

As to just what is it about these rediscovered tempos that makes them so appealing, Beats in Space host Tim Sweeney thinks slower selections add to the overall dynamic of a set, while Optimo's JD Twitch says that a 110 BPM track "gives a completely different bump and grind than 130 BPM techno. Basically, it's a sleazy, sexy tempo that engenders different dance moves." But Twitch also suggests a remarkably commonsense motivation: "It's also good to have a break from the tyranny of high tempos." (CJN)

Photo credit: Sabrina Winogrond

Here's one of the better party mixes I've heard in a long time. It's courtesy of my buddy Alex from K7 and Joe from Hot Chip. Blair's got it hosted over at the essential Music for Robots, and I strongly suggest you check it, esp the track at 31 minutes in.

Alex !K7 & Joe Hot Chip - A GrecoRoman Mix

One of my favorite things in the world is Tim Sweeney's Beats in Space program. It has become incredibly influential around the world, and Tim is doing very well for himself as a DJ. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Here are two of my favorite mixes ever from the show:

Paul Psychonaut- May 16, 2002
The Avalanches- November 29, 2001

Drop me a comment and let me know what your fav sets are on there. Also, do keep an eye out for my interview with Tim over at The Pop Manifesto in the coming month or so.

Clashing Egos- Aminjig Nebere (I trust you) (Joakim's Afrobot mix)

One of the best tracks I've heard lately:

Pheek: Orage Solaire

And, to those who say LCD Soundsystem have sold out with their recent collaboration with Nike, I say piss off. 45:33 is an incredibly good listen, and well worth the price of admission. No rhyme intended.

Jurgen Paape- Mit Dir

Greetings from rainy Berlin. I’m drying off next to an extremely convenient fireplace in the hotel lobby, bathed in glorious wi-fi. I arrived Saturday morning and checked out Watergate that night but didn't partake in the inevitable Panoramabar after-hours due to the volatile combination of jet lag, fatigue, and an empty stomach full of Beck's Gold. Yikes. I'm not going to live my early departure (8 am?!) down. Anyhow, the highlight upstairs was an inspired set from London-based Will Saul (of Aus Music), who’s one of my favorite DJs around at the moment. His background comes from the breaks world (he also runs Simple Records), and he has an exceptional ear for melody and pretty much played across all genres, a refreshing change from many Berlin-based DJs staying in the pocket of minimal-ness for the course of the night. His best tune was unquestionably Latex- "The Porcupine" which apparently is a pseudonym of Loco Dice. It’s an incredible cut, blue-hued vibrato stabs and all. Don’t sleep on it.

I didn't catch much of Jesse Rose's set, though he played jacking, tight, techy-sounds including a filthy mix of Switch and some chopped-up, stuttering remix of Simian Mobile Disco's "Hustler" at the end of his set that absolutely brought the house down. Also enjoyed a few leadoff cuts from BPitch's Kiki, before heading downstairs to see arguably the nicest man in dance music, Mr. Ewan Pearson, playing with Phonica's Heidi for most of the night downstairs. It was nice to finally hear his collaboration with Al Usher, "Cruising," on a nice warm sound system, and the two went back to back, playing loads of stuff I haven't yet heard, so I look forward to the latest installment of Ewan’s Enthusiasm selections as well as some of the new stuff at Phonica...

I’ve got a long day in the air tomorrow- TXL-EWR-PHX, so my next dispatch will be from some much-needed desert sun. Looking forward to drying out. Stay tuned for some music you need to hear on this humble site, and be sure to tune in each week to the Flavorpill show on Viva-Radio for my latest picks alongside the impeccable selections of Jake Lancaster.

Al Jazeera International launches today, though no US cable providers have signed on to distribute it. The Washington Post gives a good summary of the new outlet's operations:

In some respects, Al Jazeera English will be worlds apart from its established, decade-old sibling. Al-Jazeera focuses primarily on news of the Middle East, for an audience of mostly Arabic-speaking Muslims. AJE will have broader horizons, aiming to draw a billion-plus English speakers from Madagascar to Maine -- for Muslims, yes, but also for anyone else who wants another perspective on the day's news.

In other words, AJE -- based in the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar -- is hoping to become the first non-Western source to challenge the global info-supremacy of CNN and the BBC. This, although it's not yet available over broadcast frequencies in the United States.

AJE has established four news hubs -- in Washington, Qatar, London and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- around which its 24-hour broadcast will revolve. It also has positioned many of its 500-plus journalists outside of traditional news centers in Europe and North America, in a necklace of bureaus spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East...

While I've had my qualms with the Arabic version's "teething problems" and tendency to blur the lines between news and editorial, I think that having a non-western 24 hour news outlet can only be a good thing. I spoke with Dave Marash (formerly of ABC and now an anchor for the channel) several months ago as they were ramping up, and tend to agree with his assessment of the possibilities for a wider array of coverage and perspectives, and as he bluntly puts it, "to be freed of the blonde-of-the-month story" that so many US cable news channels find themselves beholden to for ratings.

The channel has hired some very credible Western journalists-- Sir David Frost, Riz Kahn (formerly of CNN and BBC), and perhaps most notably, Josh Rushing, the public affairs officer featured prominently in Control Room, who will report on military affairs. It will be interesting to watch how the channel unfolds. For those of you in the US, you can watch the channel online here.

A nice interview with Squarepusher over at the Warp Records Youtube site.

Blogger mon, why you treat me like anniemal?

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been having some technical difficulties stemming from Blogger's recent version upgrade.

Haterz. Anyhow, some nice music for you:

Ost & Kjeks- Have you Seen the Moon in Dallas (Maurice Fulton Remix)
Marc Houle- Kicker
Pet Shop Boys- Flamboyant (Michael Mayer Remix)

In yet another example of the so-called "Long Tail" spilling over into mainstream culture, I watched a Dell commercial this morning with a 13th Floor Elevators soundtrack...

Here's a quick list of things I've really enjoyed this year. Would love to hear your recommendations as to things I need to check. Leave a comment!

Alex Smoke- Paradolia
Brightblack Morning Light- S/T
Delta 5- Singles and Sessions 1979-1981
Duplex- Late Night Driving
Ellen Allien & Apparat- Orchestra of Bubbles
The Black Keys- Magic Potion
The Blow- Paper Television
Bonobo- Days to Come
Booka Shade- Movements
Burial- S/T
Cassy- Panoramabar 01
Cat Power- The Greatest
Crowdpleaser and St. Plomb- 2006
Dabrye- Two/Three
Dwayne Sodahberk- Cut Open
Ezekiel Honig- Scattered Practices
Georgia Anne Muldrow- Olesi: Fragments of an Earth
Girl Talk- Night Ripper
Heiko Voss- Two Sides
Jan Jelinek- Kosmicher Pitch
Junior Boys- So this is Goodbye
The Knife- Silent Shout
Love is All- Nine Times that Same Song
Luciano- Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi Volume 2
Michael Mayer- Immer 2
Modeselektor- Hello Mom!
My My- Songs for the Gentle
Peter Bjorn and John- Writer's Block
Rhythmm and Sound- See Mi Yah Remixes
Richie Hawtin- DE9 Transitions
SCSI-9- The Line of Nine
Skatebard- Midnight Magic
Who Made Who- S/T

There has been a lot of chatter re: Youtube purging copyrighted content from its servers, namely Daily Show clips, etc. But, look how easy it is to circumvent the process. Instead of typing and tagging Daily Show, the user just substituted a few numbers for letters. It is that simple. Google bought Youtube for 1.65 billion last month, with some of the harshest critics of the deal suggesting there are copyright lawsuits waiting for a place to happen. Given how easy it is to get around this (as demonstrated above), draw your own conclusions...

Peter Bjorn and John- Young Folks

Pop single of the moment for me. Love the overall treatment/vibe of the vox and especially the girl's endearing accent. Perfect.

Jimmy Jung with a great piece on Michael Mayer's Immer 2 mix in this week's Time Out NY.

An excerpt:

Hypnotically balanced with dance-floor bangers and cascading comedowns, haunting soundscapes and strained funk, Immer 2 continues in this same tradition. After building up to the boiling point, the mix bursts with the one-two punch of neu-disco boys Justus Köhncke and Lindstrom. But rather than keep energy levels redlined, Mayer then segues into the album’s subdued second half, downshifting into the pillowy melodies of the Rice Twins’ “For Dan.” It’s an unorthodox yet utterly seductive move, one that Mayer credits to his experience as a DJ. “The most interesting moments in a club night, the most emotional moments, are the breaks, when there is a shift in the atmosphere,” he explains. “After two hours of peak time, you’ll play a melancholic record and people become much more introverted. It’s within these moments that people suddenly take off their party masks and things get more real.”

Sonram Gray- Some love yet to find