Woodkid Run Boy Run Video

And here's another video from Yoann Lemoine AKA Woodkid. Same as last time with the Iron, I like the track, but man the video is amazing!!! I think I might even go to his next gig in London on 14 May at the Roundhouse!

Sun Ra documentary

Really cool documentary about Sun Ra. If you don't know him, do get to know him and get transported into space!

Zola Jesus

First track I listened to this morning... I seem to like Zola Jesus more and more! Great voice and such a nice video!

Tinariwen at KOKO

Wednesday 26th October, Tinariwen playing live at KOKO.

One of the best gigs I've been to! KOKO was packed! Tinariwen played for about 1.5hrs, they had such good energy, the crowd loved it! Everyone was dancing and clapping, such a good vibe! It was almost emotional seeing everyone so into it and also such a mixed crowd, everyone loving it! Another super successful Soundcrash event!



If you haven't had the chance to see them yet, don't miss them next time they play London, I think rumour has it they should be back early next year.

Richie Hawtin documentary

Slices - Pioneers Of Electronic Music Vol. 1 - Richie Hawtin

This is a fascinating 90min documetary, part of DVD special series, Slices - Pioneers of Electronic Music. The first one is about DJ and producer Richie Hawtin, it covers his childhood, how he got into music, his relationship to his parents and how he became the icon he is today. 

Actress

Listening to... Actress! What a great way to start my day! Really nice video created by Luke Alexander, I really like Alexander's work; watch this space, I think you'll be seeing more of him here!

Here is an interview of Actress on his experience of clubbing in Congo 


Actress/Maze from Luke Alexander on Vimeo.

'how to dubstep'

Think it's the same guy as in the previous video I posted... He's too good!
...and yes, I'm still on YouTube checking people dancing dubstep videos... 

Hi-Fi by Bante

This morning I discovered Bante, an Italian Director. I watched all four videos he has uploaded on his Vimeo account and really liked his work, enen though they all seem to be 2 years old... Still worth having a look! Below is a music video he directed for Bellavista Social Pub, an Italian nighclub.


Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

Amon Tobin Isam AV show

I've been watching this video of Amon Tobin's Isam, AV show. I missed the last time he played I think back in July or August, but I'll definitely try to make the next one on 23rd November at The Forum. Super cool visuals!

By the way, you can get a free download of Amon Tobin's Surge Two Fingers Mix; all you need to do is visit his website and type in your email!

Death Grips at Old Blue Last

I first wrote about Death Grips back in June, when I tried to find some information about the project but there wasn't much out there. Last night a friend called me to ask me if I would be up for going to a Death Grips gig... I was quite surprised; firstly I didn't know they were playing; secondly, I wouldn't have thought even if I knew they were playing that anyone would want to go with me!.. So anyway, I found myself at Old Blue Last! The gig was so much better than I expected! MC Ride was on the mic and Zach Hill on the drums, they played for 45mins and there was so much energy in the room. Old Blue Last is not a big venue, but it was pretty much full. At the beginning when I saw that they would play for less than an hour, I thought it was a bit poor, then again I think 45mins was more than enough! If they had played any more than that they would probably have had a heart attack and we would probably have gone deaf! And that is all positive! I loved it! You've never seen anyone as sweaty as Hill, you've never seen anyone screaming and dancing as frantically as MC Ride. Death Grips is definitely one to see live, rather than listen in your living room!..

Mcbees paints the Berlin Wall

Berlin is not all about music... Here's a video about an exhibition at Freedom Park in Berlin; artists were invited to paint on pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Kutmah & Daedelus at KOKO

Last night at KOKO...

I saw Hidden Orchestra for the first time. It was really good, really liked that they had two drummers each bringing his own style into the mix. Wouldn't mind seeing them again!



Then a super nice, but short set from Kutmah. He played for maximum 1 hour, building up his set really nicely. My favorite bit? When he played The Cure! But before long and very abruptly he stopped to give way for Daedelus, with whom he used to play music in LA back in the days. Such a shame, he should have kept playing for maybe another half hour... It was really sweet as well when Deadelus, before starting his set, said how much everyone was missing Kutmah back in LA...



Daedelus' set was pretty impressive! I really enjoyed his music, a bit too noisy at times towards the end of the set for me, but overall really good. The visual side was also pretty cool! There was a wall of moving mirrors behind him that were reflecting the laser lights all over the place! Pretty cool! So funny as well when this girl got on stage and went for him and the security had to remove her. You don't often see that with DJs... or at KOKO... Have to say though, the crowd was really young, some of the people looked like kids...

Then a really nice dark set from Raffertie! Will definitely be seeing him again! And Luke Vibert to close the night. Can't say I particularly enjoyed his music and I did leave at 2am, when he still had 1 more hour to play. Can't say it was bad either though, as I was dancing to what he was playing, but at the same time I thought it was pretty old school and boring. Then again there is something I like about Vibert... not sure what that is, probably not the haircut... but anyway he looks like a nice guy and I like it when he sings the tunes he plays! I would see him again, but he wouldn't be the main reason I would go somewhere.

To have a look at more videos from last night click here.

Real Scenes - documentaries on the music scene in Bristol, Detroit and Berlin

Resident Advisor and Bench have teamed up to produce a series of documentaries on the musical, cultural and creative culture in some of the key destinations in today's music scene; Real Scenes. The first of the series; Real Scenes: Bristol, was out in July. It focuses on the influential electronic music scene in Bristol. The second one; Real Scenes: Detroit, out in August, explores Detroit, the birthplace of techno. And the latest one; Real Scenes: Berlin, came out today and focuses on the techno scene in Berlin.


Real Scenes: Bristol from Resident Advisor on Vimeo.


Real Scenes: Detroit from Resident Advisor on Vimeo.


Real Scenes: Berlin from Resident Advisor on Vimeo.

New videos from Sonar 2011

It took me a while to upload these, but here they are! I wasn't impressed with Sonar Day Friday and Saturday, I thought the lineup was really poor, still I had a lot of fun! Sonar Night on Saturday on the other hand was amazing! Trying to remember who I saw seems almost impossible... To name a few (while looking back at the programme); Chris Cunningham, Underworld, Surgeon, Silent Servant, Africa Hitech, Paul Kalkbrenner, James Holden, Shakleton, Lucy... Didn't stay to see Shakleton for long, as I had seen him a few times before... Underworld was super nice; getting old, but still got it! Very excited to see Chris Cunningham that by the time I decided to see him when he last played in London, the gig was sold out... Paul Kalkbrenner is such a performer! He had everything needed for a closing act (even though he wasn't really the closing act); the big stage, the lighting, the attitude, and of course probably all the tracks from Berlin Calling. The crowd loved him! And I did too! After Paul Kalkbrenner, a couple of disappointing tracks from James Holden and off to see Silent Servant, who for me was perfect to end the festival, with a pretty industrial dark set.

Death Grips

I recently discovered Death Grips; a pretty hard hip hop / rap project. It's quite brutal and old school, not necesserily what I personally think is needed in the music scene at the moment, but there is definitely still an audience for this kind of stuff; and I include myself in this audience... I wouldn't necesserily play it first thing in the morning, although it was the first thing I played this morning quite loud while writing this blog. Not sure if my neighbours appreciated, but they should be at work anyway! I've been trying to find out more about the project, but there doesn't seem to be a lot out there, except Zach Hill's name that seems to be popping up a lot. Hill; an American drummer, is known to play noise, rock, experimental. I think Death Grips is his latest (or one of his latest) projects.



You can download the Exmilitary Mixtape and two tracks; Full Moon (Death Classic) and Face Melter (How to do impossible things).

Bela Lugosi's Dead...

Watched Ed Wood (again...) a couple of nights ago and was reminded of this!..

Krautrock documentary

Another really cool BBC documentary! This one is about krautrock; the experimental rock scene that appeared in Germany in the 1960s, and moved to Britain in the 1970s.

Group Doueh at Barbican

Group Doueh from the Western Sahara, played at the Barbican on 13 May. The group is on Sublime Frequencies, a record label that specialises on music from Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

The gig started with just the synth; the guitarist, Doueh, was introduced as the 'master guitarist'; and then throughout the gig amazing vocals and traditional dance. Only drawback was the sudden end of the gig... The audience was so into it and suddenly someone came on stage to announce the end of the gig, which was a surprise to both musicians and audience. I guess it was about time for the gig to finish and then move onto the foyer where Sublime Frequencies DJs started playing. Personally, I wasn't too bothered about seeing the DJS, I would have definitely preferred to have seen Group Doueh for a little bit longer.

Synth Britannia documentary

Really cool BBC documentary showing how different post punk bands and musicians started using synths in the 1970s.

Battles new music video

Battles' new music video of Ice Cream, one of the tracks of their new album Gloss Drop, featuring Matias Aguayo. Such a cool track and such a cool video! The album is expected to be released on 6/7 June. Copies can be pre ordered at Bleep or by choosing the £20 option ticket for their upcoming shows at Heaven in London on 8 June or at HMV Institute in Birmingham 27 June.