Infected Mushroom @ Term 5 (NYC)

After my backpacking trip, I came back to NYC for a week. Needed to pack my things before I crossed over to Europe again. I don't know when I'll be back in NYC (to live, I'll prolly be back next year to git git git it on!) because I realized something about myself in the last year in New York. I'm a European at heart. And you can take a European out of a Europe, but you can't take Europe out of the European's heart! And the best techno/electro parties are all going down in Europe. But more of this in my later blogs (live from Europe!) and more about INFECTED MUSHROOM. Well, as you can expect it from the kings of techno, they brought it. Unfortunately, they only rocked the vibe for 90 minutes. At $40 a ticket, I thought it was downright propaganda to put Infected Mushroom on the ticket stub and have 2 djs open up before them and 1 closing in after 'em. I downloaded their new CD but didn't really get a chance to listen to it before the gig. That's why, when I heard Sa'eed, I thought my head was going to burst. This is potentially the sickest beat they brought to the scene yet. I'm still making up my mind because it's a brand new track and I can't really see if it stands the test of time like cities of the future or deeply disturbed, but the whole crowd seemed to be agreeing. The Legend of the Black Shawarma's title track (yes, sadly, this is the name of the album and of pretty good song!) is an elating number. They played it near the end, to prevent all the rave heads to dehydrate/overheat (note: this was all of us!!) they demo'ed End of the Road from the album which is another GREAT track. Then there were Killing Time and Smashing The Opponents which, based on the reaction of the crowd, I doubt will remain in the set list very long. The usual suspects (Deeply Disturbed, Cities of the Future, Deeply Disturbed...) brought in the necessary vibe for everyone in the room to be vibing together. On top of the lightshow, some sick glowstickers with the lastest lights were bugging the acid heads out. Both the lights and the acid head freak outs were worth the look!

Backpacking hiatus

I'm going to be traveling ... backpacking to be exact. I'm leaving all the electronics at home and taking a break. See you when I get back!

The Prodigy @ Roseland Ballroom

I wanted a sick rave with some dirty British electro, and for fuck sake THE PRODIGY thrilled my insides last night. When I first gave a listen to their new album Invaders Must Die, I was really into the title song and Omen. but as I discovered the rest of the album, I soon realized it would be sacrilegious for me NOT to go see them when they passed by New York City.
So last night, trying to get in without a ticket stressed me out because I thought we wouldn't get it. Clearly, it was destiny that I see them live. The new album alone is like viagra for 20-year-olds. But the show was a motherfucking orgy of depraved lights and mental beats, complete with acid heads jumping everywhere and turning the moshpit into... well, a sick moshpit!
The real mindfuck was Firestarter. This golden classic is ready to turn any civilized person, anywhere, anytime into a complete animal. And there were definitely a pack of hounds @ Roseland... Funny, it was followed by Run With The Wolves from the new album.

AA 24/7 (Diplo remix) - Dance area

Every good electro-dance song has basic phases: it starts with a warm up, then turns into a build up, then a break down makes the tension and anticipation rise in every raver in the place until the DJ decides it's finally time to "drop the bomb." Well, Diplo remixed 24/7 in a fabulous way. The break down is the hardest part to master as a DJ because you don't want to cut it too short, but you certainly don't want to drag it out too long and loose the interest of the crowd. The balance in AA 24/7 is BOMB!
If an electro song is REALLY good, it'll have -what I call- an "Anything Goes" bit, where just like the title suggests, if you haven't made a move on whoever you're with at a rave/club/etc... THIS is the moment to do it. For this mix, it's around 2:17 and 2:31. It's a sick combination of hormones, sexual tension and beat stimulation. And that is why, people, we european love our electro!

WHOMADEWHO-EUROTOUR!

For everyone lucky enough to find themselves coincidentally lucky enough to be in the same city as WHOMADEWHO, check them out live. They spread mayhem, they ooze pulsating rhythms, they got the stuff, they ruff stuff that makes the sweat from your forehead sprinkle on the nearest people dancing on your right and left (if you're lucky enough, you'll get some of it on WHOMADEWHO, and get some back!!) Check out their rocking tunes, and see if you can catch them live! The three Danish boys are in a full blown euro tour (they're going to Brussels!! represent!) I am LITERALLY encouraging every Belgian to open up their minds to the gift of Disko Punk ... And if this miraculously get back to them... COME TO NYC!

The Kids Don't Stand A Chance-Miike Snow & Vampire Weekend

What the hell happened to the Postal Service? I miss their tasteful feng-shuiing of cheap electro sounds and ben Gibbard soft spoken words. Well now, I've got something to complete the Genius Playlist of the Postal Service: Miike Snow's remix of Vampire Weekend "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance." It's incredible what a few bleeps and beeps can do to an indie song. You can download and stream the track for free at RCRDLBL. Miike Snow is an American trio composed of Andrew Wyatt, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg. They got more phat beats on their Myspace page, where unfortunately, there are no concert dates to be found yet.... I am patiently waiting!

Side Kick - Deep Fear

Within the dark walls of the Antwerp minimal techno/house scenes, the most enticing beats usually resonate off the steaming bodies of ravers and the still-legal smoke of the crowd. Now that I don't permanently live there anymore, I usually take a pen to the spot and end up writing the absurd lyrics all over my hands and google the tracks the next day. Unfortunately, the best tracks are often stripped of their meaningless words and titillate you to a sonic climax. This was the case of Side Kick (productions)'s Deep Fear. The Italian DJ trio, hailing from mob-central Naples, is a noob in the house scene. Their underdeveloped MySpace page -showing that they have only been active since 2008- delights me. I was wondering why I hadn't heard of them before. The fact that they are so new to the scene and yet this track has already reached the greater northern Europe is quite an accomplishment. These guys are mixing geniuses, and I'll be following their moves for a while from their first album drop to the announcement of a tour. Rock on, ragazzi!