Show Review - Com Truise, Bauuer at 1015 Folsom

Com Truise - Cathode Girls [download]

Synthed Out Sunday , brought to you by glitched out beatmaker from New Jersey, Com Truise. I saw Com on Friday, July 13th over at 1015 Folsom in SOMA, and it was kind of a mixed-bag of a night as a whole. As far as the music was concerned, Com Truise played through most of his first album, Galactic Melt during the short but blissed out, glitchy 50 (55?) minute set. He did a stupendous job keep the crowd on their feet, glitching his synth-heavy tracks in a manner that had me stepping all over the place. By the time “Cathode Girls” came on, I was in such a blissful state that I closed by eyes and melted into his synthetic goodness. I wish I could say the crowd at 1015 Folsom was as good as Com’s music, though. Lots of douchey, just disrespectful people (“hey, let’s cut the entire coat check line in front of the people waiting for 10 minute-types”) who were quick to throw an elbow or a shoulder without so much as an “excuse me,” rather we were constantly being bombarded by bodies in a brusque manner. Couple of extra-tough bros even got to the point of exchanging words with one of my boys over bumping into each other. To be expected when going out clubbing I guess, but it was happening to a very high degree which knocked a couple points off of the night and kind of ruined the vibe.

Those are my only real complaints about 1015 Folsom —  the way in which they fill the club, and their patrons as well sometimes. First off, 1015 is a large club, and with the two room setup, the main room gets packed like a can of sardines by the time the main acts come on while the side room usually remains relatively empty. Secondly, I don’t really know what attracts the shitty and sketchy sorts to 1015, but this is my second experience where I was annoyed and uncomfortable by the people. I definitely felt hands go through my back pockets while I was dancing at one point, and the constant barrage of self-righteous shoulder throwers was enough to make me swear off the venue unless there is someone who I absolutely must see in town. One of the openers was really MEH, but one of the other people DJing in the side room had a few moments of dancefloor madness. Some Jacques Greene and some Mount Kimbie esque postdubstep beats were being thrown down at one point, followed up by the magnetic Bashmore track “Battle for Middle You,” at which point floor went nuts.  

All in all, I had a pretty awesome night. It would have been really awesome but the experience was docked a point or two due to the crowd +antics. If you haven’t seen Com Truise before, I highly recommend you immerse yourself in his warm, synth laden tripped out beats. If you don’t really know him, I sort of think of him as if Crystal Castles and Nosaj Thing had a baby. Raage.

Pleasurekraft - Tarantula [download]

Tech House Tuesdays.

Last night I caught Pleasurekraft at Playhouse in Hollywood for their Monday Night Social party. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been to MNS, and last night did not disappoint. Kicked the night off on the right foot when we met up with Kaveh from Pleasurekraft and chatted with him for a little bit, and he hooked us (Me, Seth, Ben) up with free T-shirts bearing his emblem! Score. Apparently the two don’t always DJ together as a pair, seeing as Kale was back home in the studio.

Found a good perch to post up at and dance, and this was the best spot in the house! We met a bunch of chill peeps who were getting down and dancing and overall having a great time. Pleasurekraft’s set was a solid two hours of straight carnival, semi-dark tech house, exactly what my ears were craving. When “Tarantula” came on and the air conditioner blasted the cool mist, it took me right back to my time at Amnesia Ibiza. Will I see Pleasurekraft again? Without hesitation. “Tarantula” is on repeat today.

“Better than: All that shit that happened at Burning Man while you were on acid and can’t remember anyway.” -LA Weekly writer Ron Garmon

10/16  Show Review - Amon Tobin at the Music Box, Hollywood

Amon Tobin - Journeyman [download]

Journeyman. ISAM takes you on a journey, man. The first track off Amon Tobin’s ISAM (2011) album, “Journeyman” can give you a pretty good idea of the type of visual and auditory adventure that I embarked on this past Sunday at the Music Box. This show truly took me on an odyssey filled with beautiful sights and experimental sounds. I had never really heard much of Amon Tobin’s music until I saw the preview for his new audiovisual show, ISAM, back in July. After watching a YouTube clip of Amon doing it live at the Mutek Festival in Canada, I knew that I had to see his show. So naturally I bought a pair of tickets back in July for a show in October that I knew little about.

ISAM live is quite possibly the most technologically advanced visual show in the entire world, and hands down the best that I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen Nosaj Thing, Deadmau5, Pretty Lights, and other artists with fantastic lights and visuals, but Amon Tobin’s setup was on an entirely different level and playing field. The stage was built with 64 white cubes, stacked in a tetris-like manner that made it stand out as a wild 3D contraption.

When the visuals were projected onto these cubes in perfect synchronicity with the music, I felt like I was seeing in 4D or something! It was absolutely mind blowing. Amon DJ’ed from the center cube, as you can see in the picture* above, and once in a while the cubes would become translucent and you could catch glimpses of him tearing it up in his little cube. There were the craziest projections on these cubes - moments where a spaceship would whizz through the cubes, or when the music got extremely intense there would be an electric lightning storm that you could feel from the sights and sounds. 

There were sections in the show where it felt as if I had just entered The Matrix.

Musically, Amon Tobin dropped a lot of dubstep, but the rest of the show was experimental electronic noises and soundscapes that were perfectly synced up with his visuals. There was even a moment where he dropped some drum and bass, and the crowd went absolutely nuts. I for one danced especially hard during this section! I was impressed with how long the show went; I surely didn’t expect it to go as long as it did. Amon finished the show with a huge drop and confetti was BLASTED all over the crowd, and cheers erupted throughout the crowd in approval of this avant-garde spectacle. If you ever get a chance to see Amon Tobin’s ISAM audiovisual show, please do yourself a favor and go. It’s like visual ecstasy for your eyes. Your eyes (and ears) and soul will thank you.

*Note: All the pictures come from LA Weekly photographer Brian Erzen. Mad props for his quality shots.

Kingdom - XLR8R Podcast #188 [download]

So I have a pretty sweet weekend of music coming up. I may catch Buraka Son Sistema tonight over at the EchoPlex after having dinner at my buddy Greg’s place. Tomorrow, Metronomy will be playing a sold-out show at the Troubadour, and after I will be catching Kingdom at good ol’ Central. Sunday Funday brings me Amon Tobin, whose live show ISAM I’ve been amped to see for months!

Lets cut to the chase - Kingdom drops some absolute fire in this XLR8R podcast. Kingdom is one of the leaders on London’s Night Slugs label, which boasts talent such as Bok Bok, Girl Unit, Nguzunguzu, etc. He has a very unique and diverse set of beats for us on this awesome XLR8R mix. For those unfamiliar with XLR8R, it is a great source to find out about fresh, up and coming electronic musicians as well as get some A-grade podcasts created just for their site. I first heard Kingdom on KCRW, with the 3rd song on the podcast… “Los Poderes” is a fresh, urban tune that gives you a little feel as to what this guy is all about. Give the mix a whirl and discover what he is all about.

Tracklist:

01 Jacques Greene “Tell Me (Kingdom Edit)” (LuckyMe)
02 Kingdom “SFX”
03 Kingdom “Los Poderes (Edit ft. Floetry)” (Dutty Artz)
04 Kingdom “Stalker Ha” (Night Slugs)
05 Kingdom “Uptown Buck” (Scion/Trouble&Bass)
06 Jam City “Aqua Box” (Night Slugs)
07 Katy B “Lights On (Girl Unit Remix)” (Rinse)
08 Kingdom “Okay To Dance” (Fool’s Gold)
09 MikeQ & Angel X “Let It All Out 2011” (Qween Beat)
10 Nguzunguzu “Timesup” (Fade to Mind)
11 Kingdom “Stadium Pass” (Enchufada)
12 Bok Bok “Silo Pass” (Night Slugs)
13 DJ Cabos x Kingdom “Snapduro + Appetite Edit”
14 Kid Ink “Keep It Rollin”
15 Kingdom “If You Buck”
16 Win Win “Interleave (Kingdom Remix)” (Vice)
17 Total Freedom “YB Voice Song”
18 DJ Exota Vs. DJ Vali “Pu**yf**ker (Kingdom Edit)” (Unreleased)
19 Jim Jones / Automatik “Go Cinderella (Kingdom Edit)” (Diplomats)
20 Ciara x Girl Unit “Ride + Every Time (Kingdom Blend)” (Night Slugs)

10/7 Show Review - Star Slinger, Mux Mool, and Shigeto at The Troubadour in West Hollywood

Star Slinger - Minted [download]

Friday night at the Troubadour was one helluva show. I went to the Troubadour with a bunch of coworkers and ended up meeting up with some other friends there, and we all had a blast. Shigeto kicked off our night and demonstrated his unmatched ability to play the drums while simultaneously DJing and playing an electronic drum pad as well… it was amazing to say the least. Zachary Saginaw (Shigeto) is a very talented guy. I had seen him in SF at Mezzanine a few months back, and he played a DJ set. Shigeto (live) is a whole different beast than just him DJing, and it really showcased his talent in a completely new light. The crowd wasn’t really dancing as much as I had hoped for, so needless to say our crew held it down and we vibed to the clean, Nosaj Thing-like sounds of Japanese beatmaster Shigeto.

Mux Mool was up next, and we went outside for a cigarette break, for most of his set actually. For the parts that I did catch, I thought his music was interesting but it wasn’t really the vibe that I was into that evening. So we went outside for another break before Star Slinger came on.

Star Slinger came on and the crowd packed the dancefloor like sardines. It was truly a pleasure to see him chop up beats and cut samples up like it was his job (well, it is his job). He is truly a professional mixologist. The crowd was at its peak in terms of its level of energy and the amount of people dancing… Star Slinger made everybody vibe and get down to a certain extent. When he played the song “Minted,” I was grooving so hard to the beats and loving every second of it. Truly an A+ performance by Darren Williams, and this was definitely a set that I will not forget.

And here’s a treat for my readers!

Star Slinger - Star Slinger Volume 1 (2010) [download]

10/5 Show Review - The New Division at Central, Santa Monica

The New Division - Starfield [download]

My buddy Alan and I decided on a whim on Wednesday to go to The Central S.A.P.C., which is by far my favorite local venue in Santa Monica. We wanted to check out these up and coming, indie/new wave rockers The New Division, who are made up of four very talented dudes from Riverside. They kind of remind me of Cut Copy or even Two Door Cinema Club, with more new-wavy reverberating vocals. It was one of the BEST spontaneous decisions I have made in a while.

Boy was I blown away by their set. Their harmony, the reverberating vocals along with the rocking guitar and poppy synth made for an absolutely fantastic show! I know that The New Division is going to go far. Wednesday was the first time I had ever heard of the band (as I repeatedly [intoxicated] told one of the band members), and I regard them very highly now. I plan on seeing them whenever they are playing locally in Los Angeles as I was pretty blown away by their energy. The vibes were good, the crowd was super fun and really into it as well, and everybody was dancing to their electronic-indie jams. Check out their latest album, Shadows, which they were giving away for free at the show! I ended up giving $20 to the little donation bin because I was so thrilled by their performance. Stay tuned…more of The New Division to come!

Show Review - James Blake 9/19 at the Music Box

I had the privilege of seeing James Blake for the second time in two weeks last night. Last week I saw James Blake on Wednesday over at Low End Theory with Flying Lotus, and he put on a super bass-heavy, experimental set.

Last night, James Blake played a very emotional, intimate, and mesmerizing set at the Music Box over in Hollywood. His virtuosity on the piano became apparent immediately. He played all of the tracks off his self-titled LP. Starting with Unluck, the moment the first notes were struck chills were sent running down my spine.

By the time he got to I Never Learnt to Share, his beautiful voice shone bright as he modulated and looped it to layer this amazing track. The Wilhelm Scream demonstrated just how delicate and intimate James Blake set was; you could hear a pin drop in the room it was so quiet! Everybody’s silence was in reverence, respect, and awe of Blake’s amazing talent.

This man is truly a stroke of musical genius. As a classical pianist myself, I thoroughly appreciate his virtuosity on the keyboard/piano. His voice is beautiful to the point that is haunting, and his beats from the leftfield are truly captivating. James Blake has been thought of by some as the Thom Yorke of our generation. After seeing him last night, I understand why some draw the comparison. I can’t wait to see what things James Blake has in store for us in the future, he has made his mark and he is here to stay. 10/10.

Setlist:

Unluck
Give Me My Month
Tep and the Logic
I Never Learnt to Share [download]
Lindisfarne I
Lindisfarne II
To Care (Like You)
CMYK
Limit to Your Love
Klavierwerke
Enough Thunder
The Wilhelm Scream
Encore:
Anti-War Dub (Digital Mystikz cover)
Once We All Agree

Ben Butler & Mousepad “Mag Mag (Shigeto Remix)” [download]

an intro to Shigeto

Who: Shigeto. Japanese guy named Zach Saginaw, based out of Brooklyn, NY.
What: clean bass-driven music.
When/Where: Friday, October 7th at the Troubadour in West Hollywood
Why: Go to the show because his music is freaking awesome. So clean, crisp, and fresh. Those would be the adjectives that I would describe his music. And its pretty cool because there is some Asian flair about his tracks that reflects his heritage. Hhe is spinning with Star Slinger who will provide us with some heady beats. The show is only $12! Do it. (*bonus points for the pretty sweet XLR8R picture of Shigeto above)

Sounds like: Mount Kimbie, Nosaj Thing, Flying Lotus

stay tuned for a preview of Shigeto’s album and podcast…