Megasoid: Party-In-A-Box

To date, Megasoid is still on the loose. Comprised of Sixtoo’s Rob Squire and Wolf Parade’s Hadji Bakara, Megasoid has been running amok in Montreal with a turbo-crunk collaboration that started off as a monthly night (which has included stops in Toronto and New York), but has quickly expanded into spontaneous block parties throughout the city (often broadcast, soundsystem-style, from a rundown minivan). Aside from some unwanted police attention, and banishment from one Toronto venue, the two-man posse has been blasting its live-remix party late into the night with much street-level acclaim.

“You know that if you’re coming out to a Megasoid night, chances are you’ll either get hit by a dude swinging another dude over his head, or 2,000 watts of feedback, or some really rock-solid digital-crunk shit,” Squire says.

To be fair, most “producer” shows straight up suck–a sentiment Squire shares–but one might be forgiven for assuming the opposite after a Megasoid party, considering the gargantuan synths, miles of wire, and other archaic gear that he and Bakara haul around.

In fact, it was their mutual love of synths that brought the two together. “The first time I borrowed a synthesizer off of [Bakara], I blew it up,” Squire says, laughing about the pair’s bonding moment.

While Wolf Parade’s frantic indie rock somewhat resembles the energy of a Megasoid show, Squire’s intricately produced hip-hop records as Sixtoo are its very antithesis. His recent Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man (Ninja Tune) is a slow-paced album of lumbering, slightly off-kilter beats and sinister atmospheres; like 2004’s Chewing on Glass and Other Miracle Cures, it rummages through the detritus of hip-hop, combining samples and loops with microprogramming and other digital effects to create a record of subdued but elaborate majesty.

“Megasoid isn’t super dance-y, but it’s not Sixtoo stuff either,” Squire offers. Instead, the side-project takes its cues from everywhere–from French techno to Southern bounce–and smashes them together. “It’s gone everywhere from Mouse on Mars albums to literally destroyed records found in trash bins,” he continues. Of course, the influences stretch beyond even those parameters, and into Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger territory, too. “I was throwing around futuristic-sounding names,” says Squire, “and Hadji was like, ‘There’s no fucking way we are naming it anything but Megasoid.’”

IHEARTCOMIX Presents Remix Contests

Franki Chan’s IHEARTCOMIX label goes above and beyond its release expectations by announcing two new remix contests for Texas and New York’s respective electro-champions, Ocelot and HEARTSREVOLUTION. Both acts have already caused a stir in the music world, with Ocelot performing alongside the likes of DJ Mehdi and Boys Noize, and HEARTSREVOLUTION finding its tracks featured on a number of blogs worldwide.

For Ocelot’s remix contest, the duo is offering its heavily distorted “Lo Sforzo,” from the forthcoming 12” of the same name. The lucky winner will be featured on the gatefold vinyl release alongside LA Riots, Toxic Avenger, and more. The deadline is December 3, so get cracking.

For the HEARTSREVOLUTION contest, the track “C.Y.O.A” will be available for those bedroom producers hungry to have work released. The winner will be showcased on the band’s forthcoming single, which will also feature remixes by Brodinski, Lazaro Casanova, and more to be announced. The deadline is December 10.

For both contests, no outside artist samples may be used and there’s no corny label swag being served to the winner.

Download Ocelot’s “Lo Sforzo” Parts.

Download HEARTSREVOLUTION’s “C.Y.O.A.” Parts.

Sidestepper Preps Pan-Latin Remix Album

Countless artists have been inspired by Latin dance rhythms from Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Cuba; others have sampled or incorporated these influences into electronic music productions. For Sidestepper’s Richard Blair, this wasn’t enough.

The British DJ, producer, and sound engineer at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios took Latin music production beyond mere sampling or playing a conga riff and assembled a band featuring musicians from all regions of Colombia. Playing both live and as a soundsystem, the group released its first album, More Grip, on Palm Pictures in 2000.

Since then, Blair and Co. have toured, put out the “Linda Manigua” single, and have been featured on a number of world beat compilations, but their output has been scarce. That’s set to change in February 2008, when Sidestepper releases The Buena Vibra Sound System (Palm), a new collection of remixes from More Grip plus unreleased tracks. Remixers on the album include Lightning Head, Boyz From Brasil, and Blair himself.

The Buena Vibra Sound System is the first album to capture the vibe of their dance club lineup in all its variety. “The idea with The Buena Vibra Sound System was to make a real party record,” says Blair. “What we’ve tried to do is to erase the lines between being a live band and a sound system and to make real block party music with nothing precious about it.”

The track “Paloma,” leaked to DJs and tastemakers early in 2007, charted highly and received widespread club support. The tune swings with summery Spanish-language vocals and mid-tempo electronic beats perfect for an early evening DJ set or change of direction from downtempo to house.

And before you sigh and say, “Not another bland electro-Latin album,” realize that Blair explores the rhythmic connections between Jamaica, Nigeria, and Colombia on the album on potent tracks like the previously-unreleased “Que Sera” and “San Juan.”

The Buena Vibra Sound System is out February 19, 2008.

Photo of Richard Blair courtesy of Palm Pictures.

Tracklisting
1. Sidestepper
2. Mas Papaya
3. Que Sera
4. Me Voy Andando
5. Deja
6. San Juan
7. La Bara Ratin
8. Me Voy Tripeando
9. Chimical
10. Hoy Tenemos
11. La Paloma

Spitzer “Avida Dollars”

Somewhere between glitchy, hyperactive club bangers and Berlin minimalism sits the two-man brother act Spitzer. Though somewhat mysterious (they don’t show their face in their artwork and are, at present, more known due to their own efforts than those of any record label or PR company), their punchy, energetic dance music and unfaltering love of Guns N’ Roses should be enough to keep listeners intrigued.

Spitzer – Avida Dollars

Dr. J presents 1Luv Neophilia

Dr J is Vancouver-based Jason Oculto, a Canadian producer and DJ with a background in house, Latin, jazz, and funk. As 1Luv, Oculto has tapped Amalia Townsend to provide vocals on this jazz-inflected neo-soul album. Ironically, for an album called Neophilia, there’s little that sounds new here. The production is uninspired, with bad choices throughout (the dialogue toward the end of the title track and the voicemail samples on “Starz” are cringe-inducingly cliché). Even the better tracks, like the deep-house cut “Above You,” lack the vision to distinguish them from the herd. There’s nothing here that’s offensively bad; there’s just nothing particularly outstanding either.

Various Motel Lovers: Southern Soul From the Chitlin’ Circuit

Chitlin’-circuit soul takes some getting used to. Synth strings and BBD-outtake drum machines appeal to neither the soul-and-blues “purists” nor the Bud-and-blooze roadhouse crews. But to thousands who spend Friday night with a pint of whiskey and Mel Waiters on the jukebox, this is simply Southern soul-blues as it’s always been: none-too-subtle innuendos belted by inspired entertainers–with both artists from “the day” (Barbara Carr, Bill Coday) and young ’uns raised in the juke joints (Sir Charles Jones, Mr. David). Whether you want a serious night out (Waiters’ “Smaller the Club”), or to see what underground soul’s biggest names do five nights a week (Lee Fields’ “I’ll Go to Jail”), Motel Lovers is the perfect introduction.

Various Caravan of Light

Supporting the idea that art is the greatest armament against war, this CD of Persian- and Asian-inspired music accompanies a short political film of the same name. The songs, ranging from well-circulated tracks to newer cuts, assemble like-minded freedom fighters. An old Bassnectar remix of Michael Franti’s “Skin on the Drum” and an excellent track by Iranian vocalist Sussan Deyhim are familiar, while recent work by Haale and Mercan Dede and Azam Ali make great introductions. The sequencing is top-notch, making the compilation a down- to mid-tempo journey through a talented array of santurs, neys, and beats.

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