The Decibel Festival is one of the most engaging electronic music gatherings of the year to occur in the Pacific Northwest, and 2007’s lineup may be the best the festival has seen yet. Crashing Seattle this year are Simian Mobile Disco, Claude VonStroke, Motor, Strategy, and a mountain of others, tearing into its collective dance psyche. Taking place from September 20-23, in nine different venues representing nine different countries, Decibel promises all orbits of contemporary electronic music. Now in its fourth year, the fest is keeping with its tradition of incorporating many forms of media alive as well, with each show equipped with custom sound and film. The Northwest is about to reach status.

Check Decibel’s site for full venue listing and to purchase tickets.

Full Lineup
Simian Mobile Disco, Speedy J, Harold Budd & Robin Guthrie, Diplo, Biosphere, Switch, Robert Babicz, Guns N’ Bombs, 3 Channels, Bender, Motor, Claude VonStroke, DJ Heather, Chris de Luca vs. Phon.o, Jeff Samuel, Frivolous, Kangding Ray, Mike Shannon, Lusine, Mikael Stavostrand, Lowfish, Monty Luke, Max Volume, Alland Byallo, Truckasaurus, Jacob London, Wolf + Lamb, Drumcell, Strategy, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Derek Plaslaiko, Acid Circus, Scott Pagano (Visuals), Caro, Taal Mala, Jon McMillion, Lissome, Overcast, Papa Slang Bass, Kristina Childs, Mat Anderson, Pretty Titty, Kris Moon, fourcolorzack, CHiKA (Visuals), Novatron, Nordic Soul, Ramiro, ndCv, Mori, KillingFrenzy, Logic Probe, Scott Sunn (Visuals), Hakea, Seiche, Electrosect, Scott K. James

Strategyis slated to appear at the festival.

Tight. As in compressed drums that sit perfectly in the mix, sharply cut vocals and synths snippets that tickle the ears, and basslines that push and prod dance club anthems forward. This is the world of Ewan Pearson, consummate remixer, producer, and all-around nice bloke. How nice? Between his hectic DJing and production schedule (which has included almost a half dozen releases this year alone), he makes time to tell the public about his favorite music at his Enthusiasm personal blog. Now, the Midlands, England-born producer is about to release one of his most ambitious collections yet, the two disc, 21-song remix set Piece Work, out August 24 on !K7.

A recording artist since 1996, Pearson has also released tracks under the guises Maas (releasing six singles and an album for Soma), World Of Apples, and most recently, as part of the revered duo Partial Arts. Pearson got his start in music soon after taking a job at Soma Records in Glasgow more than a decade ago. From then on, he’s kept on a steady schedule of producing, which has lead to a strong body of work that cuts across electronic music styles and genres. 

Melissa Taylor of Tailored Communication says, “Ewan’s name may have remained mostly amidst the small print, but he’s been all the busier for it. His remixes appear on at least 58 different releases by a wildly diverse group of artists–including Seelenluft, the Chemical Brothers featuring the Flaming Lips, Playgroup, Freeform Five, Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, Pet Shop Boys, Goldfrapp, and Depeche Mode, all of whom turn up on Piece Work. This new double CD essentially picks up where the 2001 remixes comp Small Change left off, charting the last six years of Ewan’s beat-burnishing.” 

Pearson’s track record is as mentioned before: tight. Listeners should look forward to how his new compilation puts all the pieces together.

Tracklisting
Disc 1
1. Seelenluft feat. Mixmaster Michael Smith “Manila (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
2. The Chemical Brothers feat. The Flaming Lips “The Golden Path (Ewan Pearson Extended Vocal)”
3. Futureshock “Pride’s Paranoia (Ewan’s Sticking Plaster Remix)”
4. Silver City “Shiver (Ewan’s Bari Girl Remix)”
5. Fields “Song For The Fields (Ewan Pearson Vocal Remix)”
6. Playgroup “Make It Happen (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
7. Freeform Five “Perspex Sex (Ewan Pearson’s Hi NRG Remix)”
8. Slam feat. Dot Allison “Visions (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
9. Goldfrapp “Train (Ewan Pearson 6/8 Vocal)”
10. Closer Musik “One, Two, Three – No Gravity (Ewan Pearson’s 2004 Remix)”
11. Franz Ferdinand “Outsiders (Ewan Pearson Remix)”

Disc 2
1. Mocky “Catch A Moment In Time (Ewan Pearson’s Memory Blissed Remix)”
2. The Rapture “I Need Your Love (Ewan’s Stay In School Mix)”
3. Pet Shop Boys “Psychological (Ewan Pearson Mix)”
4. Alter Ego “Beat The Bush (Ewan Pearson’s Slow NRG Edit)”
5. Röyksopp “49 Percent (Ewan Pearson Glass Half Empty Remix)”
6. Goldfrapp “Ride A White Horse (Ewan Pearson Disco Odyssey Parts 1 & 2)”
7. Ladytron “Evil (Ewan Pearson Radio Edit)”
8. Moby “Raining Again (Ewan Pearson Instrumental)”
9. Cortney Tidwell “Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan’s Objects In Space Remix)”
10. Depeche Mode “Enjoy The Silence (Ewan Pearson Extended Remix)”

Internet TV website QOOB and Hamburg’s electro kingpins Digitalism are offering fans a chance to direct a video, and you’ve got until September 20 to actualize your vision. The prize is two-fold. First, you can brag to your friends that you directed a video for Digitalism. The winner will also receive 2,000 euros, in cash (for those of you in the States, that’s almost $2,800). The track in question is the new album version of previous 12”, “Idealistic.”

As far as what to shoot, take a hint from the Digitalism boys: “Maybe you’d like to shoot some ‘80s hip-hop/breakdance stuff combined with nowadays future robots! Like Herbie Hancock’s Rockit or Malcolm Maclaren’s Buffalo Gal, or movies like Wildstyle, Breakin.” So find some girls in velour hot-pants, find yourself a jumpsuit, and slap on that director’s cap.

Typically, when a plug-in comes with the phrase “No Musical Experience Required” on the packaging, it’s probably not going to be a producer’s wet dream. But Cakewalk’s Studio Instruments is bundled with a plethora of live, playable drum sounds, electric pianos, bass, and even a string section (musical experience may help here), and is good enough for any composer on a $50 budget who can’t afford the real instruments.

For the musically disinclined, the standalone/plug-in software is equipped with prerecorded loops that can be transposed into measures to fool the most talented of songwriters. The fact that there are built in effects doesn’t hurt this nice little package either. The piano features adjustable drive, chorus, and tremolo pedals, while the drums can be compressed and run into another line of outside effects. While cakewalk’s Studio Instruments may not be as ideal as the real thing, at $49.99 it’s definite fuel for creative fire.

Cakewalk’s Studio Instruments is available now from Cakewalk. 

Former The Evaluation guitarist Patrick “Sick Face” Fallon is joined by Giovanni De La Cruz, and working together as All Teeth and Knuckles, these S.F.-based cats spit lyrics and shred guitars so emphatically, they should have every jaded hipster on the dancefloor shaking ass. Catch ATAK next week in S.F., at XLR8R‘s Issue 109 Release Party.

Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.

Celebration is far from a typical 4AD outfit. Featuring members from post-punk projects Lovelife and Jaks, the Baltimore-based trio whips up a post-goth circle of organ-driven mayhem that far exceeds the members’ spazz-punk pasts. Now prepping its sophomore release, The Modern Tribe, Celebration may be poised to join the ranks of 4AD legends, one sonic freak-out at a time.

Produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek (who also introduced the band to 4AD), The Modern Tribe finds the trio at its most, well, modern. Vocalist Katrina Ford moves past the androgynous howling present in Lovelife’s tracks, while multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis keeps all limbs busy playing everything from the organ to guitar to bass. After spending the last few years touring with the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blood Brothers, and TV on the Radio, Celebration is poised to establish themselves as 4AD’s newest tribe.

The Modern Tribe is out in October on 4AD.

Tracklisting
1. Evergreen
2. Pressure
3. Heartbreak
4. Pony
5. Fly The Fly
6. Tame The Savage
7. Hands Off My Gold
8. In This Land
9. Comets
10. Wild Cats
11. Our Hearts Don’t Change