The Residents: Re-Viewed Video Collaboration

You probably know them from their photos dressed as giant eyeballs in top hats. Originally from Louisiana, The Residents, whose music is the definition of psychedelic eccentricity, moved to the Bay Area in the 70’s and began incorporating SF counter culture into the dark tales of the South told in music and video format. Over their numerous releases since then the band has continued to elude fans, never giving interviews and remaining shrouded in a variety of masks, the most common of them being the top hat/eyeball variation.

Beginning this weekend MOMA gives fans a different way of getting to know The Residents, in a four-day exhibition featuring the music videos and films of this multimedia inclined band. Also a part of the exhibition is a screening series featuring videos based on a 90-second segment from the band’s River Of Crime digital release series. The six videos on display are by international artists chosen from the hundreds of entries submitted for inclusion in the exhibition. For those of you who can’t make it to the MOMA, the best 11 are featured on YouTube now.

River Of Crime: Episodes 1-5 (Special Edition) with CD soundtrack is out November 7, 2006 on Cordless.
Their new album Tweedles is out October 31, 2006 on Mute.

Panoramabar: Berlin’s Underworld

It’s noon on a sunny Sunday. While half of Berlin sits down to brunch, this is the first time some of these people have sat down all weekend. Six shirtless men who look like Russian G.I. Joe figures–matching boots, crew cuts, and grey acid-wash jeans–rest against one another; next to them, a group of exiled Detroit ravers share a cigarette and three German girls loll on perfectly manicured grass, laughing. The whole effect is one of falling down the rabbit hole, only to end up in an adult raver’s paradise.

This courtyard is just one part of the grand, surreal labyrinth of one of the world’s most amazing clubs, Panoramabar/Berghain. Built in an abandoned power station from the 1950s, its heavy concrete walls contain three floors of true mayhem. You enter to the pounding techno of the dark, brooding Berghain (so named because the building lies on the Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain border), then ascend a flight of stairs to Panoramabar, where seasoned clubbers break serious sweats to tweaky minimal and techy house, dancing underneath gigantic Wolfgang Tillmans genitalia photos and windows that look out over East Berlin. The hardcore descend from the already devious Berghain into The Laboratory, a gay sex club in the basement.

Panoramabar has a no-idiots door policy; other than that, it’s utterly democratic: there’s no special guestlist line, no VIP rooms, and no cameras are allowed. The idea is to create a safe space where everyone feels comfortable to do as they please. It’s the mantra of the club’s founders (who wish to remain nameless), one that has followed them from their start as gay fetish-party promoters through their heyday as the creators of Ostgut, a wildly popular East Berlin club that ran from 1995 through 1999.

Panoramabar may be a mega-club, but it doesn’t act like one. It has no corporate sponsors, no logos, and it’s hidden down an unmarked driveway. Though it’s promoted, it still feels like a secret. Furthermore, its adventurous lineups have slotted dance-punk band The Gossip, grime DJ Skream, and Chicago stalwart DJ Traxx amongst regulars like Luciano, Khan, and Sammy Dee.

You can hear the club’s sound via the club’s new Ostgut label, but there’s no substitute for experiencing Panoramabar yourself. “It’s the most intense place I have ever played,” says resident Prosumer. “The crowd is wild, open-minded, and willing to party. Sometimes, I am so moved spinning there that I get tears in my eyes.”

AllofMP3 To Release Thousands Of Albums For Free

AllofMP3.com, a Moscow-based site that’s been branded as the world’s highest-volume dealer of pirated music, just announced plans to release hundreds of thousands of albums for free.

What’s made it popular in the first place-it claims to have five million subscribers-are the easy interface and the low prices. The site claims to be working in line with Russian copyright law, but it has nonetheless faced battles with the music industry, as well as having its card service being suspended by Visa on Tuesday. That was also the day AllofMP3 said its business model would move towards ad-suported distribution of content, similar to the Spiralfrog service that’s been getting attention lately. Songs downloaded from AllofMP3 wlll only be useable at on one computer at a time, and the software program that will allow these free downloads will eventually be available for both mac and PC.

At an online chat this week, Vadim Mamotin, director general of the site’s parent company, mentioned that in its six years of operation, AllofMP3 has never been convicted by a Russian court or declared illegal. Still, one can’t help but hear the distant drums of a lawsuit approaching this battlefield.

Hot Chip US Tour

Looks like London’s favorite casio quintet Hot Chip is back on the road starting next month, supporting The Warning, their sophomore album recorded at home, distinctly different from 2004’s Coming On Strong, and rooted in infectious 2-step rhythms that should translate nicely to the live setting. You’ll be sorry to miss one of these exciting live sets.

The Warning is out now on DFA/Astralwerks.

hotchip.co.uk

Tour Dates

11/01 Baltimore, Sonar
11/02 New York, Webster Hall
11/03 Philadelphia, Pure
11/04 Boston, Paradise
11/05 Montreal, La Sala Rossa
11/06 Toronto, The Mod Club
11/07 Cleveland Heights, Grog Shop
11/08 Columbus, Wexner Center
11/10 Chicago, Metro
11/10 Chicago, Smart Bar
11/11 Minneapolis, First Avenue
11/14 Seattle, Neumos
11/15 Portland, Doug Fir Lounge
11/17 San Francisco, Mezzanine
11/18 Los Angeles, Henry Fonda Theater
11/19 San Diego, Casbah

Juan Maclean Decks Drunken Fan Onstage

Following on the heels of two other events in the past week involving bizarre violence and musical artists, Juan Maclean of DFA Records reportedly jumped off the stage at an Atlanta gig on Friday to punch a drunken heckler.

A thread on the DFA message board entitled “Juan kicks at least one ass in Atlanta” confirmed this. Juan himself responded on the thread in saying the offender jumped on stage and began banging a microphone stand into the table the decks were on, then proceeded to laugh when Juan yelled at him. “I don’t know what to say except that he fucked with the wrong person,” the post continues. “I walked up to him and short story is I, as was said, ‘beat him down.'”

The thread’s advice of the day was stated explicitly. “Don’t fuck with the Juan Maclean.”

In other DFA news, Black Dice heads overseas this month, and LCD Soundsystem released their specially commissioned work out track for Nike titled “45:33” yesterday on iTunes. Hopefully that time in the gym can help our friend Juan blow some steam off before his next gig.

dfarecords.com

Lee “Scratch” Perry Fall Tour

Reggae pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry‘s Panic In Babylon album debuted at #13 on the charts, and after a sold out gig at CBGB’s he heads West for a long-awaited tour supporting the new release. The so-called “Father of Dub” further broadened his musical arsenal this time around by collaborating with TV On The Radio and DJ Spooky for select tracks, as well as continuing to push his brand of hip-swinging psychotropic reggae into the future.

Up next is another new record in 2007, as well as a 12″ remix of “Pussy Man” from Parliament/Funkadelic leader George Clinton.

Panic In Babylon is out now on Narnack.

Tour Dates

11/05 San Francisco, The Independent
11/06 San Francisco, The Independent
11/07 Los Angeles, House Of Blues
11/08 San Diego, 4th & B
11/09 Santa Cruz, The Catalyst
11/11 Portland, Crystal Ballroom
11/12 Vancouver, Richards On Richards
11/13 Seattle, Neumos
11/16 Boulder, Fox Theater

Nina Simone Gets Remixed

Many say Nina Simone‘s most definitive work happened from the mid-sixties to mid-seventies. RCA/Legacy Recordings would agree with that idea, having chosen the bulk of tracks for her Remixed & Reimagined project from that time period. The compilation dedicated to Simone contains remixes of her tracks by contemporary dance and electronic producers, including François K., Tony Humphries, Coldcut, Nickodemus, and DJ Logic, each taking a stab at the diversified music of Simone, who covered everything from soul to Broadway during her musical career.

The tracks are a section of some of Simone’s best work while recording for RCA, many of them titles that caught the eyes and ears of the club world.This is another episode in the resurgence of her vibrant catalog since the singer’s death in April of 2003, so the remixes here are not only new interpretations of her music, they’re also a tribute to the late High Priestess of Soul.

Remixed and Reworked is out October 31, 2006 on RCA/Legacy.

Track List

1. I Can’t See Nobody (Daniel Y. Remix)
2. Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter (Jazzeem’s All Styles Remix)
3. Aint’ Got No – I Got Life (Groovefinder Remix)
4. Save Me (Coldcut Remix)
5. Turn Me on (Tony Humphries Got U Turned On Dub)
6. Here Comes The Sun (François K Remix)
7. Westwind (Organica Remix)
8. Go To Hell (Mowo Remix)
9. My Man’s Gone Now (DJ Wally Remix)
10. The Look Of Love (Madison Parks vs. Lenny B Remix)
11. o-o-h Child (Nickodemus Remix)
12. To Love Somebody (Chris Coco’s Stadium Rocker Remix)
13. Obeah Woman (DJ Logic Remix)

95 Gallery/Nort: A Taste of New York

Simon Schaefer has been paying attention to fashion since he was a hip-hop obsessed pre-teen wilding in the streets of West Berlin. He vividly remembers the divide between the underground-savvy Charlottenburg crew and the youth who grew up in the GDR. “Kids would come in from the East and they were [visibly] identifiable: white as white could be, almost see-through, and their pants and jackets were about 10 years too late,” he reminisces. “Can you imagine what it would be like to not be exposed to marketing culture? What a gap to leap! When the Wall came down, East Germans got 100 Deutschmarks from the German government and they would [come to the West] and spend it on bananas–there were huge queues in front of the supermarkets!”

Nearly 17 years since that the Wall fell, shit is still bananas–figuratively speaking. A mere five months ago, East Berlin saw its first sneaker line outside Nort Berlin, the Nike-only store Schaefer and partner Marley co-own with Recon NYC man Stash. Though the shop has been around since 1995, the queue is a sign that the city’s youth have finally succumbed to the global fiending for limited-edition kicks, with the store joining the ranks of Patta, UNDFTD, and Dave’s Quality Meats in serving up the secret goods.

Doing more for the international street art monoculture is Nort’s spin-off, www.95 Gallery. Located down an alley to the right of the Mitte storefront, 95 Gallery is a skate/streetwear shop by day and a gallery by night. Curated with input from Lodown publisher Marok and Positive-Inc’s Bianca Richter, the sleek, white rectangle has hosted the spray-can nozzle art of London’s Nick Walker and the launch of KR’s It’s All in My Head book, wherein the space was adorned with floor-to-ceiling graffiti pieces and a tagged old-school Porsche. The main goal of the gallery is to provide a space where international visitors and the Berlin street art/culture scene can interact, and Schaefer is quick to point out that they’re still growing a local audience for what they’re doing.

The city has a few great places to buy sneakers–including West Berlin’s mind-bending Solebox, its Mitte counterpart Trainer, and Charlottenburg’s Mad Flavor–but the biggest difference between Berlin and Tokyo or New York is that everyone coexists peacefully. “I don’t care about competition,” shrugs Schaefer. “Over here [the market] is so small there’s not millions to be made. Marley and I have other jobs, but this is a labor of love.”

New At INCITE Online, Oct. 17

If you would like to receive weekly updates on our FREE downloads, subscribe to the XLR8R Podcast. iTunes 4.9 or higher recommended.

Madvillian – From the much lauded <i>Chrome Children</i> compilation comes another track by MF Doom and Madlib, or Madvillian, as we better know them together, handpicked by label boss Peanut Butter Wolf to appear on the two-disc compilation.

Caural – Like his contemporaries Daedelus or Four Tet Beck, Zachary Mastoon likes a few experimental electronics to complement his leftfield hip-hop. By that I mean lush strings and vocal arrangements complemented by crisp, no nonsense hip-hop beats.

Mikkel Meyer – The Copenhagen-based producer released his first EP on Smallfish and hosted radio shows for London’s resonance.fm before turning his attention towards making minimal techno sprinkled with a hint of jazz and dub.

Qwel and Meaty Ogre – The <i>Freezerburner</i> album has been on their minds since the duo met and started making music together in 2000, and combines Qwel’s mic skills with Meaty Ogre’s unbeatable production skills.

Benoît Pioulard – <i>Précis</> is the first album from Thomas Meluch under his moniker, and captures his taste for acoustic guitars layerd over bells, dulcimers, old tape samples, and field recordings that make up the ambient nature of his tracks.

RESFEST Chicago Kicks Off This Weekend

Now in its tenth year running-and ready to celebrate that fact-RESFEST heads to Chicago this weekend for the latest stop off on its extensive tour. The Windy City sees four days of film and music events, some of which we’ve listed below for you to plan your weekend. Tickets are available by calling 312.397.4010 or here. All all access Respass is only $79, while they last.

RESFEST Chicago takes place Thursday, October 19 – Sunday, October 22, 2006.

resfest.com

Friday, October 20, 9pm
Videos That Rock
The festival’s music video screening features vids from Hot Chip, Mogwai, The Knife, Sufjan Stevens, and more, directed by greats like Ace Norton and Chris Hopewell.

Saturday, October 21, 3pm
By Design
RESFEST holds its sixth annual survey of the year’s motion graphics, CGI, and new annimation, including work from Takagi Masakatsu and the world premiere of the latest Ben Stokes work.

Saturday, October 21, 9pm
Rock The Bells
Ever imagine what it must be like to get the nine members of Wu-Tang Clan in the same room at the same time? Concert promoter Chang Weissberg offers his account of that adventure when he booked the group in 2004.

Sunday, October 22, 5.30pm
Unsung Heroes: Music Video Gems From The Archive
It wouldn’t be a 10-year anniversary celebration without a peek into the past, and RESFEST unearths some classic videos from previous festivals. Classic works by Roman Coppola AIR, and Shynola and others again see the light at this very special event.

Sunday, October 22, 7pm
Cinema Electronica
Yes, it’s a dirty word these days, but the long-running program again sheds light on some of the most exciting electronic and hip-hop artists producing music these days. Jamie Lidell, Tiga, Gnarls Barkley, Coldcut, and others make appearances.

Sunday, October 22, 9pm
Closing Night Party
Free with a ticket stub or Respass, the celebration marks the end of the the Chicago festival, but the beginning of the global tour. Local DJS and VJs provide the entertainment at Chicago’s Sonotheque venue.

Page 3301 of 3781
1 … 3,299 3,300 3,301 3,302 3,303 … 3,781