We sat down with him backstage at Grand Central a few minutes before his set and had a chat about his music, the industry, and disco love songs.

More Breakbot @  MySpace | Facebook | Twitter

Special Thanks: Poplife & Grand Central

Directed – Gfx: Andres Blazquez
Director of Photography: Markus Oskarsson
Edit: Andres Blazquez & Markus Oskarsson

I was excited to see what these two were cooking up, since we have been friends for a while and I have always respected their taste and sound. Crown Company is finishing up their first album, so before that happened, we made sure we got together to make some magic happen, and this is what we ended up with:

More Crown Company @: Facebook

Director of Photography: Markus Oskarsson
Camera: Edward Senf
Directed – Hard Edit – Gfx: Andres Blazquez
Producer: Barbie Bertisch

The Suburbs

Ready to Start

We Used to Wait

The Second Best Day of My Life

You can go catch him live tonight at 697 North Miami Ave. Miami, FL. Doors open at 11PM.

Here’s a long overdue interview with him.

Theophilus London |  Vashtie |  Jesse Boykins

Video By:

Edit/GFX: Andy Blazquez
Director of Photography: Markus Oskarsson
Production: Barbie Bertisch

Special Thanks to:

Overthrow, Sam Baum, Caleb Gauge, Grand Central

Miike snow is on tour right now, playing in the United Kindom on the 23rd, Sweeden on the 28th and last but surely not least he will be performing at Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 1st (for those of you that dont know Roskilde festival… Google it now!)

Black & Blue

Animal

Song for no one

The Old 4th Ward

Don’t Give Up  (Cover – The Whitest Boy Alive)

Show Stokeswood some love:

iTunes |  Website |  Facebook |  MySpace

Documented by: Life.is

Directed By: Stian Roenning
Edit & GFX: Andy Blazquez
Camera Artists: Markus Oskarsson & Sam Gualtieri
Location: Studio 1415

Here is a link to where you can buy their first Album CONDITIONS that was released in June 2009.

Science of Fear

Sweet disposition

Fader

Love Lost

It is so sad to have only a limited bunch of songs…  since May 18, 1980 was the day Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis, committed suicide. Living a conflicted life, struggling with epilepsy and medications, a wife, Deborah, and child, Natalie, back home and a lover on the road with Joy Division. Who knows what really went through his head before he took his life… and what would have happened if he had crossed the ocean and toured America like he was supposed to?

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of Ian Curtis’ death, and we are closer to his story as we’ve ever been, with movies such as Control, documentaries like Joy Division, and, well, the great history that New Order continued beyond the tragedy. Now it seems to be time for the kids to celebrate Curtis’ talent.

BBC News announced today that the Northern Chamber Orchestra, with schoolchildren of the town of Macclesfield, will composed a Joy Division inspired symphony. This goes hand in hand with the greatest exhibition of Ian Curtis’ memorabilia, personal items, Joy Division set lists, etc. The exhibition will be curated by journalist Jon Savage, who was also screenwriter for the 2008 documentary, Joy Division. As of right now, students in Macclesfield’s local schools are working hand in hand with the musicians from the orchestra to put together the music for this summer.

The exhibition will run from July, 29th to August, 7th. My advice is, if you are Joy Division fan in Europe around those days, definitely stop by Macclesfield and check out the exhibit. Don’t forget to bring me photos. Here’s a live performance from around 1978-1979 to get in the mood.

Video by: Andy Blazquez & Ingi Larusson
Photography: Stian Roenning
Produced and Styling: Aban Sonia
Hair and Make-up: Naomi Robles
Panic Bomber Manager: Paddy Scaca
Assistant Styling: Brandon Fogel
Production Assistant: Lauren Portilo
Location: Studio 1415
Additional Thanks:
Dead Legend Doors: Stian Roenning & Sam Gualtieri
Authentic Sarajevo Minefield Street Sign: Mike Raveney

Friday was day 1 of Coachella. Xavier was the only one person with an actual ticket in our car, and we needed 3 more. Following people’s advice, we figured we would wait and get the tickets for the actual festival at the gates. Even though their website says it’s sold out, they release last minute tickets at the box offices. Yeah… well, that didn’t quite happen this time around. I’m guessing that because they were only selling 3-day passes, that they sold out for real.

Picture this: The four of us are stuck in traffic… We only have one ticket… Its around 3PM… Traffic isn’t moving… X and I get out of the car and start walking. We’re in the frigging desert, it’s 90ºF out, with a beer in hand and a sign that says WE NEED TIX!… and we walk… and keep on walking. After about an hour or 2.5 miles, we prety much get to the actual entrance without finding one single scalper. At that point, things aren’t looking too good for us.. As a matter of fact, we’re kinda freaking out.

That’s when this kinda crazy looking chick walks by. She offers tickets. We’re thinking, ‘Cool! We’re saved!’ Yeah, no. She’s asking for $700 for each. Hell no. WTF? Xavier and I look at each other and start discussing… We ask the girl what her prices were for 3 tickets and we end up deciding on one ticket for $700, and two for $550 each. Great. Now… we need an ATM.

We had a total of about $1200 combined… but we needed $600 more for the third ticket. So Xavier leaves me with the crazy chick (who was actually called Fatima) and runs off with my debit card in the search for an ATM about 2 miles away. Fatima is making small talk, telling me she wants to go in too and all. This whole time I’m thinking,’ OK, this isn’t bad.’ That was until the bitch asks me to go to the parking lot with her… Oh god. She keeps telling me she rode in her friends car, who is at the show, and that she locked her keys in her trunk.

Hmmm.. Okay, shady, but I couldn’t lose the chick! No one else was selling tickets! So she asks for help from the parking lot guys and we all start looking for the car, which mind you, she had no clue where it was. (This is when I start frantically calling people to avoid getting kidnapped, thrown in a trunk and chopped to pieces, or raped) Its already getting dark and the situation is getting pretty shitty… when surprise!!! The woman really had locked her keys in the trunk! And the filipino dudes opened the car (a Civic of course-now I know how to steal one)!

We start walking back to meet up with the rest of the people, when I find out that I have exceeded the daily limit on my card. It dawned on me: WE’RE FUCKED. Xavier was inside looking for a magical ATM, while I get in the car who miraculously appeared and both Fatima the scalper and I jumped in. We park. We’re in Coachella territory. Sans tickets. That’s when Mario suggested I call Bank of America (insert hateful thought here). I am literally sitting outside the gate, talking to about 5 different people from one department to another and all I’m saying is: “I’m in California, I’m trying to go to a music festival, I’m literally sitting outside with a scalper and I can’t take money out because you froze my account! I need my money! I need to be in there!” and I’m pointing the phone towards where the music is playing because the bank rep totally understands what I’m talking about. Needless to say, that didn’t work out so well.

We decide to buy just two tickets, and slip one wristband off and get the other person in (Oh! the advantages of having skinny wrists). Desperate times call for desperate measures. This was when Fatima tells us how the procedure goes: she takes the money, gives it to her broker in exchange for the bracelets, comes back, and walks us in. Yeah, no… sorry but Fatima isn’t walking away with my $1200. That’s a whole lotta fucking money! After some discussion, we decide Xavier is going along or the deal is off. She agrees. Ok, good to know we didn’t waste 4 hours of our day on her.

It’s already like 9PM, we can almost hear LCD Soundsystem playing and we see Xavier walk away with the girl. The whole time, Des and I are totally thinking he’s gonna get beat up, shot, who knows. It took them about 10 minutes to come back even though we thought he would totally be missing a tooth or something. Now the only question remaning was: are the bracelets real?

We decide Mario stays behind. Xavier, Des, Fatima, and I head to the door for them to scan our wristbands. We’re already exhausted, what else could possibly go wrong? Nothing. And nothing did. About time. We walk in, woo hoo! The wristbands work! So Des slips hers off, I slip it in my very-important-stuff-goes-in-here pocket, and go get Mario who was hiding and waiting for the bracelet to arrive. The whole time I’m thinking, “he’s got skinny wrists, it’s gonna work”… It turns into a 15 minute struggle plus Red Bull used as lubricant and the Coachella wristband is now around his wrist… and that shit ain’t coming off. We walk back, triumphant look on our faces, and after much anxiety, struggle, hours of walking, countless phone calls and texts, and $1200 later… WE’RE IN!

We all run to Vampire Weekend. We can barely hold our excitement when we notice we’re gonna have to do the whole switcheroo thing again tomorrow… but who cares?! We’re iiin! We caught a few Vampire Weekend songs from previous albums, and their latest one, Contra, then we walked over to see Fever Ray. ‘Creepy’ would be a great way to describe her show. We also thought it was really funny that we saw two bums sleeping right next to the smoke machine and people kept stepping on them and they wouldn’t wake up. Fever Ray sounded exactly like the album, and it kinda even seemed like performance art too. The costumes were either black or blood red, and there were table lamps scattered throughout the stage. Told you, creepy. We left Fever Ray right on time to catch Jay-Z performing The Empire State and then kinda hung out for a few minutes and walked over to Whitest Boy Alive. It was the proper way to end the day; the tent where they played was packed and the vibe was pretty amazing. The melodies were the perfect ending to a day that was more like Mission Impossible: Coachella Edition.

Winter Music Friday…  We met with Pirate Stereo to document the making of WMC Safehouse – the ultimate after ultra EP release party. Besides PS, the event featured Dj Santiago Caballero, Chris Schoen and Ayad & Jeff of Passion Pit. Click. Play. Now.

The EP: The Thrive of the Thrill

The new EP (listen/download here) is the first release on their new label, PS Records. We’re liking it and so shall you.

Befriend & Follow:

piratestereo.com | TOTT | Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

Video Credits:

By: Andy & Ingi for Life.is  -   Photography: Markus Oskarsson

Pirate Stereo as Pirate Stereo  -  Legion as Event Producers

Santi as Dj Santiago Caballero  -  Chris as Chris Schoen

Guy at the end of the video  in the crowd as “That guy”

The video for “This too shall pass”  was directed by James Frost, OK Go and Syyn Labs. Produced by Shirley Moyers.  The video was filmed in a two story warehouse, in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. The “machine” was designed and built by the band, along with members of Syyn Labs over the course of several months.

This too shall pass, Rube Goldberg Machine

I saw them perform live at this venue called Sodoma few days before new years eve, Sodoma is a great place to hit up if you’re in Reykjavik, they have live shows every other night or so, and whats very special about that place is that, in the mans restroom they have printed and laminated pictures of the bankers and politicians that were blamed for Icelands economical crisis, inside all the urinals, so even if you dont like the music, you can get wasited for pretty cheap and pee on politicians and bankers for your pleasure!

Rocketship

Sweedish Snowboard girl

Here is an album sampler of the first album from the Icelandic electronic dance group Sykur. Frábært eða frábært, (Fantastic or Fantastic ) is out now in Iceland! If youdig this, you should visit www.recordrecords.is and buy it!

Bloodgroup’s second album, Dry Land, was released in Iceland on December 2nd 2009 by Record Records. It has been one of the most successful albums in Iceland since its release, praised by most critics in Iceland.

My Arms

Hips Again

Moving like a tiger

Here is an album sampler of the second album from the Icelandic electronic dance group Bloodgroup, Dry Land. If you like this, you should visit recordrecords and buy the album!

We even made a little teaser!

Pop quiz, hot shot!  What do you do if the album you’ve just finished recording gets leaked all over the internet faster than a picture of a cute kitten with misspelled words on it?

You release the album (streaming) on your own website… mainly out of spite for pirates.

As MGMT states on their site:

Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn’t make sense to anyone but us

At first listen, I can tell this is the type of record that takes a minute to sink into. Not as obvious in the pop dept. as their last go, it almost seems like an album full of fillers until you get to the title track “Congratulations” which not only stands out as an early favorite for me, but also serves as a good example of the type of weird shit that is this album. But again,  I just got my mitts on it, I want to let it sink in. Just think of this as a tap on the shoulder and a point in the right direction.

You can check it out for yourself at:  www.whoismgmt.com

[thnks b! in NY]

But on this mysterious trip of mine, I discovered music that will blow your mind!!

FM Belfast

FM Belfast started out as a duo during Christmas 05 when Arni R Hlodversson and Loa Hjalmtysdottir made a song as a present for their friends. They planed to keep it in the studio, but that changed in 2006 when Arni and Loa performed an art opening in a cave in the Faeroe Islands. Later that year they played their first full concert at the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik.

Underwear

Par Avion

Frequently

The singer of the band is also quoted as saying that “right now, I’m writing music that’s like dancehall meets Steve Reich … I’ve just been recording B-sides, and a song that’s all drums and trains, but it’s more or less pop music. I don’t know if we’ll change our minds, but I’ve been writing a lot of music for bassoon”. While the drummer reveals that their new album is “very 1970, but also quite 1610, 1950, 1979, 1989, 2005 and 2070″… Im beginning to think they’re fucking with our heads.

Their new album, Hidden features their latest single, “We Want War”:

For reference, here is a track from their debut album Beat Pyramid:

Elvis

Turn your crappy computer speakers up, take a break from your jaded and/or unaffected life and allow yourself to be inspired by a weird Icelandic dude that seems to really enjoy beating the crap out of luggage.

Go Do

Go Do (Acoustic)

[via Veronica Gessa's facebook]

Lisztomania

1901

Armistice

Playground Love

I wanted to share a few of their videos and songs, first my favorite, Introducing Palace Players.

Introducing Palace Players

Repeaterbeater

Am I wry, No

Comforting sounds

Beach

make sure you check out their website and get on the mailing list!

Colouring of Pigeons

While listening to the song, I urge you to ponder how the hell it is we come from monkeys. You got about 11 minutes.

You can download the song and read more about the project here.

The Silent Years are straight out of Detroit, Rock City! The DIY band created all of their own artwork, website and they even hand made their stunning debut video clip for “Someone To Keep Us Warm.” Heavily influenced by Elliot Smith, Jeff Buckley and the Flaming Lips.

The band has played previous dates with Mellowdrone, French Kicks, Sound Team, Akron Family, The Processions, Stars Track and Fields, Aqueduct and The Fields. My favorite song of theirs right now is Black hole.

Black hole

On our way home

Someone to keep us warm

The Silent Years – The Sun is Alive by Catherine Tai

I don’t usually discover new music on the radio. New music often comes in the form of an iChat transfer from a friend (or ex-gf, whatever the case may be).  Last week was no exception, I heard the little IM “pop” and accepted the transfer for “The High Road” by Broken Bells.   Turns out, “Broken Bells” is the new collaborative project created by Danger Mouse and  James mercer (The Shins). And it’s amazing.

It’s kinda been at the top of my holiday playlist, so I thought I’d pass it along.

I can neither confirm nor deny that the album, set to be released in March, has been leaked in its entirety. For this reason, I can’t confirm that it too is also amaaazing.

Somewhere in Brooklyn, thousands of hipster’s heads exploded at the sound of the “way-too-cool-unless-you-dont-get-it-then-youre-the-one-thats-lame” song by Beck, Devendra Banhart and MGMT. A colaboration that is nothing short of friggin’ strange. I’ll be honest, I haven’t quite solidified my opinion on the song yet, but judging by my past experiences with the music of these artists individually, I’m willing to listen to the weirdness at least ten more times before I inevitably confirm my suspicion that I kinda don’t like it.

Your results may vary.

For reference, here is the original version of the song by Leonard Cohen

Bonus: Beck, Devendra and MGMT cover of Cohen’s Sisters of Mercy

And the original

Jonsi  - Boy Lilikoi

“Boy Lilikoi”, is now available to download at Jónsi’s brand new website, for the price of an email address. (A lilikoi is a delicious passion fruit, btw.)

Lyrics:

I want to be a lilikoi-boy-lilikoi

You grind your claws, you howl, you growl unafraid of all colour

You run, you’re free, you climb and dress trees – You reignite

You growl, you howl, you show your teeth

You bite and so I

Go, say no more, use your eyes, the world goes and flutters by

Use your eyes, you’ll know you are

Use your eyes, the world goes and flutters by

Use your eyes, you’ll know you are

Why me, my boy, you burn so bright, do you illuminate?

One day you’re out, you give up the fight, you slow down heart-rate

We all grow old, use your life, the world goes and flutters by

Use your life, you’ll know you are

Use your life, the world goes and flutters by

Use your life, you’ll know you are

Electricity wires are down, rainbow colours fade into brown

I dreamt you were smiling, shifting for good

Courageous boy, now you are gone

And run past the Earth, no place to go

Your spirit is grand, so as the Sun

You are……. (light)

You are……. (light)

I want to be a lilikoi-boy, you…

You grind your claws, you howl, you growl, unafraid of all colour

Electricity wires are down, rainbow colours fade into brown

I dreamt you were smiling, shifting for good

Courageous boy, now you are gone

You run past the Earth, no place to go

Your spirit is grand, so as the Sun

You are……. (light)

You are……. (light)

The Album Leaf is an American musical project centred around Jimmy LaValle. The Album Leaf was founded in San Diego, California in 1998. The Album Leaf is usually described as being part of the post-rock genre and uses a variety of instruments and electronic equipment to achieve a mellow sound.

In January 2003, The Album Leaf toured Japan. Immediately following this tour, LaValle was offered to support Sigur Rós European tour. This tour he performed solo and started incorporating electronic beats and loop pedals into his live show in order to perform his songs as a one man band. Later during this tour, Kjartan Sveinsson, Orri Páll Dýrason and María Huld Markan of Sigur Rós and Amiina respectively, began to join LaValle on stage performing on a couple of songs during his half-hour performance slot.

This tour saw the Album Leaf playing at music venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York City, gaining even more popularity for the band. After these tours, LaValle decided to  focus on the Album Leaf full time. In January 2004, LaValle signed with Seattle based record label, Sub Pop Records and Berlin, Germany based European label City Slang Records. LaValle completed In a Safe Place in February 2004. Jón Þór Birgisson, Kjartan Sveinsson, and Orri Páll Dýrason (most of the members of Sigur Rós), María Huld Markan (of Amiina), Gyða Valtýsdóttir (formally of múm), Pall Jenkins and Matt Resovich (of the Blackheart Procession) all contributed to the record with Birgir Jón “Biggi” Birgisson, engineering at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio.

On Your Way

Mixing in Iceland

Over the Pond

Twenty Two Fourteen

Always for You

Fleet Foxes are a five-piece Seattle-based band signed to Sub Pop and Bella Union. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes. Both Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album received much critical praise and reviewers often noted their use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies.

In 2007 Fleet Foxes were becoming increasingly popular and had attracted over a quarter of a million song plays over two months on their Myspace site.

While the group enjoyed moderate success in the United States, Fleet Foxes was better received in Europe, selling over 200,000 copies in the first five months following its release.

White Winter Hymnal directed by Sean Pecknold, off the band’s self-titled Sub Pop 2008 release.

Your protector

Blue Ridge Mountains

He Doesn’t Know Why

Pogo is an Australian Electronic musician that started his career in a punk rock band founded in the 80′s in Moscow. In the 90′s, the members moved to Berlin, where they released the full length album “On the Yeast” on the German Label Impact Records. Now Pogo makes electronic remixes to the sound of films,  his biggest hit so far was ‘Alice’,

Alice – an electronic piece composed using sounds recorded from the Disney film ‘Alice In Wonderland’.

Bangarang

This piece is composed of sounds from the Spielberg classic film ‘Hook’, a sine wave bass, and a few cymbals!

Scrumdiddlyumptious

The track is composed of a sine wave bass, original percussion, and sounds recorded from the candy man scene in ‘Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory’.

Expialidocious

The track is composed of a sine wave bass, custom drum sequences, and sounds recorded from the Disney film ‘Mary Poppins’.

Magic Mary

‘Mary’s Magic’ is an ambient track composed entirely of small sounds recorded from ‘The Secret Garden’.

Download the MP3 here: http://rapidshare.com/files/243336804/MarysMagic.mp3

With that concept in mind, Diesel decided to help boost the music industry and take Diesel:U:Music, a project that began in 2001, and turn in into what has now become one of the largest world tours yet. Diesel:U:Music has stopped by Berlin, New York, Tokyo, Helsinki, Oslo, Paris, Madrid, London, and Vienna, with the next two stops being Miami and Sydney. The tour featured artists like Passion Pit, Theophilus London, The Roots, Peaches, Heartsrevolution, Lilly Allen, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Big Pink, The Cool Kids, The Glimmers, special appearances by Kanye West and Lykke Li, and more.

The next stop of the D:U:M tour will take place on Tuesday, November 17th in Miami, bringing headliners Kid Cudi and Santigold to the Paris Theater (550 Washington Ave) for a night of fun, music, and drinks. A limited amount of passes were handed out at the local Diesel stores and, as an employee, I get in on the fun! Doors open at 9PM on Tuesday, so, if you get a chance, go pick up a ticket at any Miami location.

I’m excited about this upcoming event and I hope to see you all there. In the meantime, check out these videos from the previous stops of the 2009 tour:

Finally it’s out! Phrazes for the Young, Julian Casablancas first solo album, just hit the stores today! I was fortunate enough to get a copy of this precious album two days ago, obviously I’ve been listening to it non stop. My first thoughts after running through all the tracks were quite unsure of this new route that Julian has decided to take. The first track to really catch my attention was the single “11th Dimension.”  the  beat is really catchy, and I love the power in it. What surprised me about this album were the lyrics, It’s great poetry throughout the album.

Even though I know a few Strokes fans that would  think this whole album sound like 12:51 and it’s too soft and whiny, I’m sure that Julian Casablancas will gain a lot more fans in the end.

I’ll let you be the judge of that:

11th Dimension by Julian Casablancas

River Of Breaklights

Aslo make sure you check out this interview with Julian about the album and his inspiration.

and last but not least you need to watch this trailer for the album.. a little bird whispered in my ears that this trailer is the beginning of his music video for the song “Glass.” I will not reveal the birds name nor ethnicity.

Buy this album now

and if you’re a true fan then you shouldn’t miss him on stage in LA in november. and for tickets, click here!

Opening a Devendra Banhart CD comes with mixed emotions; on the one hand, I’m sure I’ll eventually love it… on the other hand, I know I’ll initially be completely thrown by the weirdness of it all. For this reason, I purposefully held back on the mini review of the new album, “What will be” until it sunk in.

The album was co-produced by Banhart and Paul Butler from “A Band of Bees” – and at first listen, the thing that struck me was the heightened sense of production value in comparison to past albums. While Banhart is no stranger to including a wide range of instruments and vocals in his music, they’ve never quite sounded so clear and polished. But staying true to his peculiar style, there are still those elements of deconstruction and musical tangents that feel improvised throughout this record.

I’ll take a leap and guess that a lot of this record was recorded live with all musicians playing at the same time, instead of track by track like most other music. For this suspicion alone, I recommend checking out the album. But be warned: it’s an acquired taste.

The following are a few videos from a live performance on a show called Later with Jules Holland.

BABY

16th & Valencia, Roxy Music

Steed Lord is an Icelandic band that was founded in February (2006) by M.E.G.A, Kali, Demo & AC Bananas. They’ve been making music together as Steed Lord out of pure passion. Together they manage to create banging club music with boomin beats, killer melodies, heavy vocoding & epic synthesizing. They’ve inspired the youth in Iceland like no other, with their badass attitude and kickass live performances. It has brought them all over Europe and now the United States!

The first time I fell in love with Kali (Svala) was when I was about 4 years old. She sang my favorite Christmas song “Eg hlakka svo til” it remained my favorite Christmas song till I was 20 years old and moved to Miami, I taught my Puerto Rican friend this song and about 6 months later, Steed Lord came to Miami to play their first gig over here. They performed at my (at the time, favorite pub) PS14.

That Saturday night my friends came over to my place to kick start the night, we all got really exited to see this Icelandic band that at the time was exploding in Europe. So we go to Ps 14 and right away as we are walking in, I notice their manager that I knew from awhile back, We go to the bar and he gets me a drink, and we start chatting and smoking, meantime my Puerto Rican friend walks into the pub, he notices Kali (the singer) walks up to her and sings to her the Icelandic Christmas song I taught him…

She was obviously speechless and kinda just looked at him like he was an alien, but I thank him for breaking the Ice, we ended up having the greatest time ever, hanging out with Steed Lord and watching them perform among other bands and artists, without a doubt they were the main attraction that night at PS14.

Few days ago, I wrote Kali an email asking her about what was new with Steed Lord and she told me that now they are living in LA, they just finished a 6 month tour in the states. Right now they are in a studio in LA, recording and working on some new songs. Their new remix album is coming out in few days, when it does, they are heading over to Europe for another tour.

After that tour they are going back to LA to charge their batteries for another tour but this time, with the Peaches…

…Holy Moley, that’s right… until we hear more from them, make sure you check out these songs & videos

SteedLord – New Crack City

you might remember this song from Alexis Mincollas Black Sunday video, Dirty Mutha by Steed Lord.

BLACK SUNDAY- DIRTY MUTHA from Alexis Mincolla on Vimeo.

Steed Lord – Take my hand (footage from an Icelandic TV show)

Steed Lord feat CROOKERS – Take my hand

Check out Their Myspace to keep up with their tours and new music!

Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer Andersson, who is one half of the Swedish electro act The Knife (the other half is her brother Olof Dreijer). Andersson was also the lead singer and guitarist for the defunct indie pop group Honey is Cool. The first, self-titled Fever Ray record was released  on January 13, 2009.  Her vocal style is notable for both shrill and deep, distorted tones combined with her distinctive accent and the use of pitch-shifting, while her image as a performer tends to include the wearing of masks and other theatrical elements.

The video was directed by Martin de Thurrah

This video caught my attention today as some cool cat posted it online, I had heard this song awhile back but never ever saw this amazing video to Uffie’s ‘Pop the glock’.

Uffie (Anna-Catherine Hartley) was born in Miami, raised in Hong Kong and now lives in Paris. She is Currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. She incorporates the genres of synthpop, electronica, hip hop, rap and dance into her music and often works with her fellow label-mates, DJ Feadz and Mr. Oizo. Her debut album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans will be released in early 2010

This video was directed by Nathalie Canguilhem, The video in my opinion would be a lot cooler without that tacky bling-bling animation sequence with the flying gold chain and the lipsticks, it’s almost as they started doing that sequence in 2007. . . but overall a kick-ass concept, I love the sexiness of it all and the magazine Scenes are off the hook. Two Thumbs up!

Uffie – ‘Pop the glock’ Directed by Nathalie Canguilhem

Check out Uffie’s Myspace

Saturday nights at Stian Roenning’s Studio 1415 can get pretty interesting, to say the least. This week included a photo shoot with Boston based DJs Pirate Stereo. Also, fish-tank head-dunking, jean-ripping high-kicks and jumping off the top of 12 foot ladders on to a makeshift safety mattress… All in a days work.

In between ladder jumps, we sat down with Pirate Stereo and talked about their music, groupies and the odd requests to play “cumbia” at their gigs.

Myspace: @piratestereo |  Twitter: @piratestereo |  Facebook: Link

Directed/Edited/GFX: Andy Blazquez

Director of Photography: Ingi Lar

Still Photography: Stian Roenning

Creative: Sam Baum

After five minutes of hanging out with Danny Daze, one thing becomes outstandingly clear – This guy IS NOT messing around. Because of a very busy schedule, he hadn’t slept for three days prior to the interview and was leaving to London a few hours after we wrapped. Surprisingly, he remained focused and well-spoken as he shared his thoughts on following his dreams, music and… umm, Dolly Parton?

Artist: Danny Daze  |  Twitter: @dannydaze |  Myspace: @djdannydaze

Director / Editing / GFX: Andy Blazquez
Director of Photography: Ingi Lar
Special Thanks: Bianca Alvarez, Arlette Carlin

It isn’t very often that we get to experience most of Miami’s talent under one roof, all during the same day. Since this kind of occasion does not take place often, we decided we had to be there. This satuday at SOHO studios (view map), we’ll be spending our afternoon, and I am sure most of the night, listening to the best Miami bands and DJs. The day-long festival, headlined by Pharrell Williams’ N.E.R.D. will also include: “lifestyle elements that mirror Miami’s unique culture including: various music genres, art, gaming, action sports, fashion, eco-consciousness, food and more”… TBH, you had me at “action sports”.

Gathering local talent that cover all music genres, the festival also features our friends and local Djs such as Aramis, Ray Milian, Induce (whose new album you can find on iTunes), Dirty Hairy DJs Danny Daze and Contra.

Live band performances will be scattered throughout the day, with bands such as: Awesome New Republic (Miami New Times best band 2009), Afrobeta, Modernage, Spam Allstars and many more…

Get tickets here

Awesome New Republic

Spam All Stars

Afrobeta

Modernage

Other Acts include:

Locos Por Juana, Suenalo, Volumen Cero, Mayday Artofficial, The Hongs, Soniko, Elastic Bond, Fusik, Bachaco, Butta Verses, The Morning Flesh Project, Ketchy Shuby, Lex One, Cynic, DJ Danny Daze, Contra, Tom Laroc, Induce, DJ Elle, Aramis, DJ Pauer, Ray Milian, DJ Artime, Haviken Hayes, DJ Keen One, DJ DBJ, Pusher FM, DJ Mirage, Stevie D

More info at:

Tickets

Festival Website

Im sure most of you have heard of Kid Cudi. Remember that Day N’ Nite song that is currently being played in every club, bar, radio? Well it seems like Im the last person to find out who this guy is.

So I started googling and realized that he just released a new single for the upcoming album titled “Man on the moon: The end of the day”. This single starts with those heavy Ratatat effected strings and slowly builds into the chorus, which is clearly vocalized by MGMT. That adds the perfect tone for the song “Pursuit of happiness”.

I personally love the unique sound of this song, produced by Ratatat,  and while I enjoy any music featuring MGMT , there’s something that doesn’t fully convince me about this track… maybe the lyrics are too lame but I’ll let you be the judge.

The album is set to come out on September 15th.

Check out the song

UPDATE: Actually, youtube removed the video due to copyright restrictions. But at the very least you know the song exists…

There is no way to explain how influential they have been throughout their careers… and I knew that having the possibility of seeing them perform all the songs that I love was unique. Who knows if I’m going to get a second chance to experience it? Also, knowing the opening act, Peter, Bjorn & John, it was something no one would want to miss out on.

Depeche Mode has been touring the globe for the release of their latest CD, Sounds Of The Universe. The tour went under the nam

e Tour Of The Universe (how appropriate), and it took them everywhere from Europe to North America, South America, and back to Europe again. The band is sch

eduled to finish the trip around the end of February, adding the dates that were cancelled a couple of months ago.

The possibility of the show at Bank Atlantic Center getting cancelled was the big scare. Lots of dates had to be postponed due to healt

h issu

es, leaving a certain degree of worry in my mind. I don’t know what I would have done with myself if I was left without a show. Luckily, no band members were injured or sick… and I got my show.

Day-of was here and we drove up to Weston to  pre-game and to later head to the arena all together. We turned out to be a crew of 10 people, from which only Ray had already seen the band perform. He told us that being a first-timer in a Depeche Mode show was like not being born yet. We drove to the arena and I soon began to appreciate the magnitude of their success: fans gathered from all areas; there wasn’t an appropriate age or gender, and I could finally see for myself just how there wasn’t just one type of fan, but a mass of mainstreamers, grown up goths in their forties, loyal fans in their thirties, hipsters in their twenties, and even ten year old kids.

I can’t really put in words how the show was. Amazing would not be enough. The enthusiasm that the band exuded was the biggest gift they could have given us, as we danced, screamed, and sang along with Dave. I know I will never forget that night, there are no need for pictures as reminders of what I experienced. For those who were not there or simply want to know what they played in order, here is the complete set-list:

In Chains
Wrong Hole To Feed
Walking In My Shoes
It’s No Good
A Question Of Time
Precious
Fly On The Windscreen
Little Soul
A Question Of Lust Miles Away / The Truth Is
Policy Of Truth
In Your Room
I Feel You
Enjoy The Silence
Never Let Me Down Again

Encore #1
Shake The Disease
Stripped
Behind The Wheel

Encore #2
Personal Jesus (here is a clip from the show)

The new movie, set to come out this fall, features a series of short films based around the city of New York. Created by a collaboration of different filmmakers and an extensive cast of well known actors including Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon, Cristina Ricci, Shia Labeouf, Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, Bradley Cooper, Robin Wright Penn and many more.

Similar to Paris Je T’aime and Tokyo, this movie is based on the same concept of different love stories told throughout the city.

The combination of directors and actors got my immediate attention but the trailer also features my favorite song of the year. I can’t wait to hear the soundtrack to this movie.

In Bb 2.0 is a collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from Science for Girls, and developed with contributions from users. The videos can be played simultaneously — the soundtracks will work together, and the mix can be adjusted with the individual volume sliders.

Start playing with it now!

Expectations were through the roof as I stood in line waiting to get in. it was definitely a weird set up; wooden tables in the middle of the dance floor made Kukaramakara look cluttered. People were sitting and chatting like it was a picnic on a Sunday afternoon, but the music set a different tone. The DJ was spinning some familiar south American tunes and it was a nice atmosphere, which I did not expect out of a Colombian club, sorry!

I had made my way to one of the guys from the crew and told him about my intentions of sitting down with the band to have a quick chat, he took my card and said I might be able to after the show. I was a woman with a mission.

Needless to say, the show was beyond amazing. Babasonicos sounded great, better than ever, and with that classic badass attitude that they exude. The set list consisted of mostly newer songs, but I was surprised to hear their classic “Seis Virgenes Descalzas” (or six barefoot virgins). Opening with Cuello Rojo from their latest album, Mucho, they started off with great energy and made us dance from the get-go. Considering I wasn’t at my usual concert alcohol levels, it was amazing.

During the show, I had set myself directly in front of the stage, right in the middle. I could have smelled their sweat, if I had tried, that is.  When the show ended, Mariano, the guitarist, approached me and asked if my name was Barbie. I nodded, shocked, but I tried to keep it together. One of the crewmembers approached me and told me he would take me backstage for an interview. Ten minutes and a backstage wristband later, there I was: smoking cigarettes with Babasonicos, my favorite South American band.

This is my attempt to explain the oddness of the situation. There were girls everywhere, alcohol, and equipment being moved back and forth. I sat down and chatted with them about fans, travel, music, and fashion. I sat with lead singer Adrian Dargelos, Mariano “Roger” Dominguez, Diego “Uma-T” Tuñon, and Carca, and went on and on for about two whole hours, while the rest of the band walked around the place.

One of the first things I noticed was that there were no more camera flashes in the room. I then learned that it somehow bothered some of the guys in the band that people would only take pictures or record videos from the show… for them, it is all about living the moment through your eyes, not a screen. I agreed. Besides, how else would you enjoy the hypnotizing music and moves if you were living it through a lens?

I asked guitarist, Mariano “Roger” Dominguez, how the tour had been so far. He said that he was happy to have toured again, but that playing 40 cities in 90 days is exhausting. Miami was their last stop in the US, and they are playing in Chile in a few days.

For those who know about the beginnings of Babasonicos, the band started off with a very experimental sound, which made people label them as indie music, or new wave. It was after their album Jessico, that they reached a mainstream fan base. Mariano discussed how people now accuse them of selling out, but then I looked around the room and thought, if selling out allows you to travel the world, play for a crowd, and party? Why not? If it pays the bills…

They explained how they are humbled every time they visit the US. This is not their turf. Apparently, they are allowed to go all out in South America while touring, but being in this country is different. They have yet to break through the American market. This topic made me drift off to the more personal questions and fans. What was it about them that made the girls want to tear their clothes off for them?

It seemed like every guy in the room was chatting some girl up. There was something about this group of Argentine men that drove us nuts, not going to lie. Somehow, though, it didn’t seem as if the guys were all trying to find a female companion for their last night in Miami. As I looked over to say hi to a friend, I asked Diego “Uma-T Tuñon (keyboards), why he hadn’t stopped dancing throughout the show. He joked around and said that he enjoys dancing more than playing. He was definitely the funkiest looking guy out of the bunch.

I began to talk about music. Being a huge Depeche Mode fan, I brought the subject up. As some of you might know, DM is performing this Saturday, September 5^th. Mariano enlightened me and told me which album he liked the most (Ultra) and that they opened for Depeche Mode, along with INXS and Soul Asylum, in Argentina back in 1994. He said that everyone hated them. Funny how things work, right?

In the middle of the show, I had typed up the name of one of their songs on my phone: PARAGUAYANA. I got his attention while he was playing; he came up to me and read what I had written. He then told me that he thought it was hilarious. I guess I had managed to amuse him by wanting them to play one of my favorite songs… Mariano said it was an old song, that somehow, they might have forgotten how to play it.

After that, I was the one answering the questions. How long ago did I leave Argentina? Who do I live with here? Do I ever go back? It seemed surreal to be hanging out with the guys that give a soundtrack to my life.  I explained that I am a fashion design student, that I work retail besides interviewing people backstage (and write about fashion) for Life.is.

The conversation turned to fashion. Babasonicos stopped by The Webster. They said they were mesmerized: so many cool clothes, so expensive. I told them that it was pretty much the most exclusive boutique in Miami.

It was getting late, I was exhausted but wanted to keep chatting with the band. When some girl walked in to have the boys sign some underwear she had bought, the guys seemed a little put off. Mariano whispered saying she had made him sign eight of those already.

I offered to take them on a night out on the town, but, apparently, their entourage was too big to try to organize anything. Wanting to spend more time with them, I sadly hugged them goodbye. I knew I had gotten what I wanted. My goal of stepping backstage had been accomplished and it was time go home.

Here is the complete set list for those crazy fans, like me:

Cuello Rojo

El Idolo

El Colmo

Las Demas

Como Eran Las Cosas

Seis Virgenes Descalzas

Pijamas

Yo Anuncio

Irresponsables

Carismatico

Yegua

Pendejo

Asi Se Habla

Y Que?

Putita

Estoy Rabioso

Microdancing

Encore included Risa and Sin Mi Diablo.

Last sunday I had the pleasure to enjoy an amazing music-filled day in my new neighborhood (Williamsburg-Brooklyn). The city has been doing summer concerts every sunday called The Pool Parties, just a couple of blocks from where I live. The months of July and August were filled with 3 to 5 band sets in one amazing location overseeing the East River and Manhattan…Unfortunately, missed most of them.

The Pool Parties performances include bands like Dirty Projectors, The Black Lips, Deerhunter, Fiery Furnaces, Girl Talk and more. Grizzly Bear was the headliner for the end of the concert series and this time I couldn’t miss it for anything in the world. It was stunning to hear such a talented group of guys, all singing and switching instruments without any effort from clarinets and flutes to electronic ones and some instruments I couldn’t even recognize. I’ve always been a fan of their harmonies and the mix between electronic and traditional instruments so it was great to see how it is that they do it.

There were two more bands who I’ve never heard of but they were pretty cool, Vega and Beach House, Vega was more like a happy band from Texas, they reminded me a lot of Black Kids. Beach House was a good combination of a head singing girl with a beautiful voice, a good looking guy with experimental guitars and a drummer who just kept the beat. Overall I enjoyed their songs.

One of the highlights of Grizzly Bear’s performance was the song “Two Weeks” which is a very popular one, they brought out the girl from Beach House to do the harmonies while the sunset was reflecting rays on the stage, so the combination of a pink sky with the empire state building as the backdrop just made the whole experience almost surreal for a Miami girl who’s used to driving 2 hours north to hear the good music in an amphitheater overseeing a parking lot.

I realized this weekend that my little Samsung cell phone actually take decent pictures, check them out.

I found this video online

Check out the Pool Parties Website

Check out Grizzly Bear’s Website

Check out  Beach House’s Website

A friend once asked me if I was depressed because I listened to their music all the time. I must accept that The Walkmen is not the typical rock band out there with upbeat sounds, synths and all this new 80′s era of music. That’s probably the reason why I fell in love with The Walkmen a couple of years ago.

I’ve been lucky enough to see them play a couple of times in the past, but two weeks ago I had the chance to hear them live in a free concert in Central Park and I have to say that it’s one of those bands that sound amazing while performing live, as good as the album or even better. They’ve been doing this since they were 10 years old and they prefer the density of vintage musical instruments including an upright piano that makes an overall mix of garage sounds with a melancholic experience like remembering an old lover from the 50′s, a time that none of us lived, but it’s just part of the experience. It does sound like a old band that our grand parents might have danced in a dancehall at some point, perhaps on the night our parents were conceived.

The Walkmen has been a good friend lately, the recent move to a new city has brought me a lot of time to be by myself, to just walk around with my ipod and think, observe and listen to their early stuff while staring at Manhattan high rises built in the early 50′s. I hasn’t been hard to get lost in “The Walkmen Experience”.

In case you’ve been living in an underground hole and never heard about them you should take a look at their old stuff that is so beautiful and deep.

Check out a video created by Fader TV at the Guggenheim Museum for the “It came from Brooklyn” concert series.

Last week, the Walkmen released a new animated video for the song “On The Water” from their 2008 album “You & Me”. I absolutely love this song, well the whole album is amazing as all of The Walkmen stuff.

Check out a video by BBC in which The Walkmen performs at a studio one of my favorites songs of this decade “In the New Year”

Check out the Official Website of The Walkmen

The xx is a young London group consisting of Romy and Oliver, the two lead vocalists. Just heard them for the first time this morning and I’m really digging them, especially the Them Jeans edit of “Shelter” which gives the restrained and delicate original a pumping back beat. This band shows a tremendous amount of promise, especially considering they’re all only 19.  Their eponymous debut album is out now.

DOWNLOAD

The xx – “Shelter“

The xx – “Crystalized“

The xx – “Infinity“

The xx – “Islands“

The xx – “Shelter” (Them Jeans Drum Edit)

The Big Pink (Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell ) are British, and as a fan of most things over the pond, this band rocks. They craft a sound with an anthemic, distorted, reverbed quality that I’ve missed from my Shoegaze days. I was introduced to them when a friend showed me the video for their single “Velvet.” I was immediately blown away. The ferocity of the guitars, pulsing drums, and haunting lyrics combined with near-perfect visuals left a deep impression. My words can’t really do them justice so watch, listen, and grab their album A Brief History of Love on September 15. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and it kills from start to finish. My highest recommendation.

Here are two videos with their corresponding mp3s:

VELVET

DOMINOS

MP3s

Velvet & Dominos

You can find more background on the band here.

I always get amazingly excited when bands pay a visit to Miami. Its been almost three years since Babasonicos, my all-time favorite band from Argentina, has played here… and they will be blowing my brains out again this Saturday 29th. Playing at an all-too-familiar venue, the previously called Studio A, now Kukaramakara, Babasonicos will present their new material and also take us down memory lane with their past hits.

Babasonicos is not one of those new bands that just appeared out of nowhere. They got together in the early 90s, and were mostly an indie band, surviving off of their steady fan base, until one album changed everything. They had established the New Wave sound in Argentina and were walking a different path, setting them apart from the rest of the music industry down in that country. One of my favorite albums from their early era is Trance Zomba, a mix of sounds and harmonies that was almost hypnotizing for me. I then learned that they had added a DJ to the band, who stayed with them until after the release of their album called Miami, which was recorded here, in our beautiful city. Other albums released during their beginnings were Pasto, Vedette, and Dopadromo.

It was in 2001, with their massive release of their simpler yet still amazing album, Jessico, that the band hit stardom. Great album, if you ask me. I have spent hours jamming to Jessico, with tracks such as Delectrico, El Loco, and my favorite, Los Calientes.

After Jessico, they dropped two more albums, Infame and Anoche. They were even more successful with the new fans, easier to love in that same Babasonicos vibe. I had been expecting a new album for a while, but then the unfortunate death of one of the members last year had the fans torn between compassion and expectancy. We did not know what would become of them. Amazingly, and much to everyone’s surprise, Babasonicos made it through the storm and released their latest album, Mucho, in 2008. Microdancing, the first single’s video…

Nominated in several ocassions for the MTV Latin American Music Awards (won Best Rock Artist in 07), and the Argentinean Premios Gardel, Babasonicos have made a name for themselves; and I cannot wait to see them perform again, just like I have experienced it many times before.

WHERE? CLUB KUKARAMAKARA (EX STUDIO A)

ADDRESS 71 NW 14TH ST, MIAMI, FL, 33136

WHEN? SATURDAY, AUGUST 29TH – DOORS OPEN AT 8PM

BUY TICKETS ONLINE, $30 (SO WORTH IT!)

Event is 21+, but, come on… this is Miami. Get creative! See you there!