25. February 2008 by Emmett.

OK…I’m torn on this one. I love all the people involved, the video is good despite being low-budget, and the beeper fashion is goofy enough to be interesting. But the Sinden/Herve/Switch sound has been inching closer and closer to speed garage, and this one kind of puts it over the top (minus the timestretched vocals).

I remember hanging out with these younger kids in high school, they would skip class, wear raver pants every day, get really stoned in their friends’ cars, and play obnoxious music at all times. One kid had bought box sets from HMV of this shit- he basically had 6 CDs of UK hard house, and 6 of speed garage. 2 cube-shaped parcels of aural displeasure. That was all he would want to put in the car stereo, all day, every day. Didn’t even matter whose car he was in.

So, um, I really want to like this, but I’m starting to get weird flashbacks to that time, and oh god pull OVER I NEED TO GET OUT GODDAMN IT MITCH BUY SOME NEW MUSIC AAAAAAAUUGHGHG

Posted in Music | No Comments »

25. February 2008 by Emmett.

First of all, I grew up in the middle of nowhere in Ontario, with no cable TV, internet, nothing. So I never knew what was going on in music and “culture” except what I heard at school.
Anyways, after spending 5 years in the US, I moved back to Canada in high school and sort of evaluated Canadian music for the first time. I remember liking rappers like Choclair (kinda), Rascalz (you remember “Northern Touch,” right?), and Kardinal Offishall. That was…9 years ago.
Point is, other than K-Os, who is an passable rapper but kind of went hippie, Kardinal is still the only guy worth noting in a country of 30+ million.  (Am I forgetting anyone??)

Anyway, Kardi got signed to Akon’s label, good for him. Maybe he’ll start getting some play down south. He also did a great mixtape with Clinton Sparks  (get it here) and a Wire-themed video with Akon:

Posted in Music | 4 Comments »

22. February 2008 by Emmett.

So, Justice & DJ Mehdi were here last night, and I got the hangover to prove it. The venue was a really big, baroque-style hall, with bars on both sides. Maybe 4000 people.

Mehdi opened really well, played lots of good electro, and some surprising stuff too (Kanye - Flashing Lights, MIA - XR2). I saw him & A-Trak in Vancouver, and it was great too- check this guy out if you get a chance.

Justice came on and did their thing, everybody freaked out, sang along, crowd surfed, threw beer cups, etc. It was a straight up concert, my first one in a long time.

Anyway, here’s a couple clips from their show in Stockholm this month- gives you an idea of what they’re playing these days.

Posted in Music, Berlin | No Comments »

20. February 2008 by Emmett.

the label that got me into DJing and electronic music…respect.

Posted in Music | 1 Comment »

18. February 2008 by Emmett.

Since I’ve been living in Berlin, I’ve been contacted by a lot of people in Canada who are interested in coming over here and seeing if the city’s reputation for debauchery holds up.

I thought I would put together a short, far-from-complete list of the key nightspots…this is kind of necessary in Berlin, as nothing cool has a big sign.

Weekend

Located on the 12th floor of an office building at Alexanderplatz, the club’s visibility makes it a big draw for tourists and locals. Chic, dark, and expensive (cover is at least €10). They open the 15th floor and the roof for special events.

Expect: trendy minimal techno, hot people, empty wallets. Grade: B

Berghain/Panorama Bar

An old power plant in a sketchy part of town, with lots of the original equipment left as “decor.” Capacity of around 1500, which is certainly reached on saturday nights- pure madness across 3 floors and 6 bars, with unbelievable peak-time lineups. Very gay-friendly, open atmosphere, with no cameras allowed. Top-notch music as well (Laurent Garnier! Carl Craig!)

Expect: to stay a while. Grade: A

Maria am Ostbahnhof

What looks like an abandoned building on the east part of the river, on the border of the old wall, actually houses one of the better-known clubs in the city. Diverse musical selection, from hip hop and drum n bass to hard techno. Art on the walls gets changed fairly often, and the sound system is banging. Lineups don’t get too crazy. Definitely worth checking out for a special event.

Expect: a mix of young people, good dancefloor, sore eardrums. Grade: B+

Rodeo Club (Auguststraße 5a)

The trendiest place I’ve graced with my presence up til now, somehow squeezed into the back part of a museum. Snooty entrance policies and long lines set the tone as you come in. The main bar is stunning, with a ridiculously high domed ceiling, but the lack of a decent sound system, and so-cool-it-hurts staff and patrons really suck the fun out of it.

Expect: to roll your eyes a lot. Grade: D+

Click here for part two.

pics taken from residentadvisor.net

Posted in Berlin | 3 Comments »

16. February 2008 by Emmett.

Discobelle put up a stream of the Paper Planes remix EP, which is just stacked…

Blaqstarr and Diplo put new vocals over the beat- Bun B (!!!), Rich Boy, Rye Rye, and Afrikan Boy all put a verse down. The DFA remix is a pretty slick disco interpretation, and there’s the obligatory Baltimore mix from Scottie Boy. The sleeper on this one is the Adrock remix, which gives it kind of a sinister dub feel.

The entire EP playlist is available here.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

16. February 2008 by Emmett.

I wanted to put up a post about this blog…lots of tracks & mixes on the electro-minimal-techno tip, but more interesting to me, there’s also frequent posts from producers about how they approach remixes and production work. There’s a new post on there from Jacob London, one of my favourite remixers, talking about chopping up hundreds of 80’s pop songs into a single track. And, of course, the track is available for download at the end.

Also worth downloading on there is a sleazy disco mix from Pretty Titty. Check it.

Posted in Music | 2 Comments »

14. February 2008 by Emmett.

Back up your hard drives, kids.

My laptop just decided to shuffle off this mortal coil, taking all my music, photos, and important documents along for the ride. Damn. The 4 months of travel pics and the purchased Beatport downloads sting the most. I had Windows reinstalled, but now it’s in German. Wunderbar.

On the bright side, I got accepted to law school in Canada, so it looks like I will get the priviledge of a Canadian winter once again.

 Oh, and this video is face-meltingly awesome.
Bears Are Coming

Meinem Profil hinzufügen | Mehr Videos

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

8. February 2008 by Emmett.

Goodvibey soul/disco mix over on Discobelle, courtesy of Sir Nenis…..go here.

Posted in Music | No Comments »

8. February 2008 by Emmett.

What?? WHAAAT???

The most unlikely basketball trade one could imagine. Shaq’s creaky, currently injured, non-jumping, $20-mil-a-year corpse being shipped out to the NBA’s quickest and most entertaining offense. Madness.

But I’m not totally giving up hope. If you want a flashback to high-school-age gangly Shaq, and you’re looking for a definition for the phrase “man among boys,” just watch this youtube clip…

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »