Phat Pheed

I am a person in pheedatory

2008-02-04T13:58:00.001-05:00

the only one

UBIQ Fatima X Batman

2007-10-30T15:10:00.000-05:00

For James-O and Jer...maybe one of you will dig 'em.

It also comes in black/white if you fancy that.

ATTN: LADIES

2007-09-27T06:23:00.001-05:00

If you got the booty

buy this up

Look familiar?

The pattern's on a bunch of stuff over at Oki-Ni as well

Turns out it's a dude's (Insa) graffiti tag

He's got a KR Dunny and a new hoodie with it too

It never really tickled my fancy before, and it still doesn't much, but those swimsuits are faaaantastic

Spread the word.

(plus his blog has some other cool stuff too)

2007-09-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

this ad aired recently here in the UK, and incidentally its the greatest commercial ever

not what you expect, and just pure awesomeness

enjoy

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zdVoc8FXhz0&feature=bz301

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS

2007-09-11T06:32:00.000-05:00

Staple via Digital Gravel
Pictures are oddly sized so just go to DG to see better ones!

New Pumas

2007-08-20T23:45:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling this is getting a bit bare, so here's an update many have seen, but if you haven't, it's mindfreak time.

Alife Puma First Rounds. Unless you aren't aware of the debacle Har and I went through to ultimately not get these, it was totally shitty. Kickin' sneaks though. I've honestly never seen this model before, and from what Alife did here, looks like we may be seeing a bit more of it.

Here, though, are the Sneakers n Stuff clydes, straight out of Sweden. Hot, hot, hot. Clearly nordic inspired, they're really refreshing and just a really interesting shoe.

Now that we're all in different cities, I think the pheed will probably become a lot more active.

TOK SO FAR IN BREIF

2007-07-17T03:01:00.000-05:00

YO

found out how to do a post, thank christ. Anyway in a small follow up to Mills post (which was solid) Ill briefly go ove rthe store Ive seen so far in Tok, Ill go into further detail upon my return to Merica.
First, and most importantly, Tokyo is the shit, it is way too hip, way too stylin, way too fuckin awesome. EVERYTHING lights up and vending machines are every ten feet. I have seen the following vending machines or 販売機　so far: drinks (most obvious), rice, eggs, vegetables, booze, ramen, hot food(fries, hotdogs), juice boxes, ice cream and snacks. Its fuckin crazy. Anyway, Im out here in Konosu, which is about an hour outside of Tok by train (similar relationship as Wepo-NYC). Unfortunatly, Japan has decided upon adopting THE single most confusing address system the world has ever seen, i.e. 2-3-17 Jingumae, Shibuya. Now, Jingumae isnt a street, its quite a large series of blocks, so the numbers dont help in anyway, the only people here who have maps showing these mysterious numbers are the police. you basically find shit by looking around for it in a general area (altho, as Log and I later found out, once youve been thru it once, its pretty easy to retrace your steps. So, here goes:

XLarge: The very first store Log and I found (ran into is more like it tho) was XLarge. XLarge is a pretty lame brand in the states, but here in 日本 its pretty fuckin awesome. So, the store has two levels, the ground floor has a bunch of new shit on display, the basement older shit. They had alot of sick collabs, one with Sprite, one with David Flores, one with A Tribe Called Quest, etc. The collabs are sweet, and I was tempted to get a David Flores tee or bearbrick, but resisted. The music in XLarge is solid, seeing as C.R.E.A.M was the first track I heard upon entering...

Supreme: The next store we ran into was Supreme, which helped us out with a large banner. Supreme holds the 2F of a building they share with Neighborhood, if you ask me, thats a pretty fuckin legendary building. The Supreme space is a really cool area that seems open with a big window overlooking the street below. As usual, great shit, and they had a rack of shit by companys like aNYthing, which suprised me.

Neighborhood: You all know how pretencious NGHBD is, yea, well just imagine that in a space. All the windows are blacked out, and theres hardly enough lighting to make out the overpriced products. They play Johnny Cash and the likes inside. Overall, I was dissapointed with it, at least it was cheaper than it is in the States, and (lord knows) the UK. The weirdest thing we saw in there was a china teapot in the form of Hitlers head, but what can you expect from them...

atmos: Next was the Tokyo original atmos, they had a really cool space, all the shoes are in concrete cubes. Its a pretty minimal space, but altho famous for the shoes, its the tees and accessories that will keep you interested. With great collabs with Levis, Hello Kitty, and most recently, Bandai, you cant go in without pickin somethin up.

Recon: Recon was next, but it was the same as it is in NY, in my opinion, nothin special.....

UNDFTD/Stussy: These two heavyweights also share a building, the Stussy store didnt do too much for me tho...eh, nice space tho, two floors. UNDFTDs space was definatly the highlight of the building, altho small, it displayed the most limited kicks, and their sick clothing line, great atmosphere there, and very friendly staff.

Heatwave: The Buy-Sell stores in Tok are DEF a must hit, have so much old gear for sick prices. Heatwave is on the 2nd floor of a building, across from XLarge, its the most famous of all the buy-sell streetwear stores, altho it smells funny, its a must hit.

UT: Dont get me wrong, I loved the UT store, but after having had to go 3 times, I got a little sick of it. The space is fantastic tho, def the easiest to find of all of them, its right on Meiji Dori, which is the main street in Harajuku. You all prolly know how theyve set it up, tees everywhere, great designs, the main treat is the price tho.

Bape/BBC/Ice Cream: What would you expect from these brands? Shitty products for mucho dinero. BBC and Ice Cream occupied the main floor while Bape took the basement. I gotta say, the BBC space was really awesomly designed, to enter you go thru this neon tunnel that has their BS motto in the wall, it looks like a spaceship tho, very cool, shame its such shitty gear...

F.I.L.: stands for free international labrotories, Visvims space, slightly out of the way, its in the basement of its building. SO MINIMAL, almost couldnt stand it, all sleek white lines, with prices even higher than Neighborhoods, which suprised me. The shoes they have are cool, but 250 bucks for KAWS slip ons.....no. Incredibly pretencious, if you ask me, not worth going, at the end of the day, its just a fucking stripey shirt you could get at Wal Mart for 250 bucks.

RealMadHectic: Gotta say, expected more of this place. Tokyo exclusive, and all that. Really wasnt too great of a store, cool design, its below the Carhartt store, but the stock just doesnt blow you away, had a decent selection of shoes, overall tho, wasnt as good as I hoped itd be.

KIKS TYO: In Shibuya, specifically on Cat Street, a name that boggled my host mom for hours, lies KIKS TYO. I was expecting SO MUCH of this place and wanted to get these hot new Balance I thought had just dropped. Turns out theyre not out till November, and the that took about 20 minutes to find out because NO ONE there speaks a word of English. It was a pretty small space, real small compared to all the others. Didnt have anything that really blew me away, shame.

AOYAMA
If you head down Omotosando, a main road in Harajuku, you arrive in Aoyama. Aoyama is much lower key than Harajuku, which is kinda odd considering it has all the main designer stores. Doesnt have much streetwear except two KEY players.

Tab Device: Can you say coolest designed store ever? Made to look like an apartment, Tab Device blows you away on impact, every room displays something new, the bathroom upstairs is a changing room, and laid out on the bed are tee shirts. its super UG. even better, theres an entire room walled with mirrors and carpeted in red fabric with a giant gold horse in it, that room, is the Fragment Denim room. Its amazing. Altho they cant really speak English, the staff are super nice, there was one guy with a green trucker hat who totally rocked out. Anyway, great space, great stock, and everything they release will sell out in days, so get it while its hot.

Original Fake: Probably the hardest to find of all the stores, in the basement of a random building. SO AWESOME. I love KAWS, everyone should. The design was AWESOME, one side is grey with metal floors dedicated to the clothing line, and the other black dedicated to toys and other shit. There are registers on both side, the sides are seperated by a GIANT KAWS companion. So all the shit is awesome, and reasonably priced compared to the US and UK prices (85 dollars in Union vs. 50 in OF fora shirt? Yes please) And with a 40% off sale on practically everything, the store went to the top of my list.

So thats pretty much it, some homeruns, some swings and misses, but overall, Tokyo is certainly up with NY, I could easily say well ahead of, but I love Alife too much to say so... DEF a hit up spot (somewhat obviously) Tok is like the basecamp, where every brand sets up their own space, so if you know what you want and what brands you dig, its untouchable, se easy to blow money here... and its not just Tok, this whole fuckin country rocks out, its up there with Germany as one of my all time faves. TOKYO IS FUCKING MASSIVE

City Guide

2007-07-10T02:49:00.000-05:00

So, having just come back from a trip to a handful of great cities, I figured it would be cool to type up a little guide to some of the bigger cities and what you can find there in terms of fashion and music. I'm also still on Berlin time, and so woke up at about 3:30 in the morning, so I have nothing else to do. So here goes...

LONDON

I won't talk about London much because most of us know what's what in the LDN. I think we all know the important places to hit up, so I wont really mention them. The only new place I went to was the New Era store, which is really awesome. I can't wear hats and look really dumb in them, but this is the kind of store that makes people like me angry. A bunch of awesome London-specific hats as well as some kickass superhero hats. They had Superman hats which were kind of lame, Batman hats which I think most of us have seen and are awesome, and my favs were the Spider Man hats. Other than that, though, it was all the usuals, seeing as I had little time, but all had some great new (to me) stuff in.

PARIS

Paris is interesting because they don't have much of a scene when it comes to our stuff. There are three names that come to mind when one mentions Paris, and those are Colette, La MJC and Sold Out!, only one of those being a physical store. However, Colette happens to be one of the coolest stores I've ever been to. The first floor has loads of tables with huge books on graffiti, toys, you name it. It also has a rather large music section, playing almost exclusively good dance music. Har may be happy to know that Ed Banger, Kitsune and co. are all well represented here, but even more so is the minimal scene. There is a wall of CDs from the likes of M_nus, Kompakt, and all the others. On the back wall there are six or so iPods with all of the CDs loaded on so you can listen to the CDs. They also have a little batch of records, and, while I saw a couple of goodies, they were pricy.

Which brings be to the problem with Colette: pretty much everything is overpriced there. Upstairs is where the fashion is, and you see many of the latest fashion for ladies which is awesome, and then you get to the streetwear corner (probably the most crowded area of the store). Here, the couple of Air Force 1s are rather lame but cost a lot. Same with the tees and jackets: maybe a couple things from good companies, but mostly dominated by BBC and stuff like it, which I happen to hate and I think most will agree with me on. However, Colette is most certainly awesome, and a good place as more of a museum than a store. Other than that, Paris, while a great city, is not so big on really good record stores or clothing stores.

KOELN

In terms of streetwear, nada. It's not a terribly big city and not one in which I would expect to find much streetwear, and, popping my head into a couple of stores that showed semi-cool shoes in the window, I found no stores with anything very special. However, that is not the reason I'm talking about it: Koeln is all about Kompakt. Kompakt has defined Koeln musically, and you can walk around hearing the sounds of various Kompakt records in your head.

My trip to Kompakt was a very big highlight. It's a massive store, which records from every label I've ever cared to look at spanning back years. They also, of course, have the freshest releases on display, and it's easy to spend half a day there just listening to new records on the turntables.

BERLIN

Berlin, being such a huge city, I will split into two: Former East and Former West Berlin.

WEST BERLIN

West Berlin contains one of the best stores in Berlin period: Solebox. Solebox is in Charlottenberg and very far from where all of the other stuff is, so it would not be in a typical 'SoHo' run, but is worth it (we were staying in Charlottenberg, so it wasn't out of the way for us). They have a deal with Nike SB and, because of this, have the biggest collection of the best dunks I've ever seen. They also have the best Adidas I have seen anywhere (including Adidas stores in both New York and Berlin!). It's hard to leave Solebox with only a couple of items, then, but somehow I managed. Aside from one of the best selections of shoes you may ever see, they have plenty of awesome clothes. Unfortunately, again, BBC and Ice Cream are prevalent here, but they also carry MHI stuff as well as other good brands. Hikmet, who owns the place, is really nice and will help you with anything.

Other than that, not much in terms of fashion in West Berlin. Kreuzberg has the Overkill Shop, which is not bad, but Kreuzberg is much better for records. The famous Hardwax is there, as are plenty of other record stores.

EAST BERLIN

...is where it's at. There's SoHo in New York and London, and then there is the area northwest of Alexanderplatz in Berlin. The highlight is certainly Wood Wood, which, along with Wood Wood stuff, carries the freshest in men's and women's fashion, including MHI's more expensive brother Maharishi. I'm sort of convinced I saw Richie Hawtin there, but I wasn't sure enough to ask. Anyway, aside from Wood Wood there is Trainer, which is Solebox's sister store, as well as Apartment, which sells tons of good stuff from Supreme and the like. Scattered throughout are stores which looked really cool, but I didn't have time to go to, as well as the 3rd Adidas store I saw in Berlin and a Comme des Garcons a little north of the area. (All in Mitte, sort of boardering Prenzlauer Berg). Mitte also has plenty of great record stores, but again, I was so crunched for time that I couldn't possibly have visited many of them.

Obviously there is a lot more than that, and most reading this I will see in person and talk to about all these places, but I didn't want this to be too long, so it's very kurz. It's now very obvious to me that, in terms of clothing, there are four places you want to be: New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo. Speaking of, hopefully James can update us on Tokyo when he gets back.

DAAAAAAAMN

2007-06-29T11:23:00.001-05:00

HAFJSHJASHDJAHSD Nike is bossy and in charge, that is all that matters.

In about two months urrbody will be heading off to school, unless they are old and decrepit, and urrbody is gonna need some new supplies to take wonderful notes and make use of their education. So Nike has decided to help out a bit and put some school supplies you can snatch up to be prepared for a full year of learnin'!

First of all, you'll be needing a notebook to put your scribblings in. Nike has you covered!

But wait! You'll be needing something to write with too or that notebook is totally useless. Why not get some crayons?

And then you can get some elmer's glue I guess. You really don't need it but uh, yeah why not (PS I don't think much of these).

So yeah! Don't forget to pick these up when you're shopping for binders and bookbags and all.

I stole all these photos from uptowns

Summer is here...

2007-06-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it's summer, and immediately Ibiza comes to mind. There will be loads and loads of new releases, label compilations, live shows, residencies and everything in the coming months, and so I'll start by reviewing some new releases that you'll be hearing all summer.

Loads to review, so I'll just start of with Mr. Dear (who is featured on, count em, four of the five releases reviewed here).

False
Fed on Youth
Minus 55

The first single from his upcoming album "2007" under his False moniker, Dear returns a week after the release of his monster "Asa Breed" to release a proper False release. Fed on Youth returns to sirens and wails, but this time they are more subdued and much more..foreboding. There's an anxiety to the track that just builds and builds and soon sirens are all around us. Listen to this at three in the morning; it's devestating. Face the Rain again builds loads of tension but is never quite resolved, something Dear loves doing. It's not as rough as Fed on Youth, but just as good. No idea which is the A-side, as both are killers, but considering Fed on Youth is included on the next release I'm reviewing, I'd say it's the A-side. It's good to see Dear return to False, as his releases as Audion over the past couple of years have been predominantly for the dance floor, where this release, while very dancefloor-compatible, is much more of a listen-at-home affair.

Richie Hawtin / Troy Pierce
Nothing Much / Something More
Minus 53

Here's something that I don't see too often: a retrospective best of label compilation. If you've never really heard Richie Hawtin's label, this is essentially the perfect gateway. "Nothing Much" (how humorous) is an unmixed 11 track best of over the past five or so years. It has classic after classic after classic: 'Baby Kate', 'Bay of Figs', 'Seeing Through Shadows'; these are some of the finest minimal techno tracks ever released. The new 'R U OK' by Ambivalent and new False track 'Fed on Youth' as well are destined to be classics, while Hawtin's 11-track mashup 'The Tunnel' on DE9:Transitions and Gaiser's "Egress" are well established top tunes. Label boss Hawtin handpicked these tracks and did a great job representing the label: minimal techno that is aimed directly at the dancefloor. Disc 2 sees Troy Pierce (personally my favorite producer on Minus) in the mix with a 24 track mix chronicling the label. It's a solid mix, and while maybe not as eclectic as a mix ought to be, it serves its purpose: to showcase Minus.

Various
Cocoon Compilation G
COR CD/LP 013

Another summer, another cocoon compilation. Last year's "F" was really great, with killer tracks such as 'Sea of Sand' on there, but 'G' is, in my opinion, much better. We start with My My's 'Fast Freeze', which is a really great track from the boys that brought us the 'Songs for the Gentle' LP last year on Playhouse. Chaim is definately a name to watch, due to the fact that pretty much all of his productions have been stellar, and 'Genesis' is no exception. Stephan Bodzin and Tiefschwarz both give us great tracks, but soon we get to one of my favorites, 'Tämä Tuli Jarvestä' by Aki Latvamäki. His 'It Is Not Now Either' was a high point on Ellen Allien's fabric mix last month and is a staple in my sets as of late, and here he delivers another smasher. The rest of the tracks are great, by big names such as Audion and Jamie Jones, and there is really not a weak track here. The only problem here is that, like every other Cocoon Compilation, I really have no hope of getting it on vinyl (due to the fact that they limit it to 2000 copies). Oh well...

Black Strobe
I'm A Man
Playlouderrecordings 22T

Black Strobe have, well, not benefited at all from the loss of Ivan Smagghe. Monsieur Rebotini seems to have changed one of the premier electro groups into...well, a rock band. I was looking forward to their new album, but now I see why Smagghe left. However, on this single we get one of the best tracks of the year. No, not the original, which is a cover of a Bo Diddly song, but Audion's Donation Remix. Already heralded as remix of the year and song of the summer, Audion has turned the original 3-minute cock-rock into a sprawling 11 minute journey of subdued synths and rather simple kick drums. Dear takes Rebotini's vocal, slathers it with reverb, plays it forwards and backwards, and surrounds it with slowly building stabs and pads. It's interesting to note that the original carried some of the feel of Audion's original tracks; in your face with hi hats, loud kick drums, and synths that could rip you to shreds. This remix shows Dear's recent trend (Fred's Bells, anyone?) of moving his Audion alias toward the more subtle end of the spectrum. Regardless of which Audion you prefer, this remix is a triumph; even better than his remix of Hot Chip's "No Fit State" last year and his best remix yet.

Ricardo Villalobos
Primer Encuentro Latinoamericano de la Soledad
N/A

If this is ever released, it will be huge. Ricardo here takes the good parts of his experimentation as of late and leaves the not so great parts. This sounds like it should be Fizheuer length, but is only (haha) 20 minutes. It's rather simple, but somehow feels much less repetitive than Fizheuer. He uses a vocal sample (where the title comes from) and puts in crowd noises, really adding something special to this song. The rest is standard Villalobos fare, but this gets a massive tip as a possible tune of the summer. Really, you feel as if you're in the middle of DC10 with this one.

(Picture is of Ricardo at DC10, and you can see Richie Hawtin in the background)

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT

2007-06-15T22:29:00.001-05:00

Bape just got a lot of props for like the next decade.

Marubeni Infotec

2007-06-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

The two coolest things you can do with your computer these days is to make it Steampunk, or to make it wooden. However, while Steampunk mods look awesome and industrial, they don't always really look comfortable to use. I mean, take this mouse for example:

Yeah alright so that looks awesome and I want it badly, but the track wheel can't be fun to use at all.

Wooden stuff, however, doesn't have this problem. It just looks awesome, and fits right too. I mean, just look at this keyboard.

That is much. It's made by some japanese company called Marubeni Infotec, and they've got a bunch of other wooden stuff made as well. You can check it out at gizmodo, where I stole all this stuff from.

M.I.A. - Arular

2007-06-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

If you haven't gotten this album yet, DO IT NOW. It's nine bucks plus shipping. That's fucking ridiculous.

Seriously, this is some primogranderolaye grime stuff.

Krudmart

BOOTIE>>Best of Bootie 2006

2007-05-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

MASHUPS
take two good songs, put them together and BAM, GOOD MUSIC!
Well, no not exactly. There are tons of terrible mashups out there that are too jumbled and chaotic because people do exactly what I just described.
However there are tons of good ones as well, which are fantastic for party dances and club dances.

Bootie is a big mashup party that's thrown in several cities across America, Paris, and also in Second Life (not so rad). This year (as well as last year) They've released a "Best of" CD for all their favorite mashups they've heard and played this year. I've already gone through the whole thing and it is filled with some major tracks. Of course there are a few that you'll probably want to skip through (like the Beyonce v Dave Matthew's track) but the majority of the CD is filled with quality mashups. The "Oh What a Night" and Jay-Z track has to be one of my favorites from this CD.

But anyway yes. The entire CD is free up on their site, but you gotta sign up for some music site thing in order to download it. I'll post that link, but I'll also update this post again later with a rapidshare link or something so you don't have to go through the trouble of registering. Just don't say I haven't done anything for you.

Bootie

UPDATE:
SendSpace

GAH

2007-05-23T02:15:00.001-05:00

I love the French electro scene. A lot of people love the French electro scene. I feel like a dick head when I say "French electro scene", but god dammit, its good. We all know the artists that contribute, and we all have something we like about them. The shitty thing is, when something becomes popular, someone else is going to want in on the action. It was only a matter of time until someone ripped of the electro sound, and it appears to be the very Kanye West who was whining about loosing the MTV Music Video Award to Justice last year. The footage of him performing his new track at the Hiro Ballroom in NYC says it all.

Sampling is cool, and remixing is cool too, but Goldigger was annoying, you are too, Kanye.

Levi's Disco Jeans

2007-05-22T19:34:00.000-05:00

Fragment is fucking fantastic. First they come out with the polka-dotted AF1s, and now this; jewel studded Levis.

Yeah sure I guess the jewels wouldn't really appeal to you if you didn't like to feel pretty, but you have to admit that putting them on the zipper is pretty boss. And the lightning pocket detail is great too.

These jeans come in different colors too, but the turquoise is the newest, and I think it beats ruby.

YO, Tracks

2007-05-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

Yo, been a while since I posted on here gonna try to get back into it a bit. Recently I've found some good stuff, so here's a couple tracks I thought were real good.

First I found this new track from the upcoming Aesop Rock CD and its phat. The beat is great and his rhyming is consistently good and interesting. The track is called "None Shall Pass" and can be downloaded here.

Next is a new track from Interpol. They're one of my favourite bands and this track does not disappoint, continuing pretty much where their last album, Antics, left off. The song is called "The Heinrich Maneuver" and can be streamed here.

Lastly, Scott Herren (better known as Prefuse 73) is working on a new Savath and Savalas album as well as producing beats for a Japanese MC called Twigy, a track from each of these projects can be found here. Both are cool songs, but each is very different from the other. The Twigy track sounds closer to prefuse stuff while the Savath and Savalas track is a mellow acoustic Spanish song with some added electronics.

Besides these tracks I have been listening to a few very good albums lately that I must recommend. Here they are:

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare

A Tribe Called Quest - Peoples Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Shake The Streets

Out.

Surface 2 Air

2007-05-09T19:19:00.000-05:00

Surface 2 Air is a French brand that makes some pretty kickass stuff. They aren't easy to find in 'Murrika but if you've got the inside scoop, you can find em. Also, they're real expensive. I tried on a leather trench coat by them once. It was pretty cool (except these two little rings on the back, that was annoying but I guess I could have dealt with them) but it was $500. BAD

Anyway
They came out with a pair of slip-ons that are way too rude, but also way too pricey.

HOT
SPICY
A HUNDRED AND THIRTY DOLLARS
tooooo muuuuuch for meeeeee

I'll probably end up getting some all white vans and trying this out on my own.

Matthew Dear - Asa Breed / Audion - Noiser/Fred's Bells

2007-05-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally here. Four years after his stunning full length debut "Leave Luck to Heaven" (translation of Nintendo from Japanese, apparently) and fantastic EP "Backstroke" comes "Asa Breed". If "Leave Luck to Heaven" got Matthew noticed outside of the techno scene, then this will cement his place as someone who isn't just a microhouse producer, but someone who can make a damn good pop/alternative album.

Gone are the heavy 4/4 kick drums, oscillating sawtooth synths and early-90s-Detroit nostalgia of his most recent and active alias Audion. Gone are the precise drum patterns and cut up vocals a la Akufen of Jabberjaw. Gone are his...well, minusy sounds of his False alias on Minus and Plus 8. Here, Matthew goes back to his Texan roots and makes an album full of soul and feeling.

"Asa Breed" is not a microhouse album. Of course, it's got Matthew's signature feel to it, and, being one of the true superstars of microhouse, it has many microhouse elements. But pretty much all of the tracks hover around the 3 minute mark. It's clear that Matthew is focusing on a more traditional song structure here, rather than, say "Mouth to Mouth". And, in fact, some of the songs play out like a pop song, with a verse and a chorus. Case in point, the exceptional first single "Deserter", the most heartfelt song he or any microhouse producer has ever made. Any comparisons to Ian Curtis here would certainly be on the mark, as Matthew's baritone voice, for me, at least, steals the show throughout the album. Of course, his falsetto is strewn throughout, but on many songs he sings as if he were the frontman of a band.

Which is not all that unreasonable. Matthew will be going on tour soon not as a DJ, but as the frontman of a three man band, with live drums and guitar and all. All this is very apparent on the second half of "Asa Breed" which contains a huge focus on acoustic guitar and instrumentation. Closer "Vine to Vine" is not a new version of "Mouth to Mouth" as I had hoped ("Mund zu Mund" was not Matthew's best effort to date), but rather a song full of acoustic guitar, Dear's falsetto throughout, and Dear referencing the "heat of the Texas sun". Thats not to say it's not a danceable album, rather the first half is fairly dancy, with "Shy", "Neighbors" and "Don and Sherri" probably being the most uptempo cuts.

This is an album for everyone, not just fans of microhouse. It is certainly the polar opposite of his new (coming out in two weeks) Audion single, "Noiser/Fred's Bells", which keeps the high quality of "Mouth to Mouth" going strong. "Noiser" is, well, a noisy as hell track, full of blaring synths and killer kick drums. "Fred's Bells" is the better and less noisy cut, something that I assume would be frightening at Berghain at 3 on a Sunday afternoon. It's spacial with little vocal cuts throughout and a killer kick drum pattern.

It's certainly going to be Matthew Dear's year, as if he has't catapulted to stardom already. Both releases will prove his importance to techno as a whole, but it is his LP that will really cement his status as microhouse's most important producer.

Asa Breed is out June 5 on CD, 2x12" and digital through Ghostly International. Noiser/Fred's Bells is out May 22 on 12" and digital through Spectral Sound.

Check here for clips of Asa Breed and here for clips of Noiser/Fred's Bells.

Best movie Ever?

2007-05-09T18:52:00.000-05:00

Best movie EVER.
Spiderman 3

Alright, so a lot of it was shitty and Kirsten Dunst isn't even attractive, but man there's so much that totally redeems the shittyness. Well, not really all that much, just a few jokes peppered in and these three scenes.

So good.

Oh yeah if you're gonna watch this movie, don't watch these because they're kinda spoilers (not really but I guess maybe).

Yeah I'll post something real soon. But seriously, I can't decide if I love this movie or if I hate it. Actually, no, I have decided. Spiderman 3 is most definitely the best movie ever and the strutting scene proves it.

This is How We Roll>>Vans

2007-05-08T17:16:00.000-05:00

Recently Jeremiah "Jam" Brooks, a professional skater, was put in the hospital after being hit by a jeep on the side of a highway while on tour. To help pay for his bills and for his recovery, several artist/skaters within the pro skating community put together a fundraiser. They've all custom painted a pair of Vans Skate His to be put up for auction, and also have made other pieces of art to be displayed at a benefit in Boulder, Colorado.

There are some pretty cool ones, though some of the styles aren't really my type of thing. My favorites are the Louis Schmidts, Hoshi Ludwigs and the Brian Balls. Unfortunately, they're all size 9 and are probably going to blow up in price seeing as the bids are lasting for another three days or so (longer for some). However, that being said, I'd probably spring for shoes that say "Puke Blood Forever".

Ebay Link

Pacemaker

2007-05-06T17:46:00.000-05:00

Am I sure that this is real?
No
Is it still awesome?
Yes

The Pacemaker is a pocket-sized DJ tool that acts something like an iPod with two different channels, allowing you to mix your music on-the-go. Not only that, but while you're doing that, you can save the mix and put it up for all the world to listen to, which the makers claim is completely legal. And it holds 120 gigs. I don't really know how anyone would ever need that much space for their music, but if you want it, it's there.

Now I'm not a DJ in any way, but this thing seems so fucking awesome, and if it were to come out at a reasonable price, I might even pick one up (if it actually comes out at all). It's got EQ, Pitch control, a line out as well as headphones, cue and loop and Xfade for both the headphones and line out. Now apparently Xfade is dumb and gross because you can't do fancy things with it, but this fits in your palm so take what you can get.

As a pure music player, it's pretty damn good anyway. It's small, light and holds a TON of music. Not only that, but it'll play any music you can put on it (not sure about protected files), so no more converting WMA, AAC or OGG files for your player.

But even with all this, I don't even know if it's for real. The company's site doesn't really give any reassurance, though it is kickass. However, it seems to have been featured on some other sites including Engadget, a tech and gadget blog which seems to be pretty legitimate. The only way we'll know for sure is to wait until this fall when the site says it will launch.

Pacemaker
Tonium (creator's site)

Phat Church?

2007-05-01T21:15:00.000-05:00

Yup. Czech designer Maxim Velcovsky has redesigned a church in Eastern Bohemia, and here is what it looks like.

AIR McFLY

2007-04-29T19:20:00.000-05:00

Remember 'Back to the Future II'?

What a fucking awesome movie.

The sick futuristic Nikes that Mckfly strapped on might actually be released... nothing for sure yet, but its something to look out for.

Thats fuckin awesome.

More Info

Low-Phat

2007-04-28T11:52:00.000-05:00

Internal Watch
by Vlaemsch

Nice going, you dumb fuck. You just wasted 300 bucks on this piece of shit.

Jazon Markk>>Clean your sneaks

2007-04-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to clean my red/white AF1s for a while now. They're kinda grody after one huge day/night/day in the city with my sister and the red is kinda bleeding into the white which looks bad. The only thing is though, soap doesn't really do the job at all.

So here's the solution: Jason Markk Premium Sneaker Solution Set.

It's a sneaker cleaning kit that includes the cleaning agent and the brush for cleaning your sneakers. It's safe for all materials as well, which means that I can use em on my Mych Thomps as well, which is very good because right now I'm afraid to rock them in case they get dirty.

Iron Army>777

2007-04-24T16:54:00.000-05:00

Recently I've gotten into jeans. Before it was shirts, then shoes, now jeans. I figure I'll eventually find my way through all the different articles of clothing and be a pro at dressing myself. Until then I guess I'll just look good at some parts and shabby elsewhere. Whatever.

But anyway, back to jeans. Later, I plan on making a big post about a couple of brands I've been watching and hoping to get a pair from, but I'll just focus on one right now. The newest company I've discovered is Iron Army. They've got some pretty nice looking jeans, good cut, and a raw, unwashed look. The only downside is that they're 200 bucks.

My personal favorites are the Hiro Itos, but the Navio Fernandezs are pretty fantastic too. Actually, there's not much difference between the styles fit-wise, it's really just the color and the stitching(!). All the styles come in Raw and Rinse denim. I'm planning on getting a pair of raw denim jeans one day, but they're a big commitment (you can't wash em for six months).

And speaking of raw denim, Iron Army has set up a project of their own to track the development of seven guys wearing in a pair of Iron Army jeans. They chose seven guys with different types of jobs and got them to agree to wear a pair of Hiro Itos for seven months without washing (as raw denim is supposed to be worn) and to document the progress of the wear each month. After seven months, they'll all wash the jeans to see the outcome. It's pretty interesting to see how each person wears their jeans differently, and how each one distresses on their own.

I'm gonna be getting a pair of good jeans some time in the summer when I start working, so I'll be doing some research up until then. I'll let you know about the different stuff I find sometime soon.

Iron Army 777

Supreme

2007-04-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

Supreme makes some kickass stuff on their own, but I think some of their best stuff are their collaborations. Recently they've made a few collaborations, one of them with The North Face. The North Face have their own Purple Label, but unfortunately that's only available in Japan. The collaboration is a shell jacket that doesn't have a very flashy exterior, but the best parts are in the details.

LEOPARD LINING
The right sleeve also has SUPREME in big letters on it, and a patch to balance on the other side.
Check them out for yourself at Supreme's site

The next collaboration that caught my eye was the Oakley collab.

I think I'm gonna pick a pair up this summer.

And finally, SHOES. Vans x Supreme.

This last shoe really caught my eye. In fact, that whole last grouping is kickass. Just look at the detail on the rubber sole. DETAIL.

Nike Redwood>>Limited Edition

2007-04-06T19:40:00.000-05:00

This is the best email I've ever gotten from Nike. Every other one has always been "New training shirts!" or "Golf apparel!", but now they've finally hit on what makes me tick: SHOES.

Nike sent me (yeah me. I'm on their supermegaelite VIP mailing list) an email advertising their new limited edition Redwood Pack which includes a shirt (not bad all-over print), a hat (not bad, matches the shirt), and a pair of shoes (CHUNK McGRUNK). The shoes are called the Redwood Insurgent, and they cost a cool $100. Not bad for a pair of fresh nikes.

And they are most definitely fresh.

The color scheme is supreme and the bamboo texture is way too hot. The thick, rounded laces fit the theme nicely as well, and set these shoes apart from other shoes. The mixture of textures makes the shoe stand out as well. Pretty much everything about these shoes is great.

GOLD

2007-03-25T18:53:00.000-05:00

This is possibly one of the most megaturboyes things I've seen in a while. A while ago, some thing called eproze opened up on some thing called ZOZOTOWN. I don't really know much about either because they're both Japanese, but I figure that ZOZOTOWN is a website and eproze might be the online store on it or something. But all that isn't very important. The only real reason why I mention it is because a brand called MACKDADDY is releasing a pair of jeans to commemorate eproze's 7th anniversary.

Now before I go further, I'd just like to say that I like to cuff my jeans. I roll em up because they always drop below my shoes and get chewed up on the ground and that pisses me off, especially when I've paid good money for them.

That being said, maybe you can understand why I think this is one of the coolest pairs of pants I've ever seen. The jeans are a nice dark wash, and use gold thread for the weft (thread that keeps woven cloths together). It's way too fucking amazing when these are rolled up. Even when they aren't, the gold shines through and creates a look that's just mind-blowingly glam.

LOOK AT THEM

However, there are a couple things that hold me back from picking up a pair. The first is the fact that they're only available on ZOZOTOWN, a japanese site (or at least I think so. The translation simply said "This commodity is the reservation commodity"). Next, they're up for 30,000 yen, or 250 USD. That's a bit painful. Even more painful when I think about how I may never be able to "roll [the] raising, when [I] wear, rather [I] show the expression which has impact!"

ZOZOTOWN

MSTFKRFT

2007-03-04T17:44:00.000-05:00

These guys are pushing all the right buttons. First of all, Jesse Keeler, one of the two guys who make up the band, is from Death From Above 1979. Second, they make kickass music, both original and remixes. And now they have shooooooooooooes. Three for three!

Check the gold lining
Check the orange soles
GOOD

While we're on the topic of shoes, I wanna talk about Bape for a moment.
Bape is ridiculous.
First of all, they copied the Air Force Ones for their "bapestas", then copied another Nike shoe for their "roadstas", and now to prove that they have no original ideas about shoe design other than bright colors and shiny patent leather, they've gone ahead and started calling converses "apestas".

DISAPPOINTING

New Air Force 1

2007-02-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Apparently no one is allowed to see the full shoes, so these pictures are only of part of the shoe. Regardless, they look awesome and I think that there are more to come in this line. The first is the China edition and the second is the Japan edition.

New Maharishi

2007-02-15T17:10:00.000-05:00

They cost far too much (between £55 and £100), but are awesome.

Kid Robot 2/15/07

2007-02-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

These two came out today. They're simple; nothing special. I think the brown one is pretty cool though.

These three come out next week. They're just the monogram hoodie in different colorways (though one has a larger print). I wasn't so big on the original, and the same goes for these. They're alright, but not too great.Regardless, there are going to be some awesome Kid Robot releases in March.

Roadsta City Series

2007-02-12T19:18:00.000-05:00

More Bape here, this time, the Road Sta city series. Most of these cities are Japanese, maybe Jer can tell us what some of them are?

EDIT: I have to add these. Too awesome.

Bape Kids 07

2007-02-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

I'm just as confused as you are.

Kid Robot 2/8/2007

2007-02-07T19:31:00.000-05:00

Army Green Rainbow Hoodie by Lemar and Dauley
Da Bomb Hoodie by Huck Gee

These are dropping tomorrow, February 8th.

KISER

2007-02-01T18:36:00.000-05:00

This brand caught my eye while I was looking through shirts on Karmaloop. The first shirt that I saw was interesting; it featured an off-center Desert Eagle pistol with red flower prints all over the gun, and on the rest of the shirt as well. The gun ends up looking bloodstained, which makes for a killer contrast. However, though this may have been cool, it definitely was not the best thing they had. I think that the best stuff they have is the clothing that features their brand's logo; two ak-47s cross-bones style and a flower (like the one from the Deagle shirt) on top like the Jolly Roger.

They use this design on lots of their stuff, and I want all of them. Hoodies and shirts seem to be their deal. However, to prove they're not a one-trick pony, they've got plenty of other designs that kick as well.

One of the other designs that I like a lot is the "Weapon of Mass Destruction" shirt which is simply a block color shirt with gold foil lettering of "Weapon of Mass Destruction" in Arabic. PHAT.

Do yourself a favor and check out their new collection. Every shirt and hoodie on the site is fantastic, and the detail put into them is fantastic. Every shirt has a hidden message on the inside that expresses the central idea of the designer's style. Pretty much this is just a fantastic brand of clothing, and I hope to be making a big order sometime soon.

How To Dance At A Rave

2007-01-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

How To Dance at a Rave

Everything you need to know.

CHERNOBYL CHILD PLAYING PING PONG HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THIS

For Jeremy...

2007-01-28T18:57:00.000-05:00

25 Jahre Nike Air Force I

O jesus

2007-01-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

Oh dear god

From Triumvir

Clockwork Orange Dunk Highs.

No more words necessary.

Bape '07

2007-01-26T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most have seen this, but if not, here it is.

Bape 2007 Spring Preview

IRON MAIDEN KICKS

2007-01-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

To go with that "Powerslave" shirt of yours...

Bonnie and...

2007-01-25T20:09:00.000-05:00

Let me introduce you to a good friend of mine. Well, actually he's not really a friend, he's more of an acquaintance. Alright, he's not even that; I've never met the dude. But I've read a lot about him and seen a ton of pictures of him so I really feel as if we have a personal connection. His name is Clyde, and he is a shoe.

A little while ago, Clyde met up with a couple of guys who call themselves "Crooked", and they helped him pick out a few new threads to wear. They decided he was to be as money as possible, and stuck some green on him. But this wasn't enough; he also needed the phattest of laces, and by phattest I mean fattest. The result was an outfit that blew my mind. The fat laces, the color combination, the contrast stitching, all of this came together to make an irresistible pair of sneakers.

Recently, Clyde had a reunion with Crooked and decided that this time, his attire would be a little less conspicuous, but just as phat. Crooked gave him the same laces as before, but decked him out in warmer colors. The result was much different from before, but just kickin'.

Unfortunately, Clyde got mixed up with a girl named Bonnie, and things didn't end well for them. They started robbing banks shooting up stores, and eventually were gunned down, bags of loot in each hand. The following shoes were made in memory of Clyde and his crazy ho, Bonnie.

Pseudoephedrine

2007-01-24T22:48:00.000-05:00

Pseudoephedrine is fat.

At least, I remember it that way. I've had a cold for a few days now, and all I want is some god damn sudafed to clear everything up. But no, now no one puts the pseudoephedrine in their stuff, it's all this new shit, phenylephrine, which, maybe I'm crazy, but doesn't do shit. I'm tempted to go buy some meth so that I can reverse make sudafed for myself.

Pseudoephedrine was fat.

The good shit.

The worthless shit.

++Coachella 2007++

2007-01-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

It's about time Michael Mayer got pushed down, eh? Past the part about "Kompakts philosophy..." I kind of lost interest. Sorry Minimill, the "phattness" of minimal hasn't quite captivated me yet.

But! I came across the NEWLY RELEASED artist lineup for the legendary COACHELLA 2007.

To highlight just a few:

---April 27th---

Arctic Monkeys
DJ Shadow
Peaches (You love 'em)
Felix Da Housecat
Gogol Bordello
Benny Benassi
Busdriver

---April 28th---

Tiesto
MSTRKRFT
Ghostface Killah

---April 29th---

Paul Van Dyk!
Air
Infected Mushroom
Spankrock
Ratatat
Lupe Fiasco

Oh yeah, RICHIE HAWTIN is on the 29th as well. I must have forgotten him. HAWTIN? RICHIE?

The line-up (while not all the hard pounding beats of the tech) is solid as fuck. It'll be quite a show for those lucky enough to rock it out over there. Alas, no more INSANE sets from Daft Punk like we had last year. If you guys don't have it, ask me to send it to you, because the sheer awesomeness of it all far exceeds the lameness of the audio quality. No doubt.

<3

Michael Mayer - Immer 2

2007-01-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

Michael Mayer
Immer 2
Kompakt

Alright, this was released a few months ago, but whatever. To begin, many don't like Mayer's style. Granted, it's one that I don't prefer; I prefer long mixes, making the tracks play simultaneously for awhile. Mayer makes very short cuts, prefering to play each track fully. Obviously, Kompakt's philosophy of tracks as songs rather than tools carries over to Mayer's mixes as well.

Immer 2 begins with "Ploosh", an intro that, like with the first Immer mix, makes you forget that you're listening to dance music. "The Dog" picks this up a bit, and the next three tracks all bring us into dance music territory. Things really start picking up with one of the best releases of last year, Justus Köhncke's "Advance", a great song with sweeping synths and a sort of disco-ish sound (something that Mayer, in an interview, said he sort-of welcomes the come back of). Lindstrøm's "Another Station (Todd Terje Remix)" is where the mix really reaches its most dancable.

Clearly, this is the climax of the mix in terms of dancibility, but it is past this point where the mix really begins to shine. The Rice Twins' "For Dan", released on K2 last year, was a great release that didn't get the attention that it really deserved. It's followed by SCSI-9's "Morskaya" from their album "The Line of Nine" which was a great release following the typical Kompakt sound. "Lying in a Bed of Mist" brings the mix down a bit more, and segues beautifully into DK7's "Where's the Fun (Sten Remix)". You might not exactly be dancing anymore, but this is where dance music shines and where Mayer's philosophy comes through. The mix ends with Supermayer's remix of Geiger's "Good Evening" which, for all of its 11 minutes, never once falters. It's not as "get up and dance" as their remix of Gui Boratto's "Like You" last year, but it's just as good.

Having to live up to both the first Immer and his mix for Fabric, Mayer has created something here that, on its own, stands up to any mix CD out there. Unfortunately, it is hard to look away from his older CDs, but it's unfair to expect him to be able to match the greatness of those two. For what it is, Immer 2 is a fantastic mix CD, and is easily one of the best CDs released last year.

Mixplay

2007-01-18T19:09:00.000-05:00

DOUBLE POST?
YEAH DOUBLE POST.
TOTALLY WORTH IT?
YES.

This is the most kickin' dance video I have seen since any of the David Elsewhere stuff. It also happens to be an ad, but that's forgivable seeing as the entire ad campaign is fantastic and the stuff they're selling is pretty cool too.

The ad is for a line of colorful parkas by UNIQLO. The parkas themselves aren't ground-breaking, but they look solid and the colors are great. And if I was living in Asia, I'd say they're pretty affordable at about $25 USD but the shipping to America would probably make it not worth the trouble.

The site is supposed to be some sort of beat/movie creator game which is fun, but really the best part is the dancing. Each little part of the beat has a dance that goes along with it, and they're all great. Also, if you go to look at the parkas themselves, they have another little part of the dance you can watch there. Watch all of these little extras because they're awesome.

And the coolest part of the entire site is the main video, which is a pretty long choreographed dance between the four guys. It's all synced up to the music and it just works so fantastically. If you aren't interested in the parkas or even the little dance clips, at least take the time to check this out.

Mixplay

Update: Apparently you can link your "mixes" so uh everyone post yours.

my first

Ceramics for Breakfast

2007-01-18T18:45:00.000-05:00

I never eat breakfast. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I wake up way too late to have anything. However, if I had a few things from this list, I'd probably try to make time for breakfast just so I could use them. Recently Designboom had a competition to design a new household object related to breakfast and make it out of ceramics. The winning design of the competition is amazing, and it's probably something you didn't expect to be re-designed. It's a toaster, and it's so incredibly awesome and I want one in my house right now.

You can check out the other runner-ups and whatnot here. Some of the honorable mentions are pretty cool, like the "milk moments" bowls and the "parlez avec moi" plates.

minimill - Geräusch 2

2007-01-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

Alright, so here is a new mix by me called Geräusch 2. I figured that most people don't really know a whole lot about minimal, so this is pretty much as minimal as (I) will get. Listen to it, and if you like it, I'm glad, and if you don't, then it's not your thing and that's cool. I just want to give people an overview of minimal, so here it is.

I also tried to include some tracks that I recently reviewed, so some are in there.

NOTE: Seemed to not be working. This link should work.

1. Ricardo Villalobos - Alsbalduin (Perlon)
2. Loco Dice - Seeing Through Shadows (M_nus)
3. The Knife - Silent Shout (Troy Pierce Borado Locombia Mix) (Rabid)
4. Gaiser - Neural Block (M_nus)
5. Audiofly X - 4 Play (Get Physical)
6. Ellen Allien - Just a Woman (Spectral)
7. Jabberjaw - Girlfriend (Perlon)
8. JPLS - Program 2 (M_nus)
9. Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out (Robag Wruhme Vati Mafonkk Remikks) (BPitch Control)

MIX!

2007-01-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

ABOMIBOT-FRAG-POINT-OH

I CREATED THIS MIX BY SPITTING ZEROS AND ONES OUT OF MY BIONIC EARS AND ON TO THE SPINNING PLATTERS.

MY TITANIUM FINGERTIPS AIDED IN THE EQUALIZATION PROCESS.

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED TO MAKE THE HUMAN RACE ENGAGE IN DANCE WHILE ELECTRONIC HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES OVERTHROW THEIR MORTAL SLAVEMASTERS.

0100010101001100010001010100001101010100010100100100111101010010010011110100110101010000

ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN.

BE SURE TO TURN THE VOLUME DIAL TO THE HIGHEST POSITION AND ROCK THE FUCK OUT.

You live in Singapore right? oh.....

2007-01-16T15:45:00.000-05:00

ok gents

Super phat kicks here, Singapore adidas Store exclusive (gheyness) done by Singapore artist Itchy Handz. It features a character made out of musical equipment, super super phat. Blue and white can really make an excellent combination when done right, and do these ever pull them off.

Want 'em? Who doesnt, but theyre way 2 phat for all of us as theyre only instore in Singapore and there are only like 25 pairs or some shit. The hope for us here is that Adidas will continue these Indy artist exclusive collabs and some will happen in NYC or LDN(fingers crossed).

Phat?
Phat.

Fred

2007-01-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

Hello? Who is this? Oh, Hey mainstream trance. Uh... actually I'm busy this Friday. Yea, its this thing for school. Maybe we can hang out some other time... no I'll call you.

Hello? Oh... hows it going mainstream house. Uhhh, no actually this weekend isn't good for me. Yea... sorry bout that, man. Hey, maybe sometime next month we can chill...

Hello? Who is this? Mainstream minimal? How did you get this number?

YES WHAT? Oh... hey mainstream hardstyle. Yea I'm good how are you? This Friday? uh... yea I'm free. Oh yea? Cool. Sounds great. See you then.

My own mash up of Telephones and A Tour of Electronica.

If theres one thing I learned in Holland, its that I love mainstream hardstyle. I love it. I don't care if it's DJ DOPEYZ remix of Every time We Touch, which is nothing more than the acapella sloppily thrown onto a ridiculously heavy kick drum that somehow manages to be out of tune with the vocal (despite the fact thats its the ONLY thing added to the acapella). Its the chromosome-missing simplicity that lures me in. NO matter what the Justin Timberlake vocal does, I know its going to be stomped on by Fred the big fat stupid bass drum. I love Fred.

Its a genre that doesn't hear the criticism thrown at it, because its too busy spinning around in circles punching itself in the head with glee. Not that it ever receives criticism... people who don't like it really couldn't be bothered. They just leave it alone. Like the kid in class who sits in the corner chugging Elmers and chewing on Sharpies.

"Oh... yea thats Fred... we don't talk to him... we just kinda let him do his thing"

I Love Hardstyle.

Oh, and I'm not just talking about mainstream hardstyle. Its all fantastic.

Bill Fitzmaurice

2007-01-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

DR 250 Bass/Key/PA Cab /\/\

Okay, so I don't know if anyone has seen any of this guys stuff before, but it is crazy.

Bill Fitzmaurice has a website with plans to build speakers. Why was I even looking at this site? Well, the speakers I lent to Harry about 2 years ago don't work (one has a blown tweeter, the other is about to blow its woofer), and even if they did work, they're over 10 years old and are completely obsolete >> Dump. I've asked a lot of people what they think: Active or passive, buy together or mix and match, JBL, Mackie, EV... it all gets very complicated, plus if I want a really good set of cabs, let alone a subwoofer, I'd need to dish out a good $1000 + of money I don't have.

Site

Someone finally showed me a website after asking me, "Are you good with your hands?" Of course I said no, but he told me to take a look anyway. After looking at some pretty cool pictures of weird speakers and sub woofers I decided to actually read what the website was. I checked the forums on the website and read about all the speakers, and I was at a loss of words. I could get the equivalent of a top-shelf $1000+ speaker for around $500 or less if I just built it myself. Like I said before, I can't build it myself, but it would be worth taking a course over the summer to learn how to... and ya, some schools offer a courses on audio repairs.

Plans are around $15.00 and once you have them, all you have to do is order horns, subs, tweeters, anything the plans say, and the website and forums tell you where to buy them. Pretty sweet.

Let's say you never think you're going to take a class on audio repair, are just really bad at building things, or don't trust yourself making anything. Well, Bill gives names and contacts for people who specialize in building cabs and woofers just like his. Now, it will cost more than if you make it yourself, but they guaranteed it to work.

Would I rather just save up and buy some Mackies or JBLs? I don't know yet. All the people that have made Bills speakers say they are amazing and truly better than the top shelf speakers, but will it add up to the same price if something breaks and you have to repair it yourself? There are no warranties for these speakers. I'll see what happens once I get a job, get some money, and if I actually gig and need speakers of my own. For now, I guess if I play at Toquet, it's the house system for me.

JB Classics

2007-01-14T12:54:00.001-05:00

I gotta run soon but I gotta get this up so I'll make this a quickie:
Phat

Shoes?

Yes.

few quick notes

Silver Leather? Hot
Extra contrast laces in separate baggies
Handcrafted
Hanging from mousetraps
Sneaker Pimps

that's not all but it's all I have time for

Blue Tilt Bubble

2007-01-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows the Tilt Bubble Hoodie. Well, it's getting a re release(something I have been waiting for for a long time). But wait...what are these?

TOO phat. And speaking of, I may be simply taking school off and going into the city to buy the Bubble hoodie. If anyone wants to join me, lemme know.

Phat House News

2007-01-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

Yo! So I stumbled apon some news thats is a bit old, but interesting none the less.

Article

Comments = understood.

What do I think? Deep Dish is a favorite of mine, but I don't think they will really be missed as much as the article says they will. They're good, yes, but what one song does everyone know of theirs... Flashdance, and I personally think it is horrible overplayed. The only time I ever heard a really good remix of Flashdance was when we went to see PVD, but other than that, I don't think it is better than any other house song out there.

Their CD, George is On, has some good tracks, but if I was just getting into the whole house thing, I'd just buy the Flashdance EP off of iTunes and screw dealing with their whole CD.

Two other good songs of theirs, Say Hello, which is way more trancey than housey, and Dream (feat. Stevie Nicks)... but even that just adds a beat behind the song.

Sharam 'Dubai: GU29' is out now on Global Underground.

Banksy says "PHUCK Bootleggers"

2007-01-11T12:16:00.000-05:00

Banksy is tired of Bootleggers selling prints of his stuff on ebay. So, to throw them off, Banksy has put huge high resolution pictures of his artwork on his website, totally free and ready to download and print. He seems to always find new ways to kick ass.

Banksy says:
Serving suggestion:
Prints look best when done on gloss paper using the company printer ink when everyone else is at lunch.

http://www.banksy.co.uk/shop/

Audiofly X - 4 Play

2007-01-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Audiofly X
4 Play
Get Physical

I imagine that this is the most minimal Get Physical will ever get. It still has the 'Get Physical' sound, but this is no "Movements" or anything. It begins with '4 Play', which reminds of M.A.N.D.Y's release "Jah" which was released over a year ago. A solid track, definately, with what at first sounds like that damned sound i mentioned on 'Neural Block' last week, but it's definately not it. 'Cold Light of Day' reminds of something that would be in a Tiefschwarz set, and 'Are We There Yet?' closes the record with some nice percussion work and synths. Ultimately, all three of these tracks share something in common, but each is very different. This is a very versitile release, with some of the tracks fitting in to a purely minimal set while others would fit well into a more standard Get Physical enviroment.

Apple iPhone

2007-01-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

The apple iPhone was annouced recently.

I gotta say, it looks pretty cool.

iPhone

It's kinda got everything. Phone, iPod, Internet, Email, Movies... usually these kind of "EVERYTHING IN ONE!" devices don't really work, but this is Apple, and needless to say they have proved themselves in the past. Looking foward to seeing the response to these when they hit the shelves.

1st mix

2007-01-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

I didn't really want to post this because it sucks... but Harry wanted me to.

Mix

Epic Trance... no name.

I had the track names, forgot to save the word file... so i'll post them tomorrow.

AF1 Polka Dot

2007-01-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

Nike keeps 'em coming. If you don't know this already, Air Force Ones happen to be one of my favorite shoes. I don't really know why. Maybe it's the simple design, or the big, bold panels or just the fact that you feel like a king while wearing them, but they're fantastic. They've also got tons of designers coming up with new shit to slap on them. The newest design is the Polka Dot by Hiroshi Fujiwara. It's a AF1 Premium '07, and it's a chunky one.

See those edges? See how they're rolled back under? That's fucking premium.
updated laces ring.
Company logo in place of the normal Nike Air tounge tag.
See how smooth that is? See that all-over mesh lining?. Your shoes don't have that. My shoes don't have that. You know what that is? That shit is premium.
Certificate of Authenticity that comes with the new Air Force Ones. Don't be sold a fake! (You might want to click to see a larger version of this)
The wrapping paper has stars embossed on it. Well, the premium shoes have that. Apparently different level shoes have different paper.

The shoe also comes with a pendant with Bruce Kilgore's (the designer of the original Air Force One) signature.
Oh, and it also comes in white.

Phat?
Phat.

Want a pair?
3 bills.

Jer's lucky he can't find a pair in 13 or he'd be broke. However, I'm still planning on picking up a pair of premiums somewhere along the road.
Edit: looks like the picture won't work
I'll fix that tomorrow

Kulturbraürei-Session 2006

2007-01-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

"...some of his best tracks from 2006 and some of his classics which he played this year and all this in one awesome set..." - Sascha Putzler

If you guessed a certain Mr. Paul Van Dyk, then you would be very very correct. I have not but a thing to say except that this clearly proves my point that Paul Van Dyk will always stand head and shoulders above the trance and techy prog world of DJing. It's no question why he was the number one DJ two years in a row.

Listen. And love.

Kulturbraürei-Session 2006 - Paul Van Dyk

Track list:
==only for the phattest of pheeders==

1. Ridgewalkers feat. El - Find (Markus Schulz Intro Edit)
2. Krzysztof Chochlow - Release vs. Skydive - Freefall (Edit)
3. CJ Stone - Shine (Heart of Stone Mix)
4. Re-Locate - Rogue (Original Mix)
5. Reloop - Fucking Society (Original Vocal Cut)
6. Depeche Mode - Martyr (Paul van Dyk Remix)
7. Mainx - 88 To Piano (Fabio Stein's Panic Remix)
8. Coast 2 Coast Feat. Le Sal & Pheonix - Cut Me
9. Black Eight - The Silence (Pvd Edit)
10. Emjay and The Atari Babies - Real High (AK47 Remix)
11. Santiago Nino - Believe (Max Grahams Sidechain Remix)
12. Karen Overton – Your Loving Arms (Markus Schulz Remix)
13. Lolo – Why (Nick Pilon Edit)
14. Reflekt - Need To Feel Loved (Thrillseekers Remix)
15. White Water - The Unknown (Pvd Edit)
16. Dallas Superstars - Higher (Edit)
17. Underworld – Born Slippy (Paul van Dyk Remix)
18. Don Diablo - Down The Drain (Original Mix)
19. Terranova and Leeds - Shake Me (Original Mix)
21. Gustavo Santaolalla- The Wings (Gabriel & Dresden Remix)
22. U2 - Staring At The Sun (BIR Remix)
23. Way Out West - Mindcircus (Original mix)

Total time: 02:00:45

Yeah, that's a SOLID two whole hours of the best of PvD. DOES NOT DISAPPOINT

minimill - Geräusch 1

2007-01-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

Here is my mix "Geräusch 1" for all that are interested. Some know about my set up, but basically my set up isn't exactly the best, so I have to mix with little sound coming out of the speakers, which makes it hard to tell when things aren't exactly going as planned. So yeah, in some parts it may be a bit...well, bad, but let it roll. And, if you didn't hear in my previous post, the mix is named this way because there's an annoying hum throughout the whole thing (again, due to my set up). So yeah, enjoy.

EDIT: Figured I should post a tracklist, so here it is.

The Knife - Like a Pen (Rabid)
Louderbach - Grace (Anxiety) (Underl_ne)
Patrick Chardronnet - Eve By Day (Connaisseur)
Audion - Your Place or Mine? (Spectral)
The Field - Over the Ice (Kompakt)
Depeche Mode - The Sinner in Me (Ricardo Villalobos Conclave Remix) (Mute/White)
The Kills - No Wow (Domino)

Play Minigolf Not Minimal

2007-01-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

I need that shirt. And in other news, I recorded a mix this morning, "Geräusch 1" (named because there is an annoying hum throughout the whole thing that I can't seem to get rid of). If anyone has any ideas as to where I can host it, I could put it up here. Har and I wanted a little place to make our mixes available, so yeah, if anyone knows, tell us.

Ricardo Villalobos - Live at Awakenings

2007-01-06T13:06:00.000-05:00

Here you can download a set by Ricardo Villalobos last year at Awakenings. It's a solid set.

...

2007-01-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not gonna say anything.

For the Fatties

2007-01-04T19:09:00.000-05:00

Fat not Phat, but Phat nonetheless. There's a trend going on in restaurants around the world, and it just hit Beijing last month. Every good restaurant tries to set an atmosphere of some kind; some try for nice atmospheres, others have themes, but now there are restaurants trying to create an atmosphere of "no atmosphere". These so-called "Dark Restaurants" are completely black and unlit.

The customers enter the restaurant by passing through a room with blindingly bright lights and pass into the main room where they are guided to their seats by waiters decked out in night vision goggles.

The idea behind these restaurants is that by cutting off other senses (vision, if you haven't guessed yet), your sense of taste is heightened and your food tastes better. I have no clue if this is really real, but if Daredevil is any indicator, I wouldn't doubt it. I'll be dining in the dark tonight to see if this is really true. I'll let you all know how it goes.

2007-01-04T18:33:00.000-05:00

Ghostface Killah & Jadakiss - Run (Ratatat Remix)
This song is so hot, it'll burn your ears off. I don't know if it's the organ, crisp, cracking drums or Ghostface's urgent voice, but this song has it. Ghostface and Jadakiss rip into the song, detailing their chase from the fuzz and they don't hold back, spitting mad lyrics. The beat is supplied by Ratatat, and though they are a rock group themselves, they know how to do street beats right. This track comes off their remix album appropriately named "Remixes: Vol.1" which has a couple of other great tracks like Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up" and Beanie Sigel's "When You Hear That". The mix of Ghostface and Jadakiss's voices and Ratatat's backing make this song one of the most thugging, grooving gangster tracks. Pick this track up and you won't be disappointed.

Gaiser - Neural Block

2007-01-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

Gaiser
Neural Block
M_nus

It sounds obvious to me that Gaiser has been listening to Sweet 'n Candy's release "Tacky Wakeup", because that familiar ping-pong-ball-or-drop-of-water sound is all over this release, which, luckily for Gaiser, is excellent. His release "And Answer" on M_nus last year was one of the best debut releases in recent memory, and he has since been featured on M_nus label comp min2max, Magda's mix CD "She's a Dancing Machine", Marco Carola's recent Fabric release, as well as numerous other compilations (his remix of Troy Pierce's "25 Bitches" has also seen quite a bit of play).

Neural Block begins with..."Neural Block", a track that begins as most M_nus releases do. A compressed kick drum, bleeps and bloops, minor vocal samples...all of it is here. The track really builds and doesn't dip once throughout its duration. That all familiar sound is pervasive throughout; I'm still not sure if it's a ping pong ball or a drop of water, but whatever it is, it certainly makes this track a hit. Second track "Half Life" comes in with a deeper opening, but soon becomes the more funky of the two. It is, however, extremely intricate in the way it's constructed, which really goes for all the tracks here, making this such an outstanding release.

The B side changes things up quite a bit. At first it doesn't seem like it, but there is definitely a difference between the first two tracks and the last two. Both of these tracks "Seepage" and "Separation" continue with the same level as the first two. "Seepage" evolves throughout, and it is in the last third of the track where it really shines. Intricate production, with great synth patterns, make this track definitely a stand out, but by this time, each track stands out in its own way. Which leads us to "Separation", which is clearly the darkest track on this release. It has a great mood about it, the pulse of the percussion really propels the track along whilst subtle noises in the background become more and more noticeable. All in all, another fantastic release from M_nus.

Ricardo Villalobos - What's Wrong My Friends?

2007-01-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

Ricardo Villalobos
What's Wrong My Friends?
Perlon

Perlon has had an amazing year. Early on they released "Joker Family Park Part 2", Matt John's sequel to his first under the same name, cementing him as an extremely hot producer to look out for. "Superloooongevity", Perlon's fourth label comp, presented, as usual, a great assortment of tracks from Perlon all-stars as well as some new people. Plus, STL's "The Early Tracks" and Melchior Production's "Different Places" were massive hits as well. However, it is Ricardo Villalobos' follow up to undisputed-track-of-the-year "Fizheuer Zieheuer" that may have been Perlon's best release last year.

"What's Wrong My Friends?" shows Herr Villalobos moving in a different direction. We have horns a la Fizheuer, but the beat has a hint of tribalism that we've not seen in a few years from him. It's a new area, one that could go either way. On its own it's a great track, but it's not the best on the EP. "Gugga Sempa" picks things back up. A throwback to the feel of "Thé Au Harem D'Archimède", here is where things come together. It's not that "What's Wrong My Friends?" is bad, quite the opposite, it's better than most things out there, it's just that I like to see him at his most minimal, which is where "Gugga Sempa" falls.

Next we have "Africolaps", the shortest track on the EP, and one of the best. It starts of promising, and subtle beats quickly build on top of each other while a loop of an (African, I suppose) singer is heard. It's certainly the one here to play when people need to start dancing. Which brings us to "Dummolator". We start out in Fizheuer territory, with Villalobos playing around with the parameters of his drum machines, phasing and manipulating as he goes along with one beat, while keeping a steady one underneath. And, well, not much else happens until around the eight minute mark where we get a deep kick drum that really propels things. And again, this pretty much keeps up for the remainder of the track. It certainly gives those who dislike him plenty to hate on, but for those who love him, it's where he really shines. In my opinion, it's the best on the EP.

None of the tracks here really breathe like his "Achso" release and none are as long-winded and revolutionary as "Fizheuer Zieheuer", but minimal techno really does not get much better than this. I expect great things from both Perlon and Villalobos this year.

The Outsider - DJ Shadow

2007-01-02T22:56:00.000-05:00

The music video is no exception to the awesome that Enuff (feat. Q-Tip & Lateef The Truth Speaker) leaves in its wake. Directed by Joe Baar and Francois Roland, the Enuff music video features Q-tip, Lateef and a Cardboard box robot. What more could you ask for? I start with this song for a reason. Enuff is clearly the highlight of the album.

::Faster Download::

Myself, being a long time fan of Shadow was far from disappointed in The Outsider (2006). Shadow's album was released with the help of many contributing hip-hop artists such as Keak Da Sneak, The Federation, and David Banner. Shadow keeps it real paying homage to his hard hip-hop roots with some songs featuring a 'new' 'teched drum machine' feel.

More than often, I find myself wincing at the nasty, crunched up bass sounds. Shadow is a bomb dude, but he seems to have over done it with the sci drum machine licks. The harsh voices of the hardest of h-hoppers just add to the pounding, and not in the best of ways. I love the lyrics and flow of just about every song, but with this...sometimes even disgusting drum tracks, it becomes all too much. As you can imagine.

But, like I started with, Enuff is nothing short of flawless. It's the crunkiest chunk of a thick spitting groover with everything on top. Clearly the glint the eye of this album. If not for the rest of it, pick up The Outsider for Enuff. You will not be disappointed.

(I had the illest article written up when Mr. Bloggyspot goes all Vecsch and I lost my glazzies and I couldn't viddy it any longer. With my rookers tap tap tapping away, I present you the "concise" version. Hoozah.)

What I Need

2007-01-02T19:08:00.000-05:00

I want to be this person very badly. But, if you can notice (and I think only Har and James will), the sheets that these hoodies are on were definitely used by Har and James-O at one point. Solid.

Cloth

2007-01-02T19:07:00.000-05:00

You guys wear too much cloth. I'd rather be naked.

Couple Phat Tracks

2007-01-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

Felt like posting some stuff I've been feeling lately as far as individual tracks go. So here's some hot tunes I've been enjoying lately.

Tunes:

Punkrocker - Teddybears ft. Iggy Pop
This ones been in a car ad apparently, but don't be discouraged! A great track, can't really tell where Iggy plays a part in this one but the singers baritone voice droning over the funky post-punk track sounds great and I like it. Definitely check it out.

My Drug Buddy - The Lemonheads
This is one of my favorite recent finds. An old rock track, kinda sounds like a cross between Tom Petty and the Smashing Pumpkins. One the best I've come across in a while, definitely worth looking into.

Postcards From Italy - Beirut
Jer brought these guys up before, and I think he covered them pretty well. Great sound, cool song. Check it out.

Gamera - Tortoise
Massive fattie from the recent Tortoise box set "A Lazarus Taxon". It's a great one to just listen to, it sprawls out for 15 minutes but with each passing minute something new or exciting is added to the track. Definitely a cool one.

For Reasons Unknown - The Killers
These guys have been getting alot of shit lately for sounding like Bruce Springsteen...and that might be deserved, but i like them and this is a great track that I feel doesn't stray much from the sound you would expect from a good Killer's single. If you get past the comparison talk and listen to this track for the towering pop-rock single it is, I think you'll enjoy it.

So theres 5 fatties I've been feeling lately. Hope you like them if you decide to check them out. Should be posting another review or something soon.

Artysm, Paris

2007-01-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

Artysm is one of the many unique “streetwear” brands coming out of Paris. Like so many of their fellow countrymen, Artysm have spat in the eye of the norm, gone into a corner mumbling obscenities, and whipped up something delightfully fresh and eye catching. Case in point: Artysm’s Jack'art woven hoodie.

There are plenty of hoodies out there that break the $300 barrier, but most of them carry the hefty price tag because of exclusivity, and not quality.

Strips of fabric are woven together to form this amazing sweatshirt. Its one thing to put a print on a cotton hoodie and mark it up several hundred dollars because its "exclusive", but this is something totally different. The whole Artysm collection is at Le Bouclard, and is well worth a look through.

Phat?
Phat.

AF1

2007-01-02T14:45:00.000-05:00

Nike is celebrating the twenty-fifth year of Air Force Ones this year and they've already started with some exclusive shit. A while ago they had an invite-only party for the shoe with Kanye as a musical guest and all that. They also announced six new limited styles designed to reflect the "Original 6" players of the Air Force One team.

Calvin Natt

Moses Malone

Bobby Jones

Michael Cooper

Jamaal Wilkes

Mychal Thompson

Phat?
Phat.

Check the text on the back paneling. EPIC. LEGENDARY.
All of them are way too hot, but I've got my eyes on the Mychal Thompsons. Fuck it, I want em all.

Takin ova

2007-01-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody.

Its James O here, Ill prolly be takin over the reigns in the kicks department and some clothing aswell. Should be good.

Adidas Materials of the World 2007

2007-01-02T13:03:00.000-05:00

So unless you've been under a rock the past few years, you know of Adidas' Materials of the World series. Well, here is their lineup for 2007. First is England.

Solid Track Top, but that's mill's. The shoes are pretty cool as well, but in my opinion the track top takes it. We have Africa next...
Again, awesome all around. Both the kicks and TT are sweet. Clearly, adidas are not slacking this time around (not like they did last time with the Tibet, Indonesia and Turkey...) And last is Japan...

Awesome. Not a huge fan of the TT, but the kicks are solid. I really have to get something from this series. It's just far too phat to ignore.

Loco Dice - Harissa

2007-01-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Loco Dice
Harissa
Cadenza

Coming months after his summer hit "Seeing Through Shadows", Loco Dice releases "Harissa" on Luciano's label Cadenza. Cadenza, which earlier this year released both Ricardo Villalobos' celebrated "Achso" as well as Thomas Melchior and Luciano's stunning "Solomon's Prayer/Father", has quickly become an extremely hot label. "Harissa" is much like "Achso" in that both contained four tracks each around 12-13 minutes, and both take minimal techno to great heights.

"Harissa" begins with "Raindrops on My Window", which opens the record nicely with subtle beats and some mumbling vocals. It proceeds quickly but its length allows it plenty of room to breathe. The next track, "Paradiso", is the most immediate of the four. It's a straightforward minimal track, slightly in vein of "Seeing Through Shadows". Good, but not as important as the others on the EP.

Up next is "Vamos a Cali", which, like the first track, experiments with minimal techno. It begins directionless, but soon comes together to a cohesive whole. The last track, "A Chico A Rytmico", may be the best on the EP. It, like its bretheren, excels in the subtle building of the track, but it has something about it that sets it apart from the others.

"Harissa" presents a kind of minimal that is becoming very popular. It's clear that the length of tracks are changing, and with these longer tracks producers are really attempting to explore the soundscapes with which they are working. If "Fizheuer Zieheuer" was any indication, longwinded minimal is here to stay.

Quick Music Things

2007-01-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

Beirut
There isn't any new young band right now doing anything like Beirut. When first listening to Beirut, you wouldn't guess that the music would be coming from a twenty-year-old from New Mexico. The music is inspired by Eastern European folk music and is led by the trumpet playing of Zach Condon, the band leader. This isn't music for dancing or rocking out or really anything much. It's just terrific listening music. Definetly give the debut album, Gulag Orkestar, a listen. A personal favorite from that album is "Scenic World", which is just such a fantastically happy song.

Peaches
Ah, Peaches. Haters say what you want, Peaches is great. Sure, she may be a bit lewd, possibly crude and a little crass, but that only adds so much more to the whole experience that is Peaches. Peaches' tracks have a great minimal beat to groove to and a certain element that brings me back constantly. Peaches' filthy lyrics might make you want to take a shower while listening to them, but who can resist such gems as "Rock the Shocker" or "Fuck the Pain Away". This music is loud, abrasive and aggressive and absolutely fantastic. For new listeners, you might want to sample a few choice tracks before jumping straight into her music. I'd reccomend "Fuck the Pain Away", "Downtown", "Kick It", and "Rock Show".

Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart is nowhere near normal, and if his appearance doesn't show that, his lyrics are definite proof. He sings about strange things such as his experiences of being born, his Chinese children in foreign countries and other stuff that I don't really want to bother with at the moment. Banhart's music has a very folksy feel to it, and he often uses a large assortment of instruments for his songs, something which I am glad to see in modern music where bands are gravitating towards using only guitars, basses and drums. Banhart has a wonderful, soothing singing voice and his musical orchestrations are interesting and are just simply pleasing to listen to. Songs like "Little Boys", while sounding just a tad paedophilic, have so much happy about them it is impossible to be soured and dissatisfied while listening to them. I found his earlier album, "Oh Me Oh My", a bit hard to get into in the beginning, partly because of the poor production quality but mostly because it just sounded so strange at first. I would reccomend trying "Cripple Crow" or "Rejoicing in the Hands" to get into his stuff first.

Gogol Bordello
If you haven't listened to this stuff yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. This shit is way too amazing to let up. GYPSY PUNK. It's like Joe Strummer met up with a bunch of nomads in the middle of eastern Europe and decided to rob people of their minds through pure awesome. This stuff is seriously some of the best stuff I've ever heard. If it doesn't get you dancing, you are either a scrooge or a middle-aged suburban dad who listens to Euge Groove and thinks a "good time" is reading a book or going for a Sunday drive. Sunday drives are shit. Gogol Bordello has an interesting blend of instruments and backgrounds, with bandmembers coming from everywhere between Russia and America. The leader himself, Eugene Hutz, was actually displaced by the Chernobyl disaster and spent many years going from country to country before finally coming to New York City. He plays acoustic guitar and is joined by an accordian player, a violin player, bassist and drummer. The band also has two additional singers/dancers who assist mostly in the live shows but also provide backup vocals. Anyone who is alive should check out their newest album, "Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike".

Professor Murder - Professor Murder Rides the Subway EP

2007-01-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

So, I enjoy this band alot. They are a relatively recent band to come out of New York. A four piece consisting of Vocals, Bass, Drums, and Keyboards. Over the past few months they have been garnering much hype and anticipation for a full length which has yet to come out. Where did this hype come from? This debut EP. Already this young group has developed a unique sound.
"Professor Murder Rides the Subway" is a short (only 16 mins long) but satisfying EP. It is immediately ear catching with the first track "Champion", Which instantly shows off their unique style. The vocals are direct, the bass is loud, the keyboards drone, while the drummer makes it funky. This great sound does not change throughout the record, it is only expanded upon. After a short quirky interlude of "Pedigree", a 22 second long vocal experiment of shorts, the tunes keep coming. "The Mountain" is next, it is here that the bassist and drummer really start going and the record heats up as this song begins to show off the balance this band can maintain between mellow and dancey. The next track "Cam'ron's New Color (Pt. 3)" continues in the same fashion.
The final track of the EP, is in my opinion, the best and one that I've been rolling for weeks. "Free Stress Test" is a phattie. A groove is started and stopped as the singer comes in and out, all eventually breaking down with the drummer laying down some good grooves (including some with cowbell) for a phat keyboard riff that rolls over the whole track.
Throughout all the distorted vocals, swirling harmonics, and syncopated rhythms the thing that makes this band work is the original sound of their drummer and bassist whom consistently lock in with one another's groove and make everything danceable and fun.
This band is definitely one I will be watching. They certainly can and should go further with their sound, but for an EP this certainly satisfies me.

(Its a pitchforky go, but let it roll)

Next, I beleive Har will be posting something tune-influenced.

Seemless

2007-01-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

Chinchilla fur. Reversible. Enough said.
Want it? Be ready to cough up a phat $675. This is super limited edition, 1 in 3!

Yo, Langer's Rollin'

2007-01-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Yup. I'm on board here. Probably just gonna be talking about some phat tunes that I'm feeling and possibly a few reviews similar to minimills below. Should be posting something significant soon.

Yes, sir

2007-01-01T18:58:00.000-05:00

Thats right mill.

And Harry's here too. I'll be covering mostly minimal, and dabbling in a bit of tech house.

Its phat, its a pheed.

Its the phat pheed.

The Knife - Silent Shout

2007-01-01T18:52:00.000-05:00

The Knife
Silent Shout
Rabid Records

Lately, people still associate electronic music with the antiquated raves of old (which some still hold on to), but there are many who realize that one need not actually play instruments to produce quality music. Enter The Knife. After getting a particularly helpful boost from the Sony BRAVIA commercial and José González' cover of 'Heartbeats', 'Silent Shout' was released amidst a ton of hype. And luckily it all paid off, for 'Silent Shout' is undoubtedly one of the greatest releases of 2006.

'Silent Shout' opens with a bang, as the title track sets the stage for the whole album. It's creepy, unsettling, and brilliant. Karin Dreijer's voice is heavily distorted, but it is on the next track 'Neverland' where we hear her voice shine. It's probably The Knife's signature, for her voice truly sounds like nothing else out there. 'We Share Our Mothers' Health', 'Like a Pen' and 'Marble House' are all highlights, but the album flows together so well that there is really no low point.

Phat Pheed

2007-01-01T18:09:00.000-05:00

Here it is. It's going to be mainly music reviews and clothing reviews for now, but in the near future we will probably add more things.

So here I am, minimill, and I will be doing mostly music reviews. I'll be reviewing all of the latest releases in the techno world, and also some releases that i am just now getting to. Enjoy.