Meat Beat Manifesto is coming to town.
May 3rd Club Deville

Very nice if you love bass.

Speaking of Bass, BassNectar just played a sold out show at Antone’s in Austin. If you know of Antone’s it’s typically not the place where electronic acts play. Mostly your rock/blues hybrids.

But the place was great. Filled to capacity. excellent pro staff. If venues like Antone’s and Club Deville keep packing them in, there may be room in this guitar town for some BASS

Meat Beat Manifesto - Return to Bass

artist: malcom kipe genre: glitch hop

this song defines groove, if you are gonna cut samples up then cut them up like this.

Malcom Kipe - off the joint

artist: milosh genre: soul idm

music and democracy are not a good match.

milosh - simple people

found another online radio station worth checking out : subfm

so far it sounds pretty fucking excellent, they claim to specialize in grime, dubstep and the like. right now it is more techno-esque. regardless, i just tuned in and it sounds great.

the reason for the post is that Caspa is playing at room 710 (710 red river austin tx). flyer:

they claim to be installing extra sound just for the event. i’ve been there, they will need to. featuring your Weight residents DJ I/O, Tyrant, Innerlign, Sloppy Jackson and Grommit. cover is 5$.

reminder tonight at plush is the weekly dubstep night

artist: H.O.S.H genre: hows music

the strung out algorithmic horns are neat sounding,  or maybe it is just playing with my sampler for too long.  doesn’t matter, i like. what is the name of that VST that makes horns like this with no samples?… it’ll hit me later.

H.O.S.H - white elephant

it isn’t officially a morr music radio but just about every other track played off the label.

here it the link. somafm is hosting, all the stations are worth checking out.

there also seems to be a plethora of dntel and postal service tracks in rotation for those of you living in 1999. i’m not saying this is a bad thing.

morr music, putting the morr back into steven patrick morrissey.

artist: chloe genre: idm electro clash

this track sneaks up on you.

chloe - i want you

artist: john tejada genre: minimal fun

i’m on a kick with this stuff, yeah i’m 7 yrs off but everything goes in cycles. wait for it.

john tejada - harmonic turbulence

artist: beroshima genre: minimal techno

beroshima - horizon (pig and dan rmx)

for those of you that do not live in austin, SxSW is this week. some people think of it as a scourge rather than a blessing. i’m definitely more in line with the “scourge” line of thought. 15,000 bands converging on a city that are all gunning to be different yet suspiciously falling into 4 or 5 style categories doesn’t impress. well i’m sure it works for their respective target audiences.

there a couple of free events that are worth riding a bicycle to. keep in mind that i like all forms of music, its just that i expect to finish this new biography on lenin this weekend. i’d personally stay away from anything that requires money and doesn’t have free booze. period.

i’ve also discovered that waking up early-ish is more productive if you think for a living (i can only speak for myself). something about my the sun and bio-rhythms. this directly conflicts with watching a band get drunk then butcher songs that really had no need to written in the first place at 2am.

ok that is a little harsh. i really do like rock, country, and indie rock. the caveat is that it really must be good. speaking of good i see Kaki King is in town. she is fantastic. really, don’t be put off by her looks (young, female, youtube too often means fluff and no substance). she definitely has the goods. so in rare form here is something non-electronic.

see, guitars can be good. unfortunately she is inhabiting a very minute slice of the music industry pie.

fuck, electronic austin is such an oxymoron. i need to come up with something better, especially when i move.

dance madness

john gomi, B squared, DJ Lynn of Lesbians on Ectasy, DJ Orion, DiskJokke and more.

artist: no idea, this is from PalmsOut again. it is a fun track from a remix sunday.

the laptop battle is tomorrow, i’m a little surprised that the local papers didn’t mention it. actually, i’m not

i recommend that you go to it.

tomorrow night and club deville, all night long, 7 bucks. i’ll be the one in a white suit handing out electronic austin flyers.

We Won’t Break (His Majesty Andre Too Late Remix)

it is an official sxsw party, even if you don’t have a wrist band show up early you should be able to just pay 20 bucks or so and catch em. go to SxSW for the details. if i know it will be a crowed show then i usually aim for a little before nine. if you are a nerd, bring a book, it may be a while until they play.

keep in mind their set will be about 30-45mins like most SxSW showcases.

also Karma isn’t really the best sound in austin, if you know of another party (read: free) that they are playing you may want to catch them there.

now would be a good time to rant about touring bands only playing SxSW. so other cities get a full hour or more set with encores at a real club, while austin gets a 30-45 min expensive, if not impossible to get into, shortened show at some BAR that has as much sound fidelity as a concrete bleeding pig. Not to mention all the badge mutherfuckers on their cell phones. why would you be on a cell phone during a show. oh yeah, because you have the attention span of a gnat. it’s ok, its televisions fault. it seems like sxsw imports all the douche bags of the world and that is why i’d just rather see the act when they come thru some other time (not sxsw).

yes bands usually play additional “parties” but this is very hit or miss. i’d rather just see em at the stubb’s indoors or the parish (both have pretty decent sound). or even outdoors at the mohawk or club deville (thanks transmission). as a side note, the outdoor shows at auditorium shores, scoot inn and victory grill are also usually really good.

shitty sound and cell phones didn’t used to bother me when all i listened to was metal and punk. not all music is meant to sound like a jet taking off. what i want is a good sounding room with cell phone frequency insulated walls.

at trophys day show. hopefully it will be outside. also i don’t believe they carry any real booze (liquor), just beer, so bring a flask.

i’m pretty sold on NOT seeing any shitty indie rock this year for SxSW. i’m not sure when my dear indie rock became so polluted with green stagnant shit but no more random indie rock shows. fuck that.

anyways on the polar opposite side of things, lady P are actually really good.

lady pterodactyl

fred said he dug the last show at the parish. here is the bassnectar evil myspace presence.

i will say this, the sound at the parish is great. this time it will be antones, where the sound is not so great, but i’m sure that won’t stop plenty of people from coming out. tickets are on sale at frontgatetickets. it should be noted that antones has had quite a few electronic acts over the past couple years.

i didn’t realize how much this guy tours. he must compose while in the van.

DJ Manny and BigFace open.

more info here.

yeah it is cheesy but the song is a good straight forward synth pop tune.

i need to offset this video with some meshuggah or something.

better yet, DECAPITATED, ok i’ll ease off on the metal. instead an oldy but moldy set to audiosurf

artist: peaches genre: electro tried and true

this was shamelessly ripped from the excellent palmsout blog, shameless yeah.

palukua does a smash up job with this one. i mean the original is cool and all but this really breathes new life into it. yeah, if i was the peaches i’d hire this palukua full time. shiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeettt.

Peaches - Shake Yer Dix (Palukua’s 808 love theorem)

WHO:
Upstairs: DJ Dirk Diggla (Austin), DJ Matt Nice (UK), DJ Snake Eyes (UK),
Downstairs: C-Mon & Kypski (Amsterdam), Sousa Operator (Austin), Fat Tony (Houston), + Very Special Guests

WHAT:

Austin’s Only River Jam Cruise
WHEN:
Wed March 13th
6pm-9pm (Load time 5:30)

WHERE:
Walsh Landing (past Hula Hut) on Lake Austin Blvd

More info at www.myspace.com/mashupatx
21+ show up early if possible–only room for 200, super secret amazing special guest
Please send RSVP with name and email address to: partymashup@hotmail.com

i was just notified about this Dokkebi act, it is next wednesday (12th) at Plush (7th & red river, austin tx). the tunes on myspace sound stellar. “Gook Dub” in particular. incidentally wednesday is the first day of the SxSW music conference.

so to recap:
Live PA from Japan Called Dokkebi Q
http://www.myspace.com/kikihitomi

and a DJ from NYC called Human?
http://www.myspace.com/humansurvival

Kusser - Love is a Battlefield

My contribution to the 80’s covers. My live shows have been veering more towards the party-type stuff to move asses and make it a little more interesting than guys trading tidbits on technology like pound cake recipes. The slower stuff usually gets left at home and doesn’t get the video treatment.

Don’t watch Friday Night Videos on acid and ketamine

artist: disco nihilist genre: detroit techno

this artist is a local and is doing the laptop competition next saturday. apparently he is a former detroit resident thus giving him some street cred. seriously though i was intrigued by his band name (my moniker for the competition is disco hospital (go coil)). i surveyed his myspace presence and enjoyed what i heard. so i contacted him, no long afterwards he sent me some mp3s.

here is a good one, i’ve been really into this type of stuff lately:
Disco Nihilist - Martian Deserts

also, he is performing at a Backspin Records in-store this friday. Brooks Mosher, another detroiter turned austinite , is also playing this event. Bill Converse opens. he also said somethin about keg of free beer. i was right, 7-9pm.

ok, i guess i should try to seek out all the other laptop battlers and get them posted. Disco Nihilist got back to me super quick and easy, i have a feeling that i may meet some email apathy from others though…

AMODA is putting on their annual laptop battle saturday March 8th!

$7 non-member, $4 members, FREE for interactive badge wearers.

what is a laptop battle you ask? since i did it last year and i’m doing it this year i feel like i’m qualified to this question.

each contestant is allowed a laptop and a solitary midi controller. no traditional instruments or microphones (unless built into the laptop). you got 3 minutes to show the crowd your best stuff. if the judges and crowd don’t like it you’re out. it is deathmatch style with 16 contestants dueling in pairs until their is one left standing. if you make it through the first round there are 3 more to go.

this really is just a battle of the bands concept, albeit one man bands, without the outrageously long setup and tear down times. also most battle of the bands type events are usually not very diverse. laptop battlers can play whatever the fuck they want: DnB, glitch, techno, hiphop, house, funk, punk, crunk, noise, whatever. you are going to hear songs, not see someone play exactly like stevie ray vaughn (i had to take a shot). some of the songs are good and some are bad but all in all it is a really fun event.

i’ll admit it can be disheartening to see an act you like not make it through to the next round, log2(16) = 4 rounds, but it is always fun. it also brings out the competitive spirit in electronic composers that usually never play or only play to 2 people at some shitty house party.

honestly i recommend this event over anything else that weekend. it is a great way to kick off the music portion of SxSW and is usually a lot more fun and diverse than most SxSW events.

worst case scenario is that you get to see 16 acts you never have heard before. throw in lots of beer with the agony of defeat for good measure.

after someone wins a round they have it rigged so lightning comes down from the sky and the winner absorbs all the song power from the defeated. there can be only one!

Carl Stone
Performance 11 :: Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 :: Ballet Austin at the Firehouse
(3002 Guadalupe) :: 8pm-10pm :: $10 for AMODA Members :: $12 general :: Tickets at
End of an Ear (2209 S 1st St) :: All ages

So far i recommend this show, but the following is a rant that has nothing to do with Carl Stone.

Ambient / IDM laptop musicians that do REAL improv or composition (meaning plugging notes in on the fly or manipulating in real time) are good. I for one am swearing off Merzbow noise shows where the shows starts and ends with the clicking of the space bar. This is my def of not good.

Don’t get me wrong, i don’t care if you hit play in itunes but throw me a bone then. Smash something, flail around like a fish or bleed. i don’t care, but setting up a laptop, clicking the space bar and then proceeding to play FREECELL on stage for 45 mins is kinda lame. playing cards is boring to do and boring to watch, much less on stage.

Couldn’ t i just listen to the stuff at home (much cheaper) while playing portal? There are exceptions to this, if you or some-else has taken the time to do on the fly video THEN that can be a substitute for human activity.

I’m thinking of kusser here, but i know for a fact that he ain’t playing freecell. He is doing his video and beats mixing and mangling live in real time. Every show is different and he puts a lot work into it and it shows.

If an electronic artist is actually composing or mangling something on the spot, sign me up with bells. i’ll sit through an otherwise physically boring performance if a one of a kind aurally, visually or mentally stimulating movement is happening live before me. i personally do electronic ableton improv on a semi-regular basis and it can be fun to do and fun to listen to. Even though it doesn’t seem like much fun to see me frantically tweak knobs and click a lot.

All i’m saying here is if all you are going to do is show up and press play, why not ship the venue an ipod with your name tag on it. put the ipod on the stage and plug the ipod into the PA. when done, ship the ipod to the next venue. it’d be cheaper and would most likely get more press (at least for the first one to do it). of course a minimalist audio visual brooklyn artist has most likely already beat you to the punch, but it is worth trying in your town!

end rant

DISCLAIMER: i’m confident that MR CARL STONE won’t be guilty of the above rant. He seems to be doing stuff and his music seems quite good.

the firehouse space on guadalupe is a cool place to hold this event. i saw Xiu Xiu there once, for an AMODA event too.

zizek tour coming to austin for sxsw

during SxSW we are hosting a bunch of electro/minimal/techno cumbia acts from Argentina. i’ll be posting a couple tracks from these artists over the next couple days. to be honest the entire cumbia thing is kinda new to me. i like what i hear.

IMHO, this track has an island dub feel to it. you can go to this site for more info on the scene down there.

cumbia or not, into the radio this song goes: ORO11 - pum pum cumbia

who is playing for their showcase on 3.13.08 @ Ninety Proof Lounge - Austin, TX (SXSW Showcase)?

here is the myspace list

KING COYA & EL TRIP SELECTOR- Release on Nonesuch Records, collaborated with Oscar-winning film score composer Gustavo Santaolalla.
AXEL K SOUNDSYSTEM- Classically-trained multi-instrumentalist, one-man show incorporates elements from jazz, folklore, reggaetón and cumbia.
TREMOR- Film composer, takes traditional folkloric sounds of northern Argentina and adds glitchy percussive elements.
FRIKSTAILERS- The high-energy beats of Rafael Caivano and Lisandro Sona are meant strictly for the dancefloor.
EL REMOLÓN- El Remolón mixes local electronic music with Latin American sounds by using the latest technology available.
ORO11 - Intensifies and modernizes the style of cumbia villera through harder dancehall and Baltimore club beats and the addition of hip-hop and ragga vocals.