7 hrs 22 mins ago  /  Post a comment
Australian electro-poppers Cut Copy and The Presets will team up this fall for a tour across North America.

Coming off the success of their sophomore albums (In Ghost Colours and Apocalypso, respectively) both groups will travel under the Modular banner, bringing their up-tempo synth pop to audiences on both coasts, with even some select dates planned for the Midwest as well. It will be Cut Copy's first US visit since their abbreviated Pitchfork Festival gig last weekend, while The Presets last came to US shores this past spring.

  Sep 15  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., The Record Bar, Kansas
  Sep 16  Modular presents Cut Co.., Fine Line Music Cafe, Minnesota
  Sep 17  Modular presents Cut Copy & The Presets, Metro, Illinois
  Sep 19  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Sound Academy, Toronto
  Sep 20  Modular presents Cut Copy & The Pre.., Club Soda, Montreal
  Sep 21  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Webster Hall, New York
  Sep 22  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Webster Hall, New York
  Sep 23  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Paradise, Massachusetts
  Sep 25  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Trocadero, Pennsylvania
  Sep 27  Modular presents Cut Copy & The Pre.., Masquerade, Georgia
  Sep 29  Modular presents Cut Copy & The Pre.., Emo's Lounge, Texas
  Sep 30  Modular presents Cut Copy & The.., Granada Theater, Texas
  Oct 03  Modular presents Cut Copy &.., The Glass House, California
  Oct 05  Modular presents Cut Copy & The P.., Mezzanine, California
  Oct 07  Modular presents Cut Copy & T.., Hawthorne Theatre, Oregon
  Oct 08  Modular present.., Showbox At The Market, Washington State
  Oct 09  Modular presents Cut Copy.., Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

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  7 hrs 22 mins ago  /  Post a comment
Stereo Nightclub, one of the finest venues in Montreal for top-flight DJs, was the victim of a fire on July 3rd.

Famed for its massive soundsystem, the club suffered enough smoke and soot damage to close the club down indefinitely. Work will begin after the criminal investigation has been completed at the beginning of August to repair walls, floors, and ceilings that were harmed. While no official date has been set, the club promises to reopen in time for their 10th anniversary celebration in November.

In a MySpace bulletin, resident DJ David Morales has alleged that the fire has been "proven to be an act of arson," although no official word from the club has been released on the matter.

Stereobar, the smaller venue adjacent to the club, remains open and will serve as the primary stop for DJs while Stereo is being repaired.
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  7 hrs 24 mins ago  / 
DDD will once again hold a free party this weekend on Ibiza, featuring dinner, drinks, and—of course—dance.

Playhouse's Simon Baker and Simon Morell will be behind the decks at this month's shindig, which promises to be one of the few events where you don't have to offer your first-born in exchange for entry on the island this summer. Aura, an intimate venue which only holds 250, will be the space; tapas and cocktails will be the menu; and underground music on the open-air terrace will be the vibe. All told, it sounds like pretty much the perfect to spend (or begin) your evening.

  Jul 26  DDD in Ibiza, Aura, Ibiza

  7 hrs 29 mins ago  /  2 Comments
Anonymous dubstep producer Burial was among the nominees for the UK's Nationwide Mercury Prize, announced yesterday morning.

While the list is heavy on the guitars, the Mercury has had a long history of honoring electronic-inclined music, including Dizzee Rascal (2003), Talvin Singh (1999), Roni Size (1997) and Portishead (1995). We, of course, don't expect Burial to attend the award ceremony, but if he just so happens to win, who will pick it up in his stead? Betting begins now.

The nominees:

Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial - Untrue
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Estelle - Shine
Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee Deep In The North Sea
Rachel Unthank - The Bairns
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

The Mercury Prize will be awarded on September 9, 2008.
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  1 day 12 hrs ago  /  9 Comments
Cadenza will present its first artist full-length in September with Los Updates' First If You Please.

Leave it to Luciano to give the honor of his label's first artist full-length to the most unexpected of choices: Los Updates is the project of Chilean legend Jorge González. Sure, it isn't that crazy: The singer, who made his name in the '80s as the frontman of the politically-inclined rock group Los Prisioneros, has collaborated with minimal techno royalty before, most notably Dandy Jack in the Gonzálo Martínez project.

But First If You Please, despite being branded as "Luciano presents," seems to be all his own. And judging by a first listen, it sounds like it could only come from a singular perspective. While the album maintains a 128 BPM pulse throughout, the album's tracks are defiantly strange, mixing burbling acoustics with smooth synthesizers and a whole lot of processing. The press notes claim, "House, pop, 2-step, 8-bit, funk, rave and balladry all come together in a glorious and glittering amalgam that's at once loosey-goosey and precise as clockwork." We couldn't agree more. This is definitely a bit of a weird one.

Eagle-eyed tracklist fiends will notice '4 Wheel Drive' opening up the record. And, yes, while it does contain the lyrics to the track found on Ricardo Villalobos' Fabric mix, the backing track is completely different. Luckily, though, plans are in the work to release a remix project of many of the album's tracks, which will come out throughout 2009 on vinyl and eventually be collected on CD.

Tracklisting
01. 4 Wheel Drive
02. My Soulmate And I
03. Some Pictures Of You
04. I Don’t Feel Like Coming Home
05. Sexual Madness
06. Inviting You Here
07. It’s Getting Late
08. Charlie Hold On

Cadenza will release First If You Please on September 22, 2008.
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  1 day 13 hrs ago  /  3 Comments
http://www.sunwaves-Danny Tenaglia, Ricardo Villalobos, and John Digweed will headline Romania's Sunwaves 4 Festival on August 9th.

The one-day affair takes place on the enticingly named Enigma Beach on the shores of the Black Sea in Mamaia, Romania. Judging by a quick Google image search of Mamaia, we're sure you'll agree that this should be one for the ages. The line-up doesn't hurt, of course. Supporting the aforementioned big trio will be DJ Sneak, Misstress Barbara, and former NYC Robot Bill Patrick, alongside a raft of local help including the RPR Soundsystem (Raresh, Rhadoo and Petre Inspirescu) undoubtedly put together by the good folks at Kristal Glam Club, who are co-sponsoring the event. Be sure to get in quick, though. Tickets nearly double if you don't grab the early-bird passes on sale until July 27th.

  Aug 09  Sunwaves 4 Festival, Black Sea Coast, Romania

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  1 day 15 hrs ago  /  Post a comment
Âme, Greg Wilson, Derrick Carter, Quiet Village, and just about everyone else in the electronic music universe will converge once again in Eastnor for the 2008 Big Chill Festival.

Boasting a heady line-up of dance, indie, rock, and just about everything else under the sun, Big Chill has come to be one of the most important dates on the UK festival calendar. Held at Eastnor Castle Deer Park over the first weekend in August, each day features nearly 50 different acts and is almost dizzying as a result. So much so, that we're going to spending much of our time in the Rizla Arena, which will be featuring (among other things) The Rizla Invisible Players, which includes the likes of the legendary Greg Wilson, Radio One's Annie Nightingale, Justin Robertson, and Kid Acne—as well as an exclusive UK festival set on Saturday night from Chicago house titan Derrick Carter. For full line-ups and set times, you can visit the festival's official website.

  Aug 01  The Big Chill (Day 1)
  Aug 02  The Big Chill (Day 2)
  Aug 03  The Big Chill (Day 3)

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  1 day 15 hrs ago  /  9 Comments
Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, and Tim Green will be part of Dirtybird's first official UK label party this Friday.

While many of the birds have played in the UK individually, this will be the first time that they will be playing under the collective DB banner. As a result, VonStroke and Martin are promising special extended sets for the occasion, while newly hatched Green will open things up. The party starts at Unit 7, but promises to go well into the morning with afterparty plans already well underway and a super-secret Dirtybird guest on the docket as well. Things get going at 10:00 PM, but don't worry: in this case, we're guessing the early bird does not, in fact, get the worm. (Unless you count special Dirty Bird presents as a worm. In which case…you know what to do.)

  Jul 25  Claude Vonstroke presents Dirtybird, Unit 7, London

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  1 day 20 hrs ago  /  1 Comment
Global Underground will release another entry in its Afterhours series later this month.

Entitled Afterhours Ibiza II, the collection is a three-disc release "built and designed for those after club moments when the need for chill out comes laced with the spark of exhilaration." We're pretty sure we've had a couple of those before and with the eclectic likes of Orbital, Aeroplane, and Midfield General on disc one, we're sure it's up to the challenge. (Although we do have to ask how chilling out is going to be had while listening to Soulwax rework Justice's abrasive 'Phantom II'.)

Talent abounds elsewhere too: Disc two is enigmatically titled "Electronic," but we'll go with it, as Ewan Pearson and Carl Craig turn up in remixing capacity, while the third disc ("Chilled," for those playing at home) brings in Dutch maestro Roland Klinkenberg.

Tracklist
CD 1
Streetlife Djs - Gunn Crime (Streetlife Soundsystem Mix)
Junkie XL - You Make Me Feel So Good
Alex Gopher - Aurora (Riot in Belgium & Knightlife Remix)
Hashim - Al-Naafyish (The Soul)
Bass Junkie - Robot Movement (Dexorcist's B-Boy Bass Mix)
Justice - Phantom II (Soulwax Remix 2)
Andrew Friendly - Let's Jack
Headman - Song 8
All Saints - Chick Fit (Kissy Sell Out's Excellent Adventure)
Noisia feat. Rebecca Riley - Gutterpunk
Midfield General feat. Vila - Disco Sirens
Flairs - Better Than Prince (Benjamin Mix)
Butterscotch - Rubber Balls (Enzo Ponzio Mix)
Aeroplane - Caramellas
Erasure - Ship of Fools (Orbital Southsea Isles Of Holy Beats Mix)
Rogue Audio - Take Me Home

CD 2
Abyss - Unreal
Lee Jones - Aria (Tiger Stripes Remix)
Marcus Worgull feat. Mr. White - Spellbound
Break 3000 - Bleed Like Me
Fabrice Lig - The Track
Chab & Jd Davis - Get High (Nikola Gala Mix)
Captain Commodore - Love Machine
CP & CO. - Hot Looking Babes (Marco Corona Remix)
Martin Eyerer - Memento (It’s Hot)
Fetisch & Me - Black Palms
Kevin Swain - Arcade
Silicone Soul - The Prisoner's Diary (Ewan Pearson Instrumental)
Hystereo - Validity Revision
Alter Ego - Gary (C2 Remix)
Kris Mennace & Spooky - Stereophonic
DJ Rolando - Jaguar

CD 3
Derek Howell - Totally unSquare
Rogue Audio - Time Spent Dreaming Is Never Wasted
Tommy Nash & Christian Slater - Geisha (Down Temp Version)
Pako & Frederik - Disturbed Numerals
The Last Atlant - Everything Is Illuminated
Roland Klinkenberg - Mesmerized
Federico Epis - Sweet Girl
Francesco Pico - 12 Inches Of What
Mimic - Re-Solve
So Called Music - N

Afterhours Ibiza II will be released on July 29, 2008 on Global Underground.
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  1 day 23 hrs ago  /  3 Comments
Detroit ex-pat Recloose will play Sydney's Manning Bar on Friday 8 August.

In a special extended set, the DJ/producer will serve up at least two hours of nu-jazz beats, spaced out funk and Detroit techno. A saxophone player as a child, Recloose has grown up into quite the techno celebrity, performing as Carl Craig's turntablist for Innerzone Orchestra and releasing his own records on Planet E, Peacefrog, and Loop. More recently he led the eight-piece 'Recloose Live Band' in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Japan. For this installment of HAHA, expect to hear a truly eclectic set from this accomplished musician and in-demand DJ.

Recloose will be supported by local Sydney DJs and HAHA residents.

  Aug 08  Haha Pres. Recloose, Manning Bar, Sydney

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