On July 24th, you will be treated to 4 acts that in their own way, bend genres and sounds to create an Alternative to the urban styles we’ve grown accustomed to.

Come rock with:
…
THE BEATARDS: In their final performance in NY for quite sometime as they continue their buzz building string of energetic performances.

THE UPPERCLASSMEN: The high energy crew that is the live personification of “Walk This Way” as the 3 front men MC to a big, rock band driven sound.

JAH C & THE ANTIDOTE: Bring intricate instrumentalism and lyricism infused with an Alternative Rock & Soul sound, an earnest high energy performance not to be missed.

&

JOHNNY SPANISH: Brings his love for melody and versatile big beats back to Southpaw to let us all know “Its Espanooool”.

Details:

July 24 2010

9pm Doors

$7 advance tix, $10 at the door.

See you there!

Y’all know I’m a big fan of Austin’s burgeoning electronic-dance scene. We’ve got SOOO much talent in this city, and I’m glad things are moving back towards my ravey roots. Sadly, the bros from Auto Body recently moved to New York, leaving us with a bit of a void in the true club-inspired dance acts.

Have no fear, my friends: When one door closes, another one opens. And that door is an inter-planetary portal opening to Austin’s electro-dance band GOBI. GOBI’s new EP, The Poltergeist Arcade, is a true space odyssey, taking you on a cosmic mind trip so intense, you’ll wonder if you’d been i-dosed.

The opening track Strobe Lights is like waking up from hypersleep. You’re a little groggy. The spaceship starts moving slowly out of orbit. The robot-like vocals bring you to consciousness as the playful synths blow a little solar winds your way.

By the time the 2nd track Dirty Dancin’ starts up, you’re awake, walking around, saying hello to your fellow passengers. Smile on your face, stars beam through the ship’s windows as you’re “feeling amazin’ so Patrick Swayze. Do the right moves, with the right shoes, Rick James attitude.” You’re groovin down those hallways–and that Thrillier-like synth line and guitar groove bring a little bit of space fog to your feet as you dance towards the bridge.

Bonefreeze drops some driving beats over an 80′s guitar riff, leaving us zooming through hyperspace. And the bouncey arcade-like keyboard lets us know that this is serious business. In fact, it’s almost like we’re flying the ship in the video game classic Asteroids.

The fourth track, Poltergeist Arcade, has a more rock/funk-inspired tone. It’s starts off with some re-assuring synths, which quickly take a back seat to the guitars and drums. It’s almost like now you’ve dropped out of hyperspace into cruising speed–still a few asteroids to avoid, but you’re coming out of the rough and into smooth sailing.

For those of you missing the synths, they come back for the last track, Music Save Me. The last dance, the song brings you back to Earth. Safe from harm, you watch the ship continue on its funky voyage through the milk way and beyond.

Yeah. I was definitely i-dosed.

-Chris Apollo Lynn

Link to fb RSVP

HIT UP KnuckleRumbler.com for downloads and more info.

What they Are Saying !

“Move over, Ghostland. There’s a new electro powerhouse in town”
- Shannon McGarvey, Austin American Statesman/ Austin360

”Like Faberge eggs full of dynamite, GOBI explodes. Sweat and spirit, silk and grit, taciturn femmes beckon their call. The groove lays; all else is on its toes. And as the Poltergeist Arcade summons, they breech the material realm at will dazzling the living and waking the dead. A new breed is born.”
- Tony Arias, Pirate Studio

“GOBI makes music that is a playground for the ears.”
- Ana Wolken, Austin Sound Check

“I wasn’t prepared for how good these guys are. To start with, I was incredibly impressed with the drummer, Matthew Kevin Dunn, for playing such destructive beats in between taking shots with his fans at the front of the stage. All three of these guys have massive energy on stage, they do not disappoint in any way”
- Marshall Stokes, Austin Vittles

Read more:http://www.myspace.com/gobi#ixzz0uQnaGFwo

The Beatards | “F#¢K A LABEL” Mixtape

Download NOW ! http://tinyurl.com/fuck-a-label

Announcing the summer 2010 release of The Beatards new mixtape, “F#ck a Label” available now for FREE.  The Mixtape showcases The Beatards’ expansive remixing, production and songwriting skills. Tracks include remixes of M.I.A., LMFAO, Yeasayer, Gil Scott-Heron ft. Nas, Shakira ft. Kid Cudi, Ninjasonik and Gyptian as well as a collaborations with up and coming artists Jasmine Solano, Nasty Ness, Gobi and Miz Metro.  To round out the mixtape The Beatards include brand new tracks from their upcoming album “I’m the DJ”, set for independent release in the fall.

The Beatards  make their home in New York City. The three eclectic innovators: DJO, Chuck Wild, and UTK the INC, started the successful MIXTAPE RIOT! party in 2005. Santigold, Spank Rock, Trouble Andrew, Kudu and over 60 other artists performed and shared the stage with them. Consisting of 2 emcees and 1 DJ, The Beatards embody the new, eclectic hip-hop model shared by artists like LMFAO, Travie McCoy, Kid Cudi and B.o.B.  Entirely self-produced, the group blends a popular variety of hip-hop, electronic, punk, and international sounds that mirror the bands’ diverse individual backgrounds and collective global experience. As performers, The Beatards have shared the stage with Public Enemy, Shwayze, Far East Movement, LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Lady Sovereign, Drake, Mike Posner, and MGMT to name a few.  The group has also licensed songs to many television shows including Keeping up with the Kardashians, The City, Parental Control, Road Rules, Real World Cancun, Real World Brooklyn, Real World DC, Taking the Stage, Styl’D, Squatters and more. They are working with independent and major brands such as: PUMA, Red Bull, Sparks, AMP, N Brown Clothing, and 10 Deep.

In the fall of 2010, The Beatards will be releasing their first LP, entitled, “I’m the DJ”. Thus far, the group is 100% independent

Go download this now! http://tinyurl.com/fuck-a-label

DOORS AT 11 PM
***EARLY ARRIVAL SUGGESTED***

OPEN BAR ALL NIGHT PROVIDED BY CONJURE (LUDACRIS) AND VITAMIN WATER
LADY’S FREE B/4 MIDNIGHT
$20 DONATIONS
PART OF PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY
11 PM – 5 AM
PASSWORD IS MJ

NEWLY RENOVATED LOFT / GALLERY IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN
749 S BROADWAY DOWNTOWN LA 90014

From the NYC Womp cats that are tearing up the Dubstep scene right now – Step Up World is excited to welcome Hellfire Machina into the family and will be representing the UK DUO currently  residing in NYC for exclusive worldwide management.

Hellfire Machina are back with a dubstep remix of Drake’s seminal single ‘Over’ — keeping true to the originals musicality, they inject their trademark beats and bass for a truly crossover dubstep remix that will get hip hop and EDM fans bebopping, headnodding and tearing up dancefloors.

They also have a new EP “JEDI” that just dropped on Rocstar Recordings (Cut La Roc’s Label)
JUNODOWNLOAD.COM Link

Stay Posted for other upcoming releases and shows, tours  and projects. Hellfire Machina is going full steam ahead and won’t rest till the entire world is Whomp’n with them !

If you’re coming to the second MGMT album because you loved “Time to Pretend”, “Kids”, and “Electric Feel”, there’s the door. No such moments exist on Congratulations. Hell, there aren’t even failed attempts at replicating those songs here. This time out, MGMT aren’t crafting pop; they’re Creating Art. The problem is that many of the half-million or so people who bought their debut, Oracular Spectacular, just want a couple catchy-as-fuck, ear-candy singles to blast in their cars or put on with their friends.

One possible response to Congratulations is that MGMT are having a real “time to pretend” moment– that they’re willfully being weird, and either shrinking from the challenge of repeating their crossover success or clumsily aiming to prove their underground cred. But the simplest answer seems most realistic: MGMT are being themselves. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden wrote and released “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” way back in 2005. With a major-label contract in hand, they’ve never again written anything so radio-friendly. Instead, they penned the headier and exploratory (and weaker) parts of their debut album with help from go-to bells-and-whistles guy Dave Fridmann. This led to songs called “4th Dimensional Transition” and “Of Moons, Birds & Monsters”. Pastoral English pop, flighty mysticism, and studio-rat arrangements aren’t the exception with this band, they’re the rule.

Now they’ve returned with an album full of that stuff, and the result is audacious, ambitious, and a little fried. Working with Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, MGMT have crafted a grandiose but not always clear-eyed record. Instead of the commercial climbers they’re lumped alongside (the Killers, Kings of Leon, Muse), MGMT follow the lead of the Flaming Lips and Beck and prove to be kindred spirits with Of Montreal, Yeasayer, and Klaxons. They’re in love with 1970s art-rock, and they’ve immersed themselves in uncool subgenres like pop-psych and prog. And despite the lack of marquee songs, they’ve made, top to bottom, a more interesting and even better record this time out.

If their success granted them the opportunity to do whatever they wanted, MGMT took advantage of it, layering songs with a surplus of ideas when a few good ones would have done. Every track here has successful passages, but frustratingly, they too often turn out to be detours or trap doors. In general, the less cluttered and more focused their tracks are, the better they turn out. The most satisfying songs are the ballads– the title track in particular, but also “I Found a Whistle”– or the ones like “It’s Working” and “Someone’s Missing” that walk a fairly linear path. The most arduous is the 12-minute “Siberian Breaks”, which has some intriguing elements but little discernible reason to be so densely constructed.

Few bands this year will release a record under more difficult circumstances than MGMT, and following a shock commercial success with a zig when your fans want you to zag has always been dangerous. MGMT aren’t hitting the self-destruct button here, but the best-case scenario is that a cult, happy to shed the carpetbagger fans of OS, are willing to follow these guys around from idea to idea. Some may even use them as an introduction to the bands they’ve namechecked– Spacemen 3, Brian Eno, Television Personalities– and the sounds from which they’ve drawn inspiration. The more likely, short-term result is that MGMT are reined in a bit, not given so much rope to hang themselves. But that they didn’t hang themselves here, given the circumstances, suggests a certain amount of talent. Whether they write club-friendly songs like “Kids” or tracks like “Congratulations” or “Flash Delirium” or “It’s Working”, they can write songs. Hopefully, next time they won’t try to jam two dozen of them onto a nine-track album.

— Scott Plagenhoef, April 12, 2010

After all of the awful shit Crystal Castles did in the wake of their success, a whole lot of people hoped their new album would be terrible. Sorry, haters: 2010’s Crystal Castles improves on their (also self-titled) debut in nearly every way. The latest from the Toronto-based electro duo is reminiscent of the jump forward taken by Deerhunter between Cryptograms and Microcastle, or Fuck Buttons from Street Horrrsing to Tarot Sport. Like those acts, Crystal Castles have reconciled with their detractors instead of running from them. By staying true to themselves, they’ve created a more focused, propulsive, and satisfying follow-up.

Some listeners might miss the sonic shock that came from hearing the sub-zero Italo chill of “Magic Spells” sequenced next to the 8-bit electrocution of “Xxzxcuzx Me”, but clashes like those wore out their welcome over the span of 16 tracks. Here, Crystal Castles embrace continuity and broaden their dynamic range beyond the primitive loops that once constituted the foundations of their songs. The core elements of first single “Celestica”, for example, are pure shoegaze, but the waves of distortion that scrape across its chorus squash any concerns that the duo has gone soft. For a band known for its harsh midrange, this record reveals a surprising amount of depth in headphones.

Crystal Castles are far more pop than before, too, which was probably an inevitable move, but hardly a bad one. Like “Celestica”, “Suffocation” and “Empathy” mix fanged distortion and sparkly synths, while tracks like “Vietnam”, “Not in Love”, “Intimate”, and the rave-tinged “Baptism” arm the record with loads of could-be singles. But despite this shift toward beauty and clarity, Crystal Castles still rip into some punishing, epileptic moments, like the distorted bass riff on “Birds” and the shredded brutality of “Doe Deer”. The fluidity of the music is matched by Alice Glass’ frequently manipulated vocals, a showcase for someone too often pigeonholed as a bratty screamer. She sounds at times like everything from a Leslie guitar (“Empathy”) to a Cloverfield-style monster (“I Am Made of Chalk”). The obvious comparison is the Knife’s Silent Shout, but where Karin Dreijer-Andersson often manipulates her voice to play characters, Glass is just as disturbing for her dehumanization.

As rewarding as this new album is, it’s even more impressive when you consider its context: Crystal Castles may have come on at the tail-end of the blog-house/nu-rave/French-touch mini-rage, but they’ve now transcended it, moving from scene linchpin to indie stars. The reason is simple: Crystal Castles are a singular act who rarely sound like anyone other than themselves. So just as Ladytron’s The Witching Hour did for electroclash in 2005, Crystal Castles seems destined to close the door on a fleeting, once-fashionable genre in the best way possible: by making an artistic leap beyond its boundaries.

— Ian Cohen, April 29, 2010

Lyrically, the album boasts thought-provoking, introspective writing. Distant Relatives exemplifies the type of lyrical prowess both artists have become known for, with songs like “Welcome To Jamrock” and “If I Ruled The World” in their respective catalogs. The Realtives speak on current events (“My Generation” ), their own triumphs through troubles (“Strong Will Continue” ) and worldly issues (“Africa Must Wake Up” ) with the same amount of dexterity, deftly covering topics with skill and insight. They lend words to the power of loyalty (“Friends”), good fortune (“Count Your Blessings”) and religious beliefs (“In His Own Words”), sharing personal touches with every turn. Both take risks, and balance their master-plan, as Nas candidly forecasts the birth of his youngest child. Throughout the album, Nas and Jr. Gong ask the right questions (“Why do we all collide? Why do the young die?”) and provide just enough inspiration in the process (“Only the strong will continue, I know you have it in you”). They offer the right amount of positive influence with a balanced realism, juggling intellect with lived experience. They also manage to do something few traditionally “conscious”-labeled artists pull off; they never sound corny or contrived. Only artists of this stature could pull of this kind of undertaking. With honest emotion, intelligent bars, enjoyable melodies and fluid delivery throughout, this is a benchmark album for Damian and Nas, both as artists, but also as social poetical prophets.

The production on the album shows just how much thought was put into the project, one that also shows range. Where many have forgotten about the lost art of full length album making, this project is best served whole. Whether mixing live instrumentation with cleverly flipped samples (“The Promised Land” ) or borrowing from various cultures and genres, the beats here do not disappoint. Not often thought of as a Hip Hop producer, Bob Marley’s youngest son (with some assistance from brother Stephen) assert themselves as versatile studio conductors. It’s refreshing, for instance, to hear tribal drums on “Tribal War” following the up-tempo breakbeats of “As We Enter” . All of this sets the stage for “Strong Will Continue,” which acts as one of the standouts in a heap of uniqye cuts, an anthem that blares with electric guitars

, piano keys and a potent drum pattern. They can also mellow things down (“Leaders”), bringing the acoustic guitars

out (“Count Your Blessings” and “In His Own Words”) and borrow from various cultures and languages, something heard on chants in “Patience” “Dispear” and “Friends.” They can go from the accessible (“My Generation”) to the gritty (“Nah Mean”) with ease and keep heads nodding throughout, without ever losing the cohesion that makes this a complete album. Like Madlib, Damian Marley has the ability to make his music sound

globally relevant. The production matches the lyrical points perfectly, which may be one of the most challenging achievements on such an ambitious project.

From the moment the listener absorbs opening-cut, “As We Enter,” the chemistry is solidified within Distant Relatives as the two trade bars and this collaborative spirit can be seen throughout the album. Nas’ and Damian’s work together is superb and each guest (Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne, Dennis Brown and two guest spots from K’naan) fits sensibly with the project’s perimeters, ensuring that nothing is done for show and no detail is spared. Front to back, this album provides no filler and boasts substance. In a genre-bending effort, the duo manages to succeed in creating a best of both worlds collaboration without compromising anything – a feat rarely seen. The relativity between Nas and Marley comes across in this music as well as it does in their message, as both men create a benchmark in their rich careers.

- By Andres Tardio