this hop-hop/dance thing continues to grow

The hip-hop/dance reunion that brought us Kanye West's sampling of Daft Punk and the Black Eyed Peas' use of Fedde Le Grand in the studio continues to blossom. This weekend BEP's Will.i.am gets on the decks at Pacha NYC. A statement says his "box is full of everything from David Guetta, Crookers, to the more minimal strains of Guy Gerber, along with his own mash-ups and remixes." He's at the spot Friday: 618 W. 46th St. Info.


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robbie rivera speaks

In today's LA Weekly online I do a Q&A with Miami house/trance/tribal artist Robbie Rivera, whose new album, Closer to the Sun, is out this week on Ultra Records. He'll be at Giant at Vanguard Saturday. I asked him how he likes his warm-up DJs to play when he spins. Here's what he says:

"Opening DJs sometimes go crazy, playing hard, peak-time stuff -- and I hate that. If you're going to warm up for a DJ, you should play warm-up music that's appropriate to the setting and set time. I prefer 126 beats per minute -- nothing too hard, no big breakdowns. Warm-up music, that's what I like."


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l.a. halloween fests draw gatecrashers

In today's LA Weekly online I check in with local cops for crowd estimates and crime reports surrounding two almighty parties -- Hard Halloween and Monster Massive. Police say Hard did about 8,000 people on each of its nights -- Friday and Saturday -- at the Shrine Auditorium in Exposition Park (promoter Gary Richards tells the 'blogga it was more like 9,000 each night); Monster Massive drew close to its capacity of 80,000. That's nearly a 100,000 people going to dance parties in one neighborhood and doesn't count the superclubs and other parties (and after-parties) in L.A. Not bad.

About 50 arrests were attributed to both events. Most of the collars involved gatecrashers at Monster Massive, although Hard had a smaller but similar problem Friday. Details. Pics.

[Above: Mau5 fans at Hard; photo for LA Weekly by Timothy Norris].


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ultra festival announces dates

Summer weather has only this week started to cool in Southern California, but the organizers of the annual Ultra Music Festival in Miami are already planning next spring's do: Today they announced the dates of March 26 and 27 for the 2010 event. Early bird specials on tickets start at noon Friday. The tix are $99.95 for both days. Info.


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lawler speaks, offers mix

In today's LA Weekly online I do a Q&A with Steve Lawler, who I call the Ozzy Osbourne of dance music -- the DJ prince of darkness. He'll be in Los Angeles Saturday to DJ at Monster Massive. He says:

"L.A. has always had a good scene on and off over the years, and L.A. is one of the hottest places in the world right now, especially for the underground -- for the discerning music lovers -- thanks to the likes of the Droogs who constantly push quality for no reason but that they love and live it."

Lawler's people were kind enough to offer us this mix, which is a recording of a peak-time Ministry of Sound set he played over summer.


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hard fest set times announced

Organizers of the two-day Hard Haunted Mansion Friday and Saturday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles are making last-minute preparations and have warned potential attendees about counterfeit tickets that are circulating. They won't be honored.

Set times have been announced, including gaps at 1:30 and 1:50 a.m., each for a "special guest." Hmm.

Organizers warn party-goers not to bring backpacks, furry toys, or other bags, and that personal cameras are okay, but pro ones are not (I wonder who decides that). They also recommend following Hard on Twitter for last-minute updates.


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ben watt gets dark

In today's LA Weekly online I catch up with Buzzin' Fly label honcho and deep house don Ben Watt, who declares that he's found new inspiration in the darker, "druggy" sounds of Europe. He spent the summer at a resident on the famed Terrace of club Space in Ibiza, and he says his DJ sets, known for their shiny sound, have gotten a bit twisted as a result. He says:

"The music has clearly been influenced by a new kind of drug culture in Europe -- late-night parties fueled by really trippy drugs and a dubbier, sub-bassy kind of sound that has really dominated the scene. It's created a new groove. It's not just happening in the dark clubs of northern Europe but also at the beach parties of Ibiza. Dubfire from Deep Dish went as far as he could go commercially with Sharam [of Deep Dish] and took a look off the top of the hill and said, I don't want to be here -- there's more interesting music being made in Europe. Producers like Radio Slave have really carved out a whole genre to themselves. in some ways. ... I think it's very addictive as a dance-floor sound."


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underworld to unleash compilation

Underworld has compiled a new collection, Underworld vs. The Misterons - Athens, due for release via the !K7 label on Nov. 24. Collaborators Darren Price and Steven Hall contribute (thus the addition of The Misterons to the title, I'm guessing) to what is being billed as an eclectic, jazzy experience. It doesn't appear that the compilation, the first in a series for !K7, is DJ-mixed or sequenced.

The long-player features music from Underworld itself, Carl Craig, Lauren Garnier, Squarepusher, Roxy Music and a previously unreleased collaboration between Underworld's Karl Hyde and Brian Eno ("Beebop Hurry"). Hyde also painted the cover art.

“The overall mood is jazz and improvisation,” Underworld states. “There is very little playing in a lot of people’s records in the dance and DJ world these days, but one thing Underworld have always liked is musicianship. It doesn't stop us loving machine music and house music and everything that goes with it, but the idea with this album was to highlight records we liked that we thought had great live playing on them.”

The track list:

01 Alice Coltrane Journey In Satchidananda feat. Pharoah Sanders
02 Mahavishnu Orchestra You Know, You Know
03 Squarepusher Theme From Sprite
04 Soft Machine Penny Hitch
05 Roxy Music 2HB
06 Detroit Experiment Space Odyssey
07 Moodyman Rectify
08 Osunlade The Promise
09 Underworld Oh
10 Laurent Garnier Gnanmankoudji (Broken-Afro Mix)
11 Miroslav Vitous New York City
12 Brian Eno & Karl Hyde Beebop Hurry (EXCLUSIVE UNRELEASED TRACK)


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