monday notes

-The dance music nonprofit group NextAid is putting DJ gear and e-music memorabilia up for bidding today. The goal is to raise money for the L.A.-based organization's planned children's center for South African kids orphaned by parents who contracted fatal bouts of AIDS. Items for sale include a vinyl collection from DJ Dan, a VIP night out at New York club Cielo, and a copy of Ableton Live 7 software. Bidding ends on Sunday, June 1.

-Booka Shade (above) has added four dates to its spring and summer tour, including:

July 26 - Avalon, Los Angeles
July 30 - Underbar, Boston
Aug. 1 - Irving Plaza, New York
Aug. 2 - Lollapalooza, Chicago

Check out a list of 10 tracks that influenced the duo early on.

-Winners of the first-annual, genre-specific Beatport Music Awards have been announced.

-Crystal Castles is being accused of sampling music without permission, even under by the more lax requirements of Creative Commons licensing. More on the controversy here.