BALANCE 013 MIXED BY SOS!

After 12 albums of cutting-edge dance music from all corners of the globe, EQ’s visionary Balance series has evolved into a continuing mission to find the perfect equilibrium: the happy marriage of integrity, innovation and entertainment. Balance 013 continues this great tradition but gives it to you supersized, with three DJs blazing a trail of 56 tracks across three jam-packed CDs. 

At the helm of this voyage is London-based DJ collective SOS (or SexOnSubstance), featuring Demi, Desyn Masiello and Omid 16B. As friends, producers, DJs, label owners – and model clubland citizens – Demi, Desyn and Omid are three of the most passionate talents working in electronic music today. Taking inspiration from their SexOnWax and Deeper Substance imprints to form SOS in 2004, they’ve built a first-rate reputation for quality music, inventive mixing and an infectious party spirit, whether it’s on a boat along the Thames, deep inside Bedrock or Ministry of Sound, or glowing in the sun in Ibiza or Miami.  

Balance 013 marks the first time the trio has committed their energetic and eclectic sound to CD, and the result is nothing short of mind-blowing. Having locked themselves away for weeks, submerged in their home studios, SOS painstakingly programmed and pieced together a three-disc opus using many of their signature re-edits, top-drawer treasures from underground troves, and a few kinky surprises out of left field. 

The journey begins with crashing waves and a sublime guitar solo, gliding into a realm of guitar loops and spaced out disco. And from there we catch a chugging, hypnotic groove that takes us right into the heart of the mix. Here the SOS sound snakes cleverly between cosmic dub, ambient breakbeats, Arabian horns and all things house. It’s a playground perfect for the more experimental shades of SOS’s palette.  

The next disc continues where the first left off continuing to build the mix. SOS passes through the deepest analogue territories before hitting the acid funk running. Followed by an infusion of twisted, percussive techno, the energy flow reaches a climax before dropping back. 

The final mix is every bit as epic and compelling. It’s also more club-orientated, with tracks cherry-picked from a brotherhood of underground talents. Sure enough at times it gets pretty intense, with prime dancefloor cuts from the likes of Aphex Twin, but it’s always in keeping with the ebb and flow of the project. Effortlessly organic and seamlessly dynamic, the sequence progresses, releasing pressure and leading to an atmospheric finale. 

Fair dinkum, SOS. Individually they are dynamite; collectively they are the bomb. Taking the art of DJing, moving it forward and making it truly progressive. Three DJs, three CDs and an explosive sequence of trip-tech sounds from right around the world, mixed the way SOS plays live – welcome to Balance 013!

SOS will be making a special trip to Australia in April to promote the album, check out full tour dates HERE.

Posted: Friday, 29 February 2008

THE GUTTER TWINS DEBUT ALBUM, SATURNALIA.

Comprised of what Pitchforkmedia.com proclaims are “two of alt-rock’s greatest front-men", Saturnalia is the first album from The Gutter Twins, the collaboration forged in late 2003 by Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens Of The Stone Age) and maverick singer-songwriter Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers).

Saturnalia finds the pair going deeper into the shadows than they ever have before with their past projects. Produced by Dulli and Lanegan along with the band’s unofficial third member Mathias Schneeberger, Saturnalia’s eerie modal swirls trap the listener in each song’s atmosphere; simultaneously evoking everything from Indian sitars to Appalachian folk and Delta grit, the drones inadvertently create narcotic hooks.

Spartan electronica collides with spooky space blues on the track ‘Who Will Lead Us?’ where ‘Idle Hands’ fuses Middle Eastern exoticism with shocking guitar riffs that shoot AC/DC boogie into another galaxy. 

The cumulative effect proves internal yet epic: the netherworld symphonics of Mogwai, Sigur Ros, and Bohren Und Der Club of Gore are touchstones, alongside the sprawling emotions of Pink Floyd, the melodically catchy paranoia of the Beach Boys, the primal confessionals of John Lennon.

Saturnalia is out on the 1st of March, 2008.

Posted: Friday, 29 February 2008

CSS ANNOUNCE V FESTIVAL SIDESHOWS!

Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, CSS bring their raucous blend of fizzing, punked up electro-rock-dance to Melbourne & Sydney for two very special V Festival sideshows in April! 

Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Portuguese for “Tired of Being Sexy,” is improbably, unbelievably and nearly eponymously the self-title of their debut. It is a thick, pulsating thing full of haphazard synths and a come-on of call and response that tears down any attempt at posturing. It is equal parts rock mantra and throwback into something new, transcending boundaries of genre and geography. It careers full speed into dance territory, into the unknown and untouched, to emerge all hot and bothered with wild electro-rock. 

Don’t miss CSS in Sydney and Melbourne! Click HERE for full Australian Tour dates.

Posted: Friday, 29 February 2008

X-PRESS 2 JOURNEY COAST2COAST

The Coast2Coast series continues its journey around the globe, setting down in London next, to catch a ride with the X-Press 2 boys. Ashley Beedle, Rocky and Diesel have conjured up a double mix delight, covering all bases in modern house music's wide musical tapestry. Featuring all styles, from deep disco to 5am dark minimal via the odd flashback to the late 80s/early 90s, this Coast2Coast looks set to put fire into the bellies of all house enthusiasts.

Tracks and remixes come courtesy of artists such as Mr. Fingers, Los Hermanos, Audion, Robbie Rivera, Áme, Peace Division, Solid Groove and many more.

Release date for Coast2Coast Mixed by X-Press 2 is 23rd February 2008.

Posted: Friday, 29 February 2008

NIL RECURRING FROM PORCUPINE TREE

English alterna-prog heavyweights Porcupine Tree follow the release of the acclaimed Fear of a Blank Planet album and the success of the 2007 North American tour will Nil Recurring. The mini album (30 minutes of music) was written during the Fear Of A Blank Planet sessions, completed over the Summer of 2007, and is now presented as a cohesive self contained Porcupine Tree work in its own right. 

The title track features Robert Fripp on lead guitar, and the album moves through the full Porcupine Tree spectrum of atmospheric ambience, melodic hooks, and crushing riffs.

Unquestionably one of the UK's most inspiring and inventive rock groups, Porcupine Tree have announced an Australian East Coast tour in April. Check out HERE for dates.

Posted: Friday, 29 February 2008

NEWS FLASH! SVEN VATH, GROOVERIDER, FELIX DA HOUSECAT

Sven Vath announces Cocoon Ibiza 2008 theme

Sven Vath has told Mixmag that this summer's Cocoon Ibiza theme will be 'Disco Invaders'. Following on from previous years themes, which 'Wildlife' and 'Freakshow', this year it's all about "the parliament of minimal funk".

Sven commented recently: “Me, Richie (Hawtin) and Ricardo (Villalobos) are coming from another planet – a disco, minimal, techno, electro planet – and we are landing on Amnesia’s roof in a ufo, flying in, but then we crash into the roof, and you’ll see us with disco balls, Boom!.”

Posted: Thursday, 21 February 2008

GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS RELEASE DEBUT!

Acclaimed Kiwi novelty band duo Flight of the Conchords follow up the release of their six-track Grammy award winning (it’s true, it's true!) EP 'The Distant Future' with their album debut, the conveniently titled Flight of the Conchords (which, not at all coincidentally, is also the name of their television series).  Produced by Mickey Petralia (Beck's Midnight Vultures, Ladytron's Light & Sound) in Los Angeles, New York and Wellington, the album features fully fleshed-out and professionally recorded versions of Flight of the Conchords concert and television favourites.  Its release finally renders pointless the countless inexpert fan-made audio transfers (the modern day equivalent of holding a microphone up to the television speaker and shouting at your mom to be quiet), which have bloated hard drives the world over. The songs are heard here in expanded but reverent arrangements. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s trademark acoustic guitars lead the blitz, backed by a diverse array of instrumentation and production technique. 

Flight Of The Conchords by Flight Of The Concords will be released through Stomp / Sub Pop on the 19th of April 2008.

Posted: Tuesday, 19 February 2008

CHRIS FORTIER'S MOMENT GETS REMIXED

CHRIS FORTIER – AS LONG AS THE MOMENT EXISTS REMIXED!

The list of artists involved reads like a roll call of underground music’s who’s who; past, present and future.

     Remixers include: 

Posted: Tuesday, 19 February 2008

BUZZIN' FLY RELEASE THEIR FIRST EVER ARTIST ALBUM!

Acclaimed Paris duo Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia’s Pain Disappears, merges early post-punk, new wave-pop and symphonic Berlin techno to create an album that will be a future classic.

The first ever artist/song based album on Ben Watt’s trailblazing deep house and techno imprint Buzzin’ Fly Records, is from the dynamic Parisian duo of Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia. Having spun electro and rock as the influential resident DJ at Paris’ seminal Rex Club and Requiem 45 parties since the last 90’s, Mademoiselle Caro (Caroline Laher) and her Perpignon based collaborator Franck Garcia have recorded a debut album brimming with a uniquely fragile yet defiant sound that seems to have one foot in modern day tech savvy Berlin and the other in vintage early 80s indie experimentalism. Drawing on new wave, sparse post punk austerity and minimal techno, the emotionally direct song writing and deft economical modern production in Pain Disappears has garnered a raft of stellar reactions from key media and tastemakers pre-release. 

‘A melodic, melancholic masterpiece that marries tech house bump and indie jangle with expertise,’ CLASH
‘The stunning emotive electro-pop of Caro & Franck is destined for big things ‘ DJ
‘Impressive ability to combine the austerity of post punk with the exuberance of the dancefloor’ 4 Stars THE FLY
‘Wonderfully honest ‘ 4 Stars MIXMAG
‘One of the boldest signings  Ben Watt’s ever made‘ 4 stars  IDJ
 ‘ … dips the sadness in amber and crystalises sorrow in a minimal space capsule of joy’ VICE

Pain Disappears out 8th March 2008.

Posted: Monday, 18 February 2008

GRAMMY AWARD FOR FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS!

New Zealand’s comedy duo Flight of the Conchords have won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for their EP The Distant Future. The album was released in August last year and featured six crowd favourites such as, “Business Time” and “If You’re Into It”.

Wellington duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie star in their own HBO TV series as marginally talented folk singers struggling to make it in New York.

Flight of the Conchords ended its first season on the US cable network in September, and fresh episodes will air later this year. Channel Ten have secured the rights to the series in Australia but are yet to confirm if they will air it. Lets hope so!

Posted: Monday, 11 February 2008

BASEBALL TOUR ANIMAL KINGDOM

Baseball launch the release of their long awaited debut album Animal Kingdom with an Australian tour throughout March and April 2008.  

The album was recorded on 2 inch tape at Head Gap Studios (MyDisco, Ninetynine, Magic Dirt, The Slits, etc) in Melbourne, and has been mastered by John Golden (Sonic Youth, Chris Isaak, etc) in California.

Posted: Monday, 11 February 2008

MY DISCO TOUR AUSTRALIA!

Melbourne trio My Disco launch the release of their second highly anticipated album ‘Paradise’ with a national tour over March and April 2008. 

Recorded in Chicago at Electrical Audio Studio, sound engineer extraordinaire Steve Albini (Pixies, Mono, PJ Harvey, The Stooges) has captured My Disco’s minimal yet intricate sound perfectly.

Well known for their precise and flawless live performances, Ben Andrews (guitar), Liam Andrews (vocals / bass) and Rohan Rebeiro (drums) have gained a strong and dedicated following since they first came together in 2003. A lot has been accomplished in the last five years, from countless headlining shows within Australia and around the world, to playing support for international bands such as Battles, Mogwai, Death From Above, Comets On Fire and Deerhoof. They have also just been announced for the Future of the Left Melbourne support later this month.

With several vinyl releases already under their belt, the band released their debut album 'Cancer' in 2006, from which stemmed an abundance of glowing reviews, radio support, sold out album launches in Melbourne and Sydney, plus extensive tours of Australia and abroad.

My Disco will be touring nationally to coincide with the album release - details below. 

'“As expected, the production from their hero Steve Albini captured the group as they really sound – inspired”   Blunt Magazine

'Paradise' is set for release through Stomp on the 25th of February 2008.

Check out full tour dates HERE.

Posted: Monday, 11 February 2008

IRON AND WINE - SECOND MELBOURNE SHOW ANNOUNCED!

With just a handful of tickets left for the Iron and Wine (aka Sam Beam) Melbourne show at Athenaeum Theatre, we are very chuffed to present a 2nd and final Melbourne show at the Corner Hotel on Wednesday March 12. Fans in Sydney and Brisbane are well advised to grab tickets to those shows if you haven't already as they will sell out before too long!

Naturally to perform such intricate and wonderful music as Sam's albums promise is going to require a band of some substance, so Australian audiences will be treated to the new, full Iron and Wine line-up for this series of shows. 

For the full tour dates click HERE!

Posted: Monday, 4 February 2008

INFECTED MUSHROOM - LEGEND OF THE BLACK SHAWARMA

Following the sold out Vicious Delicious tour in 2007, Infected Mushroom returns to Oz with a spectacular live showcase of their best works including a special sneak peak into their forthcoming album due to drop later this year.  As one of the busiest touring electronic bands, Infected Mushroom continuously raises the bar with their distinct live stage show that fuses psy-trance, rock and electronics, making them one of them most sought after live acts in the world.  2007 was a huge year for Amit Duvdevani (aka Duvdev) and Erez Eisen, which saw them play their biggest shows ever, whilst securing the top 10 ranks of DJ mags amid producing their new album and undertaking a new DVD project.  With these superstars at the helm, their infection has massed into a worldwide epidemic - leaving no cure in sight, only heightened anticipation for the Infected Mushroom phenomenon. 

Infectious works:
Vicious Delicious album: released & toured in Oz in 2007, fusing rock-tronics and psy-fi electrons fused with Duvdev’s killer vocals. Contains the monster hits Becoming Insane, Special Place and Artillery.

I’m the Supervisor album: killer album from 2004 including the hits Cities of the Future, Stretched and I’m the Supervisor.

Posted: Monday, 4 February 2008

DARK FORTRESS CHAPTER EIDOLON

Following the release of their Century Media debut “Séance” in 2006, German black metal outfit Dark Fortress strike back with their next album “Eidolon”. Formed in 1994, Dark Fortress could establish themselves in the top ranks of the genre with intense live shows and fascinating, pitch black full-length masterpieces that meet the standard created mostly in northern Europe’s prolific scenes with ease.

“Eidolon” is the band’s first effort with new vocalist Morean who is also responsible for the intricate lyrical concept. In its nine chapters the album describes the initiation, dehumanization and unearthly rebirth of a transcending soul by mirror magic and astral projection. An “Eidolon” is a Greek concept of an astral double of a living being or a 'mirror'. The concept describes a magic mirror ritual as while a person is in a trance, the surface of the mirror is used as a gate to enter a new dimension. Three songs each form the album’s three chapters:

The first three songs describe the calling of beings from the other dimension, seen from three different angles. The next three songs make up the second chapter which is the initiation, when the astral soul is dehumanized and torn away from his earthly ties. The last three songs create the third part with the rebirth on the other side of the mirror.

This is an excellent production providing rawness and transparency to equal parts. Dark Fortress are well prepared to plant their black seeds in support of their stunning new album “Eidolon”.

Posted: Monday, 4 February 2008