via Engadget.
More info via Pablo Martin.
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“The Creators Project is a new network created by Vice and Intel dedicated to the celebration of creativity and culture across media, and around the world. At a time in the history of the arts where digital technologies have revolutionized distribution, democratized access, and completely re-imagined the scope and scale with which an artist can create a vision and reach an audience, The Creators Project is a completely new kind of arts and culture channel for a completely new kind of world.” Meet Diplo, a DJ and producer from Philadelphia. In 2006 he started his own label, Mad Decent. He produced the Grammy Award-winning song “Paper Planes” for MIA. He makes up half of the group Major Lazer, alongside DJ and producer Switch. More artists available via The Creators Project. music.
A short video demonstrating french DJ and producer Etienne de Crecy’s unique audio/visual performance called “Beats’n'Cubes”. More info, and tour dates available here. think.
“We went to London to tell the story of pirate radio – secret urban studios that transmit music from concrete tower blocks to the city, and met with DJs, and station managers, rappers and MCs. We sailed to the source, where it all started – massive concrete and steel forts that sit at the mouth of the Thames River. We met the people who pioneered the spirit of pirate, and played the music that London wanted to hear. They set the standard, and when the authorities shut them down, pirate sounds went into the urban underground.” More info via VBS. music.
I attended a Bloc Party DJ set that took place shortly after they finished playing to a sold out crowd on St.Patrick’s day. The set featured Matt Tong and Russell Lissack taking turns playing some new but mainly older dance and electro tracks on a CDJ setup.
DJing has become a popular medium for bands to take in the last few years. I’ve seen DJ sets by Chromeo, The Rapture, and Andrew W.K. The quality of these sets vary greatly. Andrew W.K performs often at Studio B (NYC) where he has become some sort of resident DJ. I hate being a hater, but him (and his friend making random sounds into a mic) are absolute shit. On the other hand, Chromeo (specifically Dave 1) puts on a decent, high energy performance (but this makes sense considering your brother is superstar DJ a-trak).
One of the biggest challenges for new or unknown DJs is figuring out the world of promoting, how to score gigs, and finding a fan base. But most bands already have success in these areas, and using your bands rep to score gigs at clubs during a tour seems like a rather easy (maybe even effortless) transition.
With all that being said, Bloc Party did an alright job. Not great – not amazing – just alright. Mixing was good, track selection – not so much. But I have to give them credit; finishing a live gig, and playing a 2 hour DJ set can’t be an easy task. Especially when you’re a novice DJ spinning right after a pro like three time DMC national champ Drastik.
Sometimes you should stick to what you do best. For Bloc Party, that’s probably their post-punk rifts, live shows, and being known as the guys that came out with the epic tracks on Silent Alarm (unless you’re into that whole Intimacy thing).
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