Imagination were three UK R&B singers who conspired to make “slinky, sexy” music in the early 1980s. Their most recognizable hits are “Just an Illusion” and “Music and Lights”. Leee John, the singer had a distinctive, jazzy falsetto reminiscent of Cory Daye (Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band/Kid Creole) that glided over lushly produced and meticulously… [Read more…]
June 7, 2010
In honor of Prince’s 52nd birthday, “Bob George”, from the Black Album. One of the darkest, funniest, freakiest things he ever did. And that’s saying a lot, considering, you know, it’s Prince. Allegedly pushed into bootleg infamy after a bad ecstasy trip left him with a bad feeling. Fanboy porn for your earhole, really.
May 24, 2010
The interview with Ellen Allien went up on Urb.com last week. Excerpt below. Over the last decade or so, Ellen Allien has become one of the most beloved and admired artists on the electronic music scene. In addition to recording, producing and playing all over the world as a DJ and performer, Allien has also… [Read more…]
September 29, 2008
Directed by Eric Wareheim (Tim & Eric) in association with Warp Records and Warp Films. Music by Flying Lotus. Co Directed/ Animation by Devin Flynn. Co Directed/ Edited by Eric Fensler. This video below contains some explicit cartoon scenes, flashing lights and is FOR OVER 18′s ONLY. Parisian Goldfish by Flying Lotus
October 21, 2008
Urb magazine was the first to publish any of my scribbles after I quit Vibe and started freelancing. After a few pieces, things kind of dried up. So when the opportunity came along to do a quick short piece for them again, I took it. The subject was Michna, an artist on Ann Arbor’s boutique… [Read more…]
October 26, 2008
After Chris De Luca split from Funkstorung a few years ago, he paired up with friend of Apparat, Phon.o. Together, they’ve mashed booty bass, acid house and breaks into a grimey, hands-up assault on dancefloors across Berlin and the rest of Europe. After several gigs and side projects, the album Supercontinental by CLP (their initials),… [Read more…]
November 9, 2008
Behind every hit record, there’s a million misses. And I don’t mean single ladies. Misses, for lack of a better word, are the anti-hits of the music business. They are those records that music geeks and DJ’s treasure, those influential one-hit wonders, or sleepers that don’t move many units, generate inches of ink or hours… [Read more…]
November 15, 2008
Did ya hear, the USA has its first black president. And not just any black president, a potentially great president. This subtle distinction was often dismissed in the heated dialogues over his nomination and election. But it’s a distinction that stuck in my craw. To say that the only reason he won is because he’s… [Read more…]
November 16, 2008
The current issue of Earplug is up, featuring my interview with Gregg “Girl Talk” Gillis, and a photo by my friend, fellow DJ-lover, Anna “Detroit” White. We make a pretty good team, I think. Feature November 6, 2008 Girl Talk’s Copyleft Curveballs Sampling artist puts a smiley face on Plunderphonics Until two years ago, biomedical engineer/mashup DJ… [Read more…]
November 16, 2008
Issue #94 of BPM is out now, featuring my interview with Metro Area’s Morgan Geist.
November 16, 2008
At 60, the ultimate underground diva Grace Jones decides to hit the stage for the Meltdown Festival curated by Massive Attack, and tears it up. As if that weren’t enough, her first new album in 19 years, Hurricane, dropped in November, produced in part by Brian Eno and Tricky. And, just in case you’re still… [Read more…]
December 2, 2008
Adele Santogold Faunts Starfucker Daedelus Flying Lotus Between the Pine Fujiya & Miyagi Dragonette Black Ghosts Michna El Perro Del Mar Lykke Li Morgan Geist Kelley Polar Jaime Lidell Annie Kanye West Gui Boratto Ryuichi Sakamoto Grace Jones Pivot Padded Cell Girl Talk Quiet Village Prosumer & Murat Ellen Alien Modeselektor Carl Cox Portishead Meat… [Read more…]
December 24, 2008
I’ve spent the last couple of days in a funk. First, Obama’s selection of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation hit me like a kick to the stomach. Intellectually, I appreciate and applaud the “team of rivals” strategy. I’ve been through the NA 12-step program, practiced Zen with HIV positive men, NSA Buddhism with… [Read more…]
December 28, 2008
On Christmas day when I reached over to hit “snooze” on the Blackberry, I squinted at my messages. Everything was OK with work, then I checked my Gmail. Harold Pinter had died while I was sleeping. While I’m familiar with and admire Pinter, if I were even to attempt to try to write anything lamenting… [Read more…]
January 27, 2009
WFMU: Two Free Tix! Laurie Anderson & Friends at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House in Bklyn, Wed Jan 21 @ 8pm. First reply who wants ‘em, gets ‘em 8:21 PM Jan 12th from web @johnsancheznyc: @WFMU yes?! 8:23 PM Jan 12th from TwitterFon in reply to WFMU @mediajorge: @johnsancheznyc @wfmu si, si! 8:25 PM Jan… [Read more…]
April 6, 2009
Music 6 Apr Music, News N.A.S.A the Spirit of Apollo text by Jorge Hernandez Let’s be real: most albums featuring everyone and their mothers pretty much suck. Not because of anyone’s moms, per se, but because collaborations tend to over-reach for street cred, moving units, or redemption via some charitable gesture. So one can be… [Read more…]
April 6, 2009
April 7, 2009
Current favorite new thing: dreamy, noisy, melodic…. Ape School – Album Stream
April 20, 2009
Or, what I did on my winter vacation. Snippet below. Rest at Flavorpill, Earplug. Taming the Winter Music Conference Monster 6:25 am Wednesday Apr 15, 2009 by Jorge Hernandez Like most of the snowbirds, I was at Miami’s annual Winter Music Conference for some sun, beach, dancing, and schmoozing. As often happens, my first night descended… [Read more…]
April 21, 2009
Swedish techno wonder kid Axel Willner, aka the Field, is back. And he’s still sounding like a fistful of top shelf E’s. The Field‘s pulsating, ambient sound made ravers, critics and the indie set swoon in 2007. And then, he made them wait. Now, two years after the rapturous debut, From Here We Go Sublime,… [Read more…]
April 22, 2009
How’s this for an endorsement: Press List-addicted Media Whore spends $70 on a last minute mad dash to small, sweaty club to catch indie pop funkers. Scary, but true. A PJ Harvey concert alert led me to a listing for Ratatat tomorrow, and Starfucker – tonight! I checked the clock, put the smokes down, jumped… [Read more…]
April 23, 2009
Ratatat‘s psychedelic circus pulled into Terminal 5 last night long enough to freak the geeks with barrages of strobe lights, confetti, poultry-head visuals, wildcat roars and body surfing. Gaunt, grungy and sweaty, the Brooklyn duo banged, riffed, and bleep bleeped through a set fit for an off-campus rave. You don’t have to be young and… [Read more…]
June 22, 2009
MusicExclusive Idjut Boys Interview Meanderthals Rune Lindbæk Exclusive: Idjut Boy and Meanderthal Rune Lindbæk Talks the Substance of Size 1:13 pm Tuesday May 19, 2009 by Jorge Hernandez In Norway, size matters. “The big clubs don’t do well. They try to bring ‘BIG’ names there and it doesn’t really work,” says Rune Lindbæk from his part-time… [Read more…]
June 25, 2009
Ian “Eon” Loveday passed away June 17 from pneumonia. He was best known for the early 1990′s rave track, “Spice”, instantly recognizable by the “Dune” blips: “He who controls the Spice controls the universe” and “the Spice must flow.” He also teamed with Peter “Baby” Ford often; and Mark “S’Express” Moore. Most people would say,… [Read more…]
June 26, 2009
On June 12th, ambient/balearic producer and DJ, Andy Hughes passed away in a liver intensive care unit from a “short illness”. He was best known for his work with the Orb, notably on the album Orblivion which featured one of their bigger hits, “Toxygene”. Most recently, he was working with Basement Jaxx. His family is… [Read more…]
June 26, 2009
Things that make you go, hmmmmutherfuckinmmmm: in one day, Gen X lost two of its biggest icons. Farrah Fawcett passed away in the morning; Michael Jackson in the afternoon. Every time I went for coffee, someone passed away. I’m not getting up again, I thought. Farrah, you expected. She had been battling anal cancer for… [Read more…]
July 12, 2009
From Urb.com: Nouvelle Vague Live Review (Filmore East @ Irving Plaza NYC 6/17/2009) Posted Monday, June 22, 2009 @ 09:01 in Music by Jorge Hernandez In some circles, Nouvelle Vague would be heretics, likely burnt at the stake. How else to describe and dispense with a French troupe of cover lovers that turns hardcore Punk,… [Read more…]
August 16, 2009
I caught up with Danny Wang when he zipped and boogied through town this summer. The first couple photos are by the awesome Anna White, not me. Daniel Wang: DJ, Producer, and Little Mister Sunshine 2:53 pm Wednesday Jul 29, 2009 by Jorge Hernandez Ghostly artist Daniel Wang, a DJ who has been namechecked in Daft… [Read more…]
August 16, 2009
My second crack at an Underworld Interview is up at Urb.com :: Interview with Karl Hyde By Jorge Hernandez Photography by N/A 08/06/09 :: URB web In 1980 when Karl Hyde and Rick Smith first got together in Cardiff, England, MP3s, iPods, even MTV didn’t exist, and Apple computer was in the middle of a… [Read more…]
September 2, 2009
Pet Shop Boys kicked off their US tour in NYC last night at the Hammerstein. You can read my review for the Village Voice here. Pictures on Flickr!
September 2, 2009
The interview with Mungolian Jetset is up at Urb.com. There’s an excerpt below, the rest is here. Oh, those happy-go-lucky Scandinavians and their music-loving ways, living in utopia as they presumably do, with their low crime rate, modular furniture and blue-eyed soul. It’s not hard to imagine folk, freak-jazz, funk, disco and house music flowing… [Read more…]
September 19, 2009
The interview with Daniel Agust of GusGus is up at Earplug/Flavorwire. Peek below. Exclusive: Interview With GusGus Vocalist Daníel Ágúst As anyone who’s followed GusGus knows, surprises await with every release. But the Icelandic collective has even more surprising surprises with its latest album, 24/7. First, there’s the Jesus-on-velvet cover art; then there’s a cameo… [Read more…]
September 19, 2009
Warp 20 Celebrates with Flying Lotus, Battles, & More (Review) Posted Tuesday, September 08, 2009 @ 01:45 in Music by Jorge Hernandez Judging by its current anniversary tour, Warp is clearly intent on taking over the world – on time. At New York’s Terminal 5 Friday night it was “Doors at 6pm, first show at… [Read more…]
November 24, 2009
I know, an interview for Earplug/Flavorwire and a Don’t Stop cd review for Urb. And after a hiatus, I high-tailed it down to ye ole Tribeca Grand for a DJ set. Serious fanboy-itis. But it’s no secret: men (of all persuasions) seem to love Annie, the smarty pants pop tart of choice. Excerpts below, more… [Read more…]
November 24, 2009
I hadn’t written a review in a while, largely in a misguided self-imposed edict to do “only features”. Time was, I was grateful for “even” a review. And there’s too much good music slipping by without getting ink. So, in the spirit spreading the word and keeping it humble, I’ve been doing more reviews. Especially… [Read more…]
December 8, 2009
I just got this over the weekend, and I cannot wait for the remixes or the tour. Tim Simenon’s been around for a while. He gave us “Beat Dis”, the sample-packed acid electro classic featuring the Watchmen “Bloody Smiley” cover. He then produced Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance” and Depeche Mode’s “Ultra” album. In his later… [Read more…]
December 8, 2009
After making us wait for almost a decade for her 6th album in 25 years, Sade Adu and her band are back. The interwebs have been abuzz with bait and switch gossip, unabated by the relentless social media joggernaut – looking at you twitter. Not that we’re complaining. In anticipation, I have reconnected with all… [Read more…]
December 26, 2009
Nissennenmondai The Seven Fields of Aphelion – free mp3: “Mountain Mary” off of Periphery. Busdriver Sian Alice Group Eliot Lipp Deerhunter Jamie Jones Bodymovin DJ/rupture + Matt Shadetek KZA (half of Force of Nature) Daedelus
December 26, 2009
Annie Mungolian Jetset DJ Spinna Underworld GusGus Danny Wang Pet Shop Boys Nouvelle Vague N.A.S.A. MSTRKRFT The Presets WARP20
December 26, 2009
More at: Urb.com For some of us, homegrown late 90’s New York nightlife will always mean Bobbito, Rich Medina, Giant Step, Organic Grooves, Body & Soul and DJ Spinna. Wherever one of their parties pitched its tent, coveted multiculti urbanistas that worked hard, played hard. They didn’t know it then, but just about a decade… [Read more…]
January 14, 2010
This was one of those WTF now kind of days. Total devistation in post-quake Haiti. Stupid nameless preachers blaming the allegedly Satanic victims. And, at night’s end, Teddy Pendergrass passes on. It gave the whole day a mystical tint. Maybe it’s just because I have a soft-spot for scandalous, traumatized soul singers. I’ve always threatened… [Read more…]
February 1, 2010
Yeah, it’s the Grammys and not a hipster circle-jerk sponsored by Pitchfork. You don’t expect anyone interesting who actually plays an instrument to win anything – Imogene Heap got hers – and wore a Twitter update dress – but it was a technical award and not broadcast in Prime Time. You can find all the… [Read more…]
March 3, 2010
I’ve set up an all-music blog on Tumblr: Too Cool for This. It’s in its early phase, so it may change cosmetically, but its mission will be to capture all the music and videos that come my way in a dedicated space that doesn’t mix my personal and editorial business. By focusing the blogs and… [Read more…]
March 15, 2010
Forgot to mention: the interview with Bomb the Bass went up on Urb recently. Clip below, rest at Urb.com. Chances are when you were 19, you weren’t dropping an anthem on your generation. Whether he cares to admit it or not, Bomb the Bass helped fire-start the acid rave scene in the late 1980’s alongside… [Read more…]
April 3, 2010
This is written purely from memory, for one of my dearest friends from my days in Chicago. Some of the details may be a bit off. But this is how I will always remember it. And I don’t really think she’d mind. Chicago, 1994 I was walking down Halsted Street, I don’t remember with whom.… [Read more…]
April 28, 2010
I met up with Juan Mclean for the good folks at Urb to discuss his new DJ Kicks mix out now… Juan Maclean is kicking ass and taking names. On his new DJ Kicks mix for !K7, Maclean preaches a purist house gospel; in conversation he is just as direct, taking tiresome music and fans… [Read more…]
April 28, 2010
I also recently wrote up Son Lux. Read the rest at Urb.com… Symphony Space sits on the corner of 95th Street and Broadway on Manhattan’s posh and progressive Upper West Side. It’s the kind of neighborhood where the conspicuously conscious jog among sidewalk textbook vendors and dusty-wigged doyennes chatting up imaginary friends. Just outside the theater,… [Read more…]
May 19, 2010
Trent Reznor, Jeordie White, Peter Murphy and Atticus Ross do a lazy version of a pretty swank cover of Warm Leatherette by the Normal. Comments ensued… There’s a FLY in there! The guy sounds like Dracula lol” ( lol ) That “DUDE” is Peter Murphy. Its funny you do not think this sounds like a… [Read more…]
May 24, 2010
Shana wanted to share. Shana didn’t do her homework. Kids, don’t be a Shana. Had Shana (the poster) checked Wikipedia, she would’ve been better informed on Shana (the singer). Then again, we wouldn’t have the comment battle below. Either way, thanks Shana and Shana. Shana ‘I Want You’ is NOT Italo Disco, it’s old sckool… [Read more…]
June 8, 2010
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