Flyin Lion

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If you have been following us for a while you know that we here at Control + Alt + Delight have been HUGE fans of CRSSD Festival from the get go. Twice a year the Downtown San Diego Waterfront plays host to some of the best talent in electronic music. CRSSD Festival also features a craft beer and mixology program along with locally curated food vendors from some of San Diego’s finest restaurants. CRSSD is a 21+ festival.

 

To top it off, CRSSD offers sunset views over the waterfront and docked sailboats, fountains for staying cool while sunbathing, and the dramatic downtown backdrop of planes taking off and landing at the San Diego Airport. It’s a setting unlike any other in America. Once night falls, CRSSD programs a full After Dark program, which sees world-class DJs perform at multiple venues across the city.

 

One of our favourite additions to the lead up is their BitTorrent Content Bundle. The newest installment features exclusive music From ZHU, Eagles & Butterflies, and Landis LaPacePlus Free Downloads From Flight Facilities, MK, Big Wild, Ta-Ku, REZZ, AC Slater, Sam Feldt, Dr. Fresch, + Boys Don’t Disco’s Late Night Jackin’ Guacamole Recipe, a KUNGS, and a Matrixxman Desktop Wallpaper.

 

Download the CRSSD Bundle Here and use it to prep for CRSSD Festival which takes place on October 1 & 2 in San Diego’s Waterfront Park.

 

For more information and tickets to CRSSD Fest, visit: http://crssdfest.com/

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Despite a brutal commute, scorching temperatures, and an adolescent population the size of Disneyland, I had an amazing time at this year’s Day N Night festival in Silverado, CA. Thrown by Santa Ana’s Observatory in the spacious Oak Canyon Park, Day N Night festival’s inaugural line-up was one for the ages; focusing mainly on up and coming hip-hop artists. Even before being dropped in that crowd, you can definitely see the appeal for students. From top to bottom, the inaugural line-up was a who’s who of 2016’s hottest acts from Flume down to 21 Savage. Concert bills like this prove that the need for a major label to shape and distribute your sound is nothing but a mere notion of yesteryear.

 

 

The two headliners A$AP Rocky and Flume played Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and each brought their own brand of flash and debonair to the main stage. A$AP Rocky closed out the Saturday mainstage which also featured high-energy performances from up and comers Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, and Post Malone. Each of these young guns played to massive crowds and brought their own brand of hip-hop for the kids. Though each artist is quite new school, there were a few cues from each set that hearkened back to the golden era with each performer having a real DJ behind them complete with a full entourage on stage with them at all times.

 

 

Seasoned veteran and Compton’s own, YG stole the show Saturday performing hits like “Twist My Fingaz,” “Why You Always Hatin’?”, and “Who Do You Love”. He had the crowd hanging onto every lyric, every quip, as the stage lit up bright for his hour long set. After YG, I went to go check out Metro Boomin’s DJ Set. Being the self-proclaimed Future Stan that I am, I’ve been following Metro for a minute. I was not disappointed as Metro spun his self-produced Future tracks back to back to back and even brought out T-Pain as a special guest to perform “Buy U a Drank”. Saturday closed out in the utmost style as A$AP Rocky took to the main stage and kicked his set off with “L$D”. Moments later he brought out A$AP Nast, Ant, and Twelvy to run through all the hits and even do some tracks off their previous mix tapes.

 

 

Getting into the festival on Sunday was a grueling journey; but once I got inside, Flume’s DJ Set did not disappoint. Slightly more on the hard side than his live shows Flume dropped banger after hit after banger to the massive crowd who never seemed to mind that the temperatures were over 95 degrees. Curiously, the Australian super-producer’s set started at 5:00pm, a bit early than most expected however he more than made up with it by bringing out Vince Staples for “Smoke & Retribution” and Vic Mensa for “Lose It”. After Flume the Soulection crew ripped the Weedmaps stage. The trio of Andre Power, SoSuperSam, and Esta each played their own brand of electronic blended hip-hop and old school r&b favorites. 21 Savage was easily the biggest surprise of the weekend. His cool and calm demeanor on stage in addition to his neo-gangster rap persona made for a heavy set as he performed tracks like “Savage Mode” and “No Heart”. At one point there was even a girl holding a french bull dog puppy on stage just chilling with the rest of his crew.

 

 

At the end of the day, Day N Night’s talent made up for the the difficulties with the logistics. If the Observatory continue to consolidate Hip-Hop’s rising stars, hit-makers, and mix in some electronic acts for good measure, there’s no question we will be returning year upon year. After all we do this for the music right?

 

Sebastian – H.A.L.

 

King Krule – Octopus

 

RL Grime – Aurora

 

Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun

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Today, Alex Ridha aka BOYS NOIZE announces a 15-date North-American tour. The trek starts on October 5th on the West Coast in Los Angeles and will go via Vancouver and Seattle to playing two nights in New York, followed by Miami, Boston, Suwannee Hulaween in Florida and ends with Austin’s Sound on Sound (ex-Fun Fun Fun Fest). The tickets are available Thursday, August 11th href=”http://www.boysnoize.com/#!tour/ofgvv”>HERE.

 

This tour comes Hot off the heels of Alex’s most recent album release, Mayday. Mayday is Boys Noize´s most dynamic album to date. Collaborations with Poliça, Hudson Mohawke, Benga, Remy Banks, Spank Rock, and some special secret guests broaden the range while maintaining the classic rugged-n-raw BOYS NOIZE style. You can check out our review of MAYDAY href=”https://controlaltdelight.com/?s=boys+noize”>here. **Spoiler Alert** We fucking loved it!

 

We are really excited for this tour as Alex is one of our favorites DJ’s in the electronic landscape today. His live shows surely will not be ones to miss as Boys Noize stage production and visuals are always top notch. SUS BOY and LIL INTERNET provide to aesthetics exploring a thematic narrative inspired by cyberpunk, 80’s industrial and surveillance in contemporary society.

 

Boys Noize feat. Benga – Dynamite

Boys Noize – 1010

Boys Noize feat. Pilo

Boys Noize – Overthrow

 

10.05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wilson Lot (LIVE)
10.06 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency (LIVE)
10.07 – Vancouver, BC @ Celebrities
10.08 – Seattle, WA @ Q
10.11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (LIVE)
10.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (LIVE)
10.13 – Miami, FL @ Heart
10.14 – Boston, MA @ Bijou
10.15 – Toronto, ON @ The Hoxton
10.28 – Live Oak, FL @ Suwannee Hulaween
10.29 – Philadelphia, PA @ 714
10.30 – Bridgeview, IL @ Freaky Deaky
11.03 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
11.04 – Denver, CO @ Beta
11.05 – Austin, TX @ Sound on Sound (ex-Fun Fun Fun)

 

 

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Music as smooth and awakening as his name. Hailing from South Africa, Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo (that’s right his middle name is “Innocent”), better known as Black Coffee has been putting out his brand of eclectic beats and productions since 1995. With 5 albums under his belt, Black Coffee is arguably the biggest electronic producer to ever come out of the cradle of civilization.

 

His African heritage can be heard throughout most of his productions as he uses many loops and drum patterns rooted in the rhythms of his roots. Black Coffee really shines in his excellent use of female vocalists that meld perfectly over his multifarious beats. Songs like “Superman” featuring Bucie and Gratitude with Rebecca Murray perfectly weave each vocalist’s stylings throughout each layer and texture of the rhythmic backdrops. It is this sonic marriage that gives Black Coffee’s tracks more depth and distinction over the next guy.

 

Black Coffee – Monkey See Monkey Do

Black Coffee Feat. Bucie – Turn Me On

 

Take a look at his amazing DJ skills from his Boiler Room set in his home country of South Africa

 

 

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Admit it – you hate the Electric Daisy Carnival. The candy bracelets, the furry boots, the PLUR! You were over all the pageantry long ago. Nothing gives you more anxiety than the thought of a massive overcrowded dance music festival filled with sixteen year olds in banana hammocks and lingerie dancing to commercialized electronic music.

 

What if I told you that you were wrong? That underneath all the superficial annoyances there really is an experience unable to be replicated anywhere else? Here’s how to make the experience actually fun for you and most of all here’s why EDC still matters and how to survive the debauchery.

 

Why It Matters

 

Production Value
This year was EDC’s 20th anniversary and they sure as hell showed it. Each stage showed the attention to detail of a finely tuned exotic car. Not only looking amazing but sounding amazing as well. You might say I’ve been to a few clubs and festivals in my time and you can definitely say that I’m a huge sound whore. If I’m paying money to listen to music then the music better be delivered to my ears optimally without my having to camp out in the front row. Organizers spared no sonic expense; they placed speakers affixed to the stages as well as throughout the crowd so no matter where you stood you were able to hear the music clean and clear. I constantly found myself “dance-walking” between stages. Even the bass and the low frequencies could be absorbed way in the back as I tried to circumnavigate to my destination. This brings me to my first tip: Do yourself a favor and wear earplugs tuned for the festival life. Nothing blows more than waking up the next morning being hard of hearing as the music from your hotels’ pool party bleeds into your econo-suite. I lied. Waking up 10 years later and discovering you have tinnitus blows way more.

 

Now that we’ve gone over substance let’s talk about style. Like I said it was EDC’s 20th anniversary so every stage from the Bass Pod to the Cosmic Meadow was the most elaborate and decorated it has ever been. One standout was the hardstyle stage. Say what you will about the genre itself but the stage aka “Wasteland” was modeled after a post-apocalyptic dystopian San Francisco akin to what the city by the bay must have looked like after the most recent Godzilla film or maybe just three years from now when the tech bubble bursts. Every stage was carefully crafted to fit the aesthetic of the music. LED walls, flamethrowers, fireworks, acrobats, dancers, fireworks, strobe lights, and oh did I mention fireworks? Apparently EDC 2016 had the 2nd biggest fireworks display anywhere ever with the first being the 2008 Summer Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. Do yourself a favor and check out each stage for at least a few minutes. Despite your own personal musical taste each stage offers a spectacle all its own.

 

Your favorite genre is out in full force
Almost every type of electronic music under the sun is represented in some way. You can go to EDC and have any kind of time you want. Both old school and new school heads will rejoice. There’s legendary sets like Caspa b2b Rusko, Armand Van Helden, and Eric Prydz and new up and coming superstars like NGHTMRE, Hannah Wants, and Coyote Kisses. Wherever you fall on the spectrum from elderly bitter techno-head to main stage basic bro to trance4lyfe kandi kid, The Electric Sky has got you covered. The best part of most music festivals of this size is always the eclectic mix of talent spread out over the raver landscape. If I get bored of dubstep I can go listen to techno. If I get bored of techno I can go listen to trap. If I get bored of trap I can go listen to psy-trance? Then again I was bored of trap 3 years ago. If you dig electronic music in any of its forms then this is simply the place to be.

 

How to Survive

 

Invest in Your Hotel Room
Before and after the festival you are going to want to be as comfortable as possible (be sure to sleep in an actual bed each night). If you end up squeezing 10 people into a room with one king bed, you’re going to have a bad time. Make your lodging your oasis in the desert rather than just another sand dune. Nothing beats laying at the pool or jumping in the jacuzzi with a stiff cocktail while recovering from the night before.

 

Attend EDC in a small group
Nothing is more annoying than trying to bounce from stage to stage pushing a train of people. EDC is crowded (like 100,000 people crowded!) and having to keep track of everyone whilst walking between stages can be an absolute NGHTMRE, especially after you’ve all had a few *ahem* …beers. Also don’t be afraid to set a hard meeting point and go off and watch a set by yourself. This can be a great way to connect with the music or get into a DJ you’ve never seen play before.

 

Wear Your Gym Shoes
You’ll be doing a lot of walking and dancing in the heat so lightweight breathable workout shoes are clutch.

 

Leave Early
This is a big one. Make sure you get the hell out of dodge by 3:30 am. Just wait until the closing artists come spin in your town. I’m telling you it is not worth it staying until the sun comes up. There are only 2 freeways leading to and from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway which creates a massive traffic jam. Some friends of mine were stuck in traffic for 4 hours trying to get out of the venue. Believe it or not, an Uber ride back to the strip is only about $25-$30 so try and avoid driving yourselves at all costs.

 

That’s it. Now you know. An amazing time can be had at EDC no matter how old you get if you follow these simple rules. I hope I was able to break any preconceived notions or anxieties you had. The crowd is not all teenagers giving each other light shows; the music is not just “Now That’s What I Call EDM Vol. 19”; and if you do it right, then Vegas does not have to be your own personal Vietnam.

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Divergent Chaos: Alex Ridha better known as Boys Noize lays it on thick with his fourth studio album. Somehow managing to have stayed out of the mainstream since the release of his first LP in 2007, the leader of the Tekno-Noize-Posse brings it just as hard as ever with Mayday.

 

Gifted with a knack for sonically weaving his own techno and acid roots with contemporary electronic zeitgeist, Mayday’s selection feels just as at home in the 90s underground scene as it does in today’s festival circuit. The album appropriately starts off with “Overthrow”, a slow building record that transitions into an orgy of 303 acid-like goodness. On “Dynamite” Boys Noize taps UK legend Benga to make a hard-hitting, bouncy track leaving you feeling concussed in the best way possible. We get a fresh take on Bob James’ often sampled Take Me To Mardi Gras, Boys Noize flexes his acid muscles once again giving the tired record new life with keeping the original very much intact.

 

One of my favorite records on Mayday comes in the form of “2 live”. The song begins with a slightly commercial vocal chorus “If you wanna go we can make it work…” yadda yadda yadda This song is sure to be a crown pleaser during live sets, as after the chorus the song takes a turn for the best divulging into an unexpected triumphant dance floor head-banger. “Would You Listen” harkens back to 2007’s Oi Oi Oi with a familiar disembodied voice distortedly belting out the title lyrics much to the chagrin of classic Boys Noize fans. “Starchild” provides a welcomed departure from the techno-flare that makes up most of the album serving as the producer’s foray into the indie world. Boys Noize teams up with Minneapolis’ group, Poliça, to create a track filled with subtle raw emotion and textured instrumental bliss. Running the gamut of the tempo spectrum “Los Niños” speeds things up with relentless dirty synths while “Birthday” featuring the mighty Hudson Mohawke and the always entertaining Spank Rock slows things down laying 808 drums over a future bass melody.

 

The only gripe I have with Mayday is the track “Hardkotzen.” It sounds like a German drum machine has become self-aware and decided that the human race is no longer in need of functioning ear drums. This may have been better suited as a Soundcloud one-off rather than making it onto the actual album.

 

In the end we all win. Boys Noize transported listeners back to a simpler time before EDM, before there were a million and one festivals, and before going to electronic shows was the cool thing to do. Now I’m going to go dust off my red jeans, my skinny moto jacket, and go wait in line at Cinespace praying my fake ID doesn’t get taken for the 2nd time this month all with Mayday as my soundtrack.

 

 

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Splash House | Tickets | Room Packages

 

Splash House is back again with an amazing line-up spanning two weekends! The madness all goes down in Palm Springs at the Saguaro and the Riviera. Have no fear, the festival provides shuttles to take you to and from each of the venues and it’s a great way to get around and meet new people!

 

The first weekend happens June 10-12 and you can find tickets here.

 

The second weekend takes place August 12-14 and you can find tickets here.

 

Splash House is not to be missed. With a line-up like this and tickets half the price of most other festivals run don’t walk…except around the pool.

 

 

Rufus Du Sol All Things Bloom Mix