hard summer


Empire of the Sun

Roughly a month after releasing the debut single ‘Alive’ from their followup album Ice on the Dune, Empire of the Sun are back with ‘DNA’. This song features everything that we’ve come to expect from Empire of the Sun: dreamy electronic pop soundscapes, drenched in reverb, throw in some guitar, new wave synths, and soaring choruses. Ice on the Dune is set to release on June 17th, and you can catch Empire of the Sun at HARD Summer this year! If I could sum up their live performance in two words: brace yourself.

Empire of the Sun – DNA
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/Empire%20of%20the%20Sun/Empire%20Of%20The%20Sun%20-%20DNA.mp3]

FULL POST


Empire of the Sun

Roughly a month after releasing the debut single ‘Alive’ from their followup album Ice on the Dune, Empire of the Sun are back with ‘DNA’. This song features everything that we’ve come to expect from Empire of the Sun: dreamy electronic pop soundscapes, drenched in reverb, throw in some guitar, new wave synths, and soaring choruses. Ice on the Dune is set to release on June 17th, and you can catch Empire of the Sun at HARD Summer this year! If I could sum up their live performance in two words: brace yourself.

Empire of the Sun – DNA
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/Empire%20of%20the%20Sun/Empire%20Of%20The%20Sun%20-%20DNA.mp3]

HARD Presents | Tickets

In preparation (and anticipation) for the wonder that will be HARD Summer 2013, the Gary Richards gang have started a mini mix series dubbed “Future Stars”. The first four mixes are by Paper Diamond, the boys over at Body High, Green Lantern, and Justin Jay. The artists definitely fit the mix series’ claim, if they are not already past it. Catch the details after the jump.

(more…)

FULL POST

HARD Presents | Tickets

In preparation (and anticipation) for the wonder that will be HARD Summer 2013, the Gary Richards gang have started a mini mix series dubbed “Future Stars”. The first four mixes are by Paper Diamond, the boys over at Body High, Green Lantern, and Justin Jay. The artists definitely fit the mix series’ claim, if they are not already past it. Catch the details after the jump.

(more…)

August 6th 2011 marked the fourth annual HARD Summer Music Festival to be held, and the third to go down successfully. (people don’t forget!) If you were with me in 2009, I share the pain. All in good fun though! Gary Richards has long since redeemed himself. With the help of stacked lineup after stacked lineup in Los Angeles, and now through the rest of the country, HARD has established its superiority in the realm of memorable concerts. HARD Summer went off without a hitch, and I was fortunate enough to be there through the whole thing! I had my FlipCam handy and got to see all the future talent, while everyone else was at the already established names. Although it breaks my heart that I had to miss Jack Beats, Skrillex, and all of Boys Noize/Duck Sauce’s sets, I was happily tucked in the relatively crowd free stages. Here are the highlights from start to finish:

Dillon Francis 6:20-7:20

The first of the day. I actually got to the venue late and went through the line saying “Dillon Francis is on right now! If you know who he is, come with me. If you don’t, let me go!” After getting through the line way faster than expected and with a crew of Dillon Francis fans, the party had begun. Straight into the bassy moombah beats that I rushed through the crowd for. Dillon had everyone bouncing and definitely made it clear that he deserved a better slot.

Gesaffelstein 7:15-8:15 Delightful Mention!

Biggest surprise of the day. I hadn’t been able to get into his recordings before seeing him live, as it all made sense afterwards. True European techno with a musky feel that was new to me, but kept the crowd and me intrigued from start to finish. I wanted to record his whole set, because track after track was like nothing I had ever heard dropped before. This guy’s got some serious talent.

RATATAT 8:50-9:20 Runner Up!

Ratatat…..we finally meet. 10 feet back and center, I was ready to see the act I had been fawning over since I was in high school. One of the most creative sets I’ve bared witness. They had these huge screens that they had holographic images synced to the beat of the music. All the while, they were thrashing on their guitars or slamming the drum kits which added up to what I thought was going to be the best set of the night, til I saw Digitalism.

Siriusmo 9:20-10:20

All the hype surrounding Siriusmo had my expectations set high. He very rarely plays live shows, so this was supposed to be a treat. It also didn’t help that his full length Mosaik slaps, and I had it on repeat through the week. His set was kind of a let down overall. Although he had pretty solid song selection, his persona matched that of dude on his 6th straight hour of World of Warcraft. Focused. Poised. Ready to kill. But not that fun to watch.

Digitalism (Live) 10:20-11:30 Best Set!

I heard myths and legends about how these guys were live and I was ready to get down in support of their latest album I Love You, Dude. Right off the bat: live drummer. NOTHING compares to a live drummer for electronic sets. The drummer was an addition to their live show but was my favorite part. Through the drum machine slamming, singing, and synth tweaking, these guys delivered the highest energy set of the night. Great stuff.

James Murphy & Pat Mahoney 11:30-12

Another hyped set I had to get my groove on to was this 2 hour disco special inside the DFA tent. Coolest most unique vibes I’ve ever felt at any concert. This tent was lined with disco balls and lights that had me in a time machine to the 70s. So cool! Glad they did this.

Busy Pictionary 12-12:30

After not having this set in my initial plan, I thought I’d leave the DFA tent early to pay my respects to the one and only BUSY P. So Me was on side of the decks, doodling away while Pedro threw down tracks of the future. Got there just in time to see the unreleased Justice track live! (video)

Carte Blanche 12:30-1:15

After a hefty intro from Busy P, DJ Mehdi and Riton brought the funk. I made it front and center as pretty much everyone else was at Skrillex or Boys Noize, so the setting was pretty intimate. I was expecting more in comparison to some of their mixes I had heard before, but I still had fun. Mehdi seems like a real cool dude. He was dancing the whole time, getting the crowd involved, and that’s the shit that makes a difference in the end.

I wish I could have seen more of Boys Noize and Duck Sauce, but I managed to sneak off to see my main squeezes throwing down just as I thought they would. Los Angeles, this is how a concert is done right. You got your headliners. You got your surprises. You got your low key, future of music hopefuls. And you got the LA skyline as your back drop. Get ready for Haunted Mansion people. Probably my favorite party of the year, and this year’s may take the cake.

FULL POST

August 6th 2011 marked the fourth annual HARD Summer Music Festival to be held, and the third to go down successfully. (people don’t forget!) If you were with me in 2009, I share the pain. All in good fun though! Gary Richards has long since redeemed himself. With the help of stacked lineup after stacked lineup in Los Angeles, and now through the rest of the country, HARD has established its superiority in the realm of memorable concerts. HARD Summer went off without a hitch, and I was fortunate enough to be there through the whole thing! I had my FlipCam handy and got to see all the future talent, while everyone else was at the already established names. Although it breaks my heart that I had to miss Jack Beats, Skrillex, and all of Boys Noize/Duck Sauce’s sets, I was happily tucked in the relatively crowd free stages. Here are the highlights from start to finish:

Dillon Francis 6:20-7:20

The first of the day. I actually got to the venue late and went through the line saying “Dillon Francis is on right now! If you know who he is, come with me. If you don’t, let me go!” After getting through the line way faster than expected and with a crew of Dillon Francis fans, the party had begun. Straight into the bassy moombah beats that I rushed through the crowd for. Dillon had everyone bouncing and definitely made it clear that he deserved a better slot.

Gesaffelstein 7:15-8:15 Delightful Mention!

Biggest surprise of the day. I hadn’t been able to get into his recordings before seeing him live, as it all made sense afterwards. True European techno with a musky feel that was new to me, but kept the crowd and me intrigued from start to finish. I wanted to record his whole set, because track after track was like nothing I had ever heard dropped before. This guy’s got some serious talent.

RATATAT 8:50-9:20 Runner Up!

Ratatat…..we finally meet. 10 feet back and center, I was ready to see the act I had been fawning over since I was in high school. One of the most creative sets I’ve bared witness. They had these huge screens that they had holographic images synced to the beat of the music. All the while, they were thrashing on their guitars or slamming the drum kits which added up to what I thought was going to be the best set of the night, til I saw Digitalism.

Siriusmo 9:20-10:20

All the hype surrounding Siriusmo had my expectations set high. He very rarely plays live shows, so this was supposed to be a treat. It also didn’t help that his full length Mosaik slaps, and I had it on repeat through the week. His set was kind of a let down overall. Although he had pretty solid song selection, his persona matched that of dude on his 6th straight hour of World of Warcraft. Focused. Poised. Ready to kill. But not that fun to watch.

Digitalism (Live) 10:20-11:30 Best Set!

I heard myths and legends about how these guys were live and I was ready to get down in support of their latest album I Love You, Dude. Right off the bat: live drummer. NOTHING compares to a live drummer for electronic sets. The drummer was an addition to their live show but was my favorite part. Through the drum machine slamming, singing, and synth tweaking, these guys delivered the highest energy set of the night. Great stuff.

James Murphy & Pat Mahoney 11:30-12

Another hyped set I had to get my groove on to was this 2 hour disco special inside the DFA tent. Coolest most unique vibes I’ve ever felt at any concert. This tent was lined with disco balls and lights that had me in a time machine to the 70s. So cool! Glad they did this.

Busy Pictionary 12-12:30

After not having this set in my initial plan, I thought I’d leave the DFA tent early to pay my respects to the one and only BUSY P. So Me was on side of the decks, doodling away while Pedro threw down tracks of the future. Got there just in time to see the unreleased Justice track live! (video)

Carte Blanche 12:30-1:15

After a hefty intro from Busy P, DJ Mehdi and Riton brought the funk. I made it front and center as pretty much everyone else was at Skrillex or Boys Noize, so the setting was pretty intimate. I was expecting more in comparison to some of their mixes I had heard before, but I still had fun. Mehdi seems like a real cool dude. He was dancing the whole time, getting the crowd involved, and that’s the shit that makes a difference in the end.

I wish I could have seen more of Boys Noize and Duck Sauce, but I managed to sneak off to see my main squeezes throwing down just as I thought they would. Los Angeles, this is how a concert is done right. You got your headliners. You got your surprises. You got your low key, future of music hopefuls. And you got the LA skyline as your back drop. Get ready for Haunted Mansion people. Probably my favorite party of the year, and this year’s may take the cake.

Had to work on this week’s YOLO list early, Outside Lands took up a lot of my time this weekend. Another monumental weekend to add to the books. I don’t get to go to San Francisco often enough, so that was a treat for me. I’ll fill you guys in on how it went down later this week. I know I don’t give this disco shit a rest, but I had to stock up for you guys this week. My buddy Marc hooked me up with more BreakBot than I know what to do with. This is a good thing for both you and me. Keep the feedback and music coming! I love when you guys help out with these lists. If you’re wondering where I got the picture up top, it’s from this venue called The Smell in Los Angeles. Their bathrooms are all tagged up like that. Thought it was cool…Beaches are starting to clear up as the summer weather we’ve been waiting for finally decided to show. Enjoy the list compilation on the way there.


Click to Download

Delightful Mention!

Artist: Young the Giant
Young the Giant, formerly known as The Jakes, are another OC native. I grew up with some of these kids, and it’s cool to check back on someone years later to see that they’re doing really great things. This band is filled with all the talent and devotion you’re gonna need to make it to the top. The lead singer took time off from Stanford to put work into the band, and it’s paid off. They’ve played with the likes of Kings of Leon and Minus the Bear. They earned it, though. They’ll be playing every Sunday this month at The Troubador and every Wednesday at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa for cheap. See them! Here’s a video of my favorite song off their upcoming self-titled album on Roadrunner Records. The song was #1 on Hype Machine‘s Most Popular list last week. If you know anything about Hype Machine, you know that’s not an easy feat. Let me know if they deserved it:

Justice vs Simian – We Are Your Friends
I was talking about this song in the last post. I thought it would be a good idea to throw it up on here if for some reason you were robbed of hearing it. This song is pretty much what put Justice on the map. They collabed with Simian (now Simian Mobile Disco) to make this song for a DJ contest and won. Now they are one of the premier producers in the world. I saw them for the first time at a smaller venue in LA almost a year after the release of their first album. Their live show is amazing. They DJ behind the cross with stacks of light-up marshall amps to their sides. Get here if you haven’t yet. Worth every penny. The other two times I saw them was at the past HARD Haunted Mansions. It’s always good to see them, but a DJ set doesn’t give you the feel for what they can really do. I want them to come back to LA to play their live set sooner than later. People here need to see what one of the biggest influences of today’s electronic music has to offer.

Leave me some comments on what you guys liked so I can coordinate these lists to better suit your needs. Otherwise, thanks to the people who sent me songs! Keep them coming. I mean it.

BONUS!!
By some miracle, a recording of Soulwax‘s set has surfaced on the internet. Big ups to GottaDanceDirty for making it happen. It’s unreal listening to this set, which I have been for the past six hours straight, and knowing I was there to see it. It gets me every time. These guys are truly the greatest. If you got love for Soulwax, this is a delightful treat. The quality isn’t as good as the last live set I put up, but it’s definitely good enough to appreciate. Also, I threw up the opening song that they teamed up with Crookers and Mixhell to create. Help yourself.

Soulwax Live at HARD Summer 2010
We Love Animal (Tons of Friends) – Crookers ft. Soulwax ft. Mixhell

Previous YOLO Lists
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

Giving another week it’s own playlist..

FULL POST

Had to work on this week’s YOLO list early, Outside Lands took up a lot of my time this weekend. Another monumental weekend to add to the books. I don’t get to go to San Francisco often enough, so that was a treat for me. I’ll fill you guys in on how it went down later this week. I know I don’t give this disco shit a rest, but I had to stock up for you guys this week. My buddy Marc hooked me up with more BreakBot than I know what to do with. This is a good thing for both you and me. Keep the feedback and music coming! I love when you guys help out with these lists. If you’re wondering where I got the picture up top, it’s from this venue called The Smell in Los Angeles. Their bathrooms are all tagged up like that. Thought it was cool…Beaches are starting to clear up as the summer weather we’ve been waiting for finally decided to show. Enjoy the list compilation on the way there.


Click to Download

Delightful Mention!

Artist: Young the Giant
Young the Giant, formerly known as The Jakes, are another OC native. I grew up with some of these kids, and it’s cool to check back on someone years later to see that they’re doing really great things. This band is filled with all the talent and devotion you’re gonna need to make it to the top. The lead singer took time off from Stanford to put work into the band, and it’s paid off. They’ve played with the likes of Kings of Leon and Minus the Bear. They earned it, though. They’ll be playing every Sunday this month at The Troubador and every Wednesday at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa for cheap. See them! Here’s a video of my favorite song off their upcoming self-titled album on Roadrunner Records. The song was #1 on Hype Machine‘s Most Popular list last week. If you know anything about Hype Machine, you know that’s not an easy feat. Let me know if they deserved it:

Justice vs Simian – We Are Your Friends
I was talking about this song in the last post. I thought it would be a good idea to throw it up on here if for some reason you were robbed of hearing it. This song is pretty much what put Justice on the map. They collabed with Simian (now Simian Mobile Disco) to make this song for a DJ contest and won. Now they are one of the premier producers in the world. I saw them for the first time at a smaller venue in LA almost a year after the release of their first album. Their live show is amazing. They DJ behind the cross with stacks of light-up marshall amps to their sides. Get here if you haven’t yet. Worth every penny. The other two times I saw them was at the past HARD Haunted Mansions. It’s always good to see them, but a DJ set doesn’t give you the feel for what they can really do. I want them to come back to LA to play their live set sooner than later. People here need to see what one of the biggest influences of today’s electronic music has to offer.

Leave me some comments on what you guys liked so I can coordinate these lists to better suit your needs. Otherwise, thanks to the people who sent me songs! Keep them coming. I mean it.

BONUS!!
By some miracle, a recording of Soulwax‘s set has surfaced on the internet. Big ups to GottaDanceDirty for making it happen. It’s unreal listening to this set, which I have been for the past six hours straight, and knowing I was there to see it. It gets me every time. These guys are truly the greatest. If you got love for Soulwax, this is a delightful treat. The quality isn’t as good as the last live set I put up, but it’s definitely good enough to appreciate. Also, I threw up the opening song that they teamed up with Crookers and Mixhell to create. Help yourself.

Soulwax Live at HARD Summer 2010
We Love Animal (Tons of Friends) – Crookers ft. Soulwax ft. Mixhell

Previous YOLO Lists
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1

Giving another week it’s own playlist..

I’m on Twitter and FaceBook! Tell your friends.

I’m happy to say that this year’s HARD Summer went the exact opposite of last year’s. Don’t even get me started on that night…though, it’s been more than made up for. I posted up at the very front of the HARD stage all day, because you can bet your ass I was going to be in prime location for the upcoming acts. The day started off with this and ended with the best performance I’ve seen from any band in any genre. No one can do it quite like Soulwax. I’ll get into that and the only thing that went wrong the whole day shortly. With the help of a party bus full of the best people and the flawless performances of some of the biggest names in the electronic world, HARD Summer turned out to be the place to be on August 7th.

HARD Summer Through C+A+D‘s Eyes:

BreakBot 3:15-4

Nothing like starting off the afternoon with that disco you know I love. I had heard about BreakBot, because he’s on Ed Banger Records with the likes of Justice, SebastAian, Mr. Oizo and friends. It’s headed by none other than Busy P. Most of those guys are gonna be at HARD Haunted Mansion as that lineup trumps many that I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t have found out or listened to him at a better time. I’ve been researching all these hard disco electronic producers and hadn’t had a chance to hear him until this show. His whole set was groovy as shit. I stocked up on most of his songs and have yet to hear one I don’t like. For some reason, I didn’t record him so we’re left with nothing but a picture and a song…for now.


Yuksek – Extraball (BreakBot Remix)

The Twelves 4-5

I was really happy with how these guys’ set went. The Twelves have been referred to as “Brazil’s answer to Daft Punk” from BBC’s Radio 1. They played a lot of their remixes that I wanted to hear, plus some that I’ve never heard. One in particular I was really happy to get down to was their “Lisztomania” remix. Unfortunately, I can’t find just the remix of the song in the video, but I did find their essential mix! The essential mix is fuckin’ awesome, by the way. It’s pretty identical to their set which is a really, really good thing. Their song choice was impeccable. It’s also cool, because it looks like one of the guys was working a drum machine and effects, while the other brought the songs in. Nothin’ but a good time. I put some of their remixes in the HARD Summer mix that you can get here.


The Twelves Essential MixDelightful Choice!

Green Velvet 5-6

I had never really heard or listened to this guy up until Saturday. I’d seen his name around Hype Machine, but had never made the leap to listen to him. This all changes now. Not only was he dropping some fresh ass, hard hitting, house bangers, he was definitely a pleasure to watch. The whole time he was dancing and throwing it up for the crowd. LA was throwing those good vibes right back.


Afrojack – Polkadots (Original Mix)

Erol Alkan 6-7

This marked the third and best time I’ve seen Erol. He was also getting down with the crowd and playing around to make it an eventful set. I had some trouble trying to decide which of the two videos I recorded to put up here. I decided to go with this one, because it pretty accurately portrays how his set went, plus it’s one of his original songs that he made with Boys Noize. Those two are always doing shit together which is pretty tight (no homo). Expect to see them share the stage at HARD Haunted Mansion. If you want to see the other video go here.


Erol Alkan & Boys Noize- LemonadeDelightful Choice!
Paul Chambers – Yeah, Techno! (Soulwax remix) (from the other vid)

Diplo 7-8

The first time I was exposed to Diplo and his record label Mad Decent was at the Mayan theatre in 2008 when he opened for Justice. CRAZY live set by Justice, might I add. I miss them…anyway, Diplo was throwing down all the club bangers we wanted to hear, and he gave me my dubstep fix since I missed Magnetic Man.


Swedish House Mafia – One (Chew Chocolate Cookies Remix) Delightful Choice!

Crystal Castles 8:20-9:40


Click for Video

I must admit, I was pretty pumped to see Crystal Castles for my first time. I had heard polar opposite reviews on their live performance. Initially, I read that that’s where they get most of the acclaim. So I had high hopes. The set turned out to be sub par. I don’t know if that was compared to other performances or not, but I was expecting something different. Got some snaps of the better parts of it though. Alice Glass is a performer, for sure.

Major Lazer 9:40-11

I’m not the biggest fan of Major Lazer. I’ve heard some of their songs that I liked, but I have to give them credit for producing todays “We Are Your Friends.” It’s hard to go through a set without hearing a rendition of “Pon De Flor.” Their set was a party, without a doubt. Definitely always entertaining as hell to watch. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to see them, though. Their introduction was pretty funny though. Go here if you wanna see it.

Soulwax 11:20-12
I’d been waiting for this set for almost two years. Last time I saw these guys was Haunted Mansion 2008 with pretty much anyone and everyone who mattered in electronic music (besides Daft Punk) at the time. It was also the last time they were in LA. Everybody that was there saw history that night. DJAM threw down one of the best sets of his life in Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk‘s helmet. I’ve been talkin’ up Soulwax‘s set that night to everyone that would listen. It was the crazies thing I’ve ever seen. The thing about Soulwax is they do no wrong. Everything they do is how it should be done. They tour almost every day for years on end and bring the best performance anyone can ask for. They play all their songs flawlessly together with a bassist and drummer. The drummer is probably my favorite part of their set up.

The worst part of the whole set was when it ended. They robbed us of twenty minutes when they were setting up and ended promptly at 12. I figured they owe us at least an hour for being gone two years. Recorded the whole set from almost front row in HD only to find that it didn’t save when my camera ran out of battery. That’s the only thing that went wrong the whole day. I’ll take it. It makes that memory and the people their that much more valuable in my head. Until next time Soulwax!

BONUS!

Here’s my favorite live set recording of all time. Soulwax‘s set from a couple months after I first saw them

Soulwaxmas 12/20/08

I’m on Twitter and FaceBook! Tell your friends.

See you at HARD Haunted Mansion!

FULL POST

I’m on Twitter and FaceBook! Tell your friends.

I’m happy to say that this year’s HARD Summer went the exact opposite of last year’s. Don’t even get me started on that night…though, it’s been more than made up for. I posted up at the very front of the HARD stage all day, because you can bet your ass I was going to be in prime location for the upcoming acts. The day started off with this and ended with the best performance I’ve seen from any band in any genre. No one can do it quite like Soulwax. I’ll get into that and the only thing that went wrong the whole day shortly. With the help of a party bus full of the best people and the flawless performances of some of the biggest names in the electronic world, HARD Summer turned out to be the place to be on August 7th.

HARD Summer Through C+A+D‘s Eyes:

BreakBot 3:15-4

Nothing like starting off the afternoon with that disco you know I love. I had heard about BreakBot, because he’s on Ed Banger Records with the likes of Justice, SebastAian, Mr. Oizo and friends. It’s headed by none other than Busy P. Most of those guys are gonna be at HARD Haunted Mansion as that lineup trumps many that I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t have found out or listened to him at a better time. I’ve been researching all these hard disco electronic producers and hadn’t had a chance to hear him until this show. His whole set was groovy as shit. I stocked up on most of his songs and have yet to hear one I don’t like. For some reason, I didn’t record him so we’re left with nothing but a picture and a song…for now.


Yuksek – Extraball (BreakBot Remix)

The Twelves 4-5

I was really happy with how these guys’ set went. The Twelves have been referred to as “Brazil’s answer to Daft Punk” from BBC’s Radio 1. They played a lot of their remixes that I wanted to hear, plus some that I’ve never heard. One in particular I was really happy to get down to was their “Lisztomania” remix. Unfortunately, I can’t find just the remix of the song in the video, but I did find their essential mix! The essential mix is fuckin’ awesome, by the way. It’s pretty identical to their set which is a really, really good thing. Their song choice was impeccable. It’s also cool, because it looks like one of the guys was working a drum machine and effects, while the other brought the songs in. Nothin’ but a good time. I put some of their remixes in the HARD Summer mix that you can get here.


The Twelves Essential MixDelightful Choice!

Green Velvet 5-6

I had never really heard or listened to this guy up until Saturday. I’d seen his name around Hype Machine, but had never made the leap to listen to him. This all changes now. Not only was he dropping some fresh ass, hard hitting, house bangers, he was definitely a pleasure to watch. The whole time he was dancing and throwing it up for the crowd. LA was throwing those good vibes right back.


Afrojack – Polkadots (Original Mix)

Erol Alkan 6-7

This marked the third and best time I’ve seen Erol. He was also getting down with the crowd and playing around to make it an eventful set. I had some trouble trying to decide which of the two videos I recorded to put up here. I decided to go with this one, because it pretty accurately portrays how his set went, plus it’s one of his original songs that he made with Boys Noize. Those two are always doing shit together which is pretty tight (no homo). Expect to see them share the stage at HARD Haunted Mansion. If you want to see the other video go here.


Erol Alkan & Boys Noize- LemonadeDelightful Choice!
Paul Chambers – Yeah, Techno! (Soulwax remix) (from the other vid)

Diplo 7-8

The first time I was exposed to Diplo and his record label Mad Decent was at the Mayan theatre in 2008 when he opened for Justice. CRAZY live set by Justice, might I add. I miss them…anyway, Diplo was throwing down all the club bangers we wanted to hear, and he gave me my dubstep fix since I missed Magnetic Man.


Swedish House Mafia – One (Chew Chocolate Cookies Remix) Delightful Choice!

Crystal Castles 8:20-9:40


Click for Video

I must admit, I was pretty pumped to see Crystal Castles for my first time. I had heard polar opposite reviews on their live performance. Initially, I read that that’s where they get most of the acclaim. So I had high hopes. The set turned out to be sub par. I don’t know if that was compared to other performances or not, but I was expecting something different. Got some snaps of the better parts of it though. Alice Glass is a performer, for sure.

Major Lazer 9:40-11

I’m not the biggest fan of Major Lazer. I’ve heard some of their songs that I liked, but I have to give them credit for producing todays “We Are Your Friends.” It’s hard to go through a set without hearing a rendition of “Pon De Flor.” Their set was a party, without a doubt. Definitely always entertaining as hell to watch. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to see them, though. Their introduction was pretty funny though. Go here if you wanna see it.

Soulwax 11:20-12
I’d been waiting for this set for almost two years. Last time I saw these guys was Haunted Mansion 2008 with pretty much anyone and everyone who mattered in electronic music (besides Daft Punk) at the time. It was also the last time they were in LA. Everybody that was there saw history that night. DJAM threw down one of the best sets of his life in Thomas Bangalter from Daft Punk‘s helmet. I’ve been talkin’ up Soulwax‘s set that night to everyone that would listen. It was the crazies thing I’ve ever seen. The thing about Soulwax is they do no wrong. Everything they do is how it should be done. They tour almost every day for years on end and bring the best performance anyone can ask for. They play all their songs flawlessly together with a bassist and drummer. The drummer is probably my favorite part of their set up.

The worst part of the whole set was when it ended. They robbed us of twenty minutes when they were setting up and ended promptly at 12. I figured they owe us at least an hour for being gone two years. Recorded the whole set from almost front row in HD only to find that it didn’t save when my camera ran out of battery. That’s the only thing that went wrong the whole day. I’ll take it. It makes that memory and the people their that much more valuable in my head. Until next time Soulwax!

BONUS!

Here’s my favorite live set recording of all time. Soulwax‘s set from a couple months after I first saw them

Soulwaxmas 12/20/08

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See you at HARD Haunted Mansion!