Crossfade reported earlier this month that Combichrist and Black Light Burns would kick off their tour in South Florida on January 14, at Club Premier in Ft. Lauderdale. That sounded like a weird fit, as the venue usually specializes in hip-hop and reggae dance parties. The event has been moved…
(Photo via Medeski, Martin & Wood’s MySpace page.)Despite being a cool, downtown NYC jazz act with roots in the early Nineties avant-garde scene of John Lurie and John Zorn, no one loves Medeski, Martin & Wood like that patchouli-loving, Birkenstocks-on-the-weekend hippie in the next cubicle over from you at work…
Luz MarinaCoincidencias (Cacao Música)www.cacaomusica.comVenezuelan singer/songwriter Luz Marina makes her debut for Cacao Música with 14 tracks of heavy-breathing soft numbers full of sexy insinuations and personal moments. It works. “Noche a Noche” (Night to Night) and “Cómo Dueles” (How You Hurt) were a little more my cup of tea, while…
Johnny LouisCheck it! 2008 was a busy year for clubland. We saw the departures of Pawn Shop Lounge, Studio A, Circa 28 and Suite, while we welcomed new venues like The Vagabond, Louis, Aero Bar, Bella Rose and Heathrow Lounge. And to our surprise, there was plenty of action beyond…
Photo by Logan FazioCandyland 13Soho Studios, MiamiSaturday, December 27, 2008Better Than: I expected.The Review:Culture and other similar promotions groups, in an effort to shrug off the nasty mainstream perceptions of the Nineties dance scene, like to call their large-scale events music festivals. But let’s be honest about Candyland 13, held…
Da REAList is not Plies’ meditation on Platonic realism; it’s mostly just demonstrably false braggadocio and sentimental hooey. (He could have eliminated this confusion by calling it Da REALest.) The main problem is that a July Hip Hop DX report showed that despite his claims to be a lifelong thug,…
On the corner of Breakbeat and Bass, in the town of Danceville, there hangs a cat whose scratch is surely as deep as the hiss of some vintage vinyl. I’m not talking about some throwback turntablist trying to revive the art of the back-cue, mind you – hell, most of…
Ivon David RojasDeadmau5Saturday, December 27, 2008Mansion, Miami BeachBetter than: Hip-hop Fridays at Mansion, maybe.What’s left to be said about Deadmau5 that hasn’t already been said? Virtually unknown in 2007, the young Toronto prodigy skyrocketed to sudden international stardom and relentless hype by word of mouth, Internet exposure and blessings from…
For those that don’t already know, today is Boxing Day. We don’t celebrate it here in the U.S. but it’s a major shopping holiday in Canada, the Caribbean, the U.K., and countries associated with the British Commonwealth. Those of us with connections to the Commonwealth are well-familiar with Boxing Day…
(Photo via Music is a Weapon’s MySpace page.)Music is a WeaponMusic is a Weapon (Rain Trust)www.myspace.com/musicisaweaponbandMost of the members of Music is a Weapon boast enough years of playing under their belts to know a thing or two. As must be repeated, most of them were in the late, great…
There’s something a little Sheila E about Tracy Young. Her steadfast, stoic presence when she’s doing her DJ thing reminds you of Prince’s bongo-smacking concubine in her Arsenio Hall Show heyday. For both women, that temple-of-steel impenetrability is/was their greatest weapon in a male-dominated world. On face, Young — Miami-based…
Buika Niña de Fuego (WEA International) Afro-Spanish artist Buika epitomizes cultural and ethnic diversity. Over three decades ago, her parents fled political turmoil in the former Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea and made a new life for themselves in a gypsy neighborhood on the island of Mallorca. After stints as…
It’s been a good year for the South Florida music scene. Talented upstart artists who were expected to break out exceeded expectations. Already established acts released stellar projects as well. There’s a lot of good music coming out of the region (enough to make any local audiophile proud), so here’s…
Rick Ross, featuring T-Pain “The Boss” (Def Jam) Though Rick Ross claimed on his debut album, Port of Miami, to know Manuel Noriega, The Smoking Gun website found that Ross was a prison guard rather than an international drug kingpin before he was famous. Perhaps they met in the can?…
Simian Mobile Disco FabricLive 41 (Fabric) At least four different Fabric mixes could have landed on any reputable list of the year’s best dance collections. Depending on your mood and hormone levels, Metro Area’s syrupy Demerol disco mix, M.A.N.D.Y.’s 25-track thumpfest (featuring Yello, Gui Barrato, and Booka Shade), or DJ…
Marnie Stern This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (Kill Rock Stars) In “Prime,” the first song here, Stern declares, “Defenders, get onto your knees,” and…
As the name of this event, and the fact that it’s followed by a numeral, might suggest, the epic December party Candyland began in the golden age of the Florida rave scene. In the Nineties, it was a guaranteed good time on the party calendar, one of several large-scale annual…
It’s time for that once-a-year event that’ll leave you bright and shiny and glowing. No, we’re not talking about the wonderful feeling you get buying all sorts of awesome Christmas presents. It’s the Dayglow party happening at Space. And okay, we sorta lied. Though billed as a once-per-year event, the…
It seems like every time Deadmau5 leaves the house, he has to stop over for an appearance at Mansion; his last time at the club was just this past August. So what has he been up to since then? Well, there was the highly anticipated Ultra Records release of his…
Known for dark melodies laden with churning guitars, chunky riffs, and lead singer Lajon Witherspoon’s haunting timbre, Sevendust carved its niche in the alt-rock/nu-metal landscape some years ago. The release of the band’s third record, Animosity, in 2001 is largely regarded as the quintet’s breakthrough into mainstream popularity. Still, by…
The local alt-rock trio Corner 3 formed only in 2007, but the band is based on a longtime friendship, begun when the trio’s members were students at Columbus High in the Eighties. Frontman/guitarist/keyboardist John Lopez and bassist/vocalist Rick Sanchez began their music collaboration while still in school, and over the…
The Italoboyz’ moniker is slightly misleading on a couple of levels. First, it’s slightly so because although Marco Donato and Frederico Marton hail from Italy, the two have been based in London since about the turn of the millennium. Neither do they play, as one might assume, Italo disco, or…
