Tonight, Mannheim’s own Nick Curly (8Bit/Cecille) stops at U Street Music Hall amidst one of only three U.S. tour dates, in lieu of his debut album Between The Lines (released back in March). We had the chance to catch up with him before the show to discuss the tour, his beginnings in breakbeat, emotionally connecting with his audience and Rajo.

See Nick Curly tonight at U Street Music Hall with Chris Nitti – doors open at 10pm, entry is free before 11pm for ages 21+. RSVP here. 

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DJ Fashen is signed to the SKAM Artist management company, so this EP came as a bit of a surprise. Not that disco is outside of their comfort zone, most of those guys are pros at bringing tracks from the 70′s and 80′s into their bottle service sets. But that’s just it, they’re usually focused on bottle service clubs, which is why it was such a pleasant surprise to find this record has zero dutch house synths.

Enough nerdery, though, onto the EP. Put out on the Young Robots label courtesy of DJ Ayres, Skinny Friedman, Apt One, and Relative Q. If those names don’t mean anything, go do some googling. Young Robots has been putting out a smattering of disco in recent months including Solidisco (whose “Hooked” graces the sound-system of U Street Music Hall nearly every weekend these days), so it’s nice to see them continuing the trend.

So Complete is only 3 tracks, but it’s a really strong EP.

“Ecstasy,” the first track, will find a nice spot in the sets of pretty much anyone playing disco these days. It’s smooth and slickly produced, which makes it a sure shot even for DJs stuck playing Rihanna for the majority of the night.

But “Say That You Heart Me” is where Fashen really shines. The sample is beautiful, the synth solo in the middle of the track is simply to die for, and given the melody it is fully reasonable to expect DJs to play this back to back with Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” You laugh, but just you wait.

Fact: It’s been too long since Classixx has put out remixes on a regular basis. These two dudes from LA have done some awesome stuff, including the so-deep-it’s-almost-underwater remix of Major Lazer’s “Cash Flow” (christened the “Glass Bottom Dub” mix) and authoring what became Mayer Hawthorne’s “No Strings.” It’s good to have these boys back.

Before getting too deep into this song, make sure you’ve heard the original. Because the remix may as well be an original — it samples some choice vocals, and probably some more work on the back-end, but this feels totally fresh. As far as we’re concerned, the original was released on vinyl in 1982 and Classixx chopped up a record they happened to find at a yard sale. Which is funny, because “You Can’t Run” is actually a cover of a 1982 single by Stephanie Mills.

Classixx has a feel for, well, classics in a way most guys can’t touch. So it’s not really a surprise that the beginning of this remix feels like it would be at home on a Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins cassette. In fact, the whole thing would be sublimely at home on a yacht. Soft chords, some pitched down vocals, and a really smooth drum line with more woodblock than anyone should naturally feel comfortable with.

This is some smooth sailing music with a twinge of soul. All aboard!

Brooklyn transplant band True Womanhood dives into a darker electronic track with a liberating outcry. Thomas Redmond and Noam Elsner have remixed “Punk Prayer” by feminist collective Pussy Riot. The remix pays tribute to the members of the group who performed their prayer in Christ the Savior Orthodox Cathedral on February 21, 2012. The prayer calls for the end of Putin’s regime, and consequently two members of the group were arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison after the performance.

Not only a track worthy of reblog on your Tumblr, but True Womanhood highlights an important cause by oppressed Moscow feminists. So hum along to the darkwave vibes and shout along to pay tribute to the young persecuted comrades in need. By the end of the True Womanhood remix there will be a few phrases you might say to yourself including ‘SAVE THE PUSSIES’ and ‘FREE PUSSY RIOT!’ Give a listen to the remix below…

The video of Pussy Riot’s Moscow performance has over 1 million hits on YouTube and counting – and if you enter their name in a search engine, a plethora of their videos protesting Patriarchy will be available for viewing on YouTube.

Support Pussy Riot…
http://freepussyriot.org/
http://pussy-riot.livejournal.com
https://twitter.com/pussy_riot

“Whatcha Wanna,” a new freebie from Only Children, kicks off with some Houston-esque Ooh’s – though maybe it’s Ciara, actually. Hm.

The swirling arpeggios/heavy drum loop kicks in soon after, leaving a really solid slow disco heater. As the guitar chops come in with a mooged-out bass-line, the chopped up vox all keep the track moving.

“Whatcha Wanna” is definitely one of those tracks that sits between an empty dance floor and the midnight headliner – right after an Inner Life track and right before Alan Braxe’s “Intro.”