Keys n Krates
Last night, i had the extreme pleasure of being invited to check out DMC champion, Jr- Flow‘s new live mash-up group, Keys ‘n Krates, which he founded in tandem with the ‘eclectic’ soul singer, Matisse.
As far as I know, these are the only kids on the block that have tapped in to the concept of performing LIVE mash-ups armed with a full band . The DJ is still the core of the group as he provides the beats and samples, while the rest (drums, guitar, keyboard) fill the space with rhythms and harmonies. Yeah, I could go on and on, making all kinds of high brow music critiques but I would only just be scratching the surface of what these guys are all about. They are simply a sight to be seen, or, heard, in the very least, and are fucking phenomenal. Much like a typical mash-up set, you can expect to hear all kinds of shit, new and old, being thrown in the mix. There are lots of vids available on their myspace, but here’s a couple for all you lazy asses out there.
Keys n Krates have been tearing things up across North America for almost a year now. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so much passion in a live, or dj performance. The only other performer that I can think of that compares would probably be Skratch Bastid, who shows an equal love for the crowd and flair in his stylings. If I haven’t said it already, I’ll say it again, these guys are fucking phenomenal.
You can watch for them in NYC at Urb mag’s holiday party , or follow them at their own blog at http://keysnkrates.blogspot.com/
Mad props to Jesper at Ideall Friends for hooking things up, and Abby at Solepower Productions for smoothing things over at the door.
Confessions of a Porn Addict
We were at the screening of Spencer Rice and Mark Breslin’s new mockumentary “Confessions of a Porn Addict”. and stayed for the Q&A session. We were really lucky and got some footage of the guys pitching the movie which is opening up tomorrow at Bloor. Mark is the king of Comedy in Canada and owns the popular comedy club Yuk Yuks, while his costar Spencer Rice, from the legendary comedy pair Kenny vs Spenny, is well known in the Toronto circle. The duo works wonders and really allowed Spencer to morph out of the “Spenny” character, loved and laughed at by many. The movie explores the horrors of addiction, porno, and the lives of the people who are touched by them. It’s self-described as a “hilarious mockumentary about voyeurism, obsession, and life in the San Fernando Valley.”
It’s actually a romantic comedy, only you’ll remember the sex part. There’s really nothing educational in there regarding masturbation. The director Duncan aka Dunks (actual Kenny Vs. Spenny crew member), just wanted to be “responsible” and make a comedy out of it. There’s an intense masturbation scene, written by Spencer. He was scared to do it and the crew kept laughing while shooting.
Also featured in the movie is real life porn producer Rob Black. Rob wasn’t just a character, Rob Black is the real guy and Extreme Associates is a real company. His movies are unlike anything else you’ve seen in porn or elsewhere. He’s actually the most prosecuted pornographer in the US, having been harassed by the Bush administration on multiple accounts.
Most of the movie was improvised and there was no scripted dialog. The Screen Writer’s guild of Canada, of which Spencer is a member, would not even accept it as an actual script! The movie was roughly mapped out, but a lot of the stuff in LA took them in crazy directions. One scene where Mark, Spencer’s impromptu porn addiction mentor and sponsor, blocked the animal programimng (due to a previous beastiality addiction) was improvised. The cock cage device featured in the flick also exists but it’s more of an S&M device for masochism, they did a fictional spin on it to prevent masturbation, but to his dismay, Spencer couldn’t keep the toilet clean.
The movie was financed by TMN and it’s a private broadcas, coasting roughly $300,000. Disney is not going to be picking this one up anytime soon. Spencer, Duncan and Mark will been working on tv series for the next year. When asked what their favourite scene in the movie was, the climaxing (no pun intended) bukkake scene won hands down.
The film is awesome, so check it out. It’s playing this weekend at the Bloor Cinema, in Toronto. Expect international distribution soon.
We asked Spencer and Mark to try and explain why you should go check it out this weekend and got it on tape, so here it is:
Why you should see “Confessions of a Porn Addict” from FUBITCH on Vimeo.
monofonicos: fluid colors
monofónicos are a “netlabel” (according to them). They release music from different artists around colombia, mostly electronic minimal stuff –just what we love– and –obviously (for it to be here)- it’s all available for free online. They also do podcasts, keep a blog and just really know how to get the word out (although their site could totally use a redesign).
Their latest release, “Colores Fluidos” is really a compilation of their best music. Their idea is that just as colors flow, vary and lift you, so do their artists.
It’s a perfect guide to emotional bliss and aural pleasure. From bubbling groove to soul lifting house, this album is only the start of what should be a set of irresistible atmospheric melodies.
Check it out, and keep an eye on this latin label.
Vision Armonica del Caos and NoisNois
Trozos de insomnios, placeres y obsesiones - Visión Armónica del Caos
IDM, ambient, experimental & alternative electronic rock is how Bustamante describes his music. An ex-metal amateur guitarist whose musical mindset was turned upside down by Sonic Youth in a mixtape; Busta has made electronic music his playground.
costa rican collective of music and art
He’s part of NoisNois –a music and art
collective made up of entirely Costa Rican artists, who share the love for making extremely good music and releasing it under creative commons licenses (both in 320kb mp3 & FLAC) on their site– and produces under the name Visión Armónica del Caos (harmonic vision of chaos). His first album “Trozos de insomnios, placeres y obsesiones” was:
Taken from secret places of his mind. busta’s recent release contains seven emotion-packed tracks. His beats, filled with mistery, were torn apart by hungry insects. There goes an ant!
It doesn’t disappoint, it reminds me of Radiohead, years back when they did “Fog”, also sounds like Explosions in the Sky and Los Planetas Se DIsuelven. The other albums and compilations available at NoisNois are equally amazing; they’ve been putting on live shows, and busta recently played a cover with Furia (who did the voice), which is the entire reason this post happened: to present “Haja o que houver”, an amazing cover done live, recorded and produced by cristian, enjoy it:
Second Life affair leads to real-life divorce for David Pollard
Ok, so the blog’s mandate has never been to actually serve up the ladies, despite what it’s name sake might indicate, but hot damn, this here story just can’t not go up….
mmm, tasty pixellation
“A couple have divorced after the husband was caught having a “virtual affair” with a female character in an online game. David Pollard and Amy Taylor met in an online chat room in 2003 and married after discovering a shared love of the internet game Second Life […] To his wife’s horror, Mr Pollard’s interaction included virtual infidelity with a female character playing the role of a prostitute. Ms Taylor said yesterday that her husband had been guilty of the “ultimate betrayal”, even though he had never met the real person behind his online affair […]
The couple met in an internet chat room in May 2003 and within six months Ms Taylor had moved from London to Mr Pollard’s flat in Newquay, Cornwall. They married at a register office in St Austell in July 2005 and held a virtual wedding for their avatars in Second Life. While their online characters are young, and slim, in real life there is a lot more to Ms Taylor and the balding Mr Pollard.
whoah! pasty titillation!!!
Ms Taylor’s suspicions were aroused in 2007 and she hired a Second Life private investigator. The virtual sleuth, called Markie MacDonald, caught Dave Barmy in flagrante and he apologised to his online and real world wives.
Ms Taylor said: “It has been a very difficult time. I am now just trying to move on with my life. People find love in lots of different ways. Ours was a very serious marriage. It may have started online but it existed entirely in the real world and it hurts just as much now it is over.
Taylor is now in a new relationship with a man she met in the online roleplaying game World of Warcraft.
See here for full story.
Pam Glew Joins Stella Dore
Stella Dore is proud to announce Pam Glew is joining their roster. Pam is a great young artist, and admits to being shamelessly addicted to obscure horror films. It is this interest that has become the basis for her ‘Fear’ series, which focuses on manipulating screen stills of women in distress in horror films. Her originals feature these images bleached and dyed onto different materials, including vintage flags and antique books. To view more available work from Pam Glew, you can check out her upcoming art show or click to the Stelle Dore site.
LICHFAKTOR at Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is a “Festival for Art, Technology and Society”, a great initiative that we’ll be keeping an eye out for (it’s probably happening next year again).
We couldn’t help but notice the incredible work LICHFAKTOR did for the festival. They create footage using light and a variety of light sources:
The Cologne artists’ collective, consisting of VJ $ehvermögen (photographer and VJ since 1997 with many years of experience in the event field) and JIAR (communications designer and graffiti artist), experiments with the possibilities yielded by bulb (long-term) exposure and painting. Their aim is to explore all aspects of “lightwriting” and to develop it further. The LICHTFAKTOR crew intentionally uses the entire space in which a particular work is produced and integrates it into their photos and animated films in such a way that it’s not just a backdrop but a part of the work itself.
Check out some of the images they created below, and make sure you visit the site for more, or check out an exclusive interview with JIAR aka David Lupschen, at Format magazine:
Seth Mcfarlane's personalized Super Mario F U BITCH
I dont think anything says Fuck You Bitch more than this super mario one off by Seth Mcfarlane.
the original instant message
We see stupid ads on the subway everyday, but this one caught our attention as one of the “better” ones:
Get it? Of course you do.
Francis and the Lights
Francis and the Lights is a band we love. They’re a part of The Normative Music Company, the “record label” founded by Jacob Lodwick, the guy who started Vimeo. They don’t do normal record deals, Francis and the Lights recently incorporated into it’s own company with an initial investment by Normative. It’s all a very interesting initiative for the band to control what they produce and for Normative it’s a great act to promote who will get people to talk about them. We’ll see where it leads, but there’s no doubt they are producing great music.
Their first album was released a few months ago, available on their website as a $5 download and on iTunes as well. Not only that but their first music video is a work of art, set in a simple stage with Francis pulling some awesome dance moves reminiscent of Prince’s style and with live audio, it’s so good they made it available as an HD download. Here it is embedded:
The Top (Music Video) from Francis and the Lights on Vimeo.
Their music is hot and pop, electronic lovers will appreciate the beats and rhythms they produce. Francis has a voice that gives them a very unique sound and brings some classic stuff to their show.
All in all, they rock, bitch!
