What do you get when you combine arcade buttons with a midi-controller?
Yeah, pure DJ gadget awesomeness…
Offering incredible tactile feedback and a unique interface for live performances, it’s no surprise that more and more artists are incorporating these new midi-controllers into their sets.
In case you were one of the very few who missed out on last Friday’s (July 2nd) Deadmau5 show at Soldier Field, our friends at RECTv have put together a visually-stunning highlight reel of the performance. Clearly not even close to being there in person, but you’ll get a good enough feel/vibe of the insanity.
It would have been that much better for Chicago to fully experience the new stage setup, but aside from the absent LED mau5head due to technical malfunction, thus prompting the use of many replacements, it was yet another wicked performance in line with all of Joel’s other shows this year. Regardless, he’ll be back soon enough and when he does, rest assured that the show will be bigger, better and technically flawless.
As an added bonus, we’re including an exclusive interview of deadmau5 by the UK Guardian’s, Paul Morley. Love the part where Joel talks about how he never wants to be typecast and tied down to a specific genre of music…
(We opted not to feature the full article follow-up by Morley as it was just a bunch of unjustified slander most likely stemmed from being lost in translation)
Aside from a small hiccup due to an unorganized day 1 at the entrance (they ran out of wristbands mid-day), we hit the Coachella grounds sprinting…straight to the Sahara tent. As Coachella newbies this year, we made sure to exploit all that the festival had to offer and made a valiant attempt at seeing a little bit of everyone at every stage but alas, nothing could quite compare to what the Sahara was dishing out that Friday.
While we missed out on Proxy because of the whole entry mess, we made it just in time to catch Aeroplane. It was the first time we had ever seen them live and they were nothing short of spectacular. Wolfgang Gartner came on right afterward and followed suit with an incredible set which included his most recent hit, Undertaker. After bouncing around a bit following Gartner, we got a chance to hear some other notable performances from Passion Pit, La Roux, Imogen Heap, and LCD Soundsystem. Of those, we’d have to say that La Roux put on the most impressive showing albeit that their tent was utterly packed beyond toleration. Thus, we inevitably found ourselves back raging at the Sahara tent for the end of Erol Alkan and Benny Benassi. This, of course, culminated to the mind-blowing performance by deadmau5.
Although there were a few close competitors, we’d have to say that deadmau5 came out on top as our favorite performance of Coachella 2010. All personal biases aside, our reasoning behind that claim is because he signed, sealed and delivered the full package. Not only did he work in a handful of brand-new songs and unique improv beats, but what really stole the show was the unveiling of his new stage setup. As the very same individuals who were responsible for the lighting in Kanye West’s Glow In The Dark Tour and the infamous pyramid from Daft Punk’s 2007 Alive Tour, Lighting/Set Designer Martin Phillips and Catalyst/LED technician John McGuire stopped short of nothing in the creation and premiere of deadmau5′s new DJ podium/cube, stage lighting, and revolutionary LED mau5head. What makes this all the more epic is that Daft Punk’s pyramid also happened to debut for the first time at Coachella in 2006. As mentioned in a previous post, rumor has it that deadmau5 has a set of virtual reality screens within this new mau5head that allows him to view all of his monitors at one time. We’ll have to confirm this and get back to ya.
There were no port-a-potty lines from 11:30 onwards since no one wanted to miss a beat of what Joel and his new LED mask had in store. Throughout the entire show, different patterns and images flashed across this new helmet in sync with both the music and the lights shown on the cube. At one point, the Disney-like mouse outline of a head suddenly came to life and started wickedly singing along with the song, “Sometimes Things Get, Whatever.” Needless to say, deadmau5 successfully captivated and enthralled a tent full of beat-hungry electro heads for an incredible close of the first day at Coachella. We’ve compiled a few of the best videos from across the web for you to get a true sense of how awesome it really was…
Wait for 3:23 when “Sometimes Things Get, Whatever kicks in…
“Moar Ghosts N Whatever”/”Ghosts N Stuff” feat. Rob Swire
“Sophie Needs a Ladder” (tentative name) feat. vocals by Sofia Toufa (Tommy Lee’s GF…both of which performed live with deadmau5 at Ultra Music Festival this year)
“Strobe”
“Arguru” (closing)
And last but not least…here’s some footage of Danny DeVito trancing out with some topless girls at the deadmau5 performance (compliments of TMZ):
We’ve been diggin’ the tunes from 32 year-old English vocalist, Luciana (Caporaso), for quite some time now. Although she’s been hustling around the industry since ’94, her music career didn’t fully take off until 2006 with the release of the song, “Yeah Yeah” — a collaboration with the English house DJ duo known as Bodyrox. Aside from being a great jam, the uncut version of the video (below and NSFW) also happens to be one of our favorites. Grimy and sexy…can’t ask for much more than that.
Now that we’ve got your full attention, it’s worth noting that Luciana made her foray into the music industry by creating posters and album sleeves for record companies. With a design style similar to that of Andy Warhol, she utilized the elements of photography, painting, and silver/gold leaf to create her most notable (and first) compilation by the name of “Icon,” which was unveiled in 2004 in Soho, London. Luciana is considered and will will continue to be a significant presence within the realms of contemporary art and of course, music. Here are a couple other great videos featuring Luciana including one of her hit song from last year with Richard Vission & Static Revenger.
Super Mal feat. Luciana – Bigger Than Big
Richard Vission & Static Revenger feat. Luciana – I Like That
Can’t wait to hear what she has in store for us this year!
ROKTRONIK strives to promote the convergence and rediscovery of existing musical artists/genres while also fostering the growth and development of new and avant-garde styles of music/musicians. ROKTRONIK RECORDS is always on the search for promising talent so feel free to reach out and see what they can do for you.
