A packed house was treated to an incredible double bill of modern jazz last night. The East Village’s Drom played host to Wil Blades Trio and Cory Henry (of Snarky Puppy fame) for a long, late night of funky vintage sounds. Wil Blades Trio kicked things off with a selection of cuts off the recent album Field Notes. The album does a phenomenal job demonstrating how good the drums, guitar, bass/keys combo can work within the genre, much like Soulive does.  The group thrives in

Photo Via LiveMusicBlog.com After I saw STS9’s new lineup at Electric Forest earlier this year, it was clear that the 5-piece jamtronica outfit is happy as ever. Once they crushed Red Rocks with 6 sets in two nights, the buzz about Sound Tribe was to the jam world what the Ice Bucket Challenge was to bored middle-age adults with desk jobs. A Friday night New York City show located in Times Square is the stage of all stages, and STS9 thrived in the occasion. Beginning with Ala

Chicago house legend Felix Da Housecat launches his residency this Saturday at Verboten alongside the Safer at Night crew. This adds to already extremely impressive run of parties Verboten has thrown this month including Cajmere and DJ EZ, both of whom share “legendary” status with Felix. Joining the 42 year-old is the crew from Safer At Night. The Brooklyn-based after hours label is riding high on an impressive string of releases themselves, the newest of which is Curses’ He

About 15 minutes after arriving to Verboten this blonde chick put her arm around me, posing the question, “Hey there! How can I have as much fun as you’re having?” Presumably looking for ecstasy. But I wasn’t on any drugs…just a little herb smoke and some red wine. I took a sip, thinking of how to answer. Finally I said, “I guess you just have to really like music?” What I should have said was, “How could you not?” But this revelation didn’t come until after Cajmere had taken

Cajmere is launching a new residency at Brooklyn’s Verboten night club tonight. The Chicago house music legend, who also goes by the name Green Velvet, will take us on a journey that only few DJs know how to do. His sets are well-crafted and often utilize spoken word to alter the perception of the music being played. Tickets are still available for the event here. Here’s a sweet mini-mix he posted on his SoundCloud a couple days ago. We can only pray he drops some Michael Jac

Simian Mobile Disco recorded their upcoming album, Whorl, live in front at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California, to a crowd of 900. The duo didn’t use computers, each member merely had a single rack of modular synth gear and one sequencer to create the highly-anticipated work of art. Whorl is due out on September 9th on Anti Records. Check out a radio edit of the song “Tangents” below. We will be there come September 21st, when Simian Mobile Disco performa Whorl live

Finally seeing Interpol at Governors Ball was one of those moments where life couldn’t get any better. Completely entrenched in some music I’ve loved for a decade, the New York City band delivered some of my favorite songs ever written. The fact that I had just moved to NYC three months prior made the experience that much more surreal. I never saw the dudes in Florida, but, of course, 100 short days after moving to the big apple they’re absolutely melting my shit. The set was

Last week, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, a couple of today’s hottest beat-makers got together to play downtempo electronic music. Jim-E Stack is currently based in New York, and his music feels like it. While staying true to vision rather than tempo or genre classifications, he combines unordinary sounds and spacey vibes to produce unique beats. One of my favorites is “Is It Me.” Shlohmo’s music has become quite the phenomenon, and I love it. It’s the antithesis to trap

I may not be able to make it to Miami for Winter Music Conference this year, but at least I’ll get some “Jack” in my life this Friday at Webster Music Hall. That’s right, people, Breach is coming to the City and I couldn’t be more stoked. His single “Jack,” released on Dirtybird Records, was arguably one of the most played songs of WMC last year, and my personal anthem from the monumental week. As soon as that classic bass line drops, it’s an instant crowd pleaser. Just recen

Dusky graced Output’s Funktion One soundsystem the other night, bringing techy deep-house to Brooklyn’s hotspot. Warming up with a series of instrumental and simpler tracks, the duo set the pace for a two hour set. The crowd was held captive as the house beats pumped through their bodies. Output is so damn loud, you can’t not dance. I was honestly exhausted, but you just can’t help it. The bass literally will knock your ass over, so the least you can do is pretend like your s

My personal favorite DJ duo, Dusky, is hitting Output tomorrow night in Brooklyn. The nationally acclaimed sound-system will be moved by the funky sounds of Alfie Granger-Howell and Nick Harriman. Dusky’s debut LP, Stick by This, is amongst the best electronic LPs in my collection. The lush, ambient soundscapes paired with soulful vocals make for an unforgettable musical experience. Since then, Dusky has released a number of tunes that have gone around the underground circuit

Canada can be the butt of a lot of jokes, what with Justin Bieber, Terrance & Phillip, and Mayor Rob Ford, but not everything from our northernly neighbors can be taken lightly. Enter Art Department. Art Department is the product of Kenny Glasgow and Jonny White. These funk-soul-brothers are part of the stellar lineup of incoming shows at Output that also includes Dusky, Carl Cox, Sasha and Eats Everything. The venue, which is conveniently located across the street from the B

Brooklyn’s on fire. This Greenwich Village of the new millennium is thriving with artists making camp in Manhattan’s dirty little brother across the river. Musically speaking, a huge boost came from Gramatik setting up his label Lowtemp here, creating a foundation for dope artists to release some seriously cool music to a hungry audience. Next from the troop, we get the first batch of tunes from Lowtemp’s resident crooner, Gibbz. After hearing him make girlfriends everywhere

While most of the world indulged in premium television last Sunday night, I was lucky enough to catch Antibalas for the second time in one week at S.O.B.’s in Manhattan. So where do I start with this group?  The chemistry alone, on their scale, is a sight to be seen/heard. Second, the performance is amazing music accented with  beautiful poetry. As a waiter in NYC for the past year, Amayo, the very talented lead vocalist, said something that resonated with me deeply (and seem

Cornmeal on the Relix Rooftop Chicago’s Cornmeal brought their rockin’ brand of progressive bluegrass through NYC the other night, giving me the opportunity to analyze the bands new lineup in an intimate and larger-scale environment. During the afternoon, on a warm, breezy NYC afternoon that exclaims “SPRING IS COMING,” I was able to catch Cornmeal’s private rooftop session on the roof of the Relix offices. The group jammed out two new songs, stretching them to the 7-minute m