Afro Monk

I’ve never done an event review and always said I most likely would never write one but this time I’ll make an exception. I had been planning on writing a review of The Glitch Mob’s latest album and their new live setup but never got around to it because I felt it would cause up only more of a stir. The reason why I always said I wouldn’t write a review of anything is because I’m one of the most critical humans I’ve come across. While this may seem like a great thing it can actually get me in a lot of trouble especially on a blog that has a decent following.

I’ve seen The Glitch Mob three times with two of those events being a few hours apart from each other (Lolla & Smart Bar in Chicago). This was after Kraddy departed and the boys were using the Lemur as their main setup. The occasionally used a drum pad with drum sticks but usually only to close their set. The sets at this time were very similar to their infamous Crush Mode mix. They were high energy and in complete slay mode the entire show. I’ll never forget seeing them rock out like that!

The third time I saw them was when I flew all the way to California for Lightning in a Bottle 2010. Their album Drink the Sea had recently come out and they were tweeting and announcing they had an entirely new setup. Many people had harsh feelings and were skeptical of all this because I feel that many thought that the Drink the Sea album was quite radical from their earlier works. I personally felt that the album was extremely well put together but yes lacking on slay juice. Drink the Sea is an album I cherish tremendously and play it on vinyl on certain nights where I have a smoke and just sit back and enjoy the music in quite environment.

This is the reason I felt a bit offish about their new set when I heard them at Lightning in a Bottle. However I had been warned that they played an extremely laid back set at Coachella and had truly changed their live show dynamics. I personally didn’t mind their set at Lightning in a Bottle but I felt like I was ready for what they were doing and had been given the heads up. I just felt like it was a whole new experience where they skidded away from the slay stuff. Let me not paint a picture that it was all new chill material because it wasn’t. They played some of the old favorite and created a mix of both new and old. The problem I had was that it was a bit too extreme when going to chill laid back beats to the heavy high energy bass.  I appreciated what was going on but couldn’t help but thing man what are they thinking?! How can you not notice that you use to have crowd going wild the whole set and now just sit back and watch crowd barely bounce on some of these tunes. I feel like theirs a time and place for those tunes and big environments like that are extremely risky. They pulled it off and feel like they impressed many yet of course disappointed others who might of heard how they were before.

One thing that is worth mentioned about the LIB set was how they incorporated so much more into the live set compared to when I saw them in Chicago. They had edIT rocking his SG guitar, Ooah having two synth keyboards, and Boreta with some more drum pads. They incorporated more instruments without using the Lemur as much as they are known too.  They almost felt like a live band but yet didn’t. I have to tip my hat off though because that must take tons of practice and tons of extra work to re-work their whole set to include additional gear on top of their lemurs.

This past Monday I saw The Glitch Mob for the fourth time. I had no idea what to expect. Their new Mixtape had just come out which added a bit more to the Drink the Sea album. It flowed more like a mash up album and totally added more energy to the overall feel of the new tracks. It seemed as if the mixtape could of stand more on its own as an album as well compared to just a mix. After hearing the mixtape and posting it on the blog I wrote how who know what they will do with this. I even suggested that they could even be working these versions of the songs into their live set. They opened up with epic lightning system that they seem to be traveling with. Their setup seemed to be stripped down a bit and they all have an electric drum kit. Drums is definitely a new concentration in this new over-haul again. At the LIB show I felt like they were doing a little less but presenting in a way they were doing more since they using instruments people are familiar with. This time they clearly are going back to the Lemur. edIT is on the top of his games running complex patterns on the Lemur. Boreta is running most of the synth lines and hold down a good amount of affects on board. Ooah is just keeping a clean layer over edIT and doing some fresh work in all aspects of their sound. The three of them are live the whole time and it’s amazing to see it all over again. Every drum pattern, synth line, and sample is being controlled by them. It brought a huge smile to my face when I realized that they really were re-working the new tracks with the mash up version. It’s as if they had completely revamped things to bring more energy using the vocals of familiar hip hop/crunk vocals. One of the highlights of the night which gave me goosebumps was hearing the La Roux mash up from the Mixtape.

Overall their performance was flawless. My only concern was the lack of power on the speaker system. The sound was extremely low. There was someone who literally told me at the start of the set how low it sounds in the back of the venue. I said really?! He replied with I’m using my regular voice and you understand what I’m saying (we were in the front area of the pit). I feel like there could of been a lot more energy put out if the sound was bumping. Another thing I felt like was a bit weak was the crowd. Granted it was a Monday night but I felt a bit ashamed for S.FL. The crowd seemed like they had never heard these tracks before. Honestly I felt like most people weren’t moving or dancing as much because the beats were different style than what they were use too. It’s me over thinking everything probably but felt like if we took photos of every event on the tour and compared them to the S.FL show it’d be a whole different picture. I’m glad that they did make a stop in FL and that I was here to see it.

I want to say thank you to edIT, Boreta, and Ooah for putting on such a show. It takes a lot of work and energy to do a live show like that. I appreciated it beyond belief. I’m totally loving what they are doing now and hands down much respect for evolving so much.

I didn’t get into MartyParty’s set but let me tell you this guy doesn’t disappoint. It was amazing to see him bouncing around and jamming out. He was straight killing it. My only complaint is that his setup was at an angle and not facing the crowd. This might of been the case because The Glitch Mob’s gear was all setup behind him. Hearing some of his unreleased stuff on a big system was fantastic to relive. His set at Lightning in a Bottle had a lot going for it compared to the FTL show but he still rocked out. There’s a ton of new stuff he’s playing out and can’t wait to hear on the new EP due out soon. MartyParty continues to be one of the performers that I look too as a role model. I’ll even admit that half of the tracks he played were tunes that I played at Get Low w/ Lazer Sword. His track selection to me was absolutely perfect. He even dropped the Roxanne remix he did with Love & Light and the Beatles remix by L&L as well. I’m not going to lie I was disappointed when he dropped a Borgore tune but ohh well people eat that stuff up.

Thank you good sir Marty! Thank you for tweeting my post about you as well.
Much love out to you guys! It was great meeting you guys and seeing you in my home state.
Best of luck on the rest of your tour!

Also a big thank you to Def Owl and Chad for everything. It’s risky business to bring acts like these into the South Florida market. Thank you!

-Afro Monk

The Do Lab is one of the most recognized orginizations in the music scene on the West Coast and spreading around the world. The Do Lab’s headquarters is located in downtown Los Angeles and is comprised of some of the best event producers, artist, lighting designers, DJs, constructors, welders, costumers, and many musicians.

The Do Lab hit its 10 year mark in 2010 and has been part of some of the most memorable events on the West Coast. Their annual Lightning in a Bottle festival has become one of the largest festivals around. I had the pleasure of going for the first time this year and it’s completely changed my life.

Lightning in a Bottle isn’t the only event they are part of. The Do Lab also has ties with Coachella Music Festival, Ford, Audi, Red Bull, The Virgin Music Festival, Speakercraft, Esquire Magazine, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Stop Aids Organization, and more! Many of their events give back to the community and supply funds to charities such as CriticalBeats.

The Do Lab: Album Release – Lightning in Your Ear

I have just received word that The Do Lab will be putting together a collaboration album which features tons of artist highlighted at Lightning in a Bottle. All the proceeds from this album will be going to CritcalBeats which is a charity that is supporting the preservation of the rain forest and indigenous culture all around the world. Artists featured on the “Lightning in Your Ear” Compilation include: The Glitch Mob, Beats Antique, The Very Best, MartyParty, Nico Vega, Adam Freeland, and many more…! I’m proud to present a 100% exclusive track on the upcoming release from none other than Beat Antique!

Beat Antique – Les Enfants Perdus

Big Thank You to The Do Lab, all the artist who make this possible, and all those who help support the music and arts!

MartyParty is Marty Folb and is originally from South Africa. Marty came to the States 15 years ago and has been on a mission ever since then! The music that is produced by this man is breathe taking! The amount of rhythm and groove that is put into is stunning. His high synths are clearly recognizable and layered with the perfect amount of bass. I recently just played a show in NY and dropped 2-3 tunes of his and every single person in that room felt each one of them.

He has taken the west coast by storm with his electric energy live. This man truly is one of my biggest role models. Never have I seen anyone with such power play a crowd. Every single show I preform at I think of the videos of Marty at Cervantes in CO and the quick glances I got front center at Lightning in a Bottle 2010 with all the women dancing on top of the subs blocking the view. You can see on his face and his movements that he truly loves what he does and loves feeding from everyone around him as every engulfs every inch of the dancefloor.

I’m proud to announce MartyParty is due out with a release in the near future. The new release is called Skukuza EP being put out by The Confluence. Marty is about to start a tour around the States. He is about to go on tour all around the US with legends The Glitch Mob. The tour begins here in Fort Lauderdale on August 30th! I can’t wait to rage! South Florida has never experienced a sound like MartyParty before and I can’t wait to look back and be proud to know that this sound and energy is making its way to the East Coast.

Get Ready For MARTYPARTY!

I’m back! Recently celebrated my 25th birthday in Vegas! I got to play at Defcon 18 and rage! The blog was upgraded to WordPress 3 and has big issues in the process. It’s not that there wasn’t news or new post for past two weeks, it’s that the site was broken. Just for the record if you use 1and1 and upgrade to 3.0 you need to increase the memory allocated to 20mb or else it crashes with 500 error.

Now that it’s back the redesign will be possible. I’m doing a mini tour over summer but hope to get it all sorted out to a new look.

Tonight I open up for Lazer Sword in Miami for monthly event, Get Low!

I’m looking for gigs in October! email me to arrange something!
Just recently recorded a summer promo mix!

Expect some new post and info to start back up on regular basis as before! Much love to all the fans and readers!

Decibel Festival is celebrating it’s 7 year in 2010. I’ll never forget last year hearing about it and all the amazing talent that was attending. Decibel is one giant conference of parties spanning through 5 days. There are many venues associated with the conference holding different events every night. The showcases at DB are to die for.

This years line up is nothing short of spectacular. Headlining this years conference is none other than Modeselektor! There are endless amounts of talent to check out. This will be my first year attending and have been looking forward to this event ever since I went to Lightning in a Bottle. Seattle’s bass scene is comprised of some of the most welcoming people on the planet.

Here is a video that was put together to recap last years DB Festival. As the years progress the event just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Defcon 18 is the LARGEST hacker convention in the world. It has been going 18 years strong and has brought in approximately 7,000 attendees last year. Defcon is held every year in Las Vegas and has some of the greatest talent come out and give talks and lectures on all sorts of interesting topics in the community.

It isn’t all about speakers and workshops. Defcon also likes to party and brings in quite a diversity of talented performers and Djs! This year the Rivera Hotel and Casino will be hosting the event and will have the pool open to party and ballroom ready to get down.

There’s endless things to get yourself into at this years Defcon. Here are links to information on all the talks and info about all the acts coming in to play.

Speakers / Djs/Bands

I can’t wait to party with the whole Glitch.fm crew that is attending. It’s going to get wild. I’ll be playing Saturday night by the pool!!!

Emrg+N+See takes place about an hour south of Portland, Oregon at Miller Brothers Ranch in the hills east of Salem. Nestled in a lush canyon, the setting for the weekend includes soft meadowlands, old-growth evergreens, ancient oaks, a swimming pond and a clear stream meandering through the length of the venue, with easy access provided to the shady camping on the grass nearby.

Lineup includes: Slugabed, Mala, March Fourth Marching Band, Sean Hayes, Funginears, Free the Robots, Vibesquad, Eprom, MartyParty, Hovatron, Emrg+N+See Orchestra, Mux Mool, Nasty Nasty, Teebs, Shlohmo, Baths, Bass Science and dozens more electronic and live music artists who are shaping the evolution of sound with their bold creative endeavors.

Vendors will be on hand with food and drink as well as unique goods from independent artists including tooth bling, skin food, booty capes, feather earrings, fair-trade Peruvian textiles and much more. Emrg+N+See is an all-ages event and families are welcome to come and enjoy a special play area and free admission for children under 15. Individual camping is included in the ticket price ($140 presale), with additional fees for cars, RV parking and VIP passes.

Download the Emrg N See 2010 Promo Mix

Miami Dubstep is back with its biggest monthly, Get Low! This is one of the biggest Get Low events and celebrating it’s 15th addition with none other than Hatch! One of the original founders of the Dubstep sound is coming to Miami.

I’m happy to announce this one as well because home boy Munkz is making his Get Low debut! Spent some time with him and heard some of the tracks from his recent pool, damn. Looking forward to his set, he’s totally going to bring it. Other djs playing are resident Juan Basshead and supporting DJs bringing you the latest in dubstep are FTG of Partnerz N Grime, Gizmatix,and DS.

Get Low is as always at Vagabond in Downtown, 30 NE 14th St.
RSVP to shake305@gmail.com for Reduced Cover before 11pm.

The Glitch Mob are coming back to Miami! You have no idea how excited I am to announce that The Glitch Mob is coming back for a solo show!!!

I’ve spent months trying to bring the Glitch Hop sound to Miami and show people something different. The Mob is one of my main influences and loves. I got to see them live not long ago at Lightning in a Bottle. They clearly have a new sound. I wouldn’t say it’s a good or bad things but I do believe it will appeal to a broader audience.

Def Owl is behind this glorious event. It’s great to know that there are people out there who know about The Glitch Mob and invested in booking such a big act. It’s extremely risky to bring these guys in this hood. I hate to say it but people here need to go witness more live music.  Boreta, edIT, and Ooah are truly talented musicians who pour their soul into the music and rock out hard. They’ve recently incorporated drums, keyboards, and guitars into their shows along with their Lemurs.

I promise you Miami/Fort Lauderdale you haven’t seen anything like this. Def Owl were behind bringing Pretty Lights and I was blown away by how well it was received. They’ve taken it to another level in my eyes with booking The Mob. They are doing amazing things for South Florida with their bookings. Pretty Lights, Orchard Lounge, Black Violin, and now THE GLITCH MOB!

Keep up to date with all the Def Owl events =)

I’ll be raging in the front so come out August 30th to Revolution!
Buy Tickets / Facebook Event Page

Doors open 8:30pm
18+ Tickets: $14.00

Lightning in a Bottle 2010 was THE Greatest experience in my life so this maybe extremely bias =)

LIB is a festival that goes on for three days in Irvine, California. The location is outside of civilization so majority of people who attend camp for the week-end. Luckily I have such great friends I was able to fly in with just clothes and a sleeping bag. As soon as you drive into the parking lot you’ll realize how serious this thing is. People of all ages, colors, shapes, and mindsets are flooding in, carrying essential supplies. Once you’ve entered the parking lot you’re great with a spectacular view of the lake with mountains surrounding it. Shuttles await you as you carry your needs to the line. Shuttles take you to all the four camp sites. I was surprised how efficient the shuttles were considering most people were taking a crap load of things. Thankfully a few friends had already arrived earlier Thursday to setup camp. Arriving early and picking out a good campsite is key! You’ll be coming back from the festival at night and a close location when it’s pitch dark helps!

The music couldn’t have been any better. The Do Lab out did themselves with the line up this year! The main highlights of the festival without looking at the line up are: Nosaj Thing, Stephan Jacobs, MartyParty, Mimosa, Vibesquad, Lucent Dossier, Jupit3r, Daddy Kev & Nobody, Eliot Lipp, Heyoka, & Daedelus. I’d go into detail of each of these magnificent performances but this post would end up being pages upon pages long. Please ask for any input out of these. It was asked numerous times who was my favorite of the festival. I’ve thought long and hard and decided that I came up with my favorite, NOSAJ THING! The man was completely live the whole time and on point. The music was absolutely amazing incorporating many of his own tracks with many others. The amount of skill and talent was clearly shown. He had no shame to hold back and tweak and glitch everything on the fly. After Nosaj I’d probably say it was Stephan Jacobs, MartyParty, and Mimosa. You might notice that I never mentioned The Glitch Mob in all this… I might just have an entire post about what I thought of the NEW Glitch Mob. Another name I didn’t mention was Kraddy. The reason for this was because since he was on the first night and much later on I ended up making a serious mistake of not wearing warm clothes since it was so furiously hot during the day. The cruelest joke of the trip was how insanely hot it was during the day and beyond a comfort level of cold at night. I ended up missing half of Kraddy’s set because I had to go to camp to change.

The experience of camping was something completely new to me. I had never gone camping in my life. I have to admit I was quite intimidated by going to a festival alone and be outside camping. Thank God I had one of the best group of people around me. If you are new to festivals I highly recommend going with someone who has been or has experience. Be warned there are TONS of hippies which can be a good or bad thing depending how you look at it. I was raised in very comfortable living situation and too be honest camping wasn’t that bad. Many even say camping at a festival isn’t really camping at all. Keep in mind that many festivals are in the dessert or remote locations so it can get insanely hot and become unbearably cold at night within a couple hours. The major experience of camping was in the community of people around you. It’s a very hospital environment where everyone is sharing and looking out for each other. Having a solid group makes a huge difference. It’s almost a barter system. I’ll tell you I spent so much less money than I could have imagined. Most of the money I spent went into buying food that I didn’t really have to have and merch. Having free running water all over the festival helps tremendously. The Do Lab clearly made camping quite easy. The one catch that everyone couldn’t help but notice was the whole leave the camp ground as if we were never there. It’s a great mentality to have BUT there weren’t enough trash cans. You would think that there would be more so this was possible. It truly surprised me how much people cared about this when it came to leaving the camp grounds. You would find people walking around with trash bags cleaning up.

The last thing I want to talk about is the amount of stores and shops available. The amount of art and merch areas was impressive. You could find all sort of fun exotic clothes and memorabilia at the festival. Everyone around was expressing themselves in the way they dressed, danced, or even communicated. A conversation came up on how some people go completely all out and look insane. We concluded that it might just be us that the joke is on and those people who do go all out truly get it. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t mind the beautiful outfits that people were wearing but you have to wonder where all the these people hide during regular life.

All in all the festival was the greatest experience of my life and I’m hooked! Everyone speaks of Burning Man but considering I’m in Miami and work during the week it won’t be possible. Lightning in a Bottle is a perfect festival to start. It’s a long week-end and it’s not as harsh conditions as some of the other festivals out there. The music is absolutely top notch and so are all the performances. Festivals is a great place to meet new people who share your same interest and taste. Let’s not forget the amount of partying and networking that goes on. Thank You The Do Lab! Lightning in a Bottle changed my life.

Another thing I’d like to mention is that there are camps specialized for families and quite camp. This is to all the people camping around us who kept complaining about us staying up all night talking and making noise. If you have kids in your camp and actually want to sleep when it’s night time… GO TO THE SPECIFIC CAMP FOR THAT! =D

If you are looking for photos or have any photos feel free to post them on the Flickr group:
Lightning in a Bottle 2010 Photos

Here is a great video that was posted that has some photos of the festival this year:

Bwomp Camp Memories:
HOOOOTTTT SAAAKKKIIII
The Apparatus
Spacedust
Jesus
Nibbler
Pirate Flag
Mirror Shot
Skirt Beetle
Vagina Crystal Necklace
It will find you
That EP better be coming out soon
BAACCOOOONNNN
Heat Exhaustion
Stupid Ugly Girls
Go
Space Hawk
Atari
Bachard
Spaghetti