When it comes to keeping things close to the vest, Lit City is where it’s at. The Brooklyn ghetto house/footwork/juke/off-dance institution has been hard at work for a while bringing the likes of DJ Rashad, Kode9, Traxman and Visionist in the forefront through the filter of the ever-evolving sounds of Chicago. Residents J-Cush and Durban have been flying the flag for a while now, pushing a sound that’s always been lauded for its brash and honest nature, wading through all the atmospheres and getting straight to the point: dancing your ass off. Tonight is no exception, but for another reason altogether; one of the kings of ghetto house and juke, DJ Deeon, is making his NYC debut. Startling as that sounds, it’s not just him bringing fire to the night, as Planet Mu footwork specialist Traxman and Mixpak madman Dubbel Dutch will provide some epic supportive vibes. As per usual, J-Cush and Durban will hold it down, as Lit City tonight is going to be a momentous and floor-shaking occasion at 285 Kent. There will still be tickets at the door ($12) and proceedings will start at 10PM. For more info on what’s coming up tonight, check out the flyer and tunes, post-jump.
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The ever-growing Planet Mu footwork contingency has spread to the younger generations of Chicago, with the wunderkind producer Young Smoke at the helm. Drawing influences from places and sound not seen or heard regularly, you’d think you’d stumbled upon the moon landing with a footwork battleground at the base of it. With his debut LP Space Zone providing a deluge of sweeping synths, torrential rhythms and extraterrestrial excellence, Young Smoke spoke briefly with URB about how things are going since he’s signed with Planet Mu, what he’s accomplished in this past year and what we should look forward to from him in the near future. Along with that, URB has secured the exclusive video to “Space Muzik Pt. 2″. Check out the video and interview after the jump.
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Just when we thought Planet Mu’s catalogue had covered everything possible from footwork to the abstract, they’ve come out of left field with Tragicomedies. For his sophomore album, Rudi Zygadlo has incorporated more aspects of classical music than ever, as opposed to the stronger influence of electronic music that was more apparent in the past (and is still there). Citing influences from Frank Zappa to a number of authors and literary works, Zygadlo has brought a unique mix of sounds together to create something that treads the line between pop music and quirky, heartfelt dance music – but not quite. It’s beautiful and it’s complicated, and we know that it’s excellent even if we have a hard time explaining it: it’s already been on …
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Photo credit: Kristin Kerr
You may have seen the visual works of Tom Scholefield on the sleeves and videos from the camps of LuckyMe, Warp, Underground Resistance and Hyperdub; but through his sonic output as Konx-Om-Pax, you actually get to hear the inner-workings of an enduring and multi-faceted artist. His debut LP on Planet Mu, Regional Surrealism, drew praise from the worlds of the underground and the experimental simultaneously; as the record was a thorough journey into constantly stimulating soundscapes, which this writer mirrors to the works of Vangelis and Milieu. Rich with textures and full of sensitized structures, Konx-Om-Pax displays how freely his music flows by mirroring his ever-expansive visual arts style. We’re honored to have him grace out with a contribution to our SURROUNDINGS feature, as he takes us on a pretty concise tour of his favorite Glaswegian spots, with a slight detour to Greenpoint to a legendary Brooklyn record shop. Check it out after the jump.
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If you’re a frequent reader of URB, surely you’ve seen that we love Planet Mu and Rudi Zygadlo. After his stirring and surprising LP, Great Western Layman earned him universal acclaim in his unique sound and songwriting ability, Zygadlo returns to Mu with his forthcoming single, “Melpomene”, set to be released on July 2nd. It’ll be a taster of his next full-length, entitled Tragicomedies, set to be released in September 2012. In the meantime, check out the video for lead single, “Melpomene” after the jump.
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