Kayne West. Power.

Kanye West tweeted: “It’s not a video … It’s a moving painting.” His new video for Power – which is made of 24 layers of video, has been described as “visual ballet.” Others have called it a “living portrait.” Whatever you call it or compare it to there is no denying it’s brilliance. Warped brilliance maybe but brilliance all the same.

It’s typical of Kayne to come out with a concept that would intrigue and bewilder at the same time and with over 3 million hits in three days it’s certainly caused it’s fair share of interest. The 1:43 long video features “ram-horned guards, floating nymphs, knife-wielding attackers and water flowing upward.”

Director Marco Brambilla said of the Power video “It visualizes power, and him as the icon as power…at the end of the piece it challenges the power that I set up at the beginning. It’s an elliptical piece of storytelling.” If nothing else one can only admire Kayne’s sudden interest in mythology. Right? Right.

xx

yours in musical madness

Robots With Rayguns.

What’s the coolest export out of Phoenix, Arizona you ask? It has to be Lucas Patrick Smith aka Robots With Rayguns. He’s made a name for himself remixing artists including the likes of Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Chromeo and Fear of Tigers injecting his signature 80’s inspired electro, new wave sound into each song and deftly crafting them into masterpieces.

One of my favourite tracks of his has to be SugarBaby. It immediately conjures images of legwarmers, Pacman and general 80’s goodness. From the looks of his Myspace page it appears an album is in the works called ‘Electro Isn’t Dead’, after hearing snippets of it, I’m even more excited to hear it in its finality.

Oh and did I mention that you can download all of his songs and remixes for free? Yes, all of them. You’re welcome!

xx

yours in musical madness

Hennessy Artistry launches in South Africa.

Hennessy Artistry launches in South Africa

Hennessy Cognac announces Hennessy Artistry’s four collaborating artists for 2010

Blending the distinctive sounds of four musical genres and showcasing South Africa’s top homegrown music talent, Hennessy Cognac proudly announces the launch of Hennessy Artistry, an exclusive, star-studded concert featuring SAMA award winning hip-hop superstars Teargas, melodic deep house duo Liquideep, Afro-funk songstress Zamajobe and energetic jazzy groove-injected dance act GoodLuck.

The Hennessy Artistry South Africa finale concert takes place on Saturday 11 September 2010, situated in the vibrant and exclusive Melrose Arch precinct in Johannesburg. Hennessy Artistry will see these four diverse performing artists all share one stage as they create a new, uniquely South African sound – a local expression of The Art of Blending.

This prestigious finale event forms part of the global Hennessy artistry campaign, culminating in an ultra exclusive VIP concert on 14 October 2010 in New York City. This year’s concert is headlined by Grammy Award winning hip-hop band, The Roots and legendary Grammy nominated hip-hop artist, Q-Tip.

During the months of August and September 2010, 7 build up events will take place around the country, featuring a live performance by one of Hennessy Artistry’s four local collaborating artists.

For more information about Hennessy Artistry including event dates, ticket sales, local and international artists, or how to win an all expenses paid trip for you and a friend to New York to see Q-Tip and The Roots live at the global Hennessy Artistry concert, visit www.hennessy.com or hennessysa.mobi.

Press release sent to musicalmover@gmail.com

Weekend Roundup.

From the looks of things on Twitter and Facebook, everyone is going to OppiKoppi this weekend. Except me. Not that I particularly mind. Much. Let it not be said Cape Town won’t be the second coolest place to be to dance your face off.

Let’s start with Friday. Discotheque sees superstar German DJ Fuckkk Offf gracing Assembly, along side him  will be Boom Monk Ben, P.H FAT, El Gordo, Liver and MC Bakaman. It’s going to be an unforgettable party!

On to Saturday, it’s Homegrown at Mercury. Need I say more? Assembly plays host to I Scream & The Chocolate Stix as well as some of my favourite DJ’s including Lapse, VGA and The Sound. If that’s not enough weekend goodness Billy Talent will also be playing at the 3 Arts Theatre on Saturday with Van Coke Kartel and Taxi Violence among their supporting acts.

Sound like it’s going to be a good weekend? I couldn’t agree more.

xx

yours in musical madness

Treasure Fingers.

As I previously mentioned, there is nothing like a good remix and my oh my do I love a good remix. If you don’t know Ashley Jones aka Treasure Fingers, allow me to introduce you to him. He’s not new to the scene having racked up over a decade of international club experience and studio chops as part a drum and bass group, Evol Intent.

His repertoire includes incredible (and official) remixes for Estelle, Chromeo, Miike Snow, Empire Of The Sun, my favourite Australians, Operator Please and many more. He’s signed to Fool’s Gold and with the buzz surrounding him and his being hailed as “one of the most exciting new talents in electronic dance music” he’s got it made.

Let’s just say I can’t get enough. You’ll love him too. Promise.

Speaking of remixes enjoy The Sonixx’s banging remix of Treasure Fingers “Cross The Dancefloor” below.

xx

yours in musical madness

Cross The Dancefloor

Shark – The Plastics Release Their Debut Album.

Saturday the 31st of July sees The Plastics release their highly anticipated debut full length album Shark. Produced by award winning international producer Gordon Raphael, Shark has been a year in the making and has seen The Plastics experimenting with their own creative processes and discover different sounds, styles and production and recording techniques.

“It’s come out as a collection of music that is difficult to place in any particular time period, but as a whole, it feels like music from an era gone by that’s breaking into the 21st century.” says bassist Karl Rohloff.

In January 2010 The Plastics flew in Raphael from Berlin and recorded the album at Sound & Motion Studios in Cape Town: “We’ve been lucky enough to have the expertise and top-class environment of Sound and Motion Studios to make our ideas come to life.  Fuzzy and the guys have been really awesome and have contributed in a big way towards the end product.” says Rohloff.

“Working with Gordon was almost surreal.  The fact that he agreed to come all the way down to the bottom of the world and work with us, speaks hugely of Gordon’s desire for discovering new challenges. 

Shark will be launched at The Assembly in Cape Town this Saturday, 31 July. The line-up includes Captain Stu, Holiday Murray, DJ Haasbroek and DJ Lapse. Doors open at 21h00 and tickets are R50 at the door, or R40 presold at Webtickets.

Ellie Goulding ‘The Writer’ (Friends Electric Remix).

Some remixes take an amazing song, proceed to slaughter it and the potential it had, others take the level of perfection to another level. In this case Friends Electric have taken The Writer by Ellie Goulding and as Arjan so astutely puts it “intensified the atmospheric quality of Ellie’s original with sparkling synths, shimmering strings and a lush Ballearic groove. This beautifully crafted new version of “The Writer” perfectly fits the song’s vivid melody and Ellie’s mesmerizing delivery.”

Dare I say they’ve bettered an already astounding song? You can download The Writer (Electric Friends Remix) here. Enjoy!

xx
yours in musical madness

Rosanna.

Oh do I have a treat for you! Meet Rosanna. Not new to the music scene, she’s been a part of a Swedish pop girl group Play, that found international success in the early 2000’s. Now she’s back and she’s solo.

After listening to her you’d be forgiven for mistaking her for Robyn due to their Swedish heritage and similar sounding voices. She is signed to Popjustice hi-fi and she looks set to go places.

Fear of Tigers took her song Waterfalls and with his remix, he turned it up a notch, into a feel good pop/dance/electro hit.  You can download it here. Lovely isn’t it?

xx

yours in musical madness