Virgin

Back in November of 2008, I had a chance to hear Melanie Fiona’s album sampler. At the time she was selected by Kanye West, personally, to open for him during his European Tour, what made this shocking was that she had never had an album released and her single wasn’t in heavy rotation…yet. But hey when you have ?uestlove and Jay-Z vouching for you and showing up to your showcase, not having an album out, doesn’t seem all that important. Fast forward months later and her single Give It To Me Right is getting mad spins as well as having the likes of Talib Kweli, Raekwon and Busta Rhymes on the remixed versions. We were able to catch up with Melanie for a quick interview.

Killahbeez: Hi Melanie, thanks for taking the time in doing this interview. Why don’t you start by introducing yourself for folks out there that aren’t familiar with your style of music?

Melanie Fiona: Melanie Fiona…singer/songwriter/supergirl. My debut album is releasing this spring through SRC Universal Motown Records. My single Give it to Me Right is currently being added to radio and is available on iTunes. At the risk of putting myself in a box, I’ll call my music pop soul.

KB: I’m a fellow Canadian and I read that you are also from Canada, Toronto to be exact. Toronto is quite well known for the different communities it has in the city and essentially a true melting pot, has this influenced your music?

MF: Canadians Rock!!! Toronto is definitely one of the most culturally diverse cities I have ever seen. Growing up in a Caribbean household, and interacting with so many different types of cultures really influenced the music I do. I knew I wanted to make music for all kinds of people, and you hear that in the songs. Some songs reflect my culture… so they might have a reggae/calypso feel. Others might have licks of hip hop, r&b, pop, rock… I think there’s something on there for everyone.

KB: Yeah that definitely comes through on the sampler that I was given. You mentioned your debut album, which is called The Bridge, is slated to be released in the Spring. Could you talk about what people can expect to hear as well as the album name?

MF: The album is called The Bridge. I feel like it bridges the gap between genres of music, ethnicities, age groups, and genders. People can definitely expect to hear soulful music with live instrumentation, and memorable and relatable stories.

KB: Speaking of memorable. The lead single Give It To Me Right is hella sexy and empowering for women, was that the focus of writing this song?

MF: Thank you! It is very empowering…I feel so strong every time I sing or perform that song. It was written by a super talented songwriter and producer on the album, Andrea Martin. She knows me very well, professionally and personally, it’s a real reflection of the type of woman I am. I feel like there should be no shame in expressing what you want, and not settling for the things you don’t. I feel proud to know that it will empower people…not just women, but everyone who feels the same.

KB: Keeping with Give It To Me Right, the song is sampled from the Zombies Time Of the Season, how was that sample or record introduced to you to be used for Give It To Me Right?

MF: Well I was already a fan of that song from time! It’s a classic! When we started working on the music for the album, we knew we wanted to pay tribute to the ‘old’ by putting a ‘new’ spin on it. That sample is familiar and easy to vibe with… it was the perfect fit for the lyrics.

KB: You recently came off of the Glow in the Dark Tour with Kanye West over in Europe. What was that experience like and how did that opportunity to work with Kanye come about?

MF: It was amazing! Kanye and I had never met before the tour. My management presented my music to him when he was looking for his opening acts. He really liked the music and gave me the opportunity. It was unbelievable. Here I am this unknown artist, with no music out, and I’m opening for Kanye!!! I learned so much from the tour, and from watching him perform night after night. He’s one of the best I’ve seen. It was such an honour cause he’s one of my favourite artists as well.

KB: Did he give you any guidance or tips?

MF: The best advice he gave me was “Whatever you gotta do to make people remember you, do it. Don’t be afraid to do it.” Priceless words of wisdom!

KB: Definitely. And a man true to his words. So is Mr. West doing any work on The Bridge?

MF: Maybe on album 2 or a future remix…[Laughter]. I would love to work with him!

KB: In addition to that tour, you also recently did a showcase in New York and had dudes like ?uestlove and Jay-Z out to show support. Did you know they were there? How’d that make you feel that you had that kind of support from fellow peers?

MF: Man! It was really overwhelming when I found out they were in the building. I’m signed to Jay-Z’s management company so it was a really honour to have his support that night. And ?uest is not only a great friend but an artist and musician I have admired for years. It was one of the happiest nights of my life….There was so much love in the room that night.

KB: Wow. That’s pretty awesome. So taking this on a tangent. What 5 albums can’t you live without?

MF: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Legend- Bob Marley
Portrait of a Legend- Sam Cooke
Full Moon- Brandy
The Best of Sade- Sade

KB: And your musical influences?

MF: Those are most of the influences with the exceptions of other greats like Whitney Houston and India Arie.

KB: Changing topics to fashion. What are some of your favorite pieces / pieces you couldn’t live without?

MF: As for staples in fashion, I’d have to have wicked pair of high heels, a fresh pair of kicks, a comfy hoodie, leggings and a dress that makes me feel like a woman! But my favourite article right now in my closet are my Tory Burtch leather knee boots.

KB: Any particular designer that you love to follow?

MF: Not one in particular, but any that can marry vintage and current…my style is something old and something new.

KB: Ahhh…similar to your music. Well this concludes the interview. Any closing comments for folks out there on why they should pick up The Bridge?

MF: I just really want to say thank you to everyone whose shown support. I really do this, not just for myself, but (also) for what I think you want to hear. When the album drops, GO GET IT!!! I promise you will not be disappointed…. It’s just good, classic, timeless music. Much Love!

KB: thanks again.

MF: Thanks for the interview!

Check out more of my interviews at www.killahbeez.com and follow me on Twitter, @Killahbeez.

• For more information on Melanie Fiona visit her MySpace page

On Monday April 13th, Vancouver music heads were treated to some sweet sweet disco, synth pop and industrial goodness courtesy of The Golden Filter and The Presets, which was presented by Sealed With A Kiss at the Commodore Ballroom. I, personally had been looking forward to this concert as soon as it was announced for a couple of reasons: 1. The Golden Filter, I’ve loved all the stuff I’ve heard and their remixes are on point and 2. The last time The Presets rolled into town opening for Cut Copy, I actually didn’t have a chance to catch them because of unforeseen circumstances. So there was a definite anticipation on my part.

The Golden Filter took the stage around 9:15pm and started the night off right with the track Favourite Things. Penelope, lead vocals, made the song unique by adding Vancouver into the song as one of her Favourite Things. From there the band went into the synth and bass heavy Hide Me, which personally is one of my favourite jams and can be heard on their MySpace page as well. The next two songs were on some next level spaceship / flying to the moon deal and is clearly indicated by their titles, Stardust and Moonlight Fantasy.

As they started to play their next song, there was a bit of familiarity, the sound and some of the lyrics. It wasn’t until the chorus that I finally recognized what I was hearing, The White Stripes‘ The Hardest Button to Button. They didn’t perform the song exactly the same, but gave it the usual Golden Filter touch by adding some heavy synths and making it more disco. The group ended their set with the official first single Solid Gold and had the crowd amped as everyone was pretty much familiar with the song.

The Golden Filter’s Penelope, was incredibly hard to shoot, well, it was difficult to get shots of her face. It’s become a thing on the internets that nobody has any clear face shots as she generally combs her bangs to cover at least 2/3 of her face, but I was able to get some decent shots. After the photographers left the front area, I did noticed that she let her hair down and opened up a bit. Either way, there’s a definite mysteriousness that surrounds the band.

After a quick set change, Julian and Kim took the stage and everyone in the venue bum rushed the dance floor to get ready to get their dance on and they weren’t disappointed as the boys kicked the set off with Talk Like That. You could literally feel the floor move like a wave from all the heads jumping in the building. The pace wouldn’t slow as they moved on to Yippiyo-Ay, which has its own unique melodic and hypnotic groove, in fact the set didn’t slow down, BPM wise, til they played A New Sky (which kinda reminds me a bit of a Gregorian chant or a more updated version of it) , Girl And The Sea and their latest single If I Know You.

The interaction between the boys and the crowd were incredible as they were feeding off of the energy like it was a drug. The fans would cheer louder and the boys would play harder, which would make the fans cheer louder and the boys would…well you get the idea. Numerous people that I talked to throughout the night and after the show all said that their performance was 100 times better than the last time they were in Vancouver.

Definitely a great concert and worth attending, unfortunately the two groups end their tour by next week, after that The Presets head back to the motherland and do a tour through Australia. As for The Golden Filter, I’ve had the distinct pleasure to hear their current demo album, 7 or so songs, and I can definitely say that this album is something to look out for down the road. For all your concert needs check out Sealed With A Kiss’s website, www.sealedwithakisspresents.com, as they have a ton of great acts coming through in the next little while.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/killahbeez
Web: www.killahbeez.com
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/killahbeez

The Golden Filter Set List:

• Favourite Things
• Hide Me
• Stardust
• Moonlight Fantasy
• The Hardest Button to Button (White Stripes Cover)
• Imaginary Love
• Solid Gold

The Presets Set List

• Talk Like That
• Yippiyo-Ay
• Eucalyptus
• A New Sky
• Girl And The Sea
• Aeons
• If I Know You
• Are You The One
• Together
• This Boy’s In Love
• I Go Hard I Go Home
• Kicking & Screaming
• My People
• Anywhere

For more visit:

• The Golden Filter’s MySpace
• The Presets’ MySpace

Vancouver has just been treated to some great music and no I’m not referring to Britney Spears and the debacle that went down at that concert. I’m talking some good ass jams with UK artists White Lies and Friendly Fires, presented by Sealed with a Kiss.

White Lies took the stage at around 9:50 to a crowd that was amped to hear them rock out. They started their set with Farewell to the Fairground, which is their current single. I was actually a bit confused as to why they started off with this song as you would think this song would be perfect to end their set. That thought soon popped out of my head as they were giving it their all in the song and getting the crowd singing and jumping along. Next up was the third official single To Lose My Life, again the crowd went crazy singing along to the chorus. Throughout the whole set the band would constantly thank the audience for being so great, the venue was definitely intimate, and yes everyone was showing the band a lot of love and they were definitely feeding off of that vibe.

The whole set was nothing short of amazing. They in fact went on to perform their whole album for the audience in attendance and finished the night of with their second official single Death. Audience in attendance were also treated to the song Nothing to Give, which Harry McVeigh said was only the second time this song had been performed live and you can’t help but get chills with the haunting lyrics. On a side note something I noticed that was pretty damn cool was lead singer Harry McVeigh’s sneakers. He was rocking some custom Nikes in black with gold accents, with “White Lies” going across the back portion of the sneaker. You can get something similar on Nike iD’s website, but you can’t get the metallic gold, which was a pretty sick touch to the sneaker. See the pictures below to catch a glimpse of said sneaker. During the show there was a glitch that stalled the performance for a a brief moment as they adjusted the microphones for the drum set on stage, but like I mentioned the White Lies performance was nothing short of amazing. Definitely a must catch show when this hits your city. Full set list below.

Next up on the schedule was Friendly Fires. There was a flurry of activity on the stage as they changed over the stage setup from White Lies to Friendly Fires. Friendly Fires opting to not have their drummer perched up on the stage, but instead having the whole band perform tightly together to feed off of each others energy. The band took the stage shortly after 11pm, as lead singer Ed Macfarlane took the mic and recalled the great time he had in Vancouver back in October 28th when they opened for Lykke Li at the same venue. The band quickly started their set with the upbeat jam Lovesick, as the music was playing away singer Ed Macfarlane went into his signature dancing slash twitching slash gyrating. This is something worth seeing live as its hard to describe, a few notches above Elaine Benes (Seinfeld), it was pure comedy, but hey the man was passionate about the music and why the fuck not, the songs are great. From Lovesick the band went into fan favorite and second official single Jump In The Pool and had everybody wildin’ out, there was not a single body standing still in the venue as music infected everyone’s body to dance as well as singing along the chorus.

The next song is one of my personal favorites with its funk/disco influenced vibe, Skeleton Boy. The band was great at keeping an energetic pace throughout that never slowed down and kept folks in the house partying. To show how much love they had for the crowd, Ed Macfarlane would jump into the crowd and sing from the dance floor with the crowd surrounding him, it was quite simply, EPIC. Not to be out done, guitarist Edd Gibson jumped into the crowd with his guitar and ran up to the balcony and ran back and forth greeting fans and strumming away on the guitar. Keeping the crowd involved. Check. The band played their hearts out as they were drenched in sweat from head to toe, shirts soaked through, beads of sweat dropping on the crowd in the front including yours truly. The set would end the first single that launched the band on the scene, Paris, as the song ended the band left the stage only to return after a brief moment to play Ex Lover as their encore. For the gear heads out there, I noticed Ed Macfarlane playing on the Moog Little Phatty as well as wailing away on the Akai MPC500, personally just thought that was very cool.

The complete bill was fantastic, the performances would make up for any of the glitches and set up delays that happened during the show and I can definitely say fans left amazed and in a euphoric high, this wasn’t just no hunch. Fans tweeted how great the show was, one concert goer, identitykrysis tweeted us “I’m not coming down from that high for at least two days kind of epic!” and friends of mine at the show said the same and were still talking about it the next night. Do yourself a favor, when either one of these acts rolls through, make sure you grab a ticket and get ready to get witness a live performance that you’ll never forget.

We want to thank Sealed with a Kiss for allowing us to attend the show and get photos. Visit their website, www.sealedwithakisspresents.com, often as they are constantly bringing in some great talent.

Check out our photos below from the event and visit our Flickr page to check out photos from past concerts / events. Also if you’re on Twitter, don’t forget to add us, @Killahbeez.

White Lies Set List:

• Farewell To The Fairground
• To Lose My Life
• E.S.T.
• From The Stars
• A Place To Hide
• Unfinished Business
• Fifty On Our Foreheads
• The Price Of Love
• Nothing To Give
• Death

Friendly Fires Set List:

• Lovesick
• Jump In The Pool
• Skeleton Boy
• In The Hospital
• White Diamonds
• Strobe
• Photobooth
• On Board
• Paris
• Encore —> Ex Lover

Check out more photos at www.killahbeez.com

Also check out our interview with White Lies here.

Few artists can break down language barriers and find success, yet Yelle, a French Pop Artiste, can certainly state that claim as she has done just that. Her music, despite being sung entirely in French, has gone global and specifically infecting English speaking countries with her sound, yes sound. Listen to her album Pop-Up and you’ll understand. The electro-pop sounds make you euphoric and you can’t help but dance. Her live show takes the energy of the album and multiplies it by a 1000, giving you a feeling that you’ve just enter an aerobics session. So it was a great pleasure to have a chance to interview her last month, touching on topics such as how the group started, musical and fashion influences and a host of other topics.

Killahbeez: Hi Yelle, thanks for taking the time and doing this interview with us.

Yelle: No prob!

KB: So for those who are new fans of Yelle, can you breakdown how the group formed with you, GrandMarnier and Tepr and why the group decided on the name Yelle?

Yelle: I met GrandMarnier first and we became good friends. We decided to do music together in 2005 and we chose the name Yelle at the beginning for “you enjoy life” and it was just YEL, but then we decided to feminize it with one more L and E! Tepr met GrandMarnier because he used to be a journalist and he was writing an article about GM’s previous band. We asked him to join us on stage and for the album in 2006.

KB: Your album, Pop-Up, has a fun and playful sound to it, how do you translate that to the stage and bring that energy out?

Yelle: The live show is like an extra power of the album. It’s like a DJ set with the energy of instruments (GM on the drums, Tepr on keyboards, me singing and hitting my floor tom). Performing live is what we prefer; we are a rock band when we are on stage!

KB: [laughter]. Yeah I couldn’t agree more.

KB: Writing for this album, how much of the lyrics are about your life and how much of it is just about a 25 year old girl (which you happen to be as well) living life and having fun?

Yelle: With GM (GrandMarnier) we find the theme in our life, in my real 25years old girl life! Of course it’s funny to imagine some stories but it’s always apart of reality!

KB: So do you feel that singing in French has been a barrier at all to breaking into the North American market, or do you feel like good music is good music and people don’t necessarily care about the language?

Yelle: It’s maybe exotic for English speaking people to listen French songs. But yes the music is very important and if the people are curious they’ll try to find the translation of the songs. It’s not a barrier, we have this particularity and it’s cool!

KB: Yeah I was definitely initially drawn to the energy of the music before diving into the lyrics a bit more.

KB: How would you describe your sound? I mean in some songs there are times when it definitely sounds like you are rapping, yet maintaining a pop/electro vibe.

Yelle: We did a real electro pop album with some fantasy sounds. I think I’m more a singer than a rapper; my rap is so old school! I discovered the rap music with Warren G and Snoop Dogg when I was a teenager and yes I like that!

KB: You mentioned Snoop Dogg and Warren G, who or what else influences your music and sound?

Yelle: I’m a big fan of pop music with Madonna, Blur, Prince, and more and I was listening lots of rock bands and French singer when I was young, with my parents. Then I had a crush on Daft Punk, with my bro.

KB: Speaking of Daft Punk, a lot of French artists, such as Daft Punk, Justice, DJ Mehdi, SebastiAn and including yourselves, are getting a lot of recognition in the US. Do you feel like each of you are influencing one another with your sounds?

Yelle: It’s not the same sound, and not the same crew. We appreciate them but we can’t say they are an influence, except Daft Punk, for sure, cause they do have songs, you know what I mean, it’s not only about sound, it’s about songs. But we are from the same generation yes, and we all watched the Fresh Prince!

KB: [laughter]

KB: So changing topics here, in all your pictures and in all your videos you’re so well dressed. Who or what influences your fashion sense? Any favorite designers or pieces of clothing that you can’t live without?

Yelle: I like to play with my outfits for a long time! I like to wear colors but black and white stuffs too! I just like to have fun with my style like in my life so I’m a big fan of designers like Jeremy Scott, Andrea Crews, JP Lespagnard or JC de Castelbajac who are really into pop art, they have lots of fun in the way to dress people! I’m a big fan of bags and shoes!

KB: Would you ever think of starting your own clothing line?

Yelle: We have some merch on tour and on a web site call www.recreation-center.com! Creating a clothing line is one of our project, yes.

KB: Going back to the topic of music, Tell us a bit about your experience at Coachella, what was it like performing at such a huge festival? Do you prefer big venues or smaller more intimate venues?

Yelle: Playing in Coachella was totally crazy and amazing!! We were a little bit nervous cause we were playing at the same slot of Portishead but the crowd was there, they were dancing and screaming, it was a very good night for us! We like to play sometimes in little venue to be closed from people but it’s really intense and fun to be on a huge stage too!

KB: What’s next for Yelle, any other projects or collaborations that you can talk about?

Yelle: Katy Perry just asked us for a remix, we did it, but now we really want to focus on the next album. Can’t wait to go back in studio and work.

KB: Anything else you want to say to your fans that read this?

Yelle: We love you!

www.myspace.com/iloveyelle
www.killahbeez.com

A few weeks ago one of my writers had a chance to interview Lifelike and it went off wonderfully so I thought that I would share it with all the Virgin readers. Check out a snippet of the interview below and click through to read the rest of the interview:

There’s something to be said about a musician who can almost effortlessly captivate you within just moments of their sounds gracing your ears. Whether you’re drawn in by the hypnotizing arpeggios, sweeping emotive strings or invigorating bass lines – the music of Laurent Heinrich aka Lifelike can simultaneously serve as the quintessential soundtrack to both a daydream and a night to remember.

With a discography of sonically impeccable original works and remixes drenched in unforgettable melody, its no mystery Lifelike’s approach to music has produced one of the most acclaimed sounds in recent memory - definitive yet timeless.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview him and inquire about his musical beginnings, process of production, inspirations and what the future holds for the France based producer.

Killahbeez: Let’s start with your name; Lifelike. What’s the significance behind it and/or how did you come up with it?

Lifelike: I wanted to do a little remix for myself of a track from Depeche Mode “Master And Servant”. I had sampled a short part in a break of the song where Dave Gahan was singing “Like life” I chopped it and swapped the words round to make “lifelike”, and thought that would be a cool name for my music project.

KB: From doing a bit of research I discovered that you have some classical training in piano and also played bass in high school – how and when did your relationship with samplers, drum machines, sequencers and of course synthesizers begin?

Lifelike: Yes I learned piano for 3 years and had a short career as a bass player in a band at school. It’s when I was playing in that band that I bought an Amiga computer and a sampling cartridge called “perfect sound”. I used music tracker and started to do my own music. It was quite simple at that time with only four tracks and a limited memory. Once you had sampled something in that computer it was never sounding like the source because you had to economise the memory to be able to have enough room to make enough samples to use. But I have good memories of this time. From there I went quite normally to buy a synthesizer to connect to the computer, and that is how I started to compose little tracks a bit more seriously.

KB: How influential would you say your early musical experiences were before you started producing electronic music?

Lifelike: It had and still has a huge impact in my way of seeing music. I still think in terms of doing a pop synth track more than doing something like “techno” if I can still use that word today. But at that time I wanted to do like my idols, the same music, I was sampling Cabaret Voltaire or Simple Minds, or whatever sounded great to use those loops and sound in my little tracks at home.

Read the rest over at Killahbeez.

Treasure Fingers, the name has been synonymous with great dance music in 07/08. From dropping his own gems, Its Your Turn and possibly electro track of the year, well for me anyways, Cross the Dancefloor and not to mention the numerous banging remixes that he continually drops. My personal favorites being Chromeo’s 100%, Empire of The Sun’s Walking On A Dream and even making Fergie’s Glamorous palatable. The man consistently keeps people shaking their asses whether its on the dancefloor or in the privacy of their own home. With that kind of resume we can definitely expect more hotness coming out in 2009 and it’s already started with Treasure Fingers remix of Miike Snows‘ Animal, heard here. In anticipation of him coming to Vancouver on January 23rd to Celebrities (tickets at www.blueprintevents.ca), we caught up with the man known as Treasure Fingers to talk about his remixes, plans for an album and for the gear heads, we touch on what equipment he uses in the lab.

KB: First off, thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us. So tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in producing and DJing electronic dance music?

Treasure Fingers: I started with hip hop and experimental stuff when I was really young, 14 or so, on my dad’s drum machine and 4track. Around 16, I lost interest and started playing in punk/hardcore bands. I didn’t really get serious with dance music production & DJing until I was 17 or 18 and my band had broken up. I liked that I could fill the creative musical void by writing, producing & DJing solo.

KB: You have an interesting name, Treasure Fingers, and before that you were know as The Enemy, tell us about those names, what was the inspiration behind them?

TF: Some friends of mine and I just kicked around some names and Treasure Fingers seemed to be the most popular. I still wasn’t completely sold on it at first but I really like it now. It’s taken over me. The Enemy actually started out as NME-5, my first DJ name. I quickly grew out of that and changed it. I still use the The Enemy moniker for some hip-hop/extra production.

KB: Which musical genres as well as artists do you find gives you inspiration? And what kind of influence has coming from the south, Atlanta, had on your style of music if any?

TF: I listen to almost everything and it all influences me at least a little bit. For Treasure Fingers, 80’s funk and disco is the biggest point of influence. I think a lot of the R ‘n B and rap I listen to comes through a little also. I love southern rap, and the vibe of the Atlanta club music scene and (I) hope a little of that comes across through my music.

KB: How did you meet up with the folks at Fools’ Gold and A-Trak and eventually getting signed to the label?

TF: I had quite a few mutual friends but what actually brought it all together was A-Trak sending me a MySpace message saying something like ‘hey! I like your music and run a label, are you interested (in) releasing some records with us?’ Since then, I’ve become good friend with A-Trak, Nick Catchdubs and the rest of the Fool’s Gold family; they’re all really good people.

KB: Ok so straight up I have to say I love your track Cross the Dancefloor, when I first heard it I was quite blown away. The melodies and production work are ridiculous. What was the process of making that track?

TF: Thanks! It started out as just an instrumental filter disco house type track. Then one day I decided to try to put vocals on it. The next day I thought it might be cool to have some girl vocals responding back to my male vocals. The overall production is pretty simple, just a clean kind of poppy track. There’s a sample in there (the filtered disco part during the first breakdown), but I played the rest of the synths, bass, drums and built the track up around the sample just in case we couldn’t get it cleared. Luckily, it got cleared and I’m blown away at how well the song as done thus far.

KB: Recently you remixed Chromeo’s track 100% and they remixed your track Cross the Dancefloor, how did that partnership come about? Were you always into Chromeos’ stuff prior to Fool’s Gold?

TF: Yeah, for sure. I first heard of Chromeo from some DJ mix they had released years ago. Lots of old classic 80s funk, I didn’t know they were writing or producing their own stuff until I heard Needy Girl. I love their work, great guys too. I didn’t meet or get in touch with them until Fool’s Gold signed Cross the Dancefloor. A-Trak hit me up one day and said his brother and P-Thugg loved it and he wanted to get them to remix it. My remix for them came through some Bacardi promotion they were coordinating with Vice Records, I got asked if I wanted to remix 100% and of course agreed to it. 100% is one of my favorites off that album.

KB: As is mine, and that remix of yours is also bananas.

KB: For all the gear heads out there, what do you use to create tracks / remixes?

TF: I use a PC running Cubase SX 3, I know I need to upgrade to 4, as my main sequencer. As far as instruments, I use a lot of VSTs, some hardware synths (Roland JX3P, Roland Alpha Juno-1, Yamaha DX100, Korg MS10), a couple guitars (Gibson SG, Fender Strat), Heil Talk Box, MPC 2000xl, Fender Rhodes mark V, and a lot of other smaller fun things.

KB: In an interview that I checked out between you and Kill The Noise you mentioned that you wanted to move towards more of a live show by the end of the year, is that something that’s still in the works?

TF: Definitely! The live show won’t be ready for a while though. I’m concentrating on finishing the album now, but once it’s done I’m going to focus on putting the band together and hitting the road.

KB: So staying on topic with the album, when can fans expect it? Or has touring been taking up a lot of your time?

TF: Touring and remixing has been taking up all my time lately. Next year will be the time for a full-length album. I have a lot of tracks half finished & demo tracks already, I just need to pick out the best and finish them.

KB: What are some of your upcoming projects and collaborations that you can talk about?

TF: Not too much I can talk about right now really. I just finished a bunch of new remixes that should be coming out over the next several months. You can check my MySpace or website and see the full list of remixes I’ve done to date. I’m currently finishing one for Miami Horror Don’t Be On With Her for Virgin/EMI in Australia.

KB: So with your busy schedule are you still involved with or plan to work with Evol Intent?

TF: Yes, we have a live show we’ve been doing at bigger events and festivals. We’re working on new material now, and also doing a couple new remixes. One is for Shiny Toy Guns Ghost Town and the other is a dubstep remix of Tech Itch & Kemal The Calling.

KB: Dope. So changing course, what are Treasure Fingers current top 5 tracks that you can’t stop listening to?

TF: Drop Out Orchestra Gibbon, D’Stephanie Rock the Disco, Van She Kelly (Breakbot remix), JR Disco What Cha Going To Do, Matt Hughes Can’t Talk Now

KB: Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview.

TF: No Problem, Thank you!

• Treasure Fingers website
• Treasure Fingers MySpace

The season of giving ain’t over peoples. We have two copies of Lady GaGa’s debut album The Fame to giveaway, what makes these special is that they’re autographed. Yep, signed by Lady GaGa. This will be a week long contest so be sure to enter, details below. Also if you haven’t already checked out Killahbeez’s interview wtih Lady GaGa then have a read here.

Prize Details:

• Autographed copy of Lady GaGa’s album, The Fame
• 2 copies, 1 copy per winner

How To Enter:

• All you have to do to enter is comment over here. That’s it!
• Each comment counts as an entry, enter as many times as you want.
• Contest Closing Date: Monday January 12

Bringing you another CD giveaway contest. This giveaway is a special Chi-town giveaway as it consists of Chicago natives Kanye West and Common. This is a double CD giveaway as we’re giving away 808s & Heartbreaks as well as Universal Mind Control.

In order to be eligible for the contest, all you have to do is comment on the Killahbeez site. That’s it. Just leave a comment and you’re automatically entered. Can you enter more then once, you betcha. At the drawing date a few Killahbeez members will select a number, if that number corresponds to your comment below then you will be contacted.

We are giving away three copies of each CD. So again to enter, just comment on the thread located on the Killahbeez site. Contesting ends on December 14th.

Here to bring you another CD giveaway contest. This giveaway involves the looooooong awaited Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy, which was officially released Sunday, November 23rd.

In order to be eligible for the contest, all you have to do is comment over on the Killahbeez site. That’s it. Just leave a comment and you’re automatically entered. Can you enter more then once, you betcha. At the drawing date a I will select a number, if that number corresponds to your comment below then you will be contacted.

So again to enter, just comment below. Contesting ends on Sunday December 7th.

The prize package will include: Chinese Democracy CD, Stickers and T-shirt.

Enter Now!!!

The day started off gloomy as a few of us were unsure if we wanted to hit the M83 show as it was the last day at the office for…ohhhh about 124 of us had our last day that day. But to be quite honest I’ve never seen a happier group of peeps leave a place before, myself included.

So with a day like that a few of us were in a chill mood, but I was convinced to check out M83. The first act, School of Seven Bells, came on the stage at roughly 9:30pm and WOW! The group, from Williamsburg Brooklyn (figures), came on and played a seriously solid set. I hadn’t heard of them before but I was definitely down with what I was hearing and the next day bought their record, Alpinisms. The band features twin sisters, Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and Benjamin Curtis formerly from Secret Machines. They very much had the crowd warmed up and going crazy. A solid act to look out for down the road most definitely.

After School of Seven Bells 5 – 6 song set, the stage crew came on quickly to re-configure the equipment and shortly after M83 came out to a host of screams and cheers. The group played songs off of the Saturdays=Youth album, but at one point a fan requested something older, to which Anthony Gonzalez replied with a “eeeeh, I don’t know about that one”. The crowd went crazy when “Kim & Jessie” came and M83 could feel the love as they played with a loving smile on their faces. Actually they pretty much had this look on their face the whole night and the chemistry between Anthony and Morgan Kibby (from The Romanovs) was incredible. They had a certain connection and would send playful signals via quick glances.

Morgan Kibby’s voice is incredible I have to say. She had 90% of the guys swooning over her and I received a barrage of Blackberry messages from my friend Martinez, who was stuck in the back, to get as many pictures as I could of Morgan. Stunning and talented and held her own on stage with Anthony. One of the songs that would really capture me this evening was “Skin Of The Night”, the song is just so ominous with mad ‘80s flavor and Morgan’s voice just melts your face, pretty fuckin’ epic. When the fairly upbeat “Graveyard Girl” came the crowd immediately went into another dancing frenzy. Another song I quite enjoyed was “Up!” its definitely reminiscent of something quite familiar, but with an M83 twist all over it.

For the groups encore they played “Couleurs”, this tracks is so friggin’ next level. The layering on it alone is bananas, seriously! This was definitely a perfect way to end a night of solid performances from both School of Seven Bells and M83.

I want to thank Timbre Productions for allowing us to come in the house and take photos and write this review for you all. They put on a great production and bring in stellar acts. Check out their site www.timbreproductionsconcerts.com for upcoming shows in your city.

DT
www.killahbeez.com

Here are the rest of the tour date stops.

The Hood Internet really needs no introduction. If you’re up to date with music blogs, you’ll know they are one of the most talked about mash-up duos. From what I’ve read, “Internet Platinum” status is synonymous with The Hood Internet. Fortunately, with their schedule consisting of gigs and lab time, they were able to squeeze me in for an interview. Here goes…

What is the origin behind The Hood Internet?

ABX: The Hood Internet is a blog that was started by STV to post ill mashups and possibly other things for the downloading masses. To this point we’ve pretty much only posted ill mashups. Aside from being a blog it is also the name we go by as a DJ duo for live shows and mixtapes.

Without giving away trade secrets, can you guys tell me how or what sparks the mash-ups you two produce? I mean like Amerie vs. Daft Punk, Snoop vs. Architecture in Helsinki and Justice x Phil Collins are perfect examples that left me speechless.
STV SLV: Sometimes ideas come from similarities in key, or tempo, or cadence, sometimes it’s trial and error, sometimes it’s weed.

Were there any mash-ups that you felt didn’t work out as planned?
ABX: Tons. Most of these were never released, but we did post a week of “reject” tracks at the end of the year for some of the ones that weren’t quite doing it.

In contrast to that, can you name one mash-up that you highly favor?
STV SLV: I was pretty happy with how the Spank Rock/Burial track worked out. ABX’s Rick Ross/Hercules & Love Affair was also a certified jam.

Growing up, who were some of your major influences?
ABX: Michael Jackson, Thundercats, Bad Boy-era Detroit Pistons, NWA, Fraggle Rock
STV SLV: The Beatles, Voltron, 8-bit Nintendo, Masters of The Universe, and also Michael Jackson.

What’s your view on the current state of the music industry?
STV SLV: People aren’t really buying CDs anymore. I’m not even sure if that’s accurate but everyone I know has more or less stopped — if they are buying music in a non-digital form, it’s vinyl. The Internet is also the ultimate white label.

What’s your schedule like nowadays in terms of gigs and production time? Is there a tour en route? Will DC and Vancouver see a live performance anytime soon?

ABX: We’ve been doing live sets here and there as offers come our way, not on a proper tour, but we get around. We’ll be doing some shows in Chicago this summer, playing Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in September, and then probably doing some colleges in the fall. Nothing planned for DC or Vancouver at this point, but we’re always up for playing in districts and provinces.

During a gig, what can fans expect? Maybe a top secret track not posted on thehoodinternet.com?
STV SLV: We’re starting to mess with video, and we also have some questionable sound effects.

What can we expect from the 3rd mixtape: The Hood Internet vs. Chicago?
ABX: Chicago hip hop artists mixed with Chicago bands creating an awesome sound. The mixtape ranges from the big names to less well-known up and coming talents spanning a couple decades of music, but mostly current stuff. Expect to love and want to move to Chicago if you don’t already live there.

Any final words guys?
STV SLV: Teezy got it, that’s what’s up (see attached image).

If you liked this interview hit me with your votes here.

A long time indie favorite, dance floor rockers The Faint have brought us the undeniable truth about American politics and the daily life of the American middle class with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek approach making use of unforgettable lyrics and striking melodies that no one can shake off. I had the opportunity to speak with Todd Fink, the lead singer of The Faint and am truly pleased to share this conversation with our readers.

As kids, what did you all want to be when you “grew up”?

Todd: Hmmmm… well not sure if I wanted to be anything or even had certain aspirations. Kinda sad, I know [laughter]. But I guess as I grew up I wanted to be a professional skater.

How far did you get with skating?

Todd: Right up to being a pro but then I realized that I wanted to take my time with getting better at skating so that I would have a better chance at becoming a pro with a reputable skateboarding company. I did really well in national youth competitions and stuff.

How did the transition from skateboarding to music happen?

Todd: I had surgery for my knee from arthritis, and found out I couldn’t really skate anymore. But from the experience of doing something that I loved, I gained the passion that transferred into music and if I kept doing it just like with skateboarding, I knew that anything was possible.

How did the members of The Faint all meet?

Todd: Well Joel is a skateboard friend and my bro Clark, I had him around all the time to go skating. The three off us were from the skating scene and started the band. The other guys we just met in Omaha and it just so happened that we all went to the same high school.

Did you think that you would be this successful when you all first started out?

Todd: No. I mean, we didn’t really think about it. The only goal that I remember having was a dream to be able to go out and tour different places and know that however amount of people there would be whether big or small, that they knew our music and it happened bigger than we ever expected. At the same time you are convinced by your own humility and it’s hard to really know which one to believe, the numbers of fans responding to the success is almost a mind fuck.

You boys are from Omaha. How has that influenced your music and your individual creativity?

Tood: I’m sure it has, I mean we’ve all been here our whole lives and I’m sure our opinions in which things we have experienced have affected us. There have been good record stores here and venues that are conducive to small bands performing and it’s not like we lose people to Kansas City or anywhere. The closest place is 8 hours to Chicago. So we are just a bunch of people for whatever reason ending up and staying here, so Omaha has a thriving music scene.

I’ve noticed you have evolved as a band since the days of Danse Macabre, Wet From Birth to your current album Fasciinatiion. Was this planned or something more along the lines of a natural progression?

Todd: Well we sort of base it on our opinions about what sounds good and what makes sense. To do changes over time, based on what music we hear, it’s a natural progression for better or for worse. It’s definitely natural.

People in the past have labeled you as the “new new wave” or “dance/punk.” How do you feel about these labels?

Todd: Labels. People love them, but in general we try not to associate with them since they are fads and catch phrases and no matter how cool they are at the time, people invest too much in the actual label and get tired of them over time. We feel like, “listen and decide for yourself.”

If you were to describe The Faint and your music to an outsider, what words would you choose?

Todd: I’ve had to do this on the plane a few times sitting with strangers [laughter]. I guess I’ve said we play electronic rock music before. It’s pretty general. Or I will say we play songs with keyboards – I try to keep it literal.

Who have been your major influences in the music world and are there any current bands/acts that have caught your attention?

Todd: Fugazi has influenced us. But you take different things from different bands, you know. Sonic Youth, The Clash and David Bowie – bands that have good songs that are unmistakably their songs. The band Late of The Pier, they are pretty awesome and from the UK; they have something there that I relate to for sure. We like that French electronic scene. There is a huge explosion of artistic expression there. We were in France and met with Busy P, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Kasper from Justice, etc..

So any prospects of remixes with them?

Todd: Definitely. But we’ll see, we do have some good remixes that are being worked on including with Boys Noize - Alex, he and DIM did a mix together.

Where did you come up with The Faint as your band name?

Todd: It just presented itself. There was no decision; it just was. We didn’t have a name for a while and it was just kinda assigned to us when we did our first show. On the flyer was a Roman Bailer reference, so we kinda considered ourselves as a band without a name until 1997. We knew it was just going to come to us and it did.

Last but not least, what do you guys spend your time doing when not touring or making music?

Todd: Well, I like to make visual art collages and other artistic things. Also I love playing pool, I love learning science, astronomy etc. We are kinda the NPR and stoned cartoon watching kinda of guys – we can’t help it. When we’re not doing band stuff we still hang out.

Thanks so much guys and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys live at your next show!!! When is the next U.S. tour?

Todd: Our next tour in the States is in two weeks and after that in the Spring.

If you liked this interview, then vote for me here.

Yelle, merely hearing the name makes me conjure up images of Julie Budet aka Yelle gyrating her hips in those lovely red shorts in the video “Je Veux Te Voir”, moisturizing up her legs in “A Cause des Garcons” and not to be forgotten the brief boobie flash in the video “Ce Jeu”. Honestly, I’m not a pervert. I just have a massive crush on her, someone I like to call “wifey” she just don’t know it yet. So when a few of us Killahbeez heads were invited on Tuesday by Sealed With A Kiss to check her out I was definitely stoked at the opportunity.

Arriving at 10:30ish, we were right on schedule and quickly grabbed a few shots, before seeing the lights being dimmed and the fans quickly rushing towards the stage. The lights came on and there in front of me was “wifey”…errr I mean Yelle with Grandmarnier and Tepr. The synths kick in, followed by drums, the instrumental had people going nuts and everyone that didn’t already make their way to the dance floor did so at this point. A few moments later Yelle starts singing the lyrics to “Tristesse / Joie”, there’s one part of the song around the 3:50 mark where the beat goes down and builds back up, seeing that live was crazy as the build-up came and hit it’s peak everybody wilded out. As the song ended, she thanked Vancouver for having her and in her adorable French accent asked the crowd “Are you ready to DANCE!” a resounding hell yeah was shouted back.

The up tempo song “Mal Poli” would be the next song we were treated to. Watching her dancing across the stage back and forth was quite a site. She was ass shaking and getting the crowd to do the same, it was infectious and there was no possible way that you could not dance. Yelle kept the pace by going straight into “85A” before going into “Dans Ta Vraie Vie”, which has a very Missy Elliot-esque feel to it.

This lead to her taking a quick water break or maybe it was for the crowd to take a water break so that we could keep up. In any case the break ended with her asking the crowd if we knew “Je Veux Te Voir”, and the crowd cheered. The song is a controversial one as it disses Cuizinier, a member of the Parisian hip-hop group TTC, the song also was originally titled “Short Dick Cuizi” and was the song that blew her up on MySpace. From there she went into the third single from the album Pop-Up, “Ce Jeu”, which is easily one of my favorite tracks. At this point I noticed everyone is soaked in sweat, myself included, it felt like we were all in an aerobic class, a hot sexy French aerobic class.

She ran through a list of most of her songs while maintaining the same energetic pace throughout her set. “Les Femmes”, which is the next single from what I’ve read and an interesting one at that, as it talks about a possible lesbian romance. Part of the chorus says, “If the guys don’t open their hearts to me, I feel that I will go see somewhere else, there where all is beauty and full of sweetness, the woman”, quite a sensual song.

As this song ended she would let the crowd know that the next song was their last. She then asked everyone to sing along to “À Cause des Garçons”. I can’t say enough about her dancing on stage as she really just puts it all out there and seems to almost try to translate her songs through her dancing for the audience. The song started out as the original and towards the end of it they played Tepr’s remixed version of it, which has harder drums driving the track as well as a more techno feel to it. Fans would come to find out that this wasn’t the last song as she stated and performed three more songs, ending on another Tepr remix, this time for the song “Je Veux Te Voir”.

The concert was an incredible one and as I mentioned above, it felt like an aerobic workout with the amount of dancing going on. I wasn’t sure what to expect before going into the show but I came out totally amazed at how well she was able to maintain the crowds attention and control us at will. When she spoke, everyone was in an “awwwwww she’s so adorable” state, as her thick French accent made her sound so cute and loveable and not to mention sexy. I would definitely recommend everyone to go check her out when she hits your city, definitely worth the money. Thanks again to Sealed with a Kiss promotions for the hook-up, be sure to check out their upcoming shows at www.sealedwithakisspresents.com.

Photos from the concert seen at our Flickr site.

Below is her set list, but I must warn you, I maybe missing a song or two because I know at one point I was just staring at her through my camera lens. I wasn’t even taking pictures just staring.

Yelle Set list
Tristesse / Joie
Mal Poli
85A
Dans Ta Vraie Vie
Je Veux Te Voir
Ce Jeu
Jogging
Les Femmes
À Cause des Garçons (Tepr Remix)
Mon Meilleur Ami
Je Veux Te Voir (Tepr Remix)

Full North American Tour Stops
Dallas, TX House Of Blues (October 7)
Austin, TX The Mohawk (October 8 )
Miami, FL Polish American Club (October 10)
Orlando, FL The Social (October 11)
Washington, DC 9:30 Club (October 13)
New York, NY Webster Hall (October 14)
Boston, MA The Roxy (October 15)
Detroit, MI The Magic Stick (October 20)
Chicago, IL Logan Square Auditorium (October 21)
Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall (October 22)
Denver, CO Ogden Theatre (October 24)
Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge (October 25)
Seattle, WA Neumos (October 27)
Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom (October 28)
Portland, OR Berbati’s (October 29)
San Francisco, CA Mezzanine (October 31)
Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theatre (November 1)
San Diego, CA Beauty Bar (November 2)

It’s been five or so years since Bloc Party formed, with an array of singles, a huge following and two studio albums under their belt, today marks the release of the third album, Intimacy. With a busy touring schedule ahead of them, it was a great surprise and pleasure that the Killahbeez crew were able to hook up with Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong for an interview. What ensued is a hilarious Q & A between us.

Killahbeez: First off thanks guys for taking the time to answer a few questions for our readers / fans of yours.

KB: I took a look at your touring schedule and I have to say it’s insane! Pretty much from July of this year to April of next year and I was lucky enough to catch you guys at the Virgin Music Festival in Toronto. How has the tour been going? Any tales of madness from fans or from yourselves?

Matt Tong: Been fairly good so far. We were a bit worried it might be too much to turn the new songs into a crazy live show, but we seemed to have pulled it off.

Mad tales? Not really. We stole one of the festival buggies in Baltimore and spent an hour going round and round the horseracing track. I wanted to take one back to the hotel but was advised it might lead to my arrest.

KB: The new album, Intimacy, is coming out on October 28th, what can fans expect from this album? How is it different from the other projects?

MT: It’s a bit more stripped down than the last record. We’ve sort of learned what to leave out. I’m not entirely sure if I’m ready to explain to others what to expect because we didn’t really know what to expect when we started making the damn thing. I’m still not sure I’m meant to expect now. It’s good though. Go listen.

KB: Do you guys have a favorite track from the album?

MT: We don’t really sit around discussing our favourite album tracks. It’s not like I walk into the office one day Kele’s all like, Great fill on “Halo”.

Love your work Matt’, and I’m saying, “Those lyrics on “Ares”. Splendid. A ferosh call to arms.” Even though we obviously feel that. It doesn’t need to be said. Or does it? I just don’t know.

[Laughter]

KB: The first single and video, “Talons”, tell me the story / concept behind the video? It feels very manic and intense, a reflection of the lyrics.

MT: It is deeply manic. We went deep on the mania. We were just really into this idea of Kele running round with his top off. He¹s trying to break into bit parts in body moisturizer adverts.

[Laughter]

KB: This is your third studio album, how does the collaboration process work now with the group? Do you all work together in the studio or is more each person recording in a studio and sending the layers and tracks to the other.

MT: Normally Kele is in the studio laying down ideas and things and then he literally mails us spools and spools of tape to listen to on our multi-track tape players at home. And then we record our comments on to the spare tracks of the tape and give them back to a courier to return to him.

KB: From start to ending, can you tell us what inspires the song writing and building process?

MT: Start: A homeless man sits by a deserted train station in Gloucester. He whimpers softly to no-one in particular.

Middle: Detective Broder of the Northern District receives a facsimile containing a photofit and detailing the crimes of the homeless man, which are known to no-one.

End: We write a song about it.

[Laughter]

KB: So whom is the band listening to nowadays? Any artists that wow you guys?

MT: We all listen a lot to the Stone Temple Pilots. Those elegant bachelors. Wow factor: Wet Paint.

KB: Are there any producers or artists out there that you guys would want to work with down the road for either albums or remixes or videos?

MT: Album: Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
Remix: Armand Van Helden
Video: Michael Winner

KB: The state of the music industry, how do you guys feel it has changed from when you first started? Or has it?

MT: It hasn’t changed. London’s industry is still full of twits called Danthanthiel mincing about in Diesel and idling tapping away on Blackberrys, throwing good money after bad.

[Laughter]

KB: Anything else you boys want to say to the fans of Bloc Party?

MT: We owe and continue to owe you so much. Thanks for sticking with us.

The third studio album, Intimacy, is available in stores and iTunes today. Visit Bloc Party’s website for more information: www.blocparty.com. Also hit up www.killahbeez.com for more interviews.

Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom, Thursday, October 9th, presented by Sealed with a Kiss. The final leg of the Cut Copy & The Presets North American tour officially dubbed “Modular presents Cut Copy & The Presets”. The tour kicked off on September 13th and embarked on a 20-date tour across the US and Canada, before both label mates, Cut Copy and The Presets, go their separate ways overseas. This wasn’t the first time either groups have stopped in Vancouver as The Presets have made their way here several times and this was Cut Copy’s second stop in Vancouver in the same year.

Kicking and Screaming

So right off the bat I have to say I missed a few songs from The Presets, not due to tardiness or troubles at the gate, but that’s neither here nor there. When I finally did get in it was a party atmosphere as I could feel the dance floor from underneath me moving as if it were a small wave. When I made my way up to front I could see drummer Kim Moyes standing in front of his drums and riling up the crowd and getting as much energy as he could, while Julian was doing his thing on the keyboard.

They performed an array of songs as they went through “This Boy’s in Love” and “Kicking and Screaming”, this particular song had the crowd going wild and literally kicking and screaming as Kim left his drums for the song to switch up instruments and as my friend AJK said “freaked it on what looked to be the analog synth staple, the Korg MS-20”. Kim would do this throughout the night, abandoning the drums for the Korg MS-20.

Other recognizable jams that they performed were mostly off of the Apocalypso album such as “Talk Like That”, “Together” and “My People” which again had the crowd singing along and wilding out hard. A mistake on my part, I was wearing a flannel shirt as it was damn cold outside, but I neglected to check this piece of blanket wrapped around me and damn near drowned in my own sweat from all the dancing with various peoples in attendance. The vibe was mad cool and chill, total party peoples in the house. As The Presets set drew to an end, drummer Kim threw out his drumsticks for a few lucky fans and Julian thanked the crowd for their energy and supporting the music.

Lights and Music

After a brief 10 – 15 min intermission the stage lights went down and through the darkness you could see Mitchell, Tim and Dan walk out on the stage and assume their instruments as the noise level in the venue cranked up to a 50 on a scale of 1 to 10. In the middle of the cheers the group quickly went into “Nobody Lost, Nobody Found”. The energy was definitely incredible as the crowd was fist pumping and dancing along. As the song ended they went straight into “Far Away”, which is easily one of my favorite songs on the album, although I can honestly say I love most of the tracks off of In Ghost Colours evenly.

From there they flipped the script and took everyone on a journey back to their first LP, Bright Like Neon Love, and performed “Time Stands Still”. The set would continue with “So Haunted” and “Strangers in the Wind”, which would lead to the group taking a short break as Dan thanked everyone for supporting the group and showing them all this love, as well as mentioning that this was the final North American stop. At which point he said something that made me laugh so hard I almost peed myself, he yelled out “DISCO TIME!” and then Cut Copy went into “Saturday” from Bright Like Neon Love.

Continuing to jam through their songs including “Lights and Music” and “Future”, which quite a few people noticed was a punchier and more upbeat version then the original, this ended their set, but the crowd cheered louder and louder. The boys from Australia didn’t disappoint as they came back out and performed “Hearts on Fire” for their encore. The show was great, the stage setup, wonderful, a complete “Lights and Music” show.

After the show it’s the…

The official after party held at Republic was also being promoted by Sealed with a Kiss. The after party also featured a DJ set from Kim of The Presets as well as Tim and Dan from Cut Copy. But here’s where our story dies, as management from DHM told us that we were good to get in and indeed we were on the list. The problem really lied with their overzealous bouncer that decided not to let us in, even after knowing that we had promised DHM that we would review the after party. When we eventually did get in, 25 mins later, we had basically missed the DJ set from Kim. Nonetheless everyone was still buzzing from the concert and that’s all that really mattered.

The Presets played a great set and were entertaining throughout the night. This was also the case with Cut Copy as they really utilized the crowds energy by putting their all into the set. Although I will have to say that I would have loved to have heard more older tracks specifically “1981″ and “Rendezvous”, but I can’t complain the performance was, for a lack of a better word, awesome. A big thanks goes out to Malcolm at Sealed with a Kiss, check out their website for a list of upcoming shows, www.sealedwithakisspresents.com.

If you like the review please vote for me.

Peace.

David Thai
www.killahbeez.com

P.S.: Pictures are here on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/killahbeez

P.S.S.: As usual I try and get the playlist for all you folks out there to re-live the experience or for those that didn’t make it to have an idea of how the set broke down. Since I missed out on a portion of The Presets set, I will only be able to provide Cut Copy’s list.

• Nobody Lost, Nobody Found
• Far Away
• Time Stands Still
• So Haunted
• Unforgettable Season
• Strangers in the Wind
• That Was Just A Dream
• Saturdays
• Feel The Love
• Out There On The Ice
• Lights and Music
• Future
• Hearts on Fire - Encore