Who needs coffee when you have Ruckus Roboticus?

So, I'm super crazy busy today, and every day in general as of right now, but I wanted to throw some of these incredibly funky beats your way. Check out Ruckus Roboticus, DJ and Ohisian, but don't hold that against him. Actually, he's playing near Dayton on July 17, 2010, and I'm half tempted to make the four hour trek. We'll see what happens. From his website:

Born from the industrial powers of Dayton, Ohio, Ruckus Roboticus has risen to unleash his fury of funk, hip-hop and mischief. Part turntable, half drum machine, all sex machine; the robotic wonder has continually electrified listeners with his colorful and imaginative world of sound.

When he's not busy remixing the stars (Bloc Party, Lady Tigra, Vampire Weekend, Pase Rock), or winning "Best DJ Mix" awards from Rockstar Games, Scion, and Solid Steel Radio, this bot can be found tearing the roof off of your local dancehall, art gallery, fashion show, and house party with a fierce live-set.  His sharp skills and diverse selection have landed him countless shows across country, and even a few in the U.K., Canada and South Korea.  He's rocked on stage with Crystal Castles, RJD2, The Juan Maclean, Peanut Butter Wolf,  Prince Paul, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Food, The Rub DJs, DJ Premier, Mitsu The Beats, and Mr. Lif.  And he has heads nodding to his beats featured on Nickelodeon, MTV, and a Progressive Car Insurance commercial... It's no wonder his fans call him "the second hardest working man in show business."

At the beginning of 2008, Ruckus quietly infiltrated the iPods & Turntables of the world with his long-awaited debut album,  "Playing with Scratches" (Grease Records, 2008).  While the album didn't quite reach the Pop Charts, his tracks nonetheless dazzled critics and DJ's alike, gaining support from indie juggernauts KCRW (Los Angeles), WFMU (New York), KEXP (Seattle), WOXY (Cincinnati), and others, eventually catapulting the album into the CMJ Top Ten.  Tracks were also supported by The World Cafe (NPR), XM Satellite Radio, Rob Da Bank (BBC Radio 1), Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1), Solid Steel Radio (London), The Blend Corp. (Australia), Brooklyn Radio, and Spin Magazine.

"Playing With Scratches" reached another level it was ranked in WOXY's 97 Best Albums of 2008 (alongside albums by Santogold, TV On The Radio, Portishead, Beck, MGMT...), and Ruckus was declared one of the "Next 1000" by Urb Magazine.  In royal fashion, he was crowned an official member of Ninja Tune's Solid Steel Radio, joining Cold Cut, DJ Food, DK and other top-notch DJs in producing the weekly radio show that broadcasts "The Broadest Beats" around the world.

Despite his continued success, Ruckus remains in relative obscurity in Ohio, working endlessly in the studio on a slew of new remixes, music for television, and his next solo LP. Song by song, and mix by mix, Ruckus continues to capture the hearts & minds of music lovers around the world.  It's only a matter of time until the whole world realizes, this is the dawning of The Age Of Roboticus.

"Chicks"



Shit, there's no video for "Jump In". You can check out that track and many more over on his Myspace. You can also follow him on Twitter, check him out on his website, and like him on the ol' Facebook. It'll certainly get your blood flowing on a Monday. 

Chemical Brothers - Further

Oh, hey there, 1996, what's goin' on? It's been a while. Nice to see you're making a come back.

So, the Chemical Brothers have released their new album, Further, and well...it's pretty awesome, actually. It seems like 2007's We Are the Night was a hiccup in a pretty linear growth in music. Not that it was a bad album, it just wasn't nearly as cohesive as previous efforts from the British electronic duo.

(Wait, side note, can I just say how awesome it is to actually be blogging again?! And here, I was worried. Shit, it's like riding a bike...)

Further starts off a little abstract with "Snow". A glitchy, feedback ridden track, it's definitely in their more psychedelic niche. The album quickly dives into what made the Chemical Brothers a household name in electronic music, a recognizable formula of synth and beats. Just enough to keep you moving, but not enough to make your heart explode, a la Happy Hardcore. While this album does get the blood thumping, it is missing the usual slamming, driving track like the infamous "Block Rockin' Beats" or "Star Guitar". Also missing from this album are predominant vocals and big name collaborations. Not that I'm really, missing them, though.

After We Are the Night and Push the Button, I think it was just better for them to tear down and rebuild, rather than trying to add on. A lot of this album is back to basics, experimental electronic music, which is never a bad thing. Not back to basics as in break beats, but back to basics as in this is pure, electronic music. Simple, not boring. As for the vocals, they feature American singer-songwriter Stephanie Dosen in a few, spacey tracks, which she's perfect for. There is not a chorus to be found on this album, only chants and whispers.

Among the best tracks on the album are "Escape Velocity", a twelve minute expanse of...build. That's what this track is all about, and it's flawless. Jesus, after making music for twenty years, they better get that shit right. It's perfect. It's one of those tracks and before you know it, you're groovin' right along. And then there's "Wonders of the Deep", which is very reminiscent of the David Guetta/David Bowie situation on "Just For One Day (Heroes) [Extended Version]". Not in the vocal sense, but the musical sense.

If you've ever, and I mean EVER, enjoyed the Chemical Brothers, check out this album. It's a throw back to the golden days of early EDM, which makes me just the tiniest bit nostalgic. It would fit right in on that old school electronic play list. You can check out all eight tracks for free over on their Myspace. B

You can also check out their site for more info.

"Escape Velocity"
(Another side note: God, it's nice to have working videos. I don't think Blogspot could have made it more annoying to import videos/music. That's why I just gave up on them!)

Some Friday Funky Beats

Sometimes, I love Myspace, but wish it wasn’t such a wasteland of spammers and porn-bots. Once in a great while, though, you find some decent things.
Like this guy, Paul Faulkner’s (aka Wainscott or Luna) beats. Some good, old fashioned, electronic music. From the house tracks released under Wainscott or the trance tracks released under Luna, Faulkner’s bringin’ it back, old school. Great, now I want to go dancing. Curses for living in Pittsburgh.

So for your Friday, have some funky beats to get you through the day. Be sure to catch his other tracks on Myspace, Facebook, or Reverbnation.

"7th Heaven"



"In the System"

An Interview with Mikey Shanley – 12/19/09

Finally it’s here! The very first video interview on That Girl With A Blog. I’m going to be honest with you, it was terrifying. Thankfully, it was with a good friend and a great amount of booze. So here it is, everybody…my one on one (ish) with Mikey Shanley. Make sure to check out his new EP, GAga Night, streaming for free on his Myspace.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Thanks again to Mikey Shanley for agreeing to do this. Thanks to Adam and Casey for being our faithful cameramen. Thanks to Shelby Proie and her family for the use of their awesome movie room. And thanks to all of you for tuning in to the very first video interview here on That Girl With A Blog!

Mikey Shanley – GAga Night

Miami resident, beach bum, DJ, and all around good guy Mikey Shanley is at it again with his new EP, GAga Night. It’s been strange to see Shanley go from eyeliner-ed emo rocker to happy hardcore to house and everything in between, but house music seems to be where Shanley finds home. Maybe it’s the Miami nights, the clubs, the sand and the heat that makes beats like this. They’re rough, they’re rich, they’re sexy, and goddamn are they dance-able. From the press release:

“It’s 80 degrees in Miami Beach right now, and while most would kill for a South Florida beach in late November Mikey, just across the street from the sandy salvation, is in his recording studio putting the finishing touches on his EP entitled “Gaga Night”; which will be available for free via mikeyshanley.com in late December. Mikey’s EP has a funky futuristic house sound with a banging techno groove and psy-trance, electro bass lines. This EP is packed with enough glow stick power and thumping warehouse beats to keep party people going as the sun comes up.”

That is absolutely correct. While this EP is definitely made for DJs by a DJ, it’s shockingly listener-friendly. When you find an album with such technical prowess, you also find all those long, naked gaps. I know, they’re for mixing, but I don’t wanna hear the same beat 64 times. Shanley finds that happy medium, and it carries throughout the entire five track EP.

While every track on this album is fantastic, “GAga Night” and “My Soul” are the gems. They ARE house music. From electro to deep soul, this album has a little bit of something for every house head. Filled with luxuriously rich beats…it’s like taking a hot bath in house music.  Buildups are spectacular, drops are well placed, this album is…awesome. It’s just awesome, dammit. So get check it out at Mikey Shanley’s MySpace, streaming for free RIGHT NOW! A!

Faceoff: David Guetta vs. Felix Da Housecat

The time has come for the HOUSE MUSIC FACEOFF! Two completely different sides of the world. David Guetta vs. Felix Da Housecat! Paris vs. Chicago! London vs. LA!
Guetta’s One Love and Felix’s He Was King were both released on August 21, this was just meant to happen people.

Let’s start off with Guetta. First of all, Guetta has always been that guy who made music for other people. He remixed and produced and made the magic happen…for everyone else. Even now, working with prominent artists like Kelly Rowland (just sayin’, in a vocal battle, Kelly Rowland could kick Beyonce’s ass) and Akon, and remixing a song that he produced for the Black Eyed Peas, I think Guetta’s finally gonna make it big in the states. Damn near every song on this album makes me wanna dance. It has this early 90′s radio edit Euro vibe goin’ on. Guetta’s bringing club music back to mainstream America. He knows what’s up. He’s been a chart topper in the UK for years, it’s about damn time he does something over here. As for the album, it’s super funky, heavy ass beats with a slightly hip-hop touch on the vast majority of the tracks. In other words, it’s a whole lotta fun. This is the kinda album that gets every slutty chick on the dance floor.

Holy electro, Batman! Where the ravers at!? This album makes my heart hurt and I’m not even on drugs. I think I would explode if I was. This whole album is amazing…it’s one of those where every song is good. Except for “Choose” because it really sounds like “…you wanna make me shoes”. Ne-Yo needs to learn how to enunciate, bad.

Onto Felix Da Housecat! I’ve loved Felix since the Kittenz and Thee Glitz days (c’mon, who doesn’t remember “Phantasy Girl”!?) and it kills me to say that this album is a huge disappointment.  I guess I can understand where he’s going with it. Futuristic, mechanical vocals, epic, spacey beats. The vocals really ruin this album for me, though. The only song that really redeems this album is “LA Ravers”, and that’s because there are no vocals to fuck up, sans the brief robot noise at the beginning. It’s got that funky electro beat.

And I mean, if you wanna see how bad this album goes, check out "Kickdrum".

Now this song just annoys me. WTF, Felix? So, this is like, you’re 12th album, that’s no reason to start churning out crap.

So, I think it’s safe to say that David Guetta is the clear winner of this battle. I’m sorry, Felix. I really am. Maybe that will entice him to make better music. If you would have asked me before I listened to these albums who the winner would be, I would have said Felix, hands down. Well, I have certainly been proved wrong.