Disco Horror

My titles more and more are sounding tabloidesque… Well it’s not entirely true, but if five years ago people had been listening to more Studio and Windsurf, I think this whole problem might have been solved. All the greedy dickwads with their heads so far up each others asses trying to make a higher percentage or commission off a deal might have been dreaming about escaping it all to a beach where they could forget their cares and listen to the waves lapping against the shore. I guess I’m making Studio sound like the Greatful Dead of the new millenia, but seriously this music takes my cares away without fail so that’s why I’m sharing it with you all today.

The new release by Windsurf “Bird Of Paradise” on Prins Thomas’ Internasjonal is another chapter in the book of Studio are production gods and masters of the balearic universe. It seems the perfect marriage of artists as well, because Windsurf (the collaboration of San Francisco’s own Hatchback and Sorcerer) are also princes of the beach-inspired kingdom of electronic music. Their original is a dreamy little piece with vocals that suit a sunrise by the shoreside. Studio take the song and spin it into over 13 minutes blissful minutes of magic. The Beat Broker also features a dub of Windsurf’s “Light As Day” which is also worth mentioning. Corny as it may sound, this music has made my week, I hope it makes yours.

Robots In Heat and I will be DJing another night at Laszlo in the Mission and guess what, it’s on the WEEKEND! Saturday May 23rd, (that’s Memorial Day weekend). So you have no excuse not to come out. We will be playing our usual mix of beardo disco with whatever else we fancy at the moment! It will be great fun if any of you can make it, join the Facebook group/event, or we started a Going event just to see how that might work out. Tell your friends and we hope to see you there!

This Friday I had the privilege of watching Gang Gang Dance perform at Bimbo’s in North Beach. It was easily the best live show I’ve seen since Hercules & Love Affair. I would recommend attending if they come to any city near you because the Brooklyn-based (and you can tell it from their accents) foursome play a unique brand of dance rock psychedelia that has a severely raw energy that many other electronic acts lack of late. Also as previously mentioned, please go pick up their new album, Saint Dymphna, it is easily one of my favorites for the year.

As for upcoming live performances, Sebastien Tellier is gracing SF with his bearded presence on Thursday, December 4th at the Mezzanine. He will be joined by BEAT ELECTRIC DJs Black Shag, BT Magnum, and Safety Scissors so it should be an awesome party as well. For those of you unfamiliar, Tellier released his newest album Sexuality earlier in the year and it is a French pop masterpiece produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. I just found the music video for his single “Divine” which was shot at various locations around LA.

The rest of the album features darker synth-pop infused with piano and tastefully topped with erotic moaning. I have heard quite good things about Sebastien’s live performances and if his performance at the 2008 European Song Contest are any indication of what his show will be like there is reason to get quite excited. Bearded backups + golf cart entrance + helium verse… you do the math, it adds up quite nicely.

Also this week our very own SF natives Windsurf (the long-time alliance of Hatchback and Sorcerer) have released their full length album Coastlines. The album is a collection of luscious beach jams in the typically dreamy Windsurf fashion, transporting me to an island oasis where I can enjoy pina coladas, white sand and blue water as far as the eye can see. They truly have captured the soundtrack to paradise. Anyways, thought I’d share an old favorite that shows up on the album, their track “Pocket Check” was released on Internasjonal (PT’s other label) on the Windsurf EP earlier this year, enjoy and go check out the album!

Windsurf – Pocket Check