Citizen -  "U Don't Know"
London producer Citizen has become known for his huge sounding tune's that often make use of pitch shifted vocals and raucous percussion. Last year's Jagged Edge sampling, "So Submissive," featured in George Fitzgerald's excellent BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix was as infectious as dance music gets. His latest release for 2020Vision Recordings, entitled "U Don't Know," is another crisp cut with a subdued beat and highly inventive vocal sampling that carries the track with its' shifty melody.




The Juan Maclean - "Get Down (With My Love)"
Former LCD Soundsystem member Nancy Whang once again contributes vocals on, "Get Down (With My Love)," the latest single from DFA's The Juan Maclean. According the artist, the track marks the final installment of a "dancefloor trilogy" that included last year's "You Are My Destiny" and "Feel Like Movin." Look for a  new album from the band out this summer.




Rufus Du Sol - "Desert Night" (Groundislava Remix)
Often the most impressive remix work involves taking the most evocative elements of a track and using them to create a musical hybrid that manages to escape genre classification. Los Angeles producer and WEDIDIT collective member Groundislava's remix of Rufus Du Sol's "Desert Night" is a gorgeous, surreal cut with a deep bass line and hypnotizing vocals. The bright, bouncy nature of the original is flipped as the producer heads in a different direction, playing on subtle changes and giving the track space to make for a brilliant piece of reflective dance music.




Tom Richman - "Dro Montana" (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)
Over the past few years, Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth has made a name for himself with his awe-inspiring remixes that draw upon hip-hop, R&B and bass music to create an effortless balance of tenacity and ethereal bliss. Much like his eclectic DJ sets, his latest rework of Kansas producer Tom Richman's "Dro Montana," features fierce hip hop production with soulful vocal sampling, which makes sense for an artist who has previously paired Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire with J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and A$AP Rocky with a Britney Spears instrumental.

"Against a Wall" is the latest from rising producer/artist Ryan Hemsworth. Taken from his upcoming album, the single quickly demonstrates why Hemsworth has been gaining increased recognition over the last year. "Against the Wall" mixes fluid, cascading beats with wistful vocals by Lofty305. Hemsworth's production lends the track an addicting and flawless groove (I have listened to it nonstop since hearing it earlier this morning). The full length, Guilt Trips, will be out on October 22nd, further proof that an abysmally dull summer for new music is giving way to an exciting autumn.

After a scorching first day of performances at Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival which concluded with Bjork's headlining set being cut short due to severe weather, Day 2 promises to bring more agreeable weather to Union Park when the music gets underway this afternoon. Standout performances from Friday's lineup included Mac DeMarco, whose breezy set was part rock show, part stand up comedy, as the Montreal goofball pulled out outrageous covers of Metallica, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Limp Bizkit, and Eric Clapton that ensured the vibe wasn't too serious on a 90 degree afternoon. San Francisco surf rocker Mikal Cronin played a ripping 45 minute mixed with fuzzed out cuts from both his debut and sophomore LPs as fans moshed and crowd surfed until covered in dirt like any good festival pit. With the music kicking off at 1pm this afternoon, here's a look at the sets we're most eager to catch:

Phosphorescent: 2:30pm (Green Stage)
The project of Brooklyn based singer-songwriter Matthew Houck released its sixth album, Muchacho, earlier this year to overwhelmingly positive acclaim. The record's single, "Song for Zula," is a strong contender for song of the year as it pairs beautifully textured production with thoughtful lyrics. Expect a sunny afternoon set full of newer material as well as back catalogue cuts from the artist's twelve year career.

Parquet Courts: 2:50pm (Blue Stage)
The Brooklyn punk rockers played a noisy, sprawling set at Buffalo's Tralf Music hall back in June which featured their classic indie rock evoking debut record, Light Up Gold in it's entirety. The spoken word poetry deliver style of frontman Andrew Savage along with playful guitar work allows the band's apathetic punk aesthetic to flourish. Expect the buzz around the young band to continue to grow as they should be welcomed by a large crowd eager to hear the lo fi punk outfit rip through jittery existential jams like "Borrowed Time" and the ridiculously catchy "Stoned and Starving."

Ryan Hemsworth: 5:45pm (Blue Stage)
Young producers seem to see their careers take off at such an accelerated pace these days and 22 year old Halifax native, Ryan Hemsworth is no exception. Since starting out as a laptop producer making tracks in his bedroom, he has developed a sound that combines elements of southern hip-hop, mainstream pop, R&B, as well as sample based electronica. His compositions are often ethereal and heavily layered, with a bright, optimistic feel and after playing a set at Buffalo's now closed Soundlab venue, his skills as a live performer have begun to take shape. The early evening show should be full of party anthems as well as intelligent, evocative tracks from a talented young artist who is clearly emerging as big name in the world of EDM.

Belle & Sebastian: 8:30pm (Blue Stage)
Keeping up with the tradition of the festival to bring in indie legends, the Scottish twee band will deliver a set full of their sophisticated pop tunes as the sun sets on Union park. Starting out as a school project that turned into one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the 90's, their lighthearted sound gained them countless fans worldwide. After reportedly being pursued for years by the festival for a booking, the bands clever lyrics and smooth instrumentation should be the perfect way to unwind after a long day in the sun.

Thanks to MNM Presents, I had a pretty wild and awesome music fueled weekend. To start with, Brillz on Thursday night at Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar was a killer show. It was refreshing to see the dance floor at Duke's so packed throughout the entire night. Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin, from duo team SwaggleRock, opened for Brillz with a ghetto sexy set. With spikes lining the rim of his flat brim hat, Brillz transitioned smoothly from track to track.

"I dedicate this song to you four girls," he said as each of them twerked themselves into a frenzy in front of the DJ booth as he drops "Big Booty Bitches." 

A Duke's employee sneaked swiftly on stage with a roll of masking tape, to which someone behind the table of equipment then helped tape Brillz's laptop to the stand. In addition to the girls grinding and twerking on the speakers in front of the decks, the packed dance floor jumping up and down, and the crew and myself dancing on stage behind him, the laptop began to violently shake and flop. The masking tape worked as a perfect straight-jacket restraint for the crazed laptop.


I have two main reasons why I love going to a show on a Sunday night. First, it keeps me motivated to do things all day long instead of turning into a Lazy Sunday; I went on a cleaning frenzy, did every single bit of laundry, finished all of my work, rearranged furniture and ran errands yet was still amped enough to doll myself up and head downtown. Secondly, it makes Monday that much more exciting as I walk around doing my usual routine thinking about what happened the night before.

Sunday night, MNM Presents brought a great show to Soundlab. Surprisingly, I believe this was the first time I ever saw Rochester's Papi Chulo perform, and I was quite impressed. It was space groove and even for how early in the night it was, I was pleased to see that people were already dancing so early at a Sunday evening show. Following him was Samo Sound Boy; the visual projection and screen that were brought along for the "Magical Properties Tour" were highly appropriate for the name. A grid of colors projected on him and he was camouflaged with the background when suddenly the dimension changed and behind him was a dark silhouette followed by a gridded silhouette encompassed by a dark screen. It was entrancing. Even with relatively simple transitions between tracks, his set was very up and flawless.



To be completely honest I was most looking forward to Ryan Hemsworth's set. His track selection was totally on point. His performance was mostly trap vibes and the occasional slow jam (I laughed when Usher's "Let It Burn" came blasting through the speakers, but I'm also not going to lie. I was loving it.) The visual projections became even more intense as a cartoon sea took over the screen while little cartoon hands holding cartoon guns stuck themselves surrealistically out of the cresting waves.


Daedelus, the headlining act, followed. I was looking forward to this since I have never seen him perform before and after making the stupid decision of not going to see Yeasayer last year, I continue to hear through friends and my fellow buffaBLOGGERS how incredible the entire show was. However, I was not as totally blown away as I thought I would. Now don't get me wrong, I think that he played a helluva set and he definitely was giving off a lot of energy for the tiny basement venue. My major critiques were the difficulties with the sound; I'm not totally positive what was happening but something was off and the leveling was not as clear as it should have been which to be quite honest was distracting. Also, I was hoping to hear more of the romantic down tempo tunes that seemed to be his M.O.

All in all, shout out to MNM Presents for providing a damn good weekend for Buffalo. 

I have a feeling tonight is going to be a beautiful memory to add to the Soundlab collection. MNM Presents a top of the line bill of musicians: Daedelus, Ryan Hemsworth, and Samo Sound Boy. Opening the night will be Rochester's Papi Chulo.

Self-acclaimed "full time musician, part time Dandy," Los Angeles based Daedelus will be headlining the show tonight. A blend of romance and electronic, his music has an after-hours feel. It's the feeling of holding someone close and walking down rain covered streets with only the hazy street lights to glow a path, or that instantaneous feeling you get when you see the moon on a night when it is so close in the sky you feel like you could run after it and touch it. Then he can flip the switch and has some tracks that have a darker feel, and some that are the downward fall into the rabbit hole.




Be on time to the show to catch Ryan Hemsworth. Canadian DJ and producer, Hemworth puts out tracks that I wish I had back in high-school when we'd cruise around listening to mixtapes from Datpiff.com. It's well-crafted and lustrous trap. He cranks hip-hop and brings about a nodding vibe. In addition to being dear to my heart for putting out amazing music, Hemsworth is also a journalist.





Also based out of Los Angeles, Samo Sound Boy, has a very interesting sound. Upbeat and bouncy it's club music, but there are different characteristics that make it so much more unique than limiting it to be considered just "club." Alongside with Jerome LOL, Samo Sound Boy is the founder of Body High recording label. "It's one of the most influential labels in the U.S. right now...some of it's really soul, disco, future club music, and everything in between," BBC Radio 1 introduces their mix for Diplo and Friends.