A little over a month ago, alt-J released an acoustic music video for their song "Matilda." I truly enjoy this video for it's clean and intimate profile of alt-J. The camera travels from face to face while also taking panning shots of the walls that surround the narrow aisle they are sitting in; scattered are a collage of various and colorful buttons.

If this were a 'Pop Up Video' feature, I'm sure one of the bubbles would read something about Joe Newman, lead singer and guitarist, in a button shop. Or maybe I'm the only one who made the odd connection to the childhood campfire song.

If you have never heard of alt-J, do yourself a huge favor and check out the alt-J (∆) artist spotlight featured on our site last month. If you happen to fall in love, be joyful it can be requited when they come to Toronto Mar. 27.

It's an average night out at the frequented bar where smoke streams from the cigarettes of those who usually scatter the sidewalk in front. Inside, the walls are decorated with artful images of half-naked women and a DJ mixes while people dance together in isolation. There is a group that sits together, unsmiling and with a somewhat sneer about their surroundings. "That motherfucker was like 6 iPhones ago." A stereotypical girl in bold-framed glasses is sandwiched between her skinny blonde boyfriend and a similarly styled brunette guy who's wearing a man-tank. After each guy orders a PBR, a battle commences. Not a battle of physical strength and stamina, but a comparison of who has the better iPhone, music library, who is the most followed on Facebook or Twitter, thus proving their worth.

Does this sound like your night out? Perhaps someone you know? Or maybe deep down (possibly not that far deep down) it's you that relates the most?

Buffalo native Bill Boulden, otherwise known as Spruke, released a cleverly animated video this week to go along with his song "Natural Order (Battle of the Hipsters)." A track from Factor Friction, his fifth EP release, the tune is mostly electro-pop with some mild dubstep undertones. The video was designed by Brooklyn-based artist Nathaniel Soria of Studio N8. 

After watching you may find yourself caught in the paradox of artistically portraying a hipster. It's irony of the ironic, which if you think about it too much turns into a vicious circle of irony.

"The portrayal was meant to be lovingly satirical," says Boulden, a self-titled hipster. "It's totally internalized; that's me I'm making fun of there. It's a self-satirizing look at all the times we've gotten in metaphorical fights at bars over who has better phones or musical taste, but portrayed literally."

A well composed song and a great execution of animation, this video tells a story and is a (sub)cultural exploration. Whether music, literature, film or television is your competitive pedestal, many are guilty of having that one-upping conversation to test each others breadth of knowledge.

But as the song ends, the world around the man in the man-tank burns slowly after the grandiose mass destruction, he sips his victory PBR alone at the (somehow still standing) bar.

Talk about visual metaphors.

Cheers to a great year in music. After the holidays and a little bit of "Auld Lang Syne," let's ring in the new year with hopes of progression and talent.

Attention Buffalo: There's a new game in town. A few days ago the Quiet Country Audio site went live with a bang. QCA is a studio out in Alden run by Paul Besch, which hosts live video sessions (similiar to Daytrotter and From the Basement). Thus far, some real legit bands have been featured in this series including Two Cow Garage, Sleepy Hahas, Pentimento, On Beta and Roger Bryan. If you're a fan of any of these bands, and you should be, check out the new site and watch some of the vidz or hear the sessions at QCA's bandcamp page. I have a feeling we're going to be hearing quite a bit from QCA in the future.

When I hear the name Laidback Luke, a vivid memory comes to mind: a summer night spent in the sticky underground of Soundlab.  His remix of "Out of the Blue" was a consistently played track on my iPod and could often be heard blasting from my dorm room window weaving around the religious statues and unpleasantly fragrant trees of the Canisius quad.  But this moment was particularly special: I stepped out of the dingy bathroom and as if I walked through a vortex into the enveloping sounds of progressive-house, I entered a new world.  The room was lit with light blue and I'll never forget the feeling of that ecstatic contentment when the local DJs on stage played this song out.

Philippine born and Holland raised Luke Van Scheppingen, known to the world as Laidback Luke, overtime has become one of the most highly regarded names in the DJ world.  His productions, predominantly house, and performances across the world has built him a fan base of hundreds of thousands.  Performances this year include the Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, Tomorrowland and Ultra.  In 2010 not only did he place #17 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list, he also won the International Dance Music Award for "Leave the World Behind." 

In 2004 he developed his own label, Mixmash Records with a mission to be "adament in it's pursuit for good music."  Names on the roster include Steve Aoki, Wynter Gordon, A-Trak, Angger Dimas, Avicii and Oliver Twizt.  Buffalo's very own DJ Dstar was recently signed to the label as well.

During an interview at DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list release in 2010, the interviewer asked Laidback Luke about whether his success has inflated his ego. "Maybe this keeps me grounded as well, I just want to have a really good fucking party, together with the crowd.  It's not about me.  Like, yes I do bring the music but we should just have a great time..." he said.

The show is tonight June 14.
10 pm - 4 am
at Lux Nightclub (75 W. Chippewa)
$20 - 18+

Factory Nightlife has also put some wonderful local talent on the bill.  DJ Dstar and McNasty will be opening for Laidback Luke on the main stage while Mario Bee, Miosi and SwaggleRock are on the patio.

Check out the event Facebook page for more information.

@LaidbackLuke
Laidback Luke on Facebook
@MixmashRecords
Mixmash Records on Facebook