Our summer blowout!

saturday june 29th
L A Z E R C R U N K

11th Anniversary and official OUTLOOK FEST Launch Party!
https://outlookfestival.com/

with special guests
SAM BINGA
Critical, Astrophonica, Cosmic Bridge, Bristol UK
https://soundcloud.com/sam_binga

The ever-exploratory Sam Binga is one of those artists who has managed to infuse all of the UK’s musical subcultures into a tantalizing sound portrayal and discography. Toting a range of influences from garage, grime, drum & bass, jungle, juke, dubstep, dancehall, reggae, and more, the Bristol-based artist has yet to hold back on revealing his interests and pursuits. Binga has steadily thrown himself into the industry as a genre-defying musician and high-energy party starter who can mash down any dancehall.

and support from

MR YUKK
https://soundcloud.com/mryukkdubstep/wavegrime-promo-mix-1
Known for his heavy sounds, Austin is taking a huge step away from his normal “tear out” dubstep productions and is stretching out into flavors of grime and wave music

plus resident djs
CUTUPS & KEEBS
mixing up all the newest jams,
and probably a few classics

and as always, live lasers, good friends, stiff drinks,
futuristic sounds and lots of fun!

We are also pairing with OUTLOOK FEST 2019, as Pittsburgh’s Official Launch party! Outlook fest takes place in Pula, Croatia from Sept 4-8, and is one of the world’s best festivals for bass music soundsystem culture. We’ll have some promos and give-aways coming up to get you excited! (We’ll be there!)

More info and tickets: https://outlookfestival.com

$15 cover / 10PM – 2AM / 21+

Brillobox
4104 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh PA

Since 2008 we’ve been bringing you the finest in fun, underground
bass music, lazers, goofball themes, zany graphics and all around good times. Expect all that and more at this epic anniversary party.

Fri May 17 8 pm doors $12 adv/$15 door 21+ show
Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville 412-687-2157 (downstairs)
tickets: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1843166

Arcade Highhttps://arcadehigh.bandcamp.com/

80s-inspired synthwave twins from Texas
NITEhttps://nite.bandcamp.com/https://www.facebook.com/wearethenite/

Ghost Twin (Winnipeg) https://ghosttwin.bandcamp.com/
and DJ Cutupshttps://soundcloud.com/cutups

From the Dallas Observer:

As the ’80s continue to disappear farther into the rear view mirror, the era continues to be a source of reference for a new generation of artists. From denim jackets and shoulder pad-emblazoned fashion trends to the cinematic homages of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the decade of Reagan, MTV, and New Coke continues to be in vogue. We’re even resurrecting the Cold War with Russia. The decade’s reach also expands to music, where synths, horns and lush production qualities have again begun surfacing in the sensibilities of many of today’s artists.

As the dual lead figures of NITE, a quickly rising Dallas band, twin brothers Kyle and Myles Mendes haven’t shied away from the ‘80s musical ethos. Trafficking in dreamy pop-synth soundscapes that reference some of the ‘80s touchstones, the band leans heavily into the moods and emotions of their songs. From the buoyantly infectious grooves of “Godless City” — a track that has gotten recent airplay on KXT 91.7 — to the more quietly subdued “Dream of You,” NITE’s music would fit right in on radio playlists, circa 1988.

Their influences were there from the start. When the brothers were students at the University of North Texas in Denton, they found themselves listening to lots of classic synth pop and modern pop music. “Bands like New Order, Empire of the Sun, The Cure and White Lies are some of our biggest influences,” Kyle Mendes wrote in a recent email to the Observer.

Since solidifying the band in the latter half of 2013, they’ve frequently been recording new music and working to perfect their signature sound. They’ve also been pounding the pavement, relentlessly touring across North America and sharing stages with many of their idols like Howard Jones, A Flock of Seagulls and The Alarm.

This week, we’re proud to premiere the debut video for their track “I’ll Be Back Again.” A tightly constructed song about someone overcoming the pain of the past and turning attention toward the possibilities of the future, it seems tailor-made for repeated summer listens. The video, of course, is also straight out of the ‘80s playbook.

“Hearing [the song] immediately put visions of the ’80s through the lens of John Hughes in my head,” says the video’s director, Ryan Polly. “With the NITE boys you can always expect an ‘80s vibe, but this song in particular struck me as very nostalgic for that time. Being a huge fan of John Hughes myself, I thought it would be great to create the video as sort of an homage to him.”

The pastel-tinged color palette, the sulky teenager seen lip-synching into a hairbrush and the over-the-top special effects will be familiar to anyone who’s logged hours watching cinematic treasures like The Breakfast Club or Pretty In Pink. The video is also neatly framed with an introduction and concluding coda that serve to emphasize the drama playing out onscreen.

“Genre mixing is something that I have always loved,” adds Polly. “The thought of a high school girl-led romantic comedy with hints of Marvel comic book and horror elements really excited me. I think we hit a ridiculous tone that I’m honestly very proud of.”

Polly, who along with Grant Wakefield and Daniel Routh, owns the Denton-based production company Maker Table, goes back a ways with the band and has a solid appreciation of their vibe. “Ryan also helped capture our first-ever performance as NITE for the Down Sessions, where we filmed in an old, abandoned haunted house in Denton,” Myles Mendes says. “He’s always had an eye for aesthetics that we feel enhances our work as songwriters, which is why we love working on ambitious projects with him.”

To film the video for “I’ll Be Back Again,” the band and filmmaker again assembled in and around Denton this past December with a 12-person crew. Polly’s editor, Joy Michael, locked in the picture before passing things off to Dallas-based musician/visual effects artist Rob Martinez, who in turn added some “movie magic.” Last month found the crew performing a sound design/mix session with Brad Nyght and adding in a color grade. All in all, the process took a little more than two months from start to finish.

“I’ll Be Back Again,” the third and final single off last year’s Reborn album, is serving as both a catapult into a busy touring schedule and a bookend to the album cycle. NITE are back in the studio writing and recording their third release and will perform at SXSW where they’ll kick off the Cleopatra Records’ Showcase.

Friday May 10th

LAZERCRUNK

presents legendary dubstep producer and deejay…

DISTANCE
Chestplate / Tectonic / Planet-Mu / UK
http://soundcloud.com/distance
http://www.facebook.com/Distanceofficial
https://www.instagram.com/dj_distance/

DJ, producer, and label owner of Chestplate recordings, Distance is one of the originators of the dubstep genre and has pretty well done it all. He’s credited to bringing in a darker, heavy metal and industrial influenced sound palette, and his sound blends together those sounds with more technoid dendancies and the heaviest, chest thumping bass riddims. You can not miss this one.

plus your resident stalwarts mixing up all the latest jams…

CUTUPS & KEEB$
https://soundcloud.com/cutups/sets/lazercrunk-blast-off

Plus live lazers, good friends, stiff drinks,
futuristic sounds and lots of fun.

$15 cover / 10PM – 2AM / 21+

Brillobox 4104 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh PA

More on Distance
Distance (Greg Sanders) is a world-renowned UK producer, DJ and label owner of Chestplate (established in 2007). He is one of the originators of the dubstep genre and has been instrumental in the development of dubstep since its early years.

Musically, Distance is credited with introducing new elements of metal to dubstep at the start of the genre. Whilst many dubstep producers reference influences such as King Tubby to Lee Scratch Perry, Distance’s influences hail from the likes of Sepultura, Pantera and Fear Factory. With a background of heavy metal and experimental industrial music, his sound blends heavy metal, industrial rock, dub, reggae and techno.

Distance has produced remixes for artists including Nicki Minaj, Paloma Faith, Bastille and many more. He has collaborated with acclaimed producers including Skream, Benga, Pinch and J:Kenzo.
Distance released on seminal underground labels early in his career including Hotflush, Tectonic and Boka. He released his debut album, My Demons, on the influential Planet Mu label in 2007. The album won Dubstep Forum’s album of the year.

My Demons was followed by Distance’s second album, Repercussions, in 2008, also released on Planet Mu. Distance released the single ‘Falling’ in 2011, with widespread support from DJs such as Skream, Benga, Hatcha, and radio support from DJ Swerve on Kiss FM and MistaJam on BBC 1Xtra. His third album Dynamis was released on Tectonic in 2017.
Distance had early radio support from the legendary John Peel, and in 2006 he was selected to be part of the seminal ‘Dubstep Warz’ show on Radio 1 presented by Mary Anne Hobbs (the show credited with breaking dubstep globally). Distance had a label residency on BBC 1Xtra and had a long-running radio show on Rinse FM from 2004-2013.

Distance has performed across the globe, as well as having performed regularly at major clubs including FWD, DMZ, Exodus and SUB: DUB. His record label Chestplate had a residency at the legendary Fabric nightclub in London from 2013-2015.

DISTANCE ( SOCIAL LINKS )
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Distanceofficial
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/distance
Twitter: twitter.com/distance_dj
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/TheDjDistance
Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/Distance/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dj_distance/

Saturday April 20th
from the crew that brought you WIGGIN AHT:

F Y E R F E S T
Pittsburgh

a premium exclusive 3D interactive comedy danceparty experience

Featuring premium luxury island experiences thanks to…
IAN BRILL

Major HEADLINERS such as…
CUTUPS – www.mixcloud.com/cutups
KEEB$ – www.mixcloud.com/toddkeebs
ERYN EVANS
DA/NA – www.mixcloud.com/DA_NA
(plus moar MAJOR HEADLINER ANNOUNCEMENTS!)

Fine dining with
SLICE ISLAND

It’s about models, influencers, disruption unicorns, dank gravy, pop punk orgies, authentic innovators driving authentic innovation for authentic millennials, luxury fart villas, the loudest EDM you’ve ever heard, building value added experiences, curly fries with extra ranch, and of course, the music of the best and only rap artist you know: Ja Rule.

Come maybe experience everything you can’t believe is real, at FYER FEST (PGH) 2019!

All taking place at Spirit Quay, an exclusive beach,
due north of Slice Island!
242 51st Street just off Butler St
21+

Thematic costumes, props and role-play encouraged!
(Drop us a line if you have anything in mind)

Follow & Like
https://www.instagram.com/fyerfest/
https://twitter.com/fyerfest
http://fyerfest.com

TLDR; I PULLED DJING STATS OUT OF MY DATABASE

I’ve been tracking data about my DJ gigs (and shows overall) for a long time, just as a side effect of always running some form of event calendar, so I figured it would be interesting to run a database query see how they’ve changed over time.

I don’t think this list is exhaustive, but it’s fairly close (90+%). If anything is missing, it’s a bunch of FUZZ/BBT dates. Aside from a handful of exceptional ones, I didn’t include house show/parties. I broke down each event by the “primary” genre tag used for the event.

ANALYSIS
It’s often kind of tough to actually break down what I play, and that’s probably the biggest take-away. I try to fit the theme of the night, but I also seek out nights where I can play just about anything. As time went by, more and more sets are these pan-genre sets that fell into a few categories.

“Bass” is really maybe the biggest cheat, since the contents of that have veered one way or another over time. Since 2008, my sets in this area have been often fairly genre agnostic, and combine elements of dubstep, ukg, grime, funky, wave, bassline, jersey club, footwork, drum and bass and other bass-focused sounds within one set, but different nights may go much more heavily towards one subgenre. Overall it was really facilitated by the format for Stackin Paper andLazerCrunk. I like it this way, but it’s sometimes hard to sum-up.

“Dark dance” is really just my way of summing up what i typically play at goth or modern dark nights, but it doesn’t really map to an existing well known genre. It’s interesting to see that I’ve strung together a few different series that ended up expressing it self this way (ILLUSIONS, Darkwave, Coven, plus other guest spots). I made a pretty conscious decision starting from the first time that I ever played one of these nights that I’d mix it up more than what any one DJ did in those scenes. You’ll usually hear a bit of goth, deathrock, darkwave, witch house, minimal wave, ebm and noisier other tangents strung together. Sometimes I’ve played more niche sets and indicated that, usually more in the power-noise or industrial vein.

“Anything goes” really is an expression of when I started to open up my creates and DJ sets to blending as many things together as possible. Some of that was my own impetus, some was getting some opportunities to play for open nights by people like Edgar Um and Kristen Dale. It’s a bit unfair of a descriptor, as sometimes it was mostly indie-dance of the era (early-mid 2000s), other other times a more open mix of punk, new wave, no-wave, funk, soul, industrial, hiphop, dancehall, house, electro, disco, world-dance or whatever else was banging or I picked up at the record store, but typically with more of an eye for the popular dancefloor than other sorts of shows.

I enjoy playing all kinds of sets, but in some regards i feel like my unique strengths really are in breakcore, jungle, idm, classic rave and other niche high-energy electronic music. The reality is that I don’t find that many gigs in those styles due to their relative lack of popularity or zeitgeist.

DATA
# of events by primary genre, per year

2019 (13 shows as of april)
dark dance (mixed genre) 4 
synthwave 2
bass (mixed genre) 2
techno 1
breakcore 1
anything goes noisy (mixed genre) 1
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 1
live 1

2018 (27 shows)
dark dance (mixed genre) 10
bass (mixed genre) 8 
uk garage 2
drum and bass 1
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 2
anything goes noisy (mixed genre) 1
electro 1
breakcore 1
dancehall / dub 1

2017 (21 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 10
footwork 3 
synthwave 3
breakcore 2
dark dance (mixed genre) 1
drum and bass 1
downtempo 1

2016 (31 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 13 
drum and bass 3 
dark dance (mixed genre) 3 
breakcore 2 
ukg 2
idm 2 
footwork 1
synthwave 1
chiptune 1
industrial 1
rave 1
dubstep 1

2015 (21 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 12
dark dance (mixed genre) 5
breakcore 2
drum and bass 2

2014 (28 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 12 
dark dance (mixed genre) 5 
drum and bass 4 
anything goes underground (mixed genre) 2
breakcore 1 
edm 1
idm 1 
noise 1
mashup 1

2013 (28 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 12
drum and bass 7
dark dance (mixed genre) 4 
80s 1
breakcore 1
idm 1
industrial 1
witch house 1

2012 (30 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 15
dark dance (mixed genre) 6 
breakcore 2 
drum and bass 2 
90s 1
witch house 1
indie dance 1
idm 1
metal 1

2011 (27 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 13 
dark dance (mixed genre) 5 
dubstep / deep 3 
breakcore 2 
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 1
glitch hop 1
hardcore 1
power noise 1

2010 (35 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 15 
drum and bass 3 
breakcore 3 
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 2 
dubstep 2
idm 2 
indie dance 2 
dark dance 1
electro 1
hiphop 1
glitch hop 1
industrial 1
mashup 1

2009 (35 shows)
bass (mixed genre) 8 
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 6
breakcore 3
dubstep 3
idm 3 
indie dance 2 
drum and bass 2 
chiptune 1
b-more 1
dancehall 1
disco / house 1
electro 1 
mashup 1

2008 (30 shows)
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 11
bass (mixed genre) 11
drum and bass 2 
idm 2 
rave 1
breakcore 1
mashup 1
dubstep 1

2007 (36 shows)
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 12
breakcore 6
drum and bass 5
electro 5
bass 2 
dubstep 1 
dark dance 1
hardcore 1 
mashup 1
idm 1
rave 1

2006 (31 shows)
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 10
breakcore 7
drum and bass 6 
idm 2 
electro 2
experimental / noise 2
rave 1
dubstep 1

2005 (20 shows)
drum and bass 7
experimental / noise 3 
idm 3
breakcore 3
hardcore 2
mashup 1
dancehall / reggae 1

2004 (16 shows)
breakcore 6
drum and bass 5
experimental / noise 2 
anything goes dance (mixed genre) 1
rave 1
idm 1

2003 (15 shows)
breakcore 7
idm 5
electro 2
hardcore 1

2002 (17 shows)
breakcore 7 
drum and bass 7
idm 1
80s 1
rave 1

2001 (14 shows)
breakcore 4
hardcore 3
drum and bass 2
idm 2
dark dance music (mixed genre) 1
hiphop 1
punk 1

2000 (15 shows)
drum and bass 6
breakcore 5
hardcore 2
experimental / noise 2

1999 (6 shows)
rave 3 
hardcore 1
happy hardcore 1
drum and bass 1

1998 (3 shows)
drum and bass 2
happy hardcore 1

1997 (2 shows)
drum and bass 1
hardcore 1

1996 (3 shows)
drum and bass 2 
hardcore 1

Friday April 12th 2019

Telecorps Presents

ADULT. “Official” [Dais Records: Detroit]

with

Void Vision [Philadelphia]

plus

WISTERIA [Pittsburgh]

and

DJ Cutups

live analog video projections by 8cylinder

this event is co-presented by Spirit.

21+

9pm – 2am

$12 advance / $15 at the door

ADVANCE TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Spirit Hall
242 51st Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
USA

ADULT.

Over the course of the last two decades, Detroit-based duo ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) have released six albums and nineteen EPs and singles across some of our favorite labels: Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Clone Records, Third Man Records, and their own label, the revered Ersatz Audio. November 1998 marked their first release: the five-song 12” “Dispassionate Furniture”. This September, twenty years later, Dais Records is proud to announce ADULT.’s seventh full length album: THIS BEHAVIOR.

The album began as 23 demos written and recorded in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan during the dead of winter. In total isolation, and with a reduced amount of gear (a modified version of their live setup) on the cabin’s kitchen table, the duo were completely immersed in an incessant inescapable studio of their own making – looping, repetitive analogue sequences grinding away day and night. At the end of the intense demo session, a handful of peers were enlisted by the band for the difficult task of paring down the demos into the final album.

The result is 10 tracks of uncompromising dark electronics, showcasing ADULT.’s return to aggressive and energetic dancefloor mastery. Album opener “This Behavior” alongside the follow-up “Violent Shakes” (which ascends into synths wailing like warning sirens over Kuperus’s commanding vocals) set the stage for an on-edge listen, while the heartbreaking “Silent Exchange” unfolds as a beautiful sad synth dirge. “Perversions of Humankind” breaks the mood – driving the listener into a slow and low groove before the frantic album midpoint of “Irregular Pleasure”. “Does The Body Know?” is the album’s post-punk anthem, with irresistible singalong “we’re out of order – we’re undefined!” The latter half of the album drives forward with “On The Edge (You Put Me…)” and “Lick Out The Content”, refusing rest and demanding movement and response. “Everything & Nothing” emerges slowly from sparkling synth textures, snowballing with nervous energy into an acid techno stomper before the album comes to a close on the icy landscape of “In All The Debris”, a goose-bump inducing slow electronic mantra that closes the curtain on a massive album.

Dais Records is proud to present ADULT.’s THIS BEHAVIOR. Available on digital, digipack CD, and vinyl LP in stores 9/7, with exclusive limited vinyl colorways for UK & Europe.

Artist statement on the album’s writing process:
“It’s confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who? For what? Taking walks along icy shorelines as you try to overcome writer’s block, as you try to overcome yourself. Not seeing anyone for days and weeks on end. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings come rushing in; anxiety, fear, purpose, banality, futility of task, power structures, power struggles, pointlessness, collapse. You’re faced to face yourself. Your awareness is heightened. You are neither here nor there. You are in a liminal state. As you work in this isolated cabin your windows become mirrors.”

“Are we distortions. Are we distortions, perversions of humankind.
Are we distortions. Are we distortions, twisted somewhere in time.”

VOID VISION

Void Vision is a Philadelphia-based electronic project helmed by Shari Vari. It began around 2009 at a time when a wave of synth-revivalists were materializing, but the quality of the songwriting and intense vocals set the band apart from the pack. In a rare instance, Void Vision has managed to combine vintage dance elements with melodic structures, haunting melancholy, and lyrics that have a palpable soul. The songs themselves are dynamic, referencing a cross-section of the last 30 years of electronic music, while simultaneously retaining a uniqueness all their own.