After having an amazing time at the brand new dance weekender, L.E.D Festival, the hangover had to be put off for another day as we were off to see if the veteran, SW4, could keep up with young blood. Having established itself now, SW4 had attracted the best DJs and dance acts from all over the world. Not only the best but the most seminal and genera defining acts about. The Saturday line featured legends including Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules and the world’s most popular DJ on the planet for the past three years and the king of trance music, Armin van Buuren. Even with all that on the Saturday, I liked the look of Sundays line up more!

First off in the smallest tent, Together Arena hosted by Union, we have Skream & Benga headlining with Jack Beats, Caspa, Ms Dynamite and Andy C. Then over in the Timeout tent the whole day will be hosted by Boys Noize Records. The young DJ and Producer Boys Noize aka Alex Ridha is making some big noise in the music world for such a young artist. Boys Noize was to be headlining the tent with Erol Alkan, Switch and A-Trak also on the bill. Also hosting a tent was rave and techno legend, the one and only, Carl Cox. Now to top that one, the main open air stage they had Grammy Award nominated Armand Van Helden and 80’s pioneering, first all female rap crew Salt-N-Pepa playing there first London show in 15 years! Headline act for the day was something really quite special. The legend that is Fatboy Slim.

The first big difference on entering this festival is the amount of people. The festival area is packed full of tanked up ravers. Already stating to feel the strain of the weekend we decide it would be best to hit the bar first and get back on the level. What we didn’t realize about SW4 is that it shuts down at the anti social hour of 9pm! Before we knew what had hit us, it was time to catch the act we were looking forward most, Boy Noize.

Boys Noize is one of the most exciting thing to happen in the dance world of recent years, and it isn’t just the dance world that’s been loving his work. He’s been picking up praise across the board and from cross genre publications. Everyone wanted a bit of Boys Noize at that moment, including Mewbox. We had arranged to meet with Alex for a chat/brain picking session but unfortunately there was a complications and the SW4 organizers gave us an interview time that was half hour into his set time. So, well done on that front SW4. We tried our best but even shouting at the top of our voices he still couldn’t hear our questions, (it’s not all bad though, we’ll be catching up with Boys Noize soon before his set at the world famous ‘Warehouse Project’ in Manchester in about a months time. The tent was rammed for his set, with people struggling to get in front of the stage. The set was fresh and exciting, mashing together everything he had to deliver gave us a full on, high energy set. The tent was jumping as he delivered his heavy electro beats. The visuals were pretty good as well, in keeping with comic book style designs that you see on his album artwork. The set came to an end the sweaty masses filtered out of the tent. The first shock upon exiting was that daylight still filled the arena, the second shock was realizing that there was only one more act we could catch.

When legend Fatboy Slim took to the stage it felt like there was real lack of build up, mostly due to the fact it came in daylight. But he was there and everyone was loving it. Not only is he one of the most popular DJs and remixers around, he is one of the best songwriters of the modern times. From DJing in front of 250,000 people on Brighton Beach to releasing some of the most popular albums and tracks of the past 2 decades. Dance music has changed a lot since Fatboy Slim first hit the world and it was good to see he had evolved with it. Cramming in as much music as he possibly could with faster cuts and more mash ups. The set featured classics such as Praise You, Rockafella Skank, Fucking In Heaven, Weapon Of Choice and Slash Dot Dash as well as some fantastic remixes. Throwing in songs such as Pone De Floor, Satisfaction, Push It and many more. He also did a tribute to Ou Est Le Swimming Pool singer, Charles Haddon, who committed suicide last week after injuring a fan after stage diving on her. He played the hit Dance The Way I Feel in full with R.I.P on the visuals. As the sun finally set the layers and light show came out. There was some very trippy visuals of Norman Cook in yellow and black face paint singing along to the tune. The set was excellent and there was a great crowd loving every moment of it.

The festival was great, it had some fantastic music and lively crowds but the early cut off time just didn’t seem right to me. Just those two extra hours made a lot of difference at L.E.D Festival. It allowed the headliners to go on in darkness and put on a full light show.

I guess we start thinking about next year then, right?

The festival site was fairly small with only 2 areas open to the public, the open-air main stage and the Planet Turbo Arena tent. There was also a Headkandi stage in the press and VIP area, which provided a lovely array of cushions to chill out on and a very welcome cocktail bar. Although small, the site felt a nice size and there was always something going on, and someone you knew to bump in to. There were the usual festival favorites including decent festival food, stinking portaloos and a selection of fairground rides to make you sick at the end of the evening.

The first act we managed to catch was from Londoners Audio Bullys. The guys played a confident show that really got the crowd into the right mindset for the rest of the festival. Drawing a big crowd for so early on in the festival the guys really geared them up with there hits such as Shoot You Down, We Don’t Care and recent hit Only Man. Front man Simon Franks put on a really good show with lots of attitude, he also seemed very appreciative of the crowd, at one point he got off the stage to MC face to face with the crowd and deliver a few high 5s.

After it was a quick dash over to the Planet Turbo Arena to catch Boy 8 Bit. Playing around with computer games influenced sounds Boy 8 Bit’s set was full of “bleep” electro-styled tracks. Great sounds, not much by way of performance, and the crowd obviously enjoyed the set without being able to really get on it. Back on the main stage, Dutch DJ and producer Afrojack were sending the crowd mental. Already having won a fan in David Guetta after collaborating with him on the track Louder Than Words, he was winning over plenty more today with his set.

A short while later, on the same stage we started to see some more of the commercial acts of the festival. In steps Calvin Harris…for those who were expecting all the hits played live, sung just like they are on the records might have been slightly disappointed to find out it was just a DJ set. But luckily Calvin Harris is a pretty bloody good DJ. It’s what he did in the first place, after all. As the set went on, he dropped a few of his own hits in there including euphoric dance number I’m Not Alone. The set went down well, drawing a big crowd of responsive ravers.

Soulwax gave the festival it’s first big live show from a full band. Walking out on stage looking very sharp in light blue suits, the band drew their instruments and delivered a great show from the start to the end, coming across as masters at manipulating sounds from all waves from the vocals to the drums. As the sun was going down over LED festival it felt like it was really getting going now. Their hit, E Talking, sounded massive with the driving bass getting the whole crowd moving about.

Back at the Planet Turbo Arena thing we really taking off with Tiga’s DJ set, the dancing was properly underway, the meerkats were up, and the sweat was taking on a ghostly life of its own. Great stuff, and the crowd would happily have seen it go on til they came down. But it was time for the main event. The act everyone had come to see. The amazing… Bloody Beetroot Death Crew! Yes, sorry David Guetta fans, I had to take a pass on him to check out this amazing band. The hit machine’s brand of euro pop just isn’t my thing. Instead I took a recommendation from a trusted friend that paid off big time. Bloody Beetroots Death Crew are the closest thing to a live punk band I’ve seen in the electro world. The band played music that was a mix of electro, drum and bass, punk and hardcore. The band were all wearing black Mexican wrestling style masks, i guess that helps them rock out to the sounds they we’re making. On stage there was live guitars, synths, bass and drums making a sound that is completely unique to anything I’ve heard before. It didn’t seem like I was the only one who was loving this band. Bloody Beetroot had stolen a huge amount of people Guetta and they were all as on it as I was.

After the main event, I managed to catch some of David Guetta’s set from afar. He had brought out on stage two huge Transformers fighting a duel to the death either side of his DJ booth. The light show was amazing, fluorescent murdering Danceformers and rockets, what more could anyone ask for? While this carried on, the show carried the tunes and the crowd along with them. Then the light show came to an end and Guetta rolled out some of his more familiar work, and once he dropped his Black Eye Peas massive hit I Gotta Feeling. I realized it was time for me to leave. I wasn’t the only one.

Overall LED was a great day out. This new born dance festival has definitely made a great entrance into the season with great vibes and excellent acts. August Bank Holiday, up against Reading, Leeds, SW4 and Carnival is a tough date, but it held up well. Look forward to it coming back around bigger and better next year!

Yep, that’s right, one of Americana’s most exciting songwriters – has announced details of a seven-date UK tour including a headline show at London’s beautiful Union Chapel on the 7th November.

The full list of dates are as follows – just give me a shout back if you’d like to be popped on the guestlist for any of these:

1st of November – Nottingham, The Maze
2nd of November – Bristol, St. Bonaventures
3rd of November – Brighton, Komedia
7th of November – London, Union Chapel
8th of November – Sheffield, The Polish Club
10th of November – Newcastle, The Cluny
11th of November – Edinburgh, The Pleasance

ustin releases his stunning new album ‘Harlem River Blues’ in the UK on the 20th September through the legendary Bloodshot Records. Physical album stock should be with you now. If you’re still waiting on a promo then let me know and i can send through a physical copy or pop over a digital link.

To mark the launch of the album campaign here in the UK, Justin has made the album’s title-track available to download as a free Mp3. Fans can grab the track from here.

The son of legendary troubadour Steve Earle, Justin was voted the Best New & Emerging Artist at last year’s Americana Music Awards and stands at the forefront of this rich vein of new, young Americana musicians filtering into the UK from the States.

• And so the week begins again. BRINGT IT! #
• Gearing up for a mega week… ending with LED, SW4 with Boys Noize and a filthy Warehouse Party with Claude Von Stroke….. oh yes! #
• When Is The Next Bank Holiday? http://t.co/XAL79Ia #
• @84Whispers Thanks for the #FF love last week. Nice one! in reply to 84Whispers #
• One to see! It's for charity too… RT @JakeMorley tickets now on sale for my special soho chapel concert on the 1st Sept http://2.ly/cp6r. #
• Sun is shining in London Town today. Might have to find a cosy beer garden to work in this afternoon. #
• We are meeting up with Boys Noize and Erol Alkan for a chat on Sunday at @southwest4 Is there anything anyone wants us to ask? #
• @strangersstereo It's tough. You know the score. x in reply to strangersstereo #
• Late nighter sorting out a few bits for the app and planning a weekend of heavy festival action! YAY! #
• Boom Town! Getting excited about bank holiday weekend. Super, mega excited! #
• If you haven't got you ticket to LED Festival… don't worry. There are still a few available. Get involved peeps. See you Friday. #
• Will It Shred: iPad Becomes a Skateboard [VIDEO] http://t.co/jwkSjbh via @mashablevideo @mashable #
• #nowplaying MRK1 – The Music Just Turns Me On #
• Oh my god the new Boys Noize tracks are SICK! #
• LED again – here's the link to get your tickets. Only a few left http://www.ledfestival.net/ticket-info/ say hello… http://fb.me/G8qqS0O9 #
• LED again – here's the link to get your tickets. Only a few left http://www.ledfestival.net/ticket-info/ say hello… http://fb.me/CEfeF1Yr #
• LED Festival this Fri/Sat – here's the link to get your tickets. Only a few left http://www.ledfestival.net/ticket-info/ See you there! #
• The rain is weighing in strong, but that wont dampen our spirits for LED Festival today. Bring on Boy 8-Bit…… http://fb.me/GBMC1e7c #
• #nowplaying 'To Build A Home' by 'Cinematic Orchestra' #
• Skream knows the score. RT @I_Skream Jessica-Jane Clement is abnormally sexy….. #
• #FF frm LED today @cubocomms @will_hines @strangersstereo @All_Teeth @SoundCloud @dixonbros @Rylie83 @RomeVicks @retomeier @boysnoizerec #
• More #FF from LED @IMTECN0 @CultureBully @itsalljustbad @oliverpayne @southwest4 @JakeMorley @84Whispers @majorlazer @I_Skream AldePerez #
• Happy Friday, Happy Bank Holiday, Happy L.E.D, Happy SW4. Happy Warehouse Parties and Skanky Nightclubs. Happy. #

While working on the blog at Mewbox it’s been amazing being able to see so many amazing gigs, but it’s been a long time since I have felt like an excited teenager about going to a gig as when I found out I was covering M.O.P. Even at the shows I was at earlier in the week I was just thinking about and looking forward to M.O.P. The first and main reason being, it’s M.O.P. the legendary 1990’s hip hop crew from Brooklyn, the masters of aggressive shouting rap and writers of the absolutely Moussive tunes Cold As Ice and Anti Up, which is played at every single one of my DJ sets. Secondly, it’s at the Jazz Café in Camden. A great intimate venue with only a capacity of 350! It was gonna be a pretty special gig.

When arriving at the venue it was already rammed, full or a real mixed of crowd of 90s heads, young new fans and the guy from Faithless as he’s most commonly know, aka Sir Maxi Jazz. This is my first gig at the Jazz Café and I knew it was gonna be intimate but seriously! I was standing right at the back of the room when the guy came on to introduce M.O.P and it seemed like he was just sitting the other end of a dinner table. When M.O.P entered the stage the small room took off, and brief bit of chat that they dropped a bomb. “Coollld Asss Iccce”. Now I thought the room took off when they entered the stage but when they started with Cold As Ice, my god the room took off. It was fucking live in there. Rappers Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame were on it as much as the fans, you could tell they were loving the intimacy of the venue and the response they were getting from the crowd. During songs they would spud and high 5 the crowd at the front, for such classic rap act it seemed surreal to see but then again why not? There are too many artists that have barriers between them and there fans and it was great to see the M.O.P. isn’t one of them. While performing each member is swigging from a bottle of spirit. The DJ announces that he’s an alcoholic and that he loves London because everyone here is as well, which receives a big cheers.

M.O.P. played a lot of short burst of tunes from across their whole back catalogue, the group were really tight and stylized in the way they would bring tunes in. One moment they would be chatting and the next you were hit unexpectedly with an almighty beat and rap with everyone on cue. One thing I didn’t know about M.O.P is that they’re such jokers. The gig was so fun and they really made it feel like a party. At one point in the set they did a mix of some of their favorite hip hop tunes including Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G, Eve and other hip hop heavy weights. During this the guys started handing out plastic cups and sharing their booze with the crowd. When Billy Danze tells the crowd that he loves playing small shows and making a party, “and you guys are the guests of honor”, I start to wonder why all artist can’t be like this, no bullshit or pretence just great music and great vibes.

The group roll more tunes including Ground Zero and Foundation, now forgetting the cups and just pouring the Hennessy straight into the crowds mouth. They teased the crowd by asking them if they know the first song they released. They then dropped verses of old material, playing then stopping and joking, “I’m getting old, I don’t think I can remember it” before heading full throttle into How About Some Hardcore. Now as closing songs to a set go this is up there with the best. Then the All Teeth anthem Ante Up dropped the whole room jumping. People were going fucking mental, even the bar staff and security were moving about to it! It was wonderful hearing a packed out room all shouting “Ante Up! Kidnap that fool!” The performance of it was amazing, I finally felt like a gangster again.

The crowd would have stayed and listened to them all night but unfortunately the set came to an end. The crowd left feeling proper satisfied that they had seen a fantastic show. I spent most of my journey home doing Billy Danze impressions shouting, “fire, Fire, FIRE!” I would recommend to everyone to check out this band if they get the chance but I’m not sure when that will next be seeing as they said the last time they played London was 6 years ago. Lets hope it’s not too long.

As a musician, Chilly Gonzales has kept within the Great White North with many of his collaborations. Working with fellow Canadians Peaches, Feist and Mocky musically, he now brings this creative mix to celluloid with “Ivory Tower”, written by Gonzales and directed by Adam Traynor, member of German hip hop outfit Puppetmastaz.

Hershell (Gonzales) returns to his family home in Canada, having been the number one chess player in the country for several years. He returns to find his brother Thadeus (Tiga) has become a competitive monster, taking his number one spot and his former girlfriend Marsha (Peaches), a former performance artist who has chosen a life of relative domesticity with Thadeus. Greater than all this, however, is the philosophy Hershell returns with from his travels- ‘Jazz Chess’. The concept of a game of chess without winners, playing and moving without rules, chaos in game form. The world mocks his new notion, and soon Hershell realises there is only one-way to make people listen- to go back into competition.

Had this been a deep conceptual drama, it would have fallen flat on it’s face, but thanks to Gonzales’ incredibly funny script we have a hilarious, and often touching comedy that is saying more than is immediately apparent. As free moving as the ‘Jazz Chess’ Hershell invents, it’s a sports parody, an examination of our need to compete, and of the influence our family has on us. All of this is wrapped in the filmmakers’ determination to make you laugh on their terms, which is a pretty admirable way of going about their work.

The cast works because they are put in roles that may not seem immediately logical. The most obvious examples is Peaches, playing the love interest to both brothers in the film and the un-promised ‘prize’ for the winner of the climactic tournament. Given the unique array of costumes she has worth for performances and photo shoots, it is a jarring experience to see her in a long white wedding dress for one scene. As Thadeus, Tiga often teeters on the edge of ridiculousness, but his comedy is delivered with a brilliant deadpan that means he provides some of the comedy highlights of the film (Thadeus’ energy drink commercial in particular). As for the central performance, Gonzalez’s character runs through a spectrum of personality changes, evolving from an aggressive competitor to ‘chess pacifist’, who must now embrace what he rejected for the greater good. The line falls flat but his overall energy makes him an engaging protagonist.

Feeling like a YouTube hit crossed with a music video crossed with a (smarter) Will Ferrell comedy, “Ivory Tower” is at once insanely clever and completely silly, but always entertaining. A 75-minute running time keeps the pace swift, and moves the plot along in a way that always keeps you interested. A satisfying and amusing climax caps things off, and by the end you can’t help but be swept along by the Hershell’s determination. Plus, anything that has a Rocky-style training montage with chess pieces is something special.

A big ‘Thank you’ to James Luxford for this wonderful review.

There’s live music and headlining this time out is one of Mewbox’s favorites, Black Daniel. One of the most exciting and entertaining live bands going, Black Daniel have a way of making even making the straightest of characters loses all inhibitions. We recently went and saw their fantastic show at Secret Garden Party and interviewed them at their gig at Notting Hill Arts Club, at which I almost punctured a lung stage diving – the full interview and review is here.

The band makes music that makes you jump around and get involved. Which is usually what happens, with people getting on stage and picking up a bit of percussion or pushing some buttons on a sampler. But Black Daniel aren’t just a raucous electro rock band. No. They’ve got fantastic tunes as well! MASSIVE tunes including Look Away Sancho, I Love You (But Don’t Touch Me Coz Your Sick), Gimme What You Got and former Radio 1 single of the week Say Hello! A must see band!

Check out the video for new single Ivy:

Black Daniel – Ivy
Uploaded by UnderdogsTV. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Also on live there’s brand new band Dingus Khan. The band’s made up of the former members of energetic teen punk band Elfred and the Uber Peas with two extra members adding organ and ukulele to this madman’s orchestra. Judging by the home made video, for ‘How Do You Like Me Know’, it clear they’ve still got a few screws loose, but it will all make for a good live show!

I’m sure as usual the party will carry on long into the night with the free Krunk Juice flowing and DJ Fat Jaz and the Television’s Shit crew keeping you mental with their selection of bangers.

For more info on the event check out All Teeth’s Facebook event.

All Teeth
Saturday 28th August 2010
@ Silver Bullet
5 Station Place
Finsbury Park

8pm – 3am

FREE before 10pm / £3 after
LIVE: Black Daniel | Dingus Khan
DJs: Fat Jaz | Television’s Shit | All Teeth

!!!!! FREE KRUNK JUICE !!!!!!

We’re directly opposite Finsbury Park station:
- Piccadilly / Victoria line
- National Rail
- 24hr bus station (4, 19, 29, 106, 153, 210, 236, 253, 254, 259, W3, W7, N19, N29, N106, N253, N279)

Black Mountain’s new album ‘Wilderness Heart’ is released on September 13th and the band will be undertaking a full European tour around this with their biggest London show to date – (with special guests The Black Angels on the bill) at Shepherds Bush Empire on October 7th.

New Single // The Hair Song – 11th October 2010
New Album // Wilderness Heart – 13th September 2010

Tour dates are:

4th Sept | Oxford | Academy*

5th Sept | Birmingham | Hare & Hounds*

8th Sept | Brighton | Concorde*

10th Sept | Isle of Wight | Bestival

11th Sept | Dorset | End Of The Road Festival

12th Sept | Leeds | TJs Woodhouse Club *

14th Sept | Glasgow | Oran Mor *

15th Sept | Manchester | Academy 3 *

16th Sept | Nottingham | Rescue Rooms *

7th Oct | London | Shepherds Bush Empire+

* w/Wolf People

+ w/ Black Angels

Enjoy!

Clinic – “Bubblegum” medley by DominoRecordCo

The band has announced that they will be promoting the album with a tour in October. The Bubblegum tour kicks off with a performance at this year’s SWN Festival in Cardiff, and seven headline shows across the country follow. Spectrals are supporting at all shows and the London spectacular at Village Underground includes a DJ set by visionary artist Pete Fowler, who directed the video for the band’s current single ‘I’m Aware’– a lost cult film showing the transformative powers of The Starlake Cosmic Sun Owl Commune.

Tour dates as follow:

21st October Cardiff SWN Festival
(www.swnfest.com/tickets)

22nd October Manchester Deaf Institute
(0161 832 1111 / www.gigsandtours.com/?a=clinic&site=clinic)

23rd October Liverpool Static Gallery (08444771000 / http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_northwest&query=detail&event=406083&interface=)

25th October Stockon On Tees The Georgian Theatre
(01642 674115 / www.georgiantheatre.co.uk)

26th October Glasgow Stereo
(0844 847 2487 / pclpresents.com)

27th October Nottingham The Bodega
(0845 413 4444 / www.alt-tickets.co.uk)

28th October London Village Underground
(0207 403 3331 / www.gigsandtours.com/?a=clinic&site=clinic)

29th October Leeds The Cockpit
(0113 2454650 / www.lunatickets.co.uk)

We might catch you at one of them.

A few months ago the lovely peeps over at LED served us up a couple of tickets to let you punters fight over. While fight is possibly not the right word to use we did get an overwhelming response. Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer the question, I’m pleased to say no-one got it wrong but I’m sorry to say there can only be one winner. That winner is Mark Mason from High Wycombe who was ecstatic to have the chance to swing along to London’s freshest dj talent rile up the crowds of Victoria Park.

We’ll also be heading along to bring you a first hand review of the exciting start to something beautiful.

If you weren’t one of the lucky winners, we are sorry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go. There are still a few tickets left for you to catch your DJ/MC hero in the dying London sunlight. It’s bound to be bloody good fun! Visit LED Festivals site for more information.