Images by Erik Kabik/Retna and Life After Dusk

The Crystal Method’s Scott Kirkland (pictured right) has issued a statement revealing that he has undergone brain surgery, resulting in the delay or cancellation of the band’s fifth album and tour dates. No tumor was found but doctors did find a benign posterior fossa arachnoid cyst. News of Kirkland’s health scare comes after New York DJ/producer Peter Rauhofer succumbed to a brain tumor.

“Many months ago I started experiencing short, but painful headaches. Thinking they were related to too many flights (or one too many flights of tequila), I didn’t think too much about it, but during my annual checkup I mentioned the headaches to my doctor. She recommended a brain MRI. Scary, but No big deal, right???

Well, thankfully no tumors, but the MRI did find something called a ‘benign posterior fossa arachnoid cyst,’ which normally would be left alone and monitored with future MRIs. That diagnosis worked for me because Ken and I were busy putting the finishing touches on our self-titled studio album that would be followed up by a big summer tour.

I was referred to the very talented University of Southern California brain surgeon Dr. Chen, who evaluated the diagnosis and explained that complications with my cyst could arise due to my tendency to get a little excited on stage. He recommended surgery.

A date was set for extraction of said cyst and on April 11, 2013, I was given a dose of the ‘good stuff.’ A few hours later I came to with a well-sutured hole four-and-a-half inches long in the back of my head and a pain that was only appeased by a round of pharmies. After a few days in the hospital, I got to go home and a week later I felt good enough to join Ken in the studio for a couple of hours on two consecutive days. Some of you might have seen the picture on our Facebook page.

Just when I thought I was on the mend, I contracted an infection and, due to complications, I ended up back in the hospital where I spent most of my next 10 days in ICU dealing with a painful lumbar spinal drain, aka a ‘Spinal Tap.’

Pain that seemed to be set on 11 held me hostage for the first 24 hours. The line from the movie Spinal Tap—”Given the history of Spinal Tap drummers, uh, in the past, do you have any fears, uh, for your life?”—made me laugh a few times, but all in all it was not fun.

Finally, this past week I got home to my wonderful family and a healthy supply of antibiotics that automatically dose me every four hours intravenously, and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.

I’m itching to get back in the studio and finish mixing the last two tracks for what is an amazing record with Ken, but I recognize my need to rest until I get the thumbs up for a return to work from Dr. Chen.

I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for me that my health has made us postpone the release of the new record and cancel a summer full of amazing shows. But I am fully intending to be back in the studio in a couple of weeks with Ken, and our agents are starting to work on putting together new shows for the fall.

Love you all and Keep Hope Alive,
Scott”

★★★★☆

Derrick Boyd starts with some real rock ‘n’ roll with not-gone-to-bed-yet swagger. Doing the twangy dance/punk-funk/DIY disco thing that sticks up the dance floor, yet unafraid to grab a keyboard and ensure all eyes are on him as a synth evangelist, the transition from blasé, on-the-road icon to retuning the glam and chasing stardom/stars means timing really is everything.

To make you buy into Boyd and Zoe Presnick’s vision, they impersonate a Parliament-style unit with less pizzazz (though the title track gets close) and more streetwise attitude posting freedom of spirit in its own rough-and-ready way. “Chalk Hill” has got some serious boogie to it, flumed in cigarette smoke and the psychedelic collision “Lost in the Machine” is part freestyled jam, part culmination of everything crashing down around them. The languid performance means seduction is an obvious knock-on, a picture of greasy cool, faded cologne and fumbling groupies where “Where You Belong” murmurs the groggiest of come-ons.

Eighties electro-popper “Goodbye Horses” is a complete wardrobe change that hangs around in cold light, and highlights the restless (or relentless) mood of Boyd always wanting to be into something. Improbably perhaps, it provides substance to when the hazed and bedraggled vocals need back-up. Track by track the vibe looks to settle down, the gruff funk simmered down into a gleam until it becomes born again, notwithstanding the “Hardly Standing” explosion from a shoegaze torpor. An album to get tongues wagging.

File under: Dead Seal, Tussle, Matthew Dear

It’s not even Memorial Day, but the team behind Ultra Music Festival are hard at work, announcing this morning that Ultra Music Festival 2014 will take place March 28-30, 2014 in Miami. Following its successful 15-year celebration in 2013 that was spread out into two separate three-day celebrations that drew over 300,000 dance music fans to Bayfront Park, dates for the additional weekend are pending the approval of the City of Miami Commission and will be released if they become available. It’s too soon for any announcements regarding UMF 16′s lineup, but given UMF’s track record it’ll no doubt feature an array of world-class DJ and electronic music talent.

General admission and VIP tickets for UMF 2014 starting at $149.95 will go on sale on Tuesday, May 21st 2013 at 1pm EST. Tickets can be purchased exclusively at UMF’s website for what is expected to be a very limited time only.

★★★☆☆

The Black Dog mark their territory with an hour long warding off of intruders. For bark and bite, the veteran unit’s ambient techno, IDM and interstellar ordinance still doesn’t have to come at you in a blaze of teeth and slobber. The collection of astro bric-a-brac, as if to verify their whereabouts (and title), is intentionally charged with jolting the LP’s flow, but the unannounced changeability of sound does as good a job by itself anyway.

“Atavistic Resurgence” grunts through electro with confrontation on its mind, representative of the sparse shunting together of technology where hard head rests on slender skeleton. Carried on by the blurting “Pray Crash I,” the album is full of heavy loads made nimbler than the naked ear predicts, and primed to dominate venues from only a handful of nuts and bolts, where The Dog’s prestige commands attention even from a position of sat back and scheming. “Internal Collapse” draws you into a game of nerves before the tension tolls, and “Death Bingo” is a duel to see if gravity can be defied.

Any sterility you may experience is just life adrift in the cosmos. Besides, “Cult Mentality” simply strolls as classic deep techno, a loop lieutenant all about business and again, composure with the hint of a scowl. “Hymn for SoYo” is not as smooth, but holds the same ideals, and “First Cut” harks back to bleep-era Sheffield and rolling four-track thunder.

File under: Future Sound of London, Plaid, Dadavistic Orchestra

1. Pfirter – “Ahora” (MindTrip)
2. Chris Finke – “Don’t Try This At Home (Black Asteroid Remix)” (Hidden)
3. CWS – “Somewhere Else (Makaton’s The Reckoning Mix)” (Singularity)
4. Mike Dehnert – “Drehimpuls Live Act Cut In Paris” (Fachwerk)
5. Flug – “K1 (Truncate Remix)” (Sleaze)
6. Shifted – “Unveiled” (Our Circula Sound)
7. Sleeparchive – “A Man Dies In The Street #3″ (Tresor)
8. _Unsubscribe_ feat. BearWho? – “Spek Hondje” (Houndstooth)
9. Mr. Jones – “Apogeum (Audio Injection Remix)” (The Public Stand)
10. Mr. Jones – “Apogeum (Tim Wolff Remix)” (The Public Stand)

★★★★☆

The photogenic sound of synth-surf LA brought to you by Michael David and Tyler Blake reaches a convergence point of ’80s saturation — from under a rather prosaic moniker — and something you should live your life and be free by. Where “I’ll Get You” doesn’t make good on its cheery promise of ‘do you like bass?’, and “Long Lost” is either gorgeously dreamy or sickly sweet, the rushes of sunshine and neon in many ways fit the stereotype of bashing hexagon-shaped drum machines and keyboards manned by hair gel models.

Far from bringing these elements out of retirement, Classixx have always kept the keyboard dream alive, but a subtle Fleetwood Mac recognition on the title track as means of introducing themselves is the right mix of kitsch and originality. “Holding On” is a certified day-brightener with essential Gallic components to make it a summertime smash, conversely showing worst kept secrets working in a big way; while the sparse bassline that rubs its funk through “Rhythm Santa Clara,” in place of the phat slap bass found elsewhere, is a fine example of going synthing without having to flower and “blossom” all the time.

Throughout the crystal peaked backdrop, softer shades shadow ubiquitous buoyancy. Old dogs aren’t taught new tricks, but whether wide-eyed and bouncily doing pure pop or timed to a hammock sway (the affectionate thoughts found on “A Fax from The Beach”), Classixx reveal an Eden for when the groove needs to go outside.

File under: Letherette, Miguel Campbell, Justice

What do you do after you’ve attained most of your career goals before you’re 40? If you’re Danish DJ/producer Anders Trentemøller, you dream up new ones for yourself.

From the mid ’90s through the mid ’00s, Trentemøller dominated global dance floors with his sound comprised of shards of minimal and tech-house, forging sinewy club tracks for labels such as Audiomatique, Tic Tac Toe and Poker Flat and presenting a cavalcade of superb remixes (the Knife, Röyksopp, Moby). He played all the right clubs and high-profile festivals and was enjoying a successful career that many mixers would envy. However, instead of leveraging more opportunities for greater success behind the decks, Trentemøller’s vantage point near the top rung of the global DJ ladder allowed him to envision a new creative scenario for himself where he could expand his horizons and explore his other sonic passions which were rooted in rock music. His somber, utterly compelling self-produced 2006 album Into the Great Wide Yonder was a bold step in his evolution, with songs like “Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go!!!” demonstrating that he could write distinctive, gorgeously textural tunes and produce a lavish live show that rocked. (Watch our 2010 interview with Trentemøller here.)

Trentemøller has been working hard to keep the momentum going, and he will present his as-yet untitled third album in September on his In My Room label. Talking from Copenhagen while taking a break from a mastering session for the new album, Trentemøller is trying to find the words to describe his latest work. He’s been toiling away in the studio on it for a year, so it’s understandable that summarizing the focus of your life’s work in a few sentences can be a bit tricky.

“It’s always hard for me to describe my own sound,” Trentemøller says. “There’s still some electronic elements but there are a lot of indie rock elements as well. There are live guitars, bass and drums on it, and I’ve worked together with some vocalists singing on the album. Some of the songs are with vocals and the others are instrumental and have more of a cinematic feel to it… [The music] is all done by me, and I played some instruments.”

At the end of May Trentemøller will release the album’s first single, “Never Stop Running” featuring Jonny Pierce from UK indie band The Drums. “We did a nice track together,” he offers. “I’m really looking forward to see how the single goes. It’s a really nice kind of a pop song [laughs].”

Interestingly, Trentemøller says he won’t be remixing the new single — at least not now. “I don’t think so. I’ve been thinking a lot about remixes, and I am tired that songs always need to be remixed. A single now can have five or seven remixes these days. I feel this song is so strong that it can stand alone. Maybe later in the process, two or three months, there could be a remix but I actually decided this time not to do remixes and keeping the focus on the song.”

While his band has performed at Glastonbury, Coachella and Roskilde, Trentemøller — the band — will be introduced to a wider audience beginning this month when they open for Depeche Mode on six of the legendary band’s “Delta Machine” shows in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

“The DJ thing gave me time to not play and focus on the band and make new music…. It’s fun to DJ but heart lies in playing live with the band because the feedback is much more direct in a way.”

Trentemøller says that when he received news of the support slot he was pleased, but admits he was a little distracted at the time because he was in the studio multitasking on production, album artwork and planning his band’s upcoming European festival tour and live show. (His range of responsibilities go hand-in-hand with his DIY work ethic: “I have 100% freedom to do what I like… I like to be in control of my own music and how it sounds and is played.”)

When Trentemøller got home from the studio later that night, the news finally hit him and he was able to properly enjoy the big news.

“I was jumping around when the news sunk in,” he gushes. “When I was a teenager I listened to their music. I was very honored when I was asked to do support for them. It’s going to be fun to go out and play those big stadiums. We’re going to play for a lot of people. It’s going to be a little nerve-wracking because while we’ve played festivals for 50 or 60,000 people, but this is for one of my favorite bands and that means a lot to me.”

After “15 years of struggling, gigs and hours in the studio,” Trentemøller’s talent and confidence have given him a second act that aren’t usually afforded to DJs. As the cultural pendulum shifts and the world gravitates to DJ culture like moths to a flame once again, Trentemøller sees the irony in switching gears but says he has no regrets.

“Finally things are happening, people are going to our shows and buying our music. It’s really, really nice. I’m very grateful,” he says.

“For me my focus is definitely playing with a band. The DJ thing gave me time to not play and focus on the band and make new music,” he explains, noting that he hasn’t quit spinning altogether. “Last year I did music for a movie…. It’s fun to DJ but heart lies in playing live with the band because the feedback is much more direct in a way. When people go to a concert people are there for the music. Sometimes at a club it’s more about the party — that’s fun too but I prefer playing live.”

Opening for Depeche mode and touring his new album will present Anders Trentemøller with a lifetime’s worth of experiences. It will be interesting to see what he dreams up next.

Trentemøller will support Depeche Mode on their “Delta Machine” stadium tour in the UK, Germany and Switzerland beginning on May 13. His band’s European tour begins at Heaven in London on May 30. His third album will be released in September on In My Room.

New York City-based Austrian DJ/producer Peter Rauhofer died on Tuesday, only a few weeks after he was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a brain tumor. The news was announced by Rauhofer’s manager, Angelo Russo, via the artist’s Facebook page. His passing at only 48 is tragic.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Rauhofer early on in his career, just as Club 69′s “Let Me Be Your Underwear” was morphing from underground European sensation into international club hit. Rauhofer was still living in Vienna, and I remember during our phone conversation him enthusiastically laying out his plans to take his music global by moving to New York.

Later on when I was editing Mixmag USA (later Mixer), Rauhofer would occasionally stop by the DMC office on Broadway to pick up DMC remixes before their release. Usually in the midst of various remix projects, he always took a few moments to partake in industry gossip — who is playing this record, who is putting out that record, what’s the record that goes….. His appetite for music seemed insatiable.

When I interviewed Rauhofer after he won his Grammy in 2000 for remixing Cher’s “Believe,” he seemed much like the same guy I had talked to over almost a decade earlier. This time he had even bigger dreams tied into events he was producing. He counterbalanced his good fortune with a glint of self-deprecating humor, a very American thing to do.

During his 48 years Peter Rauhofer created a musical legacy and lived the American Dream. He moved across the Atlantic in search of a better life, worked hard and attained everything he dreamed about when he was a young man living in Vienna.

Peter Rauhofer’s personal story is as inspiring as his many musical accomplishments.

★★★★☆

The ten-year anniversary of the Pukka Up imprint acts for the acceptable side of mainstream clubbing. Forget a backhanded compliment; it’s a gratifying boost to court tracks that have held their own to a widespread audience after working their way up from the underground or clubbing outskirts in a pleasingly natural advance. After ruling Ibiza waves and lighting up London — leading to a ten-party/country birthday jump-off — PU’s 24-track document will set barbeques a-sizzle, pouring plenty of recognizable arm-raisers into a funky sing-it-back punchbowl, served by a crew of get down-guarantors.

Boarding the Boat disc, Fish Go Deep’s “The Cure & the Cause” continues to dart with the suppleness of a veteran Yoga instructor, telling Harry Romero’s Chicago throwback “I Go Back” to breathe more easily. Vocal staples from Joey Negro, ATFC, Soul Central, Bob Sinclar and Blaze are tunes most can greet with a weekend-has-landed grin, modern greats that once docked will have you whistling them on your way to work.

With Swedish House Mafia and Axwell about to start their bids for world domination (or before the piano riffs became too much), the big room Club disc takes up the baton for wanting to wear the next clubber’s sweat, Avicii and The Freaks involved in showing how well your deodorant’s performing. With EDM a transparent presence without it being nauseating, Pukka Up blow a kiss at rivals getting both the compilation and the classics market wrong. X marks the spot.

File under: Junior Jack, Sam Obernik, D Ramirez