Labor day for many signifies the end of Summer, so we suggest treating this three-day weekend as your last hurrah before the scarfs come out of the closet.  This means wearing as little as possible, getting plenty of pool-side sun, consuming many cold beverages, and of course dancing your ass off.

If you are in the DC/Baltimore area, a few of our friends are ready to help you check that last one off your list!

Friday 09/03/10

1. Throttle in 3D: Our man Joe Nice makes an appearance in DC tonight for a party that seems to be focused on some BIG sounds.  If you are looking for some bass (and 3d graphics) in your face than this is definitely the place to be.

2. Fort Knox 5 vs. Thunderball:  On a completely different vibe, check out Eighteenth Street Lounge for a night of funk, dub, bhangra, and a general plethora of amazing music with the boys from FK5 and Thunderball.

3. ForQuarters at Mosaic: In Baltimore?  Come check the ForQuarters boys out on the patio at Mosaic.  You know how they do.  House of the finest calibre.

Saturday 09/04/10

4. Neil Kurland at 1722: Want to see what the real party people are doing?  Come to club 1722 in Baltimore between 2 and 7AM.  Yes that’s right.  When most people are going to sleep, Neil Kurland and Shawn Q will just be warming up.   I guess this is technically a Sunday morning party…

Sunday 09/05/10

5. ForQuarters at Little Havana: Come have brunch in Baltimore on the water at Little Havana, and then enjoy the sounds of ForQuarters as they celebrate the end to a season of great sounds at the last of their SOLSESSIONS parties.

We got two heavy-hitting events going on in the Baltimore/DC area tonight.  For those up in B-More, don’t miss the man Neil Kurland of Soul Mob Productions performing a marathon 5 hour set at Red Maple in Mt. Vernon from 9PM to 2AM.  It’s part of BIMAfest which is going on at the same time, and badge holders will receive FREE admission.  Also, don’t miss the BIMAfest after party at Paradox.  Good times in the city that reads.

For those of us in DC, our good friends Jason Joseph and J Mack of For Quarters are back at the legendary Eighteenth Street Lounge for another night of gorgeous women and sexy house music.  These guys never let down a crowd, and it’s sure to be a fun night, not to mention the venue is one of the coolest around.  Definitely not to be missed!

Joe discusses the state of dubstep, playing without shoes, and making people eat ramen noodles in his latest interview for the April issue of BigUp Magazine.

The 2010 Winter Music Conference has come and gone, and in its wake stand the newest winners of the International Dance Music Awards. The awards are given in 57 categories and include votes from dance music enthusiasts the world over.

This years winners include names we’ve seen many times before, as well as some notable new faces to the scene. Best Underground Dance Track went to the well deserving Dennis Ferrer for his outstanding song “Hey Hey”, (check out the first track of Tyler’s December Mix to hear the song) and we were glad to see Skream take the win for best Dubstep/DnB/Jungle track with his stellar remix of La Roux’s “In For the Kill”.

Check out the full list of winners HERE.

As you can see, we’ve updated the page with a fresh design and the ability to be updated much more quickly and easily. Twitter feeds from Joe and Tyler have been added on the right, and we also added mobile support that is really cool – check out gourmetbeats.com from your smart phone.

Joe Nice drops more dubplates on the radio show tomorrow night from London at the usual time: 7PM EST! Should be a big show, so don’t miss it.

If you haven’t already heard about it, or even if you have, this is a new video from NAMM showing the Serato Bridge software in use. The Bridge gives DJ’s the ability to link Ableton Live with Serato.  The possibilities are truly endless with this.

Giving Thanks – A Return To Baltimore by Tyler Schmith on Mixcloud

Download (Right-Click)

Music in Baltimore is full of life. From the booty shaking Club parties, to the hands-in-the-air Soulful House scene, it’s a place where people lay it all out on the table. I recently moved back to the Mid-Atlantic region, and Baltimore was the first place I visited. I was invited out to play on Thanksgiving by the guys over at Moog and although I had been away for over three years, immersed in other places and other sounds, that Baltimore life came flooding back. I set out to make a simple deep house set, and ended up with something full of soul. Perhaps it was memories of long nights dancing to Ultra Nate at Sugar, or DJ Spen at Paradox, but that Baltimore feeling crept over me and this was the result. Enjoy!

-Tyler

In Baltimore for the holiday?  Come dance off those calories with a special turkey day offering of great music from Lovegrove, Tai, Patrick Turner, and Kerem Ulken.  Details HERE.

4/5

Turntablist virtuoso Kid Koala has put out a new album with production wiz Dynomite D, bringing a much needed injection of fresh sounds to the genre. The album was originally set to be the soundtrack to a documentary feature film about the band of the same name, but production on the film was derailed. Luckily for us, the music lives on.

The album is a mix of Koala’s usual turntablist mastery combined with psych rock guitars and vocals somewhat reminiscent of Hendrix – the type of sound that hits you in the gut, and makes your blood pump faster. It conjures images of driving fast with the windows down. It breathes with dirty rumbles and the controlled chaos of a concise production. In this digital age, it reminds us of the rawness of the analog sound, and Kid Koala’s ability to use the turntable as a true instrument brings it all together to exciting effect.

The Album was originally released for free on Kid Koala’s web page for a limited time, in combination with a national tour that included 6 turntables and the former rhythm section of Wolfmother. The tour was such a success that the venerable label Ninja Tune has now decided to distribute the album worldwide.

Definitely recommended!