SOVIETPANDA

JUNE CHART

2009-06-25T13:46:00.005-05:00

1. Tiga - Overtime - PIAS
2. Sidney Samson - Riverside (Afrojack Remix) - Sneakerz Muzik
3. Crazy P - Stop Space Return (Unabombers Vox Mix) - 20:20 Vision
4. Metronomy - Radio Ladio (Radioclit Swedish Remix) - Because Music
5. Telonius - Like What (Glimmers Remix) - Gomma Dance Tracks
6. Ulysses - Latin Combo - Wurst
7. Kolombo - Sniff - Turbo
8. Walter Jones - Living Without Your Love - DFA
9. The Faint - Mirror Error (Das Glow Remix) - Boysnoize
10. Phoenix - Lisztomania (Holy Ghost! Love Paris Remix) - Kitsuné

This is very late, oops.

I WILL COME BACK

2009-06-23T03:38:00.003-05:00

Free download coming this week. stay tuned. video and free vinyl to follow. word...

The second Holy Ghost! single emerges, via the board.

Update: check it out here. It's free. It's great.

2009-06-09T02:15:00.004-05:00

I have been busy. Like legitimately fucking busy. And that's why I'm not updating the blog very often right now.

I was in Chicago last week. I got to play some house music with some other really good DJs and it was fun.

This week I'm in New York. I'm DJing this cosmically aligned gig involving about 100 different people I know, and you should come if you can. Okay let's see - there's Solid Gold, Minneapolis natives who I am currently working on a remix for. There's Free Energy, who are ex-Minneapolitans, current DFA-ers, and real fucking sublime. Listen to them, listen to their song "Dream City," it'll make you feel real good, real effing good. Then there's my friend Jen from Modular playing, with whom I share like 100 mutual friends, and the guys from Sup Magazine, including my friend Cameron who likes the Smiths, and the potentially awesome new band Tanlines, and DFA's Justin Miller, one of my current favorite DJs. And me. Come to this fucking show!

I'm also playing at Ruff Club on Friday, at the Annex, I think. And that will be some mind-blowing electro/tech-house shit. So come to that too. Get at me.

SRPINGTIME SHOWS

2009-06-02T16:33:00.007-05:00

Spring always sees an influx of touring acts in Minneapolis. Most (smart) bands stay out during the winter, and summer means big festivals, so spring is rife with good shows to see. First Ave has been snatching them up like crazy. Here's a recap of what I saw last week.

Amanda Blank - Thursday May 28 @ First Avenue

After a number of appearances with the Spank Rock crew, and a few singles and cameos here and there (plus a rap on a Britney remix?), Amanda Blank is finally stepping out on her own. Her forthcoming album (on Downtown) is produced by XXXchange with help from Switch, and it sounded like it's going to be pretty damn good.

Her set opening for Santigold was extremely short; I think Blank was only on stage for about twenty minutes. Her tour DJs, Devlin & Darko (Spank Rock) brought her out, and she opened with a real bassline-heavy disco burner - I hear XXXchange in that one, and it sounded good. She has a really loose, positive, partying energy on stage, shimmying back and forth in short shorts, and she looked great doing it. Other moments during the show included a short snippet of some Junior Boys arpeggiation, and Amanda filling in for Naheem on a Spank Rock verse. I think the only reasons both Devlin and Darko were both with her was so they could all drive and party together, and possibly play after-parties on tour, since there wasn't much DJ action on stage - some scratched samples and sound effects, a little bit of hypeman from Darko, and not a ton else. Overall a good intro to Amanda Blank, short and sweet.

Somehow I got convinced to stay around for part of Santigold, who I don't listen to, and boy did I regret it. She opened with a snippet of her admittedly shit-hot collaboration with Major Lazer, "Hold the Line," but it was immediately apparent she wasn't actually singing much. Her back-up singers oozed a real holier-than-thou vibe behind their sunglasses, which would've been bad ass if their microphones had been turned on. There weren't even kitschy props like at recent shows from Katy Perry and Lily Allen - a giant cat head goes a long way. How people can justify paying to see something like that, and have fun doing it, I will never know.

Fischerspooner - Friday May 29 @ First Avenue

I wish I had gotten to see Fischerspooner on an earlier tour. The tour for #1 was a small legend in electronic music for its over-the-top showmanship and willingness to fuck with the audience. The tour for Odyssey featured a live band for a decent record that I really wanted to see. And even recently, Fischerspooner had been doing DJ dates with the fantastic Lauren Flax.

This tour, for the recently released (and pretty dull) album Entertainment, featured nothing besides Casey Spooner begging people to buy tickets on Twitter. There were two guys on the side of the stage, DJing or manipulating something unseen.. The rest of the show was a pretty low-budget, kabuki-influenced production. It was innovative for their limited resources, the lip-sycning was to be expected, and the choreography was great, but it never went past entertaining (ha) and into enthralling. It was a nice surprise when "Danse En France" segued into the D.I.M. remix for a minute. Overall, for what it was, the ticket price seemed exorbitant.

I unfortunately missed sleaze-disco-rockers SSION except for one song, and their show looked and sounded like it could be very exciting. The after-party, where Warren and Casey DJed, was a blast, I have to add.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Saturday May 30 @ First Avenue

I didn't actually go to this show. It was all ages and absolutely packed full. I might have considered bearing the crowd if YYYs hadn't broken my heart several times over by now. They even have a keyboard player for this album, and Nick Zinner's guitar does not need a keyboard supporting it. My guess is that when it was conceived, the band was never supposed to last this long, and along the way they've lost touch with what I thought made them great. I don't blame them for wanting to retain their currently huge audience, but I still miss what could've been. I will save my essay for another time.

Holy Fuck - Sunday, May 31 @ 7th St. Entry

I don't have much to say about Holy Fuck live. They are fantastic and I would recommend seeing them to anyone. I don't listen to them much on record, but I imagine they played a lot of new tracks, and they sounded great. The songs are simple enough and feature improvisation to the point where they might be considered a jam band if it weren't for the extremely detailed electronic elements of the group. Vocals, keyboards, circuit-bent electronics, and rows of pedals are all manipulated completely live, without help from samplers, sequencers or computers. Coupled with their powerful, talented rhythm section, the grooves and textures are fantastic. And it's obvious the band has been playing together for a very long time, all over the world, and in front of audiences big and small. They have a tightness that simply amazes. See them if you can.

I also got to see Third Eye Blind next door in the mainroom. They played "Motorcycle Drive By" and every single person sang along and I will admit I got goosebumps. I also caught set closer "Semi-Charmed Life" (yes, that song) but it fell pretty flat. Stephen Jenkins at various points was wearing a top hat, a cane, a tunic-skirt-thing, and a t-shirt that looked like it said Older Than Jesus. Yep.

CIAO! MEANS FOREVER

2009-05-25T12:57:00.001-05:00

I am obsessed with Tiga's album. More later.

DENIAL MIX

2009-05-15T15:56:00.002-05:00

Denial
by Sovietpanda

Download: [MP3]
Podcast: [RSS] [iTunes]

Talking Heads - Burning Down the House (Razormaid Mix)
Cage & Aviary - Television Train
Discotheque - Disco Special
Prins Thomas - Is It Big Enough ?
Maps - To The Sky (The Loving Hand Remix)
The Revenge - Night Flight
Chaz Jankel - You're My Occupation
In Flagranti - In The Silver White Box
Ilija Rudman - Dance Disorder (Faze Action Remix)
Mark E & Dragon - Good Times (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)

Denial is a monthly Sunday night party at the Kitty Cat Klub, in Dinkytown, Minneapolis, hosted by Sovietpanda and featuring special guests. This mix was recorded live at Denial in April 2009.

DOWNTIME

2009-05-15T15:28:00.003-05:00

My webhosting went down recently, which partly explains my abscense here. I'm incredbly frustrated but will rethink things soon, and return shortly.

In the meantime, I've been focusing my blogging energy on the new Too Much Love blog. Check it out for interviews with DJs, TML press and photos, charts, podcast, and other goodies.

MAY CHART

2009-05-14T00:22:00.002-05:00

Too Much Love May Chart
By Sovietpanda

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Erol Alkan Rework) - Interscope
2. Tiga - What You Need - PIAS
3. Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson - Invaders - Klang Elektronik
4. Zoo Brazil & Adam Sky - Circle Jerk (Milano 309 Mix) - Turbo
5. Moon Unit - Connections (Ewan Pearson's Slo NRG Mix) - Supersoul
6. Capracara - King of the Witches (Rub-N-Tug Remix) - DFA
7. WhoMadeWho - The Plot (Muzzle Flash Remix) - Gomma
8.Woolfy vs. Projections - Neeve (Permanent Vacation Tropical Heat Mix) - Permanent Vacation - [stream]
9. Alexander Robotnick - Obsession (Andy Blake's Analogue Obsession) - Dissident
10. Faze Action - Good Lovin' (Special Disco Mix) - Faze Action

[RA]

I'M A CLICHE

2009-04-30T02:23:00.000-05:00

HAUNTED

2009-04-16T14:49:00.003-05:00

I keep forgetting to post about shows I've seen. A couple weeks ago I went and saw Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at the Triple Rock. The band almost didn't make it in from Omaha, which was not surprising if you are at all familiar with Ariel Pink.

I ended up being glad they made it though. They were better than the last time I saw them, and Ariel Pink was slightly less of an ass on stage. (Come on guy, if the sound isn't right halfway through the show, it's not going to get better. Just play the show; don't tell us to go see you in a "real city.") Other than that I don't know what to say. It was fun.

Also, a highlight was meeting Tim Koh, who is playing bass in the band, and seems like a really talented and nice guy.

LIZZING

2009-04-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

TIGA'D

2009-04-12T16:40:00.001-05:00

PODCAST: TML 04-04

2009-04-06T18:41:00.004-05:00

Sovietpanda Live @ Too Much Love
Saturday, April 4, 2009

The mix includes a number of tracks from this month's chart, with work from Holy Ghost!, Rub N Tug, Beyonce, Jesse Rose, The Presets, Gino Soccio, Serge Santiago, Depeche Mode, Heartbreak, Hot Chip and more.

Download: [MP3]

Podcast: [RSS] [iTunes]

APRIL CHART

2009-04-06T10:52:00.005-05:00

Too Much Love April Chart
By Sovietpanda

1. The Juan Maclean - One Day - DFA
2. Sebastien Tellier - Kilometer (Aeroplane "Italo 84" Remix) - Record Makers
3. Simian Mobile Disco - Synthesise (No Voodoo Version) - Wichita
4. Jackpot - Ragazza - Permanent Vacation
5. Den Haan - Release The Beast - Optimo Music
6. Morten Sorenson - Start Something - Tirk
7. Beyonce - Diva (WhateverWhatever Remix) - MP3
8. Depeche Mode - Wrong (D.I.M. vs. Boys Noize Remix) - Mute
9. Tiga - Shoes (Djedjotronic Remix) - PIAS
10. Junior Boys - Hazel (Ewan Pearson's House Mix) - Domino

OBSESSION

2009-03-30T16:02:00.001-05:00

C

2009-03-26T14:55:00.002-05:00

The Horrors must have had a meeting and decided to become really, really good.

REALIZE

2009-03-26T02:22:00.001-05:00

The Juan Maclean - "One Day" from Patrick Longstreth on Vimeo.

Juan is doing it right. I imagine quite a lot of people are going, "Why didn't I think of that?" right now.

MOBILE DISCO

2009-03-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

MIND DIMENSION 1000

2009-03-12T22:32:00.002-05:00

This is my 1000th blog post. May you all find the Mind Dimension in your lives.

TOO MUCH LOVE (WARM-UP)

2009-03-09T17:45:00.003-05:00

The podcast is back and being updated. Here is the first hour of my set from this past Saturday. Be sure to subscribe for more!

Sovietpanda Live @ Too Much Love (Warm-Up)
Saturday, March 7, 2009

1. Cage & Aviary - Television Train
2. Prins Thomas - Is It Big Enough?
3. Ilija Rudman - Dance Disorder (Faze Action Remix)
4. Donald Byrd - Love Has Come Around (Discolexic Edit)
5. Babytalk - Chance
6. Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses (Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Remix)
7. Dølle Jølle - Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje's Extra Døll Mix)
8. Only Fools And Horses - Spectacle Wins (Holy Ghost! Remix)
9. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (Paul Epworth Version)
10. Faze Action - Hypnotic (Disco Mix) Faze Action
11. Brooklyn Express - Change Position (88) (Sovietpanda DJ Edit)
12. Runaway - Just Got Paid
13. Woolfy - Oh Missy (WhateverWhatever Remix)
14. Crazy P - Love on the Line (PH Edit)

Download: [Direct]
Podcast: [Subscribe][iTunes]

MARCH CHART

2009-03-03T04:40:00.002-06:00

Too Much Love March Chart
By Sovietpanda

1. Curses! - The Deep End (feat. Nancy Wang & Juan Maclean) (Holy Ghost! Day School Dub) - Institubes
2. Bottin - No Static - Italians Do It Better
3. Zombi - Sapphire (Escort Remix) - Throne of Blood
4. WhoMadeWho - The Plot (Discodeine Remix) - Gomma - (MP3)
5. Hot Chip - Hold On (D.I.M. Refix) - MP3
6. The Presets - If I Know You (Heartbreak Remix) - Modular
7. Modeselektor - Suckerpin (Feadz Remix) - Bpitch Control
8. Cage & Aviary - Television Train - Death From Abroad/Dissident
9. Simian Mobile Disco - 10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong - Wichita
10. Lifelike - Sequencer - Vulture Music

[RA Link]

BABYTALK

2009-02-26T11:29:00.000-06:00

FADER TV: Studio Time With Eric Broucek
by thefader

Link

IF I KNOW YOU

2009-02-16T10:22:00.000-06:00

Heartbreak remix to come... hopefully soon!?

YOU ARE FREAKING OUT, MAN

2009-02-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

NO STATIC

2009-02-10T07:33:00.001-06:00