Pandaworks

Sorry its been so long since I've posted here but I've been consumed with my Production company of late. Please take a look at the site for Pandaworks and let me know what you think. You can also check out the Pandaworks Blog and leave me a comment!

Here's one of our latest vids!

The Western World Music Video

HOT SAUCE > Snoop Dogg - Sexual Eruption (Dirty South Remix)

January was one of the worst months for electronic music  since 91. That being said there have been a couple shining stars. Thank god I can always count on Dirty South for always coming through with something original or fresh. Here he takes on one of the best of last year in the form of Snoop Dogg's "Sexual Eruption".

What is it about this remix? I think it's main strength is the fact that it feels LIVE in a way most electronic music doesn't. It gives you a slow acid-house built until it takes a que from the title of the song and goes into an eruption of it's own. A better musical peak than I've heard in a while.

Seriously. Listen. I am dancing as I type this. Dirty South's Myspace

Snoop Dogg - Sexual Eruption (Dirty South Remix)

PS Dirty South in  Los Angeles March 22nd at Vanguard!

INTERVIEW: KENAN BELL

[photo by Alice Dison]

A friend recently told me about Kenan Bell, a talented young rapper from LA who recently grabbed attention for his witty sampling of Morrissey's "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" on his song "Save Your Life." Being both a Morrissey fan and a lover of hip-hop I curiously checked him out and was pleased to find it both innovative and catchy, and was impressed by his other songs as well. Even better, Kenan was nice enough to answer some questions for us here at Live From Hell's Basement.

AL: How did you first get into hip-hop ? What hip-hop artists did you listen to growing up?

KB: I never really got into hip hop, it’s something that kinda got into me. My pops got me a Kool Moe Dee “Wild Wild West” Vinyl and I remember Moms buying me Bell Biv Devoe and Arrested Development but then she got saved and took all my rap tapes away. I found them though, and my older half-brother also had whatever rap record was out and I’d hear them when he came over for the weekend. Growing up my influences were from KRS-One to Kriss Kross and Ahmad to ABC...from Public Enemy to PM Dawn…N2Deep to NWA. Honestly I heard anything and everything I could and still do.

AL: How did growing up in LA affect your music?

KB: Growing up in LA was imperative. Super crucial! Being surrounded by so many different cultures was awesome. Musically, I’d absorb elements from each and sculpt my sound from those in my head. The gangsta rap culture was thriving along with the G-funk era so I was exposed to all the West Coast rap daily in the streets by cars with aftermarket stereo systems.

AL: You rap about not drinking or doing drugs. In the entertainment business where alcohol and drug use seem to be glamorized by the media, how do you remain sober when you are easily surrounded by it?

KB: Frankly, Shirley Temples are way too tasty and I have control issues. Some say I have too much. I agree sometimes but I don’t like to mess with my body and if it tells me it doesn’t like something I listen. Ralphing isn’t a good thing. I don’t need to be intoxicated to have fun. Mind over matter. I don’t even like to take pain pills when I get a root canal. But for serious, I’m a thinker not a drinker as cliché as it sounds. I enjoy people enjoying themselves. And I let others do my drugs too. Reefer is not a drug.

AL: Sampling Morrissey in hip-hop is definitely a unique and brave move, but you made it work and did it really well. What kind of response have you been getting with that song?

KB: The response has been simply overwhelming. People from all over the world have voiced their opinions via Morrissey-solo.com. The majority has accepted the song as tasteful and innovative while a select few have seen it as a diss to the Moz himself. I did the song out of respect and am proud that it is being well-received.

AL: Ten years ago it wasn’t as easy for independent hip-hop artists to gain widespread exposure. In today’s society, almost any musician can gain fame and business connections with a Myspace profile or a Youtube account. Do you think there are any cons to using this type of technology to promote yourself?

KB: There is the potential for oversaturation. I don’t really need to see Puff or Soulja Boy tell ‘em urinate on my CPU. What happened to the allure and mystique? Artists sometimes like themselves too much and maybe want to share their every moment. Video killed the radio star..Internet killed the video star.
AL: What artists would you like to collaborate with, aside from Morrissey of course?

KB: I would like to collabo with Jimi, Kurt, Bob, Mike Jack, Stevie, Prince, Sting, Sade, 2Pac, Biggie, Dre, Timbo, Pharrell, and Kanye. All the greats. I am a fan of good music in general. I’d like to work with anyone living or deceased who knows how to create masterpieces.

AL: Your EP comes out at the end of the month. Can we expect a full album release in the near future?

KB: Yes actually I am recording my LP at the moment. I’m working daily on new material and plan to be releasing a full length on Lass Recordings later this year.

AL: Any other projects you're working on?

KB: I’m working on a made for TV film loosely based on my life and a motivational book on tape.

Kenan's Good Day EP drops at the end of this month. There are record release parties coming up on February 29 at Feel the Noise in San Diego and on March 1 at The Scene in Glendale. You can enjoy Kenan's music and get more information at his myspace.

Papo Pepo - In Ordem

  

I'm serious I wish I knew more about the band Papo Pepo but it just isn't out there. I know they're from Mexico City. I know they rock. I know they're on the Letouch. 

Papo Pepo - In Ordem

HOTSAUCE > Ra Ra Riots (RAC Remixes)

Over the last year Remix Artist Collective has been putting out some of the most interesting remixes of the year. not always quite for the dance floor, RAC seems to make more artist remixes made for the music lover. To be honest the remix I'm posting of Ra Ra Riot is a few months old, but I'm posting it because there is a new remix of a Ra Ra Riot track on their MYSPACE. Listen to "A Manner to Act (RAC Remix). I'll definitely try to catch Ra Ra Riots the next time they come to LA.

Ra Ra Riot - This Year (RAC Remix)

LIVE IN LA > The Cool Kids, Hollywood Holt, Million $ Mano, more.. at the Echo!

This is a show I'm truly excited about.  The Cool Kids goes without saying but the bonus kickers here are Million Dollar Mano and Hollywood Holt. I get the sense that this will not only be a hip hop show but also a flat out dance party. 

Live MCs, bangin DJs (Frankie Chan of IHEARTCOMIX is no slouch either), and a great venue.

Peep the tracks below and definitely check out the show. Tickets are $15 advanced and can be bought HERE. 

The Cool Kids - Mikey

The Cool Kids - Gold and a Pager

ABX - We are Mikey! We are Rock!

Hollywood Holt Mixtape

Million Dollar Mano - Lady

The Dream - Shawty is a 10 (Mano Remix)

Digitalism - Pogo (Mano Remix)

BIG FLOOR: It's True (Dabruck & Klein Remix)

Could any more producers/Remixers be involved with the following track!? I mean holy shit it took 5 people to make this? 

I think the formula is something like this:

2 Producers x 2 Remixers + One Original Artist. OMG Math.

Liked Axwell and Sebastian's original. This remix just gives it a little dancefloor punch.

It's True - Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Salem Al Fakir (Dabruck & Klein Remix)

High Quality Mp3 available at BEATPORT

Best OF 2007 > Tegan and Sara - Back in your Head remixes

I am a sucker for the indie rock anthem remix. I think producers nailed it when it came to the catchy Tegan and Sara tune "Back in Your Head". Morgan Page goes big floor, Tyler Fedchuks goes disco, and Remix Artist Collective keeps the rock vibe intact while adding some extra energy. Enjoy.

Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (Morgan Page Remix)

Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (Tyler Fedchuks 1/2 Alive Disco Remix)

Tegan and Sara - Back in your Head (RAC Remix)

PS. Please BUY the Morgan Page remix. It is on sale on iTunes here for $.99

WORST OF 2007 > Justice - D.A.N.C.E. Remixes

Seriously. Apologies to Justice but honestly it's not their fault. Loved the song. Love the album. The D.A.N.C.E. remixes on the other hand .... AHHHHHHHHHHHH (That was me screaming in horror). 

These remixes are the reason people end up using the term blog house (btw that is an insult people. The electronic version of calling someone emo and we all know how that's looked at now). There is so much good music out there to remix! Why do you have to do play that song out (Exception being CFCF's remix which is a lot of fun)?

You HAVE to check out my boy at The Lemar Blog's Collection of D.A.N.C.E. remixes. I'm not kidding its a whole load and worth seeing just how many there were this year. Just to prove that I'm a good sport and not all the apples are bad, check out the Neon Coyote Mashup below. 

Cheers and god bless.

Neon Coyote - I Just Wanna D.A.N.C.E. With You

Hot Sauce: T.I.Busta Rhymes - Hurt (Chew Fu Refix)

Because I get down like that. 

Chew Fu is the next on my list of peoples I want to interview for the blog. Hipster Crunk? Whatever it is it's Hot Sauce. Enjoy.

T.I. & Busta Rhymes - Hurt (Chew Fu Refix)

BEST OF 2007 > Dada Life - The Great Fashionista Swindle (Ladiback Luke Remix)

At first I thought no way am I going to do any sort of Best of 2007 list. Then, I got to thinking about the artists out there that rocked it this year but maybe didn't get the credit they deserve. I'd like to not that this is going to be top songs and will cover all genres of music. So here it begins....

First off we have a great track by the group Dada Life. The remix by house producer Laidback Luke has become the centerpiece of recent sets and is just an overall amazing track. I'm a sucker for great song structure and this has got it. It keeps teasing you and then exploding again and again. I'm not a raver by any means but this song is about as close as I get to rave music. It just conjures images of 10,000 native people dancing their asses off.  Enjoy.

Dada Life - The Great Fashionista Swindle (Laidback Luke Remix)

Cool Kids - "Black Mag" Video

I'm seriously starting to think Chicago is the only city in America that is actually putting out good rap tunes. Kanye, Common, Lupe, Kid Sister, and of course the one and only Cool Kids. Thanks to Rob for passing me this video. Must of missed it but I got love for it anyway.

"Britney is a Robot"

It's true. I don't know what it is, but I love this god damn remix. Its part electro, part gay club anthem but it just works people. I guess I've just kind of gotten used to hearing Britney's name and music in LA. It's getting kind of ridiculous. I worked at a production company where the office manager would bump blackout constantly. 50% of my homies here in town worked on a video of hers and well......etc.

Listening to the original "Piece of Me" I thought: God damn this bitch sounds like a robot. It's what I like to call the Rihanna effect. That vocal auto-tuning doesn't always fit the sound of pop songs but it does work great with this beat. The only problem is you have to drop this when everyone is too drunk to notice they're dancing to a Britney Spears track.

Ok, enough gossip. Hear's the track.

Britney Spears - Piece of Me (Bimbo Jones Club Mix)

GIANT MAXIMUS COUPON CODE 0059

Let's be honest. No one is ever prepared for New Years Eve. Bad planning usually leads you leads to bad situations. I end up scratching my chin and wondering if there is a bigger party going on some else in the world. Hell, even in the same city. Last year I ended up at a mansion party in Bentwood full of underage lesbians.... wait that makes it sounds fun. It wasn't. We were the odd men out in rooms full of the under agw gay drug dealing mafia.

NOT THIS YEAR BITCHES!

 

I'm going to be at that "best party on NYE". Giant Maximus it is. The line-up is sick! MSTRKRFT, Z-Trip, Kaskade, and Tiesto.

Go to groovetickets.com and enter the code 0059 to get 5$ off admission. The least I can do for all the fan off our site out there. Enjoy!!

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INTERVIEW : The CFCF Effect

CFCF

Recently had  a chance to chat with producer/remix artist CFCF and ask him some questions that are on the public's mind. If you haven't heard any of his tracks then let me catch you up. CFCF is a young dude from Canada who has more fun with his tracks and remixes than most. From pop hits, to guilty pleasure, to his own melodic originals, he always seems to take his songs in a direction that is original and often times unexplored by other musicians. Lately he has remixed the likes of Justice, Crystal Castles, Heath, Spank Rock, and many more. The kids blowing up! Interview below....

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BF: When I listen to your tracks I definitely get the sense that they are 80's/ late 70's influenced, though in a completely different way than most. I couldn't put my finger on it, but when I was listing to your track "The Explorers" I realized that the title implied what I actually liked so much about your tracks. The feeling of exploration, adventure, and discovery people were creating when synthesizers were just coming around. Do you feel you approach song writing from that same perspective?

CFCF: Yeah, I've always liked that sound of early synthesizer melodies, very simple and optimistic. The Hannah Barbara logo, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I was watching David Cronenberg's Shivers a while back and there was a little synth melody, some incidental music on a radio that made me giddy. And growing up in Canada we got all those National Film Board documentaries with early electronic music soundtracks... That Boards of Canada sound, very warm and friendly but something's still off.

BF: There seems to be a lot of interesting electronic music coming out of Canada lately. MSTRKRFT, Felix Cartel, Chromeo etc. Is there a noticeable electronic music scene in Montreal or other places in Canada? How has it changed?

CFCF: I don't know... I'm not part of a scene, myself, at least I don't think I am. I'm very detached from other musicians. I don't talk to bands, and I don't play live. As far as I can tell, electronic music is doing as well here as anywhere else! But I'm not always aware of it.

BF:Have your tastes at all been influenced by the new surge of music available on the net?

CFCF: Well yeah, I think that's the same for everyone... Lots of obscure stuff I wouldn't be able to find in picked over record stores around here. The resurgence of the italo disco, that is 100% thanks to the internet because most of those records are so hard to find. And you know, I use it to seek out other artists from way back that I wouldn't know about without having that sort of convenient click and play sort of thing available. Old synthpunk bands like the Units, or early electronic music like Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. who are really amazing.

BF: I absolutely love your Spankrock remix. Do you find your self listening to a lot of hip hop/bmore/club music or is it rare that you find music in those genres that you like? . 

CFCF: Hip hop, definitely. Club, sometimes. Bmore, not at all. I can't listen to most bmore, and I don't play it when I dj. Lots of people dig it, that's fine. But yeah, definitely rap music, although I'm usually out of the loop with new rap music. In high school I would watch rap videos at my parents' house for hours on end, but now I don't have cable. 

BF: When I saw you had a remix of The Jets "Crush on You" I had a good laugh. The song has always been sort of a in-joke/guilty pleasure between my friends and I. What's your history with the track and what inspired you to do it? 

CFCF: That song is great! The Jets are so good. I don't know, I was listening to a remix of Midnight Star's "Midas Touch" that Boards of Canada had done as Hell Interface, one of my favorite tracks, and it inspired me to do that remix. You can hear it, I'm ripping off their remix full-on. And that Alan Braxe & Fred Falke tune "Intro" samples some vocals from it. And I thought it'd be fun to put that cheery, corny, Aaron Carter song in a different context. 

BF: What's next on the agenda for CFCF? More remixes? Singles? An album maybe? 

CFCF: Just doing what I can. I've been a student for a while, we'll see where that goes. Just making tracks whenever I can, remixes when I get the opportunity. You know, Big whup.

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Thanks again to CFCF for getting back to me. Checks out the tracks below and keep an eye on him on his myspace.

CFCF - The Explorers

Love it

Justice D.A.N.C.E. (CFCF Remix)

Even though the original is played out you got to love the lounge feel.

The Jets - Crush on you (CFCF Remix)

Marie this is for you.

Spank Rock - Put That Pu$$y on me (CFCF Remix)

A CFCF Track that is WAY clubworthy

HOTSAUCE > Lowclub - Hot to Death

Hot crap. French bastards strike again. Check out LOWCLUB's myspace for a free 33 minute mixtape and definitely peep the track below. It's hot sauce.

LOWCLUB - Hot to Death

This track makes me want to do the Roger Rabbit......

Splittr - All Alone (Shadowdancer Remix)

Don't you love when you turn on the radio and actually like the music you here? I'm not talking about radio rap either (even though I know every lyric and am obsessed with it). Sometimes I actually THANK GOD I have a station like KCRW. Props to Metropolis DJ Jason Bently for playing this one the other night. Loved it. 

Splittr - All Alone (Shadowdancer Vocal Mix)

Available for purchase at BEATPORT

Kid Sister - Pro Nails Video

For the last year or so there has been loads of hype surrounding Chicago artist Kid Sister. It's hard not to get lots of attention when you've got friends and family like Josh from Flosstradamus (her brother), A-Trak (Her Boyfriend), and Kanye West (her biggest fan?).

I admit I was skeptical at first but this song and video have convinced me. How could I not love it? Its got Kanye on it, has stellar production by A-trak, and has dancing fingger pupper break dancers. Enjoy.

Kid Sister ft. Kanye West - Pro Nails 

BONUS

Kanyeless Version

Santa Bras is Coming to Town!

As we all know, Christmas is the time of giving, appreciation, and…BREASTS.

Our dear friend Lenora Claire, who curated the successful and controversial Golden Gals Gone Wild show this past summer, will proudly debut her next show, Merry Titmas this weekend. What could be better than the pretty pairing of art and boobs you ask? A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. So if you find yourself in Hollywood this Saturday, December 8th, make sure to stop by the World of Wonder gallery at 6650 Hollywood Blvd from 8pm to midnight for a titillating experience. We will definitely be in the middle of that three-ring circus to lend our, ahem, ample support.

And now, a tune to get us in the bountiful holiday spirit..

Simian Mobile Disco - Tits and Acid

Remember when Hip-Hop was good?

I do. Watching the latest Snoop video made me real sentimental and shit. Too made the majority of his music music sucks these days. There have been a couple bright spots here and there though. This great track from The Blue Carpet Treatment is definitely one of them. 

Snoop Dogg ft. Dr. Dre and D'Angelo - Imagine 

BONUS laidback track. An oldy but maybe a version you haven't heard. 

Jay-Z - Allure (Paul Nice Remix)