We arrived on the fairgrounds in time to catch Rye Rye‘s hyper-energetic set, which included an appearance by Ninjasonik and a hysterical cover of Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. Rye Rye’s stage projections are always a surefire precursor to a night of fun!

Next up on the bill was Sleigh Bells, who have gotten better and better with each set! It was the biggest stage I’ve seen Sleigh Bells on and they seemed just as comfortable as if playing a DIY space in Brooklyn.

South African import Die Antwoord (translation: The Answer) upped the ante to max when they hit the stage after 10PM with their totally bizarre stage show. I saw a brief portion of their set at Creators Project last month but I got the full on experience this time around, complete with a hilariously raunchy chant about your mother during Fish Paste.

M.I.A. took the stage at nearly midnight, opening her set with Steppin’ Up and an burka-clad army equipped with neon power drills. I will stop here to address the obvious concerns. Yes there were sound issues during her set but the show was not as terrible as everyone has made it out to be. Her show to me is about the visuals, the energy, the chaos and the pure adrenaline rush she can trigger. The sound issues were obviously unforeseen but the show was in no way dull or boring and /\/\/\Y/\ as she told Complex Magazine is about “making it so uncomfortably weird and wrong that people begin to exercise their critical-thinking muscles.” In that sense the album has a been successful.

Personal highlights from her set included: chanting along to Teqkilla with the people around me (and catching the bottle she tossed into the crowd!), losing my breath during Bamboo Banga and the rain-soaked acapella finale of Born Free in which she was literally being pulled offstage. Her set ended in chaos, a lightning and rain storm that almost seemed planned. That to me was the makings of a successful show and if she stays true to her promise I will definitely be there as well!

mp3: M.I.A. – Believer

mp3: Rye Rye – Wassup Wassup

mp3: Die Antwoord – Enter the Ninja

mp3: Sleigh Bells – Run the Heart (Bassnectar Remix)

Click on the images below for each gallery::

HARD NYC: RYE RYE

HARD NYC: SLEIGH BELLS

HARD NYC: DIE ANTWOORD

HARD NYC: M.I.A.

Nicki does it again, this time with M.I.A. Check out her verse on this awesome, noisy and mind boggling track. Download the track HERE. /\/\/\Y/\ in stores on July 13th! YES!

The crowd raging for M.I.A.

If you missed the party last Saturday, I’ve compiled a few videos I found online below. WISH I had video of Sleigh Bells performing Kids, in which Alexis spotted me in the crowd and gave me the most awesome shout out! Please let me know if video of this exists!

Check out Tastes Like Caramel’s full coverage of the event HERE.

Interpol – Lights

M.I.A. – Meds and Feds (Featuring Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells) [via]
Die Antwoord – Enter the Ninja [via]

M.I.A. – Born Free [via]

Sleigh Bells “A/B Machines” LIVE [via]

Mark Ronson DJ Set [via]

In a press release, The Creators Project was described as “a new initiative by VICE and Intel to identify leading artists across the world who are pushing creative boundaries through technology. The project establishes new platforms for these artists to showcase their work and to engage a young audience of millions.”

The event stretched across a total of 5 floors and pleasantly devoured 12 hours of my weekend. Photography has been broken up into two galleries: one for the exhibitions and one for the performances along with a write-up describing each.

The Creators Project goes International on July 17th in London before making stops at Brazil on August 14th, South Korea on August 28th and China on September 17th. For more info visit The Creators Project and follow @CreatorsProject on Twitter.

The Exhbitions: full gallery

The Digital Flesh installation by Radical Friend exhibit was my favorite installation, an otherworldly experience that captures the digital imprint of the participant and incorporates it as part of the piece. Triptych and Hereafter by the United Visual Artists along with the Cube by Multi Randolph also invited viewers to become part of the art, combining lights and sound beautifully along with space,  perception and the manipulation of it.

We’ve all seen Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ guitarist Nick Zinner snap photos of the crowd onstage, so it was of no surprise to see his audio/visual photography wing A.D.A.B.A. What did surprise me was how modest about discussing his talent. Other exhibitions of note were xx: A Sculpture of the Album and of course the Spike Jonze short I’m Here.

The Performances: full gallery

The first performance of the night proceeded Spike Jonze‘s film when the screen lifted to reveal Aska Matsumiya (the featured band in the short.) At 6PM The Rapture played the loading dock of Milk Studios and although it was packed people didn’t dance they just stood around like this [arms crossed.] The new line-up sounded great, especially when covering tracks from their dancey, cowbell-heavy record Pieces of The People We Love.

At about 5 hours into The Creators Project I skipped out on Gang Gang Dance for some rooftop relaxation before heading down to the 2nd Floor Gallery for Sleigh Bells. I chose a spot in the crowd rather than the photo pit in favor of dancing and thrashing out and in doing so I wore myself out, causing  me to only see tail-end performances by Interpol and Die Antwoord. I redeemed myself when getting a prime spot for M.I.A. though!

M.I.A. took the stage at around midnight and played nearly an hour-long set of new and old songs. As always it was an intense madhouse for her set, when she gets onstage it’s a total adrenaline rush. The new material sounded fantastic live, especially the Derek Miller (Sleigh Bells) collaboration Meds and Feds and Teqkilla (in which a bottle was passed around.) Guests Rye Rye and Ninjasonik also helped step up the performance another notch, which was the perfect cap on the event for me. Bruised, battered and pumped I wandered into the 1st Floor Gallery for Mark Ronson‘s performance while none other than MNDR wrapped her surprise appearance with Fade to Black.

The Creators Project was almost too good to be true, bringing together people of all shapes, sizes and color for the love of art. After a 12-hour day at The Milk Studios, I was in recuperation mode but the memories and smile on my face still subside two days later. I wonder if I can get vacation time to follow this traveling circus around the world..?

mp3: M.I.A. – Bamboo Banga

mp3: Interpol – Rest My Chemistry

mp3: The Rapture – House of Jealous Lovers

mp3: Aska Matsumiya – There Are Many of Us

Check out just a few pictures I snapped from the thick of the mosh pits, but for a full gallery and review come back very soon! Big thank yous to Vice and Intel for making last night happen, it will take a lot to top that! Happy Sunday and happy PRIDE day for those in New York celebrating.
[Read the full article]

Yup, that would be M.I.A. (you already knew, right?) Cue me sweating, shouting back lyrics, losing my mind! I hope you’re not missing THE EVENT of the SUMMER!

However this morning was the moment of truth for me as a fan, getting the first listen of /\/\/\Y/\, the third full-length release (sans bonus tracks) by Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam aka M.I.A. Check out my thoughts on the album following the track-by-track review below…

Post: After a few listens this album has shaped up to be one of my favorites of 2010. Definitely pushed the envelope even for as a fan but I stand behind this first impression review.

/\/\/\Y/\ out July 13th:

• The Message: Album intro samples Grandmaster Flash’s The Message & states M.I.A.’s theory that the Government controls technology & internet
• Steppin Up: M.I.A. told NYLON that the drill sounds were added to the track as a joke but were kept in. Interesting hard-electro sound
• XXXO: Smooth R&B-pop sound. Definitely one of the most approachable tracks on the album.
• Teqkilla: Lots of interesting percussion, alarm sounds & blips. Cool but not “doing it” for me. Will be released as a single on June 29th :(
• Lovalot: What may seem like a subdued love song actually narrates the story of a 17-year-old “black widow” suicide bomber. Album standout
• Story Told: Great Rusko-production, which unfortunately is all this song has to offer.
• It Takes a Muscle: I dig this track, very light and luau-friendly. [Tracks were recorded and mixed in Hawaii.]
• It Iz What it Iz: I wish she wouldn’t let her voice take the backseat on this album, most notably here. Is that baby Ikhyd I hear at the end?
• Born Free: We’ve all heard the song and seen the video already. As it stands this is my favorite track from the album, so empowering & raw.
• Meds and Feds: Whoa a Sleigh Bells sample?? “We growing up in the middle of the digital ruckus.” Finally steps it up musically & lyrically
• Tell Me Why: M.I.A. finally singing a catchy hook over a cool drum beat in this Diplo production. Can’t wait to play this one out of a proper speaker system.
• Space: A glossier version of that version M.I.A. released earlier this year in protest to The New York Times.

Verdict: B-

I REALLY REALLY wanted to/expected to love this album. With the frustrations of the world, “information politics” and the current state of music, I understand the self-destructive attitude that M.I.A.  approached this record with. It’s as if she rebelled against herself by not giving the general public what they wanted and expected. But nonetheless the music has to speak for itself and unfortunately in this case there are only a few moments on /\/\/\Y/\ that truly excited me. Tracks like Lovalot, It Takes a Muscle, Born Free, Meds and Feds and Tell Me Why were on point, but the most frustrating moments for me were Teqkilla and It Iz What It Iz.

Maya beat the sophomore slump by releasing the amazing album Kala, but this time around she took one too many missteps. Some soul searching and time in the clubs would do her good for the next record. Unfortunately /\/\/\Y/\ Iz What it Iz: not M.I.A.’s finest work.

Unfortunately it seems that we’ll have to wait until July for the album’s release according to Rap-Up, but great things come to those who wait! Also, in case you missed it M.I.A. performed with Sleigh Bells last Friday night at Coco 66! Give XXXO a listen below (updated with HQ Version + album title):

Stream: M.I.A. – XXXO

Alexis and Derek emerged onstage in the dark to a spoken introductory track before smashing through a live version of their latest single Tell ‘Em. Along with a few new songs, the set list consisted of fan favorites: A/B Machines, Holly, Kids (aka Beach Girls which Alexis dedicated to yours truly), Crown on the Ground and the encore duet of Ring Ring with none other than M.I.A.! I kept my ground against the stage and had to push people off of me throughout the set, which made it nearly impossible to get any decent pictures -FYI.

After having toured the world, last night felt like a homecoming for Sleigh Bells who call Brooklyn home. I cannot wait to get my hands on the full-length upon it’s release this Tuesday, followed by their gig in Ridgewood to celebrate.

mp3: Sleigh Bells – HELLWU [alt]

mp3: Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring [alt]

mp3: Mr. Dream – Knick Knack [alt]

The new track is honestly not what I expected at all, it sounds like a high school ska-garage band rebelling against the system. Absolutely brilliant! Have a listen for yourself. JUNE 29th mark your calendars, can’t wait for my girl to drop another masterpiece in our ears.

Stream: M.I.A. – Born Free (via  NEET Recordings)