Kung-Fu Music

[GeneChing]

This one is slightly OT, but it's got light sabers...

[GeneChing]

I luv Alborosie. I've seen him perform many times. Now I luv him even more.

[GeneChing]

Here's more on Laidback Luke here, here, here, and here

[GeneChing]

Funny - I just finished an article on Dim Mak.

Steve Aoki Celebrates 20 Years of Dim Mak Records
The electronic music hero picks his favorite releases from the influential label he founded.


Steve Aoki © Erik Voake

By Kat Bein on 30 August 2016
Can you believe Dim Mak is 20 years old? Label founder Steve Aoki hardly can.
"It's such a long journey, it feels like a lot of different journeys," he says. "It doesn't feel linear either. It feels almost like a metamorphosis."
Aoki celebrates two decades of mind-blowing resilience with a specially curated Dim Mak stage at Electric Zoo in New York City, Saturday, Sept. 3. It's a city that's been so important for him, the label and the whole music world. And he couldn't be happier to share this moment of pride and reflection with fans.
He's populating the Riverside Stage takeover with all of Dim Mak's biggest and brightest in fresh blood. It's a diverse lineup Aoki says "represents the future of Dim Mak," but one can't look toward the future at a moment like this without getting a bit misty-eyed for the past.


Steve Aoki © Catie Laffoon/Red Bull

Dim Mak was founded when Aoki was just 19. He was throwing 20 shows a month in his living room, which he calls "The Pickle Patch." He witnessed so much amazing talent and he wanted to give these unsigned bands a voice. At the time, he existed in the sphere of hardcore, punk, emo and straight edge. He couldn't have known in 1996 that Dim Mak was the start of an incredible journey that would take him to the sonic corners of post-punk, hip-hop and, of course, hard electro beats.
"At different stages, we cocooned ourselves to turn into a completely different species," Aoki says. “As a business, that level of reset, destruction, change and evolution was really important as a whole to survival.”
Whatever the sound, whoever the artists, whenever the release occurred, the one thing that's stayed throughout Dim Mak's history has been the love of the music. "If you really genuinely put that first, your business will shine," Aoki says.
Choosing your favorite records from each year is akin to saying which kid you love best, but Aoki did the best he could to sum up the life and legacy of Dim Mak here. It's an oral history, if you will, of what it takes to bring outsider music to the masses. Here's to 20 more years.

I just heard about this show below. I may have to go and check it out.

STEVE AOKI
DVBBS
T-Mass :: GITCHII
plus secret guests!

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
Friday, November 18, 2016
Show: 8:00pm
ON SALE 10/14steveaoki_1024
This event is 18 and over

$34.50 – General Admission
$39.50 – General Admission**
$44.50 – General Admission**

*plus applicable service fees
**available when lower price level sells out

The general on sale begins Friday, October 14th at 10am!

Tickets are also available service charge free at The Fox Theater’s Box Office (located on the 19th street side of the theater) on show dates and on Fridays from noon – 7:00pm.


Steve Aoki

While Mulholland Drive high up in the Hollywood Hills may have the views and legacy, it’s Wonderland Avenue that has the street cred and infamy (ex-porn star John Holmes was involved in a 1981 quadruple homicide at an apartment on the narrow road). Now, Wonderland Avenue may soon gain notoriety for something new: the world’s most unlikely road where some of America’s most beloved recent electronic music has been made thanks to Steve Aoki who named his debut for New York-based Ultra Music and his own label Dim Mak Records, Wonderland.

Arguably no producer has done more to raise the international profile of Los Angeles in underground electronic music circles than Steve Aoki. He broke bands such as Bloc Party, The Bloody Beetroots, Klaxons and The Gossip though deftly marketed single and full-length releases on his Dim Mak label, which he began in 1996 and now has over 250 releases. Those releases often dovetailed into performances at his weekly Dim Mak nights including Dim Mak studios (still going strong every Tuesday night in the heart of Hollywood). As a label owner and shrewd curator of talent from around the world, those club nights have hosted the debut US performances of hundreds of acts over the last decade from Lady Gaga to Ed banger Records & Justice, Ke$ha, Skrillex, Kid Cudi, Kaiser Chiefs, No Age to Boys Noize. Aoki’s become a force of nature who has helped turn underground house, electro and harder-edged EDM with rap and rock leanings into the phenomena it is today: regularly pulling in 150,000 + fans at events such as Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival and the debut of the IDentity national electronic touring festival.

America, suddenly insatiable when it comes to dance music in all its splendor and variety, is now ready to take a proverbial drive down a street the DJ and producer knows well.

www.dimmak.com

[GeneChing]

Caught this on a retro video show. Can't resist adding it here.

[GeneChing]

This reminds me of Sense8.

'Van Damme' wins SABC's 'Song of the Year'
MUSIC NEWS / 4 January 2017, 6:13pm
ANA Reporter


MROZA FAKUDE

Johannesburg – KwaZulu-Natal Maskandi artist, Mroza Fakude, on Wednesday walked away with a R150 000 cash prize and a brand new Kia Picanto after his hit song "Van Damme" was voted as SABC's Song of the year for 2016.

In the figures of "SABC Summer Song of the Year 2016" released by the SABC and which were audited by the firm Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo, the breakdown of votes for artists nominated for the campaign showed that Mroza won a tight race against his rivals by a mere five percent. Fakude's hit song "Sobulala uVan Damme", literally meaning "We are going to kill Van Damme", but figuratively meaning one can overcome any obstacles with determination, garnered 176 452 votes or 20 percent of the total eligible votes cast across a total of eight SABC radio stations.



This was while his nearest rival, King Monada's "Ska Bhora Moreki" received 132,616 votes or 15 percent, and the favourite Babes Wodumo's "Wololo" could only garner 125 863 votes, or 14.3 percent, both featuring across 15 radio stations.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the public broadcaster was very pleased with how the competition, now in its second year, rolled out.

"We want to encourage the public to vote for their favourite song or musician when the competition returns toward the end of this year, as it is only through their votes that an artist wins," Kganyago said.

"As a public service broadcaster we look forward to the competition growing in leaps and bounds in the years to come."

There would be an official handover of the prize money and car to Mroza on January 26 at Emperors Palace.

Other artists whose song also featured in the top 10 of the competition would also be awarded a monetary prize of R30 000.

Two lucky listeners also won a car each for voting for their favourite song of the year and for producing their paid up TV Licence number when voting for the SABC Summer Song of the Year 2016.

Van Damme is popular in SA again

09 January 2017, 11:33
Jean-Claude Van Damme is a name compared to the likes of Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jet Li. Different people prefer different superheroes. It is however more believable when superheroes are portrayed in a more realistic manner. This time Jean-Claude Van Damme has been popular in song rather than film!
It is no secret that Chuck Norris has been portrayed as invincible. This is made even more evident by the millions of Check Norris jokes, my favorite being: “When Chuck Norris was born he drove his mom home from the hospital”. Jet Li’s impossible jumps and slow motion ducks and dives also potrays him as untouchable at times. Steven Seagal’s effortless defense and offense made people sick. The fact that he never got beat made things even worse for his character. The funniest and more realistic characters were Jean Claude Van Damme and Jackie Chan. It comes as no surprise that the most popular song in South Africa for 2016 on Ukhozi FM was Mroza’s ‘Sobulal uVan Damme’ (We are going to kill Van Damme). Many listeners translated the song as meaning they would consume alcohol and not get drunk.
I (as most) was particularly confused about this song at first, but it grew on me as it did on the rest of the nation. It is an easy to sing along Maskandi track and came at the right time to showcase rural talent. There have been many interesting memes about the song on Social Media. I am sure that Jean-Claude Van Damme would be proud if he saw many of these. I wonder if he knows just how popular he has been over the course of South Africa’s festive season?
The song not only brought people from different walks of life together, but it also proved that rural music (so to state) is still well loved and appreciated. It gave hope to others that may have a different idea as to what music in our time should sound. The fact that it was the biggest on the Ukhozi FM charts shocked most as this spot has always to an upbeat Kwaito/House song. The same people with shock all agree that it is an awesome sing along and one to go into the history books.
Van Damme live on in South Africa!
Michael Mondli Hlophe
Michaelhlope75@gmail.com

BTW, I split Laidback Luke into this own indie thread off the Kung-Fu Music thread - see Laidback Luke - Kung Fu EDM DJ.

[GeneChing]

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[GeneChing]

The closest this comes to me is Fresno. I enjoy dubstep but that's too far for me for this.

Upcoming | Local Dates
Date Venue Location Tickets
Feb 24 Ninja Nation Tour @ The Complex Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 25 Ninja Nation Tour @ Cargo Reno, NV
Feb 26 Ninja Nation Tour @ McDonald Theatre Eugene, OR
Mar 01 Ninja Nation Tour @ The Graduate San Luis Obispo, CA
Mar 02 Ninja Nation Tour @ Rainbow Ballroom Fresno, CA
Mar 03 Ninja Nation Tour @ House of Blues San Diego, CA
Mar 04 Ninja Nation Tour @ Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA
Mar 08 Ninja Nation Tour @ Knitting Factory Boise, ID
Mar 09 Ninja Nation Tour @ Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR
Mar 10 Ninja Nation Tour @ Knitting Factory Spokane, WA
Mar 11 LUCKY Seattle, WA
Mar 14 Ninja Nation Tour @ The Pub Station Billings, MT
Mar 16 Ninja Nation Tour @ Union Hall Edmonton, Canada
Mar 17 Ninja Nation Tour @ The Palace Theatre Calgary, Canada
Mar 18 Ninja Nation Tour @ Vogue Theatre Vancouver, Canada
Mar 24 Ultra Music Festival Miami, FL
May 05 Middlelands Todd Mission, TX
May 06 Middlelands Todd Mission, TX
May 07 Middlelands Todd Mission, TX
Jun 09 Spring Awakening Chicago, IL
Jun 10 Spring Awakening Chicago, IL
Jun 11 Spring Awakening Chicago, IL

[GeneChing]

Wu Orleans. For Mardi Gras. FTW!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

[GeneChing]

Chief Keef - Jet Li (ft. Gucci Mane)

[GeneChing]

I guess Kendrick didn't get enough Bad Blood.

Kendrick Lamar Wraps Coachella on '****.' High Note As Alter Ego Kung Fu Kenny In Short Film
4/17/2017 by Adelle Platon


Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
Kendrick Lamar performs on the Coachella Stage during day 3 of the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2017 in Indio, Calif.

Three days following the release of his latest studio album ****., headliner Kendrick Lamar returned to Twitter's trending topics list after his gripping set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday (April 16). Perhaps it was no coincidence that the rapper's performance fell on Easter Sunday as the gig felt like the grand return of Lamar himself.

Lamar's label Top Dawg Entertainment opened the set with a special presentation of The **** Legend of Kung Fu Kenny, a three-part short film designed like an old-school kung fu flick (complete with subtitles) that featured the rapper as his alter-ego, Kung Fu Kenny a.k.a. Black Turtle, on a mission to "find The Glow." He takes on Snake, a cobra who morphs into a female martial artist, Mortal Kombat style. As she lay helpless on the ground following their battle, she tells Lamar, "You thought you could save the world. The Glow will shine bright in the dark."

There was no blocking Lamar's light during his set in the desert. The MC's stage transformed into several stunning displays, shifting from a fiery refuge for the live rendition of "ELEMENT." to a wavy paradise for "GOD." He mixed ****. entries like the opener "BLOOD.," "DNA." and the U2-less "XXX." with catalog staples from previous albums like To Pimp a Butterfly's "King Kunta" and "Alright" as well as Good Kid, m.A.A.d City's "Money Trees," "Backseat Freestyle," "***** Don't Kill My Vibe" and "Swimming Pools (Drank)." For "LUST.," Kendrick Lamar rapped from the inside of an illuminated cage in the middle of the crowd, even checking in on the crowd by eerily asking, "Is anybody out there?" For "PRIDE.," Lamar was suspended in the air in a trippy, martial arts-esque stance involving another dance.

Beyond defying gravity, the rap god also handed over the stage to special guests like his TDE cohort ScHoolboy Q, who performed "tHat Part" (he had hosted his own set on Night 2) and fellow Coachella performer Future, whose flute-heavy banger "Mask Off" made Lamar's lineup. Travis Scott, who also performed at the festival the night prior, re-emerged for a complete performance of the Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight standout "Goosebumps."

After the final vignette of his kung fu movie where the rapper "found the motha****in' glow," King Kendrick launched into the aggressive crowd-pleaser "HUMBLE." where the call-outs "Sit down. Be humble." flashed across the screen in both English and Chinese characters. Lamar seemed to end the set on a somewhat confusing note, telling Coachella-goers "We will be back" and prompting many to make a bee line for the parking lot before the mad rush home. However, the man of the night put on one last show with the melodic number "LOVE." off ****. "Thank y'all for comin' out tonight, I really appreciate, y'all," Lamar told the crowd before his final bow. "I had a good motherf--king time with y'all."

{split this off into its own indie thread on 4/20}

[GeneChing]

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[GeneChing]

Shaolin Jazz Cat Cab
Angel Rosas, Staff Writer
May 12, 2017

What do old kung-fu movies and classic hip-hop have in common? If you ask the people at Shaolin Jazz, everything.
Black Student Union invited the experimental music group Shaolin Jazz to screen the classic kung-fu movie Master of the Flying Guillotine on May 8.
The film wasn’t the only thing on display that night. Shaolin Jazz’s Dj 2-Tone Jones accompanied the movie by playing a mixture of hip-hop, soul, funk, and jazz.
The use of classic tracks with the intense and over-the-top kung-fu fit so well together that it is a wonder why the two hadn’t been combined earlier.
“I thought it was really cool on how he could just anticipate what music would fit best with the mood of the scene that was playing,” said sop****re Kendra Ulrich.
During the showing every piece of dialogue is transformed into lyrics, exposition becomes rap, and every fight scene becomes an epic music video.
To know where the music is coming from makes it feel more like a performance and keeps the audience captivated.
“At first I was really confused because I had no clue what to expect. After he explained it, it was really cool. I love how he took his passion for music and a childhood memory to create something very unique,” said sop****re Kaley Dahl
On its own the movie would probably have been a hard watch but the Hip-hop and soul adds a self-aware tone to make it a fun, entertaining, and completely different from anything I had ever seen.
The event was part of the groups project called “Can I Kick It?” where the main goal, said Dj 2-Tone Jones, is to bring old kung-fu movies and classic hip-hop to the younger generation in a novel way.
“It was interesting hearing how their passion for old school hip hop and Kung fu gave them the idea to come up with Shaolin Jazz: Can I kick it,” said sop****re Esther Parker.

This sounds exceptional.