Monday, April 30

KONONO NO. 1 @ Bowery Ballroom – 5/5/07


In the spirit of opening our readers up to new types of music, this week NYC will be hosting one of the stranger stories in popular music, that of Konono No. 1. Part electronic music, part afro-beat Konono No. 1 is a group of Congolese musicians who literally built their soundsystem themselves out of spare parts, trash, and other paraphernalia. As it wasn’t a perfect science, the experiment resulted in the system emitting a huge and intense reverberation throughout their sets. Instead of scrapping the system, they decided to build their sound around it, making it their signature style. The final product is music that somehow toes the line between traditional and cutting edge. Now you will have a chance to get lost in the intensity of the sound Konono No. 1 puts together.

RIYL: Lightning Bolt, Sun Ra, Fela Kuti, Black Dice


Monday, April 23

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. 4/26 & 4/27

Japanese experimental-psychedelic-unearthly-surf-rock occultists Acid Mothers Temple (in their "Melting Paraiso Underground Freak Out" incarnation) launched their North American "Crystal Rainbow Pyramid Tour" last week, and are hitting NYC this Thursday (@ Knitting Factory) and Friday (@ Southpaw). They're like the aural equivalent of the "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

RIYL: Boredoms, Melt Banana, Amon Duul, John Zorn, Guitar Wolf

Friday, April 20

Soft Circle @ Monkey Town 4/21


Accomplished visual artist Hisham Bharoocha, from 1998 to 2003, was the driving force (drummer) behind NYC noise/electro weirdos Black Dice. Prior to that, he was involved with this little RISD band known as Lightning Bolt. But when his former BD bandmates went off to pursue more electronic efforts as recent DFA signees, Bharoocha took his creative energies to a different (more psychedelic) place. In 2007, he released the album Full Bloom, the first of his solo performing moniker, Soft Circle.

He's playing at Monkey Town (58 N 3rd St, Brooklyn) on Saturday with fellow experimentors of sound David Daniell, Lichens, and Corridors. 9pm, $10.

Here he is playing percussion for a Doug Aitken piece at MoMA:

Tuesday, April 17

PINK NASTY @ Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn – 4/18/07


Pink Nasty is the female constituent of the Die Nasty federation including Black Nasty and the Kevins from Wichita by way of Austin. Unlike her brother/counterpart Black Nasty, Pink has got some real talent for the singer/songwriter genre and has been backed by the likes of Will Oldham and Britt Daniel. While she has written songs with BN and has sung backup on some of his songs, her solo career is really starting to take off. When Black raps, he focuses on the often hilarious and occasionally hard to stomach stories of utter depravity (listen to Real Animal Lover). Pink, on the other hand, has a much softer side and a real knack for making simply good songs all around. Check her out in Brooklyn this week.

RIYL: Lucinda Williams, Cat Power, Throwing Muses, Palace, Iron & Wine


Thursday, April 12

RJD2 w/Busdriver @ Webster Hall - Friday - 4/13

He’s not a club dj, but knows how to rock a party. With his timely scratching, and versatile technique, RJD2 has become something like a phenomenon in underground hip-hop. At the same time, his 2004 solo album, “Since We Last Spoke,” showcases his aptitude as an indie-electronic producer. But it is essentially the way in which he combines scratched-up funk 45s from the 70’s with modern digital effects that gives him his signature style. Just go see for yourself what he does with merely a sampler, two turntables and a crate of choice records. Like Dangermouse, RJD2 is an auteur producer who is currently getting more love in the mainstream, despite his recent decision to sign to the independent label, XL Recordings. Now is your chance to witness him live at Webster Hall performing alongside the lyrically talented rapper Busdriver.

Wednesday, April 11

CHEESEBURGER w/ Enon @ Mercury Lounge – Fri. 4/13/07


One of Kemado Records’ latest signings, Cheeseburger, will be playing at the Merc this Friday and it is your chance to experience the hype and search for the substance behind this band. Basically, Cheeseburger is a direct new-millennia translation of early Stooges or Iggy Pop’s very early solo work. Intact are all of the growls and roars Iggy was known for but this rendition has all of the over-produced guitars and drums typically associated with contemporary industry-influenced punk music. So bring your green and black striped shirts and remember kids, these days it’s not “ripped off”, it’s “inspired by”.

RIYL: Stooges, Iggy Pop, Glenn Danzig era Misfits, The Darkness


"Do You Remember" by Cheeseburger

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Monday, April 2

Black Dice @ Studio B 4/4

Experimental mzk concert guru Todd P is throwing an event this Wednesday at Brooklyn's Studio B featuring DFA darlings Black Dice.

I posted this on NYCUG back in November:
"Black Dice, in case you don't know, are something of an anomaly. The only experimental act on an otherwise disco label (DFA records), the band makes use of all sorts of electronics to create the otherwordly tones their soundscapes are made up of. Use caution, though, casual music listener- a Black Dice show can prove to be overwhelming (and possibly pretentious?) to the unready ear."

One-man-shred-factory Mick Barr (AKA Ocrilim) is opening, as well as No Age.

Black Dice on Peruvian TV: