As we start to approach the summer, with festival season so close you can smell that mix of sweat, beer, and weed in the air, Pioneer is rolling out the big guns with their CDJ-TOUR1 multiplayer and DJM-TOUR1 mixer. These bad boys are not for hobbyists or the faint of heart; they’re the kind of tools you take along with you if you’re rocking an arena-size stage or some similarly epic blowout. And Pioneer has put them together with exactly the sort of specs that are demanded for that kind of outsized undertaking.
Both the CDJ and the DJM sport an ESS 32-bit D/A converter to give you a big, crystal-clear sound. The DJM is the first mixer ever to offer the pro quality AES/EBU digital output for connecting straight to the FOH without sacrificing your sound. Throw in 13-inch full color touch screens, two independent headphone sections for separate monitoring and cuing, and a separate power supply circuit board to insure reduced noise, and you’re looking at a couple of powerful pieces of technology. So if you’re banging out beats big enough to move a massive crowd, you’ve got a new go-to setup. The CDJ-TOUR1 and DJM-TOUR1 will be available in July 2016 at SRPs of €4,999 ($5,589) and €5,999 ($6,705).
DJ Fresh has made a brave, inspiring statement on his Facebook page, revealing his battle with thyroid cancer and his determination to overcome it and keep on making music. Fresh, who started out as part of the British drum ‘n’ bass collective Bad Company, founded the labels BC Recordings and Breakbeat Kaos, and has sold well in excess of two million records, stated “I found out a few weeks ago I had thyroid cancer. I didn’t want to say anything because I’ve been told it’s a bad idea to air anything that makes you look unstable in any way.”
He went on to lambast the music industry for its inhuman nature, while praising the purity of the artistic exchange between himself and his fans, and he made sure that his audience understood his agenda for the future. “My prognosis is very very positive and I’m now in remission,” he said. “Even if I have to crawl onto stage I will be there and I will never let you down .. You can trust and rely on me to do everything in my power to do my absolute best.” The 39-year-old DJ/producer closed his statement on a smile, saying, “I will be at all upcoming commitments.. Though this next couple of weeks I might be a little bit less hyperactive than usual.”
It’s hard to believe that we’re coming up on two decades of PS1’s annual Warm Up series, but this year marks the 19th installment of the cutting-edge music initiative at MoMA’s Long Island City outpost. From June 11 through August 27, every Saturday will find the PS1 courtyard overflowing with music lovers soaking up the sounds of a carefully curated bunch of bands, DJs, and solo artists pushing the envelope from all different directions.
The shows run from 3:00 to 9:oo p.m., with doors opening at noon, with tickets at $22 in advance and $25 for day-of. This year’s performers will include DJ Premier, Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, Skream, Brodinski, Joy Orbison, Hot Chip (DJ set), and many more. And this being MoMA, music won’t be the only branch of the arts represented. The courtyard will be graced by an installation from Mexico’s Escobedo Soliz Studio, and “stage environments” by Anous and Arnold, Mimi Bai, and others. Check out the full music lineup below.
JUNE 11
DJ Premier / New York, NY
Flava D / Butterz / London, UK
Deantoni Parks (LIVE) / Leaving Records / Los Angeles, CA
Fatima Yamaha / Magnetron Music + Dekmantel / Amsterdam, Netherlands
London O’Connor (LIVE) / San Marcos, California
BEARCAT / Discwoman / Brooklyn, NY
JUNE 18
Danny Krivit / 718 Sessions + Body & Soul / New York, NY
Honey Soundsystem / Honey Soundsystem / San Francisco, CA
Nancy Whang / DFA Records / Brooklyn, NY
Kenton Slash Demon / Future Classics / Copenhagen, Denmark
Guiddo / Beats In Space + Luv Shack / Warsaw, Poland + Shenzhen, China
JUNE 25
DJ Drama / Philadelphia, PA
D.R.A.M. (LIVE) / Island, Atlantic Records / Hampton, VA
DJ Burn One / The Five Points Bakery / Atlanta, GA
Ya Boy Big Choo & Da Crew / GameOva Music / New Orleans, LA
JULY 2
Theo Parrish / Sound Signature / Detroit, MI
DJ STINGRAY / 313 / Detroit, MI
Lena Willikens / Cómeme + Salon Des Amateurs / Cologne, Germany
Kiki Kudo / Zero Balance / Tokyo, Japan
JULY 9
Brodinski / Bromance / Paris, France
Louisahhh / Bromance / Paris, France
Juliana Huxtable / House of LaDosha / New York, NY
Celestial Trax feat Roosevelt Rozay Labeija / Rinse + PTP / New York, NY
+Live Act To Be Announced
JULY 16
Skream / Tempa / Croydon, UK
DBM (Deadboy + Murlo) / Mixpak + Local Action / London, UK
AJ Tracey (LIVE) / London, UK
Nina Las Vegas / NLV / Sydney, Australia
Eartheater / Hausu Mountain / Queens, NY
JULY 23
Branko / Enchufada + RBMA / Lisbon, Portugal
MC Bin Laden (LIVE) / KL Produtora / São Paulo, Brazil
Kamaiyah (LIVE) / Oakland, CA
Maluca Mala (LIVE) / New York, NY
Milka La Mas Dura (LIVE) / Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
IMAABS / N.A.A.F.I / Santiago, Chile
Endgame / Bala Club + PTP / London, UK
JULY 30
Maya Jane Coles / I/AM/ME / London, UK
Jay Daniel / Wild Oats + Watusi High / Detroit, MI
Joey Anderson / Inimeg + Dekmantel / Jersey City, NJ
Palmbomen II / NON Records + Beats in Space Records + 1080p / Los Angeles, CA
Ohal / Styles Upon Styles / Brooklyn, NY
AUGUST 6
Swizzymack / Mad Decent / Philadelphia, PA
TT The Artist (LIVE) / Baltimore, MD
DJ Class / Baltimore, MD
DJ Tameil / Brick Bandits + Unruly Records / Newark, NJ
DJ Jayhood / Badink Entertainment / Newark, NJ
+Live Act To Be Announced
AUGUST 13
Special Request / XL Recordings / London, UK
Doc Scott / 31 Records + Metalheadz / Coventry, UK
Mumdance b2b Logos / XL Recordings + Different Circles / London, UK
SADAF / Hoss Records / New York, NY
SHYBOI / Discwoman + KUNQ / Brooklyn, NY
AUGUST 20
Joy Orbison + Ben UFO / Hinge Finger + Hessle Audio / London, UK
Hot Chip (DJ Set) / Domino / UK
Marcus Marr / DFA Records / London, UK
Powell, Russell Haswell, Not Waving, Jaime Williams / Diagonal + XL Recordings / London, UK
AUGUST 27
DJ Paypal / Teklife + Brainfeeder + LuckyMe / Berlin, Germany
Elysia Crampton / Break World / Sacramento, CA + Bolivia
Ash Koosha / Ninja Tune / London, UK
Music-loving Nintendo nuts the world over can rejoice over this new technological development, which serves to validate anybody who ever refused to toss their old, dusty, disused Game Boy. It turns out that some enterprising soul has figured out a brilliant hack that turns the iconic ’90s pocket pal into an electronic music-making tool.
It’s far from a codified process, but some ambitious electronics buff has taken a classic Game Boy, added a homemade circuit board, and transformed it into a three-channel analog synthesizer. As you can hear from the results in the clip below, the sonic options are somewhat spartan, but for a tricked-out Game Boy it’s still pretty damn impressive. If Kraftwerk was still cutting new records, it wouldn’t be too tough to imagine them turning out a 21st century take on their classic “Pocket Calculator” powered entirely by devices like these. Hmm…hey Ralf, we’ve got a little suggestion for you…
