Food & Tunes

Thanks to the legends at Archery Club and Acclaim Magazine, Slow Roast Records honcho and pretty much the most amazing DJ we’ve ever seen,  CRAZE is coming back to Australia for a doper-than-dope national tour this May / June. He’ll be joined by label-mate and one of the rising stars in the house world, CODES. For those who haven’t seen Craze in action before: a) were you born yesterday?; and b) check this shit out below:

And here is the brand spankin’ new clip for “Deeper”, which shows Craze and Codes take a little journey into liquid house… we’re sure you’ll love it as much as we do. Funky to the max. It has anthem written all over it !!!

We like lists. There’s something satisfying about crossing things off. Even better though are “wish-lists.” With Radiohead coming in November, and Prince about to announce he’ll be here in Sept/Oct (Holy Jesus), 2012 is already shaping up as a damn good year for music and touring.

That aside, we’re feeling greedy - so here are the tours we want the most in 2012… 

French Connection - BRODINSKI & GESAFFELSTEIN

We’ve been talking these guys up non-stop for a while (yes, we know)… but seriously, one listen to Control Movement and you’ll see why Gesaffelstein has pretty much reinvigorated the whole techno scene. OK that’s a big call, but he’s definitely leading the charge with good support from fellow-Bromance-r (best name and new label in the world) Brodinski, whose recent remix credits are more than drool-worthy - Nero, Justice, Yuksek & Lana Del Rey. Rumours are rife that Stereosonic have landed the French duo’s signature… we can only hope we get to see them at a Motorik party too!

BROMANCE #1 : Brodinski & Gesaffelstein from Bromance Records on Vimeo.

Indie’s shining light - GRIMES

She’s without question 2012’s most unique and intriguing buzz act (even though she’s multiple releases in). Part pop, glitch, new age with dashes of industrial, punk, witch-house and R&B - we can only imagine Grimes’ live show would be as random and sporadic as her influences. We tip this “curator of culture” to make a Summer festival appearance.

No college drop-out: NICOLAS JAAR

We hate it when education gets in the way of a good tour! We know every man and his dog (and their cousin), have been trying to bring the amazing Nicolas Jaar live show to Australia for a few years now… made harder by the fact that Nico is still at college in NYC! Judging by this lovely footage from The Standard Hotel in New York, we can imagine this going down a treat at Falls…

Come to our Playground - MODESELEKTOR

When Modeselektor were announced for Playground Weekender this year we found ourselves in quite the quandary. Trying to save for a wedding VS. blowing our funds to see one ridiculously amazing live act (plus a few others). Then the tour was postponed =  BIG sigh of relief… See, sometimes procrastination can be a good thing! Stay tuned, we reckon the legends at Novel have something amazing in the works for later in the year.

Rap’s new star: KENDRICK LAMAR

He’s worked with the likes of Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and more recently The Game, and Dr Dre is currently helping him produce his next release, Detox. It seems that super-stardom is all but a certainty for this 23 year-old Compton native. His humorous world-play is unmistakable - who else could come up with lyrics like:

B*tch, I’m a cut you off - coz every time you come around you be hollin’ that woop-dy woo, blase blah, he say she say, oh my god - shut the fuck up.”

You’d have to think that something like Winter Beatz (perhaps with Wiz Khalifa) is a likely scenario come mid 2012.

The ever elusive: SOUL CLAP

We’ve almost reached our tether when it comes to waiting for Boston-duo Soul Clap to grace Australian shores. Especially when you consider their mantra “The Clap is on a mission to change the world, one dancefloor at a time.” We’re here guys. Waiting patiently. Hurry up! Then again, with preparations on their solo album all but wrapped-up, perhaps the clever lads at Geist have planned this to a tee. Expect to see Finely Tuned (i.e. Agwa cruise awesomeness) and perhaps a Meredith or Sydney Festival fighting this one out. Well done in advance to the victor.

Soulful glitchiness: DISCLOSURE

The post-dubstep genre has some stars in the making in Disclosure. They seem to fall somewhere between the thick, garage of SBTRKT and Mount Kimbie’s dreamy moodiness - not bad company huh? Their tunes, in particular the mesmerising Flow, showcase a brilliant understanding of soulful house as well. Thanks to our good mate Perseus for bringing this to our attention last month. Headline club shows are a must first time around for this on-the-rise UK outfit - sold out Good God shows await. 

Wash that mouth? : AZEALIA BANKS

We don’t want anything about Azealia Banks to change… well, perhaps she could sharpen up on her geography. She tweeted earlier this year:“So many exciting things happening this year. !!!! I reaaaaally can’t wait for australia !! I wanna go on a safari! It’s like another world!” Here’s hoping young Azealia, who came third in BBC’s acclaimed Sound of 2012 List, is not confusing down under with South Africa. Either way, you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll see her here in 2012. Our tip - she’ll follow the path of M.I.A and Santigold and be here in September for Parklife. 

Crew Love: DRAKE & THE WEEKND

One half of the F&T family was lucky enough to meet Drake at Soho Beach House in Miami last week. I believe her exact words were “Oh my god, I love you… I’m from Australia.” To which he smiled. Lucky the other half of F&T isn’t the jealous type. But in all seriousness, we can’t really put our finger on why Drizzy hasn’t ventured to Australia yet. You get the feeling he’d love the ladies and they’d more than love him back. Is it a money thing? If his lyrics are anything to go by it doesn’t sound like he needs it. We’d like to think he’s been waiting for the ‘right’ time. And with his second album doing crazy things around the world, including chart success in Australia for the Gil-Scott Heron inspired Take Care (peaked at #9 on the Aria single charts), that time might just be 2012. And who better to share the journey with than last year’s biggest buzz-act, Internet sensation and frequent collaborator The Weeknd. Can you hear those panties being thrown on stage? Since we’re dreaming, maybe they could pack Nicki Minaj in their suitcases? We reckon the Dainty Group are already all over this! 

Over the Easter long weekend (that’s a five day weekend peeps!) French indie-dance duo BEATAUCUE are making a pit-stop Down Under… and F&T couldn’t be more excited!

Taking their name from a colloquial slang that’s too naughty to mention (look it up if you must!), Alexis & Mederic, both in their early 20’s, made a mark on the electronic scene in Europe in 2009 with what A-Trak describes as “an easily recognisable sound. Big booming kicks, tribal drum patterns and bouncy, demented synth leads.” It’s probably no surprise to learn then that BeatauCue’s remixing credits sound like a who’s who of modern pop / electronica - Kylie Minogue, Yelle, Cicada, Adrian Lux, Major Lazer, Armand Van Helden & Steve Aoki, Afrojack, Switch & Diplo…

Add to that some rather tasty originals through the eternally-cool and uncapable-of-a-dud-release Kitsune, including the brain-storming KIHO (out now on the Kitsune Parisien II compilation), and it’s fair to say this could be one of the best tours of the year!

THIS IS PRETTY MUCH THE BEST NEWS WE’VE HEARD IN 2012 !!!!!

Can’t wait to see Perseus spinning tropical-disco-Balearic-funky-future-housey goodness at Ivy Pool on April Fools Day… nice one Archery Club! And if you haven’t already, wrap your ears around his ridonk-u-lous mix for Dazed Digital… yeewwwww!!!!

As we alluded to last week, Lana Del Rey’s first Australian Tour was among our Top 15 Most Anticipated for the upcoming Summer. Hats off to Secret Sounds for recognizing some pure, unique talent. You’d say the New York-native is a shoe-in for Splendour in the Grass in 2012… What can you expect from her on stage? Here is her haunting performance of new single “Born to Die” Live at Poolside at Chateau Marmont: 

TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS

January 1st, 2012 - Field Day @ The Domain

12TH PLANET

January 1st, 2012 - Field Day @ The Domain

THE KOOKS

January 6th, 2012 - Hordern Pavilion 

M83

February 5th, 2012 - St Jerome’s Laneway Festival @ Sydney College of Arts

February 9th, 2012 - Metro Theatre 

SBTRKT (LIVE)

February 3rd, 2012 - Metro Theatre

February 5th, 2012 - St Jerome’s Laneway Festival @ Sydney College of Arts

ROYKSOPP

January 26th, 2012 - Big Day Out @ Sydney Showgrounds

January 27th, 2012 - Enmore Theatre 

NERO (LIVE)

January 26th, 2012 - Big Day Out @ Sydney Showgrounds

THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE

January 21st, 2012 - Keystone Festival Bar @ Hyde Park Barracks Museum (SOLD OUT)

HALL AND OATES

February 8th, 2012 - Sydney Entertainment Centre

BON IVER

March 11th/12th/13th, 2012 - Sydney Opera House (SOLD OUT)

MODESELEKTOR

March 2nd - 4th, 2012 - Playground Weekender @ Wiseman’s Ferry

HUDSON MOHAWKE

February 25th, 2012 - Manning Bar

March 2nd - 4th, 2012 - Playground Weekender @ Wiseman’s Ferry

DANNY DAZE

March 2nd - 4th, 2012 - Playground Weekender @ Wiseman’s Ferry

LANA DEL REY

February 28th, 2012 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

FRANK OCEAN

March 1st, 2012 - Future Music Festival @ Royal Randwick Racecourse

Our day has been made… and prayers have been answered!!! News has arrived that American electronica-fiend Daedelus, who has releases on some of the finest imprints around (Warp, Ninja Tune etc), will be bringing his lush live set-up to Aussie shores this November… we wanted to check him out during our recent North America tour but alas, missed out… 

Check this amazing footage out - it will blow your minds!

Daedelus Australian Tour Dates:

Friday November 25th: GoodGodSmallClub, Sydney

Saturday November 26th: Artplay, Melbourne (as part of Melbourne Music Week)

Saturday November 26th: The Bakery, Perth

Sunday November 27th: The Buffalo Club, Melbourne

BUCKLE UP! American DJ/Producer extraordinaire BASSNECTAR is bringing the wamp wamp this March, venturing across the Pacific for a series of headline shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Spanning the so called spectrum of sonic style, Bassnectar’s music covers almost every genre imaginable and has seen him amass an eclectic array of collaborators in Diplo, KRS-One & Z-trip. Couple that with remixes for Artists as diverse as Metallica, The Pixies, Lil’ Wayne, Deftones, Massive Attack, Duck Sauce and THAT remix of Sleigh Bells (Tell Em’), and it’s not hard to see why Bassnectar has become one of the hottest acts in North America with peak-time festival slots at Coachella and Bonnaroo, and countless sold-out headline shows.

Now armed with an arsenal of enraging beats that are not only heavy in nature, but rooted with enough emotion to blow your panties off, this nomad of electronic music is set to bring the mother f*%^ing Rukus! Hailing from California and with initials L.A., it’s only fitting that the Lorin Ashton (Bassnectar) tour commences on Australia’s very own ‘West Coast’ and wraps up in Melbourne’s iconic Brown Alley, by way of New Zealand.

Bassnectar March 2011 Tour Dates:

• Wednesday 16th March: Shape Bar, Perth
• Thursday 17th March: Bar Soma, Brisbane
• Friday 18th March: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
• Saturday 19th March: Summerset Festival @ Basin Reserve, Wellington
• Wednesday 23rd March: Fu Bar, Auckland
• Thursday 24th March: Sammy’s, Dunedin
• Friday 25th March: Trinity Bar, Canberra
• Saturday 26th March: Brown Alley, Melbourne