Carl Cox

For The Record: Quick News On Kid Rock, Fabolous, A Perfect Circle & More

4 Feb 2002 07:53:00 EST

Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson
Photo: Image Direct

Kid Rock and girlfriend Pamela Anderson ducked into New York City's Mercury Lounge Thursday night for a quick glimpse of unsigned Boston quartet Mappari. Perhaps Rock and the "V.I.P." star were still clocking Detroit time, as music industry showcases by Virgin Records' Moth and Mammoth's the Full Nine had the club filled two hours earlier and after only a few measures, the unassuming pair left as hurriedly as they arrived. ... Fabolous and one of hip-hop's founding fathers, DJ Kool Herc, will be at Macy's in Manhattan's Herald Square on Monday (February 4) starting at 5:30 p.m to help The Source celebrate the publication of its 150th issue. P. Diddy's clothing company, Sean John, designed a T-shirt to commemorate the hip-hop magazine's milestone. ...

Bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins), bassist Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle), drummer Samantha Maloney (Hole/Mötley Crüe) and guitarist Radio Sloan (the Need) have formed the Chelsea, and they'll rotate instruments and share vocal duties when they hit the stage at Los Angeles' Spaceland on Wednesday. The quartet, which is named for the New York hotel made infamous by the Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen, plans to hit a recording studio in the next few weeks. ... Lenchantin's APC bandmate, guitarist/mastermind Billy Howerdel, is writing songs for the follow-up to A Perfect Circle's debut album, Mer de Noms. ...

Santana's follow-up to his Grammy-sweeping, diamond-plus-selling 1999 LP, Supernatural, will be titled Shaman, according to VH1 Radio. The album, due in June, will feature a collaboration with operaman Placido Domingo. ... Adam Ant will be spending Valentine's Day in court to face charges stemming from an incident in a London pub last month. The singer, who suffers from manic depression, was charged with possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence as well as criminal damage and one charge of committing actual bodily harm after he allegedly brandished a fake gun and was committed to a psychiatric hospital following his January 12 arrest. ...

01.31.02

While on their month-long European tour, which began January 20, Slipknot will shoot their show at England's London Arena on February 16 for possible inclusion in the video for their latest single, "My Plague (New Abuse Mix)," which also doubles as the debut single off the soundtrack to the upcoming movie "Resident Evil." Performance footage may also wind up on the group's first-ever DVD, an as-yet-untitled project tentatively slated for September. ... Congratulations are in order for Mary J. Blige, who's making a different kind of beautiful music — she's engaged. Blige has been making the rounds announcing her plans to marry, though the intensely private singer hasn't revealed the date or the name of her fiancé. ...

We finally know when to expect the first full-length solo project from the Destiny's Child camp. Michelle Williams' gospel album, which is still untitled, is scheduled to hit stores on April 2, according to Columbia Records. ... The SnoCore Rock tour, which features Alien Ant Farm, Fenix TX, Adema, Glassjaw and Earshot, has added new dates in Kansas City, Missouri (March 14); Denver (March 15); and Salt Lake City (March 16). The March 1 show, which had been set for Asbury Park, New Jersey, will now be held at New York City's Roseland Ballroom; on March 11, the traveling troupe will stop in Madison, Wisconsin, and hit Minneapolis the following day; and on March 19, the trek will stop in Seattle and visit Portland the day after. ...

Nelly Furtado, Alanis Morissette and the Goo Goo Dolls have joined Dave Matthews Band, the Foo Fighters, Macy Gray and others on the list of artists scheduled to perform during the 16-night Hallmark Olympic Celebration Series. Furtado will perform on February 18, followed by Morissette on February 21 and the Goo Goo Dolls the following night. ... Before embarking on a North American tour with 311, red-hot Hoobastank will film a video in Los Angeles for their second single, "Running Away," with director Paul Fedor (Jimmy Eat World, Marilyn Manson). A feature interview with Hoobastank, "Hoobastank: But Seriously," debuts here on Friday (February 1). ...

Rapper Marz is latest artist to sign with Korn's major-label-distributed Elementree imprint, and his next LP is expected to surface before year's end. Formerly inked to indie E-Magine Entertainment, the Chicago MC, who toured twice with Insane Clown Posse, is working with Korn's Jonathan Davis on his follow-up to last year's Lung Fu Mo She, according to his spokesperson. ... C-Murder, incarcerated since January 18 and facing a possible second-degree murder charge, will release his fourth album, Tru Dawgs, on April 30. His brothers Master P and Silkk the Shocker guest on the LP, as do Snoop Dogg, Da Brat, Bizzy Bone, Keith Murray and Mia X, among others. ...

DJ Carl Cox, who spent last summer on Moby's Area:One Tour, returns to these shores to promote his mix LP, Global (due March 5 on FFRR Records), with a 24-date North American outing starting February 15 in San Diego and wrapping up March 23 in Miami. Cox is also working on his third studio album with guests such as Roni Size, Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook, Neneh Cherry, Josh Wink, Erick Morillo and Christian Smith ... The Melvins — the "greatest band in the history of music," according to themselves — will release Hostile Ambient Takeover on April 16 through Ipecac Records, with a U.S. tour to follow. Millennium Monsterworks, a live album culled from their New Year's Eve 2000 "big band" concert in San Francisco with Fantômas, will see the light of day on April 2, also via Ipecac. ...

After his performance at E!'s Sizzlin' 16 Party Wednesday in Hollywood, Pete Yorn said he plans to release an album later this year that he recorded with producer Don Fleming (Sonic Youth, Screaming Trees), in the late '90s before he made his major-label debut, Musicforthemorningafter. Yorn was in Los Angeles filming a video for his next single, "Strange Condition," which was first included on the soundtrack to "Me, Myself & Irene," which he also scored. ... Speaking of singer/songwriters, John Mayer launched a winter tour in Florida that will keep him on the road through March 9 in Chicago. Mayer is supporting last fall's Room for Squares.

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For The Record: Quick News On Slipknot, Mary J. Blige, Nelly Furtado, Destiny's Child & More...

31 Jan 2002 03:08:00 EST

Slipknot's Shawn Crahan
Photo: RoadRunner

Rapper Marz is the latest artist to sign with Korn's major-label-distributed Elementree imprint, and his next LP is expected to surface before year's end. Formerly inked to indie E-Magine Entertainment, the Chicago MC, who toured twice with Insane Clown Posse, is working with Korn's Jonathan Davis on his follow-up to last year's Lung Fu Mo She, according to his spokesperson. ... C-Murder, incarcerated since January 18 and facing a possible second-degree murder charge, will release his fourth album, Tru Dawgs, on April 30. His brothers Master P and Silkk the Shocker guest on the LP, as do Snoop Dogg, Da Brat, Bizzy Bone, Keith Murray and Mia X, among others. ...

01.30.02

Blu Cantrell will play the role of, well, Blu Cantrell in "Drumline," a movie about black college marching bands directed by Charles Stone III, who helmed the Cam'ron flick "Paid in Full." Cantrell performs the national anthem at a pivotal moment in the film, which also boasts appearances by Dallas Austin and Petey Pablo and stars Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana and Orlando Jones. ... Two singles from the upcoming "Queen of the Damned" soundtrack will be simultaneously released before the album hits stores on February 19: Static-X's "Cold" and "Forsaken," which was written by Korn's Jonathan Davis and former Oingo Boingo keyboardist Richard Gibbs and features Disturbed's David Draiman. ...

Pearl Jam's latest fan club single includes a cover of the Ramones' "I Just Want to Have Something to Do" by bassist Jeff Ament, John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth" and live versions of "Last Soldier" and "Indifference." The band has no plans to release its buzzed-about B-sides album any time soon, their spokesperson said. ... Collaborations with Everlast and DJs Vinroc, Apollo, Shortkut and Biz Markie, along with a Lo-Fidelity Allstars remix, have been added to the X-ecutioners' first album in five years, Built From Scratch. Due February 26, the LP also features appearances from Linkin Park, Xzibit, Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, DJ Premier, the late Big Punisher and others. ... Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child is among the performers slated for the first annual Gospel Insider Music Awards ceremony on February 15 at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Universal City, California. Kirk Franklin will co-host the event, which will be broadcast in local markets. ...

Led Zeppelin's eponymous box set, released in 1990, has received a Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of more than 10 million units (the RIAA counts each disc as a unit, meaning the four-disc set sold more than 2.5 million copies). Zep now tie the Beatles as the group possessing the most diamond discs, with five each. ... The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion will release Plastic Fang, their first album in four years, on April 23. Spencer and crew plan to tour the U.S. upon its release. ... San Francisco's annual indie lovefest, Noise Pop, will launch its third annual film festival on February 27, one day after its rock-show component kicks off. Among the treats on tap are documentaries on acts such as the Clash, Soul Asylum, Radiohead and Nick Drake, an hour-long Sparklehorse video album and films scored by the Flaming Lips ("Okie Noodling") and Spoon ("Everything Hits at Once"). ...

Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas, Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks and the duo of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora will pay tribute to Billy Joel in a ceremony and concert at the 12th Annual MusiCares Person Of The Year dinner. The event, at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, will honor Joel for his accomplishments both as a musician and a humanitarian. ... In other Joel news, his Face to Face Tour with Elton John has added second dates in Ft. Lauderdale (March 5) and Tampa (March 11), and new shows in Uniondale, New York (March 20) and East Rutherford, New Jersey (April 6). ... Riviera, Big Head Todd and the Monsters' first studio album in four years, will be released on the band's own label on March 26. A headlining theater tour will kick off in April.

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Gorillaz, Oakenfold, Deep Dish To Kick Off Miami Beach Music Conference

28 Jan 2002 07:50:00 EST

Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, DJ Skribble, Timo Maas, Goldie, Roni Size also will play Ultra festival.
By Corey Moss

Paul Oakenfold
Photo: Perfecto

Paul Oakenfold, Deep Dish, Gorillaz and more than 100 other electronic music acts from around the world will perform at a massive Miami Beach, Florida, party on March 23.

The fourth annual Ultra festival will kick off the Winter Music Conference, a yearly five-day electronic music gathering that has been transforming Miami Beach into the epicenter of DJ culture for 17 years.

Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, DJ Skribble, Timo Maas, Goldie and Roni Size with MC Dynamite are among the other artists who will perform on six different stages at a yet-to-be-announced location.

Also on the bill are DJ Craze, DJ Dan, Christropher Lawrence, Rinôçérôse, Tall Paul, Josh Wink, DJ Rap, Dieselboy, DB, George Acosta, DJ Icey and Liquid Todd.

Gorillaz will perform live with Del the Funky Homosapien, the voice behind their massive single "Clint Eastwood."

Tickets will soon be available online at www.coolworld.com and www.ultrafestival.com.

The Winter Music Conference, scheduled from March 23 to March 27, will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Last year's Ultra festival featured many of the same acts, along with John Digweed, Pete Tong and BT (see "Winter Music Diary: The Beats Go On With Bukem, Bahamadia, Digweed").

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Radiohead, Eminem, Elliott Smith Footage To Debut At Film Fest

30 Aug 2001 02:29:00 EDT

Documentaries on hip-hop, punk, electronica also to debut at HIQI Film Series.
By Corey Moss

Radiohead's Thom Yorke
Photo: Capitol

Radiohead's "Live in Dublin" concert video will have its theatrical U.S. premiere this fall as part of a traveling film festival that will also include documentaries on hip-hop, early punk and electronica.

The HIQI Film Series, which kicks off September 14 in New York, consists entirely of music films, documentaries, shorts and videos.

Along with "Live in Dublin," which was filmed November 2000 for an MTV special, the festival will show Radiohead's video for Amnesiac's "I Might Be Wrong."

The HIQI (pronounced "hickey") festival will also premiere "Word," a New York hip-hop documentary featuring Eminem, Dead Prez, Company Flow and MOP, and "Try This at Home," a documentary on Olympia, Washington's indie-rock scene focusing on Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney and Quasi.

Electronic-music visionaries including Carl Cox, Sven Vath and Orbital will hit the big screen in a documentary on the desert rave scene titled "Synergy: Visions of Vibe."

HIQI will also revive several classic films on the tour, including "The Blank Generation," a 1976 documentary on New York's punk and new wave scenes featuring performances by Talking Heads, Television, Ramones, Blondie and Patti Smith shot at the legendary club CBGB.

The 1978 film "Rockers," considered reggae's "A Hard Day's Night," includes music by Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear and Inner Circle.

"Driver 23," a documentary on Dan Cleveland's Minnesota metal cult band Dark Horse, and its sequel, "The Atlas Moth," will both be shown, along with the metal favorite "Heavy Metal Parking Lot."

Festival shorts will include the Dandy Warhols' "The End of the World as We Knew It" (starring Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland), "Monkey Vs. Robot," "Secret Asian Man" and "Rolling Man." New Order's "Crystal" video and Bob Marley's "I Know a Place" clip will also be shown.

Details of the HIQI Film Series have been announced for only about half the cities it will hit. The event's Web site (www.hiqi.com) will post information in coming weeks about stops in San Diego; Sacramento, California; Olympia; Seattle; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; and Madison, Wisconsin.

HIQI Film Series dates, according to the festival's spokesperson:

9/14-27 - New York, NY @ Pioneer Theater
9/21-10/4 - Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Showcase
9/21-10/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Cinefest
9/28-10/4 - Minneapolis, MN @ Sound Unseen
10/5 -11 - Portland, OR @ Clinton Street Theater
10/5-11 - Austin, TX @ Landmark Dobie
10/19-25 - San Francisco, CA @ Red Vic
10/26-11/1 - Chicago, IL @ Landmark Century

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Area:One Fest: Outkast, Moby Do Post-Lollapalooza Rave In Maryland

16 Jul 2001 12:43:00 EDT

Nelly Furtado, Incubus, Paul Oakenfold also hit the stage (or tent) in nine-and-a-half hour concert.
By Catherine Leitch

Moby at Area:One Fest
Photo: J. Tayloe Emery

COLUMBIA, Maryland — Moby's Area:One festival is a rave, a carnival, a rock concert and a parade of the latest in halter tops and sun visors all rolled into one sweaty, heart-pounding $36.50 package.

The tour made its second stop Friday at Merriweather Post Pavilion, a place so pastoral and idyllic it seemed an unlikely spot for a rowdy 10-act rock, hip-hop and electronica show that would unfold over nine-and-a-half hours. (Click here for photos from the show.)

The gates opened under warm, sunny skies at 1:30 p.m. By 2 p.m., DJ Jon Tab was spinning inside an air-conditioned dance tent in a far corner of the pavilion. Outside the tent, muffled bass beats lured concertgoers to explore what was inside. "I didn't know it was going to be this cool," 16-year-old Jim Werner of Fairfax, Virginia, yelled over the thumping of the music inside the tent.

"I feel like I've already gotten my money's worth," he said, looking up at the complex lighting system and two overhead screens that were flashing images of scantly clad women and city scapes. It was the scene of an underground rave, if not for the blatant sponsor logos everywhere and Intel's Digital Music Zone set up 50 yards away.

An hour-and-a-half later, Tab and Rinôçerôse had already finished their sets in the tent, and by 3:30 p.m. Lieven was about to take over as DJ.

Just before 4 p.m., Canada's Nelly Furtado, the first of the main stage acts, opened her 40-minute set to a mid-sized audience on the pavilion's main stage. She charmed listeners with whimsical moves and the dancehall/dub influences that were laced in and out of her set, which included her hit "I'm Like a Bird."

Immediately following her show, DJ Carl Cox was up inside the tent. Scheduled to perform for two hours, Cox's hypnotic, three-decks mixing style was like a mating call to the show's teens looking to dance. Cox raised the stakes and worked the crowd of more than 2,000 into a frenzy. Light sticks distributed by representatives from festival sponsor Intel swirled with the beats as the place became more packed by the second.

Outside, the Roots, followed by California funk-metal outfit Incubus, played to a swelling and increasingly more interested crowd, which rose to its feet when Incubus played its radio hit "Pardon Me."

With pop, rock and hip-hop all heard by 7:30 p.m., it seemed as though Moby's goal for the festival — exposing the music that he loves while creating an eclectic and fun atmosphere — had been met even without the headlining performance. And then came the show's apex, one act early. A little after 7:30 p.m., Outkast began a set that brought a previously scattered crowd of all ages and races together into one arm-waving mass. The Georgia duo had as many as 14 people onstage at once dancing and singing. The duo played the early hit "Elevators (Me & You)" and had most of Merriweather singing the chorus to "So Fresh, So Clean."

Across the lawn at the tent, Paul Oakenfold replaced DJ Juan Atkins, and a line of about 200 teens frantic to get in had formed outside the tent's door.

"Oakie was part of the reason I came here. I mean, I paid $80 for orchestra tickets to see Moby, but I definitely wanted to see [Oakenfold]," said Wes Davis, 18, of Harrisonburg, Virginia. "Everything's happening so fast, we had no idea who was coming on when," he said, adding that he hoped some people would leave the tent so that others could enter.

That never happened. After people in line tried to jump the fence to get into the tent, security donned helmets and whipped out megaphones and carefully moved the crowd away from the gate. "This sucks. I'm pissed that I paid this much and everything's happening at the blink of an eye," said Amanda Challis, 21, of Baltimore, who was among those outside the gate.

The lock-out didn't get everyone down, though. Between sets from Outkast and Moby, a crowd of concertgoers gathered near the gates where Oakenfold was audible and danced in the grass.

"We can still hear it, and Moby's coming on soon," said Kristen Breamer, 17, of Alexandria, Virginia. "We're happy."

Darkness arrived and headliner Moby was center stage among pulsating lights and lasers. Accompanied by a three-piece string section, he opened with "Hymn."

Wearing an Area:One three-quarter length T-shirt and black pants, Moby zipped around the stage and touched every instrument within reach. He drew heavily on 1999's Play, and had Diane Charlemagne on hand to do live vocals for "Honey" and "Natural Blues." A bikini-clad Nelly Furtado came onstage for "South Side."

The performance seemed to be formulated to appease everyone, with hip-hop tunes such as "Bodyrock" and rave anthems such as "Go" both on display.

In the end, Moby introduced "the people with whom [he] plays music" after taking off his shirt and throwing it to the audience. Then he dismissed the musicians, telling the crowd he would play the fastest song ever written as his closing piece.

Moby stood in front of his keyboard with a blue light shining on him. The music was slow at first, and Moby raised his arms over his head and punched his fists in the air with the rhythm of the music. As the beat became faster, so did his movements. Midway through the song, Moby stepped up onto the keyboard and continued to slam his fists into the air. When the song was over, he threw his arms up and thanked the audience. For a feature interview with Moby about the tour, check out "Moby: Beaming Into Area:One."

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Sigur Ros, Aphex Twin Heat Up Barcelona Fest

15 Jun 2001 06:20:00 EDT

Sounds of old school (Terry Riley) and new (Vladislav Delay) mix and mingle as annual Sonar event kicks off.
By Eric Demby

Sigur Rós
Photo: Fatcat Records

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonians know a thing or two about the slow build, as evidenced by the bewildering 18-plus hours of music at the opening day of the eighth annual Sonar International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Arts.

There is no better location from which to scout the front lines of electronic music's forces than Sonar, which unites the scene's wide range of sonic renegades and parades them through the vibrant city. Thursday's performers alone — from Vladislav Delay to Terry Riley, Sigur Rós to Carl Cox and Darren Emerson, Sonic Youth to Aphex Twin — were enough to send a visitor home both satisfied and enlightened.

From the first record, reflecting the midday sun, spun at noon until the light shone again early Friday morning on still-crammed dance floors, Sonar was in full swing — and it was just getting started, with two more days of stunning lineups still on tap.

Like other global techno gatherings such as the Winter Music Conference in Miami Beach or Berlin's Love Parade, Sonar's attendance has grown exponentially with the music's ascent over the last decade, as witnessed by the 10,000-strong flock Thursday night. It has also managed to avoid those festivals' pitfalls, however, by sticking to its guns as a celebration of electronic music's artistic core and providing a glimpse at what the leaders of the avant-garde and the experimental are up to today.

Divided somewhat manageably into day- and nighttime sections over three days — the former presented on four stages at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània in downtown Barcelona, the latter in three hangar-like spaces (one outdoors) at a massive expo center west of the city center — Thursday's sun-dappled warm-up was capped by a solo outing from Terry Riley, who along with Steve Reich and Philip Glass is considered one of the gurus of experimental electronic music in its myriad guises. To an overwhelmingly youthful crowd that appeared well informed of Riley's far-reaching influence, the composer moved fluidly through a range of styles. One piece found him on the piano, wowing with a steady harmonic pulse with one hand while fluttering out a playful rag-like blues with the other, combining minimalism and jazz with aplomb. Moving over to a synth for his next piece, Riley triggered a stuttering electronic rhythm that showed he's been keeping up with the techno Joneses, and he accompanied it with soaring raga-influenced scales, even adding a few Eastern chants along the way. Riley's minimalist aesthetic has been all the rage with the latest crop of experimental producers (whether they're aware of it or not) over the last year, not least among them the Finnish phenom Vladislav Delay. Performing from his achingly spare and deliberate oeuvre (he will present his deep-house persona, Luomo, Friday night) in the Capella dels Angels (Chapel of the Angels) Thursday night, Delay's cascades of gurgling washes swirled through the chapel's chambers, enchanting and exciting as they soared. At Sonar by Night, the arty Icelandic ensemble Sigur Rós, a last-minute addition, revealed that they, too, can achieve great musical heights with an uncomplicated palette. Following a performance by Sonic Youth that further highlighted new and old by presenting works by pioneering experimentalist John Cage and Yoko Ono (both covered on their 1999 self-released collection, Goodbye 20th Century), Sigur Rós began a set that continued to swell in intensity throughout its 45 minutes. First accompanied by a guitarist and two keyboardists and eventually surrounded by seven with the addition of a violinist, cellist, bassist and drummer, singer Jon Thor Birgisson, with bowed guitar, effected a pained-ecstasy expression to accompany his spine-tingling vocal emissions, and the look never left his face. When the band's gradual arch hit full tilt — on "Svefn-G-Englar," from their 1999 album Ágætis Byrjun, and the closer — the effect, straight outta the hypothalamus, was simply breathtaking.

Aphex Twin, perhaps techno's most directly descended minimalist, dispensed with any formalities upon taking to the decks for his much-anticipated DJ set, embarking on the sort of distorted, hyperactive drum'n'bass excursion that has become his trademark in recent years. The man (a.k.a. Richard D. James) who built an infallible reputation on tranquility and subtlety has entered the realm of the inexplicable, and, often, the undanceable. Aphex followed on the heels of an excellent live set by the U.K. duo Plaid (Ed Handley and Andy Turner), whose matching consoles and flat-screens emit reliably warm and creative dance grooves nearly every time they perform.

Across the hall of the expo center in SonarClub, beats of the more conventional, but by no means generic, variety could be found pounding out of the loudspeakers via the expertly manned turntables of Darren Emerson and Carl Cox, who kept the dance floor moving until dawn with a mix of hard house and techno, including what appeared to be the club debut (spun by Cox) of Green Velvet's "Lala Land," the first single from his upcoming album (see "Green Velvet Completes Whatever, His Most Personal Work"). The eighth annual Sonar International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Arts ends Saturday.

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Timo Maas A Hot Commodity For Madonna, Kelis, Paul Oakenfold

11 Jun 2001 04:39:00 EDT

DJ/producer releases first true mix and production albums this year.
By Corey Moss

Timo Maas
Photo: Reprise

Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, Deep Dish, Seb Fontaine, John Kelley and Dave Seaman can't all be wrong. Timo Maas is undeniably hot.

The Düsseldorf, Germany, techno, house, trance and breaks DJ/producer has given tracks to mix albums by those top tier DJs and at least 20 others in the past two years. He's also been commissioned by BT, Green Velvet and Madonna to remix their high-profile singles — "Never Gonna Come Back Down," "Flash" and "Don't Tell Me," respectively.

As the centuries turned, Maas was everywhere. Now, dance music aficionados who have grown accustomed to what Maas calls "wet and hard funk" are asking: Can Timo keep up the pace? "Well, the truth is, last year I did four remixes and everything else was a re-release from the last four years [dug out from the vaults] as my name got bigger, so I never had that pace to begin with," Maas admitted Friday. Still, 2001 is shaping up to be another landmark year for the über-producer as he plans to release his first true mix album and first true production album (his debut last year, Music for the Maases, was a combination — a mix album of his catalog of singles and remixes). Maas, who was introduced to American audiences with a residency at New York's famed club Twilo, will also soak the rest of the country on Moby's Area: One tour.

His mix album Connected, released May 15 on Kinetic, gives fans a hint of what to expect when he comes to a festival tent near you.

"It is the sound of exactly now for me," Maas said of the double-disc release. "Mixing compilations is very similar to mixing a set, as you need†to choose the right records, and the right balance between very new and records just breaking as the compilation arrives in the stores. And you have to build the music like a whole night out." Connected includes a collection of underground dance ditties and mainstream club hits. Maas' own remix of Fatboy Slim's "Star 69" kicks off the second album, while Deep Dish's "Gladiator Remix" of Delerium's "Innocente," featuring Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer, is a highlight on the first album. DJ Dave Clarke also appears on the album, with a remix of Midfield General's "Coatnoise." Maas contributes a new track, "OCB," and a remix of Placebo's "Special K." "The album needs to appeal to a broad cross section," Maas said of Connected, which flows from freaky breaks to hypnotic trance. Maas, who scored Top 40 singles in Europe with his own "Der Schieber" and "Ubik," and a Top 10 hit with his remix of Azzido Da Bass' "Dooms Night," will venture into all sorts of dance music territories on his production debut, Loud, due in October.

"The direction will be something of a surprise to people," Maas said. "It's quite varying in styles, with a lot of guitars, a bit of rapping and very funky, as well as some quite rough techno tracks on it." Maas experimented with rock on "Ubik," which featured Martin Bettinghaus from German funk group Spice on vocals, and will dabble in R&B later this month when he remixes a track from Kelis' new Wanderland. Come July 11, when Area: One opens in Atlanta, expect to see Maas not just behind the decks, but in the crowd, taking in music that ranges from Nelly Furtado to Outkast to New Order (see "Area: One Festival's Details Come Into Focus").

"Obviously, clubs are my roots, but I'm looking forward to seeing something new, especially since the album is heading a little in that direction," Maas said. "[Area: One] will help me represent myself to a more live audience rather than club, which I'm excited about." Area: One, which also includes fellow DJs Oakenfold, Cox and the Orb, will hit 16 cities across the U.S. this summer.

Maas will also play the following club dates, according to his publicist:

6/16 - Miami, FL @ Crobar
6/17 - New York, NY @ Centro Fly
6/20 - Las Vegas, NV @ Ra
6/21 - Houston, TX @ Hyperia
6/23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Circus
6/24 - San Francisco, CA @ Spundae

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Spiller, Fatboy Slim, Sonique Win At DanceStar Awards

7 Jun 2001 10:24:00 EDT

Daft Punk, MJ Cole, Carl Cox also honored at Wednesday's event.
By Corey Moss

Fatboy Slim
Photo: Jill Greenberg

Italian house producer Spiller was the big winner at Wednesday's DanceStar 2001 Tiscali World Dance Music Awards, taking home trophies for Best Chart Act, Best House Act and Record of the Year for his overseas hit "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)." Spiller missed a sweep by one category, losing the prestigious DanceStar of the Year award to British singer Sonique, who scored a worldwide crossover hit last year with "It Feels So Good." The DanceStar Awards ceremony was held at London's Alexandra Palace. Erick Morillo, founder of New York dance label Subliminal Records, hosted the second annual event with Gail Porter. Faithless, garage duo Architechs and trance act Darude, which won Best Breakthrough Act, were among the evening's performers. Superstar DJ Fatboy Slim led the list of nominees with five nods, but walked away with just one award, for Best Breakbeat/Eclectic Act for his Jim Morrison-sampling "Sunset (Bird of Prey)." French duo Daft Punk ousted Fatboy Slim, Sonique and two-step trailblazer MJ Cole in the Best Album category with Discovery, which was recently released in the U.S. Cole also lost Best Garage Act to Wookie featuring Lain, who won with their track "Battle," but Cole beat out Wookie, Mirwais and BT for Best Producer. Best Trance Act went to German DJ Timo Maas for "Ubik," Best Radio DJ went to Essential Mix host Pete Tong and Best Club DJ went to U.K. veteran Carl Cox, who was also honored with the Outstanding Contribution to Worldwide Dance Music award. New York DJ Danny Tenaglia was given the Lifetime Achievement award.

A worldwide academy of dance music artists, journalists and other industry experts chose the DanceStar nominees, and the public voted in the winners at www.dancestar.net.

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Rain, Controversy Couldn't Stop Beats At Detroit Electronic Fest

29 May 2001 03:39:00 EDT

Despite cofounder Carl Craig's firing and terrible weather, beat junkies poured into Motor City over weekend.
By Corey Moss

Carl Craig
Photo: Backspin Promotions

You have to hand it to techno junkies — not much can come between them and their beats.

Hostile weather, behind-the-scenes controversy and canceled sets from two of the biggest attractions (LTJ Bukem and Carl Cox) all threatened to put a damper on the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, but the attendees — estimated between 850,000 and 1.5 million over a three-day period — kept dancing.

Not until hail and lightning shut down the second annual event with an hour left to go Monday night did the pulsating rhythms from turntables, synthesizers, voices and a few guitars begin to dissolve from historic Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit. It didn't look good early Saturday morning, hours before America's most vital electronic music gathering was to get underway, when local police arrested 125 people at two nearby raves, confiscating guns, drugs and tanks of nitrous oxide. Although they weren't festival related, the busts were a sign that authorities weren't going to turn a blind eye to some of the scene's unlawful components.

And when the festival did kick off, immediately people were talking about the absence of Bukem, the popular U.K. drum'n'bass producer scheduled to perform Monday night. Although there were rumors he pulled out after festival cofounder and creative director Carl Craig was fired earlier this month (see "Clouds Settle Over Detroit Electronic Music Festival"), promoters said Bukem had problems with his passport.

Speaking of Craig, it seemed as though nobody was going to be able to forget about his story — the classic artist vs. corporation struggle that had been so well-documented by local press. The longest line at noon Saturday was the one at the booth for his label, Planet E, where they were handing out little pink "I support Carl Craig" stickers. Asked one clueless onlooker: "What is Carl Craig running for?" Not public office, the DJ said later. "I deal with too much politics already," he said. Changing to a more serious tone, he added, "It was good to see a mass of pink stickers from the stage. I'm glad to have the support." DEMF 2001 seemed doomed, but leave it to the music — entrancing styles of techno, jazz, rock and hip-hop umbrellaed (no pun intended) under the "electronic" label — to revive the inspirational spirit so heralded at the festival the year before.

By P'taah's ambient Saturday afternoon set on the Ford Focus Main Stage, everything but the music was an afterthought. Police on duty were calling the event "peaceful" and bobbing their heads to the tunes (the exact number of arrests at the DEMF was not available Tuesday morning, though early reports in The Detroit News indicated it was only a handful). Craig was racing to and from the four stages to see the acts he booked. Even Carol Marvin, the president of Pop Culture Media, who sponsored the event and was scorned for terminating Craig's contract — effective Tuesday (May 29) — wore a smile. Techno music may have been born in Detroit, but this was only the second time the city had a chance to relish it. A tornado could have wiped through site — sending pacifiers, glow sticks and Red Bull cans into oblivion — and this show would have gone on. Music fans from around the world descended on Detroit determined to hear more than 70 acts, ranging from DJs Doc Martin and Laurent Garnier to bands Tortoise and Jazzanova. Dressed in rain-soaked club wear, the festival saw people and families of all ages and races grooving to a variety of entertainment. The DEMF had a number of memorable moments, many of which infused popular music with the beat mixing of DJing or the record scratching of turntablism.

Canadian John Acquaviva closed his two-hour, festival-stealing DJ set Sunday afternoon by dropping Eddy Grant's 1983 hit "Electric Avenue" into his mix. He started by laying the song's factory sound effects over a slippery beat, eventually inserting lyrics and finally the entire track.

The night before, Static Revenger opened his pounding set with the oozing guitar and screaming fans from Peter Frampton's live version of "Do You Feel Like We Do." Kid Koala, a flashy turntablist who announced he was available "to DJ weddings and children's parties," spliced up Tears For Fears' "Shout" so much during his set Sunday that when he finally played the chorus, which the packed crowd sang along to, it was a shock to hear what song he had been working. The artist with the most pop music references — and the most people watching him — was Beastie Boys DJ Mix Master Mike. Dropping at least a record a minute during his 90-minute headlining set on Sunday, he made sure to play plenty of Beasties, along with sprinkling familiar lines from Rage Against the Machine and Rush over underground hip-hop albums that begged for boogying. Mike said before his set that he was never influenced by Detroit techno, but couldn't resist Craig's invitation. "I just heard 1. 5 million people were here last year," he said. "That's a lot of ears." Mix Master's mainstream appeal drew a large crowd, but as Craig said many times during the weekend, the DEMF is not about recognizable artists, but the history of electronic music and its future. Techno trailblazer Juan Atkins, before being cut off at the end of his festival closing set (Derrick May was to follow), traced electronic music's origins by playing some of his early tracks next to those by Afrika Bambaataa and Kraftwerk.

Kevin Saunderson reunited his 10-piece electronic ensemble Inner City to warm up for Atkins, though it was the reunion of A Number of Names that created the most buzz. The Detroit duo behind 1981's "Shari Vari," often cited as the first techno track, played their guitar and synth music together for the first time in 19 years. Long Island hip-hoppers De La Soul made history the heart of their Sunday afternoon show, chronicling their own career from 1989's 3 Feet High and Rising to last year's Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. On the other end of the spectrum was the self-proclaimed future of hip-hop, Saul Williams, whose debut album was released in Europe earlier this year, "but America isn't ready for it yet," he said. The lyricist, who starred in the movie Slam, garnered mixed reactions with his preachings put to electronic and rock grooves. The real taste of things to come could be heard Friday night from the underground Bacardi/Real Detroit Weekly stage, where Autechre were breaking down techno beats on their computers and building them back up with all sorts of twists and turns. With U.K. superstar DJ Carl Cox calling in sick Monday, the final day was bland until the Detroit legends Inner City and Juan Atkins took the stage. When Derrick May came on to announce the DEMF would end early, he introduced Craig to wild applause. Craig's final words: "It was my pleasure to have you in Hart Plaza. We rocked it once again."

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Clouds Settle Over Detroit Electronic Music Festival

24 May 2001 02:55:00 EDT

LTJ Bukem, Kid Koala, Tortoise, others to perform at event pitting founders against one another.
By Corey Moss

De La Soul
Photo: Mo Daoud

Weather forecasts are in, and a dark cloud will likely settle over Detroit this weekend during the second annual Detroit Electronic Music Festival — both literally and figuratively. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected Saturday through Monday. Equally threatening, however, is the turmoil surrounding the event's organizers.

Earlier this month, producers Pop Culture Media announced it was terminating festival co-founder and creative director Carl Craig's contract because he failed to deliver several signed performer contracts on deadline.

Craig, a renowned techno artist and label head many believe gave the DEMF its credibility when it debuted last year, claims the charges against him are unfounded. Last week he filed a lawsuit against PCM and festival co-founder Carol Marvin for breach of contract and defamation of character (see "Carl Craig Fires Back At Festival Organizers Who Fired Him").

The DEMF, which kicks off at noon Saturday and runs until midnight each night, will feature more than 70 performers, including drum'n'bass innovator LTJ Bukem, techno experimentalists Autechre, turntablist Kid Koala and house veterans Carl Cox and Laurent Garnier.

This year's event, again free and held on four stages in Hart Plaza, lacks the hip-hop emphasis that paired Mos Def and the Roots with Richie Hawtin and DJ Spooky. DEMF 2001, however, is loaded with turntable wizards including Doc Martin, Glenn Underground, Jazzanova, Derrick Carter, John Aquaviva, Mark Farina and P'taah (a complete lineup is available at www.electronicmusicfest.com).

"I selected people who would make a statement musically and inspire people to come out and listen," Craig said. "It wasn't like, 'I got to hire this guy because he's a big name.' It was like, 'I got to hire Tortoise because they're unbelievable music makers.' It's all about the music." The inaugural DEMF was several years in the making, according to Marvin, who produced the Detroit Jazz Festival for six years. It was designed to expose a Detroit-born musical style that was receiving more recognition elsewhere. When the likes of Craig, Kenny Larkin and Stacey Pullen first morphed early drum-machine rhythms and synthesizer patterns into nascent techno during the early and mid-'80s, it changed electronic music forever. It was time to pay Detroit and its artists the respect they deserved. Last year's festival drew a surprising 1.1 million people from around the world and was deemed a massive success.

The festival's behind-the-scenes conflicts have many techno fans outraged at the treatment of one of their heroes.

"I have no confidence whatsoever that the DEMF can flourish as it should under people who don't have an understanding of Detroit techno's global importance, its history and its unique strategies," said Tim Barr, author of "Techno — The Rough Guide." "Along with many people here in the United Kingdom, I've cancelled my trip to this year's festival in protest at what I perceive as a fatal blow to what was the most promising event on the global musical calendar." Craig, who is also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his Planet E label this weekend (see "Carl Craig To Celebrate Planet E Label With Compilation, Party, Reissue"), admits his differences with Marvin have affected the festival and his spirits. "It's like the freakin' government taking away your baby," Craig said. "You go to court against the mother of the child and then the judge says, 'We think the mother should have the baby.' Of course you're going to feel really hard about it. It's your flesh and blood. It's my idea. It's a shame we've had to part ways in such a screwed-up situation." Craig's absence will almost certainly affect next year's festival, but what about this year? He is still on board until May 30 and has signed a stellar lineup that includes Mixmaster Mike, De la Soul and Tortoise as well as fellow Detroit artists Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May (known as the Belleville Three, for the suburban high school they attended during the late '70s). "I think the signs were there months ago that this year's event would be very different from last year's," Barr said. "I suspect many of those changes resulted from behind-the-scenes maneuvering as people outside the music have forced their way in, hoping to grab a slice of the action for themselves." Craig said Marvin went behind his back while planning this year's festival, which has been officially renamed fOCUS://DEMF/2001 after sponsor Ford Motor Company's Focus model (Atkins' "No UFOs" has been used in Focus commercials since last fall). Several calls to PCM and Marvin were not returned.

"There's some DJs being put in without my approval," Craig said, though he refused to give names. "If I wanted to hire them, I would have hired them." Still, the show must go on. "The festival is about an idea, a great idea," Craig said. "Just because I have issues with one person in particular doesn't mean it's going to ruin how I feel about the festival. I'm excited about everyone I asked to play. I'm interested in seeing a lot of the new jacks. There's some really amazing talent." Credibility may have to be found elsewhere next year. According to Dan Sicko, a Detroit native and author of "Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk," Pop Culture Media is considering filling Craig's role with a panel of artists and industry insiders. "That can't and won't be as strong as one person's vision by definition," Sicko said. "While things were damn near perfect last year, some seams are showing this year." DEMF 2001 will naturally be compared to last year's edition, a tough act to follow. The festival went off with few hitches (a handful of drug-possession arrests were made and one man was seriously injured when he fell off a statue) considering that more than 300,000 people attended each day. "It was an unprecedented success story," Barr said of last year's DEMF. "The numbers who traveled from Europe to attend confirmed the huge worldwide interest in the music coming out of Detroit." What also instilled the DEMF as a landmark event was the support of Detroit, which provided Craig and Marvin with a venue and initial funding. The city's involvement is in sharp contrast to other dance-music hotbeds such as San Francisco, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Miami, where officials target the club and rave scenes in an attempt to curb the use of ecstasy and other party drugs.

"Detroit realizes they can bring back the reputation and respect Motown had at one time," said Craig, who has released landmark techno records under the aliases Paperclip People, Innerzone Orchestra and Psyche. "It benefits Detroit more to support the music and events like this rather than shut them down." While the event itself is free, the city capitalizes on millions of dollars from tourists, who last year began flocking to Detroit as early as Wednesday for parties. Several clubs will be packing music fans in during the night this year as well. Atkins, May and Saunderson play one of the most anticipated parties Friday at the CPOP Gallery, while Ken Ishii headlines the Mekka party Saturday at the Majestic Theater Center and Metro Area top the 7th City party at the SereNgeti Ballroom. Craig makes his only turntable appearance Sunday at the Planet E party at the Labyrinth.

If the clouds don't pass — both the literal and figurative ones — the weekend's real excitement could well take place indoors.

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