I have come across numerous talented musicians and singers since my temporary move to LA. Amongst these I have to list production team The Difference who I had the pleasure to jam with last weekend.
The duo of Adam Gurr (Atlanta, GA) and Carlton Douglas (San Antonio, TX) are preparing their attack on worldwide domination from their own sweet Danger City Studios right out of Hollywood.
Their ever growing catalogue shows they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty with a bunch of different genres for a variety of artists. Talented musicians in their own rights it is evident the duo complement each other’s influences and ideas.
I like to think by the next time I check in on these guys they will be needing some form of IVR system to stay on top of their numerous projects.
To celebrate the release of Florence + The Machine‘s ‘Ceremonials‘ album we have a copy of the album and related goodies to give away to one reader.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to comment on THIS post in the Cougar Microbes facebook page stating your favorite red head in history is. The winner will be picked at random on the 9th of December.
Cougar Microbes has teamed up with Southern Comfort to offer one lucky reader the chance to take three mates to the Southern Comfort Juke Joint party on the 17th November at Islington’s Metal Works.
On the dance floor you’ll rub shoulders with live brass band musicians as they jam along to beats by DJs Blonde Ambition, The Dixon Brothers, Domin8or and John Hendicott.More importantly headlining the one-off night will be Hot Chip’s very own Joe Goddard.
To enter simply answer the following question in the comment section below:
What is your favourite Western Movie quote?
The competition is open to UK residents who are over 18 and our winner will be selected at random on tuesday 15th.
These tickets are like gold dust, but if you don’t win, don’t cry, check out facebook.com/SouthernComfortUK for details on the next Juke Joint. Good luck!
Melvins had already achieved cult status before some of their fans were even born. Still, the ‘Godfathers of Grunge‘ continue releasing albums and touring prolifically putting many of today’s artist to shame.
The band are currently winding down their European date and are due to play the final show of this tour at Bristol‘s sweet Thekla venue on the 4th of November for what should be an explosive night
Personally, I have a good bond with the venue having played a couple of shows there in my “rockstar” days. Back then I remember crashing on these cute little leather corner sofas whilst the rest of the band where loading the gear. To date some of the best sleep I’ve ever had before the rest of the band dumped a bucket full of water on me!
Presumably the lovable sofas are now gone and there will be no dumping of water this time. Still, it will certainly be great to see Buzz Osborne and co gracing this intimate venue and tearing it’s roof off.
Thom Yorke is taking over the 6 Mix this Sunday at 8pm GMT and I’m particularly excited to hear he will be revealing some exlucsive tracks that did not make it to ‘TKOL RMX 1234567‘.
On top of that you can expect him to expose the music he is loving at the moment from a diverse range of artists. This is a good time to mention Cougar Microbes will be doing a collaboration with BBC6 Music in the coming month or so. Will keep you posted!
When I discovered I was going to be spending some time in Los Angeles this summer one of the things that excited me the most was to take in some sports matches live. With there being no American Football team in LA (at present) and the Lakers managing to get knocked out before I even arrived those two sports were off the radar. Instead I focused on trying to get LAKings tickets as well as some for the Dodgers.
A couple of weeks ago I was able to get tickets for the Dodgers, no doubt aided by the fact they are having a poor-ish season, and see them beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a surprisingly good encounter. It was everything I ever expected and so much more. The atmosphere was electrifying and the fans were great. Believe me, there is a big difference between seeing a home run on TV and seeing one live.
On a recent trip back to London I was flicking through my brothers fancy new freesat box when I heard a band that sounded very familiar playing in the background. Turns out The Whip are finally releasing a follow up to their 2008 debut ‘X Marks Destination‘ and it was about time!
‘Wired Together‘ sees the Manchester three-piece return with the same frantic beats and sweet melodies but their songwriting has seemingly evolved becoming more ambitious encompassing different moods.
Evidently the 6 months spent in the studio with produced Jagz Kooner helped the band get their creative juices flowing.
‘Wired Together’ is out on the 26th September 2011 on Southern Fried
As we headed towards the O2 arena for Smirnoff Sensation 2011 there was a evident buzz on the tube to the venue with everyone already making friends and getting hyped up. Once we arrived we were escorted to the press area but we could admire the insanely long cue of people dressed in white ready to go crazy tonight.
We enjoyed a complimentary drink from our vantage point in the highest tier of the o2 and were shown where we could get the best view which at 9:30 looking down was admittedly still pretty empty. As the venue visibly filled up including the deluxe area -a white castle amongst the stands- we could see the long queues we had spotted earlier gradually trickling in.
As we begun mixing with the crowd one hour lateral and there was a lot of anticipation in the air. It was great to see that Sensation had brought it’s trademark scenery to London. We were able to admire a ginormous jellyfish hanging from ceiling, vast underwater scenery and a spaceship like 360-rotating DJ platform with bubble-like lights sticking out strategically positioned at the centre of the venue.
Nothing was missing from this night that fans wouldn’t recognise from either a previous event or the youtube videos. Close to the launch hour, although not completely full yet, we were ready for the count down which hit us with a repetitive boom. There were fireworks, fountain works, crazy lasers scanning the crowd and the deep echoing recognisable voice of Sensation.
Mr White kickstarted the night injecting the place, which was really filling up now, with dancing fuel. He offered a good electronic beat, deep house with powerful beats. As we moved deeper into the dance floor, we observed (and appreciated) all the kinky and fun costumes. Swans , angels, aliens, carnival, masks, t shirts with puns e.g ’ this is a white t-shirt’, white sunglasses, wigs and all sorts were on display.
Powering on from Mr White‘s performance came Eric E who offered more electric beats to keep the mood going. To be honest the biggest attraction of this set were the huge glowing colourful balls that were tossed around to stimulate the crowd. We tried to get in the mix but it proved really tough to reach up with everyone else.
Joris Vroon & Nic Fanciulliwere on next. Their set tick-tocked its way on to the dance floor quirky electronic sounds. First offering the strong beat from Alex Kenji’s ‘Something About You‘ before carrying with classics from Junior Jack, Daft Punk and Groove Armada, as well as more quirky minimal techno from Plastikman. These guys did not disappoint offering one of the best sets of the night in a lot of peoples’ opinion.
The Smirnoff Mix entailed a mashup of well known tracks like the never failing Benny Benassi ‘Satisfaction‘ mixed with unexpected oldies like Depeche Mode‘s ‘Personal Jesus‘. This was a fun set to that entertained and surprised us. By this point I think everyone in the entire arena was wearing a Smirnoff ring. With its LED light you could see all the grooving hands shimmer looking really cool from the distance
Fedde Legrande opened his set with Madonna music. This electrifying start was magnified by fireworks and Cirque de Soleil style dancers coming down from the ceiling- for me this was the best moment, you actually had to stop and just watch. Again, a great set was delivered on the same level as Nic Fanciulli earlier. You could tell that everyone was ecstatic at this point screaming, wolf whistling and yelling with excitement.
Martin Solveig turned up with his trade mark sweat band around his head hitting with his latest tune ‘Hello‘ right at the beginning of the set. All in all, even if was the DJ we were most looking forward to seeing , he was a bit disappointing as rather commercial on the night. he pleased the crowd with some floor fillers that have rocked our us since our teenage years but we might have found it a bit outdated.
No worries though because Sander Van Door managed to lift the spirits much higher after Solveig set. He too dropped some classics like Zombie Nation with ‘Old School‘ but the beats were a bit more lively. Spectacular fireworks appeared again for the ending followed by a deafening round of applause from the whole arena. Of course there was an encore last smashing tune, and no one dared to leave till it was actually all over and the lights came up
What can I say, Smirnoff Sensation 2011 was truly sensational and I didn’t want it to end. The good news is the mc ended things by saying ‘see you next year’. I think I speak for everyone in saying: I can’t wait!
to feature an array of amazing releases and artists (past, present, old and new) with the goal of promoting them to anyone interested and anyone who stumbles across this site.
If you like any of the tracks, please go buy the albums and help finance the artists producing this great music.
If there are any issues with the tracks featured do not hesitate to contact: "team (AT) Cougar Microbes (DOT) com and we will happily oblige.
