The Big Pink, “Dominos” (Switch Remix) MP3

Switch is a quiet dude to make such a racket. He records mostly in his in-house studio in LA, doesn’t like to play shows and generally is happy to have nothing to do with the overdriven dance music he’s helped to frame. But he is interested in rock music lately, remixing dirgy duo The Big Pink’s single “Dominos.” He’s turned their guitars mostly into fire engine squeals, but left their vocals mostly untouched, just looped decree that these girls fall like dominos. With their drum machines and riffs replaced with hard 4AM-in-Barcelona BPMs, their disembodied voices sound especially cockney, single hometown missive amongst a complete reworking. This remix is like a college thesis on border crossing.



Download: The Big Pink, “Dominos” (Switch Remix)

Major Lazer f. Ricky Blaze & Nina Sky, “Keep It Goin’ Louder (Diplo Remix)” MP3

There is no doubt Diplo will one day just remix remixes of remixes of his own songs until he has to just release shit and name it “Diplo” to keep from breaking the internet. And it won’t break. The songs will all sound different—like this one sounds a little like Brick Bandits—and will only be available as lolcats embeds on YouTube. And some day, maybe ten years from now, this site, and your site and Google and everywhere else will be known as Diplolz and Google Wave will look the Bill of Rights in comparison. This is how the end begins, with one extra hot remix of one super duper club jam while people are seriously worrying about Obama’s Peace Prize and global warming. Wake up, World!



Download: Major Lazer f. Ricky Blaze & Nina Sky, “Keep It Goin’ Louder (Diplo Remix)”

Stream: Crookers f. Kelis, “No Security”

What with the epic “Scars” with Basement Jaxx and this sparkly dubstep joint from our Milano party brethren Crookers, we’re impressed by Kelis‘ sudden ubiquity, having just popped a kid and gotten divorced and all. As Annie Mac (that’s Annie Mac, right?) says on this radio rip, the new US mainstream’s interest in dubstep is kind of bazonkers, though we’re still waiting for that Jay-Z/Joker collabo. But then Ms Rogers has always been adventurous—you’ll recall her early work with Neptunes when they were the hottest shit in space—and we hear she’s been working on her new album with our beloved Switch, which sounds like one of the best ideas ever. Until that transpires, we’ll marvel at this YouTube rip of “No Security,” which Crookers put up on their own blog. That’s kind of funny, right?
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Major Lazer f. Prince Zimboo & MIA, “Baby (Switch RMX)” MP3

This track is a short, powerful burst of autotune baby, sparse rhythm and Prince Zimboo’s “heh” as a counter-rhythm, which sounds awesome, though not sure we really needed to hear him talking about breast milk before MIA’s politically charged treatise and heart-hurting confessional about growing up without a pops. MIA gets multiple daps for repping single moms, and “Baby,” off the Major Lazer Mishka mix (and Prince Zimboo’s Facebook page), proves MIA, Switch and Diplo remain the most powerful trio of all the potential Major Lazer combos (you probably found this by googling), their collective intensity fitting together like global diaspora Tetris. Sidebar: MIA’s kid in Henry Holland (above) is just like, the cutest shit ever.



Download: Major Lazer f. Prince Zimboo and MIA, “Baby (Switch RMX)”(via Generation Bass)

Exclusive: Sticky K, “Sweet n’ Sticky Summer Mix” MP3

Bay Area producer/DJ Sticky K whipped up this mix of his hottest remixes and original tracks especially for us—a healthy sampling of his mastery of synths you can bite into, and the kind of creative drummy reworking that landed him a coveted spot in Switch’s heart (and on his label). This mix includes his take on Major Lazer, Crookers, Larry Tee and Drop the lime, plus his own tracks—the single “Bandari Funk” has had a crucial spot in our workouts as of late, and he recently broke down the Persian origins of Bandari (and his cheeky reference to it) over at Generation Bass. On the “Sweet n’ Sticky” mix though, the historical falls away for the purely visceral, house crunches whipping into a heavy bass frenzy. Tracklist after the jump.

Download: Sticky K, “Sweet n’ Sticky Summer Mix”
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FEATURE: Major Lazer x Mad Decent Interview

  • story Matthew Schnipper
  • photo Gabriele Stabile

Diplo owns a gun. He says so while peppering a clerk with questions about a very Rambo-esque semi-automatic at a gun store in Philadelphia. His gun, used for hunting with his family, is in Florida, not here at either his apartment or the enormous old mausoleum he uses as the headquarters for his record label, Mad Decent. Despite the two touchpads, Diplo is rarely in Philadelphia and is in the process of moving out of the very cheap apartment, which is currently crammed with records, sneakers, old magazines and years’ worth of other crap. Being there is more like a weird sideshow for him than a trip home. Some guy with a ponytail wanders shirtless out of the back room. He doesn’t introduce himself and Diplo says he doesn’t live there.
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FADER TV: On the Road with Bacardi B-LIVE, Episode 13 – Washington D.C.

It’s been a minute since we just sat back and enjoyed the energy-rock stylings of FADER Label’s Matt & Kim on the Bacardi B-LIVE 2009, so when the duo rejoined the party train in the nation’s capital recently, we just pointed and shot and it turned out pretty good. Stay tuned for more episodes from future dates along the way including interviews, live performances and who knows what else only on FADER TV.

FADER TV: On the Road with Bacardi B-LIVE, Episode 12 – Philly

As Bacardi B-Live 2009 rolled into Philly, it wisely added that city’s most storied DJ, Diplo, and his infamous UK Major Lazer partner, Switch, to the bill. Coincidentally, these dudes are also on the cover of The FADER’s brand new issue. We interviewed them issue and it is a great read. Such a great read that we decided to interview them again for FADER TV. Maybe we’ll interview them again next week. And the week after that. There is only one way to find out and that is to continue checking for these videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday right here. Nice suits, dudes!

FADER TV: On the Road with Bacardi B-LIVE, Episode 11 – Boston

Bacardi B-LIVE 2009 and Beantown came together for some unBelievably Bonkers Bananatownery recently, so of course we hit up Best Beatjuggler under the Big Blue Sky… oh, it’s A-Trak, sorry about that, thought it was a B thing. Anyway! Dude is still nice with it! He blogs excellently for FADER and is one of the nicest dudes we know. So of course as soon as we had the chance we caught up with him to talk about his progression as a DJ and his globetrotting prowess. Stay tuned for more episodes from future dates along the way including interviews, live performances and who knows what else only on FADER TV.

FADER TV: On the Road with Bacardi B-LIVE, Episode 9 – St. Louis

The Mizzou leg of Bacardi B-LIVE 2009 brought Santigold and her fierce-ass dancers for a show we’ve now seen 1,376 times but never gets old. Maybe it’s their outfits. NOPE, IT’S THE JAMS. Stay tuned for more episodes from future dates along the way including interviews, live performances and who knows what else only on FADER TV.

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