The Bowery Presents upcoming shows
HARD NYC
M.I.A.
Die Antwoord / Skream / Benga / Rye Rye / Sleigh Bells / Theophilus London / Borgore / Destructo / 12th Planet / Nguzunguzu / Ninjasonik / & more
- Venue:
-
South Island Field @ Governors Island
- Date:
- Sat 7/24
- Notes:
- all ages
- Doors: 4:00 PM / Show: 5:00 PM
- $40 Pre-Sale Tickets (SOLD OUT) / $45 Limited Advance Tickets (SOLD OUT) / $55 Advance & Day of Show Tickets + $5 Round Trip Ferry Fee for all tickets
- Governors Island - Ticketed South Island Field Show
- official website
- FAQ & DIRECTIONS click here
Governors Island ferries will begin running from PIER 11, South Street & Wall Street, beginning at 12:00 pm.
THERE WILL BE NO CONCERT FERRIES DEPARTING FROM THE BATTERY MARITIME BUILDING.
Will call & box office will occur on the island at the venue main entrance.
Show time is 2:00PM.
- M.I.A.
- official website
- myspace
- If you read a lot about new music on the Web, odds are pretty good that, at some point between the September 2004 release of "Galang" and the March 2005 release of Arular, you were struck with the urge to turn your computer off or maybe even heave it out of a nearby window. If you don't read a lot about new music on the Web, the preceding sentence indicates how bewildering and draining the chatter about M.I.A. became. Arular, M.I.A.'s first album, leaked well before its official release, allowing journalists and downloaders plenty of time to dissect it and bat ideas back and forth -- taking in the sounds, words, and absolutely all of the context -- before average music fans were able to develop their own opinions. Maya Arulpragasam spent the early years of her life in a number of places. She moved from London, England, to her parents' native Sri Lanka at the age of six months, only to relocate to Madras, India. During a return stay in Sri Lanka, the civil war taking place within the country escalated to the point where Arulpragasam began to lose family members and friends. She didn't see her father -- a devout and active separatist as part of the Tamil rebellion, which has clashed with the Sinhalese majority -- often throughout these years, but her life stabilized once she and the rest of her family were able to make it back to London. As a student, Arulpragasam became involved in the arts and published a monogram book of her paintings -- titled M.I.A. and heavily influenced by the Tamil rebellion. She later connected with Elastica, providing the photography and graphics for the group's second album, and she shot footage during their American tour. Elastica's support act, Peaches, introduced her to the Roland MC-505, a sequencer she became familiar with after returning home. Steve Mackey (Pulp) and Ross Orton became involved after hearing a demo; they made adjustments to "Galang," a song that was then pressed into 500 copies and released, under the name M.I.A., by the Showbiz label. It didn't take long for the song -- a bold, righteous amalgamation of hip-hop, electro, dancehall, grime, and baile funk -- to make an impact with DJs. She wound up signing a contract with XL, which re-released the single and, eventually, debut album Arular in 2005. Anticipation for the release was considerable, only heightened by the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape she put together with DJ Diplo. Her second album, Kala, was released in 2007 and was recorded while spending time in numerous countries. M.I.A. produced most of its tracks with Switch; Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Timbaland also contributed. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
- Die Antwoord
- official website
- myspace
- Die Antwoord lead vocalist Ninja (born Watkin Tudor Jones) was a part of South African hip-hop scene for many years, fronting such acts as The Original Evergreens, Max Normal.tv and The Constructus Corporation. He is known for adopting different stage personas. In the case of Die Antwoord his persona is Ninja: a hyper violent character who is very different from his previous incarnations.
Die Antwoord was later created as a group in 2009, consisting of performers Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and DJ Hi-Tek.. Their debut album $O$ was made available as a free download on their official website. $O$ features Cape Flats rappers, Jack Parow, Jaak Paarl (AKA Jaak), Knoffel (AKA Garlic Brown), Scallywag and Isaac Mutant. In 2009 South African cinematographer Rob Malpage (along with co-director Ninja) shot the video for their single "Enter the Ninja." The video became a viral phenomenon on the internet nine months later, delivering millions of hits to the official Die Antwoord website. Their original South African hosting provider, Hetzner, disabled their hosting account following massive bandwidth overage caused by the traffic following the site launch. The group were forced to move their hosting to a US-based hosting provider to handle the traffic. The "Enter The Ninja" video also features South African progeria sufferer Leon Botha, a prominent Cape Town artist.
- Skream
- myspace
- Meet Skream: Croydon's musical wonderkid. At 15 he discovered making music. Five years later he's changed the course of UK urban music, having helped build the foundations of London's most exciting new musical style, dubstep. But he's barely started yet: because right now, Skream is an artist on fire.
Skream's story begins in Croydon, in secondary school year 11. He wasn't getting on with teachers and they weren't getting on with him: but he was getting on with his music. But two friendships cemented then would start him onto the path to musical success.
First he met Benga, another talented Croydon kid who was starting to make music. Then he met Hatcha, soon to be one of the most influential and pioneering DJs in urban music. Around 2000 Benga and Skream set about building on the early dark garage flavours that were to be found on the pirate airwaves around Croydon. Through Hatcha's sets at club Forward» and releases on the seminal Big Apple label, they were about to create a new phase of dubstep.
At first Skream specialised in one flavour of dubstep: dark. His clipped, techy minimal style became a trademark sound. Long before grime existed, it reflected dark murky streets and sinister nights, the sound of decaying London and its frustrated communities, stuck out in satellite towns and sink estates with nothing but a PC and freely available software to channel their frustration into. Stuck in front of a PC for days on end, that's exactly what Skream did.
Then two years ago Digital Mystikz burst onto the dubstep scene, expanding the sound with new flavours and vivid colours. Skream became even more inspired. It not like he wasn't prolific already - rumour has it he's made over 1500 tracks - but out poured a host of bright new tracks from the wonderkid. Indian remix took him into trippy Asian territories, Cheeky... into Arabia, his unreleased mixes of Sunship fused Jamaican dancehall smut with hooky Kraftwerk melodies. "Smiling Face" broke out cheerful reggae skanks on dancefloors.
But his biggest tune was yet to come. Enter Midnight Request Line - on Tempa records - an anthemic explosion of electro arpeggios and dub sub-bass. It's a tune you can sing along to: Skream has it as his own ringtone. When it got dropped by DJ Youngsta at club Forward» grime dons Wiley, Jammer and the rest of Roll Deep began to shock out, flashing their lighters out of hard earned respect. The flip of this mighty release is bassline boomer "I," an excursion into deep dub basslines and shifting cinematic textures.
***Since the huge success of Midnight Request Line UK & International DJ gigs have been coming thick and fast, with Skream getting a rapturous response at New York's rammed Dub War event, as well as at shows in Leeds, Belgium, Bristol & Germany. He's also been busy releasing classic after classic on the popular Skreamizm EPs, now into the second volume. From the Amen heavy rinse out of Lightning Dub, to the masterclass in LFO-wobbling sub-bass Blipstream, these tracks are rewound at every dubstep rave, have received glowing reviews and are appearing in sets by DJs as diverse as Mr Scruff, Freq Nasty & Ricardo Villalobos.***
It shouldn't come as any surprise he likes sub-bass, Skream has grown up around it. His older brother was a member of Croydon's notorious jungle hell-raising raving outfit Intanatty Crew, which featured Radio 1's Grooverider and Bailey's 1Xtra as members. Ollie, Skream's real name, is no stranger to a bit of hell raising himself, famous for his up-for-it behaviour at parties or out on the town. In fact he's the only known music artist with a subdued alter-ego. Most rock stars are quiet by day with flamboyant alter-egos. Our wonderkid is the other way around. But then that's wonderkids like Skream for you: unique.
- Benga
- myspace
- Imagine the first club you ever get into is, as you step inside, in the process of changing the face of urban music? Imagine you’re only 14 at the time, yet you’re already a producer. Well, Croydon dubstep star Benga doesn’t have to imagine: that is his life.
Age 14 the afro-haired producer went to his first club, Forward>> at London’s now defunct Velvet Rooms, the night widely acknowledged for founding the bassy UK garage hybrid, dubstep.
Having put in years of graft, Benga, now age 21, is a leading light in the rising global dubstep movement alongside his childhood friend, Skream. This year he drops his debut album proper for Tempa, provisionally entitled “Diary of an Afro Warrior,” after the mighty mane that sprouts from his head. “If I cut my afro off, I’d have to start again musically,” laughs Benga.
Aside from the best haircut in dubstep, Benga has a lot to be happy about. At 15 he released his debut 12” “Skank/Dose” on one of dubstep’s founding imprints, Big Apple. A&Red by one of the most influential DJs in dubstep, DJ Hatcha, the label was run out of the Croydon shop of the same name, the hangout for much of the early pioneers and future stars such as Artwork, Horsepower, Hatcha, Chef, Plastician and Skream.
For years Benga, alongside first Skream, then Loefah, Coki and Mala Digital Mystikz, built exclusive musical ammunition for DJ Hatcha. It was this material, aired by Hatcha alone at Forward>>, that propelled dubstep from UK garage offshoot to innovative genre in its own right
After early mentoring by Arthur from Artwork, Benga refined his trade working for a professional studio, linked to the biggest labels in the world. He produced for grime MCs such as Crazy Titch and Ghetto, before concentrating his output on dubstep in 2005.
Since then he’s had releases on electronic stables Planet Mu and Hotflush, self released his own CD and become a respected DJ in his own right, playing throughout Europe and Australasia. Now, all eyes are on Benga’s debut album proper for Tempa, not least because it contains this summer’s largest anthem in Aiya Nappa and Malia. Co-produced with Coki Digital Mystikz, the tune “Night” is a hit not just with the dubstep heads, but with both grime and funky house crowd. With this between its pages, it sounds like the “Diary…” will be a must-read.
- Rye Rye
- official website
- myspace
- Championed by tastemakers like BBC DJ Gilles Peterson and respected producer Diplo, Baltimore rapper Rye Rye arrived in 2008 with an effervescent style and some support from M.I.A. She was only 17 when a rap left on DJ Blaqstarr's answering machine turned into a partnership. Blaqstarr introduced her to the Mad Decent label/studio/family and soon she would land on a remix of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" plus the Diplo track "Wassup Wassup." Next, she signed with M.I.A.'s imprint Neet and released her first solo track, "Shake It to the Ground." By the end of the year she appeared on a remix of electro producer Adrian Lux's track "Strawberry" plus the Count & Sinden single "Hardcore Girls." She kicked off 2009 by appearing on the Fast & Furious soundtrack with the song "Bang."
- Sleigh Bells
- myspace
- The initial meeting between Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells sounds almost like a scene out of a movie: He was working at a Brooklyn restaurant during the summer; she, a fifth grade public school teacher, was one of his customers and by chance they started talking about music. A mere week later they were recording together and thus, Sleigh Bells were formed.
To make matters even more interesting, the two come from very different musical backgrounds, with Derek playing hardcore and Alexis being part of a pop group during her teens. Their differences seem to have merged though as their current music is a bit of a mix between soft and hard. What really got my attention though were the beats. Upon first hearing their EP 2HELLWU I couldn’t help but wonder what hot shot hip-hop producer these two had teamed up with. Tracks such as ”Infinity Guitars” and “Holly” sound almost like The Kills produced by The Neptunes, while the title track and the sweet “Ring Ring” are much more laid back.
The producing is all Derek’s doing though and according to him, “everything starts with and revolves around a beat; vocal melodies and guitar lines sometimes reinforce a kick pattern”. He also claims to still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to producing, but considering how good it sounds now it can only get better.
- Theophilus London
- official website
- myspace
- THEOPHILUS LONDON is a rapper, songwriter and producer from Brooklyn. Fader magazine places him at the center of the borough’s new urban pop movement, while UK music weekly NME goes in a bit further: ”...his patter is sumptuous, his look untouchable, his soundscapes plucked from mythical ghetto neverlands…he’s the real deal.” His first mixtape JAM! was a buzzy DIY effort that tipped off early adopters in the underground, but it was the independent release of This Charming Mixtape via his brand The Lovers in early 2009 that introduced London’s voracious pop appetite and minted him as an artist to watch beyond mere hype. Gliding effortlessly from clubby original productions to 90s rave throwbacks, afropop electrojams, Kraftwerk samples, a backbreaking bass refix of a Whitney Houston torch song—all of it stitched together with London’s breathy, unpredictable flow—This Charming Mixtape’s wildfire appeal soon saw London igniting clubs in Europe and America with stunning live performances. It’s possible this is the arrival of a once-in-a-generation talent: Theophilus London is very much in this moment but not of it. He is currently at work on his debut album.
- Borgore
- myspace
- Destructo
- myspace
- Destructo (Gary Richards) began DJing and producing undergrounds in the early 90s in Los Angeles. Rick Rubin subsequently handpicked Gary for A&R in electronic music at Def American Recordings, launching a noteworthy career with such acts as Lords of Acid, Messiah, David Holmes, Basement Jaxx, Dub Pistols, God Lives Underwater and founding 1500 Records and Nitrus Records. After carrying his success to the metal world with No Name Mgmt, Destructo returned to his roots in 2007 by creating HARD. HARD events such as the HARD Haunted Mansion have become synonymous with cutting edge electronic music and unforgettable experiences, where the talent rosters reflect Destructo's own impeccable DJ sets.
- 12th Planet
- myspace
- John started over from scratch. After seven years touring the world as drum-n-bass maestro Infiltrata, after winning over icons such as Goldie and Photek, John Dadzie gave himself a new name, a new sound, and a new determination. It was 2005 and the gentile beatmaker was inspired by sounds he heard spun by the likes Technical Itch, Skream and Benga. It was dubstep. And it was his calling. Once 12th Planet is born, the story really begins. The British dubstep movement takes hold in LA thanks to 12th Planet and the events he aligns himself with; Smog, Media Contender, HARD, and his own club night Dubtroit. Like the mythological twelfth planet (popularized by controversial author Zecharia Sitchin), our 12th Planet flies perpendicular to the system. His wicked beats are off axis. His subsonic frequencies surround you in their own orbit. America's first king of dubstep is ready for impact.
- Nguzunguzu
- official website
- myspace
- Ninjasonik
- official website
- myspace
- Brooklyn's crunk--punk duo Ninjasonik never fails to get the dance floor jumping. Individually, DJ TeenWolf and Rev McFly have been spinning records and rocking parties across NYC for years. And now partnered as Ninjasonik they bring a whole new type of hip hop to the scene. With their raucous, dance-party live shows, Ninjasonik has grown to be infamous in the Brooklyn DIY community. Dirty dancing, booty dropping, crowd surfing, freestyle improvisation, and audience participation all make for a live Ninjasonik show. And with the release of their "Tight Pants EP", it's official: Ninjasonik has arrived!
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