Last weekend he played on the Red Bull Music Academy Stage at Movement in Detroit. Skrillex is no newbie to being the center of attention. He has been attached to such notable personalities as Deadmau5, Team Sleep, and Korn. He’s also been on tour supporting some of ChinaShop’s favorites artists such as Forever the Sickest Kids, Innerpartysystem and Paper Route. We’re impressed…get your skrill on!

CAT RATS by Skrillex

On June 7, 2010, Moore released his official Skrillex debut EP, My Name is Skrillex as a free download.

Catch Skrillex in a city near you this summer:

Appearing with Deadmau5

Sat 06/11/11 London, United Kingdom Victoria Park

Appearing at “Parklife Weekender” / Chase & Status

Sun 06/12/11 Manchester, United KingdomPlatt Fields Park

Appearing at “Electric Daisy Carnival”

Fri 06/17/11 Las Vegas, NV Crown Theater And Nightclub

Sat 06/18/11 Dallas, TX Fair Park

Mon 06/20/11 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom

Wed 06/22/11 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre

Thu 06/23/11 Scottsdale, AZ The Venue Scottsdale

Fri 06/24/11 Pomona, CA Glass House

Sun 06/26/11 San Luis Obispo, CA The Graduate

Mon 06/27/11 Reno, NV Knitting Factory Concert House

Tue 06/28/11 Boise, ID Knitting Factory Concert House

Wed 06/29/11 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre

Fri 07/01/11 Minneapolis, MN Bar Fly

Appearing at “Electric Forest” / REO Speedwagon

Sat 07/02/11 Rothbury, MI Double JJ Resort

Sun 07/03/11 London, ON London Music Hall

Mon 07/04/11 Waterloo, ON Beta

Tue 07/05/11 Rochester, NY Water Street Music Hall / Club @ Water Street

Appearing at “Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest” / Ben Harper

Wed 07/06/11 Ottawa, ON Lebreton Flats Park

Appearing at “Camp Bisco” / Disco Biscuits

Thu 07/07/11 Mariaville, NY Indian Lookout Country Club

Fri 07/08/11 Atlantic City, NJ House Of Blues

Sat 07/09/11 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre

Sun 07/10/11 Huntsville, AL Sammy T’s

Tue 07/12/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant

Wed 07/13/11 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club

Thu 07/14/11 Omaha, NE Slowdown

Appearing at “Global Dance Festival”

Fri 07/15/11 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Appearing at “Lollapalooza” / Coldplay

Fri 08/05/11 Chicago, IL Grant Park

Appearing at “Hard Summer Festival”

Sat 08/06/11 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles State Historic Park

Appearing at “Identity” / Kaskade

Sat 08/13/11 Burgettstown, PA First Niagara Pavilion

Appearing at “Pukkelpop Festival” / Foo Fighters

Thu 08/18/11 Hasselt, Belgium Kempische Steenweg

Appearing at Creamfields / The Chemical Brothers

Sat 08/27/11 Halton, United Kingdom Daresbury Estate

Appearing at “Electric Zoo New York” / David Guetta

Sat 09/03/11 New York, NY Randalls Island

Appearing at “Austin City Limits Music Festival” / Stevie Wonder

Sat 09/17/11 Austin, TX Zilker Park

Appearing at “Holy Ship!”

Fri 01/06/12 Fort Lauderdale, FL MSC Poesia

Sat 01/07/12 Fort Lauderdale, FL MSC Poesia

Sun 01/08/12 Fort Lauderdale, FL MSC Poesia

Words by Barbie Brady. Photos by Joe Gall.

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That’s definitely one way to start off the summer, gentlemen.

Phat Kat: That was dope, man! I’m usually doing spots indoors, so it was good show being outside, right off the water…

Guilty Simpson: Any time you’ve got a live band, it’s a new experience as opposed to playing some tracks off a CD. The element of the band and the natural timing of it opposed to the quantized, robotic timing of a normal show definitely brings some energy to my performance.

Elzhi: The bass felt right and just watching the rest of the set — hearing the musicians absolutely kill those tracks — it felt real good, man. The vibe of the crowd was great, too. I definitely appreciated the whole experience.

Sam, you just had three very important figures in Detroit hip-hop say the band killed the show, so how did it feel on your end?

Sam Beaubien: It feels good to have it done with. It was a lot of work putting this together and just trying to stay true to the music and not trying to do much with the way the songs already sounded. These are some of my favorite songs, so it was an absolute pleasure to perform with all of them.

Is it tough to transfer those beats and bass off the record and plug it into the live band?

Sam Beaubien: There are definitely a lot of steps that go into making the music happen. I don’t just call the band over one night and start jamming, you know. It takes a lot of time to program the keyboards and getting the band tight and then bringing in the emcees and getting them up to speed. When you’re with a live band, the songs change every time. They end differently every time, so you’re never really sure how it’s going to go down. It comes down to a lot of trust between the emcees and the musicians.

Phat Kat and Guilty, the tone and delivery of your respective styles are so different. Is it tough to find a common, cohesive ground when you perform together?

Phat Kat: I’ve always been a fan of Elzhi and Guilty, so it’s all about the chemistry. The chemistry has always been there with all the cats I’ve been working with. If that shit is working, everything else will fall into play.

Detroit hip-hop artists have always been able to head overseas and receive mad love from audiences. Sometimes, it seems like the city doesn’t always show the same sort of respect.

Phat Kat: When you look at the fans overseas, they’re not lazy. People over here are lazy and they’re spoiled. They don’t always appreciate the music coming from here because they feel like they can see it anytime, you know? The people overseas are hungry for the history and do the research. They know songs you probably don’t remember recording!

Guilty Simpson: Sometimes, it’s a lack of respect. Sometimes, it might just be a lack of awareness. Some people that I love to death are like zombies when it comes to music. It’s almost like if you’re a good rapper, you have to be on the radio or be on 106 & Park. They don’t incorporate the struggle when they try to understand the music, you know? When you look at it in that aspect, I don’t think they necessarily have hate or malice in their heart … they just don’t know. They don’t understand the music game. Some people took notice of me, but some people didn’t choose to take notice until I got a record deal. I just think that I’m in the process of writing my history. I can’t worry about everybody, you know? Hopefully, I can make a beautiful body of work so when people go back and listen to it, they can ask themselves, “Damn! How stupid was I?”

As emcees, are the three of you paying attention to what’s going down in Detroit hip-hop right now?

Elzhi: We always do because basically, we’re up in the spots with the same cats who do the music. We just love the fact that there are cats like Danny Brown and Ro Spit are keeping the movement going, you know?

Guilty Simpson: We always make it our business. After you pay your dues in Detroit, you want to make sure [someone] is maintaining the house. That house is Detroit music. Who’s keeping the yard up? Who’s making sure it functions and remains progressive? Who’s pushing the envelope and breaking the monotony? If we don’t tend to and nurture Detroit hip-hop, we’ll lose our way. We always have to nurture the original sound that we do have and elevate that. If we don’t, we’ll get lost in the sauce and won’t know what we sound like that anymore.

In the national media, Detroit hip-hop is always “about” to pop. It’s always “about” to do something. On a very real level, what is the state of hip-hop? When is it going to be forcibly put on the map?

Phat Kat: Who’s to say that it’s not already on the map? By who’s standards are we judging that by? We tour all around the world! The body of the work that we’re doing is appreciated around the globe! To me, Detroit is already on the map.

Guilty Simpson: If someone is waiting on Guilty Simpson’s music to appeal to a 15-year-old, it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to waver with the trends. I’m not going to jump on the next hot thing. I’m not going to recreate myself every three months to follow what’s hot, you know? I’m not going to follow these standards of remaining relevant in the game. You have to sell your soul to do that, so that’s never going down with me. I’ve never really had the 106 & Park game or that aim, you know? Once you understand what your goals are and what you really want to do then, you know, you won. I can do things to get better at my own craft, but I don’t feel like I have to prove anything or sell myself to sell some bullshit music.

Elzhi: I feel like Detroit is on the map just through other people’s music. We’ve influenced a lot of folks…

Phat Kat: Damn, he went there!

Elzhi: We’ve influenced folks who are underground and folks sittin’ on top. I’ve even heard Pharrell on 106 & Park give props to J Dilla.

Guilty Simpson: Said he was his favorite producer!

Elzhi: I know for a fact that Dr. Dre, Korrupt and Snoop Dogg on the “Up In Smoke” tour were on three separate buses and they named their buses after the members of Slum Village, you know? … Just knowing that lets me know that Detroit music is on the map in a big way. It might not be in the forefront like that, but people who make music and drive the trends know all too well what’s up on Detroit music.

Phat Kat: You can ask any well-known artist if they know of a Guilty Simpson, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Slum Village or Black Milk. You better believe that nine times out of ten, they’ll know exactly who you’re talking about.

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper with photos by Dustin Downing

“Why is a guy who professionally brews his own tea and adores ale drinking a Budweiser?” I wonder. “Is Budweiser available overseas? Is Budweiser considered a delicacy for dudes from the UK?”

“His beard doesn’t seem the least bit unruly,” I observe. “In fact, it’s barely there. Where is the hair on his body that helped give him the stage name of Mr. Scruff? Do I really want to know?”

“Did this dude really manage to fit ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ by Aretha Franklin into his set?” I asked aloud to myself (my brain was overheating from all the introspective questioning).

Eventually, the gear was packed away and Mr. Scruff was three cans of Budweiser deep. Backstage at the Red Bull Music Academy stage, one by one my questions were answered (for the most part). The thing about the body hair? We’re leaving it open to speculation for the ladies. As Mr. Scruff tells it, he brought everything with him to record his first single except for a name for himself. When asked what he wanted to label the original recordings, in a flash decision his original moniker of Funky Scruff became Mr. Scruff. By the way, Mr. Scruff did actually sneak ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ by Aretha Franklin into his jazzed-out, sample-heavy set — good work on pleasing the natives. By the way, the Budweiser thing? Yeah, I still don’t get it. Here are the rest of those deeply meditative questions I pondered in action…

You definitely won over some hearts in the crowd by messing around with that Aretha Franklin track. Your love for all things Detroit is well documented, but it’s been a few since you’ve been played here. What’s your perspective on finally returning to the city?

Mr. Scruff: Musically, Detroit and Manchester are twin cities, you know. There are people who love electronic music and there are lots of people who love soul music in both cities. On that same note, a lot of Manchester music was very important to the early techno scene. There is a ridiculously long history of quality music in both cities and when it comes to Detroit, I’m obsessive about all of it … from super early soul to ghetto-tech and everything in between. I need a slap on the wrist for not spending enough time here…

One of the ideas within your music that sets you aside from the performers this weekend is the sense of humor littered throughout your work. It doesn’t really seem like you take yourself too seriously.

Mr. Scruff: I enjoy music. Music, to me, can cover a wide range of emotions — both the emotions of the music and the emotions of the listener. It’s like when you meet a person. I’d rather meet someone who is bubbly, chatty, had a sense of humor, wasn’t too serious and put you at ease. That’s what I try to do with my music and that’s the music that appeals to me. I like music that says, “Come to me! Come over here and enjoy this!” I don’t think it’s a real conscious philosophy because it’s just what I’m drawn to. I do like introspective music as well … [and] the production [on Mr. Scruff material] is really quite heavy, but it’s filled with lightheartedness as well. In the end, I want to make music that people can enjoy and go out and have fun to.

But everyone knows you can’t force a dance party.

You’ve got to go with what you feel and trust your instincts. I never know what I’m going to play, but I’ve got a real sense of what’s necessary at that given time.

I know sampling is a big part behind how your songs are put together, but is live instrumentation something you use during your recording process as well?

Mr. Scruff: Depends. I love the heaviness and repetition of sampling … so when I work with live musicians, I like to have that same approach and not get too fussy, not get too fancy, not get too clean. Sampling music is a real hybrid of live and electronic music because you take something that was quite organic and turn into something quite mechanical and repetitive. If you listen to the White Stripes, that’s very mechanical live music but quite wonky as well. That’s live music that has a mechanical element to it. You can tell those musicians have heard a drum machine before, attempted to copy it and got it a bit wrong which ended up leading to something absolutely amazing.

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper with photos by Dustin Downing

After being dosed with a bit of background information on the young band, such energetic showings and oddball bookings should come as no surprise. In their short, six-year career, Ghostland Observatory has remained an isolated, independent entity. With no label, no public relations team and no form of management whatsoever, Turner and Behrens have taken the most hectic path to success by choice. “It always [comes] back to if we felt comfortable giving away something in return for something else,” explains Turner. “We’ve just chosen to do what feels right. Up to this point, we’ve enjoyed doing things the way we want to do them. If we want to go on tour, we go on tour. If we don’t think a certain show is a good idea, we don’t have to play. There is no one telling us where and when we have to be somewhere … or how we should act. … [In] the beginning, it was definitely challenging because your experiencing things for the first time, but we’ve always kept a positive attitude and kept it simple — get on the flight, do the soundcheck, play the show and make it to the next day.”

Throughout Ghostland Observatory’s hour-long set, the audience chanted and cheered between each song as if to root for the underdog duo. After exploring extended takes on tracks from their 2006 debut, Paparazzi Lightning, and eventually wrapping up their set, Thomas and Turner exited the stage exhilarated and sweating — two long-time friends free to shake hands and meet with the crowd with no handlers to swoop them away. “We’ve built everything on word of mouth,” says Turner, “so we always try to bring the band to our live shows.” On Sunday night at the Red Bull Music Academy stage, Ghostland Observatory definitely brought the bang.

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper with photos by Dustin Downing

While he was raised just across the Detroit River in Windsor, Canada, Hawtin remains a major figure attributed with sparking the fire that was the Detroit techno scene of the early ‘90s. His most established moniker, Plastikman, arrived in the scene at the same time, releasing a trio of acclaimed records — the controversial Sheet One (was it a real sheet of blotter acid featured on the cover?), fan favorite Musik and the Recycled Plastik EP. Hawtin had built the Plastikman name in renegade venues throughout the city then (the infamous party at the abandoned Packard Plant is still brought up each year at Movement), but the preparation for Plastikman’s return was quite a different affair. Hawtin was set to perform behind a 12-foot-tall, 38-feet-wide LED video wall (designed by visual whiz Ali Demirel). Instead of fliers and word of mouth, Hawtin promoted the event by releasing an iPhone app that not only shares Plastikman tour dates but also serves as an interactive device throughout the entire performance. “When we started out, the early Plastikman experience was huge speakers and a strobe light,” explains Hawtin. “But that was physical. It was a dark room and you were just pummeled by sounds and frequencies. This is 2010. Sure, we’ve got some more flashing lights and synchronization, but it’s supposed to be something that comes together and hits you on every level. You’ve got this barrage of color. You’ve got this attack on your ears … the feeling of the bass and the people around you…”

The new Plastikman experience has definitely taken on a new, grander life. An hour before midnight, Hawtin took the stage, the massive shield of LEDs making it nearly impossible to see if an actual person was buried deep inside the shifting colors and designs. Hawtin methodically worked his way through the set, covering his first two releases along with his later work, to present a by-the-book definition of Detroit techno. While the audible chrome of Hawtin’s set was over stimulating at times, the packed main stage howled for more. To close the set and reaffirm Hawtin’s fascination with “man and machine,” the wall of lights and color finally gave way to an actual human being — the deejay himself finally appeared. “Plastikman was always very connected to me being in the studio by myself,” says Hawtin. “We built the stage like me being in the studio, locked away from everybody. [I] thought it was important to finally come out [at the end of the set] and take a step back to the beginning — me and one drum machine, playing around and tweaking something magical out of that. [The show] ended where it all began.”

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper with photos by Dustin Downing

It’s not easy to describe the sounds of Tokimonsta. An initial impression could you leave in a world as “melodic and sentimental” as the artist herself is cute (see above picture). And even though the 24-year-old Tokimonsta’s catalog is somewhat brief, that initial impression could leave you locked into the wrong idea. Within seconds, this Los Angeles-based, self-proclaimed “jack-of-all-genres” can pull a rough, rugged and hip-hop heavy dose of remixed beats out of her bag and no, she won’t hesitate to use ‘em. “I love listening to varied genres,” says Tokimonsta, “so I wanted something with guitars. I wanted something with soul. I wanted lots of hip-hop in it mixed with that electronic, sonic value. As you create, you realize that the years and years of listening to music expel themselves into whatever music your making.” Kicking things off on Monday afternoon, this is the sort of eclectic thrill that Tokimonsta brought to yet another unique weekend performance on the Red Bull Music Academy stage. ChinaShop caught up with the 2010 Red Bull Music Academy attendee to grab up all the details on how this young deejay came to hone her craft and gain some notoriety with some help from Flying Lotus, the adversity she faced early on in the LA hip-hop community and the broad musical tastes that help keep the audience always guessing.  We had a chance to catch up with Tokimonsta at this year’s Movement Festival and this is what she had to say:

The amount of adorable promo photos of you floating around the web have seemed to keep most from actually digging into how you first became a deejay.

Tokimonsta: First of all, me starting to make music came from my love for music in general. I started off listening to rock and grunge. I eventually grew into a lot of underground and mainstream hip-hop. I have a short attention span, so I’m always seeking out something new — a lot of house, a lot of drum and bass, a lot of jungle. I always wanted to make my own music, but I didn’t really have the tools to get started. My first year of college, a friend of mine suggested that I should try making beats. I kept rolling with it, constantly expanding and buying more hardware and falling in love with it … but I never thought people would want to listen to it! It was purely a hobby … like knitting a sweater for yourself or knitting a sweater for your cat (laughs). All of that would eventually lead up to me competing in beat battles around Los Angeles and losing. I felt really bitter about it because I thought they hated on me because I was a young, Asian girl. Eventually I realized it wasn’t just me — you have to earn your way into it and earn your respect.

When did you realize that your “hobby” had grown into something that could actually pay the bills and keep the lights on in your apartment?

Tokimonsta: I actually used to work in business entertainment and advertising. Due to the poor economy, I was getting constantly laid off. This was right around the time Flying Lotus introduced my music to Mary Ann Hobbs at the BBC. She really pushed my music to her audience … expanding it to a whole new set of people. I eventually said ‘fuck it’ and decided to do it full time. I’ve got the credentials to go back to my old jobs, but I just don’t see that happening. I’ve got lots of friends who hate their jobs but remain there because they can buy their happiness. That just doesn’t work for me.

I’m sure you get asked a lot about the “challenges” being a girl in a male-dominated field, so let’s flip the script — what are the major advantages of being a girl in a male-dominated field?

Tokimonsta: One thing that’s good is that I can get away with sentimental music. In the scene in LA, we are all derivative of hip-hop. We use electronic music, but we’ve got that hip-hop mentality where guys can’t make soft shit — they have to make bangers. For me, I can get away with making things that are a bit more soulful without having to be completely obscure. But at the same time, I don’t want to be pigeonholed. Even though I have these songs that are more melodic and sentimental, I’ll always throw out one that totally bashes it away. If you look around, I’ve got certain songs that are completely angry, loud and obscure. It’s all about balance.

Words by by Ryan Patrick Hooper with photos by Dustin Downing

Today’s bloggin best…

- M.I.A.’s very violent video for “Born Free” is highly NSFW. MIAUK

- The video for Nas and Damian Marley “As We Enter” is pretty tame in comparison. 2DopeBoyz

- A prize to anyone who can explain the difference between Bape Ape Sta and regular old Converse All-Stars (besides price, I’m sure). Complex

- The “floppy disk” is officially dead. Wired

- MGMT weird out on Saturday Night Live. Spin

- Heavy metal-Cumbia mash-ups are the new something or another. LA Weekly

- Ricardo Villalobos finally returns to America for Detroit Movement festival. Resident Advisor

- The Hollywood sign is saved by, who else, Hugh Hefner. LAist

If you love dance music, Detroit on Memorial Day weekend is like Christmas, Thanksgiving and July 4th rolled into one.  This year was no exception, both for what happened and what didn’t at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, or Movement 09.

Of the numerous firsts: Carl Cox and Derrick May’s festival debuts. Although both had been scheduled to play in previous years, Cox cancelled because of stomach problems (caused, some speculate, by the news that Carl Craig, his long-time friend, had just been fired). And May, the last of the original techno trio and only one to never play the festival, got rained out by a thunderstorm. To sweeten the pie, Carl Craig was named creative director of Movement 2010. On this last year of the festival’s first decade, history was well served.

Hip-hop was better represented than it has been. Rising talents like Flying Lotus, top-of-their-game superstars like RJD2 and Z-Trip, and a visit by no less than Afrika Bambaataa, one of the men who started it all, kept the Red Bull Music Academy stage packed both day and night. The reception proved that the festival can easily accomodate diversity, especially when the genres share the same roots.

That stage’s success points out one thing that didn’t happen: drum and bass.  Lots of out-of-towners were missing as well. Most of the people who come regularly from places like California, New  York and even Chicago didn’t make it this year. When people have to give up something so close to their hearts like the festival, you realize how bad things really are.

But mostly what didn’t happen this year was the array of all night parties the festival was famous for. This time, the blame goes straight to the city of Detroit, for refusing to let the bars close at four. While there were plenty of private and underground parties, much of that  action took place behind closed or suburban doors, and the 24/7 freak show was conspicuous by its absence.

Finally, there was no Richie Hawtin, who was wrapped up in the launch of his fancy fashion line. A genuine Detroit hero, in spite of his triggering a mass exodus to Berlin, his year off was taken in stride, with the tacit understanding that he would be back bigger, better and, presumably better dressed next year.

But those a quibbles in an otherwise perfect universe. The level of talent, the quality of the music, and the intelligence of the audience has made Detroit a juggernaut. A feather in any DJ’s cap, its survival assured, there’s no surprise that talk is already turning to next year’s tenth anniversary edition. Here’s what they are saying in four words: Make your reservation now.

Words by Neil Feineman, photos by Dustin Downing

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper, photos by Dustin Downing, Additional photos by Joe Gall

For the past ten years, Detroit’s Movement festival has been notoriously fond of after parties. Whether they be of the renegade rave, abandoned factory sort or the most official, posh push-pop you can come by, the entire city becomes blanketed in non-stop nightlife until the sun comes up and the festival grounds once again reopen. Saturday was no exception as the Magic Stick (regularly voted in the top ten best venues in the country by Rolling Stone and Paste, home to the oldest bowling alley in the country) in Midtown Detroit welcomed nationally renowned electronic label Ghostly International’s 10-Year Anniversary to a packed house after tearing apart the Red Bull Music Academy stage earlier that day with the likes of The Sight Below, Lusine, Kate Simko and Ryan Elliott.

“It has been ten years of the festival, and it’s our ten-year anniversary,” points Sam Valenti, owner and founder of Ghostly International, hours before the showcase at the Stick backstage in the green room.  “It’s fun to run into friends that Ghostly has had for six, seven years all day at Movement.” And with Ghostly International Tycho by his side, it’s easy to see just what Valenti is getting at. “It’s exciting to be back where it all started over ten years ago,” adds Tycho. “To be right in the middle of it all…”

After an exhausting (read: really amazing) day hovering around the festival, the traveling carnival rolled north to the Magic Stick to catch magnetic sets by up-and-coming Detroit wonder whiz Deastro, New York’s Michna, Tycho and Chicago’s own Telefon Tel Aviv (myspace.com/telefontelaviv). The party elements of the show were healthy and intact — Deastro crawling across one of the pool tables like some sort of “sexy feline,” a wild-eyed blonde boy stealing beers from behind the bar — but the vibe became focused and colorfully intense when Telefon Tel Aviv began performing. If you’ve never heard the sound of a thousand clouds singing in ultimate sonic synth synchronicity, then you’ve never heard (or witnessed) Telefon Tel Aviv. With Tycho (whose set was equally heart stopping) taking care of the band’s live visuals, Telefon Tel Aviv was free to wander through the ear drums of over 300 people and distort everything they’ve ever thought “awesome” really means.

If you’ve never heard the sound of a thousand clouds singing in ultimate sonic synchronicity, then you’ve never heard (or witnessed) Telefon Tel Aviv. With Tycho (whose set was equally heart stopping) taking care of the band’s live visuals, Telefon Tel Aviv was free to wander through the ear drums of over 300 people and distort everything they’ve ever thought “awesome” really means. We caught up with Telefon’s Josh Eustis after the band’s set in the bowling alley — lights dimmed, lanes empty, crowd dissipating — and were quick to pat him on the back for such an amazing show, but also inquire about the difficulties of performing his first show since Telefon’s Charlie Cooper passed away in January — Eustis’ musical partner-in-crime for the past decade.

What were your thoughts on not only being part of the line-up tonight, but being part of Ghostly’s 10-Year Anniversary?
Josh Eustis: Really cool … especially considering we are not Ghostly artists. We are only surrogate Ghostly artists. We’ve done some remixes, and I’ve done a ton of production for Ghostly … but I haven’t actually put a record out on Ghostly, and that’s cool. That’s just a testament to the friendship [Valenti] and I have. It is a very cool thing to do, and a perfect way for me to start playing shows again.

And that is one of the things people are certainly intrigued by — your quickness to return to the road.
Josh Eustis: I mean, we were going to do this tour in February and that got all fucked up. I didn’t think I was going to play any more shows, and then people started asking the booking agents, “What are the chances? What are the chances?” We have five booking agents, and they were all told to give the same answer, “I don’t know. Ask me later. We’ll get in touch with you.” I thought about it for about six weeks, and I sat in New Orleans and did literally nothing for the month of February. I hung out with my mom, my mom, my brother, [and] my niece. And I thought, “Why not go play shows?” I just made this record. Am I going to pretend I didn’t make it? [Cooper] put a lot of work into that record, you know, and I don’t want his work to go unnoticed or go to waste. I want people to hear what he did in life and that means, for now, keeping the band going.

It seemed like everyone in attendance tonight picked up on the idea of this being much more than a show, a much more monumental thing…
Josh Eustis: This was the first show I’ve been nervous for in nine years … and that gives me great comfort [to hear], man. I don’t want to say we were unsure about it, but it was probably the most just thing to do … to play this record that he worked on and really believed in. [Cooper] and I had many discussions before this record came out about how this one was definitely our favorite, and the [one we were] most proud of. It was exactly the record we always wanted to make.

Photo Galleries by Dustin Downing

Additional Photos by Joe Gall

It’s not like we love Neil Landstrumm — it’s like the man lives inside of our ear drums, pounding out his innovative, hybrid cocktail of dub and grime powered auditory awesomeness. His Sunday set at Movement ’09 was certainly no exception. Although the poor dude was set up to the side of the stage, he made up for his lack of strategic positioning that lives in the world kick snare, kick snare — but stands tall in an ocean of imitators who chase his sound but continually fall flat. When you’ve been it for as long as Landstrumm has, you’ll run it into that … but you’ll also learn how to run directly over it, reverse and repeat a few times until you stand adjacent to only your own legacy and a long line of DJ road kill. For what seemed like an eternity (but was probably closer to an hour if we settle down and face the facts), Landstrumm transformed his daytime set into a time bending performance that turned the audience into midnight marauders of the sexist sort, Landstrumm’s often space age slugtone beats unleashing some of the weirdest, most sensual dance moves we’ve seen in quite sometime.

Words by Ryan Patrick Hooper, photos by Joe Gall