Diplo | ChinaShop

Music Major Lazer: Guns Don’t kill people, Ladders Do

August 10, 2010 - 1:35 pm

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Standard for portable ladders contains specific requirements designed to ensure worker safety when using portable ladders. #1926.1053(b)(4) States: Ladders shall be used only for the purpose for which they were designed. Shit! I swear, if any of you tell Skerrit Bwoy from Major Lazer that OSHA may frown upon his leaping through the air from said ladder and into the crotch area of his lady friend, I will turn this car around and no one will be getting a drop of MDMA. Not even you DJ Diplo.

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Daily Dots Daily Dots: PJ Harvey, Richie Hawtin, Coachella, Kode9, M.I.A., Diplo, Michael Alig

by Joshua Glazer

April 19, 2010 - 8:55 pm

Today’s bloggin’ best…

- PJ Harvey plays new song “Let England Shake” in front of UK Prime Minister. NME

- Coachella’s finest freaks. (NSFW) LA Weekly

- Dubstep takeover: Kode9 to mix latest of long running DJ Kicks series. Resident Advisor

- Who says major labels are out of ideas? M.I.A. album announced via blimp. Rap-Up

- You Say Party! We Say Die! Drummer Devon Clifford collapse onstage and dies. Village Voice

- A brief chat with Richie Hawtin. LA Weekly

- A nice talk with Diplo. Wired

- A long conversation with club kid turned murderer Michael Alig. Interview

Daily Dots Daily Dots: LCD Soundsystem, Janella Monae, The Clash, Gorillaz, Banksy, Diplo, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Stussy

by admin

April 14, 2010 - 3:42 pm

Today’s bloggin best…

- Stream the entire new LCD Soundsystem album. LCD Soundsystem

- The Clash member Mick Jones and Paul Simonon rehearsing with Gorillaz video. YouTube

- Banksy piece removed from Los Angeles wall. Hypebeast

- Watch A Million In The Morning trailer. 2DopeBoyz

- Watch Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid trailer. 2DopeBoyz

- Hidden messages in the run-off groove of famous records. Public Collectors

- Diplo gets fitted for a suit by Ford Models. The Fader

- Stussy x Pete Rock x DJ Premier. Nah Right

Music Warming Up For Coachella – DJ Sets By Coachella Performers 2010

by Joshua Glazer

April 12, 2010 - 9:58 am

Coachella might be known as one of the world’s finest rock festivals, but since it’s inception all the way back in 1999, the event’s promoters put as much focus on LA rave culture as they did catering to the alternative nation (now called the indie rock masses). From Daft Punk to Kraftwerk, many of Coachella’s greatest moments over the years have come from electronic music titans. Here’s a collection of sets from artists playing this year’s festival. The perfect collection of beats to get you warmed up for the desert.

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Music Araab Muzik: Sonic Objects and Ill Elements

by Geo Hagan

March 26, 2010 - 12:32 am

It’s often debated whether a person’s genes or surroundings decide their outcome in life, but in the case of young producer Araab Muzik, the music has always been part and parcel of his DNA.
“ I started making beats when I was 10. I was playing the drums when I was only 3-yrs-old and I learnt the piano soon after that,” he begins. “My mother is a singer as well – she has two albums out herself – so I’ve definitely been blessed with the gift of music since birth.”

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Gallery Music Diplo Runs the Show, with a Little Help from Major Lazer

by Jacob Cottingham and Dustin Downing

March 25, 2010 - 11:14 am

The consummate man-behind-the-curtain, Diplo, aka Wes Pentz, has been responsible for the rise of pop musicians like MIA, Blaqstarr and Santogold, a record label (Mad Decent) and one of today’s most hyped acts, Major Lazer. So it was pretty fitting that I was able to slip into the depths of the Mexican-American Cultural Center for a few minutes with one of modern music’s most influential heads. He’s done this a million times already and is cool and collected, friendly and far from flapped even though we spoke in the midst of what I was later told was an extremely hectic time.

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Austin TX Music Franki Chan’s Austin Takeover

by Joshua Glazer

March 17, 2010 - 12:04 pm

For the tens of thousands of music heads who descend on Austin, TX each March for the SXSW music conference, the accompanying day parties have grown to equal the official night time showcases. And no place is this more true than this year’s Carniville—three days of music and mayhem presented by Mad Decent, Jelly NYC and IHeartComix. With headline acts Major Lazer, The Walkmen and Diplo, plus almost 40 other artists, rides, games…oh, and free booze, this is one fiesta not to be missed. Chinashop will be there and we asked IHeartComix head Franki Chan to get us psyched. Read the full story →

Music Diplo

by Shop Keeper

January 13, 2010 - 11:09 am

Diplo‘s beat-mixing is a combination of the anarchic, the freakish, the heavily-distorted, and it’s a bit hard to describe just because of its pure eclecticness: if ever a DJ belonged in a straitjacket, it’s Diplo. Clearly he approaches his profession with as open a mind someone as erratic as him, and to process funk, alternated between a pseudo-metal guitar and 8-bit synth modulators, ain’t easy for the listener–one can only imagine what it’s like for him. He’s stolen from everyone, including James Brown (for the funk) and NIN loud, digitally-blanketed guitar (see:industrial metal) though that last feature is a rare one. Get a better idea of the music behind the man on The Red Bull Music Academy website.

Music Major Lazer Wants You!

by Shop Keeper

December 7, 2009 - 1:37 pm

Ever seen a band that just completely and utterly lacked an ability to laugh at themselves? In trying to survive in today’s musical environment, having a healthy dose of self-effacing humor helps big-time, and one glance at the various websites related to Major Lazer (if the name alone isn’t enough) shows that the band is more than willing to laugh at itself. While the project is comprised of on-the-rise DJ/producers Diplo and Switch, a band biography makes clear that “Major Lazer is himself a fictional animated character, who fought as a Jamaican commando and lost his arm in a secret zombie war in 1984.” A closer look at his discography shows that he isn’t above collaborating with a wide range of different artists. Take a listen to “Hold the Line” featuring Mr. Lex and Santigold and get an idea how legendary Clint Eastwood western composer Ennio Morricone can be mashed with a flurry of different beats and Caribbean rhythms. They draw largely upon the Reggae influences of old, but channel it all in a new way. Check out The Red Bull Music Academy for more.