Every Tuesday (starts September 7) EMERGENCY PARTY 11:00PM 21+ FREE Resident DJ’s: Lizzi Bougatsos, Brian Degraw, Tim Barber, Nick Relph, Spencer Sweeney, Andrew Kuo MC’s: Telfare, Shayne, Allan (The Legend) Hosts: Rob Pruitt, Gavin Brown, and Parinaz Mogadassi
Spencer Sweeney and Andrew Kuo, both multi-instrumentalists and visual artists, represent a scene of culturally ravenous artists and individuals whose uncompromisingly creative vision is the lifeblood of New York City’s downtown. The two have gathered their circle of creatives to essentially resurrect the cult favorite residency Sessions at Santa’s and expand its vision, resulting in a new social experiment dedicated to freedom entitled EMERGENCY PARTY.
At the helm of the roster of residents are Lizzi Bouagatsos (IUD) and Brian Degraw (Smiths Night), also of Gang Gang Dance, throwing down unpredictable sets. Also confirmed are DJ’s Tim Barber, Nick Relph, Rachel Chandler, Sweeney and Kuo will be hitting the decks themselves, and in the house will be MC’s Telfar, Shayne, Allan (The Legend). “Freedom Jams” are the name of the game, and the mammoth upstairs system at Santos will be blasting tunes to expand the mind and coax the will to dance. The party will also feature guest appearances, live sets, pop-up art sessions and oddball curators on a weekly basis. Weird is back with a vengeance.
The get-down that's been tearing it up in New York City for decades brings the funk to one of the best sound and light systems in the city. Known for slanging Colt 45, free chicken wings and offering no special treatment to the models and celebs who frequent, Frankie Jackson's Soul Kitchen invites aspiring hoods, hipsters, and old-school party people alike to take over the room and harmoniously tip their bottles while grooving to a soulful soundtrack provided by Frankie Inglesse.
TOUBAB KREWE, BREAK SCIENCE and MAMARAZZI live November 19, 2009 8:00 PM 18+ TICKETS HERE
TOUBAB KREWE It was only four years ago that the Bonnaroo staple and culturally transcendent ensemble known as Toubab Krewe crystallized as a cult favorite of jam festival-goers and African music enthusiasts. While most of their classmates at Wilson College were having identity crises, the quintet was redefining the notion of identity altogether, earning a grant to travel to the Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali to study traditional African instruments and techniques. They emerged having fully incorporated their African education with the folk and rock they grew up playing together.
The Krewe are two percussionists and three string players alternating between electric guitars, basses, the souk, kamel ngoni, and the kora. Their mostly instrumental, heavily improvised music recalls jam-bands like Phish, the Americana folk of Deer Tick and the Afropop tambours of Osibisa. Their 2005 debut LP, consisting primarily of re-arranged African standards, turned heads in the realm of “world music” and solidified their international, acclaim. Afropop Worldwide raved that the release “set a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music.”
Their most recent album Live At The Orange Peel is an on-location performance recording featuring all new material including the surf riffs of “51 Ft. Ladder” and the lush percussion of “Maliba.” The album is an incredibly layered and bountiful offering produced by the Grammy-winning Steven Heller (Chet Atkin, David Wilcox). At Santos Party House on November 19th, they will be resurrecting that magic on the best sound system for live music in the city. The coalescence of many musical strains will no doubt reach an unprecedented climax.
“A Toubab Krewe show typically begins in the past, with a brief percussive disquisition on West African rhythms; gradually picks up velocity as more surf, jazz, dub, and hip-hop ideas are stirred into the mix; and ultimately climaxes in a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy.” (THE VILLAGE VOICE) Toubab Krewe homepage
BREAK SCIENCE (closing) Adam Deitch is the one-man production/live percussion machine who meshes organic improvisation with deft sampling and breakbeats. He has played alongside Earth, Wind and Fire, Chaka Khan and has produced for Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and MF DOOM to name a few. Break Science on Myspace
MAMARAZZI (opening) Mamarazzi is the result of the natural magnetism between the ripest of musical facets. Taking the the left-field dub harmonies currently being explored by Tanlines and TV On The Radio, the African rhythmic sensibilities of Antibalas, as well cool jazz inspired arrangements, Mamarazzi has something every serious music lover. Their Myspace cleverly suggests "Mathrobeat" as a term for classification. Members have played with Qustlove, Wyclef, Roy Hargrove, and Farka Toure to name a few. Mamarazzi on Myspace
Tickets available at: OTHER MUSIC 15 East 4th St New York, NY 10003
Shonen Knife, Miho Hatori's New Optimism and Shellshag October 16, 2009 7:00 PM 18+ TICKETS HERE SHONEN KNIFE Shonen Knife is one of alternative rock’s most enduring names, as their youthful and uplifting melting pot of styles defies time and classification. One could call them riot grrl, but that would overlook the light-hearted charm of their compositions and subject matter (candy, toys, and enjoyment). One could call them J-pop, but that would negate their raucous punk sound and the moxy they displayed in becoming one of the first internationally acclaimed all girl rock groups. Their notoriety is boosted by some memorable name-drops by Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore and Wesley Willis among others. This summer they’ve released the new album Super Group, packed full of boisterous jams featuring a new regular member, former touring bassist Ritsuko Taneda.
The band formed in 1981 by sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano and Michie Nakatani. Coming from Osaka, Japan, a key site for Western imports, they were heavily influenced by the rock and roll streaming in from the United States and UK. Thus, their sound was a stripped-down take on punk and new wave with an unmistakably do-it-yourself presentation. Unlike their Western counterparts however, their 28 years of rock has not veered from upbeat, frivolous lyrics about animals, food, and friends. Though, at times, their J-pop cutesiness is peppered with the occasional strangeness or controversy. The cut “Dali’s Sunflower” was banned in Japan due to what authorities deemed as too explicit a reference to “going crazy.” “Twist Barbie,” the groups 1983 cut and perhaps their most popular, laments the Western feminine ideal as impossible to attain for Asian girls. Their import-only studio albums were favorites of the US underground rock scene, and in 1986 Sub Pop began releasing and reissuing material in America. In 1989, the tribute album Every Band Has A Shonen Knife That Loves Them was released featuring covers by Sonic Youth, The Mr. T Experience, Redd Kross and more. The band would go on to enjoy the fruits of American stardom, appearing on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Beavis and Butthead, on CNN and onstage at Lollapalooza.
When Michie left the band in 1999, Atsuko put down the drumsticks took over duties on bass, making room for Etsuko Nakanishi to join the band as a permanent member behind the kits in 2005. In 2008, Atsuko left the band due to her marriage and was replaced by longtime Shonen fan Ritsuko. Super Group came out in May with critics haling the return to form. As Nipponrock.net proclaims “…the music is still as relevant as ever. Silly lyrics, stripped down rock melodies and a potent sense of fun make Super Group a great album.” The Culturedeluxe blog heralded the record as having “something for the metalhead, the pre-schooler AND the acid casualty out there.” On October 16th, they will be playing Santos Party House, also dedicated to fun, for what promises to be a memorable night for the eternally young among us. Shonen Knife on Myspace
MIHO HATORI'S NEW OPTIMISM Known foremost as the vocalist for Cibo Matto, Miho Hatori has long been establishing herself as a solo composer and envelope-pusher. Her 2006 solo album Ecdysis threw together driving beats that mixed ambient electronic tones with some harsher noise and an airy vocal. Aside from her solo and Cibo endeavors she has lent vocal talent to Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modelling School, John Zorn, Blackalicious and The 6ths. Miho Hatori’s New Optimism
SHELLSHAG Get them before they get too cool for you. Shellshag are an unfairly infectious punk band from Brooklyn with a strong with a cross-coastal appeal. Perhaps a bit gritty but the world will compensate. Don Giovanni Records has just announced that they will be putting out the group’s debut LP which promises to bring their drumset-destroying antics into the comfort of your own home. Shellshag on Myspace
10:00PM - OPEN residency with Q-Tip, Rich Medina and Jared Boxx
New Q-Tip video:
Diddy video shot, among other places, at Santos Party House:
August 17, 2009 8:00PM - A BENEFIT FOR CINEMA NOLITA All tickets sold at the door. Full proceeds to Cinema Nolita. More acts TBA.
THE VIRGINS Returning to Santos a year after selling it out, The Virgins are virtuosos of groove, recalling the tambours of garage rock and the melodic undertones of new wave. Often compared to The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand for the dance punk sensibilities, the band has accomplished a lot in their 3 year run, including opening spots for Jet and Sonic Youth. Hot off the heels of destroying their Lollapalooza set, Santos is proud be hosting The Virgins again, before they’re forced into playing arenas or something like that.
THE BEETS Not to be confused with the fictional authors of “Killer Tofu,” The Beets are known for their raw take on classic bar-room punk. Their emphatic harmonized vocals are absolutely perfect for their pummeling strums and schoolboy drums.
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (DJ SET) Perhaps the pre-eminent name in experimental pop, Animal Collective is what every modern psychedelic sampler aspires to. Combining artfully crafted and melodically articulate lyrics over samples, synths and polyrhythms, Animal Collective put a freakishly distorted twist on the everyday. Their most recent album, Merriweather Post Pavillion has received nearly universal acclaim. For the Cinema Nolita benefit, they’ll be commandeering the Santos Party House sound system with a unique DJ set.
LEMONADE Lemonade is an unusually intense take on electro punk transplanted from San Francisco. Their beats are densely layered, heavily percussive and matched with a sinister vocal. Organic sounds and samples are equally essential and prominent in their tunes. While it’s not unusual for American dance music to incorporate Latin and Arab musical tropes, Lemonade does it without adding any additional gloss or glitter, allowing the sound to remain gritty and bizarre, a welcome home for samples and wave manipulation.
CALE PARKS Cale Parks has moved from behind the drum kit for Aloha and White Williams to fronting his own unique musical project. His solo work has, since it's inception, been a foray deep into texture, rhythm, pure sound and onwards into the heart of the song. His 2006 album Illuminated Manuscript owes as much to his classically trained precision (as a trained orchestral percussionist) as it does to his ear for melancholy, summoning comparisons with the repetition of Steve Reich, the sadness of Arvo Part & the electronic textures of Mum. 2008's Sparklace builds all these aspects into a more structured whole indebted to the dark 80s British electronics of New Order and Depeche Mode. To Swift Mars, released on August 4th will come to be seen as his mission statement, where he combines the textural lessons learned from his previous works with a greater mastery of songwriting and a more organic instrumentation.
DINOWALRUS There’s something anthemic about Dinowalrus’ tranced-out experimental rock. All three members are multi-instrumentalists, as adept on strings, percussion and woodwinds as they are on their samplers and modulators. Energetic and infectious, their music transcends time, and rests somewhere in space between Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth, and New Order.
TEENGIRL FANTASY Through heavy use of samples and electronics, Teengirl Fantasy create moments of droney, polyrhythmic neo-disco and freeze them for repetition. The duo’s mastery of drum machines is unparalleled, and their sense of ambient harmony is quite astute for fellows just learning to master their hormones.
Thurston Moore will be curating a Sessions at Santa's weekly party on April 7th. He'll be bringing along with him some otherworldly talent from his Ecstatic Peace label, who'll be conducting the proceedings as ecstatically and peacefully as a night of utter destruction can be.
