By Little White Earbuds

Long Island Electrical Systems (L.I.E.S.) is exemplary of the private press label renaissance of recent years. Its releases largely draw upon the output of gifted friends and quintessences, are pressed up with few frills (and occasionally hand-stamped white labels), and have garnered rave reviews and full-throated DJ support with little or no promotion. Yet its founder, Ron Morelli, was initially reluctant to jump into the label game and shows no interest in seeking the spotlight. That hasn’t stopped it from finding him, based on the strength of records by Jason Letkiewicz (aka Steve Summers/Malvoeaux), Legowelt, Willie Burns, Steve Moore, Maxmillion Dunbar, and Marcos Cabral. He’s also introduced the world to the talents of erstwhile unknowns Terekke, Vapauteen, XOSAR, and Svenghalisghost, with more likely to follow. And while L.I.E.S. has hosted a range of techno and house aesthetics, an overarching punk ethos — via bruisingly raw and utterly human sonics — unites its first 12 records. LWE sat down with Morelli to discuss the label’s prolific last year and future plans, his straightforward A&R choices, and his feelings on New York’s contemporary club scene. He also contributed Talking Shopcast 15, an effortlessly diverse and eminently replayable mix recorded before his shift at A1 Records. [Read More]

DJ Harvey – Interview – AllSaints Basement Sessions from AllSaints Spitalfields on Vimeo.

DJ Harvey, AKA Harvey Bassett, is one of the world’s most famous cult DJs and producers of deep esoteric dancefloor music.

Famed the world over for his eclectic sets and masterful use of rare musical gems, DJ Harvey has the ability to speak to the dance floor through the records he plays.

Hailing from Cambridge in England, Harvey now resides at Venice Beach in LA where he surfs and takes time out from his hectic global DJ schedule.

Basement Sessions travelled to the City Of Angels to meet with the legendary DJ at Mophonics studios in the heart of Venice Beach. We talk about his formative years in the UK, his era defining club nights Moist and SarcasticDisco, his introduction to NYC and Hip Hop culture, approaches to production and his friendship with seminal New York DJ, Larry Levan. We also discuss his trashing of a priceless Bozak mixer at a recent festival appearance, his potential return to the UK after 10 years and the making of his recent Locussolus album. [Read More]

Lecture: Brendan M. Gillen (Cape Town 2003) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

BMG aka Electromorph recounts the stormy history of Detroits musical heritage.

Lecture: Masters at Work (San Francisco, 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

Their name says it all – Masters At Work. ‘Little’ Louie Vega and Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez celebrate 20 years together, channeling dance music down new paths with their inventive production style and imaginative feel for different musical forms. The two native New Yorkers have amassed an overwhelming body of work including hundreds of original productions and defiantly mix everything they can find – house, hip hop, funk, disco, Latin, African and jazz – into a universal groove. XLR8R’s Shawn Reynaldo sits down with them on the couch during Red Bull Music Academy’s ‘New York City to SF Bay’ lecture series in San Francisco to discuss the start of their careers and dissolving the barriers between genres.

Lecture: Stretch and Bobbito (San Francisco, 2012) from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.
Pioneering college hip hop radio jocks Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito sit down on the couch for an interview with rap scholar Chairman Jefferson Mao, touching down on the beauty of unprofessional radio and the joy of igniting careers for countless artists like Jay Z, Nas, and Mobb Deep. The interview took place during the Red Bull Music Academy’s ‘New York City To the SF Bay’ lecture series in San Francisco. Oh yeah, and the whole thing is also pretty damn funny.