It's the Supersound

Whoever said you can’t keep a good woman down obviously had the foresight to know that Ruth Flowers was soon to be hot on the DJ scene. She spins at the hottest clubs in Paris, wears some of the freshest duds, and she’s called "Mamy" by those closest to her. See, Ruth is 69 years old…and she literally kills on the decks.

"It’s a little bit glammy…a bit over the top, perhaps. But it fits the bill, I think", the softspoken sextagenarian quips about her musical styles. Influenced by her grandson’s music she heard at his birthday party at a London nightclub. "I was dumbfound…there was such an atmosphere! It was so different from the parties I used to go when I was young. There was a real osmosis between the lights and the music, it really drove and made me feel so much younger."

Since the budding DJ was on pension, she had a lot of free time. Her grandson introduced her to a French producer and they hit it off immediately. With the help of his team, she began to book local gigs and now mans the music at hot spots throughout France. Up next for Ruth? Her debut single, Mamy Rock, is scheduled for an as-yet-to-be-determined release.

Watch part of her original web series, Behind the Decks, below. (I had no idea she was this legit when I joke-tweeted about her earlier this week.)

mp3: DJ Ruth Flowers – Mamy Rock 

In anticipation of his upcoming album, The Keep, on April 19, South London’s Boy 8-Bit will team up with fellow countryman, Fake Blood, on a tour through North American. The trek kicks off this coming week in Calgary before ending the journey back in Canada near the end of the month.

Even though Boy 8-Bit, nee David Morris, grew up "listening to Guns N Roses, Metallica and a lot of heavy metal", he’s been able to carve out quite the niche for the lovers of sporadically rad dance tracks. Whether remixing big hits from La Roux or creating his own original bangers, he’s successfully made a name for himself as a purveyor of "sweaty good times".

All dates for his North American tour are below.

March 9 - Hi Fi — Calgary, AB     

March 10 - Fortune Sound Club — Vancouver, BC      

March 11 - Starlite Room — Vancouver, BC    

March 12 - Mezzanine — San Francisco, CA  

March 13 - Hard 13 @ Nokia — Los Angeles, CA      

March 14 - Voyeur — San Diego, CA    

March 15 - The Vault — El Paso, TX    

March 17 - Republic Live — Austin, TX   

March 18 - Beta — Denver, CO

March 19 - Webster Hall — New York, NY

March 20 - Sound Academy — Toronto, ON

March 25 - Hard Pool Party — Miami, FL   

March 26 - Ultra Festival — Miami, FL   

March 27- SAT — Montreal, QC  

mp3: Florence and The Machine – Drumming Song (Boy 8-Bit Remix)

mp3: Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood Remix)

mp3: Gossip – Love Long Distance (Fake Blood Remix)

mp3: La Roux – Quicksand (Boy 8-Bit Remix)

mp3: Fake Blood – Mars (Boy 8-Bit Cover)

Vitalic jumped onto our top 25 Be[a]st Albums list last year with his 3rd official studio album, Flashmob, and since first hearing it way back in the summer months, it’s long been a mainstay in our "we wanna get rad right now" tune stops. While we immediately swooned for the single, Poison Lips, the cut, Second Lives, is another example of the French-Italian’s mighty hand.

Second Lives is the next single forthcoming from the talented producer. It will be released on March 22 on 12" picture discs and digitally with remixes from Bloody Beetroots, Lifelike, Mustang and Colonel Up and Mister Down. A bonus Flashmob remix by Popof will also be included.

Vitalic also just released the video for Second Lives, which is directed by Julien Henry. 

Watch the powerfully simple visuals strike home with anyone who has ever used a restroom…read = all of us.

mp3: Vitalic – Second Lives (Lifelike Remix) 

Our buddies Coz and Ryan have been somewhat quiet lately, or so it seems. The duo, known more familiarly as Streetlab, are an NYC-staple of nightlife pleasures and nifty productions. So we'll back 'em up and say, no, they haven't been hiding, they've just been mega busy prepping their full length debut, out on April 20.

Making a name for themselves by remixing classic rock songs with club-ready beats, Streetlab quickly burrowed a place in my heart with dance-floor filler fixes of Hall and Oates and The Doors, but it's their original tunes that we're super geeked about today.

On deck is Rat Racer, their first single of the debut, which is available on iTunes now. The cut features Noelle on vocals and mixes a steady thump with the delicate handiwork that makes their tracks both unique and widely acceptable. Additionally, we're dishing out Lay Me Back, which pairs DJ Van Scott's pipes with the boy's precision production. 

Bonus! Streetlab are making an appearance at the Union Square Best Buy on March 12. We'll see you there...or else.

mp3: Streetlab (featuring Noelle) - Rat Racer

mp3: Streetlab (featuring Van Scott) - Lay Me Back

If the simple release of a track list can make you desire to hear an album, then let Crookers‘ debut, Tons of Friends, be the barometer for all your pre-yearnings for a good listen. Corralling guests like Kelis, Roisin Murphy, Drop the Lime, Miike Snow and more, the Italian DJ-duo easily eclipsed my highest level of "wanting to hear" way before any tracks were let loose.

Sure they’ve got loads of lads and lasses in their corner, but how does this all stack up when given a proper twack marking? Let’s listen in!

Crookers – 01 - We Love Animals (ft Soulwax and Mixhell) [we honestly don't enjoy this until 2.5 minutes in when it gets mega bassier...C-]

Crookers – 02 - No Security (ft Kelis) [digging deep drums and kelis is in fine raspy form...gotta say bart b more's mix is superior...B+]

Crookers - 03 - Natural Born Hustler (ft Pitbull) [frantic & fiery, pits spits while dudes bend nasty bassline...certified freak-worthy...A]

Crookers - 04 - Let’s Get Beezy (ft will.i.am) [oh geeze...there is no reason for this to be on album...sounds like an awful BEP reject...D]

Crookers - 05 - Park the Truck (ft Spank Rock) [2 minutes of repetitive lyrics & spacey echoes...wish spank would have spit more...meh...C]

Crookers - 06 - Hold Up Your Hand (ft Róisín Murphy) [had higher hopes for it but murphy's vocals match the darker arrangement nicely...B+]

Crookers - 07 - Hip Hop Changed (ft Rye Rye) [verging between dubstep & d'n'b this deep ditty uses ryes vocals to carry bland 2nd half...B-]

Crookers - 08 - Cooler Couleur (ft Yelle) [immediately piqued w/ the french lyrics...softer than we've ever heard them hit and it works...A]

Crookers – 09 - Birthday Bash (ft The Very Best, Marina, and Dargen D’Amico) [tropical, fun, and primed for poolside summers...repeats...B+]

Crookers – 10 - Put Your Hands on Me (ft Kardinal Offishall and Carla Marie) [could live without, but will always dance when heard out...B]

Crookers - 11 - Royal T (ft Róisín Murphy) [beat drop at minute mark is sweat inducing...the "junk feeling" line is ace...best cut yet...A+]

Crookers - 12 - Remedy (ft Miike Snow) [piano-driven w/ icy vocals, this is more melodic than anything we've heard thanks to the guest...A-]

Crookers - 13 - Arena (ft Poirier and Face-T) [jamaican riddim carries the weight of this cumbersome track...slipped a bit there boys...C]

Crookers - 14 - Tee-Pee Theme (ft Drop the Lime) [one minute and 40 seconds of vocal tics and tricks...nice change up from big bangers...B+]

Crookers - 15 - Transilvania (ft Steed Lord) [more proof that the boys tend to use female vocals to make a solid cut...i dig this 100%...A+]

Crookers - 16 - Have Mercy (ft Carrie) [wet & rubbery beats lay nicely under ms wilds' smooth tone...forgive me father line is way rad...B+]

Crookers - 17 - Jump Up (ft Major Lazer, Leftside and Supahype) [youll recognize this from major lazer's album last year...we still dig...B]

Crookers - 18 - Lone White Wolf (ft Tim Burgess) [gunslinger beats & ghost town vibe, this smacks us from nowhere & we're not mad at it...A]

Crookers - 19 - Day ‘n’ Nite (Acapella Skit) [this is cudi being cudi and by that, i mean it's him being silly...& totally unnecessary...C]

Crookers - 20 - Embrace the Martian (ft Kid Cudi) [still the best work cudi ever did, thanks to crookers...we can't hate on it too much...B]

Let me say, that on first listen in its entirety last week during their official streaming listening party, I was floored with the variety of guests and musical tones pumping forth. Credit it to a virgin hearing experience, because when we threw on the album today, something entirely different happened.

Sure there are tons of friends, but there is also a slow start to really getting into the album. Save for the Pitbull feature 3 tracks deep, the album really doesn’t showcase the boys’ talents until 8 cuts in, when they rope in Yelle for a French boudoir bumper. The majority of songs we favor are those in which they do enlist the support of the female vocals. Maybe it’s the feminine vs masculine disparity that they were able to harness, but regardless, each of the womanly-warbled tracks sit high atop our list of best of the album.

As a full album, it’s not one we’ll go back to very often, save for those few tracks. Take the Roisin Murphy-voiced Royal T; easily a contender for top dance floor filler of the year so far. Intermittent cheers for the dudes on their debut.

mp3: Crookers (featuring Roisin Murphy) – Royal T 

August 2009 saw The Bloody Beetroots‘ debut album, Romborama, get a proper release. The Italian electro-DJ duo’s offering was one that we had high expectations for but ultimately, ended up hoping it would have hit us harder than it did. Until we got wind of something special last week.

2nd Streets Have No Name is the second track from Romborama to see a proper video release. The single is an attractive electric ballad where the beat builds and the melody truly shines, thanks to the participation of the Austrian-born, Beta Bow.  In the Parisian-based video, we see Bob Rifo and Beta Bow providing the lush sounds, while dancer-actress Christine Leroy portrays the stunning protagonist.

With production credits given to the French producer Etienne De Crecy and Ed Banger’s Vicarious Bliss, it’s no wonder that the newly-unleashed visuals strike a strong chord in our heart today.

Watch, and swoon, now. 

mp3: The Bloody Beetroots (featuring Beta Bow) – 2nd Streets Have No Name

mp3: The Bloody Beetroots (featuring Beta Bow) – 2nd Streets Have No Name (The Sonixx Remix)