THIS BLOG NO LONGER HOSTS UPDATES - THERE IS A NEW SOCKETS WEBSITE!

Go to the new Sockets website:

SOCKETSRECORDS.COM
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NEW SOCKETS WEBSITE!

THE SOCKETS RECORDS WEBSITE HAS MOVED! Please update your bookmarks and start heading to SOCKETSRECORDS.COM for up-to-date information. As of today, this Sockets Records blogspot will be an archive. Thanks!
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Sockets Web Update

Please bear with us for a few more days as the Sockets Records blog gets a facelift and changes over to a website with a little more capability. We're learning as we go, so things take a little more time than we can sometimes anticipate. For now, here's a video of Foul Swoops via Yeah Gates Records:


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City Paper's Gig Chill Article

The DC City Paper's Jonathan L. Fischer just posted an article on the challenges for bands booking their own tours. Imperial China's Brian Porter gets interviewed for the article and here's a little snippet:

Imperial China recently dropped its debut full-length Phosphenes on the local labels Sockets and Ruffian, and self-booked a weeklong Midwestern tour of mostly clubs.“The ideal venue was a Velvet Lounge in every city,” says member Brian Porter. The band more or less broke even, he says, and it plans to self-book another short tour this fall. But it wasn’t easy, Porter says: “It was like a second full-time job, to be honest.” The band is recording another album this winter, and is considering looking for a booking agent once it’s ready to tour behind it—someone outside D.C., with connections to venues across the country.

Touring ain't easy. And is not something a lot of DC bands do too often. Check out the full article here.
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Imperial China and Cephalopods in NYC Friday

Imperial China, Cephalopods, and Miracles will be playing a show at Lit Lounge this Friday in Manhattan. Cephalopods is the new project from Hugh McElroy, Fiona Griffin, and Wells Bennett. The fact that these three people are in one band is enough to nearly cause face melt. Here's the flier:

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Q St. NW DC

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New ZS Out Today

Go get the new ZS record, New Slaves, available via the Social Registry Records site. Brooklyn Vegan just posted a comprehensive update on the band which you all should read. Here's a snippet about tonight's release show in New York:

Avant-garde trio Zs are celebrating their new LP New Slaves (out now on Social Registry) with a show at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn tonight (5/11), and they've brought along a pretty amazing cast of characters to pad the show. Kicking off at 8PM, the Brooklyn band will be joined by noise collective Excepter, guitar god Mick Barr and synth band Silk Flowers with river-dredging vocals, in addition to Dutty Artz DJs Matt Shadetek & Lamin. Tickets are still available.

Check out the full article here.
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New Sockets Website Coming Soon

I'm almost finished with a slightly improved Sockets Records website. I hope to have it launched by early next week at the latest, so keep coming back here. Blogger has been good to us over the last few years, but Sockets is in big need of a face lift. We'll post more details soon!
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New Macaw Recordings

Head over to Macaw's Myspace page to hear a new live recording. Macaw is the solo project of Wilson Kemp and is one of my favorite new projects in DC. It makes complete sense since Wilson is one of my favorite people in town. Macaw's "Five Minutes at the Rainforest Cafe" is featured in the most recent Sockets Spring Mix that you should download now!
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Frau Eva @ DC9 on May 11

Tomorrow, May 11th, Frau Eva play DC9. They have video flier for the show. In the words of Frau Eva's multi-instrumentalist Ben Usie, this video is "slightly weird". I say bring on the weird!


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Half St. NE

"They got the bee but not the hive":

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VIDEO: The Cornel West Theory "Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs)"

One of my favorite tracks from last year's Second Rome was "Durito's Revenge (Dirty Bombs)". The Cornel West Theory are on fire right now, collaborating with DJ Underdog and Jati Lindsay on a series of videos for songs from last year's album. All of these videos are shot on location in Washington, DC. Here's the latest:



Expect a DVD with videos of the band and exclusive content some time this summer. A new mixtape is almost finished as well. Cannot wait to hear that.
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Family Restaurant on 11th and E Streets

I took a photo of this on my way home from a movie earlier this week. The diner was empty, but the neon shown bright:


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ECHO! Tonight!

Tonight! Dodge City! The first edition of ECHO, the new Sockets Records monthly night. Aaron Leitko (Protect-U) and Cole Goins (the Cherch) will join me on the decks. AND, we'll have Sockets merch available for reduced prices.

The Washington Post has some nice things to say about tonight.

Here's the info:

ECHO
Dodge City
917 U St. NW DC
w/ Sean Peoples, Aaron Leitko, and Cole Goins
May 6th
10pm
FREE
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Washington Post Express Features Imperial China

Imperial China were featured in the Washington Post Express today. If you didn't grab one this morning, you can read the article online here. The article describes some of the process behind writing Phosphenes, the group's latest release (out now on Sockets and Ruffian!!):

Over the course of several months, Imperial China nailed down and tore apart its strongest cuts, and the result is the highly satisfying debut "Phosphenes." To get the job done right, the band teamed up with Devin Ocampo (Faraquet, Medications) at his basement studio in Anacostia. A seasoned Dischord veteran, Ocampo played a major part in the process.

The band plays this Friday at The Rock'n'Roll Hotel and are joined by Buildings, Connect the Dots, and Loose Lips.
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Cornel West Theory at Red and Black Friday

This Friday is full of good shows. I'll be djing over at Rock'n'Roll Hotel all night during the Imperial China and Buildings show. But The Cornel West Theory are also playing the other side of H St. at The Red & The Black. Here's the flier and info:


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DOWNLOAD: Echo Mix 1

I hope y'all can come out to Echo this Thursday at Dodge City. I put together a little mix (with some tracks from Cole Goins and Aaron Leitko!) to get you ready for the night. Enjoy:

Echo Mix 1 (download via sendspace)

1. Homage - Koushik
2. The Death of Mr. Spock - Roots Radics
3. Rise and Praise (Valinqueur remix) w/ Koki - Rhythm & Sound
4. I Wanna Be With You - KRL
5. Neeve - Wolfy vs. Projections
6. Acid Tabla (remix) - Suns of Arqa
7. Uzi (Pinky Ring) - El Michels Affair
8. Obi Agye Me Dofo - Vis-A-Vis
9. Golden Diva - Flying Lotus
10. Love Me Like This (Nonsense Dub) - Floating Points
11. Make 1, 2 - Arthur Russell
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Unrest!

(Unrest '93 © John Falls)

Hearing that Unrest is reuniting for Teenbeat's 26th Anniversary is like every single holiday you can think of wrapped into one. I just bought my tickets for this:

WASHINGTON, D.C.
July 10, at The Black Cat
UNREST ('83-'86, Tim Moran, short set),
UNREST ('88-'89, Dave Park, short set),
VERSUS,
THE RONDELLES (original trio),
BOSSANOVA
MCs: Jonny Cohen and Patrick Bryant

So psyched!
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Imperial China and Buildings at R'n'R Hotel Friday

There are two Sockets related events this week. First, Thursday night marks the first edition of ECHO. It's going to be nice and "chill" as Aaron Leitko would put it. Then, this Friday, two Sockets bands, Imperial China and Buildings, will be performing at Rock'n'Roll Hotel. Loose Lips and Connect the Dots (a Sockets favorite) will be joining them. I'll be there all night DJing between sets, so it'll be jam packed with goodness. Here's that flier for Friday in case you missed it:

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Dinner with the Band

Imperial China will have a track highlighted on IFC's Dinner with the Band. It's going to be featured on the Murder City Devils episode. That's pretty damn awesome. But, this begs another serious question. What would you eat if your were eating dinner with Imperial China? I don't know yet... but the dudes in the band are classy bros, so I would make sure it was a meal with some quinoa or something equally impressive.

Here's an image IFC has for the Murder City Devils episode:

(image courtesy of IFC)

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Sockets Records Presents: Echo

This Thursday, May 6th, marks the first edition of Echo, a monthly DJ night at Dodge City (next door to Velvet Lounge). Aaron Leitko (Protect-U) and Cole Goins (the Cherch) will be joining me all night as we bring a pretty eclectic mix of tropical house, dub reggae, dancehall, afrobeat, minimal sounds, Sockets exclusive tracks as well as some new classics.

I'll be bringing some of the latest Sockets merch, all at discounted prices! Here are the details:


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The 42 Bus Blogs Mt. Pleasant Music Festival

Tim from The 42 Bus blog (one of our favorite DC blogs!) just posted a few photos and wrap-up of the Mt. Pleasant Music Festival. Check it out.

Did anybody else go? What did y'all think?
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DCist Sockets Interview

Valerie from DCist just posted an interview with me about Sockets Records... Wow, I talk a lot. Here's a snippet:

Most of the bands on Sockets are based out of D.C.. Do you think that music in this area is headed toward that experimental pop framework?

I think so. I think what's great about D.C. right now is there's a lot more sites getting calendars of things to do every single night. Which there wasn't really four or five years ago. So, there's a lot more opportunities to go out, but there's not as many people still. It's just not that big of a city sometimes. There are a lot of people who live in Virginia and Maryland who probably like this stuff, but just won't come in necessarily for a show. But, I think given the sort of excitement around D.C. being more of an arts/music/culture center is manifesting in stuff coming out. Bands are getting better. There's a lot more of a community around some of these bands, too.

Read the rest of the interview here.
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America Hearts

I checked out America Hearts last night at Velvet Lounge. It was one of the first shows in a long time where I found myself smiling the entire set. I had heard the early recordings on the Fond Regards EP, but had not heard the full band do its thing. Jess Matthews' (lead guitar/vox) songs embody a whole new dimension with her expanded band. Very tight, quirky guitar pop, with a sense of humor and some melancholy to boot. Also, if there was one, this band might win a DC all-star contest, since it features Mark Cisneros (Medications); Justin Moyer (El Guapo, Supersystem, Edie Sedgwick, pretty much a DC music hero); and Olivia Mancini (who I keep hearing amazing things about!).
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New Zs Download: "Acres of Skin" on Village Voice

I cannot wait to get a copy of the new Zs record. If the first single off the album is any indication, these guys are burning. "Acres of Skin" is available on the Village Voice Sounds of the City blog, so I would say stop reading this and head over there for some Zs goodness. The Social Registry is releasing the band's new record entitled New Slaves. It's out May 11th. Sockets released a cdr for Zs a few years ago entitled Four Systems (an interpretation of Earle Brown's original composition) and then a remix 12" that is still available from Sockets - $12 postage paid.

Here's a little snippet from the Village Voice interview with Sam:

What inspired this song musically? We had done another song that feature clapped rhythms. Ben had an odd, kind of twisted riff that involved some detuned strings, and I suggested that it be a sort of follow up to our first clapping joint. After that, we just tried to let the material play itself out naturally. Then there was some work in the studio to make it pop.

Go get it!
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