May 2012
1 post
I'M BACK.
It’s been a long school year. I missed doing this. Glad to be back. If you’re interested, I have news for Iowa City fam:
-Skeets + Feetz at Gabe’s tonight, with Matt Rissi and BTsunami supporting. $7 for 19+/$5 for 21+. One of the best acts from last week’s Interfuse Festival along with two of the best techno dons in Iowa — do not miss this.
-LiMBS, HALF NaKED, Sean...
August 2011
2 posts
Watch
Video: Jack Trash on mainstage. People to the horizon. In the middle of a thunderstorm, 30 seconds before security shut down the festival for safety concerns.
515 Alive was fucking bonkers.
Despite the rain shortening the actual festival (but not the afterparty), this year’s 515 Alive was on par with, though different in sound from, last year’s festival — a very enjoyable crowd,...
515 Alive — TODAY
It’s a party at the end of the world. No, seriously. We’re gonna end this bitch, because there won’t be a damn thing left to do after this party.
515 Alive is the annual Christmas in August of all things DJ — it is the only Urban and Electronic Music Festival in Iowa, and as such, it’s a chance for ravers, DJs, and noobies alike to gather at one spot. Each year...
July 2011
3 posts
Vacations are for being lazy.
Exit Swag v1, enter vacation to Key West.
Exit Key West, enter return to (a pretty fucking great) reality, with a stop in Des Moines first.
I know it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted an update, but there’s a big week ahead for readers and ravers in Iowa, along with some mixes/tunes/news you ought to be aware of, no matter where the hell you are.
Shows:
Tuesday -...
SWAG v1 is TONIGHT.
There was a time where I was not sure I wanted to take a gig so close to coming home.
That was a really DUMB time.
SWAG v1 takes place tonight in Iowa City and will be featuring the absolute best in the midwest, including blog faves KAGE, Colossus, Audiomatic and Ricco Suave (as Blackman and Robbin), Crowd Control and Beat Resonance.
—-EVENT INFO—-
SWAG v1
Gabe’s Iowa...
[MIXTAPE RELEASE] Sarcasmix Vol. 1 — UK Bass
It’s over. 10 months, countless nights out, countless hours spent DJing, countless incredible times I had with amazing friends… oh and I suppose I went to university in the UK too. It’s incredibly strange in a wonderful way to be able to say that I lived in England for a year (note the past tense).
It’s a superbly bittersweet feeling— on the one hand, I’m very...
June 2011
1 post
Everywhere and (almost) back.
Holy canole, I blink for one moment, and by the time I open my eyes again, I’ve done 4 shows in as many nights, gone to London (and back) for a music festival, took off to Dublin for five days, got a cold, went back to London, and now I’m just 11 short days from moving out of the UK. Time needs to stop going so damn fast.
Updates to the blog, naturally, have decreased as the hectic...
May 2011
5 posts
Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life)
For those of you in Iowa City who may not be aware, Mikko Rodney Kuusisto-Wolf, the guy behind the Yacht Club Tuesday dance parties, is up and moving to Chicago at the end of the week. The final dance party that he’s personally over-seeing is tonight, with Beat Resonance and DJ Paradigm.
Most people would take this opportunity to say something nice and meaningful about Mikko, but...
Nemo welcomes you to Summer.
Seems like every time there’s a bank holiday in the UK, I end up listening to drum and bass for the most of it. Combine this bank holiday with the fact that I just turned 21 and that tomorrow is also Memorial Day in the US, and you’ve got a great beginning to what looks to be an amazing summer all over the world.
With impeccable timing once again, the tireless DJ Nemo (aka Scott...
[MIXTAPE RELEASE] Knockout
It’s about damn time. I’ve been trying to get a mix as good as better than Overture turned out since, like, February or some long-ass time ago. I’m happy to say that I think I’ve done it, and just in time for Summer.
I would like to especially thank fellow KDPS alum Kat Perdock for putting together the amazing artwork you see above. She busted her ass on a strict...
B4rringt0n B4ng0rz
There’s gotta be something in the water in Barrington, Illinois, or at least that’s what Kage would probably tell you. Two producers hailing from said town (currently residing in Iowa City) have been popping up once again on my radar and I’d be remiss not to keep you posted on their high-quality recent works.
Kage
Long-time readers of the blog should be entirely familiar with...
Bits + Bobs + HOLY SHIT FWD>>RINSE TONIGHT!
A week and a half and five 2,000 word essays later (no joke), and I’m still predominantly in a single piece. Summer is essentially here and I’m chomping at the bit to get back into some music related things, and I’ve got a lot of news on those fronts as a result…
1) My new hour-long mix KNOCKOUT is coming very soon… like before the end of the month soon. For real...
April 2011
4 posts
Seedy Sonics Summer Party. RSVP + Tix here. →
It’s official: Seedy Sonics 4 is a go.
Dubbed the Seedy Sonics Summer Party, it’s the last event of the 2010-2011 season for the Seedies and likely my last show in the UK. This one is going to be MA-HOO-SIVE. The lineup reads like a music festival:
—————
SCREENDEATH / SCOTT BLEEPZ & ELLIOT CROFT / PADDY LO PASKI
Iggy Tech / Olee / Mr Morrí /...
Planes, Trains, Automobiles: London, Zürich,...
HEYYY ERRBODAY. It’s been definitely one of the crazier weeks I’ve had in a long while. My dad, step-brother, and step-mom came over to visit me last week, and as a result, we took a trip that spanned from London, into Switzerland, over into Austria, up to the Bavarian region of Germany and then back into Switzerland. We saw some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, drank...
officialbeastieboys:
Make Some Noise This...
Rich Rok is my DJ.
So I learn last night that Richie Layton, aka DJ Rich Rok, is leaving Iowa City for Nagoya, Japan, and is playing his last set at Yacht Club tonight. Needless to say, I’m pretty shocked. Not devastated or crushed (sounds like Richie’s got some sweet opportunities ahead for him), but definitely shocked.
I shit you not, there has not been a single time that I’ve been to Yacht...
March 2011
4 posts
None of The Weekend EVER Dies.
It’s the last week of term here at University of Birmingham and spring is officially upon us. Seriously, It’s hard to remember when it was last so nice here in the UK (I think I arrived late enough in Fall that I might’ve missed the nice weather for 2010 outright). With the end of term come the obligatory parties, and there are some banging ones coming up this week:
Monday...
Disco Nap
Jesus, what a week. I’ve been trying to stay well (with varying degrees of success), whilst balancing gigs, lectures, and an odd road trip up to Manchester for an amazing match.
Seedy Sonics III was nothing short of a massive success. Tim and I had a great time and loved seeing everyone out in support of all of the Seedy DJs. If the next installment is half as good as this one,...
Original, Remix, Edit
Ohhhh man, can you hear the bell? Listen real close…
Yes, that bell. That’s the rave bell and it’s been fucking ringing all week.
They hear the rave bell.
It’s lining up to be a HUGE weekend, with me and Slite DJing both tonight (at the UoB Extreme Sports Ball) and tomorrow (at the legendary Seedy Sonics night at Rainbow Warehouse), in addition to a massive lineup at...
February 2011
6 posts
On a roll, son.
If there is one “undiscovered” producer who is on a step above everyone else in the US midwest right now, that producer is undoubtedly Kage. He’s produced a flurry of originals and remixes in the past few months and shows no signs of slowing down in the slightest (in fact, his next release may very likely be a remix of Green Day’s ‘Brain Stew’).
I feel like...
Oh my dayyys.
What a crazy week for my DJ mates from home. I think we’ve all picked one week to become somewhat moderately “productive”/mildly “successful.” Myself, Liz, Nemo, and now Andrew ‘Avant Garde’ Tait (aaand KAGE, but a post is coming on him tomorrow).
DJ Avant Garde Mix for Lovers 2011 by djavantgarde
Two things have made this week a great one for...
Not gonna lie: definitely not a Valentines Day fan. It’s got nothing to do with couples or anything like that, but why is there a need to have a day where the focus is exclusively upon buying things for your significant other?
Luckily, music is still rampantly available, despite the best efforts of the RIAA and here are three stellar bits of music to commemorate the day for both the couples...
Electro/Hard EDM fans: Therewasrain.com has direct... →
Essential Mixtapes // 3 February 2011
Three blog-worthy mixes from three blog-worthy American DJs this week. It’s interesting, even though I find myself in a veritable hotbed for all things big in electronic music in the UK, there’s something about the guys back home that just never gets old… Maybe it’s their enthusiasm for the tunes or their sheer dedication to the craft and culture, but these dudes have been...
January 2011
3 posts
[TONIGHT] SUBSCAPE at REHAB - Bambu (with Slite,...
Dubsteppin tonight from 1 am - Close with Slite at REHAB @ Bambu with SUBSCAPE. Ton of other muy talented DJs too. It’s £5 VIP (£4.50 regular), so you should drop what you’re doing and be there.
Deadlines? You turn things in when YOU DECIDE to turn them in. MASTER YOUR OWN DESTINY.
Work? I called you in sick. You’re fucking welcome.
Car trouble? Buy a Lambo straight cash and...
BIG TINGS
Firstly, no, I’m not dead. I was on hiatus. 10,000 words worth of papers, coupled with seeing all my American friends and family in an incredibly compressed amount of time leaves little time for blogging. It’s not like you missed anything anyway.
But hey: big news. Two things Three things:
1) SEEDY SONICS PART II
The second installment (‘instalment’, if you insist upon...
December 2010
8 posts
[freemusic] Electrocity Loves Me 2010
So Aaron from Electrocity sends me another mix. I’m expecting the standard fare from the duo: 10-15 minutes of hard-hitting, throw-me-in-the-back-seat-of-my-car-because-the-bass-is-so-hard electro-house music.
To my surprise, this is an entirely different sounding, but equally great mixtape from EC. It’s longer and smoother in style, but it maintains the hard edge that sets these...
A Track For Every City: Dallas, TX; Miami, FL;...
So what if I’m a few days late? It’s Christmas, errbody.
Dallas, Texas — Illmerica (Original Mix) - Wolfgang Gartner
Can’t lie, I spent less than an hour in Texas and I know next to nothing about the state, other than it seems to be home to trashy moustaches and Wolfgang Gartner. Matter of fact, I think Wolfgang may be the last good thing to come out of Texas in recent...
A Track For Every City: Paris, France; Detroit,...
DAMN did I get lucky yesterday. Snow managed to shut down a good chunk of the airports around Europe and I still managed to make it out mostly on time/alive. It was a strange journey to see so many vaguely familiar cities inside of one day, it felt almost entirely like a dream, disconnection from reality and all.
Paris, France: Stress - Justice
Originally, I was going to post something...
A Track For Every City: Birmingham, UK
Ain’t Nobody (Breakage Remix) - Clare Maguire
Being that Christmas is now just one week away (from this time zone, at least… it’s 5 past midnight on a Saturday now), I’m realizing just how many cities I’m going to be seeing in such a short time. As usual, I’m spending part of my holidays in Florida, and I begin my journey home from the UK to Iowa just six...
Moar mixes
Another week, another collection of great mixes from DJs in both of ‘my’ cities. Let’s have a look, shall we?
Dave Morrí (Birmingham/London, UK)
‘Bleeps + Bass (Giant Bunny Mixtape!)’
Dave’s style of DJing is really a breath of fresh air. He blends a diverse array of tunes from a variety of genres that still all carry the same general vibe, and he does...
Birmingham ppl: My boy Dave Morrí (along with a... →
November 2010
5 posts
Raw Music, Raw Edits From Electrocity and Yours...
I found myself talking earlier today with Dan Juhl, one half of Iowa City duo Electrocity and a former roommate of mine, in which we brought each other up to speed on some very HEAVY tracks.
It’s funny; Anyone who knows Dan or myself can vouch that we’re two very nerdy, very lanky, somewhat awkward, extremely white guys from the midwest. The fact that we not only love, but...
UK Sounds | AudioDope Mixtape
“No rest for the wicked,” the saying goes.
On the heels of “Overture,” I was asked to put together a mix for the celebrated AudioDope podcast, run by Mike “All Night” Long. Mike is, frankly, one of the real OGs of the Iowa house/EDM scene, and I leapt at the opportunity to be a part of this. The guy knows his stuff and knows it well. He’s the sort of...
Show Tonight w. Boogaloo Crew @ JOKER!!
Just found this out a second ago…
I’m DJing tonight at JOKER @ Rainbow, the top Tuesday club night in the UK’s second city. 12-1 in the Pub, in support of Boogaloo Crew at 1 am in the Courtyard.
Tickets are £4 advance/guestlist or £5 on the door.
Super pumped! See you all out there!!
So I herd you liek mixtapes... (4 hours of music!)
Alright, internet, enough negativity. So I’m bummed about the elections, but sometimes you gotta kick the darkness ‘till it bleeds daylight. What better way to do that then to do your pre-drinking to some bangin’ mixes from the best DJs from the midwest US and UK?
DJ Avant Garde (Kansas City, Kansas, USA) - Late October Demo
House/Electro/Disco/Dubstep
DJ Avant Garde Late...
Catharsis.
photo source
Sometimes, the world just kind of wants you to sit down and shut up. Right now, Iowa City wants the students of U of I to sit down and shut up, but at the moment, it’s really hard to do so.
Mind you, I’m not making light whatsoever of the far more important issues on the ballot, such as the failure to retain the judges who provided LGBT Iowans with equal rights for the...
October 2010
5 posts
[MIXTAPE RELEASE] Overture
Here it is: my lastest work. I’ve been obsessing over it and tweaking it for a few weeks and I’m pretty happy with it. Please download it and TELL YOUR FRIENDS to download it too :)
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
MediaFire (.zip file with album art, tracklist files)
Official.FM (DIRECT DOWNLOAD)
Soundcloud: Overture by DJ_Arbiter
Tracklist: 1. By Your Side – S.P.Y. 2. Still Waters –...
A serious post. For all of my friends.
A number of friends that I’ve spoken to in the last few days have fallen on, for lack of better words, really hard times.
Out of respect to them, I will not insinuate any further to their identities, other than saying there’s at least five friends, and I’m reasonably close with all of them.
It’s one of the most helpless feelings to be in another country, almost half a world away, and not be there...
Crashing gates and raving in tunnels.
Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go out every single night of the week.
I know. It’s unfathomable.
I’m a young American DJ having his first major experience in a place that is arguably the mecca for all EDM fans from around the world and I’m “not making the most of it.”
I’m also a student and person with a limited supply of money to his name. Going...
September 2010
6 posts
Where the heart is.
Above: the fountain outside of the University of Birmingham Student Guild
It’s hard to believe that I’ve really been in this country for all of five days.
On one hand, I’ve been so preoccupied with getting settled here that the time has flown by; the days seem to literally melt into one another. It feels like just yesterday I was in Iowa City for the ISU game. On the other,...
Arbiter At Large Podcast, Episode 3: Setting Sun
As what has been a seemingly endless summer draws to an official close today (it is the 21st, hence the start of fall), my mind is full of the best memories from what has surely been one of the best seasons of my life. It was the kind of year that made me understand why people give special consideration to certain summers from certain years (Summer of ‘69, etc.) and I’m lucky to have...
Anonymous asked: There's a couple audio gaps in the Deadmau5 set you just uploaded, was this your recording or something you found online? :)