POPSHOP006: KEEPAWAY + BODY LANGUAGE

Can't stop, won't stop, never get enough. This whole Popshop thing has been going pretty damn well, but still we just can't keep ourselves from sweetening the deal each month. So not only are we expanding the lineup to four bands, we've also got an amazing open bar deal for complimentary Absolut from 8pm-9pm. If you're like us you'll have drunk your way through your ticket price's worth of free dranx by the time that's even halfway done, so come out early and get your drink on Thursday June 2nd for the next installment of our beloved club night.

Then kicking things off at 9pm we've got Brooklyn's Living Days (who we introduced you to yesterday), followed by SXSW hype magnet and electro darling Computer Magic, our favorite Bk partystarters Body Language and the absolutely incredible Keepaway headlining, who just might be the best new live band in the city. Then keeping you dancing from 1am til late will be world renowned Chiddy Bang beatmaker and all around legend Xaphoon Jones killing it on the decks until the early hours. Advance tickets available HERE, set times and mp3s below:

09:00pm: Living Days // DOWNLOAD: "Go Oblivion"

10:00pm: Computer Magic // DOWNLOAD: "Electronic Fences"

11:00pm: Body Language // STREAM: "Falling Out"

12:00am: Keepaway // DOWNLOAD: "Yellow Wings"

01:00am: Xaphoon Jones (DJ) // DOWNLOAD: "The Jackson Pit"

CMJ 2010 // NEW SHAPES 2.0

It's that time again, as we make our way towards mid-October and the collective gaze of the music industry falls upon CMJ and all the beautiful chaos that comes with it. Last year we brought you the first annual New Shapes party, which saw everyone from Theophilus London and Darwin Deez to Chief and Local Natives grace the stage at Santos Party House. This year we're going even bigger with it, moving to the wide open spaces of Brooklyn and the multiple stages of Public Assembly, and it's finally time to bring the curtain back on what's easily the biggest event we've ever been a part of.

Chess Club are once again our partners in promotional crime for this event, and we've also teamed up with the UK's Plugged In PR to help us bring you one of the best and brightest line ups on offer at CMJ this year. It's all going down at Public Assembly on Thursday the 21st of October, from 3pm to 3am, with two stages and over 20 amazing new bands playing over the course of the evening. Below you'll find the full line up and schedule for the night, complete with mp3s so you can sample the artists on the menu for the evening. Tickets are currently on sale via the event page HERE, and at only $12 a pop that's a hell of a bang for your buck so you'd do well to move quickly and reserve your ticket today. And as this is an official CMJ event, we will also be opening the door to a limited number of CMJ badge holders, but as space is limited you'd be wise to arrive early to ensure entry.

NEON GOLD ROOM
04:00pm: The Good Natured (London) // MP3: "Your Body Is A Machine"
05:00pm: Body Language (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Huffy Ten Speed"
06:00pm: Samuel (Manhattan) // MP3: "I Heart NY" (Remix ft. Joell Ortiz)
07:00pm: Spark (London) // MP3: "Shut Out The Moon" (Monsieur Adi Remix)
08:00pm: Emil & Friends (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Sleepyhead"
09:00pm: Brahms (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Subtext Is Deadly"
10:00pm: Fenech-Soler (London) // MP3: "Lies"
11:00pm: The Sound of Arrows (Stockholm) // MP3: "M.A.G.I.C."
12:00am: Penguin Prison (Harlem) // MP3: "Worse It Gets" (Starsmith Remix)
01:00am: The Knocks (Manhattan) // MP3: "Make It Better"

CHESS CLUB ROOM
03:30pm: Santah (Chicago) // MP3: "No Other Women"
04:30pm: Savoir Adore (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Bodies"
05:30pm: Alex Winston (Detroit) // MP3: "Medicine"
06:30pm: Ava Luna (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Clips"
07:30pm: Oberhofer (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Away Frm U"
08:30pm: Devin Therriault (Brooklyn) // MP3: "I Don't Think I"
09:30pm: 1, 2, 3 (Pittsburgh) // MP3: "Confetti"
10:30pm: Grouplove (Los Angeles) // MP3: "Colours"
11:30pm: The Postelles (Manhattan) // MP3: "123 Stop"

Once again tickets are $12 (BARGAIN) and available online HERE. There's also a Facebook event page up over here, and you can stay up to date on all further updates via our official Neon Gold Records twitter feed here, which to be honest you should have probably already been following anyway.

MAKE IT WORK.

Body Language are some of our favorite people in the world, so we're thrilled to see everything blowing up for them at the moment. Since we first wrote about them last year, their fantastic debut Speaks EP has dropped on Moodgadget, they've impressed NYC crowds supporting La Roux and locked in an upcoming tour with Zero 7. Suffice it to say, things are going pretty damn well. With that, we're thrilled to premier the brilliant Yes Giantess remix of EP standout "Work This City", which comes off like a brilliant italo-disco update of "Star Guitar", all urban atmospherics and late night grooves.

MP3: "Work This City" (Yes Giantess Remix) - Body Language

THIS IS GOING TO BE BIG.

Correction: this is going to be bigger than big. We've teamed up with Chess Club and GreenShoelace.com to put on what we hope to be one of the biggest parties of CMJ next week when we take over Santo's Party House (our favorite NYC venue) from 3pm-10pm Friday the 23rd. Two stages, 11 bands, drink specials galore, fresh DJ's, there's quite literally nothing more you could really ask for. Be there. Advance tickets are available now for $10, or cop yours for $12 on the door. Shit is about to get REALLY real.

UPSTAIRS
5:00pm: Alessi's Ark // MP3: "Simple Man"
6:00pm: Chief // MP3: "Mighty Proud"
7:00pm: Yes Giantess // MP3: "Tuff N Stuff"
8:00pm: Local Natives // MP3: "Airplanes"
9:00pm: Theophilus London // MP3: "Sandcastles" (Black x Blue)

DOWNSTAIRS
3:30pm: (The) Tony Castles // MP3: "Pirates"
4:30pm: Darwin Deez // MP3: "Bad Day" [expired]
5:30pm: Evan Voytas // MP3: "Getting Higher"
6:30pm: Body Language // MP3: "Huffy Ten Speed"
7:30pm: Baby Monster // MP3: "Curses"
8:30pm: Boy Crisis // MP3: "Dressed To Digress" (Demo)

Presale tickets are available HERE. Don't sleep, we're expecting a serious turn out for this one.

BLUE FLOWERS HITS NYC.

We've mentioned Blue Flowers - the legenedary West London club night turned singles labe - before in these pages, and we're over the moon to announce our upcoming collaboration with them as they seek to launch the Blue Flowers brand in NYC. The original night quickly became West London's premier club night and saw everyone from Jamie T and Noah & The Whale to Adele and Laura Marling cutting their teeth on its hallowed stage, and now the NYC night promises to showcase the best new talent from both sides of the Atlantic. Launching June 20th with Neon Gold favorites The Maccabees headlining and support from Miike Snow and Hatcham Social, their new venture is already off to a hugely promising start. Not only has Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York's best large-scale venue, signed on to host the proceedings, but we'll also be rocking the Neon Gold room downstairs all night long with an elite crop of DJ's dropping the jams until 3 AM. Olmec and Body Language will be getting things started early, with Friends With Benefits and Shuttle (formerly Etan) keeping things moving until the early hours. Get ready NYC.

MP3: "The Reeling" (Miike Snow Remix) - Passion Pit

INVOLVING ME INVOLVING YOU.

We love the Body Language kids here at Neon Gold. Good people, talented musicians, not to mention one of them even owns a Goosebumps shirt... What more can you ask for? We recently asked them to have a go at a remix of Marina Diamond's "Obsessions" and the result sounds like a late night jam session with Junior Boys on electronics, Phil Collins on drums and Kate Bush doing her thing on the mic. Eclectic as fuck, but we like it that way.

MP3: "Obsessions" (Body Language Remix) - Marina & The Diamonds

Body Language headline Piano's at midnight this Saturday with amazing support coming from two of the UK's finest in Post War Years and We Have Band. Do. Not. Miss.

// NAVIS //

THIS ALREADY HAPPENED. SORRY.

So our second Neon Gold party went down at The Delancey on Friday and we kind of forgot to tell you about it. We had an absurdly busy week hence the epic fail in the promotion department, but the place was filled to max capacity and both performers killed it so it was a moot point really. Apologies to any NYC-based readers who would have been down to attend though, we won't let you down again. Our bad.

To recap though, Brooklyn's finest and frequent Theophilus London collaborators Body Language rocked shit with their soulful mix of party hits and babymakin' jams. An epic cover of Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" and brand new jam "Holiday" killed it, but it was set opener and live favorite "Huffy Ten Speed" that brilliantly set the tone for the whole night.

MP3: "Huffy Ten Speed" - Body Language [exclusive]

Giantess were back for another round at Neon Gold, this time as the main event and they didn't disappoint as A&Rs in attendance from both sides of the Atlantic nodded approvingly and kids up front lost their shit. There were a few sound issues, but it's still early days (this was only their sixth ever show) and there's always bound to be a few complications when a band's live set up involves more wires, electronics and computers than an IBM commercial. Future single tracks "Tuff 'n Stuff" and "You Were Young" slayed as usual, as did new standout "Endless Highway". As one commenter pointed out last week, Giantess are driving the bus to the stars and you better get a seat while you still can.

MP3: "You Were Young" - Giantess [exclusive]

Incriminating photographic evidence here courtesy of all around bad ass and official afterparty host Scott Marceau. In other news, the second installment of our hot tips for '09 series drops Wednesday. Stick around.

THAT RULED.

Thanks to everyone who came out Thursday for our first Neon Gold party, we all had an amazing time. It was only Giantess' second gig ever and they totally rocked shit, and Theophilus was absolutely jaw dropping. Body Language and Etan kept bodies moving all night and the Delancey provided the perfect backdrop for all the madness - that jungle on the roof deck rules. To celebrate, here are a few more insane cuts from Theo in the form of "Star Scream" and "Leader of the New School", the back-to-back highlights of dude's incredible JAM! mixtape. Featuring more incredible production from Machinedrum, JAM! is the hottest shit since Wale announced his imminent takeover with 100 Miles & Running in '07. Dude is a fucking superstar just waiting to blow up, download the whole mixtape here.

MP3: "Star Scream" - Theophilus London
MP3: "Leader of the New School" - Theophilus London

Look for Neon Gold to start throwing down on a monthly basis in '09. This is only the beginning.

NEON GOLD PRESENTS: NEON GOLDEN 001.

We're throwing a fucking party. Theophilus London is the future of rap (seriously). Giantess are like Chromeo only sexier. They both know how to show you a good time and they're both playing our first Neon Gold party Thursday November 13th at the Delancey. $8 at the door or $5 if you RSVP to neongoldmusic@gmail.com (put 'RSVP' in the subject line). Cheap drinks and DJ sets from Etan (Ninjatune/Basstown), Body Language (NormRex) and Neon Gold's own freshprints. See you there?

Giantess are the next great hope for Boston-based electronic pop, following in the footsteps of Passion Pit with an even more synthed-out pop sound. Produced by the Pit's own Ayad Al-Adhamy on his Bo Flex Music imprint, they debuted their live show last month in Boston and we're thrilled to be putting on their first ever NYC gig. "Tuff 'n Stuff" is their best work to date, leading you in with a deceptively plaintive intro before dropkicking you in the jaw with some of the most immense synths you'll hear this side of Ratatat. Only a demo at this point, you can only imagine how immense this'll sound once Ayad's gone and properly seduced it with his worldly ways and tender studio touch.

MP3: "Tuff 'n Stuff" - Giantess

Now, a few more words on Theophilus London because this dude is just unreal. No word on just how he slipped under everyone's radar at CMJ, but works for us - we'll be doing a single with him in the new year and it's gonna be huger than huge. Williamsburg sensibility with a massive mainstream appeal, untouchable swagger on stage and big league flow, we wouldn't fault you for calling Theophilus the future of rap (because, uh, we're pretty sure he is). Much more to come on the superstar-in-waiting, but for now feast your ears on "Sandcastles". It's a serious contender for jam of the year status, Theo's fierce verse perfectly complimenting some next level production from fellow NormRex ringleader Machinedrum.

MP3: "Sandcastles" (ft. Theophilus London) - Machinedrum