Remember playing Super Mario Bros when you were little? Fingers pressing, eyes fixated, ears open, all in the hopes of rescuing the Princess – it was intense. Maybe that intensity is what drew Toronto-based Crystal Castles to incorporate the electronic glitchy sound bites of the old Nintendo games into their music.

Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, collectively known as Crystal Castles, hail from Canada but have quickly become an international music force, invading cities from Tokyo to Helsinki with their eclectic-electronic-pop sound. The duo paired up back in 2003, and two years later recorded their first single, “Alice Practice”, which they released through MySpace — they were signed to Merok Records soon after.

Crystal Castles’ characteristic sound is hard to pin point because of its frantic nature. Their synth-based beats coupled with Glass’ distorted vocals merge to create a pop-electronic surge that is offset with an 80’s tinge. Tracks such as “Crimewave” and “Air War” — which are included in their latest self-titled CD (released this March) – embody the duo’s commitment to their vision of futuristic 8 bit based pop.

Crystal Castles is performing on Saturday July 5th at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre. Check out their MySpace for upcoming tour dates.

The mercury retrograde is over and a fresh breeze of regeneration will be felt by all this Saturday, June 21 with the Avant Yard offering of “Ancient Futures: The DNA of Culture and Civilizations” at MoCADA, the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts at 5pm.

This multi-media group exhibition will confront socio-political boundaries in “underground” movements with a dynamic blend of painting, photography, installation art, photo-illustration, and music. Featured artists include, Terry Boddie, Fikisha C., Jennifer Crute, Francks Deceus, Joshua Humphries, Dirk Joseph, Laura James, Kip Omolade, William Rhodes, Danny Simmons, Jamel Shabazz, and Malik Yusef Cumbo (Avant Yard).

Live music will be presented by The Essential M.C. (CA), Game Rebellion (NY), The Welfare Poets (NY), Yolanda Zama (SA), Nucomme (TX), and a long awaited Survival Soundz reunion featuring Carla Csharp Gomez (ATL).

Known for giving young artists the stage to speak their voice, Avant Yard will set the day in bloom with a special photographic collaboration from the students of Life Academy High School for Film and Music from 2pm until 5pm.

An opening reception hosted by Defrei of Ahficianados with resident DJ’s, The Majestic Twinsound and Ahficial Music continues on to the main exhibition from 5pm until 9pm, including a dance from LOVESPACE MUSIC Alter-Native Movement.

MoCADA is located at 80 Hanson Place in Ft. Greene.

The entire event is FREE.

“Ancient Futures: The DNA of Culture and Civilization” will be on view at MoCADA through September 7^th, 2008.

For more info, click here

BabyStone – the soulful mash-up of Ms. Novena Carmel and Itai- croon the stage with a gathering of beautiful eccentricity. The sound captures a Jazz, Afro-Funk, Caribbean sensation that caters to cultural enthusiasts. Marcus Brock had the chance to sit down with lead singer, Ms. Novena Carmel. This retro-fitted chanteuse is no stranger to the grittiness of the soul and funk being that her father is Sly, of the revered band Sly and the Family Stone. But, even without the distinction she’s a show stopper! BabyStone’s syncopated rhythms and intuitive - yet fun- lyrical dynamics need be positioned on anyone’s playlist.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, don’t forget to check out the Record Release Show at Temple Bar tonight. For more info, click here

Trace: How did you and Itai start working together?

Novena Carmel: Itai and I started working together a couple of years ago. He had a track he was producing and when I sang for him, we vibed. Eventually, we had enough material for a show. We didn’t even have a band yet, but I was like – let’s book a date! We then got a band together, booked a date, and rehearsed about five times before our first show.

T: Was the use of live musicians in your band on purpose or a routed intention?

NC: The band was on purpose because we like a BIG sound. I like a real sound, there’s a lot of “fake jewelry” out there so to speak, but BabyStone won’t turn your neck green! We are influenced by funk, soul, and Afro-Beat. So, the use of live sounds and music is very important to us. We are now looking to performing an acoustic set as well in future shows and albums. Itai loves Brazilian music and I have family there so we want to incorporate more of those sounds into our music, like in “Can I Be.”

Me, personally, my vocals will always be soulful but I have a yearning to do some wild, electronic beats. Our live album is many live instruments, similar to a live show but I also want to perform to synthetic sounds like keyboards and talk boxes. Just weirdness, not only sincere heart-to-heart beats. Our next recording will probably have those types of sounds, not completely out there, but different.

T: Some artists try and shy away from their parents’ music – does some of that sound/feel resonate in your music? How has that inspired BabyStone?

NC: As an artist I’m inspired by a lot of modern artists and those that have come before me. One of my favorite genres is the funk/soul of the time period when Sly & the Family Stone was writing their biggest hits. The sound is so influential and amazing to me that there’s no way I could shy away from it. It’s funky, it’s in your face and it’s timeless. That’s a lot of what BabyStone is or at least hopes to be.

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With the UK music scene growing tired of the same old indie bands, KOJO seems destined to fill the void for those looking about in search of something new. The band’s unique blend of funk, rock, soul and electro conjures up a cocktail of influences from Sly and the Family Stone to Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all encapsulated in a slick set full of energy and instantly memorable melodies.

Formed and based in West London, the band’s music is a mix of all their influences, cultivated in a rehearsal studio off Portobello Road. Lyrics cover everything from getting out of London’s rat race in “ Let’s Go,” to the superb reflection on their 80s childhood name-dropping Thundercats and Super Mario with some original computer samples in “8 Years old.”

KOJO is currently working with Grammy Award winning producer Simon Gogerly (U2, Gwen Stefani) whilst finishing the writing on their debut album. Mates Duffy, Estelle and DJ Yoda regularly come to see them play and you can check out their video blogs on Nokia’s Royal Artist Club.

Catch KOJO at their Summer Party this Friday June 20 at DEX, where they’ll be laying on a fantastic set as well as DJ’s all night, a BBQ and hot tub action.

For more info and a sample of KOJO’s tracks, click here

DEX

476 Brixton Road

London SW9

Doors 7pm to 4am £5 Before 9pm £10 after

Dj Spinna and Bobbito are once again serving up a night to remember with Stevie Wonder classics, twists and remixes. Although the duo is known very well for teaming up with KieStar Productions for various dance parties through-out the year, the most buzzed about event hands-down is Wonder-Full, a tribute to genius of Stevie Wonder.

Last November, Stevie Wonder came in the flesh to the party, making fans and late night dancers lose their minds and dance as if their lives depended on it! Word on the street is that he may again make a special appearance on Saturday, so don’t miss this event!

Doors  for this event at the Hammerstein Ballroom open at 10pm, but the Stevie jams continue to pump into the early morning — just in time for pancakes.

Tickets Available at Fat Beats (406 6th Avenue);Pieces (671 Vanderbilt Ave); Academy Records (415 East 12th Street); Harriet’s (293 Flatbush Avenue); Addy & Ferro (672 Fulton Street).

June 14th is certainly a day you should mark on your calendars in regards to art. Two events will be taking place, The Art of Digging and the Sonic Visual Arts Expo.

The Art of Digging will be going down at theLightGalleries in Costa Mesa, California. The event, which pays homage to the advancement and progression vinyl culture, brings awareness to the discrediting of music artists due to the increase in downloading. The event will include vinyl art and rare wax displays, live performances, record sales and exchange, and a special guest DJ. For more information click here.

Those on the East Coast can enjoy the Sonic Visual Arts Expo in Hamden, Connecticut that evening instead. Unlike The Art of Digging, this event focuses on the more conventional means of visual arts. Here, artists will be displaying and selling their work, along with a vast number of music acts. The headlining performances will feature Stephanie D’Ranged and Hellfire Graffix. Click here for ticket and location information.

Chamecki/Lerner, Flying Lesson.

Been naughty lately? Haven’t had the opportunity to get your dose of creative energy? Well, we have the solution you need! TRACE Magazine, GANG UP! and Monkeytown present an evening of short films, videos, performances, and music to benefit top-notch NYC choreographers — Will Rawls, Milka Djordevich, and Nohemi Contreras — who have received a scholarship by DanceWEB Europe to participate in this summer’s ImPulsTanz festival in Vienna. The three get a 2/3 scholarship to cover tuition for dance workshops, tutorials and housing for the five-week festival but lack the funds for such things as, say, a plane ticket over there. (Money for food would also be nice.) So, simple as that: Help some of the best dancers in NYC get their wings and snag a free ticket to heaven (or a Get Out of Jail Free card, your call).

The event will take place Tuesday, June 10th at Monkeytown. There are two programs jam-packed with performances and multi-media presentations, all donated by the generosity of the NYC artistic community.

The first program, GANG UP: A Creative Congress, features short films and videos from Chamecki/Lerner, Rachel Johnson, Jeff Larson, Dance Gang. Choreographers Andrea Lerner and Rosane Chamecki present their first foray into film, “Flying Lesson,” which won the 2008 Jury Award at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera festival in January. Rachel Johnson, an award-winning animator, will show her Oscar-nominated short film “The Toll Collector.” Also appearing, “A Store of Sucking Stones,” the Beckett-based video farce, starring film and stage designer, Jeff Larson. Guerilla public performance company, Dance Gang, will also screen its video, “Shadow Dance.”

The first program also includes live performances by pop-obsessed Neal Medlyn, composer Karinne Keithley, experimental musician Jon Monlaci, dancer/choreographer Felicia Ballos, and the all-woman artband, JERK.

The second program of the evening, The Green Beat Box, will feature live sets from beatbox extraordinaire Adam Matta and avant-garde guitarist Eyal Moaz, as well as director of New Amsterdam Records, composer of critically acclaimed Now Ensemble and DJ, Judd Greenstein. Accompanying visuals will be from Dance Gang’s public video project, “Last in a Series,” a kinetic portrait of New York City.

Will Rawls is a site-specific performer, curator and installation artist who toured and performed nationally and internationally with Shen Wei Dance Arts in Venice, Israel and New York. He has also appeared with Tiffany Mills Company, with collaborator Katie Workum/Workum Dance League. Milka Djordevich is a performer/choreographer/co-curator of Movement Research Festival 2008 who studied at UCLA and at PARTS in Brussels. Nohemi Contreras is a performer/choreographer/curator who obtained a Masters from Tisch in Performance Studies.

First program begins at 7:30; the second at 10. Entrance fee for the first program is $40 or $60 with three-course dinner. Second program is $15, with a $10 minimum. All proceeds from the door will go to the three artists’ tuition.

Dearly Beloved,

We are gathering tonight and tomorrow night to get through this show called Shockadelica: Celebrating 50 years of his Royal Badness. The sirens from Brown Girls Burlesque are at it again bringing power to the purple people and that indescribable feminine mystique that could make Prince, himself, blush.

If you live in Erotic City, ever made a plea about how things would be if you were his Girlfriend, sang the Ballad of Dorothy Parker, or been concerned by the Sign O the Times, there is no other place you need to be tonight and tomorrow night.

Audience come quick! Audience come in a hurry. Tickets will sell out. $25 for general admission. $40 for the Royal Court.

The show starts at 11pm at the Zipper Factory, 336 west 37th street (in between 8th and 9th avenues).

And while you wait to cleanse yourself in the waters of the Brown Girls Burlesque, czech out our TRACE Insider video of BGB in action at their last nyc performance “Itches Brew…Sheroes Unleashed.”

Known for their work with Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Slick Rick and many others, the influential production team known as The Bomb Squad will be doing a special performance this Saturday at Low End Theory NYC. The Bomb Squad is known for their distinct production style, use of multiple samples on a single track, and incorporation of harsh un-melodic sounds on songs.

The event goes down this Saturday June 7th with opening sets by L.A. native Nosaj Thing and the newest super duo What’s the Science? There will also be performances by Gaslamp Killer, Nocando, and Eliot Lip. The Bomb Squad has just wrapped up the First Look tour with Public Enemy, and this event looks promising.

For more information on the events location and ticket sales click here. For more information on The Bomb Squad itself, click here.

For the last 8 years MUTEK has brought together artists and lovers of electro-digital art. This 5-day event is a strident celebration of music and digital creativity. In 2000, Alain Mongeau created this festival because he felt Montreal — and North America — needed an event that would fairly represent the genre in its entirety. And it worked!

Despite its ongoing success and its international recognition, the festival remains relatively modest. Because the organizers want it to remain accessible for both the public and the artists, they choose not to schedule two artists in the same time slot.

This year’s line up is an eclectic combination of local talent and international artists. One of the event’s highlights will surely be Kid Koala’s performance at the Metropolis.

More info here.