Everyones’ favorite holiday brings a variety of mind-expanding shows. Easy Star Allstars dub out the BK Bowl tonight, while Mike Servito and Nooka Jones throw down top-shelf house and techno at Cameo. Saturday, Turntable Lab has huge lineup of killer in-store performances all day in honor of Record Store Day. Amon Tobin is gonna take some heads off at LPR, while DJ Ripley cools out Bushwick and Dave Q presents experimental film + electronic music pairings at Indie Screen. Monday there’s VIVEK at Deep Space; system sound for system people indeed. And Wednesday, catch Turrbotax resident Space Jamz kicking off the inaugural Lunch Beat NYC in the flatiron.

Quick note that  I’m changing up the titling a bit this week, so that these blog posts more closely match the email blasts, since they’re almost the exact same content. Also, Weekend Womp Forecast was a terrible name.  Onward!

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

Easy Star Allstars, John Brown’s Body at Brooklyn Bowl [8PM/$15]
The Easy Star Allstars have made a name for themselves doing next-level dub covers of classic albums. They’ve remade Dark Side of The Moon, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Radiohead’s OK Computer – all pretty stoney albums to begin with – to be even more irie than the originals. Which is no small feat. But the real accomplishment here is that these don’t sound like covers at all; more like the same album from an alternate dimension.The Allstars are comprised of top-notch session players and produced by the deft hand of Ticklah, aka Victor Axelrod (who is also a founding member of The Dap-Kings and Antibalas).
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Mike Servito, Nooka Jones, Air Zaire at Cameo Gallery [12AM/$12]
Mike Servito and Nooka Jones are two of the best resident DJs in NYC for house and techno. While Mike is the definitive old guard, with nearly 20 years behind the decks (the last 10 as a resident for The Bunker, NYC’s seminal techno party), Nooka is the new-school poster boy. Initially coming up as an intern for Percussion Lab a few years back, Nooka has quickly shed the young-gun descriptors to become known primarily for his stellar mixing and diverse selections. If you’re looking for trendy shit, look elsewhere.
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SATURDAY, APRIL 20

RECORD STORE DAY: FaltyDL, DJ Ayres, Eli Escobar, Justin Strauss, Dope Shoes, many more at Turntable Lab [10AM-8PM/FREE]
Turntable Lab has an epic lineup of in store performances for Record Store Day, featuring some of NYC’s best dance music selectors. Check your local twitter listings and their website tomorrow for set times, or watch the livestream online.
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TUNNEL VISION: Raz Mesinai, Ikue Mori, Howse, David Linton at IndieScreen [9:30/$10wRSVP]
A unique event put together by Dub War founder Dave Q, exploring the intersection of experimental film and bass music, at the Indie Screen cinema (next to Glasslands). Tunnel Vision will feature a variety of shorts as well as 4 longer works will be shown on the main screen, with live electronic scores performed on the exquisite Tsunami Bass Soundsystem. Definitely not your standard club night.
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Amon Tobin (DJ Set) at Le Poisson Rouge [11PM/$20]
While Amon Tobin has been turning heads of the last 2 years with his phenomenal ISAM a/v show, his DJ sets are pretty mind-blowing in their own right, as his 2003 live album will attest. His dynamic sets are furious mix of classics from his extensive discography, deep cuts of weirdo drum-n-bass, and smattering of contemporary heavyness. I’ve seen him several times and can say with confidence that his sets never disappoint.
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COOL OUT: DJ Ripley (all-vinyl dancehall set), Max Pearl, Regent Street, Oliver Rivard at Bushwick Kitchen [11PM/FREE]
A rocksteady, ska and dubwise party, featuring an all-vinyl set from DJ Ripley. Can’t say enough good things about Ripley. Not only is she an absurdly talented DJ (check the mixes. seriously.) and a freshly minted member of Dutty Artz, she’s also a righteous legal scholar, educator and activist. Her twitter and blog are must-reads if you ever think about the intersections of gender, race and class as they pertain to the dancefloor. And if you don’t, WAKE THE FUCK UP! Shit matters.
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Get hyped! Turrbotax is tonight, and they have special guests Policy and Space Dimension Controller. Generous spirit that he is, Policy made a mix just for the occasion. It’s full of unreleased heat, subtle funk and his signature intricate rhythms (which you can enjoy a whole lot more of on his fantastic new LP, Everything Hits). This is just what you need to make it through till tonight! Get it HERE (and come say thanks tonight!)

Tracklist:
Falty DL – She Sleeps (feat. Ed Macfarlane) (Ninja Tune)
Policy – Postscript 187 (forthcoming 100% Silk)
Julius Steinhoff – Speak No Evil (Smallville Records)
Anthony Naples – I Don’t See Them (white label)
goldFFinch – Outer Twigs (Policy Remix) (Saigon Recordings)
Joyce Muniz – Drop In Pressure (20:20 Vision)
Amir Alexander – The Black Rain (Argot)
Policy – Walk Up (Argot)
Policy – Can’t Get You (Rush Hour)
Bad Autopsy – Curious (Well Rounded)

Ninjatune has done it again, bringing us yet another brilliant release at the intersection of  LIVE and ELECTRONIC. YPPAH is the alias of Joe Corrales Jr., and now a full live band that fuses dusty breaks with poignant instrumentation to great effect. I’d seen the name a few times recently in official Ninjatune communiques, and while my interest was piqued by it’s androgynous unpronouncability, it was hearing the “Eighty One” Album minimix that really got me electrified. Turns out YPPAH has put out a half dozen releases on Ninjatune since ’06. Dunno how I slept on ‘im till now.

One could safely assume from the cover that this is a work awash in texture and nostalgia (and it is) – but to me it sounds a lot more like the nineties than eighty one. Yppah takes a tasteful post-rock/psychadelia sound and infusing it with potent electronics. Imagine if Cinematic Orchestra’s J.Swincoe was producing Do Make Say Think, and you’re not far off. There’s clear evidence of reverence for guys like DJ Shadow, Boards of Canada and the Chemical Brothers, who could squeeze teardrops out of psychadelic samples and breakbeats. But while YPPAH is steeped in nostalgia, they aren’t mired by it. Their sound is urgent, full, and ready to say something new (albiet with familiar pieces).

This album came out April 2nd, and is available for purchase on iTunes and at NinjatuneHQ. If you’d like even more YPPAH, check out the mix that Joe did for Solid Steel this past week, featuring all tracks from 1981.

Tracklist:

Brian Eno & David Byrne _ Mea Culpa _ Sire
Gang of Four _ What We All Want _ EMI
The Cure _ Other Voices _ Polydor
Gary Numan _ Moral _ Beggars Banquet
The Sound _ Judgement _ Korova
Cocteau Twins _ Blind Dumb Deaf _ 4AD
Siouxsie & The Banshees _ Into the Light _ Polydor
The Church _ Sisters _ EMI
Kraftwerk _ Computer Love _ EMI