We've got an exclusive free copy of the grungy, synth heavy new single "Aydin" from French duo, Discodeine, taken from their second LP, Swimmer. Listen and download here. 

Discodeine-Swimmer released on Dirty/Pschent out now.

Listen to Pulse Radio.

Brothers Lenny and Lawrence Burden (along with revloving members Lynell, Lance, and Lorne Burden) make up Detroit-based DJ/producer Octave One. With over two decades of experience making and playing music, they have released several hits on their own label, 430 West Records, among others, and have remixed for the likes of Massive Attack, Inner City, The Trampps, and Steve Bug. The guys will touch down in New York this weekend for The Offiical BPM Festival Pre-Party at Sankeys NYC on Saturday, December 28th.  We had a change to catch up with Octave One ahead of their New York gig to disucss playing in the Big Apple, New York pizza, working so closely with family, and some highlights from their recent tour.Be sure to get tickets to their Sankeys NYC show on Pulse Radio!

You’re set to play at Sankeys NYC on December 28th for The BPM Festival Pre-Party. What have you heard about the new space? What are you looking forward to the most? We hadn't heard much of anything about the new space because our gigging schedule has been keeping us quite busy, but a couple of days ago we had the privilege of having dinner with a longtime friend Chez Damier and he told us some great things about the new space, so we really look forward to experiencing the energy of the NYC peeps for ourselves.

What are some of your favorite things to see and do when you’re visiting New York? When we're in NYC we don't really get the opportunity to do a lot of tourist things because we have so many friends there and we find ourselves spending time catching up with them, but we do get the opportunity to go to some amazing restaurants. We spent a lot of time in Italy so we're very familiar with Italian cuisine there, but NY has some of the best Italian pizza we think we've ever eaten.

As brothers spending a lot of time together in the studio and on the road, how do you keep from driving each other crazy? Are there ever points of conflict? We still haven't figured that out yet but we're working on it. Yes, just because we're brothers doesn't mean that we don't ever have conflict, but it;s how we deal with it when we do that's the most important thing. You've got to forgive and just move on even if they don't ask for forgiveness.

As artists who have been making and playing music for over two decades, how has the scene changed in the US in your experience? Well, it's the most commercial than its ever been in history. Dance music probably hasn't been this big in the States since the disco era mainly because of EDM, but people that long for deeper vibes know where the deeper can be found and seek it out just like they've always have done.

You recently toured in Europe including stops in Amsterdam and Charleroi. What was that like? What were some of the highlights? It was great and inspiring at the same time! The fans were energetic and it was good to perform in front of a truly educated crowd. They knew songs that we played which we're sure some of them couldn't have been any older then five or six years old when we created them. They really researched who we were and what we've done.

Listen to Octave One on Pulse Radio 

On Saturday, December 28th, a new party series will debut at Santos Party House in New York. The “Vintage” concept combines great tech and deep house music with a unique setting embracing a vintage feel, highlighted by “vintage motifs in production, décor, entertainment, and promotional elements.” The party will take place once per month at the 8,000 square-foot venue in downtown Manhattan complete with a top-notch sound and lighting system.

The inaugural edition of the party will feature Brooklyn-based Mateo with Autobrennt following his performance at Sankeys NYC this weekend, Cem & Rg ahead of their show at Output’s 24-hour New Year’s Eve celebration, and Touch of Class’ Corey Baker of Pattern Drama and Wildkats.

Listen to Pattern Drama on Pulse Radio

Start your holidays off right at Treehouse Miami! Our friends at LINK & Miami Rebels present Ambivalent on Thursday and Eats Everything on Friday.

Berlin based DJ and producer, Ambivalent, grew up in Washington DC and moved to New York in the early 2000s, where he gained recognition for his Creative Time parties that fused house and techno with experimental multimedia and urban installations. He has worked closely with techno pioneer, Richie Hawtin, co-producing the Plastikman show in Mutek in 2004. You may be familiar with his track, ‘R U OK’, which topped charts around the globe and garnered an epic dancefloor reaction. He has toured with the Minus family and released on influential labels such as Cocoon, Ovum and Octopus Records. Catch Ambivalent at The BPM Festival after his stint in Miami.

If Thursday wasn’t enough action for you, head back on Friday for Bristol native, Eats Everything. He burst onto the scene in 2011 with his debut album, ‘Entrance Song’, on Catz N Dogz’ Pets imprint. That same year, he was awarded the coveted 'Best Breakthrough Producer' title from DJ Magazine. He is the only producer to have done two BBC Radio 1 Essential Mixes within the space of a year. His tracks are championed by the likes of Jamie Jones, Claude Von Stroke and Carl Cox and he has released on major labels such as dirtybird, Defected, Crosstown Rebels and Hypercolour. Eats Everything is also making an appearance at The BPM Festival this year.

Listen to Eats Everything on Pulse Radio

Australian DJ Bella Sarris is a star on the rise. Hailing from Sydney, she was picked up to work for the ENTER. PR team and quickly impressed Richie Hawtin, becoming a weekly resident at ENTER.Sake. Bella will touch down in New York this week making her Cielo debut this Thursday, December 26th presented by Dance.Here.Now.

Pulse Radio is happy to giving away a pair of tickets to the show! Enter below using Punchtab. The more options you choose, the better your chances are of winning. The contest will close on Thursday, December 26th at 4pm and the winner will be notified via email shortly after. Good luck!

Listen to Bella Sarris on Pulse Radio

Growing up in New York, Sean Glass has been involved in the local scene for over 20 years.  His involvement in the music industry goes well beyond his career as a DJ; his label, Win Music, is pushing boundaries and taking a different approach as Sean is also a player in the New York tech scene, having been named its "musical director" by The Next Web.  He has also taken the role of promoter working with the people at BangOn! on several of their events.  He will be featured at their upcoming New Year's Eve extravaganza in Brooklyn on December 31st along with Damian Lazarus, The Polish Ambassador, Deniz Koyu, and many more.  We had a chance to catch up with Sean ahead of the gig to chat about how the New York party scene has evolved in his experience, how he got started working with BangOn!, some crazy stories from DJing, and his involvement in the tech scene.  Be sure to get tickets to BangOn!'s NYE celebration on Pulse Radio!

How did you first start working with BangOn!, both DJing at their events as well as throwing parties with them? I met Gene and Kelly years ago naked in a hot tub at a friend's country house over a holiday weekend. It was six of us, all the guys had tiny shriveled up baby dicks from the cold, but the girls had a ridiculously perfect assortment of the best breasts in the world. All of them, amazing.

Then Gene started Bang On! with Brett and Tim. I DJ'ed a few of them, but really got involved after I saw the potential from this basement party in Bushwick we did that was really great. It was maybe 300 people and they were also shooting a porn during the party.

At that point I started helping out with talent booking and general marketing - a few years later we're selling 7,000 tickets for Elements and NYE.

Tim and I also do a ton of side parties that we're starting to scale. It's all very exciting, and most importantly we have maintained the basics of nakedness.

As someone who has been involved in the local New York scene for over a decade, how have you seen it change and evolve in your own experience? This question can be its own article. I'll be quick though. I grew up in New York, so I've been watching the scene change for more than 20 years actually.

1. Bottle service
2. Giuliani and Bloomberg cleaning things up
3. DJs as concerts

Those are the biggest ways the scene has been affected. They all suck.

It's all changing now though. Resident DJ culture is coming back. People are sick of buying their way into places that don't care about them. There are enough mature people going out who don't care about watching some big name producer play the same tracks through a mix. As far as the cleanliness, I don't see us getting that back. We just have to work really hard to put on cool events like Bang On! or our smaller pop ups that we don't need to advertise. That's where I feel like we recapture some of that weirdness that I remember from when I was young. Before they cracked down on fake IDs, the kids brought tons of energy to clubs because they were really happy and grateful to be there. It's rare that we get excited for nightlife these days, but I still get that feeling when we put on our Bang On! events.

You are also heavily involved in the New York tech scene and are taking a different approach to the music business, focusing on the rising importance of tech. What steps are you taking as a label and a DJ to adapt to the changing industry in this way? Right now for me it's about activations. I just go with wherever the most energy is coming from. While I do have larger plans for the long term, right now the main thing is putting points on the board. I can do that by partnering with tech companies on the marketing side for my artists. I'm constantly licensing music to new platforms and forms of distribution. Other labels put many more hurdles in front of these companies to get to the music, and we make it not only easy, but also add value by bringing in additional like minded partners. A lot of labels can't do this because they stand behind large overhead and processes, as well as limited revenue streams, but we counteract all of those. My overhead is minimal because I create partnerships to bring on services. My processes are flexible because we're new and I haven't signed anything long term or exclusive, nor taken on major investment. Our revenue streams are all over the place, from record sales to consulting to live events to brand partnerships and more. I just want to do cool shit with our music.

You told the New York Times: “The reason I got into tech is because at some point, tech is going to own the music business. All I’m doing is preparing for the apocalypse.” Can you explain this a little more? This is simple. Napster wiped out music's largest revenue stream. Apple gobbled up 30% of what was left of the music industry, arguably much more if you consider hardware. Spotify continues to dictate more changes. These are major examples, but there are thousands more. The fates of music and tech are intertwined, where we both need one another, however, the tech industry is full of much smarter people who are much more focused on innovating, while the music industry is not where the smart people are going today, and those who are smart are older and incentivized to get things back to the way they were - which will never happen.

Are there any producers who have been impressing you lately that we should keep an ear out for? Will we see them on Win Music? Duke Dumont! Grammys! We're doing a big show Grammy weekend in LA. Bob Moses playing with us at Bang On!

Your bio states that you have broken both of your feet while DJing. How did that happen? Yeah, I need to redo my bio, but that's true. They are perpetually broken actually, starting a few years ago. I'm just on my feet a whole lot and pounding the same part of my foot down on the ground thousands of times while I dance. So I broke the tibial sesamoid on my right foot, and we put it in a boot. In the time that I was in that boot, I overcompensated on the left foot, and broke the same bone. It's a small bone that acts as the fulcrum between my big toe and foot. It sucks, but nothing to do about it - I'm not going to stop DJing.

What else is on your horizon? I'm focused on helping Duke win the Grammy. We will have a big party out there for it. Once that's done, we'll be announcing a new slate of releases and be moving fast on 2014.

Images courtesy of Matt Furman

Listen to Sean Glass on Pulse Radio 

Sankeys NYC is definitely getting into the holiday spirit and this weekend is going to be one for celebration. Check out the Serkal Music Showcase Pt. II with Hector Couto and Harvey McKay on Friday and don’t miss the official BPM Festival pre-party with Kenny Larkin, Stacey Pullen and Octave One on Saturday.

Hailing from Spain, Hector Couto was one of Resident Advisor’s Top 100 most charted producers of 2011. Although he is relatively new to the scene, he has worked with many established labels such as VIVa MUSiC, Saved, Brise Records and Suara. He also has his own label, Pura Music. British DJ and producer, Harvey McKay, will join Hector. McKay emerged from Glasgow’s underground clubbing scene. His latest release, ‘First Strike From Mars’, was released on the major Cocoon Recordings and is supported by artists like Sven Vath, Adam Beyer, Laurent Garnier and Green Velvet, among others.

It’s almost time for the The BPM Festival to begin and there is an epic pre-party at Sankeys on Saturday with Detroit legends Kenny Larkin, Stacey Pullen and Octave One. These artists have been in the game for decades and helped shape Detroit’s infamous and influential techno scene throughout the 90s and 00s, influenced by the first wave of Detroit techno artists such as Derrick May and Juan Atkin, as well as the Chicago house music scene.

Listen to Kenny Larkin on Pulse Radio

Ryan Murgatroyd, undoubtedly one of South Africa’s leading artists/producers, with some very interesting sounds coming out of the booth, and his corner. Pulse decided to catch up with the man to talk about what’s happening in the studio at the moment, and a name most know in the dance scene, Crazy White Boy.  

Hello Ryan and welcome to Pulse Radio, you've built up a very iconic reputation in South Africa as one of our leading producers and DJ's, where did it all begin for you, what drove you to music? Well, I think most of these stories start off the same, weird kid goes to a rave/dance party/, takes illicit substances, falls in love with the thump. Believe it or not, I’m old enough that I used to like uplifting trance. I’ve always been drawn to the melodic and harmonic aspects of music. I have a deep love for harmony that has stayed with me through all the genres of electronic music I’ve explored, and I always write with a lot of harmony in my tracks. I taught myself to play some basic chords on the piano, and then more music theory from there. I’ve been making my own music for about 12 years, all in all.

And the idea for Crazy White boy, where did the name stem from and how did you guys meet? The name is meant to be slightly ironic because when we started CWB, it was two suburban nerds making urban House music that was kinda 'black’. But the thing is, it isn’t contrived at all, we just love the sound, and whenever kosta and I sit down together to make music, it ends up sounding like this really unique urban stuff. We never expected to get past our first release, to be honest.

The South African dance music scene is ferocious, it's fast, unforgiving, and requires one to always be on top of their game. What do you think sets you apart? And how do you keep it relevant? Well, to put it politely, I dont f##k around. I usually do music theory in one form or another for 6 or 8 hours a day. And I’ll produce every day for another 6 or 8 hours.

If I’m not working on chord progressions, we are working on the live show, or playing chords, or tapping a new rhythm on the steering wheel. It’s a total absorption. Young producers, and particularly South African producers, need to realise that this is serious shit, dance music is growing every day, and yet the amount of truly original material is diminishing. In order to push the boundaries, you gotta put in the work. In my view, if you are not learning some kind of music theory, you are wasting your time, and the precious time of your listeners. No one wants to listen to an a-tonal mess of sounds from a sample pack - pull yourself towards yourself!

You have done a lot to give back to the scene, you've lectured, and we've scene you host a workshop alongside Luciano of Cadenza in partnership with Bridges for music. Do you think enough is being done to unearth fresh talent in SA and give them the platform they deserve?Well, its never enough, but it is getting started, and I’m super stoked to have been a part of it .. With Soulcandi and Boston, we hand out about 400 Diplomas a year in Electronic Music Technology. So the scene is growing every day, and quickly, in the next 5 years there is gonna be more infrastructure for young producers, by that I mean enough guys will be good enough at post production to start giving SA music the quality it needs to be taken seriously overseas. That's the thing - everyone just wants to be the next No 1 DJ, but we need all kinds of industry role players - Good engineers, good live sound guys, and serious promoters with integrity and a long term view.

That being said, yes, initiatives like bridges for music are doing fantastic things for local talent, and I think that is one of the reasons why SA is so hot overseas at the mo.

You've developed a very ornate and strongly African yet European style that has embedded itself in your music, the use of the mbira and other African instruments is omnipresent in your music, what made you chose this somewhat uncharacteristic approach to your music? Well, the fact is that organic sounds just sound cool, and that’s why I use them. As I said, I’m obsessed with harmony and the most interesting way to make chords sounds cooler is to mix up the timbres of the sounds you are playing them with. That’s why I love spectrasonics stuff so much. Omnisphere I believe is an instrument that warrants a lifetime of exploration.

There have always been divides racially in the House music scene in South Africa, your music is beginning to blur those lines introducing new ideas and sounds to both races. Is this what you set out to achieve? And if so, do you feel that you are close to unifying already divided dancefloors? You know, I don’t wanna be a cheese ball and say that we are on some mission to unify the peoples of Africa though music. To be honest, I think we are past that as a culture now; we don’t need to go on about 'black' and 'white' anymore. I think that I would like to do my own project, and with Crazy White Boy, it’s to capture some of the experiences we have had as humans, both beautiful and painful and full of hope and longing and anticipation and joy and everything else, and put those into music. And I think that the nature of those experiences is that they are intrinsically transcendental, beyond race, geography, and worldview. I think there is a lot of healing potential in music that is made from the heart - I want to help people experience truth.

What and who are your influences and inspirations? Wow man, a lot of people, Hans Zimmer, Stimming, Martin Buttrich, Luciano, Gui Boratto, Anyone who has ever made a beautiful and original piece of music. I draw inspiration from nature and from my spiritual practices as well.

You've recently dropped a new album please tell us about that journey and the album itself? Hahah I don’t wanna talk about it - suffice it to say that I prefer working on singles, for my sanity. And that I’m really excited about the creative direction we have taken with Crazy White Boy. 

What's next for you Ryan? Your music has reached far; it's even reached the majestic ears of Damien Lazarus? Hahaha, more of the same, I’ll be starting an album soon for myself, and playing Crazy White Boy gigs all over the place..

Lastly, what is the most important thing new artists must remember when venturing out into the music industry? Take your vitamins!!

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Murgatroyd/26612617169
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ryanmurgatroyd
CWB Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/crazywhiteboydj
CWB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrazyWhiteBoyDJ

Listen to Pulse Radio 

The Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and The British Council have combined forces in their search for an emerging UK bass artist. Together with leading streaming site Mixcloud and Red Bull Studio, they launched the border-defying BassXchange UK/ZA Project today.

The BassXchange UK/ZA project invites UK-based bass artists to submit a mix containing original material, remixes and bootlegs to Mixcloud. The mixes will be judged by a panel including CTEMF organisers and two of the festival’s headliners: none other than one of the UK’s pioneering bass artists, Benga and hotly-tipped South African duo Dirty Paraffin.

The winning producer will be jetted off to Cape Town, South Africa from 4th to  9th February 2014 where they’ll be given the opportunity to showcase their music through the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival Program, be immersed in one of the globe’s most diverse and rapidly growing electronic music scenes and be given the chance to collaborate with South African artists in Cape Town’s world-class Red Bull Studios.

Designed to be the ultimate cultural exchange programme for an electronic music artist, the BassXchange ZA/UK  project aims to be a career-boosting opportunity for a bright new talent by offering the unique opportunity to visit South Africa, showcase their music at a leading local festival and network with the South African music community.

The deadline for submissions is 6 January 2014. The overall winner will be announced by The British Council on 15 January 2014. For full details please visit the Mixcloud site: http://www.mixcloud.com/competitions/bassXchangeUK/

Listen to Pulse Radio 

With less than a week to go until the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival, taking place at the majestic Victoria Falls, the excitement of those who are embarking on the journey to one of the Seven Natural Wonders Of The World has been astounding. The artists themselves can't seem to contain their enthusiasm as many of them have been seen on television and radio talking about how excited they are for ‘Africa’s Biggest New Year’s Celebration’. 

With the festive season in full swing and people taking part in the annual mad rush of last-minute gift-buying, why not sit back and just order your loved ones a ticket for the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival? It's so easy and you can skip all the queues, lack of parking and being packed like a tin of sardines in your local mall. Log onto www.webtickets.co.za and give that adventurous cousin who enjoys a shot of adrenaline or that music-loving niece that is always in the front row singing every word of every song being performed a ticket to the year’s most anticipated celebration of 2013.

Photo by Sydelle Willow Photography 

Jameson are proud to raise a glass of the finest Irish whiskey to the performers who will be bringing the best music Southern Africa has to offer to Jameson Vic Falls Carnival: 

Mokoomba
Just Jinjer
Flash Republic
Jeremy Loops
Mampi
December Streets
ISO
Shortstraw
DJ Chris Taylor
Ryan Dent
Craig Massiv
Liver
Chikwata 263
Rax
DJ Cmbaville
Judgement Yard
DJ Francis
Jason le Roux
DJ Ace da Bass 

The Jameson Vic Falls Carnival is extremely proud to be working with Six Million Smiles this year. Six Million Smiles is an initiative to acknowledge the positive developments from individuals and corporates in the fight against the negative stigma associated with HIV and AIDS. Charlotte Kanter, Marketing Manager for Seed Experiences, is thrilled to have this great initiative involved with the festival;

‘We are extremely excited to have Six Million Smiles on board at this year’s festival. As six million people come together to create awareness for the Aids epidemic, we are privileged to have such a fantastic outlet to drive involvement into this campaign as this year’s Jameson Vic Falls Carnival.’

Keep a look out for the dazzling Six Million Smiles photo booth at the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival in the Green Village and have your group shot taken to be part of showing the absolute best Zimbabwe has to offer.

LINKS 

Website: www.vicfallscarnival.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JamesonVicFallsCarnival?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicfallcarnival

Listen to Pulse Radio 

Okay, we knew Soul Clap were on the way to play JHB on the Citilec Rooftop on March the 1st, but Soul Clap have just tweeted that Cape Town has been confirmed as part of the tour, Feb 28 at Manahttan Street Warehouse. 

Soul Clap, from Soul Clap Records / Wolf + Lamb need no introduction, however, the duo Cnyce aka Chaz Shabaz and Elyte aka E-Heavy The Bamboozla are the two minds behind this outfit that have been forging their way through the business for well over the last decade. Soul Clap have played an integral role in this business and the fact that they will be gracing our shores for a performance is nothing short of mind-blowing. 

Soul Clap’s Tweet about the Cape Town stretch of the Tour

Listen to Soul Clap on Pulse Radio 

As the year draws to a close, it's natural to reflect, especially when it's been as interesting as 2013 has. Underground has become mainstream, mainstream has become pop, and while many fight over the meaning of terms like EDM and deep house, others push stoically forward, undeterred by major trends, continuing to do what they do best. So we've called upon a few of those in the later category to tell us what's kept them excited through these last 12 months, including the trends they noticed, their best night out, and who has kept them buzzing. This time, Lower East co-founder Lee Brinx, who's headed to Last Night On Earth at Brixton Academy with Sasha and many more this New Year's Eve. 

After co-founding his 2010 techno and house label with Cozzy D, their imprint has seen regular praise from artists like Darius Syrossian, DJ T., Miss Kittin, Audiojack, Blond:ish, Sasse, The Revenge, and Laura Jones, and seen releases and remixes by artists ranging from Timo Mass to Waifs & Strays to Pezzner, exhibiting the young imprint's flexibility, as well as it's quality. Lee himself has seen his tour schedule grow by leaps and bounds in the last few years, playing clubs like Sankyes Ibiza for Carnival Cities, Egg London for the We Are FSTVL after party with Kerry Chandler, and of course, the Ushuaia Towers with Sasha For Never Say Never - and that's just in the last 6 months. Though it would be of little wonder if the year didn't fly right by with a schedule like Lee's, we decided to check in anyway to find out what made 2013 special for one of music's most promising talents. 

-Favourite DJ/Artist/Person Of The Year
My favourite DJ this year would have to be Richie Hawtin. I saw him play twice for his night Enter at Space in Ibiza and he tore the roof off. This then lead to me making a special trip to Barcelona with my girlfriend in October to see him close the final ever ElRow party at Row 14, and he certainly didn't fail to deliver - we were still dancing at 8am Monday morning!

- Trend Of The Year or Saying Of The Year
Beards. Beards seem to have spread far and wide the year, with exceptional growth in and around the East London area. I have attempted to groom my own face garden, however after week two I can't stand the itch!

- Event Of The Year 
It would have to be Glastonbury! I went this summer for the very first time and it blew my mind! The weather was great, I was with wicked people and the shear level of the attention to detail was next level. I walked away from that weekend somewhat enlightened.

- Overall Highlight
It would have to be warming up for Sasha's Never Say Never Party on the roof of Ushuaia Towers in Ibiza on my birthday back in July!

Catch Lee at Last Night On Earth at Brixton Academy on New Year's Eve with Sasha, Guy Gerber, Ellen Allien, and more. 

Listen to Lee Brinx on Pulse Radio.

Natural Groove is prepped and ready for Boxing Day (Click for event), taking it to the roof. Rooftop House Music’s Annual ‘Get Down’ since 2004 is going down on the 26th of December, with South Africa’s local heroes adjudicating the festivities. Read full line-up below:  

CRAIG MASSIV 
CLIVE BEAN 
WHITEY D'VINE  
KEREN ONAY 
MIG MADIQ 
OXFORD 
RENATO RODRIGUES 
REEZO HASSAN 
WESTON & ENGINE  
HYDRO 

The venue is situated at 12 Decades Hotel Rooftop, kicking off at 12-Noon, and taking partygoers through until past midnight. Natural Groove knows what a dance party is so you can expect thumping, quality sound, solid décor and all the amenities someone who wants a decent party, needs. Tickets are limited though, and moving fast. Here are all the details you need to secure your spot on the roof.

Tickets: www.Pulseradio.net 
Natural Groove: https://www.facebook.com/Natural.Groove
Listen to Clive Bean and Reezo Hassan on Pulse Radio 

This New Year’s Eve, Provoke has something special planned for the city of Toronto! Pleasurekraft will take the decks for “a carnival of deep musical gatherings embarking on a journey into the New Year.” The party will take place on December 31st at Toronto art gallery House of Moments, home to statues and art as old as 250 years.

The DJ duo, made up of Kaveh Soroush and Kalle Ronngardh, will treat guests to a 3+ hour set, kicking 2014 off right. The NYE show celebrates the conclusion of a banner year for Pleasurekraft with their “Sinister Strings” and “Coltrane” releases as well as appearances at EDC Puerto Rico, Ibiza, Brazil, and more on their extensive world tour.

Pulse Radio is happy to be giving away a pair of GA tickets to the party. Enter below using Punchtab – the more options you choose, the better your chances are of winning. The contest will close on Sunday, December 29th at 4pm EST. The winner will be emailed shortly after. Good luck!

Listen to Pleasurekraft on Pulse Radio

Dance off the holiday calories this weekend at TBA Brooklyn! They have a big week planned with House on Mute featuring The Black Madonna, David Scuba, and Adam Collins on Friday night, followed by a special tribute to Sullivan Room on Saturday with Grass is Greener and Samsara Brothers.

Friday night kicks off with the next installment of the House on Mute party, this time with three special guests: The Black Madonna, David Scuba, and Adam Collins. This year, The Black Madonna joined Derrick Carter, Frankie Knuckles, and NYC’s Bunker event as a resident at Chicago’s legendary Smart Bar. American DJ/producer and Superfreq co-owner David Scuba and Euphoria Record’s tech house giant Adam Collins will join along with TBA Brooklyn resident Abraham Othwell.

The momentum continues on Saturday night with A Tribute to Sullivan Room, a party dedicated to New York’s recently closed long-running venue. Sullivan Room’s very own Grass is Greener and Samsara Brothers will play at the event along with TBA Brooklyn’s Gio Gulez. There is no cover so head down to relive the many good memories of Sullivan Room and create some new ones!

Listen to Sullivan Room on Pulse Radio

After the recent visit from Max Cooper over here in South Africa, where himself, Mark Henning, and a solid local line-up took partygoers from day to night at one of South Africa’s finest parties, Kinky Disco, we thought we’d add little something to your Christmas stocking from Max. 

Max Cooper was obviously feeling rather generous and availed a selection of his live, and DJ sets for free download, that includes Molten Expansion, Movements Through Self Contained Space, the Decibel Festival Mix, Loop Topologies, which was recorded for the Dour Festival and Panacea from the Glade Festival in 2012 just to name a few of what you’ll find in the pack. 

In total, there are 12 downloads that amounts to about 14-Hours of music, available for free! A solid pack to add to your bag to get you through the rest of the festive season. 

Listen to Max Cooper on Pulse Radio 

Originally from San Francisco, Behrouz has settled in Miami, where he has well established himself as a DJ. He has brought his Pure Behrouz party all across the globe and recently opened his club, Do Not Sit On The Furniture in South Beach. The new space aims to stand out from all the other clubs in Miami by focusing solely on the music instead of bottle service and bringing in big name DJs.  Behrouz will be featured at BangOn!'s New Year's Eve party in Brooklyn on December 31st. We sat down with him ahead of the gig to chat about his vision for Do Not Sit, his experience of opening a new club, some of his favorite things to do when he's visiting New York, and what he has in store for 2014.  Get tickets to BangOn! "Time And Space" on Pulse Radio!

This fall, you opened your new club Do Not Sit On The Furniture in Miami. What has that experience been like so far? To put it quite bluntly, it has been nothing short of amazing. I get to see both sides of the ball game now - DJ on one side and club owner on the other. The learning curve is definitely up and every day I learn something new. It's always been a goal of mine to open up my own place and I don't know which is harder, touring non stop and not having a moment to relax or running a club. They both take so much of your time. But I love challenges so I'm ready for whatever comes next.

The club is described as “the abandoned-treasure-turned-retro-sixties-atomic-bomb-dance-music-bar-institution” and aims to be relaxed, comfortable, reasonably priced, and all about the music. What was your motivation for opening it? What sets it apart from other spots in the area? I moved to Miami seven years ago from San Francisco, and at the same time the whole EDM and commercial music scene was growing bigger and I was not at all in touch with this whole movement. After living in Miami and starting a family here, I wanted to contribute something back to the music scene. I wanted to express my artistic point of view and open a place that I could play the record I really wanted to play and not what someone who bought a $10K table wanted to hear. When people walk into Do Not Sit On The Furniture, the first thing they say to me is "wow, this place is different than any other club/bar in South Beach". It's different because it's not about the DJ or the table someone bought, it's about the music. I have also created a room that my friends can come and play unannounced when they are in town. Guy Gerber hosted a party during Art Basel, the Life and Death & Unreal MGMT guys do a weekly Thursday party, and we had Tale of Us and Mind Against playing the week after Art Basel with many other surprises in store. What also sets us apart is that Do Not Sit is the only club in South Beach that is smoke-free. We just started a new campaign called Clean Lungs Dance Long. You come dance all night without inhaling smoke or leaving the venue smelling like a burnt cigarette. I'm really excited to push this campaign.

You’ll be playing for our friends at BangOn! at their New Year’s Eve party in Brooklyn. What can guests look forward to from your set? As always, a special journey with my music. Just come prepared for the journey! I feel like this party is going to have a somewhat of a Burning Man vibe since it's me, Damian Lazarus, Bob Moses and some other burners playing in Brooklyn. That means trouble! I think BangOn will be one of the best parties to attend during NYE and I am getting messages every day from so many friends in NYC and all over that are excited to come to the party. Let's ring in 2014 with a big BANG.

What are some of your favorite things to see, do, and eat when you’re visiting New York? I always like to go to Chelsea Market and have lobster or go to Café Habana for the best Mexican corn and Cuban food. You can't leave without having proper Chinese food as well (this is seriously lacking in Miami). I love NY. It feels like home to me and will always have a special place in my heart. I've been lucky to have a good following in NY which allows me to come back and play at some of the best clubs, like Output, Cielo or back in the day like Vinyl, Twilo and many others.

As someone who has been involved in the scene in the US for so long, how have you seen it evolve in your own experience? This is a funny subject for me because when I am in Europe and I hear some Europeans that don’t know about the US scene that much tell me, "It's great that the US is picking up and learning about the underground." I always laugh at them and tell them, "where were you in 90’s when we had everything?" It’s like a cycle that shifts but always comes right back to our scene here. The soul of dance music comes from the vibe of a city and when the city becomes too expensive you lose all the creative people. That’s what has happened to many cities like NY, SF, and Chicago but at the end it comes right back!

Do you have a New Year’s resolution this year? Live a happy healthy life. I just want to be happy and the rest will work it's self out.

What else do you have planned for 2014? Build this club the way I envision it to be , work a lot in the studio and always try to become better at what I do.

Listen to Behrouz on Pulse Radio

S.A.S.H has finally revealed that their secret headliner for NYD is the one and only DJ T., who will wrap up his Australian tour with a much anticipated encore set at the famed Sydney party. DJ T. will be joined by the also freshly announced Miss Jools& Ray Okpara, with all three artists set to play alongside the previously announced international names of Berlin based house head Kris Wadsworth, Prime Numbers head honcho Trus'me and fellow Londoner Dexter Kane.

Buy tickets to S.A.S.H NYD HERE.

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When you think of Zimbabwe, what most likely comes to mind is political instability and economic recession. A large scale electronic dance music (EDM) event attracting local, regional and international artists would not seem to be high on the agenda. WRONG! Enter, Neverland Zimbabwe.

I arrived at the venue, Old Georgians Sports Club in Harare, just after 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon (21 December 2013). Armed with my ‘Access All Areas’ pass, which I collected from the event organiser Jason Le Roux the previous day, I was able to park right inside the venue, a few metres from the entrance. Score! The setup in an open sports field immediately reminded me of a mini version of the DStv Delicious Food & Music Festival (featuring Jamiroquai) which I attended in Johannesburg earlier in the year.

I took some time to familiarise myself with the surroundings which included a large general area bar, a mobile water theme park, and a myriad of stalls selling hot and cold drinks, freshly prepared food, as well as hubblies / hookahs that could be rented out.

To escape the scorching African sun, I made my way to the stunning all white-decor VIP area, which was set just left of the massive main, and only stage. Each of the DJs were allotted one hour sets and the common theme for most of the event, kicked off by Zimbabwean DJs Chris Taylor, Rob Macson and Rax The DJ was big room, commercial, euphoric EDM / House; think Avicii and Afrojack.

Gil K (Gil Kuruneri), a Zimbabwean born / New York based DJ and label owner (Nosi Music) jumped on the decks at around 5 p.m. and was a breath of fresh air (and the highlight of the event for me). His set was characterised by Progressive / Deep House riddled with some sneaky and even psychedelic melodies; simply beautiful and enjoyed by the old(er) crowd that had started arriving en masse at the event, not so much by the younger crowd. I chatted to Gil K immediately after his set and he shared that his sound was representative of the New York underground house scene, which has seen a resurgence in recent times.

Next up were the South African DJs Royal K, Ricardo Da Costa and Mark Stent, who once again picked up with the big room sound. Even a brief bout of rain and power outage did little to dampen the mood.

Despite facing some initial technical difficulties, event organiser Jason Le Roux (JLR) then took to the decks and was able to read the crowd very well. So much so, that he had them throwing their hands in the air and fist-pumping to their hearts' content throughout his set. Jason was visibly choked up as he thanked the crowd, which erupted with appreciation.

International artists Zack Edward (USA), Yolanda Be Cool (Australia) and Alex Kenji (Italy) then took over the reins in quick succession. While maintaining the tempo and energy levels, each brought with them a unique twist to rock the party. Alex Kenji’s set was another highlight for me as I found it to be a bit more intricate than those before him – intelligent beats and baselines layered with a bit of a Mediterranean flair and the occasional female vocal. He may be small in stature but his sound is massive!

Given that there had been a change in line-up with Locnville now headlining / closing the show, the crowd had grown audibly impatient chanting, “Locnville, Locnville, Locnville!”; go figure! The guys had arrived much earlier and were up to shenanigans backstage. However, when the time came, they put on their game faces – quite literally, wearing what looked like gas masks with LEDs – and made a grand entrance. Say what you will about those guys but they have an incredible stage presence. They had the crowd going absolutely mental for the entire half hour that I watched. I decided to leave before the end of their performance and the entire event in a bid to beat the masses and traffic; Johannesburg has taught me well.

All in all, the main areas of improvement that I observed were better security (underage drinking and theft were rife), better response planning (medical personnel were stretched), the inclusion of theatrical performers / dancers and having more than one stage and / or a line-up with more diverse DJs and acts. With that said, for a first time EDM event of this magnitude in Zimbabwe (I understand that the headcount was in the 3500-4000 people range), I think Jason and his team did a phenomenal job – not only in terms of the actual event and pushing the EDM ‘agenda’ in Zimbabwe but in uniting people from different races and backgrounds, and ultimately living true to his vision of Neverland, “Together We Are Stronger”! 

Now, I’m curious; what’s next!?

Guest Review for Pulseradio.net by Farhan Esat

Listen to Alex Kenji and Yolanda Be Cool on Pulse Radio 

DJ Sneak has become a lightning rod for controversy as of late, but he's also one of house music's most well respected artists. Sneak, or Carlos Sosa, has worked with just about everyone, has been credited for influencing Daft Punk, and of course, is a master behind the grill. So DJsounds.com headed over to Ibiza this summer to get a closer, behind the scenes look at The House Gangster to find out more about how he came to be, including interviews with artists like Darius Syrossian, Loco Dice and Carl Cox. Watch here.

Listen to DJ Sneak on Pulse Radio.