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Eugene Cho’s ESCORT is playing at the Highline Ballroom, NYC this Friday!!! September 24th. Come out and dance to their brand new album, Cocaine Blues.

Check it peeps! Escort’s playing Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday, May 12th. Come & revel in the dope sounds of Amber’s very own, Eugene Cho, killin’ it.

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One year after their incredible performance at Celebrate Brooklyn, Escort are assembling their 17 piece disco orchestra for a rare live appearance at Le Poisson Rouge. And the rumors are true: they’ve completed their highly anticipated full-length album, which they’ll be playing live for the first time in its entirety. The night will also feature sets by some of the city’s most beloved DJs: Darshan Jesrani of Metro Area, DJ Druzz of the Rapture, and Prince Language (No Comprendo, Negroclash). Dress to sweat.

Escort, “Brooklyn’s finest disco orchestra,” founded by producers Eugene Cho and Dan Balis, and fronted by lead singer Adeline Michele. Initially known for a series of critically-acclaimed 12” singles, Escort is now just as well known for its live performances featuring a 17-piece line-up. The New York Post and Time Out NYC both described Escort as the “city’s best live band,” and Pitchfork described their single, “All Through the Night” as “one of the best New York disco tracks since West End Records’ early 1980s heyday.” Also recognized for their remixes of artists including Tracey Thorn, Antena, and Feist.

Darshan Jesrani’s recording project “Metro Area” (together with partner Morgan Geist) on the Environ label has left an indelible mark on the dance music landscape. Their 2002 debut album elicited superlative responses from The New York Times to The Onion, from web-logs to the Wire, and remains one of the most influential dance albums of the past decade. Metro Area won a place among Rolling Stone’s “Top 50 Albums of 2002”, BBC/Radio 1’s “Dance Album of the Year” and a “Best New Artist” prize at the 2003 DanceStar/American Dance Awards.

DJ Druzz, a.k.a. Gabriel Andruzzi, is the inimitable multi-instrumentalist (sax, keyboards, percussion) for the seminal NYC post-punk outfit The Rapture. The moment they released the international dancefloor hit “House of Jealous Lovers” in 2002, New York quartet The Rapture redefined the tip of the indie iceberg by fusing the skronk and chaos of punk with the precision and funk of basement after-party disco beats. DJ Druzz has toured the globe as a DJ, and his diverse sensibilities behind the decks are well represented by his contributions to the Rapture’s critically acclaimed 80-minute DJ mix for K7!.

Prince Language is one of New York City’s premiere underground DJ’s and producers. His acclaimed remix work for artists like LCD Soundsystem (DFA), The Rapture, MGMT, Lindstrøm, The Juan Maclean (DFA), Armand Van Helden. Joakim, Editors, and Sons And Daughters, as well numerous re-edits for the mysterious Editions Disco label have earned his tracks a place in the sets of DJ’s as diverse as Lindstrøm, DJ Harvey, Tiga, Carl Craig, James Murphy, Rub N Tug, and Gilles Peterson, and have made him one of the most in-demand remixers in dance music today. 

It’s been a good SXSW and in that vein, Days 3 & 4 have begun to blur together.  Some of the musical highlights included:

Frightened Rabbit
Freelance Whales
Free Energy
The Middle East
Rogue Wave
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

We wrapped our SXSW 2010 experience with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony at the Levi’s Fader Fort.  They did not disappoint and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy their performace.  They rewarded the crowd with some of the classics including “Crossroads” and played some new material from their upcoming album.  Who doesn’t love Bone Thugs-N-Harmony???

We got our fill of Tex Mex, BBQ, good weather, not-so-good weather and awesome music.  All in all, mission accomplished.  We look forward to seeing you at SXSW 2011!

First up, we headed over to the Moishi Moishi Records showcase at the Red House Pizzeria and caught Fyfe Dangerfield (lead singer of the Guillemots) from the UK.  He had a pretty stripped down set-up— him on guitar and keys and two string players.  But it was the perfect setting for his set.  In this set-up, I would describe him as a singer-songwriter, but his first solo debut album will have a much bigger sound.  He’s def. of the school of looping to help his sound out and he showed off that talent exceptionally well here.

After this lovely start to the day, we were off to the infamous Levi’s Fader Fort (a scene to be reckoned with).  We were able to catch Neon Indian, Local Natives, and Bomba Estereo.  I was thoroughly impressed by all of them.  Neon Indian has more of an electronica rock sound while Local Natives is more rock with four harmonizing male vocals.  However, Bomba Estereo surpassed them both with energy and audience enthusiasm.  Think the Colombian M.I.A..  A pleasant surprise to say the least!

Just a few highlights from the day, but more to come….

See above for pics from the day.

So we’re down here in Austin, TX for SXSW 2010.  The weather is gorgeous, the food is delicious, and bands are EVERYWHERE.  I’m in heaven!

The first item on the docket was the British Embassy Showcase.  Any of the British (or Canadian) showcases are a safe bet to see good, new music from up-and-coming artists, and this was no exception.  Plus, I was already homesick for my Amber Brits and needed some accents and odd words to tide me over (did you know ‘knackered’ is their word for tired?  Me either, but Michelle enlightened me.).  As if that weren’t enough, our gracious hosts were also serving up some British cuisine — Guinness Pie, Chips, and Minced Lamb.  A nice touch, though nowhere close to New York’s Tea & Sympathy.

The showcase featured Smoke Fairies, Everything Everything, and Band of Skulls.  Band of Skulls were by far and hands down my fave and they got everyone’s attention.  They’re a cross between the White Stripes and Wolfmother (kind of). A very strong drum beat and having one of the main vocals be a female is a very nice touch.  They’re playing 5-6 shows this week, so catch them if you can.  I really think they are in store for some big stuff.  Check out their video in the post above.

Day 2 should be filled with way more music as we’ve got more time to hit the day shows etc.  I’m looking forward to Fyfe Dangerfield and checking out the Filter Tent, Fader Fort, and Paste Party.  So many bands, so little time……check back tomorrow for recap of Day 2!

We’d like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Holiday Season this year!   May you spend your time with close friends and family…..and of course listening to good music.

Here’s to 2010!

Check out the “About Us” Video on SingforHope.org and you’ll be listening to Amber Music!  We’re happy to be involved with such a great cause!