A new nightclub is set to open its doors next month in New York: District 36, a mid-size venue with music programming by Taimur Agha of Blk|Market Membership.
Organizers say their goal is to provide clubbers in Manhattan with a weekend spot that's "all about the music." The venue is owned by Damien Distasio, the man behind Twilo Miami, and will be equipped with a rig by Gary Stewart Audio, the same brand used by Love and Halcyon Records. Blk|Market Membership will host a monthly night at the club, with Taimur and fellow Blk|Market resident Fahad switching off every other Friday of the month. Saturdays at District 36 will be the new home for Victor Calderone's Evolve parties, previously held at Pacha NYC. Reached by phone at his apartment in Brooklyn, Taimur filled us in on the rest of the details: What can you expect from the club in terms of atmosphere?
The club is going to be just for the music mainly. It's a midsize room, nothing too big. I've been hired as the musical director. The way I'm programming the club is Friday nights will be underground house and techno. I've been kind of studying Fabric and Berghain, because for me musically those clubs are really good. So Friday nights will be the kind of the line ups that inspire me as a DJ and ones that I would want to play alongside just like at Blk|Market Membership. Saturday nights will be the more household names, more commercially known, because that stuff is popular in New York. In a nutshell, the full club sound system is being done by Gary Stewart Audio, Victor Calderone has designed the booth and has his residency once a month on Saturdays.
A lot of people are looking forward to it. There is a lot of buzz, because basically "clubs" for me in New York have sort of died out since Twilo. There was Arc, that was formerly Club Vinyl, but there haven't been many clubs to follow that style. I mean Cielo opened up, it was good, Love was good, but nothing ever felt like Twilo or Arc. With District 36 opening, I truly believe it will be a mecca in New York for people who know where to come for good music. So you would say Twilo was a big inspiration for District 36?
Yes it's a big influence for me. If it weren't for those nights at Twilo, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today. I bought my first turntables back when Sasha and Digweed were playing at the end of every month around 1999. I never thought of doing this professionally or full time until 2006. I had been working at a good advertising job for four years after finishing at Pratt in Brooklyn '03. The company helped me get my visas and everything, and I was just at that point where I was like "If I don't do this right now and start my own parties I'm gonna regret it for the rest of my life." Fast forward four years and my party's one of the best parties in North America. And now with this club coming it's just the next chapter for me in my career. Why do you think the New York scene got pushed underground? Why don't people want to go out to clubs as much?
Because it's like going through the airport! People just don't feel as comfortable as they used to at those venues.
How will the Friday night programming compare to what you do at Blk|Market Membership?
Well basically we have a new home now, and it's this club. We have a Blk|Market Membership residency once a month, but on other Friday nights, Fahad and I are rotating residents. The programming that I have put together, as I was mentioning, are people that I want to bring in to play along side us every weekend. My goal with the club is basically to double up the scene if not more, because right now New York’s night life is BOOMING, especially the techno stuff. I really care about who will be coming to the club each weekend to listen to the music. Im really not interested at all in people who have no clue as to what the club is about and chin stroke. Thats what Blkmarket Membership is about: good DJs, good sound, good vibe. People leave very happy from our parties and come back again because they truly had a great time. I think people coming out to District 36 will love what's in store for Friday nights.
How does District 36 plan to deal with problems such as the cops and neighbors complaining?
Well that’s a good question to be honest. We’re gonna be running a really tight ship, but also our staff will be courteous to clients who come into the club. Our goal is that people will want to come back each week or every other week because they had a really good time. I don’t want them to feel like they’re tied up in situations where they feel uncomfortable at the club, which is what happened at some of those venues. So you think people will feel more comfortable letting loose at District 36?
I just want the people to come out, dance, have a good time. We’ve educated a lot of people about different artists in this industry. I feel they are gonna come back, understand who we’re bringing, and already have done their research. I want people to come to the club, like I used to back at Twilo, right when the opening DJ started, all the way till the closing act. They're going to want to come because it’s a really bad ass line up, you know?
You're residency at District 36 is on the same night as The Bunker. Do you think that could that be a problem?
I don’t think so. Like I was saying my goal is to really increase the number of people at this scene. Bryan Kasenic, who is another good friend of mine…he does his parties in Brooklyn and I do my parties mainly in Brooklyn as well. The new club is in Manhattan, and there are a lot of people in Manhattan who don’t come to Brooklyn just because it’s Brooklyn. It’s weird, I know… It’s New York. But I think a lot of people who live in Manhattan, are going be coming to this and the scene will definitely grow in numbers and I’m really looking forward to seeing that. So you think Manhattan has an untapped market for underground house and techno?
Yes, but I don’t necceseraly think it’s new, I just think they don’t want to trek out to Brooklyn. It’ll be nice to see them, because I’m hearing some of the stuff that people are saying, “it’s amazing, there is actually a club we can go to in Manhattan and it's so close to where I live, rather than trekking out to Brooklyn."
District 36 will open its doors on September 17th for a Drumcode Night featuring Adam Beyer and Ida Engberg alongside residents Taimur and Fahad.
In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel tape deck, snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced John to do an interview about peace.
I used to go to Blarney Stone for liquid lunches back in the day. Nowadays, I would never do something like that. However, I would stop by for some eats and a few days ago, I did just that.
Walking by the dram shop almost everyday, their signs advertising cheap pub grub (fish and chips, sliders, meatloaf, etc.) have always enticed me. Further, Midtown Lunch wrote a generally positive review of their burgers a few years back...so I thought it was time to revisit the joint and give it a good ole contemporary review.
For what it's worth, it wasn't terrible. At $7.00 for a cheeseburger and o-rings, the price point straddles the not-too-expensive and not-too-cheap-and-shit-quality line.
Nestled between your average roll (which was too much bread), the burger had a nice charred-flavor from the grill. Also, for the size of the burger, they're generous with the American cheese. Some places might give you only one slice, whereas Blarney Stone doles out at least three. As for the bread, one suggestion I'd like to extend is to change from the hard roll to a nice sesame seeded hamburger bun. I don't think the price of the bread would be that much more, but the overall awesomeness of the burger would be multiplied by 4.2.
Unbeknownst to me, you can order your burger at whatever temperature you want (or so I'm led to believe). Without any request, they gave it to me pretty much medium/well done. So have it your way, or so the saying goes.
Blarney Stone isn't my first recommendation for a tasty burger, however, if someone's looking for a pub with decent and cheap grub in the area, it would definitely be at the top of the list.
710 3rd Ave (between 44th St & 45th St) New York, NY 10017 (212) 490-0457
The seemingly ubiquitous wholesale meat purveyor, Pat La Frieda, will now begin delivery of their goods straight to your front door. For those of you not in the Fresh Direct delivery area, via ShopNBC, you can cop a Burger Package (as well as a Grilling and Steak Sampler), which consists of 4 - 6oz La Frieda Original Blend Burgers, 4 - 6oz Short Rib Burgers, 4 - 6oz Brisket Burgers and 4 - 6oz Turkey Breast Burgers for $85.74 + $11.99 for shipping and handling. They will arrive fresh, not frozen. Booyah! With just a few more weeks of prime grilling season left (though I enjoy grilling outdoors in the middle of winter as well), what a way to finish it off. Now only if they could stick a few Black Labels into the package for me...
World Renowned Meats Now Available to the General Public
NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrated Manhattan-based butcher Pat La Frieda is scheduled to appear on ShopNBC (www.shopnbc.com), the premier lifestyle brand in multi-media retailing. The premiere of Pat La Frieda Meats, which will be the first national roll-out of the product to the general public, will occur on Monday, August 23 at 7pm ET and on Tuesday, August 24 at 2pm ET.
Pat La Frieda, President of Pat La Frieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors, says, "For more than 90 years, my family's business, has been built upon selling directly to restaurants across North America, but never before have our products been directly available to the general public. We are thrilled to have a multi-channel platform like ShopNBC that will allow us to reach more than 76 million homes nationwide and provide their viewers with the same quality meats that top-rated restaurateurs and chefs have been using for decades."
The Pat La Frieda product line on ShopNBC will feature eclectic blends of burgers, cuts of steak, and sausage links -- all featuring the quality and flavor favored by discerning restaurateurs and chefs. The product line was developed to reflect the best of what La Frieda has to offer.
The show is part handbook for meat preparation and technique, and part memoir of America's most successful meat dynasty. With easy to follow tips on sourcing, buying, cutting and preparing meat, Pat La Frieda will entertain viewers with stories, give them the confidence to shop for and cook their meat, and provide them with reason to tune in again and again.
"We are thrilled to be working with DMA to bring Pat La Frieda Meats to the ShopNBC network," said Bob Ayd, ShopNBC's president. "The Pat La Frieda family has a wonderful heritage, and its high quality meats have earned the highest of marks as a supplier to many of New York City's finest restaurants. Because ShopNBC is the premium lifestyle brand in the multi-media retailing industry, we are always hungry to add new, unique and special product offerings to surprise and entertain our customers. Now, for the first time ever, ShopNBC viewers across America can enjoy a taste of New York's finest 5-star restaurant quality burgers, steaks, sausages and more – shipped fresh, not frozen and ready to enjoy – all at a tremendous value.
Designers Management Agency, a Manhattan-based talent representation agency connected Pat La Frieda and ShopNBC. Aaron Spiewak, Chief Operating Officer at DMA says, "I am very pleased that DMA was able to put Pat La Frieda and ShopNBC into this partnership. For three generations, Pat La Frieda Meats have been available exclusively in New York's finest restaurants. Finally, the rest of the country will have the opportunity to feed their families with the best quality meat."
About Pat La Frieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors
Located in the heart of Manhattan for more than ninety years, Pat La Frieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors services restaurants, hotels, banquet facilities, and retail outlets with a full line of meat, poultry, and associated items. The company is family owned and operated and federally inspected by the USDA. For more information, please visit http://lafrieda.com/.
About ShopNBC
ShopNBC is a multi-media retailer operating with a premium lifestyle brand. Over 1 million customers benefit from ShopNBC as an authority and destination in the categories of home, electronics, beauty, health, fitness, fashion, jewelry and watches. As part of the company's "ShopNBC Anywhere" initiative, customers can interact and shop via cable and satellite TV in 76 million homes (DISH Network channels 134 and 228; DIRECTV channel 316); mobile devices including iPhone, BlackBerry and Droid; online at www.ShopNBC.com; live streaming at www.ShopNBC.TV; and social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. ShopNBC is owned and operated by ValueVision Media (NASDAQ: VVTV).
I think this track is fun. It's got that rave-influenced motif over a relatively classic house backdrop which really captures a lot of what the kids are listening to in warehouses these days. Also, it's produced by Todd "the God" Terry. Nuff said.
The Chemical Brothers have through-and-through released singles chock full of badass b-sides and remixes from super talented and relevant producers. Their latest is no different. Via the Chem Bros mailer:
Greetings chemical brothers & sisters,
The new single package "Another World" has arrived!
The digital release, out now, boasts an impressive array of mixes of tracks taken from the acclaimed new album, "Further".
Tracklisting:
"Another World" radio edit "Swoon" Boyz Noize remix "Swoon" Lindstrom and Prins Thomas remix "Horse Power" PopOf remix
Wow...was reminded of this track earlier this morning. Brings back great memories from yesteryear. I feel like it captures what the inside of my brain looks like right now.
On that note, I need more Slacker in my life. Oh dip, he released an album in February titled "Start A New Life" (could the title be any more apropos with the ongoings of my own life?). A write-up of the album can be found at The Fresh Page. Now all I gots to do is find the vinyl release of it (though I don't believe it was pressed onto wax).
Cheap eats created with the same attention to detail and high quality ingredients as utilized by high-end dining is the hot shit right now (and has been for the past couple of years, and probably will be until the end of time). Look no further than the plethora of food trucks/carts as well as conventional brick-and-mortar joints that dedicate themselves to one thing done to the best of their ability (i.e. The Meatball Shop, and to a lesser extent, Nick Tahou's (minus the quality ingredients)).
Below, D Chang answers a few questions in the backstage of Late Night:
Not your typical minimal mix by Magda, but rather a fun, head-bopping, summer mix to turn up in your car, or at the beach, or in your portable music player, or wherever the hell you want to get your groove on:
Tracklist : 01 - Goblin – Mad Puppet – Cinevox 02 - Lindstrom – Gang Sound – Bear Entertainment 03 - Munk – You Never See Me Back Down – Gomma 04 - Jimmy Edgar – Hot Raw Sex – !K7 05 - Black Devil Disco Club – Misererum – Lo Recordings 06 - Tussle – Kindermusik – Smalltown Supersound 07 - Bernard Fevre – Molecule Dance – L’Illustration Musicale 08 - Rotation Dub 09 - Chris and Cosey – Talk to Me – Rough Trade 10 - Walter Jones – A.I.P (XLN’s Maison Vumbi Edit) – Supersoul Recordings 11 - Der Zyklus – Cherenkov Radiation – Frustrated Funk 12 - Fun Boy Three – Faith Hope and Charity – Chrysalis 13 - Grauzone – Film – Welt-Rekord 14 - Tussle feat. David Shrigley – A Clash of Heads – frequeNC 15 - Japanese Telecom – Asian Amazons – Intuit-Solar 16 - Chaka Khan – I Feel for You (Magda ‘s Remix) – Unreleased 17 - Phonique – Casualties (Morgan Geist Remix) – Dessous Recordings 18 - Must! 006 19 - Fad Gadget – Make Room – Mute Records 20 - Pollyester – Run in My Stocking – Erkrankung Durch Musique 21 - Ryuichi Sakamoto – Riot in Lagos – Island Records 22 - Cybotron – Cosmic Cars – Fantasy 23 - ESG – Dance – 99 Records
Here's short interview that accompanies the mix (Link):
Magda is among the last of what seems like a dying breed, a DJ that has made a career based solely around their talents behind the decks. The Minus mainstay has put her name to a production or two, but the reason that she has been among your favourite DJs of the past few years has nothing to do with anything except what she puts forth in a live setting. Her 2006 mix CD, She's a Dancing Machine has come to represent a defining moment in Minus' rise to prominence, and her blend-happy mix for Fabric last year once again showcased the possibilities of the form.
For her entry into RA's podcast series, Magda doesn't get quite as deep into the mix, instead opting for a more accurate representation of what you might hear from her at a private afterparty: Stone-cold bangers of recent and classic vintage. Letting things breathe, she puts together tracks from Black Devil Disco Club, Lindstrom, Chris and Cosey and ESG into something she simply calls "a fun summer mix." We wholeheartedly agree. What have you been working on recently?
I have been working on an album and several remixes. Your debut album has been in the works for quite a while now. How is it going?
Yes, it's finally finished and the release date will be announced in the next few weeks. I had so much recorded material from the last three years, and it all finally came together in the way I wanted so I'm happy.
How and where was the mix recorded?
I recorded the mix using Ableton while I was traveling and in my studio in Berlin. I had to clean up a lot of the old tracks and try to make them sound better in the mix. That was the hard part. Can you tell us a little about this idea behind the mix?
I just wanted to make a fun summer mix, and something much different than I have done in the past. I used a lot of my favorite old post-punk/disco/electro tracks, many of which I would not be able to license for a DJ mix. It was really, really fun to put together.
As a performer, which style of DJing do you enjoy the most? More of a loop-based approach, or using your timecoded vinyl?
I do many edits, but in general I don't like to play loops. I like when tracks build and change. I prefer to only mix two things at a time. At the moment I still use timecode vinyl, but I am working on a new set-up for the fall. You're known for your punishing tour schedule. Do you have any particular favorite spots to DJ, and why?
Haha, am I known for that? Punishing indeed, but it's fun! There are so many lovely places to play, and I'm happy to be able to play there. I have to say my nights in Germany at Robert Johnson and Loft Club have become my favorites. The atmosphere is small, dark and hot, and the crowd is with you the whole night. It's really fun to do long sets there.
What are you up to next?
I'm going to start working on a live show for next year. In the meantime, I'm going to do some remixes and a DJ mix for BBC radio in the UK.
Josh Ozersky (who doesn't fail in annoying the piss out of me) hangs with the lads from Pulino's as they explain why they go through the effort of breaking down steers themselves:
A little late in posting this corker, but better late than never...this re-edit of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle" has been stuck in my head since I heard Greg Wilson drop it a few weeks ago in his T In the Park Festival Set. In my opinion, it's the absolute shiznit.