Dance it, Dance all : A Remix from Turkey!

Neopol Remix : Turkey's electro-house pioneer duo Neopol made a progressive house remix with a pinch of Trance.  This one is for big rooms.  Tiësto Style...

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS ROYAL

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS ROYAL

2 lbs lamb shoulder, cubed
1 lb meatballs
6 chicken drumsticks
6 merguez lamb sausages
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 onions
4 garlic cloves
3 zucchini, sliced 1 inch
6 carrots, sliced 1 inch
4 turnips, diced 1 inch
1 lb garbanzo beans
Italian parsley
10 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Brown the lamb cubes in oil. Remove from pan. Brown in same oil chicken drumsticks for few minutes. Remove from pan. Sauté sliced onions and garlic, add ras el-hanout spice mix and stir for 2 minutes. Add lamb, tomato paste and cover with water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer. After 60 minutes, add carrots and turnips. After 30 minutes, add chicken, meatballs and garbanzo beans and zucchinis, chopped parsley and cook for an other 30 minutes.

Enjoy !

Alex D


...with a Domaine Pichot Vouvray 2008...it was simply delectable !

Go Dad Go!

Hier soir avait lieu le lancement du premier roman de mon père.  Étant deuxième finaliste du prix Robert-Cliche et fraîchement édité chez VLB, il était au septième ciel. Après près de quinze années de travail et d’incalculables heures à griffoner le papier, il réalisa enfin un grand rêve. Son roman tourne autour de la passion d’un garçon pour le Canadien de Montréal.

Il est pour moi la preuve qu’en travaillant avec acharnement, on finit par atteindre son but. Je lui souhaite de tout coeur un best-seller. Go Dad Go !

Alex D

Hey man, nice shots !

We had some new shots taken last Tuesday at a really cool bar in Montreal called "l’Abreuvoir" because we wanted to update our band pictures. As you might recall, we were looking for a place with padded couches and chandeliers a couple months ago. A kind of baroque environment with a modern twist.

Thanks to a couple of Simon's friends, we finally found the place we were looking for... L’Abreuvoir's basement.

Huge Cheers to l'Abreuvoir for letting us shoot before they opened! And big thanks to Alexandre Beaudoin, our photographer, for finding the best angles to shoot!

Alex D

Dance it, Dance all : Remix from South Africa!

Simon Segfault Remix : Straight from Stellonbosch, South Africa, this remix is a mixture of chillwave, dubstep and 8 bit music.  Its got a little Nintendo twist!

Rockabilly Jive

     On a tous besoin de quelque chose qui nous fait décrocher de notre train de vie souvent stressant et très occupé!  Certains optent pour les sports, la lecture ou encore même les arts.  Il y a presque 3 ans maintenant, j'ai découvert une activité qui a en quelque sorte changé ma vie et comblé beaucoup de mes temps libres: la danse.  Plus précisément la danse rockabilly jive.

YouTube - On me voit danser!  

Une danse issue du style de musique rockabilly apparu durant la première moitié des années '50 grâce aux Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran et cie.  C'est une danse dérivée du swing et semblable au rock n'roll.  Ayant pris quelques cours, j'ai pu parfaire un peu mon style et rencontrer beaucoup de gens intéressants.  J'ai même adopté un certain mode de vie issu de ces années.  Pomade dans les cheveux avec pompadour, peigne dans la poche arrière et jeans retroussés! Je fais de plus partie d'un groupe rockabilly depuis 2 ans, Joe Henry & the Rockin' Bones avec lequel je fais plusieurs spectacles, notamment pour les danseurs de rockabilly jive.



Comme vous pouvez le constater, ce n'est pas seulement une danse mais aussi pour beaucoup d'entre nous, un mode de vie.  Bien loin de la musique rock électronique vous me direz?  En quelque sorte, oui.  Mais pourquoi se borner à n'aimer qu'une seule chose? 

Skrillex is taking the Grammy Awards by storm!

The hottest artist at the Grammy Awards this year is Skrillex.  He is nominated for five grammy awards. Its the first time in history a DJ / producer is ever nominated in the category of “Best New Artist”. He’s up against the likes of Nicki Minaj, J. Cole and Bon Iver.   I really hope Skrillex wins it, even if I'm pretty sure he doesn't really give a shit about the Grammys, but if he does win he blasts open the Grammy doors for the next generations of electronic musicians. 

I love him because he’s turning music industry upside down, proving that he doesn’t need a major record deal to become popular, it’s more like the majors labels are the ones that need him.   He’s an artist who is re-writing the music industry rules.

As Diplo said in a recent Billboard Magazine interview:  “I know one thing -- the major labels, the A&Rs, are very frightened now," "They see that things are in our hands in a lot of ways."  

Burn down the house boys!

Alex D

Ersatz : Violet and the Mutants RMX

Our friend from Daniel from Portugal a.k.a. Violet and the Mutants put together this amazing Ersatz Remix.  We really like it a lot, so if you feel the same, download it, share it with your friends and be sure to check out Violet and the Mutants new project "Dear Sherlock" here.

LIKE!

Ersatz - The Original Version here

Violet and the Mutants are also working on a Dance it, Dance all remix at the moment!  Can't wait to here it!

Oysters & Rosé

I started a remix of our forthcoming release “Dance It, Dance All” today. Since the original is a kind of electro-house-dubstep-pop-thing, I'm doing something more Latin, more lounge.  Something in the mood of Stephane Pompougnac’s Hôtel Costes series which I love :)

I actually pulled out my guitar chord sheets and listened to some bossa nova and Cuban music. I want to create something chic and sexy, deep and groovy. Like oysters and rosé wine on a Sunday afternoon. An aphrodisiac musical appetizer to listen to...  juste avant de passer à la chamber à coucher!

SOUNDS FROM AUSTRALIA

I recently discovered some new bands that I wanted to share with you. Some are not really that new, but they are for me ;).   all with one point in common: they’re all Australian.

I first discovered Empire Of The Sun, while listening to a Hed Kandi Compilation. Their album, Walking On A Dream, released in 2008, is just simply delicious and their live performances are mind blowing. They remind me of Le Cirque Du Soleil a little.

Then I’ve found a band named Bag Raiders, a house duo from Sydney. Got hooked by their song “Sunlight”, catchy and groovy.

Now my favorite new discovery goes to the band Miami Horror. They remind me of Daft Punk, New Order, Planet Funk and Prince just to name a few. Their album “Illumination” is looping in my ipod. Perfect for the coming summer, and perfect for a drink by the sea.




It would be nice to cross path with these guys some day and share some congrats face to face.

Cheers to our Aussie friends!

Alex

Connected and yet so Disconnected...

Last night I was having a drink with some friends at a bar. While sipping my beer, I started to look around me and watched the people around. Hopeless.

At my right: a guy sat in front a beautiful girl, who talked on his phone through the entire meal, ignoring her completely. The table at the back, six teens, all text-messaging, e-mailing, tweeting, facebook-ing, all heads down, eyes glued to their micro screens.  In front of me, three young ladies at the bar, one is checking her mobile for voicemails and text messages, the other testing the latest app on her phone, while the third one playing games on her phone. Everyone has their cell phones on the dinner table. Waiting the gadget to vibrate or buzz. I'm amazed how everybody’s wired.

Then I thought to myself “they all must be important people, probably doctors, policeman, neurosurgeons or presidents of large corporations waiting for an emergency phone call..."

- A

Excursions into Dubstep

The Easton Ellises have been working on a new song with a dub step influenced chorus for the past few weeks...  this time we are testing it out on stage before we finish and release it.  This will be the first song we release in 2012.  Here's a preview.  Happy Holidays!

"Dance it, Dance all" - Live @ Divan Orange - Montreal Electronic Groove Official selection.

Recorded by Charles Henri DeBeur : Photographer Friend!

- Udo

Le Studio Morin Heights

In the heart of the Laurentian Mountains, an hour North from the city of Montreal, rests a legendary world class recording studio that is now abandoned. Le Studio Morin Heights designed and built by André Perry in 1974 was the center of creation for much of the music that made it into the 1980's and 1990's mainstream.

From The Police's "Every Breath You Take" to Cat Stevens, to David Bowie, to Keith Richards, to Sting, to Rush, to Bryan Adam's "Cuts Like a Knife" and to the Bee Gees "Saturday Night Fever", Le Studio Morin Heights was where it all came together.

Le Studio Morin Heights ceased it recording operations in 2001, and has since been stripped of all its musical heritage. There are no more Gold Records ornamenting the walls, no more SSL mixing console, no more floor to ceiling outboard gear, no more tape machines, and pretty much nothing left to record any audio. The only thing musical that's left is the Yamaha grand piano, still standing guard in the main room.

Ever since we have been making music, we always dreamed of one day recording something at Le Studio Morin Heights, while over-looking Lake Perry through the live room's bay window. Unfortunately, the studio has been closed for 10 years now.

Even abandoned, you can still feel the vibe of this legendary studio is still present, and just being there gave us goosebumps. There is a unique atmosphere and you can still sense it's spirit. It feels like the studio's red cedar shingle walls can speak.

A couple weeks ago, we decided that we would record the video for an acoustic version of our latest song called "Insomnia". Not just to realize a dream, but also to pay tribute to a legendary Canadian music institution that is no more.

Rest in Peace Le Studio Morin Heights.

TEE by the SEA.

For a little salt water therapy!

Nettwerk-ing

"I listened to The Easton Ellises, really cool and well done." - Terry McBride