Thee robots got fonky this past Saturday night, with Georgio and myself throwing down a number of Prince [or Prince-related] jams. Getting prime billing was Dez Dickerson's [I Want 2 B A] Modernaire. Dez, who played guitar for Prince in 1979/80 [before leaving after becoming Born Again and getting replaced by Wendy], performed with his Modernaires for a scene in Purple Rain, but only 18 seconds of his song ever made it into the film. The track was supposed to get released as a single and appear on the Purple Rain soundtrack (which eventually became a Prince-exclusive affair), but Dez's song got shelved, multiple label offers fell through and a solo career failed to materialize.

Fast forward 25 years and the long-lost Modernaire finally gets a proper single release, mastered from a newly discovered tape recording. Put out by the fine folks at Citinite and pressed on translucent red vinyl, it also contains 5 funked-up mixes/remakes from DMX Krew, Luke Eargoggle [Faceless Mind], Hot Persuasion, Complexxion, and the ever heavy-breathing Egyptian Lover. Check Citinite's Modernaire page for online retailer/distributor links or go to Bleep.com to buy the mp3s. I suggest buying the vinyl pronto since it is a limited edition and I'm sure once those collectors find out, they'll be snapping them up like Prince at a high heels sale. So in the words of Morris Day, "I wanna see some asses wigglin'...I want some perfection."

Another act to look out for on the Prince/Midnight Star/Cameo/Zapp-inspired tip is Bumper, side-project of Mr. Pauli with Geoffrey T. Their sound incorporates LinnDrum, vocoders, and funky basslines, blending vintage Minneapolis genius with early Jedi Knight electro fuckery. Stream their Never Stop EP here to get a taste of new jack electrofunk, because when it comes to all things Prince, It Takes An Erotic Village...

We are the robots who have emotions
We are what you see

We've come to help you with your problems
So we can be free

The RobotSound Krew is about ready to continue the madness with next month's musical adventure, Mr. Roboto. Celebrating Gomes' date of manufacture, we'll be throwing down the Italo/Electrodisco, Synthpop and the forgotten pleasures of Bleep.

So all you Los Angeloid Robots and Robettes - get thee down to K-Town, look for the blue neon ghost at 371 N. Western Ave. and dig the grooves no one else in this city plays.

For a taster, download the Mini-Roboto Mix.

The Rorschach Garden - The Robot Song
Shock - Dynamo Beat
Teach In - The Robot
Midnight Star - Freak-a-zoid
The Droids - The Force
Mr. Roboto

Before I put this decrepit monster out of its misery, I've scavenged through its innards and collected some of the spooky tracks I spun at Zombi along with a few I dared not play. No tears from the creature of the night...

dr @ Zombi 11.1.08

Tracklisting
Signs ov Chaos - Thee Devils' Tongue
Kill Memory Crash - Come Alive
Polygamy Boys - Global Misanthropy
Creepy Autograph - Night Stalker
New York City Survivors - The Game
Decal - The Reaper
Le Syndicat Electronique - Blood & Flesh
ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
Zombie Nation - Cycles To Failure
Revolting Cocks - Stainless Steel Providers
MOTOR - 20 Volts Of Steel
Millimetric - No Escape
Mystic Letter K - Robot Pornography
Dynarec - Mind To Body

...and we're back...Sorry for the lack of new content. Between scoping out a venue for the upcoming RobotSound monthly, going out to see live shows and generally watching too much TV [thanks a lot, TiVo!], I haven't been that great about keeping up with my ~once a week posting habit. I'll try to be better about that, okay? Not like I have any regular readers, do I?

Here's another abbreviated mix from a few weeks back. I didn't make a note of the tracks I played so the tracklisting is incomplete. If I figure out what the missing tracks are, I'll update the list [or, you're welcome to email me the names if you know what they are].

Friday Nite Transmissions

Tracklisting
Colder - To The Music (Midnight Mike Vocal Remix)
Bang Bang - Silicone (Volga Select Supernature Mix)
?
Bermuda Triangle - Enough (Sex Schön Remix)
Perspects - Autobody (Remix)
?
Umek and I Turk - Sun Drenched Land
Christopher and Raphael Just - Megablitz
?
Blackstrobe - Buzz Buzz
?
?

Thought I'd randomly mix together some slabs from a recent cratedigging mission.

Enjoy!

Tracks
kiko - maximale
gto - love is everywhere [heartcore mix]
herman schwartz - nothing to lose
mark du mosch - faith
colder - to the music
umek and I turk - sun drenched land
the seducers - unavoidable infiltrators
transparent sound - slang city
2020 soundsystem - tape [bom bom digert rom miks]
cristian varela - your body experiences [sergy casttle rmx 2]
hac[k] the tab - ...is back

Robot state of mind
Mikrokontrol
Passion Boys - Robot Sexie Time
Team Plastique
Stamba
Knightlife
Ronin
Weltklang

Non-Robot state of mind
The Bran Flakes
Gangi
Lola Dutronic
Fabienne Delsol
Tears Run Rings
Televise
Fluorescent - Death Mix

Seems like the summer heat has rendered the 'bots at RobotSound HQ lethargic as of late. It's evident that they'd rather sit around watching bad Reality TV programming and getting their snack on than producing anything in terms of meaningful content for y'all. Nevertheless I've managed to coax them into uploading my set recorded live at the recent Hot Box Summer Solstice event. A potent synthesis of love and war, this mix attempts to address the uncertainty of the times in which we live by incorporating both the chaos of today with (hopefully) the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

HotBox 6.21.08

Shit Robot - Lonely Planet
Water Lilly - The Sleepwalker
Franz & Shape - Forgotten Days (Memory Boy Remix)
8-Bit - The Robots
Hell - Suicide Commando
Kano - It's A War
GTO - Love Is Everywhere (Live & Love Mix)
Steril - Electrostatic
The Clone Machine - Clone Machine (Empire Mix)
Der Zyklus - Roche Limit (v3)
Millimetric - Where
David Carretta - Shocktreatment
Nitzer Ebb - Murderous (Phil Kieran Mix)
6blocc - Digits
Anthony Rother - Mathematik
MOTOR - 1X1 (Phil Kieran Remix)
Kiko - Slave Of My Mind
Romina Cohn - The Night
Ectomorph - Lost Angles (Manyangles Version)