April 7th is the date for Client's debut single, Price of Love to be released on Andrew Fletcher's new Toast Hawaii/Mute Records. Our faithful network of robot spies have cracked the mystery of who at least one of the enigmatic members of Client are (the band have chosen to keep their identity a mystery, and referred the female duo so far as only "Client A" or "Client B").



A little detective work reveals one of the Clients is none other than ex-Dubstar vocalist Sarah Blackwood. She and Fletch apparently met when Dubstar opened for Depeche Mode on tour. Any ideas as to the identity of the other Client?

Because we all need a little silly news these days: Federal investigators arrest a Wall Street wiz on insider-trading charges who claims to be a time-traveler from the year 2256.

As Kubrick, always one to embrace enigma, said: "You are free to speculate about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of 2001.” Speculate in 70mm this Sunday, March 30th at San Francisco's Castro Theater.

Connecticut natives Jay and Paul are both devoted vintage electronics collectors, and the curators of the fantastic online Boombox Museum.



They've even got their own short-wave radio show, Pocket Calculator. Their site is thorough, and thoroughly entertaining - give it a click.

Mike from Burnlab has just posted his wrap-up from the Miami Winter Music Conference. The best picture in the bunch has to be this one.

Meow-mix

Exciting news, robots: Miss Kittin (a.k.a. Caroline Herve from Grenoble) has kitty-whipped up a great mix previously exclusive to misskittin.net, now available for download here at iRobotnik as a high-quality 192kbps MP3 file. Fire up your T1s, it's a 107.9MB download, but it's well worth the wait. Thanks Miss Kittin! Get it here.

It took me a few days to get them up, but I’ve posted some pictures from last weekend’s musical extravaganza, and what weekend it was! Headlining was the Brit duo of Liverpool’s Ladytron, indie rockers Simian, L.A.’s very own Mount Sims. And if that weren’t enough, Club Fake punctuated the evening with their own after party DJ’d by none other than Tiga (Int’l Deejay Gigolos, DJ-Kicks). It was a fantastic fête that attracted SF’s most happening party robots. If you missed it, don’t fret too much – Ladytron will be back on April 27th for an encore performance. Click here for photo evidence of the night’s decadence - there are lots of shots, so be patient as they load.

Hyper-mediocrity? Not even. Slate magazine's Gerald Marzorati blasts Fischerspooner's #1 and proclaims it "the worst album of the year" in a scathing article. Here's a rather lengthy quote:

Fischerspooner's debut album, #1, is bad camp. It is also, in its expensive manufacture and expansive hype, a signal act of bad faith. It is the expression of an exhausted New York art world still clinging (since the '70s!) to notions that self-reflexiveness and any sort of bringing to bear on pop culture the tired critique of postmodernist theory represent bold, original acts of transgression. In sum, #1 is an extraordinarily bad recording - in the interest of expansiveness, a shoo-in for worst album of 2003.

Don't forget, tomorrow night Fake is hosting the Ladytron and Mount Sims after party, with Tiga spinning a live set as part of the only SF stop on his DJ Kicks tour.

Firstly, those in London tonight should head to Thirst bar in Soho to hear Client DJing alongside Client F, Sie Medway-Smith, Sneaker Pimps and a special guest DJ. Secondly, a 45-second clip from Client's debut single Price of Love is now online - details are at the Client website.

I just got back into town and my inbox is positively bursting with news of tasty new musical tidbits, so let’s just cut the chase and get to the good stuff:



ADULT.
Tom from the aforementioned electrobleep radio has managed to get his hands on the release of the new ADULT. album Anxiety Always, and it’s ALL available for your listening pleasure on electrobleep.com. It’s so damn good! The tracks you'll want to listen to are listed below:
Adult. - don't You Stop
Adult. - the cold call
Adult. - shake your head
Adult. - glue your eyelids together
Adult. - blank eyed, nose bleed
Adult. - turn your back
Adult. - people, you can confuse
Adult. - nothing of the kind
Adult. - nervous (wreck)
Adult. - we know how to have fun
Adult. - kick in the shin

DEPECHE MODE
As reported here earlier, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode is close to releasing his new solo project, Counterfeit 2. There are three full length streaming QuickTime files from his upcoming album available here.

Meanwhile, the cover art for lead singer David Gahan’s solo project Paper Monsters is online here and a short video interview is online here. I’m still skeptical that this album will be far too rocky an affair, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

GHOST ORCHIDS
Ghost orchids recently headed down south to perform a live set in San Diego and Lester from Electroluxe has some fun photos online here and here.

I’ve also heard some juicy rumors about some our most beloved electro bands, but I can’t reveal anything just yet – you’ll have to stay tuned!

Last night I actually managed to escape the gravitational pull of SF's tractor beam and travel to Oakland's Ego Park gallery. Although I'm by no means an Oakland expert, from last night's outing I expect that if it's not already, Ego Park will soon be regarded as the artistic epicenter of the East Bay.

The incentive for the cross-bridge trek was a fundraiser event for the gallery, and to check out the artwork of Aisha Burnes (a.k.a. Dirty Larry) while listening to a variety of bands kick out the jams in the back yard. The award for the evening's most entertaining performance has to go to Crack: We Are Rock, who's gritty, futuristic frequencies and unremorseful pulsations were only topped by the cool robotic performance of the two female lead vocalists (The Cave Twins), the Gene Simmons-headed King Riff and the Mexican wrestler turned keyboard player otherwise known as Obscuratron. If you’re feeling left out, you can catch their upcoming 3/12 show at the El Rio.



The crowd was also treated to a live performance by Experimental Dental School, with an after dance party DJ set by experimental noise gurus Matmos (of Björk fame). The turn out was pretty good, and judging by the good time had by yours truly, and the exuberant mood of the crowd, I’d say the fundraiser was a big success. Just click on the pictures above for photographic evidence of the evening's debauchery.

Unfortunately, since I still haven’t perfected the art of being in two places at the same time, I missed out on going to what sounded like a fun party at Cafe Mars in Soma where clothing designer and friend Allison Nelson was showing some of her latest Red Threds creations.