From 12 pm to 6pm on Friday, March 19th, DC to BC and The Great Progression, along with several other fine organizations, will be hosting Quality!, a South By Southwest showcase in Austin, TX. How did this all happen? If you’re interested, you better read on.

Several years ago, probably in either late high school or early college, I was put on to a remarkable boutique music blog by the name of Blind I For The Kids. Headed by music buff Suli, or $ as he goes by on the internets, Blind I has been hipping me to the vast majority of the eclectic jams I’ve had in rotation. Every other rarity and B-side in my 22,000+ patchwork collection of legally and illegally acquired music has been downloaded from Blind I. They were the biggest inspiration in starting this site that you see today, providing support and motivation while I tried my hand at building a safehaven where people could revel in music, trillness, and tomfoolery.

Almost two weeks ago, Suli reached out to me and said, “Modi, you tryna do a showcase at South By Southwest with me?” I thought it was a joke. As you can see by the flyer, it wasn’t a joke at all. 10 or so later, I got my $#!t together. The wonderful team behind Blind I (especially Noah, Maiya, and $) obviously gave this endeavor much thought before I was involved, from gathering sponsors to finding the acts, from securing the venue to getting the little intangibles dealt with. I’m honored to be a part of this experience, and it’ll be a journey. If you’re interested in following it all, follow @DCtoBC (me) or @QualitySXSW on Twitter. Below is a nice little summary of exactly what’s going on.

We present to you “QUALITY,” an eclectic progressive musical display showcasing some of the best and brightest in 2010’s new musical landscape. Hosted by the tastemakers of Blind I and DC to BC / The Great
Progression, “QUALITY!” aims to provide the community of burgeoning talent that Blind I, DC to BC, and The Great Progression promotes virally with a visual showcase during the famed South by Southwest (SXSW) week.

DATE: Friday, March 19th, 2010
LOCATION: Soho Lounge (217 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX)
Expected Attendance: 600+ (600 people!? My goodness!)

Performances by: Theo Martins, Vandalyzm, Classy Hand Favours, TiRon, The Paxtons, KJ, Project Mayhem, Mic Terror, Black Spade, Brittany Street, Bad Rabbits, Phil Ade, U-N-I, Kinky Notti, Tabi Bonney, Brittany Bosco, Peter Hadar, Sulaiman, YP, Big Homie Doe, Rockwell Knuckles, House Shoes, BBU, Coultrain, L.E., Pugs Atomz, and some special guests.

Yeah, and if all those names didn’t ring too many bells (and some should, but some shouldn’t, because it’s a showcase. It’s where relatively known and unknown artists give you a reason to check for them in the future.), we’ve done you a favor and compiled a smooth sampler mixtape to prepare you for what you’re about to see, or for you to live through vicariously if you can’t make it to Austin for the weekend. Click artwork or the link below that to download!

DOWNLOAD: QUALITY! Showcase Sampler Mixtape

Quick note: U-N-I was a last-minute addition, so the song you played while reading this post was a song of theirs. Wasn’t that some crafty thinking? Ha. Grab it below.

DOWNLOAD: U-N-I – Windows

]]> http://DCtoBC.com/2010/03/south-by-southwest-showcase-quality/feed/ 752 http://DCtoBC.com/2009/10/blind-i-presents-the-neptunes-decemvir-rare-gems-unreleased-material/ http://DCtoBC.com/2009/10/blind-i-presents-the-neptunes-decemvir-rare-gems-unreleased-material/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:14:14 +0000 modi http://www.DCtoBC.com/?p=6945

Today feels almost as great as when a member of the Star Trak family drops an album. Why? Well, because the music blog of all music blogs, Blind I For The Kids, has dropped a powerful, two disc compilation of everything that production gods The Neptunes haven’t leaked to the masses. I consider myself a Neptunes superfan, but most of these I’ve never even heard of. It’s like uncovering fossils or ancient ruins to me. I could talk, but I’d rather let the creator, my ninja Sulaiman out the Chi, do the rest of the talking while you jam this unreleased Fam-Lay snippet featured on the tape.

I’ve been working on this for a LOOOONG time and I finally completed another masterpiece. For those not in the know, The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for some successful Hip hop, R&B and Pop artists in the late-90s and 2000s. The Neptunes’ sound is a distinctive brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk. Along with Timbaland and Dr. Dre they were the driving force behind many of the musical characteristics of late-90s/2000s hip-hop, helping to re-introduce sci-fi style sounds into the hip-hop mainstream, along with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind.

I decided a few months back to make a collection of my favorite rare, b-side, and unreleased Neptunes production, from 1999 to 2009, in order to create a dedication to over 10 years of next-level music that still stands the test of time. I swear listening to these tracks puts you in a state of mind where everything’s better around you. Decemvir, which is the latin term for “ten“, is used to describe this decade of incredible works from the stellar production duo. Their music can speak for itself more than anything I can say, so without further ado, I give you…

DOWNLOAD: The Neptunes – Decemvir (DISC 1 | DISC 2)