Giant Step is pleased to announce a special SVEDKA Vodka Session incorporating art into the popular series for the first time. Renowned street artist Alec Monopoly will display his original artwork while DJs Nick Cohen, Jaime Biden and Alexandra Richards, daughter of legendary musician and Rolling Stones founder Keith Richards, spin. Following the gallery presentation, opening act, Blaqstarr, and headliner Aloe Blacc and The Grand Scheme will treat guests to a string of intimate performances. The fourth installment of our SVEDKA Vodka Sessions will take place on Saturday, December 4th at Sunset Lounge at Mondrian, A Morgans Hotel, in Miami Beach, FL.

Entrance is free but strictly RSVP.

Giant Step and SVEDKA Vodka continue to bring you the very best bands and emerging artists with the SVEDKA Vodka Sessions' intimate showcase series at Morgans Hotel Group luxury properties across the country. The series has already featured live performances from Wale plus DJ Mark Ronson at Hudson in New York, Peter Bjorn And John plus DJ Jason Bentley at SkyBar at Mondrian in West Hollywood, Diane Birch plus DJ Anané Vega at Hudson, Nneka plus DJ Vikter Duplaix at SkyBar at Mondrian, Poolside at Delano in Miami Beach, Daniel Merriweather plus DJ Mateo DiFontaine at The Florida Room at Delano, Robyn plus DJ Marques Wyatt at SkyBar at Mondrian, José James at Woodward at Ames in Boston, and Fitz and The Tantrums plus DJ Smash at Velvet Room at Clift in San Francisco.

As the first-generation American offspring of Panamanian parents, Aloe Blacc has found cohesion in art and life. The path from his 2006 Stones Throw debut, the multi-genre Shine Through, to his recently released, acclaimed follow up Good Things is akin to the maturation of Marvin Gaye between That’s the Way Love Is and the What’s Going On masterwork that followed. Good Things marks a shift in methodology from personal to political for Aloe, who refers to the project as his report on present conditions—joblessness, homeless and the misappropriation of wealth, among others. Song titles such as “You Make Me Smile” and “Miss Fortune,” coupled with airy, ethereal production from Truth & Soul’s Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman mask a foreboding undercurrent in which Aloe crafts lyrics both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Nowhere is this more evident than on lead single, “I Need a Dollar” — commissioned by HBO as the theme music for the series How to Make It in America — because ultimately, that is how to make it in America. Aloe will be backed by The Grand Scheme, the band that has recently supported him at sold-out shows across the United States and Europe.

A crafty producer and a unique vocalist -- his beats hit hard but leave plenty of room for mind-altering textures, while his voice carries a high-pitched, practically atmospheric, rough-hewn elegance not too unlike Horace Andy in that respect) -- Blaqstarr gained a lot of recognition for his contribution to M.I.A.'s 2007 album Kala, but he had already been well-established in his base of Baltimore, with productions notched on Young Leek's "Jiggle It" and D.O.G.'s "Ryda Girl," along with his own "Tote It" and "Feel It in the Air" – tracks that filled up Baltimore's airwaves. By the end of 2007, he had two EPs released on Diplo's Mad Decent label.









Aloe Blacc - Stone's Throw  |  Aloe Blacc