“Thank you, cos now I know what I don’t want,” reads the opening frame of Estelle’s new “Thank You” video. Real ish. By now, pretty much everyone has to know and love this hypnotizing tune with its dipping sitar and unearthly feel. The video is equally both dreamy and sobering with its desaturated visuals, dipping into shadows and evocative framing.

The upcoming album, All of Me, will be available on February 28th.

Enter our contest for a chance to win tickets to Estelle’s US tour!

Tour Dates
2/2 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues (Cambridge Room)
2/3 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
2/4 – Cincinnati, OH – Mixx Lounge
2/6 – Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
2/8 – San Diego, CA – Anthology
2/9 – Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
2/10 – Oakland, CA – The New Parish
2/13 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues (Cambridge Room)
2/14 – New Orleans, LA – The Howlin Wolf
2/15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues (Peacock Room)
2/16 – Austin, TX – Antones
2/18 – Birmingham, AL – Old Car Heaven
2/20 – Atlanta, GA – CenterStage
2/22 – Washington, DC – The Birchmere
2/23 – Boston, MA – Regata Bar – 2 Shows
2/26 – Baltimore, MD – Sound Stage
2/28 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza – Album Release Show
3/3 – Nashville, TN – Indulge
3/5 – Philadelphia, PA – World Café Life

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

Tomorrow at Subliminal Projects in LA, Fab 5 Freddy, Futura 2000 and Lee Quinones will be hosting the opening for their 3 Kings exhibit. Shepard Fairey will be DJing. Fancy.

These guys have made history with their rise from NYC subway tunnels to international acclaim, recently being featured in MOCA’s Arts In The Streets exhibition. Prepare yourself for some incredible visual art to be unveiled exclusively at this exhibition along with some classic favorites by these artists.

Event Details
Opening Reception
Saturday, September 17th
8-11pm

Exhibition
September 17th – October 8th

Subliminal Projects
1331 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

If you’re amongst the lucky ones, you’ve already heard of The Stuyvesants who released their debut album, Brooklyn’s Finest, last June. The album was a 25-track instrumental cut from samples chosen by master selector and record collector, Darien Victor Birks (aka flwrpt), and woven together by the quiet beast of a producer, Allan Cole (aka Algorythm). As they gear up for the release of their second album this summer, our good homies have released a single paying ode to Brooklyn summers called “Stoops Parks & Rooftops.” The track features their counterpart, Naturel handling emcee duties over another breezy Stuyvesants instrumental. Stream and download “Stoops Parks & Rooftops” as well as their debut album for free after the jump!

The Stuyvesants – “Stoops Parks & Rooftops”

Download ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’ after the jump

A couple weeks ago, we shared Justice’s captivating “Civilization” video by acclaimed French filmmaker/director, Edouard Salier (Massive Attack, Air, Raphael Saadiq, Tony Allen, Orishas). Film nerds rejoice as Salier shares his CGI methods and 3D animation techniques used to create “a real representation of his dreams” from scratch.

Edouard Salier on Twitter | Vimeo | Official Site

Justice on Facebook

Brooklyn bred artist Theophilus London just announced the artwork and tracklisting for his debut album, Timez Are Weird These Days. The cover features a photo by legendary NYC photographer Jonathan Mannion. The album drops July 19th on Warner Brothers Records and will be accompanied by a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that same day.

tracklisting and tour dates after the jump

As most now know, the great Gil Scott-Heron passed away late last week. The revolutionary poet, musician, and author has been a long-time favorite of Giant Step, having played many of our earliest shows under the Groove Academy banner in the early 90’s. The image headlining this post is the flyer from our 1992 show. After the jump, you’ll find a few more vintage Giant Step concert flyers from shows we’ve done with Gil; you are welcome to download the flyers and add them to your collection.

Our friends at The Revivalist have put together a beautiful post detailing Gil’s journey and his contributions along the way. We encourage you to give it a read – the man’s influence and reach is both expansive and inspiring.

We would like to leave you with a lovely one-hour mix by Twit One entitled, A Salute to Gil Scott-Heron.

A salute to Gil Scott-Heron by Twit One

more after the jump

A few weeks ago we announced the release of a comprehensive box set of Fela Kuti recordings, hinting at upcoming vinyl on Knitting Factory Records. Now the time is here: vinyl box sets are available stocked with the same recordings as the digital Power Show Batch, albums carefully selected by Questlove of The Roots, plus a ton of extras. Those include restored vintage vinyl label artwork, a 12-page color booklet with liner notes by Questlove, album descriptions by British music journalist Chris May and a recreation of the 1986 concert poster from Austin, TX.

If you haven’t already, get your Fela on with The Power Show Batch. Get it in physical or digital format on Fela.net.

Enter our contest to WIN the vinyl boxset from Knitting Factory & Giant Step.

This weekend, a whole new brand of competition comes to New York City; a Digital Design Tournament.  Cut & Paste is a live-action competition that brings out some of the world’s most innovative designers and pits them against each other in categories that include 2D, 3D and motion design.

The 2010 tournament will travel to 10 major cities worldwide from New York and LA to London and Tokyo.  The winners in each city will then converge for a last live-action design battle for the Global Championship in New York City in February.

Cut&Paste 2010 Digital Design Tournament from Cut&Paste on Vimeo.

We’ve got 5 pairs of tickets to the New York competition which will also include live DJs and an open bar until it runs out.

Enter below for your chance to win!  Winners will be notified Thursday September 30th.

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For a hip-hop artist, El-P’s music is relatively calm and very cinematic. The visuals match the sounds in this new video from his all-instrumental Megamixxx. (Download the full We’reAllGoingToBurnInHellMegamixxx3 here). From Gold Dust Media: “The video for ‘Time Won’t Tell’ is inspired by a childhood memory of director Shan Nicholson, who grew up in the ‘Old New York’ during a time when necessity often bred creativity. This video depicts a young boy innocently finding a way to embrace his imagination amid an urban wasteland.”

Milwaukee-based soul band, co-founded by proprietor of the fabled Lotus Land record shop Andy Noble and longtime Milwaukee area R&B performer Black Wolf, Kings Go Forth drops its debut album, The Outsiders Are Back. Following a string of seven-inches lauded by soul music blogs and spun by the likes of DJ Shadow, the new album features artwork by Mingering Mike – the first time the celebrated artist has ever created art for a recording that actually exists – and a mix by Tom Moulton, the legendary producer and originator of the remix and 12-inch single format.

Written by Noble and Wolf, the full-length of nine original songs includes the Moulton mix of “Don’t Take My Shadow.” The album’s lone cover is an impossibly obscure soul lament written and recorded in a prison. In addition to Noble and Wolf, Kings Go Forth features Andy Noble on bass, Dave Wake on keyboards, guitarist Dan Flynn, percussionist Cecilio Negron, Jr., the explosive drummer Jeremy Kuzniar, trombonist Dave Cusma, trumpeter Jed Groser, vocalist Dan Fernandez, and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Matt Norberg.

Kings Go Forth – “One Day” [MP3]
 

Check out June Tour Dates & More Streaming Tracks

LuakaBop.com/Kings_Go_Forth

After the jump, watch a Vietnam breakdancing competition set to the music of Kings Go Forth.

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