The DUBLAB DECADE PROTON DRIVE fundraiser is now on! From November 4th till 24th the Labrat DJs and our talented friends will be broadcasting live, sharing electrifying sounds to inspire your support and this VTech is lending its support to this great cause. 

The Proton Drive is a bi-annual affair that is absolutely essential to dublab’s existence. As a non-profit web radio station their positive music mission relies upon your donations.

We at VTech are celebrating a decade of dublab and looking towards their future with excitement. Help dublab keep your senses vibrating with creative waves. Please give a PROTON GRANT now!

PROTON DRIVE LIVE BROADCAST HOURS

LISTEN LIVE  on the dubstream

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 7am-7pm
Tuesday, Thursday: 10am-10pm
+ 24 hour No Sleep Session: November 23rd 10am - November 24th 10am

They buzz on Pacific Standard Time, so if you need an updated programming schedule CLICK HERE.

**DOWNLOAD the DUBLAB DECADE PROTON DRIVE theme song by Matthew David.

Right click to Download:  Matthew David Dublab Decade Theme Song

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Please remember that any and all donations to Dublab during their Proton Drive are tax deductible!

DUBLAB IS A PROJECT OF FUTURE ROOTS, INC. A 501 (C)(3) NON-PROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION. YOUR DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

And anyone who donates $300+( $300+ or $50 six month installment plan) will have the opportunity to receive a VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio!

So what are you waiting for?

Good Karma and Good Music await you.

THE HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE IS HERE!

Only VTech and Mochilla are bringing it to you live and direct this Friday, November 6th,  at the Echoplex.

Limited presale tickets available online at: http://www.ticketweb.com

Live Performances by:

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble

DJ Sets from:
Madlib
Coleman
B+

The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles Ca 90026

$15 presale :: $20 at the door
Limited presale tickets available online at: http://www.ticketweb.com
21 + wiser | 9pm-2am

Dig Deeper…

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are a family, literally. They are the heirs to the great musical tradition of Chicago. Their father Phil Cohran trained them from aged three to play hard, fast and together. They boast a fan base as wide and eclectic as Barack Obama, David Byrne, Q-Tip, Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Jools Holland and thousands more. Now with the news that they along with Mos Def and drummer extraordinaire Tony Allen will form the new Gorillaz outfit, you realize that this is no ordinary collective. 

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (HBE), a band comprised of eight brothers, all sons of Sun Ra trumpeter and songwriter Phil Cohran, have been playing since they were three years of age and have inherited a lineage deeper than most bands will ever attain. Raised on the south side of Chicago, their musical heritage is rooted in their genes. They have brothers and sisters that are professional musicians, their mothers are singers and their father, Phil Cohran, a legendary visionary and teacher has music experiences from the 1940s in St. Louis to his seminal role with Sun Ra in Chicago in the 1950s. 

As Sun Ra moved to the east coast in 1960, Cohran stayed behind in Chicago to be with his family. As his children grew, Cohran worked as a musical activist and educator, which led to the establishment of the Sun Ark in a warehouse behind their family home. At night while the children slept, they would hear their father rehearsing with his band the ‘Circle of Sound.’ At six in the morning, they were awoken to practice music for several hours before going to school. From an early age they were a central part of their father’s Youth Ensemble. At night they listened to NWA and Public Enemy, and Ice Cube and Eazy-E were their heroes. 

By the end of the nineties, with everyone out of school, they concentrated on their music full time. With a mix of their jazz roots and their hip-hop sensibility, they made a living for themselves on the streets of Chicago. While performing on a subway platform, they stumbled upon their name when a man who watched them for hours, missing train after train, proclaimed that he has been “hypnotized” by their music. With their composer skills aiding them to create a sound wholly their own, the group moved to New York City where they played with Mos Def and Erykah Badu. 

From a chance encounter in November of 2005, and support from numerous artists, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble has released an album brimming with musical magic. Recorded on the back of the Africa Express trip to Lagos last October, during a three-day stop-over in London, with the drummer’s stool shared by Malcolm Catto from the The Heliocentrics, Sola Akingbola from Jamiroquai, and the one and only Tony Allen, and other musical luminaries Flea and Paul Simenon, this album is all that is cracked up to be and more.

In May 2009, Blur and Gorillaz’s frontman Damon Alburn’s Honest Jon label dropped the Hypnotic’s first official full length studio album to accolades the music world over. With the sound, form, and structure in their musicianship and songwriting, the HBE have the ability to put on live shows that would put veteran bands to shame. 

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

Born into a highly intellectual and creative family that exposed him to everything from classical to Motown to Jazz, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has been dedicated to music literally his entire life. At age four while on a visit to a Suzuki Program Institute his brother was attending, Miguel was introduced to the violin and immediately developed an affinity towards it. He began composing at 12 and after high school studied classical viola performance at USC. 

Taking an unusual route for a string player, Miguel has been adamant about pursuing deeply involving and creative roles in the music making process such as composing, writing and producing original pieces. He has recorded with a vast array of legendary musicians from Ray Charles to Billy Higgins; he has performed with Stevie Wonder and at the Grammy’s, on MTV and BET.

In 2008 he took on the daunting task of adapting the late J Dilla’s music to the orchestral format and made his debut as a conductor at the Timeless: A Suite For Ma Dukes concert where he directed an orchestra performing his Dilla-inspired compositions. One of the most unique qualities about Miguel is hisinherent need to challenge himself and master new terrains, he has various different groups he performs with and one day he hopes to build his own orchestra.

Madlib

Madlib is one of the most ambitious and engaging figures in modern hip-hop history. An enthusiastic crate-digger and multi-instrumentalist with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib has an expansive style and deft touch for composition that makes him one of hip hop’s most sought-after producers. 

He began his career with hip-hop trio Lootpack, who debuted on Tha Alkoholiks’ 1993 album 21 & Over; but, it is through his decade-long relationship with Stones Throw Records that he diversified his musical output. Often shying away from the limelight, many of his releases have been under various aliases. 

In 2000, he released The Unseen under the guise of his alter-ego, Quasimoto. He followed up a year later with Yesterdays New Quintet, a project that infused his exploration of jazz with electronic style and hip-hop substance. 

Since 2003, Madlib has put out several releases reflecting his growing versatility: Shades of Blue, a jazz remix project for Blue Note; Champion Sound with J Dilla under the name Jaylib; and Madvillainy, his partnership with MF Doom. In 2008, he released Sujinho under the name Jackson Conti a collaboration based around Brazilian percussionist Ivan “Mamão” Conti on Mochilla. 

visit the event on Facebook

Click here for LIMITED PRESALE TICKETS

VTech with Plug Research brings you back to Bilal’s amazing performance at CMJ last month. Truly an amazing performance and one you have never seen before. So, press play, sit back, and let the music do the rest. 

Keep an eye open and an ear to the ground for Bilal’s forthcoming full length album releasing on Plug Research.

The Sounds of VTech continues to bring you music for the soul.

*video by Mochilla*

Howlin' Wolf

Last Thursday night, at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans, VTech, in conjunction with Antics and Filter Magazine got together and threw a little kick off bash to start off the Voodoo Music Fest weekend. And with the help from some of our friends: DJ Soul Sister, Jay Electronica, The Knux and Biz Markie , it’s safe to say, we had an amazing night. 

The crowds jumped and swayed to music. Soulsister got the party started with a set full of rare grooves while The Knux provided us with more upbeat rock/hip-hop tunes . The lyrical MC, Jay Electronica, followed with thought provoking rhymes and DJ Biz Markie took us home with a medley of mixed hits from the 90s and a few beatbox moments with a taste of his classic “Just A Friend.” 

We came, we saw, and danced the night away. Only in New Orleans and only with VTech…

"Hello" from the Biz

Here are a few flicks from what went on that night… 

  

Hockey (photo by Emilia Costa)

We’ve teamed up with our friends over at SPIN Magazine to give one lucky SPIN.com reader the chance to win a poster signed by the band Hockey, plus a vinyl copy of their new album Mind Chaos! and an amazing VTech IS9181WiFi Internet Radio. And all you have to do is enter.

Spotlight guests of SPIN’s SPINHouse Live’s CMJ 2009, Hockey, the dance-rock band from Portland, Oregon, wowed guests and staffers a like with their infectious performance on the roof. If you missed their performance, here’s a chance to win a few prizes and tell your friends, “It was like I was there..”

And with the VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio, you can rock out to Hockey as often as you’d like. Not only is this a state of the art stereo system that lets you tune into over 11,000 internet stations from around the globe, with preset functions, access to your local weather with five day forecast, and more. It also hooks up to your MP3 player or CD player and can be used in the home, on the beach (it runs on batteries), and anywhere with WiFi!! So sit back and enjoy the two 3W Hi-Fidelity stereo speakers, a 10W subwoofer and class D amplifiers and let the Sounds of VTech take you away  with the IS9181.

Click  HERE  for your chance to win!!

Check out how super producer Exile gets along with his VTech IS9181 WiFi Radio…

On November 6th, there’s only one place you need to be….. That’s with us.

VTech and Mochilla are proud to bring you…

Live Performances by:

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble

DJ Sets from:

Madlib
Coleman
B+

The Echoplex
1154 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

$15 presale :: $20 at the door

Presale tickets available online at: http://www.ticketweb.com

21 + wiser | 9pm-2am

Dig Deeper…

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are a family, literally. They are the heirs to the great musical tradition of Chicago. Their father Phil Cohran trained them from aged three to play hard, fast and together. They boast a fan base as wide and eclectic as Barack Obama, David Byrne, Q-Tip, Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Jools Holland and thousands more. Now with the news that they along with Mos Def and drummer extraordinaire Tony Allen will form the new Gorillaz outfit, you realize that this is no ordinary collective.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (HBE), a band comprised of eight brothers, all sons of Sun Ra trumpeter and songwriter Phil Cohran, have been playing since they were three years of age and have inherited a lineage deeper than most bands will ever attain. Raised on the south side of Chicago, their musical heritage is rooted in their genes. They have brothers and sisters that are professional musicians, their mothers are singers and their father, Phil Cohran, a legendary visionary and teacher has music experiences from the 1940s in St. Louis to his seminal role with Sun Ra in Chicago in the 1950s.

As Sun Ra moved to the east coast in 1960, Cohran stayed behind in Chicago to be with his family. As his children grew, Cohran worked as a musical activist and educator, which led to the establishment of the Sun Ark in a warehouse behind their family home. At night while the children slept, they would hear their father rehearsing with his band the ‘Circle of Sound.’ At six in the morning, they were awoken to practice music for several hours before going to school. From an early age they were a central part of their father’s Youth Ensemble. At night they listened to NWA and Public Enemy, and Ice Cube and Eazy-E were their heroes.

By the end of the nineties, with everyone out of school, they concentrated on their music full time. With a mix of their jazz roots and their hip-hop sensibility, they made a living for themselves on the streets of Chicago. While performing on a subway platform, they stumbled upon their name when a man who watched them for hours, missing train after train, proclaimed that he has been “hypnotized” by their music. With their composer skills aiding them to create a sound wholly their own, the group moved to New York City where they played with Mos Def and Erykah Badu.

From a chance encounter in November of 2005, and support from numerous artists, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble has released an album brimming with musical magic. Recorded on the back of the Africa Express trip to Lagos last October, during a three-day stop-over in London, with the drummer’s stool shared by Malcolm Catto from the The Heliocentrics, Sola Akingbola from Jamiroquai, and the one and only Tony Allen, and other musical luminaries Flea and Paul Simenon, this album is all that is cracked up to be and more.

In May 2009, Blur and Gorillaz’s frontman Damon Alburn’s Honest Jon label dropped the Hypnotic’s first official full length studio album to accolades the music world over. With the sound, form, and structure in their musicianship and songwriting, the HBE have the ability to put on live shows that would put veteran bands to shame.

The New Yorker: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Documentary:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2009/06/hypnotized.html

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

Born into a highly intellectual and creative family that exposed him to everything from classical to Motown to Jazz, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson has been dedicated to music literally his entire life. At age four while on a visit to a Suzuki Program Institute his brother was attending, Miguel was introduced to the violin and immediately developed an affinity towards it. He began composing at 12 and after high school studied classical viola performance at USC.

Taking an unusual route for a string player, Miguel has been adamant about pursuing deeply involving and creative roles in the music making process such as composing, writing and producing original pieces. He has recorded with a vast array of legendary musicians from Ray Charles to Billy Higgins; he has performed with Stevie Wonder and at the Grammy’s, on MTV and BET.

In 2008 he took on the daunting task of adapting the late J Dilla’s music to the orchestral format and made his debut as a conductor at the Timeless: A Suite For Ma Dukes concert where he directed an orchestra performing his Dilla-inspired compositions. One of the most unique qualities about Miguel is his inherent need to challenge himself and master new terrains, he has various different groups he performs with and one day he hopes to build his own orchestra.

Madlib

Madlib is one of the most ambitious and engaging figures in modern hip-hop history. An enthusiastic crate-digger and multi-instrumentalist with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib has an expansive style and deft touch for composition that makes him one of hip hop’s most sought-after producers.

He began his career with hip-hop trio Lootpack, who debuted on Tha Alkoholiks’ 1993 album 21 & Over; but, it is through his decade-long relationship with Stones Throw Records that he diversified his musical output. Often shying away from the limelight, many of his releases have been under various aliases.

In 2000, he released The Unseen under the guise of his alter-ego, Quasimoto. He followed up a year later with Yesterdays New Quintet, a project that infused his exploration of jazz with electronic style and hip-hop substance.

Since 2003, Madlib has put out several releases reflecting his growing versatility: Shades of Blue, a jazz remix project for Blue Note; Champion Sound with J Dilla under the name Jaylib; and Madvillainy, his partnership with MF Doom. In 2008, he released Sujinho under the name Jackson Conti—a collaboration based around Brazilian percussionist Ivan “Mamão” Conti on Mochilla.

visit the event on Facebook