Kid Koala

Back in 1996, Kid Koala became the first North American artist signed to UK label Ninja Tune. In the years that followed Kid Koala released a string of remixes and toured North America with fellow Ninja artists: Coldcut, DJ Food and DJ Vadim. But it was not long before his skill, innovation, and performance style led him to attract attention from those outside the club community. In 1998, he was invited to join Money Mark’s band, and then went on the road to open for the Beastie Boys on their 'Hello Nasty' world tour.
In 2000, Ninja Tune released Kid Koala’s debut album 'Carpal Tunnel Syndrome', which received international praise by the press for having defied expectation. The album featured a video game and a 32-page comic illustrated by Kid Koala himself. Following the release of the album Kid Koala toured extensively in North America and Europe as a member of groups such as Deltron 3030, Lovage, Bullfrog and on his own, opening for some of his favorite artists, Radiohead and Bjork.
While on the road, Kid Koala kept busy with pen to paper, illustrating a 350-page book called 'Nufonia Must Fall', accompanied by a soundtrack that he composed on the piano. Shortly after the release of this book came the release of his second album, 'Some of My Best Friends are DJs' complete with a 50-page comic book and mini chess game. This album was supported by a cabaret-style tour known as 'The Short Attention Span Theatre', which featured 3 DJs on 8 turntables, a slide show and a bingo game among other quirky surprises. Following this tour Kid Koala performed DJ sets in Australia, Asia, Europe, Russia, North America and South America, all the while working on a new book.
Kid Koala's most recent release on Ninja Tune was 'Your Mom’s Favorite DJ' in 2006. On this record he shows that his chosen means of expression (the turntable) is used not as a way of showing that he can do faster crabs than anyone else, but as a way of telling stories. Although there is the romance, silent movie comedy and swing that your mother may well smile at and even shake her booty to, the enthralling deftness and complexity you’d expect from Kid Koala is also here - woven together with classic hip hop beats, breaks and generous swathes of heavy guitars.
In 2009, Kid Koala put together 3 'Music to Draw To' performances in Montreal for which he basically invited people to come and draw while he played records. There was no dancing allowed, but people could enjoy a free cup of hot chocolate, purchase some treats and either draw or do some writing. These events were initially created just for fun, but they became a huge success. As the series progressed, he received more and more requests for us to take our event to other parts of Quebec, North America, Europe... Even South America and South Africa...
Later that year, Kid Koala embarked on another journey, that of presenting a project called 'The Slew' – live with the former rhythm section of Grammy Award-winning Australian rock band Wolfmother. Featuring drums, bass/keys and DJs working across a truly excessive six turntables, the set featured raw guitar cuts and heavy beats that set out as a one-time-only tour across North America. Due to the high demand by fans for a return and the amount of fun the band had playing together, they toured the North American Jazz Festival circuit and also appeared at SONAR Spain and Chicago. Somewhere in between their busy tour schedule the ex-Wolfmother rhyhtm section joined Kid Koala in the studio to lay down some new songs. Currently Dynomite D is working on the songs at his studio.
In late 2010, Kid Koala finsihed his latest graphic novel and soundtrack titled 'Space Cadet'. To work out the accompanying live show and gallery exhibition, he took part in an artist residence at MASS MoCA (Massachussetts Museum Of Contemporary Art) in December. The Space Cadet Headphone Concert and Gallery debuted on December 11 with 2 shows. The novel and soundtrack are set to be released during 2011 through Pigeon Press and a world tour will commence soon after.
Cave

Cave is a psychedelic drone band based in Chicago, Illinois consisting of keyboardist Rotten Milk, guitarist/organist Cooper Crain, bassist Dan Browning and drummer Rex McMurry. The band was formed in Columbia, Missouri in 2006, and has released two full-length albums, Psychic Psummer (2009) and Hunt Like Devil/Jamz (2008), and an EP on Drag City Records. Cave played the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2010. Cave was formed in 2006 as an informal collaborative project by Columbia, Missouri friends Cooper Crain, Dan Browning, and Rex McMurry, with Chicago native Rotten Milk. At the time, Crain and McMurry were also members of the now-defunct Missouri band Warhammer 48K. When Warhammer disbanded in 2008 the four began seriously writing and recording music together.
In 2008 Cave released their first full-length album Hunt Like Devil/Jamz on Permanent Records. The following year they released another album on Important Records, Psychic Psummer, which received a positive review from Pitchfork Media. In 2010 they released an EP on Drag City Records, Pure Moods, which was reviewed favorably by Pop Matters and garnered mixed reviews from Tiny Mix Tapes and Pitchfork.
Cave are considered part of the "Columbia Diaspora", a group bands with members from Columbia, Missouri who now reside in Chicago that includes Mahjongg and Lazer Crystal.
Cooper Crain has released material from his solo project Bitchin' Bajas on Permanent Records and works with other Chicago bands as an analog recording engineer.
The Loyal Divide

Loyal Divide formed in Columbus, Ohio. They now live in Chicago. They have recently released an EP entitled Labrador, and will release their full-length debut album Bodice Ripper in early 2011.
"some heavy psychedelic overtones, some Do Make Say Think dramatic buzz. Theoretically the phrase “deep groove” means something else but they should adopt it."
-FADER
"Listen as the tribal styled drums, hypnotizing bass line and occasional ripping guitar suck you in to the world of Loyal Divide."
-FILTER Magazine
"The music swings from sinewy to supercharged, distorted rock — effete to forceful over the course of a chorus. For a young band, Loyal Divide has a well-defined, danceable sound"
-Chicago Tribune
"place the mask over your face and know that while the bag doesn’t inflate, good music is flowing."
-I Guess I'm Floating
“the most compellingly textured music I've heard from a new artist in some time.”
-3hive
"reminiscent of Animal Collective's trance-inducing poly-rhythmic backbone."
-RCRD_LBL
Save The Clocktower

Conceived in the bedroom and garage of drummer Greg Newton, Save The Clocktower are a fresh breathe of air in a otherwise stagnant pop world. The trio sounds like a orchestra and fills each song and show with a multitude of sounds and melodies. "Chill" pop might best cover it, but it is also so much more. Elements of Air, pieces of Groove Armada, “poppieness” of MGMT, the pop sensibilities of Coldplay and a pinch of the indie rock of Iron and Wine. They have listened and dissected everything they could as youngsters and have assembled quite the intense little pop trio and thusly dropped their first CD, which brings it all together. Barely a year old, they have played with and supported Toro Y Moi, Hudson Mohawke and DJ Yoda. Their live show sounds exactly like their CD which seems to escape 90% of most acts. Sean Paras on guitar and vocals nails every song live, while James Shenk keeps the beat and low end cooking on Keys and vocals and drummer and producer Greg Newton plays a hard core rock steady beat while also handling some of the singing duties. In the stale state of pop, Save The Clocktower deliver their first serving of "chill" pop that makes you move, sing and smile. Something most have seemed to forget how to do. Save The Clocktower will be a band that will be heard for years to come, jump onboard while their is room on the STC bus; you will never be disappointed!
DJ Intel

Solid technical skill, unmatchable versatility, and a true love for music are among the many things that separate DJ Intel from his contemporaries. His unique style makes him a fan favorite. DJ Intel's ability to spin many genres, including house, rock, dubstep and contemporary as well as hip hop classics, keeps the dance floor full and leaves the people wanting more at the end of the night.
DJ Intel's interest in turntablism began in the mid 90's. He looked up to such Chicago legends as DJ PNS and Tone B Nimble and soon began the journey of perfecting his craft. Armed with his brother's hand-me-down turntables, a mixer and passion, he would begin to make his name as one of Chicago's premier party starters.
Along with being a founding member of both The Comeups (along side DJ Pickel and Galapagos4 and Now and Again records recording artist Maker) and the DMC and ITF champion Platter Pirates (along side Spryte, Kico, and Vajra), DJ Intel holds down several residencies through out Chicago and has worked everything from charitable events to B boy battles to fashion shows, with crowds ranging from 15 to thousands. He has also preformed at events with the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Afrika Bambaataa and Z- Trip as well as headlined major music events such as Lollapalooza and SXSW.
DJ Intel has also taken his show on the road with several tours, most notably a 32 state excursion with then Ninja Tune's DJ Vadim. He has also traveled to grace the main stage of many legendary parties including, The Root Down, Low End Theory and The Music Machine. DJ Intel's skill extends beyond his live performance. He was voted 'Best MixTape DJ' by WNUR's Time Travel Show and the web community on DJZTRIP.COM. New York Post and Entertainment Weekly have also taken note of his outstanding abilities.
So, when you are headed to a party and you see DJ Intel on the bill you can guarantee that you are in for an amazingly diverse party, full of nonstop dancing and entertainment.
DJ Demchuk

DJ Demchuk is a FreeForm DJ whose music selection runs the genre gamut, grabbing Brazilian Funk, Baltimore Booty Beats, classic Soul breaks, and Electro cuts to create the perfect party atmosphere wherever he performs.
For a Full Schedule of DJ Demchuk sets, visit his blog at
http://djdemchuk.blogspot.com
The Art of Circuit Bending has been taught by DJ Demchuk throughout the US and featured in The Chicago Reader and Chicago Magazine. He has conducted workshops at universities and galleries such as The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Contemporary Arts Center in Columbus, OH, and The In Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.
He is currently booking dates for Circuit Bending 101 workshops. If you would like to know more, contact via email at djdemchuk@yahoo.com or visit http://www.myspace.com/soundshappy