ALTERNATIVE/ROCK: MGMT feat. Jim Jones “Electric Feel (Remix)”

R&B: T-Pain “Sweet”

DANCEHALL: Ricky Blaze feat. Ron Browz “Feel Free”

ELECTRONICA/ROCK: The Hours “See the Light” (Calvin Harris Remix)

BRIT-POP: The Smiths “Pretty Girls Make Graves” (Troy Tate Version)

ELECTRO/POP: Lily Allen “Everyone’s At It”

RAP: Werdplay “Big Wheel”

ROCK: Bloc Party “Talons”

POP: Justin Timberlake “Magic”

DANCE/ELECTRONICA: M.I.A. “Shells”

RAP: The Knux “Life In The Cage”

R&B: The Carps “Porgie & Bess (Big Booty Girls)”

INDIE-ROCK: The Muslims “Extinction”

WORLD/ELECTRONICA: Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit feat. M.I.A. & Santogold “Get It Up”

ROCK: Gringo Star “All Y’all”

Around 2006, New York did not have an identity. You can probably blame bitter rivalries between the city’s elder statesmen for their overall creative slump. To redefine the sound of the city, it might take a refreshing sound, like the electronica-driven sound of Europe’s dance scene, to change the tide. Enter Mickey Factz.

The Bronx-born MC began pushing the envelope by sampling forward-thinkers like N.E.R.D. Three mixtapes (Flashback, Back To The Future, and Heaven’s Fallout) later, and the 23-year-old attacked the blogosphere, releasing a new song every day this Spring with influences ranging from Portishead to The Prodigy (no, the other P). In this recent interview, Mickey puts his personal stamp on the Supra sneaker brand and talks about how he was rocking dance music influences before Kanye.

Interview by Richard “DJ Treats” Dryden

Complex: When did you start rapping over electronica-driven beats?

Mickey Factz: As of 2006, we just got bored. We sampled N.E.R.D and In Search Of… and we wanted to do something different from the jump. We felt that music was just going in the same direction'nobody was trying to be innovative. Then after that, I wanted to personally do Flashback, which was rapping over all old school beats, but we wanted to revitalize the beats behind it and Precize mixed some of the beats over. He did maybe 65 to 70% of the music over, and he made it sound more futuresque which was leading up to Heaven’s Fallout.

Complex: So were you familiar with the music, or were you an actual fan of it?

Mickey Factz: I was familiar with it 'cause I grew up on hip-hop, I grew up on Pun, I grew up on R&B, I grew up on gospel. That's the foundation. Most kids my age grew up on those three things. In the midst of Flashback, I did some records that were very weird to my ears 'cause I was listening to alternative and electro and house and stuff but I wasn't into it. Once we started to record for [Heaven's] Fall Out, I just fell into that whole scene.

Complex: Where does gospel come into play?

Mickey Factz: Gospel cause your parents made you, hip-hop cause you wanted to rebel and R&B 'cause you wanted to get a girl. Summer of '07, I personally knew this is stuff that nobody is going to rap over. Truth be told, we were recording this before Graduation. We did those before Kanye put them out.

Complex: So you feel that now this is a sound that you own?

Mickey Factz: Right. This is a sound that I created with GFCnewyork, with Precize. We've made a sound that is very hard to duplicate because we've done it so well, to the point that now we're trying to make a newer sound. Now as you see, people are starting to sample MIA, Santogold and things of that nature, but you know GFCnewyork will always be ahead of the curve. We've got a couple of tricks up our sleeve when it comes to the next couple of releases.

Complex: Where do you stand in terms of your perception the artists and DJ's of that world, and collaborations with them?

Mickey Factz: I would love it more than I would like to collaborate with U.S. artists. I want to be a global artist so if these artists from China and Japan and Europe or Australia, if they want to collaborate, I'm more than willing to do it because my music will then be spread out through their region, and they'll be like, 'Wow this guy's already been doing it, this guy seems more authentic.'

Complex: Right, rather than being on some name-dropping shit.

Mickey Factz: Exactly. We wanted to have a grassroots following in Europe and Asia and Australia. Before we even dropped music we were touring these places.

Hit “NEXT” to find out if Mickey feels like an outcast in the Bronx, and why he’s crowning himself the Supra king.

RAP: Bow Wow feat. Young Joc “Big Girls”

R&B: Labelle “System”

DANCE/ELECTRO: IHEARTCOMIX! “Zombies!”

ROCK: White Pegacorn “Barack Your World”

EXPERIMENTAL: Hand In Hand feat. Irene Merring “Time Will Tell”

RAP: Maino “However Do You Want It”

ELECTRONICA: Björk feat. Thom Yorke “Nattura”

ROCK: The Smashing Pumpkins “G.L.O.W.”

SOUL: Menahan Street Band “Make The Road By Walking”

ELECTRO-ROCK: The Virgins “Rich Girls” (The Chimmey Climbers Remix)

RAP: Busta Rhymes f/ Ron Browz “Arab Money”

DANCE/ELECTRONICA: Annie “Two Of Hearts”

REGGAE/DANCEHALL: 77Klash f/ Johnny Osbourne “Mad Again”

R&B: Avant f/ Alfamega “Perfect Gentleman”

ROCK: Kaiser Chiefs “Never Miss A Beat”

Stef van Dongen, the founder of the Dutch company Enviu, was responsible for creating what he calls the Sustainable Dance Club. Reducing Watt’s carbon footprint through LED lights (also embedded in the dancefloor) was just part of it'the water in the toilets came from rain too. Check out van Dongen’s interview about Watt and an advertisement below.

Creators Of The Sustainable Dance Club Speak

Sustainable Dance Club Advertisement

[Sustainable Rotterdam Via Geek Sugar]

RAP: Kid Cudi “Superboo”

ELECTRONICA: Paul McCartney a.k.a. The Fireman “Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight”

ROCK: Fabrizo Moretti “No One’s Better Sake”

R&B: Robin Thicke feat. Mary J. Blige & Wale “Magic” (Mark Ronson Remix)

DANCEHALL: Elephant Man “Nuh Linga”

ELECTRONICA: Radiohead “Reckoner” (Diplo Remix)

RAP: USDA feat. Boo Rossini & Trick Daddy “Black Dreams”

ACOUSTIC-WORLD: Ane Brun “Don’t Leave”

ROCK: Alicia Keys & Jack White “Another Way To Die”

INDIE ROCK: Cold War Kids “Something Is Not Right With Me”

RAP: Scarface f/ Lil Wayne & Bun B “Forgot About Me”

ELECTRONICA: :02 From Being Committed “Can’t Stop”

R&B: Ne-Yo “Yours”

ROCK: Chairlift “Bruises”

DANCEHALL: Mavado “So Blessed”

With the new album set to drop next Tuesday, we hit up Skinner to get a preview of what to expect, plus his plans for the future. Retirement is on his mind, sort of. But not just yet as he is already working on his last release, which will bring fans back to the rave-friendly, detail-oriented MC we first came to know. Get a sense of where Mike Skinner is in his life in the exclusive interview below…

Interview by Richard “DJ Treats” Dryden

Complex: Since all of your albums are different in nature, from the production to the lyrical content, what stays the same?

Mike: Well, the process stays the same because it’s always me in a room trying to write songs. And the same in the sense that it’s just me trying to make a change. But apart from that I try to keep it as fresh as possible. Almost that it appears as if I’m a new artist, you know?

Complex: Really?

Mike: Almost, yeah. I think that’s the only way to stay in the game really. I think when you start repeating yourself you don’t have the same impact.

Complex: Do you think that’s the same ideology as trying to “reinvent yourself?”

Mike: Yeah, I think it’s just a balance between the two things. I think you have your strong points, you should play to those.

Complex: What would you say are your strong points that you’ve thrived on throughout your career?

Mike: I think emotional honesty is a strong point. I’m certainly not a gangster.

Complex: Not a gangster?

Mike: Not a very good gangster. [Laughs]

Complex: You’ve been recording a lot of webisodes through your Beat Stevie YouTube channel. Do you think documenting so much of your recording kind of takes away from the personal stamp you’re trying to put on your music?

Mike: I think all of the other things that you do, apart from the music, become a part of the politics. Like I don’t think you can separate music from the person. And people’s impression of the person goes into the experience that they have with the music. And that’s what I call the politics of music. It’s kind of a story that you create in your head, but I don’t believe in shrouding anything in mystery so to speak. I think actually the music ends up transcending the politics over time. I think when the next generation looks back on this, they’re not so caught up in the moment of the politics.

Complex: So it does make it more personal?

Mike: In a way, but to me, I’m really into stories. Really, to me, Beat Stevie is another way to tell stories, and the blogs I write. I think if you only watched Beat Stevie you’d think it wasn’t very deep, and there’s a lot of joking. But if you only read my blog or listened to my music, I think it all really adds up to who I am. I don’t think it’s any different from the countless TV interviews that artists used to do on MTV. It’s a little different in this case because we get to control it ourselves.

Hit “NEXT” to learn more about the Everything Is Borrowed album, and to get Mike’s thoughts on The Dark Knight…”

RAP: Jake One f/ Alchemist, Evidence & Prodigy “White Van”

ELECTRONICA: Justice “Planisphere”

DANCEHALL: Busy Signal “Tic Toc”

ROCK: TV On The Radio “Golden Age”

R&B: Trey Songz “In Ya Phone”

After a few years of working on film scores, it should come as no surprise that UNKLE’s fourth album, End Titles…Stories For Film, which drops tomorrow, is inspired by “the moving image.” Leading up to the release of the new album, they leaked four different songs across blogs like Pitchfork and RCRD LBL, all intended to all be played in a specific order as one track. Listen to the leakers below.

UNKLE “Kaned And Abel”

UNKLE f/ Josh Homme “Chemical”

UNKLE f/Gavin Clark “Blade In The Back”

UNKLE “Synthetic Water”

[UNKLE 77]

Since linking up, they’ve already commissioned exclusive “Original Run” mixes by LCD Soundsystem, Aesop Rock, and the Crystal Method. In the latest installment, DJ/Producer A-Trak fuses hip-hop sounds for an adrenaline rush of electronic beats. The 43-minute mix called Running Man dropped Tuesday and is now available on iTunes. Listen to a sample A-Trak song below.

A-Trak “Say Whoa”

from Running Man: Nike + Original Run (2008)

[Buy A-Trak's Running Man On iTunes]

After listening to “Best Best”, the official lead single from Missy’s upcoming album Block Party, it sounds like this could be the beginning of a beautiful new partnership. On the electro banger, Missy tries out a new repetitive flow while detailing her ideal man. Rumor has it that Timbo has also contributed several tracks to the album, so it will be interesting to see if the student has become the teacher when it drops this fall. Check out our album preview here and listen to the single below.

Missy Elliott “Best Best” (Produced by Danjahandz)

from Block Party (2008)

To help him out with the new sound, Dizzee’s joined by in-demand singer/producer Calvin Harris (Kylie Minogue, the Mitchell Brothers) and singer Chrome. The song will be released as a single in July on his own Dirtee Stank Recordings. Watch the video after the jump.

[Stereogum]

Related: Watch Dizzee Rascal & Bun B’s “Where Da G’s”

Ratatat “Mirando”
from LP3 (2008)

[Gorilla vs. Bear]

Related:

Ratatat’s Lo-Fi Electro Returns On “Shiller”

The duo has dropped two studio albums, plus full remixes of each with vocals from folks like Young Jeezy, Jay-Z and Bun B. With their third album LP3 set for release on XL Recordings this July, their newest single “Shiller” shows their more melancholy side. Listen to the full song below.

Ratatat “Shiller” (2008)

[Gorilla vs. Bear]