Re:Mix Labs kicked off a week’s worth of events at 401 S Main in Downtown LA on Tuesday night. This, the final stop for Re:Mix, which started at CMJ in NYC and made pit stops in Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas, of the Hyundai Veloster-sponsored multimedia event (from vintage arcade games and 3D movies streaming out from the trunks of cars to huge name artists in a small room spinning on the 1’s and 2’s).
Tuesday’s ANTENNA sponsored Grand Opening Reception featured an open bar and a variety of ensembled sets from Yeasayer, College, and Them Jeans to name a few. KCRW darlings Caught A Ghost’s new school mix of indie rock and soul found a pocket for the forthcoming event’s anticipatory atmosphere.
The Re:Generation event went down in a very special way on Wednesday night, with DJ Premier, Erykah Badu, The Crystal Method and more spinning brief DJ sets before Skrillex took the stage. With about 250 VIPS in attendance, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to glimpse the record collections of some of the most respected names in the industry. But the main draw was Mr. Skrillex, arguably the most popular (and divisive) DJ on these seven continents circa late-2011.
The legendary DJ Premier hosted sets between performers, hyping up the crowd of industry tastemakers busy making use of the open bar and interactive displays of elaborate art, fashion items and more intertwined through pimped-out Hyundai pocket rockets. The NY based producer brought the beats and set the tone for the evening as well as the forthcoming Richard Bishop directed and Grammy sponsored documentary (due February 2012) starring collaborations from the evening’s performers and many more other iconic artists from all eras. But Primo definitely got the party started, “how many people know about James Brown?!”
Erykah Badu opened with some Staple Singers, then played a little Stevie Wonder, followed by “Ain’t No Woman Like The One I Got,” a track worthy to rep, anytime, anyplace, despite unabated popularity. It was like Erykah had downloaded my hard drive into her laptop for the set, as heater followed heater followed heater. We were 5 feet away from Erykah Badu!
What would The Crystal Method have thought of Skrillex back in 1997? In the same way that an album like Vegas utilized an instrument like the Clavia Nord Lead 3 to create something avant garde, Skrillex uses the whole of electronic music technology to create a new genre unto itself. The Sonny Moore moniker proved a sight to be seen as well as an artist worthy of all the hype. As a dub-wake of mediocrity follows on his coattails it will be fascinating to see where he chooses to take electronic music next.
Skrillex Remixes Avicii “Levels” at RE:GENERATION Launch Party
Thursday night hosted the infamous artwalk on the streets LA. More great shows and events coming through Sunday this week. Be sure to stop by 401 S Main in Downtown LA for all the action.
Re:Mix Labs 
(Event Info) (HyundaiVeloster)
Reviewed by b3
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