The Disco Biscuits

When the Disco Biscuits formed in 1996 no one imagined that the music they played would catapult them to the forefront of a new rock movement.  But each young man, confident in his abilities, set out to create “the wildest music of all time.” Judging by the throngs of fans scattered throughout the country, transfixed by the jam/rave rock combo, it appears they are accomplishing their initial goals.  Drawing equally from jambands’ exploratory chord and tempo changes and the pulsating rhythms of dance/electronica, their sound is dubbed “Trance Fusion.” By melding two seemingly disparate worlds – the neo-hippie movement with electronic music culture – one unified twirling community was spawned, making The Disco Biscuits one of the most groundbreaking bands in the country.

Hallucinogen aka Simon Posford is a pioneer of electronic music and founder of the psy-trance scene. With the release of his first album, Twisted (which reached Number 27 in the French album charts) a genre was born. There are many words to describe modern electronic music but none that come close to the wealth of emotion and experience that comes from listening to a Posford tune.

These days Posford is likely to be entrancing crowds around the globe with an epic live set, as he is to be dribbling ambient delectations in the Hallucinogen Soundlabs in the West Country. He is co-director of Twisted Records with Simon Holton (ex-label manager of Dragonfly Records). Their label is one of the hottest underground gatherings of talent this side of Mars. Hallucinogen's second album, The Lone Deranger, blew the lid off the musical scene that had built up around his influence. www.twisted.co.uk

Umphrey's McGee

The past 18 months have been a quick rise for Chicago’s Umphrey’s McGee.  Rolling Stone’s Hot Issue picked Umphrey’s as “a band to watch, “Relix magazine put them on the cover of their December 2004 issue, the prestigious Chicago Music Awards awarded Umphrey’s McGee the coveted Best Rock Entertainer of the Year. In February, Umphrey’s spent time in the studio recording their 5th studio album. Look for their new release to hit early 2006.

Younger Brother   (late night)

Simon Posford of Hallucinogen has also been producing tracks with Benji Vaughan under the moniker, Younger Brother. You may know Benji Vaughan as Prometheus. Then again, you could be more familiar with one of his other pseudonyms: Process (with Sean Williams), Citizen Kaned (with Nick Doof), or Cyber Babas (with Raja Ram of Tip). www.twisted.co.uk

The story continues to evolve with Canada’s the New Deal, as they celebrate the seismic collision of live, improvised jamming with the energy and flow of contemporary dance music. Since the band’s formation in 1999 – a self described “beautiful accident” – North American response has been exceptional. Audiences have embraced what is now called the “New Deal Sound”. www.thenewdeal.ca

Conspirator  (late night)

Conspirator has been several years in the making. In late 2003, Aron and Marc, the keyboard and bass player of the Disco Biscuits, set out to find a producer to help them bring to life the tracks they had made for a Trance-Fusion Super Group show they played at Webster Hall in NYC earlier that year. As fate would have it, they were quickly brought together with Omen: a young, hungry, revolutionary producer from Final Phaze NYC. In January of 2004 the trio hit the studio to discover that there was an incredible amount of chemistry between them. Within months, it became clear that in addition to an awe-inspiring album being created, a band was being born. www.conspirator.org

Two guys, four hands, kaleidoscopically exploding wall of sound, 15 years playing together, 250 shows per annum, famous to the underground. Well positioned to bubble up this year with their Ropeadope debut – Best Reason to Buy the Sun. It’s so much fun. It’s the Duo y’all, and here’s a little story you should know: Straight outta Brooklyn like a gringo Sly & Robbie (with tortoise-shell rims), our masked crusaders - organist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo – split indie jazz wide open with sweepingly efficient arrangements that snap, crackle and pop the fine lines one finds in trying to categorize music. www.organanddrums.com

Over the past 9 years, through constant touring, four popular studio albums, and one live release with a reggae legend, John Brown’s Body has established itself as the premier American reggae band. The band has been called the most original reggae band in the U.S., a moniker it takes very seriously as it unleashes its most significant release yet: Pressure Points. They say that out of trials come great rewards. In the case of John Brown’s Body, Tribulations indeed spawned this unique musical outfit. Born out of the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, JBB was the successor to the up-tempo reggae band that melded Island sounds to a harder edge. www.johnbrownsbody.com

Brothers Past

Philadelphia's Brothers Past is rapidly emerging as one of the most talked about independent acts in the nation.  Partnering with a top producer, the band’s brand new release, entitled This Feeling’s Called Goodbye, (released at a sold-out Bowery Ballroom on February 19), is drawing early accolades from the press, industry, and fans alike. Recently, Glide Magazine wrote, “Brothers Past focuses on the art of songwriting and does it in a unique way that sets them apart from the pack. When you combine strong, well-written, catchy songs like State Police and Simple Gift of Man with electronica laden powerhouses like Celebrity and Words Like Weapons, you get a detailed glimpse into the future of music.” www.brotherspast.com

Big In Japan

Big In Japan is a trio from Baltimore.  Their sound is beat heavy rock that draws as much from artists like Sonic Youth and Black Sabbath as it does from collage master DJ Shadow. Their sets are completely improvised and often range from bombastic to subtle, ambient and soundtrack-like. www.laketrout.com

Eat Static   (late night)

Eat Static have been very busy over the last year even though there has been no new studio album for nearly three years now...instead they have played a wealth of gigs and festivals, which included headlining the Samothraki trance festival in Greece and their annual Glastonbury show which last year, attracted more than 6ooo people to the then new 'Lost Stage'...There has also been numerous tunes released on other labels, including TIP World, Twisted and Solstice(Japan)...And in between all this, main writer Merv Pepler has been spending time doing new collaborations which include a new album with Hallucinogen's Simon Posford, a lounge album with Steve Jolliffe (Tangerine Dream)as ‘The Hi-Fi Companions’and more recently, an album with the Propellerheads' Will White as ‘The Flexitones’...the next thing for Eat Static will be an album of tunes that were recorded when they first started (Alien Artifacts),long before the debut 'Abduction',and a brand new studio album.This follows providing a track for the recent Playstation 2 game,Grand Tourismo 4.. the band are now in their 16th year and show no signs of letting up! www.eatstatic.co.uk

Lynch

Lynch is a song structured improvisational fusion of hip-hop, rock, and jazz.  The band flirts with many styles from drum and bass to Latin and reggae. It's a high energy show featuring Terence and Shannon Lynch of the underground success Conehead Buddha, a main stay on the Jam scene in the nineties.  Conehead Buddha toured relentlessly for ten years playing pinnacle shows on the H.O.R.D.E and WARPED tours allowing the two to hone their skills on trumpet and saxophone. Terence and Shannon often had the pleasure of playing with the likes of Maceo Parker, moe. and Antigone Rising.  Their vocal harmonies blend with ease while splitting duties on lead. Lynch also features Jim Loughlin of moe. and Suke Cerulo of Schleigho.

Turkey Bouillon Mafia

Forged in 2000 as the best excuse to party in Burlington, Vermont, the Turkey Bouillon Mafia has evolved into something much larger than anyone had ever dreamed. Weaving a tight knit parachute of funk, jazz, metal, ambience, rock, and utter insanity into a sound unmistakably their own, the Mafia continues to evolve into untouched territory. www.turkeymafia.com

DJs

Christian Bruna – Drum N Bass

Omen – Drum N Bass

D.R.O. – Drum N Bass

DJ Mauricio a.k.a. Fractalien - Trance