#TeamRusko

Christopher Mercer aka Rusko

Born Christopher Mercer, the English 27 year-old dubstep king better known as Rusko announced that his new EP titled Kapow will be released on his website via Rusko Recordings this Sunday November 4th for free with an iTunes release on November 6th. Currently on a three-month tour to promote the EP, the outing was slightly derailed due to canceled shows in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Not to be held back however, Mercer will be here in OC November 9th at the Observatory in Santa Ana. We caught up with Chris and got some good laughs. In his charming British accent, he gave us insight on his background, what he loves about living in the states and why he's giving away his EP for free.

See Also:
*Major Lazer - The Observatory - October 18, 2012 [with VIDEO]
*Zedd Tells Us Why He Dislikes the Phrase "EDM"
*Rusko and Andy C - Hollywood Palladium - 6/1/12

OC Weekly (Alejandra Loera): A lot of people think EDM and specifically dubstep doesn't require much musical skill or knowledge. Tell us about your background coming from a degree in Music Performance from Leeds College of Music. What influenced you to become a producer and DJ?

Rusko: "I've been making music all of my life playing the piano, saxophone and guitar in various bands. I played in reggae bands too, but loved making electronic dub stuff at home on my computer. After a while and me being a control freak, I realized I couldn't play the instruments as well as I wanted. I was better off being a solo producer. I loved to write out the music first and that became what I did. The first tracks that got played and picked up were dubbed reggae tracks like "SNES Dub9." I then turned to my friend Caspa who at the time was Sub Soldiers from London. He used to play some of my old reggae tracks and it became popular on pirate radio. I moved to London with Caspa and we set up our label. I was never really a DJ and only started to DJ once people started asking me to come out and play my tracks. I had to learn to perform, but it was never the original plan. Now I can't live without it."

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​Garbage is giving away their latest single "Blood For Poppies" on their website today! That's straight on the heels of Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson's appearance on Chelsea Lately last night (they have the same makeup artist).

According to Manson, the band went on hiatus because "We just got a bit despondent about the way the music business had gone, and our record company, we felt, were sort of greedy and all they cared about was money. And that wasn't why we wanted to be in a band in the first place." More »

Round One: Fight! (Just Kidding)

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​UPDATE: if you go to dropnye.com and click buy tickets, you can enter OCWEEEKLY to get $5 off each ticket right now! Original post, Dec. 28, 8:54 a.m.: Don't have New Year's Eve plans yet? That's OK, because we're giving away three pairs of tickets to the Drop NYE at The Grove of Anaheim. Happening this Saturday with Bart B More, R3hab, Nicky Romero and more, it's an 18 and over event, and there will be four stages of music.

The catch? You have to enter the contest today only.

All you have to do to win tickets is leave us a message on Heard Mentality's Twitter (@ocweeklymusic) and/or Facebook with your name and email address! Winners will be notified later today.

I

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​We get a lot of free music here at the Heard Mentality offices on a regular basis, but this holiday season, record labels want us the share and gift that music with impunity. Which is great, because if you're anything like me, you're a sucker for good Christmas songs but don't always know how to seek them out. Here are five great new ones that are going to be on permanent rotation--from the funny country music duo Joey+Rory, a free song from the Spinto Band, alt-rock band Diamond's cover of "Christmastime is Here,"  electro-pop quartet Body Language's "Holiday" to Seattle songwriter Shelby Earl's sweet "This Christmas is for Us."

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Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly

Robert Smith of the Cure

​Tomorrow, Sunday Best is releasing The Cure: Bestival Live 2011, a live recording of the iconic band's career-spanning two-and-a-half-hour set at this year's Bestival.

The double album will include 32 Cure classics, including "The Lovecats," "The Caterpillar," "Close to Me," "Friday I'm In Love," "Lullaby," "The Hungry Ghost," "The End of the World," "Just Like Heaven," "Grinding Halt," "Jumping Someone Else's Train" and "Boys Don't Cry." All profits from the sale of this album will go to the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

Robert Smith says:

"We had such a great time in the Isle of Wight at Bestival that we wanted to release this show as a way of thanking fans and islanders alike. Bestival is the best!"

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​Cypress Hill's Eric Bobo and Chilean DJ/Producer Latin Bitman have joined musical forces to form Ritmo Machine. The seed of the collaboration was sown earlier this year when Cypress Hill performed in South America as part of the Lollapalooza tour. After getting connected, Bitman and Bobo set out to record an album together in Argentina. The resulting Welcome to the Ritmo Machine, released last month, is a Latin funk meets hip-hop sonic revelation.More »

​In need of some Audio Therapy? The earthStonez will see you now. The Los Angeles and Las Vegas-based underground collective of female hip-hop musicians, have finally released their anticipated full-length album. The multiracial group, which once rolled six deep but has since reconfigured to four core members - Fawksie 1, Youthinazia, Asa Lianess, and T.I.W.A.E.I.S. - offered the following update to its faithful followers on Facebook: More »

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Segerstrom Center for the Arts is bringing in Grammy Award-winning band Ozomatli to its Arts Plaza for a free concert on October 2 at 5 p.m. As part of Pacific Standard Time (a collaboration of cultural organizations throughout Southern California), Ozomatli's concert pays tribute to the diversity of the Southern California music scene. It's also Segerstrom Center's 25th anniversary weekend.

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