LEARNING SECRETS PARTY RETURNS

Skulls and Roses and Dead things oh my

Right, i understand its been a little over week since the last time we posted anything, and I am truly honestly sorry about that. However, we've been busy, and to ya'lls benefit, but more on that in a few weeks time.

The current issue at hand is this Saturday's LS party.

Tonight may be the devil's birthday, as well as my father's birthday (no correlation there i promise), and it's also the 13th anniversary of me losing my virginity, no joke...but the real party starts tomorrow when we celebrate the day of the dead!

We're coming back to the Beauty Bar after having spent much of September and October away. We're super super excited about this party's line up so we hope you can all make it out.

Many Birthdays and Grassfight ( Denton ) open things up (i've posted a track from each below)
Ramesh from Voxtrot will be joining me on the ones and twos, and most importantly....
COME IN SKULL FACE MAKE UP OR DRESSED AS A SKELETON AND GET IN FOR A $1!!!!

Open your mind and your feet will follow people
REAL.DANCE.MUSIC.

Here are some tracks from Many Birthdays and Grassfight, as well as a few things i've been feeling lately and will probably play out. 

Click to listen, Download to enjoy, and Support these artists buy actually buying their music. 

>MANY BIRTHDAYS - Black Crow ( Remix)

>GRASSFIGHT - When Everythings Alright

And I expect to see ya'll going nuts to these...

Moments I love of this first track which, is the Mungolian Jet Set remix of " A New Chance " off of the samely named Tough Alliance full length out on Modular, are minute marks 2:30 to 3:40, then when the vocals kick in around 4:11. Pure Butters Yo! 

>TOUGH ALLIANCE - A New Chance ( Mongolian Jet Set Remix)

It's no secret that i'm a huge huge huge fan of bands like Tough Alliance, there's something about the air in Sweden that just makes their pop music so perfect. If you're a fan of Tough Alliance then you should check out bands like Embassy , Air France, Radio Dept., and The Legends. 

I mean seriously, peep this video for the track, it's just two super hot Swedish dudes ( Tough Alliance I believe) sharing a scooter ride around Sweden...makes you kind of hungry don't it?

Next up we have a massive Euro-Disco floor stomper!! I played this at Studio B this past weekend at it is insane when played loud, i cant wait to play it for ya'll on Saturday.

Its by 202 Machine, it is called "Rock Your Body," it came out on the Fire Sign LTD Label back in 1980, and it bangs!

>202 MACHINE - Rock Your Body

And away we go...

FIXED 

4 Years and Glowing

This Saturday night I'll be opening up for my buddies JDH and Dave P's party here in NYC called Fixed. It's their 4 year anniversary, and I can honestly say that its truly one of my favorite parties in NYC. I am sure I may be going out on a limb here, but it feels right to say, so i'm gonna say it. I think Fixed might be the closest thing to an OPTIMO in the states at the moment, just as far as their music policy goes. Of course I'm being absurd because there are parties like Dave P's Making Time in Philly, Eamon Harkin's Fun in NYC,  The new DFA night at Santos Party House, and um, this party in Austin called Learning Secrets, and a slew of others I'm not mentioning, but every time I've been to Fixed I leave with the same feeling I get when I leave OPTIMO. 

Regardless, Saturday is going to be totally bonkers insane. Who Made Who is playing live! I honestly thought I was never going to get to see them, they're one of my favorites and were an LS stable back during the Whisky Bar days.Tiga is DJing for something like 3 hours...and the dance floor stays open till 5 a.m.

So, if you're in NYC I hope you can make it out.

Here's one of my favorite tracks off of Who Made Who's amazing self titled debut album off the Gomma label, which came out in 2005. Their follow up called The Plot is coming out in February.

Please support them, if you like the track, hunt down the full length and buy it! 

Click to listen, download to enjoy, and buy the album if you find it!

Who Made Who - Out The Door

BROWNOUT

Journey to center of the Latin Funk

Once I get back from this NYC trip I'm going to be doing a big post on three of our power house bands, Brownout, Grupo Fantasma, and Ocote Soul Sounds, however, since I dont have the tracks I need on this computer thats gonna have to wait a few more days...

What I can tell you about, and recommend you do with part of your Friday night is get your white ass over to Lambert's to catch Brownout rip it up on the best sound system and the smallest stage in Austin. 

Eleven dudes, one tiny stage, a lot of sweating and dancing, and the finest Latin Funk.

For fans of Budos Bands, Mulatu Astatque, deep grooves, and thick bass.

Shriekback

My spine is the bass line indeed

This little 12" here has been one of my favorites to sneak into sets since Learning Secrets first started. The massive A side, "My Spine is the Bass Line" is a tasty slab of funked up post punk, and thats all well and good, but its the track on the flip side that makes me freak out. 

From the first second I heard "Accretions" I felt at home. Its has the huge driving, thumping bass that I love, a drum line that seems to shuffle and stutter simultaneously, and dont even get me started on the creepy vocals. God, its like butter.  Seeing somebody on the floor, that knows this song, dance to it is one of the best feelings ever. It's one of those tracks that you just have to trust your body to.

But lets take a step back here for a second.

Who the hell is Shriekback, you may be asking me right now.

Well buddies, you take Dave Allen ( the bass player from Gang Of Four), Barry Andrews ( of XTC and League of Gentlemen) and Carl Marsh ( from the little known Out On Blue Six), stir it in a pot with the A Certain Ratio, New Order, and Depeche Mode, and essentially make yourself a tiny super group circa 1982 / 83, though they're still kicking it live and well.

 

So, now that you know, lets go crazy!

click to listen, download to enjoy, and please buy the 12" if you see it. 

Shriekback -- Accretions

THE ANTLERS

Sonic Road Warriors Blissing Out The Nation!

We're super super excited to be able to work with The Antlers. They've got some really amazingly huge things out there on the horizon, and for the past few weeks they've been ripping up parts of the midwest, south, and east coast on their current tour which has them road testing songs off their recently finished epic new album Hospice. Seriously ya'll, it's epic, we can't stop listening to it! 

There's sadly no release date, but the band is in label talks at the moment.

We do however have an mp3 of "Two" off the new album for you, after their tour dates below.

Fans of Shearwater, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, and the like should take note!

Perfect fall / winter music. 

 Their tour is wrapping up in the next few days, 

Tonight sees them in Harrisonburg,VA playing at Clementine w/ Pattern Is the Movement

10/16 @ The Fire - Philly, PA

10/18 @ Slainte - Portland, ME

10/21 @ Cakeshop - NYC ( CMJ Day show )

The Antlers - Two

Well, we fell off the boat and landed on the bandwagon. 

And now, 4 years and 10 months into Learning Secrets 

we finally decided to start a blog. 

Now it's mostly due to the fact that our website is still under

construction, and man is it looking sweet, a big thanks

to Sarah Hood for helping with that. 

Jeramy and I also felt that having a blog would allow us 

to keep ya'll up to date on LS news about our parties,

our artists, and our dj gigs outside of Austin.

We'll also be posting mixes, podcasts, flyers and

just general tom foolery that is getting our rocks off at the moment.

That being said...

I'll be heading up to NYC on the 21st of this month for CMJ. JDH and Dave P

invited me to come open the 4 year anniversary of their amazing and legendary

FIXED party on October 25th, which has still left me totally speechless. 

Its gonna be an insane night for sure. 

First off, its FIXED so you know it's going to be 100% fun,

Second off, Who Made Who is playing live...Who Made Who!!! 

Third off, um...Tiga is headlining. 

wait wait...TIGA IS HEADLINING!!!!! 

After that, on November 1st, Learning Secrets will be making its return

to Beauty Bar after having taken most of October off to focus on 

company stuff...

We're super excited about this month's party!

Ramesh from Voxtrot will be joining me on the decks,

and Many Birthdays and Denton's Grassfight will be starting 

off the night.

On top of that there'll be a TV crew there from ABC filming the party for

a story they're doing about Learning Secrets for ABC on Campus.

Last but not least...and perhaps the biggest news of all.

I finally made a new mix.

However, this is a bit different in that its not a mix of disco oddities, 

or club bangers. Here we have the first in a series of chilled out, slow-mo,

lying in bed staring out the window jams.

Ladys and Gentlemen...

The Keep It In The Sheets Mix. 

click to listen, download to enjoy.