New bands galore – the Lock Tavern season continues with the following lineup on Thursday 20 May, with…
BECOMING REAL
DANIMAL KINGDOM
TOUGH LOVE (DJ SET)
NIKA CLUB (DJ SET)
Free.

New bands galore – the Lock Tavern season continues with the following lineup on Thursday 20 May, with…
BECOMING REAL
DANIMAL KINGDOM
TOUGH LOVE (DJ SET)
NIKA CLUB (DJ SET)
Free.

The time has arrived for NIKAVL002… our singles club’s second vinyl release. Little Death’s single Just Say Maybe is out on Monday 31 May 2010.
Vinyl pre-order here: ROUGH TRADE SHOP

And of course for every single release we have to throw a party!! Come celebrate with NIKA and Little Death on Tuesday after the Bank Holiday… The single launch will take place at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, London.
LITTLE DEATH (LIVE)
WET PAINT (LIVE)
SUNBIRDS (LIVE)
DREW MCCONNELL (DJ)
NIKA CLUB (DJ)
HOME UNDERGROUND (DJ)
SUPER YOUTH (DJ)
More info on the flyer.
Tickets only £5 from here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/82302

After a few weeks of regular rotation on tastemaker station NME Radio, Xfm have now added it to their Evening Playlist!!

New lineup at our Lock Tavern monthly residency.
Especially excited about our new addition to the lineup – Pittsburgh two-piece 1,2,3 who will play a one-off stripped back set for us.
Free!

Thanks Paul for this awesome photo of Hook & The Twin dominating the small stage at the Lock Tavern…
check out more of Paul Bridgewater’s work HERE


PETE & THE PIRATES return to play an intimate preview of of their forthcoming new album, due for release later in 2010.
This is a consistently brilliant live band. Following on from the breakthrough success of ltd edition singles ‘Come on Feet’ and ‘Knots’ (both big favourites with Lamacq and Zane at Radio 1, plus Jonathan Ross on Radio 2), the band’s first full album was giddy rush of spiky guitar pop and unabashed romanticism. The songs from their new record which have started to feature in their recent gigs show that they’re picking up where they left off.
Sprouting from the fertile pastures of Reading, Pete and The Pirates are a misfit gang of five friends wonderfully out of step with all other bands and scenes. Together, they produce music which is raw, joyous, melancholic, raucous and tender.
Singer, Tom Sanders’ lyrics are predominantly concerned with love (lost and found), but presented with a lightness of touch and a fierce intelligence that burns brightly. These are life-affirming songs where melodies and harmonies soar throughout.
CONNAN MOCKASIN will join them on the bill to play tracks from his highly anticipated debut album – ‘Please Turn Me Into The Snat’, out in June.
Written and recorded over the past 18-months, from East Sussex in the UK to an abandoned haunted house in Wellington, the album will introduce the listener to the amazing world of Connan Mockasin – from cats with larger-than-life personalities, unicorns in uniform, to alter egos such as Don Dicaprio. Expect beautiful psychadelic soundscapes interwoven with instant melodies.
All the acts on this bill come from the same collective of musicians, and to complete the trinity we also have MICACHU & THE SHAPES on dj duties… along with the resident NIKA Club turntablists.
You don’t want to miss this small show – tickets available from here, only £8.50:
TICKETS – http://www.wegottickets.com/event/76990
Pete & The Pirates reviews…
‘Another indie gem’ – NME
‘Stuttering, heart-in-mouth lushness’ – Uncut
‘Stunning’ – The Sun
‘An enchanting romantic highlight.. so assured for such a young outfit’ – The Independent
‘Passionate, perfect pop’ – Plan B
‘Harmonised indie-punk through a cracked psych filter’ – Time Out
‘Overflowing with blissful melodies’ – Dazed and Confused
‘Joyous, quintessentially English retro-rock’ – The Fly
‘God-like pop genius’ – Artrocker
In an age of hip hop where the mainstream ‘talents’ leave you flat, few rappers deliver solid 16 bars after 16 bars on the sweetest and most emotive beats. Jay Z remains on top of his game but few others prove to be relevant and exciting.
Cue Jay Electronica, a socially conscious wordsmith who has labels dying to sign him and everyone else trying to collaborate with him. His track Exhibit C was the first to be leaked into the UK – a slice of the greatness that is to come. Tight and poetic flow with colossal beats (think Common and Nas battling it out against a Gangstarr backdrop).
Two early gems to sample below…

NIKA Club will be releasing Little Death’s debut single in May and NME.com have featured an exclusive giveaway of the b-side, Violent Sea.
Check it out and get the track!!
More news soon. g.NIKA xx

Certain artists bust your musical horizons wide open. I remember the first time we heard the bass assault of Rusko’s Cockney Thug, a track that ages like a fine wine and never loses any of its vicious impact.
We’ve made sure to share another track that mashes up four musical elements including the legendary Led Zep riff from Kashmir. Rusko’s dirty finger prints are all over this track and stand out as the highlights.
While Rusko has relocated to California, hip hoppers from all over the US are standing in line to get him on production duties – since the scene in the US seems to be running out of ideas on what the new generation of beats will bring. Rusko has some ideas of his own…
Keep an eye to the sky and an ear to the ground. Big beats will get bigger.

RUSKO – COCKNEY THUG (ORIGINAL MIX)
RUSKO VS. LED ZEPPELIN VS. DAFT PUNK VS. LIL JON (DAVID STARFIRE MASHUP)
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