Massive Attack

Paul Oakenfold on dubstep, coming to Denver and how Beta is one of the best clubs in America

One of the first true superstar DJs, Paul Oakenfold has done more to popularize electronic dance music in the United States and in his native Britain than any constituent of the current EDM explosion. Long before Skrillex and Deadmau5 brought styles like dubstep and electro into the mainstream consc ... More >>

DJ Big Styles shares a few of his favorite memories from So What! The Club

Tomorrow night at Beauty Bar, So What! The Club celebrates its twentieth year of keeping Denver funky. Earlier this week, we shared some of the fliers from the early days when the night first got going at City Spirit on through its move to various other locales, including 9th Avenue West and Rock Is ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it's not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off we go, on and on about t ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: 11/30-12/2

Ah, yes, welcome to the weekend! Long week, everybody, or is it just us? Well the good news is that we made it to end of another. The even better news is that there's no snow in the forcast, and there's another batch of good shows worth checking out. While there fair number of enticing acts coming t ... More >>

Fort Collins rapper Epoch When offers some lyrical insight into his GRIM state of mind

It's almost a shame when people as talented as Epoch When (aka Alex Koutsoukos) make an album as unflinchingly introspective as GRIM because it's almost certain to not get as much attention as it deserves, which is a lot. His lyrics, which tend to be dense and challenging, are consistently interesti ... More >>

Weekend's best dance bets: Emancipator, Orchard Lounge, MONO>STEREO and more

Welcome to weekend! Ready to get down? Good. You've come to the right place. There's plenty of dancing to be done this weekend and we've got the drop on all the best places to get your groove on and who'll be providing the soundtrack: Emancipator's at the Ogden tonight and the Aggie tomorrow night, ... More >>

Emancipator hits the decks for three Colorado shows this week

The five most listened-to songs and albums of the week, August 20 through August 27

Well, lookie here. What you do know? It's the return of Heavy Rotation. Longtime readers of Backbeat will remember this feature as one in which we shared our weekly listening habits in hopes of giving you some insight into our individual sensibilities. It's been dormant for a while, but starting tod ... More >>

Nicki Minaj

Thursday, August 2, Wells Fargo Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Year of the Dragonfly

Pupil
Tiny Amp Records

Geoff Barrow of Portishead on Blue Lines, Banksy, Silver Apples and his act's early success

Portishead​Portishead (due Thursday, October 27th, at 1stBank Center) wasn't the first band associated with the aesthetic of trip hop but it is the most commercially successful with major hits in the 1990s. The thing that made the band so remarkable was that the sound it crafted wasn't one tha ... More >>

Nearly naked women, magic and tunes: Why didn't someone think of this sooner?!

​"It's not your usual standard variety of variety show," deadpans Anabella Lafontaine, one of Denver's burlesque divas, when discussing Saturday night's Burlectronique event. "It's a little edgy. Most of it should be a lot of burlesque to totally different music -- not the classic bump-and-gri ... More >>

Swimming With Models

Hypnautix and Pork Produx
Self-released

Giving Massive Attack's Mezzanine another shot

​ I never really got into Massive Attack. Actually, to be honest, most of the '90s downtempo/trip-hop stuff always alluded me for one reason or another. It always felt so goofy, so bland, so near-new-age. Perhaps this just was my own association. But after actually enjoying Heligoland I decid ... More >>

Backbeat presents: An exclusive first listen to No Weak Heart Shall Prosper from The Pirate Signal

Don't miss The Pirate Signal's CD release show tomorrow night at the Marquis with The Sunset Curse, F.O.E., Karma and Haven (of Blackhearts), Flowers From Her, DJ Musa & Peter Black. Forget everything you know about The Pirate Signal. Okay, well, perhaps not everything -- that's probably a li ... More >>

Nicki Minaj's debut single "Massive Attack" is pretty disappointing

Given the quality of her string of featured appearances in the last year, we're pretty pumped for Nicki Minaj's debut album, due in no hurry later this year. Above is probably the album's lead single, and it's just alright. Somewhere between guest verses on Robin Thicke's "Shakin' It For Daddy" ... More >>

Hey, DJ! Q&A with DJ Big Styles

Dave Gaslin Every Friday we spotlight the hottest cats (and kittens) behind the decks in the MHC, grilling them to gain some insight on what it takes, exactly, to get the party rocking, to find out about their most treasured crate digging experiences and what they really think when we stumble up to ... More >>

Moving Units: Sade grabs top spot at local stores again

​ While there weren't any clear winners across the board at local stores for the week ending February 21, Sade's Soldier of Love did grab the top spots at Independent Records and Twist & Shout for the second week in a row. Beach House's Teen Dream and Yeasayer's Odd Blood were also strong sell ... More >>

Moving Units: Sade top seller at local stores

​Soldier of Love, Sade's first album in a decade, grabbed the top spots at Independent Records and Twist & Shout, while coming in at second at Albums on the Hill for the week ending February 14. Yeasayer's Odd Blood, released last week on Secretly Canadian, and Spoon's Transference, which came ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 8, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 1, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 5, 2009

​​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list ... More >>

Alert at the Gemini Party

Air Dubai

The Early October
teamSKETCH

Farina, Farina

Live Review: Diplo at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom

Beyond Playlist: The Pinker Tones and More

Mad Professor

Thursday, April 3, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 303-297-1772.

45 Second Reviews

Hybrid

Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom

Peeping Tom

Wednesday, April 18, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, 1-866-468-7621.

Zero 7

Wednesday, September 6, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, 1-866-468-7621.

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom (Ipecac)

On the Attack

Massive Attack is more dangerous than ever.

Morrissey

Ringleader of the Tormentors (Sanctuary)

Sound Bites

Scratching the Surface

Nick Warren

Best Jukebox

Gabor's

God Save the Scene

Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop.

Critic's Choice

Adrenaline Sky

Critic's Choice

Roosevelt Franklin

Club Scout

PH Balance

Red Snapper

Our Aim Is to Satisfy Red Snapper (Matador/Warp)

Feedback

Leading the Attack

England's Massive Attack is still making the Nineties more interesting.

Playlist

Feedback

Plugged In

Just in time for Lollapalooza, a list of the albums you need to understand electronica.

PLAYLIST

PLAYLIST