Nicolas Jaar's Prism of Music

The immensely talented Nicolas Jaar and his own record label Clown & Sunset label have released a compilation of music, entitled Don't Break My Love, in the form of an aluminum cube called The Prism. With music by Jaar himself,Β Β Nikita Quasim, Vtgnike, Valentin Stip and much more.Β Designed by Jaar, the Prism format is meant to retain a physicality in music and promote connectivity, with two headphone jacks on either side of the rechargeable cube. Four buttons allow listeners to start, pause, and skip through tracks.

Santigold Kicks Off Transmission LA

Transmission LA, curated by Mike D of the Beastie Boys, is a multi-disciplinary festival that will be the meeting point for the Los Angeles art and music community. The sequel to the series of festivals that premiered in Berlin last year with curator and fashion designer Raf Simons, the 17-day collaborative festival includes work by Roy Choi, Benjamin Jones, Mike Mills,Tom Sachs, Public Fiction, and additional artists and musicians. Tomorrow night Santigold opens the festival tonight at The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Transmission LA will be on view until May 6.

My Valentine Premier

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Paul McCartney & crowd (including Autre's own Adarsha Benjamin seated on the left) at the My Valentine music video (directed by Paul himself starring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp) premier at the Stella McCartney boutique in Los Angeles. McCartney will also be re-releasing his amazing first solo album Ram on May 21st. A deluxe edition box set will include a 112-page book, photo prints, copies of handwritten lyrics and notes and four CDs as well as a film that tells the making of the album on DVD, Ramming.

Dinner in Honor of Suicide's Alan Vega

Annual Friends of Artists Space Dinner 2012 will be held in honor of legendary artist and musician Alan Vega on Saturday, May 5, 8pm. Alan Vega and his band Suicide are widely regarded as the godfathers of β€œNo Wave.” The group’s seminal 1977 album Suicide is cited as an important influence by musicians such as Joy Division, Nick Cave, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, The Horrors, The Cars, and Bruce Springsteen. This event is held exclusively for the Friends of Artists Space. A limited number of tickets are available. Please contact: friends@artistsspace.org to inquire about tickets or how to join the Friends of Artists Space.

The Flaming Lips – Now I Understand

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As the Flaming Lips get closer to releasing their new album, entitled The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends,  a limited edition vinyl record which features an the likes of Bon Iver, Erykah Badu, Neon Indian, Nick Cave and Ke$ha, which is set for an April 21st release, they release a bonus track called Now I Understand which takes samples from the Iphone and Siri, and a vocal track by Erykah Badu.

Hit Me Love Me: The Weird World of Actually Huizenga

Performance artist, pseudo-porn star, singer, Actually Huizenga looks like a throw back to something out of the pages of Hustler circa-1979, but the vision she is creating through her art and music is distinctly new - even verging on futuristic. Huizenga, born and raised in the Hollywood Hills, specializes in "raw Bacchanalian Los Angeles music video kitsch" and performs live as Actually with her band Wet Look - a solo record is on its way. And along with her collaborator Socrates Mitsios are creating a series of 5 to 8 minute videos, entitled SoftRock, that they call an "exercise in the photogenics of sex, exploring the power within the act (both social and aesthetic)." They also refer to the films as "Pop Rape" which in its simple, brilliant distillation is a perfect term to describe an entirely new, futuristic brand of cinema and music. The first two installments of SoftRock premiered at the Pompidou Centre as part of Diane Pernet's A Shaded View on Fashion Film, and a third installment is currently being edited and is due out soon. Actually will perform at King, King in Los Angeles on April 19.