French Kissin' in the USA

Top/ Sonic Clinique is a series of exclusive DJ-sets unleashed last summer in New York by Music Curator Max Chavanne of Sonic Nurse. Fat mixes woven throughout the Nurse's August 2008 residency at midtown Manhattan's Cafe 50 West blended genres in a typical Sonic Nurse fashion, ranging from "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins to XL Recordings' Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned by electronic act The Prodigy (middle). Highlights included TV on the Radio, the White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, Santogold, Interpol and Stereolab, among others. On August 14, along with Coltrane-meets-Radiohead saxophonist Martin "MKellz" Kelley trio performing live, Sonic Clinique #3, dubbed "Purple Hayes," paid tribute to the late, great Isaac "Shaft" Hayes (1942 — 2008). Max Chavanne has described the Sonic Clinique sets as a "sensual counterpoint to the glitterball glamour of The City". While Cafe 50 West is located right in the heart of the Flatiron district between 5th and 6th Avenues, he claimed that the inspiration for the soundscapes came from "mostly hanging out in the Lower East Side, Brooklyn and Coney Island," mixed with "picking up what The City is laying down," including "visions of the infamous King Khan and the Shrines [note: a Berlin-based garage rock and psychedelic soul band] throwing bananas at the audience at the McCarren Park Pool Parties in Williamsburg" and "endless strolls along the Hudson Riverwalk with Golden Doodle puppy Deuce", with "healthy doses of glitch and IDM thrown in the mix". One insider at the National Underground called the Sonic Clinique series of events "always right-on, often beautiful, sometimes haunting and occasionally kick-ass". More Sonic Clinique events are rumoured for 2009 in NYC, although no dates are confirmed yet. Bottom/ Back of Sonic Clinique flyer reads: "The In Sound From Way Out! Sonic-Nurse brings his clinic to Cafe 50 West. Come get a shot of his Audio Adrenaline and expose yourself to his healing sounds!" Limited edition B&W flyer courtesy onclicknyc. Design by Laura Weber, Berlin. Cafe 50 West, 50 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010