KCRW Announces Line-Up for Masquerade Ball

The line-up for KCRW's Masquerade Ball, L.A.'s iconic Halloween dance party was announced today and features The Black Madonna, Matthew Dear, Tensnake, Moon Boots, Gemini Rising, Yolanda Be Cool, Lucent Dossier, Lucha VaVOOM, Axon Orchestra, Les Petites Bonbons, and KCRW DJs Jason Bentley, Aaron Byrd, Anne Litt, Anthony Valadez, Chris Douridas, Dan Wilcox, Eric J. Lawrence, Gary Calamar, Jeremy Sole, José Galván, Liza Richardson, Mario Cotto, Marion Hodges, Mathieu Schreyer, Raul Campos, Travis Holcombe, and Valida.

On Saturday, October 28, from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., KCRW's Masquerade Ball rises again at the newly-renovated MacArthur (formerly known as The Park Plaza). Dubbed "one of the biggest and best Halloween bashes in town," by LA Weekly, KCRW's Masquerade Ball is a feast for the senses, a glamorous and gritty mash-up of eccentricity, spanning multiple ballrooms, and featuring DJs, bands, special musical guests, performance artists, belly-dancing flappers, high-flying luchadores, and much more.

Tickets are on sale today. For more details visit: http://masquerade.kcrw.com/

More about the artists:

Mission statement: Dance music needs riot grrrls. Dance music needs Patti Smith. It needs DJ Sprinkles. Dance music needs some discomfort with its euphoria. Dance music needs salt in its wounds. Dance music needs women over the age of 40. Dance needs breastfeeding DJs trying to get their kids to sleep before they have to play. Dance needs cranky queers and teenagers who are really tired of this shit. Dance music needs writers and critics and academics and historians. Dance music needs poor people and people who don't have the right shoes to get into the club. Dance music needs shirts without collars. Dance music needs people who struggled all week. Dance music needs people that had to come before midnight because they couldn't afford full admission. Dance music does not need more of the status quo.

Matthew Dear is a shapeshifter, oscillating seamlessly between DJ, dance-music producer, and experimental pop auteur. He is a founding artist on both Ghostly International and its dancefloor offshoot, Spectral Sound. He writes, produces, and mixes all of his work. He straddles multiple musical worlds and belongs to none, now nearly 20 years into his kaleidoscopic career, with five albums and two dozen EPs plus millions of miles in the rearview of his biography.

Tensnake's first taste of critical acclaim came with the release of the In the End (I Want You to Cry) EP on Running Back in 2009. The EP was voted #1 on djhistory.com's year-end list, and was the driving force behind his breakthrough success. Launching even further onto the scene with the track "Coma Cat" in 2010, Tensnake smashed dancefloors worldwide and earned himself a name as a game-changing dance pioneer. Called "highly precise modern disco" by The New York Times and "infectious" by Idolator, Spin claimed that "Tensnake helped pave the way for the current deep-house revival."

When Moon Boots hits the booth, he's got one mission: to give you the best night of your life. Whether playing at iconic clubs like Chicago's Smart Bar - where he cut his teeth watching legends like Frankie Knuckles and DerRick Carter - or the world's biggest festival stages, he gives people a release they'll remember long after the party's over. Born in Brooklyn, Moon Boots (birth name: Pete Dougherty) blends the music he loves -- jazz, house, funk and soul -- into songs that last longer than their runtime. Songs not just for DJs, but for everyone.

Gemini Rising is the new band project of Fiora Cutler, Lester Mendez and Marco Niemerski. The trio met in L.A. and felt instant chemistry, bonding over their love for '80s synth pop. Over a year split between Berlin and Los Angeles they created a full album that can be best described as retro-futuristic pop music. The emotive synth pop songwriting combined with an updated production vision on 80's new wave reminds you of something familiar while introducing you to something infectious and fresh at the same time.

In a world of inflated egos and outrageous demands, Yolanda Be Cool, aka Bondi boys Andy and Matt, have kept their feet on the ground and let their music do the talking. They cross-over, but they don't sell out. And while they are down with playing in front of 90,000 people in Morocco as a guest of the king, they are equally at home in a small basement. Underground cool. Pop sensibility. It's a rare combination that the guys have mastered and is why they constantly surprise with their eclectic, housed up DJ sets worldwide.

This world-renowned, pioneering performance collective combines spellbinding performances, interactive service stations, haute couture costumes, and avant-garde concepts to welcome their audience into an other-wordly experience. Lucent Dossier has been recognized as the pioneers of an artistic revolution, with a strong focus on performances of the heart and a completely innovative fashion style that can now be seen woven into the hip cultural landscape that is enchanting the mainstream of America and the world. Prepare for a transformative experience as you're staggered and spellbound by the cirque stylings of this ancient-futuristic creative revolution, Lucent Dossier Experience.

The one and only Lucha VaVOOM - currently celebrating it's 15th anniversary - is a high-energy hybrid of Lucha Libre, comedy, performance and spectacle that must be seen to be believed. Fearless, masked, high-flying luchadores take wrestling to new heights, appealing to wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike. Top aerialists, hula-hoopers, roller-skaters, singer and dancers keep audiences on their feet between bouts while comedic hosts cover the wrestling a la MST3K style, tying it all together in one electrifying bow.

Axon Orchestra is an eight-piece L.A.-based musical collective merging urban and rural musical styles from the U.S., the Balkans and East Africa. Described both as cinematic and wildly dance inducing, Axon Orchestra's original music draws inspiration from artists like Goran Bregovic, Mulatu Astatke, and Charles Mingus. At home on the stage as well as marching with their custom speaker backpacks, the combination of saz, violin, saxophone, clarinet, tuba, guitar, upright bass and marching band percussion gives the Axon Orchestra a special sonic versatility. Founded in 2012 by brothers Miles Jay and Ian Jay, and including members of such acclaimed bands as La Misa Negra, Fishtank Ensemble, and Inspector Gadje, the Axon Orchestra is a bold platform for musical explorations and soundscapes.

Straight from Paris, Hollywood- Hannah Lily, MichaElla Manning and Molly Morgan are Les Petites Bonbons - Belly-dancing flappers who like to sleep all day and dance all night for their pleasure... Sometimes yours... mostly theirs. You bring the bubbly, they'll bring the shimmy.

About KCRW KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways -- on the radio, digitally and in person -- to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, via the KCRW-developed smart phone app, and online at kcrw.com.

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