It’s the start of a brand new week, Muusers…why not start off with a bang?

TOPMAN CTRL is the musical offshoot of my favorite menswear store, TOPSHOP. Each month, one UK act is invited to take full control of CTRL’s website and organize a live show, complete with all the musical acts the artist of the month is currently digging.

This month’s artist is the multi-talented (and rather cute) producer and DJ, Diplo, responsible for many tracks for M.I.A., Santigold and Amanda Blank, as well as 1/2 of the members of current hipster sensation, Major Lazer.

As for the show, Diplo has chosen four acts to headline his TOPMAN CTRL event at Fabric in London on December 16: Micachu & The Shapes, Benga, Primary 1 and Mumdance. Tickets are still available for purchase here–and they’re cheap!

To celebrate this month’s takeover, TOPMAN CTRL is giving away ONE T-SHIRT, designed by Diplo himself, for MuuMuse readers. The tee is a limited edition (only 50 have been made!), so it’s really quite a collector’s item. (And you know how I feel about rarities…slap on a “Limited Edition” sticker and I’m all but foaming at the mouth.)

To enter to win the tee, send a blank e-mail to muumuse@gmail.com with the subject line “DIPLO!!!” to win. A winner will be selected and contacted at random on Friday, December 18.

Good luck! In the meantime, enjoy this exclusive new track off of the upcoming Mad Decent mix-tape. It’s nice and laid-back…quality mix!

DL: Gucci Mane – Dangers Not A Stranger (Diplo Remix)

Until this summer, Philadelphia-bred mistress of ceremonies Amanda Blank could be found both everywhere and nowhere; a fixture found in the liner notes and “featuring” sections on collaboration tracks from just about every hip-hop tested, indie cred-approved artist since the mid-’00′s, including Santigold, M.I.A., Spank Rock, Pase Rock, Ghostface Killah, and N.A.S.A.

As a result, Amanda Blank is an artist inexorably linked to her mix-tape origins: Put together the in-your-face, Cristal and cocaine drunk-pop of Ke$ha, the funk and grind sound of album producer Diplo, the super-slick badassery of Peaches, and perhaps even the cool breathiness of Britney Spears on the chillier grooves, and you’ve still only got half of what Blank’s all about.

Within seconds of hearing the garage-rock-gone-hip-hop intro of “Make It, Take It,” it becomes all too clear that we’re in for a sweat-drenched, sex-stenched affair on Blanks’ long-overdue debut, I Love You. Tracks including the throbbing, pistol pumping “Something Bigger, Something Better” and electro-jittery “Might Like You Better” are at the very least danceable–at their best, nearly irresistible. Even the faithfully minimal cover of “Make-Up” off of the 1982 debut of Prince‘s short-lived sexperiment Vanity 6 inspires moments of vogue.

But this collection isn’t all about the mmphing and, shockingly enough, benefits most from the few breathers in between. The bleary-eyed, post-consummation contemplation of “Shame On Me” is the best track Britney’s never recorded, while the neurotic-friendly “DJ” proves a luscious dancefloor treat riddled with all the best reasons to dance the pain away–anger, bitterness, and sorrow.

It’s midway through however, when Blank gets down to business, unleashing her signature unstoppable lyrical flow on the Spank Rock-assisted track, “Gimme What You Got,” and “Lemme Get Some.”

This, after all, is the meat and potatoes of her craft: Amanda Blank is a talented artist. Not only can she spit out verses faster than most male rappers in the industry, but she commands a devastating mastery of rhythm and flow–plus, she’s a seemingly fearless lyricist. The only problem is that there simply isn’t enough of that grit to go around. A few harder numbers would have done wonders here, especially considering the wide range of tracks we’ve heard from her over the years.

The album’s final moment is also its most unexpected: “Don’t act so surprised,” Blank croons along with Swedish delight and MuuMuse favorite, Lykke Li on “Leaving You Behind” as the gentle guitar strums away into nothingness. I just can’t help it, Amanda–I’m considering this album the surprise of the summer.

DL: Amanda Blank – Something Big, Something Better
Choice Tracks: “Something Big, Something Better”; “DJ”; “Shame on Me”; “Might Like You Better”

Purchase I Love You on iTunes | MySpace

It’s disgusting outside. Absolutely. Disgusting. So why not put up a few streamers ’round the house, strew some condoms and beer cans around, and make your own home the scene to beat tonight?

I think that’s the best course of action for night skies as grim as these…

As usual, take what you’d like, leave what you don’t. I HIGHLY recommend the Friday Bridge track especially…goes down exxxtra smooth.

DL: Laidback Luke & Diplo – Hey (Sonic Truth Remix)
DL: Friday Bridge РThis Case Is Closed (Johan Agebj̦rn Remix)
DL: Patrick Wolf – Who Will (Buffetlibre Remix)
DL: Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (Stereoheroes Remix)
DL: Julia – Cocaine (The Knocks Remix)
DL: MSTRKRFT – So Deep (Colin Munroe Freestyle)

News has been slow in the World of B, as our Princess of Pop has been spending nearly every day within the dance studio, preparing for The Circus: Starring Britney Spears in less than just two months.

In the interim, the fans have finally been given a glimpse into the tour rehearsals, directly from Brit’s people. I’m thinking it’s a performance of “Gimme More” in the shots, what with the pole and all. Lots of fierce, lots of boobage going on…I’m rather pleased.

Oh, and the Circus promo mixes have leaked. The official mixes come to us from Diplo and Junior Vasquez and, generally speaking, they suck.

I’m surprised, mostly by Diplo’s half-hearted attempt. I mean, the “Clown” mix is clever and all, but there’s no mmph.

Indie mixers…Save our single!

DL: Circus (Diplo Alt Clown Mix) (Mediafire)
DL: Circus (Diplo Remix) (Mediafire)
DL: Circus (Junior Vasquez Club Mix) (Mediafire)
DL: Circus (Junior Vasquez Electric Mix) (Mediafire)
DL: Circus (Junior Vasquez Ringleader Mix) (Mediafire)

Request “Circus” on your local radio stations NOW, and be sure to purchase the single here!

Haven’t already heard Pase Rock? Get on it. After listening to “Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge” and “The Motherfucking Rave Is Over” on Rock’s MySpace, I’m already deeply, deeply in love. Pase Rock is a part of that Diplo, M.I.A., Blaqstarr sort of electro- inspired hip-hop movement. You know…Neon leggings, gangster-related paraphernalia necklaces, skull bandanna type of deal.

Now I’m just making the music sound negative…I’m not trying to! I just can’t figure out a proper way to describe the genre. I’m making a fool of myself at this point.

For now, I shall call it frantic dance-hop.

Anyway, Luminfire has put a bit of a glamorous spin on Rock’s new single “So Fucking Disco,” incorporating some Big Bass, a healthy dash of reverberation, and a great interlacing of Depeche Mode-inspired New Wave synths.

DL: Pase Rock – So Fucking Disco (Luminfire’s Coast to Coast AM Reptoid Blend)

If you haven’t already heard the original tune, or you simply want to hear more from Pase Rock, then check out the single here on iTunes!

And because I can’t resist it’s excellence:

Just one long day ago, I headed off to Central Park to watch Ms. Santi Santogold White perform at SummerStage. I took some time in advance to brace myself for the sheer volume of gun necklaces, desert scarves, and neon-glow, retro eighties wear directly off the shelves of the local Urban Outfitters, but the heat made it so that even the most hipster-ish of hips couldn’t bare the thought of those skin-tight jeans.

The show started at three, though the anticipated headliner didn’t take the stage until around six. To fill the void, a cast of DJ’s and MC’s including Diplo (rather attractive in person), A-Trak, Kid Cudi and Blaqstarr blasted beats for three whole hours. I don’t remember much of it after the first hour, mainly due to Blaqqstar’s every-other-minute repetition of “Get it, Shawty! Where all the hot ladies at NYC?” and a general tickling feeling all throughout my palms and feet. I’m not sure why all the hot ladies weren’t representing (perhaps there was some fronting going on), but I kept praying that one of them would just answer that obnoxious, obnoxious man’s calling for sanity’s sake.

It was miserably hot, and I must have lost around eight pounds through my pores alone. But alas, like anyone who knows me can attest to, I remained stoic. Just as I began to turn to my friends to say, “Fuck you all, I’m leaving,” Santi’s emotionless, Ray-Ban donning dancer/singers arrived on stage, staring down the crowd in preparation for Santogold. I think that was about when I decided to stick it out. Lacking a grand entrance or exit, Santogold walked out onto stage and began her hard-hitting offering of the Santi experience.

Within moments, she zoomed through “You’ll Find A Way (Switch & Sinden Remix)” which I personally thought was her best performance of the afternoon. Call me a sucker for dramatics, but I absolutely loved the fierce little dance breaks between the “run for cover” chorus skip that drones on like an damning, industrial machine gun.

She quickly plowed through “L.E.S. Artistes” and “Say Aha,” and then opted to take down the BPM a bit for “Anne,” which was a curiously tame choice to me. “Shove It” was next, and was just as punchy as I hoped it would be live; a real kiss-off bout of attitude that the crowd seemed to gobble up as much as she did. As a person, Santogold seemed rather genuine on stage, so it felt good to watch her giggle to the crowd and jump around. From there she continued onto a downbeat streak with the Brooklyn anthem “Unstoppable” and “Starstruck,” her lusciously crawling seducer.

By this point the crowd was still eager to move, though evidently a bit fatigued at that point. “Don’t do an encore,” she laughed to the crowd before starting the final track, “because I seriously don’t have any other songs.” With one final pull for energy from the audience, Santi and crew went into full celebration mode to launch her final hands-in-the-air grinding groove, “Creator,” as the show came to a close as quickly as it had opened.

And so, that was that. It felt like twenty minutes, and I think it actually was. Looking back, I guess no one could be mad that the show flew by so quickly. She essentially performed her entire album, save about three tracks. Santi announced that she’ll be on tour with Coldplay next, which may sound strange until you remember that it was Björk who invited her on tour last year.

To the top right is an ultra high quality photograph of the performance. To the top left, a sassy photograph. I’ve circled the Santi in red in case you can’t quite locate her there. Yes, I was that close. Jealous?