2011 VIA Festival PITTSBURGH, PA Wednesday, October 5 – Sunday, October 9, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Battles, Four Tet, Danny Brown, Toy Selectah, Austra, more to Play 2011 VIA Festival PITTSBURGH, PA. - The second annual VIA Music & New Media Festival, Wednesday, October 5 – Sunday, October 9, 2011 announces its first round of musicians and producers, showcasing a carefully selected group who are impacting future music.

VIA features Pittsburgh debuts by Danny Brown, Toy Selectah, Austra, FaltyDL, Light Asylum, Ford & Lopatin, Laurel Halo, Kingdom, Tim Sweeney, Blondes, Nuel and Pink Skull.

Four Tet, Battles, Dam-Funk, Zombi, Wolf Eyes, Donato Dozzy, and Protect-U round out a diverse initial lineup, alongside local favorites Centipede E’est, Smooth Tutors, Pure Hype, PTA and ELQ.

Performances will take place at multiple venues across the city, including the Rex Theater, Brillobox, Shadow Lounge, and soon to be announced pop-up location. Partners such as Carnegie Mellon University and Pittsburgh Filmmakers will host free daytime lectures and satellite events while eccentric NYC label RVNG Intl. and local techno crew Humanaut curate official after parties, making VIA 2011 a full 5-day experience for all ages and tastes.

Battles have traveled far from their origins in Pittsburgh bands Don Caballero, Storm and Stress, Helmet, and Lynx to rethink the idea of a rock band and draw legions of followers in the process. 2011 saw them headlining the massive Primavera festival and releasing the complex yet buoyant "Gala Drop" on Warp Records.

UK's Four Tet blends disparate influences such as free jazz, hip-hop, and krautrock into a warm and entirely unique electronic sound. His latest LP on Domino, "There is Love in You", expresses a yearning loneliness in a form still suited for the dancefloor. His list of collaborations read like a Who’s Who of forward-thinking electronic, rock, and jazz that include Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Burial, Aphex Twin, and Steve Ried.

Representing the Motor City, Detroit’s Danny Brown is the hungriest MC to emerge in recent memory. Danny raps as though he's bet his life on it; his deep knowledge of all genres of music evident on last year’s effort The Hybrid, a remarkably consistent debut with constant paeans to his native Linwood neighborhood.

The breadth of VIA 2011's program is evident with the inclusion of producers like Monterrey's Toy Selectah, who creates a whole new hybrid of urban rhythms: mixing Mexican soundscapes with contemporary hip-hop, cumbias, breakbeats, and reggae. Austra, Stereogum's 2011 band to watch, is an excellently dark and danceable trio from Toronto. Zombi, the project of two endlessly creative Pittsburgh natives, A.E. Paterra and Steve Moore, in many ways presaged a massive interest in analog experimentation and soundtrack music. Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never) returns with Joel Ford to further subvert expectations with their warped electronic pop band Ford and Lopatin, while Ann Arbor noise legends Wolf Eyes prepare to blast away any notion of a predictable festival experience.

New, unclassifiable dance music emanating from artists who seem to possess an equal knowledge of Detroit Techno, New Wave, Chicago House, Sky Records, and 70s-era experimental electronica is represented fully by Light Asylum, Pink Skull, Protect-U, Blondes, and Laurel Halo. Typifying the headier quadrants of club music, Kingdom (Night Slugs) and FaltyDL (Planet Mu) will present their personal and respective visions of bass in 2011.

VIA is also excited to showcase Pittsburgh’s fertile music scene with the inclusion of a truly unique and rare performance by Centipede E'est, the amazing Y2K a/v duo Pure Hype, the updated fusion of Smooth Tutors, and the live debut of the internationally heralded dance acts PTA (Pittsburgh Track Authority) and ELQ (East Liberty Quarters).

A second round of musicians, as well as visual artists, will be released during the summer. Festival passes will go on sale July 20, 2011, followed by individual tickets on August 10.

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The Pittsburgh Art Blog features selected pittsburgh artists and upcoming exhibits with photos from the artists and galleries. since the major press outlets do not go beyond a directory listing of exhibits, blogs are needed to promote pittsburgh artists and their work. the blog also calls attention to the inferiority complex of pittsburgh art and how it's perpetuated by the major players in town. Started on August 20,2007. pittsburgh area galleries and art venues are listed at the sister site www.PghGalleries.com.

the blog and website are volunteer projects from fine art photographer and pittsburgh artist advocate rick byerly.