Month: January 2008

New label launch – Quarterlife Records at Cielo on January 29th; mark your calendars!

I got an email tonight from Quarterlife Records founder, Alex Pearce, to let me know that he and his partner, DJ Ebar, are throwing the label a launch party on January 29 at New York's reigning house music mecca, Cielo. I jumped over to their MySpace page located at http://www.myspace.com/quarterlifenyc to listen to the label's first release--the self titled "Indicant" by Indicant. Funky and raw, it reminds me of DJ Sneak's early techno inspired releases on Chicago's Relief Records. The "Hub Mix" of "Indicant" borrows a tiny bit from speed garage tracks of the late 90's, while staying true to its electro roots with staccato vocal samples and bright synths interspersed over the tracks breakdowns. If a DJ like Todd Terry was into electro, I could see this fitting into his repertoire.

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Karmaloop's exclusive RBK Pump Fury

Working at StarStyle for the past two-years has had an influence on me. Although the site is going the way of the dinosaur and I am no longer with the company (yep, that's right), I thought I might as well carry on some a little of the traditions we built up by adding some fashion to mix. We all love fashion, right? So, in the interest of trying to make a few bucks here while shilling for the man (in this case, Reebok), I thought I'd drop these new kicks from Karmaloop (disclaimer: I get a rev share if you buy these) on the blog tonight. At $139 U.S., they're a little pricey. Since there are only 60 pairs in the U.S., you know why.

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MAFIAA Blames Music Piracy on ISPs

From PaidContent.org - "Some estimates say 80 per cent of all internet traffic comprises copyright-infringing files on P2P networks. ISPs have largely stood by, allowing a massive devaluation of copyrighted music. This ... has prompted a crisis in recorded music."

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Repost: Larry Heard “Can You Feel It” vs. MLK “I Have A Dream”

In honor of MLK Day, I am reposting the link for a previous blog post from a few years ago, which includes an MP3 download of the famous track that is a staple at New York’s Body & Soul party.

DJ Tools – Pacemaker makes DJing with an iPod obsolete overnight

Before you run out an buy two iPods to DJ with, you might want to wait a few months until Pacemaker, a revolution in the way DJs mix their music, hits American shores. Created by Tonium AB of Stockholm, Sweden, Pacemaker is the first all-in-one device to store, mix and record your DJ sets. From the the looks of it, it's about to about to change the world of DJ culture forever.

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Flock – the browser for a socially connected world

For those of you who swear by Mozilla's Firefox and would shrivel up and die if someone pulled the plug on Web 2.0, do I have a new toy for you! Flock, a Mozilla-based web browser that combines the power or social networking with web browsing and RSS is sure to become the next Web 2.0 hit software wildly popular with early adopters. In fact, it's so good, it could very well become the browser of choice for hardcore surfers who love to multi-task.

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Sony Exec Outlines Process for Getting DRM-Free Music

Check out this tongue-planted-squarely-in-cheek news story from bbspot.com on Sony's move to DRM-free downloads. Click to read more at bbspot or check the digg story.

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Seth Godin's Music Lessons; Music Industry 101 in a digital world

Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and--according to his blog--an "agent of change." He's written books like The Big Moo and Marketers Are Liars (see widget below for all books by Seth Godin).I recently came across this blog posting, "Music Lessons: Things You Can Learn About The Industry (As It Falls Apart)." I thought it was a smart commentary about what artists and record labels should be aware of as the digital music economy commands market share and CDs become distant memory. Here I have listed Seth's rules of change. You'll have to visit his blog to read the entire article.

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Javier…a star in the making? I think so!

When my girlfriend, Missy, and I first started dating over two and a half years ago, she knew a little about my DJ background, but had never really gone out to nightclubs. So, we didn't have much in common in that regard. In fact, the first night we talked, she'd been working at a wedding and hanging around the DJ. Now, no offense to all you wedding DJs out there, but she didn't realize I was a club DJ and had graduated from the wedding circuit many moons ago. in an attempt to connect with my musical sensibilities, she told me about this guy, Javier, her friend Pablo's brother. Missy said something like, "you've gotta hear my friend Pablo's brother...," etc...etc... I thought, yeah, I've heard this before. She told me that Javier was "awesome" and that his music is "so beautiful" and that I would just love it. Always the skeptic, I thought to myself that that it was cute she was trying to impress me by offering up some commonality she thought we might have. Of the hundreds of people who have approached me to tell me about an amazing artist they know--their brother's sister's uncle's neighbor's nephew's daughter's friend from high school--truth be told, only a very, very few have moved me. So, I just nodded my head to appease her and told her I'd take a listen.

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Netmix Podcast – Interview with 8tracks.com CEO, David Porter

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8tracks.com

In December, we sat down for an interview with David Porter, CEO of a new online radio service, 8tracks.com. The company provides music fans, amateur DJs or seasoned professional DJs and music programmers alike, tools to create their own, unique Internet radio stations. Users who register with the service can upload any track they wish, sort and create play lists, and then publish those play lists to a streaming radio player. The Flash-based player can then be ported to a blog, web site, or social network like MySpace.

One of the best features is the ability to attach other users play lists to your own, creating a viral opportunity for great programmers to have their mixes heard across the network. Initially, listeners will be able to purchase tracks through Amazon’s download service (when available), but the company hopes to integrate with independent and niche download stores as well.

At this point, the service is in its Alpha testing phase. A beta launch is planned for late Q1 or early Q2 of this year. Netmix has partnered with 8tracks.com and will be switching streaming radio services at the end of the month. For the time being, you’ll be able to listen to both until January 31, when the switch will be complete.

Netmix will also be advising 8tracks on adding first-to-market innovations for professional and amateur mix shows DJs to incorporate into their stations.