Okay, we love the DIY video. Felix the Housecat is saying “*&#@” the record labels, time to ‘do it yourself’ baby! The track is “Kickdrum.” Bomb the bass, call it what you want—it’s big beats and distortion gallore. Just what you’d expect from a track called “Kickdrum.” We’re definitely diggin this one. It’s out this summer on Felix’s forthcoming digital thingy, He Was King. Although we heard you can get it here.

Another video curated from the YouTube archive sees one James Zabiela cutting it up at Studio K during this year’s Winter Music Conference. Check it out. We thought it was hot!

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– From Press Release

Respected and acknowledged around the World as one of the three Detroit Techno innovators, Kevin Saunderson is a legend in his own right, who helped to reshape the future of Dance music as we know it today!

To celebrate his mammoth 20 years worth musical genius, KMS & Fabric Recordings join forces and unleash a retrospective of Kevin’s work with a brand new compilation ‘History Elevate’ featuring a heavyweight selection of KS classics.

This hefty package includes remixes from the maestro with tracks from Cerrone, Pet Shop Boys and Octave One and his first ever remix for Wee Papa Girl Rappers ‘Heat It Up’ (1988), among many other jewels. This journey through Kevin’s incredible musical history also features some of his own penned hits, including some Inner City gems, all remixed by top producers including Luciano, Carl Craig, Simian Mobile Disco, Claude VonStroke and many more.. ‘History Elevate’ is a must have retrospective collection for any proclaimed Kevin Saunderson and dance music fan alike!

My first remix for Wee Papa Girl Rappers ‘Heat It Up’ was the first remix of its kind anywhere. At that time, I was like Just do it! So I listened to the original track, I really wasn’t feeling it, but I did like some of the vocals, but thought that it wasn’t going to work doing a traditional edit/remix. It wouldn’t fit in with what I was doing production wise, so I thought why don’t I make a new track and make the vocals work on top of what I’m doing. I sampled some of the vocals, re-triggered them and laid them out into my format, this was radical in 1988! Consequently I went on to produce many more, some of my favorites are featured on CD1 of this album. The remix is still such an important part of our music and it’s been fascinating to work with the great producers featured on CD2 who have remixed some of my classic material in their own unique styles. We believe this project ties the past to the future, creating a launch pad for
techno to spread our message far beyond … into deep space. – Kevin Saunderson

Kevin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1964, but moved at the age of nine to the place known as the ‘Motor City’, Detroit. At school he befriended two other like-minded students (Juan Atkins and Derrick May). After a 2 year affair with playing football, Kevin quit in order to focus on music, so he reunited with his high school pals, which unknown at the time would be the move that would help Kevin’s career escalate.

Starting out as a DJ, Kevin soon developed new skills that led him into producing records, which he released on his own label, KMS Records. The demand for Kevin as a Producer and DJ was overwhelming overseas, as well as in the States. He introduced acts like ‘Kreem’, ‘Reese’, ‘Inter-City’ (later to become Inner City) and ‘Reese & Santonio’. Kevin has had many other aliases too, such as; ‘Tronik House’, ‘The Reese Project’, ‘EssRay’, ‘Kaos’ and more recently, ‘E-Dancer’, which he uses to show his versatility at being able to create different facets of Dance music.

Kevin’s biggest achievement and his most commercially recognized project has been INNER CITY with Paris Grey, who have come full circle after13 years, as one of the World’s most influential Dance acts and prime time movers in the house and techno revolution of 1988. The duo have proven they are one of dance music’s great survivors with a new dazzling renaissance and they’re justifiably proud of a healthy career spanning early pioneering hits like “Big Fun” and “Good Life”, “Ain’t Nobody Better”, through to “Hallelujah”, “Pennies From Heaven”, “Till We Meet Again”, “Do Ya”, “Your Love” (to name but a few) and more recently the 1999 Spanish re-recording of “Good Life (Buena Vida)”, which soon became a Number One Club hit in Europe and entered the TOP TEN on the UK Pop Charts, and “Good Love” which was also an instant smash.

Their career has been nothing short of remarkable, not only for their numerous critical and commercial achievements, but also for their longevity. It was in 1987 Kevin and Paris met by introduction from Chicago house producer, Terry “Housemaster” Baldwin. Paris flew into Detroit, came up with lyrics and “Big Fun” was born. Incredibly the tape was then filed away and almost forgotten until UK dance aficionado, Neil Rushton, visited the Motor City to compile the album, Techno – The New Dance Sound Of Detroit for Virgin. He freaked when hearing the song and made sure “Big Fun” was on the LP. Soon afterwards, it was released as a single and went on to become a World wide smash. But despite it’s instant success, the follow up, “Good Life” outsold “Big Fun”. The third single “Ain’t Nobody Better” retained Kevin’s techno-logic microchip feel, topped by Paris’s soulful voice. Their debut album, “Paradise” cemented this prosperity and highlighted the Detroit techno blueprint.

In 1993, Inner City parted company with their label, Virgin Records. The label released the Testament 93 remix album to celebrate their time together. Also in that year a “homecoming” deal with their manager Neil Rushton’s SIX6 label was finalized. Another UK Tour followed in August ‘93, including a headlining appearance on the Reading Festival’s dance stage and the top slot at the European Dance Weekender in Paris the following month. It was also at this time that Kevin’s work with his other group The Reese Project was greeted with equal glee by journalists and clubbers alike.

To date, Inner City have had 12 Top 40 hits in the UK, as well as having had two Top 20 albums, with combined sales of more than 6 million. Inner City have also received 4 Gold singles, 1 Gold Album and 1 Platinum Album.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s alter ego E-Dancer produces Techno Music, pure and simple. Created for a savvy audience by an original master. E-Dancer’s first full length LP entitled simply Heavenly, has hooked audiences and critics alike. Following on with his new Inner City release ‘Say Something’ it reaffirmed Kevin’s standing as one of the ‘INNOVATORS’, and a leader in the industry.

One of the most exciting movements for Kevin in 2005, was his new title which has also given him one of the biggest challenges of his career, the Producer of Fuse-In, the newest reincarnation of Detroit’s 6th electronic festival at Hart Plaza, with an outstanding line up which included Mos Def, Ken Ishii, Carl Craig, Kevin Saunderson, Green Velvet, Ritchie Hawtin, Underground Resistance, Alexander Robotnick and many more..

As Kevin states “What we’ve done in our history in Detroit with techno is a result of a love for all kinds of music, I don’t want this just to be a techno event, I want techno to be the foundation and for people to realize how powerful Detroit has been and still is, I want to put on a good show with good artists so people can be inspired by the music.”

Springboarding to present day, Kevin continues to tour the world and has been busy remixing many a dancefloor hit over the past 2 years penning reworks including: Simian Mobile Disco ‘Hustler’, Claude Vonstroke ‘Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?’, Hercules And Love Affair ‘You Belong’ and The Presets ‘This Boy’s In Love’ among others. This is Kevin Saunderson, this is inspiration for all music lovers alike and there is so much more to come…

Kevin Saunderson
History Elevate Tracklisting

CD1: Remixed by Kevin Saunderson

01 The Christians – The Bottle – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Universal
02 Wee Papa Girl Rappers – Heat It Up – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Sony
03 Ann Consuelo – Do It For Love – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Kevin Saunderson
04 Cerrone – Supernature – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Malligator/TLP
05 Pet Shop Boys – Go West – Kevin Saunderson Remix – EMI
06 Lighthouse Family – High – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Universal
07 Hercules And Love Affair – You Belong – Kevin Saunderson Remix – EMI
08 The Presets – This Boy’s In Love – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Modular
09 Octave One – Blackwater Ft Ann Saunderson – Kevin Saunderson Remix – 430 West
10 Simian Mobile Disco – Hustler – Kevin Saunderson Remix- Wichita
11 Cameo – Money – Kevin Saunderson Remix – Warners

CD2: Kevin Saunderson Remixed

01 Intro
02 Kevin Saunderson feat Inner City ‘Good Love’ Luciano’s Good Love Remix – KMS
03 Kevin Saunderson ‘Bounce Your Body To The Box’ Mike Shannon’s Flashback Mix – KMS
04 Kevin Saunderson ‘Just Want Another Chance’ John Tejada Remix – KMS
05 Kevin Saunderson feat Inner City ‘Big Fun’ Simian Mobile Disco Remix – KMS
06 Kevin Saunderson ‘Till We Meet Again’ Carl Craig Remix – KMS
07 Kevin Saunderson ‘The Human Bond’ Claude Vonstroke Rave Recognize Rave Mix – KMS
08 Kevin Saunderson ‘Rock To The Beat’ Ben Sims Remix – KMS
09 Kevin Saunderson ‘Rock To The Beat’ Christian Smith & John Selway Remix – KMS
10 Kevin Saunderson ‘Pump The Move’ Samuel L Session Remix – KMS
11 Kevin Saunderson ‘World Of Deep’ – Jesse’s Respect To Detroit Mix – KMS
12 Kevin Saunderson ‘Bassline’ Joris Voorn 07 Remix – KMS
13 End Peace
Mini mash bonus mix:
Kevin Saunderson ‘Bassline’ Loco Dice Remix
Kevin Saunderson feat Inner City ‘Good Love’ Jay Haze edit – KMS
Kevin Saunderson feat Inner City ‘Good Life’ Mathew Jonson’s Acid Mix – KMS

‘History Elevate’ will be released on June 9, 2009 on KMS Records & Fabric Recordings

Kevin Saunderson will play Detroit’s Movement Festival, which takes place May 23, 24 and 25. More info on XLR8R.com.

Axwell produced this video postcard from WMC 2009. The audio sounds really nice! Love Axwell’s tracks, which you can check out on MySpace. He’s definitely come on the scene in a big way.

His most recent, “Leave The World Behind,” is blowing up worldwide. Sorry, no links yet avail from iTunes to purchase. You might want to check Beatport for this track.

Axwell’s upcoming gigs:

Apr 10 2009 8:00P Spin, San Diego, USA – San Diego
Apr 11 2009 8:00P Avalon, Los Angeles, USA – Los Angeles
Apr 12 2009 8:00P Bal en Blanc, Canada – Montreal
Apr 30 2009 8:00P Pacha ,Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt – Sharm el Sheikh
May 15 2009 8:00P INOX, France – Toulouse
May 22 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona
May 23 2009 8:00P Venue, Athens, Greece – Athens
May 31 2009 8:00P Paradise Bay Beach, Malta – Malta
Jun 4 2009 8:00P Skive Beach Party, Denmark – Skive
Jun 5 2009 8:00P Forum, Denmark – Copenhagen
Jul 4 2009 8:00P Stade de France, Paris, France – Paris
Jul 18 2009 8:00P Extrema Outdoor Festival, Holland – Best
Aug 12 2009 8:00P SHM@Greenbeat Festival, Croatia – Zagreb
Aug 21 2009 8:00P Catwalk, Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona

The original was produced by Stonebridge for Champion Records, but it’s back for a remix treatment by Steve Angello and Laidback Luke. The video…eh…a little weak, but what did you expect in these harsh economic times—a masterpiece? No, we didn’t think so. Just enjoy the music and forget about the tacky motion graphics. You might like the second video, which is a collage of a bunch of live dates from around the world.

Steven Angello & Laidback Luke Remix:

Original Stonebridge Extended Remix:

Here’s 10 hot−no wait−cool videos culled from YouTube for your enjoyment. I’m not saying they are the best videos, but they certainly give you and idea of what was going on at WMC this year.

1. Swedish House Mafia

Swedish House Mafia (Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso & Steve Angello) dropping their new track “Leave the World Behind” (Dirty South remix) at Beatport Pool Party during Winter Music Conference 2009 in South Beach.

2. Way Out West at the DJ Mag Party

3. ROGER SANCHEZ – BANG THAT BOX LIVE FROM MANSION WMC 2009

4. WMC 2009 Promo – Dubfire @ BEATPORT Pool Party w/ LEE KALT – House Music TV 167

For when you want to WATCH more than you want to LISTEN… DUBFIRE of DEEP DISH takes the stage at REMIX HOTEL – BEATPORT Pool Party. JESSICA and MALINDA show the crowd that good looks and hot bodies go perfect with house music. The crowd is all fired up as the “DEEP of the DISH” takes us all on a mid-afternoon tour of the Underground.

5. WMC 2009 – Louie Vega (WhodanyTV.com)

“Little” Louie Vega rocking the party at the Beatport stage during WMC 2009, Miami Beach. He is half of the famous production team Masters at Work.

6. Sharam- party all the time @ Cameo March 25th WMC 2009

7. Lil Jon + Diplo @ Mad Decent WMC 2009 Pt. 1

8. Steve Lawler @ DJ Mag Pool Party, Shelbourne WMC 2009 03/25/2009 3

9. Ultra Music Festival 2009 Miami – Carl Cox day 2

10. Armand Van Helden – “Where’s Your Head At” @ Mn2S Nikki Beach WMC 2009

While we were out and about covering WMC from the Netmix perspect, About.com’s Dance/Electronic Music channel DJ Dewight Barkley was equally as busy traversing the many parties and happenings at this years event. Check out the post-WMC wrap-up by DJ Dewight Barkley on About.com Dance/Electronic pages.

(ATLANTA – April 7, 2009) The A3C Hip Hop Festival organizers announced today that the 5th installment of the annual A3C Hip Hop Festival will take place across multiple venues in the East Atlanta Village, October 1-3, 2009.

The A3C Hip Hop Festival has grown exponentially over the past 5 years to become the largest Hip Hop festival in the southeastern United States. Past events have featured a historic reuniting of Hip Hop legends The Juice Crew, the nationally acclaimed breakdance battle “Red Bull 4 Corners,” fashion shows, producer battles, street art exhibits, a world class producer battle, technical demonstrations, panels and over 40 live performances annually.

Past performers range from major label staples like Biz Markie, The Clipse, Little Brother and Bonecrusher, to independent mainstays like Del The Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, Aceyalone, Black Milk, as well as up and coming superstars like Wale and B.o.B. The festival also strongly focuses on having a solid representation of smaller, national-touring, regional and local artists.

The move to fall dates and the move to a multi-venue format will allow the A3C to continue to bring more content to balance craved Hip Hop fans across the country.

Brian Knott, A3C Hip Hop Festival founder explains, “This year’s event represents for us the final step in a plan that was hatched five years ago. When we started the A3C we had the dream of bringing a balanced Hip Hop event to Atlanta that would someday rival what SXSW and CMJ have built in New York and Austin for rock music. With the overwhelming success of last year’s event we felt this was our opportunity to make a bold move and do something in Atlanta that would serve as an annual rallying point for all the elements of Hip Hop and all the flavors of Hip Hop music nationally.”

The East Atlanta Village (EAV) has experienced a meteoric rise over the last two years with the opening of a number of new listening rooms, small and mid-size venues. While still maintaining its independent attitude, the growth of the EAV has created for the first time in a decade a centralized area in the city to hold a multi-venue event and still enable fans to walk from room to room.

“Five years ago when we started A3C the EAV was still on the cusp of becoming what it is today. The growth of the EAV and the growth of the A3C have really been very similar. It seems like we are arriving at this point at the same time and we are really excited about the marriage. We feel like the EAV is our 2nd street in Austin,” said Knott.

ABOUT THE A3C: Now in its 5th year, the A3C Hip Hop Festival is a 2 day, 3 night event held annually in Atlanta, GA featuring live performances from some of Hip Hop’s most elite artists. The live performance schedule is enhanced by day and nightly events showcasing some of the most exciting break-dance, graphic art, fashion, film, equipment demonstrations and panels relating to Hip Hop culture.

The 2009 A3C will be held in multiple venues all located within easy walking distance of one another in the East Atlanta Village. Since 2005, the event has featured over 200 of the most exciting artists in Hip Hop including The Juice Crew, Biz Markie, The Clipse, Souls of Mischief, Little Brother, Wale, and B.o.B.

In 2008 the event was attend by over 9,000 fans and featured partnerships and co-sponsored events with MySpace, Red Bull, Scion, URB, Pabst Blue Ribbon, New Era and Stanton.

– from A3C Festival Press Release