cmj music marathon

‘ll be attending this year’s CMJ Festival in New York City, which takes place on October 21 through October 25th. Check out CMJ.com for more information.

I’ll also be on the panel, “Web 2.0, Music 2.0 and the Blog Factor,” which takes place on Thursday, October 23rd at 12:30 pm in Rm. 905 of NYU’s Kimmel Center on Washington Square.

Jenny Tan’s Minitek Festival hit a bit of a pothole on Friday night at New York’s Penn Plaza, when the fire and police department shut down the all night event at around 2:30 AM, with a line of approximately 1,000 techno enthusiasts stranded outside waiting to get in.

Blog posts on RedBeatle.Wordpress.com, Basstown.Blogspot.com and Jaskim.com describe confusion that ensued. Someone also posted their to the Resident Advisor forums. Of course, RA haven’t posted any updates about the festival on their home page in both their news and blog section, even though they’re the online ticket broker.  No wonder why electronic music can’t get out of it’s own way. Not a good look. It’s like everyone took the weekend off to party, forgetting their esponsiblity to communicate with their audience.

One person overheard that Minimoo only had a 300 person permit for a 3,000 capacity space, however, that’s just hearsay for now. We haven’t learned the real reason, but it doesn’t really matter much today. When the authorities decided to shut down the party at 3:30 AM, Minimoo quickly regrouped and moved the event to the nightclub, Rebel. However, that change was not reflected on their web site, nor was an email sent out the list by their PR company or Minimoo themselves. Granted, it was three on the morning, but if you are going to throw an event of this size and scale, you must have your communications on point.

For a technology festival to not utilize tools such as Ning, on which you can build your own social platform, or Facebook, where they’ve set up a group already is kind of strange, no?. The last time Minitek posted to their Twitter account was on September 3rd. There were no Twitter posts last night to inform anyone who purchased a ticket what was happening at the venue or to notify them where the show would move.

Of course, the Minitek site lacks the one thing they should have had in the first place, a simple blog. Why that is, I don’t know. Everyone has a blog today. If they have podcasts on the site, why no blog?

Fortunately for Jenny and Minimoo, today’s event on Coney Island went off without a hitch. I checked it out for a bit and was impressed. A number of record labels set up booths, including Clink Recordings (we love their branding and design), Ghostly International, Catalog Records, Hidden Records, and Confined Media, a DIY operation who trekked out east all the way from Seattle, Washington. The venerable Halcyon had a booth. Shawn Schwartz and Ricardo were manning the booth. And an interesting company, Fractalspin.com, had a variety of transistor based jewlry, watches and other interesting products for sale. The only problem was that the booth’s had no electicity, which meant that the labels couldn’t set up their listening stations.

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Let’s get to the music. Adultnapper and Alexi Delano were both on point. Clink Recordings label owner and DJ/Producer, Camea, warmed up the crowd nicely with a very, very deep techno set that really took you down into that tantric place. You know that vibe, where the bottom heavy bass lines inject a moodiness into the air. We don’t know what her set list was, but there was one track she played that was just super dirty. As it chugged along, spitting its rawness out of the speakers, you kind of felt like you needed to take a shower afterward! Definitely a dope track. Wish we knew what it was.

I left around 4:30 to head over to Nathan’s for one of their world famous hot dogs. I don’t know if they provided electricity to the booths after that and I’m not sure if tonight’s rain affected the event, but we hope that Jenny has better luck at Webster Hall tonight and the event schedule tomorrow. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Anyway, let me cut this short because I have somewhere to be. Tonight’s event has been moved from Penn Plaza to Webster Hall, just in case you’re wondering. I may head over there to check out it out.

– Tony Zeoli

While I haven’t given Oasis much thought since I microwaved my What’s the Story, Morning Glory? CD when I was 14 (true story), the Brit band has cooked up an album release stunt that I find absolutely fascinating. No, it’s not another name your price scheme à la Radiohead; today, September 12th, Oasis will have street musicians scattered throughout Manhattan parks and subway platforms, performing songs from the band’s upcoming record, Dig Out Your Soul (due in the U.S. on October 7th). Among the performers are indie rockers, a funk group and a shred violinist, and though Oasis isn’t scheduled to perform anywhere, Pitchfork reports rumors that the band’s members may be peppered throughout some of the performing groups. Oasis fan or not, you’ve got to admit that this is one interesting take on the increasingly popular album release stunt.

For more information and a map of where to find the performers, visit nycvisit.com/oasis.

- Melanie Donnelly

What did I do over Labor Day weekend? Well, for one, I danced my ass off at the Turntables on the Hudson, Water Taxi Beach event to the sounds of DJ Matthias Heilbronn and the Nickodemus crew.

Water Taxi Beach is a little oasis of sand, sun, drinks and fun in the Long Island City section of Queens. Someone got the idea to set up a bar right on the East River overlooking Manhattan, so we hard working New Yorkers have an escape from the every day grind. Barbecue, fries, pizza, a well stocked bar featuring pitchers of sangria and a tent-covered dance floor and sound system are certainly a recipe for fun. Check out the DJ line-up and performance schedule at http://www.watertaxibeach.com. It’s running for a few more weeks, and will then close for the winter.

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– Tony Zeoli

After attending the Virgin Mobile Festival a few weeks ago, I swung through Atlantic City on the way back to NYC for the 2008 DJ Times Expo. Organizer and DJ Times Editor, Jim Tremayne threw me on a panel at the last minute to speak on alternative business models and careers for DJs and what they should be thinking about for long term success.

Just a few years ago, the Expo was filled with CD turntables. How times have changed. This year, the Expo was loaded with digital DJ products. From software to controllers and DVD VJ decks, the transition to digital is in full swing. Even the remix services, X-Mix and Promo Only, are promoting digital downloads through private, subscription only stores, which will be launched soon.

We loved the Hercules RMX digital controller, show above. The key features are the jog wheels and ability to interact with your audio library. We also were really excited Numark’s NS7 Motorized Computer DJ System with Audio/IO. A very sleek looking product with real vinyl emulators, this is could very well be the digital controller to watch. Numark collaborated with Rane to create a product that syncs easily with Serato. Sending signals over USB, Numark claims the resolution is double that of midi.

The Hercules controller was being promoted in conjunction with Virtual DJ, a similar product to Traktor Scratch and Rane’s Serato, available for both PC and Mac for U.S. $299 after discount from their web site.

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Buy Products from JR.com:

Hercules RMX

– Tony Zeoli

If you live in New York, you know there’s no place like home. Well, no place like home OR Cielo, for that matter. We love Cielo for its intimate atmosphere, killer sound system, rockin DJs and–most of all–a great looking, quality crowd who love house music. Kind of hard to find around here at times.

Anyway, if you’re looking to shake your body, Cielo is certainly the place to do it. Especially this fall. They just released their September schedule below. We’ll see you there!

Cielo September Schedule

That’s right!

You didn’t read the title wrong and no, this is not a joke.

Daddy Yankee has publicly endorsed John McCain.

Over the weekend, the presidential candidate John McCain made a campaign stop at Central High School, a dominantly Latino school located in Phoenix, Arizona. While attempting to encourage the group of students to “be involved”, McCain softly acknowledges the real reason any Latino student would stand to listen to him. He begins to introduce his “special friend”, whom he describes as an “all American success story” and list this guest’s credentials, but falls short of mentioning the house with the white picket fence and the little dog in the backyard.

Right after miserably failing to make a joke out of Yankee’s hit song “Gasolina” and the rise of gas prices, McCain introduces Daddy Yankee to a number of screaming and excited Latino high school students.

Now beside the obvious shock of Yankee endorsing John McCain, there is only one thing I find very curious about this whole video. Right as Daddy Yankee makes his greeting, he is quickly interrupted by a man in a blue collared shirt (obviously a man who works for the McCain camp). After stopping Yankee’s speech for about 20 seconds, Yankee gets back on the mic and proceeds to continue his speech. But alas, Yankee is once again interrupted by the presidential candidate himself. McCain, quickly grabs Yankee’s arm and directs him to the group of students behind him.

Yankee, always being the crowd pleaser, proceeds to greet every single one of the Latino students. Once he does finally get to speak, Yankee begins to slowly state how he chooses “him [McCain] as the best candidate”.

Now I don’t know about you, but I just find this whole scenario a bit odd. I mean, whats the deal with all the interruptions! If your going to bring out someone to endorse you, wouldn’t it be a good idea to let them TALK!

And honestly, how much did they pay Daddy Yankee for that endorsement? Or did they threaten to revoke his passport or something. I dunno, maybe it’s just me. But I don’t really picture McCain drinking a Corona and shouting CAPICU at the Domino table.

-Jacklyn Mendoza | J.FRESH

Minitek Festival Flyer

The summer is just about over. What’s one to do?

PVD on the pier is history. Ibiza is shutting down. Burning Man is kicking off, but we certainly don’t have gas money for the RV this time around. Our prodigal American DJs are returning stateside to residencies that pay them 1/4 of what they’re actually worth; to a battered economy and and a country frozen by fear-factoring Republicans.

Where can one find inspiration and creative dose of liberal relief? Minitek! That’s where!

Perfectly situated at the end of summer parties on the Hamptons and the influx of thousands of NYU students returning for the Fall semester, the first ever Minitek festival kicks off between September 12 and 14th at various venues and locales throughout New York City. Home base, where all the exhibits will be on display, is Penn Plaza. If you don’t know Penn Plaza, think Madison Square Garden and the surrounding streets

The festival organizers are on an ambitious effort to organize a celebration of elecontric arts, culture, technology and music. Innovation Pavillion is the epicenter, where the festivals installations, exhibits and vendor booths for companies the digital media and music spectrum will be contstructed.

According to the festival organizers, projects on display will “explore new technologies to create sounds and visuals, with emphasis lying on interactivity. The pavilion will be present at the day site and the original creators have been invited to present their work to you live; sometimes you will even directly or indirectly become part of the art presented.”

DJ sets will take place at various venues throughout the city. Confirmed are Richie Hawtin, Magda, Audion, Heidi, Tiefschwarz, M.A.N.D.Y. and more. Record labels will also have booths set up to promote the latest electronic beats.

For more information on installations, vendors, DJs and locations, visit MiniTekFestival.com. For tix, visit ResidentAdvisor.net.

We’re looking forward to this event and are planning to provide some coverage here. So stay up with Netmix and we’ll bring you a little slice of the Minitek Festival.

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Okay…so in all my years of working in and around DJ culture, I never got the chance to hear Richie Hawtin spin. I wasn’t much into rave culture or Techno. I was mostly into the house sound with DJs like Roger Sanchez, Erick Morillo and Danny Tenaglia. Boy, now do I know what I’ve been missing! My favorite DJ is Terry Lee Brown Jr., who is the bridge between the former and the latter. Terry Lee Brown Jr brings the flavor of house, but also the sounds of Hawtin’s techno. I’ve now connected the dots and hope you will too.

For those of you who don’t know Richie Hawtin, he’s a legendary DJ/Producer who made music under the pseudonym Plastikman. Recently he’s been producing under his own name. He’s also responsible for input into the development of DJ tools like Stanton’s Final Scratch and–correct me if I’m wrong–has a hand in the online music store, Beatport.com. I think that’s true. Need to check my sources.

On this day, the crowd of young people who follow Richie showed up and were rewarded with an incredible performance. Hawtin created such energy with his music, it leaned into the spiritual realm all DJs who operate in Techno and its many offshoots. The minimal pounding beats, staccato fills, clicks, mind numbing leads and all sorts of intelligent sounds took your breath away. Everyone in the place, face forward toward the stage, hands slicing and fisting pumping in the air. On this day, it was Richie’s tribe of followers seeking the elements of life, love, joy and pain in his music.

Our new friend, Tiphany Parker, who’d we’d met the day before during the Underworld event, had also never experienced a Hawtin set. She was blown away as well. Richie just earned himself another new fan. I know she’ll be scouring Beatport and the other services for the rest of the week looking for Hawtin’s Plastikman tracks, while hoping to learn more about his history and the legacy he’s built in the DJ culture and Techno genre. I’m a new (renewed?) fan as well.

I thought I knew before, but I really didn’t. Even though I’ve heard Carl Cox spin at the long defunct Twilo, seeing Richie in the tent at the Virgin Mobiel Festival was a different experience altogether. Now, I can honestly say that I know why they use the term, “This IS Techno!” Because, with Richie…this REALLY IS Techno! It’s a way of life, just like Rock or Alternative. It has its roots, fashion, dance moves…everything. It’s a genre that will come and go but never die. We see new genres, like Electro, becoming the fad of the moment. But the contributions of Techno makes the sounds of Electro possible. A parent child relationship if there ever was one.

One final note. I have to personalize apologize to Richie, or anyone who reads this blog for that matter, for never making the effort, until now, to hear him tear it up. As someone who’s been in the electronic music scene for some 25-years, I should know better. I guess now, I do.

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More photos from the Virgin Mobile Festival. Steve Lawler simply killed it on Saturday afternoon. Although the tent had emptied after Soulwax, because they had to break down the equipment and rework the stage for the DJs, Lawler came out swinging, bringing a crowd back into the tent and getting their hands up in the air. It was a rockin set by Lawler. One I’m certainly glad I did not miss.

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I had a little bit of time to throw together something from the Virgin Mobile Festival. It’s all UGC…not very professional, but it’ll give you and idea of the music that was rockin from the Virgin Mobile Festival Dance Tent. Stay tuned for more footage and photos.

The 3rd Virgin Mobile Festival, which takes place August 9 -10, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, just released its lineup schedule, giving concertgoers full sets of their favorite acts.

“We’ve programmed the Virgin Mobile Festival so fans can enjoy extended sets and get the full concert experience of these top-tier acts,” said concert producer Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P. “We also scheduled it so you can catch parts of each band, since these are all must-see artists.” There are two enormous main stages and the off-the planet dance tent, all easily accessible on the grassy infield.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or 1-800-551-SEAT. Two-day tickets are $175 for General Admission and $450 for VIP. Single-day tickets are $97.50 for General Admission and $250 for VIP tickets. A charity contribution of $1.50 per day will be applied to each ticket. Fans can check out the official festival website at http://virginmobilefestival.com.

Saturday, Aug. 9 GATES OPEN – 10am
NORTH STAGE (all times E.T. p.m.)
12:00 – 12:50 Cat Power
1:10 – 1:55 Duffy
2:15 – 3:05 The Swell Season
3:25 – 4:15 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
4:35 – 5:25 Rodrigo y Gabriela
5:45 – 6:35 Citizen Cope
7:00 – 8:15 Wilco
8:45 – 10:00 Jack Johnson
SOUTH STAGE
12:15-1:00 KT Tunstall
1:20 – 2:10 Gogol Bordello
2:30 – 3:25 Lupe Fiasco
3:45 – 4:35 Bloc Party
5:00 – 6:00 The Offspring
6:30 – 7:30 Chuck Berry and The Silver Beats
8:15 – 10:00 Foo Fighters
DANCE TENT
12:00 – 12:30 JDH & Dave P
12:30 – 1:45 Erol Alkan
1:45 – 3:15 DJ Dan & Donald Glaude
3:35 – 4:35 Soulwax
4:45 – 6:10 Steve Lawler
6:10 – 7:40 Ferry Corsten
8:00 – 10:00 Underworld
Sunday, Aug. 10 GATES OPEN – 10am
NORTH STAGE (all times p.m.)
12:00 – 12:45 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
1:05 – 1:55 Shudder to Think
2:15 – 3:05 Paramore
3:30 – 4:20 Taking Back Sunday
4:50 – 5:50 Iggy and The Stooges
6:20 – 7:35 Stone Temple Pilots
8:05 – 10:00 Nine Inch Nails
SOUTH STAGE
11:30 – 12:00 Hollywood Undead (Book the Band winner)
12:20 – 1:05 The Go! Team
1:25 – 2:10 Andrew Bird
2:35 – 3:25 She & Him
3:50 – 4:50 Lil’ Wayne
5:15 – 6:15 The Black Keys
6:45 – 8:00 Bob Dylan
8:30 – 10:00 Kanye West
DANCE TENT
12:30 – 1:30 Chromeo
1:50 – 3:20 Rabbit in the Moon
3:30 – 5:00 Deadmau5
5:00 – 6:30 Richie Hawtin
6:30 – 8:00 Moby (DJ Set),
8:00 – 10:00 Armin van Buuren