From iHeartRadio.com comes these amazing video performances by Alicia Keyes singles “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” and “Empire State of Mind Pt II”, from the upcoming album, The Element of Freedom.” The performance took place at the P.C. Richard & Son Theater in Tribeca. There are two song perfomances in this video widget, but if you wish to skip right to and play “Empire State of Mind,” click the Playlist tab and then click the play icon for that performance.

Having moved to NYC in 1996 to make live my dreams of success in the music business, the original with Jay-Z (YouTube video below) and now this live performance both deeply resonate with me. They remind me of how difficult it really is to make it in New York City. But, if you stay strong and on the grind you will make it, because dreams are made here. I’ve been listening to the original for weeks now on the radio or my iTunes. Having just left my full-time day job to focus more on Netmix and consulting, it’s been an anthem that has energized and inspired me to make a go of it and do what I love.

We’ve had odes to New York City before, but this one is different. It comes out of Hip-Hop, a genre of music born on the streets of the Bronx. With the rap lyrics in the original version delivered by Jay-Z, Hip-Hop’s king pin (move over Diddy), the song comes alive as a testament to the power of one’s self-motivated drive. Sure, there’s some chest-bumping ego going on too, but sometimes that’s the kind of attitude you need to have to move mountains.

The Element of Freedom, is slated for releases on December 15th, 2009. Pre-order your copy of The Element of Freedom at Amazon.com. DJs can get The Element Of Freedom on vinyl. For more info on Alicia Keyes, visit her web site.

Take a listen to the single “Dreamin”:  Alicia Keys – Dreaming – MP3WAXX

Here’s the famous duet on YouTube.

Share your thoughts on the Alicia Keyes live performance of their duet video in the comments section. We’d love to know what you think.

X-Mix Productions 9th Annual Winter Music Conference Party hits Miami Beach on Friday March 27, 2008, at Aero Bar, featuring sets from Armand Van Helden, Bad Boy Bill, DJ Sneak, Felix Da Housecat, Harry Choo Choo Romero, Junior Sanchez, Mark Farina, and Todd Terry. Check out our DJs performing at other parties during WMC with Lil Jon, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

ARMAND VAN HELDEN feat. Netic from Game Rebellion ‘Illin N Fillin: It’ is out this month on Southern Fried with remixes by Malente, Starkey, Jaimie Fanatic, and Lee Mortimer. The single is taken from Armand’s ‘New York: A Mix Odyssey 2’ compilation out now on Southern Fried. The highly anticipated Dizzee Rascal Vs. Armand Van Helden ‘Bonkers’ is out in May on Dirtee Stank. Armand’s ‘You Don’t Know Me The Best of Armand Van Helden’ compilation is out now on Universal.

BAD BOY BILL feat. Alyssa Palmer ‘Falling Anthem‘ available now on Beatport via Nettwerk with remixes by Herve’, Harry Choo Choo Romero, Chase, and Sylvane. The full retail release packages hit stores in April and May. Bad Boy Bill ‘The Album’, Bill’s debut artist album, is out later this year on Nettwerk. Bad Boy Bill ‘Behind the Decks Live’, Bill’s first ever live mix CD/DVD, is out now on Thrive.

DJ SNEAK vs. Herve’ ‘Droppin Kisses,’ out now on Cr2, reached number 1 this month in Music Week UK’s official club chart and has received BBC Radio 1 spins from Annie Mac, Pete Tong, Judge Jules, and Kissy Sell Out. Sneak’s forthcoming artist album ‘House of House’ is out later this year. Look for Sneak’s remixes of tracks by A-Trak & Laidback Luke, Matthew Dear, and Locodice. DJ Sneak ‘Back In The Box’ compilation is out this month on NRK.

FELIX DA HOUSECAT’s new single ‘Kickdrum’ from his forthcoming artist album ‘He Was King’ is out in April on Nettwerk. ‘Kickdrum’ has received early support from 2manydjs, A-track, Boys Noize, Erol Alkan, and multiple spins on BBC Radio 1 from Pete Tong. Look for Felix on the cover of this month’s Mixmag with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. ‘Felix Da Housecat GU34 Milan’ compilation is out now on Global Underground.

HARRY CHOO CHOO ROMERO’s remix of Hardrive ‘Deep Inside’ reached the number 1 download spot on Beatport this month. Harry’s ‘Cumbia’ is out now on his newly re-launched Bambossa label with remixes from Jose Nunez, Jorge Jamarillo, and Jerry Ropero & DJ Mind. Harry’s ‘Lifting Me Higher’ is out now on Cr2 with remixes from DJ DLG. Harry Choo Choo Romero ‘Sessions’ compilation is out now on Ministry of Sound.

JUNIOR SANCHEZ ‘Zaxxon’ is out this month on DJS Are Not Rockstars. Blaqk Audio ‘Stiff Kittens (Jnrsnchz Blaqkout Remix)’ out now on Interscope is featured on the new ‘Underworld:Rise of the Lycans‘ movie soundtrack. Look for Junior’s remix of Lauren Flax feat. Sia ‘You’ve Changed’. ‘Onelove: Smash Your Stereo” mixed by Junior Sanchez’ is out now on Sony.

MARK FARINA’s ‘Mushroom Jazz 6’ compilation is out now on Om. Mark’s legendary Mushroom Jazz compilations and their cumulative sales of over a quarter million copies have essentially made Mushroom Jazz its own distinctive genre of music, blending hip-hop sub-grooves with jazzy, dubby, elements. Mark’s new single ‘Life’ is out now now Om. ‘Fabric 40: Mark Farina’ is out now on Fabric.

TODD TERRY presents CLS ‘Can You Feel It’ Remixes are out now on Strictly Rhythm with support from Annie Mac, David Guetta, and Riton. Todd’s ‘Uncle Tech’ is out now on MN2S. Look for Todd’s remix of Adele ‘Hometown Glory’ out soon on XL. Todd is developing new projects with Heatmakerz, Ameer Vincent, and Bridge 2 Love. ‘Strictly Todd Terry’ compilation mixed by Todd is out now on Strictly Rhythm.

Check out www.xmixprod.com where you can find information on X-Mix artists, upcoming releases, tour dates, press, music, and videos.

Did you love the excellent Bollywood film, “Slumdog Millionaire”? We did. So much so, that we tracked down the soundtrack to the film, which we’ve posted here. Take a listen.

Here is what Amazon.com had to say about the Slumdog Millionaire soudtrack:

In composing the music for acclaimed director Danny Boyle’s intoxicating new film Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman has conjured the sound of a city, fusing the frenetic scramble of daily life in Mumbai, India into beautiful fugues that ride upon the dust clouds kicked up by its everyday people.

From the movie’s first frames — with children racing through alleyways, knocking over merchants and pottery, police kicking loose clay roof tiles, disrupted birds fluttering from gutters — we hear the sound of their commotion made manifest in “O… Saya.” It’s a rumbling hybrid of Bollywood and hip-hop, a brand new collaboration between Rahman and M.I.A. It’s the kind of cinematic moment where image and sound coexist. And that’s only the first five minutes.

Filmed in the streets and slums of Mumbai, India, Boyle needed just the right music to compliment the film’s cinema verité urban realism. He turned to internationally renowned composer A.R. Rahman (a huge star in South Asia–selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and 200 million cassettes–Rahman is one of the world’s top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.) The film’s score is central to the propulsive modern grit that pervades the story, but is also a nod to classic Bollywood productions where the music is front and center. And loud. Says Rahman, “We wanted it edgy, upfront. Danny wanted it loud.”

M.I.A.’s appreciation for Bollywood music led her to record much of last year’s Kala inside A.R. Rahman’s studio in India, although the two had never worked together until now. Referring to him in URB magazine as “the Indian Timbaland,” M.I.A. obviously jumped at the chance to work on “O… Saya” with the famed composer. Rahman says, “She’s a real powerhouse. Somebody played me her CD and I thought, `Who is this girl? She came here and knew all my work, had followed my work for ages. I said, `Cut the crap, this “my idol” crap. You have to teach me.’”

M.I.A. crops up again, later in the film, with the remix of her worldwide hit “Paper Planes” seemingly made for Slumdog, as the lyrics pronounce, “Sometimes I feel like sitting on trains…” while a light blue locomotive chugs and hurls its way through India, young boys perched up top in the sepia sunlight scoping out for a scrap of food.

Other songs on the soundtrack include “Gangsta Blues,” featuring hip-hop artist BlaaZe, which flutters with the rhythms of a film projector, capturing a bit of the madness of crowds as they disperse in a thousand directions to escape the claustrophobia of back alleys. And nothing quite prepares you for the triumphant climax, the overarching ode to joy that is “Jai Ho,” closing out the film in a rousing sing-a-long that’s had film audiences burst into spontaneous applause. As Rahman told Variety, “The energy of the film takes you through a roller coaster, and that’s one of the main inspirations for the whole music.”

Workout: Pumping House Cover

UPhonic Records released its latest compilation: Workout: Pumping House, today January 6th. Workout: Pumping House is the ultimate companion to countless New Year’s resolutions and a motivational tool for listeners to achieve their fitness goals. The complete package includes a double-disc set featuring 16 heart-pumping tracks, a bonus “interval workout” inspired 72-minute megamix, and a 7-day guest pass* to Bally Total Fitness. The album cover art displays Sydney-based personal trainer and fitness model Vinny Gough, courtesy of men’s underwear and swimwear brand teamm8.

The compilation includes songs such as RuPaul’s “Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous” which was used as the theme song for NBC’s The Biggest Loser and was a #1 dance download on iTunes; “Everybody Rise Pt. 2″ featuring dance legend, Muriel Fowler, which just debuted at #5 on Billboard’s Breakout Dance chart; a cover of the 1989 Billboard chart topping song “Send Me Angel”, skillfully remixed by one of the best DJ’s on the scene today, Georgie Porgie (He recently secured a #1 song on the Dance chart); “Mindbuster” featuring the first lady of house music, Jocelyn Brown (who has had over 21 hits on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Chart); and the title track, “Workout”, a remake of Frankie Knuckles’ dance classic, which is also sung by RuPaul and features back up vocals from superstar Chris Willis.

Workout: Pumping House is in stores as of January 6th, 2009 and will be available in all major retailers (Best Buy, Virgin, Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.) and download portals (iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, etc.).

*Guest passes not included in digital purchases

URL’s”

www.workoutpumpinghouse.com

www.myspace.com/workoutpumpinghouse

www.uphonicrecords.com

www.myspace.com/uphonicrecords

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Club Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Dub Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Instrumental Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Jason Rivas Radio Edit

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Hy2RoGeN Vocal Mix

Drugs Are Bad feat. Patci – Hy2RoGeN Radio Edit

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

While I don’t mean to inundate you with posts about Basement Jaxx, I just read on Pitchfork that the duo has posted a newish track, “My Turn,” for stream on their MySpace page, and it’s a lovely one–I’ve had it on repeat for about 30 minutes. Think Bjork strings, acoustic guitar, and Devonte Hynes of Lightspeed singing wistfully over some crunchy beats. What could be better?

The song was released on last month’s EP, Planet 1, which is available in the UK on vinyl, via XL. For those of you who can’t be bothered with MySpace pages (I’m one of you!), there’s a YouTube embed above.

Bryn Christopher‘s debut video landed in my inbox the other day, and it’s worth a watch. The British singer’s got a sick voice, for sure–he opened for Amy Winehouse on her last tour, and “The Quest” is already being used in promo spots for Grey’s Anatomy. Bryn’s debut album, My World, is due out on September 16th, and if you’re interested in catching him live stateside, he’s got two U.S. dates slated for September, hitting the Viper Room in Los Angeles on the 22nd and Joe’s Pub in New York on the 24th.

And, because I’m a sucker for any kind of insight into the production process, get a peek behind the scenes of The Quest after the jump (my favorite part is the PAs furiously puffing cigarette smoke around ).

-Melanie Donnelly

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You know what I love best about the music industry, post-Radiohead’s crazy In Rainbows stunt? The surprise album release. It only makes sense that it would take off, given the rampant, months-early album leaks that plague traditional releases, and as a fan, there’s nothing quite as thrilling as flicking on your computer and reading that your favorite band is dropping a record in two days.

That said, Bloc Party‘s fans must have shat a proverbial brick this week when the band announced via web chat that they’ll release their new record, Intimacy, for download tomorrow (August 21st). $10 will get you high-quality digital files delivered tomorrow, and $20 will get you tomorrow’s digital copy, plus a physical disc on October 28th.

If you’re interested in a sneak peek (er, listen), head over to NME to hear the single, “Trojan Horse,” in full.

-Melanie Donnelly

Bloc Party

NME recently named Girl Talk, AKA Greg Gillis, as one of the most exciting bands in America, and the “nerd by day, mash-up king by night” recently dropped his new record, Feed The Animals, at a pay-what-you-wish rate. The album is available for download at Illegal Art, and here are the details:

any price grants the download of the entire album as high-quality 320kbps mp3s
$5 or more adds the options of FLAC files, plus a one-file seamless mix of the album
$10 or more includes all of the above + a packaged CD (when it becomes available)

Word as to when the physical CD is due vary; most reports say late September or early October.

-Melanie Donnelly

We’re diggin the continued convergence of rock and electronic dance music, thinking it could really ignite some fire (and sorely needed profit!) into our little slice of the music industry. Looking back to the 80′s, Depeche Mode, Front 242, Skinny Puppy and Ministry all infused rock and metal with electronic, synth laced, beat driven songs.

In the 90′s, the big beat sound of Lionrock, KLF, Prodigy, the Future Sound of London, Stone Rose’s and Morcheeba were merging rock and electronic to great success. And since the turn of the century (kind of weird reading that, isn’t it?), we’ve seen bands like Nine Inch Nails, Underworld and The Killers carry the torch.

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Newcomers to the party are Pennsylvania’s, Inner Party System and New York-based, BM Linx, who we saw over the weekend banging electronic beats with real, rock guitars. If that doesn’t make much sense to you, think what would happen if Slash from Guns & Roses joined forces with Moby and Erasure. That’s what you get when you hear BM Linx perform. A wopping mixture of waiting guitars, complete with solos over thumping electronic percussion and synth tracks supported by a live drummer…who kicks ass, by the way.

Correction: Signed to indy upstart, Craze Factory, BM Linx are touring regionally to promote the release of their album, Black Entertainment, which hits the streets on September 16th. But if you’re looking for something to chew on beforehand, you can check out:  The Portable Genius (Amazon.com) \

On August 19, elodieO is set to release “Stubborn,” her first full length EP from her self-titled record label. The set is available for pre-release at iTunes. Take a listen to elodieO’s sound, a mix of 60′s Nico-esque pop with 90′s golden era trip-hop and down-tempo on her MySpace page.

On “Crazy,” elodieO delivers a halting, sensual vocal over a chunky down-tempo beats, backed by lush electro sounding synths played softly throughout the track. Perfect chill-out music for a candle lit, romantic encounter.

The original version of “Le Mer” has a break-beat flow, with elodieO’s sweet, soft, French language vocals distributed across the tracks hook, building a sense of urgency and even a bit of despair.

Since we don’t speak French here at Netmix and we don’t have a sexy, French translator hanging around the office, we can’t really tell you what she’s saying. You’ll have to interpret it all yourself. With French being the language of love, it shouldn’t be that hard.

Even if you can’t translate, don’t run out to purchase that Rosetta Stone language kit from your local mall just yet. The sounds are smooth and easy on the ears. So much so, that we’re fairly confident it won’t much matter if you’ve playing it on your bedroom iPod dock. Better yet, you can head down to Nublu for elodieO’s show on July 26th. Maybe you’ll hook up with someone there who will translate for you in exchange for a $2 beer.

For DJs, remixes are available from Doublestandart, Zeb The Spy of Cairo and Aaron Johnston of the Brazillian Girls.

Thanks for Caitlin Jones of Two Ships That Pass for passing (of course, no pun intended here) along the Zeb remix of “Le Mer.” Click on the play icon below to listen.

elodieO \”Le Mer\” (Zeb Remix)

So, you’re probably asking: who is elodieO? Well, according to Caitlin, her publicist, elodieO is Parisian by birth. She’s been a “staple of the New York City LES/Nublu electro scene that nurtured Kudu and The Brazilian Girls.”

If you’re not familiar with Nublu, it’s a tiny, hole-in-the-wall space in the East Village, which is becoming the defacto launch pad for many of today’s eclectic New York electro artists. The space consists of a bar on one side of the room and a banquet on the other side. There’s no stage. People simply make a semi-circle just wide enough to fit the bands equipment. It’s a pretty raw experience, which is what makes it seeing artists there so appealing.

On this EP, elodiO composed and arranged all the music with the exception of two re-arranged songs by Serge Gainsbourg and The Cure.  Aaron and Jesse of the Brazilian Girls have a hand in the project as well.

We hope you enjoy! Au revoir!

This is one hot house record for the summer. We’re especially digging the Stripped Mix, but you’ll find something here that suits your tastes. The “Born To Funk Hyped Dub” has a nice swing to it with Danil’s vocals uses sparingly throughout. You’re going to need it if you want to remix the track live with the “Born To Funk Vocal,” which is also available.

Sasha Alazy’s dub treatment of the record keeps the flavor of the original while turning out a bit more of an uptempo sound to bridge the gap from club to mix show radio.

This release is available on Beatport.com, Traxxsource.com, Stompy.com and Xpressbeats.com

Take Me feat. Danil – Original Mix

Take Me feat. Danil – Born To Funk Hyped Dub

Take Me feat. Danil – Born To Funk Vocal Remix

Take Me feat. Danil – Inst. Mix

Take Me feat. Danil – Sasha Alazy Remix

Take Me feat. Danil – Stripped Mix