Category: Music

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S-Man feat. GTO – 2 Close out now on UNDR THE RADR #original and #remixes

Roger Sanchez is an American icon. There, we said it. With a career spanning two decades, Roger was at forefront of the house music revolution in the 80s and early 90s. He has outlasted many though the genre’s transformations into the multiple offshoots we know today. Through it all, his grace, passion, skill, professionalism, and of course his stellar productions, have spanned generations and brought the sound of the New York underground to dance floors around the globe. Where others have come and gone, the S-Man (an alter ego dating back to 1992) has given us both underground rhythms and chart-busting anthems.

His new single, S-Man Feat. GTO – 2 Close brings that unique mix of early 90s rhythm programming, keyboards, bass lines and warm kicks to today’s house music mix. There’s been a return to some of the classic sounds of house as of late, but given Roger’s history of developing the sounds today’s producers are copying, it’s not a stretch at all for him to put out another timeless record that will be on the USB 3.0 sticks to house music DJs around the world. He’s pursuing a deeper, darker tone and texture as S-Man, a moniker he’s bringing back that differentiates this release from his more traditional, more polished songs.

Roger is also embarking on a U.S. tour with a stop in Montreal, after a summer spent assaulting the decks in Ibiza. He’ll be mostly on the East Coast through December with a date in L.A., so catch him where you can.

Here are the dates:

  • 10/4/14 – Club Therapy – Providence, RI
  • 10/4/14 – Boutique – Hartford, CT
  • 10/10/14 – Space NYC – New York, NY
  • 10/13/14 – Sound – Los Angeles, CA (S-Man)
  • 10/24/14 – Bijou – Boston, MA (S-Man)
  • 11/22/14 – Mister East – Linden, NJ
  • 12/12/14 – Maison – Toronto, ON
  • 12/13/14 – Stereo – Montreal, QC

Read an interview with the S-Man on the DJ Mag USA website.

Get S-Man feat. GTO – 2 Close at Beatport.com.

We’re also digging the remixes by Leftwing & Kody and Jimpster you can check out below.

Get the 2 Close Remixes at Beatport.com.

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Flight Facilities – Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise (Extended Version)

A beautiful, emotive and organic track, Flight Facilities works out a gorgeous deep house number with “Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise.” Unique, interesting keys interspersed throughout over what stops a bit short of a conga drum pattern and a rolling, smooth bassline. This song may not pack many dancefloors, but you’ll certainly hear it coming to a hotel lounge near you.

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Kendra Morris – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

If you know me and either are a friend on Facebook or follow me on the social network, then you’ll know I absolutely love the music of Kendra Morris. I first heard Kendra on NPR while driving home from work one night. Since that time, we’ve become distant buds and I’m following her from afar. Kendra just posted a new music video that was already on YouTube, but Vevo premiered it here. We’ve got the YouTube though (because we hate those nasty Vevo iframes!). Here it is “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), directed by Rudolf Bekker and featuring Godforbid of That Handsome Devil.

If you’re in NYC this weekend, you can catch Kendra with That Handsome Devil performing at Rough Trade in Williamsburg on September 27th at 8 pm. Tickets are $15 and she goes on at 8 pm. Don’t miss it!

Is the free U2 album download from iTunes really that big of a deal?

Image of U2 - Songs Of Innocence White Label LP
U2 – Songs Of Innocence White Label LP

Are there worse things in the world than getting a free album from one of the world’s greatest rock bands to ever walk the face of the planet? Yes.

There are plenty of things worse than iTunes pushing a free album download to your purchased music bin. You can get hit by a bus tomorrow. Someone can mug you. You can lose your job. You can get a divorce. Your 12-year old can storm out of the room screaming, “I HATE YOU!” You can get kidnapped by terrorists and killed for the whole world to see, in the middle of a desert, which is then broadcast on YouTube. No, I’m not making light of that last one. I’m saying that is one of the worst things that can befall anyone. It’s horrific. But while we’re all texting and driving and complaining about Apple pushing a free download to your iPhone and computer, horrible things are going on around the world that are far more important.

Okay, so it was an inconvenience for you. Sure, it sucked up some bandwidth on your mobile device. Sure, it wasn’t easily removed. You needed a tool that Apple quickly provided after the backlash to remove it from your library. Yes, it’s taking up some room you thought you had and now you don’t, which prevents you from downloading some other crap that you think you really wanted, but you actually didn’t and you’ll rarely ever play whatever that was anyway. It’s really not you that I’m targeting with this post. It’s the media who are drumming up drama to simply direct attention to them and not the fact that Apple spent $100M to give away millions of downloads of a fairly good album to its customers as a thank you.

Let’s just take a chill pill and relax. No one died. Bono was close to Steve Jobs. Remember, Bono convinced Jobs to make a red iPod for his global AIDS project. Getting a free U2 album should be no f**** surprise then. Let’s all take a deep breath now. Inhale. Exhale. Good.

Okay, so you don’t like Bono or U2. You love the throat singers from Tuvalu. You cringe when you hear a U2 song. Well, you’re in the minority. If U2 is offensive, President Obama is Chinese. Right. U2 is not offensive and President Obama is not Chinese. Well, he’s a terrorist according to some Republicans you talk to, but that’s a story for another day.

Maybe Steve Jobs wouldn’t have pushed the album. He probably would have made it optional or done something else. Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs, but he’s no slouch either.

Can we just get over this U2 stuff today? Take a listen to the album. You might even like what you hear.

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Calvin Harris – “Blame” feat. John Newman

I’ve been a fan of EDM producer, Calvin Harris, for a while now. I’ve spun his songs out in my DJ sets and usually look forward to receiving something new by this talented British producer, who is now one of the world’s highest-paid DJs. While his new single, “Blame,” featuring the vocalist, John Newman, has hit #1 in the U.K. and ties Michael Jackson for the honor, I’m not so sure this is a number one record.

First, it’s not horrible. It has all the usual elements: sounds anthemic, big room progressions, deep house sounds mixed with syrupy pop. And, John Newman’s raw and sometimes raspy vocals that create the emotional pop sound that has certainly caught on in the dance music world. For some reason, I just feel it’s a little too formulaic. While it’s a verified hit now across the pond, will that record translate here in the U.S. on pop radio? I hope not, because I really don’t want to hear a guy whining every hour (as U.S. radio tends to play hit records each hour to shove it down your throat) about how he cheated on someone and now wants to “blame it on the night.”

One thing is for sure, the music video for the single had a lot of money thrown behind this effort. It’s a slickly produced, highly stylized video, which will sell a lot of black lingerie and stockings. I’ve seen a ton of electronic dance music videos over the years and many surely don’t have the budget to achieve this level of production. Harris and the label that backs him can pour money into these songs and get results like #1 chart-topping singles with a formula that they’ve been able to milk now for a few years, but they have to be careful they stay on their game and don’t mail it in like they seem to have done on this song.

Okay, so let’s be honest. Yes, I like looking at women in lingerie just as much as the next guy. But maybe that’s getting tired. The woman in black lingerie passed out on the bed is very cliché. Anyone can put a beautiful woman in lingerie in a music video. We’ve been doing it year after year after year. But, what does that tell our young women? That they should walk around in lingerie while men stay fully dressed because it’s more appealing to watch a half-naked woman in a music video who is the only one to blame for a poor decision?

Is that what we’re saying to our daughters? Your role in life is to use your body in sexy lingerie to do what, exactly? Yes, I know it’s a music video and this is the norm. But, come on. Really? More of the same? It’s just…well, boring is what it is. There’s no creativity behind all the money that went into this music video.

Help me understand the metaphor of the women diving into different bodies of water. One woman dives into a sink in a bathroom. Another into a champagne bucket at the club. Yet another into a rain puddle. And lastly, another disappears in a bathtub. All neat tricks, for sure. Each woman ends up being underwater, then their heads pop up at once above the water at the same time. Is this supposed to mean they were slipping into semi-consciousness on some sort of drug as the lyrics, “Blame it on the night” and “Don’t blame it on me,” are crooned by Mr. Newman? I’m not really sure.

From a quick read through the lyrics, it seems the guilt is heavy on the mind of the man in the video, who is now regretting fooling around with another woman who came over in black lingerie.

Can’t be sleeping
Keep on waking
Without the woman next to me
Guilt is burning
Inside I’m hurting
This aint a feeling I can keep

It seems as if the woman on the bed was a friend who just needed to talk, but it went a little too far.

I had to let her through the door
I had no choice in this
I was the friend she missed
She needed me to talk

Well, whose fault is it really? Not his, that’s for sure. It’s the fault of the night, not his inability to keep his hands to himself when a seductress makes an appearance in his apartment.

So blame it on the night
Don’t blame it on me
Don’t blame it on me

Now comes the remorse and asking for forgiveness (for what, being an idiot?).

Oh I’m so sorry, so sorry baby
(I’ll be better this time)
I will be better this time
I got to say
I’m so sorry
Oh I Promise
(I’ll be better this time)
Don’t blame it on me
Don’t blame it on me

The bottom line is, this is a video about a guy who cheats on someone with another woman, but wants to blame it on “the night” instead of his own stupidity. We’ve got a formulaic dance track with a formulaic video that has now gone #1, most likely not because it deserves to be #1, but because it’s got a lot of money behind it to push it to #1 – umm…in the U.K., that is. Hopefully, we over here across the pond don’t fall for this one, because I for sure don’t feel like hearing this one on the radio every hour. A guy whining about how bad he feels now that he’s slept with another woman who showed up at his door in black lingerie.

Don’t agree with me and love this song? While we wait for our iTunes affiliate program application to be approved, you can buy it on Amazon.com.

Let us know what you think of this video by commenting below. Or, take this poll!

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ROCKERFELLA (FEAT. STELLA ATTAR)

ROCKERFELLA (FEAT. STELLA ATTAR)We’re listening to this Rob Roar’s 3AM tech-house remix of Rockerfella feat. Stella Attar (Phonetic Recordings, Catalog #:PH73R). Not a huge track, but something cool to run in your DJ sets as you head into peak our or come out of an energetic set.

Get it here on Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/rockerfella-feat-stella-attar/1362395

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Basement Jaxx “Never Say Never” (Tiësto & MOTi Remix)

Okay, so I never, ever play Tiesto records. Not because I don’t like Tiesto, but because I DJ on the Internet and I don’t play major festivals. Well, I don’t play major festivals yet. But, this remix was worth noting. I heard it in a mix that our dear friend, Stonebridge, put together here.

Basement Jaxx, “Never Say Never,” is definitely the record of the summer. Of course, they had to hit it with all kinds of remixes to spread the music far and wide. So, we’ll give this one props. It’s anthemic, big festival sounding, without being too cheesy. So, I give it a pass here on Netmix and we’ll bring it to you because it’s deserving of a listen.

I know…I’ve gone outside my deep house, tech house and straight-up house music leaning roots. What can I say? Sometimes you gotta spread it around, LOL.

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Florence & The Machine – You’ve Got The Love (Nico Pusch Bootleg Remix)

Yes, I’m a sucker for alt/folk and emo type deep house remixes making the rounds these past few years since I first heard the Jaques Lu Cont, Thin White Duke Remix of The Killers “Mr. Brightside.” Here’s a bootleg reworking by Nico Pusch of Florence & The Machine “You Got The Love.”

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Kyau & Albert – Down (Sebastien Radio Edit)

I’ve been following Sebastien, a producer who hails from Hamburg, Germany, for a few months now. He’s got a deep house and tech house sound blended with emo and pop stylings. On this mix, he tones down the anthemic festival sound of Kyau & Albert to give DJs a more accessible mix for radio and the clubs. If you’re not following Sebastien, well, you should! He’s sort of like Germany’s version of MK. In fact, I play their tracks back to back in my mix sets and out in the clubs.

Chew Fu-Purple Rain (Mousse T’s Home Alone Mix)

Looking for an interesting take on Prince’s classic, “Purple Rain?” We’ve got one for you, courtesy of Mousse T. Check out this deephouse and soulful reworking of this legendary song. We’re digging it and hope you’ll drop it in your next set!