Hit the trail today around Salem Lake in Winston-Salem, NC. It's a nice red with some low hills, a few straight aways and challenging turns. It was a beautiful day for a ride. Cool early on in the high 50's, but climbed into the low 70's by early afternoon.
10 Deep Grooves To Make You Move (8tracks.com)
Here's a new 8tracks.com mix I put together with some great smooth and mellow deep house, techno and tech house tracks. Hope you enjoy!
Netmix Global House Sessions Podcast Episode 10
DJ Tony Z's Netmix Global House Sessions Podcast, Episode 10.
Trident, Steve Aoki and Duran Duran come together for a social music campaign
You know electronic dance music (otherwise known as EDM) has truly hit the mainstream when big brands get into bed with DJs who are rock stars, rock stars who are simply rock stars, or a mash-up of both. Big brands have been down with EDM for some time. Red Bull was practically invented for nightclubs and Absolut has always done cool stuff with the genre for years. Of course, those brands had a vested interest in club culture, because that’s where their products are generally consumed.
For their “See What Unfolds” campaign, Trident, a division of Kraft Foods and makers of the popular chewing gum of the same name, virtually unfolded (pun intended) a YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, which put rock star DJ, Steve Aoki together with true 80’s rock stars, Duran Duran.
First, let’s put aside the fact that gum is a virtual anathema to nightclubs. For as long as we can remember, nightclubs have pleaded with punters to leave their gum at home, lest they have to peel the sticky stuff off of the underside of champagne soaked tables. Well, maybe Trident didn’t get that message, but that’s okay. We know big brands don’t really do their homework when it comes to the fine details. Chalk it up to a rookie mistake. Sort of like Justin Bieber’s publicist pitching a scoop on the teen pop-star to XXL Magazine.
It all started on June 13, when Trident published a Tweet on their Twitter account @tridentgum announcing tickets for the first in a series of national “See What Unfolds” events at Brooklyn’s Terminal 5.
After an hour of Aoki warming up the crowd, Trident tweeted Duran Duran’s appearance on stage.
In preparation for the campaign with Aoki and Duran Duran, Trident put the superstars together in the studio, where they collaborated on an updated remix of the classic, “Hungry Like The Wolf.” The resulting New York Werewolf Mix stays true to the vocal integrity of the original, while soaring, epic Trance-oriented stabs instantly transform the song into something you might hear in a peak-our set at a summer EDM festival.
To spur viral action on the campaign, the video above was released on YouTube and that track was made available as a free download from Trident’s Facebook page.
Fans could remix the video using the radio version of the .mp3 and footage and images available for download at Genero.TV. Winners were announced on June 27th.
See the full story in Ad Age here: https://bit.ly/KLa5qh
Maya Jane Coles: Watcher
One of my favorite producers of late, Maya Jane Coles, is a rising start in the house music arena. She’s been tagged on a number of lists:
- ‘Producer of the Year 2011′ by DJ Mag
- ‘Best Breakthrough DJ 2011′ by Mixmag
- Debuted at No. 9 on the Resident Advisor ’2011 DJ Poll’
- ‘Best Newcomer 2011′ at the Ibiza DJ Awards 2011
Here’s her latest track, Watcher, take from a Dogmatic Records EP. This track is a throwback to early Strictly Rhythm, Nervous, and King Street deep house tracks. It’s impossible for me to say whether Maya was actually influenced by these labels, given her relatively young age and the fact that she produced Hip-Hop and Drum’n’Bass earlier in her career. But, I can’t imagine from hearing this track that she wasn’t influenced in some way by early house pioneers to create this melodic and soulful, deep house experience.
You can buy it here on Beatport.
Bon Iver at Air Studios (4AD / Jagjaguar Sessions)
Speaking of the Grammy-winning, Bon Iver, a friend sent me this YouTube video of a gorgeous 24-minute set at AIR Studios. It doesn’t get any better than this. Such a simple concept–piano and vocals with some electronic sounds interspersed. Really, just amazing. One of the most beautiful performances I’ve ever heard.
Bon Iver on SNL
Every once in so often, a band comes along with a magical sound that defies description. In February, I’d caught two performances by Bon Iver on Saturday Night Live. I’d never heard of the band before, but give props to SNL, once again, for bringing a band to the nation’s consciousness.
As far back as I can remember, SNL has introduced to me to new music. In an era of social media , late night TV shows probably aren’t as popular as they once were. Now that you can see these shows on the web the day after they air, I think they’re going to continue to be a prominent source of music discovery, mainly because of the live performance element that you can’t get with music videos.
Here are there performances. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Beth/Rest
Holocene
Bon Iver’s Holocene Music Video
Music Tech Business Rules 101: Call Me
Music Business 101: When you’re seeking to speak to someone over the phone, the catch phrase is: “Let’s get on a call…” LOL. I say that far too often. I think it’s going to be etched on my tombstone.
Of course, if you’re too successful (or at least you think you’re too successful), you say, “Call me.” No exclamation point. Just kind of matter of fact. And, you have to be turned half-way towards wherever you’re going when you spit that one out. Like you’ve got somewhere to go and something to do.
If you’re really looking to add some style, then you can append a word like, “babe” to it. Something like, “Yeah…babe, call me.”
Just a little Music Business humor to chuckle at on a Friday night.
My new gig at Market America
Reporting in from the Market America World 2012 conference at the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami, Fl. I've joined the team at Market America as Director of Product Deveopment for Music Services and am getting a full immersion in my first week on the job.
Stop the SOPA/PIPA legislation! Keep the Internet free!
Yes, I’m one of those liberal tech geeks who want to, oh, um..like, keep the Internet FREE! What I mean by free is free from old media run by the Motional Picture Industry Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, who want to have the right to shut down any website they deem is infringing on their content without due process. That’s like given M&M/Mars the right to shut down every 7-11 in America just because a few 3rd-graders stole a couple of candy bars. Then, 7-11 would have to prove they can prevent all 3rd-graders from stealing M&Ms, before they can open the doors again. How silly would that be?
So, if you like your Google, WikiPedia, YouTube, SoundCloud, or any other service for that matter, which provides a vehicle for free artistic expression, then you’ll call you Senator or Congressperson and tell them you’re certainly against piracy, but not at the expense of taking your liberties away! Many of these sites have gone dark or are taking a stand today against government regulation, which will stifle innovation.
Here’s a quick video on how this all works and why you should be outraged that a few big media companies and their industry organizations are trying to regulate the Internet and block you from using services like Facebook and Twitter, which if passed, could be shut down without due process. This is like saying that you’re guilty until proven innocent. That’s not the America I grew up. I hope that’s not the one you want your kids to grow up in. We might as well move to China or Russia and let the powerful control the powerless.
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