Blog Playlist (7) - [Black Eyed Peas]

Lovebox is literally only 2 days away, starting at 2pm this Friday! Who's excited? I know I am! So this marks the end of the blog playlist, but I've got one more artist to add for this week. One of the ultimate dance, party tracks in my books has to be the ultimate Black Eyed Peas with their hit I gotta feelin'.

So here you have it, this week's playlist is... the Black Eyed Peas.

I gotta feelin' is a feel good track, that demonstrates the change in the BEP's style of music in 2009. Moving away from rap to focus on the singing aspect of it, it's more of a pop anthem with beat of dance to soothe that summer feel. Although Boom Boom Pow was more electronic, I gotta feelin' has to be one of my favourite BEP songs. It is addictive, but so easy to groove to. It can be described as a portable festival jam.

Enjoy it and let's get ready to soak in the sun for LOVEBOX!

Apple a victim of hacking - Please read!

Apple may have a very serious hacking issue. Please read the link bellow and spead the message. We have to be careful and look out for any signs of hacking. Apple is a product that is used in every industry. It's vital we are on the look out. Sony had a very serious issue last month. Apple's could be worse.

Thank you

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/hackers-make-off-with-apple-usernames-and-passwords-50004297/

Good news for LMFAO

What a coincidence. This week's blog playlist was LMFAO and the good news is that they are at the top of the US singles chart with the Party Rock Anthem.

The US singles chart is a very tough chart, unlike our top 40. So for them to be in the top 10, let alone be the top of that 10 is a fantastic achievement. Well done. They've also revealed this week that they would love to do a collaboration with our very own Adele. They are currently the supporting acts for Ke$ha's tour but have also mentioned they would like to work with her because of her creativity. I do really think Ke$ha and Lady Gaga are the most creative females in the music industry today. Creativity is the key to success!

LMFAO's album Sorry For Party Rocking is out on July 18th... Are you shuffling?

Blog Playlist (6) - [LMFAO]

Can you believe we've reached week 6 of the blog playlist? Lovebox is less than 2 weeks away and next week will be the last chance for a great artist to be lined up in the playlist. I'm sure I've left the best for last. That will be up to you to decide anyways.

As I'm writing this post very close to midnight, it's almost a must that this week's artist is included. Although they're more recent than some of the others in the playlist, they know how to get the crowd going.


This week, it's LMFAO!

 

There's only one song in mind when I think about LMFAO. Party Rock Anthem ft. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock just reminds me of late night raves crawling into the early morning. They certainly lift the roof with this track. It's very addictive and catchy with a club climax. They also re-introduce shuffling and modernise it. It's really is just a party track but it gets you going in a great mood with a Black Eyed Peas style riff . Are you shuffling?

Mix Junkies a must review

Finding out all the latest in dance and electro music mixes and news is difficult when there's so many sources scattered all over the internet. Lucky for me, I've found one place that literally has everything.

Mixjunkies.com is a website where everyone can share their passion for electronic music through the Internet. It's not just about electronic music, they include dance music, mixes, tracks and artist news. "Mixjunkies.com is about engaging the listener and providing them with only the best mixes and talents in the electronic music scene."

The site is really organized showing off their artist pages, news, new releases and most importantly, mixes. These mixes are hosted on the server and are available to listen to on Soundcloud, mixcloud or any other clouds you can think of, well embedded audio players.

One of the best things about the site is the fact that audiences and DJ's work together with opinions about the site and what artists should be featured. Also artists obviously have the chance to submit their own mixes to get reviews and could be featured on the site. This is a great platform for new artists. It's not all about new artists though. The good old oldies are still available on the site like Daft Punk, David Guetta and so on.

You can check out the website by clicking here (I would advise you to) and have fun with it. It's a great platform and a great way of getting noticed and sharing new music which I'm a great fan of.

Blog Playlist (5) - [Fatboy Slim]

We are swiftly heading into July, which only means one thing... Lovebox is literally just around the corner.

This week's blog playlist is Fatboy Slim.

Fatboy Slim is known for his use of samples and crazy music videos, which have then been used widely in the media. Below I will be displaying some of his finest work (and my favourites of course). I can say that his creativity is partially to blame for my interest in the genre.

Praise you is a very uplifiting, energetic tune, almost with a gospel feel. The video is quite fun too.

Right Here, Right Now is more of an anthem in a sense with a heavy beat. The video compliments it well as it's about evolution in about 3 minutes, but the song evolves too. There's movement, you're going somewhere when you listen to it.

My favourite is the award winning video Weapon of Choice. The video is first class, and who doesn't like Christopher Walken? Couldn't have been any better. The song itself is quite animated. There's loads going on. Not one dull part and it's a true dance track. The lyrics are also quite addictive. This song will be here for a very long time.

Say what you want, but as a DJ and record producer, Fatboy Slim is a legend, an electro dance king.

iSyn Poly - The Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree

As an Apple user (not ipad just yet) I'm really excited about what I'm about to reveal.

VirSyn has launched an enhanced iSyn app for the ipad, naming it iSyn Poly! It now includes quantisation and parameter automation. iSyn Poly has now made it possible to record whole pieces of music using the touch screen or a coreMIDI keyboard. The synths are now polyphonic too! How cool is that! It contains 3 synths, a drum machine (featured in the picture above) and a sequencer.

Click here to check out the official website for a more indepth description with all the specs.

In the mean time, this video is just a taste of what music production on the go is in for...

Blog Playlist (4) - [Basement Jaxx]

This week's blog playlist is one of my favourite all time bands and are most likely the most exciting band in the UK. The floor always tears up when they're on. It's the legendary Basement Jaxx!

Based in London, Basement Jaxx is usually made up of house music, but they are very versatile and can play anything in their own way. Romeo is just one example.

One of their best is the dance track Oh my Gosh. The bass line is short and sharp with a bouncy, springy feel. Listening to it, it's almost like you are compelled to burst out in an old school two step.

The next is Rendez Vous. It's not as popular as say, Where's your head at? but it's still a crowd pleaser. It starts quite smooth with the mexican-ish guitar intro, then blends into a unforgetable beat. Althought you can barely hear what they're saying, it doesn't matter, because it's a hip, modernised tune.

The last is one of my all time favourites. Featuring JC Chasez, Plug it in is really catchy and you can't help but sing along. It sounds like everything Basement Jaxx has done (before this) all rolled together in one. With the funky bassline, if you want know what Basement Jaxx is all about, this isa great starting point.

The ease of Albeton - my new best friend

I've been looking for a new software to help get a more electro sound in some of the tracks I'm working on, especially the remixes. There are so many softwares out there, you can lose track. Then I remembered Albeton.

I'd never used Albeton live before so as usual (I do this with everything), I googled my way through it and came across this really helpfull guide. It's like spreading butter on toast.

You can see what I'm talking about here: http://abletonlife.com/how-to-make-an-electro-house-song-in-ableton-live

Blog Playlist (3) - [Deadmau5]

We've reached part three (or the third week in, however you like it) of my blog playlist. Just a reminder, I'm sharing a playlist of some of the best dance and electro tracks every week in the lead up to the Lovebox festival in July.

This week it's the much loved Deadmau5!

Based in Toronto, Canada, Deadmau5 produces a mixture of electro, progressive and house, providing us with some really heavy beats that blow me away everytime. My first pick is The Reward is Cheese. This is more of a late night rave tune. The bassline is sweet yet hard and get's the heart pumping and racing in the right places, like the sound of a car speeding down the track. The beat keeps the tune sane because there isn't really a reliable melody as there are many twists and turns during the track.

My all time favourite from Deadmau5 is Ghosts N Stuff ft. Rob Swire. The pulsating house beat is hard to resist. This one's got more of a rhythm and dance feel to it. The imagery of pumping fists in the air. It's not as fast paced as their other work, and there are sections where the synth makes a calm anc collected appearance for you to grab some air. Listen for yourself, you'll know what I'm talking about. There's nothing to add to it, it's just an amazing stand alone track, with lyrics or not.

Not Exactly is more of a fun free willing track. I've put this one in for good measures. I like this one because of continuous use of the synth and then everything else is added onto it in a way that builds progression in a slight feel free way. It's not too heavy and is an easy listen.

What's your favourite Deadmau5 track and why? I'm hungry for more!

Music Festivals Kick off! Full lineup

The great thing is not just that it's Friday, but the music festival season has kicked off today with the Isle of Wight, Download, and Glade setting the groove. We all know how fun festivals can be, just check out the guy in the picture above!

As I am super busy with getting this new material I have been working on perfect for you guys, I won't be able to make it to any this year (whether you like Chinese or not, I'm sure you'll dig the new track, hint hint) I'll have to catch up with it via Twitter and when they get shown on TV. The crazy thing is, the internet is such a fantastic tool, it would be great if anyone attending could share their stories, pictures and adventures with us here. So if you've got anything you want to share, give me a shout on either here, Twitter or Facebook. I'm still available on Myspace too if you're still alive over there. Incase you don't know, here's the links...

Twitter - http://bit.ly/knRPmu
Facebook - http://on.fb.me/mp0QEH

There are so many Festivals this year, with some really great lineups, could this be the best year of festivals? What do you think? To keep up to date with all of them and who's performing etc, I've fished out a sweet download from the Guardian websites which lists all the festvals, headliners, acts and so on. It's very usefull, and is up to date. See below for link...

The Guardian: 'UK music festivals 2011 mapped - download the data' - http://bit.ly/mIucIA

There's also a really fun poll "Will you be attending any Music Festivals this season?" on this page http://on.fb.me/mp0QEH

What festivals are you going to? Who are you looking forward to seeing the most? Are you camping out for the whole thing? I want to hear from you! Let's get the ball rolling and share the love!

Blog Playlist (2) - [Daft Punk]

Daft Punk are one amazing band. Originating from France, there's no doubt this french duo has been played everywhere you can think of, and not just in clubs.

Daft Punk is this weeks blog playlist!

It was really their second album Discovery that rose them to commercial fame, hitting the UK charts at number 2. This also demostrated their experimentation with the more synthpop-oriented style. Singles from this album include Harder, better, faster, stronger and the famous One more time. What was interesting about this song was firstly the video. It was like the anime meets the Jetsons in a Sailor Moon fashion. They had built their own little world to celebrate in. The other was how brainwashing it is.You wouldn't need to have the song on repeat to remember the lyrics to get the song hammered into your head. It has a groovy, summery, some what ecstasy vibe to it with a beat that's very distinctive, and that's the part you move to. There was also the interesting heavy auto-tuned compression which made it quite original and different to what was in the charts then.

Their next album Human after all contained the single Technologic which expressed their electronic sound even further. It's really just technological commands being said out loud, in the form or a song. The video is very suiting, as it's a little robot mouthing the words. If you haven't heard it before, you'll recognise it from a few adverts and parts from Busta Rhymes' "Touch it". Again, it's quite hypnotic and simple clever. It's actually the perfect song to do the robot to.

Daft Punk obviously still has it. Becoming the soundtrack for Tron Legacy has boosted them right back up where they should be. They are truely an amazing band and are one of my favourite electronic sounds.

BPM 2011 tickets on sale NOW!

BPM is the world's biggest DJ and electronic music production equipment exhibition which brings DJ's from all over the world together, over a three day period at Birmingham’s NEC.

Featured are all the huge manufacturing brands, and four main sections. This includes the exhibition, where you can try and buy the lastest products for DJing and and music production. Education consists of seminars, workshops and panels. There are alos performances and the chance to network and socialise meeting other DJs, producers and other professionals in the industry.

Last year, BPM attracted a record breaking 6048 visitors over the whole event. It's certainly not something you should miss. It's a great opportunity to get your ideas out and keep informed and up to date with the latests technology. 

Tickets for BMP have now gone on sale. For more information and tickets, visit...

http://www.visitbpm.co.uk/

Blog Playlist (1) - [Sam Sparro]

As you should all know, festival season is quickly approaching. Lovebox is one of the biggest festivals around for dance, electro-pop acts and so on. This year, headliners include Snoop Dogg, Jessie J, Groove Armada, Beth Ditto, Example, Katy B, The Wombats, Robyn, the gracious Scissor Sisters, just to mention a few. Leading up to the festival being held over July the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th at Victoria park, I’ve decided to make my own little blog playlist.

Every Monday (also known as Music Monday) I will be posting up a blog about an artist and some of their best dance tracks. At the end of it I will post up a poll asking which one was your favourite. Also if you have any suggestions of artists and their best tracks you would like me to include, just send me a tweet @Groovervibes. If you don’t have twitter, you can find me on Facebook -“Groov’Tronic” or just simply comment on my blog.

This week’s artist is Sam Sparro.

Although his career has seemed to have died down since his huge success in 2008 with the track Black and Gold, he was able to bring forward many elements to make a fantastic track.

Black and Gold was and still is very catchy with a deep, smooth bass on it’s own at the beginning which then progresses throughout the song and builds it to a sweet melody where Sparro then enters his soulful, silky deep vocals. Picking up somewhat of a pace, the whole arrangement becomes quite hypnotic.  Lyrically speaking, the song is about what the meaning of life is? This is something that everyone has thought about at some point in their lives, “If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn’t real”.

The video was pretty slick too, limousines, suits, bow ties, canes and top hats in a parking lot with a lot of lights and synchronized dance sets.

Realistically his best release, Black and Gold wasn’t the only track blasting in the clubs of London. 21^st Century Life was the next best thing, which had so much more colours and more of a Prince/Jackson-esque dance beat that you could easily groove to, unlike Black and Gold, but we always seemed to have found a way to move to it.

Cottonmouth was his technically his first single released in 2007 about smoking weed then getting really thirsty. It’s not very popular, but it’s got a really fun beat you can easily bounce to and the video’s got a sense of humour. Here’s the video… Get down and Boogie!

Adele most powerful person in British music ~ and so she should be!

23 year old Chasing Pavements singer Adele has topped the Music Power 100 list as the most powerful person in British music... hurray! She also beat Simon Cowel!

How does it all work? Well, the list is decided by a panel from the music industry and they focus mainly of the industry figures and the team behind the artist's success. Looking at Adele's success, she has been number one in 15 different countries with her album '21' and has sold a wopping six million copies of the album in thee time where album sales are really declining. So no matter what, fans are still buying her album.

Why is Adele so popular? She has an amazing voice, so soulful and old fashioned, yet she's at such a young age. She's all about the music too. There's no gimmicks, no selling of sexuality, nothing crazy, just pure talent. She is truely an amazing, beautiful artist and deserves to be where she is today. She makes the Brits proud!

You can find out more about the top 100, including the full list here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/may/27/music-power-100-full-list-adele

Team Adele!

London 2012 Olympics music festival in Hackney

It's been announced that BBC radio 1 will be holding their free music festival in Hackney, east London, running up to the 2012 Olympics.

Though tickets have not gone on sale yet, it will be held on the 23rd and 24th June 2012 at Hackeny Marshes. Starting off the line up, Hackney's own Leona Lewis has been confirmed to perform, and Plan B who also grew up in east London.

The 2012 Olympics has brought so may people together and is a great opportunity to bring people together with music. East London will be the hottest part of London come 2012, it's only right that they hold they event there. It won't just be a music festival, it's a cultural celebration. It's also an opportunity to display the new young talent that London has. We are creative Britian after all. It's going to be a busy summer next year for sure. This is only one of the music events confirmed, expect many more to be confirmed soon.

This year's big weekend was held in Carlisle where Lady Gaga and the Foo Fighters performed.

A race to the top, who's your favourite?

Beyonce has recently announced the release date for her upcoming album 4. Released in the UK on the 27th June in the UK and the 28th for the US, Beyonce seems to be trying to grab her crown back, since the famous, heard everywhere track Single Ladies.

From what it seems, Beyonce, Rihanna and Lady Gaga all seem to be running for who can be the most controversial when it comes to music videos.

Lady Gaga can be said to be setting the bar with her original, creative, yet mostly weird, but entertaining music videos, however, this is Gaga. We don't know her as anything else. Rihanna on the other hand used to be the little girl from Barbados, now she's made music videos that won't be shown on TV until after wastershed and banned from many websites. As a huge idol to a lot of young women, she doesn't seem to be setting a great example. Beyonce on the otherhand is at the end of the chain, trying to climb back up. Her new video is just a reminder of how far she's come and how far she's willing to go to stay in the game.

Being versatile and current is the key to surviving the music industry. Sticking with one genre will only take an artist so far. All these artitsts mentioned here have come out of their comfort zone at some point and have all been on top. Unfortunatly for them, Gaga is like her own genre. She's been in the buisness for only 3 years and she's knocked Oprah off the top spot for the Forbes's most powerful celebrity list.

Beyonce has had a taste of Gaga, teaming up with her a couple of times, so maybe she's taken a few pointers from her experience.

Who's your favourite and why? who should be on top?

No Country for UK

Country music is a very beautiful genre. It contains so much compassion and is a genre many artists have had their hand at trying. Country music is not just about lyrics and intruments, it's about telling a story through song. It's quite a religious genre too.

Country has disappeared from Britain. A few years ago, just before digital came in, there was a country music channel available. The CMA (country music awards) used to it's slot on BBC one or two every year. Now it can't be seen any where really. Scotland seem to still be into country, with many country radio stations available.

One of country's most loved artists, Keith Urban, has recently been awarded a star on the Nashville Walk of Fame. It was only posted in the Daily Mail because he's married to Nicole Kidman, a very talented actress. Keith Urban takes country music to the level where it's considered as country rock.

Taylor Swift has been played quite a lot in the UK, however, her music can come under the pop category and I believe this is one reason why she is played. She doesn't release the real, raw type of country music. She's also young, appealing to the younger audience and has dated quite a few well known celebrities, so she will always be known for the gossip factor. However, her fam has died down in the UK. She was quite popular around two years back.

Lady Antebellum last year showed some sort of hope for country music slowly creeping back into the UK. Releasing their hit "Need You Now" in the UK and playing a few gigs really opened the door for country music to begin it's journey back into our lives. However again, after all the hype, it's now died down. They have released a new single in the US so let's see if it will make it way back.

The UK's television screens and radio stations are full of artists like Rihanna, Beyonce, Eminem, N-Dubz and so on who are all the same genre. There is barely any diversity. The main genres hanging around are RnB, pop and dance. There's barely any rock with only about four channels showing it (MTV Rocks doesn't count as they show Eminem and Plan B, which doesn't make sense) and no country at all. The UK are lacking diversity. Country is just one of them and an important one because of it's popularity in the US.

There are amazing country artists out there, and not just the old fashioned ones like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, but there are those now modernising the genre like Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts. Rascal Flatts even sang a song with Justin Bieber. Country is music that brings people together, it should be shared around the world.
   

Youtube top 100 music chart has arrived!

Youtube announced the creation of their own music charts at youtube.com/music which features the top 100 music videos based on popularity.
This is the best thing Youtube has done in a long time. This means not only commercial and professional artists will have their videos in the top 100, amateurs will also get the chance too. Amateurs will have the chance to get their work known by a wider audience. Finally, the world is embracing the term/era "Creative Britain" but in a universal way.

Youtube has always been known as the user generated website that has made a lot of people famous, whether it's something really small and silly or something huge and talented. Justin Bieber is just one example. Now we have Bieber fever! There's also the most recent Rebbeca Black. Youtube has always been a great way for musicians to get their talent out there universally. Everyone uses Youtube, the world is online, it's proven.

New artists have a great market, especially those who are different to what is already out there. Those who say there isn't anything else that can be done are wrong. Take Lady Gaga for example. She's come so far, getting knocked down by big names and now, she's a mega superstar gaining the first billion views on Youtube, a household name, and not just as a sex icon. People appreciate her as an artist because that is exactly what she is, an artist, she is the perfect definition of what an artist is.

I'm looking forward to watching this new Youtube top 100 grow over the next few months, and if it works (I have no doubt) over the next few years. I can already see the amount of new artists, producers and so on we will discover. Forget reality tv shows like the X Factor who want those who audition to be a commodity and not an artist. Youtube has now landed themselves right in the middle of the whole "for money or for art" debate. Either way, it's a win win situation.

Music Matters Campaign

In March, the campaign for “Music Matters” launched. It’s an important campaign because more than an anti-piracy campaign. It’s about reminding listeners about its value and educating those who consume music on how to identify and get music from legitimate sources such as website.

Ever since digital music was invented, it’s always been difficult protecting the work of artists, songwriters, musicians, producers and so on. Illegally downloading music has increased over the last decade and it’s in a sense destroying the music industry, not just in sales but it’s taking away the art of it all.

Music takes a lot of time, effort, creativity and money to make, it’s no just paying the bills, so it’s unfair when the artists and musicians etc don’t get anything back from putting their all in.

This is a great campaign and I think everyone should know about it. It’s not just a little online campaign; artists like Cee Lo Green, Ellie Goulding, Elbow, Kate Bush and others are backing the campaign, stating why music matters.

Music matters because it’s a part of life; it’s a part of who I am. It helps with every emotion a person can have. Without music, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Music isn’t just a gift; we can’t escape it. It’s a way of life.

Read more about the campaign and spread the word…

http://www.whymusicmatters.org/

How do you know?

A lot of people have asked me “how did you know you wanted to be a music producer? It’s not so much of me wanting to be something. Music production found me.
I’d always been interested in the Keyboard and Synthesizer. These were and still are two important elements to creating music. When I was about 17 years old, I had a 4-track and with this, I did a lot of experimentation with what I could do with it. I guess you could say this was my first step in knowing this was the career path that was right for me.

A music producer doesn’t just listen to a track. He/she should be able to identify and distinguish all the different sounds in a song. All the instruments in a track are doing so many different things to create that one sound. This is something that interested me a lot. I was naturally able to listen to a song and concentrate on each element, pick out all the different beats and rhythms involved. Music must be analysed.
Timbaland is someone who has influenced me a lot and I admire the work that he’s done. Through the music he produces, you can hear that he’s put a lot into making each element of a song perfect and creatively makes it work for every genre. Although he is very commercial, he still brings that sense of “new music” in everything he does, and he isn’t afraid of taking risks. He’s not confined to one style. He doesn’t reproduce music. He creates it. This is exactly the attitude a music producer should always have in mind. This is the road that I take. Music that is new, creative and beautiful is what music should be. As a music producer, like Timbaland, indulging in different genres of music is a plus.

Composing music + sound engineering = music producer and it’s
through this I knew.

Introducing... Groover!

By the age of 13, Groover had taught himself how to play the keyboard and saxophone, becoming recognized as for his great musical ability. At the same time, he was part of the group "Coconut", touring throughout Guadeloupe (French West Indies) at festivals, bars and hotels. Sticking with the sax and keyboard, his music consisted of Zouk (Guadeloupe music), Compas (Haitian music), Salsa and Funk. Groover later on, formed his own band named "Memory Full" and continued touring Guadeloupe with a blend of funk, reggae and jazz music for eight years.

Before settling down in London, Groover lived and toured with "The Chance Orchestra" in Paris, "Caribana" in Barcelona and "SymBiose" in New York.
His time with SymBiose saw their initial signing to Global Beat (promotion company in New York) and recorded an album with Steve Boyer (also one of the producers for Eric Clapton). They performed alongside Mr. Herbie Hancock at the Woodstock festival and contuned performing underground jazz, blues and funk clubs in New York.

Having a taste for producing music, Groover then moved to London in 1996 to pursue his own projects. With his own home recording studio, he often composes, arranges and produce music tracks for various upcoming singers and songwriters mostly in the R&B, Pop, Country, Gospel and Hip Hop genre.

Continuing as a musician, he also performs with "Stuff like that", an eight piece band and plays the sax with DJs in night clubs such as SeOne, Pacha and Pacific Edge. He is also currently working with promoters Red Velvet and Pukka Management.

What's Groover's aim? to take his music to a wider fan base and shift away from the traditional image of the sax as a jazz instrument. Fusing elements of disparate genres together, he is able to provide an alternative setting for the melodic accompaniment his favourite instrument can bring to compositons.

Composing, arranging, mixing and producing his first cool/jazz album "Piece of the Father" in 2003, his music is a mixture of various genres and sounds, where he adds a terrific improvised saxaphone melody. Groover is also the Artist and Music Director of record label 'Groov'Earth Records'.