Monthly Archives: June 2011
30/06/11 Summer Chart
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This chart has more to do with what I like at the moment and not to do with songs that necessarily fit summer. I would hate to become a selector for a generic “Summer Jams 2011” compilation or something like that, so think of this less as Summer tunes and more as hopeful timeless tunes. Enjoy, and buy vinyl because it’s so much more gratifying!!!!
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Tags: Petropoulos
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- Posted under dj charts
18/06/11 When Pieces Fall Together
I swear I don’t listen to music and think to myself “Oh that’s a cover of the so-and-so-group from 19-somethin-somethin, and as a matter of fact it was also redone by so-and-so.”
But sometimes I do figure out where music overlaps and borrows from each other and this is one instance I got excited about.
In this instance I was turned on to some good tunes while listening online to some selections by a couple of DJ’s in the OC and LB area. DJ Cocoe and Conor Rogan.
Cocoe shared “Dub Be Good to Me” by Beats International on FB and then only moments later when I played Conor’s mix on soundcloud I hear The Revenge’s version. Pretty strange that I hear two different versions of a song one after another just by coincidence.
At first I thought, “Oh cool The Revenge sampled this track that Cocoe just shared.” But I did some more research and found out that on The Revenge’s version the female vocalist of Crazy Penis, Danielle Moore, did her own rendition of the original by the S.O.S Band, “Just Be good To Me.” Hearing all of these different versions and finding out how many talented artists are connected by this one song is so great to me, I love when the pieces fall together like that!
Here are all three versions, all of them are great. 🙂
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S.O.S Band – Just Be Good To Me
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Beats international – Dub Be Good To Me
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The Revenge feat. Danielle Moore – Just Be Good To Me
Tags: Beats International, Cocoe, Conor rogan, Danielle Moore, S.O.S. Band, The Revenge
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- Posted under Dance Music Articles
14/06/11 Rudy’s Midnight Machine – Retrofit #6 [RETROFIT 6]
Forthcoming on Jay Shepheard’s label Retrofit. Also Shepheard and the man behind Retrofit #6 answer a few questions about the release and the label.
Q: Who is Rudy’s Midnight Machine?
Jay Shepheard: “Rudy’s Midnight Machine is the side project from Robin Lee – one half of the Faze Action duo.”
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Q: Who is Ee Ef Ex?
Jay Shepheard: “Ee Ef Ex is a debut side project of mine.”
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Q: Robin, what has influenced your recent work?
Robin Lee: “I suppose it changes all the time. I grew up listening to sounds in the 80’s so it’s easy for me to come from that angle. Coupled with the current trend of stripped down house music which is a joy to play out. I try and keep my influences subliminal. By that I mean, I don’t go out to recreate a track from the past that I might like but I let those influences naturally come out. I think it allows you to make more original stuff. Of course one of my big influences recently has been the Retrofit series, Jay Shep and OOFT amongst others.”
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Q: Can you shed some light on the production of these tracks, what hardware, software, synthesizers, live recording (if any) is used?
Robin Lee: “I’m using Logic 9 on a Mac G5 with Adam A8X monitors. We have a small 16 channel desk that we track things through. For a lot of the synth parts I use an old Sequential Circuits 6trak analogue synth. It’s actually one of the first analogue synths to have midi so it can end up being very hands on when you’re tracking parts down. It seems to cut mixes like a knife through butter as well. For the live bass I either use a Fender Jazz bass (Vintage Japanese Edition) or a Lakland 5 string beast (it’s actually extra long scale to properly accommodate that low bottom end). The guitar is a hand made Heartfield through an old Sound City amp that I mic up with an SM57 and then gate to give it that slightly clipped sound. I have a large sample library that I use with the built in sampler in Logic (EXS24), and I get my samples from loopmasters or sounds to sample.”
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Q: From what I understand Jay, you used to be based in Germany and moved back to the UK, has this change in location influenced your production and the spawning of the retrofit label?
Jay Shepheard: “Yes that’s right. I was living in Berlin for a year or so from 2009… Its a great city and I love it there, I will almost certainly go back for a while at some point. However I grew up in London and had been away for 2 and a half years (I was living in Poland with my fiance before Berlin) so thought it was time to come back home for a while. At that time Juno was just starting their distribution project so I asked if they’d be interested in doing a label with me and its just gone on from there – I have a pretty tight relationship with Juno as before I moved away I was working there for about 7 years. As far as influencing my production I think both cities have pretty broad scenes these days so I don’t think the moving about really changed my styles so much…Especially with how much listening you can do + promo etc all online these days I guess geographic boundaries between musical tastes in different cities have broken down a lot.”
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Look out for the release very soon. To be updated on its release keep in touch with the label on their Facebook Page or on their wordpress blog.
Tags: Jay Shepheard, Retrofit, Robin Lee, Rudy's Midnight Machine
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- Posted under Artist Spotlight, digital release, Interview, Label Spotlight, vinyl release
12/06/11 Nicholas – No More Hits 14 [NMH 14]
No More Hits is back with one of my personal favorite producers, Nicholas Iammatteo. This 4 track EP is chock full of those classic re-interpretations Nicholas and the No More Hits label are loved for. I asked Nicholas about the EP and he let me in on some of what went into this release.
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Nicholas’ favorite on the EP is the second track on side A entitled “If This World.” The vocals are taken from Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell’s song “If This World Were Mine.” The track leaves the classic soulful vocals for the most part completely true to the original but layers it over some of that deep electric 90’s 4/4.
Nicholas – If This World
Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell – If This World Were Mine
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“World of Confusion” is a heavy enthralling 85 BPM edit of Undisputed Truth’s 70’s psychedelic funk song “Ball of Confusion.” This is actually Nicholas’ second edit he has ever made, it was produced a year ago and is finally being released now.
Nicholas – World of Confusion
Undisputed Truth – Ball of Confusion
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My favorite track on the EP is “I Know a Place.” The horns in this track get my blood pumping and the vocalist’s message is so great, “I know a place where they don’t care who you are, or who you know.”
Nicholas – I Know a Place
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B1 is another good soulful re-interpretation, it’s tracks like this one where you understand the aural appeal No More Hits is after. Classic talented vocalists and musicians getting a chance at reaching a new generation and another chance at filling floors with a revamped production. This track has a lot going on in it, guitars wailing, a vocalist belting his soul out onto the floor, and a chunky beat to keep things going.
Nicholas – Can You Understand
Tags: Nicholas Iammatteo, No More Hits
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- Posted under vinyl release
04/06/11 ACID MONDAYS/SEAN THOMAS/DJ ALI/GARRY TODD – EP ONE [ILL 001]
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A first release! I always love first releases, they seem to breathe life into me. I think it has something to do with the possibilities that lye ahead and the surprises that are sure to arise from a fresh label. You just don’t know where they might take their sound, and that is what I love.
A lot of 4/4 modern club house thrives on formulaic production, and although this release has some good heavy club sounds, it steers clear of predictable formulas, it keeps things interesting. This release takes that heavy club sound and gives it flavor and variation.
This release encompasses a lot of my taste for dance music as well. I still love the pounding thumping sounds, but I tire easily when production neglects my mind and doesn’t give a proper attempt to doing something fresh. This release isn’t your typical 4 cut EP of more or less of the same club production. The A side and B side almost seem like they wouldn’t even be on the same release because they vary so much. The A-Side to this release is the quality go to tracks for that late night period of continuous entrancing rhythm. The B-side is where things really get interesting. B1 is an ode to the menacing sounds and B2 is the mood lightener that leaves you feeling nostalgic to those 80’s electro boogie sounds.
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A Side
Acid Mondays – “Fomo”
Sean Thomas – “Fantasizer”
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B side
DJ Ali – “Park Your Mind”
Garry Todd – “Dice Me Up”
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It looks like they have two more tracks for this release that aren’t on the 12″ vinyl, perhaps they will be released later as a digital version. You can hear those tracks at the their soundcloud page. And you can keep in touch with them on facebook.
Tags: Acid Mondays, DJ Ali, Garry Todd, Illusions, Sean Thomas
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- Posted under vinyl release