HouseMusicDaily.com

(Ableton) Masturbation and You

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:12:00 CST

So you're a youngblood, you're living in the city. You play a weekly residency and some gigs here and there. You're not the first guy on the flyer but you're not the last. You've played some big clubs, more often in the smaller room of a large venue, and you've been invited to some cities and even had people pay to bring you there. ...

How Hot is My Track? Rating the Promo Services

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:46:00 CST

Are you still using sendspace as a promotional tool? Unless it's personalized, as part of a larger campaign or sent specifically to a few key DJs or buds (for whom sending a track just to you has a personal touch that is indeed a stroke of genius), there are better options for getting music in the hands of the people who play it. ...

What Happened to Gemini? A Spencer Kincy Update

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:42:00 CST

I've put off writing this for awhile, much like I put off writing the original Spencer Kincy article 5 Magazine published last April. It's not a happy subject. But with renewed interest in this as well as wild speculation and rumor circulating in place of fact, it's probably about time for an update as well as to ask one of the philosophical questions posed by Spencer's disappearance from the scene seven or eight years ago. I also have some good news for fans of Spencer's music about a new re-issue by one of his original labels. ...

When Playa Hating Goes Too Far

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 21:33:00 CST

Back in the 1990s, when the Chicago Bulls were a dynasty rather than a laughingstock, I remember overhearing a conversation at a diner between two twenty-something women. Apparently, one of them had bumped into Scottie Pippen at a restaurant and asked him for an autograph. As the guy was sucking down a plateful of pasta, he declined. ...

Review: Doc Link "Lifts Me Higher"

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 19:46:00 CST

Doc Link is a cat that's been around Chicago for more than two decades. He just does what he does and woe unto you if you don't notice, because he makes beats that send the mega-hyped Agency DJs back to crate-diggin' in the ghetto flea markets. ...

Review: Chemars Feelin' Good EP

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 18:40:00 CST

s there ever a bad time for Hammertime? If you're listening to the Rescue + Uriah West Remix of Chemars' Feelin' Good EP on Hub City, the answer is hell yes there fucking is. This is a perfectly good remix, pushing the original into grimey loft nirvana and with otherwise terrific vocal samples and a sparse but effective '90s suicide keyboard riff. ...

Susan Boyle Hates Vinyl, or the Dangers of Self-Delusion

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:25:00 CST

Reading and listening the triumphant but ultimately shallow posts about the comeback of vinyl records has turned my stomach in knots and now it's inside out. This is nothing to celebrate and if you read the very statistics you're posting with a critical eye, you'd file this one not under WOOT but WTF. ...

Ableton and Serato Team Up on... Something!

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:06:00 CST

In one of the more cryptic pre-launch announcements in recent months, the makers of Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live have issued a press release, launched a website and are throwing a party to let the world know that they're doing... something. ...

When Peven Everett Was Right

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:09:00 CST

We've written in the past about Peven Everett (or his collaborators, it's never entirely clear to me who is doing the typing) and his adventures and misadventures on the internet. ...

Electro is Like Eating a Bag of Candy

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 14:17:00 CST

Tasty but without substance, and you feel guilty and maybe the urge to vomit afterwards. Example:...

Fuck Yeah 2010: 4 Predictions for the New Year

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 17:32:00 CST

Unless you work for a hedge fund or a bookie, predictions for the coming year don't add up to squat. It's a useful way to fill copy, though, so as a relentless copywhore I'm going to list some of mine...

Things a 12 Year Old Can Do (But House Music Labels Can't)

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 05:43:00 CST

We publish a music magazine. Though the industry has changed quite a bit over the years, over the transom submissions are still the lifeblood of any music rag. You want to write about what's new, what's interesting, what's groundbreaking or just what's good to groove to...

Hi-Fi Hell: CDs vs. Vinyl vs. MP3 All Over Again

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:38:00 CST

Imported beer tastes better. Microbrews, as a rule, taste better. Yet Budweiser and Miller sell billions of bottles a year and it's not because they brainwash us by carpet-bombing advertising all over the place, but because millions and millions of people (yeah, I know!) like them. The argument of hi-fi vs. lo-fi has been around...

The Cold, Harsh Reality of the Music Business of the Future

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 03:01:00 CST

Summary: It doesn't exist...

Traxsource's Top 100 of 2009 Is Utterly Uncontroversial

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 11:55:00 CST

Traxsource has published their list of the top 100 and except for screaming at each other over the order, it's... pretty much about right...

YAHMD (Yet Another House Music Documentary): They Call It Acid

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 03:04:00 CST

Another day, another documentary on the history of dance music. This one at least focuses on a subset of what would eventually become a wildly diverse scene, and is narrated by Robert Owens and that's hard to beat...

Dance Music Grammy Nominations

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:03:00 CDT

Dennis Ferrer headlines this year's list of nominations in the Grammy Awards dance music and remixing categories. His remix of Don't Believe in Love by make-out music queen Dido on Arista Records is nominated for the Grammy for Best Remixed Recording (Non-Classical)...

Trance Kills

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:56:00 CDT

The (18 year old) victim and (DJ Seasunz, aka Juan Carlos Portieles) have been romantically involved for approximately 2 year(s). On the above listed date and location, the victim and (DJ Seasunz) were involved in a heated verbal altercation. The altercation escalated and (Seasunz) began to beat and bite the victim repeatedly and she fought back. (DJ Seasunz) choked the victim until she stopped moving. (DJ Seasunz) sustained several injuries which include: scratches throughout face and torso, swollen right hand...

Ralf Gum and Monique Bingham are Back

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:43:00 CDT

There are very few tracks I'd hype without hearing more than a snippet. Anything produced by Ralf GUM (discography, myspace, facebook) is right at the top of the list. Launching tomorrow (September 30, 2009) is "Little W. 12th St.", Ralf Gum's follow-up with Monique Bingham to last year's smash "Kissing Strangers" on his own GOGO Music label. (You can read my interview with Ralf from May 2009 here.)...

Getting Your Music Heard (Part 214,523,403)

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:31:00 CDT

Six months ago in this space, I wrote that "The freedom brought about by the decline of vinyl and the high production costs associated with producing it hasn't led to better music - just more of it." The signs of the music apocalypse are becoming increasingly apparent. A year ago, 5 Magazine received maybe 40 promos a month. We now receive well over 200. At least half of these are EPs containing three or more distinct tracks (and at least half of those sound like Eric Cartman singing "She Works Hard for the Money" with a disco beat, but anyway...). In other words, the amount of music flowing down the pipe every month has multiplied about seven-fold in the course of a year...

ASCAP Jumps the Shark

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:02:00 CDT

Forget making music, playing records, singing, learning an instrument or anything else of any value in the world. Become a lawyer, you get paid better and there are two chicks for every boy. Case in point: ASCAP has argued that every time your cellphone rings and plays a piece of music as a ringtone, it counts as a "public performance" and they want to collect performance rights. To be clear, the music is already licensed - Verizon or your telecom provider of choice is not bootlegging tunes. But the license isn't enough, they say: every time your momma calls you, another fraction of a penny should be transmitted to the artist...

Deep Sugar, 1.3 Million Shots of Licka + More

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:12:00 CDT

A round-up of sorts from the world of dance music today: Ultra Nate's Deep Sugar was picked the "Best Dance Party" in Baltimore by the local Baltimore City Paper. Ultra Nate's legendary Deep Sugar party keeps on trucking over baby-powder-coated dance floors every month in its adopted home of Paradox. From big names in house like producer Louie Vega to turntablist DJ Spinna to choice locals like KW Griff and the Unruly Records crew--which takes over the club's back room every month with its powerful DJ roster--Deep Sugar delivers again and again...

Remix My Song. Spread the Word. Get Paid (Maybe)

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:53:00 CDT

It just ain't House Music until we take a fun idea and run it into the ground. This weekend, I received four - count 'em, four - emails from labels promoting "remix contests". I've been seeing this everywhere, from Evolution Media to Depeche Mode to Mariah Carey to Jay-J to Radiohead. Would it kill anyone to try a little creativity in their promotions, though? Trumpeting a remix contest in 2009 is like bragging that the streets are cleaner since those horseless carriages came around...

Inside Job: Meet the Pirates (Part 2)

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:21:00 CDT

The Feds took down piracy crew Rabid Neurosis, or RNS, last week. According to most reports, RNS had retreated underground in early 2007, when the group was publicly fingered for uploading Eminem's album Encore more than a month before it was due to hit the shops. But for close to a decade, they were responsible for uploading an estimated 6,000 albums+ per year and were behind the pre-release leak of hundreds of tracks. How did they get them? Simple: at least one of the members worked in a peripheral but crucial link in the music industry's distribution chain...

Inside Job: Piracy in the Music Industry (Part 1)

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:52:00 CDT

In hearings held before the US Congress, European parliaments and a legion of industry panels over the years, one of the most alarming war stories of the battle against online music pirates is the tale of the track that's leaked before it's official release. A number of tracks have suffered this fate in recent years. Just last week, Jay-Z announced he was moving forward the release date for The Blueprint 3 after online leaks had supposedly ruined his label's marketing plan (though that link, of course, and this story you're reading now are acting as a form of advanced publicity. Jay-Z himself commented on the leak by saying fans should "enjoy" what he interpreted as a "preview".)...

The Tube: A Day in the Night of New York

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 15:27:00 CDT

Classic film on youtube: a 1983 British documentary on New York City nightlife, including stops at the Danceteria and the Paradise Garage...

Stereo Montreal Burns - Again; Arson Suspected

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 09:56:00 CDT

You really can't make this up. Almost 1 year to the date since a "suspicious" fire gutted famed nightclub Stereo Montreal - previously owned and perhaps intricately bound to the name of founder David Morales - another "suspicious" fire has burned the club just two days prior to the grand re-opening. The July 2008 fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damages, though Stereo's acclaimed sound system was said to have survived. Management claimed initially that the club would re-open within a matter of weeks, though it took more than a year for an announcement that the club would be reopening...

Love Alive: Your Wait is Over

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:32:00 CDT

This is probably one of the most anticipated long-players of the year. Jay-J has been working seemingly forever on this 14 track artist album and the results are well worth the wait. Leaks that emerged from the sessions for the album Love Alive were tantalizing and the final product showcases vocalists Big "Brooklyn" Red, Michelle Shaprow, Charlene Moore, BAM, Judy Albanese, Fabian Leo and showcases the musicianship of the multi-talented Scott Wozniak. And oh lookie, someone made a kick-ass promo video!...

Newsflash: Social Marketing is a Waste of Time

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:46:00 CDT

I've had a million conversations about the subject of social marketing in the House Music scene. David Sabat at DJMarketing101.com (who was one of the poor saps that had to listen to my rants) addressed this subject better than I can do here. If you're one of those folks printing your myspace address on every single thing you produce and think that's enough, I strongly recommend you go read that now. Being old enough to remember Gopher, an active USENET and even BBS, the notion that the next big thing can overnight become the last big thing - that all of this stuff can vanish tomorrow - is something I've taken for granted. A more recent example is Friendster. Those of us who were active on the internet back then remember hearing the buzz about this "revolutionary" social networking system and witnessed the hysterical peak and inevitable decline...

Someone Has to Scream Say It

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:44:00 CDT

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. People aren't going out, people aren't buying anything and every goddamned thing they could by is on the first page of Google a week before you release it anyway. I hear plenty of things that my grandmother would find funky and it sounds like bullshit to me, just pure, unadulterated bullshit, music made for cocktail parties and swingin' bachelor pads and beat poetry slams and makes me want to fall asleep with how goddamned respectable the whole thing has become. The outlaws became the industry and now the industry is falling to pieces and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it...

The Faceless Band Behind a Timeless Classic

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:16:00 CDT

Michael Viner, the head of the tabloid publisher Phoenix Books, passed away at his home in Beverly Hills on August 8, 2009. Most obituaries have focused on his prickly personality and his rather disposable books (his star titles include The Price: My Rise and Fall as Natalia, New York's #1 Escort and he recently took to the web to defend passing a book contract to Rod Blagojevich). But history is a funny thing. What made for the most notoriety for Viner isn't what he'll ultimately be remembered for. It was a project for music by a band that wasn't really a band, for a movie that no one has ever seen, and turned out to become one of the most influential records of all time: "Apache" by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band...

Ralphi Rosario: He Ain't Gone Nowhere

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:08:00 CDT

Some months ago, a web publication that shall remain nameless (eh, nevermind) did one of those kooky "Where Are They Now?" features, focusing exclusively on Chicago House Music producers from the first and second wave. While pondering the fate of Robert Armani (he's doing fine, by the way, as anyone relying on more than 5 seconds of Googling could tell you), they also threw in a jab at Ralphi Rosario. They knew where he was, of course - Ralphi has been a fixture in this seedy lil town for more than 20 years - bu threw a hip-check at his current predilection for the more progressive aspects of House and asked instead "where it had all gone wrong". Again, spend a few months with your ear to the ground and you'll know that Ralphi hasn't gone anywhere. And it's proven with his newest release, "Everybody Shake It" on Blueplate Global. On the vocals is legendary diva Shawn Christopher (is the singer from the vocal mixes of "French Kiss" real enough for you?), and lest you wonder about the sound, the two or three progressive-ish tracks are offset nicely by mixes from L�go of Poontin Muzik and Jay-J of Shifted Music....

Track of Today: DJ Sneak - The Lost DAT Tapes Vol 1

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:32:00 CDT

First of all, a link back. Back in March, I wrote in "Death of the Mixtape" that: As a music fan, I can tell you that I've spent exactly 1 second worrying about how the DJ playing that slammin' track got ahold of it. I expect labels and producers worry about that all the time, but the only thing the dancefloor worries about is whether or not the tune is good - not if someone downloaded it off RapidShare or got it from his buddy. I'm quoting that here because I have hell all idea where the hell DJ Sneak's The Lost DAT Tapes Vol 1 came from. It's purportedly the first and only release on "Lost Dats US", which could be a clever name Sneak came up with to, well, sneak this one up on you. It could also be the alias of someone releasing these without his consent, knowledge or permission. It might be a bootleg. It might be something shoved under the door. I know it can be seen as not polite to ask some established recording artists about edits so I won't... But in the hoopla that's sure to surround Sneak's brand new artist album The House of House, we can't lose track of this awesome little EP of beat tracks and simple sample jackin' House that's snaking through the underground...

Just a Quickie

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:25:00 CDT

If you can't tell, things slow to a crawl in 5 Mag land the third week of every month. That's when this terribly understaffed magazine gathers up our precious human resources and puts out another installment of the only magazine Stateside that's devoted exclusively to true, genuine, uncompromising House Music. We'll be picking up the momentum again next week, but here are a few things piling up in my tray: Andy Ward ft. Sofia Rubina's Streets of the Sun is the hottest track I've heard this summer. Seriously - I'm starting to get bored of superduper deep shit but the Heavyweight Mix (a collaboration with my absolute hero Phil Asher) just kills. Our friends at Stompy are giving away just a slew of tunes as part of a summer sampler, including tracks from House stalwarts Matthew Bandy, Lars behrenroth, Jay Tripwire and 1200 Warriors...

Track of Today: Mark de Clive-Lowe/Lady Alma: "I Can't Help It"

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:39:00 CDT

I'm going to work against type here and throw aside the curmudgeonly bit and say that I'm enjoying the renaissance of Michael Jackson tunes that popped up in House Music of late. There were a lot of remixes hiding in the back of people's crates that I may have heard once or twice and never again (a legacy of that lovely habit of the dance music industry in the 1990s of remixing popular songs and making sure no more than four DJs ever played it)...

Free, Music and the Future of the Recording Industry, Part 1

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:48:00 CDT

Every few years, Wired editor and would-be visionary Chris Anderson crawls out from the Conde Nast slush pile and releases a book based around his latest, "groundbreaking" big idea. He's at it again with his latest tome which many media watchers and twitchy record industry types are abuzz about, called Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Anderson is famous for popularizing the economic theory of "The Long Tail". Even if you know nothing about economics, you're familiar with The Long Tail. It's why, in theory at least, you prefer to shop at Amazon.com (and why that last link went to Amazon.com!) rather than your local bookstore. The basic notion is that people like variety, and businesses can be rewarded by stocking a huge array of products and selling "less of more" - that is, more books that sell 100 copies in addition to the handful of bestsellers...

Keith Nunnally Releases New Book "Portrait of Self Hatred"

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:55:00 CDT

I think I've had a grand total of two conversations with Keith Nunnally (facebook here), the vocalist best known for his soaring melodies and sweaty grit on classic JM Silk releases "Music Is The Key", "Shadows of Your Love" and Let The Music Take Control" among others. The upshot: these were conversations I've never forgotten. What began as just a quick hello evolved into some deep discussions of the industry, the community and beyond that a discourse on the peculiarities of human nature. Aside from having one of the strongest voices ever etched into acetate, Keith has some of the strongest, mostly deeply held convictions of anyone I've met, and is certainly one of the most well-rounded folks I've had the pleasure to meet, in the industry or out. During our first conversation some two or three years ago, Keith mentioned a book he was working on. It wasn't yet another "Who Was House Music's Daddy?" diatribe, the likes of which have come and go without ever having decided anything. No, what he was working on was nothing less than a meditation on the modern African-American family...

Track of Today: DJ Jorj ft. Michelle Weeks and Byron Stingily - "Back 2 Me"

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 13:18:00 CDT

Okay, it's another article, but it's been stressed repeatedly here that the lack of quality control inherent in a download-driven music industry is pushing the value of new music down to zero. But there is a bright side to the ease with which one can drop a track on a download site and have it distributed instantly around the world, and that's the opportunity to hear new sounds, by people you've never heard before, from half-way across the world, and have your world grow just a little larger...

Track of Today: Fred Everything + Olivier Desmet - "It's Alright"

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:54:00 CDT

Here's your Track of Today - one of the two b-sides on the new Fred Everything and Olivier Desmet EP Retro Visions Vol 1. True to the collection's title, there's a bit of a retro flair to this one, though by "retro" I'm thinking more "Sound Factory Bar" than "Sauers"....

Free House: Violently Happy to Give You Free Downloads for June 12, 2009

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:06:00 CDT

Cash just makes people deliriously happy. So does free stuff. And so we're back like Don LePre, positively orgasmic over the very idea of giving you free House Music downloads that pass through our radar...

The Godfather of South African House Music: DJ Christos

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 18:40:00 CDT

There's no other country in the world in which not just dance, not just House, but deep house is the country's "most dominant genre". Yes, this is another attempt to get everyone to pay proper attention to what's going on half a world away, where Black Coffee - South African House Music's first identifiable, worldwide superstar - is one but just one of a dozen incredibly talented cats and where not just House Music but good House Music is becoming the anthem of a new generation...

The Sound a Pirate Makes When It Dies

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 16:55:00 CDT

A word of explanation: for some time, "Keisha" has run one of those blogs that consists of nothing but links to pirated music. The hilarious thing is that next to a few hundred dollars worth of pilfered downloads, she has a little image that read "Please Support the Artists". Apparently, the best way to do that is to pirate their music. She posted the above message apparently in response to getting legal takedown notices. And the funny thing is, she sounds twice as whiny as the million dollar artist claiming he can't feed his 50 illegitimate children because some kid dumped his stuff on bittorrent...

Track of Today: Andy Compton ft. Diviniti - "In Love Again"

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 18:51:00 CDT

It's been awhile since we picked a track of today. At the risk of sounding like the music snob that I'm really not, good new releases have been few and far between of late. A number of music superstars have apparently abandoned even the pretense of writing new tunes, seemingly happy to mix and remix and squeeze a few more quid out of the same classics. We know them, we love them, and we're going to take a hostage if we have to hear it yet again. And then it comes. You hear something new and wonder if you've heard it before. No, not quite: it's just a song that seems to hit you at just the right time, a blast of fresh air that seems to cleanse your surroundings as well as yourself...

Housekeeping 101

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 18:51:00 CDT

We've taken down the links to Beatport and DanceTracksDigital in our New Releases box in the right column. We basically offered this up as a free service to let the top digital download sites to really push new music, charging nothing and asking for nothing in return. Unfortunately the RSS files of new releases from these sites are both technically troublesome (i.e., the feeds are invalid) and frankly have about the loosest definition of "Deep House Music" that you can imagine. One of these would be tolerable, but slowing down an entire page to show new progressive electro releases is really too much ...

Martinez Brothers in the Paper of Record

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 12:22:00 CDT

Here's a pleasant surprise this morning. The New York Times has an extensive write up in their arts section on New York city DJ wunderkinds The Martinez Brothers: ...

Is West End Records for Sale?

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:22:00 CDT

Is the most valuable back catalog in dance music - an empire of sounds sampled every single day, from KTel-type compilations to hot new tracks - on the trading block? Question marks abound. I'm not too pleased to make speculative conclusions but a little investigation reveals that something strange is going on. It started a few months ago, when I noticed that mail being sent to West End was being returned. This happens - to everybody - now and then, but after a few issues and a few months, I realized it wasn't a fluke. I haven't heard anything from anyone at West End since Mel Cheren died in December 2007. Nobody's logged into their myspace page, per myspace's public display counter, since January 2, 2008 - just a few weeks after Mel Cheren passed and the news first broke. The company's main telephone phone number - 212.367.3737 - is now answered by a message indicating that the owner has not yet activated their voicemail. The fax number - 212.367.3738 - has been disconnected. So I went to their website to get a phone number. That was when I noticed this, under their contact information: ...

Good Morning

Wed, 27 May 2009 11:02:00 CDT

We're back from the dead - aka the usual monthly production grind that our staff of 3 (in the fashion of Nigerian scamsters, that's "three") performs each month to get 5 Magazine on the street. And this is a good one. Frankie Knuckles steps out from behind the booth to explain his sentiments to his fans (as well as sounding off on classics parties, the cult of the superstar DJ and more). And then Dimitri from Paris, quite unexpectedly, explains just about the entire history of Dub, from the dawn of multitrack recording to Jamaican reggae and New York's disco scene. In other words, it's a good 'un and we hope you'll get the chance to check it out in June. And now it's back to work. Amuse yourself for a moment with Stevie Wonder rockin' out on Sesame Street: ...

HouseMusicDaily.com Official Launch Party Tonight

Thu, 21 May 2009 14:52:00 CDT

Tonight we're holding the official launch party for this here site. If you're in Chicago, stop by Betty's Blue Star Lounge (1600 W. Grand) for our good friends Paul Johnson and Gene Hunt with resident DJ Rees Urban. It's free and goes until 4am. ...

Remember When They Used to Have Music on MTV?

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:52:00 CDT

I don't think you'll find anyone that cares less what's playing on the radio, but the passing of the Performance Rights Act by Congress last week by the US Congress' House Judiciary Committee might lead to more changes to the audio spectrum than anything in our lifetime. In theory, it's a good thing. Terrestrial radio (what you can pick up with an antenna) has long been exempt from paying for performance rights (though they did have to pay the songwriters). To simplify: when you heard the 10,000th daily rotation of Beyonce on your local urban station, she received nothing for being the singer on the track - only if she was also the writer of it. Obviously, when it comes to pop music, the performer and the writer are often two different entities. There was a gauntlet of pop stars that walked before the Judiciary Committee, as there always are when it comes to these things. In theory, people making money from their music is always a good thing. But why then did a group of minority broadcasting lobbyists and the like protest the decision...

Electric Zoo Festival Line-Up Announced

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:52:00 CDT

The line-up for the two day Electric Zoo Festival to be held September 5th and 6th, 2009 (that's Labor Day weekend) has been announced. This is supposedly preliminary, with more to come, but outside of Frankie Knuckles on Sunday and possibly Kaskade and Danny Tenaglia on Saturday, House Music isn't terribly well represented. It's $100 for General Admission to both days of what's being billed as "New York's Electronic Music Festival" held at Randall's Island Park, New York. The list so far...

Free House: Violently Happy to Give You Free Downloads for May 13, 2009

Wed, 13 May 2009 18:46:00 CDT

We're back like Matthew Lesko, just violently happy to give you free stuff for your House Music pleasure. Start off with your birthday present, whenever it is. House DJ, producer and remixer extraordinaire Scott Wozniak is giving away a zip of 30 unreleased tracks. You read that right: 30 free tracks from one of the best beatmakers working today. Happy birthday...

Tommy Silverman: The New Music Seminar is Back

Wed, 13 May 2009 18:03:00 CDT

Every year, producers and industry-types I talk to lament the lack of meaningful business conducted in Miami at the Winter Music Conference. You'd think that getting most of the top people in all facets of the dance industry together would result in more than douchemusic DJs complaining about doucheculture heiresses disrespecting their craft, but outside of a few below-market bookings and the chance to seed promos to the right people, the only ones who seem to do a killing are the hotels and clubs. But years ago, there used to be something called the New Music Seminar, and industry legends from Terry Hunter (and here) to Tyree Cooper to Farley Jackmaster Funk have told us in interviews how crucial the New Music Seminar was in their respective careers. Now, Tommy Silverman of Tommy Boy Entertainment and Dave Lory of Worldwide Entertainment Group are bringing it back. And unlike the party vibe of Miami, the "new"-New Music Seminar is focusing like a laser beam on the question on everyone's mind: how are we supposed to make a living these days?...

Unbelievably Cute: Nick Maurer "Beautiful Person" on D'lectable

Mon, 11 May 2009 19:31:00 CDT

This is just the cutest thing. Lady D's D'lectable Music has released the video for the first solo release by Nick Maurer (of Greenskeepers fame), titled "Beautiful Person". It has that whole Thomas Dolby/1980s low wave/Friday Night Videos vibe; it helps that it's a catchy song that works on that level, too. ...

Media Discovers Hip House 20 Years After They Killed It

Mon, 11 May 2009 15:50:00 CDT

Last month, when I was putting together the strands of information that would go into 5's story on Spencer Kincy, I happened across a lengthy profile from a UK magazine on the "new House sound of Chicago" - circa 1994. For the Brits making the sojourn to what they considered the "House Mecca", they were in for a pretty grim disappointment. Far from dominating the local airwaves, they could hardly find a couple of minutes of real Chicago House on local radio. Clubs like the Warehouse on Randolph weren't hard to find but a bit in the shadow of the megaplexes dishing out commoditized commercial nonsense. And to local media, it was like this beautiful thing then transforming local culture didn't exist at all. That's been the name of the game in Chicago. It's not just that Mark Farina, DJ Sneak, DJ Rush and many others of that generation blew up into full-blown stars when they left Chicago, but hilariously enough were only deemed worth of "local coverage" by the press after they moved away. If you think that's an unfair characterization, compare them with two DJ/producers of the same stature - say, Mike Dunn and Mark Grant - who remained in Chicago, and compare the coverage between them. The fact that these guys are in this city making music that's played all around the world and can be seen almost weekly is deemed less important in column-inches compared to someone who used to live here releasing a new compilation and appearing for one night only. ...

Video Kills the House Music Star

Fri, 8 May 2009 14:56:00 CDT

The future they told us about has arrived: the world's greatest online radio station is here, and it's free. It's this site I found called "YouTube" and it might have slipped under your radar until now. The beautiful thing about uploading music to YouTube is that fans can hear the complete song without the label fearing that it'll be ripped. It is possible for the enterprising unemployed basement-dweller to rip the audio from the FLV file that YouTube streams, but it's of such poor quality that it would hardly be useful for anything. In House Music, most record sales are made by DJs - people who want to play this music, and presumably audiophiles. I've gotten so much stress about 160kps releases that there's really no question in my mind at least that anyone who would go through the insane amount of trouble to extract what will probably be a sub-100kps audio track from a video file was almost religiously determined to never buy your music in the first place. Now I remember a conversation I had with someone in the tech industry a year or so ago about the troubles of streaming music online. The Big 4 Music Labels hold so much power that they repeatedly give their blessing to certain projects (usually headed or funded by veteran industry insiders) while keeping royalty rates so high that truly innovative start-ups can't manage to break even. You might think sites like imeem.com and pandora.com are successful because you and your friends use it, but both sites are in dire straits financially, to the point where more users actually means less money. (iMeem was actually in extreme peril before a small tranche of investor money last week helped keep them afloat.)...

Track of Today: Yameen ft. Lady Alma - "Light of Love"

Wed, 6 May 2009 14:20:00 CDT

Okay, for all of the bitching about House Music moguls running their digital empires from free myspace pages and who saturate the market with utterly disposable releases, it's time to give props to someone doing it right. The Track of Today for May 6 is Yameen ft. Lady Alma's "Light of Love". This is a good ole' fashioned single - no fluff, no filler, just two killer remixes by UK groove guru Mark De Clive-Lowe, one vocal and one instrumental. This is in preparation for the full-length album from Yameen called Never Knows More. And from what I can tell, these folks have it together - full, professional promotion of a product that's worth your hard-earned dollars. And yameenmusic.com has tons of goodies for anyone still on the fence about cashing in their pennies for this release, including this video of MDC-L remixing the track in the studio:...

It's Official: Serato Makes Every Doofus a DJ

Wed, 6 May 2009 13:11:00 CDT

I'm not a fan of trendwatching in newspapers, but I think it's about time we call this one: Serato has taken all of the art, all of the skill and all of the poetry out of DJing forever and nothing will ever be the same again. I mean, it was bad enough when Tommy Lee decided that DJing was a better career move than beating drums. I could almost tolerate it when a former pop singer bragged in the pages of 5 Magazine about her complete inability to blend two records together - while on a DJ tour. But when a newspaper in godforsaken Tennessee is talking about struggling musicians with no merit other than a need to make a few bucks and a large collection of pirated MP3s becoming DJs, well, we're doomed...

The Boycott: Maurice Joshua Explains It

Tue, 5 May 2009 17:13:00 CDT

How things work in other cities, I don't know, but in Chicago at least there's been a recent trend of big-time promoters who long ago left the House Music scene (or were never involved in the first place) throwing "reunion" shows. Others have compared them those obscene "Monsters of Rock" concert tours that roll through auditoriums and stadiums every summer, featuring artists about 20 years past their prime. They're big ticket events far in excess of what most House Music events cost, usually with some sort of radio station sponsorship...

Ron Hardy Muzik Box Classics Vol 4

Fri, 1 May 2009 15:23:00 CDT

Over at ParteHardy.com (flash site, requires considerable clicking around), Bill Hardy has released the fourth installment of cult tracks from the late, great Musik Box maestro Ron Hardy. "Are you Ready For This" by Revelation is definately one of them songs Ron introduced to his patrons and it grew on them fast. And this particular edit of his has an outpour of skill to it. Ron took bits and pieces of refrains, chours' and breakdowns to warrant one of the most sought after records of the era and turned it into a masterpiece only to call it his own. And the flip side is just as great. Although its not a Ron Hardy its one of them track. "Don't You Know" is another homegrown track by one of the youngest producers of the era, Mr K Alexi. Come on now, this track is crazy and offers a sample from Ron's first press to wax production on Trax Records "Sensation"...

Track of Today: K.Joy - Lover's Dance

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:22:00 CDT

About a year or so ago, my friend Kevin Starke of KStarke Records shop told me about K.Joy, this underground singer from House Music's early years. Quite a few of her tracks were made famous as "Ron Hardy originals" - original, unreleased tracks that Chicago's then-unknown producers were giving to Ron Hardy at the Music Box on reel-to-reel or even cassette tape. Some were re-recorded by other vocalists for commercial release, but her name - at least among the old school - was pretty well-known ...

Track of Today: Stacy Kidd and Fast Eddie - House Music

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:04:00 CDT

Here's today's featured track by Chicago's own dynamic duo, Stacy Kidd and Fast Eddie, called simply "House Music". You get the best of both worlds from this one - that Hip-House sound that Fast Eddie is going down with and Stacy Kidd's signature sweet jackin' beats. This is a pretty amazing package of remixes, featuring one of the guys from Hed Kandi (Steve Haines), Jordan Rivera -- altogether 9 remixes. This is out on "Metrogroove Records" - a label I admit I've never heard of, and which has no website (c'mon people...) but a myspace page here and some kind of label description here. Have you heard me rant about House labels that don't have actual webpages and rely on the quixotic nature of free websites like MySpace, SoundCloud and Facebook? No? Remind me to get to that one later. But this is, of course, a mighty fine track, which is the important thing. Here's a piece of the original mix:...

How Taxis Brought House Music to South Africa

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:22:00 CDT

...Or, perhaps, how taxis brought South Africans to House. The phenomenon of House Music in Southern Africa can no longer be considered underground - at least after CNN covered it. In a story today, CNN gives the "House in South Africa" narrative a twist by relating how taxi drivers led to the House sound of South Africa to popularity: ...

Free House: Downloads + Radio for April 21, 2009

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:12:00 CDT

We're scouring the web 24/7 to find that free shit that is somehow not illegal. This includes record label and artist-uploaded tracks, podcasts, mix sets and all of the rest. Will it be a regular feature? Depends on if the rest of the House Music industry catches up the folks below and figures out that a fan base is more than just an ATM machine providing cash-on-demand...

Track of Today: Jay West - Loves Me Not

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:25:00 CDT

We'll be featuring one of what we think is the best new track we've come across each day. It doesn't mean it was released that day or even that week, but with the unprecedented barrage of 4/4 beats being blown out on the public, we'll do our best to keep it somewhat up-to-date...

For the Billionaire DJ in Your Life

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:25:00 CDT

If the DJ in your life has a few million dollars burning in his pocket and a blind fury at being limited by just two turntables, the compactdecks (very chic, very lowercase) are for you. Manufactured by compactlab of Geneva, Switzerland, this all-in-one features a moulded table form, 3 turntables and built-in two way speaker system. The price?...

MN2S Anniversay - Free Stuff Now

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:03:00 CDT

Milk and 2 Sugars (MN2S), the painfully soulful UK-based label and artist management agency, is celebrating their anniversary next Friday, April 24th at matter in London with special guests David Morales, Todd Terry, Danism, Danny Krivit, Joey Negro, Alix Alvarez and The Layabouts. In addition, they've offered up for your pleasure a DJ mix from House Music legend Todd Terry as well as one from Alix Alvarez. Their site is one of those "enjoy reading this but don't try to link to anything" sites built entirely in Flash, so I can't give you a direct link, but you can get to it by going to their homepage, strumming your fingers through the intro and then clicking on the cut off "MN2S's Birthday @ matter - New Mixes to Downlo-" semi-linky...

DJ Spinna and Jazzy Jeff Live in Paris, Broadcasting Now

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:59:00 CDT

DJ Spinna and Jazzy Jeff broadcasting live from Bataclan in Paris on four turntables. No audio (at least on my end) but you can at least watch. :-) ...

New York and Chicago, New York vs. Chicago

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:35:00 CDT

Kenny Dope and Wayne Williams are two of the first names I think of when it comes to the Noo Yawk/Shikaga connection. They've been doing (what I think is) a bimonthly in New York at Cielo for some time now. May 10th is their next date, with an opening set by James Vincent and presented by Robbi. Incidentally, if you want a funny story about New York versus Chicago, check out this old yarn from Terry Hunter involving Armando Gallop, Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, Tyree Cooper and Mr. Hunter. A broken champagne bottle, intellectual property rights and threats of severed arteries make cameos. We were in New York for the New Music Seminar. I don't know if you remember, but at the time the New Music Seminar was really big. This was before the Winter Music Conference. And this was a place where, literally, rappers and House people used to connect with each other. I'll never forget this. We're sitting in the Red Zone, me and Armando, and here comes a guy with seven or eight people. One of those people in fact happens to be Todd Terry. Todd sees Armando's badge, and turns around to this big Spanish-looking dude from Brooklyn standing next to him. Todd says to him, "Yo, here that motherfucker is right here!" That big guy was actually Kenny Dope. The problem was, Todd Terry sampled a record, and Armando sampled the same record for "100% of Disin' You," saying "I'm gonna dis you right now." Todd interpreted it as Armando saying, "I'm going to dis you right now" - meaning, Todd Terry. In those days, I was a thug. All I saw was Todd Terry grab Armando's badge and talk to this big guy standing next to him. I didn't know it was Kenny Dope. I'm like, "Who is this?" Armando says, "That's Todd Terry." And at first I was like, "Oh, shit! Hey, Todd, what up?!"...

Tortured Soul May 2009 Tour Dates

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:01:00 CDT

Those boys are always in a hurry. And apparently Tortured Soul have made some progress in their top secret plan to learn the mystery of human flight. We're featuring Tortured Soul for the 2nd time in 5 Magazine come May. Here's a quick recap of their tour schedule for that month, starting off in Europe and then crossing the Midwest and East Coast of the USA in support of their new album Did You Miss Me:...

Dimitri From Paris Round Up: Part 1

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:26:00 CDT

Dimitri from Paris is a pretty busy guy. I mean, really busy. Besides touring the world on the back of his commercially-sold mixed CDs (probably the only ones that sell with any consistency these days outside of the OM Records franchises), he's got a slew of new releases in the starting blocks and has lent his name to a number of other projects. This isn't especially rare nowadays, but when every other artist is jamming tracks that never would have seen the light of day when vinyl production costs were involved down the maw of the public, Dimitri is pushing stuff that's both way outside of the box and a vacation from the norm, as well as the sound you've come to expect from the modern disco giant. I glanced through my organizer today and realized that, wow, I've got about 5 different folders of new music with Dimitri's name in it. Here's the first. New as of about an hour ago on traxsource, Dimitri has a couple of hot remixes out of DJ Meme's new track "Any Love (Part 2)". "Any Love (Part 1)" was a pretty huge hit, and Soulfuric Records (which shares the same owners as Traxsource) obviously knew a good thing when they saw it. This one just erupts out of the box with mixes by Jamie Lewis of Purple Music fame, Tom Moulton and two from Dimitri. Here's a cut of Dimitri's Classic Disco Vocal mix:...

Phlash + Friends WMC Bundle

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:49:00 CDT

Quietly - as fits his persona - Phil Asher has emerged as a one-man hit factory in the last 12 months. In his latest package - a WMC "bundle" - Phlash offers up eight previously unreleased remixes of some of his recent bits of vinyl mastery from his recent homebase, Italy's Archive Records. ...

Dear Erick

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:20:00 CDT

Promo photos with naked chick in background? Check. Chest open like John Holmes despite being a couple years shy of joining AARP? Check. "Private planes, own[ing] homes and really living the dream?" Check, check, check. Dear Erick, I'm pretty sure you crossed that "fine line between what is commercial and what's underground" a long time ago...

Repost: Giorgio Moroder Retro Video

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 15:39:00 CDT

This was just too cool to bury in an unrelated post. This is a promo clip of Giorgio Moroder, electronic music pioneer and Italo legend, bemusing the squares with his ultra high-tech studio (takeaway: "Reporting from a recording studio that even NASA can't match!"): ...

New T's Box: Blackstory - No It Wasn't Love

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 13:42:00 CDT

Brand new on T's Box - Terry Hunter's label, which has released consistently hot music encompassing all of Terry's genre-dipping talents - is this club shaker featuring "RC Groove" (read: Ron Carroll), vocalist Pam and Terry himself on a couple of remixes. It's released under the moniker "Blackstory" - not sure what that means but this is well worth your dwindling recessionista dollars. Here's a short clip of the RC Groove Original: ...

Death of the Douchebag DJ

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 13:24:00 CDT

The LA Weekly asks this week: Is the era of the DJ dead? No. The era of the douchebag DJ is dead. Every promoter has some nightmare story about damn near being devoured by some douchebag "superstar" DJ's massive ego. Want one? How about bringing out a DJ/producer that hadn't been in the country in years, only to have him show up stoned out of his mind, demanding bottles of champagne while throwing the opening DJs off the tables? It happened, and it wasn't the fault of two turntables in the shape of a number 8. He was simply a douchebag whose reputation - unfortunately - hadn't preceded him. The Ibiza culture that the music press worships and sucks blood from hasn't helped - it wouldn't trouble me greatly if that entire island fell into the sea and DJs would worry about their blends rather than table service and which hot Spanish chick is going to leave more than a mint on their pillow...

The Atari 2600: Now 30% More Expensive

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 00:17:00 CDT

For several years, the recording industry has been fighting tooth and nail to cut just about any media delivery format that they don't own down to size. What started with Napster quickly became confused, in a classic case of mission creep, with an all-out war on MP3s in general. In the years since the original Napster shut down in July 2001, MP3s have become grudgingly accepted even while the industry continues to war on sites like seeqpod.com and other services that are, to the end user, little more than delivery vehicles. The recording industry's favored sites - like the clusterfuck called Lala.com - continue to sputter, not grabbing taking much of the digital market and in such a straight-jacket by their licensing deals with their big mammas that they'll never be able to. Within a couple of years it'll surely be closed just like its industry-favored predecessors. ...

Aaron-Carl, Simply Remixes Vol 1

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:48:00 CDT

Here's something brand new for you to sink your teeth into. Aaron-Carl has been doing some interesting things up in Detroit, which is quickly becoming (shudder to think) a House Music town. I was a big fan of one of his previous releases in particular - "Use Me" with one of the great up-and-coming vocalists of recent years, Veronique. This isn't a great quality video but you can catch some of the power in this short vid from last year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival: ...

Roots 5 Year Anniversary at Cielo

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 16:28:00 CDT

It's nice to have a story like this one from time to time. Louie Vega and Kevin Hedge could play just about anywhere in the world they pleased and make bank while doing it, but each and every Wednesday night they play long, long sets a party called Roots at New York's Cielo Nightclub in the Meat Packing District. On Wednesday, April 15th, it'll be 5 years since Roots began, and they're celebrating. The party goes down at Cielo (18 Little West 12th Street) from 11pm-4am. For more info on this and Cielo's other awesome events (including resident DJ Francois K. at Deep Space every Monday, and special guests Danny Krivit and Abicah Soul on Thursday April 9th), check out cieloclub.com...

I Don't Care About Your Beatport Chart

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 09:44:00 CDT

There's always been a problem with Billboard's dance charts, going back 20 years. Primarily due to lack of radio play, their charts rely on reporters without the obvious check ("Why is this song #1 when I've never heard it before?") that hours of national radio play can provide. Today's Billboard charts are so removed from reality that few people pay attention to them. But because marketers need hype, people have begun to use the lists of top downloads on digital music sites as some kind of replacement. "Top download" charts have some minor uses, but can hardly tell you anything you don't already know. Terisa Griffin's song "Wonderful" (Soul Heaven) was a smash and that was plainly obvious to anyone with their ear to the ground - we even did an interview with Terisa and Terry Hunter based entirely around the success of that one song, which is something you rarely see with recorded music these days. But then "Wonderful" was at the top of the Traxsource charts for several weeks, not days. That's what's unprecedented in this day and age...

New Tyree Cooper Mix from Vibes and Pepper

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 06:59:00 CDT

Vibe and Pepper, a European management agency, has posted a pretty nice mix from Hip House innovator Tyree Cooper. It clocks in at nearly 80 minutes and is titled At the Crib...

New Green Velvet Release "The Case (Of The Lost Jacksters)"

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:25:00 CDT

New cuts from Cajmere/Green Velvet are rare enough these days (two in all of 2008, I think) that each new release is something of a news story. "The Case (of the Lost Jackers)" is brand new (not even on the Cajual/Relief website yet) but available for purchase as of about an hour ago on Beatport...

Chris Gray's The Mechanics of Me

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:35:00 CDT

Chris Gray has had a pretty successful career in House Music. The Mississippi-born producer and remixer moved to Chicago in the early 1990s and was a fixture at Red Dog and other nightlife spots while releasing some sweet beats, including the full length Emotional Distortion LP and the Trippy Fingers EP, both on Track Mode. His music has taken him overseas, allowed him to rub shoulders with some of the giants of the dance music industry and, it seems, given him a good vantage point to describe that segment of Chicago House Music history that hasn't yet found its way into books and DVDs. The 1990s were a fantastically creative time, with the rebirth of the Chicago sound via Cajual and Relief, Dancemania and a dozen other cutting edge labels and the producers and DJs of the Second Wave...

The Death of the Mixtape

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:13:00 CDT

There's a short piece up today on the Orange County Weekly's website on DJ Kaskade. He's released a new mixed CD, The Grand, on Ultra Records. I haven't really been a fan since he began tinkering with his sound, but that's a different argument we can have another time. The interesting thing to me was that, with the quantity of free mixes available on the Internet, he finds himself justifying the act of even attempting to sell a mixed CD in today's market: ...

Brand New: Terrence Parker's "Candy Man"

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:47:00 CDT

We just wrapped production on the April 2009 issue of 5 Magazine, featuring a Blue Note Records-inspired treatment of Detroit Producer Terrence Parker. Most people think of the harder stuff when it comes to Detroit, but there's actually a vibrant House Music scene there, with folks like Aaron Carl (of Wallshaker Music), the vocalist Veronique, and Terrence. Though this is a pretty weak clich�, the only way I can describe Terrence's production-style is "silky smooth". By coincidence, his new track "Candy Man" hit the download shops today (Juno Download here, AudioJelly here, probably a few more to come as this is seriously brand new)...

NYC Legend Nicky Siano Announces Retirement

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:55:00 CDT

" Shocking news: New York City dance music legend Nicky Siano is retiring. Siano is playing his very last New York gig on March 28th at Love (179 MacDougal St. - tickets available at his site.) Nicky was the owner and resident DJ at The Gallery, one of a tiny handful of underground disco palaces (with the Garage and The Loft) in New York in the 1970s. Here's a clip from the documentary Love Saves the Day: ..."

The Emptyheads' CrazyDayz (AphroDisiax Mixes)

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:51:00 CDT

" Up until about a week ago, I had no clue who AphroDisiax were. One of my favorite people in this industry, Marcia Clark (the mix she did for 5 Mag's New Mix Monday is here) sent me a promo of their latest cut, the Unfinished Business EP on Jus House Records. I was impressed - this was tribal without getting tacky, instrumental without losing its groove. A few days later, the head of Jus House got in touch..."

Rich Medina's Afro Disco Returns to WMC

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:35:00 CDT

" The Miami press is working overtime on WMC this year - a marked difference from previous years, when the editorial and advertising dollars seemed geared more to Spring Break hedonism rather than the goings-on from the soulful side of the Winter Music Conference. Among the nice finds is the Miami New Times write up of Rich Medina, who we interviewed last year in 5 Magazine..."

Tony Records' "Free to Be Free"

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:12:00 CDT

" After a few months in deep freeze, New York/New Jersey legend Tony Humphries' label Tony Records is hitting the charts again. As part of the annual WMC rush, Tony has released "Free to Be Free" by the Blak Beat Niks in a package of five mixes, including two by Humphries' acclaimed "Italian Connection", Tony Loreto and Jacko..."

Underground Resistance Documentary

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:56:00 CDT

"Posted on Current.TV, is this amazing 9 minute documentary on Detroit's seminal Underground Resistance collective, tracing the roots of Detroit techno via Jeff Mills, Mad Mike Banks and Robert Hood's early days. UR is still going strong - call this another successful infiltration:..."

Sista Stroke Debuts on ChicagoHouseFM.com

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:21:00 CDT

" In less than an hour, Sista Stroke (aka Oktober Davila) resurfaces on our sonar with the debut of her new show "Brick City House" on ChicagoHouseFM.com The new show will be going on every Wednesday at 7pm GMT (that's 8pm CET, 3pm Eastern in the United States, 2pm Central, noon Pacific)..."

Because the World Needs More Digital Labels

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:00:00 CDT

" Over at soundrevolt.com is an article outlining 10 steps to establishing a digital label. Just like in Spinal Tap, this list should have gone to 11, and that cherished 11th step would have been: "Ask yourself: are you really doing anything different than anyone else?" Everyone I speak to is irritated by the suffocating glut of material released these days. The freedom brought about by the decline of vinyl and the high production costs associated with producing it hasn't lead to better music - just more of it..."

Andy Compton Guestmixing on Deeper Shades of House

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:22:00 CDT

" Andy Compton of famed Deep House group The Rurals will be the guest DJ on Lars Behrenroth's acclaimed Deeper Shades of House radio show today and broadcast on dozens of FM and internet radio stations around the world (click here for a somewhat complete list, or just subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. It's easier..."

Date Announced for the Chosen Few Picnic

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:37:00 CDT

" The Chosen Few DJs have announced the date and location for this year's Chosen Few Picnic: July 11, 2009 at 63rd and Hayes Drive (same location as last year). This year's guest DJs including Grammy Award Winning producer Maurice Joshua, Laurie Branch (profiled in The UnUsual Suspects) and DJ FLX of 3Degrees Global..."

House in Africa: Dennis Ferrer and DJ Qness

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:18:00 CDT

"When Keith Richards first visited Chicago's legendary Chess Records in the early 1960s, he was greeted by a shocking sight. The Blues, which was the rage among British youth, was all but forgotten in the United States, and Muddy Waters was making ends meet by doing odd jobs around the Chess studios. "There was the King of the Blues, and he was painting the ceiling." Europe has gone through an infatuation with Chicago House as well as Chicago Blues, but you never know where the seeds thrown about will land or what kind of creation will sprout. Case in point: South Africa. House Music is undergoing a renaissance in a place all but forgotten by American artists and audiences. It doesn't sound exactly like something that fell off the Cajual or Strictly Rhythm delivery truck - just like no one would confuse a Rolling Stones record with Muddy Waters - but this is natural as South African producers and DJs have added their own cultural influences and vibes. And some of this is, in the words of Dr. Bob Jones, so soulful it hurts..."

Kerri Chandler Revisits Track 1

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:04:00 CDT

"Kerri Chandler's "Track 1" has long been considered a masterpiece of old school instrumental tracks. Originally released on 1993's Atmosphere EP (Shelter Records), Kerri's dusted off this modern classic with a new release on Max Trax records, "Track 1 Revisited"..."

Barbara Tucker Celebrates 25 Years in House Music

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:57:00 CDT

"In Chicago, we often say that we can roll out four or five Grammy-winning (or -nominated) producers at a moment's notice for a party. But New York is doing it up extra special for Barbara Tucker's 25 years (a quarter century!) in House Music this Thursday, March 19th at Webster Hall in New York (125 East 11th Street)...."

5 Magazine's WMC Events

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:31:00 CDT

" Just a quick hit with a couple of WMC events 5 Magazine will be co-hosting..."

A Letter from Lil Louis

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:58:00 CDT

" A few days ago, I posted on twitter what a tragedy it was that the best House Music album I'd heard in years - Lil' Louis' new double CD Two Sides to Every Story - had been passing through so many hands via forums and email links. Just prior to the weekend, this letter made the rounds from Louis himself. It's reproduced here in full. This is Lil Louis. As you may have heard, I have released my album, an album that, along with the book, has taken me 13 years to complete, and the best album I feel I've ever created. To show my appreciation to my fans that came to my Christmas party in Chicago, I decided to give a copy of the book and new album with paid admission. I sent the download specifically to the people that paid for and attended the event. But it has now come to my attention that there are people who have illegally uploaded and downloaded my album, and it is being distributed across the internet, particularly on Deep House Page. I have friends and business affiliates who are enraged by this act, and I share in their..."

Mike Dunn: The Congregation EP Volume 3

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:56:00 CDT

"It's been a little more than a year since Mike Dunn [myspace] made his way back after a brief foray producing exclusively hip-hop tracks. The Chicago born-and-raised Dunn has been making up for lost time ever since with an amazing array of tracks without the slightest trace of rust. The Congregation EP Vol. 3 is his third release on Defected. Like Volumes 1 and 2, it's centered around one truly great track - in this case, "Get Cho House On (Children)". Few producers have their own sound in the same way Mike does, and "Get Cho House On" fits pretty squarely with "God Made Me Phunky", "Freaky Muthafucka" and last year's "This Here is House Music" in the treasury of classic MD tunes. The other tracks ("Deep Down" and "Let The Groove (Drive Yo Phunky Soul)" are good enough to stand on their own as singles, too. Check out the preview for yourself at defected.com. Photo: Mike Dunn with Jive Records' Wayne Williams, Chicago 2008..."