This was my weekend tune #onpoint QB Smith feat Lady Alma and Kabomo - Khanya (The Light: Ode To Dilla) QB's Fantastic Vox
2 track album
WARMDAYS.BANDCAMP.COM
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Friday, 20 February 2015
Supernova - How We DJ
Supernova - How We DJ
FEB 16, 06:10 PM
Supernova are Emiliano Nencioni and Giacomo Godi; an Italian DJ and production duo that have over the last decade made the transition from rising stars to established international talent. Childhood friends from their native Florence, the Supernova project was formed back in 2003 after a chance reunion in Milan at a party, since when Supernova have gone on to create an incredible array of house music anthems.
Emiliano and Giacomo are regular touring DJ’s, playing around the world in hot spots like Italy, Greece, Miami & Canada, so we wanted to find out more about their personal preferences & tastes in club land. This is How Supernova DJ’s. Also check out the latest offering from Supernova Suite 58 EP which is out on Traxsource.
“Suite 58 EP” available now on Traxsource.
1) Are you two more DJ’s than Producers – or one in the same?
We are a duo and we can dedicate our time developing both, the DJ side as well as the production side. That’s why we love to be a duo and we are still here after 10 years! We feel both sides are really important to us.
2) Describe what makes a good DJ in a few words…
The love of music, his continuous research, a special charisma, great intuition and the feeling to want to connect with people.
3) Who or what inspired you to become a DJ?
The need to communicate with people with a universal language. Playing music not only with a single instrument or playing only with a single genre.
4) When did you know you wanted to DJ?
At 15 years old and our minds were changed forever!
5) Who to you guys is or was “The Dj’s DJ”.
God is a DJ!
6) Describe your main and preferred DJ set-up, do you use a lap-top? If so, what platform/program?
We work with 2 laptops (one with traktor and 1 with Ableton), 2 mixers, 2 NI X1, 1 NI F1 (to control tracktor), 1 H&H K2, 1 Lounchpad Mini , 1 Lounchkey Mini (to control Ableton).
7) Why do you choose this way of playing?
It’s a really good way to play with four hands instead of doing back to back and it allow us to mix a DJ set with some live elements during the set. We can work together at the same time playing records, trying out our new stuff and doing some live remixes as well.
8) Any special, unique, crazy things on your rider?
The point is not what’s on our rider, the point is to have a good club with a good sound system and a nice crowd that loves House Music! That’s all :)
9) Beverage of choice while playing?
Grey Goose vodka, tonic and Redbull.
10) Favorite country / club / city to play?
We don’t have a fav country honestly, we love to travel and meet many different people and we love club culture. Some of our favorite clubs at the moment are Tenax in Florence, Elrow in Barcelona, Ministry of Sound in London and 4Cento in Milan.
11) Read the crowd or just pound it out?
We always try to make the crowd happy while keep on playing what we love to play. The first goal for a DJ is to keep the dance floor full and vibrant.
12) Big festivals or intimate clubs? Why?
Hard to choose… Def intimate clubs are the place where we give our best. We love to play where we have the people really close (in front of us) to feel their energy and so we can give them back the right vibe, but playing in front of big crowds with big sound systems is also really exciting!
13) Ever miss the CDs or Vinyl days?
You never forget the first love :)
14) How do you maintain your music library?
It’s hard to go through all the promos and good release we get, but we always keep it updated at least once a week listening to new stuff and packing the right one in a folder.
15) Wavs OR MP3 — WHY? Is their a difference?
Wav is better when possible, but you can really hear the difference playing them in very good and big sound system. With all the new music we get every week is impossible to keep all the library in wav format…too much HD space needed, especially with our MacBook Air…
16) Any Tips for aspiring Young DJs?
Work hard, be yourself and never give up.
17) Do you do any of the Obligatory DJ Poses?
The only obligation that a DJ should have is to play good music and make the people happy.
18) How do combat the “Everyone is a DJ” mentality?
We think it’s great everyone plays has a choice in life, especially if they choose to be apart of the music or through DJing.
If you are good, go ahead :)
Dutch ‘Tuna Knobs’ Invention Turn iPad Into Actual Controller
Dutch ‘Tuna Knobs’ Invention Turn iPad Into Actual Controller
FEB 18, 01:45 PM
With iPads becoming a pretty serious alternative to midi controllers and other digital DJing equipment, it was about time to fix the tablet with some knobs – as rubbing your fingers across a screen just doesn’t really do the trick when you’re trying to rock a nice mix. A Dutch engineering student, however, has come up with the solution to the problem: the tuna knob.
A kick-starter campaign by Dutchie Samuel Verburg had the goal to create actual knobs that stick to any touchscreen of your choosing in order to control your DJing app or any other music-making application like you would control a real piece of hardware.
How exactly does it work? Verburg explains on his website: “So Tuna Knobs stick to your touchscreen using a micro suction cup and translate a turning movement to a touch command. Simply stick them on your screen and you are ready to start twiddling away. Tuna Knobs use conductive rubber to translate turning a knobs into the right signal for your touchscreen, not dissimilar to how a stylus works.”
Here’s a video of the knobs in action.
What do you think & Would you buy one? Tell us in the comments below.
Monday, 16 February 2015
![Which one have you got? [via DJ rooms] #vinyl #turntables](https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p480x480/10650056_10153593516869046_2664974877491174874_n.png?oh=522cb4fbe7adc27afc8e1d27dc85d6b1&oe=5591C4F6&__gda__=1430987744_9da49f38e68f0497d9e17e7836c6f9f9)
RIP BRETT JACKSON
Another year gone by, and still sorely missed! The scene would have been a different place if you were still with us. Always in our thoughts bud... R.I.P BJ.
Friday, 13 February 2015
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Monday, 9 February 2015
Introducing the HRM-7 studio monitor headphones
Introducing the HRM-7 studio monitor headphones
JAN 23, 07:00 AMClean sound reproduction and ultimate comfort for producers. Faithfully reproduces audio across the frequencies.
Pioneer DJ is launching a new line of professional studio products with the release of theHRM-7 monitor headphones – designed to deliver accurate, neutral sound to dance music producers. The HMR-7s feature a newly developed 40 mm HD driver unit for a neutral, high-res sound up to 40 kHz, while dual airflow chambers and a damping structure in the housings enhance the bass response. The fully enclosed ear pads deliver optimum sound isolation and are roomy enough inside to enable a wide sound stage and clear audio separation. Plus the freely adjustable headband and memory foam cushions with velour covers make the HRM-7s comfortable and easy to wear over long studio sessions.
Features.
- New HD driver unit faithfully reproduces frequencies of up to 40 kHz
- Housing designed to separate sound and eliminate background noise
- Better air flow and robust structure deliver a clean, accurate bass
- Memory foam ear pads with velour covers for comfort and a true sound
- Freely adjustable headband and flexible ear pads enable prolonged wear
- Comes with accessories for producers’ convenience
Black Coffee - The KING of Afro House.
Black Coffee - The KING of Afro House.
FEB 3, 04:00 PM
Every kid battling boredom in a rural no man’s land dreams of a grand escape. But when you’re living in the dusty, impoverished townships of South Africa, Ibiza’s debaucherous beach parties seem like some distant alien planet. Yet, South African DJ Nathi Maphumulo—who goes by the alias Black Coffee —always knew that his future lay far beyond Umlazi, the township outside of Durban where he grew up. On a recent evening, when I sat down with him in Brooklyn ahead of a warehouse rave he was playing that night, Maphumulo looked like the perfect picture of a globe-trotting DJ: sleek leather jacket, dark green pants, black snapback emblazoned with the name of one of his favorite artists, Basquiat.
“From an early age, I just thought, I didn’t belong here, my family doesn’t belong here,” he says, leaning back in a swiveling desk chair. He decided early on to transcend his origins by doing what he does best: playing house music swelling with soulfulness to packed rooms of dancing people. Today, Maphumulo is more than a house music DJ. He’s a national icon—an example that his countrymen look up to as an example of what black South Africans can achieve in a country still dealing with many post-apartheid inequalities. Perhaps most impresively, Maphumulo has become South Africa’s most famous DJ despite only having use of one hand.
The accident happened on February 11, 1990, the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The entire country was filled with jubilant celebrations, and 14-year-old Maphumulo was out on the streets with his family and friends. Out of nowhere, a taxi plowed straight into the crowd, hitting Maphumulo and permanently damaging his left hand. Many thought his dreams of becoming a DJ were over, but Maphumulo persevered, teaching himself how to spin records despite his disability. In a testament to the sheer determination that has brought him this far, exactly 20 years later, Maphumulo made headlines across the world when he played for 60 hours straight in an attempt to break the Guinness world record.
Even though Maphumulo is one of South Africa’s biggest celebreties, it wasn’t until recently that he started to make his mark on the international market. Last year, thanks to a recommendation from Seth Troxler, he accomplished that familiar rite of passage for DJs: playing the Circo Loco party on the world’s most important party island, Ibiza.
Maphumulo remembers his fish-out-of-water experience vividly. “I was very nervous. I’d never been there before. I had a different idea of what music on the island was like—I assumed it was a very commercial scene.” Before leaving for Ibiza, Maphumulo visited some friends who worked at a mainstream dance music radio station in South Africa to cop some music he thought he’d need for his set. “I had all this Calvin Harris. I thought, I’m going to kill them,” he says with a chuckle. “Then I got there, and the music was very minimal. I thought, oh wow, this is home.”
Maphumulo began making electronic music in 1997. One of his earliest remixes was a soulful Lenny Williams record called “Cause I Love You,” which resulted in a (rejected) offer from Sony Music. He was playing at a big party back home. “There was a big DJ there who was not happy I was playing after him. He was like, ‘Who are you? What are you going to play?’” remembers Maphumulo. “I held up three CDs of my songs. He was not impressed. Everyone else had record bags.”
But when Maphumulo dropped that Lenny Williams remix at the end of his set, it blew the place up. A record company executive from Sony approached him later, offering him a deal on the spot. Maphumulo declined. “By then, I had my own plan. [These big label guys], especially in my country, just want you to sign a contract. I explained to him that I had my own record company, and if I did a deal with him, it had to be a licensing deal. That bothered him,” Maphumulo recalls. “I knew what I wanted and it freaked a lot of people out. They were like, ‘He knows too much, this one.’”
Maphumulo credits this fierce sense of independence to an early experience with his former band, the Afro-pop trio SHANA (which awesomely stands for Simply Hot and Naturally African). The group was signed to Melt 2000, and Maphumulo says the London-based label inadvertently led to them being lumped under the dreaded label of “world music.” “As kids, we wanted to be famous!” he exclaims. “We didn’t want to be shelved in a small corner.”
Unfortunately, pigeonholing is a problem that applies to many South African artists attempting to break into the global market. Maphumulo says he hopes to one day see South African musicians recognized in their own right, instead of being reduced to mere “African artists.” “If not, we’ll always be categorized for a ‘special award.’ I’ve been nominated for one of those from MTV, and I don’t even put it in my biography because it doesn’t mean anything. I’d like to be where everyone else is.”
A similar problem lies back home, too, with the question of how much South African artists are represented in the media and on the radio. “The music played on South African radio is 20% local artists, and 80% international. “That’s the next fight,” he says. “That’s what I want to work on now, even if it goes as far as getting a million signatures on a petition.”
With his North American tour forging full steam ahead and shows in Ibiza scheduled for the summer, Maphumulo says he’s ready to take Black Coffee to the next level. “I’ve been known in the soulful house scene for a long time. Now I’m playing in big rooms. I still bring what I do, but I want to be a slightly different Black Coffee.” He pauses and leans forward in his chair. “A grown-up Black Coffee.”
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Genre Wars
Genre Wars – Further Analysis
What is the most popular Genre of music worldwide? If you are a producer are you backing a lame horse with the music you make? Should you switch styles if you are keen to make a living from making music?
In order to get an answer I took a high level look at Google Search Trends in this video, comparing the popularity of the search terms for genres of electronic music. The results were eye opening but it’s clear that at such a high level there may be some mis-representation. The tool itself allows more granular analysis so this blog post is chance to take look at the global picture of genre popularity from Google’s perspective since 2004 (ie this is not based on actual sales – it is based on search terms input into Google)
If you want more detail you can use the Limit To function. This breaks down the analysis into logical categories such as:
- Arts & Entertainment
- Autos & Vehicles
- Beauty & Fitness etc
Selecting the broad category of Arts & Entertainment and a sub category of Music & Audio felt like a good level to improve the comparison. Dance and Electronic Music is available for more detail but I wanted to compare the popularity of Hip Hop and Rock to ‘Dance’ categories to get a more detailed barometer on what styles are popular worldwide.
Soulful vs Deep vs Electro
The first comparison I made was Soulful House vs Deep House vs Electro House.
This shows a recent downtrend in the overall dominant Electro House genre and a climb in popularity of Deep House, whilst the Soulful House genre overall is constantly a ‘niche’ style of music. Geographically South Africa is more interested in Deep House and Soulful House than other territories – both styles are hugely popular there relative to other regions. We’ve seen how South African artists such as Black Coffee have become hugely influential on the scene and here’s some data to back up why that may be.
Soulful House Geographic Breakdown
Deep House Geo Breakdown
Electro House Geo Breakdown
Trance vs Soulful vs Deep vs Electro
I’ve known Trance was popular for a long time worldwide. It was consistently one of the most requested styles to learn from students I taught at Point Blank. So I dropped it into the comparison and you can clearly see a huge dominance since 2004 but actually a slow decline. From my perspective I guessed this would be the case anyway as I hear less people talking about the style on social media etc.
The interesting thing is the Geo breakdown, showing the dominant territories of interest for the style. Those of you who are gigging Trance DJs, you know where to direct your agent
Geo Breakdown for Trance.
The incredible rise (and recent fall) of Dubstep
So here’s the big one, the monstrous (relatively recent) increase in popularity worldwide of the genre dubstep. Take a look at the results below and you’ll see its meteoric rise (followed by a quite rapid dip in the last year but still overall the genre is strong).
Geo Breakdown for Dubstep
It’s a big one for sure but just for perspective I wanted to see how the king of the electronic genres compared with two other popular styles; Rock and Hip Hop.
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