It’s All About Teamwork

It is impossible to overlook the power of music. Forever, music has been an immensely important aspect of society, entertaining and influencing people all across the globe in different ways. It is important to ponder upon music’s transformation on the radio waves, as well as the shifting definition of what is or was considered popular music around the world. The rapid pace with which music changes, points to the influence that pop culture and politics have on one another. Music reflects political and social chasms within a society, giving people a medium where they can stand up and be heard. Think about how older generations have been defined. We all know that the 70s were defined by disco music, 80s by metal rock, and 90s by more rock and pop. More recently though, house music has

Remaking previous hits was a staple in commercial pop music. This strategy was repeatedly successful for both well-known and newly-emerging artists. A song’s commercial value increases if it can appeal, in a reworked version, to a new audience. In producing these remakes, record companies carefully manage and manipulate style features in order to guarantee successful acceptance within the targeted audience and demographic.

Today, DJs and their record companies follow a similar ideal. DJs like Avicii, Benny Benassi and Skrillex are known for their several mash-ups and collaborations. These mash-ups usually consist of an already well-known song, recreated with the new DJ’s input and style. Levels, for example, one of Avicci’s classics, is actually a sampling of Etta James’ song Something’s Got a Hold On Me. Etta James was an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues singer in the 1950s and 1960s. In creating Levels, twenty-two year old Avicii took James’ song and altered it to fit his own style. If you listen to one song followed by the other, the fact that one is a sampling of the other will hardly be recognizable, as the styles of the songs are so different. This freedom and creativity that DJs expose in creating their own music is what makes house music so interesting and powerful in its own way.

Listen to Etta James’ Something’s Got a Hold On Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmexOmLyuVU

Now, listen to Avicii’s Levels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzunjg9RuKQ

Cool, right?

These collaborations are not always as drastic as was the one between Etta James and Avicci. DJs work with other DJs to get their songs out there and like this, keep them relevant in this constantly changing society. The newest collaboration related to Avicii is Skrillex’s remake of Levels. Skrillex takes this song, that although somewhat old now, is still loved by everyone, and recreates it in his own grungier style.

Check out Skrillex’s remake of Levels and notice its rougher, more “Skrillex-y” style!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSWtkr5UpEA

Ableton Live

Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer used by DJs for composing and arranging their tracks, as well as performing live. As the name implies, a loop is a repeating section of sound. Ableton Live 8 was released in April 2009 in order to allow DJs to compose and arrange their music, as well as mix tracks by other DJs with its controls for beatmatching and crossfading. Ableton Live was actually one of the first music applications that allowed DJs the ability to match beats of different songs by either speeding their tempos up or slowing them down using pitch shifting and/or time stretching. Crossfading is another interesting tool that Ableton Live includes, that allows DJs to fade out one song, by slowly fading another one in at the same time.

Ableton Live comes with two instruments – the Impulse and the Simpler. Impulse is a drum triggering instrument that allows its user to define and use up to eight different drum sounds. A number of effects are available for this, including the pitch shifter mentioned before, as well as a basic equalizer that works somewhat like the beatmatching tool. Simpler is a ‘simple’ sampling instrument. It works using a simple sample, and allowing the user to apply some simple effects and timing. Most of Ableton Live’s effects are common effects used in other digital softwares like it, such as, beat repeat, chorus, compressor, pitch, scale and velocity.

Ableton Live is meant for electronic musicians and DJs, and is used by artists such as, Bassnectar, which was the first DJ ever to use two Ableton Lives at the same time during a live performance, ridiculous!

Find out more information about Ableton Live at the Ableton Live homepage: http://www.ableton.com/

Collaboration Nation

We all know that becoming a hit in the entertainment industry is not easy. Growing in the spotlight comes with tons of hard work and even that, sometimes, is not even enough. Other times, it takes some talent, and lots of luck to reach that status in society. Either way, artists have it tough making it up there, and even tougher times maintaining their position.

Let me start with this question: How many of you own and actually listen to CDs now-a-days? Think about that for a second. If you are thinking “not me,” you are probably not the only one. Now let me ask you this: Since you do not really listen to CDs anymore, do you at least buy your music off of iTunes, or do you simply download it illegally off the Internet? My guess is that most of you do the latter. And I am not relieved from this, as I cannot even think about the last CD or song I ever purchased.

Although I cannot remember the last time I purchased any CD or song, I know for a fact that I have bought CDs before, mostly of genres including blues and pop. I can also say for a fact though, that I have never bought a single song or album of anything under the genre of house music. And why is this?

DJs, more so than other types of artists, mainly focus on touring and collaborating with other artists of the same genre, in an effort to spread their music around the world and different crowds. Google “Avicii,” or “Swedish House Mafia,” for example, and I can almost guarantee that you will find that their touring schedules involve playing at five different cities in the next seven days. I saw Avicii play in D.C. on a Friday night, for example, and on Saturday night he was already playing in a massive festival called Electric Daisy Carnival Festival all the way over in Las Vegas.

It is very probable that illegally downloading is more prevalent in the industry of house music because the industry itself focuses so much on collaborating. So much of house music is about sharing in the first place, and for this reason, the act of illegally downloading music might not be so frowned upon here. DJs collaborate on tracks, which they later play at festivals like UMF and EDC where thousands of people listen and comment on the artist’s work together.

DJs are very much about sharing too, as they do not simply play their own tracks, but tracks of other DJs either above or below them in the industry. In this way, the DJs themselves help each other out and like this, help the industry grow stronger and more popular every day. So although it can be argued that the act of illegally downloading is killing the music industry, the house music industry is doing a good job holding up by focusing on sharing and working together.

Swedish House Mafia

Music Festivals

Ultra Music Festival is an electronic music festival that has been held outdoors in Miami, Florida every year since 1999. It is usually held during the Winter Music Conference in March. The year it was founded, it was held on South Beach and was an immense success. Since then, it has been considered among the best music festivals in the world, together with festivals such as Coachella in Chicago and Electric Zoo in New York. From when it began in 1999 to 2006, Ultra Music Festival was a one day festival, a two day festival from 2007 to 2010 and a three day festival in 2011. In 2011, more than 100,000 people attended the event.

I have been to Ultra Music Festival and Electric Zoo and can say without a doubt that those six days I spent listening and dancing to house music were some of the best days of my life… but, they were definitely intense. Drugs like Mali and Ecstacy are HUGE at these music festivals, and I felt somewhat overwhelmed at times. Drugs are so freely available and people can be caught buying and offering them anywhere and everywhere. On the metro on our way in to Bicentennial Park for Ultra Music Festival in 2011, my friends and I were approached several times by men who were clearly trying to deal drugs. These men did not even have to tell us they were selling, we knew by their tattoos and markings all over their bodies that spelt out DRUGS.

It’s mind boggling to me how drugs are almost even socially accepted at these music festivals. Once you step into the world that is the one you experience at Ultra Music Festival and Electric Zoo, you forget about the real world that exists outside of it. All this may get to be overwhelming, but as long as you hang with your crew and don’t let others influence you, you’re bound to have the best time of your life.

Check out Ultra’s official page at http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/

Happy Birthday Avicii!

http://www.avicii.com/

Tim Bergling, known professionally as Avicii, is turning 22 years old today! Incredible isn’t it? Avicii’s career began when he was only 18 years of age in Stockholm, Sweden with his single “Lazy Lace.” By 2010, Avicii was already working with extremely renowned and famous DJs, including Swedish DJ John Dahlback, Tiesto, and Sebastian Ingrosso from Swedish House Mafia. In October 2010, Avicii signed with EMI Music Publishing, the fourth largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. From here on out, it’s history! In 2010, Avicii embarked on his first world tour and is now considered, at age 22, one of the best DJs in the world. I have seen Avicii play at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, at Identity Music Festival in DC and at Fur Club in DC and he’s blown me away every time.

Listen to Levels now and be blown away too!

More Laidback Luke from Remix Nation

Get at it: http://remix-nation.com/laidback-luke-essential-mix-2192011/

Laidback Luke

STILL having withdrawals from Ultra Music Festival? Check out this set by one of the best DJs in the world… the one and only LAIDBACK LUKE!

http://remix-nation.com/laidback-luke-yearmix-2010/

Electric Zoo 2011 Sets

http://bleedhouse.com/2011/09/05/electric-zoo-ny-2011-full-recap-live-sets-pics-and-more/

Still too early to post videos from EZoo but no problem, we got pictures! Go on and indulge yourself!

I LOVE HOUSE MUSIC