Live performances coming up @ Galapagos

Sick Robot Band

Big gig! A night of live performances!

This one's gonna be special. 3 great acts performing live dance music.

New video for Innovation!

This video, directed by WashMachine, documents the studio recording of Innovation off our album-in-progress. Enjoy and share with your friends!

Innovation - Vinyl Life (Live in Studio)

Vinyl Life Remix of Oscar G's "Angel"

Stop by our new remix page to hear a sneak preview of our dub of "Angel" off the new Oscar G album INNOV8. Also posted there is other remixes that we've done this year. Enjoy!

Album release party for INNOV8 will be at Cielo on Thursday, May 29th.

Been a minute but here's a quick update...

"Future Beat" is on the 'Electron' compilation put out in Japan by Black Budget. Music video for that one in post-production now... Vinyl Life remix of Oscar G's "Angel" on Nervous Records due for release this summer. Big set at Cielo on Thursday May 29th for release party... Music video directed by WashMachine for "Innovation" in the works and will be done very soon... And album in the works too. Stay tuned!!!

Smash Mechanics LIVE @ Sullivan Hall NYC

On Thursday, March 13th, Smash Mechanics performs live @ Sullivan Hall in NYC. Also on the bill are Boom Clique and The Misnomers. You are sure to catch one of the greatest shows you have seen in a very long time. Come on down and say hello.

Aciiiiiidddd!!!

303

National Record Store Day!

On Saturday, April 19, 2008, hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will celebrate “Record Store Day.”

On this day, all of these stores will simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally.

Plans are underway to set up special events at all of the stores on this day, as well as provide customers with a goodie bag that promotes new formats, new releases, and exciting information on music, theatrical, and gaming releases. Working with our partners, the indies will also link to run extensive marketing campaigns both on a national level and a local level.

Check out www.recordstoreday.com for more info. Go get yourself some new vinyl!!!

The 6th Annual Club World Awards

2008 Nominees Announced

Ceremony on Wednesday, March 26 at Set, Miami

New York, N.Y. – The Club World Awards, the U.S.’s definitive nightlife awards program, is proud to announce its 2008 nominees, and details of this year’s event.

The invitation-only Club World Awards ceremony is set for Wednesday, March 26, at Set in South Beach, Miami. The show will once again celebrate excellence in North American nightlife, with the club and dance music industries’ brightest stars. Plus, it has a few new tricks up its sleeve.

To expand the breadth of the program, six new categories were added: Best Renovation for revived venues, Best One-Off for spectacular one-time club events, Best Bottle Service for the swank set, and three new People’s Choice categories which allow the public to reward excellence in clubland music.

Clubbers will again be invited to vote for their favorite local venue in the Nightstalker Award category – a staple of the CWA program since its inception – as well as in music categories Club Banger Of The Year (for instrumentals), Club Anthem Of The Year (for vocals), and Best DJ Set. Online dance music portal Beatport.com will host a Club World Awards page (beatportal.com/clubworldawards) with players, so voters can experience all the nominated music, including a top 10 of tracks played by the DJs during their nominated sets (provided by them). The inaugural Best DJ Set nominees are BT, Justice, DJ Micro, Roger Sanchez, and Danny Tenaglia. Voting will be hosted on partyStrands.com, and will be live from February 18 through March 3.

Across the rest of the program, this year’s nominees reflect the gold standard of clubbing in key metropolitan cities, along with the usual surprises. Smart Bar Chicago will defend its Best Club title against newcomer BoMA (in the unlikely locale of Columbus, Ohio), two-time winner Cielo, splashy Jet, and celeb haunt Marquee. Last year’s CWA darling Pacha New York – which walked away with three awards – is nominated in seven categories, and will defend its Best Superclub title against heavy contenders: Avalon, Mansion, Pure and Peter Gatien’s Circa. The return of clubland’s most notorious operator garnered four nominations. Opium Group snagged eight, with five going to CWA host venue Set. Vegas-based Pure Management Group (PMG) also grabbed eight nods, including three for Paradise Island hotspot Aura. In the Best New category, PMG is going up against itself, with noms for both Aura and Vegas mega-club LAX.

The Club World Awards ceremony always draws bold-face names from the nightlife-loving community including Danny Tenaglia, Tila Tequila, Deep Dish, Kelly Osbourne, Ferry Corsten, and James Zabiela,; and coverage in Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, Time Out New York, Boston Herald, Las Vegas Weekly, Miami New Times and Forbes.com.

For the first time in CWA history, potential nominees were invited to submit entries online, and final nominees were selected from that pool, rather than directly by the editors of sponsoring magazine Club World. Winners in non-People’s Choice categories are determined by a panel of 12 industry-veteran, expert judges.

The Club World Awards is presented by Club Word, the only magazine devoted to the look, sound and feel of nightclubs. Launched in July 2000, the monthly publication covers the world’s best venues from technical, business and aesthetic perspectives. It was renamed from Club Systems International in February 2008.

http://www.clubworldawards.com

Farley Jackmaster Funk Review

Nice when a living legend lays down a set in your hometown. Last night I had the chance to hear Chicago's Farley Jackmaster Funk at APT in NYC. He threw down a ridiculous old-school Chicago house vibe. With touch of Adonis's "No Way Back", Plastikman's "Spastik", and even the Colonel's "Music Is the Answer", the Jackmaster rocked the Funktion One outta the basement. Much respect. God bless.

For more on Keith Farley of the original Hotmix 5:

Farley's Myspace page
Wiki

Where you been at man?

The blog posts have become more infrequent, we know. The Vinyl Life crew has been hitting the studio very hard to finish our album (currently untitled) and make some new music videos. The in-studio video performance of the song "Innovation" was shot by WashMachine. The song performed that day and captured on camera will be the same version on the album. Sick.

Also In the works is a video for the track "Future Beat" for which we have assembled a large video team. This will be the most extensive of our video efforts and are very excited to get this one ready for the universe to see. Future Beat will be on a compilation released in Japan this year on Black Budget Records.

Okay, back to the studio. Stay tuned for lots of big things this year.

Also, check the new Butchasound Remix of the very classic "Jam On It" by Newcleus.

Thesis on house music

Check out this guy's PhD thesis on house and techno via the 303, 808 & 909.

http://folk.uio.no/hanst/Manchester/ChicagoHouse.htm

2007 Year In Review

2007 Year In Review


2007 was a great year for the Vinyl life Crew. We took the studio to the stage and had our first 8 performances as a live electronic group. Congratulations to Ohzee - the kid is getting married. Keyboardist Richie Roxx had his Nite Club album released in Japan. Phaze Future produced and performed on more Smash Mechanics tracks than you can count. Butcha now is Technical Editor for Club Systems International Magazine as well as a columnist for DJ Times. Our first album is nearing completion and we can't wait for the world to hear it. Vinyl Life Studios got a makeover and we're up to our ears in synths, drum machines, and patch cables.

Vinyl Life would like to thank everyone who came to see us perform, all the DJs that supported our tracks, and our families & friends for believing in us. In 2008 we will be giving it all we got to finish our album and play every stage this side of the Little Neck Bay. We wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Merry Christmas y'all. Ya don't stop. Lorda mercy. Respect.





Our first show at CSV in NYC's LES:















VL live @ Amber in the Hamptons:






Crobar NYC in June:















Ohzee & Butcha with Martinez Bros @ Pacha: (Open your eyes, Butcha. This is a good photo op.)






Ohzee & Butcha with Murk @ Pacha:






Butcha's Pig Roast 07:















By da beach boyeee:




Asseteria @ Plumm:






Fright Night 2007 in Bermuda:













Vinyl Life Crew





Happy new year! See you in 2008!

John Tejada Live PA @ Sullivan Room

After the Blip Festival, I headed to Sullivan Room to check out DJ set by friends Samsara and live p.a. by LA minimal man John Tejada. His modest setup was an elektron machinedrum and an elektron monomachine run into a 16 channel Mackie board with a Korg KP3 on the Aux for effects. There was something else on the end that looked like one of those MFB synths. After they finally got the levels turned up past the point where people were talking to the guy during his set, he brought out his signature melodic deep techno. The sound in Sullivan Room is less than satisfactory but John's tunes sounded great and he really won over the crowd who at first didn't know what the hell was going on. Maybe not his ideal audience, but for those of us that came to hear him throw down, we got what we came for. I couldn't help but compare it to what I had just seen at Blip Fest. Of course, Tejada's music is much deeper and not for losing your mind like a raving sugar rushed ten-year old playing Atari with a mouth full of Pop Rocks. Deep melodies, satisfying low-end, and tasteful electronic percussion made this another inspiring set that I am grateful to have witnessed.

Check out John Tejada's label, Palette Recordings

Blip Festival 2007 - NYC

Artist collective 8bitpeoples and Manhattan art space The Tank put on an event known as the Blip Festival this week at eyebeam in Chelsea NYC this week from Thursday November 29 to Sunday December 2. The focus of this event was musicians/composers/performers who make music on 8 bit Nintendos, Game Boys, Ataris, Commodore 64s and the like.

I checked out Saturday night's line-up for a bit. I was surprised to see such a large crowd (probably 500+) but, more impressive, was the quality of the tunes and the enthusiasm of the audience. Not to mention that people knew the words to the tunes and the artists within the scene.

First I caught Tree Wave who was rocking a modified Atari cartridge with his set list projected and mixed with Atari gems like Combat. He was also on the mic and messing with samplers and people were digging it. Nothing like what was to come next, though.

Bit Shifter took the stage and explained through a raspy voice that he was sounding hoarse from shouting all week. I'm thinking, "these guys are this serious about this music?" Using a Game Boy, this guy rocked the place. Fast 140-150 bpm tracks (prob even faster) with those classic 8-bit timbres brought out the mosher in these geeks. Not since the Beastie Boys show have I seen people bug out to this degree, although in a safer nerdier fashion. Crowd surfing was going down and it was inspiring. To pull off this kind of enthusiasm with a fucking Game Boy really put a big hole in the way I see live electronic performance.

This is an event that is not to be missed next year. For more info: blipfestival.org

Stevie Wonder Live @ MSG Review

What's it like to hear a legend perform? Last night i had the honor of being in the audience to witness Stevie Wonder at Madison Square Garden. I've always wanted to see Stevie live and have heard that his voice isn't what it used to be and that's why he doesn't play so often. Nothing could be further from the truth. His voice is the most powerful and unique instrument and it sounds amazing at that volume. He did every jam you could think of in those two and a half hours. Special guests included legend Tony Bennett for a version of "For Once In My Life" and Prince (!) to play guitar on "Superstition". Not a bad ticket to have. A pure legend-fest.

Harmony Head Bang

Thanks to WashMachine for this one:

In the early 1930's Schoenberg told John Cage he would tutor him for free on the condition he "devoted his life to music". Cage readily agreed, but stopped lessons after two years. Cage later wrote in his lecture Indeterminacy: "After I had been studying with him for two years, Schoenberg said, 'In order to write music, you must have a feeling for harmony.' I explained to him that I had no feeling for harmony. He then said that I would always encounter an obstacle, that it would be as though I came to a wall through which I could not pass. I said, 'In that case I will devote my life to beating my head against that wall'." Schoenberg later described Cage as being 'not a composer, but an inventor — of genius".

More New Videos

In preparation for Amsterdam Dance Event, we put together some new videos of our live performances. Check em out. If you're into them, please rate them for youtube and subscribe to our channel. Enjoy!

Fright Night

We had a blast performing in Bermuda for Volcanic's Fright Night 2007. Video is on the way and here's some pics from that night.

ADE review

Held in one of the greatest cities in the world, Amsterdam Dance Event is regarded as THE dance music conference of the year. I always wanted to check it out and was fortunate to have a free hotel room to crash in (thanks to writing for DJ Times Magazine).
The daily activities of the conference include panels, interviews and all-around networking. In European fashion, the bars serve as the perfect place to meet with record labels, managers, publicists, etc. It was referred to me by one A&R as "WMC circa 91". Where Miami in March is now the place for fans (mostly New Yorkers) to party, ADE is the place for dance music professionals to meet. If you are an aspiring DJ/producer, save some money and go to Amsterdam next fall. You wont regret it. The ADE bracelet also gets you access to almost every party in the city that is an ADE event. Highlights for me were sets by Mark Knight, Rene Amesz, and Sander van Doorn. I regret not going to more parties, but a person can only handle so much action. I also had a chance to witness an interview with legend Kevin Saunderson. Respect.

New DJ Mix

A 66 minute mix from Dj Ohzee & The Butcha - The Future Beat Is On

Click Here To Listen or Right Click and Save

Vinyl Life quoted in Billboard "Analog" Article

THE ANALOG KIDS
October 06, 2007

Dance Artists Abandoning Digital In Favor Of Vintage Gear
KERRI MASON

Before preset sound banks overflowed with prefabbed beats, electronic musicians made them from scratch with freestanding synthesizers. Before drag and drop, remixers physically cut and spliced tape to move sonic parts. When the digital production revolution finally did come, dance producers led the charge, emboldened by the standardization of sounds and methods they had pioneered. Since then, nothing has sped the genre's growth (or dilution, according to some) more than the advent of increasingly cheap, easily manipulated software.

But now, less than a decade after the debut of such computer synthesizers as Propellerhead's Reason and Ableton's Live, the same early adopters who embraced digital are turning their gazes back to the future.

"People are realizing what's missing from the sounds they're getting out of software," Phil Moffa of production/DJ outfit Vinyl Life says. "They're conscious of how everything is sounding the same, and digital replication is the same every time. The magic of analog is it's never the same, depending on the weather, where you are in the world, the electricity supply."

Moffa is one of a crew of young dance producers who have dumped their neat little laptops for rooms full of hulking black boxes, scouring eBay and garage sales for vintage, amp-driven, analog synths. Their mission: to shake off the homogeny of boilerplate beats and use synths as the nuanced instruments they once were.

"We get more inspiration out of the old machines," says James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco, whose addictive "Attack Decay Sustain Release" (Interscope) has fired up the dancing shoes of indie and club kids. "You try to do something, and they'll give you something back you didn't expect. Also, because they're physical things, it's less cerebral; there's a humanism to it. We're not big fans of pushing blocks around screens."

Acts from the Chemical Brothers to Nine Inch Nails have garnished their records with different analog tools for years. But the new school of enthusiasts sees its preference as a sort of reactionary revolution. Moffa dumped all his digital sounds for good in 2005, going fully analog for Vinyl Life's "Flashlight" (Ultra) and each release since. Simian's "Attack" contains no samples, and was entirely made with hunks of such audio antiquity as the Korg MS-20 (1978), ARP Instruments ARP 2600 (1971) and Roland Juno-60 (1982). Such acts as Uberzone and U.N.K.L.E. have also expressed their displeasure with the constraints of digital.

"I hate really nostalgic records that are trying to sound like old records," Ford says. "But there's something familiar about [analog], the way it shapes the sound and rounds out the edges and warms it up. It reminds you of the records you grew up with."

Chemical Brothers @ McCarren Pool in Brooklyn

Photos by Ian Meyer

I checked out one of the biggest names in live electronic performance at Brooklyn's spacious McCarren pool on Saturday. The Chemical Brothers have been at it for a long time playing to thousands of people for over ten years. The new album "We are the Night" is a step in the house direction for the kings of breakbeat electronica and it's also a foray into analog synth land which is something I am definitely feeling. Their first full length "Exit Planet Dust" (Junior Boys Own 1995) is truly a classic and probably the Chems best work. I discovered this one later in life but it still is a major influence on me. I have always dug their ability to keep the listener interested through constantly evolving sounds and their arrangements. The production is always top notch. Although most of Chemical Brothers albums have tracks that are pretty much useless to me, there's always a few gems on each LP. Seeing them perform live was long over due.
The visuals at this show were probably the most impressive part. They're projecting on a huge screen which looked like a net of small led's. Lots of geometric shapes were used, especially circles to highlight parts of the screen. Also lots of portraits of freaks mouthing the words to the tracks with lots of projections or make-up on their faces. The crowd was reacting to the visuals with cheers. Powerful stuff.
The music from the new album sounded great, although the pool is a tough space to fill. I would like to see the Chems in a smaller club environment. The crowd was filled with good people including local celebrities Joey Dollaz and Jack the Legend.
One thing I always find myself asking at these events is "Are they doing anything up there or are they faking the funk?" Crowds are always content when a band member, usually Ed in this case, stops tinkering (or fake-tinkering) with some synth knobs to wave to the crowd. Big cheers for that. It's always been whispered amongst the people who know anything about gear and performing that the Chemical Brothers and many of their parallel performers are just running a DAT or CD and pretending to play their gear. Maybe they'll throw a drum fill in from the MPC or really play a line here or there but who knows what's really going on right in front of an audience? When you get to that level, there's no room for error and electronic gear can be buggy. (That's why I leave my 909 at home. It has a mind of its own.) I would much rather see/hear a missed sequence or any fuck up while knowing that the beats are being created live right there than hear a studio recording while very respected individuals are turning knobs on a synth that isn't even connected. I guess the end result is what matters, and if the crowd is dancing, cheering, and partying to great music, then who cares if it's pre-recorded? Electronic musicians that actually play their gear, that's who.

Exclusive interview with Q of Uberzone

After reading his "Buck the Biz" column in the September issue of Remix, I contacted Q of Uberzone and struck up a pretty interesting dialog. He wrote about crafting your own sounds and not worrying about chasing the newest trends. This is some very refreshing advice in the time of presets that we now live. Uberzone's newest album Ideology is out now on Nitrus Records. He took the time out to answer some questions and we thank him for that. It went like this:

Your new album is called “Ideology”. What is the concept behind the name?
*The name was intended to be a play on words; Idea-ology, or, “the study of ideas”. I was really cognoscente of the fact that a lot of the newer electronic music seemed to start with the focus on the dance floor and I wanted to start with strong ideas, hooks and melodies and work from there. I think it’s imperative to have strong ideas as the foundation for any creative endeavor. That being said, I still leave room for happy accidents.

How long did it take to complete?
*I had the tracks “Satisfaction”, “FUBAR” and “Vibrate” done a year earlier but the bulk of the rest of the record took about 8 months to complete once I got rolling. I can probably get a record done within 6 months at this point but I tour and do all the other Uberzone duties solo, so that takes up a lot of time and energy.

Your column in Remix talked about originality in sound design and composition. Tell us about your creative process.
*I usually start with an idea of what I’m trying to do in the studio before I turn on the gear. I do like to go in the studio just to experiment sometimes but I tend to meander very easily so I have to create some focus when I’m trying to move forward on a track.
I like to start with either the idea for the hook or the rhythms first; I very rarely start with anything that determines the key of the tracks before I have any melody or lead line in mind. As far as sound design, I usually start with fairly generic sounds when I’m coming up with melodies. It’s easier to hear a compelling melody when you’re not relying on the sound to help it along. There are instances, however, when the sound is essential to the overall hook. For instance, the middle melody in “4 Bit” wouldn’t have the same sentiment if it was played with a generic sound. That “sound” is essential to the overall effect of the line.
As far as rhythm goes, that tends to be the easiest part for me, being a drummer. I love to create polyrhythms and interplay between the drums and any other rhythmic elements in the tracks, whether it’s the bass line, lead line or anything else.
When I’m arranging the tracks I like to produce using a technique I call “combing”. I get a very basic rough arrangement down and then listen to the tracks over and over and refine it with each pass. This helps me focus on the big picture rather than getting caught up in the minutia. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when you’re a solo artist so I always keep that in mind. Most of the time, I have all the elements and basic parts of a track in place in a day or two. The part that takes the longest comes next. The mix engineering and final tweaks to the sound design, effects and editing. I rely heavily on the UAD plugins for the mix stage and N.I. Reaktor and a host of other plugins for the sound design aspects of my tracks.

What is the ratio of tracks you start to tracks that get finished?
*About 90%. I think this is due to the fact that I try to always have a strong idea of what I’m trying to do before I start.

What gear is the most crucial to your studio?
*Steinberg Nuendo
*Universal Audio UAD-1 card and effects
*Native Instruments Reaktor
*Some of the hardware synths: Roland Jupiter 8 and 6, Roland VP-330 and the S.C.I Pro-One
*Tea

What is your musical background? How did you get into breaks and electronic music?
*I’m a graduate of the Uberheim School Of Hard Knocks; I majored in daydreaming with a minor in procrastination.
*I’ve played drums since I was a tot.
*I listened to a lot of electronic music growing up.
*I went to some of the very first “raves” in the world.
*I’m NOT classically trained
*I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
*I read every magazine and book I could get my hands on that had anything to do with electronic music, synthesis, production, engineering and songwriting.

What gear do you use when you perform?
*Ableton Live controlled by an Axiom 25 and a Trigger Finger
*Pioneer CDJ-1000 MK 3
*Pioneer DJM-800
*Roland V-Drums kit with a TD-8 brain
*Roland SPD-S
*More to come, I’m in the process of changing my set around. 

What can a crowd expect at an Uberzone show?
I try to bring a lot of energy and intensity to a performance. Dave and I are doing quite a bit live up there so it gives it a bit of an improvisational feel. I think the audience sees that and can feed off of that. I’m getting ready to try and implement visuals back into my live show.

What have you learned on stage over the years that have made you a better performer?
The audience can see a lot more than most people give them credit for. I think it’s totally necessary to visually communicate with the audience and allow them to be a part of the show. You can’t fake the funk, people can read on your face whether or not you’re comfortable being there. I also think that I’ve learned to relax and really enjoy the moment, which translates to a better experience for everyone.

Are there any cities and venues you prefer?
I LOVE to play at Fabric in London. It just feels like it should on stage there; the sound system is wicked, the club’s always packed and the vibe is insane. I’ve played there many times and it’s always been amazing. I also love playing at all the House Of Blues in the States; they just totally have their shit together. As far as cities: London, Sydney, San Francisco, anywhere in Spain, Seattle, Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Denver and Toronto.

What old school legends have influenced you?
*Kraftwerk
*Depeche Mode
*The Beatles
*Vince Clarke
*Afrika Bambaataa
*Orbital (not old school but a huge influence)
*Leftfield (again, not old school but a huge influence)
*Public Enemy

Who are the newer producers that you listen to?
*Anything Nigel Godrich touches. He’s hands down my favorite producer at the moment.
*Trentemoller
*Switch (Dave Taylor)
uhhh…
This is a hard question because I think the term producer is misused these days. I consider a producer to be someone that’s more versatile than someone constrained by one style of music. I know this is somewhat controversial but… we do live in the age of mis-information. That’s why Mr. Godrich is so revered; from Radiohead to Air to Beck to McCartney, electronic or acoustic… he never fails.

Most younger (and even some experienced) producers/djs/electronic musicians are always wondering what they can do to get exposure for their music. What advice do you have for the hard-working techno freaks of the future?
Man… its HHHHAAAARD these days. The music business is like a field of white noise right now. Anyone who owns a laptop is now a producer, singer, songwriter, composer… No one wants to pay for music anymore because everyone is writing their own music. That being said, you really have to work the MySpace-type sites, blogs and the Internet in general. Touring live or Dj-ing is a MUST and it’s paramount that you try and release tracks on a regular basis… something I’ve failed miserably at. It’s sensory-overload theater out there right now, here today gone tomorrow. You HAVE to be persistent and consistent.

Right on, Q. If they're in your town, you hould check it out. These guys bring an amazing energy to the stage with their live electronic performance. Respect.

Sep 28 2007 Smart Bar Chicago, Illinois
Sep 29 2007 Nocturnal Wonderland Los Angeles, California
Oct 6 2007 Shampoo Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 7 2007 Guvernment Toronto, Ontario
Oct 12 2007 The Warehouse Calgary, Alberta
Oct 13 2007 Ampersand New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 26 2007 TBC Las Vegas, Nevada
Oct 27 2007 TBC Vancouver, British Columbia
Nov 9 2007 TBC Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Nov 17 2007 TBC Austin, Texas
Dec 1 2007 TBC San Francisco, California

New Vinyl Life Videos!

This is us live @ Studio Mezmor aka Crobar NYC in June. Videography by Santi, Leras and Rik Santiago

Coffin painted by The Butcha

Studio Feedback Portrait by The Butcha

I Love New York Remixes

Our newest release on Complex Collective is out now. Hear it on Beatport or

Danny Tenaglia Boat Cruise Review

Tonight I had the pleasure of sailing around the Hudson River to the sounds of pure legend Danny Tenaglia. Truly a master of his craft, DT provided four hours of seamlessly edited house missiles. Very loose and very funky. Where does he get this stuff? I heard lots of familiar disco loops (Loose Joints, etc.) and lots of Groovejet classics that I couldn't identify. If anyone knows what synth made the organ sound in everyone of these productions, please let me know. Of course, all of these beats are edited to Danny's liking and served to the hungry dancefloor with the touch of a master. This party was originally scheduled for a few Fridays ago and I'm glad it happened the way it did. The weather tonight couldn't have been more perfect and 2 weeks ago I was at the screening of Daft Punk's Electroma. DT had the chicken pox and had to save it for tonight. Probably should've went to Shelter for the afterparty but we've got studio work of our own to do tomorrow. Fortunately, he begins a residency there in two weeks and we might get a taste of the old Vinyl/Arc days.

Just discovered this website you should spend some time with

Someone who left us a comment had this site in their profile. A very thorough guide to electronic music complete with a very funny and informative tutorial. Check it out.

Ishkur's Guide To Electronic Music

Art Of Noise - Close To The Edit

Major shout out to Noah Post for finding this one. Here it is, Wash. We've found it.

Yo Little Brother

What a gem this one is. Thanks to Basement Bombers for burning me that Latin Rascals mix from 98.7 Kiss FM 1984. Sickest tape edits. I will post the whole mix soon.

NYC Concert Review - Daft Punk & Beastie Boys

Summer is always the season for the best concerts in NYC and Daft Punk's long awaited return was no disappointment. Imagine a collage of their three albums all mashed into an hour and a half of dance music perfection. DP's praise to their roots is still apparent. Tastes of Chicago and Detroit are present alongside the poppier stuff. Obviously, the source of the album title "Homework" comes from DP's love for their "Teachers". Many skeptics think that their faking the funk up there and fronting with robot helmets on. I know what it sounds like when a DJ works the EQ or filters and i can confidently say that they are, at the very least, DJing up there. I'd like to believe that there are even more factors that they are in control of, but that's for them (and the sound guy) to know. Regardless of how it is done, they rocked the shit out of Coney Island. The light show, visuals, and music all built up beautifully together. It was legendary. Strong in concept and craft, Daft Punk are at the top of electronic music.






The following night, 8/10/07, I was fortunate enough to have tickets to the Beastie Boys gala event at Hammerstein Ballroom. This was their third show in three days following Central Park and Brooklyn's McCarren pool. The Beasties are also legends within their genre and they are still killing it. What other rap groups have been around for twenty years and are rapping in 2007 while playing guitar and drums? That is unprecedented on so many levels. Not to mention that they are still a punk band that can get the moshers riled up just to play a funk jam two minutes later. All of their gear is decked out in clear plastic from MCA's double bass & bass rig to Money Mark's synth collection. The video show is this ridiculous Calder mobile with various screens hanging off of it. The music was amazing and the Boys have still got it on stage. What a weekend.



Photo by Hot Sauce Please check out Mic To Mic Blog

Dopamine Interview

We recently caught up with Dopamine - a breaks DJ/Producer from Australia. Dopamine's remix of "Rhythm Rock You" appears on the new Swiss compilation "Street Parade Underground" mixed by Smash FX. Matt's first single "Hold You" launched him onto the scene winning Breakspoll "Single of the Year" in 2006. Since then he has rocked many dancefloors and consistently put out remixes and original productions.

Tell us about the breaks scene in Australia.

It's not really that healthy to be honest. Sydney and Perth probably have the strongest scenes but in other states it's not so big.

How is it different in other places you play?

It's my home so I feel comfortable playing here. I usually know what to expect in each city and have a good circle of mates and fans around the country.

Where would you like to play in the world that you haven’t yet?

I'm really keen to play in Canada. Meat Katie was telling me about a brilliant party there and Myagi has been bigging it up for some time as well. I'm also hoping to get to South America and some more Eastern European countries.

How do your DJ sets influence your producing and vice-versa?

It helps to know what works on the dancefloor and being able to test out new tunes in the clubs. Also, being surrounded by the club scene and other producers I get to hear the latest music and see which directions people are going in.

I read once that you use hardware in the studio. Are you still sequencing without a computer? Any new gear in your setup?

I turned my back on sequencing with my computer for a couple of years. I was using a Yamaha RS7000 for almost everything. I would sample my synths and take that out on the road when I used to play live. It's a great machine and I released quite a few tracks with that but eventually I out grew it and needed the convenience of a computer based setup. I now use Sonar on a PC but will eventually make the switch to Logic purely for the reason that the people I collaborate with all use it and it'll make life a lot easier.

What is your philosophy when you approach a remix project?

It depends on the track I'm working on. If a track has an identifiable vocal then you can usually rewrite the track completely and make sure the vocal features heavily. That gives you a lot of freedom to be creative. If it's an instrumental I like to work with the parts in a way so they are identifiable as coming from the original but with my own twist. I don't like to just do something so completely that you can't recognize it as a remix. It defeats the purpose in my opinion.

What are some new projects you are working on now?

I have just finished two tech house singles with Madox for Mantra Vibes, one of which is being remixed by Maskio. I've also done another house track with Chris Carter for his REC label which I'm excited about. Unfortunately just prior to doing this interview my hard drive crashed so all of those are on hold until I can recover the data! I'm a bit worried to say the least.... this is why I went all hardware for a while although that turned out to be just as unreliable. It's a good thing I do regular backups otherwise I could stand to lose a lot more.

Who are some of your influences new and old?

Some influential people over the years have been Dave Clarke, Cevin Fisher, The Orb, Orbital, Chemical Brothers, Ben Simms, Glen Wilson, Elite Force and Meat Katie.

What are your website/myspace/other relevant links?

www.myspace.com/mattdopamine is the best link

my website is in dire need of an update - www.djdopamine.com

Any upcoming gigs you want to mention?

8.10.07 Pang @ Lot 33 - Canberra
8.11.07 Laundry @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
8.17.07 UTS Party - Sydney
8.17.07 Break Inn @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
8.31.07 Break Inn @ Chinese Laundry - Sydney
9.01.07 Empire Hotel - Brisbane
9.29.07 Halo - Hobart, Tasmania

October - touring China

Thanks Matt. We'll be checking out all the new tracks. God bless.