DMb | Dance Music blog

With the success of his State of Trance Podcast and the chart-topping productions he cranked out this year it’s no surprise that Armin took the coveted #1 DJ in World spot yet again. If you’re in LA be sure to catch him this weekend at Monster Massive.

Here is the complete list for 2009:

1. Armin van Buuren (non-mover)
2. Tiesto (non-mover)
3. David Guetta (up 2)
4. Above & Beyond (non-mover)
5. Paul van Dyk (down 2)
6. Deadmau5 (up 5)
7. Ferry Corsten (down 1)
8. Markus Schulz (non-mover)
9. Gareth Emery (up 14)
10. Sander van Doorn (up 3)
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It might seem like an anachronism, yet King Cannibal is not alone. The past year or so has seen acts turn to dubstep to try and revivify drum and bass, the apparent backwardness of it being that dubstep was innovative where drum and bass was tired. Then again, why shouldn’t updating the genre be a valid thing to do? The preponderance of bad, banal dubstep made by precisely the people who have been willing to collaborate with drum and bass producers is one kind of answer.

King Cannibal, real name Dylan Richards and elsewhere known as Zilla, is caught in this movement. Let the Night Roar is a collection of dark tracks built of low frequencies, lyrical aggression and dystopia, and drums and rhythms combing dancehall, drum and bass and dubstep. By featuring MCs like Sasha Perera of Jahcoozi, Face-A-Face and Daddy Freddy, Richards situates his project in an international and intergenerational pool of artists producing different derivations of dancehall and everything after it. He is comparable to the likes of Canada’s Ghislain Poirier, Austria’s Stereotyp, or fellow labelmate and Londoner The Bug.

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Actually a decent Trance video. Kinda reminds me of the Honda robots.

I have very fond memories of watching Eat Static perform live for an L.A. massive many years ago and was blown away when a four legged mech thing came out onto stage with them. It was quite the amazing performance, but scouring Google images I was unable to find any photos of the above mentioned mech leaving me to believe it was all a figment of my imagination. If anyone else saw this please let me know, I would love to know I’m not losing my mind.

So we just found out Laptoprockers have announced a Remix Contest with Psytrance pioneers Eat Static. Winners grab some plugins and the top remix to be released by Eat Static!!

Featuring a drum & bass track, a rock ballad and a synth-pop song in previous remix contests, this time Laptoprockers have joined forces with pioneers of psytrance ‘Eat Static’ to offer remixers two great tracks to play around with. ‘Sin Quest’ is an upbeat dance track with a classic psytrance feel, while ‘Up Periscope’ explores the more downtempo psychedelic avenues. The tracks are off Eat Static’s two most recent albums, De-Classified and Back To Earth.

“Both tracks unmistakeably carry Eat Static’s signature sound and make up for great remix material,” Laptoprockers said. “And as it is the first time Eat Static source material is available from the Internet in a remix contest, this unique opportunity caters for something extra. We’ll have winners for each remix track, and the best overall remix will get a very special bonus.”

As on earlier occasions, Laptoprockers offer a generous prize pool for this remix contest. LinPlug donated six of their best plug-in synthesizers for you to win! “Three prizes for each remix track is only adequate,” LinPlug commented on their contribution, “so each track will have three separate winners.” Prizes include LinPlug’s all in one drum solution RMV, their sample mangling plug-in ChronoX, and FM Synth Octopus and represent over $900 total value.

But there’s more at stake! The icing on the cake comes with a bonus for the best remixer overall. “We definitely will be able to release the best remix,” Eat Static’s Merv Pepler revealed, “we have several options in the coming months for that.” Need say more?

Laptoprockers is a webzine about making music digitally and related topics, featuring daily news and interviews. This is their fourth remix contest.

via: Laptoprockers

Xone delivers a top of the line DJ controller to put all others to shame. Check it out:

After weeks of speculation and buzz around the industry, Allen & Heath and Serato Audio Research have announced the launch of the Xone: DX, a new Plug’n'Play DJ controller, the result of close collaboration between the two companies. The DX, another development in Allen & Heath’s Xone: D range of controllers, is a 20-channel USB soundcard and features total integration of the brand new 4-deck Serato ITCH software.

Boasting the ability to send up to 168 individual MIDI control messages, a 20-channel 96kHz/24-bit USB 2.0 soundcard, two dual layer deck simulators, and RIAA/phono inputs for external decks, as well as the central 4 channel mixer section which directly manipulates the DSP mixing within the computer, the Xone: DX is the most versatile, high specification professional DJ controller to date. A full version of the new Serato ITCH software is supplied with the DX, providing unique 4-deck control, and a comprehensive set of digital DJ FX, as well as looping and time-stretching.

“Serato has always been an admirer of Allen & Heath’s DJ hardware and we’ve watched the development of the Xone: D series of controllers with keen interest. In our opinion, Allen & Heath design some of the best music production software controllers in the professional field,” explains Serato MD, Steve West. “Rather than a partnership to simply bundle our products, we wanted to collaborate with A&H at the drawing board stage, and design a product that would fully manipulate the new version of ITCH.”

The Xone: DX is also fully compatible with other leading DJ software brands, and has Allen & Heath’s customary pro modular design build and high quality components. It also has bi-colour LED feedback layer assignment, UV light sensitive legend, mix outputs on RCA and balanced XLR, a separate booth output, and measures 50mm deep to fit conveniently in a laptop bag.

“Ever since we launched the MIDI-enabled Xone:92 in 2003, followed by the multi-media Xone:3D in 2005, we have strived to design controllers that would fulfil a digital DJ’s wish list. The Xone: DX is the next step in this journey, with a versatile and wide-ranging set of features in a compact package,” comments Xone designer, Andy Rigby-Jones.

Suggested retail price is £999 shipping in November 2009.

More info at Xone Website

Euphoria and Trackitdown recently held their annual Trance Awards and below are the listed winners…no surprises really. *Yawn*

Best DJ
1. Paul Van Dyk
2. Armin Van Buuren
3. Tiësto

Best Producer
1. Paul Van Dyk
2. Armin Van Buuren
3. Tiësto

Best Label
1. Armada
2. Vandit
3. Anjunabeats

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Erick Morillo interviewed Steve Angello, sent it our way to pass on to our readers, and is giving us 3 copies of Steve’s new double mix CD to give away to our US readers (sorry rest of the world we’ll try to make it up to you.) So drop us a comment and tell us where you’re writing from and we’ll do a drawing 24 hours from now for the 3 double packs. We’ve also got a audio player below the interview so you can preview the mixes.

Erick, take it away…

When you first started out did you wish you could be Erick Morillo?

Erick’s a big inspiration for a lot of DJ’s, you can see a little bit of him in everyone from David Guetta to us and to anybody. I think he’s a really big inspiration to house DJ’s.

At what point in your career did think ‘This is it, I’ve made it!’?

I still don’t think I’ve made it yet. There’s still so much more you can do and you can always achieve and accomplish more than what you’ve done. So I’m still waiting for that moment.

Tell me about your passions outside of music.

I’m definitely into cars and watches and food! I have 5 cars, 11 or 12 watches.

What’s the difference in your sound when you’re playing a stadium to when you’re playing an underground club?

When you play a stadium you can play the bigger music, you can drop the classics such as The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and you can do boot-legs and mash ups. I think when you play clubs you can go a lot more intimate and sexy and more bass-line based, more so than you can do at festivals.

Describe the style of your set.

The style I like is to go up and down and left to right with the music and I just try and make the people enjoy themselves and I think the way to do that various from different clubs and different cities and different parts of the world. In South America you have a certain sound, the same goes for America. I think in Europe you have to be more picky because the dance music culture has been there for a much longer time so I think the crowds in Europe are more educated than other places.

What’s this thing with Pharrell? Why are the big Hip Hop stars looking to top European DJ’s all of a sudden?

I think America has recently seen just how good dance music is. There’s a lot of energy in it with a lot of people having a good time. Me and Sebastian worked with Pharrell, and I worked with him again after that and I think they are trying to explore new genres to get involved in because everybody gets bored of doing whatever they do. So as much as they come to us, we’d like to work with them because they give us something that we don’t have and vice-versa.

Who would be your ultimate pop/rock hook-up?

I don’t set goals on artists. Madonna would be an achievement but there’s so many big acts around that you just have to find the one that fits you rather than just going for the biggest ones.

What is it about the Subliminal sound that you’re so attracted to? What have they got right?

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Sander van Doorn has been on a tear lately remixing some of the biggest artists out there and playing every massive around the world. He recently took some time to do a quick interview with DanceMusicblog and here it is.

So you’ve been getting a lot of great press lately and you’ve been doing some high-profile remix work for Depeche Mode and The Killers to name a few. How did you feel and what kind of approach do you take when doing a remix for such an influential band as Depeche Mode?

It was an honour to be asked to remix the Depeche Mode track. I’ve been a fan for years and feel privileged to have my name attached to their music. I guess I approach it the same as any other remix but make sure it really works and does the original song justice.

The Killers are one of the biggest bands on the planet with some great melodies. That can make remixing a track easy when you have great parts to work with, especially when it’s a strong vocal.

Did you get to speak with any if the band members of DM, The Killers, or other artists before you started work on a remix?

No I didn’t speak to them. It’s extremely rare to do so when you’re doing a remix.

They must, obviously, like your work to choose you to reinterpret their music. Did they give you any specific instructions or ideas they had for a remix or did you have complete control over it?

No they left me to do as I thought best. I guess I was chosen because they like my style and they thought it would work well with the parts of the tracks. Obviously you work very hard on a remix when it’s for artists like the Killers or Depeche Mode.

Your second remix of the Killers’ track Spaceman has been my favorite track the past month or so. The lead synth string sound has a haunting kinda feel to it. What can you tell us about that sound and how you work in the studio?

That sound is a sample from the Killers track that I treated with some overdrive and other effects. The best way to see how I work in the studio is to watch the Studio Sessions videos on my website which show how I create my projects, some of the equipment I use and some tips and tricks.
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Novation LAUNCHPAD for Ableton Live

Ableton and Novation have just announced a new hardware interface for LIVE, scheduled to ship in November 2009. The Novation Launchpad follows in the tradition of the Akai APC40, positioning itself as a dedicated controller for Ableton Live with buttons galore and a unique “mixer” mode providing visual feedback on channel levels. Up to 6 units can be chained and used at once, and like the APC it will also be able to be custom-programmed via the upcoming Max for Live. Take a gander at the project page and start saving your milk money!

http://www.ableton.com/launchpad