After 30 years working on their respective ongoing music projects, Vince Clarke (Erasure / Yazoo / Depeche Mode) and Martin L. Gore (Depeche Mode) come together for the first time since 1981 as VCMG to release a brand new album on Mute, preceded by a series of EPs.

VCMG is the fruit of initially tentative discussion and subsequent enthused collaboration where Vince and Martin, both influential as pioneers in electronic music, get to exercise their lifelong love of the genre as the techno inspired VCMG.

As Vince explains: “I’ve been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music and I got really intrigued by all the sounds… I realised I needed a collaborator… so it occurred to me to talk to Martin.”

Says Gore: “Out of the blue I got an e-mail from Vince just saying, ‘I’m interested in making a techno album. Are you interested in collaborating?’ This was maybe a year ago. He said, ‘No pressure, no deadlines,’ so I said, ‘OK’.”

The writing and recording of the album was done in a typically unique way with the pair working alone in their respective studios, communicating only via email, exchanging files until the album was ready. It was in May 2011 that the pair met for the first time to discuss the project when they both performed at Short Circuit presents Mute festival in London.

The album (title to be announced soon) was produced by Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore and mixed by the influential Californian electronic artist Überzone / Q and will be released in the spring of 2012.

The first release is an EP entitled Spock. EP1 / SPOCK will feature remixes from Edit-Select, aka Tony Scott, the UK DJ / producer and founder of EditSelect Records whose previous remix credits include Speedy J, Death In Vegas and Gary Beck; Regis, British techno musician Karl O’Connor, member of the Sandwell District collective and co-founder of Downwards Records); Zak aka DVS1, founder of Hush Records and one of the most prominent figures in US dance music counts techno innovator Derrick May amongst his biggest fans, with his second ever release on May’s own Transmat plus XOQ, the alter ego of Überzone / Q, who mixed the VCMG album.

EP1 / SPOCK will be available initially as a global exclusive on Beatport on 30 November, and then on all DSPs from 12 December with the 12″ release following on 19 December 2011.

EP1 / SPOCK TRACKLIST
Spock – Album Version
Spock – Edit Select Remix
Spock – Regis Remix
Spock – DVS1 Voyage Home Remix
Spock – XOQ Remix

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I’m a sucker for ElectroPop so when Mean sent over some music I just had to post up a track. Get their full album at the Bandcamp link below.

Download audio file (Mean_-_You_Like_Boys_dancemusicblog.com_.mp3)
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Dutch producer Sander Kleinenberg officially steps into the artist seat with 5K, his debut studio album out June 14, 2011 on his own label This Is Recordings (via INgrooves), formerly known as Little Mountain Recordings. In support of his collection of elegantly entrancing electro that slides from energetic dance floor beats into airy sonic dreamscapes, he’ll return to North America this June for a 13-date run of live dates.

Co-produced with Josh Gabriel and mixed by Kleinenberg and Steve ‘Dub’ Jones [Chemical Brothers, UNKLE, Audio Bullys], ’5K’ is quite the ride. With its opening track, ‘T.I.O.N’. (This Is Our Night) rolling into ‘Chemically’ featuring Ryan Starr, Kleinenberg’s propulsive production morphs into an anthemic refrain that’s bound to get bodies moving. Another song built for the clubs is his “attempt at being French,” the 80’s-inspired vocodered ‘R.Y.A.N.L.’ (Rock You All Night Long). Then, Kleinenberg takes the listener to outer space on the warm rapture of ‘Closer’ where Neil Ormandy’s vocals reach beyond the sky. British jazz singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum, who guests on the bass-y and bouncy first single ‘Remember When’ adds a soulful swagger to the track which sees Kleinenberg expanding even further and embracing a new vibe. The song can be experienced through its video at: YouTube

There are also collaborations with fellow Dutchmen Kraak & Smaak on ‘The Journey’ featuring spoken word legend Ursula Rucker. The dance floor explodes again with ‘M.A.N.I.A.C.’, which was built especially for the clubs Sander came up in, and then into ‘Disko Riot’ featuring Jon Fugler, which is, in Sander’s own words, “…a techno protest song written strongly to stand up against what the world of money has done to us all–how bankers obsessed with wealth have fucked us all over… and still do”. ‘This Love’ draws from De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, and A Tribe Called Quest with Ace Reign firing off incendiary verse. All of these textures, sounds, and swells converge on a gorgeous collaboration with Miss Montreal titled ‘Wish I Said’, and the song says it all. ’5K’ is the next level for electronic music.

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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.

It’s a sub-genre of horror that’s most convincing when he puts the best qualities of his influences to work. The disharmonious energy of ragga propels Virgo, where Face-A-Face’s French lyrics fight with tense build ups, and lead single So… Embrace the Minimum is suspended ominously around the kind of space that the best dubstep producers used to capture the world’s attention. Onwards Vultures would be perfect for a horror film soundtrack, while Daddy Freddy’s distorted, crunching fast-chat is truly cannibalistic on Dirt.

But the fusion of drum and bass and dubstep is the problem. Too much of the album is lost to clichés from both genres, grating sounds that Renegade Hardware and Photek wore out years ago and the pointless, flatulent noises that dubstep is currently wasting itself on. So it will divide both those that appreciate such things, and individuals that find them an instant turn off. In case of the latter, it’ll be a shame, given Richards’ idiosyncratic focus and evocative abilities.

via: BBC

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Fall Tour Dates to support the album:

Sun 8/2 Wasaga Beach, ON The Dome
Wed 8/5 Niagara Falls, ON Dragonfly
Fri 8/7 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Sat 8/8 Miami Beach, FL Mansion Night Club
Sun 8/9 Chicago, IL Grant Park – Lollapalooza
Wed 9/2 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
Thu 9/3 Charlotte, NC The Forum
Fri 9/4 San Juan, PR The Arena at Pier 10
Sat 9/5 New York, NY Randalls Island – Electric Zoo
Sun 9/6 El Paso, TX Club 101
Mon 9/7 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
Wed 9/23 Ottawa, ON Ritual
Thu 9/24 Quebec City Dagobert Night Club
Fri 9/25 Montreal, QC Metropolis
Sat 9/26 Toronto, ON The Guvernment
Tue 9/29 Winnipeg, MB Republic Nightclub
Wed 9/30 Calgary, AB Flames Central
Thu 10/1 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Edmonton Events Centre
Sat 10/3 Seattle, WA Showbox at the SODO
Wed 10/28 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Thu 10/29 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom
Sat 10/31 Los Angeles, CA HARD @ The Forum
Sun 11/1 San Diego, CA House of Blues
Mon 11/2 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Wed 11/4 Denver, CO The Ogden
Fri 11/6 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Sat 11/7 Austin, TX Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre
Sun 11/8 Houston, TX House of Blues
Tue 11/10 Little Rock, AR The Village
Wed 11/11 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Thu 11/12 Orlando, FL House of Blues
Fri 11/13 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
Sun 11/15 Tampa, FL The Ritz
Tue 11/17 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Wed 11/18 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
Thu 11/19 Nashville, TN Limelight
Sat 11/21 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Sun 11/22 Philadelphia, PA TLA
Mon 11/23 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Tue 11/24 Boston, MA Roxy Boston

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It’s Grammy time again…

The winner in the category Best Dance Recording “Harder Better Faster Stronger” by Daft Punk from the album “Alive 2007″. Other nominees in the category: Hot Chip, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Sam Sparro, and Rihanna.

Also winning in the Best Electronic/Dance Album category is Daft Punk for “Alive 2007″ which also featured: Cyndi Lauper, Kylie Minogue, The Brazilian Girls, Moby, and Robyn.

In the Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package categories Radiohead picked up the Grammy for “In Rainbows.”

In the category for Best Remixed Recording Justice won for their remix of “Electric Feel” by MGMT which also featured: Deadmau5, Stonebridge, Junkie XL, and Moto Blanco.

Congrats!

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Here is the info from Speedy J’s Collab page…

What is Open Collabs?
Building on the concept of his past Collabs Projects, Jochem Paap aka Speedy J invites producers worldwide to submit parts for an album collaboration of epic proportions. In times where the vast majority is reluctant to embrace the changes that digital technology brings, he’s reaching out to prove the value of creative synergy new tools and formats have to offer. The project will be a manifest of these values, re-injecting progress into electronic music. The resulting album will be released on his label Electric Deluxe, profits will be shared with all artists appearing on it 50/50.

What is a Part?
A part can be a loop, sample, bassline, sound effect, or any conceivable combination of the above. Check ot some of Speedy J’s own example parts here.

How Does it Work?
The entire collaboration will take place on Soundcloud. Participants can send their audio to Speedy J via the Open Collabs Dropbox. The creation process can be followed via www.SpeedyJ.com, and participants will be able to comment on the work in progress. Keep and eye on this page for audio-updates and news.

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With this single disc mix, to be released twice a year, John is able to compile a contemporary snapshot of his current set taking in the most up-to-date material on the scene.

Trans Vol.2
His standing as a world-renowned DJ has enabled him to include several tracks that are exclusively available on this album prior to their full single release. Amongst these are Guy Gerber’s atmospheric mix of Chaime – ‘Dana’, David K’s trippy masterpiece ‘Boul de Nerf’ and two tracks by G-Stylz (aka Bruce Aisher).

He incorporates further stand-out tracks from Buzzin’ Fly’s latest, Abyss ‘Mind Games’ and ‘The Dreamer’, as well as another exclusive from man of the moment Guy Gerber, entitled ‘Digital Memories’ and the incredible Joakim Mix of Antena’s ‘Camino Del Sol’. As with Vol.1, it is his flawless mixing and programming that Digweed brings to this project, creating a mix that offers new interpretations, improving with each listen as it shifts from 124 to a 129bpm finale across it’s 70 minutes.

As one half of Bedrock, Digweed has long been a force in the studio, and his production acumen is highlighted here, as he turns in subtle, exclusive edits throughout the album

In recent times John’s sound has reached an ever wider audience with ‘Transitions’, his globally syndicated radio show, which has over 2 million listeners a week and also provides the name and inspiration for the comp’.

Renaissance: John Digweed – Transitions Vol.2 is out now
Get John Digweed CDs
via DanceNova

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