DMb | Dance Music blog & Podcast

Ruth Flowers is a 69 year old grandma from the UK rocking clubs in Paris. She got her start after going to her grandson’s birthday party at a nightclub and got hooked on music and the energy on the dancefloor. Now Ruth is playing at bigger and bigger venues and is working on her own tracks to be released in the near future. Check out her MySpace page for more videos and photos. Also another quick video over at BBC.

We have a new interview with Master’s at Work’s Louie Vega talking about Soul Heaven, Current Projects, and little known bits about his personal life. Enjoy.

How important is Soul Heaven to you and why is you think they have been successful; proudly celebrating their 10th Anniversary?
At soul heaven we have always kept it real musically and all the djs have done wonderful work giving you the best in soul dance music. Soul Heaven always kept a close contact with the fans, and there is always an a class set of entertainment. With the cds, events worldwide, and quality of music they bring, you can’t go wrong. They are also friendly with all fans and give them the time they deserve. 10 years is a long time to keep for an ongoing party, and soul heaven has proven themselves in our industry.

Your career spans way more than ten years but can you remember the time when you celebrated 10 years in the industry and as MAW?
I will never forget our 10-year anniversary (maw). We had a huge party in Miami at opium garden, over 2000 people and the best live entertainment you could ever have. We invited the Nuyorican Soul band to back up Roy Ayers, Bebe Winans, Stephanie Mills, James Ingram, Jody Watley, and many more. Brazilian dancers, fireworks, the infamous MAW gift bags, and much more.

Soul Heaven brought together the soulful sounds of house and really gave it a worldwide stage. How have you seen dance music evolve over the last decade?
Dance music has evolved very much. From djs playing at the Olympics, to playing at the super bowl, working with cirque du soleil and even getting recognized at the Grammys with awards, dance music is growing in a big way. Many pop artists now are leaning towards dance music where before many in that world saw it as taboo. I only see it growing bigger in that way where the worlds will mix more musicially.

Are there any particular styles that you have seen arise and quite happily seen disappear…? (more…)

Back for its 7th year, Diesel-U-Music launches its 2007 international search for finding the best unsigned talent across the globe. The first international new music contest in the world, Diesel-U-Music has pioneered a proven formula in discovering and supporting some of the best breaking artists in music today. No matter where the artist lives be it in Dublin or Dubai, they will all have the same chance and opportunity win this truly global and international competition. To enter the competition, applicants should visit the official website, http://www.diesel-u-music.com, which launches on 2nd April and closes on 15th May.

During the six week entry period, online applicants from every corner of the globe will be accepted on the official website. Musicians from around the world should upload their music, biographies and photos for the delectation of our esteemed judging partners, who are made up of some of the most influential bods of the music media and record industry. Last year, DUM received over 8,000 entries and word continues to spread!

Renzo Rosso, President and Founder of Diesel, commented “At Diesel we have always been committed to supporting new talents throughout the arts. Diesel-U-Music is the perfect platform for finding upcoming musicians from all over the world, offering them concrete opportunities.”

Past international winners of Diesel-U-Music Awards include some of the most exciting new artists in music today, which includes Duke Dumont, Mylo, The Pistolas, We Are Scientists, Tom Vek (as Souvenir), Infadels and DJ Yoda. Based on this impeccable track record, artists are encouraged to enter under one of these three genres: Indie/Rock, Urban/Hip Hop and Electronic.

The UK finalists from the three genres will be announced at an exclusive launch event on 16 May and will go on tour playing at some of the UK’s most legendary venues from May until June. Finalists from around the world will be chosen and announced in June and go on to the star-studded Diesel-U-Music Awards, which will be held again in London in October (TBA).

All of the 2007 international finalists will gain local support and press coverage from their specific country’s DUM structure. This includes a £2,000 support fund, studio time with a producer, legal advice, ongoing media support, publicity, a possible commercial release and much more.

Based on the success of last year, DUM will again encourage anyone from across the globe to cast their vote for their favourite nominee from any territory and in the Diesel-U-Music Public Vote. Please visit www.diesel-u-music.com for more details.

The Diesel-U-Music Awards are to be held in London in October 2007 (TBA) (full details to be announced at a later date). The exciting international event will see all the winning artists from each genre presented with their awards. Additional accolades are awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music and Music Icon Award and presented to important figures in music, which include last year’s winners Mick Rock and Roxy Music.

Award winners will take to the stage to perform alongside some of the biggest and brightest established acts in music today and all will enjoy a truly fabulous after show, whose attendees will include past winners, members of the media and the glitterati of the international music and entertainment scene. It will be a night to be remembered!

To enter the Diesel-U-Music 2007 competition, go to www.diesel-u-music.com from 2 April – 11 May.

via: DanceNova

Friday March 2nd is a landmark date in the history of drum & bass. Ram Records has been one of the most important drum & bass labels in the history of the genre. They have been at the very forefront of drum & bass ever since Ant Miles and a sixteen year old Andy C released the label’s debut ‘Sour Mash EP’ in 1992, and almost immediately wrote the label into jungle history with their genre-defining and scene-shaping magnum opus ‘Valley of the Shadows’ in 1993.

The years since have seen the label become one of the scene’s dominant forces with one of the tightest knit collectives. Along with the founding fathers, the talents of Shimon, Moving Fusion and Red One were soon incorporated in to their stable, and later the likes of Nightbreed and Subfocus were added, creating one of the most formidable collectives in the scene. Their music has been of such consistently high quality it’s possible to pick a drum & bass anthem of the year for every year from the Ram catalogue alone.

The success of Ram also went hand in hand with the development of Andy C’s career and helped shape him in to drum & bass’ undisputed heavyweight champion. Ram will not only be marking their fifteen year anniversary with this monster of a party, but with the release of a commemorative CD/DVD pack that will include live footage from ‘The Executioner’ recorded on the night, along with interview footage with all the crew and much more.

The night itself is a blend of Ram mainstays such as Sub Focus, Shimon and of course Andy C, and a select choice of some of the finest talent from across the scene in mouth-watering back to back combinations including Mampi Swift back to back with DJ Fresh, Bryan Gee back to back with DJ Die and Fierce back to back with Commix.

The lounge dwellers will be treated to some gems too, including the wonky hip hop, breaks and downtempo of Danny Breaks, the no-nonsense party breaks of Jay Cunning, Neil Mitchell’s straight-up house, and the cherry on the cake, a very special AWOL set from the legendary DJ Randall! Not to be missed.

An extraordinary line-up for an historic anniversary in drum & bass, and a night that is set to go down in folklore. Let’s all toast to another fifteen years from the Ram crew!

via: DanceNova