Beatportal Feed

3 July, 2009 | 6.02AM

Breaking dubstep in Berlin: Scuba talks Sub:stance

Written by: Caleb Rakes
Filed under: Music News: dubstep hotflush scuba sub:stance

One year ago two British DJs decided that Berlin, the capital of techno, needed to dance to a different beat. They launched Sub:stance, Europe’s biggest dubstep night at Berlin’s famous techno bastion Berghain.

One year on, Paul Fowler (former owner of the label Spymania) and Scuba’s experiment spearheads the growing techno and dubstep soundclash via headliners like Shackleton, T++, and Appleblim. The brand is already going global with parties having been held in New York.

With the one year anniversary party coming up on the 10th July, we met Scuba to find out how he and Fowler managed to pull off a dubstep night in Berlin and to discuss the secrets to their success.

You can also listen to an exclusive live DJ mix from Scuba after the jump.

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Check out Hotflush Recordings on Beatport

2 July, 2009 | 8.12AM

Video: Rebel Rave meets Droog and Butane

Written by: Zack Rico
Filed under: Videos: butane, culprit, droog, jamie jones, lee curtiss, lee foss, rebel rave, seth troxler

Filmmaker David Terranova is back with another shimmering Rebel Rave installment. His video content is, hands down, some of the best dance music video content I’ve ever seen.

In this episode we meet Los Angeles’ very own techno musketeers Droog, who coincidentally launched their new record label Culprit this week, with the excellent ‘h.e.a.d.s.’ EP.

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Get Lee Foss, Hot Natured, Jamie Jones 'h.e.a.d.s.' EP

1 July, 2009 | 10.47AM

The 20 hottest tracks on Beatport this week

Written by: BeatportDianne
Filed under: Music News:

Each week we like to highlight the 20 hottest cuts floating about on Beatport, with 10 chosen by the public and 10 chosen by Beatport’s team of music gurus. We do the digging, so you don’t have to.

The 10 featured releases span multiple genres and are always forward-thinking, whilst the tracks from the Top 10 are guaranteed mainroom crowd pleasers.

This week sees tracks by DJ T., Joakim, Hugo, Nic Fanciulli and Axwell featured.

Listen to previews of The 20 after the jump.

Hand picked from the Community Feed. Have a Story? Submit Content.

1 July, 2009 | 8.37AM

Ross Couch bides his time ‘Night And Day’

Written by: Body Rhythm
Filed under: Music News: body rhythm body rhythm black house ross couch

Ross Couch crawled for eight years to squeeze his debut album ‘Night And Day’ out of his Glasgow studio.

Some hares might laugh, but like a true house music tortoise Couch believed that persistence and a commitment to high quality ideas would eventually lead to a brilliant win. He was right.

‘Night And Day’ is one of the most competent and well rounded house albums of the year, with a sound that bridges dancefloors and home stereos with warm soothing chords, serene vocals, funky rhythms and chunky house grooves.

With his LP quickly winning over the house camp, we decided to meet Ross Couch to find out why he waited so long to produce his debut, and to find out more about the process that went into making it.

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Get Ross Couch 'Night And Day' on Beatport

30 June, 2009 | 8.25AM

House Music Circles: June

Written by: Mazi Namvar
Filed under: Music News: audio soul project fresh meat records house house music circles

I’m obsessed with the idea of bringing together what some might consider the many disparate camps of house music - its colorful sub genres have helped spread the four four beat across the globe and fostered experimentation that might not have otherwise happened without specialization.

Sometimes though we get caught up as fans, creators or DJs with over emphasizing the prefix of our favorite hyphenated sub genre - and I think this kind of separatist behavior harms the music as a whole.

I’ve been told plenty of times by promoters or other DJs how ‘crazy’ I am for playing so many different styles in just one set. Coming up in Chicago, that’s exactly what the definition of a good DJ was - someone who could weave a unique tapestry out of deep house, vocal house, techno, minimal, ghetto, disco or whatever else they made their own through the art of mixing.

To this end I’d like to use this month’s column to mention tracks and labels that aren’t afraid of mixing and matching styles.

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Check out Audio Soul Project on Beatport

29 June, 2009 | 9.05AM

How to write a hit house track: 10 top tips

Written by: Christen Reutens
Filed under: Music News: chocolate puma strictly rhythm the goodmen

Chocolate Puma stormed into the charts in 2001 with the monumental house hit ‘I Wanna Be U’ and since then Gaston Steenkist and René ter Horst have topped the house charts many times over.

Their latest track ‘Disco Electrique’ is currently sitting at No.5 in the Beatport Top 10, and you can bet their next house track will there too.

But what goes into making a hit house track? Is there a secret formula?

Beatportal decided to jump inside the brain of the Dutch duo and get their tips for writing a hit house track.

Here are 10 basic tips that every aspiring house producer should know.

Hand picked from the Community Feed. Have a Story? Submit Content.

28 June, 2009 | 9.45PM

Video interview: Plump DJs

Written by: biancadino
Filed under: Videos: finger lickin records, plump djs

Legendary British breaks duo the Plump DJs performed for the first time in the States at Mighty in San Francisco recently. The pair have never played in America due to a minor criminal offence stopping them from traveling to the country.

In this video interview, the Plumps get interviewed by a fan about their recent album ‘Headthrash’ (listen to it in the player below), they share some tips with aspiring producers, and reveal that their next album might be a four-to-the-floor project released under a different alias.

27 June, 2009 | 10.26PM

Luke Slater interview

Written by: Zack Rico
Filed under: Music News: luke slater ostgut ton

British techno pioneer Luke Slater, a man who has been through every facet of the techno scene (and he’s got the haircuts to prove it), has been interviewed by our friends over at RA.

Their interview coincides with Slater’s excellent new Planetary Assault Systems album ‘Temporary Suspension’, which sees Slater firmly back in harder-tinged experimental techno territory.

‘Temporary Suspension’ plays like a lesson in futuristic techno exploration, with complex sound layers constructed over tightly woven techno rhythms and dark hypnotic funk.

Check out a preview of the album after the jump, you won’t be disappointed if you’re into forward-thinking electronic club music.

26 June, 2009 | 8.43AM

The art of techno: Mathew Jonson

Written by: Terry Church
Filed under: Music News: mathew jonson minus wagon repair

Before Mathew Jonson became the star of Canada’s techno scene, before his celebrity as a live act, before his Vancouver record label, before his releases on Minus and his Cobblestone Jazz outfit - before all that, there was a geeky kid in Victoria, British Columbia.

He was obsessed with making sounds. He played drums in a marching band at 7, experimented with electronic music at 10, and later rocked school assemblies with Nelly Furtado whom he went to school with. “We would perform Maria Carey covers together and Nelly used to rip that shit up and have 500 people screaming during our school performances,” he says, laughing at the memories. “We also used to produce electronic music together.”

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25 June, 2009 | 3.01PM

Mark Knight world tour: Week 1

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: mark knight mark knight tour toolroom

British sensation Mark Knight kick started his world tour last week in the US. He’s been keeping a diary for us.

Here is the first weekly installment of the Toolroom boss’ tour blog, featuring a day-by-day reflection of his life on the road that gives some insight into his world.

This week Twitter, remixes, online haters, forthcoming Toolroom tracks and a Black Eyed Peas production all feature.

25 June, 2009 | 1.36PM

Pacha Ibiza competition: And the winner is…

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: ibiza pacha recordings

In May we launched a competition with Pacha Recordings offering one lucky winner the chance to go to Ibiza for seven nights of whirlwind dance music adventure.

The lucky winner is…

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25 June, 2009 | 12.01PM

Depeche Mode Remix Contest update

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: depeche mode mute remix contests

Martin Gore, the songwriter and head of Depeche Mode, will personally listen to every single one of the 20 remixes submitted to him today from our Depeche Mode Remix Contest.

We aren’t able to reveal who made the final shortlist but we can confirm that 10 remixes are from complete newcomers and 10 are from established names.

Martin Gore and the rest of the band will make their final decision within 14 days. Thank you to the thousands of producers out there who submitted a remix. And good luck!

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24 June, 2009 | 2.37PM

What’s a DJ in 2009? We ask Joris Voorn

Written by: Zack Rico
Filed under: Music News: joris voorn rejected technology

DJs were confined to the turntable for a quarter of a century. They were slaves to the music. Rhythmically matching two records together was all they could do to help people dance. Then technology set them free.

CD players with loop functionality, FX units, and sophisticated mixers all helped DJs to seize control of the music in the 1990s. Software was the next phase and it is changing the very meaning of the word ‘DJ’.

Dutch producer and DJ Joris Voorn has embraced technology. His ‘Balance 14’ mix CD, released in February, saw Voorn mix over 100 tracks across two CDs, with each different track a layered construction of three or four different songs.

With mixing in parts (or molecular mixing) becoming more and more common, Beatportal decided to meet Joris Voorn to find out his opinion about what is the definition of a DJ today.

24 June, 2009 | 12.11PM

The 20 hottest tracks on Beatport this week

Written by: BeatportDianne
Filed under: Music News: the 20

The 10 featured releases span multiple genres and are always forward-thinking, whilst the tracks from the Top 10 are guaranteed mainroom crowd pleasers.

This week sees tracks by Toby Tobias, John Daly, Kris Wadsworth, Santos and Wolfgang Gartner featured.

Listen to previews of The 20 after the jump.

24 June, 2009 | 9.01AM