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Tune in to Beatport Live with Fred P
Beatport Live goes big with a set from Soul People Music owner and Black Jazz Consortium creator Fred P. He’s on the decks at our Berlin office right now, bringing you the deepest shades of house. Don’t miss this special set, streaming live right here.
See Ustream.tv/beatport for more Beatport Live sessions, including sets from Catz ‘n Dogz, Morgan Page, Mano Le Tough, Samples, DNAE beats and more.
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Black History Month: Legends
In a continuation of our Black History Month coverage, we spotlight the careers of some of the artists whose work best expresses the overlap between popular music and black culture. Read on to explore the music of Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, Funkadelic, Lee Scratch Perry, and more.
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Track Of The Day: Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub)
You probably didn’t see this one coming: the Norwegian nu-disco dons Todd Terje, Lindstrom, and Prins Thomas have taken on two Roxy Music classics. Usually, edits of tunes this hallowed are resigned to the bootleg bin, but this is a legit release courtesy Virgin UK, making us feel like we should send fresh flowers to someone in the A&R department over there, in a show of appreciation. (It can’t hurt that Bryan Ferry has a well-documented love of dance music, of course.)
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- Get Roxy Music edits on Beatport
Tribute to J Dilla
Celebrated this week are the anniversaries for both the birth and death of one of the most revered and inspiring producers in all of hop hop. J Dilla (born James Dewitt Yancey on February 7, 1974) died February 10, 2006, at the age of 32, of complications due to the combination of the autoimmune disease, Lupus and the rare blood disease TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura). His passing was a tragic loss, but his legacy lives on, continuing to inspire musicians and listeners around the world.
J Dilla’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan pays its respects and celebrates its hero this Friday, on the sixth anniversary of his death with Dilla Day Detroit. Featuring Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica, Phife Dawg, Danny Brown, DJ J-ROcc, and more, the event marks the launch of the Yancey Media Group, responsible for the forthcoming Rebirth Of Detroit, an anthology of the producer’s work; proceeds from the event will support the J Dilla Foundation, which funds music-education programs in urban communities. Parallel events are scheduled in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Baltimore.
In remembrance of the late producer, we’ve put together a series of videos showcasing his work. Read on to check them out.
Happy birthday, Dilla! We miss you.
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Introducing: Shades
Of the many exports of the gem state, one I would have least expected is quality live electronica. Idaho’s Shades, a four-man outfit, is at the forefront of the burgeoning (really) Boise scene, and their debut release, Clear Motions (Synthemesc Recordings) caught the ears of everyone that heard it coming down the content pipeline a few weeks back. It’s heated haze-wave to the core and is the perfect soundtrack to the upcoming summer season. Lucky for us, the guys had a few minutes to talk about their live act, their take on the modern electronic scene, and their plans for 2012. Read on for more!
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Beatport’s guides to dub, hip-hop, neo-soul + more
Dance music is universal, but its roots overwhelmingly reach back to black cultures and their musical traditions around the world. Funk and soul are the source of disco, house, hip-hop, electro, jungle, even techno, and despite dance music’s global reach, many of its key innovations originated in black communities in cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York, and London. In recognition of Black History Month, we highlight some of the innovative icons who shaped the music, as well as the artists connecting today’s EDM with its roots in black culture.
Today, we offer guides to disco, neo soul, hip-hop, dub, and Afrofuturism—read on, and explore some essential dance-music history.
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On Rotation: Staff Picks Week 6
This week, our editors wax ecstatic over new releases from Goth-Trad, Jacob Korn, Tropic of Cancer, and a new mix of classic dub reggae. From chilly post-punk to deep house, you can go either way--either luxuriate in the freezing temperatures out there, or dream of sunnier days.
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Track Of The Day: Latecomer - Cosmic Cart (SoulPhiction Aced Out Remix)
Young Muscovite Latecomer is just one from a batch of talented Russian producers that are currently putting their own spin on house music, a crew that counts Nina Kraviz, Vakula and Anton Zap amongst them. The multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer was discovered in 2011 by Motor City Drum Ensemble, and eagle-eyed house pundits ought to be familiar with the name--MCDE introduced him to the masses with the inclusion of the track “Cosmic Cart” in his celebrated DJ-Kicks compilation last summer.
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Track Of The Day: Moon Boots - Aretha (Zimmer Remix)
The guys at Nurvous have once again graciously delivered us more deep-disco goodness from the city so nice they named it twice. Moon Boots, of French Express fame, unleashes ”Aretha," a blissed-out summertime deep-houser, smack dab in the middle of one of the most miserable winters on record. In typical low ‘n’ slow Nurvous style, “Aretha” is a sleazed-out take on the modern deep house sound. Rolling bass, chopped vocals, and an arpeggiated synth move the track through its unfortunately short duration, but thankfully there’s plenty of remixes in the package.
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Beatport #1: Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl – In My Mind (Axwell Mix)
Congratulations to Axwell, whose remix of Ivan Gough and Feenixpawl’s “In My Mind” just hit the #1 position on the Beatport Top 100!
His dance-floor touch tips the track, originally produced by Australia’s Ivan Gough (of TV Rock) his countrymen Feenixpawl, over the edge. The single enlists the vocal talents of award-winning vocalist Georgi Kay, and it looks as if both factions have soon-to-be-released projects in store with her.
If you’re in New York, be sure to check out Axwell ‘s upcoming opening of the Cosmic Opera dance event. Also be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming releases from his label Axtone.
Get the track on Beatport here, or keep reading to listen to an audio sample.
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Sounds/To/Sample: Progressive House Melodics 2
With WMC only a mere two months away, it’s about time you started working on the anthem that could be played up and down South Beach the last week of March. If you need a little inspiration to get tweaking synths and sequencing your tracks, Sounds To Sample has the answer! Progressive House Melodics 2, constructed from scratch by Steed, is packed with 100 loops of screaming prog synths and a low end so fat, even a Funktion One stack will struggle to keep up with it. Also included are 60 MIDI files to help get you started on your own progressions that could end up playing out day three of Ultra! Pick up the pack here and peruse the rest of our production-focused sister site Sounds To Sample here. Now fire up those DAWs and VSTs and get to work!
Track Of The Day: Dismantle - Computation
Considering that this track’s release was back in September and leaders in dubstep had their hands on it for some time before that, we may be a little late in honoring this tune. Still, this is a track that’s become a part of a revolution in the bass scene that is well worthy of reaching back to highlight. Still collecting spins while most of its peers fall into dusty bins, Dismantle’s debut with ”Computation” has become one of the highlights of N-Type’s Wheel & Deal label. Its use of new sounds and elements in bass production has exposed many of the dubstep allegiance to a new world of crowd-pleasing alternatives to garden-variety wobble.
Now in Mashbox: New tracks from Noir, Pan-Pot + more
Ready to play with music? Beatport has a brand-new selection of pre-cut music packs now available for Mashbox, the app that lets you mash-up your favorite dance music and pop songs on your iPad.
This week, we bring you a selection of house and tech house from some of the underground’s finest, with a little techno for good measure: Double 99’s “Ripgroove” (Skint), Robert Dietz’ “Pandemic” (Cadenza), Noir’s “Found Out” feat. Richard Davies (Noir Music), Martin Eyerer’s “Bells A Go” (Kling Klong), and Pan-Pot’s “Captain My Captain” (Mobilee).
To download the tracks to Mashbox, just open up the app in your iPad and go to the Marketplace, where you’ll find all the content available for the app. (If you don’t yet have Mashbox, get it at the iTunes app store here.) Our growing catalog of exclusive, pre-cut music packs includes hits from Fatboy Slim, Josh Wink, Danny Tenaglia, Guy Gerber, Tiësto vs. Diplo feat. Busta Rhymes, Funkagenda & Big Ed, and much more.
Read on to check out audio samples of the tracks.
Introducing: Zeds Dead
Zeds Dead members Hooks and DC started their journey as the instrumental hip-hop crew Mass Productions. After one album under their former title, the two eventually morphed into one of Canada’s biggest electronic music exports. Tight production and a sense for formulas that work the crowd into frenzy have turned their name into one of the most buzzed-about names on the net. And offline, when Zeds Dead struck out on their 2010 Let There Be Bass tour, they pulled massive crowds of (Zeds) Deadheads, packing feverish fans at shows all over North America.
Celebrating their latest release on Inspected Records, the Adrenaline EP has been a successful highlight of what the group does best, reaching the number one album slot on Beatport after its debut over a week ago. We bring you a special look into the guys that make Zeds Dead such a success.
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Free download: oOoOO - NoWayBack
oOoOO (Christopher Dexter Greenspan) is one of the core artists on 2011’s hotly tipped Tri Angle Records; he and the label are both known for dark, brooding electronic music that takes cues from ambient, hip-hop, dubstep and goth. (The style was known for a time as “witch house,” but we’re going to put the kibosh on that term right here and now.)
This spring, oOoOO drops a follow-up to 2010’s oOoOO EP titled Our Love Is Hurting Us, and this free download, provided by the fine folks at Stereogum, certainly grabbed our attention—it’s foreboding, haunting and hazy electro-pop at its finest. You can pick up the first single from the album, “NoWayBack feat. Butterclock,” here.
If you’re in Berlin, you can catch oOoOO performing live tonight at alongside Tri Angle’s Holy Other and Balam Acab and Planet Mu’s Kuedo; the show, a part of the Club Transmediale festival, kicks off at 21:00 at Berghain. See here for details.
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