Beatportal Feed

10 February, 2012 | 6.02PM

Sounds To Sample Tutorial: How To Produce Avicii’s Levels Intro

Written by: mferry
Filed under: Videos:

Wondering how your favorite producer gets those huge leads or that luscious wobble? Our production-focused sister site Sounds To Sample just might help you find the answer—or at least give you a starting point in navigating today’s double-black-diamond VSTs. In this episode, the reverse engineers at the Sounds To Sample lab dissect the intro to Avicii‘s chart-topping, festival-smashing 2011 anthem ”Levels."

If you’ve got Native Instruments’ Massive, the video above could help you start creating your own sound and dominating the top ten quicker than Mr. Berg himself! There are also plenty of pre-arranged presets and loop packages available on Soundstosample.com, if knob twiddling isn’t your bag.

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10 February, 2012 | 3.00PM

Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka: Halo

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Videos: 50 weapons, benjamin damage, doc daneeka

The latest from Modeselektor’s 50 Weapons imprint is They!Live, an album-length collaboration from UK funky/deep-techno types Benjamin Damage and Doc Daneeka.

After their previous output, the album’s actually surprisingly subdued, with dusky synths over crisp, pitter-pat drums, but play it loud, and its full potential is immediately apparent.

The video here is for album cut ”Halo," a meditative bubbler perfect for warm-up sets and Valentine’s Day mixtapes; it features vocals from the relative newcomer Abigail Wyles, a name you’re sure to be hearing much more from soon. Keep an eye out for Doc Daneeka and Abigail Wyles’ “Toby Jug,” coming in March from the Ten Thousand Yen label.

To get an idea of the sounds that inform Damage and Daneeka’s hybrid style, check out their new Beatport top 10 featuring tracks from Martyn, Anstam, John Talabot, and more.

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Get Benjamin Damage & Doc Daneeka's They!Live on Beatport

10 February, 2012 | 12.03PM

Disco in 2012: Todd Terje, Greg Wilson + more discuss edits and inspiration

Written by: beatportchristine
Filed under: Music News: 6th borough project disco greg wilson international feel joey negro mirror people the mole todd terje

A little while ago, Jack Spontan pondered the question: had 2009 been the year of disco? It certainly seemed so at the time. A pervading mood of post-minimal fatigue had sparked clubbers’ appetite for melody, funk and swing, wherein all shades of the disco spectrum were warmly embraced. Flamboyant Philly strings and diva solos were devoured afresh by Horse-y queer culture. Quirky disco pop fuelled the festival-ready, sing-a-long standards of Hercules & co. Obscure cuts were mined for an ever-rising tide of DJ-friendly edits, and a sub-strain of cosmic and Italo sounds transmitted globally from a Scandinavian base.

Fast-forward three years, and with the “nu-” prefix being bandied about less and less, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the second coming of disco had already, well, come and gone. But scratch the surface and you’ll see that disco still motivates the foot-tap and the hand-clap as much now as it ever did before. The sunny, spangly melodies of electro disco inform the distinctive sound of deep house du jour, and new epicenters for edits, disco house and Balearica have since erupted in far-flung locations like Australia, Uruguay and Spain.

With that in mind, we thought it was high time to check in with some of disco’s greatest practitioners in the broadest possible sense of the word—in the center, on the fringes, and deep in the niches: Todd Terje, Mirror People, the International Feel label, 6th Borough Project, The Mole, Eddie C, Joey Negro, and Greg Wilson.

We quizzed them about disco and the answers we received revealed a surprising range of opinions: those who straight-up hate disco, those who consider it a part of their being, those who didn’t know they were disco, and those who shirk the labels and see themselves simply as a part of the great dance-music continuum. Oh, and they all had quite a bit to say about the hot-button topic of edit culture.

So whether it’s old, new, or nu-, crate-dug, sampled, and looped, or presented in all it’s vintage glory, we’ll turn it over to the experts now to tell us all about their take on D.I.S.C.O....

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10 February, 2012 | 9.01AM

Tune in to Beatport Live with DJ Dan and DJ Hero

Written by: BeatportSean
Filed under: Music News: beatport live dj dan dj hero ustream

Tune in to Beatport Live today at 3pm MST (5pm EST / 22:00 GMT) as we present an extra saucy extravaganza in electronic music. Breaks producer and remix specialist DJ Hero tackles the first hour of our live stream, followed by a man who needs little introduction: the West Coast house music legend DJ Dan. Don’t miss a minute of the action.

See Ustream.tv/beatport for more Beatport Live sessions, including sets from Fred P, Ital, ANSTAM, Mano Le Tough and more.

Also be sure to check out DJ Hero’s latest album 20:ILLEVEN on Beatport and check out his Facebook for upcoming tunes and tour dates. Head over to DJ Dan’s Facebook to preview tunes and tour dates and check out Beatport for his latest release, ”Nasty Night Out.”

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10 February, 2012 | 6.00AM

Track Of The Day: Makoto - What Do You Want

Written by: BeatportSean
Filed under: Music News: 7even recordings makoto track of the day

LTJ Bukem’s label Good Looking Records was the first official home for Japan’s Makoto. His journey began there with jazzy, acoustic feel to drum & bass on his debut LP, Human Elements. Turning the pages of Makoto’s career, his adventures since then have led to his own label launch, sentimentally named Human Elements (and its offshoot, HE:Digital). Last year’s debut on his own label proved that Makoto hasn’t only been open to new ventures; he’s been equally open to new sounds and influences, as is evident from this past week’s release on the Tokyo label 7even Recordings.

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Get Makoto's "What Do You Want" on Beatport

10 February, 2012 | 3.03AM

Now in Mashbox: New tracks from Mousse T., Freemasons + more!

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: ipad mashbox

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 special Valentine’s Day edition perfectly tailored for the occasion—a selection of the sultriest, sexiest house, deep house, and even deeper house, with just a touch of edgy, delectable tech:

- Mousse T. – Horny [Peppermint Jam]
- Terrence Parker – Love’s Got Me High (Marc Romboy’s Systematic Soul Mix) [Systematic Recordings]
- Fog & Arara – Love Cream (Kruse & Nuernberg Remix) [Save Room Recordings]
- Freemasons – Rain Down Love feat. Siedah Garret [Loaded]
- Manufactured Superstars – Drunk Text feat. Lena [Magik Muzik]

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.

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Get Beatport's Mashbox app for your iPad here

10 February, 2012 | 1.04AM

Satoshi Tomiie explains his iPad DJ setup

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Videos: ios, ipad, satoshi tomiie, saw recordings

Japan’s Satoshi Tomiie, of Saw Recordings, walks viewers through his new iOS-enabled DJ setup, which utilizes two iPads with Native Instruments’ Traktor in order to afford full hands-on control over key parameters. An additional iPhone gives him that goes-to-11 extra bump.

Tomiie recently remixed Guti’s “Keep It” for Saw Recordings; check it here, and don’t miss Tomiie’s most recent Beatport top 10 featuring cuts from Jay Shepheard, SLG & Axel Boman, and Joakim & Soul Clap.

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9 February, 2012 | 2.01PM

Scuba: The Hope

Written by: Caleb Rakes
Filed under: Videos: hotflush recordings, scuba

”The Hope” is the first single to be lifted from Scuba’s forthcoming album on his own Hotflush Recordings.

In what looks like to be a busy year for the infleuntial label, it was recently announced that Jimmy Edgar is also to be releasing his next album through Scuba’s label.

You can catch Scuba playing live from our Berlin office as part of our Beatport Live series on Wednesday February 22nd, beginning at 18:00 CET.

9 February, 2012 | 11.02AM

Grammys Countdown: Will Skrillex win Best New Artist?

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News:

Electronic dance music is enjoying its most successful period ever, whether you measure it in terms of commercial success, cultural credibility, or simply the diversity of music available across the spectrum from pop crossover to underground niche. Now, this Sunday, there’s a chance that EDM will make history once again. For the first time, an artist from electronic dance music’s ranks has been nominated for the Grammys’ Best New Artist award.

We’re talking about Skrillex, of course, who faces off against Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, and The Band Perry in vying for the honor. The Best New Artist nomination is just one of Skrillex’s five nominations—the others include Best Dance Recording, Best Dance/Electronica Album, Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, and Best Short-Form Music Video—but it’s undoubtedly the one with the highest stakes, not just for his own career, but for the mainstream profile of electronic dance music in general.

Whatever the outcome, the Recording Academy has clearly decided that electronic dance music’s time has arrived. As part of the ceremonies this Sunday, there’ll be a dance tent set up outside the Staples Center, where the awards are being held, featuring performances from Deadmau5, David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and, bizarrely, the Foo Fighters.

Tune in Sunday, February 12 at 8:30pm Pacific time (11:30pm ET) to watch the festivities; see grammy.com for more information.

9 February, 2012 | 8.02AM

A tribute to Frank Tovey’s Fad Gadget

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: fad gadget frank tovey mute

Commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the death of Fad Gadget founder Frank Tovey, Mute, NP Contemporary Art Center, and Envoy Enterprises are launching an exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the groundbreaking electronic musician.

The group show and performance series runs from March 1 until April 8 at various locations in New York, and features a diverse list of artists including Fischerspooner, Ike Yard, Olaf Breuning, Xeno & Oaklander, Edwin Pouncey, and others. (See here for a complete program schedule.)

9 February, 2012 | 5.37AM

Must Hear Tracks: Week 6

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: must hear tracks

This week’s essential listening includes new cuts from Nick Curly, The Scumfrog, Felix Cartal, ZZT, Nicky Romero, Feed Me & Gemini, Scuba, Deetron, and more. Read on to check out our editors’ must-hear tracks across 18 different genres and subgenres.

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9 February, 2012 | 3.25AM

SceneStar Interview: Shigeto

Written by: mferry
Filed under: Videos: ghostly international, shigeto

Shigeto‘s shades of cool, melodic, instrumental hip-hop are a welcome respite from four-to-the-floor. His latest album, Lineage, is yet another solid-gold LP from Ann Arbor’ Ghostly International. Missing from Lineage is the drum-machining maximalism present in his debut, Full Circle, replaced instead with a kind of liquifying blend of dare-I-say jazzy IDM (gasp!) that could only be created by a producer brought up on a steady diet of jazz and Motown. Learn more about Shigeto’s sound and inspiration in SceneStars interview above and check out the rest of Shigeto’s catalog here.

8 February, 2012 | 11.09AM

Tune in to Beatport Live with Fred P

Written by: BeatportSean
Filed under: Music News: beatport live black jazz consortium fred p. soul people music ustream

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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8 February, 2012 | 10.20AM

Nicolas Jaar: Materials

Written by: Caleb Rakes
Filed under: Videos: circus company, nicolas jaar

Nicolas Jaar’s Marks & Angles EP on Circus Company tends to get overshadowed by his album Space Is Only Noise and the releases on his own label Clown And Sunset. Still, that 2010 EP was pivotal for him, and if it hadn’t been for tracks like “Marks,” “Angles,” and “Materials,” then his career might have developed very differently indeed.

To help jog our memories, Pondr have produced an extremely weird and surreal video to accompany “Materials,” featuring floating trumpets and (what else?) scary clowns.

8 February, 2012 | 8.50AM

Black History Month: Legends

Written by: Beatportal
Filed under: Music News: black history month

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.