Here are a couple of mixes from the vaults.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Physical Wax vs Digital Tracks
Now that HSE is starting to get digital sales the new question of the day is "do we need to produce records for old school DJs?"
Well, I am an old school DJ and before the wide spread usage of such resources as Traktor and Serato we carried our crates from party to party. This task was tedious and stressful as we had to keep one eye on the crate and the other on the turntables. Some DJs would get victimize for their best wax and often would not know until the next gig.
There is still a demand for wax and still DJs that refuse to use the digital resources while others scoff at the "old ways." Still, there is the satisfaction of seeing your name on your very own record that cannot be matched digitally. The debate continues...
Well, I am an old school DJ and before the wide spread usage of such resources as Traktor and Serato we carried our crates from party to party. This task was tedious and stressful as we had to keep one eye on the crate and the other on the turntables. Some DJs would get victimize for their best wax and often would not know until the next gig.
There is still a demand for wax and still DJs that refuse to use the digital resources while others scoff at the "old ways." Still, there is the satisfaction of seeing your name on your very own record that cannot be matched digitally. The debate continues...
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Juba and the Ooogabooga
When it comes to supporting stuff I'm usually on the fringe of the ordeal as people tend to think they know what you are all about based on what they see you do. With that said a buddy of mine from my college days has reached out from the vastness of cyberspace for support and I have seen his beacon.
His name is Juba Kalamka and he has a message he wants you to hear but he needs your assistance. The link above will tell you more as I lack the communication skills to describe it properly. G Phi F, bruh.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Ronin DJ is the ish...
So my buddy Ronin DJ has been writing his album and it is very good! I wish I was that good when I first started out.
Look for his tracks to come out soon.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Finally!
I finally got my buddy Ronin DJ to sign up to sell his excellent music online through digital sources. When I say excellet I'm not just whistling Dixie. He is a great producer already and he is only just starting to produce! Soon you will see him online like the following store:
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
YAAAAAAY....awwwwwww
The best thing about being home is that I'm home. The worst thing is that I don't have the resources that I had in TN. Getting on the internet has become a chore as it involves going to the library. When did they stop enforcing the quiet rule? I'm sitting here and there is this obnoxious little girl making a metric ton of noise and her mother and older brother is constantly "shushing" her. Now she is crying. WTF! I'm beginning to believe that the motivation to get out of the ghetto is not for a higher standard of living but to get away from annoying people with no regard for their neighbors. And don't even get me started about people throwing their trash just anywhere....
Monday, April 12, 2010
I get sidetracked to easily...
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So I'm hanging out with my "little" brother and I'm stuffed because of the chili his girlfriend cooked and I totally forgot I was supposed to go back to town and get some things printed up to put out these CDs. Guess I have something to do tomorrow.
So I'm hanging out with my "little" brother and I'm stuffed because of the chili his girlfriend cooked and I totally forgot I was supposed to go back to town and get some things printed up to put out these CDs. Guess I have something to do tomorrow.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Back in the saddle again....
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So now I'm in Chicago and a lot of the people I knew are in the business. Makes me wonder how far into the business I would have been had I not left. Time will tell whether these connections are true insider connections or "that guy used to be a top DJ but look at him now." I say screw that! Start as if I'm a new guy but with old guy knowledge!
So now I'm in Chicago and a lot of the people I knew are in the business. Makes me wonder how far into the business I would have been had I not left. Time will tell whether these connections are true insider connections or "that guy used to be a top DJ but look at him now." I say screw that! Start as if I'm a new guy but with old guy knowledge!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Back In the Chi!
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I'm am officially back in Chicago. Now that I'm back I've been catching up on things and putting music together. "I Bust It" is being distributed via RecordUnion.com and has been added to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and PeoplesMusicStore.com plus music from the Dance Mania release "I Owe Some People Money" (DM 256) is being re-released and repackaged soon with remixes and new music. Yes, a lot is happening and it is happening fast. More news to follow.
I'm am officially back in Chicago. Now that I'm back I've been catching up on things and putting music together. "I Bust It" is being distributed via RecordUnion.com and has been added to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and PeoplesMusicStore.com plus music from the Dance Mania release "I Owe Some People Money" (DM 256) is being re-released and repackaged soon with remixes and new music. Yes, a lot is happening and it is happening fast. More news to follow.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Evolution
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Now before any of you send me ugly emails regarding the title of this entry read the whole thing. The evolution I am writing about is of the love of music. Almost everyone on the planet loves music in some form. There is only a small portion of the population who find music unappealing.
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Now before any of you send me ugly emails regarding the title of this entry read the whole thing. The evolution I am writing about is of the love of music. Almost everyone on the planet loves music in some form. There is only a small portion of the population who find music unappealing.
Every DJ can trace their evolution into a DJ from their love of music. If you were to survey any DJ you know he would say that it was their love of music that inspired them to become a DJ. For most of them being the guy that plays the music that makes people dance is enough.
For me it was different. My love for the music was my inspiration to become a DJ. The rush you get when people are caught up into the mood is like no other drug you can take. The problem was when I realized that being a DJ is expensive. If I was to continue as a DJ I would need to make money doing it. I then realized that I was one out of thousands and we all had the same music sources. Some of us had hard to find remixes and they were the ones that stood out and commanded the highest fees. If I wanted to make money I had to get away from the pack.
Enter producing my own songs. It became the logical next step if I wanted to make a living at something I loved. Ask any producer and he/she will likely tell you how they started as a DJ. Now remember how I stated that you get a high while DJing. It's like mass hypnosis and you are the leader. Well you get a different high when you enter a party and the DJ plays your track and the crowd goes wild. The problem is the type of high. While DJing you get a smooth mellow high that lasts the evening and into the next day. The high you get when your music is played is fast, hard and fleeting. It leaves you wanting another hit. You become an addict and you have to get more. And the sad part is there is no detoxt for this type of high.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Masterbeat
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Whenever I find new stuff I try to share it. This time I found Masterbeat.com where you can get remixes of the popular dance tracks out there. If you are a DJ like me this can come in handy especially when it comes time to stand out from your peers with the new music. Don't say I never did anything for you.
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Whenever I find new stuff I try to share it. This time I found Masterbeat.com where you can get remixes of the popular dance tracks out there. If you are a DJ like me this can come in handy especially when it comes time to stand out from your peers with the new music. Don't say I never did anything for you.
Monday, January 25, 2010
DJ Funk is not dead
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Twitter, Twitter , Twitter. Remember when gossip took weeks to get started and circulate? Now it takes a day. I'm checking my Twitter account and I see an update from DJ Gantman exclaiming "For everybody's info. DJ FUNK IS NOT DEAD! I talked to him yesterday. He's at home. He was asleep!! Stop spreading fucked up rumors!" Hell, I didn't even know the rumor was going around.
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Twitter, Twitter , Twitter. Remember when gossip took weeks to get started and circulate? Now it takes a day. I'm checking my Twitter account and I see an update from DJ Gantman exclaiming "For everybody's info. DJ FUNK IS NOT DEAD! I talked to him yesterday. He's at home. He was asleep!! Stop spreading fucked up rumors!" Hell, I didn't even know the rumor was going around.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
When your hand is forced
I've been putting together a lot of things over the past few months so that I can go home to Chicago. I thought that I had a few months left to get things together but one my roommates has moved up the timetable. This is a valuable lesson. You either have someone holding your plans back or you have someone rushing your plans. You are rarely on the same timetable even if you discuss it with them. Sometimes I regret even taking this on.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
WTF
So I'm checking my Twitter account to see what nonsense Diddy has said today and I see that Beatportal (a side project for Beatport) has a new remix contest and I'm thinking "Great! Here's an opportunity to flex my skills!" I'm searching the rules to see what I can win and what is being offered. The first part is some piece of equipment that I'm sure I can use that I've never heard of and a $200 gift card to Beatport which would come in handy for my next 5 mixes. The winning remix also gets released by the label which means possible future remix work that will also fame within the industry. I then check the article for the song sample to see how it sounds and what I have to work with. I don't notice a link but what I DO notice is that, in order to enter the contest, I would be required to download the parts of the song I need for the remix and PAY for it at $3.99. Way to go, Beatportal!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Looking for my muse...
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My frustration with making music has always been trying to cater to the general public's music taste. I have worked on some songs for months where the nuances and structure where tweaked until I was satisfied but the track would get mediocre response. Cut to my garbage tracks where I would spend all of 10 minutes composing it and recording took the track length and people would go nuts over them. I just don't get it sometimes.
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My frustration with making music has always been trying to cater to the general public's music taste. I have worked on some songs for months where the nuances and structure where tweaked until I was satisfied but the track would get mediocre response. Cut to my garbage tracks where I would spend all of 10 minutes composing it and recording took the track length and people would go nuts over them. I just don't get it sometimes.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Present and Future Of Music or "In Search Of Beatport"
Record Union
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|I was attempting to sell my music on Beatport.com which is arguably the premier site for purchasing House and Dance online. Needless to say I was not successful as they were not open to adding new content unless you belonged to one of the labels that already existed on the site. As I researched how to get my music on the site I found that online music has gone to the distribution model that the music industry had adopted with records, tapes and CDs long ago. At first I was disappointed and thought that I would have to go with one of the labels. I did not have a good experience with the last time I was on a label as I was left to accept what news I received on sales as true. This is sometimes the standard with Indie labels and when I asked about royalties I would always get the standard number of sales that everyone got even though my independent numbers on my mixes where 5 times that number. Granted the record sales represented what the DJs in the world purchased versus the number of mix sales which represented the fans. Since I was making money doing what I loved I was not too upset with the process.
Forward to the present where I have my own publishing, Halsted Street Entertainment (ASCAP), and several people who write songs that I publish. Records still get pressed but only after a strong showing on digital sales unless the company that is maunfacturing feels that the music will justify a pressing . This is fine but there has been a resurgence of record pressings by the industry and a number of DJs who refuse to use digital files or CDs to ply their trade. Ever since there were record players that played all three formats (33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPMs. You have to be older to remember these), Music has been sold in multiple formats and House producers should get used to this. The lucky few that have been assimilated into the mainstream got there because somebody responsible for putting music on a soundtrack or commercial stumbled upon the track and thought it was cool. Since the newcomer will unwittingly work for cheap, the process has become a good way to fill a soundtrack and still have money for the big name act or producer to legitimize the soundtrack and assure exposure and sales.
More and more producers are going the way of independently putting out music for a chance at signing with a big company while building their fan base. In my search for a way to get onto the elusive Beatport roster I stumbled upon the new trend in music which is digital distribution. Like the original idea of distribution, a central organization would represent multiple labels and distribute the music to multiple outlets. This is beneficial to both the labels and the outlet channels normally but at the advent of this "new" aspect of music distribution it has become advantageous to the independent artist like House and Dance producers like me. Not only did I join bt I became an A&R for the company which provides distibutiion as well as UPC codes which are necessary to sell your music to the outlets and to count your sales towards RIAA certification. One of the sites that allow this is Record Union. You can sign up and get started immediately. Use code DF1aa94e72 for two free UPC codes so you can post and distribute your music immediately.
P.S. If you are unfamiliar with publishing your music with a music society like ASCAP or BMI please contact me and I will point your towards a society. It is very important to be published as many companies won't consider your music for things such as movie soundtracks and commercial use without it.
|I was attempting to sell my music on Beatport.com which is arguably the premier site for purchasing House and Dance online. Needless to say I was not successful as they were not open to adding new content unless you belonged to one of the labels that already existed on the site. As I researched how to get my music on the site I found that online music has gone to the distribution model that the music industry had adopted with records, tapes and CDs long ago. At first I was disappointed and thought that I would have to go with one of the labels. I did not have a good experience with the last time I was on a label as I was left to accept what news I received on sales as true. This is sometimes the standard with Indie labels and when I asked about royalties I would always get the standard number of sales that everyone got even though my independent numbers on my mixes where 5 times that number. Granted the record sales represented what the DJs in the world purchased versus the number of mix sales which represented the fans. Since I was making money doing what I loved I was not too upset with the process.
Forward to the present where I have my own publishing, Halsted Street Entertainment (ASCAP), and several people who write songs that I publish. Records still get pressed but only after a strong showing on digital sales unless the company that is maunfacturing feels that the music will justify a pressing . This is fine but there has been a resurgence of record pressings by the industry and a number of DJs who refuse to use digital files or CDs to ply their trade. Ever since there were record players that played all three formats (33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPMs. You have to be older to remember these), Music has been sold in multiple formats and House producers should get used to this. The lucky few that have been assimilated into the mainstream got there because somebody responsible for putting music on a soundtrack or commercial stumbled upon the track and thought it was cool. Since the newcomer will unwittingly work for cheap, the process has become a good way to fill a soundtrack and still have money for the big name act or producer to legitimize the soundtrack and assure exposure and sales.
More and more producers are going the way of independently putting out music for a chance at signing with a big company while building their fan base. In my search for a way to get onto the elusive Beatport roster I stumbled upon the new trend in music which is digital distribution. Like the original idea of distribution, a central organization would represent multiple labels and distribute the music to multiple outlets. This is beneficial to both the labels and the outlet channels normally but at the advent of this "new" aspect of music distribution it has become advantageous to the independent artist like House and Dance producers like me. Not only did I join bt I became an A&R for the company which provides distibutiion as well as UPC codes which are necessary to sell your music to the outlets and to count your sales towards RIAA certification. One of the sites that allow this is Record Union. You can sign up and get started immediately. Use code DF1aa94e72 for two free UPC codes so you can post and distribute your music immediately.
P.S. If you are unfamiliar with publishing your music with a music society like ASCAP or BMI please contact me and I will point your towards a society. It is very important to be published as many companies won't consider your music for things such as movie soundtracks and commercial use without it.
Been a long time....
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Well how do I start? After a long absence from the music scene I get a message from my partner, DJ OpM of Halsted Street Entertainment. He tells me that our small two man crew which has seen plenty of people come and go including the other two founders and the crew that made our names is now populated with people I don't even know. All of a sudden I have people promoting the name of HSE all over the USA. The only problem being that I don't have direct access to these hew DJs and anything that I want to do has to go through my buddy and is left up to him if the messages will be communicated. Should I abandon the project that I've given nearly 15 years and start over or do I come back not unlike the King of Stormwind and take over things sight unseen?
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Well how do I start? After a long absence from the music scene I get a message from my partner, DJ OpM of Halsted Street Entertainment. He tells me that our small two man crew which has seen plenty of people come and go including the other two founders and the crew that made our names is now populated with people I don't even know. All of a sudden I have people promoting the name of HSE all over the USA. The only problem being that I don't have direct access to these hew DJs and anything that I want to do has to go through my buddy and is left up to him if the messages will be communicated. Should I abandon the project that I've given nearly 15 years and start over or do I come back not unlike the King of Stormwind and take over things sight unseen?
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