After his incredible performance the previous night at the Playboy club, Steve Smith (of Dirty Vegas) sat down for an interview about his upcoming new cd (This Time), the joys of running the "music house" in Boston and plans for a new Dirty Vegas CD (with a hopeful release for WMC 2008.) Watch for the interview on the site in the very near future.
Stepping out to the pool, it was time for some sun and networking. Now, I am normally not one to criticize a dj for personal musical taste - but in this case, the opening dj was, erm lacking. Commercial music and top 40 remixes is great and has its place. When you are spinning to an audience that is not up with current musical trends or you are hired to do such for a special event, commercial music is appropriate. Reading the crowd and beatmixing are two skills clearly lacking by the opening DJ. As the opening DJ, you are supposed to set the vibe and open up the event in an appropriate way. Playing to a mainly industry crowd, it is also a time to make an impression or at least play music that is quality and a step above off-beat mashups and DIY internet remixes. Also, there is no excuse to trainwreck or force transitions when using a laptop setup. I hate to say this but the music and mixing was so bad, I was actually watching my watch for the next guy to start.
Next up was a meeting with Jason Dauman of Dauman records who is picking some interesting songs for his artists to record. Dauman recording artist Henri recently had success with a clubby version of "Some Girls," which was originally record by Rachel Stevens and a big pop hit in the UK. Henri's next single is a tasty cover of the Sugababes' "Push the Button" - another big pop hit in the UK. These great British pop songs never get released here in the US - so it looks like Dauman has found a great nitch. The new Tiffany single "Higher" - an original song - is one to watch.
Heading back poolside, Donald Glaude was ROCKING it. Donald is incredibly electric and energetic - both with his music and his performance. He is one of those DJs (Benny Benassi, Carl Cox) that you could watch with the audio turned off and just feel the intensity by his dancing and carrying on. To hear him spin such an intimate pool party was a rare treat and absolute highlight of 2007.
When an event is billed as the "Future of Dance & Electronica," it grabs my attention. Masterbeat.com announced the launch of their new "mainstream digital dance site for the world." You may say to yourself, there are so many download sites out there - why another one? What Masterbeat is bringing to the table is the dance remix of Itunes with a catalog of independent and major dance labels, the option (not requirement) of digital rights management, label control of musical uploading (killing the 4-5 week lead time for music to be available on Itunes, ) various price points, and the accountability of SoundScan reporting (which many dance sites don't offer.) The influence of dance music prophet Hosh Gureli is evident with the various options that will make the site attractive to both record labels and the consumer. Launching January 2008, the new Masterbeat.com is one to watch.
Maybe I am getting old or I am just saving my strength for the next two nights, but I didn't make it out to see Kaskade at Jet. I heard it was incredible (from multiple texts telling me to get my ass down there,) but I ended up chilling with the Fans of Jimmy Century and Natalia at the Ghost Bar. Now you might call me disingenious for praising the music of a dj playing commercial music after the intro to article but, there is a big difference. The DJ at Ghost Bar was playing to a VERY mainstream mixed crowd and was creatively mixing each record in rapid succession so each song was played less than two minutes. The crowd was up for it as we enjoyed every single from Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani mixed with classics like "White Lines." It made me wonder -- how about a mashup of Paul Van Dyk "White Lies" and Grandmaster Flash "White Lines..".
Great quotes:
"Will work for limoncello."
" I wonder if this DJ missed his Ritalin dosage."
- referring to the mixing style of the DJ at Ghost Bar
"That's what its all about."
New songs to watch for:
Sarah Atereth "It Doesn't Take Much" (Solasso Remix)
Pacific & Van Dyck featuring Daniella "Spinning it Back" (Scandall Remix)"
Santa Esmerelda " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Sugardip Remix)"
Madison Park "All About the Groove" (Sona's Afrobeat Remix and Peter Haze on the Edge Mix)"
