Embracing neither the rampant guest appearances favored by the Chemical Brothers, nor the blatant, pop-flavored pandering of recent work from Paul Oakenfold and BT, Sasha’s first studio full-length mimics the up-down-up pattern of a classic trance mix.

As closely associated as he is with John Digweed, Airdrawndagger illustrates their different tendencies: Digweed is most comfortable with sinister, subterranean grooves, while Sasha is always threatening to float over the dance floor.

Accordingly, Airdrawndagger’s head is firmly in the clouds, but it’s also a clever mish-mash, convincingly melding electro and ambient sounds with occasional four-on-the-floors, like “Bloodlock” and “Golden Arm.” Tracks like “Mr. Tiddles” have a warm facility with machines worthy of a Depeche Mode, as Sasha transforms the grandiose, operatic pretensions of trance into a quick and potent chunk of dance pop. The brooding “Cloud Cuckoo” starts off in a similar vein before building itself up into a wash of overlapping beats and sweeping melody that recalls Sasha’s Xpander EP.

Throughout the record, Sasha stretches himself in the right directions, pulling off the trick of sticking to what he does best while summoning up the creative juice to make Airdrawndagger just new enough to be fascinating.

-Matthew Cooke

Morgan Page is best known as a remixer: He’s worked with such artists as Madonna, Katy Perry, Tegan & Sara and La Roux. But after manning the beats for more than 110 remixes, he’s finally found the time to put out another CD of his own work.

Though he only gets behind the mic for one song, “In the Dark,” his personal tie to the lyrics is felt throughout this fine offering. The album’s first single, “Fight for You,” is an intriguing mash-up of guitars and analog keyboards, with the synths taking a dominant role as is the case with most progressive house. “Agnus Dei” borrows from Middle Eastern music; you can envision belly dancers swaying around Page as he mans the DJ decks. While dance music–heavy throughout, Page’s album includes such beautiful vocalists as Telepopmusik’s Angela McCluskey (“Tell Me Why”), Gabriel & Dresden alum Jan Burton (“Traces Remain”) and Natalie Walker (I’m Only Human). This is not your booty-kickin’, four-on-the-floor dance music offering; Believe is infused with melodic grooves, syncopated rhythms and textures that ebb and flow from one track to the next.

Dash Berlin started to set things alight in early 2007, when mega-hit ‘Till The Sky Falls Down’ shattered into the many club-nights, to be followed by several successful remixes. Supported by the big DJ’s out there, Dash continued his journey in the ever-evolving dance music culture. Backed up by his legendary production team; Molijn & Kalberg, Dash Berlin is designing an ambitious and unprecedented new division in Trance, critically acclaimed as the ‘Dash Berlin Sound’. Futuristic, scintillating, but above all, moving and emotive music that relates to the universal dance floor experience, shared by innumerable music fans from multifarious cultures around the globe.

After the initial success things progressed naturally into the next big step for Dash, which was setting up his personal foundation for future music in the form of his own, freshly inaugurated imprint. Aropa Records, launched in March 2008 as an official part of the Armada Music group, kicked off with a massive collaboration with Cerf, Mitiska and Jaren on the international Trance anthem ‘Man On The Run’. The creation of a full Dash Berlin album was the next logical step for the energetic Dutch DJ.

So here it is, ‘The New Daylight’. The album is an ode to all the people worldwide who have been supporting him and the scene in general. According to Dash, it’s not about the DJ, it’s about the people that live and breathe the music. ‘There is no Dash Berlin without them’, he says humbly.

It’s that universal, hopeful feeling, a feeling of togetherness and unity that is the main inspiration for the album. “I’m optimistic about the world and the future”, Dash says, “people are sharing so much knowledge and information nowadays, we are getting wiser with every new daylight”.

Internationally renowned artist, visionary producer, film composer and technologist BT is back with These Hopeful Machines, a double-disc opus that carries listeners through 2 hours of sweeping orchestral arrangements, pulsating electronic beats, heartfelt vocal melodies and even simple acoustic guitar. Out February 2 (Nettwerk), These Hopeful Machines embodies BT’s ability to weave both his technical prowess and compositional mastery that reminds listeners why he is the composer that all other composers and producers study.

These Hopeful Machines is the follow up to 2006’s This Binary Universe, an album that created an entirely new genre of evocative electro-acoustic music. Keyboard Magazine wrote in a review, “In a hundred years, it could well be studied as the first major work of the new millennium. It’s that good.” These Hopeful Machines continues to evolve BT’s distinct technical, lyrical and compositional vision and execution, but his usual melodic complexity and bleeding-edge electronic techniques permeate the album from start to finish.

Album opener and first official single “Suddenly” (out January 12) opens to a minute’s worth of glitchy breakbeats made using BT’s own software, Breaktweaker, before morphing into a powerful, guitar-driven anthem that is among the album’s most memorable songs. The track “The Emergency,” is instantly a classic BT dance hit designed to linger long after the song ends. The album even features BT’s first cover, a reinterpretation of “The Ghost in You” by The Psychedelic Furs. The song was recorded on tape, giving it a familiar and sentimental feeling while maintaining BT’s distinctive style. There are also multiple collaborators on These Hopeful Machines, like Rob Dickinson vocals on “Always” and “The Unbreakable,” Jes, (formerly of Motorcyle) on “Every Other Way” and “The Light In Things,” and The Police’s Stewart Copeland who lends a drum breakdown to “Every Other Way.”

From an early age, BT, born Brian Transeau, demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for playing and understanding classical music. He was heavily influenced by avant-garde and romantic composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy and Rachmaninov. His biggest influences, however, were from everyday sounds that most would take for granted, from noticing the meter of the grandfather clock in the foyer to the micro-rhythms of crickets and cicadas to the ambience of passing trains at night.

“When examining my creation process, it makes perfect sense why I am a forced technologist,” he explains. ”I frequently face the fact that the tools I need to compose music simply don’t exist. It is like being an architect without bricks or mortar. I routinely create my own bricks and connective tissue as the diving off point to the compositional process.”

The drive to actualize the tools BT envisions has led to his evolution as one of the most cutting-edge programmers and technologists in music today. He has expanded this reach into a visionary software venture, Sonik Architects which launched its critically- and commercially-acclaimed iPhone application, Sonifi™, last fall.

Says BT, “My ultimate goal is to keep the emotional counterpoint and the integrity of the song intact, even when pushing the envelope with style and technique. The faster things get, the less people are willing to take in a body of creative work. There are so few things now that will engage us. The intent of consuming music is usually to have an awareness or a feeling, to have a truly, empathic connection to others. My hope is to create something that makes people feel that they have consumed something that completes a void. I want to create something lasting.”

Nick’s mash-up of Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘I Bruise Easily’ and ‘Saltwater’ have made waves in the club scene over the past couple of months and was released as ‘Bruised Water’, supported by all the major jocks in the dance scene.

Along with the release of this club anthem, comes ‘The Best Of Chicane’, a carefully selected compilation of the very finest Chicane cuts from those 12 years of music.
All the major classics and highlights of Chicane’s work are featured on this album, and will surely please the large amount of Chicane fans and those who are in it for the diversity of his sound.

tyDi wanted the rest of the world and our country to be a part of his sound and the magic shows that happen in his home town so it seems this was the perfect opportunity to take it to the people. Every two months tyDi will be playing an exclusive 3 hour set and later in the year he will be bringing some International DJ friends of his along for the ride.

2009 was a phenomenal year for the 22 years young DJ/producer who celebrated a long list of accolades including taking out the #1 spot in the ITM Top 50 DJ Poll for a second time, coming in at #52 in the DJ Mag Top 100 World Poll, mixing compilations for Ministry of Sound and releasing his debut artist album ‘Look Closer’ and now a nomination in the IDMA’s. To close the year in class form, tyDi launched Global Soundsystem, his very own radio show which is now aired in over 20 countries.

Join tyDi & Global Soundsystem at The Met (256 Wickam St, Fortitude Valley) on Friday March 5th as Novanation present an exclusive 3 hour set recorded live. For future tyDi bi-monthly residency dates at The Met stay tuned into globalsoundsystem.com. Tickets are available through themet.com.au and participating outlets.

There are 57 categories in total covering everything from DJ’s to Industry achievement, products to promoters. Over 1 million votes are cast each year and a nomination in itself is a huge achievement but we don’t want to stop there! Help us create history by voting tyDi on his way to become the first Australian DJ to take out a DJ category in the IDMA’s. You don’t have to vote for any other catagory if you do not wish to – just head straight to section 14.

Voting is open for a limited time only so please take 2 minutes of your time and cast your vote today. Your help (as always) is much appreciated and we will continue to show the love and bring you new music every week.

On behalf of tyDi and Global Soundsystem… a big thank you for your ongoing support.

VOTE HERE TODAY!

While of course there are exceptions to the rule, just about every DJ, producer, manager or record label executive will be able to find some truth or at least some circumstance where they had these exact occurrences take place – just not as blatantly in your face. Must see funny TV!

THE MAJOR RECORD (REMIX) DEAL

This is definitely the most accurate piss take interpretation of how a remix record deal can go down for an artist. I personally know of at least four friends who have had the exact same thing happen minus the language and nature of the piss take! Funny if you are in the scene, hilarious if it has happened to you…

***WATCH THE A & R MANAGER REMIX (PISS TAKE) VIDEO HERE***

THE A & R MANAGER

Q: What does A & R stand for?

A: Artist & Repertoire.

The term was coined to describe the function of people at record labels who are in charge of finding and developing new talent.

(This is an exact article that came up on the Internet when I searched for ‘what does A & R stand for’?)

Development typically includes finding the right material for the artist to perform if they don’t write their own songs, hooking them up with the right producer, engineer, studio, etc., deciding which of their songs are the most viable, and shepherding the making of the record. After the record is done, it’s not unusual for the A&R person to be responsible for getting the other departments such as retail sales and radio promotion excited about the record so that they do their jobs well. If all the parts of the record company “machine” work well together, the act just might have a hit.

Today, A&R people seem to concentrate less on developing artists, and often look for artists that have “developed” themselves. It’s not unusual for the boards of directors to look more at the bottom line and less at talent development. Hence, A&R people are under pressure to find hits, rather than finding potential hits and nurturing them until they bear fruit. (Extracted from taxi.com, an independent A & R company website)

***WATCH A & R MANAGER (PISS TAKE) VIDEO HERE***

ARTIST VS MANAGEMENT

You may or may not know that most managers (the good ones) take 20% of an artist’s earnings. The manager/artist relationship is a very entertaining one at that, since historically and notoriously, both identities are known for coming from complete different sides of the traps. Managerial and creative minds are often as far opposite as one can possibly imagine. Again this isn’t always the case but it is damn funny to watch this exaggerated impression of an artist taking a manager to town for his worth.

*** WATCH ARTIST VS MANAGEMENT (PISS TAKE) VIDEO HERE***

Serge Devant, one the leading talents in the EDM scene, has announced the release of his first artist album.

June 9, 2009 hails the arrival of Wanderer, the first album from lauded DJ and producer Serge Devant. Already a well knovi/n within the EDM scene, Devant has been steadily rising in popularity among a more mainstream musical audience.

DJ’s and fans across the world have already made it known that they favor this talented classically trained producer by their support on international radio, across viral channels, throughout the blog space and at the street level within clubs. From the most underground to the music industry elite. Serge Devant is the common ground between them. Respect for Serge is across the board because the caliber of his talent is understood.

Industry around the globe have supported Serge for years, but with the release of Wanderer, the stakes are much higher. His name is already synonymous with epic nights of genre bending music, DJ sets that always reach a climatic peak and for his dark, sexy edge. The question for every DJ that reaches this kind of success is, how can they translate their persona, energy and passion into producing music? If your name is Serge Devant, it just comes naturally.

Wanderer hits the proverbial markout of the gate. With a strong commercial appeal, the album Serge has produced is full of new classics and future anthems. Songs like “Sweet Harmony,” “Peace” and “Addicted” will give clubbers their anthems (without a doubt), but Wanderer, heard in it’s entirety, will showcase Serge as the versatile and talented musician he is.

“Addicted” is the fist single from Wanderer and is a testament to the strength of what this album is all about. In fact, the album has encompassed an eclectic range of beautifully crafted songs that benefit exponentially from the savvy production talent, live instrumentation and ear for what works on the dancefloor that Serge has mastered. Add to that a global array of elite vocal talent (Nadia M\-’12 Wives in Tehran,’ Hadley -’Addicted ‘and Emma Hewitt-’Toke Me With You’) and you can see why Wanderer w\\\ be one of the true breakout albums of 2009.

Markus’ vision was clear – to work on material not necessarily to be consumed via home listening, but on tracks specifically for the clubs. No collaborations, no vocalists, the goal was to assemble an array of tunes at his disposal that would cater for many tastes across the house, progressive, trance and tech genres.

“Working on an artist album is quite a long experience, because there is so much more that goes in to songwriting and collaborating with singers”, says Markus. “I have been really inspired in the studio, so I wanted to concentrate on clubby tracks that would fit certain points of my DJ sets”.

During his sabbatical to London at the turn of the millennium, Markus conceived an alter ego for his productions – a darker, deeper and more moody side of him which laid the foundation for the now hallmarked Coldharbour sound.

His productions under the moniker featured on compilations from Bedrock and Global Underground, and during his much acclaimed appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix last December, eagle-eyed followers were immediately drawn to two tracks in particular that featured on the set playlist. The artist in question was Markus himself – presented under the name “Dakota”.

In March of this year, Markus released the 4th chapter in his city compilation series, “Toronto ‘09”. And once again, the name Dakota registered itself on two further productions. Speculation was rife that an artist album under the moniker was in the works, and it proved to be speculation with substance, as Markus had been continually developing his new ideas throughout the winter period.

The cumulative title of the project is “Thoughts Become Things” – a title inspired from Australian author Rhonda Byrne’s award-winning book “The Secret”. The key feeling within the album is inspiration – each track with its own background story, chronicling inner feelings from his youth to the present day.

Take “Roxy 84” for example, a track inspired from Markus’ trips to the Bronx as an early teenager, where he became encapsulated by the city’s breakdance movement. It was these experiences which allowed him to cut his teeth in the world of DJing, and realising that this was his destined career path. “Koolhaus”, which featured on the Toronto ’09 compilation, is dedicated to the special events area located inside the Guvernment complex in the same city, a venue he holds dear to his heart after playing there on several occasions.

“This book as been an inspirational guide to me over the past couple of years,” says Markus. “The main mantra throughout the book is that thoughts become things. It really is a fascinating self-motivation piece that I read all the time. I had a lot of ideas and thoughts after my gigs, while on an airplane and even while I was performing on stage. When I took the ideas into the studio they really came to life and turned into the things that they now are”.

These ideas have captivated fellow DJs and audiences around the globe so far, with tracks such as “Chinook” and “Johnny The Fox” on heavy rotation for several months, and dancefloor destroyer “Sin City” featuring prominently on the Global DJ Broadcast World Tour series. Veteran followers of the Dakota name will be familiar with the track “Swirl”, with an updated version featuring on the album, 10 years after the original, under the name “Re-Swirl”.

It is proof that the mantra holds true in the everyday movements of Markus Schulz, and his thoughts most certainly have been put into motion, with the result that 2009 may very well be remembered, as the year of Dakota.

On the compilation front tyDi and Ministry of Sound fans will be happy to know that tyDi will be mixing Trance Nation once again scheduled for release around the middle of the year. Last year he joined UK trance superstars Above & Beyond on the mixing duties, but this year MOS will be supporting more Australian talent by welcoming MaRLo from Melbourne to the family. The CD will be rounded out with a huge national tour so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Speaking of Ministry of Sound, I happen to have a copy of Trance Nation mixed by tyDi and Above & Beyond to give away. If you would like to get your hands on it email us at win@globalsoundsystem.com.

Episode: #012 | AOTW: ‘Thoughts become things’ Dakota

A rollercoaster of a recording, Look Closer glides unassumingly into your ears and showcases a wide array of electronica with moments of pop-infused house through to groove, minimal, lounge and progressive trance. From its first track, Closer Than My Breath, the audience is captured. The work raises you up with the exhilaration of Everything’s OK, and the album’s first single, Foolish.

From there, Look Closer takes you on a journey through genres, with tracks that seep into your body and make it want to move without warning, and others that send you to a sweet and serene world, letting you float away a sea of sounds.

Three years in the making, Look Closer is an astoundingly well crafted album, which steps away from traditional dance, and surrounds itself in pure music. With vocal talents coming from artists as varied as Manta Ray (My Ninja Lover), newcomer Keisha Kiely, and strings by Helena Redmond of The String Selection (Missy Higgins/Hilltop Hoods), tyDi has produced a record that is as musically diverse as it is involved.

With heavyweight support and co-production talents coming from Armin van Buuren’s label Armada, Andy Moor’s label AVA Recordings, and ARIA nominated producer Sameer Sengupta, the level of production on Look Closer is second to none.