Look – No Hands! June 27, 2008

If Wiijaying was a sore subject for fans of good old turntables, I wonder how they will react to this –

Omer Yosha, an Interface Design student at the FH Potsdam has designed a new polyphonic MIDI controlling device, he calls the “AirPiano,” that enables DJs to spin without touching a thing. The new technology uses infrared sensors that can be programmed to link to a variety of music applications.

Here’s how it works: the AirPiano is controlled through a virtual matrix in the air above it. Each key and fader in the virtual matrix is assigned a note or controller, channel, and velocity via the USB-connected AirPiano software. When a key or fader is triggered (by waving one’s hand over the infrared sensors), an LED beneath the AirPiano’s surface illuminates and the note is played.

Not only is the AirPiano impressively practical, though. Its sleek, narrow frame makes us think it may very well become an alternative to rolling around a closet-full of equipment.

And this technology may indeed have a promising future. “The AirPiano is . . . only one example of an application that could adopt this concept,” says Omer. That’s right, think AirOrchestra. Omer describes the AirPiano as “useful for DJ performance, as a music therapy instrument, or as a toy.”

The product definitely seems to be versatile but one thing is for sure – it seems like the most complicated toy we have ever seen.

Read more about the Airpiano at CreateDigitalMusic.com.

Water Taxi Beach is Ready to Party Again June 26, 2008

You might remember Water Taxi Beach’s hit Saturday night party, ReBound, from last year. Well this summer, they revamped their sound system with some help from Gary Stewart – Roxy, Vinyl, Palladium, and Sound Factory designer – and are ready for another summer of weekend partying.

The Beach Party, as the series is called this year, boasts a magnificent lineup that is sure to follow in ReBound’s footsteps, or maybe even outshine it. DJ Victor Franco will open each afternoon from 3pm – 8pm and then the Water Taxi Beach residents, DJs Justin Carter, Probus, and the Brothers’ Brothers, will each play a set. The night does not end there, though. Each Saturday party will host a guest artist to follow the regular show and wait till you hear what Beach Party has in store . . .

Moodyman, the Detroit Mahogany Music – will set the stage as the first guest star in the series on June 28th. The next few parties will showcase musicians including I:Cube (France, Versatile), Rich Medina (Philly, Kindred Spirits), and Omar S (Detroit, FXHE Records). July 12th’s performer is still only a hot whisper topic and August’s schedule will be announced in July. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

The parties, located at Hunter’s Point, Long Island City (2nd and Borden), will run every Saturday night 8pm – 3am from June 28th to August 30th. Admission is only $3 and there is a free shuttle to the 7 train from 10pm – 3am. Check back for lineup updates later on in the summer. For other inquiries go to the Water Taxi Beach website.

Dubspot Take 2 June 26, 2008

It can be a difficult thing to keep your tech skills on par with your creative vision. Without the luxury of a studio engineer to bail you out when the going gets technical, most producers can find themselves at one point or another in a stump.

Dan Giove, founder of music production school Dubspot knows that pain. A DJ himself, Giove sought an institution that could further his passion for electronic music with a comprehensive education in studio production. Left frustrated with the shortcomings of the market, Giove decided to take matters into his own hands and start a school of his own.

“I’ve always wanted to make music,” says Giove, “and I just couldn’t find anywhere to go. I stumbled upon an empty office on Fourteenth Street and thought I would build a studio and learn from just being there. The studio turned into classes and the classes turned into DJing and Production school. Before long, there was really nothing else like it in New York.”

Located in the Meatpacking District on the West Side of Manhattan, Dubspot has a mission of building a community of novices, experts, and everywhere in between who share a common love for music and a desire to further educate themselves in the processes of its production. Giove designs its programs to fit the needs of students with all kinds of musical backgrounds, ranging from experienced disc jockeys to those who have never touched a turntable. Classes offered include DJ tutorials, Electronic Music Production intensives, and weekend workshops that teach students how to get started with Ableton, Reason, Logic and more. In Dubspot’s summer youth programming, kids can also learn to mix and scratch and now, with Dubspot’s corporate team-building event service, you and your coworkers can even play DJ for the day. (Who knows, it may open up some new career paths.)

Despite its popularity with students, Dubspot still manages to provide personalized instruction to each and it’s no secret how. Giove works with his team to establish the ideal blend of hands-on experience and instructional supervision at every level. With its top-caliber facilities and diverse, knowledgeable staff, it has just the tools to do so. Instructors represent musical and educational talent across the board including professional DJs, studio engineers, product specialists, instrumentalists, software experts, and on occasion professional guest speakers, all passionate about the creation of music.

At Dubspot, students are the teachers as well, though. “In the classroom environment, students are constantly interacting,” Giove says, “which means they are constantly sharing ideas. There are students who come to learn hip-hop and then decide to go a completely different direction because of the guy behind them, who is working on techno.”

In addition to receiving expert coaching, students are given the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art music equipment as used today by the industry’s pros. The school boasts an impressive studio and mastering facility, DJ stations and student workstations, in which the latest of hardware and software is made available to all.

Although the school’s facilities are an imposing sight, though, its classes are not. Classes are capped at a maximum of six students to make certain each student receives the personal attention they necessitate.

Sound good? It is – we know because we went to the school to check out one of the classes ourselves. We sat in our the Ableton introductory class where instructor Heinrich Zwalen, a veteran of Live since its early versions, took the class through the software’s basic functionality, through to the more advanced topics, like various ways to go about tackling a remix, and the foundations of any production. The class is structured with 2-30 mins of instruction followed by 10 minutes of hands on, allowing the students to put into practice what they had just learned. Students are encouraged to ask any questions and also interact with each other through out the training. ? The students we spoke with at the end of the two day training class (6pm to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday evening) all spoke highly of the class and the education they had just received.

Dubspot has surely conquered some undiscovered territories, to say the least, but Giove sees the company as ever growing: “There’s still so much for us to do here in New York. People come to Dubspot from all around the world – it’s an international community for music-lovers. We just want to get more artists and keep building the community we started.”

With the varied assortment of classes, teachers, and students at Dubspot, everyone interested in music is sure to find their fit. Go experience Dubspot for yourself during their open house this Sunday from 12pm-2pm located at 348 West 14th Street, New York City.

Read this again.

Just Sublime June 26, 2008

Kid Sublime just released the music video to ‘Own World’, his latest single. In it, the rapper toys with the viewers’ orientation as well a series of childhood games, substantiating his lyrics’ profession to “play my own game”. Over a smooth, Kid-original beat, Kid Sublime sits back in his minimalist stage-set and gives us a taste of his ‘own world’ – and hopefully, the rest of his upcoming LP, ‘Rappin’ Blak’.

That’s My DJ: Anyone Can Learn to DJ at Dubspot June 24, 2008

It’s a difficult enterprise, keeping your tech-savvy skills on par with your creative vision, and at one point or another, most musicians find themselves in a stump.

Thankfully, so has Dan Giove, the mastermind behind New York City’s exquisite DJ, VJ, and production school, Dubspot. Dubspot, New York’s first and only establishment of its kind, grew out of Giove’s own fascination with the production of music. A DJ himself, Giove sought an institution that would provide him with a comprehensive education in music production but, left frustrated with the shortcomings of the market, decided to take the DIY route and start a school of his own.

Dubspot’s mission is to build a community of novices, experts, and everywhere in between who share a common love for music. Accordingly, the company designs its programs to fit the needs of students with all kinds of musical backgrounds, ranging from experienced disc jockeys to those who have never even seen one spin. Classes offered include DJ tutorials for all levels, Electronic Music Production intensives, and weekend workshops that teach students how to make use of the many helpful but confusing music software programs out there. In Dubspot’s summer youth programming, kids can also learn to mix and scratch and now, with Dubspot’s corporate team-building event service, you and your coworkers can even play DJ for the day. (Who knows, it may open up some new career paths.)

Perhaps Dubspot’s most unique trademark, though, is its community feel. Despite its smorgasbord of students, Dubspot still manages to provide personalized instruction to each and it’s no secret how. Giove works with his team to establish the ideal blend of hands-on experience and instructional supervision at every level. And with its top-caliber facilities and diverse, knowledgeable staff, it has just the tools to do so.

The staff at Dubspot is handpicked and represents musical and educational talent across the board. Educators include first-rate DJs, production specialists, instrumentalists, software experts, and even professional DJ, VJ, and production guest speakers, all devoted to the creation and instruction of electronic music.

In addition to receiving expert coaching, students at Dubspot are given the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art music equipment used by industry professionals. Located in the Meatpacking District, the school building consists of several impressive studio workstations, DJ stations, and a student workstation, in which the latest of hardware and software is made available to all students.

Although the school’s facilities are an imposing sight, though, its classes are not. Classes are capped at a maximum of six students to make certain each student receives the personal attention they necessitate.

Sound exceptional? It is – we know because we went to the school to check out one of the classes ourselves . . .

With the varied assortment of classes, teachers, and students at Dubspot, everyone interested in music is sure to find their fit. Go experience Dubspot for yourself during their open house this Sunday from 12pm-2pm located at 348 West 14th Street. For more information visit Dubspot’s website.

Check Out This Video. . . June 24, 2008

Booka Shade Interview With DanceTracksDigital.com

What Do Clubbers and Environmentalists Have in Common? Apparently a Lot. June 24, 2008

Environmentalists and dance enthusiasts alike will gape at the ingenuity of the new eco-friendly dance club opening in King’s Cross, London this July. The club is proud to offer organic beverages (in biodegradable cups, of course!), a recyclable water-flushing system, and free admission for those who arrive on foot or bike.

Perhaps its most cutting edge feature, however, is its energy-generating dance floor, powering sixty per cent of the entire building’s energy. The spring-filled dance floor uses piezoelectricity – the production of electrical currents from the crushing of crystal blocks beneath the floor’s surface – to constantly recharge the batteries nearby. Put simply, the more you dance, the more renewable energy you create.

The club’s founder, Andrew Charambous, thinks of his new club as a means to highlight the immediacy of global warming issues to the younger generation. It’s a “sexy and fresh approach,” as he puts it. The club is part of Charambous’s Club4Climate, a larger organization that plans to launch several environmentalist projects in the near future, including an initiative to plant one million trees and a self-sufficient vacation resort venture to be completed in 2010.

To read more about Club4Climate visit The Daily Mail. The club will be opening on July 10th in Bar Surya on Pentoville Road and is the first of its kind. In their words, “all you have to do is dance to save the world!”

Not Too Quiet on the Balearic Front June 24, 2008

Summer has only just begun but it looks like Ibiza has a troublesome season in store

Last year Ibiza’s notorious DC10 suffered a blow from the Spanish police, who demanded that it shut down for a period of sixty days due to ill-managed drug incidents in the venue. The venerated dance club remained closed for only three days – still a significant pay cut for an Ibiza summer – but now authorities are demanding that it complete its antiquated sentence. DC10 and Circoloco employees and fans are of course distraught with the terrible news and cannot help but wonder – why now?

Circoloco mastermind Andrea Pelino blames the Spanish government for making the Balearic club industry seem like a sinful embarrassment rather than the vital economic colossus that it is. Those taking the hardest hit are not the drug abusers, some even say, but the island’s residents, who rely heavily on summer’s influx of tourism; with the shutdown of this club, many club owners, DJs, bartenders, and promoters are losing their sole sources of income.

But Circoloco began in DC10 and will remain in DC10, promises Pelino. The popular all-day Monday hit event will surely be missed if its fifty-seven day close is not revoked and Pelino sticks to his refusal to relocate. But Pelino’s rebuff is his form of protest to the Spanish government’s unruly behavior and he urges you all to take a stand as well.

Space Lab Yellow: The End of an Era June 24, 2008

House enthusiasts and fans of the legendary DJ Francois K have mixed emotions towards his upcoming performance at the closing of Tokyo’s revered Space Lab Yellow this June.

Club Yellow, which began as the host to a successful opening party in December 1991, soon evolved into an international landmark of electronic music. Founded in Nishi-Abazu by the owners of celebrated Tokyo clubs P.Picasso and Cave, Yellow was originally meant to hold the party “World Connection,” an initiative to bring together talented DJs worldwide under one roof. It did so successfully with an opening night audience of over two thousand, and it quickly became known as the second largest venue of its type in Tokyo. Its name and literal underground location (it resides in the two-story basement of a large building) reflect its experimental approach and substantiate its proclamation that “here, we can try anything.”

Since its opening, Yellow has enjoyed a successful sixteen years and has been visited regularly by acclaimed DJs from Frankie Knuckles to Derrick May and Laurent Garnier to Francois K . . .

. . . which is why February’s disappointing news came as such a shock. The close is rumored to be due to the building’s demolition but no speak of relocating has been offered and with the tragic demise of Cisco Records’ still fresh in their minds, Tokyo house listeners are taking the hit particularly hard.

Luckily, the mourners still have something festive to look forward to this summer. Although the bittersweet emotions will no doubt remain in the back of their minds, an extravagant closing-week lineup may momentarily help them forget their sorrows and pay an awesome final salute to the club.

Monday through Thursday’s programs offer an exciting preview of the weekend’s blowouts and include a collective of Japanese Jazz DJs, Detroit’s esteemed DJ Derrick May, DJ Danny Krivit, Distortion DJ Fumiya Tanaka, and a release party for David Mancuso’s book, “Love Saves the Day”.

Friday and Saturday then mark the long-anticipated closing parties featuring DJsLaurent Garnier and Francois K. Laurent Garnier, the much-admired French DJ, who, since his debut in Manchester during the beginning of the Acid House movement, has become a famed and respected icon of house music, will be the penultimate feature of the equally iconic Club Yellow. Laurent Garnier has played at Yellow several times before, including at its fifteenth anniversary, which he has described in interview as one of his favorite nights ever. According to Garnier, that night, the dance club was “absolutely going mad”. His performance of Friday, June 20th may take that phrase to a whole new level.

Francois K will then perform the final set ever in Space Lab Yellow on Saturday, June 21st. Though the night marks the end for Space Lab Yellow, it also marks an exciting return of a club favorite. Natively French Francois K, who began his music in New York and has since become a successful DJ, producer, and remixer, has been performing at Club Yellow often for the past sixteen years and knows its visitors well. Die-hard fans of the club eagerly await his arrival and think it only appropriate to have Francois K be the final performer of Club Yellow, given their long-standing relationship and mutual admiration.

The closing of Space Lab Yellow and its accompanying weeklong extravaganza will be one to go down in history. So if you can make it to Tokyo this June, get your tickets fast so you don’t find yourself basking in jealousy and remorse like the rest of us.

P.S.1 Annual Warm Up Series is Back! June 24, 2008

Bored on a Saturday afternoon? Even if you’re not, cancel your plans because starting July 5th, P.S.1, the MoMa’s non-profit contemporary art center, is hosting its annual “Warm Up” series, a string of Saturday afternoon outdoor summer parties that are said to be simply, “the best.”

P.S.1 was born out of its founder, Alanna Heiss’s ambition to transform abandoned New York City building space into studios and galleries for contemporary artists. Between its one-hundred-room museum in Long Island City and its sixty production studios in its Manhattan Clocktower Gallery, the project has more than realized her objective.

Warm Up takes place right outside of the extraordinary museum in Long Island City. Hosted in an installation designed by the winner of MoMa’s s “Young Architects Program,” the parties will be a pleaser for all five of the senses and welcome listeners of all ages and backgrounds for a mere $10 admission fee.

This year’s Warm Up festival features an impressive list of international and prominent DJs and bands. The event kicks off with performances by the Noblu orchestra, DJs Justin Carter and Probus, Dex aka Nomadico, and So Percussion, followed by equally astounding lineups for the next nine Saturdays until September 9th from 3pm to 9pm. Check out the schedule yourself and come and go to your likings – the festival is perfect for performers, fans, families, and even volunteers, for those interested in getting more involved and receiving free tickets.