Heads up musicians, producers and fans! Dredg is inviting you to remix their song Gathering Pebbles and win some killer prizes! Here’s the invitation, straight from the horse’s mouth:

Hello all, thanks for taking the time to remix Gathering Pebbles. Feel free to do as you wish with the stems, and use only as many as you wish. We look forward to hearing some alternate versions of the song and we’ll be selecting our favorite in April. We will make the winning remix available for sale on iTunes and the winner will be granted a producer/remix royalty percentage!

Dredg (aka vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer/keyboardist Dino Campanella) is a prolific indie band that has been building a worldwide following for over a decade. Through their truly captivating live performances, they have developed a devoted, cult like following (in a good way). While on stage, the band completely immerses its audience with their sound and strangely calming, yet intense, presence. For a great example of just how connected their fans are, check out this video that a dredg fan made for Gathering Pebbles:

Gathering Pebbles is a driving, psych-rock tune that has a lot of interesting layers to play with. The song is off of the band’s 2009 release The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, their 4th studio album. Bassist Drew Roulette describes the album as “a rock and roll record, filled with experimental journeys and eccentric jousts,” and now it’s your turn to join the journey and take it wherever your creativity leads you.

The Gathering Pebbles remix contest, which is powered by MixMatchMusic, starts today (February 1, 2010) and runs until April 1, 2010 at 12pm PST.  All entries will be heard and winners will be carefully selected by dredg. The grand prize is big for any musician/producer looking to break out in the music industry, and the runner up prizes are pretty sweet as well:

• One grand-prize winner: The winning remix will be officially released by dredg. The remixer will get a royalty payment of 3% from the sale of the remixed version of Gathering Pebbles. The winner will also receive a bundle package that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

• Two runner up winners: Each winner will receive a bundle package, that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

To enter the contest, visit dredg’s website, or scroll down to the widget below. You can download the stems for free and make your remix using the software of your choice. Or, if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. If you’ve never made a remix before and want to get a behind-the-scenes look at how dredg made the song, be sure to check out the MixMaker. Most importantly, upload your remix to dredg’s widget so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it. You can read the official contest rules here.

Inspired Flight. This band has a sound that is hard to describe. And yet, looking at the artists they list as influences on their MySpace page, their sound just makes sense. They’ve really learned how to incorporate some of the subtle and intangible things that make those musicians great musicians.

Their bio says it well. “Rooted in hip-hop and dipping into elements of indie rock, downtempo, dub and dance, Inspired Flight is taking your pre-conceived notion of what a band and DJ are and merging them into something new and quite hypnotizing.” Though their sound clearly incorporates a myriad of different elements, including vocals, keyboards, other exotic instruments, and laptops, this band is made up of just two people -  master turntablist, OpenOptics, and accomplished guitarist/songwriter, Chavez. To learn a little more about their respective musical backgrounds and inspiration, click here.

The duo wants you to join their remix contest, powered by MixMatchMusic. Go on. Have a long hard listen to their song, “It Always Takes,” feel it, breath it, internalize it. (This, by the way, is easy to do because the song is beautiful. It has a haunting melody and something generally mesmerizing about it.) Then, take it apart and re-envision it as your own. Add, subtract, multiply, magnify, simplify, or otherwise modify the song to your liking.

To do so, you can download the stems (for free) and use your own software to remix them, OR if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. Most importantly, UPLOAD your remix so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it.

This remix contest runs until January 31st, 2010 and Inspired Flight will choose their favorite submission. The lucky winner will be the featured bonus track on their album, coming in March 2010. Nice! Oh ya, and you’ll also get a limited edition T-shirt and poster, as well as an Eyeball HD Webcam from Blue Microphones. Read the complete contest rules here.

Go. Be inspired!

Most musicians have started to realize the importance of social media. And by social media I mean more than just having a MySpace page for your band. While not all of them are on twitter like they should be, many have at least figured out where their target listener demographic hangs out. One band that is clearly ahead of the curve is British synthpop trio, Filthy Dukes. The first thing you notice on their website is the social media links to Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

In addition to being thoroughly dialed in to the social media world, Filthy Dukes also understand the importance of artist-fan interaction. Not only are they  letting fans into their world, they’re letting fans become part of the creative process. For example, on their site they had this announcement: “Come have a go at the Tupac Robot Club Rock rap and appear in a Filthy Dukes video!”

Get in on the action yourself and have a go at remixing their song, TupacRobotClubRock, using MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard. The song is an electro-rock banger, complete with dirty synths, driving beats and several different vocal tracks for you to play with. The winner will win a day with the Filthy Dukes in their very own studio! Not only will you get the chance to see the band at work, you’ll get to perfect your own remix on the mixing desk of Conny Plank, Kraftwerk’s legendary producer. This is the very mixing desk, built to Plank’s own specifications, that was used on everything from Autobahn to the Eurythmics’ debut and Ultravox’s Vienna. This piece of musical heritage is now pride of place in the Filthy Dukes’ studio.

Get remixing for your chance to bag this amazing unique opportunity! Depending on your audio editing expertise (or lack thereof) you have two options available to you. You can either download the stems for free and use any software you want (go nuts!), or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor, which is fairly intuitive and easy-to-use for the layman, yet still full of cool features. This is also a great way to just see how the song was made. Once you’ve completed your remix, don’t forget to upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Filthy Dukes will select the winning remix, taking into account the votes and rating each remix receives on the Remix Wizard widget. The deadline for entry is 1/11/10. Date in the studio TBA on consultation of band and winner. No purchase necessary. No transport or accommodation included. No prize alternatives offered.

This ebook is FREE to all you readers of Evolving Music. You can download it here. Happy reading!

If you can’t get enough of this stuff and need more remix contests to throw yourself into, you should subscribe to the Remix Comps newsletter, which will arrive in your inbox on days when new contests are added to the site. Another great resource is Rhythm Creation, also by Edward Cufaude. You can also subscribe to the Remix Wizard new promotions feed.

Here, he’ll teach you things like: How to Get Fatter, Heavier, Different Drum Sounds by Layering Your Samples, How a Remix Competition Can Help Music Promotion, and How to Remove Clicks from the Beginning and End of Samples.

Congrats to Swingset Committee (aka David Dahlquist and Andrew Belinsky) for winning the contest with their sweet electro remix of the song! Listen to and download their remix here. The 1st runner prize went to DJ Dream for his “Pushed and Pulled” remix — listen to and download it here. And, the second runner up prize was won by Denis the Fish (aka Niko Melaluka) — listen to and download his “Big Fishy” remix here. All winners will receive, among other things, a pair of Sutro Vision sunglasses (signed by LB)!

Swingset Committee

Sutro sunglasses

To listen to all the remixes submitted,  check out the widget below. Be sure to tell us which remixes you like the most!

It is well known that over the last 10 years the barriers to making music have been shattered by highly effective, and cheap, music making software. Musicians now have many great resources when it comes to digital studio software and online collaboration and production tools. And, as music making technology continues to spread and becomes easier to use, even fans have entered the music making process by remixing and collaborating with their favorite artists.

The next step in the evolution of music production very well may be mobile music making, and while many mobile music tools have been released in the last several years, IK Multimedia’s GrooveMaker may be the most effective. After the success of their first four applications released last August, IK Multimedia has put out two new versions of their GrooveMaker music production apps. The new GrooveMaker Techno and GrooveMaker Trance add to IKM’s existing genre collection of House, Hip-Hop, and Club. If you get the itch to make some beats on-the-go, these apps allow users to create and share full length, non-stop tracks in real-time, perfect for DJing, remixing, or creating multimedia soundtracks. Pretty sweet, eh?

The GrooveMaker apps contain advanced remixing software that allows for control over eight stereo loop tracks. Users can pull from GrooveMaker’s extensive library of high sound-quality drum, bass, bass drums, lines, pads, percussion and effects loops, and loops are easily arranged by dragging and dropping. GrooveMaker’s randomization feature lets users create millions of possible grooves with just one touch. Once a user is done with their jam, tracks can be saved, previewed, recalled, and exported as .WAV files to a computer through a Wi-Fi network.

While GrooveMaker Techno and GrooveMaker Trance are available in the iTunes App Store for $9.99, IK Multimedia has given us a few copies to give out for free! The first four people to tweet out “I dig the GrooveMaker iPhone app and @EvolvingMusic!” will get a free copy of the GrooveMaker app. Or check out GrooveMaker’s fully functional basic version, available for free on iTunes. And to check out audio demos, visit GrooveMaker’s website.

Curious to learn more about music making on the iPhone? Read this.

Calling all DJ’s, Producers and Recording Artists!!

Talenthouse is partnering with MixMatchMusic’s online remix technology to give you the chance to remix Photek’s track and submit it to Talenthouse for a chance to be on an upcoming Photek release. For all of you Drum & Bass lovers out there, here’s your chance to help Photek finish a song! Photek, who has been producing and spinning creative drum and bass since 1992, is looking for dubstep and 4 to the floor remixes of his Drum & Bass track, “Fake ID”. He’s asking creators to produce a banging track that people would want to hear in a club. Our friends at Talenthouse say that they’re not looking for Photek clones, but for people to be original. Can you dig it?

If your remix is selected by Photek and the Talenthouse community, it will become an official Photek release and you will be credited in full as the official remixer and receive full promotion and distribution.

How to participate:
The Photek “Fake ID” remix contest can be found on the Talenthouse website as well as in a Remix Wizard that has been setup for the contest.  Stems can be downloaded from either place, but please be sure to upload your remix to both places. If you don’t have any music making software, you can use MixMatchMusic’s MixMaker to make your own remix online! For a complete list of rules and requirements, check this.

Who is Photek?
Although Photek is recognized as one of the founding pioneers of Drums and Bass, what sets him apart from the crows is his amazing ability to take the signature Photek sound to different places, outside the D&B genre.

While on Virgin Records, he managed to chart some of the most groundbreaking music into mainstream consciousness with the albums “Modus Operandi” and “Solaris”. His singles have spanned the full spectrum of electronic music, with straight up club hits like “Mine To Give” to the most legendary & abstract “Ni Ten Ichi Ryu”. It is this versatility and originality that has made Photek a favorite among artists such as Trent Reznor, Andre 3000, Bjork & David Bowie.

Originally from London, Photek is now based in Los Angeles where he finds himself evolving into an ever broader range of music through film music and artist collaborations. The UK/USA connection seems to have worked out perfectly for Photek, with the “Love & War” named Single Of The Week on BBC Radio 1 in London and his mixes of NIN’s “The Hand That Feeds” a hit on KROQ in Los Angeles.

Here’s a little taste of some of Photek’s remix, production, and score credits:
Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Bjork, Gwen Stefani, Goldie, Zero 7, Shy Fx/Elephant Man, Everything But The Girl, Roni Size “Reprazent”, Beth Orton, Attica Blues, London Electricity, Bumblebeez, Therapy, The Faint, Ringside, Jem, Rairbirds, Craig Armstrong, M. Night Shyamalan’s – Signs, Six Feet Under, The Matrix – Animatrix, The Italian Job, Stay, Invincible, American Wedding, Dreamland, Blade, City Of Industry, Raising The Bar.

Their new album, Exotic on the Speaker, is the “result of years of creative collaborations and finesse – culminating in 13 club ready tracks featuring the likes of Ghostface, Del the Funky Homosapien, M.I.A. understudy Rye Rye, Pigeon John, Lyrics Born, and more,” says The Daily Rind.

In anticipation of the new album, the boys released a free promo mixtape, Exotic on the Mixtape, including the song “Put em up”, which Pitchfork calls “an exuberant synthesis of traditional Israeli folk melodies and familiar hip-hop sensibilities.” You can download it all here.

Once you’ve download the mixtape, read Soulico’s answers to The Music Slut’s 8 Questions, including how playing to an Israeli audience differs from an American one, and check out Sabbo’s blog, Noiz in Zion, if you like remixes (and free downloads). Of course they are on MySpace and Facebook too.

JDub Records, which is a “not-for-profit dedicated to innovative Jewish music, community, and cross cultural dialogue,” was lucky enough to sign Soulico before anyone else found them. CEO Aaron Bisman happened upon their first mixtape while he was rummaging through the bins at Tel Aviv’s Hatav Hashmini record store. Apparently they were hard to track down, but he jumped on their MySpace the day it went up and claimed them.

Thanks to our friends over at JDub Records for hooking us up with these guys. As part of the release of their new album, Soulico wants you to remix the title track, “Exotic on the Speaker,” and is giving you access to the stems of the song via the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard. You can either download the stems (for free) and use the audio editing software of your choice OR simply click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how the song was made, check out the MixMaker. Once you’ve completed your remix, upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Soulico will be choosing one grand prize winner plus three runner-ups. Here’s what you can win:

Grand Prize:
- Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD + LP
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Your choice of Prime Loops Software
- Pair of Radius Ear buds
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

3 Runner-Ups:
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Copy of Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

Deadlines: Contest starts Monday, October 5th and ends Monday November 23rd. Check out the official rules here.

Get on it!

But, there was one remix that really caught the attention of Slightly Stoopid and stood out above the competition. Congrats to icehouseindustries for winning the remix contest! His remix was chosen by Slightly Stoopid as the grand prize winner! Check it out…

Icehouseindustries will receive a HUGE prize pack that includes a set of the new Slightly Stoopid branded headphones (Skull Candy); an autographed Stoopid poster; 2 tickets to the next Slightly Stoopid concert in their area; a limited edition Slightly Stoopid branded glass pipe; CDs of Slightly Stoopid’s entire discography & Chronichitis vinyl; a copy of Slightly Stoopid Live in San Diego DVD; and the icehouseindustries remix will be posted for streaming on Slightly Stoopid’s Website, Myspace, Facebook, and their theSixtyOne.com page.

There was also a prize for the fan favorite, for the remix that received the most fan votes. Congrats to Karma for getting the most fan votes for his unique remix that brought a grooving lounge sound to 2am, complete with funky flute, saxophone and jazz guitar. His remix definitely caught a lot of attention. Karma wins a set of the new Slightly Stoopid branded headphones (Skull Candy) and a limited edition Slightly Stoopid branded glass pipe. Saaawwweeeet!!!

Make sure to check out some of the other remixes submitted. I’m a fan of NotoriAce’s remix and all of the different levels and genres used, as well as We Like it Edgy out of Galashiels, Scotland’s “2am edgy remix”. Also, I’m kinda diggin’ the use of Daydreamin’ by DJ Devan Air and Biggie Smalls in Will Becker’s mash-up. And, big ups to Gravity Terminal for his electro-dub version of 2am. Click the image below to check out all of the submissions. While you’re there, be sure to browse the Remix Wizard site to find other remix opportunities and to see how you can host your own remix contest using MixMatchMusic’s FREE remix contest platform.

Heads up fans, producers, and DJs! We’ve got a brand new remix contest for all of you looking for new and impressive ways to participate in the creative process and show off your DIY skills. MixMatchMusic has joined forces with Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born and eyewear company Sutro Vision to bring you a chance to remix Lyrics Born’s newest single, a re-union track with the other half of his Latyrx duo, Lateef the Truthspeaker, called “Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart.”

“Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart” will be appearing on both Lyrics Born’s upcoming Variety Show mixtape and the studio album he has due in 2010. The track utilizes female vocals, synths and moving drum and clap percussion to frame uptempo lyrics from Born and Lateef surrounding the decisions and choices they’ve been faced with making for their careers. Check out the video for the single below.

In an effort to engage and interact with fans, as well as contribute to the growing number of artists allowing fans to remix their work, Lyrics Born has loaded the stems to “Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart” into the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard and has given you two options for making a remix: Either download the stems for free and use any software you want, or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how the song was made, check out the MixMaker. Once you’ve completed your remix, upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

So what will you win? From the entries, Lyrics Born himself will be picking three winners – a grand prize and two runner-up prizes. The grand prize winner will receive a pair of Lyrics Born signed Sutro sunglasses (these shades are sweet!), autographed copies of the entire Variety Show catalog, a Lyrics Born T-Shirt, 2 free tickets to any Lyrics Born show, a meet and greet with Lyrics Bron at said show, and their track featured on LyricsBorn.com presented by Lyrics Born himself.

The 2 runner ups will each receive a pair of Lyrics Born signed Sutro sunglasses (he will sign the case), a copy of the new Lyrics Born Variety Show mixtape, a Lyrics Born T-Shirt and 2 free tickets to any Lyrics Born show as well as their remix featured on LyricsBorn.com. The official rules for the contest are available here.

So what are you waiting for? The contest starts today (Tuesday, August 25th) and runs through Friday September 25th. Tune in, sign on and start mixing!

Fan of .Evolving Music. and/or MixMatchMusic? Show your support and help us send some of our folks to SXSW next year by voting for our panel topics!

SXSW is a conference, a festival, a networking event, and much much more that has become a premier destination for music professionals around the world. Now in its 24th year, SXSW boasts 80+ stages, and 2,000+ acts. In addition to the amazing music that gets shared and discovered here, the panels give industry thought leaders a forum to introduce brave new ideas and technologies to a hungry and influential audience. MixMatchMusic has found itself in a unique position in this new musical landscape and we would relish the opportunity to share some of our ideas with this crowd.

You can help by voting for our two panel topics below. Simply create an account and then vote (and comment).

Topic #1

Remix: A New Model for Engaging Fans

Today, there are millions of recording artists competing for the attention of the 190 million music fans who demand a deep and personal experience with their favorite artists online. Remixing gained legions of fans when pioneered by NIN and Radiohead. However, many artists have been shut out from engaging fans with remixes by the complexity and expense of the technology. This panel will explore a range of new engagement tools that promise high levels of connection and are accessible and affordable by the DIY musician.

MixMatchMusic’s CFO and Director of A&R Alan Khalfin can discuss how bringing fans directly into the music making process through remix promotions can be highly engaging and convert casual fans into loyal fans. He will also comment on how artists can distribute their stems, in addition to their songs, to increase their revenue. A team of panelists can also engage in a lively discussion around the intersection of music, technology and social media and the tools musicians want and need to collaborate with their fans to bring them into the creative process. The panelists could also discuss how crowd-sourced remix promotions can create a musical conversation between an artist and his fans, and can ultimately affect how music is written and experienced.

Topic #2

How to Develop Artist/Fan Connection

It’s no secret that the channels musicians have traditionally relied upon to get their music discovered, promoted and sold are growing irrelevant and as a result, millions of musicians are increasingly on their own, without labels, record stores or radio to help them. The artist’s challenge is now to convert casual fans into loyal fans, and loyal fans into paying customers. Compounding the challenge is the changed fan: modern music fans are acclimated to the read/write web and the social interaction that comes with it, and are looking for the same experience with music. Now, musicians have to engage and involve casual listeners in order to build deep and lasting connections with them, and to convert them to loyal fans.

MixMatchMusic’s CEO Charles Feinn can discuss how creating deep and lasting relationships with fans is the only way for artists to be successful in Music 2.0. He can also comment on ways to achieve the types of meaningful connections that convert casual fans into paying customers, from engage fans through mobile apps, to bringing fans into the creative process through remixing, and developing direct relationships with fans on Twitter.

The community’s votes account for 30% of the panel selection process and voting continues until September 4th so get your vote on and spread the word! We will be eternally grateful!

It appears that the recession has not affected concert sales. Just look at the Pollstar 2009 mid year business analysis. People will always need the escape and the experience of live music, and tough economic times aren’t going to stop them apparently. Last year “the average box-office gross was up 18 percent and the average attendance up 6.3 percent, according to Billboard magazine” writes John Gerome of CBS News, who also notes that many musicians, promoters, and distributors are offering discounts and promotions of various kinds to help fans be able to afford their shows. Live Nation, for example, sometimes offers a four-pack deal (four tickets for the price of three) in essence rewarding you for bringing your friends.

Perhaps this trend is similar in a sense to alcohol sales. People certainly don’t stop drinking during tough economic times, but they might go out less and instead buy liquor at the store or choose cheaper drinks when they do go out. As far as concert tickets go, strapped fans will still go see their favorite bands. They’ll just buy crappier tickets.

Artists (well… some of them) are still making a ton of money from ticket sales. “Just ask Bruce Springsteen, Brit-pop singer Lily Allen, musical comedy duo the Flight of the Conchords, or indie-rock darling Neko Case, all of whom put on sold-out concerts in Boston in the last month,” says Sarah Rodman of the Boston Globe. In the era of steadily declining album sales, concerts are the life support that musicians continue to cling to.

MC Lars, who still makes royalties off of his older stuff on iTunes told us, “…for the newer stuff — the only way to get heard is to be out on the road as much as possible and playing clubs and all that because really with the recession and with kids knowing about bit torrent… the answer is to be on tour if you wanna make money as a musician – OR to write songs for commercials and not have any desire to be an independent musician!” He is a shining example of the DIY artist who is not afraid to try new things and get creative, especially when it comes to interacting with his fans.

This article in the Sydney Morning Herald presents some similar views from down under. “A lot of acts are putting out records to promote their tours,” says Michael Gudinski, the managing director of Frontier Touring Company. “In the old days you used to tour to promote your record.” Back then touring gave you the exposure needed to sell albums, which equaled revenue. Of course now the internet has forced the music industry onto its knees and slashed record sales. It has, however, graciously opened a new window of opportunity for the concert industry. “With the advent of the internet, which I regard as the radio of the 21st century, the potential concert-going audience in this country, in my opinion, has quadrupled,” says veteran concert promoter Michael Chugg.

As music 2.0 continues to evolve and present us with surprises, fans are increasingly becoming participants in the industry, rather than just passive observers and consumers. Take posse.com, for example, which “is turning fans into ticket agents. A music lover receives a commission each time someone clicks on a link or ad on their social networking page to buy a ticket to a show.” Pretty slick. Fans are becoming savvier, hungrier, and their expectations have changed.

One strategy being utilized by artists and promoters as a result is offering fans access to exclusive content, merch, and other VIP type goodies. Elliot Fox, the Director of Marketing & Promotions for JDub Records (a nonprofit record and event production company focused on new Jewish music, building community, and cross-cultural dialogue), explained that they are combating unfavorable conditions by developing new incentives and marketing strategies in order to reach their existing fan base while also building new ones. “The key to keeping fans loyal while also attracting new ones is being able to offer added value and additional content to users. For example, we can offer a free album download with purchase of a t-shirt or a free label sampler for fans who follow us on twitter. We are also in the process of launching a membership model where fans can pay a yearly subscription fee and will automatically receive our next 4 releases both physically and digitally. We feel that providing fans with a steady flow of new content allows them to feel connected to what the artists and label are trying to do.” Word.

The smart artists are figuring out ways to thrive in the current economic climate. Some attempt to make their live music experience accessible to a broader audience by offering tickets at a variety of price points. Others attempt to convert casual fans – who perhaps listen to, purchase, or illegally download their music but don’t go to concerts – into loyal fans. It’s the loyal fans who are most likely to go enjoy and support their favorite musicians even in tough times. It’s the loyal fans who might skip the family vacation to Hawaii this year but still splurge on a road trip to a music festival or decent seats at that U2 concert. Deep artist/fan connections are critical to success in music 2.0 and in most cases it’s what both the fans and the artists want – which is another reason why remix culture is still gaining momentum.

Another group diving headfirst into the artist/fan lovefest era is John Brown’s Body. Their manager, Seth Herman, pointed out numerous ways JBB is actively making themselves available to fans. “Basically we went right back to the grassroots level- replying to every email, sending everyone who buys merch at our online store a thank you, and giving away free tickets to a show if there is room on the guest list.” When touring they even take it a step further and reach out to local bands who are willing to pre-sell tickets and they’ll sometimes work with promoters to give the local band discounted tickets so they can bring out their friends. As we recently discussed, JBB is also working with The Hector Fund to pay for their international tour through “artistfunding.” The opportunities afforded fans through that particular collaboration are absurdly cool.

As we stumble blindly through the foggy terrain of this new musical frontier, trying bold new things and getting intimate with the music and its creators in totally new ways, at least we can count on one thing: Live music is here to stay.

We recently introduced you to the up and coming UK artist Delphic. You also had the chance to remix their song “Counterpoint.” Have a listen to some of the great remixes that were created OR give it a(nother) shot here.

Lucky for us, the Manchester boys have released another single called “This Momentary.” Check out this beautiful video for the song, shot by Dave Ma, which weaves together images shot in and around the Chernobyl area, documenting the place as it is now and portraying the lives of the people who still live there.

LA Friendly describes the song as “a subtly blissed out blast of euphoria that takes in both the crisp drive of minimal techno and the epic scope of bands like Muse or Radiohead to create something entirely their own and entirely new and beguiling.” Delphic wants to see what you can do with this song, so go get your remix on. It is chock full of pristine synth layers just begging to be picked apart and put back together. Really good stuff for remixing!

Delphic has loaded the stems to “This Momentary” into MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, and has given you two options for making a remix: 1) You can download the stems for free and use any software you want; or 2) You can click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how “The Momentary” was made, check out the MixMaker. Either way, make sure to you upload your remix to the widget so that others can listen to, vote on, and share it. We’ll pick our favorite remixes and feature them on Evolving Music!

Want more? Join the community, share your thoughts, and interact with other fans on their Facebook page. Want to see them live? Check their tour dates here.

Kero One

When it comes to DIY, it doesn’t get much more do-it-yourself than Bay Area born and bred Kero One. When he dropped his first album, Windmills of the Soul in 2005, he made it completely at home, charged up his credit card, released it on a self-made label, Plug, and became a hit when one of his original 50 copies found its way to Japan. Earlier this year, Kero One released his sophomore album, Early Believers, and I sat down to chat with him about his upbringing, musical history and thoughts on the evolution of the music industry.

AC: So you talk on Early Believers about your parents moving to the Bay Area. Where did they move from and was it a big culture shock for them?

KO: Well they came from Korea originally; and then they came here when I was… zero. Probably in 1978 or so. From what I understand, it’s a little bit different, of course, but you know, they adjusted. What I talk about on “Welcome to the Bay,” it’s just some of the experiences that I witnessed when we were in the South Bay growing up. I talked a little bit about that and also, I guess just a little bit about their adjustment in terms of, they’re used to a whole different lifestyle and obviously like different types of food and things like that. But, yeah, I mean, it was different, but of course they adjusted. And then we grew up in the south bay, and you know, I’ve obviously lived there for pretty much all my life.

AC: Whereabouts down there, San Jose?
KO: San Jose, Los Gatos, Santa Clara
AC: So how has your family played a role in the music that you’ve created?

KO: Well I’d say they made me take classical piano when I was really young, so, in the sense of being forced to take piano lessons, that was a pretty big role because, even though I hated it back then, I’m pretty thankful for it because I use it a lot in my music now. And other than that, not that much because really, they didn’t push me to do music; I mean, they’re kinda traditional Asian parents in the sense that they wanted the more, “education thing is a big deal,” and going to a good college and getting what they understand is a good job, whether it’s an engineer or doctor or something like that. So, they were really pushing for that, and, you know, honestly, when I told them I was rapping, I mean you can guess what their reaction was. Which is understandable, I guess, but now they’re fully supportive.

AC: You talked about learning classical piano. That was maybe the first of many instruments you learned; did you go on to learn any others, or was that the only formal training that you had?
KO: Yeah, that’s the only one I had formal training in, and I did that for 10 years almost. Technically it was probably like five years because the other five, I was kind of not really there. I hated classical music, but, when I was in middle school, I was really into punk, and I got into Primus and a little bit of rock like Red Hot Chili Peppers, and we all know, Flea and Les Claypool, ridiculous bassists. That inspired me to pick up the bass, and I started messing with the bass a little bit. So, other than that, it’s just bass, piano and I play a little bit of percussion; so those are my three things right now.

AC: Do you spin?
KO: Yeah, and I DJ as well. I got into scratching quite a bit when I was in college, so I was into the whole turntables thing, try to beat juggle, flares. I DJ out mostly in the city, one off events and sometimes I go out and DJ internationally, but, yeah, right now I’m just trying to focus on the live stuff.

AC: Do you play your instruments live in concerts?
KO: Well, actually for the last show, what we did was I incorporated a little bit of live keyboard and a little bit of live drumming, but something that I’ve always wanted to do was play some instruments and rap at the same time ’cause I’ve never seen anybody really do that. I’ve seen people sing, but not really rap, so that’s what I’m gonna be doing on my new show; just a little bit of that, and incorporate, I got a guitarist, I got a singer, and so we’re definitely bringing in like the live element to the live show, ’cause a lot of the stuff on my album is actually played out, it’s not samples, so it seems pretty natural to have live instruments.

AC: Out of all those instruments that you’re playing, which one are you enjoying playing the most?
KO: I’d say probably the keys. I’m not stellar player in any of the instruments, but when I do play the keys, it’s definitely fun when you can come up with a nice chord progression or some good solos, I’d say the keyboard.

AC: So you were talking about Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers; what are some of your other musical influences and what are you listening to now?
KO: Man, I pretty much am influenced by everything from Mobb Deep in the early 90’s to John Mayer to Daft Punk, I listen to it all. Probably the only thing I don’t really get influenced by is country — I mean everybody says that, right — country or like folk, or something, or obviously classical music. But yeah, I listen to pretty much everything; like I grew up listening to really being into the early 90’s hip hop stuff, classic stuff.

AC: What was the first rap album you really got into?
KO: I’d say probably LL Cool J, Radio — I think that was the one. And then the BDP (Boogie Down Productions) stuff. So, yeah, BDP By All Means Necessary. And then for me, you know, I listened to that era when that came out, and then I went back to study other artists. Then, you know, from there, just expanded to Rare Groove and Soul and other related genres.

AC: So your initial album kind of made its break in Japan.
KO: Yeah.
AC: I’ve followed a number of hip-hop groups from Japan, but what would you say about the scene and the culture over there in the industry in terms of hip-hop?
KO: Well, definitely the culture plays a large roll, in the scene of hip hop over there because their culture, as you probably know, is very intense in terms of studying and breaking things down. I mean, when I was watching TV, and they were talking about, Indian Curry, I mean I was just watching from the hotel room and they were Japanese chefs, climbing barefoot on trees in India with the Indian guys there, to show this is how they do it, this is where they get it from, this is what it looks like and what it smells like, and they’re like breaking it down. I mean, that whole mentality is just kind of standard to me out there. They do that with hip-hop, and out there I learned more about music than I ever have in that short amount of time, ‘cause they know hella information, I mean, all the good music somehow just gets funneled over there and they have it at stores, the people who sell music are super knowledgeable. I basically discovered all these artists from the UK, from Europe, in other parts of Asia, even the States, out in Japan, you know. It’s really weird. I think because of that, they’re able to push the envelope a little bit. It’s definitely on another level out there, I think, in some ways.

AC: Did you pick up any Japanese hip-hop that you really liked while you were back there?
KO: DJ Mitsu is part of a group and I picked up their albums. I picked up a few instrumental albums out there. When I go out there, usually the labels will give me like a stack of CDs, so there are a couple CDs in there that are pretty dope. But yeah, definitely. I’m always getting new music while I’m out there.

AC: What’s been the most enjoyable part of the transition from web design and tech that you were doing to producing your own albums?
KO: Not having to listen to the boring meetings. I used to fall asleep in those meetings, you know. A lot of times I’d be at work, I’d be thinking about labels, music, I’d be stepping out very frequently to do maybe a press interview in the UK or whatever and since it’s international, you can’t miss that call, and so, you know, I gotta get up and go out and people probably started wondering why I was leaving so frequently. I still actually do a lot of web design now for my own stuff, so I haven’t strayed away from that too much. I hope to soon, but I don’t really miss the technical stuff that I need to learn, you know, just for that company; so now I can do whatever I need to do fix the public website or update the Kero One website or things like that.

AC: Have you retained or used anything from the job in actually getting your music heard?

KO: Well for sure in the sense those skills, I can apply to making websites, making them a little more functional, adding a little bit of interaction with it, like for example a mailing list, or something like that, whereas, you know, if I didn’t learn all that stuff, I’d probably be just a blogger or something, which is fine, but, for me, I’ve been able to take advantage of that. For example, I’ve pretty much configured our whole webstore on the website and now people can purchase things online. So, yeah, in that sense, that’s helped me a lot; so I definitely can’t ignore that.

AC: One of the lines I like from the new album is “wearing so many hats that your hair is concave.” So what’s been the hardest part of the scenario and trying to do it all for your label from rapping and producing your own music to being the label head?
KO: It’s definitely prioritizing your time. I had a PDA phone, which really kept me in check, but prioritizing time and figuring out where things need to be is probably the biggest challenge and now I have employees. Being able to stay on top and make sure that they’re being managed and they’re getting tasks done definitely takes up a lot of energy, but I think it’s definitely part of the grind, It’s a learning experience; I’ve learned a lot about the business. I’d say that another challenge is that I don’t want to take the business side to kind of supersede the creative aspects of my life, like the things I’m trying to do musically, I don’t want them to get pushed out of the picture, so lately with employees and things like that, it’s been helping out a lot, but there’s nothing without challenges.

AC: This whole album is full of really jazzy hip-hop, a lot of jazz influence on it; what was the approach that you used to make these songs and was your intent to go that heavy with the jazz? Was that something you wanted to do?

KO: You know, it’s really weird, I always get that comparison out and get told that it’s very jazzy and I guess I’m not ignorant to that fact, but I don’t actually say I’m gonna try to make it like this. I just usually try to go with what I like and just want to make something I enjoy. For some of the tracks, like “Love and Happiness,” which was produced by King Most, I mean, he just played me a bunch of beats, but when he played that one, that jumped out. I was like “Dude, that beat is ridiculous. I’m gonna have to add that.” So, you know, it wasn’t really a conscious thing to make it like that, but the other approach for this album was that, as opposed to Windmills, I wanted to give a little more diversity in terms of the tempos, the arrangements, I’m bringing in different Soul artists and features and just make it a little bit, I guess, less heavy. Because the first album, Windmills, was very personal and there were a lot of things on there that were very sexual. I mean this one, even though I put that in there, I also wanted to balance it out with something that’s a little fun, tracks like “Keep Pushin’” where you could have people dancing to it. I really wanted to keep it diverse.

AC: Your music sounds pretty complete in terms of the concepts that you have behind it, the musical ideas that you’re trying to bring into it. What are your thoughts, then, on the burgeoning remix and mash-up cultures?

KO: I’m really down with it, actually. As a DJ, I love finding music to remix or mash-up anything because I like to play songs that, even though they may be popular, ’cause they get people dancing, and they get people into the groove, it’s always nice to throw a curve ball at them, you know. I’m all about remixing stuff. I’ve done a few myself; I did a remix of Common’s “The Light.” DJ King Most, whom I worked with, we released some of his remixes for the DJs, and so it’s something that I’m definitely into playing. I don’t do that many in terms of, you know, taking well-known a cappellas and remixing them, but I do like projects here and there that are commissioned, I did a Talib Kweli remix and I’m working on a few Asian artists right now that I’m remixing, this group called Epik High.

AC: What do you think of making your stems available?
KO: Oh, for other people to remix.
Well, I have had a few a cappellas out there for people to remix, and I’ve gotten a few back. As far as stems, as in actual parts, not really, I’m not too into that. I feel like a remix should be like a regenerated or a totally new look at the beat and the project and the vocals. Otherwise, there’s no point to me.
AC: Between the record labels, the MP3s, the file sharing, where do you see music now, and where do you see there being a nice meeting place between consumer happiness and artist revenue?
KO: It always makes me a little, um…I don’t know, it’s like a mix between a chuckle and frustration when I hear people saying, on the blogs or whatnot, that “artists need the exposure and that’s why we’re gonna file share.” I mean, come on, that’s like complete BS. Honestly, for me, I’ll admit, I have downloaded illegally and when I have done that in the past, it’s just ‘cause you want the music, you know, it’s not any of the other stuff. I mean, it’s something that’s gonna be free and it’s gonna be in front of your face and most of the time, people will just take it. So, I don’t think it’s the people’s fault out here who want music; it’s the fault of the government and the regulations that aren’t being pushed appropriately on the internet.
For example, when we released Dream Talk, The Tones album, that released and it was at the top 50 of iTunes downloading, and then, a couple days later, all these blogs started showing up with the illegal download links for the albums and, in the dashboard you could see that the sales just plummeted. Right on that day, they just plummeted. And these kids, they’re hungry, and they’ve got mouths to feed, they’re trying to do music full time, so it really makes it tough. Of course we’ve got a team working on it on the security side, but it would definitely help, if and when these government regulations come into place that it kinda polices the activity out there, because, contrary to popular belief, artists do really get hurt by that. Maybe not a Kanye West, for example, but independent artists definitely don’t get to see that kind of return.
I think in that sense, I guess I could see the other side of the argument that, yeah, people have discovered a lot of great music through that as well. When I went to tour in Poland, I had people come up to me, and was like, “yeah, I’m sorry, we all downloaded your music illegally, but there’s no other way we can get it, we’re poor,” and all this stuff. Whether it’s true or not, they were there at the show and I see both sides. So, I think, back when albums were being sold for 10 dollars at Warehouse or whatever and there was nowhere else you could find that, I think a lot of people found out about those albums. I mean, when Nas or whatever came out in the 90’s to Berkeley, that show was packed, and it’s not because people got free music necessarily, it was just ‘cause they heard it on the radio and then they went and supported it and they got real’ into it, ‘cause really there was no real file sharing then. So, I think even with clamping down on illegal file sharing, things can still be really good, but we’ll have to see. We’ll have to see what happens; I really can’t predict it.
AC: Have you seen more of your revenues and artists from iTunes sales or from hardcopy CDs and shows
KO: I would say, probably from iTunes sales. CD sales have just dropped, like, pretty crazy. Though we still get a lot, you know, but it’s a lot slower.
AC: Have you started working on new songs already?
KO: No, I haven’t. I mean, I’ve been working on some remix projects, like I said, with the Korean group Epik High. I’m also mustering up some ideas on another project, but I haven’t actually started working on anything. I always like to release something and kinda reset and kinda figure out what I wanna do.
AC: So what’s up next for the Plug Label?
KO: Well obviously this album we’re gonna promote. We’re still promoting the Dream Talk album. I got a project comin’ up with this guy Green Tea, he does kinda like hip hop, kinda house beats. And then we got DJ King Most, who’s releasing a hip hop album with a bunch of guests. We’re gonna try to keep busy and really take it to that level of being an established label.
AC: How’d you connect with The Tones?
KO: Well The Tones, I actually heard about them on Myspace a while ago. I forget exactly how it happened, but we started chatting and then they had a couple tracks together, but not a full album. I liked what I heard; I mean, I knew that they had something special in terms of their sound, and so after a few chats, I signed ‘em and they basically simply got a full album together and then we went from there. And then we released that album in December!
AC: Yeah, that album’s good. It’s really good.
KO: Thanks. Yeah, I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. It’s interesting because I knew that, it’s definitely a good sound, I just didn’t know how impactful it would be in the hip hop community, ‘cause I guess a lot of people in the hip hop community really wanted to hear something like that. So, yeah, it’s pretty cool that they’ve been received that way.
AC: I think as pop hip hop goes further south in terms of quality, I think there’s gonna be even more of a backlash going the other way to find quality hip hop. Do you want Plug Label to be your side thing, and you’re doing music? Or do you envision Plug Label getting to a place where it’s up there with Stones Throw or Rhymesayers, or do you want to keep it small?
KO: I’d say I want to keep it small in the sense that everything that we put out is still hand-picked and not just to throw it out there, you know, to have a full release schedule. If we have to wait six months for a good album, then we’ll wait six months before we release it. I just feel like the more and more that we add to a catalogue and the more and more I compromise the vision of it musically, I feel like that’s where I’m gonna start losing interest in the label, and others will probably start losing interest because really, the problem I see right now is there’s too much information out there, you know, too much music, and I really wanna be able to kinda like consolidate that to people. That’s my vision, you know. So we’ll see what happens.

July’s iPod update was an extremely diverse one, not just for the artists, but for the songs themselves. Taking a new tact, I made July an all mash-up month, checking out some of the ways in which DJs have started taking on the mix and match genre full-throttle. While Danger Mouse helped pioneer it with the Grey Album and AmpLive took it another step with his remixes of Radiohead’s In Rainbows, the mash-up culture is far past those now. But while there is much to be said for the style of Girl Talk where there are more layers than you can reasonably dissect in a listening, I find the club mash-ups utilizing 2 to 3 songs to be a most effective use of the genre. The best news? As all of these are off the grid, they’re all available for download, so follow the links to check the music out for yourself. July’s iPod update included 118 songs.

50 Cent vs. The 50s, DJ Doc Rok: Currently residing in Washington, D.C., DJ Doc Rok’s (djdocrok@gmail.com) work is among the strongest of all artists I heard this month. What’s more is that while he does have a collection of odd mash-ups and various artists, he also sets out to create complete albums of one to two artists. On this album, Rok focuses on all lyrics from 50 Cent songs and combines them with Golden Oldie hits from the R&B and Pop genres. The result? 50 Cent party songs with a touch of flair, moved out of the straight club motif that dominates so many of his songs and saturated with style and soul. Using songs like Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” The Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and Booker T. and the MG’s “Green Onions,” Rok flips the 50 acapellas on their head with fantastic result. Definitely my favorite download of the month. Don’t Sleep On: “Rowdy Rowdy/It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To),” “Like My Style/One Fine Day,” and “The Good Die Young/Little Susie.”

Best of 2007 (Mash-Up Your Bootz), Various Artists: If you’re looking for a comprehensive blog that provides a vast cross-section of the variety of mash-ups available online, check out Mash-up Your Bootz. They provide comprehensive year-end wrap-up mixes, links to other mash-up sites, and breaking news in the genre. I downloaded both their 2007 and 2008 Best of Mixes and wasn’t disappointed with either. Beck takes on Green Day, AC/DC meets 50 Cent and the Scissor Sisters, Peggy Lee and Iggy Pop collide and Peter Bjorn and John find their whistle backing both Bloc Party and Amy Winehouse. Some of the mashers on this mix include DJ Peaking, DJ Le Clown, CheekyBoy, DJ Lobsterdust, and Party Ben. Perhaps the most pleasant track is by Norwegian Recycling who put together a very simple acoustic mash-up called “How Six Songs Collide” featuring Jason Mraz, Howie Day, Five For Fighting, Angela Ammons, Boyzone, and 3 Doors Down. This one is mirrored nicely with the eerie and melancholy mash of Placebo, Kate Bush and the Pet Shop Boys called, “Love Comes Running Up That Hill Quickly.” Don’t Sleep On: “Young Folks Rehab” by DJ Topcat (Amy Winehouse’s v. Peter Bjorn and John), “Love Comes Running Up That Hill Quickly” by DJ Magnet (Pet Shop Boys v. Placebo v. Kate Bush) and “Break Through Love” by DJ Zebra (The Doors v. Led Zeppelin)

Best of 2008 (Mash-Up Your Bootz), Various Artists: The 2008 mix picks up where 2007 left off and offers an impressive array of very different artists finding their songs blended with people of opposite genres. The album kicks off with Bryan Adams going head to head with Metallica, James Brown duels The Offspring, and Rage Against the Machine gets thrown together with AC/DC, Joan Jett, Queen and Red Hot Chili Peppers. To say that these songs stretch the concept of mashable genres is an understatement. Contributors include Wax Audio, MadMixMustang, DJ Morgoth and Divide and Kreate. Best track has to come when DJ Schmolli brings the haunting guitar lilt of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and fills it with a slowed down Billy Idol singing “White Wedding.” The result is astounding. Don’t Sleep On: “Wicked Wedding” by DJ Schmolli (Chris Isaak v. Billy Idol v. HIM) “The Low Anthem” by Bass 211 (Flo Rida v. Pitbull) and “Dance Dreams” by Divide and Kreate (Eurythmics v. Lady Gaga)

Michael Jackson: With the unfortunate and untimely death of Michael Jackson last month, I decided to go back and flesh out my Jackson music collection. Sure, I had Thriller and parts of Bad, but I was still missing a large chunk of music from the Jackson 5 days as well as the tracks he did as part of The Jacksons. In all of these outings, Michael’s voice is distinct and easy to pick out, and his energy serves to carry most of the songs. So if you’re looking for some tracks you may not have heard, Don’t Sleep On: “Too Late to Change the Time,” (Jackson 5) “State of Shock,” (The Jacksons) “Another Part of Me” (Michael Jackson)

Jay-Z vs. Led Zeppelin, DJ Doc Rok: By taking the lyrics from Jay-Z’s soundtrack to American Gangster and mashing them with various Led Zeppelin songs, Doc Rok succeeds again in creating an album that can stand on its own. Darker and more subdued than the 50 Cent album, this outing utilizes Zeppelin songs like “Immigrant,” “No Quarter,” “Tangerine,” and “Kashmir.” The result is a new way to think of Jay-Z, liberated from much of the standard hip-hop and rap tracks he’s been tied to, the guitars and gritty classic Rock from Led Zeppelin provide a new canvas which comes off fresh. Don’t Sleep On: “Success/Moby Dick,” “Party Life/I’m Gonna Leave You,” “No Hook/Tangerine”

Party Vol. 25 (Mash-Up Your Bootz), Various Artists: Where the 2007 and 2008 span every genre, what you find most on this party album are mashes primarily utilizing hip-hop, dance and rock. DJ Lobsterdust brings The Police and Coldplay together while DJ BC brings together George Harrison, L’il Kim and Notorious B.I.G. The nice part of this album is that all of it is danceable and will appeal to most anyone on the dance floor. When Gloria Gaynor and Fall Out Boy meet each other at the hands of Mighty Mike, just about anything is possible. Don’t Sleep On: “Get the Day ‘n’Night Started” by Pheugoo (Pink v. Kid Cudi), “Beautiful Journey” by DJ MashUP (Journey v. Akon) and “Lady and the Usher” by Divide and Kreate (Usher v. Ladyhawke)

Over the last several months, MixMatchMusic has been busy working on a short film for South By Southwest, titled “Remix…A New Way to Engage Fans”. Well, we’re happy to announce that the film is now live and you are invited to see how artists and fans are turning to remixing to connect and interact with fans in a music 2.0 world.

Emerging hip hop artists, the Bayliens, are poster children for a music 2.0 world that is nearly as much about connecting with fans off stage as it is entertaining them onstage.  This film shows how they’re connecting with fans at an almost molecular level, by offering them the musical building blocks of their songs and encouraging them to remix them into new sounds and new songs. The film also features insights from AmpLive (of Zion I) and Trifonic on the power of artist-fan collaboration.

Musicians are navigating a dramatically changed music business landscape.  More than ever, they have to engage and involve casual listeners in order to build deep and lasting relationships with them.  The group behind the video, MixMatchMusic (aka, the dudes writing this post), is focused on helping musicians make those connections and deepening the bonds that link them with fans.

If you haven’t heard yet, there is a phenomenon happening right now that warrants your immediate attention. King of the West Coast, Snoop Dogg, has teamed up with San Diego’s genre-bending Slightly Stoopid for a mind blowing collaboration. They’ve thrown modern reggae great (and son of Bob), Stephen Marley, and seedy pop newcomer, Mickey Avalon, into the mix too. What we have here folks is the Blazed and Confused Tour (don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook). Here’s a little sneak peek:

Rick Florino of Artist Direct notes that at the Irvine show “Snoop closed off a fantastic set chanting ‘Peace and Love.’ There was something very ‘Woodstock’ about the whole set… There’s no segregation at a Snoop Dogg show and he delivers something for everybody. What’s more rock n’ roll than that?”

Each of these artists/groups has a unique sound and message, and yet their vibe and mindset is one and the same. Bob probably summed it up best with “One Love.”

As part of the tour, Slightly Stoopid is hosting a remix contest for their song 2AM, a summertime reggae classic that will sooth your soul! Slightly Stoopid has loaded the stems to 2AM into MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, and now all you pro and amateur musicians (and even nonmusicians) have the chance to create your own kickass remix of the song and share it with the world.

You have two options for making a remix: you can download the stems for free and use any software you want; or you can click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how 2AM was made, check out the MixMaker! Either way, make sure to you upload your remix to the widget so that others can listen to, vote on, and share it. The contest starts July 15, 2009 at 2:00 AM and ends August 21, 2009.

There will be ONE winner picked by Slightly Stoopid, who will receive:

A set of the new Slightly Stoopid branded headphones, an autographed Stoopid poster, 2 tickets to the next Slightly Stoopid concert in your area, a limited edition Slightly Stoopid branded glass pipe, CDs of Slightly Stoopid’s entire discography & Chronichitis vinyl, and the Slightly Stoopid Live in San Diego DVD! Also – the winning remix might be posted for streaming on Slightly Stoopid’s Website, MySpace, thesixtyone, and Facebook (subject to Slightly Stoopid’s approval). Not bad, eh?

To get your creative juices flowing, here’s the official video for 2 a.m. Roll yourself a blunt and have a look and a listen. Then, enter the Blazed and Confused at 2AM Remix Contest here.

Summer months are traditionally good ones for mega pop hits to patrol the radio airwaves, washing out last year’s music and replacing it with something fresh to dance to in the warm weather. May saw some of that, with the new Eminem album, Passion Pit and the Kid Cudi mixtapes. But as June comes to an end and we look towards July, it appears that more of that trend will be upon us shortly. While June’s iPod update didn’t match May’s in quantity, it had everything it needed in terms of quality. 67 songs, over 10 artists, multiple genres. Enjoy!

Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.: After “Boom Boom Pow” came out, the Black Eyed Peas ran it into the ground on radio stations, talk shows, award shows and clubs. In fact, as new and futuristic as the song sounded originally, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it has been thoroughly played out at this point, and that was before the album dropped. While the album title stands for “Energy Never Dies,” I’d actually argue that it stands for the end of the Black Eyed Peas as we know them. When they first hit the scene in 1998 with Behind the Front, the Peas were an unheard of group making fresh hip-hop. The songs walked that line with hints and traces of pop, but for the most part stayed true to form until they were joined by Fergie in 2003 for their Elephunk release. This addition drew them further away from hip-hop, and now, on The E.N.D., all traces of the group the Peas were are gone. Hip-Hop now forms one of the most minute sections of their music, with pop, dance and electronic taking center stage. But it’s almost too much. Will.i.Am’s production is amazing, but also fails to bring any sort of coherent thread to the album. He has no problem proving he can do these various genres and mimic them well, but there seems to be no ability to integrate them into an album that makes sense together. For the most part, I wasn’t a fan as the album just tries to do more than it can, but “Meet Me Halfway,” utilizing a fantastic dance beat and actually showcasing Fergie sounding like a vintage Madonna, is a bit of 80s meets 2009 fantastica. Don’t Sleep On: “Rockin’ The Beat,” “One Tribe,” and “Meet Me Halfway.”

Camp Lo, Stone and Rob Caught on Tape: Camp Lo has had a rough time of it. After their 1997 release, Uptown Saturday Night, the possibilities for Camp Lo appeared limitless. Their flow was good, the beats were steady, and the retro 70s feel of their songs put them in a niche market of hip-hop of their own. The popularity was growing on college campuses, and then, nothing. While they’ve had a few releases since, they were sporadic and failed to capture the attention of listeners. They’ve now returned on a new label with Stone and Rob Caught on Tape, and the sound they bring with them is far different from what listeners of Uptown would expect. The beats are more current and the duo takes on a bit of a harder edge in comparison to the milky flow they used to use. While the long hiatus could have killed the style, Camp Lo has come out on this one slightly changed, but not showing the kind of disconnect from previous music that Black Eyed Peas have. Don’t Sleep On: “Diamond Crookz,” “Gotcha,” and “Ticket 4 2.”

k-os, Yes!: When the album begins with “Zambony,” k-os’s intent is clear. A female voice asks, “Do you have any idea of the chaos you have caused around here? Nobody knows what you’re doing!” To which a man responds, “That’s exactly the way I like it!” And if his musical career is any example, the anonymity, chaos and ability to make whatever music he wants is exactly what he wants. There are a lot of great unknown acts out there, but I don’t think there’s a single one with the kind of track record combined with anonymity that k-os has. For those that haven’t heard, k-os is from Trinidad by way of Canada, turned to vegetarianism by age 8 and was raised by parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. More importantly though, he’s released 4 studio albums, all fantastic, spanning numerous genres and styles, and yet he’s still not well known. In fact, he’s not even talked about. Funk, reggae, hip-hop, rock, dance, and R&B all play roles in his music, and Yes! finds him utilizing all of these styles to full and complete advantage. Through Exit, Joyful Rebellion, Atlantis – Hymns for Disco and now Yes! k-os never sells his style short, but doesn’t hesitate to use the things he enjoys. There’s auto-tune here, but not in the over-saturated style of so many artists, merely as a nod and inclusion of a new sound. What’s more is that the album is bundled with remixes of every song by various artists, offering two very distinct musical takes on every track. If you haven’t heard k-os yet, now’s the time. Don’t Sleep On: “Zambony,” “Burning Bridges,” and “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman.”

Mos Def, The Ecstatic: It’s easy to forget, between the television appearances, the movie roles and his hosting duties that Mos Def has more roots in the music industry than anywhere else. However, he has yet to equal the early success he had on this front since he turned more attention to his screen endeavors. The Ecstatic finds Mos back in hip-hop after a nearly 3 year hiatus following his final record under contract for Geffen Records. And the break has seemed to help. This album seems a bit more grounded in the hip-hop that brought Mos Def to the masses, and less hooked on some of the musical diversions he’s entertained himself with lately. However, the distraction of film and television is evident here. The album seeks to do so much musically that it feels as if Mos is trying to make a CD that will fit in every genre of film or theatre he’s participated in. The result is a mish-mash of sounds that detract from his greatest strength: rapper and crafter of words. On the tracks here where Mos stays focused on the genre, the results are excellent, but in too many cases, he’s trying to bite off more than he can chew, making the album sound almost like a disjointed soundtrack to a movie rather than a full length album from a hip-hop artist three years in the making. While it’s a solid outing, and certainly closer to the mark than True Magic and The New Danger, it still fails to hit on all cylinders like Black on Both Sides. While I think it’s great that Mos Def wants to explore acting and other outlets in addition to hip-hop, his music is at its strongest when he leaves the theatrics out and concentrates on the microphone. Don’t Sleep On: “Quiet Dog,” “History (feat. Talib Kweli)” and “Priority.”

Throw Me the Statue, Creaturesque: Well, I can’t talk about this one yet because it’s not out. But I will say that I’ve heard it and I’m excited to tell y’all about it as soon as I’m allowed to review it.

White Rabbits, It’s Frightening: On the second album from this New York based Indie Rock band by way of Missouri, the sounds are crisp in comparison to the rest of the Indie scene, eschewing fuzz and static for cleaner lines and thumping drums. The guitar sounds here are clear, whether being used for gentle picking in “The Salesman (Tramp Life)” or to carry melody on the Badly Drawn Boy reminiscent “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong.” The band sounds tight here, with consistent vocals, solid bass backing and drums that drive the songs from start to finish, all nicely sprinkled with piano. For those that like Indie Rock but are a bit tired of the lo-fi, static saturated recordings that have become the norm in the genre, the White Rabbits should provide a nice change of pace. Don’t Sleep On: “Percussion Gun,” “Rudie Fails,” and “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong.”

For a notable single this month, check out 9:15’s “Just Above My Head.” Fantastic.

“The artist’s challenge is to convert casual fans into loyal fans, and loyal fans into paying customers,” said Charles Feinn, CEO and co-founder of music technology innovator MixMatchMusic. “Getting your music discovered just isn’t enough. Musicians have to engage and involve casual listeners in order to build deep and lasting connections with them, and to convert them to loyal fans. These connections are what drive sales of the concert tickets, band merchandise and CDs artists need to pay the rent and put gas in the van.”

According to Feinn and many other music industry observers, record labels play a smaller and smaller role in breaking new bands or even promoting signed bands. Record stores are disappearing and radio is less and less of a factor in promoting new music. And it’s hard for a new band to breakthrough amongst the millions of songs in the iTunes Store. It’s also true that music fans have changed, acclimated to the read/write web and the social interaction that comes with it, and looking for the same experience with music and the artists who create it.

“While the business part of the traditional music business is breaking down, music is alive and well and there is more music than ever,” said Feinn. “We’re on a mission to help keep music alive, and we’re doing so by helping artists forge deeper and more meaningful connections with fans.”

Feinn said a growing number of artists are turning to new Internet-based initiatives, such as the remix promotions pioneered by Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead, to help them engage with and connect with music fans.

“Involving fans in the creative process by encouraging them to remix and mash up a new song from the musical building blocks provided by the artist, is catching on as one of the best ways to make the artist – fan connection stronger,” he said.

Feinn said that more than 60 artists have launched remix promotions based on MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, a simple-to-use widget that any fan with a broadband connection can use. Artists including Pepper and Zion I have loaded the building blocks of songs – the guitar, bass, keys, drums and other elements called stems, into customized versions of MixMatchMusic’s widget, and invited fans to remix the stems to create new sounds and songs with them. He said the company’s site has received more than half a million impressions since the beginning of the year, and more than 80 thousand plays of fan-created remixes.

Feinn said the Remix Wizard is a fan-friendly approach to the more complex remix technologies employed by Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. Bands such as Pepper feature remixes submitted by fans on their sites and MySpace pages, and some artists even promise to incorporate especially imaginative fan-created interpretations of their music in future albums.

Feinn said the Remix Wizard is the first in a series of artist and fan friendly technologies from MixMatchMusic designed to forge even stronger and deeper connections.

“Music has the power to bring people together,” said Feinn. “It’s exciting and also humbling to know we’re playing a small part in making those connections happen, through our technology-based products and services that help musicians convert casual music fans into loyal fans, and loyal fans into paying customers.”

But that’s not all. He was a driving force behind Handsome Boy Modeling School, a hip-hop collaboration with Prince Paul that included guests such as Sean Lennon, Mike D of the Beastie Boys and Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto. He served as the producer for Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon) and DJ Qbert’s well-known album, Dr. Octagonecologyst. Add to that his credit as the main man behind Lovage, a collaboration between Kid Koala, Mike Patton of Faith No More and Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields, and his full on production of Del the Funky Homosapien’s revolutionary concept album Deltron 3030 and you have one well established producer who has worked with some very big names.

Feeling left out because you haven’t gotten to collaborate with Dan the Automator? Fret not. For all you musicians and aspiring musicians, Dan the Automator has launched a remix contest for his 2009 remake of the Sugar Hill Gang’s hip-hop classic “Rapper’s Delight.” The new version features Domino and Casual (Hieroglyphics) and Charli 2Na from Jurassic 5. Simple to use from MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, just download the stems to your computer and mix away. If you don’t have spiffy mixing software, worry not, as the Wizard allows you to remix on any computer through the web. The catch? The contest ends on Sunday the 14th, so you better get scratching!

Dan the Automator’s song here.

Remix Wizard for the contest here.

Reggae rock artist, Mojo Morgan, son of the legendary reggae artist Denroy Morgan, and member of Morgan Heritage, recently released his debut solo album, “got Mojo?“, on Gedion Soldiers/Keynote Records. Dub and Reggae calls it an “alternative rasta rock album infused with heavy reggae, hip hop, and R&B flavors” but also notes a “heavy dose of rock and soul to keep audiences grooving”. A big thank you to Giant Step for introducing us to this dynamic artist!

[N.B. If you google Mojo Morgan, you may notice that he could be easily confused with Tony "Mojo" Morgan, also referred to as The Hoochie Coochie Man. NOT the same dude.]

Among other accolades, Mojo was a featured artist for the Nike Women promo campaign. They used his track, “Tonight.”

Like it? Well, guess what? You can now remix that very track, “Tonight,” here! (Or look for the Remix Wizard on his MySpace page.) For remixing, you have two options: you can either download the stems for free and make a mix on your music software of choice, or you can make a mix online using the MixMaker. Either way, be sure to publish your remix to the widget for others to listen to, vote on, and share. Submit your remix by June 15, 2009 and you’re in the running to get an all expense paid trip to meet and hang out with Mojo Morgan at his next concert, and to have your remix featured on Mojo’s Myspace page and other site.

Here’s a little more Mojo to get your creative juices flowing:

Are you a fan yet? Why not make it official? Become a fan of Mojo Morgan on Facebook.

Today, we’re happy to announce that MixMatchMusic has achieved an important milestone in the adoption of its Remix Wizard with more than 50 bands hosting fan engagement promotions since October! Artists including Pepper, Zion I, Camp Lo, and Julien-K are among the bands using the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard to power remix contests for their fans. Each of the bands have loaded guitar, bass, keys, drums and/or other music stems into personalized versions of the Remix Wizard, and invited their fans to remix, mash up and create new sounds with them.

Pepper and Zion I recently wrapped up contests for fans to remix popular tracks from their respective newly released albums. The response was tremendous, with Pepper receiving 50 remixes, 2,000 votes and 22,000 plays of Freeze. Zion I’s contest around its track “DJ DJ” received 35 remixes, 1,900 votes and close to 11,000 plays.

“The response way exceeded our expectations and it was super gratifying seeing all these fans putting their own flavor on our song… one guy even paid to ‘liven’ a sample from another band and use it in his version,” said drummist/ vocalist Yesod Williams of the band, Pepper. “Getting the fans as involved as possible was the goal and we accomplished that tenfold with MixMatchMusic!”

MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard is a solution for the masses. By comparison the remix promotions pioneered by seminal bands, Radiohead and NIN, were limited to the relative handful of fans with Digital Audio Workstation software. The Remix Wizard is available to every band with a song and every fan with a browser and broadband connection.

“The chance to remix Zion I’s track ‘DJ DJ’ was an opportunity for me to show off my producing chops to the Zion I crew, Amplive and Zumbi, and to my own fans,” said artist/producer Stinj-e. “Remixing tracks from bands I admire gives me a different level of interaction with their music than if I’m catching Zion I at one of their live shows. It lets me tap into my creativity.”

To get your remix on, or to listen to all the remixes that have been made, check out the Remix Wizard gallery.

MixMatchMusic, in connection with Modern Beat Digital Records, Symphonic Distribution and Prime Loops, is proud to bring you the “Digital Dreams” remix competition. Remix this synth-house gem by June 30 and you’re in the running for a sound suite from Prime Loops and to have your remix released on Modern Beat Digital’s forthcoming release of the Modern Beat Orchestra’s Digital Dreams.

“We thought Digital Dreams by the Modern Beat Orchestra would be a fantastic track to feature for a remix competition,” said David Edward Jensen, president of Modern Beat Digital. “Between the spoken lyrics, female chant vocals and big basslines, the elements are there to make for some great remixes. We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.”

Modern Beat Digital is an independent record label based out of Asheville, North Carolina that focuses on providing top-quality dance music to the public by utilizing digital media downloads and a selection of file formats. Their mission is to release only the best in electronic dance music. They do this by combining excellent producers and artists with a dedicated marketing, promotion and distribution team. Modern Beat Digital is a subsidiary of Modern Beat Productions and recently partnered with Symphonic Distribution to offer digital distribution of their catalogue in all major online music retailers.

To participate in the remix compeition, check out the Digital Dreams Remix Wizard and start creating! You can either purchase the high quality stems for $12 or make your mix for free using the online MixMaker. Either way, be sure to publish your remix to the widget for others to enjoy. Now, get busy.

Pepper has been a very busy band lately. In between being on tour with Pennywise and releasing their new live album, Kona Gold (on Law Records), they’ve been reviewing the 50 remixes that were made for their “Freeze” Remix Contest. Well, the results are in and Pepper has picked the winners. Big ups to IceHouseIndustries, Brendan Dane, and Santiago for their superb remixing skills!

IceHouseIndustries is the grand-prize winner, and will get to hang out with Pepper at their next show in sunny socal. He will also receive a copy of AmpliTube Fender and the T-RackS 3 Deluxe Mastering Suite from IK Multimedia. If you haven’t heard his remix, it’s a sophisticated blend of soulful and laid back sounds tied together with a driving electronic groove. His remix was definitely our favorite, and you can listen to it here. IceHouseIndustries is a very prolific remixer, and has a vast catalogue of remixes for you to enjoy on his website.

The 1st runner up prize goes to Santiago, who threw a fat hip-hop beat over Freeze and turned it into a warm hip-hop jam that he rapped and sang over. Check out his remix here. The 2nd runner up prize goes to Brendan Dane, who cranked up the dub effect in his layered and trippy Freeze n’Dub remix. While the contest is over, you can to listen to all of the remixes, whenever the mood strikes, in the MixMatchMusic gallery.

Hoyo was awarded the grand prize for his remix, which showcased a dirty electro twist to the song. Check it out here. The first runner up was Orby Spectre, who brought the funk with his remix. And, Indecent the Slapmaster was awarded the 2nd runner up prize, and gets Evolving Music’s nod for the most creative name for a remix: “DJ DJ Slapped and Slumped“.

All in all, Zion I fans had the best remixing chops that we’ve seen so far! You can listen to all the remixes, whenever you please, on Zion I’s Remix Wizard.

The finalists , who hail from 30 countries, six continents, and play 26 different instruments, played last night at Carnegie Hall. See Act One below:

There is now a new answer to the question “how do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Upload, upload, upload. Despite the short amount of rehearsal time, the group was was placed among the 10 most inspiring orchestras and praised for “for democratising classical music on a global scale, making it truly all-inclusive.”

If the phrase “Death to Analog” rings a bell, it’s probably because February 17th of this year brought in the death of analog television. It’s also the name of the debut album of Julien-K, which was originally set to be released that same day (but was instead released on March 10th). Check out this great album review for more details.

Julien-K began as a side project for Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck from Orgy, and now includes Anthony Valcic, Brandon Belsky, Chester Bennington (of Linkin Park), and Elias Andra. According to myspace, they are “a remixing and production team, as well as two live bands – Julien-K and Dead by Sunrise”.

Check out their provocative “Kick The Bass” music video, “a hypnotic cornicopia of bondage, masochism, and cannibalism“, which was released on 2/27/09 (the original album release date) on playboy.com’s cyberclub.

Good stuff right? Now you can throw your own style into the pot. Remix “Kick the Bass” here. The winning remix will be featured and available for download on JulienK.com and JulienK’s MySpace, and the winner will receive a signed guitar from Julien-K!

Have you heard the driving electronic sounds of the band Delphic? If not, add them to your list of music to check out. Their band name was enough to pique my interest. Why the Greek reference? Why ambiguous or obscure? Why did they pick it…?

Then you hear their music and the intrigue grows. At times paying homage to fellow countrymen and musical pioneers, New Order, or other greats, and at times creating an experience completely their own, Delphic is poised to make some serious noise in the musical landscape of 2009. So, it seems, say the oracles of the dancefloor.

Also, the “forward-thinking, indie-rave” sound of the “best new band in Manchester” is now yours to remix! Yep, they’ve got a Remix Wizard for you to play with, so get to it. Check out the remixes done so far and/or make your own here!

The young band is releasing their single “Counterpoint” on Belgium’s R&S label. Though fairly new to the scene, they are already opening for the likes of Bloc Party and The Streets. Not bad for a band still in their musical diapers. Check out the “Counterpoint” video, which was produced by Ewan Pearson, who will be working with the Delphic boys on their debut album.

March has brought me some fantastic new cuts, and several blasts from the past that I hadn’t heard before, making them new to me. I will say that I downloaded The Jackson’s “Blame it On the Boogie” which is simply sublime. But through 56 new songs, including an album that won’t be released until next month, March was good for music. I’m almost sad to see it end, until I remember that once it does, I get to start all over again with April…

Dessa, False Hopes: Released in 2005, False Hopes is a 5 song EP from Dessa (@dessadarling) of Doomtree. Why write about a 2005 release as “new music?” Well, have you given this EP a listen yet? While short in length, this EP is huge on style and poignant, introspective lyrics against musically gripping backdrops. “551″ looks at an addictive and damaging relationship over a dark beat laced with piano. Throughout the album, Dessa mixes her vocal talent with her rapping and slam poetry background to great effect. “Mineshaft” utilizes an urgent string backing and heavy drum beat to accentuate the sense of loss in the song. Many of the lyrics focus on a central theme of personal loss (“The list of things I used to be is longer than the list of things I am,” “I lost an octave to the Camel Lights”) and they’re delivered with such intensity that her personal experiences become visceral for the listener. “Kites” delivers an eerie underwater feeling that brings to mind the melancholy feeling I first heard on listening to Atmosphere’s “God’s Bathroom Floor.” Through just 5 solo songs and her contributions to Doomtree, Dessa rivals P.O.S. in her passion and creativity on this album, and one can only hope that her poetry, lyrics and music gain the public recognition that they deserve. Don’t Sleep On: “Mineshaft,” “551,” “Kites.”

Kero One, Early Believers: This man does it all out of his self-run label, Plug, in the Bay Area. DIY in every sense of the word, Kero One plays his own instruments, makes his own beats, writes his own lyrics, produces and mixes his own songs and then created a label to self-distribute. For the full review of his sophomore release, Early Believers, set to drop April 7th, click here. Don’t Sleep On: “This Life Ain’t Mine,” “Welcome to the Bay,” and “On and On.”

N.A.S.A., The Spirit of Apollo: The idea behind this collaboration album is bringing North American hip-hop together with South American beats and influences to create a cultural mash-up album with global appeal. And for the most part, the odd pairings of guest artists along with the sample heavy and culturally defiant music does the trick. As hip-hop laced with world music continues to gain traction on radio airwaves and popularity among listeners, it comes as no surprise that artists with a broad fan base such as Kanye West, Tom Waits and George Clinton were willing to contribute. Other international artists got in on the act too, with Santogold, Lykke Li and Seu Jorge joining the fray.

If there’s one drawback to this album, it’s that some of the songs come off as too packaged, relying more on the featured names than on the music itself. “Spacious Thoughts” featuring Tom Waits and Kool Keith is interesting, but forces too much of a juxtaposition between the rapper and the singer, leaving the transition from verse to chorus feeling fractured. If you’re into heavy, crunchy dance tracks, “Whachadoin?” feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold and Nick Zinner is dense with bass and electronic flourishes, but a bit repetitive. Of course, where the songs are on, they’re on. DJ Qbert and Del tha Funkee Homosapien rip “Samba Soul,” the beat perfectly capturing Del’s sense of pace and timing, and “Gifted,” the track with Kanye, Lykke Li and Santogold has almost instant club appeal with grimy effects offset by a starry and airy video game tone sequence in the background. For the most part, N.A.S.A. plays like a who’s who of guest stars where the sum total of the music falls short of the artists involved, but on a handful of songs, the desire for North to meet South in interesting ways comes through. Don’t Sleep On: “Samba Soul” featuring Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and DJ Qbert, “Money” featuring David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge and Z-Trip, and “Gifted” featuring Kanye West, Lykke Li and Santogold.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: After a 2007 EP release, PoBP@H released this debut self-titled effort in February on Slumberland records. The initial offering finds the group exploring the various genres of Indie Rock, Shoegaze and Sugar Punk and the spaces between them. The band utilizes a variety of sounds to evoke different moods, not shying away from using both electric and acoustic guitars depending on the song, and descending into lo-fi static where necessary. The lyrics seem less important to the songs than the contribution the singing melody lends the tunes and the drums remain consistent throughout to lend the backbone to a group that alternates between sulking and exulting. In some places, 80’s influences sneak through, “The Tenure Itch” being a song that could have easily made the Donnie Darko soundtrack. But whether they’re soft or hard, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart remain effusive in their energy, bringing a sense of urgency and drive to every song that keeps the album moving. Don’t Sleep On: “Stay Alive,” “This Love is F*****g Right!” and “A Teenager in Love.”

Indiefeed Hip-Hop: Dirt E. Dutch from Indiefeed (@dutchman) brought out some more stellar cuts this month, but one of my favorite, Dutch’s “Welcome to the World Kayla Vivien!” is a smooth and mellow instrumental affair to celebrate the birth of his daughter that was actually put out in February. Finale’s Black Milk remixed track “One Man Show” moves with low-end bass touches and high-end electronic agility while B Real’s “Don’t You Dare Laugh” uses an interesting interpolation of Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner.” All in all, a positive showing this month.

The next few months are looking solid for new music releases, so keep it tuned.