Archive for September, 2008

Pink For October

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This website is desperate for a makeover. Since its first incarnation as a “quick fix blog” back in 2005, I’ve always intended to give the website some full attention in an attempt to both prove my worth as a web developer as well as convince the visitors its not just another WordPress installation.

When I remembered we were fast approaching the Pink For October campaign - a month completely devoted to promoting the Breast Cancer Awareness initiative - I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to have another “quick refresh” with an added incentive of delivering a more organised and appealing redesign for November 2008.

I’m not promising huge changes but it will certainly break out of the typical installation which concentrates on the reverse chronological blog content, dismissing the core content to a lower level. There may also be some drastic design decisons, hopefully turning a few heads in the process. Who knows?

In the mean time, you can make do with this garishly pink reskin as an attempt to raise the profile of breast cancer awareness and hope you can either donate some time or money to the cause during October.

You can donate by sending your contributions to one of the many endorsed breast cancer awareness charities or even by simply clicking a few links on The Breast Cancer Awareness Site.

The Breast Cancer Site

I’ll add some new links to this post throughout October to make donating easier.

Written by Si

September 30th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

Posted in Charity, Website

Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Finding New House Music

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I’ve recently been asked on several occassions how I keep up-to-date on the house music scene.

To be honest, there is no easy way to do it.

As a big fan of house music, I tend to listen to a lot of music anyway, so I like to hear fresh new music on a regular basis. There are certain tracks that stick around, those that I enjoy and like to hear more of but, generally speaking, my playlist tends to change monthly.

With that said, there are a certain techniques I’ve adopted over the years which helps me keep up-to-date on the latest releases around the house music scene.

Online Music Stores

There are certain online music stores that I seem to frequent more than others. These mainly consist of:

Thankfully, most of these offer RSS feeds of their latest releases too so I subscribe to the feeds in my preferred aggregator Google Reader and group them together in folder called “New Music“.

Ideally, I’d check these feeds every few days but with a demanding full-time job and family as well, it’s more realistic on a fortnightly or monthly basis. Unfortunately, the folder usually builds up to around 1,200-1,500 new releases every month so be sure to give yourself a few evenings dedicated to listening to the new material.

For those online stores that offer email newsletters, I also subscribe to those as they tend to highlight the more popular or exclusive releases moreso than their RSS counterparts.

Similarly to the RSS feeds, I automatically archive and apply the label “New Music” to these emails using automatic filters in Gmail so I can check these out periodically without them taking over my inbox.

When listening to the online samples, it’s worth adding your favourites to the store basket or wishlist feature (if available) for later. For me, this is the preliminary part of the selection process.

When I have been through all the new releases, I shall return to the list of selected favourites, listen to them again to give them some thorough attention, discarding any tunes I change my mind about.

Once I’ve refined my selection to your absolute favourites, it’s a case of purchasing the new material, downloading and listening rigorously, either through your computer, MP3 player or even burning them to CD for playing elsewhere like in the car.

Podcasts

Another method of keeping abreast of new music is to subscribe to podcasts within your favourite genre.

There are quite a few other funky house podcasters apart from One Phat DJ, most of them who can be found in the iTunes Podcast Directory.

It’s amazing how many tunes that get released every month that can pass under your radar so it’s worth edging your bets by listening to your peers’ tune selection for those tracks you’ve missed.

The beauty of this technique is that it requires minimum effort. You can listen to a podcast while doing something else, whether it’s working, exercising or just relaxing. It’s unobtrusive.

Here are some of my personal favourite podcasts that you may enjoy:

Unfortunately, the official Hed Kandi podcast seems to have died a death in the last year but, fingers crossed, they may put some effort back into that some time soon.

Compilations

Over the years, I have become quite fond of certain labels within the industry, specifically Hed Kandi, Fierce Angels and Defected.

All three labels release regular compilations (some more than others), usually filled with new material from the scene. Buy the compilations and listen to each track thoroughly (don’t even hit the skip button on the first play).

You will probably find quite a few that overlap - these are normally the tracks that are quite popular at the time with big support from other DJs and labels. Some may just be commercial tripe - some, on the other hand, are just so good, everyone wants a piece.

Socialise

This is something that requires a lot of devotion and commitment but one of the most powerful ways of keeping up-to-date with new music is to keep tabs on what your favourite artists are doing by building contacts with them.

Befriend them on social networks like Facebook or MySpace (most artists who want exposure nowadays are on MySpace already), get talking, keep in contact.

Many artists keep blogs as well nowadays. Subscribe to their blogs to see what they’ve been up to, when they’ve been in the recording studio, any PR stunts they’re involved in to promote new material.

I’ve managed to build up some quite good contacts through the podcast, mostly with DJs and producers featured. By keeping in contact with them, I have been able to hear some very early exclusives, way before they make it to public availability - I’ve even influenced some of the material that has been released by sending them early feedback!

You should now have a good idea of the selection process I go through in an effort to find new music. As you can see (and I told you at the start), its a time-consuming process that requires a lot of effort. That said, you can’t beat that proud moment you have when you find that special track before your peers and throw it into a mix or suggest it to them first.

Written by Si

September 26th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Posted in DJ Talk

Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Conventions in Tagging

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If you’re not already aware, I’m a keen user of the social bookmarking service Delicious (previously known as del.icio.us). When I’m browsing the Internet and find something of interest, be it a blog post, news article or entire website, I hit the handy bookmarklet in my browser and store it for future reference.

The other beauty of social bookmarking is the ability to share your favourite website links to both your own social network and the general public.

There are three main ways of discovering the links you bookmark on Delicious:

That final one is key to the operation of Delicious and the value it has added to the search engine industry. When Yahoo! acquired Delicious back in 2005, they realised what possibilities could come from the underlying meta data users were adding to webpage URLs. Not only was the popularity of certain webpages adding weight, the descriptive tags users were applying to their links were helping search engines know what to present to users while searching.

So this brings me back to my original point - tagging.

Example of extensive Delicious tags

I religously make an effort to tag all my bookmarks with as many useful tags as possible, mainly for my own purpose but also to aide other users in finding appropriate content with descriptive searches.

Strangely, I’ve started to realise a pattern in the sort of tags I use too. They normally fall within the following patterns:

  • the product title or name
  • topic category or categories
  • the author(s)
  • the source or referer
  • any useful adjectives and nouns

All the tags are usually normalized too, mainly because user queries are entered lowercase but also to group multi-threaded words together. For example, “The Guardian” would become “theguardian” or “Yahoo!” becomes “yahoo“. I’m not suggesting this is the best solution to a difficult issue of standardizing tagging - it’s just my preferred method.

My motivation for this post is to see how other people prefer to tag content. Are there any “standards” you adopt or are you quite relaxed about the format you use? Do you prefer alternative methods to those I’ve outlined above?

I’d be interested to get some feedback on this.

Written by Si

September 15th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

Posted in Microformats, Nerd Talk, Social

The Finalé

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This is it. No introductions are required - you all know the drill. It’s the last ever episode of the One Phat DJ Podcast, Episode 52 for September 2008 - I present to you “The Finalé”.

The Finalé artwork by Oliver Ker

Description

We start things off on a slower tangent with Wez Clarke & Maxine Hardcastle’s “Walking With A Smile“, a track from Hed Kandi’s Beach 2008 compilation. If you haven’t got the album, get it. It’s perfect not only for chillaxing on the beach but for those times when you’re lounging around at home in the evening with a drink or two.

Next up is one of my favourite producers of all time, Joey Negro, delivering two stunning productions. The first is the belting disco-infused Sunburst Band with “Fly Away” which I can’t get enough of at the moment. This is quickly followed up by Z Records milestone 100th release, “Love Hangover“, which samples the classic riff from Diana Ross‘ 1976 hit by the same name.

After this, you’re treated to Steven Stone and the uplifting vocals of Andrea Love with “Good Love” from Stereo Sushi version 13 and an appearance from one of my favourite vocalists on the house scene Georgie Porgie with “Can You Feel That Sound“.

Following this is a sweet little remix of Mariah Carey’s “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time” by DJRoman as part of the remix competition on Indaba Music - definitely my favourite among the many entries.

It’s not long before we cool things off a little with Sound Of Joy’s “Now Or Never“, a funky vocal number that is sure to get rumps shifting, then we turn things up a notch with the latest project from everyone’s favourite, Brighton’s Freemasons. They’ve snapped up the Funk Fanatics‘ “Love Is The Answer” on their Free Maison label, added their personal touch to the disco number, ready to throw it in to the limelight. I’m sure you’ll find that infectious loop will stick in your head for days!

Now it’s time to bring back those oh-so-popular commercial remixers Moto Blanco with a few tracks from their vault. First up is a track from last year’s World Aids Day campaign with Annie Lennox and a whole host of other famous ladies (including Madonna) getting the synth and strings treatment on “Sing“. This is shortly followed up with lady of the moment and sister of Beyonce, Solange Knowles and her fantastic new track “I Decided“. There are quite a few catchy remixes doing the rounds at the moment, including an impressive effort from the Freemasons, but it was Moto Blanco’s reworking that did it for me.

After Levi5 and Michelle Martinez treat us to “Third Time“, it’s time for Hed Kandi’s latest revival offering in the guise of No Halo’s “Put Your Hands On“. I can’t get enough of this track at the moment, mainly because of the sample from Johnny Corporate’s “Sunday Shoutin’“. Paul Harris, Ian Masterson, Therese and Lauren Rose have outdone themselves.

With Hed Kandi out the way, it’s time for some Audio Freak productions, starting off with Soulshaker’s remixes of Juliet Robert’s “Slow Down” and Kathy Brown’s “Sounds Of The City” then going into the Bassmonkey’s remix of Eugene’s “Falling” - three awesome examples of upbeat funky house at its finest.

Now it’s time for my favourite tune of all time on the remix with 7th Heaven. At first, I thought it was blasphemous. But after a few listens, I was convinced. It’s impossible to ignore the sheer power of Degrees of Motion and “Shine On“. You just try to not enjoy it.

From here on in, we get a little “Twisted”.

It commences with Jon Fitz’s remix of “Hesitate“, Richard Murray’s “Set Me Free” and Sasha Angel’s “Keep Shining“.

Regular vocalist Katherine Ellis makes a welcome return to the podcast featuring in McCall’s “Gotta Get Through” before Roxanne Wilde takes the mic in Milk & Sugar’s Summer anthem “No No No“.

You then get stung by the anthemic piano loops of James Dornan’s “Everythings Gonna Be Alright” and Brinsley Evan’s “That New Sound“, building you up into a real crescendo before I drop the collaboration of the season - Axwell, Bob Sinclar and Ron Carroll’s “What A Wonderful World“. While the original version is a little cheesy, the Dabruck & Klein remix oozes energy through the breakdowns and build ups.

After Out of Office’s “Insatiable“, we delve into the past with a fantastic and filthy 2008 remix of Cevin Fisher and Loleatta Holloway’s “Got Me Burning Up“. Any sensible DJ would have this tune in his box this season to ensure maximum bounce-factor in the clubs.

And why not wrap up the mix with tune of the Summer - Fred Falke’s remix of Defected’s success story that is The Montanas and DJ Roland Clark with “Music Talking” - perfect to bring the podcast to an end.

How does that do you?

Downloads

Track Listing

  1. Wez Clarke & Maxine Hardcastle - Walking With A Smile (Original) (Original)

  2. The Sunburst Band - Fly Away (Joey Negro Club Mix)

  3. Joey Negro - Love Hangover (Joey Negro Club Mix)

  4. Steven Stone ft Andrea Love - Good Love (Original Mix)

  5. Georgie Porgie - Can You Feel That Sound (Uncle Milty Soul Kiss Mix)

  6. Mariah Carey - I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time (DjRoman Atlantis Club Remix)

    • Released: TBC
    • Time: 00:29:30

  7. Sound Of Joy - Now Or Never (Pound Boys PM Vocal Mix)

  8. Funk Fanatics - Love Is The Answer (Freemasons Remix)

  9. Annie Lennox ft Madonna - Sing (Moto Blanco Club Mix)

    • Label: Sony BMG
    • Released: December 1st 2007
    • Buy from iTunes
    • Time: 00:45:45

  10. Solange Knowles - I Decided (Moto Blanco Club Mix)

  11. Levi 5Star ft Michelle Martinez - Third Time (Shave Main Mix)

  12. No Halo - Put Your Hands On (Extended Mix)

  13. Juliet Roberts - Slow Down (Soulshaker Remix)

  14. Kathy Brown - Sounds Of The City (Soulshaker Remix)

    • Released: TBC
    • Time: 01:15:35

  15. Eugene - Falling (Bassmonkeys Club Remix)

    • Released: TBC
    • Time: 01:20:50

  16. Degrees Of Motion - Shine On (7th Heaven Club Mix)

  17. Jon Fitz & Mike Anthony ft Abigail Bailey - Hestitate (Soundbridge Mix)

  18. Richard Murray & Paul Deighton ft Kaysee - Set Me Free (Original Mix)

  19. Sasha Angel ft Lara Zola - Keep Shining (Shining Star) (Lee Dagger Club Mix)

  20. McCall & Katherine Ellis - Gotta Get Through (Smax & Gold Mix)

  21. Milk & Sugar ft Roxanne Wilde - No No No (Club Mix)

  22. James Doman - Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Original Extended Mix)

  23. Brinsley Evans ft Sy Smith - That New Sound (Brookes & Bown Club Mix)

  24. Axwell & Bob Sinclar ft Ron Carroll - What A Wonderful World (Dabruck & Klein Mix)

    • Label: Positiva
    • Released: September 29th 2008
    • Exclusive!
    • Time: 02:10:00

  25. Out Of Office - Insatiable (Mecks Back To The Future Remix)

  26. Cevin Fisher ft Loleatta Holloway - You Got Me Burning Up! 2008 (Cevin’s DNA Mix)

  27. The Montanas & DJ Roland Clark - Music Talking (Fred Falke Remix)

Written by Si

September 12th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

Posted in One Phat DJ, Podcast

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