Free music on AmazonMP3

If you enter the promotional code "STUDENT3" on AmazonMP3, you'll get three dollars worth of download credits. They expire on Monday.

One last bit about the DJ Mag Top 100 poll

You can now search any DJ name and find their placement in the poll results. I'm not sure how deep this list goes, but I found guys ranked in the 7,000's.

Some thoughts on this year's DJ Mag Top 100 poll

Those DJ Mag Top 100 poll results that were leaked over the weekend were actually the real deal, as the magazine posted the exact same list on their web site today.

So what's interesting about this list?

- Dash Berlin makes his first appearance on the DJ Mag Top 100 list, debuting at the #15 slot. Again, this poll is essentially a popularity contest, but his ranking proves that he's already more popular than longtime "poppy" trance DJ's like Sean Tyas, Aly & Fila, and Daniel Kandi.

- The Swedish House Mafia's three members appear four times in the top 100. Axwell at #10, Steve Angello at #14, Sebastian Ingrosso at #16, and as the Swedish House Mafia at #23. Some people wrote the name 'Swedish House Mafia' as one entry, while I think others weren't sure if they could do that, so they listed all three members instead. If you added all these votes together, the Swedish House Mafia as a group could be in the top 10, or maybe even the #1 slot.

- Markus Schulz said that Electric Zoo was his favorite new place to play this year:

I haven't really been to a lot of new clubs this year, so can I say the Electric Zoo festival in New York? It was about time the East Coast had a proper festival. That was the most important new event in clubland.

- Arty (#78) is the guy this year who makes it onto the list for his production ability; not his mixing or DJ abilities. It happens every poll, and you can count the number of nights Arty has played this year with one hand. He was mentioned by Above & Beyond, Kyau & Albert, Super8 & Tab, Mat Zo, The Thrillseekers, and Aly & Fila as their breakout producer of the year. [What's with all those &'s? Weird.]

- Wolf + Lamb didn't make this list. The audience they cater to aren't the ones that would read a publication like DJ Mag, but their popularity is undeniable.

One of music's long-lost genres refuses to go away

There's three essential elements to any 80's action movie: a plot that doesn't make sense, ridiculous explosions caused by hand grenades, and majestic instrumental music that repeatedly blares in the background amongst the hysteria of battle.

Michael Cassette has captured that 80's action movie vibe in their debut album, Temporarity, which is now up for pre-order on Anjunadeep's web site. The Finnish production duo's brand of progressive house is a modern take on this classic soundtrack style.

As with every Anjunadeep release, new track samples will be posted up on their SoundCloud every Monday and Friday until the album's drops on November 29. If you can't wait to hear more, play the first video below starting at 5:12. Then turn the sound off for the second video and start play at :31 for some audio/visual fun.





[Image credit: Anjunadeep.com]

The other yearly DJ poll

TranceAddict, one of the most popular electronic music forums on the internet, is revealing the results of their top 250 poll today.

DJ Mag Top 100 poll results leaked

This one's been going around the internet forums lately: if you go to DJ Mag's web site and search the names of DJ's, you'll find their position listed on 2010's Top 100 poll. The official results won't be announced until Wednesday the 27th, but it looks as if the magazine is doing some early preparation to prepare their site for the unveiling.

Here's a search I did for "David Guetta", and the following popped up (click to enlarge):

Although the DJ Mag Top 100 poll is essentially a popularity contest, it does have an impact on the bookings side of the dance music industry, as names on this list will be easier sells to promoters around the world.

Below are the unofficial results by EDM-News. I'll have some commentary on Wednesday when the official results come out.

1. Armin van Buuren (non-mover)
2. David Guetta (up 1)
3. Tiesto (down 1)
4. Deadmau5 (up 2)
5. Above & Beyond (down 1)
6. Paul van Dyk (down 1)
7. Gareth Emery (up 2)
8. Markus Schulz (non-mover)
9. Ferry Corsten (down 2)
10. Axwell (up 4)

11. ATB (non-mover)
12. Sander van Doorn (down 2)
13. Infected Mushroom (down 1)
14. Steve Angello (up 6)
15. Dash Berlin (new entry)
16. Sebastian Ingrosso (up 9)
17. Laidback Luke (up 10)
18. Judge Jules (up 26)
19. Afrojack (new entry)
20. Aly & Fila (up 2)

21. Fedde Le Grand (up 8)
22. Carl Cox (down 4)
23. Swedish House Mafia (new entry)
24. Cosmic Gate (down 5)
25. Bobina (down 10)
26. Benny Benassi (non-mover)
27. Sasha (down 14)
28. Simon Patterson (up 14)
29. John Digweed (down 12)
30. Eric Prydz (up 4)

31. Richie Hawtin (down 3)
32. Andy Moor (down 17)
33. John O'Callaghan (down 9)
34. Roger Shah (down 13)
35. Kaskade (up 16)
36. Headhunterz (new entry)
37. Chuckie (up 25)
38. Bob Sinclar (down 3)
39. Avicii (new entry)
40. Kyau & Albert (down 3)

41. Feel (down 11)
42. Moonbeam (up 34)
43. Joachim Garraud (down 7)
44. Daft Punk (down 11)
45. Lange (down 14)
46. Sean Tyas (down 1)
47. Eddie Halliwell (down 6)
48. Erick Morillo (up 5)
49. James Zabiela (down 11)
50. Umek (down 11)

51. Paul Oakenfold (down 28)
52. Matt Darey (up 2)
53. Mark Knight (up 8)
54. Richard Durand (down 5)
55. Martin Solveig (down 8)
56. tyDi (down 4)
57. Hernan Cattaneo (down 25)
58. Sven Väth (down 10)
59. Astrix (down 4)
60. Super8 & Tab (up 22)

61. Andy C (up 39)
62. Myon & Shane 54 (up 29)
63. Marcel Woods (up 11)
64. Roger Sanchez (down 4)
65. Wally Lopez (down 3)
66. Mat Zo (new entry)
67. Marco V (down 17)
68. Leon Boiler (down 5)
69. Ronski Speed (non-mover)
70. Wolfgang Gartner (new entry)

71. W&W (new entry)
72. Boys Noize (down 4)
73. D-Block & S-TE-FAN (new entry)
74. Dubfire (down 28)
75. Dirty South (down 16)
76. John B (up 16)
77. Daniel Kandi (up 10)
78. Arty (new entry)
79. BT (new entry)
80. Boy George (new entry)

81. Pete The Zouk (new entry)
82. Fatboy Slim (up 12)
83. Skazi (down 2)
84. Paul Kalkbrenner (new entry)
85. Pete Tong (down 2)
86. Bloody Beetroots (new entry)
87. Arnej (new entry)
88. Joris Voorn (new entry)
89. Dada Life (new entry)
90. Noisecontrollers (new entry)

91. Showtek (new entry)
92. Laurent Wolf (down 26)
93. Claudia Cazacu (new entry)
94. Calvin Harris (new entry)
95. Luciano (down 6)
96. Marcus Schossow (down 17)
97. Sied Van Riel (down 12)
98. The Thrillseekers (down 41)
99. Justice (down 34)
100. DJ Vibe (new entry)

Hip-Hop for a change

I've never written anything on here before about hip-hop, but I wanted to mention an album which recently came out that blends elements of the genre and electronic music.

Kno, the producer of the popular underground hip-hop trio, CunninLynguists, released a solo album last week entitled Death Is Silent.

Unlike most top-40 rap material which is backed by electro-based melodies and basslines, Death Is Silent is more of an ambient/chillout hip-hop album. Some of the tracks have a definite downtempo feel to them; a refreshing departure from what we've come to expect from this genre in recent years.

Do any of these DJ's interest you?

Tiesto
Brad Miller
James Gill
Matty & Romi
Avicii
Mark Knight
Carl Cox
Boyz Noize
Rusko
CircoLoco
Paco Osuna
Crookers
Art Department
Wolf + Lamb
Lee Burridge
Danny Howells
Taimur + Fahad
Axwell
Sebastian Ingrosso
Nero
Timo Maas
Sean Tyas
M.I.K.E.

If so, check the events listing to the right [yeah, it's been a while since I updated this]. They all have shows in the NYC Metro area in the next few months.

Beatport's new podcast series

Podcast series are a double-edged sword in dance music.

On one hand, they're usually always free, and you get to hear some of the latest tunes before they're released as singles. But at the same time, most podcasts are just that- a collection of new songs thrown together in a one to two hour format with no consideration to mixing, pacing, or storytelling. And the result is a glut of "shows" that sound more like a DJ's personal monthly chart rather than a mix.

So to be different, two approaches are becoming more common:

1) Make fewer episodes of a podcast and make each mix more thought-out. Quality over quantity...

2) Add an element to your show that makes each episode different. Quite a few of the locals here have built their podcast series around this characteristic. Brad Miller's "Push The Night" series switches genres each show, DJ Eco's "The Sound of (You)th" episodes are filled with snippets from his upcoming artist album, and Wayde Rafnel's "Uplift" podcasts usually have chunks of his live sets played at various New York clubs.

Beatport has announced their own podcast series today, centered around the first point outlined above...

except it's going to cost you $9.99 a month to listen.

*facepalm*

With a membership, you also get discounts and special offers from Beatport's webstore, and benefits at live evetns. The perks at shows is the most enticing part of the deal, but it's all dependent on your geographic location. If you're a resident of Wyoming for example, or even upstate New York, you're most likely never be able to experience these.

A monthly podcast series is a good idea for an electronic brand like Beatport. But please, don't charge us for something that everyone knows should already be free. Take a page out of Resident Advisor's book and let everyone enjoy the music- that's why we're listening, right?

[Image credit: Beatport.com]

Why the pluck-synth tuning is a bit boring

I think this video speaks for itself...

Trance.nu shutting down

One of the internet's larger trance web sites, Trance.nu, announced their closure yesterday with this statement:

After 12 years, tens of millions of unique visitors, thousands of articles and million upon millions of topics it's time for trance.nu to finally be put to it's last rest. It's not an easy decision to take, but its something that has to be done to preserve the good memory that hopefully all of you have of trance.nu.

The reasoning behind this is due to the lack of time to maintain the site and that the site need a complete restart to gain its former glory. A task that unfortunately is to big to undertake within a reasonable amount of time and effort. We all sincerely wish that we could revert time but unfortunately this is the position that we're at.

Its been a fantastic ride which we're sure that no one will regret, we've released CDs, sailed the sevens seas on the trance.nu summer boat, we saw and helped djs rise, we've seen (and maybe helped) users fall in love and join each other in holy matrimony, we've spread trance to every corner of the world but more importantly we made friends, loads of good friend - friendships that will last for a lifetime.

For that we are eternally grateful and would wish to thank every single one of you, keep in mind that you made the site the success it was, not us.

We will apply a technique call sundown when shutting down the site which means that the forums have been put on read-only which the ability to log-in, sign guest books and send PMs will remain for another 2 weeks.

This is to give a users a fair chance to hook up on alternative networks and/or sites to keep in touch. When the time is up we will disable the
login-system and keep the site as an cemetery/archive for the time being.

With that, this is the end - the final chapter, the last good bye and the chance for us to tell you all which fantastic time we've had together. Thank you for everything and hopefully we'll all stay in touch one way or another.

Signed,
Tommie, Kevin and the trance.nu staff

I've got a bone to pick with the U.S. location of ASOT 500

Armin Van Buuren just blew his chance at what could have been one of the biggest gigs of his career.

Next March, his popular weekly radio show, A State of Trance, will be reaching it's 500th episode. Whether you like the show or not, you can't deny that it's one of the most powerful brand names in electronic music.

Armin has used 476 broadcasts of ASOT so far to build an empire. Each week, millions of listeners worldwide hear the latest trance and progressive tracks on his show. He uses the airtime to promote new artists from Armada Music (the trance label he co-founded), and with the show, has made himself a name that's headlined nearly every electronic music festival that exists.

But there's one place that Armin hasn't played, and neither has anyone else in the industry. It's the one place in the United States that solidifies your position as a mainstream music artist, if you can get a booking there. And everyone who has played the venue has a story to tell about it.

That place is Madison Square Garden.

Over the summer, Armin announced that ASOT 500 would be taking place in five different continents on five different dates. When he started this show ten years ago, a few big milestones could be seen: episodes 100, 500, and 1,000, if he made it that far.

With the way his career has played out; the constant touring, production work, and the amount of time managing ASOT, I predict that Armin won't reach episode 1,000. He'd have to be in the industry for another decade for this to happen, as he's only at the halfway point now. Armin's only 34, and there are a few big names right now that have DJed into their 40's and beyond- most notably Tiesto (41), Sasha (41), Benny Benassi (43), and Paul Oakenfold (47). But I find it difficult to believe Armin won't get burnt out by the time episode 1,000 would arrive.

So that would make ASOT 500 one of the biggest gigs of his career. And the U.S. location for that event is not Madison Square Garden, but in a tent at the Ultra Music Festival in 2011.

Ultra is a huge event, but chances are the lineup Armin could be playing with are guys who have been performing at the event for years, since it hosts a lot of trance DJ's. So in reality, ASOT 500 in the US is just moving all of those guys into one tent and calling it that name. It's not the standalone event that it normally is.

Maybe Alda Events (Armin's booking agency), couldn't reach an agreement with MSG. Maybe he didn't want to spoil New Yorkers after playing two ASOT 450 shows here earlier this year. Maybe the Garden told them they don't do 9pm-5am events (which I don't recall them ever doing), so they would have to settle on a less-desired 4pm-midnight booking.

But either way, I can't see performing in a tent at Ultra being bigger than playing onstage at one of the most famous arenas in the world. Not for the visuals, the atmosphere, or the fans. And not even for Armin.

Maybe we'll have to wait a little longer for that MSG electronic dance music event. Or we can just envision what ASOT 500 could have been...