The cutting-room floor of DJ Eco's studio

DJ Eco posted a link on his Facebook fan page for "The Best Things In Life Are Free (A Walkabout Through The Deserts Of A Musical Mind)", a 16-track collection of his previously unreleased work.

The collection, which contains Trance, House, Ambient, Dubstep, and Trip-Hop tracks, can be downloaded here. Most of these tracks are pretty short as they clock in around three minutes each, but it's rare that we get to hear so much unreleased material in one place.

Tracklisting:

1. Eco - The First Time
2. Eco - People (Unreleased Version)
3. Eco - The Sky Moved Sideways
4. Eco - ??? (Thomas Sagstad's Unreleased Remix)
5. Deadrat6 - Somewhat Exactly
6. Eco - A Little Help From My Friends (A Day Before Electric Zoo)
7. Eco - Boston
8. Eco - Vodka Tonic (A Song For When The Weather Is Hot)
9. Eco - The River Is A Mirror Of The City Night Sky
10. The XX - Intro (Eco Bootleg Remix)
11. Eco - This Song Is Too Short But So Is Life, So Smile
12. Modest Mouse - Little Motel (Eco Bootleg Remix)
13. Eco - Things'll Get Better, I Promise
14. Moshic - Am I Stand On The Right Side (Eco Flew Away Bootleg)
15. White Rose Movement - Alsatian (Eco Bootleg Intro Remix)
16. Eco - End Of The World

AmazonMP3 Thanksgiving promotional offer

Enter the code GET3MP3S at this link to earn $3.00 in AmazonMP3 song credits.

District 36 finally opens its doors

After months of delays from permit registrations and building clearances, District 36 finally opened its doors for business last night. The new nightclub is known for its four huge speaker stacks and an elevated DJ booth that places an emphasis on the dancefloor; not watching a DJ spin.

The midtown techno/house spot, located on 36th street, is being booked with the help of Blk|Market Membership, a New York underground promoting group known for its Brooklyn-based warehouse events.

[Image credit: Resident Advisor]

An insight into the next iTunes?

Absolutepunk, an alternative music news web site, recently posted an interview with Bandcamp founder Ethan Diamond.

Bandcamp is an emerging digital music distribution service that offers several features that iTunes and AmazonMP3 do not, most notably:

- Full track previews for all songs.
- The ability for a consumer to set their own price for music downloads.
- The option to download files in MP3, FLAC, OGG, ACC, or Apple Lossless formats.

I bought my first album from Bandcamp two weeks ago; Benn Jordan's Pale Blue Dot, and the payment experience was seamless through PayPal.

Not many electronic artists have embraced Bandcamp for their digital sales, but it's definitely a service to keep an eye out for in the future.

Weekly shows update

New shows have been added to the calendar on the right, including a couple dates for 2011.

Enhanced Music announces 'Best of 2010' contest

Enhanced Recordings and Enhanced Progressive, two leading electronic music labels, are asking fans to vote for their five favorite songs of the year from each label. The results will form the tracklists of two 'Best of 2010' compilations, which will be released in December.

According to their web site, 10 fans who enter the contest with a valid email address will be chosen to receive Enhanced "goodie bags" with CD singles, compilations, and T-Shirts.

Here are my top five picks in ascending order (click the track names if you wish to purchase any of these tracks for 89 cents at AmazonMP3):

5. Vascotia - Verano (Sean Tyas 2010 Remix) [Enhanced Recordings]



4. 7 Skies & Kiholm - Lost And Found (Dan Stone Remix) [Enhanced Recordings]



3. After Meridian & Dave Costa ft. Cat Martin - Empty Spaces (Andrew Bennett's Lost Time Remix) [Enhanced Progressive]



2. Arty - Twilight Tonight (Arty Remode) [Enhanced Progressive]



1. Oliver P - Lost Without You (Karybde & Scylla Remix) [Enhanced Recordings]

DJ Eco among first 25 names selected for ASOT 500 shows

Armin Van Buuren has announced the first 25 DJ's that will play alongside him at the A State Of Trance 500 shows next spring.

The bad news: the United States show won't be happening anywhere near New York.

The good news: New York's own DJ Eco will be representing the city at one of the five events.

The list so far:

Armin van Buuren
Alex M.O.R.P.H.
Aly & Fila
Andy Moor
Arnej
Arty
Ashley Wallbridge
Ben Gold
Cosmic Gate
Daniel Kandi
Eco
Gareth Emery
John O'Callaghan
Markus Schulz
Mat Zo
Menno de Jong
Myon & Shane 54
Ørjan Nilsen
Paul Oakenfold
Roger Shah
Sean Tyas
Sied van Riel
Signum
Tenishia
Ummet Ozcan
W&W

Well, at least the hard drives are ok

On Tuesday, a Los Angeles home owned by dubstep producer Rusko caught fire. According to his Twitter, the fire damaged his car and some of the house's exterior.

In any fire, it's best to evacuate the building as quick as possible. But we all know that it doesn't always happen that way; people grab their most prized belongings, then decide to escape. Rusko's most valuable item? His hard drives. The dedication of some musicians...

[Image credit: Resident Advisor]

Intros no more!

A good bit of news for those who enjoy purchasing dance music on iTunes: song previews will now be increased to 90 seconds.

I'm not an iTunes user (AmazonMP3 is my choice). But it's a pain to browse new dance music tracks under the current 30-second format. Rather than taking the 30 seconds out of the mainlead or breakdown of a song- its two most melodic parts, I usually find the samples to be the beginning of songs. Hearing the start of a dance music song is barely an indication of what it actually sounds like, since most introductions are just cues for DJ's to mix the track into their set.

With these new sample sizes, listeners should be able to get a better indication of what a track sounds like without having to search for the full version on YouTube.

[Image credit: 9to5Mac]

Weekly shows update

New shows have been added to the calendar on the right.