DJ ROB SWIFT (X-Ecutioners, USA)

the Architect album release tour March 2010

The Architect Album
Release Tour 2010
March 2010: 19 – 28 2010

DJ ROB SWIFT (X-Ecutioners)
www.djrobswift.com
www.myspace.com/djrobswift
www.ipecac.com

New Album: The Architect
Rel. Date: February 23, 2010
Publisher: Ipecac Recordings

Interview:

Dear Music Fans,

One of the most famous and celebrated Djs and turntablists in the world is back with a slamming new album “The Architect”, this time blending Hip Hop, scratching and classical music.

DJ ROB SWIFT is part of the biggest Dj group “the X Ecutioners” on the planet and toured and worked with everyone: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Fat Joe, Everlast, Mike Patton (Faith No More), Cypress Hill, Wu Tang Clan, Eminem, Good Charlotte, Xzibit, Dan The Automator and even truly forward-thinking Jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock and Bob James.

It’s ROB SWIFT’S debut release on Mike Patton’s (Faith No More) Ipecac Recordings label, a perfect fit as both men have been challenging the notion of music for years. They have previously toured together promoting Patton’s Peeping Tom project and their collaborative effort General Patton Vs. The X-excutioners.

Tour Facts, Dates, Videos, Infos … read more …

IRC Exclusive: Legendary Producers Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell Team Up with Fiery Furnances and Dresden Dolls

Martin Bisi is a famed producer who built a recording studio with Brian Eno three decades ago, producing albums for some of the best bands of the 1980’s and early 90s underground rock movement, including Sonic Youth, The Swans, Dresden Dolls and The Boredoms, to name just a few. Bisi, who is also a musician, songwriter and engineer, recently jumped into the sound tank himself to record tracks with folks like Fiery Furnances’ dummer Bob D’Amico, prolific producer and bassist Bill Laswell (The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger and many others), and members of The Dresden Dolls and Balkan Beat Box. Laswell was also instrumental in creating the studio with Bisi and Eno.

In fact, Bisi and Laswell collaborated with Herbie Hancock to record the 1983 Grammy Award-winning song, “RockIt” – the first hit song to feature turntable scratching. Jumping forward to this year, all of this talent in one room is a combination sure to result in something interesting, which is exactly what these next songs, “Mile High – Apple of My Eye” and “Drink Your Wine,” prove to be. The songs are from the recently released five-track digital only EP Son of a Gun, and were sent to IRC by Bisi himself. The first song featured below is a perfect track for Halloween, or even The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack, while “Drink Your Wine” is more of an uptempo rocker that is fun and infectious at the same time (watch the video above).

“Mile High – Apple of My Eye” - Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell from Son of a Gun (2009)

“Drink Your Wine” – Martin Bisi & Company from Sun of a Gun (2009)

Get Son of a Gun from iTunes.

Of the recording of the EP, Bisi said: “With Laswell, I did the ‘modern’ approach of sending him files, letting him do whatever, and then adjusting. He really surprised me. I was expecting his usual very groove or dub oriented bass, and he gave me something very ambient, laden with effects and trippy. That pretty much sums up the M.O. on this EP…With “Mile High- Apple Of My Eye,” I asked Butterface (the keyboardist on the EP) to give me some programmed rhythms and sounds with a trip-hop vibe, specifically for Laswell to play on, and he turned it around in 30 minutes.”

Halle Berry (Born 1966 in Cleveland, OH) is a Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award winning American Actress and Producer. In a Hollywood career that began in 1989, she has quickly established herself as one of the most successful Actresses in recent film history. Her films to date include “The Last Boy Scout”, “The Flintstones”, “Jungle Fever”, “The Program”, “Losing Isaiah”, “Executive Decision”, “The Rich Man’s Wife”, “Bulworth”, “X-Men”, “Die Another Day”, “Monsters Ball”, “X-Men: The Last Stand”, “Gothika”, “Robots”, “Perfect Stranger”, “X2″, “Catwoman”, “Swordfish”, and many others. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her role in “Monster’s Ball”. She is the first African-American Woman to ever win the Best Actress Oscar. She has also done extensive work in Television including her Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in the made for cable movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”. She has also made appearances on shows such as “Frasier”, “Living Dolls”, “Knots Landing”, and “Amen”. As a Producer, she produced the made for cable films “Lackawanna Blues” and “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”. A former beauty queen, she was crowned Miss Ohio in 1986 and finished as first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame.

Autograph #257 in Collection.

vide0premiere

DJ IQ is one of the sickest DJs in the UK, not only that but he’s also a crazy producer. This promo video showcases some of the beats from his forthcoming project entitled “Flashing Lights” which drops November 30th.

The mixtape features Ramson Badbonez, Hey Zeus, Kashmere, Jehst, Stac, Joker Starr, Micall Parknsun, Professor Green, Gen, Sonny Jim, Pride, TB, Asaviour, Eva Lazurus. Plus beats by DJ IQ, The Mighty Hoax, Joker, Hudson Mo, Samiyam, Kid Sublime and more!

Emily Deschanel (Born 1976 in Los Angeles, Ca) is an American Television and Film Actress and Producer currently starring as Dr. Temperance Brennan on the hit FOX show “Bones”. Her other Television credits include “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”, “Providence”, and “Crossing Jordan”. Her film resume includes “Spiderman 2″, “Glory Road”, “My Sisters Keeper”, “Boogeyman”, “The Alamo”, “Cold Mountain”, and others. She is a Co-Producer of “Bones”. She is the older sister of actress Zooey Deschanel.

Autograph # 254 in Collection.

The funny thing is at the Examiner website, my topic is Canadian music, which is a large and broad topic, however, I’m not allowed to write about anything else. This of course leaves out many great musicians/indie bands out there. So, I’ll use this blog to put up some cool new “foreign” music that I’m not allowed print at the Examiner.com/Canada.

You know that saying, “when you least expect it, you get it!”, well that saying goes far in explaining how I got introduced to this next band’s music. Normally, it’s myself trolling through the internet, music sites, listening to songs, looking for that group that just shines & sparkles. Oftentimes it’s few and far between. This time the band, found me on Twitter. I usually find my way listening to most of what people send me, but realistically I only time to write about a certain number of acts.

There are many ways to look at indie: just starting out & trying to find their sound; those that are starting to turn heads & have the talent, and are gigging like mad to make it (at this time they are pretty much ready); Indie/underground groups that have been around so long that they are very respected, but shameful they didn’t break through into the mainstream.

I would class the Junior League band in the second category, as they certainly are up and coming, but they bring a throwback roots/americana/country/acoustic sound. The Lissy Rosemount (the singer) stands out from the pack as her soulful voice that is truly unique, & the band has that polished sound that comes with many performances together. Anyway, you can check out their videos for yourselves. I chose: South Carolina Blues and Kiss You In The Morning b/c. they are more their “music videos”, the other clips are more raw performances.

Junior League Band- South Carolina Blues

Junior League Band – Kiss You In The Morning

If you want to see more, or leave a comment with them, check out these links:

Junior League Band’s Official Homepage: http://www.juniorleagueband.com/

Junior League Band’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JuniorLeague

Junior League Band’s Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/juniorleagueband

Junior League Band’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/JrLeagueBand2

~ Jason Chu

Canadian Music Examiner

Jason Chu’s Twitter

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

Movements from CultureDigitaL on Vimeo.

Ik heb meegedaan aan een producers-wedstrijd van westoek.be , een blog die zeker de moeite waard is om een bezoekje te brengen.
Klik hier

Mijn inzending is een track die een hele tijd geleden gemaakt is in de periode dat ik in Gent zat. Samen met Abdicator hadden we plannen om samen een album te maken als The Wickedest Foundation, dit was één van de eerste en enige afgewerkte tracks getiteld “Soundbwoi”. Ik was eerst van plan niks in te zenden aangezien ik niks speciaal gemaakt heb voor deze wedstrijd, maar ben toch beniewd wat jullie hiervan vinden

Klik hier voor alle inzendingen

Kate Beckinsale

By Katey Rich: CinemaBlend.com

The Shield was one of those acclaimed and beloved TV series that had its own audience for sure, but thanks to a spot on cable, didn’t exactly blow up into the mainstream the way it might have. But since the show has wrapped, at least, the people behind it have been moving on to even bigger things. John Hlavin, a writer for the series, has signed on to write the screenplay for the fourth Underworld film.

According to THR, Hlavin is pretty much the only person attached at this point. The director of the first two films, Len Wiseman, is so far only on board as a producer, and Kate Beckinsale– incidentally, the director’s wife– isn’t sure what she’s doing either.

Hlavin promised THR that “it’s not a prequel, and added, “It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences, meaning that we don’t want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements.” Hlavin signing on probably means that things are moving forward on this film at last, so look for more news in the coming weeks.

Amazon Specials!

Steve Lillywhite is the man responsible for producing the debut albums by U2 and Dave Matthews Band as well as many of their subsequent million-selling releases. While Bono and Dave have both consistently trusted Steve to fit their visions between the speakers, so have artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, Johnny Thunders, Ultravox, Guster, She & Him, XTC, Jason Mraz, The Pogues, Counting Crows, Siouxie and the Banshees, The La’s, David Byrne, Morrissey, Chris Cornell, Phish, Matchbox 20 and many more.

The Daily Swarm: When you began, were there any specific albums or producers that initially inspired you to pursue a career in music production?

Steve Lillywhite: I was a big David Bowie fan. The Tony Visconti records and the Ken Scott records of the early 70s were fantastic.

produced by Ken Scott interview with Tony Visconti

And of course, I loved Phil Spector. In fact some of his “wall of sound” records probably influenced me during the early 80s. Some of the records I made during that time were quite dense sounding. But in general, my favorite records are ones you don’t hear production. You just hear a great record.

produced by Phil Spector

How would you define what a record producer does and how has the role of a record producer evolved over the decades?

It was always a very wide thing because sometimes the producer is the guy who sits back and doesn’t do anything and actually nowadays a lot of producers are not even in the studio. Even though it says, “Produced by…” they are much more of an overseer.

The term record producer is very broad. Basically you’re responsible for the quality of the end product however you do it. So when people say, “Oh, Rick Rubin is never there,” if it’s a good record, it doesn’t matter because he doesn’t need to be there. I wish I could be like that but I tend to feel I need to be there to make half decent records.

I tend to be a little more hands-on. If I do your record, I’m there all the time, so I’ll never do two albums at the same time. Some people do three or four albums at the same time. I find I have to concentrate fully on what I am doing to hopefully make a good record.

Do you act as the engineer on all the albums you produce?

I am not an engineer. I always have to have a technician with me. I sit at the desk and I push the faders up but I don’t consider myself an engineer.

I love balancing the music. I let my engineer do all the mic settings and all that stuff unless I see something I don’t like and I say, “Let’s do this.” I allow people the space to be creative on all fronts.

Have recording budgets gotten smaller in recent years and does that affect how you are able to get the job done?

Different records have different budgets. You work with U2 and there doesn’t seem like there’s any budget whatsoever. You work with other people and it’s different. I like a nice budget but I like nice music even better.

How important is the studio environment to your process?

I’ve worked everywhere from a toilet to the best studio in the world. I’ve made great sounds in a toilet and I’ve made rubbish sounds in the most expensive studio. That’s not what it’s all about, really. Although I do love studios and I love great microphones. It’s more how you go about it.

You produced the first three U2 albums on your own and then Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno were hired as the producers for The Unforgettable Fire. The three of you have worked together as co-producers on almost all the subsequent U2 albums. Were you initially hesitant to work in such an unconventional “team” scenario with Eno and Lanois?

No. After the first album I said U2 should work with someone else. And then certainly after October, I said, “Look, guys, this hasn’t done as well as the first one. You should definitely work with someone else. And they went, “Okay.”

And they went and did some tracks with some other people. They didn’t like what they heard and they came back and said, “Steve, I know you said you wouldn’t but what are you doing in September?” and I said, “Nothing.” And they said, “Would you like to do our third album?” And I said “Alright, then.”

Nowadays it’s very rare for any one producer, let alone three producers, to work with a particular artist across their career. Can you describe your working style with Eno, Lanois and U2 and why it works?

The best way to describe it is it’s not just mixing. A lot of people are just mixers and they do a great job but what I do with U2 is way beyond that.

Are you familiar with the game of baseball? They have this guy that comes in to pitch towards to end: the closer. I think that’s pretty much my job with them. Whether I start pitching in the 9th inning or the 7th or the 5th, my job is to help finish it.

Eno and Lanois do a great job of getting it all prepped and then I come in. I think it has a lot to do with the band seeing me and they’re going, “Oh, Steve’s here. We’d better get to work.”

I was the very first studio experience for them when they were young kids so they sort of revert to type a a little bit…but maybe not. We’ve had success and U2 doesn’t analyze really. It’s all about the heart. All they know is that when we get in a room together, things happen.

Do you have a lot of communication with Eno and Lanois during the process?

Yeah, yeah, we’re great friends, especially Brian Eno. He is one of the most intelligent, witty, self-confident people I have ever met. He always has great ideas as well.

He’s not really a fan of the band, so his job is to bring something that is not U2 to it. And my job is to bring it back to some form of U2.

Beyond U2 and throughout your career you’ve worked with very diverse artists. Is there a thread that connects all the people you’ve produced?

One thread I hope is that they are all great songwriters. There was a time in the early 80s where I used the same sounds on everything I produced. And then I made a record with a guy called Marshall Crenshaw that sort of didn’t work with my sound.

Subsequently, I realized there really are no rules. You have to take each artist completely from their own perspective and work for what’s best for them. So after working with Marshall Crenshaw, I realized that I thought I had a formula but I didn’t. If I ever think I have formula, I am not as good a producer as I want to be.

Are there some specific personality traits of yours that have enabled you to be a successful producer?

I’ve been around a while but I still feel like I have something to pass onto people and younger bands because I am very good at getting the best out of musicians. I don’t ever want to change what they do.

If I decide I want to work with someone, I have great faith that I can bring out the best of what they are. I am not a songwriter and I don’t want to be an average songwriter. I am not trying to steal anyone’s thunder.

I want to make the best record for them. So when I take on something, I feel that’s really a big decision for me because I don’t want to fuck anyone’s career up.

I haven’t batted 1000% but no one ever does. I think most artists I work with enjoy the process and enjoy the end result. They can play it for their grandchildren and feel confident that what they’re playing is something that they really believed in. And that’s what I want to do.

I love arranging artist’s ideas. If they have too many ideas, I love that because my job is to filter and I am very, very good at that and I find it very easy as well.

From Morrissey to David Byrne to Bono you’ve worked with musicians who seem to have a very strong personal artistic vision. Is it difficult introducing new ideas to such people and why do they trust you?

I try to expand. They present their ideas and my job is to fit them in a format as a way that is best for them. I have my ideas and I discuss with them and we have a lot of talking conceptually as to how we want it to be. I have a good sense of self-confidence in what I do.

I remember when I worked with Phish about ten years ago. They came out of the studio and said, “Steve, we’ve never felt more like musicians than we do now.” And that was because I enabled them to not think too much. I enabled them to do what they do best and that’s all I want.

I want musicians to perform from the heart. If they’re performing from the head, I am not so interested. I have ways of trying to make them work from the heart. I can make people relaxed. Quite often after making an album, artists will go, “My god, how did that happen. It all seemed to just go.”

In the 80s, you tended to work with a lot of British alternative and new wave artists, and then in the 90s through the 00s you made several albums with the two biggest American jam bands, Phish and the Dave Matthews Band. Considering what your musical background was, what attracted you to work with these two particular groups?

It was very weird but I’ve always tried to spread what I do based on just whether I think it’s good or not. I worked with Peter Gabriel in 1980 and he was very different from Sioxsie and the Banshees and the punk rock that I was also doing.

Dave Matthews was before Phish. I remember hearing their independent CD called Remember Two Things and hearing a song called “Ants Marching” and just thinking, “Oh my god. I love this song. This is such a smash.” And after that saying, “I have to go and produce this band.”

I was living in London at the time and they’d actually decided to work with someone else. So I had to come over to America and basically pitch myself to such an extent that I wouldn’t take no for an answer because I knew I was the guy for this band.

A lot of people thought, “Oh, they’ll never be successful because it’s too jazzy or it’s too this.” I never think like that. If I like it I think,“how can I put it in a format that people will also enjoy?”

It’s like when I saw Guster for the first time. It was just two acoustics and bongos but there was something great about them and a challenge to take what they had and make it work.

In addition to Dave Matthews and Phish, in recent years you’ve produced Matchbox 20, Counting Crows and Jason Mraz. Are you thinking about commercial viability in all cases when you go into the studio?

Absolutely. My fundamental belief, which goes to my soul, is the fact that art and commerce can coincide together. They can coexist together. But I have never made a record for commerce. I’ve always made records for art.

All I thought with Dave Matthews was how short should a 10-minute song be? So I did a lot of editing, a lot of making it seem just the right length, the right amount of soloing. But obviously solos become exactly the same thing when you play them over and over again.

Were Phish or Dave Matthews reluctant for you to shorten their songs?

No, no, no. This is the confidence that I have. I can allow an artist to be musicians and I let them play and they let me produce. But I have to earn that right and I earn that right by explaining to them and by my actions.

You only earn any right by your actions. I wouldn’t produce anyone if they just thought, “Oh, we’ll have Steve Lillywhite because of what he’s done.” I would think they would want to say, “Steve, how would you be able to help us out?” I want to be able to sell myself.

Do you require that artists do a lot of preproduction such as rehearsing the songs before you begin recording?

I don’t like preproduction. I like discussions and conceptualizing and talking about how and where it’s going to go; some big picture ideas.

And they let me produce but I have to earn it. So many producers loose their nerve. If it’s going wrong and they don’t know how to fix it, they just blindly move forward.

I’ve made records for so long that if I sense something’s going wrong, I’m so ahead of the game, I can normally fix it before it actually does go wrong. And I am not big headed. Some producers are good at some things and I happen to be pretty good at that.

In 2002, you began working for Mercury Records in the UK with the title of Managing Director. Can you describe that experience?

I went corporate for a little while and I really enjoyed it. We had some hits. I signed a band called Razorlight in England who became very successful and some other pop things.

But during the last couple of years, that was when U2 called me for the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album. So I decided to leave that job to produce the U2 album and from that I got a Grammy for Producer of the Year… so that was very good.

Kevin Spacey has given a magisterial speech in the generally shameful FICOD 09 which touched and moved tremendously people who are not just for the quick buck and the ever lasting ancillary rights (70 years after death of the author). If for nothing more, the fortune spent on the event is paid out by his conference, wisdom and lesson of humility. Humility which in the Romanic languages is usually confused with humiliation! Congratulations Kevin Spacey!

KEVIN SPACEY

Mr. Spacey has made an outright plea for the “lucky ones” to allow space for the new generations to raise the ladder (better said: the elevator) and be allowed to show their capacity. He has recalled how Jack Lemmon has helped his way up and how they shared the same values regarding the “talent elevator”. The real good ones don’t need to oppress to get their way in the podium of greatness.

Many topics where raised during his intervention and he showed an open-minded posture regarding the digital revolution. “Those who feel and can see the future is embracing it”, he said. It seems clear that Mr. Spacey has seen a long time ago as far as producing a film with a plot centred on nothing less than “Facebook”. He couldn’t be clearer about it when he related to the music industry which embraced the repression model: “if you don’t give people what they need, when they need and how they need at affordable conditions, they will find their ways and get it for free”.

For the complete English conference click
Kevin Spacey

Chapeau Kevin!

Oracle Weblogic Simple Producer (Version 10.3)

Oracle Weblogic Simple producer is a light version of Oracle Weblogic Portal + Oracle Weblogic Federated resources. From here onwards simple producer will be used to indicate Oracle Weblogic Simple Producer. Remote portlets deployed on producer can be consumed by the consumer portal using WSRP protocol.

A simple producer can be created using the following steps:

Step 1: Create the simple producer domain

Step 2: Create the simple producer project

Step 3: Move the existing application to simple producer project or create new application as required.

Step 4: Generate simple producer portlets, books, pages etc.

Step 5: Deploy the simple producer application on simple producer domain

Step 6: Consume the simple producer portlets and you are done.

Following features are supported by Simple Producer:

• Page flow & struts portlets can be created and published as remote portlets
• URL Rewriting is supported

Following features are not supported by Simple Producer:

• Java, JSP, HTML, Clipper or Iframe portlets are not supported
• Registration of remote portlets are not supported
• No portal administration is available for simple producer
• No Backing file support is available for simple producer
• No event support is available for simple producer and thus inter portlet communication is also not available.
• Render dependency file is not supported by simple producer
• Portal APIs are not supported by simple producer

The very Digitalistic DJ Don Diablo

Did you notice it too? The number of artists and musicians that start a line of clothing increases every day. Dutch DJ Don Diablo is also starting a label, that will hopefully be launched sometimes next winter. But first he will be performing at Studio Camping- a party initiated by the Dutch multibrandstore Men at Work- coming sunday. A perfect occasion to ask him some questions about fashion and stuff…Digitalista K. had the honors to interview the very ‘Digitalistic’ (we found a new verb LOL) DJ Don Diablo…

The Digitalistas: You were voted best dressed by Esquire in 2007, you are performing at a fashion-related party coming sunday, and you are starting your own fashion-label. What is it with you and fashion?

Don Diablo: It’s quite simple actually. Fashion is an extension of your personality, a way to distinct yourself from the mass.

TD: Your colleague Joost van Bellen produces the music for the Amsterdam International Fashionweek, and for some indivudal fashionshows. Aren’t you interested in producing a playlist for a designer show? Which designer(s) would that be?

DD: I definitely would like to produce the music for the Diesel show, but unfortunately Joost already took that job, haha! They sponsor me for the clothes, I wear the Diesel Black Gold label.

There are several designers I would like to produce music for. I lately discovered the clothes of Damir Doma, (a Croatian designer that studied in Germany and worked for Raf Simons a.o. TD) , and I love his style. But I’m also very fond of Alexander McQueen and Rick Owens.

TD: Do you have style-icons in the music business. People whose style you admire, or that inspire you in any kind?

DD: Not specifically at the moment, but I like the style of Prince and David Bowie in the early days. I think you’re most likely to find extreme and original styles in foreign countries. Dutch people are scared of looking weird. I always make two versions of my videos. One for Holland and an international version. And I can tell you, I really go crazy in the non-Dutch versions! Wearing lipstick and all…

TD: Hm, since you seem to have this duality in your clothing-behavior , we’re also curious about your internet behavior. Dutch radio channel Radio 538 acclaimed you are the most ‘googled’ Dutch person on the internet. What, or who do you google?

DD: I don’t google myself…that’s for sure! Musicblogs are what I most look for on Google. Nothing fashion-related, unless it’s informative. I don’t even buy clothes online. I prefer the physical aspect of shopping. Trying things on, feeling the material.

Other things I look for online except musicblogs, are videos, movies and series…

TD: …What series do you watch?

DD: ….Mad Men, Nip Tuck, Californication..

TD: Aaah, Californication, one of my favorites too…okay, so let’s move on to some general stuff…Favorite city?

DD: Wow, let me think…I travelled a lot the past two months, and I’ve seen quite some cities…

I guess New York for work, Paris to settle. Paris is better without the Parisians though.

TD: Favorite club?

DD: I don’t have a specific club that comes to mind. I like parties on unusual locations…under a bridge, an empty building…It’s all about the experience. The perfect club in Amsterdam would be a mix between Paradiso and the Jimmy Woo.

TD: Favorite restaurant?

DD: Difficult one…I eat out almost every night. There’s this relatively unknown small restaurant called Het Fornuis (translation: The Stove, TD), where it’s cosy and where they serve good and pure food. And there’s Momo for Asian food. I also have this specific restaurant where I like to take visiting guests to, it’s called C’Taste. It’s such a fun and interesting concept because you eat in the dark. So you use all the necessary senses to eat, you’re focussed on the food and the person sitting across the table, instead of all that’s happening around you. A good place to take a first date to. No worries about spinach between your teeth… (LOL)

TD: The last movie you have seen?

DD: It’s one I have already seen a few times, but my favorite movie: La Meglio Gioventu, an Italian movie of 6 hours (a chronicle about an Italian family during the period of 40 years, TD). And I saw this Spanish movie when I was in Barcelona, Agora (A Roman-Egypt epic by Alejandro Amenábar, starring actress Rachel Weisz, TD). I have a preference for foreign movies, they are much more interesting than Hollywood blockbusters.

TD: The last book you have read?

DD: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I have read it before, but now the context is different than when I read it for the first time. I went through some stuff the past few months, and it gave a different meaning to the story.

TD: To conclude this interview…If you had not become a DJ, what would you have become?

DD: Still something creative. Actor or movie-director probably.

A big thanks to Sony BMG for the interview!

CD: You started DJing in 1980, and age 14 you had your first gig with Ed Lover, Dr Dre, LL Cool J and Doug E Fresh, how does a 14 year old get hooked up that big?
SKRIBBLE: I knew the manager there and he gave me a shot!!! I was terrible LOL!!!

CD: Touring with the Young Black Teenagers was a big life changing experience for you; how was that experience?
SKRIBBLE: Being with them was like going to college. It’s how I learned this industry and got to see the world! I was on two U.S. tours and one world tour during that period

CD: You’ve seen the evolution of rap and hip hop from the 80’s on through to now, has it been a good evolution for hip hop?
SKRIBBLE: I think it’s been great!!! It’s grown from the Bronx to the forefront of the world!!!

CD: What do you feel is the missing link in the hip hop of today vs the hip hop of yesterday?
SKRIBBLE: Artist development and passion!

CD: Dj Skribble, where do you see this new marriage of hip hop and electronic music going in 2010 and beyond?
SKRIBBLE: I think its great for the music and brought back the party to hip hop.

CD: You were MTV’s resident DJ for most of their TRL, The Grind, and spring break parties; outside of girls, what else did that experience gain you?
SKRIBBLE: It brought me global. It’s sick that I can be in Japan and people know who I am.

CD: You love hip hop, but you also have a passion for house music. As a DJ, what’s a good way to introduce house music into a club full of hip hop heads?
SKRIBBLE: It’s happening… and it really started with Rihanas “PLEASE DONT STOP THE MUSIC” and has really took over the tempo of the club mixing the two styles.

CD: You play both coasts and internationally, who would you say parties the hardest?

Read the rest of the interview..click here >>

I did a review with Starsmith at his then (and still my) university. He’s had some major success recently, particularly with rising star Ellie Goulding. Here’s my review, some of it is ‘Surrey Uni’ related, but just dodge around that

May 2009

M – What are you working on at the moment?

F – Well, I Just finished a Little Boots remix about 2 days ago, and that got sent out to the states to be decided whether they like it or not, which is pretty exciting.

M – Do you find you’re having to do a lot of stuff for free at the moment?

F – Well my managers trying to make it so that I get paid no matter what, just because I’m putting in so much effort for it. The Little Boots one is a massive deal for me, and if it gets approved that’s big big stuff!

M – You’re just finishing your degree in music, how do you feel its helped your writing and remixing, even though its routes are in ‘traditional’ techniques?

F – Well, yeah, even though I’ve been learning about classical theory for the last 3 years, I wouldn’t have been able to do the remixing 3 years ago just coming out of school. It’s also to do with the stuff you’re immersed in at Uni, like the music you play whilst your there and the people you meet. Even with Classical stuff you use the harmony you hear; its all related. You don’t need to blatantly draw from it like ‘oh well, this is a nice cadence here…’, but it’s just like every bit of pop music is using it. It has definitely helped me, but it’s kind of an unnatural turn. There’s no one else recently whose done anything like this on the straight forward music degree from Surrey that I know of.

M – Your main instrument’s Saxophone though isn’t it?

F – Yeah when ever people find out about that that only really know me as Starsmith, they’re like ‘wow, you actually play the sax’ its a bit weird…

M – You’ve recently worked with Ellie Goulding, whose also gaining popularity recently for her own work and also the tracks you’ve done with her, what’s that been like?

F – It’s been really really good. She basically contacted me on myspace in January, and said she had been linked up with loads of produces like Burial and Basement Jaxx but she was trying to find someone she was really happy with. Never met her before, but I was really excited for the opportunity, so she came down and we came up with Starry Eyed, which I produced on. On the more recent stuff I’ve co-written and produced on some of it. Hopefully we’ll be writing together. Black and Gold was more of a collaboration. She’s so good and to know she’s working with all these top line producers as well, and still coming back to me is amazing. Crown Management are totally behind what she’s doing, and its nice to see them actually pushing the artist. I’ve met so many people over the last few months that you won’t see because their not getting enough press.

M – You’re on B-Unique Management, how are they treating you?

F – My managers working her arse off, she’s doing a lot for me. She also manages Ghost, and The Operators, but yeah I absolutely love them. I had an offer from Crown and Relentless Records for management, but I didn’t want to get tied under the same roof as Ellie with Crown, so I can go and work on production elsewhere when I want. My managers worked in A&R and publishing, she signed the Stereophonics when they first came about, so she knows all the different parts of the industry, its nice to have that.

M – Do you prefer remixing or performing in a live band?

F – I dunno really, they’re two completely different kettles of fish. With remixing you get to put all of yourself into it, and now that I’ve done probably 20+ remixes, there are different parts that I know are me, and people can hear it too. I can make the track sound how I want it to sound just using their vocals. To get the raw audio for these top names like Little Boots, and listening back to it is crazy.

The live part is so much fun though, but a lot can go wrong. The gig I did at Dingwalls for the Frankmusik single launch, second song in, the laptop just froze. Full house, 600 people waiting to see Frankmusik, A&R, Time Out, Radio 1. Literally anyone you can think of being at a single launch party was there. That was the worst moment for me over the last few years. That feeling of nothing you can do, and it was a good few minutes before it was up again. Luckily, Seye our frontman is a true frontman and kept it cool but I was like ‘fuck I’ve really screwed this up’. But we pulled it back, and you can make people feel really good with this music and seeing people enjoy it is a great feeling for me.

M – Who have you been most inspired by when writing?

F – The thing that really inspired me was FrankMusik. His track ‘In Step’ which he released himself, I remember listening to it over and over. I’d never heard anything so gritty with someone who can sing so well. It was only really 6 months ago, and I thought ‘fuck it, I’m going to send him some of my stuff’, and he got back to me and has been really helpful. It’s turned from him helping me to us being mates. I’m not riding on his coat tails, and people have put on blogs that I’m like his ‘protege’ which is a huge compliment. He’s working his arse off, and I’ve seen that first-hand. Other than that, Imogen Heap, her stuff as Frou Frou is amazing. In a way, Calvin Harris as well, but not his music as such but his ability to produce and also be like ‘Well I’m gonna sing on this track’. Traditionally he’s a horrific singer. If you put him on X-Factor he would not get through, but he had a number 1 last week. If he can do it, so can I.

M – What are the plans for after Uni?

F – I think I have maybe 1 day off after I graduate, as after I finish I’m in the Premise studios in Hackney working with Marina and the Diamonds, working on their album. So Yeah! I’ve got a day to recover from the biggest hangover of my life. After hearing my remix I did for them they asked me to do production on their album. I’ll work with the house engineer on it, and then after that I’ve got more work with Ellie, then more remixes. I was doing so much for free for the first couple of months, the money is now a real bonus for me. The fees started coming in way before I thought they would, and its really started to build up in the last few weeks. I need to do a lot of writing soon, and hopefully go on tour in August.

M – What has been you’re favourite part of life here at Surrey?

F – Definitely the people. Guildford is a horrible place. Literally since my first day in first year, instantly met loads of awesome people. I’ve been so close to everyone, especially living on campus. But yeah, Guildford is a dreadful, dreadful place. It drags you down and you never want to leave. We’re 40 minutes from London, you can stay out, get the first train home, but no one does it! Everyone’s like ‘oh yeah lets go to the union, see Blazin’ Squad or whatever’. A lot of people don’t even go into town to go out much, they just stay on campus. People don’t want to leave the bubble of campus, and so many haven’t even been to London, or they’ve just been for their 13^th birthday or something!

Big thanks to Starsmith for the interview, and Check out his stuff at myspace.com/starsmith

“Do it cause you love it.  Remember why you are here,” says Ted Hewitt in the October session of the once monthly Producer’s Chair.  This industry event is held at one of Nashville’s oldest musical traditions, Douglas Corner.  The host of the evening, James Rea, invites music producers to share their story to an aspiring, hopeful crowd of artists, songwriters, engineers, and of course fellow producers.  The listeners hear tools, tips, and encouragement to win the game of music.

On this particular evening, the crowd had the honor of hearing from Ted Hewitt.  Most recently Ted is known for his hit work with country artist Rodney Atkins.  He produced Goin’ Through Hell, Watchin’ You, These Are My People, and Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy). In 2008, he was nominated for an Academy of Country Music, Album of the year award for his work with Going Through Hell. As a songwriter, he wrote Wine Into Water, performed by T. Graham Brown and Love Lessons, performed by Tracy Byrd.  Needless to say, this list of achievements, plus those unmentioned, more than qualifies Ted to share his take on the industry.

Ted sharing with the attendees of the Producer's Chair, Oct, 2009

This Baltimore, Maryland native grew up playing a guitar bought for him by his mother.  It is easy to fall in love with music when both of your parents are professional musicians.  His daddy died when he was just a young boy and he poured himself into music.  Before Ted performed with legends like Reba McEntire and Glen Campbell, he would play along with the likes of James Taylor and other “top 40″ hit makers.  This time on the guitar was a self-made education of chart topping music.

Finding an early mentor in Buddy Cannon when he first came to town in 1984 started him out on the right Nashville foot!  “Buddy knew someone I knew that knew me… and the rest is history.”  Ted admitted that he started writing music out of necessity, but it grew into a life-long love affair with music and lyrics.  Along with songwriting and knowing the right people, Ted’s musical tenacity was fueled by this thought, “If you believe in something, you do not quit.”

Ted shared a great deal of personal triumphs and lessons learned from his years in Music City.  Here are just a few insightful nuggets from his discourse:

• Songs have to have an advocate.  There is always going to be a need for song pluggers.
• If you can make compelling music, people are always going to want it.
• It is a single/’60s world; focus on what you do best.
• Learn how to communicate a song; songs shouldn’t show you off – you should show off the song.
• Creative relationships take time to develop.

The Believing Mirror

One of the coolest analogies that he was very eager to share with the crowd was that everyone needs, and has the potential to be, a believing mirror.  This mirror helps reflect the truth in your life that you can’t see.  The believing mirror is any friend, musical peer, mentor, and/or family member that stands in front of you revealing all the ways you are successful and the many reasons to keep pursuing your dreams.  The believing mirror is essential to the longevity of a creative soul.  Today, think of the name of at least one person that has been a believing mirror for you and thank them.  You can also take the time to think of who needs you to be their mirror, and drop them a line.

Don’t miss the next Producer’s Chair:

Series #8 / Part 4: Michael Wagener

TONIGHT, November 19 @6:00pm

Douglas Corner, Nashville, TN

Nathan,

Please post this on my blog.

I have received many e-mails this week about my decision to renounce my U.S. citizenship. With the USA loosing face, rights, and status as the U.S. hunger rate is now at a 14-year high which translates into 1 in 7 American households in the USA going hungry while the USA has the highest infant mortality rate of all of the developed nations in the world, combined with the strong likelihood of the USA being attacked by terrorists while President Obama sells out the USA to China a Communist controlled police state under totalitarian dictatorship rule, the time has come to jump ship. President Obama is borrowing money from Communists to the tune of some 800 billion U.S. dollars onward up to some 2 trillion U.S. dollars while totally ignoring China’s human rights record, as if the USA has a leg to stand on itself as the USA executes people weekly. Only China and Iran match the USA in killing people.

This week President Obama insulted Americans while bowing to the Emperor of Japan while totally disrespecting the victims and the families of the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7^th 1941. Before that, President Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. His actions are disrespectful to Americans. I cannot stomach anymore of the ongoing and redundant insanity being perpetrated by the U.S. government on Americans that have become complacent as the U.S. Patriot Act strips Americans of the very rights that U.S. military personnel are dying for daily in Afghanistan and Iraq and when those soldiers come home they are treated like shit by the V.A. while reservists that were promised that their jobs were safe during their deployments came home to find no job and a foreclosed home.

In 2008 some 197 U.S. Army soldiers killed themselves and in 2009 as of November 2009, that number increased to 211. Meanwhile, in 2009 U.S. government waste reached a figure of 98 billion U.S. dollars that U.S. tax payers got fucked in the ass for. While all of this is going on, former Alaska Governor Palin has released a new book and that resulted in the Associated Press sending out 11 reporters to fact check her book while no one fact checked Obama’s books. President Obama has since gone on to win the Nobel Peace Prize which is insulting to the men and women that actually deserve such a prize while also totally devaluing that award forever.

I am tired of seeing the USA being up for sale. The former CIA Station Chief assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing China has even done a deal whereby Homeland Security has endorsed the deal which provides for economic citizenship to Chinese nationals that invest 1,000,000.00 U.S. dollars in specific zones in the USA for economic development. Meanwhile the Chinese are booking tours to the USA to buy foreclosed properties and if that were not bad enough, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi have both changed their tunes toward China now that they are under the Obama Administration’s thumb.

Millions of American jobs are going up in smoke. Millions of Americans are losing their homes.

To date, not one of the videos from the so-called 9/11 attack on the USA has been made available to the general public which would clearly depict a Boeing 757 slamming into the Pentagon that was supposedly being flown some 20 feet off of the ground by inexperienced pilots at speeds over 600 MPH without hitting any trees, signs, light poles, or without causing any jet engine trust blow back from the 757’s engines, and without disturbing the lawn at the Pentagon. Even the former American Airlines pilot that actually flew the specific aircraft that was supposedly used for the Pentagon attack stated that he himself could never accomplish what those supposed terrorists did and he flew for more than 20-years. The so-called 9/11 attack on the USA is one of the biggest hoaxes against the American people that has ever been perpetrated by the U.S. government to date and oddly enough, few people even bother to ask questions despite the smoking gun evidence that is quite contrary to the story given to the public by the U.S. government.

With the new FEMA prisons being built seemingly in plain view throughout the USA and while the strong likelihood for some kind of another so-called “attack” could take place on U.S. soil whether by actual terrorists or some black bag job controlled by the USA, in addition to numerous other factors, I cannot go quietly like a sheep to slaughter. I will not be part of the problem. At the same time, the USA has so many problems that no one solution could ever resolve the problems that the USA faces, nor reverse the course that the USA is heading in, and I will not watch the USA go down the toilet while standing around and doing nothing about it. Clearly this is not at all the USA that I grew up with and as such I am done with the madness and the lies and the Americans that just sit on their asses and do absolutely nothing. People don’t vote, or answer jury duty summons, or carry firearms, or protest, or run for public office anymore. The USA has gone to Hell in a hand basket. The Pentagon senior staff now considers war protestors to be “low-level terrorists”. People in the USA are being arrested for what their bumper stickers and T-shirts say. The U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights are not worth the paper that they were printed on anymore. The American dream is dead and buried. Things are not getting better in the USA. In fact things are getting worse faster and worst of all, most Americans just sit idle and watch their lives tick away as their freedoms, rights, and options go up in smoke.

The USA is not the only game in town and with some 190 plus countries on the globe, and the fact that I have already acquired an alternate citizenship, the decision to protect my son’s future was clear. The American Social Security system, health care system, critical key infrastructure and education system are all failing in the USA. I believe that it is only a matter of time and the USA will collapse as a nation at least on a regional basis and once that starts, the rest of the USA will also fall apart.

In closing, those are some of the many reasons that lead up to my renouncing my American citizenship. We all make decisions that we live by and this decision is one of mine. I have some fond memories of what America used to be and for me, that’s enough. I am now moving onto new horizons with better opportunities and far less bullshit with a clear consciences and a peace of mind. If you cannot win the game, change the rules. Life is full of options.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsOO4NAuYN0