Judge Jules World DJ Festival Interview
Nowtrax is proud to be involved with next weekend’s 5th World DJ Festival in Seoul, South Korea. As the excitement builds for this event, which will see in excess of 50,000 party people enjoy world class DJs and live acts, we spoke to UK dance legend Judge Jules…
Your last visit to Korea was back in 2008. How was your impression about the country and the fans?
I really enjoyed the last visit, and left with the feeling that it wouldn’t be the last time. I can’t wait to get back and explore Korea further.
You travel all over the world to perform. What’s been you most memorable recent performance and why?
I really enjoyed playing the Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California, USA recently. The scene seems to be really strong on the West Coast and there’s nothing like playing to 25,000 people. One thing I love about what I do though is the range of different sizes and styles of my gigs. I buzz off playing an intimate club to a crowd of 400 just as much as a vast festival. As long as people are having a good time then I’m right there with them.
You’ve been DJing for 25 years so you’ve seen many changes in the scene and the technology behind it. What have been the most important developments for you personally?
Clearly, the sound of the music I play has evolved over the years. However, at the same time I’ve always kept true to my core musical influences of powerful minor key riffs and potent drums and percussion. One of the main evolutions in DJ equipment was the invention of the Pioneer CDJ turntable. This changed the way we DJ forever and certainly made travelling a lot lighter.The second biggest change was the use of laptops behind the decks and software like Ableton, Serrato and Traktor. Paul van Dyk was one of the first to switch from vinyl straight to Ableton, creating more of a producer-based live show. The doors of creativity have swung wide open in the past 6 or 7 years and that can only be a good thing.
‘Laid Bare’, ‘Electronic Snare’, ‘So Special’, ‘Verano Loco’, ‘Without Love’,… you have many hit records, so what can Korean fans expect from you at the World DJ Festival this week?
I’ve just finished a new track called City Nights. It has a kicking live sax element plus my usual chunky sound. I’ve also been very busy making loads of new bootlegs of familiar tracks. I think it’s important for people who are new to my sound to be gently introduced, and I believe that my bootlegs are a fantastic way to do this.
What inspires you the most when you make music?
Like anything that involves being creative, you have good days and bad days. The main thing I do before making a record is listen to some of my favourite old tracks and pluck inspiration from them, at the same time making sure that what you do has your own original twist and ideas.
Your Judgment Sundays party at Eden in Ibiza has clocked up 10 years, how does that feel?
Ibiza is the highlight of every leading global DJ’s year. I started my weekly party over 10 years ago and love the party atmosphere of the island, in fact I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Ibiza is the clubbing epicentre of the world. All the biggest DJs play there, and over the course of any 7 day period throughout the summer the cream of the world’s EDM talent can be found at one or more of the 7 legendary clubs on the island.
Producing, DJing all around the world, hosting a radio show, promoting, charity work… How do you keep up with everything and where do you get the energy?!
It’s a non stop job. I do plenty of my work at 35,000 feet and I catch sleep as and when I can. It’s a job I love and that generates a huge amount of energy.
What would you like to say to all your fans coming to see you at the World DJ Festival?
I’m really looking forward to my return visit to Korea. The music, the people and – of course – the food is filling me with excitement already.
More info on the 5th World DJ Festival
Official WDJF site for tickets
Remix Winner: DJ Re-Zone on his set in Macau
After a huge weekend in Hong Kong and Macau – where he took in plenty of sightseeing as well as playing a blistering set for us at Club Lotus – we caught up with Russia’s DJ Re-Zone to find out what winning our Remix Competition means for him…
What did it feel like to discover you were the winner of our competition?
“I was pretty shocked when I had a call from Glide & Swerve with news about it! When I was working on my remix I didn’t have thoughts like ‘I have to win’, I was just making a remix because I really liked the original. I had no idea that I’d win – but I’m very glad that it happened! It was a great experience for me, but I hope it’s only a beginning.”
How did you approach remixing ‘Pentonville Blues’?
“I found out about this remix contest from Nowtrax news mail out and decided to try. Actually it took me just a few days to finish the remix – I was very inspired.
How did you enjoy your trip to Hong Kong / Macau?
“It was amazing. Good people, great party, awesome music – what else do we need?”
What were the highlights of the weekend?
“At first I was impressed by skyscrapers of Hong Kong and then by unbelievable building of the Venetian Hotel in Macau. Also I was really exited to play at the party and really enjoyed the feedback from the crowd – they were jumping, clapping, screaming and dancing – massive!”
What did you think about clubbing in Macau?
”I think the Venetian is totally crazy, I almost got lost in there, and clubs are also great – clear sound, amazing lights and positive people.”
We hear you’re making a track inspired by the trip?
“Yes, yes, yes! I was very inspired by my trip, the party and all those people that I met there. The track is already coming out massive! For main theme I took Hong Kong architecture, for groove our party and crowd, and at breakdown you’ll be lost in those big Venetian halls! I think I will title it ‘3 Days In Hong Kong’ or something like that. I’ll work my best on it, stay tuned…
I want to say a big thanks for Nowtrax and DJmag for the great party, for the Hong Kong and Macau crowd for a massive support at my gig, and of course big respect to Glide & Swerve and Boy George for the contest and a great original track.
With forthcoming tracks on Black Hole, Echoplast and his own Re-Zone Records to look out for, plus gigs in Europe and Canada in the coming weeks, this is one rising talent and a worthy winner of our first big competition. Next time, could it be you…?
Discover Re-Zone tracks on Nowtrax
Remix Winner Interview: Davide Vario
“I’m really happy to have conquered the second place of this important contest,” says Davide Vario, who came a worthy runner up in our Remix Your Way to Asia competition.
“When I produced this remix, I really didn’t believe this result was possible so I’m really satisfied of the final placement. This is a good motivation to go forward in this sector.”
He built his version based around many samples of the original track to avoid straying too far from the intended vibe, while bringing his own tech house elements to the mix.
I’m based so much on the original track using many samples of this, avoid to going out of the topic
“ I was using a soft bass and an involving rhythm to make the perfect atmosphere for the dancefloor,” he says of the mix.
Davide won 500 Nowtrax Downloads, a pair of black Limited edition Pioneer HDJ 1000 Headphones and IK Multimedia CSR Reverb Plug in suite.
Discover Davide Vario on Nowtrax
More from the party in Macau at the weekend coming to Nowtrax News soon. Here’s Davide’s second place mix:
Pentonville Blues (Davide Vario Remix) 2ND PLACE
Sonny Wharton Ready for Club Lotus
This weekend the big Nowtrax / DJ Magazine party takes place at Club Lotus in Macau and one of the headliners is the UK’s fast rising talent Sonny Wharton.
We grabbed a couple of minutes with Sonny ahead of the gig to find out what he’s planning for this gig – and needless to say we found him rather excited…
What are you looking forward to about playing at our party in Macau this weekend?
”I’m looking forward to it for a couple of big reasons to be honest. I’m really stoked to be invited to play an official Nowtrax event. To be literally downloading tracks from their site and then playing them straight out to their home crowd is pretty exciting! Also I absolutely LOVE playing in China – the whole culture there really excites me and I’ve enjoyed it every time I’ve come over. I’m sure it’s gonna be a lot of fun!”
When was the last time you played in Asia and what was the event like?
”I’ve not played China for a while but I was over in Manila a couple of weeks ago which was amazing fun and the crowd was just crazy. I ended up playing 2 sets – one in the main room and then another out on the terrace as the sun came up… definitely one of the gigs of the year for me so far.”
What can people expect from your set?
“Lots of energy is the best way I can describe it, I’ve never really been one to just stand still and let the tune play from start to finish, so expect the unexpected – big beats and grooves served with blood, sweat and tears!”
Any particular tune you are going to be hammering?
“Without sounding like a massive shameful plug I’m gonna be playing a lot of my new bits and my latest single ‘Porn Jaw’ is my current favourite (that definitely sounds slightly wrong doesn’t it?!) and seems to work at the moment for me.”
We can’t wait for Saturday night…
Listen/buy Sonny Wharton music on Nowtrax
Remix Winner Interview: Ricardo Gatto
“It’s an incredible feeling,” he says of his achievement. “All the hard work paid off and of course I’m staying one step ahead with my goals.”
He says the key to the success of his version was creating an “arc of suspense” in the mix. After that everything fell into place, although he will admit it took many hours of composing with his electronic keyboard too.
Pentonville Blues – Ricardo Gatto mix – 3RD PLACE
Amazingly this is Ricardo’s first ‘proper’ remix too. “Before, I tried producing some projects but failed as a consequence of my inexperience as a producer,” he tells us. “But now I’m ready to start producing the best music the world has ever heard!”
The next problem for the youngster is trying to fit in the music career with his ongoing studies.
“I will continue my own stuff and produce some new songs and remixes,” he says of the next steps. “Furthermore I’m looking for other good producers for a collaboration, and I’m also looking for a female vocal artist in my town, so my next song is coming out soon. The main problem is, I’m a student and don’t really have enough time to produce, so I would say my career has not really even started yet…”
With a Nowtrax Remix competition win under his belt, it looks like Ricardo could go far when he eventually turns his full attention to the music. World, watch out…
Nowtrax Remix Competition Winners Announced
We’re excited to be able to announce the winners in our ‘Remix Your Way To Asia’ contest. After much deliberation, the following great producers have scooped the prizes:
1st place: Re-Zone (aka Yakov Morozov)
2nd place: Davide Vario
3rd place: Riccardo Gatto
Ivan from Glide & Swerve says it was really difficult picking the eventual winners. “We judged the tracks on four areas awarding up to 25 points per area,” he says. “The areas were Creativity, Musicality, Originality, Production. The track with the overall highest score being the winner.”
Yakov will now be whisked to play at Club Lotus in Macau at the DJmag party on 23rd April. Meanwhile the contect has generated some great new music.
“We felt that there were some strong entries for the competition and will actually be releasing a number of the mixes this summer,” adds Ivan.
Here’s Yakov’s mix. We’ll be running interviews with each of the winners in the coming days. Congrats to all who entered.
Who Said Digital Killed the Art of DJing?
We’ve noticed a fair few DJs posting this clip on their Facebook feeds today in amazement. DJ Craze from Miami (the guy who was banned from the DMC chamnpionships for being unbeatable) takes Native Instruments Traktor Scratch Pro 2 for a test spin.
It’s interesting to see the split screen showing what he’s doing to the turntables via the Traktor display. Some may still say that the digital tools are giving him too much of a hand, but there’s no denying they are also helping the trusty old decks become more of a musical instrument in their own right than ever before.
A great example of the fact that the download era doesn’t signal the end of hands on DJ performance. Get out from behind those laptops and follow the Craze…
Download some tracks to scratch on Nowtrax
Remix Competition – The Contenders
The overall winner and a series of runners up will all be announced soon. Keep an eye on Nowtrax Facebook and Twitter for the results.
Tthe big party in association with DJ Magazine takes place at Club Lotus in Macau on April 23rd. Futher details of this and full coverage of our winner’s VIP DJ trip to Asia will follow via Nowtrax News…
REMIX YOUR WAY TO ASIA – WWW.NOWTRAX.COM
Symphonic Distribution Talk Music in 2011
Here’s an extensive interview with Jorge from Symphonic Distribution, who is a big fan of Nowtrax and was keen to discuss their approach to promoting music today and what the future may hold.
Can you tell the readers of NowTrax a little bit of what you do and who you are?
My name is Jorge Brea and aside of producing and DJing I also serve as the President and CEO of Symphonic Distribution. I was born in 1984 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and moved to Tampa, Florida in 1992 where I haven’t looked back since!
So you Produce and DJ?
Yep! I produce under the name of Viro with my production partner Rob Analyze. I like every genre thus produce pretty much every genre. Everything from Electro House, Tech House, Breaks, and an occasional Indie Dance track. On the DJ tip, I’ve played shows with Tiesto, Deadmau5, Dirt Nasty, and other producers / acts around the world so it’s definitely a blast to still be able to get the music out on top of the business.
When was Symphonic Distribution launched?
We launched in 2006 out of my tiny apartment. Since then we have grown to distribute over 1,000+ record labels and have a staff of 8 AWESOME individuals that keep us running. Alongside Digital Distribution, we also specialize in Marketing, Audio Services, Education, Licensing, and Label/Artist Development.
Do you work with all types of labels or just some?
We deal with all genres of music (even Spoken Word). I have always been a fan and a supporter of all types of music so I never wanted to be specific to one genre. We started out mainly distributing Breaks, and then Minimal and Tech House really took off for us. Nowadays we have a strong base in Dubstep and there’s no telling what genre will be a big focus for us. Nonetheless we have distributed Hip Hop, Classical, Comedy, Rock, and even Country.
We see you have some brands and such as well, what’s the deal with those?
Ahh the brands, we get asked that one a lot! We have brands to independently market specific offerings that Symphonic Distribution has. With being a digital distributor, many labels get scared in terms of dealing with a digital distributor if they have a contract with someone else. Our brands enable labels that are not signed to our distribution to still work
with us for offerings that may benefit them. We have a mastering service www.symphonicaudioservices.com, a music industry news and entertainment online blog www.noiseporn.com, and have recently acquired a Web / Graphic / Technology services firm www.everythingmedia.com. With just those three brands we can offer many resources to labels signed with us but also not signed. Everyone in this industry can work together but sadly, I personally see too many egos and companies strong-arming their clients into not doing so For those that do take up using other services (whether us or not) then kudos!
You started distributing to NowTrax in 2010, how is it like working with us at this point?
I love it! You guys are very detailed and very specific to what you want the brand to be portrayed as. In addition, the technology that has been rolled out is great and to see it done so fast also shows the hard work, determination, and ambition that you guys have. Keep it up and we look forward to your growth.
What do you like about NowTrax that you haven’t seen before from a company perspective?
I really like the fact that independent labels are a big focus. We’ve been hit up about getting label pages and artist pages done and we don’t see much of that from some partners so it’s nice to see that you guys have cared about our labels. I also really dig the connection with the social networks that you guys have. Last but never least, you guys feature our clients a lot so for that, on behalf of them, THANK YOU!
Where do you think the Music Industry is headed? Any advice for newcomers?
First, I see the major recording industry shifting from being ‘Major’ to having to be more creative. CD sales as a major record label are not a main revenue source anymore and the whole worry that big record labels have in terms of the digital industry is the fact that you can stream music on Pandora and other free sites. I think for Dance music, it’s actually a safe bet at this point because our music has to be downloaded and purchased. Our audience is the worldwide club industry which has always been independent to the major music industry thus, I think independent will be the new ‘major’ and the big record labels will have to just market themselves through licensing deals, online viral videos, and touring. In terms of advice for newcomers, I have plenty. It’s important for an artist to do the best he possibly can with a production. Be different and try and deliver the best quality product you can possibly deliver because the industry is ALREADY over saturated so less is more. Second, an artist and record label need to realize that if you are new, you will not make millions, thousands, or hundreds. Just work hard, and get your music out there because it’s different and unique not because of the money. Third, do not limit where your music goes. I have always believed that it is better to deliver your music to all retailers such as NowTrax because by limiting or giving exclusives to one retailer your actually limiting your awareness. The fear is that some retailers don’t make money OR that it’s better to keep it focused to one that does make a lot of revenue. Well, truthfully, if you were pressing vinyl, you knew you would not make money and you didn’t care WHERE it went, as long as it went there. Maybe I am old school in my thinking but, don’t limit your music, get it out there as much as possible and it will still not damage your sales or labels’ rep.
What are your thoughts on the many retailers that are out there today?
I think it’s exciting but also it is something we watch carefully. Unfortunately, we’ve seen retailers appear as if they will be great, successful, etc and just shut down (BeatsDigital the most recent). I think if all retailers work hard, and do their best, and on top of that gain support of the music industry distribution companies then we can all succeed and get a piece of the pie. UNFORTUNATELY, it’s unfair how other distributors treat retailers by demanding outrageous sign up fees. We see their point of view but if there is a partner that appears to be unique and different then it’s important to give them a chance. With all of this said though, I don’t think there will be too many more download stores and I think what is out there right now is suitable for the industry, now it’s all about everyone working together to reach that level of success we all want.
Thanks for your time once again, where can the NowTrax readers find out more about you and the company?
Thanks to the entire NowTrax team! You can get information on us at www.symphonicdistribution.com or: Facebook and Podcasts on Mixcloud.
Michel Cleis Miami Bound
It’s just a matter of hours before our big party in Miami, on the 25th at the infamous Cleavelander on Ocean Drive. (Full line-up and set times). So we grabbed a couple of moments with another of our headliners, the talented Michel Cleis, on what he’s most excited about this year as he prepares to rock South Beach with Nowtrax on Friday…
What are you looking forward to about being in Miami this year?
I’m really looking forward to meeting up with friends and just having fun.
What are you looking forward to about playing our party at the Clevelander?
Having fun again, it will be great, I’ve never played at The Clevelander, so it will be a kind of surprise party!
What do you think of the whole WMC/Ultra debacle this year? How do you think it will effect the future of Miami in March?
I think that it will be cool for Miami to have the Spring Break parties and the WMC as two separates things. I do not think that that will change much for the music conference. Let’s see if there will be people more focused on music out there at the end of March too.
What track are you going to be caning out there?
The running track!
Tell us a Miami secret.
I will, just after Ultra…
Tickets for Nowtrax at The Clevelander