Producer/actor Maestro Harrell (The Wire) sits down with Open Labs to talk about the role of music in his career, his move from laptop based production to the Open Labs Neko LX5, and his favorite software and production techniques.
Damu The Fudgemunk drops the second promo for his upcoming releas The Bright Side (Remix), which is scheduled for a November 23rd release date. I’m really looking forward to the The Bright Side remix, one of my greatest creations or pieces of work to come out. I’ve been sitting on that for about a year. … Read more
Once again DJ Ian Head delivers a welcomed interruption to our automatic listening habits. Ian’s November 2010 mix entitled Jazz Pianos serves up a number of the original jazz piano masters including Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, McCoy Tyner, Junior Mance, Monty Alexander, and Oscar Peterson. Anyway – here’s a couple cuts for folks to warm … Read more
Al Lindstrom interviews DJ A-Trak as the DJ/producer/label owner discusses Fools Gold, the differences between indie vs major lables, and the benefits that new artists experience as a result of signing with an independent label rather than a major.
Notable Quote/Gems Dropped:
In this climate of the record industry, in order for a record label to survive, the label has to really be more than a record label. It has to be a lifestyle brand basically.
Part 2 after the break!
DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mayer Hawthorne sit down in the plush red chairs of Karmaloop to discuss their mutual admiration for each others work before revealing some of the lesser known details of their personal tastes in music. I’ll listen to NWA on the way to a Pat Metheny concert. — Jazzy Jeff
Some of the most influential DJ’s in hip-hop recently gathered in Los Angeles to honor Grandmaster Roc Raida. DJ’s Rob Swift, DJ Precision, Sean C, Boogie Blind, D-Styles, Mr. Choc, J-Rocc, Rhettmatic and more were all on hand to pay tribute and offer appreciative comments about the late DJ.
Happy Halloween! Crate Kings reader Matty Melks went to work and created Night of The Undead Funk, a Halloween inspired remix of the classic horror film Night of The Living Dead. The spooky movie remix/production video features multiple instruments, costumes, and flesh eating zombies.
The Indie Life Edition of The Beatdown, a Washington DC based producer event that has consistently taken place since 2007, will feature 88 Keys, DJ Spinna, and Kev Brown sharing their gems with a live crowd. In addition to the groundbreaking producers, DJ MarkNfinit, Smcity, and Ra The MC will all be on hand to keep the crowd entertained.
Producer Hezekiah creates an instrumental a track using a sample of gospel artist Albertina Walker. In the process he utilizes NI Kontakt before layering live drums, bass, and vocal elements. Hezekiah’s latest release entitled Conscious Porn is now available from Soulspazm Records. I take the track as far as I can take it, then I … Read more
Record collector extraordinaire Soulman delivers yet another unreleased mix to please crate diggers. The mix, which uses music from Hotwax / Invicticus labels, definitely delivers satisfaction. As a bonus, Soulman promises a special prize to anyone capable of naming all of the records used in the mix!