Artist of the Year -Umek

Umek has been rated as the Artist of the Year… and he sure knows how to carry that title well!!!!!...... catch him if you can, because he is always on the move , with shows lined up one after the other, he will be shuttling between France, Ukraine and Usa in the month of may which proves that Umek  stays focused on his primary goal – making and selecting high quality productions that stand out from the rest and bringing his sound closer to people all around the world. 

I know we all do know about this maverick who has put the sound of the Slovenian techno on the world map of electronic music. The drastic change that he has brought about are worth talking about again and again.

Born in 1976, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Uros Umek began DJing in 1993. He and his friends were the pioneers of dance music in Slovenia, and between them they were responsible for putting on the first large scale parties in Slovenia. The result has been that Umek is Slovenia’s most famous DJ, and techno is Slovenia’s favourite form of music. Accompanied with his affiliates and colleagues he organized the first electronic music parties – so called “raves” in homeland Slovenia in the begging of 90’s of the 20th century. Pioneering the genre and parties he became worldwide simply known as “Fotr” – the Father of Slovenian techno and electronic culture. His current style is the combination of many different roots, which the more long term Umek fans may recognize. His dedication and impressive work rate have led to his studio skills being increasingly called with a wealth of successful releases under his belt.

In the beginning of the year 2007, Umek started a new 1605 Music Therapy - Sixteenofive, with which he marked the beginning of the second era of his music creation and what an era it is! After 4 years the label is tagged as a great success and is one of the world’s fastest growing techno labels, which spawns releases and new talents almost every week

Nominations and awards on world's prestigious music contests seem to just pour into Umek's pocket – he was voted to first place on last year’s Beatport's world Music Awards in techno category and he’s again nominated; this year as best artist overall, along with David Guetta, Deadmau5, Mark Knight and few others. 

But Umek’s success story is far from done. Successful projects like interesting documentary named “Techno heavy-weights Umek & Carl Cox in back to back interview” that were already completed and many in the oven for this year that only horizon is the limit for Umek

One aspect that sets him apart from the rest is his inculcation of  a humanitarian aspect in the realm of the music industry. He started of with Humanitarian open air party in Tivoli in 2005. With Umeks name in the forefront, the cause has gathered the much needed attention, help and donations, thus imbibing in youngsters a social responsibility. The proceeds have been used to help victims of criminal offences, and to help young people to cure from cancer

Top DJ Mix: John Digweed – Structures

John Digweed is a British deejay who is internationally known for his mixing and spinning prowess. the name John Digweed is synonymous with quality, ingenuity and integrity. While he continues to be a sought-after club deejay, he has expanded his musical interests to include club ownership and founding several record labels.

His resume of accomplishments makes his proteges swoon and his contemporaries nervous. He served as a resident at the northern club Renaissance during its early-to-mid nineties heyday. He was the first U.K. DJ (with Sasha) to hold a club residency in the U.S. He’ consistently voted one of the top 10 international DJs in prestigious club culture publications such as DJ Magazine and Muzik. He’ a talent whose appearances in locales such as Australia, Africa, and Asia are met with the same fervor and excitement they receive in Europe and America. And this DJ superstar continues to stay on the rise .
But it wasn’t al that easy for john Digweed, In 1987 Digweed moved to London and tried to get jobs by sending his mix tapes to clubs. When that failed, he hosted his own regular party in Hastings. he was very determined to make it  as a DJ. His breakthrough came in 1993 when he got a gig at the Renaissance Club in Mansfield after fellow DJ Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) heard his demo. In 1994 the pair mixed Renaissance, the first club-mix CD on the market. Digweed's work was continued to gain popularity, especially after "For What You Dream Of," a single first released in 1993, was included in the 1996 Trainspotting soundtrack.
He started the record label Bedrock Records to further promote the music he was playing at the time. In addition to starting the Bedrock imprint, he and friend Nick Muir produce under the Bedrock alias.
It’ the same strive towards excellence he brings to his work as a musician. His tracks, recorded with partner Nick Muir under, you guessed it, the moniker Bedrock, are bona fide classics, meshing the deep, luxurious hues of house with the atmospheric rush of trance in Digweed’ characteristic style
It’ the same strive towards excellence he brings to his work as a musician. His tracks, recorded with partner Nick Muir under, you guessed it, the moniker Bedrock, are bona fide classics, meshing the deep, luxurious hues of house with the atmospheric rush of trance in Digweed’ characteristic style
For his latest album venture, 'Structures', John Digweed has selected an exceptional 33 tracks, bringing together the latest Bedrock single releases and a plethora of unreleased, exclusive tracks and remixed tracks from 'Bedrock Eleven', all mixed together to perfection the man himself. It seems amazing that through such an illustrious career so far, John Digweed has never had a live DJ mix made commercially available
John Digweed has his finger firmly on the pulse of the electronic dance scene in 2010. It's an international showcase from this influential label that is hard to beat. 
"Few match the prowess of the British-born producer/DJ/entrepreneur, and now radio personality."A strong, steadfast foundation on which the ever-expanding global club culture continues to lean. A standard by which all other promoters, producers and DJs can be measured. With the talent and ambition that has a way of separating the diamonds from the rough, John Digweed’ Bedrock is set to move you in more ways than you can imagine.

Top Track of the year –Tarantula.

Pleasurekraft define their music as a  simultaneously visceral and cerebral experience induced only by the seductive, deep, groove heavy, underground techno inspired music that you hear the kids listening to .. – Common side effects include: unrelenting head bobbing giving way to complete surrender to physical movement commonly referred to as ‘dancing’. Tarantula - Every once in a while you get a track, that due to its killer hook and dancefloor presence goes on to become a smash hit. Well people, Edu Imbernon's Eklektisch are about to unleash this years first, in 'Tarantula'. 

After the tremendous success of their debut vinyl release UNER's 'Labaneria', which went onto gain huge support from so many of you, the label return with what is only their second Vinyl release to date. 

Pleasurekraft's 'Tarantula' is a track set to take this year by storm. A joyful bouncing bassline and bright percussion are overlaid with atmospheric synth waves that lead us into the breakdown. Its at this moment that we realize the power of the track. A warped vocal hook hits us, and creates a true 'hands in the air' moment. 

Each remixer on the package has taken that instantly recognizable vocal hook, and worked it together with their own brand of magic. First up is Italian producer Hugo who's version is like a huge shot of adrenalin. Driving drums and bass are broken by heavy synth stabs and an additional vocal sample. He chops the main vocal hook, and uses it to pierce the mix throughout. 

Label regular UNER puts more accent on the hook throughout his dreamy, tribal-tinged house workout. Our final remix outfit are the Ukrainian duo iO, who stick to the successful recipe that brought them success on their Diynamic Music release. Bouncy, funky and full of drive, their remix is a hip-shaker-deluxe and a definite to get the girls on the floor. Eklektisch once again have hit the bull's. With their latest release… when the groove captures you – all you can do is surrender with pleasure.

Voted as a Breakthrough Artist 2011…..

Diana "Wynter" Gordon (August 25, 1987) is an African-American singer and songwriter. Currently signed to Big Beat Records, Gordon plans to release her debut album, With the Music I Die, in 2011; having already released the lead single "Dirty Talk" which topped the US (Billboard) Hot Dance Club Songs and ARIA charts, which was certified 3x Platinum. After writing songs for artists such as Mary J. Bilge and Jennifer Lopez and a guest feature on Flo Rida's hit, "Sugar," Wynter is ready to prove her mettle. She's already secured a dance floor hit with "Dirty Talk," as she puts the finishing touches on her forthcoming debut album. When we talk about the switch from songwriting to being an artist she candidly reveals that “Sometimes that's the shot you get first; that's the door that opens first. So songwriting was actually the first door that opened for me but I always knew I wanted to perform. Now, I'm confident in my performance. I can say that”. Wynter describes herself as a writer, a vocalist, a dancer, a singer, who is  pretty amazing, she's a giver, she's sweet and that's what she is  bringing to music.

Her lyrics often reflect the challenging life experiences that she had to grow up with. Not having a dad around while growing up ,put her in a situation where she dated older men , which taught her many lessons and those experience are reflected in her music and in her as an individual.

All this fame and adulation did not come easy to her, she did have her own share of struggles and hardships. For the upcoming artists , the advice that she would give based on her personal experiences is that ,passion and resilience will get you to wards achieving what you desire. It has been frustrating for her as well to know that she is talented but to have to continue writing songs, however her resilience did definitely pay off……” I’m not an angel….i like it when you do that stuff to me” …. Now that’s something that’s playing on everyone’s mind.

Artist of the year : Deadmau5

He has been voted #1 DJ in the world by BeatPort.. Joel Zimmerman doesn’t like being called a DJ. The 28-year-old dance music phenomenon from Toronto, better known as Deadmau5, rolls his eyes a the description, which he sees as a hopelessly outdated way of describing what he does. His sets are closer to live performances. He plays mostly his own material, assembling tracks on the fly, using cutting edge computer technology, including software he’s helped write himself. “There are no CDs involved,” he explains. “It’s a technological orgy up there and I try and keep it more my music than anyone else’s. If people come out to see Deadmau5 I want them to hear Deadmau5 music.

In 2005, deadmau5 released his first album, “Get Scraped.” His latest album is “4x4=12,” released in 2010.He has worked with a number of artists both underground and mainstream - including Melleny Melody, Orgy,Kaskade, MC Flipside, Rob Swire of Pendulum, Skrillex, and Steve Duda. Deadmau5 was ranked #6 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ Poll 2009, and #4 in 2010 In 2009, he was nominated for Grammy Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical (“The Longest Road” (Deadmau5 Remix) by Morgan Page featuring Lissie). In 2010, he won 3 awards from the international dance music awards.
Deadmau5 is on a dizzying upward trajectory. Dance music just got very exciting again.His forthcoming shows are on the 13^th of may at I-Club, Shanghai, China, and later on the 14^th at : New Taipei Exhibition Hall, Taipei City, Taiwan, and on the 29^th  at  XS Nightclub at The Wynn, Las Vegas.

Swedish house mafia’s track -“One” rated as the track of the year …….

I wanna know your name

You just killed me,could you at least do that

Or better yet,stand there, just do that…….

Well dnt we already know their name ……… they have constantly been  giving us music , which makes us just wanna stand and listen to it …..One is a song by Swedish house music group the Swedish House Mafia. It was originally released in Sweden on 6 June 2010. A vocal version titled "One (Your Name)", featuring American singer Pharrell Williams was released in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2010. The song debuted on BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on 22 April 2010. A month later the vocal version featuring Pharrell Williams was played. "One" has peaked at number two in Belgium (Flanders) and on the UK Dance Chart. It reached number one in the Netherlands, number seven in Ireland and on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted in Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Austria and Germany.

Rumour has it that the song has some references to david guetta as well …. who the House Mafia have claimed imitated one of their songs, by using an extremely similar beat and synth line….. hmmm now does david guetta really  need that???? The robber in the video is seen with a tattoo that says 'F##k Me, I'm Famous', which happens to be the title of Guetta's album… oops !!!!.......