Rising Digital Blog

Lady Gaga - formerly known as Stefani Germanotta

Love or hate her, she's hugely successful around the globe and brings a certain 'uniqueness' to the pop world. Personally I find her rather cold in an ice queen kinda way, but respect this whole persona she has created, hat off to her. 

Unfortunately she does a have striking resemblance to a former employer of mine (no she didn't march round with boxes on her head, shoulder pads stopping door passage and a bejewelled face) but was someone I never found any common ground with or particularly warmed too. 

I knew Lady Gaga was talented musically, able to play an array of instruments, yet this is an aspect we rarely see of her. Today I found a video to transform this opinion (nope, not of my ex-boss) but of Lady Gaga. Formerly known as Stefani Germanotta, this video shows her performing avec piano at Ultraviolet Live, NYU's annual talent show. Truly stunning. More please.

Zippyshare Vs Ripblock

Every once in a while something comes along that just makes 100% sense. Something simple that's easy to understand, use and shows immediate results. This morning I took a call from a client on tour down under. His latest single had hit the digital beatport shelves in the late part of the week. Despite our initial efforts to produce quality content and make the first page of Google ours, a few illegal files had already crept up to 6,7 and 9. If you didn't fancy any of those versions, fear not, the following four pages were enough to make any musician feel slightly nauseous. What can you do...? Really? We all know it happens, and most people have accepted it as a way of life. Ever since music could be made on a laptop the market has been saturated with so much shite, well... anyway... I digress... It's now common knowledge that a DJ/Producer's main income is made from touring. Fair do's. However, there are some services out there which can help those artists who aren't all about the gigs. Check out this process with approximate timings:

8:30am - I communicate with the aforementioned client in Australia

8:45am - I call www.ripblock.com for the very first time - No answer on the landline. So, with it being the weekend, I opted for the info@ email rather than calling some poor buggers mobile

9:36am - Ripblock get back in touch via email.

9:55am - We make the choice of service and pay via paypal.

10:52am - The first of 46 emails arrive in my inbox confirming that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512 has been sent, a request has been made for the removal of (name of track) on the behalf of (name of label).

11:19am - I receive an email from Ripblock confirming they have cleared everything that is currently online and will maintain the monitoring process for the remainder of our contract (two weeks)

I'm sorry, but how bloody fantastic is that? All for £50? Bargain.

The Social Media Guru

This is genius. Enjoy it with a cup of tea or have a diet-coke break. Either way, sit back, hit play and get ready to laugh.

Swedish House Mafia Killed Brixton Academy!

So, the Swedish house mafia were playing two dates, 6^th and 7th November and poor old me didn’t have a ticket to the both SOLD OUT shows! Depression had already kicked in as my weekend looked abysmal, Burnley town centre with resident DJ Baz or the 3 biggest names in house music. Hand me the rope.

Now, I was already glowing a gorgeous shade of green, due to the fact I had to hear about it every day at work (rising digital), so when my boss, rung me and said I could attend (obviously on the basis I did some work) I was ‘Well Made Up’ !!!

 In the style of Gordon Ramsey:

Train booked

Clothes packed

Arrive in London

Done.

Brixton Academy is huge, huge in the fact it’s a big venue and huge in the fact it’s where top acts have performed so this was a big gig! I arrived early, got in the drinks and waited. The support act was Steve Angello’s younger brother, AN21, and I have to admit I was pretty impressed. I would have been more than happy to listen to his set all night, however knowing the Swedes were coming on made me want him to hurry up and finish!

The Swedes killed it, though some people say they are a bit commercial there was not one person in that place complaining! The music was amazing; playing their own tracks and remixes from more pop/rock artists like The Temper Trap and La Roux.

I have to say I wasn’t massively into the Swedes at first, I loved Steve Angello on his own and even Ingrosso. Now I can say with my hand on heart I’m a true gods honest fan. I adore the way all three (axwell, angello and ingrosso) buzz off each other. One always plays to the crowd with the other two working away banging out the tunes keeping the crowd well and truly entertained.  You can feel the energy they are giving off and how much they love what they’re doing, which in turn makes you love what they’re doing.

I’m really not usually one for mentioning the lighting and sound of the gig (though I did study lighting etc for a year at uni but will run if anyone asks me anything about it), but the lighting, smoke effects and even half naked lady gaga style dancers were amazing. The light show was up there with the best, strobes and all, confetti from the ceiling and smoke guns. It absolutely made the night not just a ‘gig’ but a performance.

The thing that annoys me about shows like this is if the gig was by Robbie Williams, Girls Aloud or even Muse it would have been respected as one of the top gigs, not for the crap pop music but for the way the show was produced and the amount of fans the event actually pulled in. Not only did the Swedes manage to sell out a venue like Brixton Academy, but they also put an extra night on last minute that also sold out. For a house music act in my book that is something to be respected.

MC Hammer on Social Media and the music industry...

Who would of guessed - MC Hammer a Social Media Strategist...? I had to admit that watching this clip made me giggle a bit, although he makes some serious points, I can't help but visualize baggy trousers and some dodgy 90s dance routine. However funny it may seem though, the guy deserves some credit in the Social Media world. He has over one and a half million people following him on Twitter which he updates regularly, he also runs an online community named Dancejam which has grown from strength to strength since the launch in March 2008 and has his own blog. In addition to this he has been a keynote speaker at various events including the Social Media Strategies Conference which took place in San Francisco earlier this month.

As he explains "Other than when it's time to rehearse and perform, there shouldn't be anytime when [young bands] are not involved in social media."  And he has a point, any new artist or band trying to break through needs to be active online. In today's world the consumers rely on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and every other platform to not only listen to music but to actually express their appreciation for the artists. To ignore the opportunity to interact with the fan base is simply lazy, after all where would they be without their fans?!

Question Time

Well this storm has been brewing over the past month or so when it was announced the BNP leader NIck Griffin was to appear on Question Time this evening. Well it's definitely reaching hurricane status with protesters arriving by the coach load. 

My own recent fascination with Question Time has somewhat surprised me, especially with my very limited knowledge of politics, yet I find myself consciously clocking it's Thursday......slippery slope. It may be wrong, but I do find it particularly amusing when David Dimbleby reads out the website and email address as if it's some alien invention. When he then goes on to suggest following them on Twitter I must admit I do laugh out loud. He looked truly dumfounded. Had anyone explained twitter to him? Or even email? 

Anyway, I will definitely be watching this evening and I am particularly looking forward to Jack Straw giving Mr.Griffin what he deserves. Myself a Burnley girl I am well aware of the party with them winning three seats in the area way back  in 2002.  I know Jack will have experienced the racial tension and society I grew up in being from neighbouring town Blackburn and know the arguments from every angle. 

The BNP need stopping. Go on Jack!

Question Time live blog click here.

Defected Records

A few weeks ago I picked up on a quality little video from the very nice people at Defected Records. Now it's time to talk about its last 'Defected in the House' release of the year; Zuok Out - Singapore '10, mixed by djB and Simon Dunmore. Wow... does this remind me of good times in the early days. I think I might need to head to the 1210s tonight and work my way through my whole 1998-2003 collection of 'real' house records. This little gem of a 2CD part mix comp is released on 26th October 2009, but as with all digital downloads, can be pre-ordered by simply clicking the 'Buy' links below. Enjoy the samples [Feedback welcome as always].

Defected In The House: Zouk Out Singapore '10 by defectedrecords

New Music

The City of Manchester

Last week the full Rising Digital team met the Rising Music squad for the very first time. Fun was had, the Warehouse Project was amazing and as per usual these days, I was tucked up in bed by 4am, while the kids danced their way into the very early hours of the morning. Instead of talking about the music, I wanted to highlight two other topics which made our purpose and stay all the more fun.

The first was the City Inn Hotel, literally a stone's throw away from the venue. Easy parking round the corner - if you know Manchester ;) Nice friendly staff, a nice bar area etc etc... but Mac geeks, get ready for this. Each room comes with your very own iMac and FREE wireless internet. The bathroom was clean and simple, the bed was huge and the room service at 3am was delicious. And all for.... have a guess? £69/room. Bargain! If you are going to the WHP I think they even do an additional discount - but you may want to give them a buzz to confirm.

Second comes the Mino HD Flip. I've been working on artist tour blogs etc for some time now, but I think everybody has their own style. What they film, what gets said and obviously the key point - what gets edited! Now I'm no professional - with no actual training in filming, but I do love playing with the camera. So, we picked up the aforementioned camera last week on Amazon for £129. It weighs less than a small mobile phone, takes up to 60mins of footage and charging is done through a simple usb drive. The whole product just screams simplicity. People may bitch about the size of the screen, but it really didn't bother me, and again, if you're on Mac and use iMovie, there's no faffing about with file conversions - they just drop neatly in and you can edit to your hearts desire. So, like I said, I'm no pro, but this is what came out of last Friday - feedback welcome:

Rising Digital, Technology, Travel, Travel

They are coming.....

I love a well worded, entertaining, easy to identify with rant, which is exactly what Mark Sage provided me with. 

B&Q - You broke my heart is a story that could be applied to many large stores across the UK with the cost-cutting, 'time saving' automated tills popping up in everyone's daily lives. They nearly pushed me to the brink in Asda and I daren't even ask my dear old grandma what she makes of these devices, the concept of mobile phones still defies belief. I'll pop this on the list of subjects to avoid discussing when visiting, along with the Japanese, Gordon Brown and the cost of goat's milk.

This all quite nicely leads me into a subject that has been shrouding my mind of late with both foreboding dread and ridicule. After watching Eagle Eye on Sunday night (the computer's will take over the world theme) alongside I, Robot, The Terminator and other such films, I flippantly voiced, if I were a computer, how I would defeat the human race. 

Based upon apps and sat navs and all these technological devices to make everyday easy - when it comes to the next generation (of humans) will they have basic map reading skills, or come to think about it even a map? In these blockbuster films the story has to include, to truly send the world into kaos, is the taking down of the mobile phone network. Well that's my Grandma as the next heroine then, she will teach the world to once again survive without it. In fact, break open the Shreddies factory and those computers will be quaking in their boots. 

Wait a minute, I did have a point. So you dump humans in the middle of nowhere, no food, no water (no maps!) and they merely perish. Job done.

Hang on, is that a mobile phone I hear ringing? Ah yes, it's Hollywood. How can they get in touch with Shreddies? They don't seem to have an email address or phone........

Cobblestone Jazz...Un reve indeed!

Bonjour! I have just returned from ‘Gay Paris’ what an amazingly beautiful city, it's safe to say all true tourist duties were completed! However, it wouldn’t have been a ‘real’ trip without hitting a club now would it? So, not only was I in Paris but I had also managed to grab some tickets to see Cobblestone jazz at Un Reve (roughly translated ‘a dream’), at the renowned Rex Club.

The night warmed up with some long awaited French house  thanks to Mike Shannon and despite having only slept for 2 hours, having bags under my eyes that Touche éclat couldn’t fix and being slightly dazed from drinking beer in the sun all afternoon, I instantly felt vivacious, something told me it was going to be a good night.

After a few drinks and attempting to speak French to the locals I took pride of place right at the front of the crowd awaiting a performance from the almighty legends that are; Mathew Jonson, Tyger Dhule & Danuel Tate. After dropping some new tunes they threw in one or two oldies for good measure, it was when they played ‘Dump Truck’ that I’m pretty sure the club came to a holt in amazement. I too found myself at a standstill as I watched the improvising pianist with my mouth wide open. The realisation of how talented these guys were started to sink further and further in when they, mid-set looked as if they could have been taking a walk through a park, effortlessly brilliant - is there anything more annoying?

There was no denying that the jaw droppingly good trio absolutely destroyed it, Rex went off, there were overpriced drinks spilling everywhere! It was completely different to any set I have ever witnessed, looped riffs and irregular chords thrown together with techno beats was a perfectly synchronised recipe that completely took my breath away. In one word...Genius!

The night/morning was rounded up by French DJ Yakine with some more, good solid techno followed by a spot more house, the perfect end to a perfect evening. There was one more thing left to do before returning to the hotel...breakfast at a French bakery, oui s'il vous plait!

There is just one burning question on my mind... where on earth can I find other Cobblestone Jazz - esque acts or are they one of a kind? Answers on the back of a postcard please! :)

Missed the gig? Check out their awesome set here!!

Cobblestone Jazz Live @ Un Reve Rex Club Paris - 26-09-2009 by R_co