December 2011

Broken Records releases ‘Daydreams’, the debut EP from Toronto based DJ/producer Melanie Sutherland.  Taking you on a spiritual, blissful journey, with its sweet soulful vocals and classic Afro-beat vibe, this is lovely EP from Melanie, especially for those who like to hear their 4/4 beats on the mellow tip.

Dance music legend David Morales announces the release of his new single, ‘Holiday’, which is out now on Ultra Music. Featuring songwriting and vocal contributions from Polina and a replay of the drum parts used in the 1992 Robert Owens classic ‘I'll Be Your Friend’, ‘Holiday’ is a return to the classic David Morales sound.

Rising Swedish DJ, remixer, and producer Avicii and At Night Management announced the official dates for their one million dollar House For Hunger January 2012 Tour.  The tour which boasts 26 high-performance shows packed into 27 days is set to kick-off on Thursday, January 5th in Detroit, Michigan and will stop in various cities throughout the U.S. where fans have yet to see Avicii perform. On the heels of a Best Dance Recording Grammy nomination for the co-produced David Guetta track ‘Sunshine’, U.S. fans will get to hear for the first time live Avicii’s newly released single ‘Levels’.

Just out this week on EnMass Music, 'Salmiakki Sessions Vol 1' by Darude is a reflection of his monthly namesake radio mix show 'Salmiakki Sessions', which has been on air since 2005. This mix compilation consists of 10 of his recent remix productions as well as tried and tested tracks that he's been playing in his live DJ sets regularly. Like the radio show, the compilation also aims to support both household and up-and-coming fellow Finnish names in the dance music scene. Hit ‘read more’ if you want to get the full tracklisting.

In 2011, Tristan Garner has seen his tracks released on renowned labels such as Armada, Joia, Nebula, Subliminal and Magik Musik. In addition to these he has also had a consistent stream of top notch releases on his own Xtra Life Records, including a collaboration with Gregori Klosman entitled 'Bounce' and the original 'Overdrive'.

Freestylers have had a very successful 2011 and the next year is panning out to be even more of a success. Aston and Matt Freestylers have played their Dex and FX show in every continent to over 100K fans, old and new, and have graced the festival stages of Glastonbury, Boardmasters, Jelly, Frequency (Austria), Solfest, and Summer Break (Romania) to name just a handful. The award-winning duo was also hand picked as part of the entertainment for when the NFL hosted events in Trafalgar Square and Wembley.  

Marking the year where disco reached the masses and bore many new offshoots and fusions, the award-winning Future Disco series celebrates with its fifth episode ‘Downtown Express’ carefully crafted by Sean Brosnan. In 2011 disco became yet more engulfed into its musical siblings. Its intrinsic sounds were in a constant state of flux, typical of the ever-changing beast dance music. The new breed of disco brought the arrival of basslines from artists such as Maxxi Soundsystem and Maceo Plex and further merged it with contemporary house music.

A former Tune of the Day for us, check out the updated video for Inner City’s ‘Future’ track. Led by Kevin Saunderson, his Inner City project is one of the most iconic acts in electronic dance music. Their late ‘80s records ‘Good Life’ and ‘Big Fun’ helped introduce Detroit techno to a worldwide audience, topping the domestic dance charts and also breaking into the UK overall top 10.

Klartraum return on their own Lucidflow imprint with a new set of remixes of ‘Helping Witness’, featuring the talents of Helly Larson, Markojux and Yapacc. Klartraum duo, Nadja Lind & Helmut Ebritsch have between them released on imprints such as Soma, Darkroom Dubs and Morris Audio and have over the past few years built their own Lucidflow into a label to be reckoned with. 2011 saw the release of their critically acclaimed debut LP as well as Nadja’s own solo debut album.

International DJ agency IMD have announced the arrival of Sebastien Drums to their booking roster.

 Since Sebastien began his residency at the Palace Club in the South Of France back in 2006 he has grown to become an internationally renowned artist and performer with an ever growing number of high profile DJ bookings and releases to his name.

Keeping in tradition of resolutions for the New Year, The Hoxton Pony seems more committed than ever to keeping things fresh and exciting both on the decks and the dance floor of the East London hangout. It’s now set to launch two brand new nights to run along with its huge Saturday night, BBM ME.

Following a string of well received international dates throughout 2011 and the most recent UK concerts at The Lowry, Salford, Peter Hook And The Light have announced a UK tour for May and June 2012, visiting a number of cities for the first time to perform Joy Division’s debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and returning to London for their second ever concert in the capital, playing ‘Closer’.

The founder of Glastonbury festival, Michael Eavis is to be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s European Festival Awards ceremony.

 Each year the prize is dedicated to an individual whose personal vision and energy has propelled the entire festival industry forward in a dynamic, creative and positive way.

 Michael is to be given the Lifetime Achievement Award because of his seminal role in the European festival industry. 

After nearly 15 years and more than 390 releases, Compost Records bundles some of their finest tunes together as Various Artists’ digital download compilation albums. The variety and full spectrum of Compost’s repertoire has never or rarely been presented in the form of a musical genre compilation and these releases will be compiled or DJ-mixed by Compost’s artists and are available as digital downloads, except in some rare cases where they will be limited to 500 CDs.

Kiko Navarro is one of Spain's most accomplished and respected producers with releases on some of the most highly regarded labels. His latest track, ‘Let You Go’, featuring D7, includes remixes from DJ Rocco & Jay J, as well as a collaborative mix with Kiko and DJ Rocco.  

Over the course of the past 15 years John B has become one of the most eclectic, unique and respected artists in electronic music. His ability to stretch the elastic of drum & bass over the past decade has brought him together with an array of figureheads from all corners of the scene from Metalheadz boss Goldie, to legendary global DJ Paul Oakenfold. 

Swedish House Mafia have announced that tonight’s landmark, sold-out show at Madison Square Garden will be streamed live on YouTube.com/Fuse.  The show kicks off at 10:30pm Eastern Standard time. As the first DJ act to headline the world’s most famous arena, they have solidified their place in music history. 

French house supremo, Lifelike, delivers the gems with ‘Remix Machine’, an exclusive collection showcasing all his favourite remixes released on his own Computer Science label this December. ‘Remix Machine’ boasts a veritable hot list of established and up and coming acts Lifelike has lent his remix skills to over the years.

In the year’s overview of iTunes The Netherlands, 14-year-old producer Erik Arbores was chosen ‘Best New Artist of the Year’ within the dance category. In the ‘Rewind 2011’, iTunes reveals its best sold singles, albums and favourite artists of the past 12 months. Erik’s debut single ‘Bliss’ climbed back to the Top 10 this past weekend and so in the meantime, the young talent has been busy creating new tracks and exploring the DJ side of EDM.

Smashing his way through the year, firstly with ‘A Little Louder’ and then the follow up ‘Don’t Cry’, Kid Massive unleashes the third and potentially biggest single from his forthcoming artist album. Combining forces with Sam Obernik and Dutch MC Jay Colin, the trio deliver an infectious, electro-pop hit in the form of ‘Yawn’.

Multi award winning DJ and widely acclaimed turntable master Krafty Kuts unleashes ‘Pounding’, the next big single from his upcoming studio album, ‘Let’s Ride’. Taking the form of cutting edge, stripped back and downright grimey beats, ‘Pounding’ represents Krafty in his newest form. Vocals from Dynamite MC feature heavily in what could be one of the year’s biggest bass records. 

Think it's safe to say that it’s been one hell of a year for Radio 1 Superstar DJ competition winner, Danny Howard, as he’s fast becoming one of the most in demand of the next generation of dance music stars! 

‘No Sugar’ is a collaboration between established UK producer/DJ Joey Negro and Serbian producer/DJ Gramophonedzie. After searching the internet for a unique-sounding jazz-swing sample to use on their first tune together, they came across the moody-but-sexy 'Sugar Sugar' on the Soundcloud of unsigned future-jazz vocalist Shea Soul. 

Loco Dice, international artist and Desolat label owner, has had a massive year in 2011, playing some of the most renowned clubs and festivals in the world. At the beginning of 2012 Loco Dice is again set to return not only to his artistic roots, but also to a fundament of dance culture that we love - small, intimate clubs with a capacity of 300 or less.

This month, Kevin Saunderson, Ann Saunderson and Paris Grey, collectively known as the legendary band Inner City released ‘Future’, their first entirely new material since parting company in 2001. It’s a welcome return for a group that combined the tough, futuristic grooves of the Detroit scene with the vocal energy of R&B and gospel and helped to define the period in which house and techno moved from underground phenomena to Top 10 material, paving the way for hundreds of dance hits to come. 

The Shins have confirmed a March 2012 release for their fourth album ‘Port Of Morrow.’ It will be released jointly on James Mercer's own Aural Apothecary label and Columbia Records. 

Grammy Award winning producer/DJ Sharam returns with his new single ‘Our Love’, released on the world renowned Yoshitoshi Recordings. Nearly two years in the making, ‘Our Love’ is a fantastic return for a producer known for making pure magic when uniting a storming instrumental dance track with the perfect vocals. The voice of ‘Our Love’ comes from Iranian-American singer/songwriter Anousheh Khalili who’s best known for her appearance on Deep Dish’s ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Say Hello’, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2006 in the Best Dance Recording category. 

Nils Noa and Christian Sol’s Troll Records imprint returns with another release of homegrown house from Oslo’s Alex Jangle, featuring two stellar remixes. Alex, who has been a key part of Oslo’s underground scene for almost a decade as a DJ, promoter and more recently a producer, steps up with a brand new single of deep percussive house music. 

Michael Canitrot returns to dancefloors with his new instrumental cut 'Blue Collision', a beast of a peak time whopper. Exploring different angles is what the Parisian maestro does best and here we hear him in very comfortable underground bassline territory.  

Tiësto is performing live at the Mission Impossible premiere in Brazil right now!

With all early bird tickets already sold out, the award winning EXIT Festival gears up for 2012 with tickets on sale from Friday 16th December. Festival-goers who have been to EXIT before will also be rewarded with the new loyalty club ticket making it even easier and more affordable to experience one of the best and most unique festivals in Europe. 



Global Guide ’12 is a mammoth 50-track collection featuring the biggest tunes currently tearing up December’s dancefloors globally and the tracks you can expect to be hearing most of in 2012. Centred on tough, techy and driving house Global Guide sees brand new tracks from Boys Noize, Stefano Noferini, Intruder (MURK) featured alongside anthemic cuts from Dirty South and Those Usual Suspects, Steve Angello, Afrojack, Nouveau Yorican, Chocolate Puma & Gregor Salto and Matteo Di Marr. 

Young Guns recently announced their first headline tour of 2012 and their first in support of forthcoming second album, ‘Bones’. Written over a number of months everywhere from Thailand to Spain to a shed in the band's hometown of High Wycombe, 'Bones' (recorded at Karma Sound Studio in Bang Saray, Thailand and subsequently mastered to tape) marks Young Guns' transition from a band packed with potential to possible bonafide contenders.

Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival returns to the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA March 3, 2012. Presented by Cypress Hill and Guerilla Union, the all day, mind-opening music festival will feature over 20 artists on two stages including previously announced artists Sublime With Rome and Cypress Hill, as well as multi-platinum rock act Korn who are performing in support of their recently released new album ‘The Path of Totality’. 

Since her breakthrough as the first female to put out a release on Sharam’s Yoshitoshi label, Miss Nine has become the youngest DJ to ever play the main stage at the iconic festival Dance Valley, share the stage with global superstars like Tiësto and David Guetta, as well as become one of the faces of Pioneer. All the while, she’s been continuing her soaring modeling career which currently has her placed as the ambassador of the revolutionary Levi’s® Curve ID line. To further build on her successes over the past year, the German born, Dutch based model, turned DJ will be rounding up her year with the debut album release ‘Around The World’ on her 925 Music label.

Born in 2005 in central Italy before recently relocating to Berlin, Slow Motion Records is a label that has firmly established itself in nu-disco circles with just a handful of outstanding releases.

 Slow Motionʼs eighth release, ʻDeep Electricʼ, comes from Massimiliano Pagliara and Roctiv aka The Rimshooters and is backed by a remix from modern disco legend Fabrizio Mammarella.



British dance music act, Leftfield, with the help of Red Bull Studios London, will curate a stellar line-up of artists at the O2 Academy Brixton on 21st April 2012, all in aid of War Child. 

This new five track EP from London’s Dogmatik imprint delivers five distinct flavours of modern house music from accomplished producers Mark E, Dusky, Stojche, BUBBA and Dimi Wilson.

 Having helped shape the career of Maya Jane Coles in its early years, Dogmatik is a label that has seen growing attention of late and the imprint’s reputation is far from shabby for good reason.



Rising house duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano released their remake of Tiesto’s classic ‘Lethal Industry’ today and if early indications are anything to go by, it could be a club smash all over again.

Next year, electro-pop icons Goldfrapp release ‘The Singles’, a career-spanning overview featuring tracks from their five critically acclaimed albums, alongside two brand new songs written especially for this release: ‘Yellow Halo’ - a slow building synth-pop wonder, and the introspective and defiant new wave ballad ‘Melancholy Sky’.

The Japanese Popstars have been racking up the air miles, carving out a global reputation to rival the biggest names in dance music as a must-see live act and purveyor of raucous, foot-stomping, energetic electronic dance music. The band are preparing for the release their new single, ‘Shells Of Silver’, one of the slower tempo songs from their new album ‘Controlling Your Allegiance’, it features the rich melancholic vocals of Irish folk artist, James Vincent McMorrow.

No.19 Music looks towards the first release of 2012, teaming up with hotly tipped Mexican DJ/producer Louie Fresco for the first single from his debut album. The label, co-owned by Jonny ‘Art Department’ White and Nitin has, in a few short years risen to become one of the most hyped and respected labels around, and with releases in 2011 from the likes of Soul Clap, Maceo Plex, Tanner Ross & Lee Foss the eyes of the world have turned to this truly exciting imprint.

It’s been announced that due to Grammy commitments, a number of dates on Skrillex’s forthcoming ‘Grey Daze’ UK tour have been rescheduled. The announcement comes following news last week that the breakthrough artist swept the board with five Grammy nominations. The dates affected are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Manchester. 

Newly signed to Island records, the hottest property in house, Torontonian four-piece Azari & III are set to drop their latest single ‘Reckless (With Your Love)’, on 12^th February, with producer Paul Epworth stepping up on remix duties with further remixes to come from Riva Starr, Julio Bashmore and Tiga. The band will finally be releasing their album, which was previously available only on import and limited edition vinyl, on 19^th February 2012.

Next week sees the release of Strictly Rhythm’s debut chillout compilation ‘Strictly Chill - Volume 1’. This release shows a new side for the Strictly label and is a great mix of chilled out versions of old and new classics from the label.

Following on from ‘Phoenix’, one of our tunes of the day, John Dahlbäck’s back with another dose of fire that’s heating up the global dancefloor. ‘Grunge’ is the latest release on his very own Mutants imprint and as the tile implies, this track is dirty, greasy and downright nasty. It’s peak time electro house. Where ‘Phoenix’ brought beautiful synths, infectious hooks and rushing melodies, ‘Grunge’ brings the filth.

While his Maceo Plex alias is on the lips of almost everyone in dance music, Eric Estornel returns to his oldest moniker, Maetrik, to deliver a three track techno EP for the Truesoul imprint.

Having released countless techno releases as Maetrik, Estornel is no novice when it comes to tougher sounds and ʻThe Entityʼ showcases his ability to deliver unique, forward thinking techno in spades.



The record label of legendary duo Gabriel & Dresden, Organized Nature, has joined forces with Armada Music. Last year, Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden made a successful comeback, signing to Armada Music Management and releasing their new compilation series ‘Mixed For Feet’. 

Swedish House Mafia have announced their official after party following their landmark ‘One Night Stand’ performance at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden on Friday, Dec. 16th, 2011. Tickets for the event at Roseland Ballroom go on sale tomorrow, Friday, December 9th at 10AM EST at www.livenation.com, www.ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800.745.3000, and at select Ticketmaster locations. 

Tiësto is poised to explode onto the fashion scene with his new clothing line CLVB LIFE, being released today at Kitson (Los Angeles) and Atrium (New York and Miami). CLVB LIFE launches with a collection of high-end tees catering to club culture, declaring that it’s the first time the electronic dance music movement has been given a voice in the fashion world. 

The origins of Bargrooves lies in the mid-nineties growth of bar culture and the birth of the DJ bar. Through the emergence of style bars a new branch of DJ culture was able to grow and club music could be enjoyed in a new refreshing context.  Imprints such as Bargrooves became boutique house music labels for the discerning bar clubber and DJ connoisseur alike. 

Five of the ten European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA Awards) winners, James Vincent McMorrow (IE), Selah Sue (BE), Boy (DE), Anna Calvi (GB) and Elektro Guzzi (AT), will take the stage at Eurosonic after their performance at the EBBA Awards ceremony. Eurosonic Noorderslag is Europe’s most important music conference and showcase festival, supporting the very best new European musical talent. The event takes place from the 11th to the 14th of January in the Dutch City of Groningen, during which the up and coming acts have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience of international professionals and music lovers from all over Europe.

Fauxbo is a producer from London making music and remixes inspired by film scores and soundscapes. Recent remixes include Indie band Anison and the orchestral band Talk In Colour and Influences range from Warp to the recent autonomic output of D Bridge & Synkro, and a whole lot more.

The Rephlex label has been releasing music into the world now for 20 years. By this time, many of their ambitions have been achieved but they continue this practice out of a deep and special enthusiasm for new talent and new music. As a result of what they’ve learned and experienced, they are more selective and critical than ever; this is probably as bad as it is good but it’s a fact. 

On 26th January 2012, 20 cinemas across 20 cities worldwide will host an exclusive advance screening offering fans the first chance to see the new film by Adam Smith, featuring The Chemical Brothers, titled Don't Think. Filmed with 20 cameras at a headline show at Japan’s very own Glastonbury - Fujirock Festival - Don't Think is the first time the full Chemical Brothers’ live experience has been captured on film. 

Afrojack has been nominated for his second Grammy Award by The Recording Academy of America, who have nominated the superstar DJ as “Best Remixer” for his work on Leona Lewis’ song ‘Collide.’ The remix, which was released last July on J Records, was a massive tune and is still riding a wave of success in clubs and through radio airplay across the globe.

Visual artist, culture documentarian and independent filmmaker, Muema, turns to crowdfunding for his first feature film House Music Movie, a documentary about the past, present and future of the electronic music world.  

One year, and over 20 millions YouTube hits after it was first unleashed upon the partying public, Avicii’s ‘Levels’ has become a globally recognized score and undoubtedly one of the most unifying dancefloor records of 2011! As the single continues to soar up charts across the planet, there’s now an official video release to accompany the single.

Yasmin returns with legendary drum’n’bass and jungle maestro Shy FX with an old school, reggae infused carnival jam ‘Light Up (The World)’ featuring Ms Dynamite, available through Levels Entertainment and Ministry of Sound on 15th January.

Check out the Facebook link below to see and hear the Official MYNC remix of Avicii’s ‘Fade Into Darkness’. The link contains the ‘making of’ video for The Official MYNC Stadium Remix of the track, all you have to do is ‘like’ it on Facebook and not only do you get to see the video, MYNC are exclusively giving away the actual kick drum sound file from the remix – perfect for all the aspiring producers out there.

First founded by Adam Beyer in 1996 to self-release his own records, Drumcode is currently placed alongside the most influential techno imprints, and ranked among the world's best. ‘15 Years Of Drumcode’ not only celebrates this legacy, it propels the label further with a fresh injection of new and unreleased tracks from some of techno's finest producers such as Joel Mull, Joseph Capriati, Alan Fitzpatrick and Paul Ritch, to name just a few. 

Stoned Immaculate is the new label from DJ/producer and NRK label boss Nick Harris. While a current house music resurgence is more than evident in Bristol, Harris can claim to have been part of the city's house bedrock for 20 years via his DJing and stewardship of the legendary NRK imprint. Harris' excitable enthusiasm for house music has driven him to push out of being a label man in recent years with his first forays into production proving to be varied and interesting takes on the genre he is clearly an authority on.



STOP PRESS! CHRISTMAS EARLYBIRD TICKETS NOW SOLD OUT!

Festival Director Geoff Ellis said: “We’re delighted by the response from fans this morning (2 December) and can’t wait to see everyone at Balado next year. The response to The Stone Roses announcement has been fantastic and the rest of the bill is shaping up nicely - we can’t wait until February to share it with the best audience in the world.”

T in the Park recently announced The Stone Roses as the first headline act for T in the Park 2012 and now organisers DF Concerts and founding partner Tennent's Lager are giving fans further reason to celebrate by releasing a limited amount of 2012 festival tickets for sale at 9am on Friday 2nd December.