tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55469309999689434342024-03-08T09:24:43.046-08:00Lock'DonLock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-2334172320427756792010-04-10T03:49:00.000-07:002010-04-10T04:02:14.746-07:00March Top 10 Unsigned Demos<div><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/marchchart.jpg" /><br /><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PYnKNV7EzVs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PYnKNV7EzVs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><center><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2010/04/march-top-10-unsigned-demos.html&t=Venga%20Digital%20March%20Top%2010%20Unsigned%20Demos..."><img src="http://vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/fbshare.png" /></a></center><strong></strong><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/1.jpg" /> <span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Fanta Jack</span> - Aaau House (Original)<br />Location: Russia<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Ffantajack&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=TfteDOB7br8NZCh34KoeBU7akVw=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/fantajack" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/fantajack</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/2.jpg" /> <span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Slap in the Bass</span> - The African (Original)<br />Location: Hungary<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myspace.com%2Fslapinthebassmusic&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=gNpn-3-Emoz6Wug9zqR_g_OS9No=" target="_blank" title="http://www.myspace.com/slapinthebassmusic" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://www.myspace.com/slapinthebassm...</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/3.jpg" /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Shooting Horses</span> - Jungle People (Original)<br />Location: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fshootinghorses09&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=hk6q3r-TwZnkr-fSi8R5FDg5a1E=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/shootinghorses09" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/shootinghorses09</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/4.jpg" /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Studio Brussels</span> - America (Original)<br />Location: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fstudiobrussels&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=RZh_uMH_g3AzDe-4hEo5HwHewOw=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/studiobrussels" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/studiobrussels</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/5.jpg" /><span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> Billione </span>- Hero Guitar (Original)<br />Location: Russia<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fbillione&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=yCoOm3CFC1RndM_sMmgZfzJ0dZA=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/billione" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/billione</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/6.jpg" /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Nu Raverz</span> - Inside Out (Original)<br />Location: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fnu-raverz&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=uAwgn2yX4XcPtVOZH3lwP6vAhDE=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/nu-raverz" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/nu-raverz</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/7.jpg" /><span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> Dan Boadan </span>- Shores (Original)<br />Loctation: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fdanboadan&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=hJ3CL3KMUp8lDd7CBpOuTB8UZZs=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/danboadan" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/danboadan</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/8.jpg" /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Kraymer</span> - It's a Daft Thing (Original)<br />Location: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myspace.com%2Fkraymermusic&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=Rt0gluuMOq7bu5rFY073olKEKOA=" target="_blank" title="http://www.myspace.com/kraymermusic" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://www.myspace.com/kraymermusic</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/9.jpg" /><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> Kaykoh</span> - Bust Your Windows (Original)<br />Location: UK<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myspace.com%2Firep_uk&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=Kn0L-FjrULyXop79hBS2coj9GMg=" target="_blank" title="http://www.myspace.com/irep_uk" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://www.myspace.com/irep_uk</a><br /><br /></span><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/10.jpg" /><span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> Exzo</span> - Up in Smoke Letters (Original)<br />Location: Russia<br />Link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/redirect?username=VengaDigitalPromos&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fpashaexzo&video_id=PYnKNV7EzVs&event=url_redirect&url_redirect=True&usg=N41hbgYXsqNXSBb7ZtHI0Bwd7S8=" target="_blank" title="http://soundcloud.com/pashaexzo" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr">http://soundcloud.com/pashaexzo</a></span><br /><br /></div>Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-73032186437105744802010-03-08T05:10:00.000-08:002010-03-08T05:23:27.273-08:00February Top 10 Unsigned Demos<div><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/februarychart.jpg" /><br /><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5hWXsus__ZA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5hWXsus__ZA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><br /><center><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2010/03/february-top-10-unsigned-demos.html&t=Venga%20Digital%20February%20Top%2010%20Unsigned%20Demos..."><img src="http://vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/fbshare.png" /></a></center><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/1.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Riddim Jacker</span></strong> - Ya Hear Me<br />Link: <a href="http://soundcloud.com/riddim_jacker/">Soundcloud</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/2.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Killafornia</span></strong> - Stutter<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/killaforniadj">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Australia<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/3.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Look @ F meets Cappucino</span></strong> - Tomorrow<br />Link: <a href="http://soundcloud.com/lookatf">Soundcloud</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Italy<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/4.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Slap in the Bass</span></strong> - We are Slappers<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/slapinthebassmusic"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Myspace</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>Hungary<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/5.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Justin James</span></strong> - We Came to Party ft Jay MC<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/justinjames123">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> USA<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/6.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Fanta Jack</span></strong> - East Coast<br />Link: <a href="http://fantafreakforpolice.promodj.ru/">PromoDJ</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Russia<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/7.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Dermot Bateman</span></strong> - Bang Bang Rosie<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/djdermotbateman">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Ireland<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/8.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Hot Mess</span></strong> - P.A.R.T.Y<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/WeAreAHotMess">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>USA<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/9.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Joey Funk</span></strong> - Gangsta Party<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/djjoeyfunk">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>USA<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/10.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">B-Freaqz</span></strong> - Right Now<br />Link: <a href="http://www.house-mixes.com/artists/Barcelona_Freaqz_Click/">Website</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Spain</div>Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-81994583176221237162010-02-22T08:05:00.001-08:002010-02-22T08:11:54.131-08:00The Battle for your Ears - Myspace vs Soundcloud<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/myspace-soundcloud.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >"In the Blue Corner, having registered his 100 millionth member and from the United States of America Tom "Myspace" Anderson! And in the Orange Corner, weighing in with 350,000 members from Sweden/Germany, Alex "& Erik" Soundcloud!"</span><br /><br />So I thought I would share my opinion with you on something...<br /><br />I have seen a major shift recently in the weapon of choice for musicians online (in the dance music sphere anyway) towards Soundcloud.<br /><br />I love everything about Soundcloud. The branding, the cool players, the nice looking waves, the friendly error messages and the fact that a basic account is free.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">But can it really contend with a heavyweight like Myspace, and can it be seen as a possible successor?</span><br /><br />Certainly Facebook does not have a sniff when it comes to being a hub for Music, and although the social aspect of online activity in the main seems to have moved to Facebook and Twitter, Myspace have always clinged to their status as a "space for music"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">New Myspace Music</span><br /><br />Recently Myspace invested one or two dollars in a brand new all singing and dancing music streaming system, to try and cope with the ever encroaching Spotify, Napster, Last FM and the like.<br /><br />Meanwhile, away from all this pop music orientated frenzy and glossy advertising, Soundcloud has been quietly asserting itself as a standard in a market that Myspace seems to have forgotten about - Dance Music.<br /><br />I think this is the reason that Myspace profiles of artists and labels within our scene are beginning to look more and more tired without the day to day maintenance and activity. Spam messages build up in comments sections, blogs become stale, and music players get dusty.<br /><br />In a further effort to modernise, Myspace installed traffic reporting modules into music profiles, and I think this will end up being their worst enemy. For the first time, you can accurately see who is looking at your profile, where in the World they are from and how long they are there for.<br /><br />The Venga Digital Myspace is receiving <span style="font-weight: bold;">precious little</span> traffic, and I am seeing a real dip in the amount of plays on dance music artists' music players literally like 10% of the amount I was seeing this time last year, which bhegs the question - <span style="font-style: italic;">why are we spending resources keeping it up, and duplicating work that we're already doing on Soundcloud, Facebook and on the homepage?</span><br /><br />Would we be better just sticking a big banner up there saying "Sorry, we've moved"??<br /><br />For what it's worth, I surf Soundcloud profiles where I used to surf Myspace Music profiles, and I catch up with friends on Facebook when I used to speak to them on Myspace.<br /><br />To be honest, I rarely use Myspace... and I am feeling that the same is ringing true for other artists and labels.<br /><br />The problem is with Myspace, is that it is dated and cumbersome, you can only operate within Myspace. If you are on Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitter, Youtube you can feed your activity to any other profile, integrate it with other applications and combine them all! Myspace has no such exportable features, and again it is another potential nail in a coffin.<br /><br />Myspace does have one saving grace... it is personalisable and gives brand presence, and unless Soundcloud start letting you loose with "Pimp my Profile" backgrounds (unlikely) it may just about survive, in lieu of the artist having a web site themselves.<br /><br />It is funny that all artists and labels used to have fancy websites, then they ditched them all for social media sites, where now I think the smart money is on resurrecting the website (or using a blogspot/wordpress blog you can customise) and using it as a central point to feed blog posts, Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud and Youtube into it.<br /><br />Interested to hear any thoughts on the above, <span style="font-weight: bold;">do you use Myspace any more?</span><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-18591007763963071602010-01-18T15:05:00.000-08:002010-01-19T03:35:41.749-08:00January Top 10 Unsigned Demos<div><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/januarychart.jpg" /><br /><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RITRWEEPAzI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RITRWEEPAzI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><br /><center><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-top-10-unsigned-demos.html&t=Venga%20Digital%20January%20Top%2010%20Unsigned%20Demos..."><img src="http://vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/fbshare.png" /></a></center><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/1.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Yeah Woho!</span></strong> - I Wanna Love You<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/yeahwoho">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Sweden<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/2.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Mikey Dalton & Ted Nilsson</span></strong> - Face The Fact<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/djmikeydalton">Myspace</a> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/onesaneman">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/3.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Flash Mode</span></strong> - Your Groove<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/flashmode101">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Australia<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/4.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Andrey Inchakov</span></strong> - Get out of My House<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/dopeypenismusic"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Myspace</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>Russia<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/5.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Kamei</span></strong> - Hot<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/kamei">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Brazil<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/6.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Aquilaganja</span></strong> - Mc Wobbler<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/aquilaganja">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/7.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Prowley Burglars</span></strong> - You Like<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/beaudamian">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Netherlands<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/8.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Nu Raverz</span></strong> - Get Your Groove<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/nuraverz">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>UK<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/9.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Bonn Lewis</span></strong> - Role Reversal<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bonnlewis">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>UK<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/10.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Angry Saw</span></strong> - Kung Foo<br />Link: <a href="http://angrysaw.all.dj/">Website</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Russia</div>Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-89013525119889893422010-01-17T07:14:00.000-08:002010-01-17T13:57:00.744-08:00Pro Showcase - It's Elementary, Mr Watson<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/kylewatson.jpg" /><br />We caught up with (currently London-based) South African purveyour of wibbly house groovers Kyle Watson for a quick chin wag in the latest in our "Pro Showcase" features.<br /><br />We have a bunch of these ready to go live, so keep an eye on the blog and/or follow it in the right there!<br /><br />As in most music "scenes", the Electro, Fidget, Jackin, whatever-you-wanna-call-it house scene has an element of "same same" about it; similar sounds, samples, synth presets etc.<br /><br />The Kyle Watson style certainly does not fall into that bracket however, and it's that genuine originality that stands hm out from the crowd in my opinion.<br /><br />So hi-fives and pats on the backs out the way, let's get down to bizniz....<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don - We'll start how we always start.... Describe your sound in 3 words?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Kyle Watson - Makes You Shuffle!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">... sure does, and if you had one nugget of advice for unsigned dance music producers, what would it be?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Try from the start to focus on original works rather than making yourself available for endless remixes. Much more respect can be earned from songwriting from scratch than working from remix parts.</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The question on everyone's lips (?!), what is your favourite VST Plugin?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">I've really been experimenting a lot with Tone2's <a href="http://www.tone2.com/html/gladiator_2_vsti_au_synthesize.html">Gladiator</a>, it's wicked for modulation and you can get pretty much any sound out of it that you want.</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">And who is(are) your tips for 2010? Which producers have your backing?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">An artist that I met at a gig in Bristol called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/eatseverything">Eats Everything</a>. He is making some really fresh stuff that's bouncy, techy and jacking all in one! </span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">And what's next for you? What does the short-term future hold for Kyle Watson?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Release-wise I've got a three track EP lined up for release in January 2010 on Dandy Kid Records, as well as a collaboration EP that will be going out on Jack Union later this year. I'm booked to play the launch of Sketch Records at London's Ministry of Sound in early February, should be a good one.</span></em><br /><br />Awesome, 2010 is waiting for you!<br /><br />Catch up with Kyle, and sign up for his mailing list on his <a href="http://www.myspace.com/headfiller">Myspace</a>... and look out for him hitting this year where it hurts!<br /><br />Until Next Time...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-73276072324886225312010-01-10T12:40:00.000-08:002010-01-10T12:49:35.023-08:00Dance Music Download Stores Market Share<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/geek.jpg"><br /><br />If you are anything like me, and are interested in geeky stats relating to our wonderful scene, then you may find this post useful.<br /><br />I thought I would compile a (sort of) definitive chart of market share for Digital Downloads. I say "sort of" definitive, because clearly it is only Venga Digital stats, and clearly therefore only a niche statistic range. But I would hazard a guess that you would get similar figures throughout the "Electro House" defined scene.<br /><br />There has been much ado recently about the demise of some digital stores. DJDownload collapsed last year, and this year already there has been a few stores that have fallen.<br /><br />It is my opinion (and my opinion only) that Beatport is the Daddy of Digital Download stores for Dance Music. They have a sizeable market share, and the figures you see below I would guess would ring true throughout all Dance Music genres. The Beatport Juggernaught shows no sign of stopping, and I often wonder how other stores survive on such a slim market share.<br /><br />So on to the stats then. I have just realised that this post has no real "point" so forgive me for that, however it is demonstrating market share, and I have never seen such a pie chart, so I guess that counts for something. The sample by the way is large, and contains info on 18 months worth of statements in case you were wondering about skewed figures:<br /><center><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/piechart.gif"><br /><table width="250" border="0" cellpadding="0px"><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br /><b>Digital Store</b><br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br /><b>Percentage</b><br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Beatport<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />69.48%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Itunes<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />9.51%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />DJDownload<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />8.74%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Juno<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />5.81%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Stompy<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />2.40%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Trackitdown<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />1.72%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Napster<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.59%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Emusic<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.42%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Xpressbeats<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.25%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Traxsource<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.22%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Amazon<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.15%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Dancetracks<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.13%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Wasabeat<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.10%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />247<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.09%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Digitaltunes<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.09%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Gigacrate<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.07%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />Beatsdigital<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.04%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#fff"><br />Boomkat<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#fff"><br />0.04%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td width="200" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />7Digital<br /></td> <br /><td width="50" bgcolour="#ebebeb"><br />0.04%<br /></td><br /></tr><br /></table><br /></center><br /><br />Alas... there is a point to this, I guess the point is there is more to life than Beatport alone. According to these figures you can increase revenue by 40% if you are distributing to other stores than just Beatport.<br /><br />So all you guys that have distributors, stick with it - that 15% you pay to them you are earning back in increased royalties.<br /><br />Please drop me a comment if you found this post of use... or whether you thought it was a bit too nerdy, and I would be interested to hear any stories that would backup the stats above!<br /><br />Until then....<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-18945922201472794812009-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:002009-12-16T06:40:24.460-08:00December Top 10 Unsigned Demos<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/decemberchart.jpg" />
<br /><object height="300" width="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oqa_L5bg9Fg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oqa_L5bg9Fg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="344"></embed></object>
<br /><center><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-top-10-unsigned-demos.html&t=Venga%20Digital%20December%20Top%2010%20Unsigned%20Demos..."><img src="http://vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/fbshare.png" /></a></center>
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/1.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Danny Soundz & Caffeine ft Mr Eyes</span></strong> - Blast Off
<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/dannysoundzruelquiroz">Myspace</a></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> USA
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/2.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Riddim Jacker</span></strong> - Ba Di So
<br />Link:</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54682583358">Facebook</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/3.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Zifra</span></strong> - Let's Twist Again
<br />Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/electrobankk">Myspace</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Russia
<br /></span>
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/4.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Anton Triplet</span></strong> - The Story Of Love
<br />Link: </span><a href="http://toha.mixed.by/podcast.xml"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">MixedBy</span></a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>Russia
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/5.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Exzo vs Drankypunky</span></strong> - Drastic
<br />Link: <a href="http://www.djpasha.ru/">Website</a></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Russia
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/6.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Rossco</span></strong> - Skank Ya Feet
<br />Link:</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rossco-Beats-and-Pieces/48157840907">Facebook</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK
<br />
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/7.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Attack Yourself!</span></strong> - Bang Gang (Ghosts of Venice Remix)
<br />Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/attackyourselfmusic">Myspace</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/8.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Paul Beltrami vs Dat Boy</span></strong> - My City
<br />Link: </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/paulbeltrami">Myspace</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>UK
<br />
<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/9.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Jayvin Mena</span></strong> - Fidget Swirls
<br />Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jayvinmena">Myspace</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>Netherlands
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<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/10.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Vex</span></strong> - In Da House
<br />Link: </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/djvexs">Soundcloud</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> CanadaLock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-59794744757304901812009-12-07T13:12:00.000-08:002009-12-07T13:29:48.172-08:00Pro Showcase - C'est Nom De Strip!<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/nomdestrip.jpg" /><br />Leeds seems to be a bit of a hot bed of talent for all things music, maybe its something in the water, but creativity seems to run deep.<br /><br />One chap in Leeds at the moment, but originally from the mean streets of Edinburgh is Nom De Strip aka Chris Elliott.<br /><br />We've heard a lot from Mr De Strip in the last few months, he's been a virtual conveyor belt of choonage since he burst onto the scene. No stranger to that scene, Chris is standing side by side with <a href="http://www.myspace.com/stupidfreshproduction">Stupid Fresh</a> (Tod), as they look set for double domination. We hop skipped and jumped over the Lancashire/Yorkshire border to catch 5 minutes with the man himself:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don - We'll start with the standard.... Describe your sound in 3 words?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Nom De Strip - Whatever I Fancy!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">... nice answer, and if you had one nugget of advice for unsigned dance music producers, what would it be?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Try to make original tracks and avoid too many remixes. I have made millions of remixes that could have been, and would have served me loads better as, original tracks.</span></em><br /><br />It is an interesting point that, sometimes an eagerness to just make music, and new music leads to an endless supply of remixes. It is true to say that remixes and bootlegs can help you make your stamp, but it is always prudent to make a stamp on some original beats, even if you sample/be influenced by other music!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">As a Logic user and abuser, what is your favourite VST Plugin?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">I really like Gladiator, unfortunately that synth kills my 4 year old laptop CPU!</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">And who is(are) your tips for 2010? Which producers have your backing?</span></strong><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/littlebastardmusic"><em><span style="color:#333333;">Little Bastard</span></em></a><em><span style="color:#333333;">, </span></em><a href="http://www.myspace.com/aspinanddipace"><em><span style="color:#333333;">Aspin & Dipace</span></em></a><em><span style="color:#333333;">, </span></em><a href="http://www.myspace.com/punkrolla"><em><span style="color:#333333;">Punk Rolla</span></em></a><em><span style="color:#333333;">, </span></em><a href="http://www.myspace.com/markbradburymusic"><em><span style="color:#333333;">The Dutch Rudder</span></em></a><em><span style="color:#333333;">, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jackinori">Jackinori</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/resetmilano">Reset!</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/headfiller">Kyle Watson</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/luvstuffmusic">Luvstuff</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bmashed">Button Masher</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ukmele">Mele</a>, Stripper, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/felguk">Felguk</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/beataucue">Beataucue</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/frederikmooij">Frederik Mooij</a> and probably more I've temporarily forgotten will have MASSIVE years!</span></em><br /><br />Just a few then ha ha! Thanks for the tip-offs - a few of those guys will be familiar to readers, but some others less so... and this is what this blog is all about!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">And what's next for you? What does the short-term future hold for Nom De Strip?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Release-wise I have tonnes of stuff out in December, 'Nom De Bomb' EP on Bombsquad, remixes of Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Cash, Rishi Bass - Dirty Balloon (both with Tom Piper), and of Pablo Decoder - The End Of It All. I'm also gonna be in the studio with Tim Healey. Next year I have an EP with Bart B More out on his label, my first EP on Southern Fried in April, and more remixes for Tim Healey, DJ Dan, MC Flipside, Tom Piper, and I almost forgot.... my mix of Hatiras - Spaced Invader!</span></em><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Gigs wise I have my final tour as part of Stupid Fresh to South Africa for xmas and New Year, after which I'm fully focussing on finalising solo Nom tours to Canada, north Europe, south Europe, Australia, Asia, USA in the first half of 2010 as well as as many UK gigs as I can get.<br />I'm happily looking after my own gigs for now (promoters hit me up!), and have Tim Healey taking care of my music management as well as maintaining strong ties with Micky Slim and Bombsquad in the future.</span></em><br /><br />Awesome, another very busy man!<br /><br />If you still haven't heard of Nom De Strip, definately check out his Myspace... and look out for him and Stupid Fresh hitting 2010 hard!<br /><br />Until Next Time...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-1497112246120934922009-12-03T13:12:00.000-08:002009-12-04T00:51:27.833-08:00Social Media - 11 Things You Should Be Doing Online... and they're all free!<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/onlineexposure.jpg" /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">1. Get all your followers/friends in one place - grab their email addresses!</span></strong><br />This is the first point, and if you are being proactive about building a fan base you need to get this bit sorted.<br /><br /><strong>Scenario:</strong> So you have loads of friends/fans/followers over lots of different social media sites... reign them all in with a "sign up to get 3 free downloads from me" webform, and add them to your mailing list. We have developed an email capture/storage system here at Venga, which you can join for freeeee, see the video below for how to do this, seriously easy stuff. Once you are in, you create a list, then create the webform, then customise the subscription process by specifying what you want to send them back... all coming from your name and email address. Did I mention it was free?<br /><center><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7971076&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7971076&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">More on Vengamail at</span> <a href="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/vengamail">www.vengadigital.co.uk/vengamail</a> </center><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">2. Myspace still has its place so keep it up</span><br /></strong>Yes Facebook is the daddy for getting in touch with relevant fans, and yes Twitter is "cooler" at the moment.... but people will always still check out the streamable music on Myspace so keep it rockin! A custom Looking Profile, packed with good content and your sign-up form... the profile doesn't have to bee anything too fancy.... you can get one like <a href="http://www.myspace.com/liamvizzlemusic">this</a> for <strong>£89</strong>, email Veibel to hook that up on <a href="mailto:james@veibel.co.uk">james@veibel.co.uk</a><br /><br />But in keeping with the "free" theme if you check out <a href="http://views-under-construction.blogspot.com/">this blog</a>, you have access (for free) to all the code you could ever need. You have to be a <strong>bit of a geek</strong> to work it all out, but with a bit of practice you will get there - and/or <strong>pay another geek</strong> to sort it for you. Make sure you have an email capture form, and make sure you plug it like mad!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><strong>3. Facebook is the Daddy</strong></span><br />Set up a fan page for your music, there is lots of funky stuff you can do now with Facebook fan pages, upload tracks, embed videos, attach your events... and now with the dawn of FBML you can <strong>custom build tabs</strong> for your pages in html, and have html boxes on the left of your page... And a nifty tip if you are setting up a page from scratch: It's social media right, so invite 10 of your good friends to recommend the page to 10 other friends. It works, and itll bring you some decent "fans" on there.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">4. Soundcloud<br /></span></strong>Soundcloud have some of the smartest guys out there and you can get going on the free account. You can customise the players for embedding in Facebook, Myspace and your blog. Make sure you utilise the "description" area of your profile on there... and direct potential fans to your other online platforms. All free, very easy and most people are comfortable with viewing it now. You can embed Soundcloud players almost anywhere now so you should be on there. We have some good tips for Soundcloud, these points are just an overview - a tick list if you will!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">5. Last FM<br /></span></strong><em>Little known fact <strong>number 1</strong></em>... You can upload your own music to Last FM... <em>Little known fact <strong>number 2</strong></em>... You can "claim" your profile, and add information and images if there already is a profile on there due to users playing your music... <em>Little known fact <strong>number 3</strong></em> You can get paid for streams! I will do another post on streaming services, as it is a grey area that needs some explaining, however as a rule of thumb if you are a signed artist - speak with your label about Last FM, Spotify, Grooveshark etc... if you are unsigned then feel free to upload music. If you have a deal already and your tracks are out, only the label can claim the royalties. Here is the <a href="http://musicmanager.last.fm/register?accountType=artist">Sign-Up</a> link!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">6. Understanding the Twitter behemoth</span></strong><br />Twitter is excellent if you get it right, but oh so easy to get wrong. <em>Fortunately</em> Twitter is also very forgiving. Allow me to explain. By "getting it wrong" I mean <em>infrequent updates</em> saying "My single is out now go buy it" ... there is no engagement, no interaction. Fortunately, you can join the party at any stage - <strong>you are never too late</strong>. So if you have a Twitter account not doing very much, try and resurrect it... contribute as much as you can, and sync your Facebook and Twitter profiles if you are struggling for updates, cos you always update your Facebook right?<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">7. Podcasts / Mixtapes<br /></span></strong>People love mixtapes, but what people love more is <em>mixtapes with exclusive tracklists</em>.<br /><br />I appreciate this is difficult if you can't get the exclusive stuff, but put as much of your own music on there as you can, you can't get much more exclusive than that can you? Upload it to Soundcloud (which gives good opportunities for interraction) and spread the word! As a side point, sign up with <a href="http://bit.ly/">bit.ly</a> (free) to shorten your links... you can then keep tabs on <strong>how often your links get clicked</strong> from your Facebook/Twitter profile or blog!<br /><br />For the very adventurous amongst you, <strong>set yourself apart with a Podcast</strong>, invest in a decent mike and pretend to be Pete Tong. You can add your Podcast to the Itunes store for free download, and you can pick up subscribers that way, which you can direct to your site/blog/profile and scoop up their email address with your form!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">8. Get Blogging</span></strong><br />It is sometimes difficult to start a blog from scratch, and I can totally relate to that. I also appreciate that an empty blog is worse than no blog at all. But this is in the list, as it is something you really <strong>should</strong> be doing to give you an extra edge - as most people aren't.<br /><br />Talk about music production, talk about your favourite DJs, talk about the advances in DJ equipment recently, talk about the state of the Underground UK Cattle Farm Psy-Techno scene <em>(maybe don't talk about the last one)</em> but whatever you feel confident of putting a few words together about. All of this will help you stand out from the crowd, and will give you loads of interesting stuff to talk about on your Facebook and Twitter updates! With <a href="http://blogger.com/">Blogger </a>you can sign up for free, or just use your Myspace blog!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">9. Get in touch with blogs</span></strong><br />Slightly different to blogging yourself, this is sending music, videos, information to the dance music blogs out there. There are a few, and you will get varying levels of success, but if what you are offering is good (free download, nice vid and a good image/logo of yourself as an artist) you should get some success. These guys get lots of visitors on a daily basis, all will be interested in what you have to say! In addition, you will get a link back to your profile(s)/blog and you will hopefully attract a few email sign-ups!<br /><br /><strong>*IMPORTANT</strong>* - <a href="http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-things-you-need-to-know-about.html">Follow these rules </a>though for contacting blogs and labels in general.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">10. Forum Involvement</span></strong><br />Finally, Get involved with the dance music forums around there. There are loads. You don't have to be an authority on anything, but if you have interesting stuff to say you will earn some friends and get familiarity with people who you would like to listen to your music. And having that "familiarity" will make such people more likely to listen to your stuff.<br /><br />In addition, stick a link in your signature to your blog/profiles!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">11. Get a Youtube Channel</span><br />Free setup, good customisation tools (you can pretty much make your channel look how you want nowadays.... and people LOVE listening to music on Youtube. Even if the pictures are stills, people love will still watch it. Make sure you link out to your profile(s) from the video description! Tools for making the video generally come with newer macs and if you're on Windows... <a href="http://download.live.com/moviemaker">Windows Movie Maker</a> would do just fine - FREE. <br /><br />So these are the 11 things that you should have going on. It seems a lot now, but get into the groove and you can keep them all motoring along nicely! The post that compliments this one can be <a href="http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-things-you-need-to-know-about.html">found here</a>, definately have a read of that one aswell if you haven't seen it before already!<br /><br />Until next time<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-64988949008795766112009-12-02T03:21:00.000-08:002009-12-02T03:26:56.111-08:00Pro Showcase - Tom Flynn talks "Your Future"<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/tomflynn.jpg" /><br />They say word of mouth is the best form of marketing, and an artist getting plugs from the best in the biz is Tom Flynn.<br /><br />Props from Jesse Rose, Mowgli, Worthy, James Zabiela, Zombie Disco Squad and more... and with releases on Mowgli's own Deadfish imprint, Tom has been on the lips and in the playlists of the guys that make the big waves in the scene... and with good reason.<br /><br />Slick techy productions with crunchy percussions and a flow worthy of any set have set him apart.<br /><br />Fresh from his release on Jengaa, which is out on Beatport now (<a href="https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/track/detail/978379/">go get it!</a>) we caught a few minutes with Tom for a chat, on (amongst other stuff) <span style="font-weight: bold;">why you shouldn't rob your future!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Don - Great to have you with us Tom, let us get straight to it, describe your sound in three words?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Tom - Bouncy, Dirty, House (music)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">If you could empart one nugget of knowledge, what would it be for unsigned dance music producers out there?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My one piece of advice to unsigned producers would be don't keep on buying synth after synth. It's an easy trap to fall into, thinking that the next synth you buy will make you sound like claude VonStroke. It's best to master one synth instead of having 12 synths that you don't really know how to use. On a seperate more important note - don't illegally download music, you're only robbing your future.</span><br /><br />(Don Note:) An interesting point there, and something we haven't discussed in great detail on here... I will cover it in a blog coming soon, but I think it is important for guys to go out and buy music. It is sometimes so easy to download music off a blog, I have seen big zips floating around with the Beatport Top 100 on... that is plain wrong! I think there have been a few blogs closed down recently for doing just that. In any case - if an mp3 accidentally slips into your music folder by mistake, always try to look it up upon release and download it anyway, if only to give a nod (and 32p) to the guy(s) that spent hours making it in the first place!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Moving on then to a more production level, what is your favourite vst plugin?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My favourite plugin at the moment would be <a href="http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/product.php?pid=AD014">Dr Device</a> from Audio damage, insane mangling heaven which i reach for quite often.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">... and who do you think will blow up in 2010?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My top tip for 2010 would be <a href="http://www.myspace.com/strictborder">Strict Border</a>, I think the tribal thing they got going on is really rocking it, very percussive and downright dirty.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Finally, what is next for Tom Flynn?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Well, Following on from my EP on Jengaa, coming up for me is an EP release on Deadfish - Magia and Twisty, an EP on Worthys Anabatic label next year, a remix for a new signing to Jengaa called Hoppa! by the Headshotboyz and a remix for Daniel Carro's Bakelite beats label. I've also just finished a remix for Chris Crowthers Dubnoir Label, a track called Balkan Blues which will be out in a few weeks.</span><br /><br />Super, all busy busy, thanks for joining us, its been an interesting chat!<br /><br />Until next time...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don.</span><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-22336779132928394772009-11-30T13:45:00.000-08:002009-11-30T14:05:03.797-08:00Introducing. . . Don Nola of Bordeaux<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donnola.jpg" /><br />Hailing from the Red Wine City, Bordeaux... and with a nose for a bouncy beat, Don Nola represents the kind of chap we look for in this "Introducing" section of the blog.<br /><br />A pro-active outlook on self-promotion, coupled with some pretty cool tuneage to boot - Don Nola is ticking boxes here, and hopefully he is set to break through as we nudge closer to 2010.<br /><br />We caught 5 minutes with Don Nola to discuss how is doing currently, and who he is tipping for next year!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Lock'Don - Hi Don, its Don, first things first... describe the vibe of Don Nola in 3 words?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Don Nola - OldSchool fidjet tropical</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">And could you tell us the most interesting thing about Don Nola?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hum, i don't know but according to what people say about me, the most interesting thing about me is me at 6 o'clock at an after party!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Let's move on to spreading the love elsewhere, who is your tip for an artist under the radar to blow up next year?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Definately <a href="http://www.myspace.com/komasfatlab">Kid Komas</a> from Columbia!</span><br /><br />Excellent, thanks for that...<br /><br />We were made aware of Don Nola through a few demos sent over to us, and we think they're pretty rockin, so go ahead and show him some love, on his <a href="http://www.myspace.com/donnola84">Myspace</a><br /><br />Short and sweet this time, we've got loads of people to speak to this week, so keep an eye on the blog for some household names, together with names of guys pushing the right buttons in the scene at the moment!<br /><br />Until then...<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don.</span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-53268598375768636932009-11-27T11:46:00.000-08:002009-11-27T12:56:20.015-08:00Pro Showcase - Malente talks Parties and Music!<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/malente.jpg" /><br />This year alone, Malente has been involved with releases on such "Holy Grail" labels as Fools Gold, Southern Fried and Dim Mak... so with hit latest number "I Like It" getting props from - it seems - every AA list DJ out there, and 2010 fast approaching, you definately feel that the best is yet to come from this Germany based Purveyor of Party!<br /><br />We kidnapped 12 minutes of his day to ask him a few questions:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don - Hey Christoph, thanks for speaking with us... If you had to explain your vibe and direction to untrained ears in 3 words, what would you say?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Malente - Party, Party, Party!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">....and whats your 1 piece of advice for unsigned dance music producers?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Do what you feel like doing. don't think about Styles, Labels, Money, Girls (well maybe Girls). The main thing though, is you should enjoy the processs of making music. if not do something else.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Whats your favourite VST plugin of the moment?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Old Native Intakt</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Who is your tip for 2010? Who have you seen glimpses of this year, that you would like to see more of next year?</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><span style="color:#333333;">Well, what i can tell you is that the in my humble opinion one of the most underrated tracks of 2009 was "We Gonna Give You The Lesson" by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mrmiyagimusic">Mr Miyagi</a>. I played the sh_t out of that and everybody asked me what that track was, but as far as I know it didn't even get a proper release.</span></em><br /></span><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="color:#000000;">Funnily enough, Mr Miyagi is an artist we are definately aware of at Venga Digital, in fact we were about to release that track - but unfortunately the guys had blogged it quite a bit. Which was good for them, but made it a bit difficult to give a full release to! They are definately guys to look out for, we definately agree with that tip-off!</span></span><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="color:#000000;"></span></span><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">So what's next for you? What do you have out and upcoming?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Well <a href="https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/203280/bangkok">Malente & Dex ft Bonde do Role - Bangkok </a>is out now on Exploited, its an amazing package featuring remixes from by Freeform Five, dOP, Idiotproof, DanM & James Braun<br />and another original "Gipsy Kings" remixed by Round Table Knights.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Also in that package, is the Douster remix of "Lions" - and I am happy to give that to the Lock'Don readers! - See Don.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Following that, theres a release on Southern Fried in December with Jay Robinson, and a release in the New Year on Dim Mak, where I am teaming up with Azzido Da Bass! Then Australia tour in January. </span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Wow, probably the busiest guy we have spoken to of late - that is a serious schedule!</span><br /><br />Malente then has kindly <em>(big thanks to </em><a href="http://twitter.com/exploitedrec"><em>Exploited Records </em></a><em>for this aswell)</em> allowed us to share the link to that Douster Remix, so I do that below:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dj-shirkhan.de/13_Malente&Dex_feat_New%20Kidz_Lions%20(Douster%20Remix).mp3">Malente & Dex feat. New Kidz - Lions (Douster Remix) </a><em>(Right Click Save Target As)</em><br /><em></em><br />So that was an excellent showcase im sure you will agree, Malente really is one of the nicest guys in the biz, and always has time for the little guys.<br /><br />You can check him out on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/malente">@Malente</a> or on his <a href="http://www.myspace.com/malente">Myspace</a><br /><br />Until next time!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-33034250054589441612009-11-26T13:19:00.000-08:002009-11-26T13:40:35.748-08:00Pro Showcase - A pre-flight natter with Kelevra...<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/kelevra.jpg" /><br />I am sure when Kelevra reflects on the 12 months he has just experienced, he will do so with a little smile on his face.<br /><br />With tours on 4 continents, heavy hit after heavy hit - together with new projects and enterprises starting all the time, Kelevra (Paul) is definately riding a wave at the moment.<br /><br />We caught up with Paul, as he was preparing to swap Lincolnshire for Johannesburg!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don - We'll start with a taste of what your vibe is at the moment... describe your sound in 3 words:</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Kelevra - Bouncy, Fun, Unpretentious!</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">...and Whats your favourite VST plugin of the moment?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">I have an old favourite which I still use for mainly everything, Synapse Hydra!</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">What's your 1 nugget of advice for unsigned dance music producers?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">Keep doing what you enjoy and dont give up, if u stop enjoyin it, dont do it!</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Who is your tip for 2010, an "under the radar" guy you think will break through next year?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#333333;">I am digging 2 young south african producers <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/kaBz/51576282647">Kabz</a> & Jason Williams at the moment, and a little more well known one, but <a href="http://www.myspace.com/blacknoiseboyz">Black Noise </a>have really burst onto the scene recently. Oh and <a href="http://soundcloud.com/redsquad">Redsquad</a> also, I think he is 17 aswell, so theres a lot of good stuff out there!</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Fantastic, that kind of answer is exactly what this blog is about... lets flip it back to you then... What's next for Kelevra?</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#333333;"><em>Well I am about to leave for a 10 date tour of South Africa then takin a well earned rest and hiding in the studio for the first couple of months for 2010!After a year of US & Canada 3times, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Sicily, Holland, Spain, Ibiza, Paris, South Africa, its much needed!</em><br /></span><br />Definately, although I can't see the pipe and slippers coming out just yet :)<br /><br /><br />You can follow Kelevra on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/kelevrauk">@KelevraUK</a> or mosey on down to his <a href="http://www.myspace.com/kelevraproductions">Myspace</a> , and keep checking the blog for more bits of genius from the heavyweight<br /><br /><br /><br />Don.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-86356419904929959762009-11-26T05:15:00.000-08:002009-11-26T05:28:25.837-08:00Lock'Don Introducing. . . a few words with Melé<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/mele.jpg" /><br />Who's that knocking on door of the Dubstep-Bashment-house crossover scene? Introducing. . .<span style="font-weight: bold;">Melé!</span><br /><br />It was nice to see props from Lee Mortimer in the <a href="http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2009/11/pro-showcase-chat-with-lee-mortimer.html">Prowcase</a> this week, so we thought we would add yet more fuel to the fire... which is already being stoked by the likes of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sinden, Herve, Toddla T, Foamo</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martelo</span>.<br /><br />Praise indeed, for chap of only 17 from Merseyside, looking to get a foot in the door of the industry!<br /><br />Rewind back a little while and we remember receiving demos from <span style="font-style: italic;">"Duncestep"</span> as he was then, and it's fantastic to see a progression.<br /><br />So with a new name, a new glossy Myspace profile and a hunger to make the best of this early promise we decided to speak with the man himself, and get a mixtape from him, so you can draw your own conclusions!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Don - Thanks for joining us, its nice to see you're starting turn heads, but for those whos heads remain fixed - describe your sound in 3 words?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Melé - Big Bass Bashmentstep</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">So that's a new genre then, that's one "interesting" box ticked, tell us something else that's interesting about Melé!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">I'm not even old enough to be in a club yet!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Wow, now you are making us all feel old, so lets skirt past the age thing, and look towards your opinion on other artists, who do you think will be following your early promise - whos your tip-off for 2010?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Doc Daneeka <a href="http://www.myspace.com/therealdocdaneeka" target="_blank">(http://www.myspace.com/therealdocdaneeka)</a> doing alot at the moment, check him out!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Excellent, im sure everyone will head right down the link to check him out! Back to you then... what is next for Melé?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">I have just finished remixing the Count and Sinden's new single, currently remixing for Kry Wolf, Greenmoney, Wearhouse Music and Ghetto Battle Weaponz. next year im going to have stuff out on Sinden's new label, and doing some productions for Toddla T's new imprint, but thats early days!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Wow, you seem to be a busy man, keep it up and we'll definately keep an eye on your progress, Thanks!</span><br /><br /><br />So yeah, a nice chap - we're all rooting for him... head along to his Myspace page <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ukmele" target="_blank">myspace.com/ukmele</a> or show some love on the Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/iammele" target="_blank">@iammele</a><br /><br />Need yet more convincing? Check out the mix he put together to compliment this profile:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Melé - Big Bashy Promomix</span><br /><a href="http://www.sendspace.com/file/3jc9yy" target="_blank">Download (Sendspace)</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tracklist:</span><br />Jungle Warrior - Last Japan<br />Dub Pistols - Back To Daylight (Redlight Remix)<br />VV Brown - Game Over (Dave Spoon Remix)<br />The Count & Sinden - Tamborzuda<br />Shystie - Pull It (Last Japan Remix)<br />Max Morell - Girls Meltdown<br />Jack Splash - I Could Have Loved You (Sinden Remix)<br />Zed Bias - Neighbourhood 09 (Roska Remix)<br />Re-spect - Locomo<br />Boris Dlugosch - Bangkok (Roska Remix)<br />Geeneus & Katy B - As I<br />Alvaro - Make It Funky<br />Crookers & Congorock - Sbombers<br />DJ Zinc - 128 Trek<br />Never Forget When You Touch Me (Edit) - Dubbel Dutch<br />Deadboy - U Cheated<br />Sekta - ? (Doc Daneeka Remix)<br />Mommas Boy - Wappomathics<br />Justin Martin & Claude Von Stroke - Beat That Bird<br />Harry Choo Choo Romero - Jumped<br />The Count & Sinden - Elephant 1234<br />Dave Spoon - Lummox (Plump Dj's Remix)<br />Plump Dj's - Rocket Soul<br />Lady Chann - Sticky Situation (Toddla T & Seiji Remix)<br />Funky Dee - Are U Gonna Bang Doe<br />Agent x - Decoy<br />Wiley - Wot U Call It<br />Oxide & Neutrino - Back 2 Da Floor<br />Redlight - Be With You (Ft. Serocee, Dread & Omi)<br />R1 Ryders - Karnifour Rmx<br />High Rankin - Bubble & Squeak<br />Benga & Coki - Night<br />Maxsta - East London Is Back<br />Emalkay - When i Look At You<br /><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-75524479215453137202009-11-25T13:27:00.000-08:002009-11-25T13:54:16.209-08:00Pro Showcase - 5 minutes with The Scumfrog...<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/scumfrog.jpg" /><br /><br />Let's play a game of "Who am I?" ...<br /><br />I have remixed Britney Spears, Dido, Enrique Iglesias, Paris Hilton and David Bowie, I wrote and co-produced Cyndi Laupers latest album, and put it this way, I have a ton of knowledge to empart.<br /><br />Yes - I am talking about Jesse Houk aka <strong>The Scumfrog</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />We caught 5 minutes with the now New York based dance music legend to chat about music, and other such topics including why you don't always need a yacht!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don - Thanks for chatting with us Jesse, you're a busy man, so let's jump straight in there... Describe your sound in 3 words?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">Scumfrog - Cool Stuff [that] Works!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">... and what is your 1 nugget of advice you could give to unsigned artists looking to make some headway?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">Live for it, don't bank on it!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Who is your tip for 2010, who are you looking at to make waves next year?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"><a href="http://www.djtheresa.com/">DJ Theresa</a> from NYC, worth checking out!</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">So what's next for you, any more stellar collaborations to tell us about?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">A compilation for people with yachts, titled “Friends With Boats Vol.2” Download for free exclusively at </span></em><a target="_blank" href="http://www.myspace.com/friendswithboats"><em><span style="color:#666666;">http://www.myspace.com/friendswithboats</span></em></a><em><span style="color:#666666;"> ....even if you don’t have a yacht.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Now, if that isn't diversity I don't know what is... Britney Spears, Yachts and Cyndi Lauper all in the space of one blog post!</span><br /><br />Some great pieces of knowledge to take away there, i've a feeling "Live for it, don't bank on it" is a new mantra in the making :)<br /><br />If you have 5 minutes spare, you seriously have to check out The Scumfrog website, the flash "Scumberry" feature is really cool... nice blast of fresh air!<br /><br />Also, if you want to see a who's who of dance music, in list format head to the "discography" section.<br /><br />You can get it all via his Scumberry anyway on the website, go check it out at <a href="http://www.thescumfrog.com/">http://www.thescumfrog.com/</a><br /><br />Until next time...<br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" />Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-16572733783676496872009-11-24T11:58:00.000-08:002009-11-26T04:01:43.665-08:00November Top 10 Unsigned Demos...<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/novemberchart.jpg" /><br /><object height="344" width="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ml3-7voeI24&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ml3-7voeI24&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="385"></embed></object><br /><center><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://lockdon.blogspot.com/2009/11/november-top-10-unsigned-demos.html&t=November%20Top%2010%20Unsigned%20Demos..."><img src="http://vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/fbshare.png" /></a></center><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/1.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Cristiano Casiraghi</span></strong> - This is Not Tekno<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer01" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer01&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/1.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link: </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/cristiano-casiraghi">Soundcloud</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Norway<br />Since publishing this chart, the Cristiano is finalising a deal with Mighty Moog Records for a release soon!<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/2.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Dave Walker</span></strong> - Without You<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer02" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer02&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/2.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/djdavewalker">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br />Getting loads of plays in the Funky House and Electro scene, really cool vox and well put together.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/3.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">JSK</span></strong> - Easy<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer03" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer03&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/3.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jskmusikkk">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Germany<br /></span><br />An 18 year old producer from Cologne, this track demonstrates some good early skill, really deep break with a driving synth line Deadmau5 would be proud of.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/4.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">DJ Weela</span></strong> - The Art of Electro<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer04" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer04&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/4.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link: </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=92368778194">Facebook</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>Egypt<br />Sexy Electro House still has it's place, and DJ Weela is making light work of the piano in this track.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/5.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Audioslags</span></strong> - Confabulation<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer05" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer05&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/5.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/audioslags">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br />Tech House collective Audioslags provide a boompty tech house groover here. Cool Sounds.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/6.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Riddim Jacker</span></strong> - Girl<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer06" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer06&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/6.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link:</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54682583358">Facebook</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br />Dreamy Synth Break, with with a jackin fidgetty style drop and cool vox cuts. Nice.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/7.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">FRANCE</span></strong> - Get Up<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer07" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer07&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/7.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/WEAREFRANCE">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> UK<br />Dubsteppy Break and build with a cool rolling bass and dubstep inspired wobble.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/8.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Guido van Santen</span></strong> - Tool<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer08" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer08&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/8.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link: </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/thefidgitive">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>The Netherlands<br />Formerly known as "The Fidgitive", Guido is showing progress with the beefy bass pattern on this track.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/9.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Il Diablo</span></strong> - When its Cool<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer09" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer09&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/9.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ildiablomusic">Myspace</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location: </span>UK<br />We are digging the tin drum inspired break sections on this, with the chanty vox sample, and dutch house sound melody riff.<br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/10.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Fingerman</span></strong> - Cough<br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf" id="audioplayer010" height="50" width="200"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/audio/player.swf"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=audioplayer010&soundFile=http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/lockdon/10.mp3"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Link: </span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/fingerman">Soundcloud</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Location:</span> Russia<br />Last but definately not least, Fingerman gives us a Russian twist on Fidget!Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-74435167633212780112009-11-23T14:32:00.000-08:002009-11-25T01:22:22.012-08:00Pro Showcase - a Chat with Lee Mortimer<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/mortimer.jpg"><br />Label Owner, Producer, DJ and all round good guy Lee Mortimer joined us this week for a quick chin-wag in the first of our series of Pro Showcases... or Prowcases (Imaginatively).<br /><br />The idea of these micro-interviews is to get the views and some nuggets of knowledge from the movers and shakers in the biz.<br /><br />We make efforts to grab a few seconds with chaps that have an interest in labels, in order that they can give you a well rounded opinion of what you need to do as an unsigned artist.<br /><br />If you don't know Lee Mortimer by now, then you should perhaps <span style="color:#000000;">go </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/leemortimer"><span style="color:#000000;">here</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> first</span>, but let's assume you haven't been under a rock for the last few years - and you are aware of the owner of Wearhouse Music, Mr Mortimer.<br /><br />So we started by asking him to:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Don "Describe your Sound in 3 Words"</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">Lee - "Bass - Hype"</span></em><br /><em></em><br /><em>(That's actually 2 words Lee, but we'll let you off :D )</em><br /><em></em><br />We continued, to discuss tips and advice, and a question that I reckon will get a completely different response to everyone to whom we ask it:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Which 1 piece of advice would you give to unsigned artists?</span></strong><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">Never give up and spend as much time as you can making music. Making good music is ultimately the thing that will get you recognition, nothing else.</span></em><br /><em></em><br />Choice words indeed... "Practice Makes Perfect" is the old saying, and I think Lee's advice puts it perfectly, you need to have the skill and the ability to last the long-haul. Our ramblings about having a good appearance are all well and good, and to have a good online appearance will help, but that needs to be backed up with a solid stream of good music!<br /><br />Onto something that is always interesting information for professional-producers-to-be:<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">What software do you use, and what is your favourite synth at the moment?</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#666666;"><em>I use Reason 4 so I love Thor.</em></span><br /><em></em><br />Lot of love for reason out there, its definately still rocking it behind the scenes!<br /><br />Now, in these interviews we will get a hold of who the artists themselves are tipping for big tings, in order that they can too have their time in the limelight. All very nice isn't it :)<br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Whos your tip for 2010?</strong></span><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/aspinanddipace"><span style="color:#666666;"><em>Aspin & Dipace</em></span></a><span style="color:#666666;"><em> have had a great end to 2009 so I expect more good things from them. Plus </em></span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/killlightuk"><span style="color:#666666;"><em>Kill Light </em></span></a><span style="color:#666666;"><em>and </em></span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/ukmele"><span style="color:#666666;"><em>Melé</em></span></a><span style="color:#666666;"><em>.</em></span><br /><em></em><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Whats next for you?</strong></span><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">My track with Laidback Luke "Blau" is out soon with some great remixes from Noob, LA Riots, Nacho Lovers and Doorly. I've got remixes coming of Bombay Bicylce Club, Streetlife DJs, Visage and Cold Blank.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">Gig wise I'm in Slide in Oxford with Fake Blood this Friday, Saturday I'm in Leicester. After that I'm in London with DJ Zinc and Loose Cannons @ Cable. On Boxing Day I'm playing with Switch in Leeds for Filth @ Mint. Plus I've got other gigs coming up in Belgium, Switzerland and Edinburgh.</span></em><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Busy Bwoi! Cheers Lee, excellent stuff.</span><br /><br />So I hope you found that of interest, you can find more about the man like Lee Mortimer on his Myspace Twitter or Facebook!<br /><br />Speak Soon<br /><br /><br /><br /><em>Don.</em><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png">Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-59650730286760540052009-11-22T11:13:00.000-08:002009-11-24T05:22:40.668-08:0010 Things you Need to Know about Approaching a Label...<img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/approach.jpg"><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">1. Be Personal!</span><br />It takes a couple of minutes to find out a name at a label you are looking to send material to. Nobody likes mass mailers, so a nice title along the lines of "Hey its [Artist], just finished this [Name of contact at Label] thought you may be interested?" I've seen so many times unsigned artists, sending an email with a download link to 10 labels, in CC'd!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">2. Definately don't attach your mp3</span><br />The internet is getting quicker these days, but that's no excuse for attaching 10mb files to emails! It slows down email download label-side and will generally get on their goat - so don't do it!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">3. Speak!</span><br />Again, its a shame to get through just a link, no intro, no outro, no signature nothing! If your English isn't the best, Google has a very basic translator, you can just paste in what you would like to say in your preferred language, and translate to English. The translations aren't perfect, but it's definately better than silence!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">4. Give options.</span><br />Label A&R chaps and owners are pretty busy, and they often have lots of demos to sift through. a 320mb mp3 is great, but always give the option for the demo to be streamed. Myspace and Soundcloud take care of that quite well. The guys at the label will more than likely stream before downloading a full version, so give them the chance :)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">5. Give Links</span><br />In a similar way to the speaking bit, make sure you get yourself a wide spread of the web, and give as many links to your own site as you can in your email. Facebook, Myspace, Soundcloud pages - more the merrier... tell the label about them, it shows a self-promotion potential!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">6. It isn't all about the labels</span><br />They say a personal reference is the best possible form of marketing. Send your tracks to DJs aswell, and If you can get some plays and feedback from these guys, attach that "reference" to your email, you will stand a much better chance of the demo being listened to.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">7. Blogs are Buddies</span><br />Labels like to see potential in artists, sometimes over even the material. If you are being talked about online, this will stand you in really good stead. In order to be spoken about online you have to get involved. Send your music to blogs aswell as labels - and get involved with their communities.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">8. First Impressions are everything</span><br />In the online era, you have the ability to be whatever you want to be. I don't mean that in a philosophical sense, more along the lines of: If you get a good designer to sort out your Myspace/Twitter profile, embed some nice videos in there get some cool pictures taken this will help your online "appearance". I will go into much more detail on that little number in some future posts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">9. Know what you are trying to achieve</span><br />One step at a time... open up conversation more than anything, aim to strike a bit of rapport, that will eventually lead to the label listening to your stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">10. BE ORIGINAL!</span><br />That statement encoaches on the musical side of things, which we will get some decent names to come in and chat to you about, but in general, be inspired by other artists, but don't try to copy them and make your own stamp. Bootlegs aren't a bad way to start ;)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The list above is by no means definitive, but those are our top 10 tips based on the experience we have ammassed at Venga Digital A&R. There are a few that seem madness (CC'ing 25 labels with a blanket emails) but people really do it!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Let me know your thoughts on that little lot :)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don.</span><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png">Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5546930999968943434.post-39838577606056654112009-11-22T07:15:00.000-08:002009-11-22T11:54:38.583-08:00.... And so it begins<div><div><br /><img src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/welcome.jpg"><br />Welcome to Lock'Don blog.<br /><br />I'm Don, and I work closely with the A&R team at Venga Digital Records. Basically this will be the platform upon which careers can be built.<br /><br />Venga receives a deluge of demos on a daily basis, spanning several genres, spanning several degrees of quality.<br /><br />One thing stands true though - its the guys that send in the demos that make the industry tick, these are the chaps on the ground, and we feel they should be honoured.<br /><br />So Lock'Don will focus on unsigned potential stars, and will feature a monthly unsigned chart, news and stuff of remix competitions and updates on current affairs relevant to you - if you want to make a few waves in the scene.<br /><br />We are not pigeon-holers either, so any genre is cool... music is art right? So why box it in?<br /><br />Keep it Locked.... Keep it Lock'Don.<br /><br /><br /><br />Don </div><br /><div></div><a href="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png"><img style="WIDTH: 300px; HEIGHT: 160px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.vengadigital.co.uk/blogimg/donend.png"></a></div></div>Lock'Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17150575265536682520noreply@blogger.com0