House Archive Music
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Armand Van Helden in general
by RetroClub14 Ahhh! Armen indeed has a fine passion for house music. His music is the type of music one can listen too while late night cruising in downtown. I love the way he blends the city sounds into smooth drum beats. If you are that type of person that enjoys the city, you will like Armen VAn Heldens unique style of house. Also Armen has a ... very american touch to his house music. It's nice, when you listen to some of his songs such as "Sugar is sweeter" and "Fly away love" It makes you feel like you're in that american city such as San Francisco or New York. If you really appreciate american style house music, I suggest that you go to the store and purchase one of Armen Van Helden's Albums. You can play it anywhere in the world and feel like your in the heart of the city. Read the complete review |
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Pete Tong in general
by richardfoster73 Back In the early nineties when i used to listen to Pete Tong, i used to love the music he was playing, all really up front dance tunes that you could not hear anywhere else. Now when i listen I think his show sounds stale and the music he plays is old hat , not very fresh and too be honest far too indie,ish for my liking. Perhapsi am ... being a bit hard on tongy, perhaps it is the music scene itself that has changed, or maybe my own personal musical oppinions, but whatever the reason, Pete gets my thumbs down. Read the complete review |
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House in general
by thequy Dance music in all its various guises entered the 3rd Millenium as perhaps the most significant cultural phenomenon of the previous century in the UK. Even on a global scale, not since classical music has any genre given rise to such a multitude of sub-categories, each recognisable as a genre in its own right. In the UK at least, dance ... has grown beyond a mere acoustic fashion into an important part of many people’s lives. Those who appreciate dance for what it is – and not just because it’s a trendy bandwagon – come from all walks of life. In my immediate circle alone there is a lawyer, a postman, a geneticist, a market researcher, an engineer, an electrician, a security guard, the list goes on... Inevitably, dance has its detractors. The most outspoken ones are often musical conservatives who slate something they have not taken the time to understand or empathise with. It is small coincidence that three of the most criticised features of dance music also happen to be instrumental (excuse da pun) in its success – its use of technology, the role of the DJ and its infamously repetitive beats (nice one, Criminal Justice Act). This review explains how each element is woven into the fabric of the dance universe. TECHNOLOGY One of the most endearing features of the Internet is how it empowers the masses. From sites such as dooyoo to discussion forums and Napster, the Internet has given Joe Public access to a level of involvement and communication that were previously only available to a select few. Long before the WWW took off, technology was empowering the masses on a different level, giving said Mr JP access to music CREATION - previously only available to a select few. Technology first crept into music as an enhancement or replacement for acoustic instruments. Electric guitars and keyboards eventually led to standalone electronic devices. You could now create a sound or take an existing one and shape it at your will. You could add rhythm to that sound, complicated arpeggios at a speed and duration that would take a few years off the life of the most gifted violinist. You could do this dozens of times over and fit the different layers together like a jigsaw, accurate within milliseconds of a rock steady beat. But the most revolutionary impact of all was that you could, from a knowledge base of nil, learn to express the ideas in your head within months or even days. Mastering an acoustic instrument and traditional composing is measured in years if not decades. Critics say that technologists are cheating, that their creations and performances don’t deserve to be labelled as ‘proper’ music compared to someone who has spent 8 hours a day for the best part of a decade to become a concert pianist or symphonic composer. With no disrespect to the achievements of the latter (admittedly extreme examples to illustrate the point), this is a redundant attitude in the 21st century. If we were to apply this logic consistently, then calculators, indeed all computers, are immoral. Buildings and other feats of modern engineering created with CAD (computer aided design) and CAM (manufacturing) should be torn down and manually reconstructed – assuming it was possible to recreate them all with solus human input. Technology has taken over the physical aspects, freeing up the human mind to create. How many Bachs and Beethovens has history passed over because they did not have the fortune to be trained with the skills to unleash their natural musical talent? There is still a learning curve to climb, sacrifices to be made if you want to become a musician of any description but technology has significantly lowered the entry barriers. Dance is not the only music to make use of technology – many genres have taken it on board in one way or another – but it is one of the few to have grown up in and around it. In fact, there has lately been an increasing countertrend towards incorporating live musicians, two leading examples being Hybrid and Reprazent (winners of the prestigious and previously non-dance Mercury Music Prize). These artists are to be applauded for disproving those who claim dance is nothing more than programmed sequencers. Nonetheless we should clap just as loudly for the technology that enables so many people to express themselves. Most of them will never achieve the levels of Hybrid and Reprazent, but at least they’ve had a chance to share their ideas with others. This does not mean traditional music skills and training are redundant. Brian Transeau (BT)'s productions are superb works of art largely because his pianist background taught him melody and harmony. However, technology means that thousands of people who cannot afford the time or money to fully commit themselves to music can still contribute towards a scene that they love. THE DJ Many a person has stood up and queried the logic of giving so much attention and cash to someone who only plays other people’s records. Noel Gallagher has had his public two pennies’ worth and even Liam from the Prodigy had a dig in Mixmag (the same year he released his Dirtchamber Sessions mix, but who are we to comment?!) On the face of it, a DJ’s life is simple. Remove gimmicks like samplers and trumpets, and all they have to do to earn that fat cheque is fade one tune into another. Depending on their style this may even stretch to matching the beats and manipulating the gains (bass, mid and treble) so that the speakers don’t overload from two sets of overlapping frequencies. This is the kind of mechanical task that computers will eventually master and if it were the extent of the DJ’s role then messieurs Gallagher and Howlett would be fully justified in screaming blue murder. However, good mixing is a pre-requisi te for DJ’s in the same way that you expect a car to get you from A to B faster than you can walk it. What distinguishes the Mercedes from the Ladas (apparently Skodas are pretty nifty these days) is the DJ’s selection of music. How does choosing a tune compensate a DJ not having written or even performed what the crowd are responding to? Imagine this scenario: someone who doesn’t have the fortune to be the Mozart of their generation has a flash of inspiration where they compose a timeless classic. Sadly, singles 2 and 3 are downright cak and never make the top 100 or even the local Ritz. Does this mean the first track is no longer as good? Hardly, but you can’t expect a crowd to pay for and sit through a concert full of tripe just to hear single number 1. A DJ takes the best track(s) from several artists. They are the connection between supply and demand. For the crowd, they are the filter that ensures only quality gets through. For the artists who don’t have the creative or financial means to support their own concert, they provide an outlet (this links back to the previous section on Technology and part-time music creators). Music selection is a lot harder than it sounds. There is an unfeasibly huge amount of production going on out there (again, taking us back to the Technology Empowering The Masses line of thought). As music is all about opinion, and given the diversity of dance, being a successful DJ is not just about finding the right tunes, but playing them at the right time in the right place. Once a DJ earns a reputation for this, s/he effectively becomes a consumer brand. You buy a Coke without asking too many questions because you know you’re getting an icy beverage that goes great with your burger. You pay ££ to see the Dreem Teem because garage is your thing and cutting edge garage is exactly what you will get. Even if the DJ isn’t playing exactly what you expected because they are experimenting with new ideas, you can have faith that there will be a certain level of quality to what they do (this is USUALLY what happens. Exceptions to the rule include Jeremy Healy clearing the dancefloor with Fairground Attraction... sigh, to think he was once DJ of the Year). REPETITIVE BEATS There is this theory... of the Moebius – a twist in the fabric of space... sorry, couldn’t help myself. Anyway, there is this theory that humans have an affinity for rhythm that stems from our time spent in the womb. As you gain enough awareness to cross the divide from a clump of cells to a living being, the constant, steady thump of your mother’s heart greets you and will come to symbolise the most carefree existence possible. It leaves an imprint on your sub conscious even as the rational you grapples with walking, talking and meeting mortgage repayments. If you think it’s silly that memories could survive beyond birth, there is considerable medical opinion today that playing classical music to a pregnant mother will leave a lasting impression on her young charge. “What about big beat and drum & bass!” I hear you cry, “if my mother’s heart sounded like that, she was surely a crackhead with a dodgy pacemaker.” Bear with me one moment before looking me up to avenge this slight on your beloved. We humans are born a babbling mess, incapable of feeding ourselves. By adulthood, we are capable of building something that goes to the moon and beyond. It stands to reason that our capacity for appreciating rhythm also becomes more sophisticated en route. That steady heartbeat is still there but it’s been dressed up and it’s ready to party. Take any dance record and listen carefully. Ignore the detail in the music and pick out its underlying pulse. Some styles are easier to feel than others. For example you don’t get much easier than Hard H ouse. If you can’t pick out the beat here then sorry but you’re probably dead. Towards the other end of the scale might be some of Roni Size’s more adventurous creations but even here, few people would fail to eventually feel the underlying pulse. With the exception of the most avant-garde experimentalists, all music from jazz to hillbilly folk revolves around beats. What gives dance music its magnetic qualities is the way in which it elevates the status of the beat, giving the listener/dancer a solid base to latch on to. Look at what people are doing when they dance. Physical movements aside (which, if you took the music away, would get you locked up in a padded cell with soft furniture) what dancing amounts to is a time when you forget your troubles and your strife. Dancing is also a medium for other social needs including courtship (surely that fit blonde will want your children once she’s seen your Travolta-esque gyrations) and group membership (you all share the music and the ability to move in roughly the same manner) but the common factor is beats = good times. Rather like the short months before you were dragged kicking and screaming into this world. Following this opinion is a list of sub-categories, each with a sound quite distinct from the other examples. This is not to show off how many styles I can name – you could do the same by reading any issue of Muzik or Mixmag – but to illustrate just how diverse dance has become. Today’s listener - or dancer – is spoilt for choice as never before with dozens of sub-genres catering to myriad musical tastes. Against this continuous diversification, the three elements discussed in this review have been constant themes. Because of this ability to adapt and diversify, and with technology, the DJ and the ever repetitive beats to hold it together, there’s a long, bright future ahead of dance. -------------- NB: This l ist is just a start and doesn’t claim to be comprehensive. Brackets are leading exponents of that sound: - funky house with disco overtones (Bob Sinclar) - UK house (Full Intention) - US house (Subliminal) - UK garage (Dreem Team) - deep house (Deep Dish) - dark, twisted house (Danny Tenaglia) - tribal beats (Steve Lawler) - big beat (Chemical Brothers) - percussive, progressive house (Bedrock) - epic trance (BT) - driving, progressive trance (John ‘00’ Fleming, Paul van Dyk) - feel-good, euphoric trance (Ferry Corsten) - drum and bass (where do I start? dozens of sub-SUB-genres here alone) - techno (Dave Clarke) - psychadelic trance (Astral Projection) - hi-energy, hard house (Tidy Trax) Read the complete review |
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