MUSIC BLOGS
MUSIC BLOGS
category: music
19 Oct 2009

This past April, Mates of State released Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1 on limited-edition 12″ vinyl.  Featuring four interpretations of tracks from Mates of State’s latest full-length, Re-arrange Us, it included contributions from noted remixologists DJ Sega, Flosstradamus, The Mae Shi and RAC.  Packaged in a classic DJ white sleeve, the 12″ EP was limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

But, for folks who prefer the digital to the analog, we’re excited to announce that Mates of State’s Re-Arranged: Remixes Vol. 1 is now available digitally at fine digital retailers everywhere.  This digital version features a bonus track remixed by Amp Live and not available on the 12″ physical edition.

For your enjoyment, we’ve included a link to The Mae Shi remix.  Check it out:

You Are Free (The Mae Shi Remix)” from Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1

Tour Dates:

10-21 Halifax, Canada – Halifax Pop Explosion

11-01 New Orleans, LA – Voodoo Experience

Re-arranged: Remixes Volume 1 Track List:

01 You Are Free (The Mae Shi remix)
02 The Re-Arranger (Flosstradamus remix)
03 Now (RAC remix)
04 Help Help (DJ Sega Philly Club remix)
05 The Re-Arranger (Amp Live remix)

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category: music
26 Mar 2009

NEW YORK, NY) Due to overwhelming demand from fans, the digital release of “Boom Boom Pow,” the new single from three-time Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Interscope recording artists The Black Eyed Peas, has been moved up to Monday, March 30th, when it will become available through all digital accounts.

Fans have been clamoring to purchase the track ever since it impacted CHR/Top 40 Radio two weeks ago. “Boom Boom Pow” is currently No. 17 and the fastest moving song at the format (No. 1 Spin and Audience Gainer). It is the group’s eleventh CHR/Top 40 hit, tying them with the Backstreet Boys for most chart hits in this format by a group this decade. “Boom Boom Pow” is also a hit at Rhythm Crossover Radio where it has climbed to No. 13 and is the No. 1 Spin and Audience Gainer. A video for “Boom Boom Pow” — directed by Motion Theory (who lensed Weezer’s Grammy Award-winning clip for “Pork and Beans”) — will be released in early April. The song was written by The Black Eyed Peas, which is will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, and Fergie, and produced by will.i.am.

“Boom Boom Pow” is the first single from The Black Eyed Peas’ upcoming fifth studio album The E.N.D., which is due from Interscope Records on June 9th, 2009. The E.N.D. is the Peas’ first album of new material since 2005’s blockbuster Monkey Business, which sold more than nine million copies worldwide and spawned the Grammy Award-winning singles “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” and “My Humps.”

The Black Eyed Peas will perform at the Ultra Music Festival at this year’s Winter Music Conference on Friday, March 27th. For more information, please visit the band’s official website: www.blackeyedpeas.com.

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category: music
11 Dec 2008

Cash Cash will be releasing their brand new full length album Take It To The Floor as a digital only release on Tuesday, December 23rd, with the CD available in stores next year on Tuesday, January 20th.  In support of the digital only release, check out the new stream for “Electric Hearts” from their forthcoming album below.

“Electric Hearts” streaming audio:

Quicktime

Windows Media

Tour dates:

1/21/09 - @ Jerry’s w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - BAKERSFIELD, CA

1/22/09 - @ The Artery Foundation w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - ORANGEVALE, CA

1/23/09 - @ Satyricon w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - PORTLAND, OR

1/24/09 - @ El Corazon w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - SEATTLE, WA

1/26/09 - @ Avalon Theater w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - SALT LAKE CITY, UT

1/27/09 - @ The Marquis Theatre w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - DENVER, CO

1/29/09 - @ The House of Bricks w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - DES MOINES, IA

1/30/09 - @ Subterranean w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - CHICAGO, IL

1/31/09 - @ The Pike Room at Crofoot Ballroom w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - PONTIAC, MI

2/1/09 - @ Xtreme Wheelz w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - BUFFALO, NY

2/2/09 - @ Mr Small’s w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - PITTSBURGH, PA

2/3/09 - @ Blender Theatre at Gramercy w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - NEW YORK, NY

2/4/09 - @ The Barbary Coast w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - PHILADELPHIA, PA

2/5/09 - @ Rock and Roll Hotel w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - WASHINGTON, Washington DC

2/6/09 - @ The Casbah at Tremont Music Hall w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - CHARLOTTE, NC

2/7/09 - @ The Brewery w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - RALEIGH, NC

2/9/09 - @ The Masquerade - ATLANTA, GA

2/10/09 - @ The Social w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - ORLANDO, FL

2/11/09 - @ Orpheum w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire TAMPA, FL

2/13/09 - @ Meridian w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - HOUSTON, TX

2/14/09 - @ White Rabbit w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - SAN ANTONIO, TX

2/15/09 - @ Emo’s w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - AUSTIN, TX

2/17/09 - @ Launchpad w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - ALBUQUERQUE, NM

2/18/09 - @ Modified Arts w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - PHOENIX, AZ

2/19/09 - @ Soma Sidestage w/ Millionaires & I Set My Friends On Fire - SAN DIEGO, CA

“I never thought I’d be in Oklahoma with a crowd of kids singing our song,” says Jean Paul Makhlouf, lead singer of Cash Cash, in awe over the popularity they have received on their current tour. “It’s a feeling you can’t describe.” Not a small accomplishment for “this little band from Jersey.” In fact, this is exactly the type of moment that occurs when you are a hot band on the rise.

Cash Cash is an exciting techno-pop group from the 2 mile long town of Roseland, New Jersey. The band consists of Jean Paul Makhlouf (vocals, guitar), Alex Makhlouf (keyboards, programming), Samuel Frisch (vocals, bass), and Anthony Villacari (drums, percussion). With a sound that is refreshing, electric and infectious, Cash Cash is able to seamlessly tap into 70s funk, 80s anthem pop and 90s mellow alternative all at once. Their mission, described perfectly by Jean Paul, is to “Bring back some of that 70s funk guitar, mixed in with the life and fun of the 80s.”

And they have done just that.

But how has Cash Cash reached the precipice of stardom? You would have to go back to the third grade, because that is how long Jean Paul has known Sam Frisch. Playing together since they were kids, the band originally formed as The Consequence in 2002, a predominantly studio-based act that released a 5 song EP titled “Your Own Place” in 2003. After releasing a self-titled LP in 2005, the band began to lose focus, using a myriad of musicians as various members decided to go off to college. “Being in our band was like being on the show Survivor, we were going through bass players, drummers, keyboard players …” says Jean Paul. With the future of the band nebulous at best, younger brother Alex Makhlouf jumped on board, and he and Jean Paul began refocusing the band: “I knew I had to get the hell out of school, so I did the complete opposite and dropped out of college,” recalls Jean Paul. “My brother and I knew what we had to do and decided to give it one more stab.”

The brothers decided to spend an entire summer crafting new material and honing a sound, day in and day out, virtually living in Jean Paul’s home recording studio. At summer’s end, they knew they created something special. By fall the brothers, stacked with backpacks full of cds, began an arduous, yet fulfilling campaign to make their music heard. Storming clubs in and around New York City, including Pete Wentz’s AK-47 club, the brothers partied, networked and hustled as many A&R men and record executives as they could find. But the real turning point came when Rob Hitt of Crush Management began DJing their song “Party in Your Bedroom.” The infectious, easy-to-sing-along-with, pop sound of the song began turning heads. Shortly thereafter, Jean Paul’s Gmail account began filling up with offers from record labels. Changing their name to Cash Cash in March of 2008, the band, with Frisch aboard as bass player/art director, and Alex’s friend Anthony Villacari locked in on drums, signed a record deal with Universal Republic records and is poised to premiere an EP in October of 2008. Consisting of 5 songs, including the driving force of “Breakout” and an acoustic version of “Party in Your Bedroom,” the EP has all the hallmarks of a band that not only is burning with confidence, but is comfortable with their own sound.

Having just completed their first tour, a tour which not only expanded their fan base, but further matured and coalesced the band in ways only riding a bus can, Cash Cash is mixing a full-length album and setting their sites for a release by year end, with a much larger tour in 09’ in support of it. Extremely fan friendly and very much aware of their roots and the influences that drove them, Cash Cash reaches out to their fans at concerts by meeting them outside for impromptu acoustic performances. That extra effort, a sound work ethic, their melodic pop songs with fantastic 3-part harmonies, and the confidence that motivates them are all the ingredients that really separate Cash Cash from the rest of the pack. No “get rich quick scheme” for Cash Cash – they’re taking this all the way to the bank.

Cash Cash official site:

http://www.cashcashmusic.com

and on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/cashcash

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category: music
05 Nov 2008

After years of pounding at the backstage door, it’s pretty much official: dance music is the new punk rock. CBGBs is no more, and guitars are swiftly being eclipsed by laptops, but the DIY aesthetic is alive and well. So it’s only fitting that the future of American dance music should emerge in the form of two New England Art Institute grads, Josh Shifrin and Paul Mihailoff, who left behind their punk rock and hip-hop pasts to form Plus Move, an electronic act obsessed with the future. And for good reason - they’ve been there.

Check out the song BOSS from 2099

“It’s kind of weird how we got into this,” Mihailoff admits, recalling a time back in Boston before they learned the art of time travel. Both he and Shifrin were playing in rock bands, with their only common thread was a shared interest in Radiohead. “I was actually into producing hip-hop beats when we first met, and I threw Daft Punk in the same category as the bland, repetitive, four-on-the-floor stuff that I couldn’t get into. But once I understood the energy behind it, I started listening to all the other French producers.”

Plus Move got everyone’s attention when they leaked their bootleg remix of Justice’s funk-squelch anthem “D.A.N.C.E” to some of their favorite music blogs back in the summer of 2007. “We first heard the song as a radio rip,” Shifrin recalls. “It wasn’t even the full song or the final version, but we fell in love with it and immediately chopped the shit out of the track to get rid of the radio noise, re-worked it completely and sent it back out to every blog that we liked. Before we knew it, we were getting emails from people all over the world.”

One of those emails got their attention more than the other messages from crazed fans. It was an anonymous invitation to a meeting in a basement underneath M.I.T., just minutes from the Plus Move studio. Shifrin and Mihailoff are reluctant to reveal specifics, but the story goes that they were introduced to someone they refer to cryptically as “Sphinx.” When asked if “Sphinx” is the mythical being described in Egyptian and Greek mythology, Plus Move boldly puts forth that Sphinx “has taken many different forms throughout time.”

The next part of the story may be even less credible, yet the recordings that make up the “2099” EP are presented for your consideration. Plus Move claim to have traveled through time with Sphinx to the year 2099, where together they defeated the evil ruler BOSS. In the ensuing days spent in 2099, Plus Move and Sphinx recorded these songs and brought them back to the present day as documented proof of their travels.

The cool heads at Expansion Team Records, for whom the duo had previously remixed a Ready Fire Aim track, immediately took notice of the change in Shifrin and Mihailoff’s disposition. The “2099” recordings shifted and morphed with more unpredictable dynamics than a multi-car pileup, equal parts apocalypse and apotheosis in the mix. Label boss and fellow futurist Alex Moulton lent his ear to the music, helping co-produce the songs to make them understandable to early-21st century ears.

Plus Move recently relocated to Austin, Texas, a move necessitated by the need for physical space to assemble their next secret project. The duo are reportedly building a structure they believe is a time machine that allows for hundreds (if not thousands) of fans to join them on their subsequent journeys to the future. How’s that for DIY?

Digital Release Date: out now

www.myspace.com/plusmove

www.expansionteamrecords.com

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category: music
29 Oct 2008

The Beatles’ music finally becomes digital? This should be very interesting. Here’s all the info I’ve got at the moment, but there’s sure to be some buzz build-up before the event on friday. Check it out:


WHAT:     Apple Corps Ltd. and MTV to announce an exclusive agreement to develop a global music project.

WHO:       Jeff Jones, CEO of Apple Corps, Ltd.

Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks

Van Toffler, President of MTV Networks Music/Logo Group

WHEN:     Thursday, October 30, 2008

2:00 pm UK Time, 10:00 am ET, 7:00 AM PT

About Apple Corps. Ltd.
Apple Corps Ltd. was founded by The Beatles in 1968 to look after the group’s own affairs. The London-based company has administered the catalogue of The Beatles releases of the 1960s that have sold to date more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs.  Since the 1990s Apple has piloted new Beatles projects that have become benchmarks for pioneering accomplishment and which have included The Beatles Anthology projects, the 28 million-selling album The Beatles 1 and the The Beatles LOVE show and CD. Further information on The Beatles’ projects can be found at www.thebeatles.com.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products.  The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.  

www.thebeatles.com

www.MTV.com##

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category: music
11 Sep 2008

New York – September 10, 2008 – Fans of Wu-Tang Clan, and its storied members, will now be able to access the famed hip-hop collective like never before. The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD), a global leader in digital music and entertainment, today announced a comprehensive pact with Wu Music Group to distribute and market the label’s popular catalogue worldwide. In addition to forthcoming material, the catalogue includes 13 previous releases that have been unavailable digitally, including recordings by Wu Tang Clan, U-God, Wu-Syndicate, Killarmy, Shyheim, West Coast Killa Beez, Black Knights and others, and will be available worldwide beginning on September 23.

 

“The time is right to bring some older Wu material to the masses digitally,” said RZA, de-facto leader of Wu-Tang Clan, also known as “Bobby Digital”. “Our fans have been dedicated and patient, and they’re hungry to hear the music that has set us apart from so many others. Hip-Hop is alive in Wu Music, and with The Orchard, we’ve got a solid partner that understands our audience and is committed to doing all they can to help us reach the fans. I’m definitely looking forward to working with them to see what else we all come up with. There’s much more to come.” (To see a special video message directly from RZA, click here.)

 

Beginning today, fans can join the Wu Music Mobile Fan Club, powered by Mozes, to gain access to exclusive news updates, release information, contests and more by texting “WuMusic” to 66937.   The special Wu Music Tube, a designated Kyte TV online video channel, also launches today as a forum for the artists to communicate directly with their audience, preview exclusive video content and provide a sneak peek into the Wu Music world.  Fans are encouraged also to visit the newly re-launched website, www.wumusicgroup.com, as well as the ad-supported Wu Music Group mobile website www.wumusicgroup.mobi, developed by Faspay Mobile Technologies, for breaking news, tour dates and mobile downloads. 

 

The campaign also includes newly available Wu Music Group content, such as album and single downloads, master tones and ringback tones, which are currently available exclusively to Verizon Wireless subscribers direct from the V CAST Music Store, and can be purchased worldwide from The Orchard’s ubiquitous digital network beginning September 23. In addition, Verizon Wireless subscribers can also text “WU” to 8912, enabling direct content purchases for SMS and MMS delivery with the option to be linked to the Wu Music Mobile Fan Club.

 

Beyond launch, The Orchard will embark on a substantial marketing campaign, bringing new digital releases of Wu Music Group’s entire catalogue of unreleased material, including important recordings from RZA and other Wu-Tang Clan members, as well as future and live releases from current label acts and new signings.  The pact includes the label’s full back catalogue of music videos, featuring artists such as RZA, Ghostface Killah, Kool G Rap and more. Adding to the partnership, The Orchard’s growing Brand Entertainment division will also draw from this large music and video catalogue of Wu Music Group for use by brands and ad agencies in innovative new marketing and promotion programs.

 

“Enter The Wu-Tang,” said Greg Scholl, president and chief executive officer for The Orchard.

 

Wu Music Group: http://www.wumusicgroup.com
Wu Music Tube: http://www.kyte.tv/ch/120332-wu-music-tube

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/rza

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category: music
21 Aug 2008

Bloc Party wins… 3 days is all it takes now to announce and album and then release it to the public.  The new album is called Intimacy and is available at the bands website: BlocParty.com

Read more at NME.com

Check out the first single, “Mercury”:

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