Caliente

I was just listening to some good old school Salsa music on my iPod and realizing that right there is an entire genre of music that is being destroyed by the economy and the era of overproduced music. My wife is Puerto Rican and I have loved Latin music since I moved to New York in the early 90's and have seen that people don't want to pay for a full band or a brass section and real musicians, some of the finest in the business are being replaced by samples and keyboards both live and in the studio. Now that Coney Island is going to the wealthy condo buyers, who knows if even the great live Salsa we enjoyed so much in the summer on the piers will even be back in the future.

If there are no outlets for quality musicians, and music can be made simply by plotting notes on the computer using your mouse, how do we encourage the future generations to pick up an instrument and play? Being able to express yourself creatively is one of the true gifts we receive and it concerns me that as time goes by I am seeing creativity replaced by sample libraries and Apple GarageBand. Not that great compositions and tracks aren't made with the new tools, but even I, as a musician, sometimes forget the beauty or interweaving the organic with the electronic.

I am thankful that I can sit at a piano or set of drums and allow inspiration to flow through me but I have to remind myself that in this day and age talent is a very ambiguous term.

New Music Sunday

Here's the video for my new remix of the Kevin Rudolf / Lil Wayne global hit "Let It Rock" already killing it on dance radio and dancefloors around the globe//


Kevin Rudolf feat Lil Wayne - Let It Rock (DJ Strobe Tour De Pants Clean Edit)


Kevin Rudolf feat Lil Wayne - Let It Rock (DJ Strobe Tour De Pants Dirty Mix)


Kevin Rudolf feat Lil Wayne - Let It Rock (DJ Strobe Tour De Pants Dub Edit)



Here's the video for another track, "Obscenly Delicious" by Bulgarion/Uk artist Petia//

Ranting and Raving

This was sent to me by someone respected in the old school rave community and a current DJ & producer of electronic music. This was in response to me wondering why all these new school (and old school) ravers and rave DJs think that unless they know about it or is what they like it must not be good or relevant; and that not everyone who likes a particular genre of music wants to be involved with these parties, especially if you were a part of it the first time around.

"I suppose people want to hold onto the "knowable past." Yeah, I'll pop on a few classics AT HOME on Serato once in a while, but mostly I keep it out of my [rarely] playing out or catering to any semblance of a rave scene. Of course, some classics transcend the scene because they were pre-rave or just plain timeless. My attitude is that I only play, write, remix or produce for the music heads to give them and myself a good journey. Perhaps that's why I don't play out so often - too high a standard and too few willing to bring it up.

Anyhow, people shouldn't talk smack just because a lot of us grew out of it and took lessons learned elsewhere. The lack of historical knowledge is appalling. The lack of re-evaluating or inability to re-evaluate history and the present against historical knowledge is even more so. Historical sources should be inherently distrusted and cross-checked because the only true history that exists is that which lies wordlessly within. Rave culture had its time in human history and rarely are its echoes truly humanistic, adaptive and forward-looking.

Whew, a small vent :)"

Foot Locker and DJ Strobe

The wife and I were watching TV and I heard my remix of Kodo from the Sai-So Remix Project out on Sony/Tristar Records on the new Foot Locker commercial for their new "House OF Hoops" concept. Check it out:



The webpage is here, where you can watch the video as well (the first one)
http://www.footlocker.com/promo/default/promoId--5002160/cm--HOME/


In a slightly different use, here it is being used as the opening number for "Stars On Ice"

Firehouse Lounge Pics From Last Few Weeks

Kids Today

I have always found it important that new generations experience the music from previous ones. Where it starts to get on my nerves is when the discovery turns into elitism. For example, when a early 20 something "discovers" classic hip hop or house music. Now, by classic most likely they are going back to the era AFTER what would be considered classic because in many cases, the true classics are out of print and unavailable in pretty much any format, and unless you're in touch with someone who was around for that time left to the Internet at best. I say the "after" part because it's usually once a genre gets more popular that mainstream picks up on it and thats when the compilation or marketing people start the time line.

In hip hop for example, I have talked with kids in their twenties refer to classic old school hip hop as NWA, Ice-T, and House of Pain. They're a decade off. From Marley Marl, Africa Banbotta, The Treacherous Three, Grandmaster Flash, to RUN DMC and the Beastie Boys through to Tribe Called Quest they usually miss the whole 80s era of rap. It's like hip hop only became cool with Dre to them. The flip side, is when they do end up retracing a genre back to its roots, and then hold it over your head like they discovered it and are the keepers of it either with classic or underground material (you know, what isn't played on the radio). All of a sudden you have young twenty somethings rolling up in a club asking for Mos Def or Talib in an obviously mainstream top 40 club then giving the DJ attitude like he isn't keeping it real. You get the same thing in house music.

It seems to me all the young kids discover house music from someone who discovered house music and all of a sudden theres a bunch of DJs spinning house or bogging about house and having no real appreciation about the genre as a whole. They like what they like and anything else either unfamilliar or different is wack. Can't we all just get along? House has been around since the mid 80s, but most of these people discovered house in the mid 90's because thats when they turned 21 so thats the "classic" era for them. I've played classic house to some of them like Marshall Jeffersons "Move Your Body" or Steve Poindexter "Work That Wotherfucker" from the 80's only to get "How is this house music?"

Now don't get me wrong, house has many genres and I always try and give respect to anyone who embraces it, spins it, or makes it. But don't turn around and start giving someone else crap because theyre not spinning what you think is house when for example, I've been spinning it and producing it since many of them were watching Sesame Street. Don't get me wrong, I've played and produced more then a few tracks that even I cringe at now. These days, I spin a lot of European and UK peak hour anthem house late night, and early I do a mix of deep, bumpin, and funky house (Kerri Chandler, Dennis Ferrer, Masters at Work, Sole Channel, Chuck Love type stuff). I'm just tyring to get the crowd moving and do my thing. I'd much rather get the crowd hyped then have them standing around bobbing their head like someones playing easy listening. Weekly club nights are different then raves and one off parties. People come to clubs to get their groove on, and 4 hours of unrecognizable tracks would drive me insane in any genre. Back in the day in clubs like The Loft and Paradise Garage you would heaqr such a vibrant mix of different dance music and no one was going to step to Larry Levan and tell him he's all over the place. And if you don't know who Larry Levan is shame on you.

Mix it up, don't be afraid to try new styles. Step out of the box. House is a feeling not a style.

Mother Nature Must Like House Music

Besides the killer night we had and my new gear working out flawlessly, mother nature held out the rain until 2:02am. Even after I played the last song and the cop was trying to usher people out they were pumped up and still wanting more and right after I said if it was up to me we'd keep it going until breakfast Mother Nature stepped in and enforced Pittsburgh's silly 2am closing time. Thanks again to everyone for making it a rockin night. See you next Saturday.

Reasons For Knowing You Are A DJ - My Favorite Things by Karizma

Tried to add this cat on MySpace but you have to know his last name or Email... He speaks the truth and his music is great

Why XM Just Bought the Farm

Satellite radio is great for the most part. Although they can be as repetitive as terrestrial radio there is a lot more variety in the programming. In the last week however, they have taken my favorite channel off the air and made it Internet only. This would be channel 80, "The Move." It's the deeper and more soulful house channel as compared to the other ones (BPM is more peak hour house and club and The System is just god awful Tiesto until you barf). I realize it may not be the most popular format, but it was a really nice mix of house, even if many of the blogs and forums said it was "too soulful" and missed the more tech-minimal tracks. I know this is really awful, but an African-American friend of mine said this about house music; "Theres another thing white people got their hands on and ruined."

What I know is that satellite only has so much bandwidth so in essence, The Move was taken off the air to make bandwidth available for either the "30 Days of Coldplay" or the "3 Months of Kenny Chesney" shows that debuted, I kid you not. If you look at channel 80, it says "Currently Off The Air" and nothing is in that spot so they didn't put something in its place, just utilized the bandwidth it had somewhere else for one of those 2 fine shows (and I was already bitter at the disappointing new Coldplay album. Pretty soon satellite will be no better then terrestrial now that they have the monopoly, and I was originally all for it. If they take off Opie and Anthony that might be the final straw.

Heres the Kick, Theres the Vocals... Nice to Meet You.

Why recently, has there been an influx of dance records where the vocals/samples/elements are not synced up to the kick or main drums?

It's awesome that you got your copy of Ableton/Logic/Cubase and have a super kick you sampled from some hot new electro track and now your going to take the acapella of "I Kissed A Girl" and make your own remix, but WHY WHY WHY is it so hard to actually sync up the vocals people? Go in there and edit the audio until it even feeeeellls right. It's like people take a sample or a vocal, start it on the one, and close their eyes and drive down a road hoping not to run into anything. Chances are theres going to be some timing differences so get in there and adjust words, lines, syllables, beats until that shits locked down. Thats what ReCycle and all those beat splicing and dicing programs are for.

If you're going to sample a loop from an old record, truncate it and do some audio surgery on it until it syncs up, don't just loop the loop and throw a beat under it, because after you pile on the 20 tracks of gratuitous elements the whole thing sounds like the music equivalent of a drunk driver.

And enough with the "I Kissed A Girl" remixes, I think 20 is enough. We get it, she kissed a girl, she liked it. Wheres the "I Kissed A Girl" and "Girls Kiss Girls" mash up?

Journey's Discovery of Arnel Pineda

Boy sings (amazingly)in cover band on YouTube. Leader of Journey sees him on YouTube. Said boy singer is now lead singer of Journey. Dreams do come true. I'm sure his old band (The Zoo) is P I S S E D. Check them out on YouTube.

FCC APPROVES XM - SIRIUS MERGER

The companies have agreed to:

· Place price caps on programming and offer a la carte programming so that subscribers could pick programs they want and not have to subscribe to all channels or certain packages. Officials with XM and Sirius said they would offer radios configured for a la carte programming within three months of the merger.

· Open their technology standards to any radio-device manufacturer, paving the way for consumers to buy radio transmitters from retail stores. Currently, subscribers must buy directly from XM and Sirius, or through car manufacturers that have installed the devices in new cars.

· Provide interoperable radios. Current subscribers have radios that deliver programming from either XM or Sirius. Within one year of the merger, these listeners will receive radios that could access programming from both providers.

· Each set aside 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12 channels, for noncommercial services such as educational and public safety programming. They would lease another 12 channels for programming run by minorities and women, groups that are underrepresented in entertainment broadcasting.

If the merger is approved, it would be a major reversal of FCC rules. The agency distributed licenses to XM and Sirius in 1997 on the condition the two satellite companies never merge.

After a lengthy review, the Justice Department approved the merger in March, saying a monopoly satellite radio provider would not harm consumers because there are other alternatives for consumers.

The merger also is expected to allow the company to begin servicing Puerto Rico, where neither currently operates.

Cheese and a Cracker

Late last year I got asked to participate in a photo shoot for a local eye wear company with a long history of really cool adds so it was very cool to be a part of this...

Strobotic Recordings Shirts

Firehouse Lounge 5-31-2008

Off the chain. End of story. Thanks to everyone for coming out and making it such a blast.

FIREHOUSE LOUNGE

Join Strobotic Recordings artist and Internationally known producer/remixer DJ Strobe spinning some of the best house music from around the globe and playing live keys every Saturday at the Firehouse Lounge. Guest DJs coming soon so sign up for the mailing list at my MySpace or website.


You can subscribe and download the podcasts on iTunes here:

You cn listen and buy DJ Strobe's new single at all your favorite digital music stores


For more info head over to www.djstrobe.com

Cheers!

DJ Strobe

Battle Of The Autotuners: T-Pain vs Akon

I saw this on my boy DJ Zimmie's site and it is undoubtedly one of the funniest videos I've ever seen. I hope this forces T-pain and Akon into finding a new vocal effect. Or maybe, I know it sounds radical but how about just singing normally?

XM-Sirius Merger Approved By DOJ

Google it, there are dozens of articles on the Internet about it. The long and short of it is the Department Of Justice approved unconditionally the merger of satellite radio providers XM and Sirius into one large provider. It still needs to pass the FCC hurdle but if it does go through, anything is possible. I am most curious to see how the programming will be structured. Will Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony play nice together? Will my presets stay the same?

Let's be real, it's not going to monopolize music for anyone. You still have good old terrestrial radio, iPods/iTunes, Internet radio, and CDs.

"The record industry is in such mess...But imagine being a new band with dreams of getting on stage and putting out your own record. Forget it." Gene Simmons

3 Feet High and 45 Minutes Late

De La Soul is from the soul.

Last night the legendary hip hop trio descended on Pittsburgh for a show at Margarita Mama's. Many thanks to my boy DJ Zimmie not only for the tickets but for the best part of the night. Zimmie did the opening 9-11 spot and I know he was holding back so he wouldn't overshadow DJ Prince Paul, but even Zimmie lite was better then the extended hour and 40+ minutes of "taking it back" and "going in the gutta" randomness that Prince Paul dispensed. The KOOL dancers that were backing Zimmie up were priceless. For a moment, it was In Living Color and he was SW1 and they were his Fly Girls.



Maybe it was the music Prince Paul played (there were some good selections), maybe it was the guy standing next to me telling me every five minutes "Prince Paul is a fake man, hes making that music on his laptop, he ain't really DJing (unless there is button on Serrato called "Overscratch Every Song" I have to disagree), but it could be the guy in the corner of the stage with his eyes closed looking like he sucked a lemon then decided to imitate a bad 80s metal video. What was he thinking? Maybe if I close my eyes hard enough and make this face I can at least not look like a total douche bag in my own mind? Stop trying so hard buddy, being over zealous because you know the words to "Jump Around" and "Slam" does not make you more down with the hip hop crowd.

De La was supposed to go on at midnight, they went on closer to 1 am. At this point, we had to stay because it would have been defeat to leave before but about 30 minutes into their set the combination of smoke and bad outfits from the patrons (I think I saw Pat Benetar there) got to us and we had to bolt.

The show was good, the sound was crap (at one point the speakers on the left side of the stage blew)and my ears are still ringing but I was glad to see a good turnout for a barely publicized event. I wish I could have held out for DJ Zimmie's closing set.


DJ Zimmie. Verse-Chorus-Mix. Verse-Chorus-Mix.

Remixers-R-Us

I'm a mixer , you're a mixer, wouldn't you like to be a mixer too? (sung to the Dr. Pepper theme)

I do my best to keep up with the good music blogs because I've been realizing that the underground DIY new generation of "give me Ableton, and I shall remix" producers are kicking ass. With the abundance of DIY (Do It Yourself) acapellas floating around has given rise to a bumper crop of slamming' homemade reconstructions of everything from the latest hip hop tracks to classic eighties oddities.

Although self-remixation (yes I made that word up) has been around since the invention of the bootleg I believe it was the recent mash-up craze that gave rise to these new producers. Having mashed practically every conceivable combination of tracks in the musical blend-o-matic to both good and bad results, the only logical progression was to start crafting their own remixes. Do a search on Google for an artist and it will return a myriad of results for both commissioned and DIY remixes. What this means is that alongside the mixes the labels paid oodles of cash to have done you will find any number of homemade remixes by known and unknown producers. The era of the remixer elite is slowly coming to an end. Don't worry, I'm not heading out to pasture yet.

In the meantime support the purveyors of electronic candy and eat all you wan't, it's sugar free...

Hype Machine
Palms Out Sounds

I'm Holding Out For A Hero...

I was talking with my fiance this morning about music and I realized that although there are talented musicians and songwriters out there today, something is missing. Where are the musical heroes today that remind us of Eddie Van Halen, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, or Ray Charles? Name one guitarist in a band today that has the sheer talent, presence, or staying power of Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix. I'm listening.

Bands are disposable, singers are a product of the producer, drama and scandals matter more then talent, and selling ringtones is more important then stadium seats. Norah Jones and John Mayer have good voices and talent but they aren't going to be remembered the way the great singer songwriters such as Carole King and Billy Joel are. In my opinion, much of the problem with music is just that, the lack of music. Where are the great horn players of this generation? When I see Salsa bands using keyboards instead of live musicians then I know that shit has really hit the fan. I mean, The Roots could clean up in the hip hop world just making albums for producers to sample since they're one of the only true African American bands in existence. The last Dave Matthews Band album, produced by 50 Cent producer Mark Batson was riddled with blandness given the fact that they embody some of the best musical talent around and it just made me shake my head. Bring Quincy Jones and real musical orchestration back.

Why the hell is Akon on a record with Michael Jackson as he is in the remix he did for the 25th Anniversary Collection of "Thriller"? I heard that on XM today and it almost made me throw the receiver out the window. I mean, Michael has done duets with Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, and was part of USA for Africa, and now the best he can do is Akon? I realize that Akon is in the top percentage of most played artists on radio, but does that actually mean anything today? So is Britney Spears and Lil Wayne, which both makes me feel like taking a pencil and stabbing myself in the ears. Frickin' Paris Hilton is making records and Tommy Lee is a DJ. I rest my case.

In closing to Paul McCartney; Sir Paul meet Mr. Prenup, Mr. Prenup meet Sir Paul.

Master Of Your Domain

When are they (the plug-in software community) going to come out with the "Bob Clearmountian Mastering Suite" plug-in? To expand on an earlier posting, part of the other flip side of 15 year old producers and pro applications in everyones hands is the sheer amount of tracks being released on a weekly basis. Obviously these are not all stellar tracks but back in the day when labels had to pay for things like manufacturing, mastering, artwork and distribution they were selective about their releases. Now that anyone and their mother can essentially be a label and put content on a digital store these online outlets are inundated with literally hundreds of new releases each week which makes searching for new tracks overwhelming. Where the whole mastering factor comes in is with so many new releases and the low cost per unit, paying money to master a track with a commercial mastering plant is a costly gamble. Let me explain:
Let's say you have a new track called "Bass Spanker" and you're only doing a digital release of this one track with an instrumental version as well. On iTunes it's going to sell for .99 cents per download which Apple gets a cut of around .10 cents leaving you with .90 cents per download. If you go through a digital distributor knock another .10-.20 cents per download and let's round it off to say .75 cents per download coming back to you. This doesn't take into account any manager or third party fees. Let's assume you're the label and the sole writer so that .75 cents is all yours, awesome. Now let's say you had to spend a few hundred dollars to master the release. How many tracks do you need to sell before you have recouped your mastering costs?

$250.00 mastering / .75 per download = 333 downloads

Thats just to cover mastering so you haven't seen a profit. Sell 500 downloads and you just earned yourself a hefty $125.00 profit. There are other variables for other releases such as working with other writers, vocalists, or producers in addition to releasing another artists record which can alter that .75 cents you would normally get by half or more. So how do you justify commercial mastering for a track that or may not even break even? This has led to the revolution of self-mastering, mostly via plug-ins such as those offered by Waves or the stock plugs offered on the hosts DAW. Given the fact that the majority of producers are NOT mastering engineers this has led to an increase in the decrease of the quality mastered product. Its a struggle for mastering houses to find the niche in the new model where physical releases are fewer, singles outweigh full lengths, and budgets get lower and lower. Many offer reduced rate online mastering in a "B" room ("A" rooms are reserved for big budged projects) but even that may be cost prohibitive leaving many with the option to self-master or go without mastering altogether. It seems every month magazines such as EQ, Future Music, and more have articles and even entire magazines devoted to the subject of mastering. But of course an article won't give you golden ears or a 1-2-3 step on how to master YOUR track but it should at least make you more aware on how important it is. But until Mr Clearmountian puts his DNA into a plug-in many of us will still be heading to that Waves L3 for some afternoon track slamming. You can also check these links out:
Auto Audio Mastering System - As the name suggests, it's an auto mastering system yielding pretty good results. You can analyze any source material or use one of the presets and of you go. The GUI is pretty daunting but it's quick and painless once you get the hang of it.

Har-Bal Visual Mastering System - Website says "This superior method of EQ'ing and harmonic balancing gives Har-Bal it's distinction as the premiere spectrum analyzer for the most important step in the CD mastering process. It truly separates an amateur recording from a professional recording and removes the need to test your CD's on different systems and environments." I say "Harder to figure out then your VCR's flashing 12:00."

Digital Sound Labs Mastering - DSL is an online mastering solution for musicians and independent record labels around the world.They dedicated mastering facility that understands it is not always possible for the average musician to purchase high priced studio time by the hour.
This is an opportunity for you to achieve the same quality that is given to some of today’s major artists, but at a much lower rate. They charge $99 for an entire CD up to 80 minutes or $15 a song...

The Business of the Music Business

Lately I have been talking to artists and producers wishing to release tracks on my label and realizing how uninformed they are about the business side of the industry. I realize that unless you're in a circle that would put you in contact with music biz insiders this information is not general knowledge, but it should be. The information I'm talking about are things like performance affiliations for writers like BMI and ASCAP, copyrights, trademarking your name and logos, royalties, advances (or lack of these days) and back-end income, recoupables (anything a label shells out on your behalf such as promotion, artwork, multimedia, even meals to discuss you are recouped by the label before you get any money).

Where do you go (no plug intended) to fnd this information? The majority or publications on the bookshelves are outdated, most Internet sites want loads of money to view documents. A friend of mine and the person who released my first record Curtis Urbina actually holds seminars on the music business. Curtis is one of the few industry moguls who has been there through most of the eras of this industry and hasn't fallen victim to the changing models over the past decade and has embraced them. I say this because much of the industry has waged war on the Information age and are losing. MP3s are not the enemy. The Internet is your friend. Get past the notion that physical media and distribution has given way to digital download stores, iPods, and ringtones. Making money in this business has been primarily transformed into a model that anyone with the motivation, Internet savvy, and content can persevere just as much as a larger label. Radiohead proved it. The music industry isn't about board rooms with execs smoking big cigars anymore, its about initiative and good products. All the major label money in the world can't save Britney's career. If you have good music and can secure a proper digital distribution deal you're golden.

So how do you learn all these things? Its hard if you live in a city void of any real music industry but chances are you can find someone like myself who has been there done that and would be willing to share their experiences with you. Hit people up on MySpace. Check sites like BMI.com to learn what your rights are as a writer. See if your local colleges offer any courses on the music business.

It is important to understand that everything you write whether it's just a simple ambient track or a major production, if you're releasing it to the public you have to secure your rights so that any money derived from the sale or performance of your music finds it's way to you. Even if you put it on MySpace, you need to secure your rights.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me...

Old Man Techno

One certian producer friend of mine after reading my bio thought of this fun little ditty of a moniker for me. I suppose I really can't be bitter seeing as I released my first record in 1990 under my techno alter ego Euphoria on Quark records. Good times. That was back when it was pretty much techno and house and you couldn't confuse one or the other. But that is a whole other post...

Technologic

No this isn't another Daft Punk posting. I just got off the phone with an old friend and former band mate from our late 80's New Wave technopop group Reverse. He recently purchased his first keyboard in awhile and wanted some pointers since we had the same model. It got me thinking about technology and how the process has and hasn't changed over the last few decades.

If you look at hip hop, they've been producing on MPCs since they first came out, and still do it to this day. Check out a super cool book called "Behind the Beat: Hip Hop Home Studios" by Raph. MPCs and ASR10s still rule the studios of many Hip Hop producers, although they are hooked into Pro Tools rigs running through SSL mixers.

My first studio consisted of an Atari 1040ST, Yamaha RX11 drum machine, a Casio CZ-101 synthesizer and my Simmons electronic drums. I struggled to try and duplicate tracks like "Axel F" and "Just Can't Get Enough". By the late 90's living in NYC I had walls of synthesizers and racks of effects and modules. Managing a used music and computer store allowed me to get all the coolest vintage gear as well as some newer gear at greatly reduced prices. It got to the point I was spending more time tweaking knobs then I was making music. Now in 2008, I have my Korg Triton and Roland Juno 106 hooked into my Apple Mac Pro desktop running virtual emulations of many of the synthesizers I used to use. Plug-Ins are just easier. Theres the whole issue of convenience, you have the functionality of total recall whenever you go back to a mix, they are usually fully automatable and assignable to a variety of hardware controllers, and they're much cheaper and more reliable then much of the gear they emulate.

And with the slew of workstation software such as Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Reason you can get into production at almost any budget. Which in a way sucks for many of us. Back in the day, you had to spend upwards of $6-700.00 on one of the few commercially available music applications. There was Cubase, Logic, and Pro Tools and they weren't widely crackable and you had to be a serious producer or hobbyist to get into it. So those that were producing were part of a community. Labels relied on them. DJs expected great things from them. It was an elite club.

These days, any 13 year old with the Internet can download some pirated version of one of these applications or go to Wal-Mart and buy some $40.00 whack program like eJay (which essentially provides you with generic pre-made loops in a variety of genres like Dance, Techno, and Hip Hop)and make tracks and post them on MySpace or the Internet. This is great for kids to have that creative outlet. Except when an A & R from a label wants me to do a mix on speck because his 15 year old nephew is doing a mix as well, or because professional production tools are in the hands of 500% more people then a decade ago they are willing to do it for free to get their name out it really changes the playing field of music production. Especially for people who want to make a living at it. When you had no choice but to buy a mixer, studio speakers, keyboards and sound modules, effect units and all the cables and learning it was an art unto itself. When everybody and their mother can make professional quality tracks on their home PC it becomes the musical equivalent of playing soccer on your Playstation versus going to a field and getting dirty with a bunch of teammates for real. It's not the same without the bruises and grass stains. At least they haven't come up with a plug-in for those; yet.

Patrice Rushen - Remind Me (DJ Strobe Mix 2008)

Soulful and bumping house music. Produced by yours truly




If you don't have flash or want to download this, then "Right click, save link as..." If you want a high quality MP3 then email me.

Patrice Rushen - Remind Me (DJ Strobe 2008 House Mix)

Daft Punked

I used to worship them (Daft Punk) and their production on the "Homework" album. Stardust's "Music Is Better" is a classic. But when "Discovery" came out something changed. Take away the Peter Frampton talk box vocals and most of these tracks are straight up loop records with some new beats and edits. I'd equate it to the electronica version of Puff Daddy or Will Smith. Listen to the clip below. It contains three clips of tracks by Daft Punk and the original samples that precede it. It goes like this:

"I love You More" by George Duke then it's use in "Digital Love"
"Cola Bottle Baby" by Edwin Birdsong and it's use in "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
"Release the Beast" by Breakwater and it's use in "Robot Rock"


Not to take anything away from Daft Punk, but I didn't know the originals and for a long while thought they were the musicians. I know so much of electronic music is sample based and Daft Punk are not the first or last to do it. I'm sure the liner notes gave credit but I never read them, and I am not hating, they rock and I play the tracks all the time.

Heres a few YouTube videos on this same topic...

Deja Vu?

I am concerned over the digital music services recent implementations of various regulations concerning content on their stores. Part of the reason this model and format worked so well was because it kicked mud in the faces of all the brick and mortar music distributors who only catered to the top 5% of music and artists. This format made it possible for artists and startup indie labels to capitalize on all their promotion on social networking sites like MySpace and turn these fans into consumers and so much more. Now it seems that the digital music distributors are now becoming as selective as the major labels have and making it difficult for grass roots labels and new artists to blossom and build a following by imposing strict regulations such as a quota of downloads or sales and number of releases in order to continue to have them carry your content.

Don't know about you, but hard drives are cheap, space is not an issue, and it takes time to develop a following. Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but this all sounds too familiar. New labels like fine wines, take time to reach their peak. Don't kill music before it's time.

Digital Display of Affection

So I was looking for a place to download this new track "Don't Use" from Black Russian. Now I wasn't surprised at the results of my query, but I just found it frustrating that I got dozens of recipes for the the drink of the same name, as well as links to a myriad of porn featuring the words black and Russian in the title, but none to the MP3 I was looking for. I finally found it on Beatport.

I Hate Music

Have you ever hit a time when you looked at your library of music (vinyl, hard drive, CDs, 8-tracks, sheet music) and just sighed and said to yourself, "self, I ain't got nothing to listen to." It's like going to a grocery store and thinking to yourself "theres nothing here I want to eat." If you're wondering what prompted this, I was sitting at my workstation making ringtones for my iPhone (everyone has to have their own) and I couldn't come up with anything for anyone besides my daughter (Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl"), my fiance (Michael Jackson "PYT"), and my mother (Toni Basil "Hey Mickey" because her name is Micki). It's the pressure of picking the perfect song for each person. Some people are easier then others. My brother will undoubtedly get "White and Nerdy", my best mate Geoffe will get "Eighties" from Killing Joke, and my friend Meira who owns a candy store will get Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy." Who will fall victim to the default ringtone, and what will that be? Does anyone else put this kind of effort into their cell phone playlist? It's like I'm DJing a private party for everyone in my contact list.

Maybe it's the fact that earlier a younger producer friend of mine referred to me as "Old Man Techno." Just because I own synthesizers that are older then him doesn't make ME old, does it? I need to go put on some Stevie Wonder and remember why I actually love music.

UNK in the Trunk

I just can't let these go to waste, they were commisioned by the label. They loved them and accepted them, then they were working on a deal for the record with Universal which would have propelled the record even further, then never heard from the label again about them. Months later, after all this work and not having them released, I feel compelled to at the very least, put these out there... Both are electro house mixes, ones a dub, one is a vocal version. I have seen download counts of over 27,000 on several peer-to-peers.

UNK - Walk It Out (Strobe Gets Electrofied Dub).mp3

UNK - Walk It Out (Strobe Gets Electrofied Mix).mp3

THE VINYL FRONTIER. Elite or Obsolete?

I was reading a local rag whose name shall remain nameless because they refuse to do an article on me, about a DJ and the preservation of vinyl versus going “digital”. I can understand the love of vinyl as someone with a ridiculous amount of it myself, and there are certain selections in my collection that I will take to my grave.

Now [said in the voice of Bill Cosby], let’s be honest for as minute. Having a solid collection, and even continuing to collect those hard to find or missing pieces of circular delight is a noble pursuit. But buying new releases on vinyl, even for hip hop, seems a tad counterintuitive. Vinyl is expensive, the music today is fleeting, and DJs usually don’t have free chiropractic care for the bad backs after carrying record crates for a decade. With few exceptions, the majority of music new and old is available digitally and for less then $150.00 you can buy a USB turntable you can hook right into your computer and rip your vinyl to your hearts content.

So I am NOT saying sell your decks. I’ve had my 1200s since the late 80’s and they’re still rocking. I’m merely suggesting using them in the new and improved way. Get yourself Serato, Final Scratch, or whatever feels good to you, and rock the party with the new era of vinyl. It looks, acts, and feels like the real thing. Before you go off about spinning from a laptop, many of the biggest DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Sasha, and Dubfire have already made the switch to digital vinyl, and if Grandmaster Flash, the inventor of the art of scratching, uses it, it’s good enough for you. This is not even including the myriad of people using CD “turntables” such as the Pioneer CDJs. I have a special place where all the iPod and laptop DJ wannabes should go. The computer is not doing the mixing (at least it shouldn’t) and you still need the same skill and technique. You’re just using the computer as the source. And believe me, having your entire collection at your fingertips doesn’t suck either.

Face it, many of the big vinyl distributors and pressing plants have gone out of business. With fewer places to carry vinyl, the demand for the labels is decreasing and one can only think of the inevitable. For everyone involved, the financial aspect is much better as well for going digital. Vinyl endures normal wear and tear, scratches, warping, thievery, angry ex girlfriends, etc. Thats a good $5 and up investment per record that’s had it’s last needle drop. They take up space exponentially. They’re heavy in large quantities. The artists and even labels, make less per unit on vinyl. Theres the pressing, manufacturing, distribution and retial markup. They just don’t spend the time on the artwork for the jackets like the they used to.

Digital is just the better model for the industry, at least for the artists, independent labels, DJs, and consumers. You can get most of the records you want for under $2.00, and you can back up your library to a hard drive or DVD for safe keeping. Because your music has been converted to 1’s and 0’s doesn’t mean your music has been degraded and that you’ve sold out. It means you’re a smart artist and label and want to continue to make money in the Information Age. You can say that by only offering it on vinyl you’re keeping it real, but pretty soon you’ll be keeping it real…real broke.

Bigger artists are buying back their catalogs from the majors and releasing them online, partly because major labels have been so behind in catching up and getting the content out there in addition to not making adjustments to the legacy deals the artists had with them. C’mon, if you have a 20 year old record on Epic, the cost in making it available digitally is so small and there’s no manufacturing or distribution involved other then uploading the music and the small fees online eTailers take so kick the artist back a bigger share before they all realize they don’t need you anymore. (Just look at what Radiohead was able to do.) Established artists with large fan bases stand to make significantly more money marketing directly to the fans and bypassing the major labels altogether, especially when most of them are more interested in selling ringtones then quality music.

I realize I went off on a little tangent so getting back to the topic, there will always be proponents of “real” vinyl versus digital vinyl and enough support for both to have many healthy debates on the subject. But to all those still on the fence, what are you waiting for? Technology is our friend.

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

Thy name was Chad. Chad is Rad. Chad Elish that is, not the Republic in Africa. Shortly after starting my set Friday, my Apple MacBook Pro’s power cable started to smoke and then the happy green light that says “I’m connected and supplying you power” went forever dark, and the music died.

Once again, Chad came to the rescue. Sick as he was, and on his day off, he drove down to the club and brought me one of his extra power supplies and saved the night. It wasn’t the first time Chad saved the night, and it won’t be the last.

So here’s to you Sir Elish. DJ. VJ. Apple Genius. Maker of reuben dip. Hero.

Daft Punk @ The Grammy's

I knew there was no way Kanye was going to perform “Stronger” at the Grammy’s without Daft Punk even though they never make television appearances. What was kick-ass was their use of the 4 touch screen Lemurs made by Jazzmutant. Manipulating samples and breaking it down to the bits and bytes was pretty damn cool to watch. I want me one. They’re cooler then the return of Night Rider.

Soultron Flyer

This is the flyer I designed and made for a new classic soul and funk night spun and hosted by DJ Zimmie. It’s supposed to look like an 8-track tape and although I scanned a real 8-track and made the whole thing look retro and beat to crap the flyer is 4x6 and a real 8-track is 4x5 so it got stretched out but it’s one of my better flyers. www.djzimmie.com

Smoking in the Boys Room

I went to The Firehouse Lounge last night after a few month hiatus and I had forgotten how the deck turns into a huge ashtray the closer it gets to 2am. There is nothing that kills my enjoyment of good house music like hacking up a lung from other peoples need to smoke. Don’t get me wrong, you have every right to torture your body if you so choose, but don’t I have a right to not be tortured in the process? And don’t give me the “well you can go somewhere else or stay home if you don’t like it” speech, because every other state that has introduced and enforced a ban on smoking hasn’t suffered for it and in many cases even prospered. It makes your clothes and hair stink, your eyes burn, and second hand smoke needs no explanation on what it does to your lungs.

Clubs should adopt the what some Airports have done, make a dedicated room where people could smoke. Its very entertaining to look in those glass rooms with people just standing around smoking like a laboratory experiment.

Yet another reason why Pittsburgh is the pitts. They had the smoking ban law passed but then squashed it. Kudos to the owners that decided to uphold it or voluntarily ban smoking in their establishments. (Nothing against The Firehouse because the place rocks. And having drunk folks constantly tread up and down flights of stairs to have a smoke might not be the safest solution. Although they could take the front closet and shove all the smokers in there...)

Where Do We Go?

Even though my single drops at digital stores around the globe today, that is not what this post is about. This single itself has a long history behind it. Back in 2000 I made a white label bootleg with the hook sampled from the original record. Then in 2003 I made another one. Then in 2006 I really set out to actually release it as a record and after Berhouse Snyder (the vocalists) delivered the vocal tracks to me things were set. Many incarnations and remixes later the question has still not been answered. The lyrics “Where do we go from here, now that all of the children are growing up” means so much in this day and time. It can make you reflect on pretty much anything from music to politics, even desciding where to go for dinner. It’s like a musical GPS, but you have to answer the question of where on your own.

Besides that it would make a great bit of tunage for a car commercial or technology company. My image, you see a minivan and the kids heading off to college (or wherever kids go these days when they leave home), the music is playing the and the chorus is going and then the parents look at each other, the beat kicks in and then you see them driving off in one of those mid life crisis cars. And its a no brainer for a technology or communications company. Heck, why not a travel company? Expedia and Travelocity, you listening?

Good-Knight Rider

The only good thing about the 2008 remake of the campy 80’s TV show “Knight Rider” was the cameo from David Hasselhoff in the last 10 minutes. In this day and age, all the cool technology that went into the car is so old news. Anyone remember the TV show “Viper”? And Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT pales in comparison to the original KITT voiced by William Daniels. Frankly I don’t know if anyone made the connection, but Val sounds less like KITT and more like HAL from 2001 A Space Odyssey. And judging from how effortlessly KITT was hacked into makes me wonder if he might be running Windows Vista. Maybe they should have gone to Apple for the OS. The goofy pictures KITT displayed and “his” comments during the torturous driving scenes were so cheesy it made the 80’s version seem less campy.

Yes the new KITT (Knight Industries THREE Thousand) certianly pays for itself by not needing that expensive collision insurance and the great gas milage certianly is an advantage in these days of high prices at the pump. Did anyone count the number of Ford vehicles blatently shown? Unfortunately what they forgot to equip KITT with was a better plot and script.

This picture of Val Kilmer below is truly ___________ (fill in the blank).

DJ Strobe - Where Do We Go? SBR001 - Hot off the grill.

Buy this and other STROBOTIC RECORDINGS music at:

More stores coming this week…

House Is A Feeling

It always seems to amaze me how house music has changed over the past few decades. At one point house music actually meant something specific and familiar. There wasn’t techno, or trance, or any of the alter-egos of house, there was just house music. It had a feeling. I say this because fast forward 20 years from the early days in Chicago and you now have people coming up to me while I’m playing something like “To Be In Love” from Masters At Work asking me to “stop playing so much techno,” or “can I play something that isn’t chill-out.” Songs like “Sandstorm” by Darude ruined it for everyone. Now everything with a 4/4 beat is techno, to those who don’t know. No matter how much you advertise a specific genre for the night, or how packed the dancefloor is, or how long the person has been in the place, you can’t escape them.

Last night I played a really cool party and it was packed and sweaty and the musique du jour was predominantly crossover house and club hits (David Guetta, Fedde Le Grand, Bob Sinclar, etc…). I dig these tracks and they definitely provide the soundtrack for a hands in the air party.

At what point does house music stop becoming house? Is it a bassline? Is it the beat? The tempo? Can a track that starts off as an underground house record be held responsible for it’s success if it should happen to cross over? Should a house producer be condemned for producing a pop or R & B remix? Producers have to eat. Who is the moral authority these days? Is there a committee I don’t know about? Anyone?

I have some of my early house music 12” records on the wall in my studio to remind me of where it all started. I saw it today as I sit down to produce my weekly electro house mix show for iPartyRadio.com. I doubt that many people would find the parallel between something like Steve Poindexter’s “Work That Motherf**ker” and “Smash Disco” from Vandalism but its there if you search your soul. I wonder what early pioneers of house music such as Larry Heard, Chip E, Marshall Jefferson and Frankie Knuckles think of how their children have grown up.

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