How party promo videos should be done...

Saw this link on RA today and was amazed by the quality of this video - video promos are on the rise as a good way of quickly putting over the vibe and music of the party... Often they make use of dark underlit footage which looks like it was filmed on an iphone - not a professional look!  This is how it should be done!

http://www.vimeo.com/13437791

(can't embed because blogger won't let any other videos embed - clever google!)

I would for one also like to see more interesting promos rather than the obligatory crowd and fist pumping DJ - I can see that on dancetrippin at better events!!!!!!!  Get me interested and intrigued in the aura around your party!

The 500 Up Mix

Massive thanks to all those that have viewed, read, liked or disliked the blog...


The mix is on this page somewhere!


Kenneth Bager - Fragment 11 (The day after yesterday pt1) 
Crazy P - Never gonna reach me (Hot Toddy remix) 
Ilya Santana - Transborder 
Champs - Can I show you the way (Blunted Monkz remix) 
Gonzales - Red leather 
Ilya Santana - Wicked sequence 
Baby Mammoth - Elephunk 
Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw cut #6 
Chilly - For your love (Alkino edit) 
Bad Rabbits - Shes bad (Gadi Mizrahi & Soul Clap remix) 
Trus'me - War (dub) 
Fiakun Team - Around your neck 
Delano Smith - Something for myself 
Black Joy - Untitled 
Lindstrom - Another station (Todd Terje remix) 
John Roberts - Porcelain 
Linkwood - RIP 
Blaze Lovelee dae (Losoul remix) 
Lulu Rouge - Bless you 
DJ Sprinkles - Grand Central pt1 (Motor City Drum Ensemble remix) 
Arnold Jarvis - Take some time 
Karizma - Krispy burnt 
Gene Siewing - You're not a DJ 
Tiyiselani Vomaseve - Vanghoma 
Ultra Nate - Free (Tiefschwartz dub) 
Boola - Blitzski 00 
Liquid People - Don't you go away 
Mat Samo - Peplum Africa 
Steffi - Yours 
Carl Craig Vs. Telex - Moskow disko 
William 'Smoke' Howard - Thats what love does (Jski extended edit)

Event Review #1 - Kaleidoscope with Adam Freeland & Todd Terje

I'd been wanting to see TT for quite a while now, after hammering his edits and tracks in my mixes I was pretty excited, added to that was visiting a new club - The Nest in Dalston, and seeing Adam Freeland for the first time AND getting in for free... Well that was just a recipe for greatness!

After driving through the middle of London with a drunken pair in the back of the car we made it after dumping the car in a side street and entered just before 10pm.  That was our first mistake - after seeing the drinks prices I worked out it would have been cheaper to go to a local pub for some drinks then heading to the venue later and taking the £5 hit on the door...  Oh well live and learn!  At least we'd be seeing a long set from Adam Freeland right?

Well... No...  After seeing the flyer - above and reading this on the Nest's blog:

"AF: The Nest has a cosy vibe and great sound, I set up Kaleidoscope there so I could play exactly what I wanted and book people I want to be playing with, I start really deep and mellow and self-indulgent with Ambient , Manuel Göttsching or David Sylvian kind of vibes and build it layer by layer from there.  What’s your dream gig line up or scenario?

TT: I´ve always fantasized about playing music under water. I don´t know why… Don´t you think Message From The Shaman by David Sylvian would sound amazing carried to your ears by waterwaves? I also really enjoy playing daytime sets when there´s no connection to a dance floor. People accept much more “music” then, but as soon as one drunk punter starts to move slightly, everyone suddenly thinks your beardy pseudofreudo folk rock selection sounds weird…"

I was under the impression that Freeland was playing all night with TT joining him for a guest slot later on - I was wrong, we got in at 10pm and had to endure an hour of complete monotony from somebody before AF came on at 11pm.  After what looked like a few technical problems and a bizarre move of actually turning the sound down (it wasn't that loud to start with) he started with a lovely few minutes of electronica goodness.  By this time the place was still relatively empty and I genuinely thought he was preaching to the wrong crowd because they didn't seem to get it.  Things progressed into beats and bass though and the set started to evolve into tracks I recognised (but can't actually remember the names of  - am terrible at that).

By 12.30 the room was packed after a surge in attendance and the crowd was moving well.  I liked the fact it was busy but you could still get a drink after minutes, the place was pretty cool as well with kitsch features hidden in alcoves around the room.  TT came on at 1am and started a lot harder than I had expected from him - playing 'Bonysh' and some heavily influenced Scandinavian tracks. 

Overall a good night in a great little venue - some of the posters of the wall showed some really great nights coming up that look very appealing...  Next time though i'd prefer to see AF play all night long!

Venue: 8/10 (could have been louder)

Music: 7.5/10

Crowd: 8/10 - met some very friendly people

The wonder of house...

I've been thinking about house music pretty much non-stop for around 8/9 years - ever since I picked up my first Defected compilation actually and its amazing what this music has achieved in just 30 years.

First of all its still going strong - that in itself is a testiment - many genres have fallen along the way out of popularity but house seems to be growing if anything which is great.

Secondly it has pretty much expanded the festival scene around the world - yes yes theres Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading for the guitar fans but there are countless more dance music festivals.

Thirdly - how many other types of music pretty much take over entire islands and cities during the summer?  You know where I'm talking about...

Fourthly - how many other types of music have been totally embraced around the world from Australia to Fiji to Norway?

Fifthly - how many other types of music have large scale conferences to actively talk about the state of the scene and to discuss where it goes in the future?

Sixthly - what is the type of music that all the so called ex-hip hoppers are producing now?

Sure there may be a crash coming soon when indie comes back but house music has stamped its legacy around the world.

So why is it so popular?  Well I can only give my personal feelings - I think it is because it is fun - it doesn't pretend to be anything but itself, theres no pretentious feelings, no self pity, no depression, (almost) no violence and theres a genre to suit most people...  House music exists for it to have a great time and so it does...  LONG MAY THAT CONTINUE!

Hold on lads... I've got an idea...

... A night where one DJ plays all night... But wait I hear you say!  You've blogged about this before below... Well true in a way, but I'm talking about a regular night - once a month, with the same DJ.

Would it work?  Would people return again and again to see the same DJ play for 8 hours or so?  I'm not sure, with the choice on offer from London then why would they come back and see that one DJ?  Certainly we know that the youth of today have tendency to flit about, the loyalty only reserved for the very few nights/clubs...  The first night would have to be a truly legendary night to go down in history to get people back again...

What would the DJ be like?  Well, they'd certainly have to have stamina, a passion for the music and an ability to read the crowd... They sound like cliches, but have a look around at nights near to you - are there any DJs that regularly play for 8+ hours?  I would care to bet that the answer might be no...

Which leads onto something - many things in dance music are cyclic - they come round and round again when popular - so why hasn't playing out all night regularly come round again?  Its an intriguing thought when you think about it - maybe because a headliner can't commit to spending one night a month in a regular place?  Maybe no-one has the stamina any more?  Maybe they can't read the music anymore?

Well... watch this space...

London

The power of London is awesome, after a sample of what London can offer last Sunday afternoon at Fuse down on Brick Lane I am constantly amazed and grateful for what I have on my doorstep...  Fuse opened at 3pm, by 3.10pm there was a queue outside down the street, and this was for a normal afternoon, no special guests.  Only in London would this happen, it would seem odd, out of place in other towns or cities apart from the exceptional parties such as Below...

The sun helps of course, and I'm looking forward to many days out in the capital in the light, it lifts the mood, raises the skirt lengths and brings out the smiles in people...  Field Day, Swedish House Mafia at Alexandria Palace, Fabric, Horse and Groom, Decksavers at Public Life are all lined up, where are you going?

Promotion

Promotion is a tricky business - it was said years ago that for every 100 flyers someone handed out on the street and average of 10 people actually looked at what they were handed, and 1 person may have acted on it.  With the arrival of online forums, followers and the phenomenon that is Facebook it seems promotion (events, products etc) has become easier.  Yes or no?

Maybe, it has become easier for the average Mr Bloggs to promote something through the internet, but now that the average punter is wise to Facebook event invites - I must get at least 20-25 a day and ignore pretty much all of them, people have to get clever in their delivery if they want the masses at their party!

There are several approaches to getting the word out via digital media -

• Facebook groups and following invites
• Blog posts
• Twitter updates
• Forum posts 
• Event pages on RA
• Email 

An event invite has to be carefully worded to actually get people to open it, it has become the new flyer from a person on the street - spam email will be quickly deleted and generic invites on Facebook will be quickly discarded.  Having an intriguing title or opening line - such as a poem or monologue representing the promoter's view may draw people into the content.  There is also the possibility of creating a mysterious aura around it preceeding the first event (if required!)...

Don't discount the value of physical media - the first thing I will do to get an idea of what is going on in a city is to look for posters and flyers in hostels, music shops etc...  Its a quick and easy way of getting an idea of what is on in places... Plus the sight of someone handing out a nightclub flyer on the street now is so rare he/she might have a queue of hipsters forming to get one...

Key points:

Details are needed!  Where, when, who, what... Unless you are a massive label with a guaranteed following theres no way you can attract people with a 'secret' line up...

Don't go in for the hard sell to people you don't know!  Immediate deletion coming up!

Give us some details about what YOU are about - another faceless promoter out to make money or do you care about the scene... Write a blog and link it... 

Include a mix or two from the DJs on the night - give us a clue what the music is going to be like!  No-one is going to turn down free music as well!

Lastly - give us a REASON for going - what is it about your party that is different/great/a night to remember?