The Resonant Vibes Electronic Music Blog

Exclusive Interview with Andy Caldwell

johng — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:24:31 +0000

Andy Caldwell is not only a DJ and producer but is also a classically trained musician who runs his own record label called Uno Recordings. His astounding 15+ year career has taken him all around the world, playing packed gigs ranging from small clubs to giant raves. He has essentially dabbled in every style of house music that one can imagine, and still continues to push his sound in new directions. On his newest release, Obsession, Caldwell has once again re-defined his already sophisticated songwriting and production skills by exploring new realms of music.
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Resonant Vibes had the pleasure of catching up with Andy Caldwell to ask him a couple of questions. We hope you enjoy this exclusive interview.
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Q: You’ve produced various styles of house over the past fifteen years. Can you describe your current sound and tell me where you see that sound heading in the future?
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A: My current sound, hmm, that’s tough! I suppose I would call it big room house with an electronic edge. I’m still playing lots of vocals though, I don’t think I’ll ever fully get away with playing an instrumental set.
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Q: Can you describe the creative process you went through to produce your new album “Obsession”?
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A: I spent about a year working on the record in total. I had a few starts and stops the previous year and ended up starting from scratch on “Obsession.” I just got in the studio with a couple of writers and singers and we knocked out the album. I’d arrange the basic tracks and then collaborate with the vocalists. It was a bit of a challenge as I wanted to finish the album and not have it drag on and on for years! My last album took several years to finish:)
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Q: You’ve been running your own record label, Uno Recordings, for a couple of years now. Has that been a positive experience? How do you strike the right balance between being a DJ, producer, and entrepreneur/businessman?
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A: It’s been a great learning experience. I’m barely breaking even on it though but I’m allowed total creative freedom. I’ve got a great distribution deal with Tommy Boy and they are really on top of everything. It’s tough to balance out the label work with the creative however. When I need to do remixes or get in the studio to write new material, I’ll put everything else on the back burner.
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Q: How have your formal musical training and education influenced your DJ-ing and production?
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A: Well, everything I do is based in a classical music framework so without that foundation it would be very difficult for me to create the melody and harmony. Knowing scales and chord progressions make the composition process much easier. There’s essentially no trial and error, unless of course you wanna experiment and go outside the box a little.
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Q: Vocals often play a central role in your productions. What is your approach to writing and recording good vocal lines? What are you usually trying to accomplish when you include them?
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A: Practice, Practice, Practice! Song writing is kind of like poetic math, you have to work with words in a rhyme scheme while you create melody that contributes to the content and elevates it. The trick, for me at least, is to be able to write when inspiration hits! I’ve written plenty of songs that are very deliberate but my favorites are the ones I wrote in a fit of inspiration! I wrote “Warrior” in 10 minutes for example!
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Q: What changes and shifts have you witnessed in the dance music scene over the past few years? What are the new trends?
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A: It’s an exciting time for the dance music genre, we’re finally getting some respect from the mainstream! Unfortunately the good stuff is still for the most part, underground. I’m hearing house and electro seep into everything from Lady Gaga to Little Jon and Shakira. 2010 will be the year that house music breaks back into the mainstream, it’s going to be good for everyone including those of us who don’t get any radio play.
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Q: Have you found any new pieces of equipment that you enjoy using in the studio or on the road?
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A: I’m still in love with Ableton Live. I’ve gone back to using ProTools a bit though as it’s got some great new plug ins for version 8. As for outboard equipment, I love my Disstressor with Brit Mode – wicked compressor!!
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John “The Grizz” Grisanti

rv_cast 013 Mixed by Estroe

Sam — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:36:51 +0000

The thirteenth installment of the rv podcast comes courtesy of Dutch DJ and native Esther Roozendaal, who you might also know as Estroe.
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Estroe first got behind the decks some 12 years ago while plying her professional trade as a nurse. It didn’t take long to attract attention of promoters in Amsterdam and she landed her first residency in 1997 on the back of solid performances at the Amsterdam club Melkweg. Since then she’s held audience at some of the preeminent German and Dutch clubs including Tresor and Watergate in Berlin, Cocoon Club in Frankfurt, and Club Mazzo and Club 11 in Amsterdam.
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In addition to a busy club schedule she’s also shared the stage with some of the biggest names in electronic music like Derrick May, Sven Väth, and Carl Cox while having the opportunity to perform at festivals including Detroit’s Movement Festival, the Dutch Dance Valley Festival and the Amsterdam Dance Event.
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About 6 years ago she turned her hand to production and over the course of a couple of years she saw her first material released on the Dutch imprints Musical Journeys and Muzikism, but it was late 2006 that can be considered the turning point for her production career when she caught the attention of Carl Cox with her track Bellisimore.
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Early 2007 continued in a similar vein, when she released Driven on Connaisseur Superíeur—which makes a cameo on her rv podcast—it’s a track that found it’s way into many top DJs’ record bags including Garnier’s and Digweed’s. Driven furthered her reputation as a producer who can deliver balanced tracks with equal emphasis atmosphere and warmth while finding the right amount of energy and drive. Digweed was so impressed by the track that it prompted him to ask her to remix for Bedrock.
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So what now for Estroe? Well, her first full length artist album Elemental Assets is released November 6, with the digital release dropping a week later—you can read our review here—so I’m sure she’ll be riding out the end of the year on a high. Be sure to check out her rv podcast for an enjoyable hour of deep dubby techno.
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Subscribe to rv_cast – The Resonant Vibes Electronic Music Podcast!
With iTunes click HERE
RSS feed for everyone else: http://resonantvibes.com/blog/feed/podcast/
rv_cast 013 Direct Download HERE
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To find out more about Estroe you can check out here website HERE, or her MySpace page HERE.

Tragedy Hits RV – John Lannon Victim of Violent Crime

Eddie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:29:11 +0000

This has turned out to be an incredibly difficult week for us here at RV. Yesterday morning, our team learned that John Lannon, our Lead Developer, was the victim of a violent crime. On November 3rd, he was shot in the chest in Louisville, Kentucky as two men attempted to rob him while he was picking up dinner for his wife. John is in the intensive care unit at a local hospital. If you would like to make a donation toward his recovery, you may do so by clicking here.

I can’t really express our team’s sentiments in this blog post, but we’ve all been devastated by the news. There are only six of us on the RV team, and we’re more than just co-workers; we’re friends.

If you have the pleasure of knowing John, then you know he’s as good as they come – kind, genuine, thoughtful, humble, smart, and funny are some of the adjectives that immediately come to mind. I should also say that John is an invaluable member of the RV team, as he bears the responsibility of constantly improving our site to make it fit your needs.

We are optimistic about John’s ability to recover from this tragedy, but we do not have a sense for how long it will take. Please understand that we may be slower replying to emails and attending to other matters this week. However, our team will continue to work diligently to meet your needs and to make RV a great success. I’m sure John would have it no other way!

Eddie B

Bear Creek Music Festival 2009

johng — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:31:31 +0000

In about one week Live Oak, Florida will be hosting an absolutely spectacular dance music event called the Bear Creek Music Festival. With only three years under it’s belt and the fact this camping festival takes place in Mid-November which is way past prime season, one might consider the event to be quite a diamond in the rough when compared to other festivals. Yet don’t be fooled as this event has one of of the most unique and amazing line-ups I have seen in a while. Being primarily a Jazz Funk festival, the event will be catering to a wide range of dance music styles and artist.
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In particular there will be several “Livetronica” acts that Resonant Vibes has covered in the past including: Lotus, The Pnuma Trio (also playing a DJ PA set), Telepath, and Break Science! I will be going down to the festival , so keep an eye on the RV Blog for some great exclusive content featuring videos, a picture gallery and full review! Some other highlights include Lettuce (an all-star group featuring members of Soulive and The John Scofield Band), Toubabe Krewe (a west African influenced group), The New Mastersound, Galactic, Ivan Neville and Carl Denson.
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If anyone is looking to get out of the cold and boogie down to some fantastic dance music in all sorts of styles/forms, I highly recommend making your way to the Bear Creek Music Festival in Live Oak, Florida on November 13-15th!
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John “The Grizz” Grisanti

Gallery: Hellhouse V with Woody McBride and Stewart Walker

Sam — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:15:52 +0000

As regular readers of our blog will know we’re based in Louisville, Kentucky. Most people tend to raise an eyebrow when we tell them that, at which point they seem to ask about the scene here. Truth be told it’s not the clubbing capital of the world — hard to believe, I know — but occasionally we get to have a good party, and Halloween is one of those times.
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The Hellhouse parties have become a bit of a Halloween tradition around town with the fifth installment now wrapped up. Woody McBride and Stewart Walker were headlining and I got to warm up for Stewart which was cool and Jason Shelton was the opener. It’s not often I get to play to a home crowd on a decent system these days, so I had a blast. Stewart has also engineered the next re:produce sample pack for us so it’s been good to get to hear him play in person.
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The whole party was filmed in HD which means we’ll be able to post some of the sets when they become available, so keep your eyes out. The gallery is a little more indulgent than some of the others I’ve shot as the party was full of old friends, elaborate costumes and a fine selection of beers. Enjoy!
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Photography: Sam Gracie / Resonant Vibes

Gallery: HARD Haunted Mansion, Los Angeles

Sam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:31:33 +0000

Here’s a bumper gallery of pictures from this weekend’s HARD Haunted Mansion party in Los Angeles, CA. Judging from the photos it was a killer event with no shortage of skimpy outfits, good times, candy bracelets and good people.
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If you were there you’d have had the chance to check out acts like DeadMau5, 2ManyDJs, A-Trak, The Bloody Beetroots, Justice, The Basement Jaxx, Crookers, Major Lazer, Modeselektor, Zombie Nation, Steve Aoki and a bunch of others.
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If you were there, what did you think of the event? Can you see yourself in the gallery below? Drop us a line using the comments below!

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Photography: Justin Misch / Resonant Vibes

Paco Osuna’s Extended Halloween Set at Love (NYC)

Eddie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:22:57 +0000

I spent this Halloween in New York City, which put me in the position of having to make some difficult decisions…like where to go out! There were so many great events going down in the city, I felt like a kid in a candy store…in just one night, there were performances by Danny T, Above and Beyond, Craig Richards, Mr. C, and countless other tight DJs.

After carefully weighing my options, I decided to spend Halloween night checking out Paco Osuna’s Extended Halloween Set at Love. I must admit I was thoroughly pleased with this event!

While I was tempted to catch some of the other DJs playing last night, I remembered seeing Paco play at the Save the Cannibals party a few months ago. My recollection of that event made me eager to catch him again.

When I got to Love, Paco hadn’t started playing, and there were very few people on the dance floor. The tunes were good, but the energy was flat. I found myself thinking, “wait a minute…it’s Halloween night in NYC and Paco Osuna is playing; where is everybody.” However, I knew it was going to pick up.

As the night progressed, things did start to pick up. People started coalescing on the dance floor – most were dressed in great costumes. Among other things, I saw a big guy dressed in a tooth ferry outfit (hilarious!) and a smoking hot girl wearing a dominatrix costume; it was all picturesque. Then, around 12:30 or so, Paco finally got on the decks and cranked the volume up to a much higher level. I should mention that the Love sound system was exceptionally clear and ear-pleasing.

As Paco started playing, our party energy started to swell. He was playing his own ilk of techno. It was rich and melodic, also chunky and warm, almost having the feel of prog. By the time he was two or three tracks into his set, everybody in the room was absolutely getting down!

All in, it was a great clubbing experience. I have to give serious props to Made Event for putting together yet another great party and to Love for providing a nice venue and (of course) to Paco for providing some seriously dope, underground tunes!

Eddie B

Seth’s Picks of the Week – 1st of November 2009

Seth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:04:09 +0000

I hope all who were out enjoying All Hallows’ Eve last night had a good time. As I was out taking in a local shindig with great tunes from our own Mr. Gracie and Stewart Walker, this week’s top ten had to spend some time on the back burner. It was a good night to be in Louisville. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and blog. We should have coverage of the event up soon. (Small side note: the mix for this week’s list was done pretty quickly. Don’t think of it as mix, because it is not. For demonstrative purposes only…)

1. The Beginning (Original Mix) – Marcelo Nassi – Tokyo Red Recordings. The Beginning is somewhat of a creeper. It starts off slow, but some nice bass comes in midway through and takes it up a notch. Good one.
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2. Robin Hood (Original Mix) - People Get Real – Magicbag Music. A release with Jamie Jones on it is usually going to get a look from me. His track is great, but the Original Mix just does it for me.
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3. Scarlett (Original Mix) – Robsounds – Manual Music. If you read my top 10 with any frequency this shouldn’t be a surprise.
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4. Vision 2 Vision (Original Mix) – Audiomontage – Freerange. Pardon my French – this album kicks all kinds of ass.
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5. Hiatus (Original Mix) – Frenchie – Antiqua Recordings. ANTQ001 is the first release from Antiqua (you’d never have guessed by the title) and they’re coming out swinging. Keep an eye on this label.
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6. Something Sweet (Original Mix) – Loudeast – Fusion Recordings. I enjoy pretty much everything about Something Sweet. The steady bass plays nicely against all the other little parts as they come and go.
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7. The Release (Original Mix) – Midi Drop Music – Acryl Music. I’m pretty sure I mentioned this last week or the week before, but I’m just a sucker for the tone of the synths in this song.
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8. Ilomini (Original Mix) – Blake Lucid – Gut Feel Records. Ilomini starts dark, gives you a little break, and then shifts moods to a more upbeat feel.
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9. In Particular (Original Mix) – Examine – Savoir Records. Note the use of handclaps.
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10. Laying Low (Original Mix) – John Selway & Dave Turov – CSM. This is the second Selway and Turov release we’ve received, and the second to make the top ten. These gents have it together.
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Huge Halloween Weekend Sale – 50% off All Orders!

Eddie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:55:01 +0000

Halloween weekend is here, and there’s an exciting energy in the air – costumes, trick-or-treaters, and (of course) tons of great dance music parties!

At RV, we’re getting into the Halloween spirit by running a huge Halloween Weekend Sale! We’re offering a 50% discount on all orders in our shop all weekend long.

To take advantage of our 50%-off sale, you simply need to enter the promo code SPOOKYTUNES when you checkout. You can use the code as many times as you want to receive a 50% discount on every order you place from now through Sunday night (November 1st). The SPOOKYTUNES code is valid for purchases of all items.

This sale is our way of helping to make this Halloween weekend special. We know there are loads of great dance music events happening today and tomorrow around the world, and we wanted to make sure you all have great tunes to play!

Let’s face it, Halloween (and life in general) would be a lot less fun without dance music!

Eddie B

HARD Haunted Mansion 2009 – This Sounds Scary!

Eddie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:46:08 +0000

This weekend, I fear the city of Los Angeles is going to be turned to the darkside as HARD Haunted Mansion 2009 engulfs its raver community. With an event like this going down, we couldn’t resist bringing you coverage! One look at the talent for the party tells the story. You’ve got Deadmau5, Justice, Basement Jaxx, Modeselektor, The Bloody Beetroots, 2 Many DJs, Crookers, Shinichi Osawa, Steve Aoki, A-Trak, Don Rimini, Mixhell, Zombie Nation, and more! This is obviously going to be an intense, head-pounding experience.

The party is going down this Friday and Saturday (October 30th and 31st) – two days, two stages, and 16 hours of mind/life-altering tunes. The venue is The Shrine in downtown Los Angeles. I would tell you to hurry up and buy a ticket, but (alas) if you don’t have one, you’re probably out of luck because it’s SOLD OUT.

Our plan is to bring you a high-quality, exclusive photo gallery from the event – the idea being to give you a feel for the experience. In anticipation of our coverage of the event, we created a HARD Haunted Mansion profile page in our network, and we added FREE SETS by some of the biggest DJs from the event!

If you’re anywhere near L.A. this weekend, hopefully you’ve already got your ticket so you can go contribute to the madness. If you can’t make it out to the party, stay tuned to our blog for an inside look at the fun!

Eddie B