LE BLOG DU BARON

30/04/2013: ZEROCAST #39

        
As the world is dusting off its disco shoes in anticipation of the new DAFT PUNK album, it is only normal to start the latest issue of ZEROCAST with a tasty rework of the title track. But we are not short of great music as the killer new remixes of PHOENIX, LANA DEL REY, PASSION PIT or YEAH YEAH YEAHS will show.

You can grab the whole issue as a single zip file for the small price of a little tweet by clicking on the icon ...

or download each track separately. Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

1. DAFT PUNK Random Access Memory (Vanderway edit) download
2. RA RA RIOT Beta Love (RAC Mix) download
3. PASSION PIT It's Not My Fault (Hands Remix) download
4. LANA DEL REY Young & Beautiful (Kulkid Remix) download
5. ELLIE GOULDING Without Your Love (Amtrac Remix) download
6. PHOENIX Entertainment (Hot Natured Remix) download
7. CLASSIX Holding On (Lifelike remix) download
8. SNOW PATROL What If This Storm Ends (Ken Loi Remix) download
9. HANNI EL KHATIB Penny (Classixx Remix) download
10. YEAH YEAH YEAHS Sacrilege (Tommie Sunshine & Live City Remix) download
11. PAROV STELAR All Night (Nico Pusch Bootleg Remix) download
12. ONE REPUBLIC If I Lose Myself (Alesso Extended Remix) download
13. PULP After you (Soulwax remix) download
    
    

All the tracks featured on this post are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see them play. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible.

29/03/2013: ZEROCAST #38

         

If you turned around for a second you might have missed the fact it was spring ... for 2 days. And now it looks like we could jump straight from winter into another winter again. Never mind being stuck in a hutte with nothing but snow all around. With new killer remixes from ROBBIE WILLIAMS, ALUNA GEORGE, BETH DITTO, ADELE and FOSTER THE PEOPLE , the latest issue of ZEROCAST will help even the most insomniac of grizzly bear to wait till warmer days are back again.

You can grab the whole issue as a single zip file for the small price of a little tweet by clicking on the icon ...

or download each track separately. Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

1. ROBBIE WILLIAMS Be a boy (Math Bishop remix) download
2. GRIZZLY BEAR Gun-Shy (Lindstrøm Remix) download
3. CALVIN HARRIS ft. FLORENCE WELCH Sweet Nothing (Disco Fries Bootleg) download
4. ALUNA GEORGE Attracting Flies (Baauer Remix) download
5. BETH DITTO Do You Need Someone (Kill Paris remix) download
6. ROBIN THICKE Magic (DJ Prince Remix) download
7. SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA Dont You Worry Child (The Golden Pony Remix) download
8. ADELE Chasing Pavements (Moseqar remix) download
9. HOT CHIP Look At Where We Are (Major Lazer Extended Remix) download
10. KAVINSKY ProtoVision (Blood Orange Remix) download
11. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB Next Year (RAC Mix) download
12. THE FRAY You Found Me (Ipaneema remix) download
13. FOSTER THE PEOPLE Houdini (RAC Remix) download
14. DISCLOSURE White Noise (HudMo Mix) download

All the tracks featured on this post are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see them play. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible.

25/03/2013: HOW TO USE SMS TO ENGAGE FANS INTO YOUR LIVE SHOWS

An interesting interview taken from the MASHABLE VIDEOS series. This time it is with band UMPHREY'S McGEE who through-out their 15-years carreer have done a lot of experimenting with texting and SMS. Recently, the band announced the return of their signature UMBowl, a live concert in which fans control the direction of the show via SMS. 

18/03/2013: THE 3 MOST IMPORTANT REVENUE STREAMS FOR MUSICIANS

Now that I have been a future ex-employee for a month, it is high time to start thinking about plan B. Clear in my mind is the fact that I want to make music and if it's not asking too much, be able to live from it. Which is where the plot thickens. But I have read an interesting article a couple of weeks ago on HYPEBOT which sums up the 3 main ways inedendent musicians can generate revenues:

1. YOUTUBE: I keep thinking you need at least a decently interesting video to stand out in the crowd. Turns out I'm probably wrong and I should really make more of YT. "Complain all you want about musicians making YouTube covers and goofy videos instead of being “serious”. The reality is many of them make a good living from this".
2. LIVE TOURING: not the biggest option for me as I do not want to sleep in the back of my car and go from one skihutte to the next to liven up the apres-ski parties. Still according to HYPEBOT "musicians who aggressively work these approaches take in mid-to-high five figures in profit. As tough as touring can be, artists focused on this are clearly leveraging it into a career".
3. SYNC PLACEMENT: "Artists who fit the sound requirements and have a certain buzz amongst music supervisors are often rewarded with multiple placement opportunities for their music. Rates can be as lower than $100 but they can also be upwards of $100,000 for a worldwide television spot". I have worked long enough in advertising to know that only the likes of COLDPLAY or JAY-Z can really command such high fees. But certainly getting paied $5,000 to $10,000 is realistic.

The most interesting part of the article is the conclusion though: "There are multiple examples of DIY artists who could fit into each of these buckets, but there are very few that were actually succeeding in multiple buckets."

26/02/2013: ZEROCAST #37

          


Finally after 3 weeks into our new flat, the last carton box has been emptied and I could eventually find the last playlist of ZEROCAST. Nothing like a few killer remixes from MAROON 5, CALVIN HARRIS, THE HIVE, TAME IMPALA or ADELE to help you face the mountain of Ikea closets which need to be built next. 

You can grab the whole issue as a single zip file for the small price of a little tweet by clicking on the icon ...

 ... or download each track separately. Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

1. MAROON 5 One More Night (Com Truise Remix) download
2. CALVIN HARRIS Thinking About You (Myndset Remix) download
3. GRIMES Skin (Four Tet Remix) download
4. DUTCH UNCLES Nometo (Field Music Remix) download
5. PASSION PIT Constant Conversations (Little Daylight Remix) download
6. HOW TO DRESS WELL It Was U (Elite Gymnastics Remix) download
7. ADELE Skyfall (SoulCircuit Deep House Bootleg) download
8. JUSTICE On N On (Rick Rubin Remix) download
9. MARINA & THE DIAMONDS How To Be A Heartbreaker (Kat Krazy Radio Edit) download
10. THE KILLERS Miss Atomic Bomb (Project 46 Remix) download
11. THE HIVES Main Offender (LAFORCAH Remix) download
12. TAME IMPALA Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (Chrome Canyon De-Mix) download

All the tracks featured on this post are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see them play. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible.

18/02/2013: SEARCHING HARD FOR THE SILVER LINING

The Germans bought the company, they came and they fired everyone ... I actually half expected they would announce I do not have a job anymore this morning but I was taken aback (like everybody else) to hear that the other 120 people working on the site were fired as well. Although I have only worked there a couple of years, it is hard not to feel heart-broken at the thought of how the long history of what started as a small family company is going to end.

At the same time, if I'm honnest with myself, I have to recognize that things are pretty much going according to the plans. When I made the decision to move away from Singapore, it was with the idea of finding a job which would leave me more time for music. Maybe even the possibility to work part time. So, in a sense I should be satisfied with the situation: here I am, with a few months ahead of me to focus on making more music.

I always believed that things happen for a reason. Last time I found myself in a similar situation was more than 10 years ago. And I always thought that I did not quite make the most out of it. So maybe this is another chance to chase up my dreams of living for and from music. Maybe this is actually the last chance and I should not blow it away this time.

It is hard not to feel scared like shit but at the same time, this is just what freedom may taste like.

What do you think ? Should I take the jump ?

05/02/2013: GEORGE BENSON IS TELLING YOU TO STUDY THE GREAT ONES

Those of you who follow this blog know that I'm a regular on CD Baby very own blog THE DIY MUSICIAN. They just posted an interview of music legend GEORGE BENSON whi is back with a new record; you can read through the whole interview here.

It covers most of his career, starting up with his upbringing in Pittsburgh and his early days as a guitar player. He also pays tribute to the environment he grew up in and the many influences his family opened him onto:

I think environent is everything — what you’re exposed to [...]. My first exposure to music was to people like Nat King Cole. My father was a Charlie Parker nut, and my stepfather who taught me to play guitar was a Charlie Christian nut, and my mother sang all the time — although she never did it professionally. My father played trombone, drums, and piano, but he never did it professionally.

But here is in my views the best advice he has in store:

“You can’t be great unless you know what greatness is.”

21/01/2013: ZEROCAST #36

     

It is the first issue of the new year for ZEROCAST and it is an issue packed with girl power ! With new killer remixes of FLORENCE & THE MACHINE, DILLON, MARINA & THE DIAMONDS, LANA DEL REY and many more ...

You can grab the whole issue as a single zip file for the small price of a little tweet by clicking on the icon ...

 ... or download each track separately. Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

1. FLORENCE & THE MACHINE vs CALVIN HARRIS Say My Name (Spectrum remix) download
2. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Can't Stop (Swagrid Remix) download
3. JUSTICE Helix (Gesaffelstein Vision Remix) download
4. PUNKS JUMP UP Mr. Overtime (Gigamesh Remix) download
5. MARINA & THE DIAMONDS Lies (Zeds Dead Remix) download
6. RAC featuring PENGUIN PRISON Hollywood (Felix Da Housecat Remix) download
7. THE WEEKND Same Old Song (Paper Diamond Remix) download
8. MUMFORD & SONS I Will Wait (Unlike Pluto remix) download
9. TAME IMPALA Elephant (Todd Rundgren Remix) download
10. BRUNO MARS Locked Out Of Heaven (R3hab Afterhour Remix) download
11. DILLON Thirteen Thirtyfive (Daniele Di Martino & Ferdinand Weber Remix) download
12. LANA DEL REY Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix) download

All the tracks featured on this post are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see them play. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible.

17/01/2013: USE 3D PROJECTION TO MAKE YOUR LIVE SHOW AN UNFORGETTABLE VISUAL EXPERIENCE

BILLBOARD reports on how indie band LOVE IN THE CIRCUS has 3D projection mapping to "create a live stage that evokes a Cirque du Soleil-esque setting, wrapping custon animations around a physical stage" at the Sony booth during the recent CES.

3D projections have been used by a growing number of brands over the last couple of years and the results are often spectacular; but as always you need resources and great ideas do not hurt either. Quoting from the article: "the whole process took three week and would have cost $ 150,000 if it weren't for Sony, which donated the cameras and video editing software, and the production hous ewho helped the band design the visual".

So obviously, this is not yet something everyone can afford but knowing how quickly technology evolves and costs decrease, it is certainly something to watch for the future. 

14/01/2013: WATCH JACK WHITE "SERIOUSLY JIBBER-JABBERING" WITH CONAN O'BRIAN

Still going through part of the one hour 15 long talk between JACK WHITE and CONAN O'BRIAN, part of the latter's "Serious Jibber-jabber" series. Most fascinating in the first 5 minutes was to hear how Jack waits till the last minute, say the day before he has booked studio time, to write songs. In his words:  If I'd say "I'll write some songs and when I'm done, I'll call you guys to show up", it won't happen.

Another bit in the first 20mn was this one, in asnwer to a question from Conan about why he always chose to learn and play the most difficults instruments when people do not care: 

That becomes the big question thing about art. If you do something that's important, [you are] extremely involved in pushing yourself and making something beautiful happen but no one will know, should you do it or should you cheat ? Because no one will know that you're cheating either.