Kirsty Hawkshaw, the voice behind Opus III’s 1992 hit ‘It’s A Fine Day’, shares the making of one of UK dance music’s most beloved hits. Kirsty Hawkshaw, the voice behind Opus III’s 1992 hit ‘It’s A Fine Day’, shares the making of one of UK dance music’s most beloved hits. Hawkshaw gives DJ [...]
Out now, the 35-minute film comes as the imprint relaunches under the leadership of Armada Music A new documentary exploring the history and influence of New York’s King Street Sounds is out now. House Music Royalty: The Story of King Street Sounds tracks the influential house label’s journey from New York’s underground dance music scene to its [...]
“Four turntables, boxes and boxes of vinyl, a huge light and sound rig and thousands going crazy in Rotterdam...” Kevin Saunderson has shared some footage of a b2b set he played alongside Carl Cox 20 years ago in Rotterdam. Split into five parts and posted to Saunderson’s Instagram, the footage shows the two old [...]
Quincy Jones lived a life almost too impossible to believe. His successes, struggles, and profound creativity, can teach us a lot about the true power of music Quincy Jones, one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century has passed away at the age of 91. A polymath, hitmaker, entrepreneur, industry mogul, [...]
Quite a few products come with lofty claims of being ‘the future of DJing’ and so on. But the new djay app for Meta Quest feels like it might be a taste of where things are headed in the world of DJing. https://youtu.be/uo7oINnmtxc There have been a handful of attempts at [...]
Native Instruments has updated the software for its long-running Maschine beatmaking and production device. The new interface adds stem separation, allowing users to isolate vocals, instrumentals, drums, basslines and more, before re-sampling and chopping them up, without having access to the multi-track studio stems. Maschine 3’s stem separation is powered by iZotope’s RX [...]
Stock up your samples folder and find new inspiration without opening your wallet. There are millions of sample packs available online right now — from archives of old sample CDs from the 90s, right through to daily-updated sample pack platforms and artists releasing sounds on a Patreon page. This is awesome for creators wanting to manipulate [...]
David Mancuso's ethos of universal love fuelled one of history's most cherished parties, The Loft. A succession drama now clouds the future of the event and its protected legacy, Nyshka Chandran reports. In 2022, Jon Martin was at the Ukrainian National Home, a nondescript building in Manhattan's East Village, where The Loft, a sacred [...]
Amsterdam Dance Event 2024 showcased Afrohouse in all its forms, evidencing the genre’s exponentially expanding influence and appeal. Once an underground movement known for its deep, soulful grooves, it's no secret that Afro House is surging into dance music's mainstream. And the 2024 Amsterdam Dance Event left no doubt about its broadening global reach. This year's [...]
For years, rotary mixers have been status symbols of superior build and sound quality. But is rotary always ‘better’ by default? Or has the cult of the rotary mixer created a monster? Declan McGlynn investigates Rotaries were the first DJ mixers. Prototyped by legendary sound engineer Alex Rosner, the CMA-10-2D from Bozak became [...]
