Over the last few years, Toronto-based Azari & III have been making major waves in the Electronic music scene. In a genre where countless records are purely studio endeavors with little thought given to actual live performance, Azari & III are certainly the total package. Comprised of two producers, Dinamo Azari and Alixander III, and two vocalists, Fritz Helder and Starving Yet Full, these young Canadians have been blowing up dancefloors worldwide with their brand of throwback House anthems.
With their 2009 debut single “Hungry for the Power” on I’m a Cliché, Azari & III quickly began gathering a buzz. Their follow up single on Permanent Vacation, “Reckless (With Your Love),” proved the hype to be no fluke. The M1 organ, piano chords and silky-smooth vocals all combine to create a track that has generated immediate dancefloor euphoria since its release almost 3 years ago. A handful of subsequent releases, including the “Into The Night” remixes from Scion A/V and Manic on Tiga’s Turbo Recordings, have won Azari & III praise from everyone from fellow producers Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson to Johnny Depp. In early 2012, they were rumored to be on the shortlist to open for Madonna, another outspoken fan of the four-piece ensemble.
So what do you do after putting out numerous successful singles and EP’s? Bring on the full length album! In 2011, Azari & III released their self-titled album in Canada on Turbo, and in the U.K. on Loose Lips. So where’s the love for a U.S. release, you’re asking. Well have no fear, my fellow Americans. On Tuesday, October 30th, the Azari & III full length will be available stateside courtesy of our cake-throwing, champagne-spraying, raft-riding friends at Dim Mak.
If you’re a lover of Electronic music, or just good music in general, do yourself a favor and check out this album. And if you like having a good time, be sure to check out Azari & III on the Sonar Tour.
If you frequent the labyrinth that is the subway of New York, you’re probably no stranger to the various stylings of musicians who selflessly play their hearts out for fellow commuters. Whether it’s a violinist at the Lorimer L station, a pan-flutist on the Queens-bound 2nd ave F platform or a barbershop quartet at the South-bound 77th street 6 train station, music often follows us into the deepest depths of the city, even when we’ve accidentally left our headphones at the office.
But in the hustle and bustle of our underground travels, most of us never really stop to take in the sounds, besides maybe dropping a dollar for the exceptional ones.
Legend has it, Morgan Geist, 1/2 of the influential duo Metro Area and founder of the legendary New York house label Environ met Damon C. Scott in the subways of New York. Damon can often be found singing his heart out at the 86th St. subway station (the video above went viral earlier this year when it was captured by Refinery29). His soulful voice caught Morgan’s talented ears and the two soon began collaborating. The end result was Storm Queen, and over the last two years, Geist’s warm analog productions paired with Scott’s amazing voice has resulted in some of the best Dance tracks in recent memory:
Fall of 2010 saw the release of their debut single, “Look Right Through.” With its punchy drum machine intro and bending synth melody, it was an instant hit in clubs not only in New York but around the globe. In fact, it was such a smash that Defected reissued it earlier this year, with remixes from heavy-hitters Aeroplane, Dimitri from Paris, and Hot Creations honcho Jamie Jones.
Storm Queen’s followup single, “It Goes On,” was just as big. Scott’s voice magically dances around a chormatic bass walk-down, ultimately leading to an evocative chorus complete with a traditional House chord progression.
And their latest single, “Let’s Make Mistakes,” which came out just two months ago, has proven that this creative force will continue to have great staying power in the House music scene for as long as they continue to release such beautiful music.
What do you get when two juggernauts of the New York House and Disco scene join forces? You get Still Going, a dynamic production duo consisting of composer/producer Liv Spencer and producer Eric “Dr. Dunks” Duncan.
Over the last few years, these two have put out a handful of records together on the acclaimed Indie Dance label, DFA, while also remixing the likes of The Doves, The Presets, Bryan Ferry, and !!! (read: Chk Chk Chk). Their 2007 debut DFA release, “Still Going Theme“, was a certified Dance music anthem. Their follow-up, 2009′s “Spaghetti Circus“, proved that in a genre traditionally characterized by loops and repetition, Still Going were masters of creating progression and movement within their tracks.
After numerous remixes and singles, it was only a matter of time before these two decided to start their own label… and here we are! 2012 saw the first two releases from the appropriately named Still Going Records. In May, they graced us with “D117“, a hypnotic, dare I say psychedelic, Dance jam if there ever was one. This was quickly followed up in June by “Work That S@#T Party“, a slow-building, high energy 90′s House throwback featuring vocals from Fischerspooner’s Lizzy Yoder.
While the Dance music talent pool seems to consist of so many flash-in-the-pan one-hit wonders these days, Liv and Eric have established themselves as a consistent creative force in the Dance music scene. We here at The Orchard are certainly excited to see what the future has in store for these two gifted individuals and their new label.
…As an added bonus, check out their exclusive mix of “Still Going” on URB!
The last time we checked in with Myxer, they had recently launched a new streaming radio platform called Myxer Social Radio. At the time, we took a look at the service within the context of a larger growing trend of ‘making music more social.’ Would this new entrant rise to become a real player in the field?
Well, since their launch in late 2011, Myxer Social Radio appears to be making a habit or racking up achievements and milestones left and right. 150,000 users within 7 weeks of launch? Check. Named one of ‘The Best Apps of 2011‘ by Rolling Stone? Check. Recent recipient of the MTV O Music Award for ‘Most Addictive Social Music Service?’ Check!
Today, Myxer Social Radio is quickly coming up on the 1.5 million mark for app installs, and in recent months, Myxer Social Radio has rolled out 2 new interactive programming features. Both “Inside the Artist Studio” and “Indie Spotlight” give artists the ability to showcase and promote their latest songs while chatting with their fans in real-time — a first for any streaming radio service.
Of course, it should be of little surprise to anyone that this service has had such a trajectory. Myxer itself has been a well-established destination for mobile content for years and it’s only natural that their foray into the streaming radio market would be met with this kind of enthusiasm and success. As a distributor, The Orchard is proud to be partners with such an innovative service; as fans of independent music, we are all extremely excited for the future of Myxer Social Radio.
Last year, Cricket Communications rolled out a new music service for their ever-growing customer base. Muve Music is an all-you-can-eat subscription service that gives the customer unlimited ringtone and song downloads. The media is stored on a special SanDisk memory card that can only be read by the phone – so while transferring the files to your computer or any other device is out of the question, you can listen to your new music on the subway until your heart’s content.
What began initially with partnerships with the major labels, Muve Music has expanded to represent the indies as well, recently signing deals with independent distributors like TuneCore, CDBaby, and, of course, The Orchard. Last month, Cricket announced that they had exceeded 600,000 Muve Music subscribers. And with over 6 million customers in the Cricket Network, we can expect that number to steadily grow in the months and years to come.
