I’m a big fan of this magazine. It presents all aspects of music, fashion, and culture that I find completely refreshing. They have a iPhone app that I must say is probably the best app of it’s kind. The presentation and interactiveness is incredible. If you are among the ENLIGHTENED and you have an iPhone, and you love music, art, culture and more, then this is one app you must check out HERE or just use your iPhone to download.
The newest track from my new homie Big Shane. Check it out!!
Last week, I had gotten a lot of requests for this song, but I never heard it. I was told it was Eminem, and did a Google search and found out it was this UK Rapper Professor Green, that sorta sounds like the great Shady One or at least that’s what most of the searches stated. I am a fan of INXS, and I think he pulled off a great sampling of this song. After I played this song, it seemed like I started hearing it all over the German airwaves.
Ran across this at FRESHNESS. This break beat duo from Tokyo, HIFANA (composed of KEIZOmachine and JUICY) discovered that Nike Free Run+ running shoes can drop beats like realtime samplers and no other. HIFANA eschewed a part of their regular break beat set up and hooked up the mixers and sound systems to Nike Free Run+ shoes. When bent or twisted, the ultra-flexible Nike Free Run+ drops different tunes and sounds. Furthering proving that ever pair of shoes is different and there is a pair for everyone, and that the great performance Nike Free Run+ is flexible enough to fit any feet and running style or activity, the Nike Music Shoe video is not just about shoes as instruments. Check out the hopping performance from HIFANA which is signature of their creative and original live performances, and see how Nike shoes can sing different tunes. Just take note, the actual Nike Free Run+ sold in stores is absolutely and exclusively a running shoe, and will not sing when bent or twisted, so don’t rush to throw out your mixers just yet.
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD – Soca music fans and music lovers worldwide who want to experience the very best in Caribbean music will revel in the latest album release from the genre’s most celebrated artiste, Machel Montano, titled ALBUM 34. The prodigiously gifted Trinidadian, whose debut vinyl album Too Young To Soca arrived in record shops in 1985, has once again created a magical brew of sweet soca rhythms on this, his 34th career release. ALBUM 34 is now available throughout Trinidad & Tobago, with worldwide distribution scheduled for later this month.
NEW MUSIC
Fans have come to expect from Montano a rich array of hit songs every year, jam-packed with explosive, driving rhythms that he produces for Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival celebrations. Surely this new batch of 15 tracks comprising ALBUM 34 will not disappoint his vast legion of followers – in T&T and throughout the Caribbean Diaspora – and its many gems are bound to attract many new listeners as well.
One of the new songs presently heating up the airwaves and blasting at every Carnival fete in Trinidad is “No Behavior,” a fast-paced, volatile soca track with Montano’s trademark style that every soca fan instantly recognises. The artiste urges everyone to “get behind the big truck…start jumpin’ up, start waving up!” Next up is a groovy soca number, a song infused with a romantic vibe and a gentle rhythm called “Slow Wine.”
Also on tap are Montano’s newest hit singles “Bumper to Fender,” “Thiefin’ ” and “Awrite” (Ramajay). Each of these tunes have found great favour with partygoers of every race and age at Carnival 2010. The Trinidadian has once again captured that quintessential Caribbean vibe – a scintillating mix of rhythms full of warmth, love, and good humour.
FAMOUS COLLABORATIONS
Machel Montano has been a driving force behind Caribbean musical integration for more than a decade, with a multitude of important collaborations to his credit, including features with Pitbull, Lil Jon, Shaggy, Wyclef Jean, Beanie Man, Busy Signal, Vybz Kartel, Alison Hinds, Ricky T, Tallpree, just to name a few. Montano’s vision of Caribbean unity forged though music and culture is beautifully underscored in the delivery of ALBUM 34, as this exciting mix of new music includes collaborations with leading singers, musicians, and producers from Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, St. Vincent, Jamaica, B.V.I., Cuba, and USA.
On ALBUM 34, Montano has joined forces with Pitbull for an electrifying remix of “Awrite” (Ramjay). The remix not only celebrates the fusion of reggaton and soca rhythms but also the resilience of the Haitan people following the catastrophic earthquake that affected Haiti on January 12.
Jamaican dancehall superstar Busy Signal is also in the mix on 34, making a mesmerising spin with Machel on “Wooeeii Gyal Wooeeii,” an African-influenced riddim that’s punctuated by magnificent drumbeats. Both productions are fascinating examples of Montano’s experimental approach to music-making in the studio, which no doubt is why his work is the most original and most eagerly-anticipated music in this genre.
Other savory collaborations on ALBUM 34 include “Hot Like” featuring dancehall star Serani, “Fetting On” with Skinny Fabulous, and “Really Hot” with Wildfire, an upcoming Trinidadian-American artiste. Also, get a good listen to Machel on “Not Going Home,” an uplifting, inspirational song about the power of Carnival to bring people together and to celebrate joyously their common humanity.
CARIBBEAN FUSION
In addition to the various artistes mentioned above, Montano has ensured the success of his newest endeavour by collaborating with many of the Caribbean’s leading producers, including his close friend and award-winning songwriter, Kernal Roberts, Dwain “Dwaingerous” Antrobus, Shawn “Roots” Mitchell, Jason “Nutron” Carter, Kasey Phillips, among many others. On the album liner notes, the artiste also sends out thanks to the HD Family, a close-knit cadre of performers and musicians who have been by his side over the past four years at carnivals and concert stages around the world.
