The 10 most used samples in house history, Yamaha’s new Reface synth, the royalty-creating app targeting Spotify, and the oral history of dubstep.
The 10 Most Used Sample Sources. DJ Chris Read presents the top 10 most used sample sources in house history, who sampled them and on which records, for WhoSampled, from iconic disco and acapellas to classics like Indeep – ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’, First Choice – ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’, and Loleatta Holloway – ‘Love Sensation’. He iced the cake with a mix of the 10, which now tops Mixcloud’s disco chart. Steam above, and check out the list here.
Yamaha’s New Reface. Yamaha has released a teaser video for what appears to be their new line of Reface synths. Inspired by some of their classics, such as the popular CS series, the Reface line promises to “bring back memories”. The tagline, “Get ready to create your sound any place, any time”, suggests that the instrument will be portable, and a musician in the teaser comments that the keyboard feels “like a piano player made the keys”. Watch the video above, and find out more here.
Apple royalty dispute resolved. Apple has announced it will be paying labels and publishers royalties for streams during the three-month trial of the recently revealed Apple Music streaming service, in response to criticism of its initial no-royalty policy from independent labels, stars like Taylor Swift (who wrote an open letter to Apple stating “We don’t ask you for free iPhones”) and the Association Of Independent Music, who sent a letter to its members stating it “cannot endorse” the plan. Apple responded with a tweet: “Apple will always make sure that artist are paid. #AppleMusic will pay artist for streaming, even during customer’s free trial period. We hear you @taylorswift13 and indie artists. Love, Apple.” More info here.
Goldie Records Drums With Point Blank Students. Music production school Point Blank have teamed up with the DnB legend Goldie to give their students the oppertunity to record three drummers simultaneously for an upcoming Goldie project, at Assault and Battery studios in North-West London. Watch above.
A New Beatport Embeddable Music Player. Beatport has announced a new feature of their recently launched streaming service – an embeddable music player that allows consumers and blogs to stream full tracks from Beatport, while still providing rights holders and artists compensation for every stream (although the royalty paid is currently unknown). Beatport is currently the only streaming service that features an embeddable player with full streams of for-sale music. More on that here.
The Oral History of Dubstep. “It’s like 2-step, but it’s got dub in it. It’s kind of like… dubstep.” Vice presents the oral history of the genre, from its roots in the Croydon garage scene to its eventual demise. Contributors include Mala, Loefah, Sgt. Pokes, Youngsta, Kode 9, and many more dubstep heavyweights. Read it here.
Royalty-Creating App Targeting Spotify. A pop group unhappy at how music streaming service Spotify pays artists has created a web app that generates royalties artificially. The Eternify app puts any artist’s songs on endless repeat, playing just 30 seconds at a time – the minimum required to be considered a “listen”. Spotify said it was looking into whether it broke the service’s rules. The band told the BBC that it wanted to highlight how listening habits on streaming sites were “spreading royalties too thinly”. Read the full story here.
Pete Tong and Hot Since 82 Join Forces To Soundtrack Your Summer. The latest instalment in the acclaimed All Gone mix album series sees definitive dance music tastemaker Pete Tong team up with Hot Since 82, one of the fiercest talents to emerge from the UK scene in the last few years. All Gone Pete Tong & Hot Since 82 Ibiza 2015 features upfront electronic music from across the spectrum of house and techno, including cuts from the likes of Nick Curly, Azari & III, Disciples, Jaymo & Andy George x Sidney Charles, Deetron, Culoe De Song, Manta Ray, and many more. Find a full track listing, and tour dates here.