Weekly Reviews: Week of 25/01/09

In this week’s review I’ll talk about new things. It is always rather exciting when we acknowledge something new in SL and that is precisely what is happening on the grid right now. There is a new club about to open and a “new girl in the town”. I’ll also talk about a service that can be extremely interesting for SL clubs and DJs.

It opens this Saturday (31st January) at 12.00 SLT a new club in the grid. Located in Ravello Bay, AMICI – House Club is a fresh new venue in the grid. The island’s landscaping was very carefully done and the club’s architecture matches perfectly the idyllic scenario. The decoration was kept simple, however the texturing is of high quality and the colours chosen (a fresh fizz green seems to contrast with the whites and greys) can make an impressive symbiosis with the surrounding water and landscaping.

By the opening the flyers and invitations that are already out it is clear to see that the choice of the DJs is not less impressive than the space itself. DJs Tasty Hax and Maurice Hax are the ones on the decks for the opening night, but some another names are already scheduled for the further events. The prime time will be from 12pm to 4pm with events 7 days a week.

Looking forward to cover styles like Funky House, Funky Deep, Vocal, Electro House and Soulful, AMICI – House Club promises to became in a near future a reference in the clubbing scene in Second Life. Erin Messmer, from the board of owners says; “we don’t want it too hard or aggressive, though we will present some DJ's who spin electro house. We also will have some special events like spontaneous pool parties... maybe then also with some chill out/ Lounge tunes.”

Personally, I am already a big fan of AMICI – House Club and hope it really becomes a big reference in the grid.

---

There is a "new girl in town", in this case often at Toon Town. Her name is Kayla Boxer and she plays a NY style of funky house. Her spinning skills are amazing and the rhythms at her sets are highly “funkylicious”.

The perfect contrast of a very cute voice and NY accent with the killer bass lines of her tunes is a pleasure to any House Music fan to listen. It is curious how I met Kayla cause it was during one of those magical moments that sometimes happen in SL, a DJ jam session at my place with other two fellow DJs, and what DJs. Neither more nor less than my friends Ephram Magic and Vitor Urqhart. It lasted almost five and half hours and was witnessed by the club managers, Anessa Stine, Marvie Forzane, and Jase Sin. That magical moment revealed Kayla as a brilliant DJ and after that I went to listen to her in two other more sets. Though she runs with the nickname DJ FunKay, we decided to nickname her “Kayla the Killa” after her killer bass lines.

Kayla is a RL DJ who is not featuring out of the grid at the moment, her spinning timing and skills on the decks can speak for her. If you are after a Funky House DJ with those characteristics you’d better hurry up to “sign” her, as she definitely won’t be a DJ up for grabs much longer.

---

Some while ago, I had a conversation with my friend Lolly Sciarri about what would be interesting in the music scene in SL. One of the things we thought was it would be nice having a place where to get some MP3 in world. After a couple of days, Lolly IMed me saying she found a place like that. She got me the landmark and I decided to go and check it out as soon as I had the time. Some days later I was in a quest for a last minute stream as my usual provider was facing some server problems. Then I realised that LM Lolly gave me was also a streaming services provider. I got even more surprised with the price. It was the modest amount of 900L$ per month. “Sorry, did you say 900?!?” – was my reaction, I couldn't believe it could be so cheap, 100 listeners, 128kbp, and Icecast or Shoutcast option.

That place has also legal MP3 downloads, the cost of the download is a nominal fee, mainly to cover the cost of bandwidth for the downloads themselves. Prices ranged from L$150 - 250 at the time this report was filed and it was noted that some mixes actually lasted over an hour. The shop is relatively simple, consisting of several listening booths with chairs and "players", each linked into a separate stream from the company's servers. On one far end of the shop, a wall of virtual albums is placed, each purchasable with L$. It also has a nightclub streaming several genres 24/7, with regular changes of music depending on the day of week.

The man behind the idea is Mattchicago Cleanslate, in RL Matthew Nalett, owner of Chicago Music Promotions. He plans to introduce even more music in the MP3 Music stores, but can't promise a time frame: "We have over 2000 to 3000 songs across a wide spectrum of genres, and more are being submitted everyday at our website. To give you the cream of the crop here in SL requires a lot of vetting by the company, and this is not something we want to rush." Chicago Music Promotions also looks further on opening more CMP Music Centers in Second Life to promote other genres of music under the company's wing in the coming months. The company is welcoming land owners interested in setting up such centers in other parts of the grid catering to different genres of music.

And that is all for this week, stay tuned and remember, SIZE MATTERS!

Weekly Reviews: Week of 18/01/09

For this weeks reviews we take a look at RL and SL DJ Vitor Urqhart who has made great strides to utilize SL as a platform for promotion and introducing new tracks to eager listeners, we also take a more serious look at some observations about club life in Second Life, the good-bad-and ugly of it all and ways to ensure your patrons keep coming back.

It is not a surprise that some RL DJs and Producers use Second Life to promote part of their work due to how difficult it is to get in the mainstream and sign with the RL labels. In other musical fields we witnessed not long ago the phenomena of “Arctic Monkeys”, artists who started independently via the World Wide Web. The fact is that the same strategy has being applied by many others, especially in electronic/dance music and using Second Life’s grid as the platform.

Vitor Urqhart (aka The Vandalsoob) is one of them, a talented RL DJ and producer from Lisbon, Portugal. Even though we are both original from the same city, I met The Vandalsoob in Second Life. Being in the same mainstream it is obvious that the theme for conversation would be essentially music.It was during one of those conversations in between gigs that I acknowledged Vitor’s production work.

After a quick browse though his MySpace profile there were some things that immediately caught my attention. He stated that since a very young age he used to wait for long hours with a cassette recorder to record some special track he liked from the radio. It reminded me of my childhood years as well as I used to do the same thing. It might be something that dictated my posterior passion for the radio and made me feature a short spell in a real station. I guess that Vitor also used to become very annoyed whenever the radio DJ would talk during the tracks. That used to force us to wait all night to try and get the same tune again with no cuts. But the thing that impressed me more was in fact two tracks of his own production, one of them, “In You” has already been featured in the Portuguese national radio stations.

As Vitor’s influences come more from Techno and House Music, with also a lot of Electro effects, “In You” putted his work under the spotlight. His technical knowledge, talent and inspiration make him one of the most respected DJs in Second Life but also an excellent prospect for the future in RL. His passion and commitment to the cause also helped him developing such qualities.However there seems to be a battle that Vitor, (as well as most of the new wave of producers not signed by big RL labels), will have to face. It is the technical and logistic (i.e. masterization) support that big names have. It is a lot easier when one have a professional studio and sound engineers at his own service. Vitor as an independent producer has either to attract that background support or pay it from his own pocket.

Even though is difficult to strive out there in the big world nowadays, that isn’t what makes The Valdalsoob stop. Rather recently I was invited by him to the first public audition of a new track of his own production. As the first beats start kicking in we can feel immediately the influences of House and Jungle, even before we fully inhale those scents we can start feeling the electro and “liquid” effects on it. The track promises to be an anthem to a new era of this fusion with House/Tribal/Electro, it has also the characteristics of a “floor filer” and is highly “spinnable” and “remixable”. As it is also very versatile can be played either on an Electro or a House set.

The track is about to be mastered and edited in RL, however it hasn’t got a name yet. After a talk with Victor, he founded it funny to challenge the readers to after listening to it in his sets in world to dare to name it.

Feel free to propose a name and good luck!


The club scene in-world seems to be, at a first impression, dominated by the House clubs. It is part of general knowledge that House still being the choice of some sort of elite in Second Life. Clubs like Scoutlounge, Sleek, and Woods, dominating the traffic rates, Dogglounge, Ethos, and Cabaret Belvedere also enjoy huge popularity. Other clubs are more eclectic and also very popular, like Toontopia, or the Dance Island. In other specific styles Bassline is a reference amongst the Dn’B and Dub Step communities.

There are other more alternative circuits in Dance/Electronic Music in Second Life that despite not being a reference, enjoy some good popularity and traffic levels with their own communities (i.e. Regional, Gay and Lesbian, or BDSM clubs). It also seems a rule that every new development in SL has to have a club, however, and even though some of them are well built, most of them haven’t had a live DJ in months. There are no illusions; a club in Second Life is not only plenty of prims or a fancy name. It requires time and dedication as well as some capital.

Clubs do not make money in SL; the only way they can survive is if they are linked to some other investments (i.e. Real Estate, Fashion, RL investment). A curious fact to observe is that normally the most successful venues in SL are those with a minimalist decor, not too heavy on flashy club lightening or unrealistic features. So if you want to open a new club, or give your existing one that boost, here are some key points not to be forgotten;

1) Hire a good manager (a good manager costs good money, but they are around and up for grabs, be careful, pick a professional and stable manager and not a club bully, some people jump from club to club at the speed of light).

2) Invite at least a couple of famous DJ’s and issue some freelance slots to some others (you might want your club to work as many hours as possible to appeal to muliple time zones).

3) Do not hire newbies as hosts (newbies tend to be abusive with gestures and other things that annoy older residents, they also are not settled in SL yet and therefore they can go without an explanation, settle a minimum age to be able to apply).

4) KISS ( keep it simple, stupid.) - you don’t want your customers to avoid going there cause of”impossible to move” levels of lag. Also refrain from the excessive use of megaprims or scripts, and you don’t need a too big dance floor, you might prefer your club to look neat even with 10 people only, than to look empty with 25 avatars).

5) Avoid excessive Teleport requests or spamming (there are groups for advertisement and some people rather being invited personally, a friends conference with an invitation and the URL looks more elegant and is better than those 10000 teleports).

6) Avoid Drama (keep grieffers and haters away and always remember the special deference to your regulars).

7) Always say hello (don’t ignore your customers, most of the people go to clubs when they are alone).

8) Be there often (people who work with you might need to feel your support; customers also like to know who’s the face behind the project).

9) Don’t go over budget (be moneywise and agree reasonable payments to DJ’s, Managers and Hosts, you don’t want to close the club after a couple of weeks and if you promise to much you might not be able to keep it).

10) Define your target (you’d better not try to please anyone, as Greeks and Trojans cannot be pleased at the same time, find a niche and communicate to it).

The cruel reality is that clubs rarely survive the first couple of weeks, they are not cheap to maintain or sometimes they are merely decorative but have no use. If you want to open a club just for the fun it is, then I would suggest you to propose the owner of an already existing but not in use space, to let you explore it. It might be a solution that suits both sides. There are far too many clubs in SL, and you will need that WOW factor to survive.

That's it for this week, until next time be nice to each other and remember, SIZE MATTERS.

RL DJs vs. SL DJs

Anyone who hangs around in Second Life’s electronic/dance music mainstream will soon be aware of the existing friction and the dilemma between being a Real Life DJ or simply a “backroom DJ” or entertainer. It is obvious that is a sort of cliche, to claim being a RL DJ in order to be selected for permanent slots in well known clubs around the grid. It also seem a criteria used by some of those clubs when it comes to decide who the slots will be given to.

At a first glance it seems that there is a sort of snobbery around against those who are not so called RL DJs. However it is widely known that some of those who claim to be RL DJ’s are simply lying, although that is not always the case. Some have been spotted spinning in an almost constant basis getting as many slots as they can. Then the question; “Why are you spinning in Second Life, so often, and for so little money when a RL DJ can make a good income playing at RL clubs?” or “How do you find time for spinning in RL with all this time spent in-world considering the time you need for shower, meals and sleeping?” A Day is only 24 hours long mate!

Another thing that seems to be object of some speculation is the technical issue. Everybody seems to be using externals and even more... top of range stuff (yeah, yeah, we all have those fancy Pioneers)! Spinning live in SL using externals is virtually impossible using only one PC as the lag combined with the connection of that equipment literally freezes even the best of computers. So it makes it necessary to use a second PC, which leads us with another question; “OK, you seem to use two different PCs and top of range externals, but for the peanuts money people do in Second Life can you really afford it all?” Especially when you are in SL all the time and that prevents you from having a Real Life job. We should not be however mistaken that albeit that issue, there are in fact some people related to the RL world of music and production, even though they are more on it for promotional purposes than for L$ that some cash out into a couple of quid.

Like stylists in Second Life who assume they do not perform that job in RL but are creative people, often graphic designers; I personally think Second Life DJ’s should have the same honest attitude.Personally, I guess you can call me a backroom DJ; I am not really bothered being tagged that way. I was a radio DJ in RL by the time I finished my High School and also produced mainly Jingles, Radio Shows and Advertisements. I had to leave it behind because a career in aviation in RL would help paying my bills easily. However I am far from being called a RL DJ, producer or sound engineer.

I am Second Life DJ, and being a Second Life DJ is more about entertainment and having a good laugh. However, it is also know that some electronic music professionals (i.e. DJs, producers, sound engineers, Radio DJs) are featuring in Second Life, and being in the grid’s mainstream has given me the opportunity to come across and get to know some of them (i.e. Vitor Urqhart aka Vandalsoob from Portugal, Mantis Oh aka Carl Lekerbusch from Sweden and some others) as well as part of their brilliant work. They are in Second Life mainly for promotional purposes as is widely know that is difficult to strive in RL as musician if you’re not signed by a main label.No matter what sort of classification can be given to any DJ in Second Life, the most important thing is the quest for quality and entertainment value.

Don’t forget that if you are good enough technically and have enough charisma to perform that job and seek a career in Second Life as a DJ, you won’t be measured by the size of the baloney you can spew, but instead by quality of your work and the personality you bring along with it, and on those terms SIZE MATTERS!

PS. And for Christ sake, have at least originality and do not play other DJs pre-recorded set’s.

Weekly Reviews: Week of 04/01/09

In this week's report I'll talk about some new stuff in and out world. Talking about what is going on out world I am proud to introduce London Elektricity. In world I talk about new sensation DJ Ephram Magic and also about ToonTopia, one of the more eclectic clubs in Second Life. Just stay tuned...

London Elektricity is a Dn'B producer and the name chosen by Tony Colman. London Elektricity has been releasing tunes for 12 years, his new album, 'syncopated city' is out now under independent own Tony's label, Hospital Records. His influences are Kraftwerk, Steroelab, Supergrass, Talking Heads, Ennio Morricone, Prince, Todd Rundgren, amongst many others. I would like to empathise the track "southeastern dream" that can be found at his MySpace profile. If you are bold, convincing and brave enough to try and bring him for a gig at Second Life here is his contact for bookings: tom@codaagency.com.

DJ Ephram Magic has been playing in many RL clubs around Lisbon northern area. And are in the area former industrial estates (most of them underground clubs now) that he finds the right inspiration for his trance work as a DJ and producer. I had the opportunity to welcome him to Second Life and also work with him here. Even though I count him among my friends, we have rather different styles, I find his spinning rather versatile and explosively mingled with Trance, Electro and some Dub Step, with some incursions through Minimal. Watch him at ToonTopia, Vasco da Gama and some other freelancer spots.

Talking about clubs in world, this week I would like to refer to one of the most eclectic clubs in Second Life. In an attempt to cover the most different styles and time zones, Toontopia Dance Club is making impact with DJ gigs nearly all day long. With this 24/7 attitude Toon Telling and his crew are attracting different sorts of dance music tribes. It is good to see some well committed people taking in hands such a huge task instead of adopting a more comfortable approach to well proven styles. That is why I rate ToonTopia the most eclectic dance club in Second Life, more information available on their blog.

Next week we will talk about the always eternal House Music, a well known Techno/Old Skool DJ and RL producer that has been in Second Life. And also the new club that has been the sensation in the grid.

See you next week and remember, Size Matters!

Tony Colman photo courtesy rukes.com.

Welcome to the KuLT!

First post on the new blog, guess it's best to introduce myself and give you a bit of info on what all you can expect to find on this blog in the weeks to come.

I am Rodherik Kultus, Second Life avatar, Freelance DJ, music lover, and smart arse, living in London UK. I come by the role of Virtual DJ honestly, having piloted a short career as a Radio DJ and various other related work including most recently working towards producing. Currently I am enjoying spinning the best of Electro, House and D&B... with a few other morsels tossed in for good measure. My influences are diverse ranging from Indie (New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Happy Mondays, Duran Duran, Bloc Party, David Bowie), House (DJ Vibe, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier, Pete tha Zouk, Morillo, Dave Spoon, Eric Prydz, DJ Chus, Roger Sanchez), Danny Howells, D&B (DJ Patife, DJ Marky, The Brookes Brothers, etc), Acid Jazz (James Taylor, James Taylor Quartet), Alternative, Electro, New Wave, 80's and many more.

I am currently spinning at SLeek, ToonTopia, PIN UPS Nightclub and various other clubs... you can check the blog regularly for schedule and upcoming appearances.

I also enjoy touring around the club scene in Second Life and plan to use this blog as a guide to some of the best clubs on the grid, and introduce some of the best DJs that I have had the pleasure of hearing and working along side. I welcome your feedback and input, so feel free to have at the comments and let me know what you are thinking.

My motto... SIZE MATTERS, more about that in an upcoming post!