Thursday 5 March 2009

Weekly Reviews: Week of 22/02/09


First of all I would like to apologize for a so late a post, I hope my dear readers can understand how busy I have been with my RL and also keeping my DJ schedule up to date, (considering the obviously necessary sleeping time).

Good and bad news this week, always sad when a venue you like closes, and this week we watch another club closing doors. As happened before with The House of Deizha, now also AMICI House Club has ceased activity temporarily. It’s a signal of these SL times, 2009 brought a new flock of DJs to the scene (a lot of them posers after some L$, but we will look at it further on) and also new clubs. Some of these new venues will last less than a couple of months. Some of these DJs will became something else the day they find out that DJing is not paying much.

Meanwhile, some well built venues, with good atmospheres and proper passionate DJs stopped operating. It is a lot of work to run a club and it is a profitless business. It’s up to people to decide where they want to go and what is good or what simply rubbish is. In fact there is a club that found a good way to support the DJs and only select the ones who play underground styles or have any proven previous experience. N O V A - Underground Music Culture run by Oriel Aeon, has some fantastic pieces of clothing for sale that can help supporting the DJs.


Talking about good things, this week I will talk about one of the most welcome returns of 2009. Oh yeah, the Ravers are back, after a while without new releases The Prodigy came back with a new album. Invaders Must Die is the name and also the theme for the first tune of the band’s fifth album. Invaders Must Die isn’t actually the old Prodigy’s tested and proved formula but instead, an adventure into the universe of new sonorities without losing the band’s fingerprint.

Some collaboration can be found; Foo Fighters Dave Grohl in “Run with the wolves”, and Chase & Status remix for the homonymous tune Invaders Must Die and it shows a new variation in the sound of “the Essex lads”. The trio, formed by Liam Howlett, Keith Flint and Maxim Reality seemed to get more into new worlds like Dn’B. The result is spectacular, a new album from a band who achieved its peak during the 90s that sounds like something completely new.

The critics have been extremely positive, and I personally love this album, it was released last week and Omen, the first single debuted straight onto #1 on the Canadian Singles Chart. Omen is a fantastic first single but I think the rest of it won’t leave anyone disappointed, the best you can do is get yourself a copy of Invaders must Die and you’ll concur with what I am talking about.

To conclude this week’s post I would like to elucidate about something that seems to be the latest concern on the scene. Some speculation about whether some DJs do pre-recorded sets or live spinning. Some good DJs on the grid were victims of nasty accusations of doing pre-recorded sets when in fact we all know which ones are posers and who are the real thing.

As I have said before, a lot of new people starting to emerge as DJs on the grid, some of them are in it for the money, others for passion. Personally I happen to spend more in new music at iTunes and Beatport than the few L$ a DJ can make in tips. I don’t mind covering a slot at odd hours with no hosts at a club where the DJ blew out even when I know the tip jar is not likely to yield much at those times.

Like me there are a lot more than a few DJs who love the music no matter what. It is up to people to decide which are worth their patronage, meanwhile the good ones will carry on, even when there is no money left.

Have a good week, stay tuned and remember... Size Matters!


The Prodigy Photo courtesy www.theprodigy.com