SFADG Episode 4 Up

The 4th episode of Songs From A Distant Galaxy is now available on Mixcloud.

M31 Radio, Songs From A Distant Galaxy, September 2012 by M31 on Mixcloud

Here's the track listing and some notes on why I chose them.

1. Imagination (Kaskade Club Remix) by JES

Ever since I heard As The Rush Comes by Motorcycle (which consists of Gabriel & Dresden and JES), and her vocal work on BT's These Hopeful Machines, I've been fascinated by her voice. And, well, the track is remixed by Kaskade, so that makes it a no-brainer.

2. Behind Your Smile by Vast Vision & Fisher (Suncatcher Remix)

Found this track on Armin Van Buuren's A State of Trance -- 2010 Yearmix, and really liked the electric guitar used throughout. So there it is. 

3. The Veldt by Deadmau5 and Chris James

Deadmau5 wrote this track as a tribute to Ray Bradbury, and Chris James lyrics evoke accurate images from the short story that Bradbury wrote of the same name. I remember as a kid reading this story and also listening to an old-time radio play of it. You can read it here, and listen to the radio play here. Oh, and listen to the track in this mix.

4. Without You (Armin Van Buuren Remix) by David Guetta Ft. Usher

Electronic Dance Music (EDM) has worked its way into mainstream Pop music, and David Guetta has played a big role in that, working with major Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop artists. So here's one for the mixtape.

5. This Night (Max Graham Remix) by Filo & Peri

I'm a Max Graham fan. This is a great remix of a compelling track. 

6. Live Forever (Original Extended) by Ferry Corsten Ft. Aruna

Ferry Corsten is one of the first dance music artists I listened to waaayy back in 1997. Aruna has one of the most unique and enchanting voices you'll hear. This track is face-melting. So it gets included.

7.  Kate (Original Mix) by Arty

Arty's meteoric rise to the top of the Trance scene has been fun to watch (and listen to). Just about everything this guy produces is great. This is an example.

8.  Where You Are (Club Mix) ATB Ft. Kate Louise Smith

ATB is one of the other first dance music artists I listened to back in 1997. I bought his 2011 release Distant Earth, on which this track (the original mix) debuted. By the way, this entire album is great; there are literally no throw-away tracks on it. I reviewed this album here right after it came out.

9. Shine by Late Night Alumni

I saw LNA perform this song at their tour kickoff concert in January. It was my favorite, and I've been waiting for its release since then. So when this became available on 9/18/2012, I grabbed it and included it. Check it.

10. Titanium (Alesso Remix) by David Guetta Ft. Sia

Another EDM tune that has been getting heavy rotation on the radio. Even though this song was released before Guetta won the 2011 DJ Mag #1 International DJ award -- for which many in Trance community (fans, not artists, as far as I know) shamefully trashed him -- I couldn't help wondering if Titanium's insane popularity this year was his vindication. All the vitriol over Guetta's win definitely isn't very PLUR-y (it's an acronym that EDM fans supposedly believe in; look it up). Anyway, great track, had to include it.

11.  Keep The Fire (Club Mix) by Ashley Wallbridge Ft. Elleah

I happen to follow Elleah on Twitter (@IAmElleah), and although she announced her collaboration with Ashley Wallbridge on this track, I somehow overlooked it until one of her fans tweeted how fantastic the vocals were. So, I Spotified it, and yes indeed, Elleah's vocals are simply amazing. Add to that Wallbridge's face-melting (yes, another one) production, and you have THE perfect track to end the mix with. 

Hope you enjoy the mix.

Top 5 Best kaskade Songs You Don't Want To Miss

By Morgan Katarn

(NOTE: Originally published on ezinearticles.com. Republishing here.)

Ryan Raddon (aka Kaskade), in addition to being the #1 DJ in the United States (according to a 2011 DJ Times poll), the world's #30 DJ (DJMag Top 100 DJs poll, also in 2011), is, in his own right, a chart-topping producer as well.

With 9 artist album releases and countless top remixes, there are myriad songs to choose from to determine a top 5 list. However I've got 5 that I think represent Kaskade's best work. I've included a couple of remixes here because, well, they are fantastic and you won't want to miss them.

Here's the countdown:

5. Call Your Girlfriend (Robyn -- Kaskade Dub)

This gem of a remix did not make it on the commercial release of Robyn's album, but, this track is definitely "hands in the air," and the drop is fantastic. This one can be found on Kaskade's Soundcloud page.

Favorite moment: the drop. First one is at 1:27.

4. Be Still (Love Mysterious)

This song was released as the first single from Love Mysterious, which was released in 2006. It topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart at #4. American singer Sunsun provides the very fine vocal work. Be Still also features some great guitar work throughout, a rarity in electronic dance music (EDM).

Favorite moment: 1:56. The start of the build up into the last refrain of the chorus. Backing guitar complements Sunsun's gorgeous voice here. Also 3:04, the guitar solo. Rockin' in a House tune. Couldn't be better!

3. Room For Happiness (Fire & Ice)

I had never heard of Skylar Grey before I bought this album. But the combination of her passion-filled vocal rendition, the meaning-laden lyrics, and a pounding beat makes for a great song.

Favorite moment: 3:16. The break/bridge.

2. Love Is Not Enough (Above & Beyond -- Kaskade Remix)

Kaskade's remix of this track from Above & Beyond's Group Therapy album is, not to put too fine a point on it, fantastic. The original mix was already top-notch, and Kaskade has add his brilliant and unique touch and made this into a favorite of mine.

Favorite moment: 3:40 the build-up into the last chorus. And overall, the piano. I love piano in EDM, and this is the perfect touch for this remix.

1. Don't Stop Dancing (Dynasty)

This album, like most of Kaskade's artist releases, is brimming with fantastic music. But the track that stands out to me is this one. Kaskade worked with EDX on this track, and Haley provides the excellent vocal work.

Favorite moment: the syncopated pikes throughout. Just love em. They provide the drive through this track that makes it so irresistible.

So what about Eyes, Move For Me, Everything, Steppin' Out, Angel On My Shoulder, I Remember, etc. etc....Well, the truth is Kaskade has many more fantastic songs than just those in this list. But these 5 represent the best of the best.

If you like Kaskade, you might also check out M31 at http://www.m31.co. Go here to download a free track from M31.

Article Source: Top 5 Best Kaskade Songs You Don't Want To Miss

Midnight On A Full Moon (M31 Summer Periapsis Mix) - Official Video

Finally done! It took three months (actually 5; I had a v1 done in April).

This was a fun one to do, I must say.

Official Website Finally Done!

Just wanted to announce that the official M31 website is finally finished! You can access it at www.m31.co.

It's taken awhile to get it all up and running; I've done most of the work myself (and I'm more of a back-end software engineer, not a website designer), so the design part was a bit of a struggle; it was easier for me to get excited about the mailing list signup subsystem than it was for me to add/modify css styles and format html pages, but oh well....

If you have any questions or comments or suggestions, send them to webmaster@m31.co and we'll get right on them.

We just released the full version of M31's mix of Mannheim Steamroller's Midnight On A Full Moon. We thought it appropriate to release it on the night of this year's "super moon," at midnight.

A bit of trivia: a "super moon" or "perigree moon" is when the moon is at it's closest to the earth. This usually happens once a year. Last year's super moon on March 19th (my daughter's birthday, coincidentally) was one of the more spectacular super moons in recent history. This year's was pretty good, too....

You can download the track at the M31 website.

I'm really excited about this new track; a remix of Mannheim Steamroller's Midnight On A Full Moon from their album Fresh Aire III. Here's a sample:

Official release date: May 6th, 2012; on the night of a full moon, of course. Also, the moon that night will be at it's closest point to the earth (called the moon's perigree, or periapsis). This phenomenon is called a "super moon."

SOPA, PIPA....

Okay I'm quite ambivalent about these two bits of legislation; here's why, not necessarily in any order.

First, I'm a software engineer, and the applications and systems I work on are internet-based systems. So, for one of my livelihoods, I rely on a free and open internet to not only build the systems my employer wants me to build, but also to obtain information, research, utility applications, code examples, and so forth to aid me in my daily responsibilities. An internet unencumbered by any legislation that stifles the free flow of information is a problem for me.

Second, I'm an artist. I create music because I love the creative process, and because I want to share my creations with others. I also want to be able to continue to create music, and in order to do that I need to be compensated for the music I create. An internet that allows my creations to flow freely without me getting compensation for them is a problem for me.

So you see my position, and why I'm ambivalent. But, while I believe there is probably a solution to these two seemlingly opposite concerns (an open internet versus compensating artists for their work), I don't think SOPA or PIPA are the right solutions.

Overall, the language in the two bills is much to vague, and I believe this is the reason why most technology and internet companies and many others are against them. But then this is really typical of most legislation. Let's get one thing straight: for whatever reason, we expect (subconsciously, most likely) our lawmakers to be experts in everything. Well, let's be honest most lawmakers believe they are experts in everything. We'll chalk that up to politicians' arrogance, but the fact is, they aren't.

So, this causes many major problems with any piece of legislation that they create, and it fosters an environment where special interest groups can pressure legislators to draft legislation that favours their group. I believe this is what has happened with SOPA and PIPA. I think the special interest groups Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are really the drafters of these pieces of legislation.

Why? Precisely because both bills appear not to take into account the unintended consequences that would inevitably be created by their passage. (Another by-product of new laws is the unfunded mandate, which is in essence "You will do this, but we're not going to provide the funding for it." It's certainly likely that this is the case with these bills; certainly it would require great expense on the part of ISPs to implement systems to guarantee compliance, compliance that the government mandates but doesn't fund.)

Look. Again, the language in these bills is extremely vague (yes I have read excerpts from the bills). Such vague language invites, nay, demands broad interpretation, and this is what everyone opposes. It's no good saying "well it won't be interpreted that way, we promise." If we've learned anything over the course of our long and storied human history, it's that you cannot give anyone the ability to broadly interpret anything. Let's face it: it's human nature (and its certainly in governments' natures) to interpret laws as broadly as possible, to gain advantage and to control.

On the other hand, and don't get me wrong. I am not a fan of the RIAA or the MPAA; I do not think these organizations have a deep and abiding interest in protecting individual artist's rights, rather, I think they are interested in protecting the rights of large corporations' interests. Yes. Warner Brothers, Universal, Sony, Disney... these are the large, multi-national corporations that the RIAA and MPAA work for.

But that aside, those who rely on their creations for a living should be protected from the illegal use and sharing of their creations, don't you think? Don't you think artists should be paid when one of their tracks is streamed on Pandora or Grooveshark or Spotify? Shouldn't you purchase a track or an album rather than simply downloading it from Limewire? And here's how not paying for movies and music affects the artists.

If an artist has a major label contract, the label typically advances them money to create and produce an album. If the album doesn't make money because, rather than buying it (or tracks from it) people simply download it off Limewire, the record label doesn't make money on the album, and neither does the artist (typically artists are paid some small percentage of the sale of each album). But here's the double-whammy for the artist. The next time the label advances the artist money for the next album, the label will pay the artist less of an advance because of how the previous album's sales were. (Thanks to @MosesAvalon for his piece on the artist side of the argument at http://www.mosesavalon.com/mosesblog/)

So here's what I think. There's got to be a better way to protect creators creations while protecting the free flow of information on the internet. I think we shouldn't leave it up to our politicians and special interest groups from one side of the issue to come up with the solution. Tech companies and other organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) should also be included.

And perhaps they were. But what we've got now in SOPA and PIPA, based on my bit of research, is not acceptable yet....