M-Theory: Doctor Who Out Now

Been busy since I posted last. Finally got the first installment in the M-Theory series released; you can get it here.

So...you're wondering what the M-Theory series is? Well maybe you're not, but I'm going to tell you anyway.

M-Theory is an album series that's a tribute to great science fiction television and film. Being a huge science/science fiction junkie (as you may be able to tell by my artist name, M31), I thought it would be really fun and interesting to do three to four tracks inspired by my favorite science fiction television and film.

One night over a year ago, I was reading about a scientific theory called "m-theory, " while I was watching an episode of a British science fiction comedy called Red Dwarf. As I was trying to absorb the explanations of m-theory (which I was rather unsuccessful at, it should be said), it occurred to me that it would be fun to write some tracks that were inspired by movies and television series.

Immediately, Red Dwarf (of course), Doctor Who, and Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy came to mind, as well as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Stargate (the film, not the television series). And there are so many more, I realized. that this would make for a very interesting and challenging project. I decided I'd do three or four tracks for each series, and the first release in the series ended up being M-Theory: Doctor Who.

Why Doctor Who as the first one? Well, as it turns out, strangely enough, my oldest daughter became obsessed with the series over this last summer. She started watching the reboot of the series (starting with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor). It reminded me of the many Doctor Who episodes I watched on our local PBS station, mainly with Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor. I decided it was a perfect place to start the M-Theory series.

The M-Theory: Doctor Who EP consists of three tracks: Doctor Who (M-Theory Original Mix), The Time Lord, and Doctor and Master.

The next few posts will contain behind-the-scenes info on the production of each of these tracks.

M-Theory: Doctor Who. Get it on CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.

Album Is Out Now!

Yeah, I'm a bit late in making this "official" announcement, but....

I'm excited to announce that M31's debut album The Mighty Have Fallen is out now! It's been a 14- year journey, from when I first wrote Avaritia and O Ye Fair Ones to completing the final mastering in October of this year.

Many thanks go to my family for being supportive, and to Randy Graves at NoiseFloor9 Studios in Mapleton, Utah for all his hard work mixing and mastering of the album.

You can find the "official" press release here, and the album is available from CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.

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.