Al Walser and the Grammys

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Tonight is the 55th edition of the Grammys but to the people in the EDM world this day will be remembered as the time when a single producer managed beyond all odds to secure a Grammy nomination in the same category as Skrillex, Avicii, Calvin Harris, and the Swedish House Mafia. His name is Al Walser, the Swiss-Born Liechtensteiner. 

To those that are still not in the know, years prior to his Grammy nod Al Walser wrote a book titled "Musicians Make It Big: An Insider Reveals the Secret Path to Break in Today's Music Industry" which should become a best seller as Al Walser proved that his methods have worked. Without a label and PR people backing him, Al Walser used his networking skills via the Grammy365 social media platform to secure a highly unlikely Grammy nomination. Are we to deride him for his effort? I don't think so. If you are an unsigned producer wouldn't you also try to do anything you can to make it in the notoriously difficult music business?

According to Rich Bengloff, the President of the American Association of Independent Music:

"We believe in fairness, access and a level playing field," Bengloff said. "And those other artists could have also worked the Grammy365 platform if they were so inclined, and I bet a lot of them did. ... We just like the fact that The Recording Academy is very inclusive and that they give independents the same access and treat them with the same respect as every other artist that's out there."

(Source: The Huffington Post)

Before we watch the Grammys tonight and witness Al Walser's likely 15 minutes of fame you should read out this excellent interview with the man himself on Fuse.tv and give props to a producer who surprised the monolithic music industry for one night.

How did the Swedish House Mafia and Eric Prydz get their start as DJs?

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According to the inthemix article:

"Ingrosso, Angello, Axwell and their friend Eric Prydz began DJing every week at a gay club called the Rainbow Room, with a capacity of no more than 100 people. “The Rainbow Room made us into what we are,” inthemix heard Angello tell the EDMBiz conference last June. “We were guys playing vinyl, everybody wasted, couldn’t mix, the needles were sliding.” The scene in Sweden had a ceiling, so the guys began chasing international bookings. “We were playing in Sweden, but no one really gave a fuck,” Ingrosso recalls. “Even if we didn’t think about it yet, we worked hard to get a Swedish quality to our own sound.”

The whole article is a good read as the three guys from Sweden open up about their feelings thus far on the One Last Tour.

The Swedish House Mafia and the whole One Last Tour mega-production is mere days away from landing in Canada with 3 shows in Toronto and Montreal: (click the links below for more information)

Watch this: Baauer's 'Harlem Shake' goes full viral *Udpate III

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I'm not quite sure how it all started but the 'Harlem Shake' dance has caught on like wildfire on Youtube while the online community of Reddit has been stoking the flames. According to a Reddit thread, the first original 'Harlem Shake' video was released 5 days ago:

On the same day these two videos were released:

Yesterday these guys took the concept to a whole new level with an entire office doing the Harlem Shake:

Hilarious Peanuts version was posted today:

Collectively these videos have been viewed 1,267,228 times, not bad for just 5 days.

Has the 'Harlem Shake' phenomenon already hit its peak or is it just the beginning? This thing looks like it has legs and has the potential to build up to become an international sensation. So stay tuned as the world might be doing the 'Harlem Shake' not before long.

Here are the latest videos gaining traction:

Today's Harlem Shake winner goes to T-Pain:

Norwegian Army edition:

Quote of the Day: Diplo on working with Justin Bieber

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Quoted from the Huffington Post article:

"I Twittered I was with Justin Bieber and some kids were mad at me..." Pentz said. "I was telling some other producers in the EDM world and they were like, `Man, I can't go in the studio with Justin Bieber. My fans would leave me.' I'm like, `What? (Expletive) your fans.' I don't do it for the fans, I do it for myself. If they want to go or whatever and find something new, that's cool. You've got to believe in your music first of all. If you're going to be a slave to your genre or your fans, that's a death sentence, you know?"

Read the rest of the article here.