Quote of the day: Sasha on the American EDM scene

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From Beatport's interview with Sasha:

​"...there is a fantastic underground over there [America] at the moment. We did a small clubs tour out there last year and had an amazing time. Lots of cool venues and closing sets at festivals, so the underground is healthy as well as the tip of the iceberg, thus I can’t complain about it. The numbers of kids going out now is just insane. Every city seems to have two or three touring DJs at any night and the competition is mad. There is a definite eagerness and that is great"

Sasha speaking positively about the American scene is cause for celebration. 

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Check out these spectacular UMF photos from Rukes

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Courtesy of rukes.com: ​(Click on the pictures below for the full size view)

To check out all of the pictures taken by Rukes over UMF weekend 1, go to rukes.com. ​

Must Die! is on fire (Free EP download)

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Must Die!, aka Lee Bates, is a 21 year-old producer from Atlanta, GA ​who been on a producing binge with over 50 tracks available on Soundcloud since his debut in 2011. He describes his music as "capturing the essence of childhood, manic depression, bad anime, and sleep deprivation", but what I hear coming from this young producer is fresh new sounds in a genre that is in need of some new ideas.

Must Die!'s "Weird Vol. 1" is described as ​"a collection of strange, different, and previously unreleased songs" and it's available now for free download:

​(VIA Freshnewtracks)

​If you live in Ottawa then you don't want to miss Must Die! live at Ritual Nightclub on Friday, April 19th. Click here for full event details.

Is sampling now on shaky legal ground?

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An excerpt from the Guardian's article on sampling following Harlem Shake's ​legal  troubles:

"...the not-making-a-dime defence seems to be keeping potential litigants at bay, enabling a return to the unshackled creativity of the late 80s, but it is a precarious freedom. A single lawsuit, and a ruling more in line with Judge Duffy's "thou shalt not steal" views than those of the copyright reformers, could bring the shutters clanging down.

For producers who choose to sell their copyright-flouting work, the situation is even hazier because their only defence is obscurity. Most independent labels lack the staff to vet and clear samples, and most of their artists lack the funds, so some choose to release the records anyway and, perversely, hope they don't become attention-grabbing hits." ​

If there is a negative legal decision on the use of samples in the future then this would have a severe effect on EDM. It could mean the end of free legal downloads of sampled tracks, free bootlegs, and would most likely mean the end of the 100% free release model adopted by such producers as Pretty Lights, who releases all of his tracks for free on his website.