Painted Smile is an absolutely gorgeous deep Piano tune but this new one that’s just gone up “Cold Kiss” is also very very good and worth a spin.

http://soundcloud.com/metalheadz/commix-painted-smile-metalheadz

http://soundcloud.com/metalheadz/commix-cold-kiss-ft-logistics-dub

also for a jazzier sample driven early alix perez type thing check out the remix of Avalanches “Tonight” very very sweet all free downloads right now!

http://soundcloud.com/commix/avalanches-tonight-commix-remix

Keen to hear me DJing some sweet drum and bass?

It’s a mix of big party choons, a few tougher numbers and my typical smooth liquid funk.

http://dnbshare.com/download/TOUGHLOVE-DJROMANTECHdjmxDec09-320.MP3.html

It’s the official “Tough Love” mix.

OH WAIT YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY MARKETING MUSIC SERVICES – THIS IS MY ACTUAL MUSIC, I MAKE – NOT MY JOB, FOLLOW THE LINK

Mmm so yeah I’m thinking of kicking off my newsletter and not giving a toss. Why not. It’s a good idea to have a newsletter you can make money flogging junk and stuff, i’m kind of good at that.

I guess I’m thinking who would want to read it? I don’t know, why not try it out?

The main idea is also a small step toward video.

It’s just been so hard, I’ve been trying to do this for years now! I’ve got to break this mutha down. If I can start with one newsletter per month, I can then move toward a newsletter and a video per month, plus a free song, and well, we’re good. We’ve got our format.

How hard can that be? The thing I like about it is unlike video, with an automated newsletter you can go back and improve the newsletter, which kind of makes me think of it as the top rung of engagement, in fact if it only ends up being a couple of hundred people and less than half of those even read the thing then that’s fine by me.

But I’m embracing the small step because I hate having a goal and missing it and then ending up discussing it and overanalysing it to beyond meaning, and we don’t want that on the newsletter. The newsletter can be actual me trying to do some decent writing and putting together something decent, and even if I don’t – as I say, unlike a youtube video I can just go back and change it.

No problems. Wait no, lets be serious. If I make it too crazy and all Reality Compound then it might put people who are into serious drum and bass or serious marketing off but if it’s too serious it’ll be boring.

I think I might of been saying it’s all about framing. Do the reality compound stuff but in such a way that drum and bass and marketing people can enjoy. Try to keep it edgy and amusing without offending the mainstream. Do marketing, but make it interesting, relevant. Show off your music, video and other content, but be real, not all indulgent.

Really aim to give people something decent

Use the story, use philosophy, because y’know, this is really all about the ideas I had since I was a young kid that I would be an author one day. Now it’s author 2.0, it’s author of my own destiny.

It’s author as character in their own story it’s an author combining the different media – video, newsletters and blogs, music to tell a story in a new way.

The whole RC dynamic of being a “real character”, which is not really me but a caricature of myself.

Another problem is about the idea of keeping it real vs. trying to not offend anyone and ending up a pussy who can’t say anything that’s real becuase it might offend someone.

I want to be transparent, but isn’t it so burdensome from an entertaining perspective to have to explain and justify everything? If I want to sell penis enlargement on my newsletter because it’s rock and roll and I don’t care, do I really have to explain it and justify it to my readers?

Do I just not sell penis enlargements at all and avoid the problem? Do I only do things I can justify in a sentence?

I just have to come up with a way of working with that content that my audience will accept.

Or that I feel . . . well I think I will have to shave off some raw edges. I think if I decide to promote penis enlargement I better be bloody clever about it.

Play the character of myself. The character of myself would sell penis enlargements on his blog because I’m crazy and he would do that.

The newsletter is a new level ofcloseness to the “fan” – I think I really just have to try it, basically, become my own client.

I think the newsletter is a better goal long term anyway, I mean so what if I can use youtube and be hilarious and irreverent and tell a story that I actually live in, what’s the next step? I become a more dynamic individual to play to the audience? I get a segment on tv? I get together with darcy and work on scripts and shoots?

Isn’t that all a bit typically far reaching? Why don’t I send them to my newsletter so you can maybe build up 150 people who give a shit and buy something once in a blue moon simply because there’s something I’m doing they like. Maybe they don’t like the music, or the marketing stuff, don’t care what I think or they dont think i’m funny or my philosphies are very incisive. As long as they have some reason to read it, i’ll keep reviewing what i’m doing until it’s as good as i can do.

How can I meet the objectives without a list? Something I can work with, improve, make money with as well as work on the detailed process of reconciling my music, my business and my new creative directions.

What if it becomes a bummer like this blog, instead of being cool and awesome, just becomes a depressing testament to how belaboured the whole creative existance has become?

I think that means I need to change up my style. I can ramble on here on my blog, I might still continue to spew words onto the page and send them off for backlink building, ramble on generally, but my newsletter is where I put together episodes that are actually relevant and attempt to tackle the broad range that is my platform.

That’s the whole challenge of a new kind of narrative.

There are some people who will put up with information when they want entertainment and some people who will put up with my attempts to amuse. . . yeah nah, but here are some drafts I’m working on:

But first . . . why not sign up and try it out?

Sign up for Matt’s Newsletter: -Tips  -Downloads -Stuff -Good

Name:

Email:

We respect your email privacy

<!– @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>

FIRST DRAFT NEWSLETTER: INTRO

Hi it’s Matt here, I’m doing this newsletter.

It is a story, but there’s promotion and creative tips, music to download, and deals on offer.

So even if you don’t like learning about promoting stuff online or not interested in getting music, or videos, or stuff I think is cool, insider deals from my business, kurb, or any of what I’m into, at least it might an interesting story.

Having a newsletter for your project is a great way of building up a group of people you can reach out to but people will tune out if your newsletters aren’t any good. That’s why I want to make all my newsletters super hot – snappy with lots of good material – promotion tips, free music to download, hot hot links, new videos, tears, laughter, and great deals.

What I’m doing here is pretty broad, so it won’t be valuable for everyone, but the people I’m left with will be valuable to me, valuable connections, valuable community.

hopefully

Part of the reason a newsletter is so effective as a money making tool is the ability to make offers that generate generous commissions. I’m not here to persuade you to buy something you don’t need, but to make you aware that these offers do allow me to make generous commissions on sales and whatever I can do to help you to support me by purchasing any of these digital products I’m happy to consider.

That’s why as well as advice, tips, free downloads of content I’ll also be offering special “insider” deals – ways for you get free stuff, but mainly I’m here to write my newsletter, push my content other content I think is exceptional or provocative, if we make a deal and I sell some junk and get paid, well that’s a bonus.

DRAFT CHAPTER ONE, TAKE 2

Internet Money Internet Fame

I had a little taste on the tip of my tongue of internet fame and it was good. I miss the myspace days. But I was broke, it wasn’t real.

But the stuff I learned while messing around on myspace refined my knowledge of internet marketing, because it worked. When something works once, it will often work again and again and it did and I learned reasonably fast.

If your content is poor than you’re not able to be trusted. High quality content embues trust. In my case, I can write well, it makes people trust me.

see this is the second take. on the first take, I got too far into an indulgent narrative. I always tell myself to get to the point of the narrative, which opens the door for information of value to come through.  I just need to build the steps, create a clear trail for my audience to follow.

They see a video or whatever and end up on the list,

but I really like the idea of burying the information of value into the narrative.

That’s where I see philosophy coming in, just like any narrative.

Setting/framing, plot/narrative, music, video, alternative content and media . . . conclusion, information, resolution in 500 words, far less than whats here. Snappy.

DRAFT CHAPTER ONE, TAKE 1

At 18 I’d probably read to many modern classics for my own good, my beatnik road movie only got me as far as a job packing kiwifruit on minimum wage, I stood there at the assembly line enduring the monotony in my mind, and once in a while in a tiny moment, I felt something that was about more than me just standing there doing some job.

Well I always got good marks in school but I didn’t do much that was smart after that, 5 years later I was still an idiot. I thought I could be a club promoter. I learnt to build sites in dreamweaver, a bit of SEO, adsense, but anyway, I was broke by then. But myspace changed everything. For the first year I just hung out.

Then I started to do this thing called Reality Compound and the timing was perfect, it was outrageous and took off amongst the local kids. Then I got one of those friend adder bots. Pretty soon I was doing pretty well.

]]> http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/03/romantechs-marketing-music-dnb-rc-newsletter/feed/ 0 http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/02/free-liquid-drum-and-bass-mix-mp3-download/ http://romantech.co.nz/blog/2010/02/free-liquid-drum-and-bass-mix-mp3-download/#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:55:39 +0000 Matt Romantech http://romantech.co.nz/blog/?p=390

http://dnbshare.com/download/TOUGHLOVE-DJROMANTECHdjmxDec09-320.MP3.html

It’s the official “Tough Love” mix.

Be back with tracklisting soon, enjoy!

Just about to upload these place holder pages for the new romantech archive – good gloss over exactly 27 different chapters of the musical projects I’ve been involved in.

PROJECT ARCHIVES:

Dojo Inspectors – Soul Science
Album Project 2009

Soul
Science – Music Project 2007

Beat
Dungeon Radio – Radio / Podcast 2007 -

Such
Heavy Wings – Sampler Project 2007

Special
Times – Sampler Project 2007

Reality
Compound – Mixtape series 2006-2007

Soul
Science – Club Night 2006-2007

Result!
- Sampler Project 2006

Oceanic
Chill – Album Project 2006

Get
Real – Reality Compound CD-Rom 2006

Catguts
Collaborations – Music Project 2005-2006

Reality Compound – Music Project 2005-2008

Viper
Club / Liquid Underground / DBA – Club Nights 2005

Decks
and the City – Mixtape 2005

Short
Circuit – Tour Project

Lickwicked
- Album project 2005

Who
Loves Ya? – Mixtape 2004

Distance
- Further Album 2004

Further
- Music Project 2004

Style
Over Substance – Music Project 2003-2005

Paradise
Bar Etc – Data:Bass Nights 2003-2005

Mental
Illness – Music Project 2003-2004

Data:
Bass Network – Music Project 2002-2005

Data:bass
- Club Night 2002 – 2003

Pre-August
2002

Evil
Robot – Manuscript 2000-2002

Furver
- Music Project 1995-1997

Just got back from the http://Upfm.dj Solar Series at Tahaki reserve in Mt. Eden.
Basically the radio station where i play with our Beat Dungeon outfit every Sunday at 4pm – except not today because they’re doing a live broadcast from the gig – upfm, holds summer parties and Beat Dungeon was lucky enough to get to open up when the party kicked off at 12pm.

We only had 40 minutes between the two of us, NSU and I  but I wasn’t complaining, I’m trying to get more active “raising my profile” and I’m happy to help the upfm crew because though they’re more on the doof doof tip, they’re solid into the scene and the parties, and y’know – I can get into some “dance” beats.

I played:

“Vale of Tears” Lenzman

“Ghetto Blues” Zyon Base

“With You” Electro Soul System

“Far From Down To Earth” Bionic1

“I Can’t Get Over You” Calibre

“Balaclava” – Nu:tone

“Aware” – Er.ic

Also wanted to play “Tell Me” by Specific which is wicked and “Brother” by Eros and Atmospherix but I don’t know if it’s some crazy DRM bullshit from Beatport or my burner, or my discs or what – it wasn’t too flash to be honest, still having problems getting the discs to play sweet, and those last two wouldn’t play at all.

Usually I’m backed up to the hilt when I play, but today uhm yah. Y’know I was up till all hours dreaming about my money. I’m tellin’ you I gotta start hiring.

“FInd me 5 good men, I say!”

I just need to find people to do what I do for me so I can focus on just being y’know. All neurotic over here, having my little life dramas and maybe even writing a tune or two.

So yeah, you know me, I didn’t get up til 11.40 I just grabbed a shower, my discs and my camera and cruised over to see what was required of me.

After our set the crowd was steadily building, I bought my old video camera so we could get around and get a few sound bites, which is sort of a tradition we’re trying to kick off, all about more video happening, more stories, more authenticity . . . although the footage I took from our last upfm party at the secret garden is still yet to see the light of day, to me it’s about training and experience in getting on with it.

Just want to get to the point where I can play a set and film some stuff and take care of both, handle it.

The gig isn’t over yet but it was getting damn hot out there and after a couple of hours and a couple of beers I figured I’d be best placed heading home to smoke a big joint and get on with my shit.

I don’t know if it was the beers I had but I was kind of reflective, you know me, I’m always kind of reflective if you give me half a chance – as in , alcohol – but hey, don’t worry when I’m having a good time I’ll let you know.

The beats were booming and it was a Scorcher. There were dudes getting sporty playing cricket and there were plenty of girls “dressed in their summer clothes”, it was good vibes. Y’know the quintessential New Zealand summer experience, Sunday, relaxing . . .

I was trying to connect with it.

Y’know summer vibes.

When was the last time I did this kind of thing, went to an outdoor event with friends, drunk some beers, chilled out? Y’know, what normal people do?

Y’know? I write songs about this shit, that’s what liquid funk is all about. The sun is out, the beats are good, the vibes are positive. Girl, you look good, and all our friends are here and we’re having a great time.

But I’m not connected with it. I’m connected with a bunch of dreams, a bunch of ideas of what is supposed to be, but it’s not really real, and it can never last. And so instead I chain myself to my computer, running my businesses, making my beats, planning gigs, trying to recreate the feeling, the meaning of simple contentment, hoping that somehow I’ll get there.

I guess, some of us are different. We’re not normal. We can’t just stand in the sun and be content, and that’s my problem, I can’t be satisfied, not yet.

I have to go home. I have to get on with it. You can stand in the sun for a minute, an hour, a day, but night always comes, and I need something that will satisfy me tomorrow and the next day, something that feels so good that I’m not afraid to die, and whether that’s really something I saw in a movie or it’s just because I “haven’t met the right girl yet” . . .  I have to get back to it.

Maybe if I write a song, maybe if I smoke a cigarette, maybe if I go out tonight, I’ll think about it and know it’s there. The sun is out, and we can play.

But I’m not there yet, and maybe I’m heading in the wrong direction but things have never been simple for me so I’ve got to take my own path.

Trying to get into the habit of reviewing my weekly beatport purchases. Obviously didn’t buy all this this week just a general idea of artists I been picking up on this year.

- Earth officially moving -

Following “Her Song” Random Movement looks like he settling in at the top table.

Quiet drums not much fun to mix but!

Spectrasoul have a distinct sound, bass driven and dubby down under, but with rich soulful flourishes and accents. They have a new one “Alibi/Dark Hour”

Stunna has had a hand in “Together” “Degreez of Fortune” and “A life like this” which all had different but solid vibes on it. This guy could come up.

Zero T. Nuff said.

Thrashing Metrik still – liquid is back at 2am!!!

I started a lens for liquid funk at

 http://www.squidoo.com/liquidfunk

I got a bit carried away doing my write up but yeah, this is what I put:  

After the frantic amen breakbeats of Jungle paved the way for Goldie’s hallmark release “Timeless” in 1995, the the two part “stepping” signature beat of the emerging Drum and Bass progression drew on the work of Jungle/Drum and Bass pioneer LTJ Bukem who had already begun infusing his breakbeats with dense and hypnotic Soul, funk and jazz flourishes ever since the 1993 anthem “Music”, echoed by producers such as Peshay with “The Piano Tune” and Roni Size’s break out tune “It’s a jazz thing” aka “It’s jazzy”.

While a distinctly “darkside” movement of heavy, bass driven beats was readying to emerge as “tech step”, led by labels No U Turn and Emotif featuring key artists Ed Rush, Trace and Nico, there was a brief era that could be mapped from “Timeless” to Roni Size / Reprazent’s “New Forms” where Jazz influenced Drum and Bass became very trendy and exclusive. This movement was labelled “Jazzstep”.

Key artists also included Alex Reece with the anthem “Pulp Fiction” in 1996 which signalled the ascendance of the signature 2 step break in Drum and bass and Adam F who made massive impact with his album featuring the anthem “Circles”. Other artists of prominence included EZ Rollers.

Drum’n bass toward the end of the 90’s was dominated by the darker Tech step sound, first championed by Ed Rush and carried forward by the group Bad Company, Drum’n Bass’s first “super group”.

But the return of Peshay to scene in 2001 with his anthem “Got me burning” smashing through the domination of dark drum’n bass with its energised filtered disco and tightly looped samples, coined the phrase “House’n Bass”.

J Majik also achieved a massive dancefloor hit with his remix of the anthem “Spaced Invaders” by Hatiras which also combined filtered house with heavy drum beats and basslines of tech step.

“Liquid Funk” was a term coined by DJ Fabio of radio 1 to describe the new wave of funk, soul and jazz influenced tunes that begun to come through.

The quintessential Liquid Funk track was a remix produced by a duo who had long been pushing the return of musical vibes to Drum’n Bass. This was originally a tune by tech step Drum’n Bass duo Future Cut, who had begun producing Jazz influenced drum’n bass as Uncut with singer Jenna G.

“Midnight” by Uncut ft. Jenna G (Marcus Intalex and ST files) represented the arrival of Liquid Funk proper.

unlike it’s predecessor Jazz Step, Liquid Funk embraced the heavier drum beats and bass lines that had been progressed by Tech Step, but used melodic and musical elements such as

Hits followed on giving rise to the new era of Liquid Stars: Jump up stalwart Shy FX collaborating with another jazz step pioneer, T-power produced the chart assaulting “Shake Ur Body”

DJ Marky had an international hit teamed up with MC Stamina “LK” aka “it’s the way”, while a teenage producer going by the name of High Contrast rocked the drum’n bass world with a series of soul heavy smashers starting with “return of forever” and “make it tonight”.

Finally, an irish drummer with unrivalled ear for classically warm and organic sounding beats who had already gained critical acclaim within the Drum’n Bass scene began to produce some of the best Drum’n Bass – Calibre.

The rise of the Hospital recordings label in the early 2000’s as the flagship Liquid Funk label cemented the position of the sub genre.

Recent high profile Liquid Funk artists have included Makoto (japan), Bungle (brazil), Commix as well as a strong movement coming up now in Scandinavian regions.

Here’s a list of recently liquid funk artists.

Calibre, High Contrast, MIST, Commix, Makoto, Bungle, SArtificial Intelligence, Greg Packer, DJ Suv, DJ A-Sides, Craggz & Parallel Forces, MJ Cole, Cyantific, DJ Marky, ShyFX & T power, Peshay, Aquasky, EZ Rollers, Danny Byrd, Hospital Records, Klute, John B, LTJ Bukem, Kubiks, Lomax, Alix Perez, Mutt, Logistics, Nu:tone, DJ Patife, Insiders, Donny Dubson, Dan Marshall, Phynkfiction Recordings, Fokuz Recordings, L.A.O.S. Concord Dawn, Trei, Syncopix, Red Eyes, Ram Trilogy, Klute, Ben Westbeech, Submorphics, Sabre, Eveson, Blu Mar Ten, MC Fats, Incident, Metrik, Contour, Naibu, Zero Tolerance, Stunna, Influx Datum, Influx UK, Matrix & Futurebound, Holdtight, Defunked records, Mathematics, Atlantic Connection, Invaderz, Insiders, D.kay + Epsilon

From wikipedia

Liquid funk is a style of drum and bass. While it uses similar basslines and bar layouts to other styles, it contains fewer bar-oriented samples and more instrumental layers (both synthesized and natural), harmonies, and ambience, producing a calmer atmosphere directed at both home listeners and nightclub audiences.

In 2000, Fabio began championing a new form of drum and bass he called “Liquid funk”, with a compilation release of the same name on his Creative Source label. This was characterised by influences from disco and house, and widespread use of vocals. Although slow to catch on at first, the style grew massively in popularity around 2003-2004, and by 2005 it was established as one of the biggest-selling subgenres in drum and bass, with labels like Good Looking Records (although this label is strongly cross-genred with atmospheric drum and bass), Hospital Records, Liquid V, Rubik Records, Fokuz Recordings, State of the Art Recordings and artists like Calibre, High Contrast, Logistics, London Elektricity, Nu:Tone and Solid State among its main proponents.

Liquid funk is very similar to intelligent drum and bass, but has subtle differences. Liquid funk has stronger influences from soca, latin, disco, jazz, and funk music, while IDB creates a calmer yet more synthetic sound, using smooth synth lines and samples in place of the organic element achieved by use of real instruments.