Kahua Music

Kahua Music Podcast #36 with Shades Of Gray

2012-01-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

Shades Of Gray step up for the 36th Kahua Podcast. With their debut album 'Soul Machine' currently going down a storm and their label Beef Records appearing in sets the world over, the duo of Michal Schwa and Nick West are definitely leaving their mark on house music. They've recorded an exclusive mix just for the Kahua Podcast, and the show also includes the usual 30 minutes from Strakes featuring current Kahua promo campaigns from Jon Delerious, Gemini, Nik Frattaroli, Huxley, Alvaro Hylander and Giom.

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Strakes Mix:
01. Santiago Santamaria - One Night (Alvaro Hylander Remix) (UM Records)
02. Marko Nastic - Onesided (ReDupre Remix) (Clash Music)
03. Nik Frattaroli - Livin' In The Box (Sangoma Music)
04. Jon Delerious - Believe In You (Huxley Remix) (Lost My Dog)
05. Gemini - Spirals (Robsoul)
06. Lee Guthrie - How They Roll (Click Therapy Recordings)
07. Shades Of Gray - Lost In The Past (Soul Minority Remix) (Beef Records)
08. Good Voodoo Society - Unified (Giom Dub) (Good Voodoo Music)

Shades Of Gray Mix:
09. Shades of Gray - Soul Machine (Beef Records)
10. Robytek Vs Shield - Way Of Life (Cadenza)
11. Shades of Gray - Drums of the South (Beef Records)
12. Liquid People - Son of Dragon (Soul Heaven Records)
13. Shades of Gray - Just Like That (Beef Records)

http://www.kahuamusic.com
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http://www.beefrecords.net
http://www.facebook.com/SOGlive

12 Free Deep House Tracks from Stompy.com

2011-12-19T02:05:00.000-08:00

Recently we've been working with download store Stompy.com to arrange and promote a 12 track sampler to showcase their new 'Deep End' sound category, which is focused on all things deep house.

The sampler, which is ABSOLUTELY FREE for a limited time, includes 10 brand new, exclusive tracks, showcasing some of the hottest talent in Deep House and on the Kahua roster. Deep House stars including Shades Of Gray, Death On The Balcony, Dubble D (Moodymanc), Lady Blacktronika and Eddie Leader all provide tracks for top class imprints like Lost My Dog, Bananza, Beef, Hudd Trax and Baker Street.

To claim the free music, simply visit https://www.stompy.com/ac/kah/Chart/3624, make your selections and enter thedeepend at checkout. The offer expires on December 28th.

Kahua Music Podcast #35 with Sleazy McQueen

2011-12-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Sleazy McQueen guests on the final Kahua Podcast of 2011.With his self-styled "culturally-confused funked-up house sound", Sleazy's record bag has found occasion to travel to Tokyo, Bogota, Florence and London, and has allowed him several tours of those United States. His computer and keyboards have signed releases on Bearfunk, Hairy Claw, Headtunes and his own label, Whiskey Disco, to name a few.Sleazy will soon release the 5+1 mix CD through Headtunes, celebrating 6 years of the Boston label.This podcast includes music from Shades Of Gray, Dominic Martin, Phil Weeks, Murray Richardson, Kotey Extra Band, Mirror People and Wham.Yes, Wham!

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Sleazy McQueen & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #35 - December 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Shades Of Gray - Drums Of The South (Beef Records)
02. Phil Weeks - Mind Game (D'julz Dub) (Robsoul)
03. Digital Dirt - Deep In June (Click Therapy)
04. Dominic Martin - Broken (Lost My Dog)
05. Jay West - Make My Day (John Barrera Chinatown Rub) (Headtunes)
06. Murray Richardson - Memory Loss (Paul Hardy & McKai Remix) (Baker Street)

Sleazy McQueen Mix:07. Kotey Extra Band & Max Essa - Leave Me I'm Dancing
08. Yves Saint Laur'Ant - Moonlight
09. BJam - I Don't Want It
10. Mirror People - Reaction (Tiago Dub)
11. Touch - Love Fixation (Dub)
12. Imagination - Changes (Remix)
13. Wham - Everything She Wants (SMQ edit)

http://sleazymcqueen.com/
http://kahuamusic.com

Videos: Wagon Cookin', Shades Of Gray and KT Forrester

2011-12-05T06:22:00.001-08:00

Three of the projects we're currently involved with are accompanied by these videos...

First is Wagon Cookin's forthcoming single 'No Bossy Girl', the lead track from their recently released 'Eleven' album (Amazon CD / Beatport download).

Shades Of Gray drop a promo teaser for their debut album 'Soul Machine'. Read more at Resident Advisor and check out the album sampler at Beatport.

And Lost My Dog Records' final release of 2011 sees KT Forrester feature on 'Looking Back' by Mike Richardson and Howard Sessions. Available at Beatport.

Kahua Music Podcast #34 with Wagon Cookin'

2011-12-04T06:30:00.001-08:00

Wagon Cookin’ join Strakes for Episode 34 of the Kahua Podcast. The project was born from the deep passion of brothers Javier and Luis Garayalde for good music and delicious food. Both skilled musicians playing several instruments they were part of various jazz bands before developing an interest in electronic music, acid jazz and house in the 1990s. Starting out on Chris Duckenfield’s Odori imprint, they have gone on to work with Compost and Lovemonk, as well as forming their own label Appetizers which led to collaborations with people like Rainer Trüby, Gilles Peterson and Masters At Work, and three critically acclaimed albums. The newly released 'Eleven' on Smoke N' Mirrors/Om Records is their 4th LP and sees the duo synchronize with what is being created stylistically in the most advanced musical circles of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York - a return to the New Wave, Disco and Synth-Funk from the early 80’s.

The podcast features music from Sleazy McQueen, Miguel Migs, Onoff, DJ Sneak & Phil Weeks, Huxley, Shur-i-kan, Alain Ho, Soulphiction and more.

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Wagon Cookin' & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #34 - November 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:

01. Deep Spelle & Kevin Martin Spelle - Something About Your Lovin (UM Records)

02. Sleazy McQueen - Anna Due (Social Disco Club Mix) (Headtunes)

03. Leader & Yuriano - Side Step (Hudd Traxx)

04. Mike Richardson & Howard Sessions ft. KT Forrester - Looking Back (Huxley Remix) (Lost My Dog)

05. Miguel Migs - Close Your Eyes ft. Meshell Ndegeocello (Shades Of Gray Dub) (Om Records)

06. Onoff - Disco Fever (Home Audio)

07. DJ Sneak & Phil Weeks pres Bubba Beats & Kid Piston - Breakdown Acid (Robsoul Recordings)

Wagon Cookin' Mix:

08. Wagon Cookin' - Feel So Good (Club Mix)

09. Alain Ho - Into a Deep (Hot Toddy Remix)

10. Teeloo – Sooo Oooh (Original Mix)

11. Shur-I-Kan - Staying In (Original Mix)

12. Cosmin TRG - Bijoux (Original Mix)

13. Roman Rauch - Can't Get Enough (Soulphiction Remix)

14. Wagon Cookin' - Music Is Not So Far (Daniel Kyo Remix)

Check out Wagon Cookin' album 'Eleven' at Amazon, iTunes, Beatport and Juno Download

http://www.wagoncookin.com
http://www.kahuamusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/kahuamusic

The Changing Face Of Promo

2011-11-30T07:42:00.001-08:00

A recent article in Mixmag highlighted one of the interesting recent developments in music promotion, namely focusing promotional activities on an 'impact date' rather than the traditional release date.

The approach - put simply, to make sure your music is already available to buy at the time you are getting results from your promotional activities - is very logical and marks an interesting shift in attitude away from the days of tastemakers building 'hype' and suspense in the run up to release. Impact dates certainly have a lot of value in terms of maximising sales in the ‘instant gratification’ digital world.

Inspired by the Mixmag article, we have highlighted a number of factors which are worth considering around adopting an 'impact dates' strategy:

- Major download stores often decide which new releases will get feature spots based on the promo feedback/coverage (see our article on the value of promo feedback). Such decisions are often made 2-3 weeks prior to the date of release and may not account for your own impact dates. Therefore if you wish to maximise these opportunities you may still need to consider embarking on some pre-release promotion.

- Certain types of media still need to have the music several weeks ahead of the impact date - for example printed magazines who work to advance deadlines and radio shows with pre-planned playlists.

- Some tastemakers thrive on being 'upfront' and 'exclusive' - it is important to know who these people are, the value they offer, and if there is a risk they will be less likely to support your music if they know it is already available to the wider public. You can then weigh up when to get your music to these people.

As ever we are open to new strategies of delivering music and maximising the impact of promotion. We will continue to follow and report on such developments with interest.

To talk to us about promotional strategies for your music please contact us via the Kahua Music website.

Practical advice on how to fight music piracy

2011-11-14T04:29:00.001-08:00

The impact of music piracy is a topic that has been done to death over the last few years, so we aren't going to weigh in with our opinion; but we will gladly provide a few pointers as to how to fight it if that's the approach you've decided to take.

The war on piracy is now mostly against 'cyberlockers' such as rapidshare and mediafire; who will pay money to anyone who hosts a file on their sites that achieves a certain amount of downloads, whether it is legal or not. Often the links to these cyberlockers will appear on multiple websites and blogs, so by tackling the problem with the host you can render the links on individual blogs useless. Additionally, because of the high volume of traffic going to these files, they are highly rated by search engines, so any member of the public searching for a new piece of music is likely to see matches for illegal download links in among the results for legitimate download stores.

A range of services are available to record labels and artists that can help track the physical music files, and ultimately help remove illegal links. We've provided a brief overview:

INDUSTRY BODIES

BPI

For the UK, the BPI is the representative voice of the UK recorded music business - 90% of all recorded music in the UK is sold by BPI members.

Members of the BPI have access to their anti-piracy unit (among many other services), which can help to take down material that is being distributed illegally. As well as being able to inform BPI directly of new releases and promos, if your music is registered with PPL then BPI use their database when their software is crawling the web for illegal links.

For independent labels, annual membership costs £67.50 plus 5% of PPL UK distribution, plus VAT. Members of other industry associations in the UK (such as AIM) can often access the BPI's services for free as part of their membership.

More info at: http://www.bpi.co.uk and http://www.bpi.co.uk/category/protecting-uk-music.aspx

IFPI

While the BPI is UK based, the IFPI is an organisation concerned with the global policing of recorded music. The IFPI works in partnership with national associations like the BPI - here is a link to all of the associations that come under their umbrella: http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_links/local_associations.html

PRIVATE COMPANIES

Audiolock

A company that specialises in the watermarking of tracks. In short, to 'watermark' a track is to embed a unique code within an mp3/wav file - this can then be automatically tracked afterwards. The aim is to protect your music at source from piracy, identify the pirates and remove them from your distribution. The most obvious use for this would be for a record label, who could assign a watermark to each file they send out during the promo stage… if this file then re-appeared illegally the label would be notified of the pirate and the file would be removed immediately. Of course watermarking doesn't effectively deal with piracy once the music is on general release to the public.

Here is a breakdown of their features: http://www.audiolock.net/features

Ripblock

Ripblock provides a similar service to Audiolock but instead of using automated watermarking, they employ staff to manually check for all instances of pirated music which would apply to music once on general release as well as in the promo phase. Find out more here: http://www.ripblock.com/index.php

TID Protect

As well as being one of the major online music retailers, Trackitdown operates a successful anti-piracy service. Like Ripblock, it has a dedicated team of people searching for illegal copies of their clients' music, and will request that the offending site removes them immediately. For more information, see: http://protect.trackitdown.net/

MUSO

MUSO offers a few different grades of service, tiered depending on the number of file removals allowed and how actively managed the removals are. Yousef and Andy Chatterley are two of the men behind it. See: http://www.muso.com/home/overview/

Facebook

Although Facebook have no formal service to police music piracy, there is a form that anyone can fill in to report a copyright infringement on a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/legal/copyright.php?copyright_notice=1

There will no doubt be plenty more services out there, so it's worth doing a bit of research. It is also worth weighing up the relative amount of time and money it will take to police your music - always consider whether that time and money could be better used to persuade more people to buy your music in the first place.

Kahua Music Podcast #33 with William Welt (22 Digit)

2011-10-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

22 Digit Recordings co-owner William Welt is the guest on Kahua Podcast 33, alongside the usual 30 minute selection from Strakes. 22 Digit are currently celebrating their third birthday having built up a strong reputation in deep and tech house circles and a discography that includes Matt Tolfrey, Tom Ellis, Ludowick, Michael McLargy, Melos & Kyber and several others. William's mix includes some label highlights alongside Strakes' selection which includes music from Wagon Cookin', Giom, The Timewriter and Nigel Hayes.

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William Welt & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #33 - October 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Wagon Cookin' - Love Fever feat. Ricky Husbands (Smoke 'n' Mirrors/Om Records)
02. Marvin Zeyss - In My Arms (Giom Remix) (UM Records)
03. Phil Weeks - Jack To My Groove (Robsoul)
04. Lee Guthrie - That's Debatable (Click Therapy)
05. Jesus Gonsev - Floating City (The Timewriter Remix) (Loudeast)
06. Charles Scott - One Life (Nordic Trax)
07. Nigel Hayes - Deep Cover (Intelligent Audio)

William Welt - 22 Digit Recordings 3rd Birthday Mix:08. Tom Ellis - With Chance (William Welt & Suade's Acid 303 Remix)*
09. Francesco Assenza - We Come In Peace (Original Mix)
10. Michael McLardy - September Rain (William Welt & Pete Weasel Remix 2011 Remaster)*
11. Kode 9 - You Dont Wash (Dub Mix)
12. William Welt – Nightingale (Original Mix)*
13. Alex Under - Pasa Par (Original Mix)
14. Midicult – Suntrap (Original Mix)*
15. Staffan Linzatti – Quibble (Original mix)
16. Ludowick – Monoplastic (Tom Ellis Remix)*

* tracks all available or forthcoming on 22 Digit

How To Keep On Top Of Support & Coverage For Your Music Online

2011-09-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Artists, DJs and record labels can live or die by how well they promote themselves online, so it's very important to be able to measure just how effective your promotional efforts have been.

In this article we will describe a few of the tools, technique and shortcuts that can help you track support and coverage for you and your music on some of the key online platforms, as well as some of the service providers that can do it all for you.We'll start by running through some of the online platforms, and how to quickly analyse what they are doing for you.

Twitter
The simplicity of Twitter makes basic monitoring quite straightforward, so there are many apps on the market to choose from. Tweetdeck is one of the most popular and something that we use ourselves. It allows for multiple feed columns to appear on the same screen, each of which can be customised to show only the users that you want to see updates from in that column. This could be useful if you want to draw a distinction between music industry updates and your own personal contacts, and/or multiple Twitter accounts, i.e. a personal account and a music account. A column can also be set up to only return results for a particular search term, so for example if you have just released a track or a mix and you want to gauge what kind of buzz it's receiving, you can easily create something that will notify you as soon as it is mentioned on Twitter.

There are numerous other Twitter apps that will be able to offer the same kind of service, such as Socialite, Seesmic and Twitter's own app - have a play around with a few different packages and really take the time to understand what kind of analysis is made possible by them… we are merely scratching the surface here.

Facebook
As with Twitter, we recommend some kind of dashboard functionality in order to efficiently track your coverage. Tweetdeck can be used in the same way to manage your Facebook updates as well, but for more advanced searching of Facebook we recommend Hootsuite. The free version of the software can run multiple text searches, and if you're willing to pay, Hootsuite offers some quite advanced analytic reports relating to both Facebook and Twitter. Again, being able to see who is mentioning your music has obvious benefits, not only to measure the success of a current project, but it can also help inform your strategy for future projects.

Soundcloud
Soundcloud is certainly the most popular site for hosting new tracks and mixes, but the search function within it is extremely basic and not wholly reliable. Thankfully though, Soundcloud have been extremely co-operative with independent app developers, so there are all kinds of little plugins available to enhance the Soundcloud experience. Bosse and Musing Music seem to have good quality search functions that are intelligent enough to search through playlists that are attached to uploaded mixes, so using this you are able to track the actual usage of any tracks you release. To browse through the multitude of apps available for Soundcloud, simply go to the bottom of any Soundcloud page and find the 'Apps' link underneath the 'Explore' heading.

Mixcloud
More data-driven than Soundcloud, Mixcloud's own engine can be used effectively to keep an eye on your output. Any search for an artist on Mixcloud can be saved as an RSS feed… just run the search and copy the RSS URL from the browser address bar into whatever RSS reader you use, and then any new matches will be updated in real time. Here's an example for Phil Weeks: http://www.mixcloud.com/feeds/artist/phil-weeks/. As per the Soundcloud apps mentioned above, this would be useful to track where your music is being used and by what people.

RSS Readers
Do not underestimate the power of RSS feeds. How to best manage RSS can be covered in a whole separate article, but in short, most of the blogs and websites that you would want to keep tabs on for coverage will have an option to subscribe to the RSS feed. Simply subscribe to each blog/website using your preferred RSS reader and all new updates will be delivered to you rather than needing to visit the individual websites. We like Netvibes as a way to manage multiple RSS feeds because of the dashboard approach.

Google Alerts
Again, this is about receiving progress updates as they happen, rather than having to search individual media. Google Alerts are basically Google web searches that deliver new pages to you that Google discovers either by email to your inbox or through an RSS feed. Emails can be scheduled to be delivered at your preferred frequency (as it happens, daily or weekly) and the RSS the feed will deliver any new matches to the search term as they go live. Google Alerts are effectively the equivalent of typing the same search term to Google each day and trawling through each result to try and find anything new.

Within Google there is also a Google Blog Search, which is a more specific tool for scraping the contents of blogs. In the same way as a normal search, the RSS feeds can be extracted to cover pre-defined search terms.

Board Reader
Board Reader is a useful search engine designed specifically to search messageboards and forums. Despite the rise of Social Media, there is still a lot of important hype activity on boards and forums.As you can see from this brief article, there are many simple techniques available that can help you measure the effectiveness of your promotional efforts, but in order to cover all bases it can still be quite time consuming.There are also a number of online analytic services that are focussed on the music industry, such as Music Metric, Rock Dex and Next Big Sound.

Keeping tabs on the progress of promotional activity is clearly a vital part of the marketing process - we hope that some of the pointers in this article will help save you some time.

To talk to us at Kahua about online promotion, digital strategy and monitoring online metrics please contact us by email.

Kahua Music Podcast #32 with Les Loups

2011-09-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

Kahua Podcast #32 see a guest mix from Les Loups alongside the usual 30 minute selection from Strakes. Les Loups are the German trio of Philipp Landmann, Antonio Seoane Dominguez and Felix Littkemann who have caused a storm with their early releases on Umalu Recordings and So Sound Recordings. Their mix is a perfect representation of their sound, where funk, disco and French House all combine. The podcast also includes music by MANIK, Phil Weeks, LawnChair Generals, Demarkus Lewis, Howard Sessions and more.

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Les Loups & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #32 - September 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Ruthit - Deep Blue (MANIK Remix) (Turquoise Blue)
02. Howard Sessions - Meddlin' With Me Melody (Lost My Dog)
03. Little Fritter & Zare - I Want It Back (Little Fritter's Ruff Mix) (Hudd Traxx)
04. Justin Harris - Music's My Religion (Deez Preach 2 Teach Mix) (Baker Street)
05. Phil Weeks - By My Side (Hector Moralez Ghetto Mix) (Robsoul)
06. The Littlemen - Decked Out (Lawnchair Generals Remix) (Mobile Trax)
07. Random Factor & Gareth Whitehead - No Matter How Far (Lost My Dog)

Les Loups Mix:
08. Kavinsky - Nightcall (She Said Disco Remix)
09. Mylo - Zenophile
10. Mousse T. vs. Hot N Juice - Horny '98 (Acapella)
11. Les Loups - Side To Side (OHYEAH Remix)
12. J Paul Getto - Destination
13. Wattie Green - 5 O'Clock
14. Justin Faust - Girl Talk (Bit Funk Remix)
15. Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Acapella)
16. Don Rimini - G.O.O.D. (TagTeam Terror Remix)
17. Sonny Fodera - Still Runnin'
18. Bob Sinclar - Ich Rocke
19. SebastiAn - Arabest
20. Les Loups - Nostalgia

Les Loups on SoundCloud

Consistency is Key for Effective Music Promotion

2011-08-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

As cliched as it sounds, consistency really is the key when it comes to promoting music effectively. Yes, it is possible to blow the market out of the water with that one magical release, but to assume any release will do this beforehand is complete folly; because such occurrences are few and far between, and it could be argued that even when something incredible does happen, it is only possible if a label has already established a foothold in the market by promoting consistently good music, to the right people, for a sustained period. Very few big tracks have ever truly 'come from nowhere'.

So for most labels, the reality is the often unglamorous treadmill of A&R, promo, follow up, and so on and so on, for every release. But it is definitely worth the effort. By having a consistent music policy, release schedule and target audience, you will get your music nearer to the front of people's minds, which can lead to the following:

DJ mixes and chart coverage - if you're hitting your DJs and tastemakers every few weeks, you are more likely to be right at the top of their inbox at an opportune time.
Licenses to compilations - similar as above… keep the output going and increase the chances of a lucrative deal.
Brand development - this is about consistency of sound as well as output… to become synonymous with a particular sub-genre and/or with certain successful artists has obvious benefits.
Increase audience - a hundred friends and associates can only turn into thousands if a label keeps putting its name out there with decent music… how else can potential new fans find out about a label?
Association with bigger musical brands, i.e. club nights/venues - a consistently good message will make a label attractive to promoters/clubs that want a particular sound.

Artists should also be thinking along the same lines about their music/message. The way DJs capitalise on their reputation as producers is a prime example of the importance of consistent output to the market - release enough [good] tracks in a particular genre and promoters/people will want to pay money to watch you perform.

So much of this is common sense. Every day, companies and corporations the world over work tirelessly to build that consistent message… any serious record label should be doing the same.

Kahua Music Podcast #31 with The Littlemen

2011-08-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Kahua Podcast #31 features a guest mix from The Littlemen, who are currently celebrating 10 years of being at the forefront of deep, bumping, Midlands house music. In September they will release their 'Retro Resources' album and ahead of that an album sampler will include brand new remixes by LawnChair Generals and The Littlemen themselves (both in their mix here). The podcast also contains music by DJ Rasoul, Tom Ellis, Trademarq, DJ Sneak and more.

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The Littlemen & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #31 - August 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Tom Ellis - Oh Right (Turquoise Blue)
02. DJ Rasoul - Let's Work (So Sound)
03. Angus Jefford - Like That (Lost My Dog)
04. Trademarq - Fort Dodge (Alison Tara Remix) (Bananza)
05. Lee Daines - Rock The F Out (Remote)
06. Digital Dirt - Soft Cell (Click Therapy)
07. DJ Sneak - Funky Rhythm (Fries & Bridges Remix) (Robsoul)

The Littlemen Mix:
08. Derek Dunbar – Chump Change [Large]
09. The Littlemen – Stones (Special Interest Remix) [Mobile Trax]
10. Freaky Behaviour – Step Into The Soulspace [So Sound]
11. The Littlemen – Attack Me (The Littlemen Remix) [Mobile Trax]
12. Mario Aureo & Daniel Solar – What You Do [OFF]
13. The Littlemen – Decked out (Lawnchair Generals Remix) [Mobile Trax]
14. Gloria Gaynor – Just Keep thinking About You (Rella’s Mix)
15. Andy Ward & Random Soul – Come Together

How to get Most Value from Promo Feedback & Turn it into Sales

2011-07-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

In our latest instalment of industry advice, we chart the journey of promo feedback throughout the supply chain of music distribution, and explain how to really make it work and ultimately generate more sales.

We've all seen it in the industry hype machine, "wicked track - full support" or "lovin' the remix - will play" etc. etc. but what exactly does all of this feedback really mean?

On the face of it, it can mean a great ego boost to the artist - the very thought that Superstar DJ Mr X may be playing their track on the Space Terrace that night makes all that fiddling about in the studio seem worth it after all - but positive feedback is much more than just a compliment; it is a commercial necessity… a vital cog in the hype machine.

Phase 1 - Initial Promo Mail Out (6 weeks before release date and earlier):

So from the top, it's probably fair to say that the very beginning of the feedback process is often quite informal… no machines here, more a chosen few friends/contacts of the artist or label receiving a newly-signed track before anyone else. This can often create some initial interest to begin generating hype around the music.

The dream scenario for the label at this point would be to receive positive feedback from any high profile members of this small group, because their quotes can then be attached to all future mailshots to add weight to the wider promo campaign; but even negative feedback at this point can be useful. Sure, negative feedback is not going to be quoted during the rest of the campaign, but it can help whoever is managing the campaign judge what kind of DJs/Press should be targeted during the next, bigger mailshot.

Phase 2 - Main Promo Mail Out (approx 4-5 weeks before release date):

And this is when it really starts. The label, or often, the promo company that is acting on behalf of the label, puts together the promo mailshot. If they have been lucky enough to receive some good early feedback from influential members of their initial group, it will be repeated here. Then, having taken on board some of the earlier opinions, an appropriate list of recipients is drawn up, which normally totals a few hundred people.

Sometimes there may be two or three different mailshots/lists put together with slightly altered content to suit different audiences, but either way, it is at this point that the main tastemakers are targeted, so that is club DJs, radio presenters/shows, and journalists/blogs.

As the feedback begins to come in, it is wise to sift through the comments and note any kind of positive action that might be worth monitoring in future, so for DJs that would be something like "will support in chart" or "will feature in mix/compilation"; for radio it would simply be "will play on X Show" and for the press/blogs, "will review/feature". Key comments can also be filtered out in ongoing marketing activities.

Having a tight and organised system to check up on these next actions is very important. Firstly, if someone promises something in feedback that doesn't actually materialise, a good system ensures that the campaign manager is able to remind them to prompt them if necessary. And secondly, once the track has actually been charted/played etc., news of this should be fed back to the label (if a promo company is in charge of the campaign) and more importantly, collected in such a way that it can be used as ammunition for the next phase of the campaign.

Once the actions are organised and monitored, the more general musical comments should also be organised in some sort of order of importance, so a world famous DJ saying something positive would feature high on the list.

Phase 3 - Distributors & Retail (approx 3 weeks before release date):

Now the feedback is really converted into a powerful commercial tool, because it is at this point that the music retailers see it for the first time, and make a judgement over the commercial appeal of the release, i.e. whether the feedback is good enough for the retailer to feature the release in a prominent position. The major online retailers like Beatport often only deal with a third party aggregator/distributor acting on behalf of a label to handle this part of the process, but some of the more specialised stores will accept feedback directly from the label/promo company.

Whoever it is that ultimately deals with the retailer, it is vital that the feedback is packaged effectively. The generally agreed standard for this is the 'Sales Notes', also commonly referred to as the 'One Sheet' (because it is typically one page in length), which is sent to the retailer containing the following feedback:

- DJ comments

- DJ chart/mix/set support

- Radio play (plus, ideally, the actual dates of play)

- Reviews written or pending

The information should be filtered so that the very best support is presented. Generally 15 comments of support from DJs is more than enough along with whatever radio and press interest has been generated.

And in addition to the feedback, this is a good opportunity to promote the artist(s) further with more information, such as future releases on other labels, mixes, collaborations, prestigious tour dates etc.

A good One Sheet at this stage can make a big difference to sales. As mentioned above, music retailers use these One Sheets as a way of deciding which releases command the optimum display positions in their stores. In the case of Beatport, this ultimately translates into different grades of banner coverage.

Phase 4 - Marketing & Consumers (date of release and after):
This is the time to put the icing on the cake, and re-cycle the best feedback/coverage from the previous few weeks to, hopefully, help generate some sales. Websites and other relevant profiles should be updates and it can be useful to send a simple mailshot to all of the fans of the label, containing all of the highlights from the feedback and coverage, a bit of general information, and where people can buy the track. A good way to do this is to embed a music player from one of the online stores - this can contain previews of the release as well as a link to purchase them.

It also also very useful to pass over the feedback you have gathered to the artists (and other interested parties) that are involved with the release so that they can help distribute it and spread the word to their own networks.

Ongoing Social Media Updates:
Of course, there are many more uses of feedback outside of the individual campaign structure - it isn't all about consolidating it into a list - because the immediacy of Social Media is great for labels/promo companies to capitalise on good feedback, as it happens. Twitter is ideal for repeating a particularly juicy DJ quote or links to a DJ chart, but the comments sections of Soundcloud and Youtube can be just as useful for sprinkling positive bits of feedback or highlighting a blog article; and of course Facebook can easily be updated with a positive comment or review. The same can apply to reviews/blog postings - as soon as a review goes live, it's very easy to advertise the fact by posting a link on the outlets mentioned above.

The Final Word:
Feedback generated from running promo campaigns extends much further than simply getting the music into the hands of tastemakers and using their comments as an ego boost. If you think carefully about who else the feedback and support is useful for - including other tastemakers, distributors, retailers, your artists and consumers - then the benefits that promo feedback can offer can be far greater and will ultimately translate to higher sales of your music.

To talk to Kahua Music about promo campaigns for your music please email us or visit out website.

Kahua Music Podcast #30 with Al Bradley (3am Recordings)

2011-07-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

3am Recordings boss Al Bradley joins Strakes this month for the 30th installment of the Kahua Music Podcast. 3am are currently celebrating their 8th birthday and Al's mix includes a taster of some of the latest music on the table from artists such as Tom Lown, Chemical Warfare, Carlo Gambino and Kyle Marshall. The podcast also includes music from Phil Weeks, Inland Knights, Giom, Joshua Heath, Husky, JT Donaldson and more.

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Al Bradley & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #30 - July 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Inland Knights - Do It Again (Drop Music)
02. Husky - Old School (Tom Special Interest Remix) (Phobic)
03. Giom & Joshua Heath - Mister Marvellous (Lost My Dog)
04. JT Donaldson - Make You Higher (Robsoul)
05. DustyFruit - Lost 4 Love (Rebel Hill)
06. Peckos - Kid No (Home Audio)
07. Orange Muse - Oyster (John Selway Refined Remix) (Digital Disco)
08. Phil Weeks - Love You More (Drop Music)

Al Bradley - 3am Recordings 8th Birthday Mix:
09. Tom Lown - Cozy Corner (3am Recordings)
10. RJ Fletcher - Ten10Ten (3am Recordings)
11. Chemical Warfare - Temprano (Foundation Dub) (3am Recordings)
12. Carlo Gambino - Hissyfit (Chemical Warfare’s Strobe Missile Remix) (3am Recordings)
13. Gianluca Peruzzi - La Ritmo (Dub Mix) (3am Recordings)
14. Kyle Marshall - Callout (3am Recordings)

For more on 3am please visit:
3am Recordings on SoundCloud
Al Bradley / Chemical Warfare on SoundCloud
Chemical Warfare 'Forward Motion EP' (TAM046) - out now at Beatport

Kahua Music Podcast #30 - Al Bradley by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Kahua Music Podcast #29 with Peckos

2011-06-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Peckos has appeared on several of the labels we work with here at Kahua - Lost My Dog, Headtunes, Baker Street and coming soon Home Audio - so we figured it was about time we invited him to record a guest mix for the podcast. The episode includes music from Bearweasel, Giom, Atnarko, Phil Weeks, Sonny Fodera, Jesus Pablo and more.

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Peckos & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #29 - June 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Jesus Pablo - C Major (Headtunes)
02. Alvaro Hylander - Stop (The Messenger Remix) (DeepWit)
03. Sonny Fodera - The Beat (Drop Music)
04. Ki Creighton & Harry Monroe - Don't Touch Me (TDRMC Remix) (Baker Street)
05. John Dimas - Relax (Smoke City Music)
06. Phil Weeks - In The Mood Phil Asher Version 1) (Robsoul)

Peckos Mix:
07. Hawke – Everything Is Happening At The Same Time (Atnarko Remix) (Eighth Dimension)
08. Terje Bakke – Chère Madame (Strictly Choosen)
09. Bearweasel – Time To Start Again (Tsuba)
10. Maya Jane Coles – Play The Game (Mobilee Records)
11. Jake Childs – Paradise (Lock & Key) (Giom’s No Part Mix) (Lost My Dog)
12. DZeta N’Basile – Before The Mess (Karol XVII & MB Valence’s Remix) (Loco Records)

Kahua Music Podcast #29 - Peckos by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Kahua talks to Lost In Muzik about Music Promotion in the Digital Age

2011-06-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

We recently had a chat with the excellent Lost In Muzik blog regarding our thoughts on music promotion and how things have changed in the 'digital age'. Check it out here.

Baker Street Recordings Podcasts

2011-05-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

If Sherlock Holmes had an iPod we're pretty sure he'd be down with the podcasts from Baker Street Recordings. First four episodes from Matthias Vogt, Tyler Stadius, Ben Gomori and Abyss.

Baker Street Podcasts by Baker Street Recordings

Kahua Music Podcast #28 with Joss Moog

2011-05-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Joining Strakes for episode 28 of the Kahua Music podcast is Joss Moog - a keyboard player, composer, DJ and long time friend of Robsoul Recordings' Phil Weeks, who started his house music journey in the mid 2000s. His first release was a remix of ‘That Thang’ by Fred Everything on 20:20 Vision, followed by his first EP ‘Room 25’ for Robsoul in 2006 (and subsequently Room 26 and 27). An EP for Minority Music and two alongside Phil Weeks for Magnetic and Syncrophone hit the shelves at the end of the decade. He has just remixed 'All Day Every Day', taken from Phil Weeks' 'Love Affair' LP for Robsoul Recordings. The poscast includes music from Halo Varga, Yse, Giom, Oli Furness, Sonny Fodera, Inland Knights, Pete Dafeet, Nacho Marco and more.

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Joss Moog & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #28 - May 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Oli Furness - Why Oh Why (Viper Strike Remix) (Pole Position Recordings)
02. Mature Minds feat. Rankin Youth - Concrete Castles (Halo Varga Surface Dub Mix) (Nordic Trax)
03. Peckos - What Are You (Pete Dafeet Remix) (Headtunes Recordings)
04. YSE feat. Frank H. Carter III - Guessing Games (Giom Remix) (Lost My Dog)
05. DustyFruit - Now You Understand (Inland Knights Remix) (Rebel Hill Recordings)
06. Phil Weeks - All Day Every Day (Sonny Fodera Gets Nasty Remix (Robsoul)
07. Downtown Party Network - We Are Cats (Nacho Marco Acid Remix) (Loudeast Records)

Joss Moog Mix:
Sorry, no tracklist available

Kahua Music Podcast #28 - Joss Moog by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Kahua Music Podcast #27 with Dominic Martin

2011-04-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

The guest mix for episode 27 of the Kahua Music Podcast comes from Dominic Martin aka Domsko, who has released music on Lost My Dog, Guesthouse, Nordic Trax and So Sound Recordings amongst others. As usual Strakes provides the first 30 minutes, with music from Ed Madams, Noah Pred, d o m, Jazzy Eyewear, DJ Fudge and DJ Sneak.

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Dominic Martin & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #27 - April 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Ed Maddams - She (Deep Edition Recordings)
02. Melos & Kyber - Boo Boo The Fool (Noah Pred Remix) (22 Digit Records)
03. d o m - Violent Express (Remote Records)
04. Jazzy Eyewear - The Renaissance (Les Loups' 1979 Mix) (Umalu Recordings)
05. Funk Mediterraneo - I'm Nothin (South Of Roosevelt Remix) (Dirty Monkey Recordings)
06. DJ Sneak - El Groover (Robsoul Recordings)
07. J.M.Aboga - House With Me (DJ Fudge Remix) (Loudeast Records)

Dominic Martin Mix:
Sorry, no track list available

Kahua Music Podcast #27 - Dominic Martin by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

New Giom Mix CD for Lost My Dog - Preview & Free Download

2011-04-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

Giom has a new mix compilation titled Clips & Space coming out on Lost My Dog in early May. It features some of his own new remixes and re-edits alongside his favourite's from the label's catalogue. With a total of 17 tracks, it will be available as a mixed CD and a digital download - this digital version will feature all the individual tracks as well.

Giom - Clips & Space - Mini Mix & Free Download by Lost My Dog

To launch the project, Giom has created a 10 minute mini-mix (above) and is giving away his remix of Bang Bang's 'Broken when you sign up to his mailing list. Members of the mailing list will receive the latest news on Giom and the compilation, as well as sone special and exclusive offers from Lost My Dog.

Read more on the Lost My Dog website.

Kahua Music Podcast #26 with Phil Weeks

2011-04-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

Playing catch up a little with this post, March's podcast with the excellent Phil Weeks...

Robsoul Recordings boss and DJ/Producer Phil Weeks is the guest for episode 26 of the Kahua Music podcast. Phil has recently released his second album 'Love Affair' and provides a special love inspired mix for his 30 minute slot. Includes music from James Curd, The Timewriter, Marcel Fermier, Tom Ellis, Makka & Howard Sessions, DJ Sneak and Gemini.

Phil Weeks & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #26 - March 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. James Curd - Left The Ground feat. Ziggy Franklin [Lost My Dog]
02. Remote People - Holding Sticks [Remote Records]
03. Marcel Fermier - Hazy [Pole Position Recordings]
04. Matt Prehn feat. Marcia Alves - Insomniac Oasis (The Timewriter Remix) [Baker Street Recordings]
05. Ludowick - Monoplastic (Tom Ellis Remix) [22 Digit]
06. Makka & Howard Sessions - Man Or Machine [3am Recordings]
07. Gemini - Where Do I Go (1997 Mix) [Robsoul]

Phil Weeks Mix:
Sorry, no tracklist available

Kahua Music Podcast #26 - Phil Weeks by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

We Like: RootMusic's BandPage

2011-03-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Several of our artist and label clients are using RootMusic’s BandPage application on their Facebook pages and we also love it here at Kahua, so we thought we’d provide a quick overview of the key features so that you too can get involved:

Keep everything in one place. BandPage essentially condenses your Facebook content into one integrated tab including music, photos, videos and your wall posts, plus it allows you to display external content.

Stream music directly from SoundCloud. There’s no need to upload anything to display in your BandPage music player (although you can do that too if you want); simply access your SoundCloud profile and BandPage will pull in whichever songs you tell it to. If you want make them downloadable you can do this too.

Generate sales. BandPage allows you to add buy links to every track in your player and will even pull this information from SoundCloud too.

Stream videos from YouTube. Add YouTube URLs and BandPage will present your videos. BandPage also allows you to earn revenue from your videos on YouTube.

Add bio and contact information. No description necessary here really.

Advertise events. Bands, DJs and other performers can add gig details. You can also link to ticket selling outlets.

Share. Just like everything else in Facebook all of the content within your BandPage app can be shared with other users, friends and fans on Facebook

Use it as a landing page. When advertising your Facebook profile outside of the Facebook platform you can use your BandPage’s listn.to short link to make people land on the BandPage tab within Facebook. This means you can present more people with your most recent music, gigs and other messages without them getting lost halfway down your wall.

Present your feeds. As well as showing your Facebook wall, BandPage will display a Twitter feed and will also pull in a feed from your website or blog.

Customise and Advertise. The ‘Plus’ account, priced at $1.99 per month allows you to customize the appearance of your BandPage including adding header graphics.

Some examples of people we work with using BandPage:
Phil Weeks
Baker Street Recordings
Pete Dafeet
Giom
And our very own Kahua Music page

Kahua Provides Music for Hypnogogo

2011-02-27T01:30:00.000-08:00

Kahua recently worked with Claire Benson from unstuckthinking to help provide the music for Hypnogogo - a new series of podcasts designed to make running even more fun and even more powerful.

Each Hypnogogo download is a great mind and body workout, carefully crafted so you end each session feeling refreshed, empowered and excited about your aims and ambitions. Positive press coverage has been received from the Running Free, Hello and Women's Fitness magazines.

Kahua worked with producer Le Magicien to provide the music for two of the downloads, and also facilitated a relationship between Hypnogogo and Lisnmusic for the third. We also advised on distribution and contracts.

The Hypnogogo downloads are available from iTunes.

Kahua Music Podcast #25 with Murray Richardson

2011-02-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

Murray Richardson joins Strakes for Episode 25 of the Kahua Music Podcast. As one of the unsung heros of deep and tech house, Murray Richardson has recently teamed up with Baker Street Recordings and will release his second EP with the UK label in Feb 2011. This podcast includes music from Roland Nights, House Of Stank, Tortured Soul, Bleep District, Giom, Phil Weeks and Joshua Iz.

Kahua Music Podcast #25 - Murray Richardson by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Murray Richardson & Strakes - Kahua Music Mix Podcast #25 - February 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Tortured Soul - You Found A Way (Art of Tones Classic Vocal) (Lazy Days)
02. Giovanni Damico - Can Be Other (Giom Remix) (Home Audio)
03. RJ Fletcher - Organ Freeman (Deep Edition)
04. Phil Weeks - Still Doing It (Club Shit) (Robsoul)
05. Bleep District - Colours (Drop Music)
06. Do It Proper - The Ride (Joshua Iz Dub Ride) (Headtunes)

Murray Richardson Mix:
07. House Of Stank - Messages (Johnny Fiasco Remix) (Get Up)
08. Mic Newman - Live East Die Young (Fina)
09. Roland Nights - Yellow (Lost My Dog)
10. Bubba - Making Contact (Extended Play)
11. Chriss Ronson - Karvia (Creation)

Podcast #24 with Pete Dafeet

2011-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Lost My Dog's Pete Dafeet is the first guest on the Kahua Music Podcast in 2011. His recent release on LMD, 'In Flux' featuring Atjazz remixes, is currently causing a storm and the year ahead looks big for the label. Music on this podcast comes from Lovebirds, Pezzner, Phil Weeks, The Candy Dealers, Roland Nights and more.

Kahua Music Podcast #24 - Pete Dafeet by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Pete Dafeet & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #24 - January 2011 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. The Candy Dealers feat. Marisa C - Foolin Anyone [So Sound Recordings] - taken from No Limit To Love - Miami
02. Phil Weeks - Luv U Need U [Robsoul] - taken from the forthcoming Love Affair LP album
03. Billy Goat & Christian Priess - Feel It Deep Inside [Pole Position Recordings]
04. Vampulator With Iggy Dub - Where Is Dublin [Home Made Electronica]
05. Roland Nights - Yellow (Murat Kilic Remix) [Lost My Dog]
06. Rubicon 7 & Merlyn Martin - Hold Me Back (Jamie Anderson NY Dub) [Baker Street Recordings]
07. Jesus Pablo & Di Riviera - Forward [Deep Edition Recordings]

Pete Dafeet Mix:
08. Pezzner - What I Have Done (Ian Pooley mix 1)
09. Pete Dafeet - Think it Through
10. Tornado Wallace - Twirl & The Beanstalk
11. Tad Wily - Parallel Perc
12. Rise Ashen - Second Wind (club dub)
13. Discreet Unit - Shake Your Body Down (original mix)
14. Lovebirds - Love & Happiness (original mix)

Fred Everything's 2010 Review, and 2011 Preview

2011-01-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

Fred Everything looks back over 2010 and ahead to 2011...

2010:
Where has 2010 gone? Not the most eventful year yet it seems like last year went out like a flash. I’ve been lucky to be busy once again this year doing what I love but I feel there wasn’t enough months. The main event for me was the release of my Om:Masters compilation. A mixed compilation of some of my favorite work, be it original, collaboration, remixes. Some sort of in-between albums/Hybrid showcase of my work as a DJ/Producer/Remixer. I was quite amazed with the reviews including Album Of The Week in DMC UK and Album of the Month in Tillate UK. This was also another opportunity to hit the road and play some great shows in some of my favorite spots on the planet. 2010 also saw my return to my old label 20:20 Vision for the first time in 5 years, remixing Art Of Tones classic “Call The Shots”. Watch out for more collaborative work with my old pals from Leeds in a near future!

Exciting year also for my label Lazy Days with some new signings in the form of Atnarko, Blacklodge and Kruse & Nuernberg. Watch out for more from them in a near future including K&N feat. Nathalie’s beautiful “Silk City” coming out in March with remixes by myself. This year also saw a welcome return collaboration with my longtime friend AtJazz and also a brand new collaboration between myself and LawnChair Generals' Peter Christianson. The Lazy Days Podcasts are also proving to be very popular peaking at 8000 downloads a month in November. Overall a great year for the label!

On the DJ tip, I joined a new booking agency, Kimco Entertainment, for my European and international bookings. This lead to first time trips to Dubai, Poland and Germany as well as touring touring in my regular territories.

Here’s a short list of 5 of my favorite gigs this year.
1. I Love Deep, Budapest
2. Lazy Days’ Freeform, Miami WMC 2010
3. Coachella 2010
4. Fabric, London, November 12th 2010
5. Le Salon Daome, Montréal, December 26th 2010

2011 :
What’s in store for 2011? My “Big” Project is the 5 year anniversary of Lazy Days with a special release where I invited 4 of my favorite producers/remixers to each give their own vision of a track from the catalog. Heavy hitters Crazy P, Ian Pooley, Llorca (Art Of Tones) and Mr Greg Wilson have all delivered great remixes, I’m sure you will agree. This Remix EP will lead to a Compilation and World Tour. Vey much excited about it all. On the production tip, the tracks I produced for Flowers & Sea Creatures out of Montreal will finally out in February on Buzzin Fly, Urban Torque will be releasing my first Frederico Todos EP in the first quarter of 2011. Olivier Desmet & I remixes of Dennis Ferrer’s track Dem People will be released on Vinyl in February and on digital through King Street in March. I’m also releasing a Sample pack through Loopmasters in February - high quality sample packs for producers. I’m also in the first stages of writing my next Studio Album that I’m hoping to release later this year. Watch this blog as I will be updating it on a regular basis with news, dates, various articles including studio tips, my monthly podcast & free downloads of unreleased remixes and tracks.

Thanks again for the love & support this year, to a great 2011!
Fred

3 Free Tracks from Council House

2010-12-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

As the season for giving ramps up some more the lovely folk at Council House Recordings have giftwrapped 3 completely freeeeee tracks from Moody B and Geist.

Grab the free tracks here

Council House have been on of 2010's freshest and most exciting new labels and it's been a pleasure to work with them at Kahua. Check out some of the info below to find out more about what they're about...

Council House on Juno Download and Beatport

Council House - Recent releases by Council House

Coming soon in Jan 2011:

Casie Lane - Not Everybody (Council House Recordings, CH006) (Preview Clips) by Kahua Music

Kahua Music Free Sampler Vol 2

2010-12-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

With Christmas fast approaching we've got an end of year gift for all readers of the blog - 5 free tracks courtesy of some of the finest artists and labels we work with at Kahua. To download the music from Phil Weeks, Yse, Moody B, Toomy Disco and Pete Dafeet simply hit the link below to join our email list and they're all yours. Any emails we send you will be relevant to Kahua Music or the artists and labels working with us.

Download the free sampler here

The Tracks:

Yse ft. Beckford – Worry (Unreleased Swing Mix) (Lost My Dog)
‘Worry’ was released at the end of 2009 but this Swinging Remix wasn’t included on the package and is available exclusively on this sampler. Yse will release his new single ‘Guessing Games’ with Lost My Dog in early 2011 and is working on new material as half of Rhythm Plate. More info: www.lostmydog.net

Phil Weeks – Fatback (Robsoul Recordings)
Phil Weeks will release his second album ‘Love Affair’ in February 2011 through his own Robsoul Recordings imprint. Fatback is taken from his debut album ‘Yeah I Like That’. More info: www.robsoulrecordings.com

Toomy Disco – Age Of The Jaguar (So Sound Recordings)
Toomy Disco’s debut album ‘Bedroom Tricks’ was released to critical acclaim and launched the Argentinean producer ‘s career in 2010. He continues to work closely with So Sound on his trademark 80’s influenced nu-disco sound. ‘Age Of The Jaguar’ is taken from the album. More info: www.sosoundrecordings.com

Pete Dafeet – Carton Dance (Kostas G Mix) (Southside Shuffle)
Pete Dafeet’s Southside Shuffle continues to provide an outlet for a select group of producers. The Kostas G Remix was picked as one of the winners in a competition to remix Pete Dafeet’s ‘Carton Dance’. More info: www.petedafeet.net

Moody B – Street Corner Beats (Council House Recordings)
Council House have had a phenomenal 2010 with 10/10 reviews from leading mags like iDJ and DMC Update. ‘Street Corner Beats’ was originally released on predecessor label Church Street on a limited vinyl pressing and has never been available digitally. More info: www.councilhouserecordings.com

Podcast #23 with Tommy Largo

2010-12-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

Dutch producer Tommy Largo joins us for the December 2010 Kahua Music show. With an impressive string of releases behind him for labels including Guesthouse, Lost My Dog, Funkfield and Control, Tommy will release his debut LP through Alphabet Music in 2011. This podcast includes music from Pete Dafeet, Asad Rizvi, Martijn, Alexander East, Vernon & DaCosta, Popoviciu, Leader & ToyGUN.

Kahua Music Podcast #23 - Tommy Largo by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Tommy Largo & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #23 - December 2010 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:
01. Red Box Lounge - Sweet Love (Edmund Remix) (So Sound)
02. Popoviciu, Leader & ToyGUN - The Quest (Hudd Traxx)
03. Casie Lane - Not Everybody (Arturo Garces Remix) (Council House)
04. Pete Dafeet - Think It Through (Lost My Dog)
05. Alan Svartr - How Wells Get Deep (22 Digit)
06. Peckos & Colour Breed - Lucky Man (Baker Street)

Tommy Largo Mix:
07. Rithma - Pseudo Jazz (Intelligent Audio)
08. Asad Rizvi - Fair Dinkum (Onethirty)
09. Jesse James - Touch (Mighty Perverts)
10. Alexander East - Supposed 2 Be (Audio Soul Project Remix) (3345 Music)
11. Pete Dafeet - In Flux (Atjazz Remix) (Lost My Dog)
12. Martijn - Sweet Sound (Deep Edition)
13. Vernon & DaCosta - All For One (Chris Carrier) (Homecoming Music)

DJ Mag's 2010 Round Up

2010-12-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

We're delighted that two album projects which we worked on at Kahua this year have been included in DJ Mag's 'Best of 2010' run-down.

Hot Toddy's album 'Late Night Boogie' released on Smoke n' Mirrors was ranked #14 in the 'Best Albums' category and Lost My Dog's '5 Years & Still Looking' mixed by Pete Dafeet was #29 in the 'Best Compilations' list.

Check them out below:

Hot Toddy - Late Night Boogie (Smoke 'n' Mirrors) (Album Preview Clips) by Kahua Music

Lost My Dog: 5 Years & Still Looking (selected & mixed by Pete Dafeet) (LMDLP002) by Lost My Dog

Podcast #22 with Martijn

2010-11-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

The November Kahua Music Podcast features a guest mix from Martijn, the label-head of one of the UK's most exciting new deep house labels, Deep Edition Recordings. Martijn has also released music for Kinky Vinyl, Baker Street and Look Ahead. The Podcast features music from Inland Knights, Miles Maeda, Gavin Boyce, DJ Wild, Fries & Bridges, Fred Everything & Peter Christianson, Dennis Ferrer and Phil Weeks.

Kahua Music Podcast #22 - Martijn by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Martijn & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #22 - November 2010 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:

01. Miles Maeda - Friends Like These (Original) (Back To The Future)

02. Inland Knights - Slummin It (Drop Music)

03. Gavin Boyce - Return To The Moon (Nordic Trax)

04. Tripmastaz pres Trackmaster Dre feat. Kapa - Take Me Higher (Erefaan Pearce Mix) (Hot Milk)

05. Fred Everything & Peter Christianson feat. Dave Aju - Feel (Original) (Lazy Days)

06. Phil Weeks - All Day Every Day (Original) (Robsoul)

Martijn Mix:

07. Dennis Ferrer - Dem People Go feat. Bola Belo (Kruse & Nuernberg Instrumental)

08. DJ Wild - Suite De Coeur

09. Fries & Bridges - Just Because (Ghetto Mix)

10. Steffen Deux - New York Sun

11. Morning Factory - Btraxx

12. Steffen Deux - Brooklyn

Inland Knights Free Download & New Classics Album

2010-11-14T04:08:00.000-08:00

To say thank you to all of the DJs and house music fans who have supported Inland Knights, bought their music legally, or been to an IK gig over the years, the Nottingham duo are giving away a brand new track ‘Don’t Need No One’ ahead of their forthcoming album ‘Inland Bites: Knights Classics’, released through Drop Music in December.

To get the free track simply click this link and join the Drop Music mailing list. Being on the list will also give future access to free mixes, exclusive pre-releases and all the latest Inland Knights/Drop Music news.

Free Download: Inland Knights - Don't Need No One (Click for download link) by Kahua Music

‘Inland Bites: Knights Classics’ represents the Nottingham duo’s output away from their own Drop imprint with 13 tracks previously released on some of the world’s leading underground house imprints such as 2020 Vision, Amenti, Siesta, So Sound, Panhandle and Doubledown. Several of the tracks have never been made available digitally and are freshly re-mastered for a new generation…and a nostalgic older one!

Inland Knights - Inland Bites: Knights Classics (Drop Music) (Preview Clips) by Kahua Music

Lost My Dog Records provide Soundtrack for UK Short Film 'The Pick Up'

2010-11-14T03:54:00.000-08:00

News and a trailer from Lost My Dog Records about a new short film they have provided the soundtrack for, featuring music by Yse, Bleep District and Rhythm Plate.

Here's the blurb...

The Pick Up is set in a trendy London nightclub and focuses on two socialite 20-somethings Jay (Najan Ward) and Adrian (Aml Ameen) and their quest to win the attention, and possible one night-stand bed posts, of feisty university club queens Roxanne (Elizabeth Kostantino) and Hannah (Amy Connery). The adventure turns soar, however, when the boys squeaky clean mate David (Sam Underwood) sticks his nose in. With fast-paced club action and slick humorous dialogue set to the backdrop of a house music soundtrack, The Pick Up is set to capture the magic of nightlife in London, the greatest city in the world.

Phil Weeks - All Day Every Day Video

2010-11-13T03:20:00.000-08:00

Parisian house producer, international DJ and Robsoul Recordings label boss Phil Weeks is set to unveil his second album in early 2011. Ahead of it, new single 'All Day, Every Day' is currently smashing clubs and has a rather nifty video to boot.

Speaking of the album and single Phil says, “It’s all about sampling, cutting, tweeking the samples in pieces and doing a puzzle. Like they do in Hip Hop - producers like Jay Dilla, DJ Premier and 9th Wonder. I was inspired a lot by this. The MPC3000 has a special groove and a sound that I love and I’m trying to do that with House music for this project.”

We say... "So I can get my pimp on". More at the Robsoul Recordings website.

Tips on Writing Press Releases for Promo Music

2010-10-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

This article discusses the written information that accompanies your pre-release promotional music - the press release, one-sheet, hype sheet, or sometimes just ‘the promo blurb’. Here, this will be referred to as the press release; ‘one-sheets’ and ‘hype-sheets’ serve a different purpose and will be covered in a future article.

Purpose of the Press Release

The overall purpose is to provide information that supports the music. Initially this may be to draw the reader in and persuade them they should check the music out. After this the press release should assist them by providing information that will help to write a review/article or even provide the basis for arranging more coverage such as a larger feature, interview or guest mix.

Audience

The first consideration is to think about who your audience is and their level of knowledge in relation to the music you are promoting. This will enable you to pitch it correctly and provide the right level of detail. If you are promoting music by an established artist to a knowledgeable audience then you can assume that they know certain things; if the music comes from an unknown artist it is more likely your audience won’t know much about them and therefore you will need to provide a greater level of introductory information.

Of course, it is also possible that there will be a range of knowledge within your audience and an established artist in some circles may be relatively unknown in others. In promoting your music you will likely be sending your music and press release to a range of magazine journalists, bloggers and DJs (both radio and club) who may all have slightly different needs. For instance, club DJs might want to know about which other record labels or collaborations/remixes the artist has been involved with, press contacts often want information on other forthcoming projects and radio DJs may want to know what other people have been saying about the music.

In situations where you are sending to a segmented audience you could either have variations of the press release for each group, or you could try to find a balance that pitches it at a level suitable for the different readers. This will often come down to the time and resources available.

Structure

The structure of a press release is often likened to a pyramid. The first paragraph should be focused and contain all of the key information. If this paragraph doesn’t capture the key information the rest of it may not get read. In the case of a press release aimed at supporting promotional music this should be things like artist name, record label, title of the music, remixers and any other highly relevant information which will help to capture the reader’s attention. It may be useful to include a brief reference or description of the music here (more on that below).

The following paragraphs should then contain more details on the things outlined in the introduction - information about the artists or remixers, any quotes, background on the record label and so on. All information should be relevant and to the point.

Specific Tips for Music Press Releases

Quotes

Depending on the aim of your press release the inclusion of previous reviews and quotes can be useful. If you’re contacting new people who don’t know about the artist/label you are promoting then some previous comments from journalists or DJs can persuade them that your music is worth checking out. Don’t go overboard; 3 or 4 is more than enough, and only include things that are positive and engaging.

Artist and Remixer Information

A press release doesn’t need to include a full biography – don’t go into “Jimmy bought decks aged 14…” Everyone has the same story. Unless there is something interesting to say about an artist’s introduction to dance music it’s probably best avoided. References to things like record labels or other artists can be useful, particularly if you’re discussing somebody more unknown, as can info on other upcoming projects.

Music Descriptions

Descriptions of music should give the reader an understanding of it and prompt them to actually listen to it. Quick overviews help to create an impression:

"‘The Spirit’ is a monster vocal house track aimed equally at intimate underground dancefloors as the main rooms of Ibiza’s clubbing temples. The remixes from Steve Parker and Phuture 303 take things into techno and acid territory respectively, while Roy Davis Jr provides a chunky house rocker focused on the vocal."

References to other acts can achieve the same outcome:

"Bang Bang have been compared to the likes of Crazy P, Greenskeepers and 2020 Soundsystem, due to their fusion of live instrumentation, vocals and a band mentality, underpinned by a house music background."

At the same time, don’t forget that your readers have ears and you’re often sending them the music so they can provide opinion and review it. Long rambling sentences describing the music don’t always work so well: “The breakdown then strips the beats out and introduces some pads which are filtered into a big build up before some snares come in and then the main 4/4 beat and bassline kick back in and some extra vocal snippets are added.”

Some other quick tips:

- Putting key words in bold helps the important information stand out, but don’t go overboard.

- Make sure the essential information is presented clearly (right at the top) where it can’t be missed – things like artist name, title, record label, release date.

- Add a track list to the press release. Even when the track names are printed on a CD, they need to be available somewhere else while it is being listened to. The same can apply to digital promos if the files aren’t labelled or tagged well.

- Include your contact info – make it easy for reviewers to get in touch.

And some pet hates:

To finish, a few things which can be annoying in press releases. I’ve been guilty of most of these myself in the past at some stage but have seen the error of my ways!

“XXX needs no introduction” - followed by a long rambling introduction.

Cheesy clichés such as: “…will tear the roof off any club”. It sounds naff and in reality it won’t – play your latest diva-vocal, soulful-house gem at a techno night and chances are it will clear the dancefloor.

Phrases like: “this release has something for everyone!” Does it really, or in truth is it 4 remix variations on a pretty similar theme that won’t appeal to anybody outside the sub-sub-genre of dance music in which you operate?

“We don’t provide info, we let the music do the talking.” Is this actually any use to anybody, particularly if the artist is unknown? Personally I like to know a bit about the person I’m listening to and if I have a load of other promos to go through I need a bit of persuasion to prioritise it. Providing no information also gives me the impression that the sender is lazy and it reflects badly on them/their label/their artist more generally.

Podcast #21 with Hot Toddy

2010-10-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Crazy P's Hot Toddy provides the guest mix for episode 21 of the Kahua Podcast. His new album 'Late Night Boogie' has just been released on Smoke n' Mirrors. Includes music from Atjazz & Fred Everything, Inland Knights, Mousse T, Crazy P, Bang Bang and more.

Hot Toddy & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #21 - October 2010 by Kahua Music

Strakes Mix:

1. Atjazz & Fred Everything - Back Together (Fred Everything's Lazy Days Original) [Lazy Days]

2. Nick Verwey - Apartment (Tobias Koch Remix) [TFE]

3. Jazzy Eyewear - Koroza [So Sound]

4. Persian - Be With Me [Deep Edition]

5. Lee Pennington - The Message (City Soul Project Remix) [Forbidden Fruit]

6. Inland Knights - I Am So Right [Drop Music]

7. Bang Bang - Susan Cries (Rhythm Plate Dark Mix) [Lost My Dog]

Hot Toddy Mix:

8. Popular Tyre - Fabbre del Discotheque

9. Hot Toddy feat Danielle Moore - Won't Let Go

10. Hannulelauri - Super Monkey

11. Nicole Willis - Holdin (Maurice Fulton Mix)

12. ? - Chocolate Bar

13. Tres Gueros/Sleazy McQueen - Oh Sheila (2 Spare Astronauts mix)

14. Mousse T - Brother On The Run (Hot Toddy Mix)

15. Crazy P - My Love

Clips from Hot Toddy's 'Late Night Boogie':

Hot Toddy - Late Night Boogie (Smoke 'n' Mirrors) (Album Preview Clips) by Kahua Music

New Mixes - every Monday from 5 Magazine

2010-10-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Quite simply, 5 Magazine is one of our favourite reads. Based in Chicago and dedicated to the genre the city crafted, they tirelessly seek out the most cutting edge house music producers and give them the exposure they deserve.

As well as in-depth interviews, reviews and features, they have one of the best selections of DJ mixes going. Recently we've been delighted to work with 5 Magazine on their New Mix Monday series (it does exactly what it says on the tin) to showcase some of the artists working with Kahua. You can enjoy them via the links below:

Eddie Leader (Hudd Trax)

Jazzy Eyewear (So Sound / Uma)

Pezzner

Pete Dafeet (Lost My Dog)

Inland Knights (Drop Music)

Massimo DaCosta (Homecoming Music)

Autumn Charts

2010-10-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

Every now and then we like to put together a chart of the promo campaigns we've been working on. This month we've done two, for Juno Download and Stompy! The past couple of months have been particularly busy, you can check out what we've been working on below.

Kahua Music Juno Download Chart
Kahua Music Stompy Chart

Podcast #20 with Jazzy Eyewear

2010-09-12T00:38:00.000-07:00

For September 2010 (Episode 20) of the Kahua Podcast, we're joined by So Sound and Uma Recordings label boss Jazzy Eyewear. The podcast features music from Distant People, Shaun Warner, Shur-i-kan, Nacho Marco, Giano, Todd Terry and more.

Jazzy Eyewear & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #20 - September 2010 by Kahua Music

Kahua Music Podcast #20 - Jazzy Eyewear by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Strakes Mix:
01. Shaun Warner feat. Dawson - Release Me (Michael McLardy Remix) [22 Digit]
02. Distant People feat Tasita D'Mour - You're So Special (Nacho Marco Remix) [Adaptation]
03. Cristian Vargas - Rogue State [Baker Street]
04. S.N.U.S. - Everyman (Vocal Mix) [Forbidden Fruit]
05. Wonky Dynamo - Never Loved Before (Shur-I-Kan Neverlovedub) [C**ting]

Jazzy Eyewear Mix:
06. Carlo Lio And The Junkies - Swiss Doin
07. Jazzy Eyewear - Fantasy Island
08. Loko - Lakura
09. Pirupa - Whatever Girl
10. Funkyloco - Cool And Jazzy
11. Giano - Daddy Mac
12. Mihalis Safras - San Tropeless (Oxia Less Mellow Remix)
13. Todd Terry - Running Faster

Happenings at 221b

2010-09-09T02:32:00.000-07:00

Baker Street is a UK label from Leeds who we've been working with for approximately 18 months, so we thought it was time to shine a little light on them. Predominantly a deep/tech house label Baker Street work with established artists such as Jay Tripwire, Moodymanc, Sei A, Justin Harris and Demarkus Lewis, alongside relative newcomers Matt Prehn, Michelle Owen, Tom Davis and label boss Paul Hardy.

They've been tipped by iDJ’s Russell Deeks as “one of the UKs top deep house imprints”, by Nordic Trax boss Luke McKeehan "Baker Street is one of the only new-ish labels I find with a sound and identity that is fresh. Typically play and enjoy most of the stuff I get from them", Nick Holder "Nick Holder "Another Baker Street winner!" and Shir Khan "I love this label!"

As well as handling all pre-release tastemaker promotions for Baker Street, including mail outs to DJs, Radio and Press, we at Kahua have recently started working with them on their online presence, starting with the new Baker Street Blog and other social media.

To keep up to date with Baker Street happenings you can join their mailing list.

To the music!!

Baker Street Recent Releases by Baker Street Recordings

What's in a name?

2010-09-06T02:01:00.000-07:00

Often a record label's name is where their branding message starts - it can intrigue potential customers and draw them in, or it can quickly put people off. Label names can be quirky, cool, fun, straight-laced or sometimes shocking. This last category is definitely where one of our newest clients at Kahua fits in. Lee Latmir's C**ting Records instantly makes an impact - some will love it, some will hate it. Part of the label's ethos is to offer contradictions - the music is beautiful (the first release comes from Wonky Dynamo with Shur-i-kan remixes - listen below), the artwork is hand crafted and equally beautiful (picture shows embroidered 12" sleeves and hand made CD pouches) and the name well, it's pretty ugly.

C**ting Records has already started creating a buzz with iDJ saying "...our favourite new label name of the month HAS to go to C**ting Records" on their Twitter account, Sound Canvas giving it a great early review and
Spanish website Goa Club saying "a percussive delight, progressive and equally dreamlike".

Wonky Dynamo - Never Loved Before (C**ting Records) (Preview Clips) by Kahua Music

Podcast #19 August 2010 with Nacho Marco

2010-08-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

The August installment of the Kahua Music podcast features a guest mix from Loudeast Records boss and Sonar resident Nacho Marco. The show includes music from DJ Pierre, MVP, Nigel Hayes, Tom Middleton, Lovebirds and more.

Nacho Marco & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #19 - August 2010 by Kahua Music

Kahua Music Podcast #19 - Nacho Marco by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

Strakes Mix:
01. Nacho Marco feat. Aqeel - Rising (Original Mix) [Loudeast]
02. MVP - Music (Doza's LCG Mix) [LCG Music]
03. [Aura] & RJ Fletcher - Eddie's Groove [Deep Edition]
04. Nigel Hayes - Will I Won't I [Intelligent Audio]
05. The Cut - Misa Soup [Digital Disco]
06. DJ Pierre - The Spirit (Roy Davis Jr's Spark The Club Mix) [Afro Acid Digital]

Nacho Marco Live @ Sonar Mix:
07. The Face ft.Nicki Richards - Keep it Coming [Def Mix Music]
08. Catalan FC & Sven Love - Play It Dirty [Cheers]
09. Surrealism - So much [Liebe Detail]
10. Tom Middleton - Juscan [Toolroom]
11. Lovebirds - Alright [Freerange]
12. Z Factor - The Piano Principle (Joey Negro Club Mix) [Z Records]

Podcast #18 July 2010 with Kruse & Nuernberg

2010-07-06T12:23:00.001-07:00

The July 2010 installment of the Kahua Music Radio Show and podcast features a guest mix from German duo Kruse & Nuernberg, who are currently creating waves with their music on labels such as NRK, Lazy Days, Slip 'n' Slide and Simple. This show includes music from Giom, Eddie Leader, Rick Woldring, Stochje, Sonny Fodera and more.

Kruse & Nuernberg and Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #18 - July 2010 by Kahua Music

Kahua Music Podcast #18 - Kruse & Nuernberg by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

01. AMarques - New Orleans [Sol Recordings]

02. Damon Vallero - Make Believe (Game Of Faith) [Downstream Records]

03. Giom - In Love (Pete Dafeet Remix) [Lost My Dog]

04. Eddie Leader - Ummmm Well [Hudd Traxx]

05. Steve SoulBasics & Martijn - Lose It (Steve's Lost It Mix) [Baker Street Recordings]

06. Le Vinyl - 3 Points [Tokyo Red Recordings]

07. Sonny Fodera - Never Knew (Inland Knights Typewriter Mix) [Drop Music]

Kruse & Nuernberg Mix:

08. Stochje – Into A Deep

09. Paul Bowen – Black Matter

10. Oscar Sala & Fran Alberola

11. Salvatore LoGrosso – U Got 2 B

12. Daniel Sanchez as de la Pimp – Better Than Sex

13. Rick Woldring – Stop That Bus

Kahua Music Stompy Chart - June 2010

2010-06-27T02:19:00.000-07:00

As June draws to a close, we've selected some of the projects we've been working on over recent weeks in our latest chart for download store Stompy.com. Featuring music from Hot Toddy, Vernon & Igor, Roland Nights, Giano and Paul Hardy...

Kahua Music of Kahua Stompy Chart June 2010

Recent Releases

* Roland Nights - Phazz (Vernon & DaCosta) - Lost My Dog

* Vernon & Igor - Fa Can Vulo - Homecoming

* Hot Toddy - Down To Love (Fred Everything Lazy Days Mix) - Smoke n Mirrors

* Michelle Owen - Strange Days - Baker Street

* Kruse & Nuernberg - Sliced - Lazy Days

* Giano - Stella In The Starlight - Alphabet

* Short Bus Kids - Tears - Bounce House

* Dominic Martin - Like Dat - Lost My Dog

* Paul Hardy - Dust (Jay Shepheard) - Baker Street

* Gabriel Black - Little Big Horn - Lunatic Jazz

Buy on Stompy.com

Juno & Lost My Dog DJ competition

2010-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Juno Records and Lost My Dog have joined forces to run a DJ competition to celebrate five years of LMD and to launch a compilation mixed by Pete Dafeet entitled 'Lost My Dog: 5 Years & Still Looking' (released early July).

Pete Dafeet chose his Lost My Dog highlights for the mix and the challenge is to 'beat' him by putting together a 30 minute mix of your favourite LMD tracks. The winner gets a copy of the CD, £50 of Juno Download vouchers, a Lost My Dog t-shirt and hoodie, vinyl and their mix features on the Lost My Dog website and Juno Plus blog.

For more details on how to enter follow this link to Juno Plus, or this one to the Lost My Dog website. And find out more about the album here.

Podcast #17 June 2010 with Sean Smith

2010-06-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

The June 2010 installment of the Kahua Music Radio Show and podcast features a guest mix from Sean Smith of Smooth Agent Records in Chicago. This show includes music from Fred Everything, Joshua Iz, Hot Toddy, Grant Dell, Trevor Vichas, Samuel H. Simpson meets Stereo Paws, Haldo, Kruse & Nuernberg and more.

Sean Smith & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #17 - June 2010 by Kahua Music

Kahua Music Podcast #17 - Sean Smith by Kahua Music on Mixcloud

01. Trevor Vichas - Just In Love (Short Bus Kids Remix) [Bounce House Recordings]

02. Haldo - Night City Journey (Random Soul Instrumental Mix) [Adaptation Music / Kahua Free Sampler]

03. Hot Toddy - Down To Love (Fred Everything Dub) [Om Records]

04. Kruse & Nuernberg - Sliced [Lazy Days Recordings]

05. Nick Verwey - From The Street Corner [TFE Records]

06. Vernon & DaCosta - Northern Light (Andre Crom & Luca Doobie Mix) [Homecoming Music]

07. Samuel H. Simpson meets Stereo Paws - Some Mo (Joshua IZ Momo Mix) [Baker Street Recordings]

08. Grant Dell - Don't Need Ya (Angel Alanis Re-touch) [Headtunes Recordings]

Sean Smith (Smooth Agent Records) Mix:

09. 40 Thieves - Don't Turn It Off (Permanent Vacation)

10. Bruce Ivery - OMDSNS (Smooth Agent)

11. The Muthafunkaz - Hanging On A String (Miami Mix) (Code Red)

12. South of Roosevelt - To Be Somebody (Smooth Agent)

13. Cesar Ramirez - Everybody (Smooth Agent)

14. James Blackstar John feat. Deon - Smile (Piranahead Redone Mix) (Whasdat)

15. Alton Miller - Can't Hide It (Prog City)

Fred Everything - Om Masters mix CD

2010-05-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Fred Everything will launch a brand new series for Om Records at the end of May entitled 'Om Masters'. Fred's CD is a 14 track journey through the high points of his recent production career, taking in his own tracks such as 'Don't Nobody', 'Here I Am' and 'Here Come The Beats' alongside Fred's remixes of guys like Shur-I-Kan, Magik Johnson, Pete Dafeet, Vincenzo & Lovebirds and LawnChair Generals.

Here at Kahua we're privileged to have been asked to handle the UK press campaign and are excited about upcoming reviews in iDJ, DMC Update, Our House Mag and Tilllate, alongside a interviews with Fred in Inhale and Tilllate.

FREE Sampler - 6 tracks for your pleasure

2010-05-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

Following the recent articles on the role of free music we figured we should indulge in a little bit of 'practice what you preach'... so we've teamed up with six of the labels who work with Kahua to put together a quite exceptional package and all for FREE!

The sampler includes some of the leading names working across the deep, soulful and tech house genres including labels Lost My Dog, Adaptation Music, Prismatic Tracks, Bounce House, Headtunes and Baker Street, and artists such as Random Soul, Jay West, Sleazy McQueen, Bobby & Klein, Andrew Phelan & Origami, Paul Hardy and a few more! There's even a couple of exclusive unreleased tracks in there.

All that we ask is that to receive the free music you register to receive updates from the labels so that they can continue to keep you up to date with their happenings (and in all likelihood send you more free music in the future!).

Our thanks go to all of the labels involved for helping put this sampler together. Check them all out at their websites listed below or leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Get the free downloads here

The Tracks

Artist: Haldo

Title: Night City Journey (Random Soul Instrumental)

Label: Adaptation Music

Adaptation Music MySpace

Artist: Jay West

Title: Call The Boss (Peckos Unreleased Remix)

Label: Lost My Dog

Lost My Dog website

Artist: Paul Hardy (Baker Street)

Title: Roll The Dice

Label: Unsigned

Baker Street Recordings website

Artist: Short Bus Kids

Title: Bless The Funk

Label: Bounce House Recordings

Bounce House Recordings website

Artist: Sleazy McQueen

Title: Jus Dance (Bobby & Klein Remix)

Label: Headtunes

Headtunes Recordings MySpace

Artist: George Cochrane

Title: My Synthesizer Won’t Behave (Andrew Phelan & Origami Mix)

Label: Prismatic Tracks

Prismatic Tracks website

Podcast #16 / Radio Show May 2010 with Inland Knights

2010-05-10T01:28:00.000-07:00

The May installment of the Kahua Radio show (Podcast #16) features a guest mix from deep house legends Inland Knights. For over a decade Laurence Ritchie and Andy Riley have been pumping out Midlands House beats and their label Drop Music is one of the UK standard bearers for the genre.

Inland Knights & Strakes - Kahua Music Podcast #16 - May 2010 by Kahua Music

01. Michelle Owen - Strange Days [Baker Street]

02. South Of Roosevelt - To Be Somebody [Smooth Agent]

03. Roland Nights - Phazz (tONKPROJECT Remix) [Lost My Dog]

04. Vernon & Igor - Fa Can Vulo [Homecoming Music]

05. DJ Jaz - Skyler (DJ Sneak Remix) [Jump]

06. Soul de Marin - The Journey [Adaptation Music]

07. Matt Prehn - Roots (Justin Harris Remix) [Baker Street]

Inland Knights [Drop Music] Mix:

Full tracklisting unavailable, mix includes:

Uneaq - I Know You Get Down (Inst) (Clique Trax)

Inland Knights ft. JAMON - Bite Back (Drop Music)

LawnChair Generals ft. Alexander East - Talk To Me (Rhythm Plate Remix) (LCG Music)

Follow the Inland Knights on Twitter

The Role of Free Music – Part 2: Using Free Music To Your Advantage

2010-05-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Following on from the recent article about music piracy, in the second part of our look at the role of free music we consider proactive strategies which can be used to maximise the benefits of giving away music.

The culture of free music has existed in the dance genre for decades, starting with mix tapes and developing to modern day podcasts. This has always been accepted and considered a normal part of the way the dance music works. DJs benefit through building up their followers and getting more gig bookings, while the artists and labels benefit through the free promotion of their music and people subsequently buying the tracks they like. In most cases, the DJ or producer compiling the mix tape/podcast does not own the copyrights in the vast majority of the music they are using and will not have applied for the appropriate licenses to use it. Of course, nobody complains about this because everybody recognises that they are benefitting each other and in many cases it is actively encouraged.

When it comes to giving away full length tracks (that you own the copyrights in) it is still considered taboo to give music away for free. If, however, piracy is such a big issue then why not take more control of the situation and turn it to your advantage?

Build Up a Mailing List/Followers

Free music can be used as an incentive to attract people to join your mailing list or become a ‘follower’ on social networking platforms. This gives you a communication channel with a captive audience who like your style of music and are therefore more likely to be paying customers in future. It is very easy to automate this process by using online email providers and subscription forms so that when somebody joins your mailing list they automatically receive a download link upon confirming their subscription.

Greater Interaction / The Viral Effect

Giving away free music gives people something to talk about, both with you and with others. Interaction with your ‘community’ of fans and friends leads to greater dedication in those that support you and your music, and initiatives such as giving away free music is a useful strategy to lead that interaction. Ultimately this can lead to more sales, more demand for gig bookings, opportunities to sell premium products and so on.

Sharing is a key part of the current web environment with sites like Facebook and Twitter having enormous popularity based on a sharing mentality at their core. Good quality share-able content is one of the most effective ways of encouraging a viral spread and reaching new audiences without any on-going direct effort on your part.

Promote a Specific Project

Free music is an excellent way of promoting a specific project such as a new album, EP or an artist – what better way is there to attract interest than to give people a sample of what they can expect to hear if they purchase the full product. A particular strategy may be to give away a free track from a forthcoming album when people join your mailing list – when the album is finally released you have a ready-made audience to sell it to!

Sell It As Well

A common misconception about giving away free music is that there is then no point in selling it. This is not the case at all, for two reasons. Firstly, your own promotion and any viral spread will not reach every potential customer and there will still be many who discover the music on download stores or through other routes. Secondly, in many situations giving something away can actually help you to spread the message further and reach new audiences, creating a bigger buzz and a profile boosting effect. This in turn may actually lead to higher sales. A now classic example is Radiohead who allowed customers to pay whatever amount they wanted (including nothing at all) to download their album ‘In Rainbows’. Despite this free availability, upon its retail release approximately 3 months later it went straight to number one in both the UK Album Chart and US Billboard 200. While very few have the headline grabbing potential of a band like Radiohead, the underlying message is still important and highlights how free giveaways can work to your advantage.

Get Creative

Giving away free music allows you to get creative – there are no rules, so experiment to see what works, ask people what they want, use analytical tools to monitor the effectiveness and how far it spreads…

Radio Show Catch Up: February, March & April Shows

2010-05-01T07:58:00.001-07:00

A little slackness on my part over the past few months as I've not been updating the monthly radio shows on this page. February, March and April have seen some corking new music and some even corking-er (yep, I just made that word up) guest mixes on the show courtesy of Massimo DaCosta, Ilija Rudman and Andrew Phelan. Check them all out below:

February 2010 with Massimo DaCosta (Homecoming Music, Belgium)

Massimo DaCosta & Strakes - Kahua Music Mix - Feb 2010 by Kahua Music

01. Zweiklang ft. Esteban Garcia - Destination Unknown (Systemfunk Remix) (Solardish)

02. Damon Vallero - Keen To Play More (Downstream)

03. Jay West - Call The Boss (Peckos Remix) (Lost My Dog)

04. Brown - Up Again (House Mix) (Unpopular)

05. DJ Sneak & DJ Soydan - Baba (Yakuza)

06. Paul Hardy - Dust (Jay Shepheard Dub) (Baker Street)

Massimo DaCosta Mix:

07. Soul Minority - Get Together (Stratospherik)

08. Pol_On - 2Be (Salvatore Freda Remix) (Freerange)

09. Vernon & DaCosta - Do It Again (Robsoul)

10. Alex Celler - Congata (Cécille)

11. Roland Nights - Phazz (Vernon & DaCosta Remix) (Lost My Dog)

12. DJ Sneak - Something (Magnetic)

March 2010 with Ilija Rudman (Red Music, Croatia)

Ilija Rudman & Strakes - Kahua Music Mix - Mar 2010 by Kahua Music

01. Your Only Friend - Spelunkin (Your Only Friend)

02. Vincent Kwok - Las Llaves (Schmoov! Remix) (Adaptation)

03. Damon Vallero - Clear Future (Downstream)

04. Short Bus Kids - Let It Roll (Bounce House)

05. Giom - In Love (Lost My Dog)

06. Uneaq - I Know You Get Down (Clique Trax)

Sorry, no tracklisting available for Ilija Rudman mix

April 2010 with Andrew Phelan (Prismatic Tracks, USA)

Andrew Phelan & Strakes - Kahua Music Mix - Apr 2010 by Kahua Music

01. Tres Gueros - Instead You Go (Dave Allison Remix) [Headtunes]

02. Jesus Gonsev - Scrambled Back [Baker Street]

03. Inland Knights - Bite Back [Drop Music]

04. Soul de Marin - Memories [Adaptation]

05. Stacy Kidd & Mike Dixon - Jazzy Days 4 (Downtown Mix) [Back To The Future]

06. Stacy Kidd & Mike Dixon - Jazzy Days 4 (Funky Shit Mix) [Back To The Future]

07. Dominic Martin - Like Dat [Lost My Dog]

Andrew Phelan Mix:

08. Cubik & Origami – Bought & Sold (Pete Dafeet Mix) [Prismatic]

09. George Cochrane – Good Enough (Amit Shoham Mix) [Prismatic]

10. Robert Babicz – Astor (Shur-i-Kan Mix) [Systematic]

11. Atnarko – Crazy About You (Q-Burns Abstract Message Mix) (Andrew Phelan Edit) [Kolour]

12. 2Raumwohnung – It Sounds (Solomun Vox Mix) [Wir Werden Sehen]

The Role of Free Music – Part 1: Piracy

2010-02-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

This article is the first of two which will look at the role of free music. While constantly shifting markets, illegal downloading and changing income streams are putting the music industry through another major change we look at whether you can use free music to your advantage (or at least not get so hacked off when you find it online for free). The first part looks at the thorny issue of music piracy as we consider an alternative view “is it really all bad?” Part 2 will follow in a few weeks in which we’ll look at proactive strategies you can use to maximise the benefits of giving away music. As always, this article is aimed primarily at independent dance music labels.

Illegal downloading and file sharing can undoubtedly be one of the most frustrating elements of running a record label. In an ideal world music piracy would be wiped out, while copyright owners would be able to retain greater control and ultimately make money for all uses of their music. Unfortunately that’s far from the reality and music piracy is here to stay unless more wholesale changes are made in terms of anti-piracy laws.

Will fighting piracy really make a difference?

It is possible to try and combat some music piracy yourself, or there are several services which exist who will search the web and remove any links which infringe your copyright. These things both carry a cost, either financial or time/effort. While this approach may remove the most prominent public links it can be argued that it only deals with the tip of the iceberg because countless more people share the music in non-public places. Link removal services offered by third parties are often time-limited and once they stop acting on your behalf the music may begin to appear again. Trying to take on the larger operators such as Pirate Bay and Oink, should your music appear on those sites, is always going to be an uphill battle.

Putting aside the moral arguments, and thinking purely from a business perspective, when deciding whether to fight piracy head on two important questions to consider are:

Could I put the time/money towards a better use? For example, promoting the music to people more likely to buy it from a legitimate source.
Will people who download music illegally actually pay for legal downloads? What motivates their choice to download illegally? There is an argument that if the temptation of free downloads is removed then a proportion of those people will pay instead, but in reality how many people will this actually be? There is such a huge amount of music available that yours has to be irreplaceable and hugely desirable in order to cause any shift in this audience and turn them into paying customers.

Can music piracy actually offer free promotion and new opportunities?

Free sharing could potentially be seen as free promotion. Somebody who likes your music so much that they feel compelled to give it to others can actually be a very powerful piece of marketing in an age where viral and word of mouth rule. Ultimately if artists become more well known then additional benefits such as gig bookings and merchandise sales can follow, which are often more lucrative than the music sales themselves.

Personally I know of a record label who received a high profile compilation license for a track which had not yet been released and which the DJ mixing the compilation had not been sent on promo. Did the artist and label complain about potential piracy in this case? Certainly not, they were very happy to receive the cash bonus!

Can file sharing actually generate increased sales?

More and more research is emerging which demonstrates that as more music is shared illegally, the sales of that music also increases. Check out these articles on Sonic State and Tech Blorge. The logic behind this is two-fold: the first reason is that as the music and artists become more well known by a wider audience there is naturally a greater awareness and hype around them which in turn generates sales, and secondly, those who download music illegally are often the biggest music fans – they access free music to fulfil their desire for new sounds but equally are the biggest spenders and therefore more likely to buy some of your other music in future. To date much of this research is in popular music and so it is unknown whether the same trends apply further down the food chain.

Some other links to check out:

Torrent Freak

Washington Post

Kahua Radio Mix: January 2010

2010-02-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

Apologies for being a little slow updating this one (in fact the Feb mix is just about to go out!)... anyway January's radio show was a cracker if I do say so myself with Giom joining me for a guest mix. Giom will be familiar to anybody with even a passing interest in deep house, the France-born London-based producer has released his original productions on labels such as Kolour, Blackcherry and Ornate, as well as remixing for Jay J, Fred Everything and Natalie Williams. He's not a bad DJ either, check out the mix below (you can even download it!) - 30 mins from me and 30 mins from Giom.

Giom & Strakes - Kahua Music Mix - Jan 2010 by Kahua Music

1. Brett Jackson & Orion feat. Jade - Change (Office Gossip Remix) (WOT)

2. Atnarko feat. Nica Brooke - Solid Ground (Nacho Marco Remix) (Lazy Days)

3. Jay West - Let It Ride (Random Soul French Wash) (Adaptation)

4. Matt Prehn - Boom Boom Bye (Jazzy Eyewear's South Beach Remix) (Headtunes)

5. Bang Bang - Broken (Lost My Dog)

6. Cubik & Origami - Bought & Sold (Pete Dafeet Remix) (Prismatic)

Giom Mix:

7. Florian Kruse – Be Active (Dub) (Brown Eyed Boyz Records)

8. Audiojack – This House (Get Digital Music)

9. Renato Cohen – Mongochips (BBE)

10. Shonky – Mama Queen (Contexterrior)

11. Bernard Badie Feat. Dajae – Tonight (Tony Records)

12. Jay West – Call The Boss (Lost My Dog)

13. D.Ramirez & Matt Tolfrey – Bounce To Me (Phonica Records)

The Shiny New Kahua Brochure

2009-12-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

Our lovely new brochure is now available, containing details on Kahua, information about our services, quotes from our clients and examples of our work. Follow the link below to see whether Kahua's music promotion services may be of benefit to your business.

View the Kahua Music Promotions pdf brochure here

Kahua Radio Mix: December 2009

2009-12-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

For December Yse steps up for a 30 minute guestmix of deep deep house, alongside the usual 30 mins from resident Strakes. Yse has released music for Lost My Dog, Kolour Recordings and 1999 Recordings amongst others and is also known as Ant Plate, one half of house duo Rhythm Plate. Check out his awesome 'A Life Sentience EP', just out on Lost My Dog (vinyl | digital).

Strakes Mix:

1. Dave Miller ft. Kelly Hayden - Give Love (Evan Rhodes & Greg Yuen Remix) (Motion Music)

2. Lovebirds & Vincenzo - M.U.S.I.C. (Fred Everything Reix) (Teardrop)

3. Ilija Rudman - Night People (Instrumental) (Red Music)

4. Yse - Things Never Said (Lost My Dog)

5. Dave Allison - Y'All See (Tom Lown Remix) (Warmth)

6. Scope - I Want (One thirty)

Yse Mix:

7. Unknown - Unknown intro

8. Bayle - Andromeade

9. Ethyl & Wahtsichtsnaym - Catch Up

10. Azuni - Nightshifter

11. YSE - I Dont Want Love

12. Two Armadillos - Je Suis Differente

13. Gerd - Freedom

14. YSE - Worry

15. YSE - Untitled

16. Unknown - Lycra

17. Unknown - Unknown outro

Kahua Music Mix 11 - Dec 09 - Yse & Strakes by Kahua Music

Top Tips for Social Media

2009-11-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

In this month’s article we take a look at how to maximise benefit from social networking, blogs and online communities; all of those places where you can interact with your customers and indeed where they can interact with each other (with or without your knowledge and input!). You will most likely already be using tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, Myspace, web forums and all the others, but are you using them to maximum advantage? The rewards of doing so can be great, but so can the risks if the audience you are engaging with react in a negative way. This article presents five top tips, as summarised from research carried out by Digital Strategy Consulting who analysed the successes and failures of hundreds of social media marketing campaigns. Thanks to Peter Morgan who pointed me towards their article ‘10 Golden Rules in Social Media Marketing’.

Get Involved and Stay Involved

The first step, quite clearly, is to get involved in social media but after you have your Facebook and Twitter accounts you need to remain actively involved, participating regularly in discussions and engaging with your ‘audience’. Having a profile which is never updated and isn’t engaging for readers can often be worse than having no presence at all. It is extremely easy to synchronise various platforms meaning you can post content to multiple places at once, saving valuable time. Do not, however, assume that this is the extent of your involvement - you should still try to participate on a personal level.

Make Interaction Easy

Make it simple for people to interact with you; the easier the participation, the higher the chance of involvement. A simple example is to encourage people to click to vote or rate something. It is important to remember that while only a minority of people will feel compelled to actually write a comment or opinion, there will be many more who will be reading and may be prepared to participate in an anonymous way. This is still very useful involvement and can provide valuable data.

Initiate Conversation

You should seek to start discussions, but then step back and allow the conversation to develop and spread naturally. Viral marketing videos are a prime example of this; the video provides the catalyst for much greater ongoing discussion.

Forget Traditional ‘Website’ Marketing

Consumers now want to choose where to access information and discuss it with their friends. Therefore the traditional model of driving traffic to your website is no longer applicable. The website can still act as a central hub but your message has to infiltrate the places where your customers visit. The large social networking sites is where lots of activity takes place and provide a perfect starting point for your online marketing.

Use your Networks

To effectively use social media platforms you have to be prepared to give up some control and use the consumer to help spread your message. In fact you should be encouraging them to spread it for you. To do this you could make things available that they will want to share with others. Ultimately a message delivered via a form of recommendation will be more powerful than a direct message from you as the ‘brand’. In the music industry prime examples include giving out free tracks and DJ mixes. Taking it a step further you can even get your network of people to create content for you, for example by asking them to make videos of your music or creating remixes from free parts.

Kahua Radio Mix: November 2009

2009-11-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Kahua's November mix comes from Strakes and Latenight Society, the Floridian duo of Romano Arcaini and Jason Leva, who have released much for labels including Amenti, Nordic Tracks, Detour and Phobic.

Strakes Mix:

1. Forces Of Nature - Phobos (Intelligent Audio)

2. The Layabouts & Kathy Brown - Choices (JoVonn Vocal Mix) (Mn2S)

3. Yse ft Beckford - Worry (DJ Bene Remix) (Lost My Dog)

4. King Cosmic - Freaky Queen (KiNK Remix) (Hot Milk)

5. Paul Hardy & Moodymanc - Sizzler (Sei A Remix)

6. Artie Flexs - The Blame (Lost My Dog)

7. Big Brother - Chymera (Nick Dare Remix) (Lost My Dog)

Latenight Society Mix:

8. Lee Curtiss – Smoking Mirrors – Spectral Sound

9. Danny Stott – Bubble Bop – Lost My Dog

10. Pete DaFeet – Alto –Nacho Marco rmx – Lost My Dog

11. Wiretappeur - I Want You - Fresh Meat

12. Bunkers, Alessio Mereu & Signor Andreoni - Lost In The Red Room – Tuning Spork

13. Onur Ozman – Random Kiss – Acryl Music

14. LNS – Do It Right – Lost My Dog

Kahua Music Mix 10 - Nov 09 - Strakes & Latenight Society by Kahua Music

Making The Most of Email Marketing

2009-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

The rise of a multitude of social networking platforms over recent years have provided more ways than ever to get your message out to fans and potential customers. Amongst all the Twittering, Myspacing, Soundclouding, Facebooking, Beboing and everything else, the medium of email can often be overlooked. While these various social networking platforms are all important, email still represents the highest return on investment of any marketing initiative, as well as offering the following advantages:

Everybody uses it – and it often forms the launch point for most people’s online activities
It is familiar – no new skills are required
It is direct – and can be stored and accessed at the user’s own preference

In this article we look at some tips on how to get the most out of email marketing. Thanks to AIM and A2IM for pointing me in the direction of their email marketing White Paper.

1. Manage your existing email list

If you have previously collected email addresses but have not contacted the people for some time then purge the list, which generally involves asking people to re-opt-in. It is often useful to include some type of incentivising offer when doing this, such as free and/or exclusive content.

2. Use a professional Email Service Provider

A professional email service provider will help to manage your mailing lists, create forms to collect new subscribers and track statistics such as open rates and click-throughs. They will also provide templates to help you design attractive emails. Examples of companies providing such services include Sign-up.to, Champion Sound and Fanbridge.

3. Statistics

The statistics collected from the actions taken by email recipients are useful in determining which elements of your email campaigns are most successful and which are less successful. This allows you to refine future campaigns. You can also use the statistics to test campaigns before sending out the most well received of the tests to the full email list, or to set targets to aim for.

4. Recruiting subscribers

There are a number of things to consider when recruiting subscribers to your email list in order to keep the lists healthy:

Double opt-in – when someone joins via an online form, always make sure they get added to your list only after they click a link sent to them as triggered by the sign-up process. All Email Service Providers offer this kind of mechanism.
Subscriber details – do you want to make people give up a lot of details up front, so as to get a better profile (but potentially risk putting some people off), or collect only a valid email address? There is no right or wrong in this regard – but you should make a decision and stick to it.
How do you plan to recruit subscribers ‘offline’ (eg at gigs)? If possible, deploy technology rather than take hand-written lists.
What incentives are you offering to sign up, and how clear are you about the offer? It is generally a good idea to offer something in return for sign-up.
It is also worth making sure that new people who join the list are not left for long periods of time before you make any further contact with them.

5. Spam

Email service providers will often provide a facility to inform you of the spam rating of your message. Getting a good balance of images with text, and also avoiding certain words can all help to avoid spam filters. Here are a few simple tips to help you avoid crossing into the realms of spam:

Have a one-click unsubscribe option at the footer of every email you send
Include your company’s details in every email
Never purchase or ‘borrow’ someone else’s lists
Don’t use terms like “free”, “special offer”, “discounts” and the like within your subject line or email body
When recruiting people to your lists, be clear to them what they are signing up for – don’t merge email lists unless you have received explicit permission from the recipients to do so.
Be aware of the number of emails you are sending – too many, and people will simply flag your emails as spam, whether or not they actively subscribed to your list or not. Too few, and you lose the potency of your email marketing project.

Kahua Radio Mix: October 09

2009-10-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

For October's mix we welcome Danny Stott as the guestmixer. Danny has released music for labels including Lost My Dog, Dutchie, Grouper, Night Drive Music, 3am and several of Tony Thomas' labels.

Strakes Mix:

1. Rhythm Plate ft. Nesreen - Tonight (Yse Remix) (1999 Recordings)

2. Jacob - Diamonds (Moodymanc Remix) (Baker Street)

3. Ross Warm - I Am An Original (Unpopular)

4. Lovebirds - N2Deep (Lazy Days)

5. Latenight Society - Do It Right (Pete Dafeet Remix) (Lost My Dog)

6. Drew Tempest - Time Out (Trendy Mullet)

Danny Stott Mix:

7. Tuccillo - Jazzy Thing (Peppermint Jam)

8. Two Deep - Sax Pest (1999 Recordings)

9. Danny Stott - Bubble Pop (Lost My Dog)

10. Soul Minority - House Music (Elevation)

11. Atomm - Hoyoyo (Funk la Planet)

12. Danny Stott - Bunker (Atnarko's Deep Revision) (Lost My Dog)

13. Steinwiese - Wool Rim (Aruba & Rodskeez Mix) (Splendid)

14. Dennis Ferrer - Son of Raw (King Street Sounds)

15. Edmund - Inside of my Mind (Grouper Recordings)

16. Soultourist - Fo Eva Gruber & Nuernberg Remix (Drumpoet Community)

17. Recruit - Peace Trip (Pete Dafeet Remix) (Southside Shuffle)

18. Stel, Nils Nurnberg, Wiretapper, Florian Kruse - I Want You (Fresh Meat)

Kahua Music Mix 9 - Oct 09 - Strakes & Danny Stott by Kahua Music

The Hidden Benefits Of Music Promotion

2009-09-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

In this article we explore the various benefits that promoting your music can offer. We look at the immediately obvious advantages - such as DJs providing comments you can use in your marketing - and also consider some of the less immediately obvious ‘hidden’ benefits, such as licensing and additional work offers. These benefits are all things that I have experienced firsthand at Kahua Music Promotions.

DJ and Radio Plays

One of the key advantages of promoting your music to club DJs and radio DJs is that they will play it and hence put it in front of potential customers. There is such a wealth of music available now that recommendation is becoming increasingly important when people make purchases. Therefore having your music played in clubs, used in DJ mixes and podcasts, and played on radio is a great way of reaching a large audience and taking advantage of the endorsement from respected individuals.

DJ Comments, Charts and Magazine Reviews

In exactly the same way as having the music played out, getting comments from DJs, being included in charts and being reviewed in magazines is another great form of recommendation. DJ comments can be used in your sales notes for stores and distributors and also in your own marketing materials. DJ charts, particularly those on download stores are big sales drivers and inclusion in these can have a massive influence. Similarly magazine and website reviews are an excellent source of recommendation as well as being read by thousands of potential customers.

Read more on DJ charts and how to use feedback effectively

General Profile

While music promotions are often targeted towards boosting a specific release, the impact it has on your overall profile and reputation should not be underestimated. Consistently sending your music to tastemakers helps to build a relationship and will improve the chances that they will support it.

Professional Appearance and Credibility

Investing money to promote your music means greater professional credibility; those who receive it will view it in a more favourable light because of the way the music is presented. Spending money on promotions demonstrates that you are serious about making a success of your label and artists, and therefore should be treated with importance.

Larger Scale Radio and Magazine Features

One way that building up your overall profile, appearance, credibility and trust with tastemakers can manifest itself is in requests from magazines or radio to run larger features on your artists or label. This may include interviews, guest mixes and profile pieces; all things which can have a large impact of spreading the message further.

Licenses

Compilation licenses can prove a very valuable source of income for record labels and naturally DJs compiling such mixes are often looking for upfront material. By consistently promoting your music you can increase the chances of your music being licensed. Several record labels promoting their music through Kahua have seen that the income generated from a license can easily cover the cost of undertaking the promotional activities. Furthermore, if you are successful in having a track synchronised to film/TV, an advert or computer game the income generated can be much greater.

Remixes and Production Work Offers

Sending your music to other DJs and producers (who are often record label owners as well) can also lead to additional offers of work. At Kahua we are regularly contacted by record label owners and artists asking to be put in touch with other artists they have heard and liked through our services.

Kahua Radio Mix: September 09

2009-09-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

September's radio mix saw Strakes joined by Nick Dare, a mighty fine DJ and deep/tech house producer from London, who has releases on Lost My Dog, Detour, Wiggle and several other leading labels.

1. Harold Heath - Lovebird (Lost My Dog)

2. Fabio Tosti & Francesco Taranti - Get Up (Fabio Tosti Under Club Mix) (Transport)

3. Mazi ft. Colette - Do You Want Me (2020 Vision Vocal Mix) (Brique Rouge)

4. Latenight Society - Do It Right (Lost My Dog)

5. George Cochrane - Teh Key Is In The Lock (The Littlemen Mix) (Unpopular)

6. Molisans Brothers - 600 Entry (Big City Beats)

7. Junia Ovadose - Pizza The Hut (Lost My Dog)

Nick Dare Mix:

8. Maunuel Sahagun – Pieces Of Me (Bambino)

9. Julian Sanza – Maldito Dimitri (Lost My Dog)

10. Terry Lee Brown Jnr – Everyday (Plastic City)

11. Alex Celler, Anthea – Playmaker (Dyed Soundorom Cougar Remix) (Freak N Chic)

12. Eddie Leader feat Red Eye – Brace Yourself (Hudd Trax)

13. Stimming – The Kiss (Diynamic)

Mix 8 - Sept 09 - Strakes & Nick Dare by Kahua Music