How Can Radio Benefit You?

If you are a music artist, how do you get your work out to listeners? I've seen a lot of stories about artists who've hit it big via YouTube, but we can't forget the importance of radio. A lot of people listen to radio every day, and it continues to be a great way to get your work out there.

Radio is still a primary tool for breaking music to the mainstream audience. The biggest acts, even those in electronic music, push cross-over records to the radio in order to reach the charts because chart notations are the true drivers of record sales. Also, internet radio & FM radio pay royalties to artists for a bit of extra income.

But how do you get your music on the radio? One way is to get the help of experts who have experience in working with artists to push their work to the next level of exposure. Swerrrdmedia is one such group of experts dedicated to helping independent musicians.

Swerrrdmedia offers radio promotion & radio airplay to independent and major artists on FM (Mediabase & BDS Monitoring), Sirius Satellite, College, Yahoo, MTV, Music Choice, On Demand, VH1, Shoutcast, Pandora, Europe, BBC, UK, Canada, Russia, Australia, and China Radio. Their team networks with Program Directors, Station Managers, DJs, and radio affiliates to achieve national radio airplay, radio promotion, charting, interviews, publishing, label contracts, world tours, and exposure. In addition, they add each track for digital accessibility and review by thousands of radio stations, DJs, music supervisors, music producers, and publications in over 60 countries.

The company has made a reputation out of customer service, and you can learn more by calling them directly at 631-704-5749 or visiting www.swerrrdmedia.com.

Meet X-Change, DJ and Producer

X-Change is an electro and progressive house music DJ and producer residing in Los Angeles. A University of Michigan alumni, he has a strong background and knowledge of acoustics and engineering. While fine tuning his original singles, he also releases custom edits and mash-ups, and is always on the lookout for talented people to collaborate and work with. X-Change brings a new sound to the world of dance music with original tracks coming out in 2015.

Learn more about his work on his website, SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter.

1. How did you first get started working as a DJ?

I actually started DJing when I was a college student at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. I was also interested in music, and a few honor societies wanted me to DJ their banquets, so I sort of stumbled into it and from there wanted to learn everything there was to know about DJing.

2. When you do a custom edit of a song, how do you decide what to emphasize from the original work?

Usually when doing an edit, I'm working on my mixshow X-Change Theory Radio, and I hear a track that I love but want to play in a different way in my set either due to a cool vocal or synth breakdown or drop section. Then I structure my edit for my DJing style so that my favorite part of the original is highlighted.

3. Would you tell us a little bit about your experience collaborating with Jessica Louise?

Jessica Louise is an amazing singer! She has been a pleasure to work with on "Stronger." I wrote the song with Jeff Zacharski and Hannah Taylor a while ago, and we looked for months for a female singer that would fit the track perfectly. Then when we heard Jessica's voice, we knew she had to be on it! We are actually following the track up with an acoustic version stripping the track back to just her vocals and piano. I'm super excited for everyone to hear that!

4. What are some of the other original tracks you've been working on--and what are you planning to release in 2015?

It's been a busy 2015 so far. I've been working on a lot of different tracks and concepts in the studio and have a bunch of releases planned. I have an all-instrumental electro house track called "Kandiland" coming out soon as well as more female vocal based progressive house tracks titled "Amnesia" and "Weight Of Your Love" that are almost finished as well. On top of that I'm releasing a lot of my private edits and working on some remixes for other artists.

5. For you personally as a listener, what separates great dance music from good dance music?

For me, my favorite tracks have killer melodies that you just can't stop humming. I also love a great vocal over the track. There is just something so cool about a song that gives you chills when you listen to the vocal riding over the chord progression and it all crescendos up into this massive drop that makes you want to jump up and down wherever you are!

Thanks, X-Change!

Meet Ted Melikian, Singer and Producer with 2 Bit Radio

I always like the opportunity to turn the spotlight on new music on this blog, so I was glad to chat with Ted Melikian, the singer and producer from 2 Bit Radio, a new electronic funk band.

I listened to their new song "Satellite" and enjoyed it. It has funk, and Ted's voice is so smooth that it also gives you a nice, chill feeling. I'd describe the song as something with a definite groove to it: you can feel the bass, and you can also just really feel the love and enthusiasm of the artist going into the music. If you like music that makes you want to dance, definitely give this band a listen. They might remind you a bit of Daft Punk or Depeche Mode, but really I think they have their own unique sound.

1. How is the single, "Satellite," different than tracks you've released in the past?



Whenever you compare new music to music created in the past, there is a difference. People change, you know--they grow and learn. So the music evolves, too. In our first album "Dirty Time," my mood at the time was reflected more so in those tracks like in the songs "Beverly Baller" and "Never Understand." It's been more than four years since I wrote those songs, and I have a better studio for producing and have really studied and focused more on the sounds of funk, groove, and melody for "Satellite" and our future release, "These are the good old days." 

2. What's your process like for writing new songs? 



It might not be for everyone, but this is how my brain works it out. I start with the music composition. Layer it with synth and guitar parts. Create the chorus, and write the lyrics for the rest of the song. Then add percussion and add more sounds. By the time I'm at this point, many weeks/days/hours have passed, and I'm either loving how it has come together or going crazy over some part that's not perfect yet. I love the process, so I can't complain. Music is my life.



3. When it comes to working with someone like Eric Racy to have a track mixed, what's that collaboration like?



It's good. He is very professional, a great communicator. I hand over my .wav files and I leave it to his discretion to mix it. He adds his touch, and when I get it back, it's definitely better. If there's any adjustment I'd like made, he delivers. He's a cool guy on the phone, too, easy to work with.

4. What are your plans for the coming year?



We are still working on the rest of the songs for the second album, so that's how most of this year's time will be spent. We'll promote "Satellite" for a few months and make the official music video soon. Then again for "These are the good old days." We played 44 shows following our last album release in 2012. We plan to have another strong tour again when this second album is finished.


5. Where should people look to keep up with your latest releases?


You can go to our official website www.2bitradio.com
. You can find our music, tour dates, videos, and photos there. 
And as of right now we are giving our fans a free download of "Satellite" exclusively on soundcloud.com/2bitradio. 
We are also on Facebook and Twitter, so please look us up when you're there.

Thanks, Ted!

Introducing the Worldwide Groove Corporation Blog

As readers of this website know, I always love a good concept for a blog, and in my opinion, Worldwide Groove Corporation has a great one at http://www.worldwidegroovecorp.com/blog/. The blog is in the middle of celebrating the "Year of the Groove" where the musicians behind the site are putting out one new music release every month for a year and blogging about the new releases.

Kurt Goebel and Ellen Tift are Worldwide Groove Corporation, an electronic music duo based in Nashville. They create original compositions as well as downtempo remakes of jazz classics. You might recognize their music from a TV commercial for Grey's Anatomy, airplay on the syndicated "Chillin' with Chris Botti" show and other radio shows/networks, or placements in many indie films. Their music reminds me a little of Morcheeba, but give it a listen for yourself and see what you think.

The Year of the Groove project started last July, and their January 2015 post is (as of Jan 15) not up quite yet but will be appearing very soon. Each blog post includes an embedded SoundCloud player so that you can listen to the music while you read about the music. I like learning about how artists create their work, and the blog posts share lots of interesting details about the processes of writing lyrics, composing melodies, and more.

You also get behind the scenes details about how a song sometimes takes off in ways that the creators never imagined. For example, one of WGC's songs ended up becoming part of an campaign against genetically modified foods, a surprising yet welcome event for the musicians.

This is a great blog for hearing new music and learning about the experiences of two creative artists as they make and share their music with the world. In addition to the monthly Year of the Groove posts, there are other posts about a variety of topics relevant to readers with an interest in arts and culture. Check it out!

Meet Psy'Aviah, Electronic Music Artists

Psy'Aviah was founded in 2003 by producer and composer Yves Schelpe, later joined by vocalist Emélie Nicolaï, and guitarist Kristof De Clerck. Since 2011, the band consists of Yves, Emélie and Ben Van de Cruys. Known as open-minded electronic music artists, Antwerp-based Psy'Aviah want to challenge the world to think about "Our Common Future." Check out their music video for Our Common Future on YouTube. The track debuted in February of 2014.

How will we live together, and how we will care for each other? "Our Common Future" explores these questions and mixes dub, pop, and triphop, with a special warm sound from the lush synthesizer of Yves (Psy'Aviah) and the smooth and emotional vocals by special guest Kyoko Baertsoen.

You can listen to and purchase Psy'Aviah's music on Spotify, iTunes, and BandCamp.

Our interview below is with Yves.

1. How did you first get into electronic music?

When I was 16, I first started creating electronic music. While everyone else was playing guitar, drum kits, and bass, I saw the opportunity to work alone and form my own band.

Back then I was heavily influenced by Praga Khan, Underworld, Moby, and a lot of trance music (Svensson & Gielen, PUSH, etc.). Especially the album "Mutant Funk" of Praga Khan sparked me to write my own music, since that album showed me how genres & other influences could be incorporated into a song. To this day it's still a big influence, and it has shaped the band's tagline: "open-minded electronic music with heart and soul," which truly describes what we do. We're not afraid of trying out new genres, directions, or styles. From reggae to triphop to hiphop to ebm to ambient and more... It all has a special place and influence in the music of Psy'Aviah.

2. What are some of the challenges of writing music which addresses important topics like diversity and respect?

The most challenging part of writing such lyrics is to make them relevant for everyone. I try to tackle this by describing the world how I observe it, or questioning a subject, but not necessarily giving an opinion in the lyrics. It's up to the listeners to make the thought experiment for themselves. With the song "Our Common Future," for instance, the line "Survival of the fittest, or survival for us all?" is a good example of questioning the situation we're in this world. And, by then, in the chorus using the lines "We are all in the same boat here, we are all on the same planet," I try to make it relevant for everyone.

Another song of ours that comes to mind is "Keep Hope Alive," which deals about euthanasia. The lyrics never give out an explicit opinion, but again ask a question: "Who are we to decide to keep Hope alive?".

3. What inspired you to collaborate with Kyoko Baertsoen, and what was the process like?

I've been a long time fan of the triphop band "Lunascape." which was co-founded by Kyoko. I first heard her singing in 2001 with the Lunascape song "Sequoia" on a Belgian late night show called "De Laatste Show." I was instantly in love with the band. Kyoko has a very distinctive voice, very warm, emotional and a bit mysterious. I found it could be a perfect fit for this song and went searching on the internet about how to contact her to work together (thank god for Facebook ;-)).

The process is how I usually work with all vocalists. I sent an instrumental demo, and a demo with my own voice on it "singing" the lyrics. The vocalists then take that back and make it their own, recording it at their studio and send me back the vocals. It's a process that's very efficient and allows us to work on our own rhythms. But in general I love collaborating with different vocalists. Without being disrespectful here, those voices are like instruments for me in a track. For a while "Psy'Aviah" had a main vocalist, which was interesting as we had a more "band"-like structure and could perform live a lot. But I felt the need to go out and experiment with new and other voices again.

4. In making the video for "Our Common Future," what did you want to express?

As the lyrics try to make you reflect on the current socio-cultural and ecological state of our world, I thought it would make sense to "zoom out" and see the totality of our earth. What better way than to use the NASA Space Program footage for that. We then literally look at our planet from a distance and can contemplate its future and our future, while admiring the beautiful images shot by the telescopes and cameras of the space programs. Furthermore, it was a great way, visually, to incorporate Kyoko in the music video as she's singing the vocals through consoles, monitors, and screens.

5. What are some of your plans for the year to come, and what's the best way for fans to keep up with your work?

This very moment I'm working on a new "Psy'Aviah" album, where I'll return to my "roots," which means inviting people and collaborating with them on tracks. Most of the tracks are written and recorded, and I hope to finish the production somewhere in May 2014. The album will feature guests such as Mari Kattman, Lis van den Akker, Lisa Nascimento, and again Kyoko Baertsoen. We're also working on having a very cool remix line-up for the limited edition!

Updates, behind the scenes clips, and contests are posted on our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts. So those are the best to stay in touch with us: facebook.com/psyaviah - @psy_aviah - youtube.com/psyaviah.

Thanks, Yves!