We are currently working on the upcoming releases on Pesto. A LOAD of new Pesto singles, Pesto EPs and compilations are coming your way in brief! So long, please also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud and YouTube.

Speak soon...J

related tags: pesto music

Such a long time has passed without any new PestoMix. Did you miss us? Did you miss new music to be downloaded for free? Have your Friday and Saturday nights gone bad due to a lack of proper DJ mixes? Don't whine and complain, we can help out.
Here's the long overdue PestoMix 018, this time by Simon Tappenden - a true deep tech House soldier deluxe, supplying the global underground scene with arse-kicking tracks and DJ mixes since the 1990ies of the last century.

This mix represents that deep TechHouse flavour artists from England are famous and loved for (at least by myself). But it surely also bears Simon's distinctive signature which you will also be able to check out soon on our upcoming 2.0 compilation "Deep Blue Dubs". We're happy to have one of Simon Tappenden's tracks among a bunch of other deep tunes, coming to Beatport on 28th September 2011.

Speaking of british performers, let me put it like this: if Paul Jones' PestoMix was a Pesto alla Genovese, this is a Pesto Nero in the best sense of the word. Enjoy!

01. Rene Breitbarth - Leisure Larry (Franklin De Costa Remix)
02. The Timewriter - King Of Calm
03. Hans Thalau - Tuva (Rene Breitbarth Remix)
04. Matthais Vogt - Rudiments
05. Claudio Giordano - Gardens Of Flower
06. Brawther - Spaceman Funk
07. Danny Howells - Everything's Here (Deetron Remix)
08. Cosmin TRG - Magnetic Bodies
09. Mathias Kaden & Pi-ge - Konomama
10. Rene Breitbarth - Right And Left
11. Ossie - The Power Of Love
12. Kuningas - Jupiter
13. Avenir - My Mood
14. Karol XVII & MB Valence - Anxiety
15. SoundSAM - Trails Of Acid
16. Kevin Griffiths - Cantona Kung Fu (Arto Mwambe Remix)
17. Roman Stange - Paratroupr Maximal


click here to be transferred to iTunes
click here for the direct MP3 link or right-click and choose "save as"

related tags: pestomix dj dj-mix simon tappenden download

Running a label in the age of digital is a tough business: loads of crap demos an A&R has to go through in order to pick the good ones, low margins, rogue websites offering your music as a 10 cent download ("hey, it's all licensed with our collecting society!") and products being available on Rapidshare just hours after their release. There's nothing you can do about it: have the file in question removed, a couple of minutes later, five more copies pop up on other one-click hosters.

Now, I don't have a problem with people who'd like to try before buying. They want to listen to the whole tune, not just some two-minute snippet on Beatport or some 45-seconds preview on iTunes. I do understand that! But if I really like a tune which I've acquired in a similar manner, I'm buying it in the end. Especially when using it in my DJ sets.

Then, you have the die-hard fans. They upload a Pesto track to YouTube, share it with their friends, record it from some web radio and post that to SoundCloud. They are not aware of any evil they might be doing or any harm that their action may cause to both artists and labels. They just love the tune and thus, they put it up their profile on whatever service.

How do you deal with them?

Let me give you an example. I have a Google alert set for various keywords in order to monitor other people's activity on Pesto releases. One of them is set up for the keyword "cloudsteppers" which is the artist of our Pesto 012 single. So, last weekend, I find a mention in my RSS feed for that very keyword and see it's a SoundCloud link. I thought "hmm, maybe it's Vyach of Cloudsteppers who put up a snippet on his SoundCloud" but the link pointed to a profile I wasn't aware of. I clicked the link, SoundCloud opened and I was displayed my Soda Inc. remix of Cloudsteppers' "Make Me Shine". No problem, fans tend to do that. I see downloads are enabled and it's nearly the whole tune, hijacked from some web radio stream - available as a free download.

Well, there's a free download of that Cloudsteppers track on pesto.de but, in fact, it's not the "Jon Silva's Soda Inc. Remix".

At this time, a label has two options:

1. lawyer up, hit the gym, profit.

2. write a message to the poster, explaining the backgrounds, kindly asking to disable downloads.

I went for option 2. and here's what I wrote (including all grammar and spelling errors - it was a Sunday):

Here's a transcript:

Hi Olga,

Just came across my remix of that Cloudsteppers track on your profile. I'm happy you like the tune and when people put our Music (the mix is released on my Pesto label) on their profile, it usually means they're big fans. That's awesome!
However, it takes away possible income from the artists and the label - especially when offered as download.

I am therefore asking you to disable downloads and if you feel like supporting both the artist and the label (Cloudsteppers, Pesto Music and me), please add a download link to a store. You can use a link to Beatport for example: http://www.beatport.com/release/make-me-shine/151087

Feel free to keep the track on your profile, you don't have to remove it but please disable downloads.

Hope you understand:)

cheers & have a great weekend,

Jon

PS: did you know we have a Pesto FreeBee, a free download of another version of Make Me Shine? Check this out: http://pesto-usa.com/PestoCast/Make_Me_Shine_FreeBee_Version.mp3

Less than 24 hours later, I get a reply:

Hi Jon,
I thank you for having written, downloads is disable,
(CLOUDSTEPPERS - Make Me Shine (Jon Silva's Soda Inc remix) by Olga Wagner :))
and thanks for another link, I'm glad!
Olga

Another Way

Rather than pissing off one person with an unnecessary lawsuit and additional hustle, I now have a supporter. Rather than Olga telling her friends what dickheads the Pesto guys are, she's now probably telling them that we're just reasonable and that we appreciate our fans doing free promo for us. At least, I hope so. Worst case: she doesn't tell anybody but points her friends and social circle to her profile and we get more exposure. Everybody wins.

What I was about to say: I don't mind if you post our tracks. A person who's satisfied with the sound quality on YouTube or SoundCloud wouldn't buy it anyway. No sales gone. A person who's convinced of having a right to download music, software, ebooks and the likes for free without any consideration for the authors wouldn't be buying in any case.

It's up to you - the fan, the listener, the reader, the enjoyer - to pay for non-physical, digital goods. If nobody pays, there won't be as much material for you to download in the future. If you support the artists and the labels that bring lovely music to you, the artist will be able to buy a new piece of gear to record vocals or a guitar. The label will be able to buy stock photography for cover artworks, buy label software, buy new mastering plugins to improve the overall label's sound and so on and so forth.

It's all up to you! Your decision makes the difference.

Ya feelin me or you tend to disagree? Let us know in the FB comments.

related tags: pesto012 cloudsteppers soundcloud beatport iTunes youtube

...there is no one winner, we actually have quite a couple;)

First things first: let me express how overwhelmed I am by the sheer number of contributions! With Pesto being the small label that we are, I would have expected maybe 20 or 25 remixes at best. We had 50 in our inbox - wow, you guys are effin amazing! Hats off to you for putting time, effort and love in your reworks! I'd also expected to have like 3 or 4 decent remixes, hence the licenses for the first two winners for the awesome softsynths "Discovery Pro" (worth 149EUR) and "Discovery" (worth 75EUR), sponsored by makers of fine software synths discoDSP. But no way, we have way more than 3 decent remixes!

A word to discoDSP: I've also contacted other manufacturers of plugins, which I won't name here, that replied "your Alexa ranking doesn't look good, I expect some additional promotion from giving away free licenses". Note to self: don't buy at this company anymore. There's a german saying that goes "other mothers have pretty daughters as well" - other developers have proper compressors, too;)
So let me take the chance to say a big thank you to discoDSP, namely head of the company George Reales for getting back really quick and on top of that being very nice and generous. Make some noise for discoDSP, please! Usually, it says "our proud sponsors" but in this case we're the ones being proud of the sponsor. ¡Muchas gracias!

Where were we? Ah, the winners. Hang on, I need to say something about being biased first. When going through the list of winners, you'll find quite some people that are either Pestoleros (=artists) already or are somewhat closely related to us. I tried to be as objective as possible but, in the end, choosing remixes from a contest always is a highly subjective issue. I did not look at the names, I did not care for the genres provided - I think I proved I wasn't biased by publishing detailed feedback on your contributions. In fact, there are quite some Pesto artists who submitted remixes that didn't make it among the best 10. If you feel my rating of your remix is somewhat unfair or you don't understand what I meant, feel free to drop me a line via the contact form (I'll be off next week, so please allow 10 days for a reply).

Here are the first two winners of the Pesto Remix Contest 2011 for my "Aegean" tune:

1. Ilias Katelanos: like I said in my review, Ilias has home field advantage being from Athens. The emotions I tried to pack into "Aegean" were in fact triggered by a lot of stays and DJ gigs in Greece, not limited to the Aegean sea. If you know me a bit better, you know that I love Greece, I love Greeks, I love greek food, I love the mediterranean sea. And even though the mediterranean sea has lots of lovely spots and lovely people all around its edges, Greece will always remain special for me. I've made so many outstanding experiences in Greece, namely on some island in the Aegean sea that I was simply impressed of how well Ilias translated this vibe - even though we've never met in person (yet).
Like I said, this remix is "like a sunrise in the Aegean when the starry sky fades and all the shades of night grey are replaced by intense colours". It's also masterly and beautifully crafted, it's obvious that Ilias has a lot of experience in making music and that's what sets his remix apart from the others. Congrats mate, you've just won a license of "Discovery Pro" - hope it adds nicely to your sound arsenal:)

2. snapd/Science Associates: similar issue here. What strikes me is the highly professional level on which this rework was created. It seems to be very easy and accessible but this is achieved by applying lots of very smart and subtle details. The sound selection, the balance of the mix, the overall sound/production - all that is very "official" and I would not hesitate to spend money in order to get such a remix. I already said in my review: it is indeed trancy and it is a bit cheesy. But it's an amount of cheesy that's not only tolerable but Phill (aka snapd) managed to stay on the edge in a very elegant way. If I heard this on the radio, I'd say "if there were more tunes like this on the FM, I'd finally try to listen to the radio again". It's not that David Guetta-in-your-face-cheese, it's a well matured Pecorino with truffles.
Congrats also to you Phill, you've really more than earned that "Discovery" license!

So, these are the winners of the softsynth licenses. Problem: we have more - not only decent, but really proper - remix submissions. I've selected the ones I digged the most and, including Ilias and snapd, got a list of 11 remixes I consider worth releasing. Some of them may need a few tweaks here or there for the final release and they'll surely all get a proper mastering. At this point, I'm a bit undecided how to handle this issue. For the Aegean single, we already have a remix by Miami's Andrew Chibale next to the original and the first two. I think that's enough tracks for a release.

So I thought, we could make some compilation that will go on sale via the usual channels (Juno, iTunes, Traxsource, Beatport & Co) but I will discuss with all artists if there's maybe another way. Maybe donate the income to a good cause (I mean 100%) or offer the compilation as a Pesto FreeBee so that the remixers will get maximum exposure. If listeners enjoy what they hear, we could still set up a donate button or pay royalties to the remixers. Let's see;)

Why are you still here? Ah, the list of runners up. Here you are (in no particular order):

- Leaking Shell (UK/Germany)
- Nick Fay (FYROM)
- Chuter (UK)
- Alex Semchuk (Ukraine)
- Simon Tappenden (UK)
- J Kar (Greece)
- Paus & Darang (Sweden)
- Fair Play Knight (Russia)
- DJ Jem (Greece/UK)

Once again, thank you so much for all your great contributions, to discoDSP for the great prizes, to Sarah Haswell at SoundCloud and Ronnie at rekkerd.org for supporting the contest! I've wanted to test drive that remix contest thingy but now I can assure you there will be another one in 2012!

related tags: discoDSP pesto remix contest soundcloud software plugin #prmx

Here's the fifth and final part of remix reviews for the Aegean Remix Contest on Pesto Music this year. I was thinking if I should embed a video of Europe's "Final Countdown" but opted out since both you and me would have that synth riff on your mind for the rest of the day. Awww...damnit. It happened already.

So let's quickly get to the last ten remixes then, Final Countdown out, Aegean in - you can't explain that;)
I'll anounce the winners in a bit and in a dedicated blog post.

Lee Fraged Back To The 90s remix:
pro: cool bassline reminiscent of some Hardfloor, build-up simple but working
con: I find the organ sound to be a bit weak for that bassline, keeps the track somewhat low in energy
8/10

Frostbite remix:
pro: good implementation of the original hookline, proper arrangement, buildup in the break is awesome opens the tune width-wise, breakbeat part keeps the suspension, good additional sequences, has artist's signature, good adaption for this genre
con: could have a bit more energy or get a bit more driving when the straight bassdrum drops in, orchestra hit is a bit too cheesy imo
8/10

Daxxel Remix:
pro: nice vibe
con: arrangement has little detail, chords don't match base note properly, chords drop in too immediate and have too little variation
6/10

GREENKLOREF Remix:
pro: Oh hai, it's you!:) innovative use of the sequences to trigger percussions, best remix of the 5
con: I'm used to having claps on 2 and 4 and not on 1 and 3 but I'm trying to get the concept behind 1/3 claps, hihats/shakers too loud and too hissy, sequences too loud compared to the beat, still lacking focus but much better than the other contributions, a bit too long
4/10

Roberto Conforto Remix:
pro: good use of the original sequences, simple but effective beats, detailed arrangement, signature, bent drone/F1 car passing by sound
con: a bit weak in the bass section compared to the energy level of the rest: screaming sequences require a solid fundament imo
7/10

Paradisebird Remix:
pro: interesting use of the sequences by shifting them timewise, build up good
con: lacks bass severely (especially noticeable after the break ends), too wet, bassline sound too deep for the screaming hooklines, lacks focus
6/10

Fair Play Knight Electro Remix:
pro: this guy knows his shit regarding punchy drums, proper arrangement, signature, nice harmonies
con: lacks focus a little and therefore creates a more floating atmosphere, which I find a little irritating considering the "harsh" timbre of the sounds used
8/10

Jai Lyra remix:
pro: that's what I call a clubby bassdrum, good groove, proper build-up, detail, very DJ-friendly arrangement
con: that sequence after 04:09 doesn't really sit right with the base notes although I like the idea
8/10

Ωti Drug's remix:
pro: interesting soundscape, if it did not have beats and was a bit shorter, it could make for a cool ambient track
con: lacks focus (or the focus is too much on swooshes), too wet and washed out, arrangement lacks, is a bit undecided whether being a dance or chillout track (and yeah, I know some people have invented the Chill House subgenre but that's not that)
4/10

DJ Jem Remix:
pro: awesome chopping job, very detailed arrangement, focus, cool build-up throughout the whole tune (remember the remixes I critized for having two parts not being connected enough? Here's an example of how to do that)
con: maybe a bit too many breakdowns although that creates a lot of variation, the last part after 05:44 is a bit lengthy and could have more variation
9/10

related tags: discoDSP pesto remix contest soundcloud software plugin #prmx

Here are ten more reviews, to be followed by another ten tomorrow. I'll anounce the winners in another post tomorrow afternoon CET. In case you missed the former parts (plus a little explanation of what I mean by certain words), check out part one plus glossary, part two and part three. Here are the remixes I'm reviewing for you to listen to: http://soundcloud.com/groups/pesto-remix-contest-jon-silva-aegean/tracks

Tuchy Frunk Remix:
con: the histrings are running the whole track - not good for my tinnitus, way too dry, sounds are not balanced, too heavy on the treble, the sidechain ducking is more annoying and tears the whole tune apart, the sounds are a bit too generic/weren't programmed with dedication, no DJ-friendly arrangement
3/10

by ramplin:
pro: nice drum grooves
con: a House tune without a bass line? Let me think if there is one at all. Not going to work, you could also make a track without a bassdrum, the delays are too loud (they are badly clipping), arrangement hardly there and way too raw, some funky plug ins won't make up for a missing basis. Actually disqualified because downloads are still enabled despite sending several messages
2/10

Full Of Beans - Baked Mix:
pro: it's something original and not just a reconstruction close to the original tune just quoting the remix parts
con: the intro is too long and has too little variation, a proper bassline is missing
4/10

GreenKloref:
pro: 4th attempt, never giving up. I take from the discussion page that GreenKloref is really new to using a DAW and this one is already much better than the other three mixes, the groove is much better than on the other submissions
con: like said earlier, better focus on making one fat thing than sending four mediocre reworks, this one also lacks focus and dramaturgy, the sound selection is wrong for me, some of the sounds remind of GM synth modules - definitely not the sound source for a dance track
3/10

TrikAtak Remix:
pro: nice chopping of the original parts, really cool buildup, liking that drone bassline in the first break giving it a new harmonic context
con: histrings way too loud, after the first break at 02:50 the energy level drops when the beat comes in again, that's the part where the energy should be max with a big boom, when the drone's cutoff is open, it's too loud and drowns the rest
5/10

Carl D Remix:
pro: creative use of the parts to make something new, solid beats, proper & detailed arrangement, suitable sound selection
con: not the kind of stuff I play but that wasn't what I was asking for, so it's not really a con
7/10

Christian G Chugg 2011 Remix:
pro: nice use of the samples, great deep & reduced atmosphere, liking the bassline in the beginning, nice details such as the drum rolls
con: lacks a bit of substance/flesh, the intro is a bit too long or the bassline could kick in earlier
07/10

ExteRix remix:
pro: creative use of the parts, bass heavy
con: break is way too long (it's nearly one fourth of the whole tune), sidechain ducking of the bassline takes away too much energy of an otherwise properly working team of beats and bass, 04:14 throughout 05:54 too hissy
6/10

Paus & Darang Remix:
pro: bass heavy, great groove, well balanced mix, good use of the original sequences, proper arrangement with detail, loving the disco toms,
9/10

Fair Play Knight Remix:
pro: quality production sounding very punchy, good arrangement, nice arpeggio line
con: not a big fan of the lead sound although it's one with good recognition and suits the rest so that's a minor con only
8/10

related tags: discoDSP pesto remix contest soundcloud software plugin #prmx

Yes, I know that going through reviews of remixes is a bit of dry reading if you haven't done any of the remixes yourself. Still, I believe the remix artists deserve some feedback on their submissions and that's why I will post reviews for all 50 remix entries here until the winners will finally be announced. In case you don't know which remixes I am talking about, they can be found here: http://soundcloud.com/groups/pesto-remix-contest-jon-silva-aegean/tracks

In case you missed the former reviews, try part one and part two.

J Kar Remix:
pro: another one with home field advantage;) If the original is a big-breasted blonde with too much make-up, this is her little brunette sister who's more subtle, more intelligent and a girl you won't regret having spent a night with. I like brunettes, btw.
9/10

Andy O' Donoghue Remix:
pro: very dubby and reduced, cool groove
con: the pad coming in at 01:26 is a bit too dominant/loud imo, arrangement could be a bit more detailed and a bit more focused
7/10

As remixed by Science Associates:
pro: arrangement and sound are very radio-ish, very stringent arrangement, nice details, great harmonies. Slap some vocals on it and it's played in radio stations on the Balkans or some mediterranean islands. It IS trancy and a bit cheesy, but it's the kind of cheesy I really love. Reminds a bit of a Soda Inc. remix from "Inner Vision" times. Proper!
10/10

Qbican@remix:
pro: dreamy atmosphere
con: the sequence coming in at 01:47 seems to be out of sync, the dramaturgy lacks a bit and the arrangement is missing some detail and focus
5/10

Ville Nikkanen Remix:
pro: nice reconstruction of the original sequence by turning it into an arpeggio
con: lacks a proper bassline, pretty heavy on the mids and treble, the part after 06:27 is a bit of "too many ideas" or too many melody lines playing at once, making it lose focus, arrangement could be a bit more DJ-friendly
5/10

Sava Boric Remix:
pro: I like heavy bass drums:)
con: track loses focus after 02:57, it sounds like a new track is playing that has no connection with the part from before, the arrangement lacks detail and is too linear
5/10

Scerbas Remix:
pro: nice chopping up of the bassline in the beginning
con: the new bassline doesn't fit, arrangement lacks detail and buildup, too linear
06/10

Kirk Jones 2011 Progressive Remix:
pro: really digging the beginning here until 02:01 when the groove totally changes
con: it's a bit too long, if it was like 07:00, it would be easier to keep the suspension but this way it remains a bit flat and feels lengthy
6/10

Kyka Remix:
pro: completely different vibe than the original in the beginning
con: the vibe changes during the tune (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but here, I also find the parts to be a bit disconnected as if it was a mashup of two different tracks
7/10

Dj Miss Gwen:
pro: a lady producer - that's always to be supported, nice strict groove
con: a bit too dry and direct, too close to the original, the break is a bit too long
5/10

related tags: discoDSP pesto remix contest soundcloud software plugin #prmx