04/01/2011
03/31/2011
Deadmau5 Brings Dance Music To The 'Masses,' Wolfgang Gartner Says
'He has a major role in the younger generation to this music,' producer/DJ tells MTV News of his collaborator.
By Adam Stewart
deadmau5
Photo: Charley Gallay/ Getty Images
It's no secret that 2010 was a pivotal year for electronic dance music here in the States. With deadmau5 and Swedish House Mafia becoming household names, the genre's momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Using a conduit of collaboration, artists such as deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman) have paired up with various underground acts to further the rapid expansion of the genre.
Perhaps one of the most notable movers and shakers of the year is now-Grammy-Award-nominated producer and DJ Wolfgang Gartner, who recently sat down to chat with MTV News about deadmau5 and dance music's rise to the top.
"He has a major role in the younger generation to this music," Gartner says, "but there have been certain artists that have been instrumental in helping it cross over and reach the mainstream — which I think is a good thing. I think rap artists using dance beats is a great thing. I think it just brings more people towards this music that we all love."
Thanks to several key moments, such as deadmau5 taking the helm as house DJ (well, technically "House Artist") for the 2010 VMAs, dance music has been thrown into the forefront of America's youth, a key demographic for any genre.
"Everybody knows who he is now and he's kind of exposing the masses to dance music. These little five-, six- and seven-year-old kids latch on to this 'mau5head' logo — they get into the music and he's bringing this tiny young generation into this music that probably wouldn't be exposed to it."
Gartner certainly doesn't mind the exposure either. Unless you were living under a rock for the past six months, you probably heard one of this past summer's hottest anthems, "Animal Rights," a collaborative effort brought forth by deadmau5 and Gartner.
"It was interesting because I kind of had a preconceived notion about how he would be to work [with]," said Gartner. "I think our sounds are really similar, so I figured he would work in a similar way to me, but the way that he writes music is actually completely different to me. But he achieves kind of the same sound through a completely different process."
Recorded in deadmau5's favorite Los Angeles studio — that would be rocker Tommy Lee's House — "Animal Rights" is a thumping progressive house anthem that melds Wolfgang's unmistakable harmonics and funk riffs with the driving bass line and wobbly synths that make deadmau5 one of the unique forces in the dance music world.
"[Deadmau5] writes these rich complex chord progressions and he does it by drawing these little bars on a grid, which is just amazing that you can do that and get that result," Gartner goes on to say. "It just proves you don't have to be able to play keyboards to write amazing music."
The two sound pioneers never cease to stop pushing the limits on what they are able to produce. Using drastically difference production approaches, deadmau5 and Gartner had the ability to play off each other's strengths while recording the track.
"I'd say the biggest thing is that I play everything in on a keyboard, like even my drums," says Gartner. "I play everything in live and he draws it in with notes on a mouse, which blew me away because his music is very musical."
What do you think 2011 will hold for deadmau5 and Gartner? Let us know in the comments below!
Related ArtistsKourtney Kardashian's Acting Debut on 'One Life to Live'
Hey, if Snoop Dogg can guest-star on One Life to Live, why not Kourtney Kardashian? On Monday, the 31-year-old reality star made her acting debut with a guest appearance on the ABC soap opera, playing saucy personal injury lawyer Kassandra Kavanaugh in several scenes with OLTL's David Fumero.
"I grew up watching One Life to Live," Kardashian tells E!. "This may be my acting debut, but the Kardashians know a thing or two about drama."
Kourtney was less sure of herself when talking about her acting stint on her E! reality show Kourtney & Kim Take New York. "I'd thought I'd have two lines," she said on the show. "But my script is so long... I'm not an actress."
Viewers might tend to agree that this natural drama queen would be wise to stick to her day job -- playing herself on TV. Though the soap writers clearly tried to create a character with a personality (and even initials!) similar to her own, Kardashian's attempt at portraying a sassy, tough girl is about as wooden as it gets. The whole exercise would have gone much more smoothly if they'd simply let her play a heightened version of herself.
Need evidence? Just watch her describe the experience in this clip from Kourtney & Kim Take New York. Here, she's in her comfort zone, simply talking to the camera -- and her 30-second description of her butterflies during the kissing scene is way more interesting than the scene itself. Watch Kourtney's One Life to Live acting debut in the video below and judge for yourself!
03/30/2011
Justin Bieber Causes Fan Frenzy In Liverpool, England
Police confirm to MTV News that fans are gathered outside the star's hotel.
By Jocelyn Vena
Fans outside Justin Bieber's hotel in Liverpool
Photo: Mercury Press/PacificCoastNews.com
Justin Bieber is in Liverpool, England, on Thursday (March 10) for his world tour, and his fans are very happy about it, which might explain why they've gathered in an abundance outside his hotel room.
A rep for the Merseyside Police department confirmed to MTV News that there are "large number of fans" outside Bieber's hotel, though she "wouldn't say it's a riot situation, yet." Funny enough, this is all going down at the Hard Days Night Hotel, named after the movie that chronicled the Beatles' encounters with mobs of fans.
"Merseyside Police has been called to North John Street in Liverpool City Centre to ensure control of a crowd that has gathered outside the Hard Days Night Hotel. North John Street has been closed to traffic and police would urge the public to avoid the area if possible," a statement sent to MTV News reads. "Officers are working with the management of the hotel and with Justin Bieber's security team to ensure his safety, the safety of other guests and of the crowd."
According to TMZ, in order to keep the peace, Bieber's camp is following police orders. And though the gossip site said arrests could be made if anyone in his camp tried to elicit further response from the fans by going on the balcony, the police said, "Merseyside Police has at no time threatened to arrest Justin Bieber or members of his management team."
Bieber himself was the first to expose the craziness online when he posted a photo of his fans, gathered in droves outside his hotel. "This is crazy. There are like thousands of people out there. love everybody but gonna try and get some sleep. please dont scream. Lol," he tweeted and later reiterated, "THIS IS CRAZY!"
This is hardly the first time Bieber has had his fans in a frenzy. He caused quit a stir during a trip to the mall in Kitchener, Ontario, on Boxing Day in December. Prior to that he had to shut down an appearance at a Long Island area mall in late 2009, followed by a canceled in-store signing in Paris in February 2010. He caused Bieber Fever in Australia and New Zealand last April and had fans all worked up in September, when he stopped by an Edmonton, Alberta, Hooters for some grub.
Related ArtistsNo hay más Led Zeppelin
A pesar de lo dicho ayer, Peter Mensch, manager del guitarrista Jimmy Page, se retractó totalmente en eso que la banda buscaría un reemplazo al ultragenial Robert Plant para seguir rockeando y toureándola por el mundo tras su show de 2007 en el O2 Arena de Londres por el poder de la música más sexual de la historia. No habrá más Led Zeppelin, no hay planes de que lo haya.
Mensch comentó: "Led Zeppelin se acabó. Si no los vieron en el 2007, se los perdieron. Probaron reemplazantes a Robert Plant, pero nada funcionó. Se acabó. No hay planes para continuar. Francamente, ojalá todos dejaran de hablar al respecto."
Los fans no están nada contentos, especialmente los británicos, considerando los precios delirantes de las entradas del show reunión.
¿Y a ti? ¿Qué te parece todo esto?
Related ArtistsCourteney Cox & Josh Hopkins: Just Friends?
Using her free time to take a much-needed vacation, Courteney Cox has been living the good life on the beaches of St Barts.
The ?Cougar Town? beauty showed off her rockin' bikini bod as she and daughter, Coco, dodged some waves and laid on the shoreline while joined by "Cougar Town" co-star Josh Hopkins.
While they certainly have looked to be enjoying one another's company, Cox and Hopkins still claim that they have a "platonic" situation.
Of the situation, a rep released a statement reading: "The relationship is strictly platonic and they are away with a group of friends on vacation."
Fun With PhotoBooth
I once emailed a bunch of photos like this to my ex-boyfriend with the subject "You f*cked her."?
