The drowning fate of the music industry is beginning to sadden me deeply.
It seems that the point at which it couldn’t get any worse, it kind of did.
This time though, it wasn’t down to the new “I don’t pay” ethic. This time it was the economy. When we had started to come to terms with the fact that, as artists, we would have to make a living from touring and promoting, suddenly the clubs started closing.
It is at this point you begin to realize that if we do not return to educating people in the value of music, then our world is kind of doomed.
When Prince said the internet was over, he kind of had a point. If we feed the internet with music either for free or for sale, then it’s inevitable that it will become viral and free. If we turn to using the old school concept of distributing physical product as a starting point, then may be there is a way out of this. I am not just talking about music, I am talking about drawing people in and using your fan base to build a community that you can educate and help them understand that this isn’t about being famous and making millions, it’s about feeding a dying art so that it exists for the next generation. There are some great new portals that encourage this new business model. Topspin is one, band camp another. That doesn’t mean you can use them and expect people to pay for your music straight off the bat, but you can incorporate them and include the idea of merchandise, DIY CD’s, art, a badge, a postcard, a 7 inch, and at the same time, still give things away.
The days of making a piece of music, throwing it up on a download site and expecting to tour the world on it, are few and far between.
People are getting savvy to dance musics great con artists else they are being conned by them. There are a mass of people out there that care about the music and not about how high you hold your hands in the air whilst playing somebody else’s songs. The problem is, they have either lost interest or been lured into a false sense of security. Or they just aren’t aware of the industries demise.
The underground, the place where most great movements begin, is in real danger of being diminished to the point of being a part time hobby, and I know that as an artist I have chosen this as my life long profession.
I know I would be sad if my job became my hobby.
Big Chill Video Clip
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niGs2esnCjE&hl=en_US&fs=1]
August Newsletter
Check out Luke’s remix of the amazing 2 Bears “Follow The Bear EP” (aka Raf Rundall & Joe Goddard from Hot Chip). Luke’s mix is featured alongside remixes from Derrick Carter, Supabeatz, Brooks & Panton but of course, his is the best of the bunch, especially for the 6am crowd :-).
The beginning of the year also saw Luke team up in the studio with original Mondo Grosso lead man, Shinichi Osawa to work on a record for his solo album entitled SO2 and the stunning track “London – Homes Not Where You Lay Your Head” was recorded and mixed between London & Japan. Featuring the likes of vocalists Tiger, Tiger & Natalie Broomes (whom Luke has also worked with extensively on his own solo album), the track is a true electronic masterpiece.
Shinichi’s album has now been released by Avex, Japan and is available to buy as a special package of cd / mix cd and dvd but you can hear all the tracks here :
http://www.shinichi-osawa.com/so2/
Other projects in the pipeline for Luke are of course the 1st four track EP from Lukatron which has now been signed and will be released via a great label in September – more news coming soon – all we can say for time being is this is an awesome EP that goes back to making house music with samples and analogue equipment…
For all latest Freaks news – check out www.musicforfreaks.com
July News
Luke is currently preparing to launch his new label, Little Creatures.
The first single will be by Luke himself, entitled “Ultrasound/Say Something.”
It will features remixes from Losoul and Kalabrese. There will also be a vinyl only edition and limited free download exclusive mix also.
July will also see the release of 2 new remixes from Luke, one on Murmur.
The new single by Tom Demac entitled “Crew Cuts and Curls,” also features mixes by Wolf and Lamb and Jamie Jones.
Luke is currently in the studio working on some music for the dancefloor under his new guise, Lukatron.
The concept is back to the raw method of making house music using samples and analogue equipment. Very much in the style of Luke’s current DJ sets.
Archived Mix Tape – Luke Solomon @ Rock Steady, Jersey
Click Image to Activate Download or Click on link below
Luke’s You Tube Channel
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0cokGwbE7o&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Biog and News
Luke began his proffesional DJ career in 1992 having practiced hard at his Friday night residency at Middlesex University student Union, where he met cohort Justin Harris. During this period he started working at a local Barnet record shop selling house music and soul music whilst holding down a part time job as a fishmonger. Following this his career within the industry was secured whence he got a job at Freetown, then home to Robert Owens, Felix the housecat,Jamie Principle and Masters at Work. This openned doors and led him to a long lasting relationship with Rob Mello and Kenny Hawkes, with hom he started his recording career and passion for live radio (Girls FM) respectively. Rob took Luke under his studio wing and taught him the ropes . Together they worked on productions for both Freetown and Prescription Underground. It was through the prescription owner Chez Damier,that he met a certain Mr Derrick L Carter. They immediately jelled due to their fascination with late nights and wild parties. From this Classic was born. The DJ’s record label, home to artists such as DJ Sneak,Isolee,Tiefshwarz and Greenskeepers. During this time Luke and Justin had also begun to devlop their own production team,”Freaks.” Recording for their own label Music for Freaks, they went to complete 3 studio albums, including within this, “the Man who lived underground, followed by a Top ten hit in the UK with the Creeps.
More recently Luke recorded his first longplayer “The Difference Engine” for Radioslave’s Rekids label.
Luke is currently in the process of setting up a new label under the moniker “Little Creatures.”
Luke has also finished his follow up the Difference Engine, entitled, “Timelines.”
NB: Don’t forget to search the categories for a whole host of free and exclusive goodies.
Beatport Chart May 2010
Unreleased
Here are some unreleased and unsigned remixes and tracks:
