Do you want free house music?

If you like free house music, but don't want to break the law and use illegal file sharing sites, no problem. It is for people like you that the wonderful contraption that is a podcast was invented. This box of technical music can be taken on the go in some small music machine which company Apple call the iPod. Anyway, here are just some of the amazing podcasts out there, the best of those that I have discovered, which are free house music. On their behalf, allow me to disclaim this legal shit - all songs featured in these podcasts are the responsibility of their owners, and they have permission to use the respective artists' work. All tracks featured are strictly for promotional use, not to hand out free music. Click on a podcast title to visit the site.

1. The DJ Cruze Podcast .:.:. I have been a fan of this podcast since day 1. DJ Cruze certainly does bring Manchester in the House, updating us with the latest and best in house music. He covers all genres, whether it be funky, electro or dirty, he's got it covered, and what's more, it's all beautifully mixed together by a professional DJ, called DJ Cruze, hence the podcast's name
2. MixDatabase.com Podcasts .:.:. This is a listener-dependent podcast, in which all of the listeners create their own DJ mixes and send them in. Listeners worldwide can then download your mix. Using fresh new talent and occasionally some classic tunes, these podcasts are all contributions from the listeners, so get involved
3. Dunfyboy's Mixes .:.:. This is a legendary podcast in my opinion from the likes of DJ Dunfyboy. With regular DJ mixes such as a mix consisting entirely of Chemical Brother tunes, or entirely Fatboy Slim tracks, as well as the odd electro mix, house mix or even hardcore mix, this podcast will satisfy any lover of house music
4. DJ Adam Ash .:.:. DJ Adam Ash is a DJ who has produced a range of excellent mixes for your ears, focusing more on the dirty and electro sides of house music. So if you're a fan of either, or if you just want to experiment, this podcast never fails to please

And on that note, yes I am back from America and I am sure you missed me; as I missed you, and the next blog should be Creamfields. This weekend...

What the Dutch Did for Us...

The Netherlands is a name that some of us have come to associate with dance music quite rapidly. Many of the bigtime DJs come from there, and they contributed largely towards the Deep House Movement not so long ago. Among the most famous DJs to arrive in our ears fresh from Holland are Tiesto and Fedde Le Grand, so let us venture into what the Dutch did for us...

#1 - Fedde Le Grand: This man has had hit after hit, after hit, and it's just not fair on other DJs - no one can compete with him. From the hugely popular "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" to his fantastic duos with Ida Corr for 2008's "Let Me Think About It" and Camille Jones for "The Creeps". As well as this he is a fantastic remixer, his current remix of Madonna's "Give It 2 Me" is amazing, and an excellent producer. He has produced for many years now, and even organises his own night clubs.

#2 - Tiesto: Again, another DJ, this time from the techno trance side of things, but still just as good. Tiesto's single "Traffic" got to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and to Number 1 in the Dutch charts as well, which was a remarkable achievement considering it was the first instumental track to reach number one in the Netherlands in 23 years. He releases tracks under a hit label, and has played to billions of people when he DJ-d the opening athletes' march for the Olympic Games in Athens.

#3 - Sander Kleinenberg: Apologies for the sweaty image, but this man's skills deserve for that to go unnoticed. My all-time favourite track of his was "This Is Miami." Kleinenberg recently played Global Gathering 2008 and has done many other festivals since. He has become a famous pioneer in the house genre.

#4 - Laidback Luke: Laidback Luke is one of my favourite DJs of all time. "Break the House Down," "Rocking With The Best," etc - they all are top quality tunes and you just can't stop listening to them. Another excellent remixer, including a wonderful remake of Daft Punk's "Teachers" which first featured on Pete Tong's show on Radio 1 and I loved it, this man has all the talent you could need. Before turning to music, he was a graffiti artists, but since making that right choice of music, he has worked with the likes of house legends David Guetta, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello - but let's face it if he works with one of the latter two he had to work with the other, are Angello and Ingrosso ever apart?

#5 - Armin Van Burren: Another quite legendary DJ. This man has worked his way to the top and quite rightly. I won't go on anymore, because I want to get through this, but do download his weekly podcast 'A State Of Trance'

#6 - ErickE: "The Beat Is Rockin'" was one of the best dance tracks of the year 2007. ErickE really made his name through this track. A true legend of dance music lies in Holland.

...and all the others. Artists including 4 Strings, 16 Bit Lolitas, and Marcel Woods also come from the Netherlands. So that is what the Dutch did for us.

Unfortunately, all of the thousands of readers of this blog won't receive any more posts until the 25th August :(
I am going to be away in America for the majority of that time, and upon my return I would like a few days rest from this rather exhausting blog (but I have to keep up with what the fans want). So I will post a new entry on the 25th August, which will be about this years Creamfields Festival (23rd and 24th Aug), as described in the most recent blog.

Toodles.

Creamfields 2008 Preview

Creamfields is returning for the annual house music conference one again in 2008, and this year it's celebrating the Creamfields 10th Anniversary. A fantastic line-up of artists from the varying degrees of dance music, from all angles, brings the end of the Ibiza season to the start of the party season.

The line-up includes Pendulum, Fatboy Slim, Paul Van Dyk, Eric Prydz, Pete Tong, Steve Angello, Mark Brown,Eddie Halliwell, David Guetta, Axwell, Tiesto, Claude VonStroke, Sebastian Ingrosso and Felix Da Housecat, among others. With numerous stages, this Radio 1 supported event is perfect for any fan of dance music, no matter what, and the details of the event will be posted here after Creamfields 2008.

The House Music Awards

Welcome all to the 2008 House Music Awards here on House Music 101. I have outlined numerous categories for this ceremony, and I am sure you are so eager to find out who's won wot, so I won't keep you, please read on.

The video I have chosen for this category is, fair enough, not from this year, but is in fact like 2 years old, but let's face it it's everyone's favourite - sexy girls doing stretching in the gym? Don't do nothing for me. Here's the winner: Eric Prydz - Call On Me

So this category is hard to choose a winner for, because there are only about three dance videos released a year which couldn't enter the "sexy" genre, so it took a bit of hunting down. Anyway, I came up with the winner, which comes from the hip-hop/R&B side of dance - it's Flo Rida - Low

Okay, I am not a massive fan of drum and bass, but I like every corner of dance music to some extent so I had to include an award for it. It was a hard decision, and I decided that I would not include a hardcore dance/trance award, so yes - fucking Cascada and Scooter were also in this category - but oh, wait, I hate the pair of them, so they didn't have a chance. The choices were Pendulum with Propane Nightmares or Pendulum with The Other Side. Originally I disliked The Other Side, but it was a grower on me, and I think Propane Nightmares sounds too much like 2006's Blood Sugar, although both are amazing tracks - so the winner of the DnB Artist of the Year is Pendulum, and if you want to know the song it's The Other Side.

Right then, this one's a biggie. It all comes down to MY favourite track, seeing as I didn't get millions of people to fill out voting slips for these "awards" and plus my team of thirteen people who collated all of the responses laft after I ranted to them about the coffee stains on my computer desk, so here we go. Here are my top ten tracks of the year, from every side of dance:
#10 - Bob Sinclar presents Fireball - What I Want
#09 - DADA - Lollipop
#08 - Hardrox - Feel The Hard Rock [Up To No Good]
#07 - David Guetta vs The Egg - Love Don't Let Me Go [Walking Away]
#06 - David Guetta - Love Is Gone
#05 - Fedde Le Grand vs Ida Corr - Let Me Think About It
#04 - Mark Ronson - Stop Me
#03 - Freaks - The Creeps [Get On The Dancefloor]
#02 - Samim - Heater
#01 - Peter Gelderblom - Waiting 4
Yes that's right, I couldn't stop listening to this track. Peter Gelderblom's remix of the super Red Hot Chili Pepper's song "By The Way" featured on almost every compilation album last year and most this year, it was really popular in the club scene, and on my iPod I have around 20 different mixes of it...yes, it's pure dance heaven. It's Peter Gelderblom - Waiting 4
I love a good remix me. Especially when they do them from pop and indie tunes, what DJs do these days is amazing. Anyway, let me get on, short and sweet, the winner is Peter Gelderblom again (no I didn't do that on purpose), with his remix of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name."

As a British person, I of course realise that no good DJ seems to come from the UK anymore. So I have done some really extensive research ( I picked my favourite five DJs and found out where they came from more like) and discovered that the winner is the Netherlands, for producing the most musical talent from our favourite genre.

You know those DJs who make a massive record that's hugely popular, reaches Number 1 in loads of countries and becomes a hit on MySpace (yeah, I'm down with the kids, MySpace 'n' shit). Usually they go on to be massively successful, such as my good friend Mr Fedde Le Grand, but also, they can be a one-hit wonder, which is what this category's all about. Now I hate this song, and this artist, which is why I awarded them first place in this category - the "bad category" - honestly, can you tell me any other song apart from Here (In Your Arms) by HelloGoodbye?

I love myself a good electro pumping tune too, so I just had to include the Best Electro Tune Of The Year Award. Now then, I had two finalists. Not very famous, hell you probably won't have heard of them, but Google them and find the videos on YouTube (again, more proof I am down with the kids). As much as I love DJ Jean's "Sexy Lady" - the winner had to be Noisia - Gutterpunk.

"What the fuck is 'trechage'" I hear you asking, if not shouting at the computer screen. If the latter, then you have mental issues for shouting at a screen. If the previous option, then allow me to offer you an answer. 'Trechage' is my own invention, it's a genre which fits trance, techno and garage all into one genre - allowing me to shorten three awards into one. Yay! Anyway, I won't blabber on any more, the winner is between these top five:
- Zombie Nation .:. Kernkraft 400
- Tiesto .:. Adagio for Strings
- Robert Miles .:. Children
- PPK .:. Resurrection
- Faithless .:. Insomnia
(If you're wondering why some of these aren't from the year 2007-2008, it's because brand new remixes for each of them are being released all the time, and new remixes for each of these have been released in the last 12 months)
...and the winner is PPK with "Resurrection"

Finally, the last award. Or lastly, the final award. Whichever you prefer, honestly - I don't mind. Which DJ has had the most number 1s? Which DJ is hugely popular in many countries? Which DJ is constantly producing hot records? I have to give it to one of my personal favourites: the winner is, Mr Bob Sinclar.

That concludes the House Music Awards with House Music 101 for this year, join me again next Summer for the 2008-2009 awards ceremony, for many of the same awards, plus hopefully even more. Hope you enjoyed them, subscribe to the blog!

August's Top House Tracks

These are the tracks for August 2008 that you must download. Either visit the iTunes music Store, or search BeatPort. I have personal issues with the iTunes Music Store - it never has any of the good remixes, just those released on the EP, but BeatPort is generally better, nicer looking and often cheaper. Head over to www.beatport.com now - this is good publicity BeatPort if you want to return the favour maybe? Anyway, here are the best tracks of the month in my opinon you need to download, in order of greatness.

Click on the artist for each track to visit their website or MySpace page...

1. Joachim Garraud - Are U Ready (Laidback Luke Remix)
   This is my current personal favourite, featuring one of the hottest producers of the moment, Joachim Garraud. Laidback Luke has been a personal favourite also, ever since I discovered him back in 2005. A wonderful remix of a truly wonderful song
   
2. Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso - Together 2008
   Two fantastic producers and DJs team up producing a gorgeous combination of house meets electro
   
3. Axwell & Bob Sinclar Feat. Ron Carroll - What A Wonderful World (Axwell Mix)
   Again, Axwell makes it into the top 3, this track is absolutely fabulous. Definitely one of the best vocalists you could want in any track is Ron Carroll, and you got it here
   
4. Steve Mac - Paddy's Revenge
   A wonderful track for the Summer here, started by Steve Mac, who shall become more famous in the weeks to come. From the Penguin Orchestra's Music for a Sound Harmonium (or something like that), this was originally "The Irish Jig", to which Pete Tong has done fantastic work with. There are some good remixes of this tune out there - search for the good ones, I recommend the "Adam B Meaty Mix"
   
5. Martin Solveig - I Want You (Laidback Luke Remix)
   Again, Laidback Luke produces a remix which is top notch. You either like this track or you love it, simple as that
   
6. Madonna - Give It To Me (FLG Remix)
   It's been a while since we've heard from Fedde Le Grand hasn't it? Well he's back and bigger than ever remixing the catchy, addictive pop tune "Give It To Me" by the music queen Madonna

So that's the chart for this time, coming up now, it's the specialist chart:

• #1 tune - ELECTRO - Deadmau5 "Fifths"
• #1 tune - HOUSE - Joachim Garraud "The Answer"
• #1 remix - "Where the Streets Have No Name (Peter Gelderblom Remix)" originally a song by band U2
• #1 tune - GARAGE - Dizzee Rascal Ft Calvin Harris "Dance Wiv Me"
• #1 tune - DANCE - The BPA & David Byrne Ft Dizzee Rascal "Toe Jam"

NB. "Toe Jam" is available now in iTunes. It is Fatboy Slim's latest project, although he has no credit for it in the artist name for some reason. :-( Poor him.

Radio 1 Live in Ibiza 2008

Yesterday (Friday 1st August), Radio 1 kicked off the annual legendary dance night of the year. Part of the BBC Radio 1 for Summer events, Radio 1 goes live in Ibiza every year and never fails to please. Kicking off yesterday at 4pm with Annie Mac, one of the newest additions to Radio 1, and Vernon Kay, the new edition to Radio 1 in Ibiza, followed by the world's biggest DJ (not Moyles, I mean biggest as in the most famous), Mr Pete Tong.

Pete Tong always promises and amazing tracklist and spectacular line-up of guest DJs in his show for Ibiza, and spinning the decks for his show yesterday were some of the most lgendary club DJs around. Playing at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel this year were:
- Dave Spoon, Paul Harris and Obernik performed the amazing "Baditude" live
- The popular David Guetta took to the decks as the first guest mix for Tong
- Sam Sparro also performed live
- Vernon and Annie gave their 3 hour show
- Pete Tong had his own mixes for his show too
...and Zane Lowe was also in the house!

But, for now, back to the beginning...
As the opening of the Radio 1 in Ibiza Friday night draws near, thousands of people queue up outside the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, waiting to kick off the Summer season (photos from BBC Radio 1).


Vernon Kay and Annie Mac are preparing to open the magnificent event, with their DJ battles to come. Now, I am not a huge Vernon fan, in fact I usually turn the radio off whenever he comes on, but I have to admit - when he was on a few months ago on the bank holiday Monday co-presenting the breakfast show with Pete Tong in for Moyles, it was a good laugh.
So then, knowing that Vernon was a good presenter when he had his moments, I readied myself to listen to the official start to the Summer (yeah, I know it's almost finished but what the hell), and yeah, it was alright. The tunes were fucking amazing, but I think the BBC missed something out in choosing who they sent on the tour. I know Annie's a dance DJ, so fair enough that's forgivable - but Vernon Kay? When you think what's next: "Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Dave Pearce, Annie Nightingale, ____" you DO NOT think Vern. That's all I have to say.

Anyway, after three hours of what I would call guff (yeah, as you can guess I stopped listening after 45 minutes), the time was 6:55pm - and you know what that means - Pete Tong o'clock. This is the best show on the radio for music (although personally, my favourite radio show is the Scott Mills drivetime show). In a nutshell, Pete's introduction was amazing, his tunes were bloody great - and his guests - OH MY GOD! David Guetta! Dave Spoon! Ron Carroll! Sam Sparro! God only knows why they didn't get Tongy to present all five hours rather than leaving the first three in the hands of Ibiza noobs.

The crowd certainly went wilder when the true face of dance music took to the stage. The tracklisting for Pete's show for those who are interested was gorgeous (for your information - every track was pure house heaven and should be bought now - so get buying). The full tracklisting will be available here when Pete's IT gang return from the White Isle, but for now, head to the BBC iPlayer and get listening to the repeat of it (the atmosphere won't be as good as you know it's not live - but Ron Caroll singing Axwell & Sinclair's "What A Wonderful World" - how could you possibly want to miss such a treat?).

To see the video short with quick sneak peeks of all the goings on from yesterday, click here and enjoy! Stay with the blog for more dance events, including Creamfields '08 and Global Gathering 2008. Please subscribe also!