Category: Interviews

English · Interviews

‘Passion’ by Pier O (M2D Belgium) Music2Deal album review.

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pier-o-colour

Genre:                 Lounge/downtempo

Release date:     22-Aug-16

Label:                   M-Sol Records http://m-solrecords.com/

Platforms:

https://www.music2deal.com/be/Im7870zerHhh_KBep2tmqXHmka0

https://soundcloud.com/pier-o-lounge/sets/passion-album

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/passion-presented-by-pier-o/id1142187757

https://www.beatport.com/release/passion-presented-by-pier-o/1830827

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Passion-Presented-Pier/dp/B01K37JSW0

http://m-solrecords.com/shop/lounge-chillout-music/passion-pier-o-album/

Album intro

Pier-O’s first album captures very high quality lounge music that follows the modern chill out trends & includes jazz and balearic elements in Pier’s own unique emotional musical style. A few tracks are included which were produced in collaboration with worldwide famous musicians such as Marga Sol, Euphonic Traveller, and Marie Therese. Experience Pier’s own ‘passion’ for music via the unique musical vibe & style captured in this, the producer’s debut album.

A note from the artist

I have had a history of love for music since I was born. This love of music ranges from classical to metal, with a never-ending love for Pink Floyd. During the mid 90’s I was listening to a lot of 12″ house music vinyl releases, had a few of my own old skool trance tracks released too and as this was first decade of the new millennium, I remember how at that time, I was just amazed at the musical possibilities so I first specialized in analogue vintage synths. This taught me how to work well with both synthesizer sound creation as well as modular synths and I’m proud to say that I’ve been the owner of many classic synthesizers over the years. That list has included the ARP, Elka, EML, EMS, MOOG, Oberheim & Roland legends and even the mighty Yamaha CS-80 (yes, the very same synthesiser Vangelis utilised so well on the classic ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’ soundtracks).

I actually do still have some of the original tracks that I produced during that ambient music period of my life on my SoundCloud profile;

https://soundcloud.com/pier-o-lounge/sets/excerpts-from-my-pre-lounge

The underlying concept of Music2Deal was the major draw factor that made me want to join the platform. Music2Deal’s global musician networking premise, the ability to offer music for licensing as well as the free tools on the site are frankly a breath of fresh air for the music industry.”

https://www.music2deal.com/be/Im7870zerHhh_KBep2tmqXHmka0

Authors note; Wonderful of sound that are mellow, classy & capture certain panache. That’s how Pier’s music makes me feel. I really dig it when I hear music & abstract sounds in a track & more so from those with an ear for quality music based on their previous track/album work, social media shares as well as general on & off-line conversations. So, with that said, it was a real pleasure to both hear as well as scribe some words on this new piece of work, the debut album from Pier released via the label of our mutual associate; the multi-talented Marga Sol. Thank you both, myself & many others appreciate your musical efforts, so, well there it is dear reader, please enjoy my review & sound experience when listening to this album for the first time recently.

Peace & Music, forever

Darren @ Music2Deal, Nov’ 16

pier-his-moog

Elisa’s Story (Space Dream Mix) – Love the opening, dreamalicious, definitely. Lots of good touches here & an extremely chilled vibe throughout, big like & thoroughly enjoyed the wind work samples. In this instance, Pier takes the sound of the trumpet, records and then ‘plays the trumpet’ via his MIDI piano keyboard until satisfied with the sound created. If Pier is not happy with the initial sound then he simply edits or re-records again until comfortable, refinement works.

Hot Summer Breeze – Wow, love the ocean opener and then the bass, such a good & instant vibe, with beats, trumpet & vibe all merged so very well. I feel the influence of Sven Van Hees and his Matrass Mambo** track which is wonderful to hear and, perhaps even an homage to that classic Latin lounge track but regardless that’s what this feels like, intentional or not. An excellent down tempo track Pier and now as I type it’s once more with the trumpet sample (Y) so good on the ear and, the title is perfect! I’d personally enjoy hearing this (loudly) on a beach anywhere in the sun with good company & a cool glass in hand, chuckles J the ending is a nice touch too, quality.

*which, dear reader is in-fact the technically correct track title from Sven’s classic ‘Gemini’ album, i.e. not Mattress, it’s a language thing peeps :)

Red Sunset (feat. Mia Lemar) – I really enjoyed the opening sequence on this track and once more, such good accompanying work from the trumpet. Mia Lemar delivers her contribution perfectly I feel vs. the overall ‘tone’ of the track & mood in-play, excellent. Definitely, a lazy Sunday morning vibe & flavor to it, yep, a first track of the day selection with good coffee please, that’ll work. Another like is the tinkling piano throughout…perfect & then the sax, horn & vocal together as we move on through the track, very chic Pier! J #GotPanache #GotClass

Waiting (For You) – Yet another dreamy opening sequence, I can see why Pier & I both like DF Tram and that’s all I can really say about that J it’s a music-lover ‘thing’ peeps, chuckles. Aaaanyway and then, the synths begin, nice background atmosphere generated here, all elements in play, clearly a soundscape track, love that guitar riff & the piano, it’s just right, not too much, not too little, on the cusp, tight track.

Eiffel Tower Dream – I was both intrigued & immediately curious for more simply by the starting sequence & trumpet sampling here. That aspect brings the track alive instantly & grabbed my ears too. Enjoyed the slight echo on this, don’t know if this is freestyle but it works & I dig it. The pause & rebuild @ 2.55 then the sax is a nice touch and again, that echo, another nice touch. Like the end sequence also, it’s that echo again but this time on the vibraphones. Cool fade-out to end also here.

Long Kiss at Trocadero – Another wonderful beginning that makes me curious for more, like it when that happens, lovely high synth & waves of sound in the background, an immediate dreamy atmosphere created, it all hangs together very well.

And now, a brief interlude & some ad-hoc background on this track from Pier himself:

“Long Kiss at Trocadero was composed after my first meeting in Paris with my former girlfriend who I still love, we kissed first time in Paris on a seat in Trocadero Park in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower…also, the many “I love you’s” on the album and sensual whisperings in the background were recorded by her side on that day, good memories.”**

** The splash of life & love that adds fuel to ‘the process’ I’m sure, thank you for sharing that insight Pier, DP)

Le Ciel de Paris (Pier-O Pont Des Arts Mix) by Euphonic Traveller – Always a quality track, it’s just sooooo Parisian & mellow. Btw and frankly, anything composed by Euphonic Traveller (such a cool handle, always thought so) is allll ways worth a listen per the high-quality consistency of ET’s output; guy’s got taste & a good ear for the sweet-sounds.

Poison & Passion (Pier O Passionata remix) by Marga Sol) – Nice remix of Marga’s own original track , it’s clear that Pier & Marga work very well together based on this album as well as other historic collaborative albums & singles, yep, like that.

Love Jazz (for the weekend) – Sighs, lovely track, I can imagine myself in good company in a smoky bar anywhere in the world listening to this, very sensual saxophone so yep, definitely a ‘love Jazz feeling’ here.

Promenade – Love the opening as the music bleeds in, a mini soundscape in itself this track and the piano overlay is pure pleasure on the ears.

Fermer Les Yeux – Simple but effective this track, not overdone, a nice slice of downtempo

Air of Love (feat. Marga Sol) – Very much enjoyed the guitar & vocal effect’s here and of course, my beloved flute, I just love that instrument! J

Lady Fantasy (The Next Summer) – Grabbed my ear from the start, its sooo chilled & I really enjoyed the keyboard work & sound effects. Simply put; a pleasure to both listen to & to work with in the morning with coffee but hey, that statement goes for the whole album dear reader, highly recommended with caffeine, most definitely, trust D.

Gin & Tonic (Pier-O Bossa Chill Mix) by Marie Therese – I always enjoy the mood & atmosphere captured in this track and the excellent saxophone work by Hal Millen so good to see it’s been captured also as it’s been a while so, like bumping into an old friend, if you will, chuckles J

A word from Pier about this particular track: “The wonderful original track, pure chill-out, composed by the lovely Marie Therese, who’s always been a great friend of mine too.”

Beach Waves – Frankly, this tracks sounds just like its title, so that’s kicking back on a beach, anywhere, listening to this & gazing out at the oceans…oh yes, a definite Zen track for sure, biiiiig like from DP on that.

Finally & to wrap-up this review, I thought it would be informative for readers to have an insight into some of the technical & tooling background utilised in the production of this album & from Pier himself;

  • All the tracks were fully created using samples except for the human voices as all the sensual whisperings & background voices are my muse (i.e. my former girlfriend). The French talking voices are samples from Mia Lemar as well as an associate of Euphonic Traveller who also utilised the same lady’s voice-over talents on his ‘Lounging Paris’ album.
  • I try to do all mixing and mastering myself too except for the final mastering ahead of release & when all the tracks are ready. That aspect is performed by Marga and her team only and covers areas such as ensuring that the overall loudness of all songs is equal. Regardless I’m still learning some aspects of production so I have up’s & down’s day after day… After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. J
  • Today’s sample libraries are very close to the real instruments so sometimes I use sample loops, but generally, I try not to use too many sample loops like some other musicians can do so I compose most of the melodies & chords myself. Generally, I’m playing everything, instrument by instrument using a sample library of that particular instrument. Only the electric piano comes from my real Rhodes EP mk I while the deeper bass sounds are produced via my vintage MOOG Minimoog. I also usually utilize the following sample tools in my production process; a piano or an electronic piano, strings, pads, trumpet, tenor saxophone, horns and vibraphones.
  • All the above tools are utilised via the Pro Tools music system on my computer, my DAW.

Hope that was a good flava of the album peeps & I hope your enjoyed!

Darren – Music2Deal UK

©DP @ Music2Deal

English · Interviews

Interview with Danny Talevski, Director of Paiday.Inc – A Live events, Artist Management and Publishing Powerhouse (USA, ASIA, EUROPE)

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Danny, you are the exclusive representative of Music2Deal in Australia, anything you would like to share about this?

Well firstly, I’d like to take a moment to say a big “thank you” to both Mario Christiani and Sudhir Shreedharan for the opportunity to be an element of Music2Deal’s fast-growing international music platform for connecting music professionals together in one hub to provide musicians, record labels and a&r’s supplementary opportunities and a complex way of connecting. It’s a perfect correlation to intertwine both entities Paiday.Inc and M2D to create a new revolution in the music Industry internationally

Tell us a little bit about your experience in the Music Industry.

I got started into the music industry as a producer and DJ at a very young age, in my mid-teens. I eventually developed and grew my experiences to owning my own nightclub operating in Melbourne’s premier precinct at the age of 21 that was tailored around the Gay Industry, a nightspot that catered to fashion designers, dancers, entertainment aspiring individuals and professionals that were well recognized in the Industry. The nightspot had a very good run and was later sold as I moved to the US for a few years where I had built the foundation of Paiday.Inc. The USA allowed me to network with Artist and Music Managers, A&R’s, Artists and many Music Industry tycoons and moguls whom are now a part and of our Executive Management Team.

Very Impressive, please tell us a bit about Paiday.Inc Management

Paiday.Inc Management is Asia Pacific’s Live Events, Publishing, PR & Artist Management Powerhouse. Paiday.Inc carries the need to develop independent Artists to showcase their material on an international level via our colossal distribution channel as well as our marketing and advertising networks.

Paiday.Inc connects music fans with music makers all around the world. Paiday.Inc has developed a system to use music as a vehicle to reach people around the globe to encourage and promote peace, love & unification with musicians with different cultures and talent which is the vital and the true core of our business.

By involving partners and producing events on a global level will allow us to fulfill our goal. Our company offers its clients every conceivable service available in the business. We are a worldwide organization, designed to provide on the -ground support in countries far and wide. Our company is storming toward the genesis of a new music model, one that places the artist at both the creative and financial center.
Have there been any major “stumbling blocks” for you while growing in the competitive world of Entertainment?

I mean, from an audio production, management and live venue operation perspective many opportunities in the past were constraint by missed opportunities and stumbling blocks as you may call them, but nevertheless the growth and positives outweighed the negatives in my experiences within the Entertainment Industry for the reason that I always had a solution and a way to overcome my obstacles. My biggest stumbling block to date was a partnership cave in with poor and incapable promoters in South Korea, which had breached on an agreement for one of the largest festival projects I had planned and invested to be the biggest in South Korea, we overcame the situation and have made great turns and major growth since that day. There has always been stumbling blocks during the climb but nevertheless these are the situations that assist in the current situation strategy which allows a CEO to reflect on what could possibly be the pros and cons and which option outweighs the other by reflecting on the past experiences. Competition is greatly valued and respected from my point of view. As a competitor I believe in putting up a good competition against competitors by implementing innovative and new ideas and becoming the best, but at the end of day we must always grow to be supportive of one another, and learn to appreciate everyone’s goals in the Industry. I have a vivid eye for the term competition as I see it more of an opportunity.

What do you think is the single largest problem faced by the music industry today? How do you think it can be resolved?

I don’t believe there is one single largest problem faced by the music industry, there is 99 problems the industry is up against, however in saying that I believe one of the single largest problem faced by not only the Music Industry but the Musicians itself is that it is harder than the analog era for Artists to get recognized and thanks to the birth of Music2Deal shall definitely light new flames and gleam with promising results. It’s a great networking platform to help engage Artists with Management Companies like Paiday.Inc to assist with Independent Artists careers with flair and conversant business consulting.

Big plans ahead for 2015?

Many big plans, majority of the year of 2014 was in fact the foundation-strengthening stages of Paiday.Inc to execute our big new innovative plans in 2015, with a brand new roster of Artists, Events and a brand-new service that shall be something that our company will be tailored around is very exciting and looking forward to the new year ahead.

Do you think Music2Deal.com can help get Australian artists to a further audience both nationally and internationally?

Music2Deal.com is a great example of an innovative platform to assist in connecting Artists with labels, managers, a&r’s and music executives in general. I confidently believe in Music2Deal and its unique platform to be a major bond-hub for music professionals not only in multiple countries around the world, but more so in Australia, and giving Australian artists an opportunity to connect with International labels and management companies to assist in their aspiring Music careers on an international and global scale.

by Sara Shirazi

English · Interviews

Interview with André Gomes de Abreu, Director of BandCom (Portugal)

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Please tell us a bit about BandCom.

Right now, BandCom is the outcome of almost 4 years of an amazing journey through some of the best years – have no doubts about it – of portuguese music. Day after day, we’re in the middle of an amazing flow of energy, creativity and information.
So, we just use the social platforms to inform and give power to the people and the artists, since we have to accept the world is constantly changing and we have to create chances for the artists to be heard when it appears quite impossible.
Our great focus is on how we inform, struggling to innovate ways to present new music and new musicians. And we do this for absolutely nothing but our music lover pride which forces us into realizing how important is to preserve the past, the present and the future of portuguese music. And we know we are still very far away from it when there isn’t a single organized TV show about music in Portugal available to the public and the opportunities of rediscovering music turn to few and, worse, random, lucky, honorary moments.

BandCom seems to have grown from a blog promoting new artists to a well trusted site in Portugal where artists and industry representatives can find reviews, videos, lists of venues, record labels, agents, radio stations and more. Have there been any major “stumbling blocks” for you while growing in the competitive world of media?

Well, first of all, the first part of the question is a great compliment for us and we thank you for recognizing it.
Dealing with information, as we said previously, is what we do better. All that useful links are part of our work and have to be accessible to all the music industry players because the money to be made in there is theirs and the public has the right to know what can be done with few support after all.

This whole point about information is definitely one of the biggest stumbling blocks for everyone who has any sort of relationship with music. We faced it, developed many strategies to keep us updated so we can provide real news to anyone and now the major part of the portuguese industry see in us an important collaborator. A fellow team member who also needs to be updated, influenced and brought into some important perspectives and future events.

Second, there are some daily stumbling blocks which we can’t get over that easier: we need to create content constantly to be read by our followers. In this content/media chain, we must be the first critics of what we do and look for perfection that could be perceived by the readers too. And that is a serious and intriguing obstacle run against what the worst change can bring we can only hope to win someday.

Third, we have this sense of mission of something we’re trying to accomplish but won’t and/or can’t define anything about our relative importance in media so that we become really, toxically viral.
And that is a big, big driver not to stop. At least, we are safe from ourselves.

How is the Music Scene in Portugal at the moment?

We can see it from different and simplistic perspectives which lead us into a general conception: the portuguese music scene is healthier but not wealthier. If we do have a “scene” after all. If we know where do we came from right now.
From the public’s point of view, this genetic feeling of almost instant disapproval towards your artists with no apparent reason is being put aside as the public renews and knows their artists better. However, this economic crisis, and lots of other minor or even local factors, play a decisive role in, for example, keeping a music project active. How can you know anyone if some bands have to split so quickly they can’t challenge the status quo and go to places which maps almost forgot?

From the musicians’ point of view, I think there is a larger sense of community between them, I think they see/have more opportunities in and outside of Portugal, I think they work with better and more skilled people, I think they know the talent is in there. But 99% of them don’t live exclusively from their music, almost 99% of the mainstream media have no interest in new portuguese music because the public don’t demand it from them and certainly more than 50% of their audience finds not enough money to even enjoy a decent life and empowers itself with a false security of the power of a like in Facebook, a comment, a review.
Musicians can benefit from “likes” but don’t live from them and sometimes you don’t have to pay that much to attend a good show.
From the industry’s point of view, I think there’s a lot to be known, lots of mistakes to be made and a long way to recover. Portugal is a small and troubled market, most of the future artists are out of their reach and need to go through their maturity processes just like the stars of today – and when I talk about stars, I talk about gifted and somewhat successful people and not only true or false mainstream stars. Anyway, they know they need new Portuguese music to present to a new country.

Surely, the artists and their work are always the first on the line but we still keep dreaming. That’s what make us all Portuguese: Americans have the American Dream, Portuguese have their Portuguese Ambition, accepting a minimum level of imperfection and imbalance as crucial to be inspired to succeed.

What do you think is the single largest problem faced by the music industry today? How do you think it can be resolved?

Well, the one thing I’m 100% certain about is that the problem of the music industry today is bigger than just one small obstacle.
I don’t have all of them, and not even a miracle to solve any of them. First, we have to stay realistic but optimist as well and don’t fall into the easiest to say like “this is all bad”. Because it’s not. It’s not all about money, it’s not all about education, it’s not all about talent, it’s not all about bad choices, but they easily interconnect with each other and, starting with some Portuguese examples for you, people with less money tend not to be so invested in music and then it becomes easier for everybody to forget some basic, minimum requirements.

Even though is an industry like any economy bible can define, music industry has this harshly worked-out question: how can we democratically make something valuable today?
Isn’t this a problem about every artistic industry? For various reasons, everyone knows it’s a genuine problem of this industry.
And since the problem is multifactorial, the solution is multifactorial too. If we don’t keep trying on everything we know right now and accepting, adapting, developing new ideas, we will fail.

Your plans for 2015?

In the first days of the year, we’ll release all of the tops of 2014, so we invite everybody to stay alert.
Then we’ll put some plans of ours together. Generally speaking, we want to go bigger: bigger on the team, bigger on the number of articles we present, bigger on talent scouting, bigger on the relation with all the music industry players.
We don’t want to announce lots of things which can or can’t be a reality when we look at everything in the end of the year, but we are developing a new website and the first of a series of compilations of Portuguese artists we want to present worldwide and explain why you need to know and to see them live if you can.

Do you think Music2Deal.com can help get Portuguese artists to a further audience both Nationally and Internationally?

Music2Deal.com is an example of a new project which, instead of its pure profit, presents immediately very interesting ways of quality worktime for every professional. It’s the ultimate social network for the music industry.
We believe in the success of Music2Deal and we firmly believe Portuguese artists can only benefit from a network where everybody wants to hear them.

by Sara Shirazi

http://bandcompt.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bandcom
http://twitter.com/BandComPT
band.com.pt@gmail.com