Monthly Archives: August 2021

Music is a reflection of the timesa snapshot of the mood of a society and a window into the soul of the enduring human spirit. When enthusiasm is high, anthemic powerhouses tend to arise, urging listeners to have fun, worry less, and party more. And when morale slips, the tones are somber and lyrics turn towards self-reflection.

Inarguably, humankind is currently experiencing the latter, and musicians are listening. As producers emerge from the progressive tones of the 2010s, electronic artists have taken a liking towards deeper, techno-driven sounds. The minimalistic approach practically mirrors society's angst amidst a global pandemic, something Cosmic Gate picked up on and created yet another shift in their musical catalog.

Having recently completed their20th anniversary tour, the iconic German duo gravitated to the studio yet again, after the runaway success of theirremix of Gabriel & Dresden's "Only Road." A Grammy-nominated cut, the track ended up being a catalyst in their ever-winding career, this time laying out the groundwork for MOSAIIK.

Their 11th studio album (in which they give a nod to on the stylized "II" in the title), MOSAIIK acts as a portal into a new universe for Cosmic Gate. The project will be split between two chapters, and in chapter one we find Bossi and Nic Chagall embracing the dark corners of the dancefloor, a bass-driven techno affair.

The first hint fans had of their evolving sound was with "Blame," which serves as the record's opening cut. Featuring the alluring Diana Miro, the songbecame Cosmic Gate's fastest release to hit a million streams on Spotify. Miro also lends her talents in "Nothing To Hide," satisfying the hunger for not only her mystifying vocals but also a hint of trance in the climax of the track.

In "Your Mind," the boys sample a rave classic, concocting the album's fist-in-the-air anthem. Although C'hantal's "The Realm" has been reworked by artists in the past, Cosmic Gate managed to curate a powerful rendition, making it irresistible to jump at its high peaks.

In a departure, "Summer Wonder" is the archetypal love song. Full of emotion and yearning for a lover's embrace, the song features vocals by Mike Schmidt. The progressive trance recording is the closest the album gets to connect with the group's previous endeavors, particularly 2014's Start To Feel.

Without skipping a beat, Cosmic Gate realigns the listener's audio senses in "Vertigo." Acting as a jolt to the system, the record orients itself back into the techno lane, after straying from the genre for a bit. A brooding piece, the melancholic tone would feel right at home in a doomsday scenario, or in the confines of a Berlin warehouse. "Vertigo" is a contemporary techno production, a unique offering from the duo and a standout on MOSAIIK.

Julie Thompson lends her sultry voice in "These Dreams," a slow-burning, ambient recording. The ethereal track serves as a great come down from "Vertigo," but it falls short of making a bigger impact on the album. The track manages to survive if only by the sensuous vocals of of Thompson.

Closing out the first chapter of MOSAIIK is yet another 90s sample, this time from Natural Born Grooves' track of the same name, "Universal Love." It mimics the same formula found in other Cosmic Gate tracks: low valleys building up to high-energy peaks. It's a blueprint that works well for the duo, and one that they have a stronghold on.

Throughout this first half of MOSAIIK, we are almost reintroduced to Cosmic Gate. It's a literal mosaic of the over two decades of artistry, ranging from their early hard trance days, progressive mid-years, and now a deeper, techno-permeated future. The patchwork of genres Cosmic Gate are known for seamlessly blend together, blurring the lines of what trance, progressive, or techno should be.

MOSAIIK Chapter One is available now via Black Hole Recordings. You can listen to the album in full below and find it on streaming platformshere.

Facebook: facebook.com/cosmicgateTwitter: twitter.com/cosmicgateInstagram: instagram.com/realcosmicgateSpotify: spoti.fi/2HyFMga

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Cosmic Gate Piece Together a Symphonic Collage in "MOSAIIK Chapter One" Album - EDM.com

Electronic dance music or DJ music is a general term used to describe music produced for DJ application. DJs are those who mix and play live music on stage, at bars, clubs, restaurants, or anywhere else. It can also be played on headphones, with the use of a mixer, or turntables. It normally is played with the help of a dj kit, speakers, and even sometimes microphone or some other electronic equipment.

In electronic dance music terms, a dive is the term used for an upbeat or fast-paced beat. A dinghy is another term. These terms can be used for any kind of quick-paced beat. Another term is stomping which means heavy footwork. This is used mainly in urban or tribal style DJ music. There are many other terms such as power trance or fatboy Slim that describe particular tracks.

Other electronic dance music terms include techno bass or techno kick drum. The term techno bass refers to a bass sound effect caused by scratching. A techno kick drum is a term that describes a different kind of kick drum sound effect. There are many other terms such as tweek, tribal bass, or tweek cymbals.

One important factor in electronic dance music terms is the kick drum beat. It determines the beat or rhythm of the track. A good example of this is Disclosures hit song Fifty Fifty, which was made with the assistance of what is known as a factory beat. A factory beat is simply a sample of another drum beat. The appearance and tempo variations of factory beats are what make them so commonly used in electronic music.

In electronic dance music terms, the head beat or hi hat is also known as the hat beat. It is used when a DJ plays from more than one microphone at a time. The hi hat is played by hitting a few keys on a keyboard. It has been used for many different types of DJ mixes.

One important term is disco bass. This term refers to a special type of bass sound effect created by hitting certain keys on a keyboard. There are two different types of basses: wet and dry. A dry bass is when a DJ hits a key wet, producing a thin noise. On the other hand, a wet bass produces a thicker noise when hit.

Another important term is house bump. This is another term commonly used by new DJs. It means a bump that is produced at an unnatural speed. Sometimes it will become very difficult to hear the DJ because it can be very intense. For this reason, many new DJs become familiar with this term before they begin playing at public events.

A kick drum beat is another term commonly used by a new DJ. This term refers to a specific kind of electronic dance music term that a DJ uses when he hits his kick drum beat. If you are going to see a new DJ to perform, pay close attention to how he starts each song. If you notice that he starts the song with a kick drum beat, then you will know that he will be using this beat often in his sets. Pay attention to his choice of songs as well.

Word list is the final term on our list of electronic dance music terms. A word list is simply the words that are most commonly used by a DJ in a song. Most songs will have a few words used by the DJ. These words can be crucial parts of a song. In order to play a song right, the DJ must know these words. By studying a song, you will gain a better understanding of how the DJ chooses words and where in the song those words appear.

The most common electronic dance music terms are those that relate directly to a DJs craft. You might also come across terms that pertain to music mixing, which consists of matching beats from different sources and playing them at the same time. Other terms you might come across include live set or FM (as in play FM), jam or props (for a band), set (for an artist), set list or set time. All of these are directly related to a DJs craft and experience.

Drum sample is another essential term for any true bass lover. This term refers to a DJs kit that contains drum beats from many sources, usually a variety of sources that include bass drums, toms, snares, vocals. Another important term is deejay mix. This is a blend of the words deejay and mix.

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Electronic Dance Music Terms - What You Need to Know - One EDM

Attention, attention! This is not a movie! This is real life . . . or what remains of it.

You remember all those old movies where the zombies, the pods, the aliens have descended from . . . wherever . . .and have taken over the brains of the unsuspecting humans on their way to conquering the earth? We are saved by the herocoming forth to battle the wayward, slavering minions of already mind-dead citizens intent on eating others brains, or at leasttaking over the world. By the end of the movie, he or she has opened the eyes of whomever they can save and turned the tide of the invasion to save the planet.

Gulp. Well its here but this time, the zombies might be altogether unstoppable. They look exactly as we do and walk, talk and wiggle exactly as we do, but zombies often have looked like us, just with drool. And they are everywhere!

You come around a corner in your car and there he is! Standing right in the middle of the road, oblivious, gazing down in their zombie trance at their cell phone, usually an iPhone or an Android. Aha! That should be enough of a telltale alone: An Android?!

I knew it! Droids and Iphoneys, roaming the streets, gazing helplessly into their machines of dominance, in a trance. The Crystal Ball Gaze, as some call it. They cant look away. They have given up their brains and their will to survive. People walking and Crystal Ball Gazing,three abreast in the street, out past the center line, oblivious of the traffic. The Gaze unfortunately reduces their survival instincts to basically a mosquito level just flitting away, waiting to be swatted. Their backs are turned to the danger of the speeds and tendencies of Gloucester drivers. Just like when their mommies had to grab them by the collar to keep them out of harms way. Their brains formerly fully formed and self-protecting, have turned to mush.

On a recentmorning, this writer came around a blind corner to a smallish car sitting on a two-lane road in the left lane!, no less the driver was stopped, gazing away at his crystal ball. But so was his passenger, both of them so there was no one to grab him by the collar. Almost rear-ended them. Its a street, I yelled, as I edged around them get off the phone. Naturally, they couldnt hear a thing with all the windows rolled up tight. When I looked back, they were still sitting there they had no plans to move. Another attack of the zombies that almost got me (and themselves). Not what Mr. Darwin would call survival of the fittest.

And its spreading. You cant go into a restaurant without seeing a majority of the customers glued to their screens, ignoring their fellow diners and even their meals after they arrive. Been on a sidewalk in a city lately? The zombies have taken over even more minds in the bigger cities. In NYC, absolutely everyone is trapped by their phone. No surprise they lead the nation in pedestrian deaths. And even here, you see zombies at Gloucesters only two traffic lights they immediately reach for their phones to make sure they havent missed any messages maybe zombie instructions from the great zombie leader? I hear complaints of some married couples that their mates must check their crystal ball before sleep at night and then hurriedly first thing upon waking in the morning. Of course how else can they report to their phone? And, of course, we are training the next zombie generation of children to do the same.

So, real world or virtual world? In virtual world, you can check the weather in Instanbul or Cleveland instantly. But out in the real world, people cant remember phone numbers or add or read a map or remember Mickey Mantles number (7). In a drink ticket line at a sailing event last week, the cashiers phone ran out of juice. Twotickets were $12 and I gave her a $20 bill. She couldnt do the subtraction in her head. She had been zombie-ized! Finally, she looked helplessly at me and held out $7. I shook my head and said $8. She was desperate to get her phone back, she said.

But is Crystal Ball Zombie Brain also behind people not getting COVID-19 shots, blinded by their online telephonic masters to be ruled and misinformed by the Zuckerberg forces over the hordes of the already mash-brained Iphoneys? One can only wonder how we will all survive. Hoorah for my flip phone! Hoorah for the real world. Now get off that phone!

Gloucester resident Gordon Baird is an actor and musician, co-founder of Musician magazine and producer of The Chicken Shack community access TV show.

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Fishtown Local: Attack of the zombies | Opinion | gloucestertimes.com - Gloucester Daily Times

Another day of writing lay ahead of Lawrence, the King Ghostwriter of Blurbs. He spilled the cereal into the glass bowl. He poured the milk. He made the coffee. He fed Geraldina, the elderly French Bulldog. He noticed a text from his friend at the publishing house.

"Need 15 blurbs by noon!"

"Well, shit," said King to the lavender walls.

He splashed some water on his unshaven face, then sat down and let the hyperbole stream forth.

"This collection is jaw-dropping. I picked my jaw up, drove myself to the hospital, and kept reading while I sat in the waiting room, holding my jaw in place."

"An epic novel. So goddamn epic that you might injure your ego reading it."

"A spellbinding, earth-shattering, soul-shaking thrill ride to the edge of sanity."

"Almost as satisfying as a pastrami sandwich."

"A kaleidoscopic wallop of word-spells."

"Peculiarly trance-inducing. As if written by a seagull on a cruise ship at dawn."

"A decent way to spend a few hours after dinner."

"Tender yet ruthless. Sidesplitting yet serious."

"A novel that contains something for everyone, but not quite enough for me."

"A fantastically baroque journey to the center of the psyche."

"Good enough for most."

"A harrowing read, full of hoots, gasps and claptrap."

"A desultory swim in the swamp of disillusionment."

"A high-wire act full of wit, devastation, levitation and annihilation."

"A ferocious yawn."

The King Ghostwriter of Blurbs pressed send on the email. Phew. Another day's worth of extreme wordsmithery to his friend at the publishing house to help keep the lights on.

Next, the King Ghostwriter of Blurbs took a shower and got to work writing his unending life's work. A single sentence whose word count now eclipsed one million. One day he would have to submit this to his friend for the edit of all edits. Maybe his friend would reply, "Good enough." Or maybe he'd die before sending the document at all. Maybe he would print it out and leave it all in a drawer for dramatic effect.

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The King Ghostwriter of Blurbs - Splice Today

This is a big moment forAbove & Beyondfans as the trance titan trioAbove & Beyondare not only releasing a new single again, but its with long time Oceanlabcollaborator Justine Suissa, titledAlmost Homereleased via Anjunabeats.

Certainly an emotional release for both the artists and fans alike, Almost Home is set to be one of the most special releases of this year, and it also coincides with their massive upcoming ABGT450 event in London this September. Releasing their first track together in over four years, the artists come together once again at last. Creating a sense of unity and power within this track, it has come just at the right time, and also happens to be Above & Beyonds first club track of 2021 starting it off with a high.

We all know that Above & Beyond and Justine Suissa are an epic pairing, but this is further proven with Almost Home. Punching synths carry Justines unique power-driven vocals forward, creating a strong foundation to build upon. Uplifting and energetic yet filled with passion and emotion at the same time, this is the beauty of an Above & Beyond and Justine Suissa collaboration, and this rare feeling that drips from the track cannot be found anywhere else or be replicated. Also, in true Above & Beyond fashion, a Club Mix version of the track has been released alongside it, giving avid listeners different versions to excitingly explore.

This is a track that we originally wrote with Justine some years ago. Like many musicians during the lockdown, we buried ourselves in the studio and had plenty of time to pick through old ideas. Almost Home, with its 80s production influences, caught our ear. We sent it across to Justine again, and she rewrote the second verse to reflect her feelings on it today we wont tell you what its about though, well leave that for you to decide. This track started in quite a different form, so weve also done a Club Mix to bring it a bit more up-to-date. Its quite emotional to think that well be able to play this one live for you all very soon. Take care for now! Above & Beyond

Almost Home is out now, and you can stream it below.

Image Credit: Above & Beyond (via Facebook)

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Above & Beyond return with stunning new track 'Almost Home' - We Rave You

KATHMANDU, AUGUST 23

The origin of Gai Jatra, or the 'Holy Cow Festival', is traced back to the period of King Pratap Malla (1624 to 1674 A.D.) of Kathmandu. To this day, the Newah community of the Kathmandu Valley and other Newah settlements celebrate the festival in memory of the deceased family member.

In Thecho, a Newah settlement of the valley, a typical dance known as Jogi Pyakhan, or the 'Hermit Dance', accompanies the Gai Jatra procession.

A group of 11 barefoot males in exceptional attire exits the narrow entrance of one of the houses on a busy lane of Thecho. One of them is dressed in a yellow wrap and carries a Kalash, or 'sacred water vessel'.

The fake matted and braided dreadlocks on his head and a fake cobra curled around the neck depict him as Lord Shiva.

The remaining men wear caps and shirts which are yellow or maroon coloured.

Clad in a Rudraksha Mala, or 'blueberry prayer beads' around the neck, each of them holds a yellow sheet of paper with lyrical verses printed on them. The lyrics is meant to inform the heavenly god about the name of the deceased person, the day, month and year of the passing and also the names of the entire family members who are left behind.

Some stanzas describe the last wish of the departed to see the family living together.

On the street, the group assembles in a circle with the Shiva look-alike in the centre.

Some hold a Jhyali, a traditional folk percussion instrument, while others the Rudraksha Mala. A few members outside the group play the Khairani, another percussion instrument.

The beating of the Jhyali and Khairani together conveys the message of death to the heavenly god. Slowly the rhythm makes the dancers move in rounds, later turning them into a trance. The audience lines up to shower them with money and rice grains into the cloth pouches. The dancers stop at 11 different places for the act, each of which lasts for 10 to 15 minutes.

The Jogi Pyakhan is believed to have started by a group of Newah enthusiasts called Dapha Khala in Thecho. Jit Govinda Maharjan, Kajee or the 'team leader' of the group, the Nhyecchen Dapha Khala explains, "It is difficult to manage the group these days for lack of finances and the busy schedule of the participants."

So only a couple of dances take to the streets during Gai Jatra these days. The Dapha Khala trains the dancers belonging to its own group or other interested persons of the same locality to prepare for the day at the request of the family. Involvement of young members of the community in the act shows their eagerness to carry the cultural heritage forward.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 24 2021, of The Himalayan Times.

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Jogi Pyakhan, the hermit dance - The Himalayan Times