Mat Zo

Anjunabeats Issues Statement About Will.i.am’s Alleged Copyright Infringement

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

will.i.am

UK label Anjunabeats has issued a statement regarding their assertion that Will.i.am’s track “Let’s Go” featuring Chris Brown sampled Arty and Mat Zo’s “Rebound” collaboration without proper permission. The label issued the statement today to counter an interview Will.i.am gave to the Associated Press where he said, “You can’t steal if you credited somebody. He and I communicated. … It’s not my fault he didn’t tell me about the other guy. So who is to blame? I didn’t know.” The label didn’t mention if they were in the process of seeking financial relief over the matter. Here is Anjunabeats’ statement in its entirety:

Anjunabeats is the record label behind Arty and Mat Zo and owns the master recording rights to their collaboration “Rebound.” Mat Zo and Arty have been important members of the Anjunabeats family for a number of years and “Rebound” was one of the label’s most popular releases in 2011.

As has been widely reported, a large section of “Rebound” was sampled on Will.i.am’s track “Let’s Go featuring Chris Brown” and this took place without the permission of Anjunabeats or Arty & Mat Zo.

Although Arty (but not Mat Zo) was credited in the sleeve notes, this is not the same as obtaining permission. To present someone else’s work as your own, you need to seek permission, agree terms and file paperwork, which has not happened in this case.

We’ve remained silent on this issue until now but as a record label it is our obligation to protect our artists’ interests and we felt it was necessary to respond to some of the inaccuracies that have been reported following Will.i.am’s recent comments to Associated Press.

WMC Recap: Dim Mak Pool Party + Club Space with Bassjackers and Ferry Corsten

Kathy Vitkus Leave a Comment

Dim Mak Pool Party

Thursday it was all about the Dim Mak Pool Party with Steve Aoki and friends at the Raleigh Hotel Pool. His “friends” included DJ Carnage who greeted with a dubstep version of “Save The World.” Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike offered up a mix rendition of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” into Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” Sidney Sampson delivered spot-on blends of electro house, progress house and dubstep.

Dim Mak’s head honcho Aoki set it off with his Afrojack collaboration “No Beef.” It made sense because the surprise guest Afrojack was actually in the booth manning the decks at the moment. Aoki dropped another crowd pleaser with Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit Of Happiness.”

steve aoki insta2The sets were slathered with water blasts, cryogenics, champagne sprays, crowd rafting and cake — lots and lots of cake. Aoki aggressively burrowed into an oversized sheet cake, mixing it up before offering teaser samplings to front-row fans. With the crowd roaring anticipation to be one of his welcome victims, Aoki heaved the massive cake to the first few rows of willing fans to more uproarious applause and encouraging. All the while he played Borgore “Decisions” or commonly and affectionately referred to as the “Bitches Love Cake.” He spun for maybe 30 minutes then rode in a raft with a buddy. He sprayed the crowd with champagne and went running around for another half hour while the crowd ate it all up (literally). The tracks magically transitioned and one had to wonder how this is possible and who’s manning the decks. Sometimes it was electro house veteran Benny Benassi, sometimes Afrojack and occasionally Aoki. It was a spontaneous team effort. Aoki introduced a new dub-inspired track he said he wrote with Flux Pavillion so that’s one to watch for.

Electro-house DJ/producer Felix Cartel took to the decks in a massive way dishing out energetic and thumping tracks right from the start. He played his own, winning “No Sleep” and wound down with one of many remixes of “Clarity.” He wasted no time instigating the crowd and keeping them engaged even after his follow-up to his Dim Mak boss’s antics. Mr. Cartel also should be another on everyone’s one-to-continue-to-watch list.

The night closed out (or was just getting started) with a cab ride over to Miami’s Club Space for an opening, heaping, lively, earful from Bassjackers. Each and every track was just as kicking as the previous. Note-to-self, look into Bassjackers mixes or podcasts. He dropped a remix of the fun-loving, vocoder-laden “Easy” from dynamo’s Porter Robinson & Mat Zo. When he dropped a remix of “Maximal Crazy” it seemed a subliminal reference to the substantial crowd, ambiguous winding lines and hysteria to get into the venue tonight.

Ferry Corsten followed up with one of his winning archives “Rock Your Body Rock,” last year’s captivating “Check It Out” and his melodic “Live Forever.” Menno de Jong and Giuseppe Ottavianni were also on hand mingling with the A-list VIP’s.

Tritonal was in house rounding out the lineup and celebrating posting the following on Facebook, “Let’s all wish my best friend and awesome partner, David Reed, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Let’s rock this party dude!!” A perfect example of DJ’s partying in true style.

Images by Kathy Vitkus

Las Vegas Gets Two Nightclubs in April: Light and Hakkasan

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Hakkasan-Las-Vegas

Las Vegas’ club scene continues to explode with Light at Mandalay Bay and Hakkasan announcing they will both open in April. Light, a state-of-the-art nightclub operated by Cirque du Soleil and The Light Group, will present resident Nicky Romero, Clockwork and Andy Caldwell on April 26, followed by resident Axwell with Hook N Sling on April 27. The club says it has “confirmed partnerships” with world-renowned DJs including Skrillex, Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Baauer, Thomas Gold, A-Trak, Mat Zo, Otto Knows and many others.

Hakkasan, a five-level culinary/nightlife experience, will open its Las Vegas outpost on April 18 at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. The club, which is sprawled out over 10,000 square feet on the fifth floor of a spectacular building, will also feature state-of-the-art design and technology , promising DJ talent including Tiësto, Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Bambi, Bingo Players, Bob Sinclar, Dada Life, Danny Avila, Fergie (DJ), Hardwell, Laidback Luke, Michael Woods, NERVO, Quintino, R3HAB and Tommy Trash.

The influx of nightclubs in Sin City will no doubt be a boon to DJs given that both clubs are well financed. But will both clubs’ deep pockets lead to a bidding war for DJ talent? We’ll find out soon enough.

Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness: “We’ll Stop Touring When We Die!”

Kathy Vitkus Leave a Comment

British trance trio Above & Beyond continue to push the envelope with their productions, live show and Anjunabeats label, constantly innovating and moving their music forward. For their new video for “On My Way To Heaven,” the triumvirate, who recently Cream Ibiza Mixed by Above & Beyond,  tapped actor Steven Berkoff (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, A Clockwork Orange, The Krays) to perform a dramatic Shakespearean soliloquy set to the group’s track featuring Richard Bedford. With Above & Beyond returning to the States over the summer for select gigs for their ongoing Group Therapy tour, we thought it was high time to publish our chat with A&B’s Tony McGuinness conducted back in March in Miami.

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