Warner Brothers Pictures recently chose “Amante Del Vino” by Michael J.  Thomas from the Affix catalog for the new Matt Damon action-thriller Contagion.

The Steven Soderberg directed film centers around the threat from the outbreak of a deadly disease and the CDC team chosen to deal with problem.  The star-studded film includes Lawrence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet.

Contagion brought in $23.1M last weekend making it #1 at the box office.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sYSyuuLk5g

Michael J. Thomas is a North Florida Smooth Jazz Saxophonist who has performed with Dave Koz, Richard Elliot and many others.   At Affix, we’re proud to represent Michael’s work, including “I Think About Amy” which was recently the most added song nationwide on Smooth Jazz radio.  Click here to listen to Affix’s license-ready playlist of Michael’s music.

Affix Music client Zack Arias shares a live worldwide studio lighting class in the creativeLIVE classroom.  White seamless and beyond. Models, bands and Music provided from the Affix catalog!

Zack will lead the class the weekend of June 11, 12 and 13!  With room for lots of live Q&A and critique.

Twitter drawing to give away lots (and lots) of cool lighting gear to people who helped spread the word about this course on Twitter.

Click here for more info and sign up!

Please join me 12:30 PM Saturday June 5th at the Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center for:

The Art & Business of Game Audio.

Featuring, Paul Lipson of Pyramind Studios, Chris Rickwood of Rickwood Music & me, Simon Horrocks of Affix Music for an insight into working with music and audio in the world of gaming moderated by Joe Shiver.

RSVP & advance tickets only:
Atlanta@grammy.com or 404.816.1380

Free to AES and Recording Academy Members
Non-members $25.00

Become a Recording Academy member at:
www.grammy365.com

Last month French multinational advertising and communications company Publicis Groupe hosted an event for its Atlanta interactive agencies at the W Hotel Midtown and asked Affix to provide entertainment for the get together.

World renowned DJ and Affix Music Provider Mayhem was on hand to spin his special blend of Dub Step, club hits and music from the Affix catalog while staffers from Moxie Interactive, Razorfish, Digitas and MS&L Worldwide mixed and mingled.

Anthony Rotella, aka Mayhem, is a 26 year old dj/producer from Atlanta, GA. Founder of 404Audio.com, an Atlanta based record store, promoter, distributor, label and website for his local d&b community; Shadow-Law Recordings, featuring cutting edge drum & bass focused heavily on the techy side of drum & bass which has incubated the likes of Sinthetix, Noisia, and Misanthrop; as well as Aesthetics, a brand new imprint with a focus on rising talent across the globe.

He’s toured across the world, playing extensively in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Canada and Puerto Rico in addition to playing regularly across North America.

His club night Transit hosted the spectrum of the most respected and upcoming artists in the scene over 3 years in Atlanta. Well known for “Moonway Renegade [Ft Noisia]”, which graced Andy C’s Ram Records reaching 1 spots on both Radio 1 and 1xtra’s single of the week charts in addition to hitting 2 on the official UK dance charts; “Exodus [Ft Noisia]“,which saw the 1st collaboration with legendary Hip Hop MC KRS-1 in Drum + Bass Music in over 10 years since the seminal “Digital” was produced with Goldie; “Choke [Ft Noisia]” which saw the first vocal appearance of MC Verse; his rework of Meat Beat Manifesto’s “Helter Skelter” alongside Evol Intent commissioned especially for Diselboy’s most recent album “Substance D”’ and “Broken Sword [Ft Evol Intent and Thinktank]”, which is featured on EA Games Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

His recordings have spawned releases on Obsessions, Citrus, Vision Recordings, Ram Records, Subtitles Music, Human Imprint, Evol Intent Recordings, Redlight Records, Nerve Recordings, Full Force Recordings, Ministry Of Sound, Project 51 Records, Black Sun Empire Recordings, and the list is ever growing. In the fall of 2008, Mayhem is set to debut his 1st LP entitled “Into Oblivion” featuring a majority of solo efforts while enlisting Phace and Psidream for collaborative efforts on Shadow-Law Recordings. When not immersed in drum & bass, Mayhem has found success producing Electro, under the moniker Rrrump, as well as Dubstep still under the Mayhem guise.

Urban Redefined.

Congratulations to Bobby Ray, and our Music Providers SMKA who had a small part in the creation of the record. 7King with SMKA played guitar on a couple tracks (“Past My Shades” “Letters from Vietnam”) and has been touring with Bobby Ray for over a year now. Congrats to everyone in the camp!

We’ve been fans of what B.o.B has been doing for quite some time at Affix ever since our good friend Tommy with Greg Mike started playing the mixtape in our office last year.

As a matter of fact, checkout the video for “No Man’s Land” from the B.o.B mixtape here. It was shot close to our old office – so close that the Greg Mike “Popstar” has a cameo in the video at 1:11.

Michael has been going to see him live for quite some time and I had the chance to see what I considered a career making performance on the main stage at Coachella last month.

If you haven’t already, check out the record and go see this artist live.

Urban Redefined.

Simon

Two panels in two days! On Wednesday morning, March 17th, I’ll be joining Philip Walden, counsel Turner Entertainment, speaking on the Music Licensing panel as part of the Entertainment Law Basics Boot Camp for the Georgia State Bar. The annual Entertainment Law Basics Boot Camp is is geared towards new entertainment law practitioners and graduating law students.

The event will be held in Atlanta at Georgia State University College of Law, Room 675 at 11:45 AM.

I’m excited to be speaking on a the ASCAP / Sessions Remixed panel in Atlanta tonight (3/16) with 4 amazing producers- Focus, Terrence Battle, Maestro and Nitti.  Great event, come out and say hello. 

Details are as follows:
The Sessions Remixed
Tuesday, March 16
Panel begins 8pm to 8:45pm

Panelists:
Focus (The Game, Busta Rhymes)
Terrence Battle (Jennifer Hudson, Toni Braxton)
Simon Horrocks (Affix Music – Urban Music Licensing for Film/TV)
Maestro (Lil Wayne, David Banner)
Nitti (Yung Joc, 8Ball & MJG)

VIA – Food & Bar
262 Pharr Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
404.214.5404

Babyboi95 is a music producer, songwriter & audio engineer on the rise for Bb95 Music Group/ Nappy Boy Digital.  He is also one of those guys that seems to have more than 24 hours in his day.  Recently he has been working with host of artists, including Grammy award-winning T-Pain, Fonzworth Bentley, B.O.B, Tay Dizm, , J-Bo of Youngbloodz, Yung Joc & many others.  At the same time, he maintains his full-time job as a high school teacher, all the while pursuing his passion of philanthropy.  Together with Terri Sherman of Lex Promotions & Marketing, he is co-founder of “The Sessions”, a national program that provides up-and-coming producers with the tools they need to succeed in today’s competitive music business environment.  And we thought we were busy…

We’re perhaps as proud to represent Babyboi95 and his music for licensing as he is of the many youths he mentors, and we think you’ll be as inspired as we were when conducting the following Q&A.

Q. What was the first record that inspired you to become a professional in the business?

A.  Wow, I’ll never forget it….Kool Moe Dee – How You Like Me Now!!  I used to rap that record over and over til the tape popped!!! LOL!!

Q. Who are your musical idols?

A. Rick Ruben, Outkast, Mos Def & Dr.Dre, to name a few.

Q. What is Urban Music to you?

A. Urban music is a movement. All the way from turntables, graffiti, break dancing and lyrical craftwork!  It connects people from different walks of life by giving them ways to relate.

Q. How has the perception of Urban Music changed over the years to the general market?

A. It’s become a lot stronger! It’s gone from being underground to mainstream! It’s gone from being a small segment to the main attraction.

Q. Is there a brand in mainstream media that is getting Urban Music right?

A. I think Coke is trying to get it right.  I’ve seen how some of their commercials are showing how genres are beginning to merge more and more.  I saw a cartoonish commercial where Rock was illustrated a bald, buff guy with tattoos and Hip Hop was personified by a dog.  When Rock would speak it sounded like a guitar and when Hip Hop would speak it would sound like a DJ scratching.  By the end, the two shared a Coke and the scratching was then laid over the rock track!  I knew then Hip Hop was definitely more visible in the mainstream.

Q. What’s in your iPod right now?

A. Telepopmusik, Miles Davis, Lucy Pearl, Green Day, the ENTIRE 80′s catalog, Ben Folds Five and whatever track I just made!

Q. Outside of music what are you passionate about?

A. Helping others!  I still maintain my day job as a HS teacher because I love inspiring kids. I want to be responsible for saving at least 1 life…if I save more, GREAT!

Q. I know you’re passionate about working with young people & at risk teens, how did that start for you?

A. I was basically thrown away by my teachers coming up and I never forgot that feeling.  I told myself I would prove them wrong because the best reply to a hater is your success.  After receiving so many blessings, I felt it was my job to return the favor and save a child. No matter how mad a child makes you, they’re still a child. We have to remember that and guide them.

Q. As a producer, what is it that gets you excited about working on a project or that draws you to an artist?

A. Creative freedom!  I love artists that take chances but maintain their integrity!  That’s what drew me into Fonzworth Bentley’s project.

Q. Name one song that you love that would surprise us.

A. The Clash – “Rock The Casbah”.

Q. Ok, here’s one for you:  You have 24 hours on lockdown in a studio & have to come up with a #1 hit – a smash song.  Who’s on the dream team in there with you?

A.  How’s my budget!!?? HAHAHA!!! Ok…I’ll take Jon Brion, Pink, Javier (Pain’s Engineer) & Andre 3000.

Q.  Since you have a great perspective on your own brand, how do you feel about music being used to strengthen another brand?

A. I’m all for it! I feel once people have their fan base, they should use that influence….but in the right way!

Q. Any parting words?

A. I feel we are blessed with success for a reason, which is to help another person become success.  Thank you for having me!

To license some of the same music that is attracting so many prominent artists to BabyBoi95, check out his artist profile on to www.affixmusic.com.

]]> http://blog.affixmusic.com/blog/2010/03/03/featured-music-provider-babyboi95/feed/ http://blog.affixmusic.com/blog/2010/03/03/featured-music-provider-dave-herrero-of-trackforce-productions/ http://blog.affixmusic.com/blog/2010/03/03/featured-music-provider-dave-herrero-of-trackforce-productions/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:35:14 +0000 Simon http://www.affixmusic.com/blog/?p=2121

Dave Herrero, is an internationally acclaimed Blues Artist and Producer, and one half TrackForce Productions.  While Dave’s solo release Austin to Chicago was nominated by Illinoisblues.com for “2009 Debut Album of the Year”, his list of placement credits is extensive, with TrackForce Production’s music consistently used by Harpo Productions (The Oprah Winfrey Show), MTV, and Telepictures (Tyra Banks, Extra, TMZ), as well of some of Chicago’s hottest MC’s.  Dave and is scheduled to tour the US, Norway and Sweden later this year in support of his newest LP.

With a full list of tracks available for license at Affix (here and here), we wanted to share some insight via a quick Q&A into Dave’s background, inspiration, and influences, and importantly, his thoughts on the Blues’ role and fit in Urban Music.

Q. What is Urban Music to you?  How does your music fit into the Urban genre?

A. Urban Music to me is music that comes out of the streets of Urban societies.  The music of TrackForce Productions, and the “Hero Brothers”, as we’re called by the Chicago Hip Hop community, is a representation of music of the modern times.  We don’t have a traditional Chicago Hip Hop sound, my brother and I having both grown up in the South.  We both grew up in Florida, I then moved on to Austin, TX for several years, growing up on the sounds of 2 Live Crew and Ghetto Boys.

My blues music is a representation of what music was coming out of the streets of the Urban communities across the US 40 years ago.  It’s a challenge to keep such an old form fresh, exciting and current, but not losing the integrity of the roots; but I think we do a good job of that.

Q. How has the perception of Urban Music changed over the years to the general market?

A. Its an interesting paradigm.  The old school Blues music, that was popular in the streets, was looked at as “The Devils Music” by the elders of that generation, then the music gets more and more popular, which eventually leads to the commercialization of that movement, then the next thing comes along.

Same thing is happening with Hip Hop.  The elders of our generation thought it was the “devils music” so to speak, then it becomes extremely popular, commercialized, which then leads to the next big thing.  Who know what that’s gonna be next.  But one thing is for sure, it will come out of the Urban Culture, at it always has.

On the left coast, they just started a few years ago a movement called “hyphy”.  Sonically right now, the Southern Hip Hop aesthetic seems to be dominating the airwaves, as it has for the last several years, but who knows what the next major shift is going to bring us.

I guess to answer your question, I feel it has become much more widely accepted, which in turn has brought it to a mass audience.  The people who have grown up on Hip Hop are now reaching middle age and beyond, which makes them a very desirable market for advertisers with expendable income.

Q. Is there something or someone in mainstream media that is getting Urban Music right?

A. MERCEDES BENZ has some of the hottest beats you will ever hear in their commercials lately. Of course when McDonalds jumps on board,  you know its gotta be the “it” thing right now…

Q. What’s in your iPod right now?

A. Outkast, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Mos Def, BB King, Doyle Bramhall II, Fela Kuti, The Sugarman 3, Scarface, Vivaldi, The Arc Angels, The Wood Brothers, Townes Van Zandt, Busta Rhymes.

Q. What was the first record that inspired you to become a professional in the business?

A. Hound Dog Taylor – Live, Alligator Records.

Q. Who are your musical idols?

A. The obvious and some not so obvious are:  Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Outkast, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Mozart, Ronnie Earl, Billie Holiday, The Neptunes, Busta Rhymes &  Dr Dre.

Q. Outside of music what are you passionate about?

A. Cooking, wine, ideas and working with kids.

Q. Do you draw inspiration for your music from sources outside of music?

A. Life is my number one inspiration. You cant make up some of the bizarre amazing things that happen in the real world.

Q. Name one song that you love that would surprise us.

A. “I Would Do Anything for Love” by Meatloaf.  What the hell was “That”?  Anyways…

Q.  As a producer, what is it that gets you excited about working on a project or that draws you to an artist?

A. Someone who is saying something different (especially in Hip Hop). Like for instance, my brother has been working with Lupe Fiasco who is a true artist.  You think he’s gonna go right, and he does a 180 degree shift, then goes to the right, you dig?

I also like when someone has an intoxicating, enticing delivery.  Someone who has that special thing that you cant bottle, and can’t put a finger on.  As Simon Cowell would say it, an artist who has the “x” factor, but who also is professional and has their business together.

Q. Your work is extremely diverse.  You’re a serious Blues artist and you also produce Hip Hop, as well.  We have both styles in our catalog from you, can you tell us about how you approach them and how you got involved in each?

A. With the Blues, I just try to keep the songwriting fresh, yet familiar.  I do my very best to keep it SOULFUL.  Always trying to stretch things out too.  I’m currently working on a project combining Blues and Hip Hop.  Those styles are 1^st cousins to one another and the project has been coming along seamlessly.  It says a lot when you don’t have to force it, and it has a smooth way of coming together.  The project is called The Underground Railroad and it has my brother and I doing the Hip Hop production and Blues guitar esthetic, and Cedric and Cody Burnside (grandsons of the legendary Mississippi Bluesman R.L. Burnside) doing the songwriting and rapping.

My brother, Mike Hero, as he’s known to the Chicago Hip-Hop community got me really into Hip-Hop production.  He’s one of the best on the scene right now so my little brother has been a great teacher to me.

The stuff we initially put together between our trips between Austin and Chicago, working with sampling organic sounds like Hammond B3 organs, upright bass and big box guitars, goin on some funky beats are the 1^st compositions that were purchased by Oprah Show.  It was a non-threatening Hip-Hop sound we’ve started calling “soccer mom hop” that’s still Urban in nature, but very non-threatening with the sound choices.

Q. How much time are you in the studio and how much are you playing live?

A. I spent at least one to two hours a day in the studio and play live at least twice a week unless I’m on tour,  in which case we’ll play 5 or 6 nights a week for a 3 or 4 week run.

One time, I had a 3 month tour of Scandinavia  so I had to bring my portable studio  and before every gig in the hotel room, or on the tour bus, the other guys would be napping and I would be making compositions for Oprah. The first 60 days we had 59 gigs with 3 days off we were hustling!

Q. Who are some artists you’ve worked with?

I played with Archie Bell and the Drells for 5 years in Texas. While with him, we did shows with everyone from the Temptations to Dennis Yost (“Love is Kinda Crazy with a Spooky lil girl like you”…. )

I’ve been blessed to play with some of the absolute best in the blues world, from Lazy Lester, to Cedric Burnside, to Marsha Ball to the phenomenal soulman Jimmy -Burns.

On the Hip Hop tip, we’ve worked with everyone in Chicago from Psycho Drama to Profound.

Q. Can you talk about your work bring music to kids?

A. With www.rockforkids.org I go to the hood here in Chicago, and provide free music lessons to underprivileged kids on the south and westsides of Chicago.  I do a class in instruments and singing, and my brother does a class in Hip Hop production and songwriting.  These kids are RIDICULOUSLY TALENTED!!!!

We did a performance for their parents before Christmas, and their jaws were on the floor seeing what these 7 – 12 year old kids were doing.  They played as a band, and played “Wild Thing” and “Thriller”. A definite career highlight. Some of these kids are pre destined for gang life, and this can give them a way out.  I feel so inspired and whole after leaving these sites every time.

Q.  Any parting words?

A. Thanks much for your time. All the best in life, love and happiness, and the pursuit of your dreams.

To sample Dave’s Blue’s music available for licensing, along with his Hip Hop collaborations with his brother Mike Hero,  check out their artist profiles here and here on www.affixmusic.com.

SMKA is a music venture – with a dream – centered around a core group of talented musicians, producers and business-minded individuals.  SMKA was founded in August 2008 by Blake “808 Blake” German (Producer), Kyle “7King” King (Musician/Audio Engineer/Producer) & Mike Walbert (Entrepreneur/Business Manager).   Since then, SMKA has achieved rapid and impressive notoriety, with highlights including a collaboration with the Atlanta Symphony and the production of “Saturday” ft. Niko Villamor, Brittany Street & Kid Neer
 recently released on Mick Boogie & Terry Urban’s mixtape Le Da Soul: 20 Years of De La Soul, an homage to the hip-hop legends.

SMKA feels that an artist is a brand, and its belief is perhaps best exemplified by its efforts around the production and promotion of its latest mixtape release The 808 Experiment: Vol. 2.  The mixtape features SMKA collaborations with some of Urban Music’s most exciting artists, including Nappy Roots, Grip Plyaz, Yelawolf, Proton & Aleon Craft.  This past week SMKA scored a Washington Post review for The 808 Experiment along side Ludacris and Justin Bieber, while executing a flawless, at-capacity release party at Star Bar in Atlanta with performances by many of the mixtape’s featured artists.  Extraordinary feats and associations for such a young venture.

At Affix, we’re not only proud to represent SMKA’s music for licensing, but we’re also big fans, so we jumped when offered a chance to sit down with 808 Blake for a candid, one-on-one Q&A.

Q.  What is Urban Music to you?  How does your music fit into the Urban genre?

A.  We try not to define our music.  When you start labeling yourself, or music, then you have put a limit on to what you can do.  We try and create music we like and music that we feel like making on any given day.  My experiences play a big roll in the music I make.  It just so happens I grew up in Decatur, so I grew up listening to Outkast, 8ball & MGJ… I guess I just identify with “urban” music.

Q. How has the perception of Urban Music changed over the years to the general market?

A.  Urban Music has made its way to the top of the charts.  Urban Music sets trends.  It defines a culture.

Q. Is there something or someone in mainstream media that is getting Urban Music right?

A.  It’s funny cause there really is a strong disconnect between popular brands, and what is current in music and Urban culture.  The coolest thing I have seen recently was a Coke commercial/song with Cee-Lo and Janelle Monae, who are two of the most creative people in music.  I was pretty happy when I say that.  And I think the song was called “Open Happiness,” so that didn’t hurt.

Q. What’s in your iPod right now?

A.  A lil Howlin Wolf, N.E.R.D, A.Leon Craft, and some Grizzly Bears.

Q. What was the first record that inspired you to become a professional in the business?

A.  Thought Process, Goodie Mob ft. Andre 3000.

Q. Who are your musical idols?

A.  Norman Whitfield, DJ Toomp, Quincy Jones, Outkast Goddie Mob, Kanye West, Donald Byrd, No ID

Q. Outside of music what are you passionate about?

A.  Movies and sports.

Q. Do you draw inspiration for your music from sources outside of music?

A.  I really try to make music bases on emotion and experiences, even little things such as a rainy day can help inspire a sound for me.

Q. Name one song that you love that would surprise us.

A.  “My Endless Love” by Lionel Richie, I promised my family that when I get married I will play that at my wedding.  Also “If I Could Live on the Moon” by Kermit the Frog, Kermit is that dude!!!

Q. As a producer, what is it that gets you excited about working on a project or that draws you to an artist?

A.  I love an artist that is willing to be taken out of their comfort zone.  It allows the artist to tap into things that they may have never thought possible and thus push their creativity.  It also pushes me to a good motivator.  As far as projects are concerned I usually pick projects that will help me grow creatively.  I try to find projects that take me to places that I have never been because I am always eager to not only grow, but also learn more about music.

Q.  Your work is extremely diverse.  We understand you’ve even composed for the Atlanta Symphony.  How did that come about and what was that experience like?

A.  Working with the symphony was a great experience and probably a pretty lucky one as well.  It came about because the symphony wanted to get kids throughout GA interested into classical music by showing how a lot of today’s music derives from classical music.  They brought us in to take a classical piece and sample it into a hip hop beat.   It was actually a lot of fun because we took Copeland’s Ho Down Piece and pretty much chopped it up to make a totally new song.  The experience was well worth it to have seen the symphony take music you’ve created and play it live.

Q.  The 808 Experiments – both Vol. 1 & Vol. 2- have received quite a buzz.   How did the idea evolve from concept to release?

A.  It basically was an idea I created to not only showcase our production, but also showcase some of the immense talent in Atlanta.  The first album happened more like a snow ball with one artist pretty much reaching out to others about the project and was very organic how it all came together.  The latest album really was a great experience because I was able to meet so many different and talented artists for the project.  It was fun because we were able to get some of the most talented up and coming artist from the A involved.  And the project really took on a role of showing a completely new side of Atlanta music.

Q. How did you get the community of artists that are in the 808 Experiments involved & excited to contribute?

A.  After the first project a lot of artist really reached out to us about getting on the project which really helped us to find the right artist for each beat.  I think a lot of artists see The 808 Experiment as a new staple for Atlanta underground music and I hope it continues to be that way.

Q. You have created such a buzz about the “SMKA” brand.  How has that come about in such a short time?

A.  I mean I really have to give Props to my partner Mike on that one, he has definitely taken our company to new levels with events such as A3C Perfect Attendance w, Fadia Kader.  It really boils down to hard work, which is one thing I stress to the max,  “Nothing Matters without Hard Work”.

Q. Since you have a great perspective on your own brand, how do you feel about music being used to strengthen another brand?

A.  I mean I think its great.  It’s a way of taking your music and using it as a product, which I don’t care how much you value it, it still is a product and a tool, and I think that it is important to view it as such.

Q. Any parting words?

A.  Thank you for the opportunity, and we will continue to work.

To sample SMKA’s music available for licensing, including several instrumental versions of tracks featured on The 808 Experiment- Vol. 2, check out their artist profile on to www.affixmusic.com.