Monster Loop has been selected to participate in a Microsoft promotion called “Playlist Seven” and we want your help! 50 songs (all different genres) were just posted at http://www.reverbnation.com/playlist7 You can go to this link and download 7 of the songs. The 7 most popular, based on downloads, are permanently featured by Microsoft. To prevent artists and friends from boosting stats, you have to become a fan of Microsoft. Basically, you just follow the link in this email, click the Facebook icon, and become a fan. Don’t worry – they’ll leave you alone otherwise, it’s simply to prevent voter fraud – no spam.
Our song, “Transcendental Sonata” – an electronic dance remake of Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia”, Op. 27, No. 2, by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1801 – is up now and will be up all week. One interesting part (well, to us), is… we get paid! We’ve already been paid a nominal fee for participation, but if we’re among the top 7 this week, we get paid substantially more. So please, download our song. As of this writing we are ranked #6 out of 50 contenders. We look at it this way, we’re not filthy capitalists, we enjoy the idea of having Bill Gates pay for our equipment.
Ciao for now!
Patrick & William of Monster Loop
Not too long ago, the members of Monster Loop recall a time back when we were young dj punks that finding good electronic music created in America was… how should one put it? a challenge. In fact, this member recalls playing a 9-hour dj set in northern California that featured only ONE track produced by an American artist. Nine hours! What was going on then?
Taste in music is, of course, relative. We recall carting around album bins filled with vinyl produced in Germany, produced in Belgium, in France, in the UK, hell, even Romania (and one helluva track it was – Robitiko Rejekto!)… and so forth and so on…and nary an American artist in the cue. Well, there was the acid house section in case the evening got weird (dj rule 1 – be prepared for strange, strange will happen). That section was loaded with some great American artists such as Phuture (DJ Pierre – creator of “Acid Traxx”). But even DJ Pierre was, purportedly, more awed by the UK techno scene, allegedly stating that it was there that he, for the first time, felt truly appreciated.
Several explanations for this phenomenon have been offered. Some claim that, just at the time electronic music was starting to take off in the U.S., the Seattle rock scene kicked in (yes, Nirvana, et. al.), effectively crushing the growth of techno in America at that time. Similarly, some say – and we tend to agree – that Americans are a tad too wedded to the concept of music as guitar, unable to move past the idea that music does not necessarily have to be created by an ensemble of guitarists and a drummer wearing faded tshirts and weathered jeans, gesticulating wildly behind a gyrating singer yelling about his/her particular neurosis. Geez, try therapy kid, it’s worth it. Perhaps this is overly critical – something we’re wary of doing, but it seems to us that this concept has become antiquated.
But times do change – ultimately the western world begrudgingly accepted the fact that the earth revolved around the sun rather than the other way around, and ultimately Americans began to accept that electronic music was a vehicle that allowed them to hear five trillion more variations of sound than under other, more traditional, vehicles of sound (and let’s face it, that’s all an instrument is). And now we can proudly state that electronic music is alive and kicking in America. And, on that note, we offer for your enjoyment the following tracks, all made in the USA. Okay, so we included one of our own. We didn’t want to miss out on this one. Incidentally, the tracks are made by, in order, Burro Music (Texas), Aligning Minds (Maryland), Gregor (Illinois), Monster Loop (Georgia), C’Mongrooves (Florida), and Suremy (California).
He has been called “the mad genius” due to the extraordinarily diverse, innovative tracks he has produced since 1985. The Guardian Newspaper called him “the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music.” He has been an inspiration to both members of Monster Loop. In honor of him, we’ve selected a few tracks by some contemporary artists which we think evidence the enduring influence of Richard James, aka Aphex Twin.
Artist / Country / Track
- Musical Craft / France / Tum Tum Tu Tu Ta
- Ocoeur / France / Trip hop in the night
- Kay / Hungary / inka
- Jam’s / France / Sentiments eparpilles
- Maelstrom / England / Music Technology
- Monster Loop / USA / Jacked
At this writing, over 450,000 artists/musicians have registered with Reverbnation, a cutting-edge music streaming website based in the United States, and are eligible to be ranked within the artist’s respective musical category, of which there are 18. Currently, 23,904 artists have registered with Reverbnation under the broad category “Electronica” (there is no sub-category for “ambient,” “acid house” “trance,” or “progressive house,” for example) and are therefore eligible to be ranked in the Electronica category.
Reverbnation calculates and updates its rankings using an objective and democratic rating system which, each day, generates a “band equity” score (the higher the better). Band equity is awarded based on several factors, including the number of times an artist’s page is visited, the number of times the artist’s music is streamed, and the number of individuals who click to become a fan of the respective artist. Currently, Paul van Dyk from Berlin is #1, while the artist “DJ C@iDa*” has the dubious distinction of being ranked #23,904, or last. Perhaps his name plays a role; we wish him well.
Within their respective category, musicians generally strive to reach the Global Top 100, if for no other reason than the promotional opportunities the ranking creates. Reaching the Global Top 100 in any category is no easy feat: an electronica artist ranked 100 on Reverbnation’s global charts, for example, would rank in the top 99.6 percentile of global artists registered at Reverbnation – no small feat given the number of outstanding acts currently producing electronic music throughout the world that have already registered.
The country with the most representatives within Reverb’s Electronica Global Top 100 is the US, with 41. This number is somewhat skewed by the fact that Reverbnation is based in the US. American artists are, therefore, more likely to register. Besides the US, other countries strongly represented in the Global Top 100 include the UK (14), Germany (6), Australia (5), Brazil (3), France (3), Israel (3), Netherlands (3), Portugal (3), Turkey (3), and Canada (2). In all, these countries represent 86 of the top 100 slots. Other countries represented at this time are Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Japan, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The cities most represented—each with 7 artists in the Global Top 100—are New York City and London. Other strongly represented cities include San Francisco (4) and Chicago, Los Angeles, Istanbul, Lisbon, Montreal, Melbourne, Romford, and Sao Paula, which each have 2 artists in the Global Top 100.
Some very skilled artists who fall under the broad category electronica but that have not registered and therefore are ineligible to be ranked include Aphex Twin, Oliver Lieb (i.e., LSG), Autechre, Plastique de Reve, and Rob Acid – just to name a few. There are, however, numerous well-known artists who have registered with Reverbnation but who find themselves in line behind many lesser known artists in the rankings under Reverbnation’s democratic ranking process. Examples include The Orb (ranked #44); DJ Spooky (#177); Juno Reactor (#340); Massive Attack (#598); Boards of Canada (#704); Armin van Buuren (#722); Lady Gaga (#728); and DJ Tiesto (#822). This is less surprising once one begins to listen to the incredible wealth of talent represented in the rankings.
To view and hear these and other talented artists, visit the “Rankings” tab on this website.