Tag Archives: Mike Hovsepian

Review: Buenos Aires ’13 by Markus Schulz Plus Signed CD Giveaway

It’s that time of year again when Markus Schulz releases his newest compilation in his city series and the 2013 version is dedicated to Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. The two CD set features 38 songs will be released on October 4, 2013 and you’ll likely be in a loop of listening to over and over. We live in a world full of throwaway music that is often listened to a couple of times and often forgotten but the tracks picked for this mix will have the staying power. The two discs do exactly what a dance music compilation should do, take you on a ride. There’s two vocal tracks on the mix, one of those being “Nothing Without Me” and the voice of Ana Diaz has never sounded better in this shadows of Coldharbour remix by Markus.

The first CD opens with “Momento de Gloria” by Marscela and there’s no time wasted as “We Evolve” by Sequ3l starts with a steady beat and builds into a melody that sets the tone for the rest of the way. The drum roll into the melodies of “Sin City” by Sensetive5 has the elements of a track that could be played at any time during a set. Crystal Design’s “Scarface” is has a smooth rolling beat followed perfectly by Rodg & Ruben de Ronde’s “Remain Different” that will likely be a regular in many sets with its big room sound. Tucandeo’s “To an End” has a dark progressive sound with an added piano element that takes us right into KhoMha’s “Cyclone” that has been a hit in sets all summer. The snare drum build up of Rex Mundi’s “Aureolo” carries over into “Progressive Dreams” by Ruffault that plays out as one of the longer tracks at almost five minutes. Grube & Hovsepian take some time in “Palermo” to just let the piano do the talking without the need for any type of drum underneath it. Danilo Ercole’s “Point of View” builds up into a breakdown that should make you start dancing. Markus makes his first appearance on the mix as he presents a new Dakota track titled “Barracas”. Wellenrausch & Basil O’Glue collaboration on “Wickaninnish” is a track that I can imagine listening to late at night in a set and before you know it you’ll be singing along with Ana Diaz. The Shadows of Coldharbour remix by Markus of “Nothing Without Me” gives the track a fresh new progressive sound. The newest member of the Schulz Music Group, M.I.K.E. (also known as Push), takes us out of stalker mode with the upbeat “Before Dawn”. The next track, “Remember This”, hits the point of putting your arms in the air to the memorable melody that has been a staple in sets for Markus Schulz throughout the summer of 2013. The last three tracks by Mr. Pit, Aaron Camz and Rex Mundi close out the first CD with tracks that will be timeless for years to come.

The second CD wastes no time starting off with Protoculture’s “Talisman” and builds into “Towards the Sun” by Markus Schulz and Rex Mundi which is the second of two vocal tracks on the two CDs. The vocals are effective while being simple with only seven different words letting you know to keep on walking, keep on moving and to walk towards the sun. KhoMha’s “Dimensional” has more piano than we’ve been used to in his productions and you almost wouldn’t be able to identify it as one his own except for two minor breaks with his signature kick drum sound. The build and progression of “Stratosphere” by Digital X gives the track a quality where it could be played at any time of the night. “Praia da Adraga” by Purple Stories appears to be named after a beach in Portugal and the track has the melodies to make you want to be on a beach. As you think about a beach get up and head towards the club for Danilo Ercole’s “Freezing Rain” which takes you into “The Battle” by Fisherman & Hawkins vs. Nifra, a peak time track that can be imagined playing on any festival stage. The same can be said about “Fair Winds” by Elevation vs. Grube & Hovsepian. Vassilakis & Tarr’s “Galea” slows things down just a little bit away from the big room sound before the massive “Trickster” takes control to lead into the second half of the CD. Basil O’Glue’s “Gilgamesh” and “Scrambled” by Solid Stone keep the pace moving leading into “Mardi Gras” by Markus Schulz, a track that was only known as an ID early in 2013. “Royal Flush” by Harry Square has an excellent build that’ll have you running on the dance floor. “Phantom” by Digital X and “The Other Side” by Skytech are two familiar tunes if you’re a diehard listening to live sets and they’re familiar in a good way as they are great tracks. Elevation’s “Stadium Control” could’ve gone anywhere in the mix but is fitting towards the end leading into the Markus Schulz Coldharbour remix of the classic Solarstone track “Solarcoaster”. The track is trance perfection and leads into “Viaje Completo” by Marscela who had also been given intro duty for the first disc.

The city series is out later in the year than usual but Markus Schulz delivers another memorable compilation that should please fans of years gone by to anyone just discovering Markus. Whether you want some music to listen to at work, in the car, before going out or for the after party these discs can fit well in any scenario.

Continue reading below for your chance to win an autographed copy of Markus Schulz’s Buenos Aires ’13 CD.

Pre-order the CD from Armada Shop

Pre-order on iTunes Buenos Aires ’13 – Markus Schulz

Disc 1:
01. Marscela – Momento de Gloria
02. Sequ3l – We Evolve
03. Sensetive5 – Sin City
04. Crystal Design – Scarface
05. Rodg & Ruben de Ronde – Remain Different
06. Tucandeo – To an End
07. KhoMha – Cyclone
08. Rex Mundi – Aureolo
09. Ruffault – Progressive Dreams
10. Grube & Hovsepian – Palermo
11. Danilo Ercole – Point of View
12. Markus Schulz presents Dakota – Barracas
13. Wellenrausch & Basil O’Glue – Wickaninnish
14. Markus Schulz featuring Ana Diaz – Nothing Without Me (Markus Schulz Shadows of Coldharbour Remix)
15. M.I.K.E. – Before Dawn
16. Markus Schulz – Remember This
17. Mr. Pit – Catch Me
18. Aaron Camz – Suburbia
19. Rex Mundi – Backpain

Disc 2:
01. Protoculture – Talisman
02. Markus Schulz & Rex Mundi – Towards the Sun
03. KhoMha – Dimensional
04. Digital X – Stratosphere
05. Purple Stories – Praia da Adraga
06. Danilo Ercole – Freezing Rain
07. Fisherman & Hawkins vs. Nifra – The Battle
08. Elevation vs. Grube & Hovsepian – Fair Winds
09. Vassilakis & Tarr – Galea
10. Grube & Hovsepian – Trickster
11. Basil O’Glue – Gilgamesh
12. Solid Stone – Scrambled
13. Markus Schulz – Mardi Gras
14. Harry Square – Royal Flush
15. Digital X – Phantom
16. Skytech – The Other Side
17. Elevation – Stadium Control
18. Solarstone – Solarcoaster (Markus Schulz Coldharbour Remix)
19. Marscela – Viaje Completo

BACD

CONTEST HAS ENDED. Here’s your chance to win an autographed copy of Markus Schulz’s Buenos Aire’s ’13 CD:
The contest is pretty simple. Each like, follow, tweet gives you one entry into the contest. You don’t have to select them all, it’s just one less entry. One winner will be chosen at random on October 7.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the contest winners:

Week 1: Zoltán Fehér
Week 2: Timothy Yip
Week 3: Alejandra Gonzalez Madrid
Week 4: Jose Luis Pereda
Week 5: To Be Deteremined

 

 


 

Pre-order the CD from Armada Shop

Pre-order on iTunes Buenos Aires ’13 – Markus Schulz

Interview: Coldharbour Artists Grube & Hovsepian and KhoMha

On a Saturday night in Los Angeles Suzanne Welker Jurgens from the Schulz Army had the chance to sit down in the green room at Avalon to talk to Tim Grube, Mike Hovsepian and KhoMha about Coldharbour no longer being under Armada, Coldharbour Nights, the DJ Mag Top 100 poll, kandi bracelets, the EDM explosion and more. Grube & Hovsepian are two of the driving forces at the Coldharbour studios, relative newcomer KhoMha has been KhoMhatizing crowds at every chance.

When a lot of people hear the name Coldharbour they think Markus Schulz but a Coldharbour Night is more than just the Unicorn Slayer. As Mike Hovsepian put it, “The Coldharbour Night concept is basically three acts, Grube & Hovsepian, KhoMha or Beat Service or Mr. Pit.”

“You get the old Coldharbour sound through us opening up the night and it’s just a nice little build throughout the night. And that’s what we do with the formula for Coldharbour Night,” Tim Grube said. “We originally did Dallas but these major cities are nice too. All these cities just blow up, it’s amazing.”

One of the highlights of a Markus Schulz open to close set is the journey he takes the dance floor on by building the night into a mid set and then closing it out and these nights follow the same formula. Grube & Hovsepian open followed by KhoMha and then trance to close the night with Beat Service or Mr Pit.

Suzanne Welker Jurgens interviewing KhoMha, Mike Hovsepian & Tim Grube at Avalon in Los Angeles
Suzanne Welker Jurgens interviewing KhoMha, Mike Hovsepian & Tim Grube at Avalon in Los Angeles

Heading into 2014 dance music continues to grow in popularity and embrace new audiences, the talk of a bubble that could exist but as Mike Hovsepian says, “Embrace it, live in the moment.”

“If EDM is blowing up in the states it’s a good thing,” Tim Grube said. “Because we’re able to explore other cities that we’ve haven’t been able to before, because it’s been all over the radio and people are getting familiar with the sound. As DJs it’s pretty good. It’s really good for us.”

“We play towns we’d never think about playing three or four years ago, like Fresno which we played with KhoMha and that’s not known for EDM,” said Mike Hovsepian. “Norfolk, we were there. KhoMha is going to be there. These aren’t EDM towns, they’re embracing it, they want it and the promoters are giving it to them.”

We asked Mike Hovsepian about the acronym EDM and he said, “I don’t get why people make it a big deal. So EDM, it’s like Electronic Dance Music. It defines all of the genres. I see people arguing about it saying ‘no it’s trance, don’t call it EDM’. Who cares! It is what it is.”

DJ Mag Top 100 2013When speaking about popularity the DJ Mag Top 100 poll immediately comes to mind. Tim Grube spoke about its relevance and he said, “It’s going to be around. It’s not going to end this year, it’s not going to end next year, it is going to be around for a while.”

“I think it is more important to the smaller guys to get voted in,” Mike said. “Because that in effect helps you get booked. Because some promoters do book based off of the DJ mag. I think fans should vote for the smaller guys. Continue to still vote.”

Tim Grube agreed, “Continue to still vote.”

No matter where you live the bookings are often based on the popularity of artists. This could be the DJ Mag rankings but is also based on demands of the fans. It’s important to still vote but Tim Grube adds on, “get on your Twitter, get on Facebook. Just tweet. Tweet your favorite artists and demand them in your city. That works better than DJ mag, in my opinion. It’s the word of mouth and getting it out there on the social networks.”

Mike spoke further saying, “You reach a certain point in your career like Tiësto, Markus, Gareth  and Armin  and I don’t think it matters anymore to them because they have their fan base. They have their loyal fans.”

Tim added, “It helps certain artists.”

Speaking of asking your local promoters and artists about visiting your city the idea of a Coldharbour Tour has been talked about. Tim and Mike said, “We’ll eventually get there. Maybe do a bus tour.” So if you’d like to see any of these guys in your city take the time to get on Twitter and Facebook and mention it to them and also reach out to your local promoters as well about the idea.

The end of 2013 will continue to be busy for the guys. KhoMha shared the biggest news for himself saying, “Right now I working as well with a big collaboration with one of the biggest trance legends Cosmic Gate, so yeah it’s great.” KhoMha’s track “Hydra” is set to be released this month and he also said, “there is a new Coldharbour release (I can’t tell you the name of course). It’s going to be maybe at the end of the year.”

GHTRICKSTERADVERT1Grube & Hovsepian recently released their track “Trickster” that rose to number nine on the Beatport charts which was an accomplishment for them. Tim said, “It went in as four or five jumps” Mike added on saying, “80, then 40, then 18, then 14, then 13 and finally nine. I woke up in the morning and logged into Beatport and it was 14 or 13 the night before and I refreshed and it’s like top 10! Woo!”

Markus Schulz is releasing his latest city series compilation titled Buenos Aires ’13 and will feature three Grube & Hovsepian productions. Their own tracks “Trickster” and “Palermo” and the third is “Fair Winds” that they produced with Elevation.

Trickster was also remixed by Italian producer Gai Barone. How did two guys living in Miami connect with someone from Italy to remix a track? Tim Grube explained, “That’s funny we were sitting in the studio and decided that we needed something different. We play a lot of opening sets, like tonight and obviously we cannot play our 132 big room track Trickster. We leave that up to everyone else, even when we do our main headline set. We needed something that is our style that the old Coldharbour fans would love and we could count on Gai Barone because he has been on fire lately. Markus has been supporting his stuff for the past couple of years. There’s a track that just came out from him (Gai Barone remix of Danilo Ercole “Player One”) that we truly love and we wanted that kind of similar sound and he nailed it. It was perfect, it was great package, a big big room, a nice progressive trance track, deep. It worked out.”

Another bit of big news in the second half of 2013 is that after eight years Coldharbour Recordings and Armada Recordings are no longer affiliated. The two had been working together since 2005.

Tim Grube immediately eased concerns saying, “Fans don’t even need to worry, Coldharbour is Coldharbour. It’s still Coldharbour and Markus is still fully behind it. It’s just not Armada.” Tim added on more details saying, “And the thing is that we have to evolve a little bit. We want to do more different things that we weren’t able to do. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. So we wanted to expand a little bit and we were able to do that with Markus. He’s able to make us expand and make us get more on the radio. We want to expand in the states because it is blowing up here. Us taking more control and us having more control over the artists. We had to. It’s not a bad thing that we left. Nothing is going to change from the forefront. It’s just the back end internal stuff. The forefront is not going to change and the quality is still going to stay the same.”

Audio Cargo is another record label that was created in 2013 and Tim explained the label further saying, “It has nothing at all to do with Coldharbour. It’s like Armada vs. Black Hole. It’s totally different. That label Audio Cargo is fueled towards commercial radio tracks, vocals. We just signed a new Jonathan Mendelsohn track that will probably come out the end of September or early October by the Venom One guys. We had our first release which was Memory Lane on there. It’s not something you’ll hear a release from every two or three weeks like Coldharbour. It’s when we have a great great vocal commercial track.”

Stay linked up with Coldharbour (Facebook, Twitter) and Audio Cargo (Facebook, Twitter) to stay on top of all of their new releases.

Markus Schulz has often called KhoMha his little brother from another mother so we asked the guys what they considered him.

Mike Hovsepian said, “His older brother from another mother.” That got some laughs from everyone in the room.

Tim Grube, “He has many different names.”

KhoMha added, “Well you know, Markus is really important person in my life. There is a before and after an Markus in my career. He’s been an inspiration to me. He’s an awesome person with me. He not only supports me as an artist, but always he tries to give me good advice and something like that! He is really great!”

We mentioned what a great experience the Scream Bus Tour must have been and KhoMha added, “Yea, he is one of my biggest inspirations. It’s kind of awesome.”

KhoMha Coldharbour Night Avalon August 2013

What are some of the funniest things you’ve seen from the DJ booth?

Mike: Well tonight we just saw three or four guys throwing punches and a guy with a bloody face and security guards breaking it up. There were like five or six security guards.
Tim: Huge fight, right in front of us. We saw him get hit in the face and it was like… oooph! It was bad.
Mike: There was a big brawl out in the middle of the dance floor during one of the tracks. They just dragged them off the dance floor.
Tim: That was the craziest fight. But I think for myself it was when I was with Markus in Bogotá. Some fan took the whole DJ booth and pulled it out into the crowd. He was drunk. But it was the type of booth that was standing still but it went like right into the crowd. That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.
Mike: KhoMha’s peeps.
Tim: Colombians. They party hard!

What are some of the strangest things you’ve had to autograph?

Tim: What haven’t we autographed.
Mike: Sometimes we feel uncomfortable because they ask you to sign certain places on their body. I’ve never done that. But we’ve been asked to autograph breasts before, butts.
Tim: You do it!
Schulz Army: There was a girl at TAO Beach that was proudly displaying her signature.
Mike: Sometimes those signatures turn into tattoos.

Do you ever compare kandi after the set?

Mike: I wasn’t that big on bracelets, but I’ve embraced it after KhoMha and Tim started wearing them. It’s a good conversation starter. People see you wearing them. They’re like what’s that? Cool!
Tim: I usually wear that (referring to #SchulzArmy), but I left mine at home this time.

But you’ve got the Unicorn Slayer one.

Tim: I always wear that. I wear that every day.
Mike: It’s his good luck charm.

For the last question we asked about the old Markus Schulz pictures that have surfaced from the 1990s and whether they pick on Markus about that or his old remixes. Tim Grube took the reply and said, “We have, but now it’s all out there. So it’s like the joke is like… okay. He always gets a kick out of it when he sees it. The memories that come back, where he’s from and all that. It’s always good to see that type of stuff.”

Embrace your past!

To view, share, tag, like or comment visit the album on Facebook here.

[fbalbum url=http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.513853038694918.1073741828.389940694419487&type=3]

New Release: Memory Lane by Grube & Hovsepian featuring Vice

The most recent release out of Southern Florida today is “Memory Lane” featuring Vice by Grube & Hovsepian on Audio Cargo Recordings. Audio Cargo Recordings is is the first record label from The Schulz Music Group. In the press release about Audio Cargo they state, “The Schulz Music Group is proud to announce the lift-off of their first record label. SMG’s new imprint will afford the artist collective – as well as other vocalists and producers, a dedicated radio-angled music release platform.”

Tim Grube and Mike Hovsepian partnered with vocalist Vice to produce Memory Lane and it’s a track that Schulz Army members have likely heard before on Grube & Hovsepian Radio or an episode of Global DJ Broadcast. The original version of the track starts with a great beat as the vocals begin and progresses into more of a bouncy sound as you sing along “I’m walking down, I’m walking down memory lane.” The catchy and repetitive vocals are what make this track angled towards getting played on a radio station.

Depending on your tastes in music the real magic could be in the remixes which there are three of. Skytech delivers the beat that would fit perfect during a peak time set with some great energy as it builds up to the vocals that will have a spot in our memories when heard from the dance floor. That Skytech remix is what most have probably heard before end enjoyed. Elevation has two variations with a remix and a dub mix. The dub mix takes all of the vocals out of the track if that’s what you’re looking for and the remix focuses more on the vocals early on in the track before progressing into the beat behind it.

There’s probably a purist out there who’ll cringe reading “radio-angled music release platform” but we all need to admit that it’s a massive market for music and a great gateway towards those late night sets many of us enjoy. Do not be alarmed when you hear one of these tracks on your local radio station, it’s a great sign for dance music to have found a way into those playlists. Audio Cargo Recordings will certainly open up a new path for Schulz Music Group vocalists and producers to reach a new audience and expand their range of recordings.

The track will be available on Beatport and iTunes.

Original Mix:

Skytech Remix:

Elevation remix:

You can connect with Audio Cargo Recordings and the artists through these links:

http://www.youtube.com/audiocargorec

https://www.facebook.com/audiocargo

https://twitter.com/audiocargo

http://instagram.com/audiocargo

www.twitter.com/grubehovsepian

www.facebook.com/grubeandhovsepian

www.twitter.com/viceartist

www.facebook.com/viceartist

Markus Schulz, Mr Pit and Grube and Hovsepian in Montreal on May 17

Those that attended Bal en Blanc in Montreal are still recovering but there’s already news about Coldharbour taking over Montreal. The Coldharbour crew of Markus Schulz, Mr Pit and Grube & Hovsepian will all be in Montreal on May 17, 2013 but at two different venues.

On May 17, 2013 Markus will be appearing at New City Gas where the club is typically open from 10:00 pm – 3:00 am. Open to close set? The club is only open for six hours, sounds like a possibility. No official word on that, just hope and speculation. Tickets go on sale April 11 with no mention of cost yet. You will be able to purchase Markus Schulz New City Gas tickets here.

Once New City Gas closes it’ll be time to head over to Circus Afterhours where Mr Pit will be appearing along with Grube & Hovsepian.  Circus Afterhours is open from 11:59 pm – 10:00 am. Tickets are only $15 Canadian and are available here.

Mr Pit/Grube Hovsepian at Circus Afterhours

When: Friday, May 17, 2013 – 11:59 pm to Saturday, May 18, 2013 10:00 am
Ticket Price: $15.00 CAD
18 & over

Description: Circus presents

KHOMHA [Columbia]
Coldharbour Recordings | Armada Music
http://www.facebook.com/KhoMhaMusic

GRUBE & HOVSEPIAN [USA]

Coldharbour Recordings | Armada Music
http://www.grubeandhovsepian.com
http://www.facebook.com/grubeandhovsepian

& more !!!

Powered by Funktion-One Sound:
http://circusafterhours.com/circusHD

The two venues are about 5 kilometers apart, not exactly within walking distance but it’s only a $10 CAD cab ride between the two venues.

Montreal New City Gas to Circus Afterhours

Here’s the New City Gas flyer:

New City Gas May Montreal