Millions of people around the world know Romanthony from Daft Punk’s “One More Time”. The French duo, who just released their new album, worked closely with Romanthony for many years. In fact hey have been quoted saying, that Romanthony is responsible for the unique sound of Daft Punk.

Working with Daft Punk was only a small part of his career in house and electronic music. Terry Matthew of 5Chicago wrote - it takes a monstrous appetite for music to wend your way through Romanthony’s catalog, which is probably the single greatest catalog of any individual artist in our scene, much of it classic and known by heart, but so much of it still sounding so good…

Although it’s believed that Romanthony was working with new material to be released soon, a few people knew he had moved to Austin, Texas. For many he had been out of reach for some time. The news of his death took a while to spread.

We are sure we’ll hear more about what happened in the coming days. In the mean time many of us will rewind back to listen his classics once again. And when we put on the new Daft Punk album, we think about their influential “Discovery” album. And think about Romanhony.

The post Legendary Romanthony has passed away appeared first on Soul to Unite.

The Chicago native has released his new album ‘Too Underground For Main Stage’ on Cajual Records. It features 14 jams with collaborations with the likes of Maceo Plex, Oliver $, Jamie Jones, Dyed Soundorom, Pleasurekraft, Free Magic and Cajual staples Dajae, Gene Farris, Russoul and Sonny Fodera.

‘Too Deep For Main Stage’ is a deep album and certainly not everyones cup of tea but there are plenty of you who will appreciate this. Take a listen on Traxsource.

The post Cajmere releases new album appeared first on Soul to Unite.

Some amazing house music out there for your ears and feet to enjoy. We list our current Top 10.

Top spot goes to the legendary Marc Evans. He has a new album out and the most outstanding track is ‘Communicate’ – a downtempo jam which is way different of the rest, mostly uplifting soulful house jams.

At number two we have Black Coffee with his latest jam Traveller followed by Peter James Kahn with ‘Could You Be’.

Many of the tracks are featured in the upcoming radio hour. Stay locked!

1. Marc Evans – Communicate – Quantize
2. Black Coffee feat. Black Motion & Nomsa Mazwai – Traveller – Ocha
3. Peter James Kahn – Could You Be – Sofitone
4. The Viron feat. Rasul – Like A Gun – Dublife
5. James Welsh – King Edward Street – Futureboogie
6. Johnick – Heaven – Henry Street
7. Kings of Tomorrow feat. April – Fall For You – Defected
8. Bonobo – Know You – Ninja Tune
9. Lars Vegas – The Game – Large Music
10. Seb Skalski, Alec Sun Drae – Make It Right – Spekulla

The post April Chart appeared first on Soul to Unite.

The brothers from UK have taken the (dance) music scene by storm. After several chart-topping tracks they are finally ready to release their debut album. According to FACT Magazine it’s on on June the 3rd. So only a bit more then a month.

We’ll be looking forward to that!

The post Disclosure announce debut album appeared first on Soul to Unite.

Multi-award winning British producer/DJ Maya Jane Coles ends months of speculation by revealing that she will release her debut studio album “Comfort” on her own I/AM/ME label through a new global deal with Kobalt Label Services.

“It’s very exciting to be in charge of my debut album. Kobalt has given me total creative freedom and that is a necessity for me as an artist. The infrastructure is also there to support my music internationally so I look forward to seeing the response and hope that others will love the album just as much as I loved working on it.”

Set for release in July 2013, “Comfort” was produced, mixed, engineered and performed by Maya herself, with additional guest vocal performances. In support of the upcoming release, Maya has already booked to promote the album in 30 countries during 2013, with a string of high profile Ibiza shows including the Ushuaia opening party, and a festival schedule that includes every major festival in the world from the likes of Glastonbury (UK) and Fuji Rocks (Japan) through to Coachella (USA) where Maya will perform on both 14th April 2013 & 21st April 2013 respectively.

Under her own name and the aliases She is Danger and Nocturnal Sunshine, Maya has remixed artists such as Massive Attack, Little Dragon, Florence & The Machine, Gorillaz, Tricky, 2:54 and Lianne La Havas, as well as for labels such as Leftroom, Cross Town Rebels, and Get Physical.

During 2012, Maya enjoyed compilation chart success around the globe with the release of her mix in the DJ Kicks series, which was named compilation of 2012 by both Mixmag and DJ Mag amongst others. With inclusions in the top 20 International DJs of 2012 polls, including placing: 9th in Resident Advisor (International), 5th in Mixmag (UK), no.1 in Timeout: London (UK) and 15th in Rolling Stone (USA), cementing her reputation as one of the world’s best DJs.

The post Maya Jane Coles announces debut album appeared first on Soul to Unite.

Traxsource reports, Defected has kicked off a new series ‘For The Love Of House’ - focused on classic, genre defining tracks rarely made available for digital consumption.

Working closely with record labels including Trax, Nervous, FFRR, Slip N Slide, Soulfuric, Strictly Rhythm, Classic and Warner as well as digging deep into the vast catalogues under the Defected umbrella, the series will chronicle a genre as well as hopefully educating a new audience on some of the finest examples of house music and the roots of an undying scene once again enjoying heightened popularity.

Volume 1 offsets seminal moments from Joe Smooth, Everything But The Girl, Todd Terry and Mr Fingers with collectors cuts that stayed relatively more underground including ESP‘€˜It‘€™s You‘€™, Metro Area ‘Pina‘€™ and the raw, original version of ‘The Creeps (You‘€™re Giving Me)’ by Freaks. Bob’s Sinclar‘€™s ‘The Ghetto‘€™ is also in the mix, a staple of true house music dons Sneak and MAW, and the album also pays respect to some of the scenes most enduring artists including MK, Mood II Swing and Kerri Chandler with the brilliant ‘Bar A Thym‘€™.

For The Love Of House comprises 30 quality tracks plus two bonus DJ mixes, expertly sourced to either educate or help reminisce on one of the most original musical landscapes in recent history.

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The first show hosted by SD, Cordis and M-Real was a cautious and a bit bumpy. After all – we were nervous.

For the first few months Radio Hour was a weekly thing. From July of 2008 we joined SS Radio after which we became a two-hour show put together every other week.

Fast forward five years and we’re going strong. Close to 140 shows recorded, thousands of listeners and fans all over the world. Soul to Unite Radio Hour is featured on many online dance and house music stations from Greece to UK, from Argentina to Egypt.

To celebrate five years of Soul to Unite Radio Hour we give you a blast from the past – the very first episode of the show is pushed to everyone subscribed to the podcast! So fire up your iTunes and watch the very first episode of the show being downloaded.

If you are not subscribed please do so – this is the best way to experience the Radio Hour.

We can’t believe it has been five years! Thank you much for being with us and enjoying the show! Here’s to the next five

The post Soul to Unite is five! appeared first on Soul to Unite.

I guess DJ Sneak had to be really pissed after playing at Cameo in Miami last night where he was one of the DJ’s alongside Armand Van Helden. DJ Sneak had several posts on his Twitter account claiming Van Helden killed the vibe with his EDM.

“Cameo Miami: last night was going well till one Van Helden dude killed the vibe, totally out of line….garbage EDM shit.”

The Toronto DJ then said he was ‘embarrassed’ by Van Helden, and has banned him from playing any Xmix parties in the future.

DJ Sneak has had strong opinions before as he had a few things to say about Swedish House Mafia too…

With out a doubt Armand Van Helden has been a very influential figure in the house music scene over the time. And people do change – everyone has a right to be who he/she wants to. Indeed there have been house music producers who have turned into something we don’t appreciate that much any more. But heading out to Twitter to say not one thought but a few too many is another thing. Not sure if I’d do it. But then again…

The post DJ Sneak slams Armand Van Helden appeared first on Soul to Unite.

If you ask me the first scenario is better because it has some level of interaction with the crowd. A glowing rectangle between the crowd and dj in most cases takes away much of the possible interaction. We all have seen the so called ‘Serato face‘ and it ain’t much to enjoy there.

But thanks to the a few there are people in the scene really pushing things forward even if they are a solo act. Take a look at the video below and you’ll see Mark de-Clive Lowe (MDCL) throwing a true 90-minute live set or should we say a Remix:Live performance.

I bet that most of the people producing dance music these days can never do that. But there the people who actually can are so much more special and worth to check out if they come to a club near you. Enjoy the set!

The post Mark de-Clive Lowe Remix:Live is a true live performance appeared first on Soul to Unite.

A lot of albums finding their way to the shelves. A week ago we were treated with a new album from Marc Evans. Later in March the second album from Liquideep will see the light of day. But even before that house music heavyweight Louie Vega and his Elements of Life present their latest work ‘Eclipse’.

The album will be released next week, on March 19th and showcases 17 brand new tracks fro Louie Vegas live orchestral project. With Elements of Life Grammy-award winning Louie Vega always touches the side of afro, latin and world music. This album is no exception and continues to deliver the sound we have become to love so much. The true quality of live music.

Traxsource reports, the Album also includes “EOL Soulfrito” an homage to Fania Records through interpretations and remixes of classic Fania songs performed by the Elements Of Life in a 33-minute sound collage as well as six more bonus tracks.

‘Eclipse’ is released on Fania Records and is the first new artist album Fania is releasing in years.

“At that time I started working on my new Elements Of Life album. Fania was already aware of my previous E.O.L. albums and when they got wind, they wanted to hear it. Once they heard it, they were very interested in signing it. I was in awe of the idea. Things really would go full cycle being on Fania Records.”

Elements of Life has been running for more than four years and with the new album it takes a closer look to soul, R&B, gospel and even blues. Yet keeping the original afro-latin vibe known from their previous works.

Joining Elements Of Life on this album are singers Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle, and poets Ursula Rucker and Oveous Maximus as well as percussionist Luisito Quintero. Also featuring on the album is Anane who made a huge impact with her album Ananesworld three years ago.

Lisa and Cindy have brought in their Gospel and R&B influences, and have even experimented with Jazz, Funk, and House. They performed backgrounds on live shows for many years for artists like Luther Vandross, the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige to name a few. For years Vega wanted to do a project and take Lisa and Cindy from the background to the forefront as leads.

Rounding out the stellar talent are poets Ursula Rucker and Oveous Maximus who bring their storytelling and poetry in the form of spoken word to E.O.L. As Vega states, “It was all perfect for the new album.” Ongoing themes for the new album are about reaching out to our young generation, and paying homage to women. Vega adds, “I feel in these times we need songs like this to help inspire moves.”

Vega concludes, “It’s a true honor for me to be the first new artist album signed to Fania Records in years. It really comes full circle now, being able to be on the label my uncle Hector Lavoe was on and the Fania All Stars who are also great inspirations for me. Fania Records is to Latin music what Motown is to R&B and Soul, so to be even a small page in this encyclopedia of music is a dream come true for me.”

The post Louie Vega and Elements of Life come with a new album appeared first on Soul to Unite.

We’re counting the days. The end of March should see South-Africas Liquideep releasing their second album ‘Welcome Aboard’. From the mighty Facebook we can see the master CD is submitted for distribution. The big secret is what actually is on that album. Liquideep has bee rather quiet about it and the snipped above is the only clue we’ve come across.

Well not only as there are rumours going on that at least one song has been produced with Tortured Soul.

Liquideep has always been a favourite of ours. And not only ours as their official Facebook page has more than 305 000 followers. How many house music producers and performers can brag with that?

Their first album ‘Fabrics of the Heart‘ has been featured on our show quite a few times and we’re eagerly waiting for ‘Welcome Aboard’ to drop.

The post Liquideep new album out soon appeared first on Soul to Unite.

Marc Evans is one of our favourite singers in house music scene. His distinctive voice and vocal flow make him an instant classic. It’s been almost five years since his debut album ‘The Way You Love Me’. I’m sure you all remember ‘Give Me Joy’ – one of the biggest soulful house gems in 2008. The wait for the follow-up is over as DJ Spen’s (pictured with Marc Evans) Quantized Recordings has released ‘Soul Descendant’.

The album feature ten tracks many of which have been released before. We got ‘Until You’, we got ‘You Can’t Hide From Yourself’ and ‘Never Give Up’. And we also got ‘Who’s To Blame’. Some new jams in the pack too – the likes of ‘Communicate’ and ‘My Heart Remembers’.

‘Soul Descendant’ has jams Marc Evans working with many of the heavyweights in the scene. There’s Steven Stone, N’Dinga Gaba, Jamie Lewis and of course DJ Spen.

‘Soul Descendant’ is out now so go grab yourself a copy. A more in-depth review coming real soon!

The post Out now: Marc Evans fresh album appeared first on Soul to Unite.

New month sees new top tunes being listed in our monthly chart. Compared to February this months picks are much more dance-floor oriented. We kick the chart of with an truly powerful jackin’ house package ‘It’s Like That’ from the 1200 Warriros. Orignal plus the remixes from Gramaphonedzie, Milty Evans and Sonny Fodera all add it up to make it a very strong release surely to rock any set we are going to play.

Probably the deepest cut of the chart is placed at number two – ‘Freedom Music’ by Irfan Rainy and featuring Baba Israel. Our favourite from the bunch is the original version with a kick-ass synthezised bass wobbling your speakers. That s*** is deep!

We finish up the top three with ‘Ooh La La’ by Oz’iah. Uptempo R&B-influeced house jam packed with plenty to rock a dance floor just about any part of the world respecting the true sound of soulful house. Quantize continues their unmistakable journey in the dance music biz with another quality release.

The full chart looks like this and don’t forget to head over to Traxsource to show your love by getting a copy yourself.

1. The 1200 Warriors – It’s Like – 1200 Traxx
2. Irfan Rainy & Baba Israel – Freedom Music – Tribe
3. DJ Spen pres. Oz’iah – Ooh La La – Quantize
4. Pirahnahead’s Soulchestra feat. Eric King – Love Ballad – Whasdat Music
5. Demarkus Lewis – Know U Hold The Key – Grin Trax
6. Frankie Knuckles pres. Dirctor’s Cut feat. Sybil – Let Yourself Go – Nocturnal Groove
7. Est8 & Emily Cook – Liftin’ Me High – Guess
8. Duke vs. Triple Dee & K-Klass – So In Love With You – 23rd Precinct
9. Franky Rizardo & Tess Leah – The End – Defected
10. Blueday Stereo & Jocelyn Mathieu – Just Fly – SSOH

The post March madness – hottest tunes for the spring 2013 appeared first on Soul to Unite.

DJ TechTools reports that there aren’t too many details about it. SFX Entertainment is owned by Robert F.X. Sillerman who also owns the huge Live Nation brand and its companies. SFX Entertainment has been investing a lot building up an EDM entertainment. In this sense it makes sense for them to get hold of one of the biggest DJ-communities in the world.

“Beatport gives us direct contact with the D.J.’s and lets us see what’s popular and what’s not,” Mr. Sillerman said in an interview. “Most important, it gives us a massive platform for everything related to E.D.M.”

Since the company was revived last year, SFX has focused mostly on live events, with the promoters Disco Donnie Presents and Life in Color; recently it also invested in a string of nightclubs in Miami and formed a joint venture with ID&T, the European company behind festivals like Sensation, to put on its events in North America.

Beatport is big business indeed. According to Billboard their revenue last year was about 18 million USD while making a loss of 2 million.

Last month, SFX added five new companies to its portfolio, including Voodoo Experience and ID&T – the largest dance-event promoter in the world – giving the company a significant foothold in the North American festival market – and not just in EDM.

Last year, SFX acquired Dayglow Productions (“The World’s Largest Paint Party”) and Disco Donnie Presents, and had been expected to purchase Insomniac Events, the producer of Electric Daisy Carnival, but the ID&T news and a rival bid from Live Nation seemed to make that less likely. The two companies host similar, potentially competitive events. Speaking with Billboard.biz last month, Sillerman, however, did not count out an Insomniac deal.

The post Beatport sold for 50 million USD appeared first on Soul to Unite.

In a week time you can get your hands on the latest Hed Kandi compilation. Released just ahead of Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival this compilation is all about Miami.

The two-cd (but also a digital download) includes 30 tracks from nice laidback soulful vibes to upfront dance floor pressure. Artists featured on this compilation include Yogi & Husky, ATFC, Frankie Knuckles, Soul Avengerz, Kings Of Tomorrow, Todd Terry, Franky Rizardo and many more. Definitely some great grooves here to spend time with by the pool and on the dance floor.

The compilaton is put together by Hed Kandi DJ’s Phil Faversham and Carl Hanaghan.

You can pre-order your copy on iTunes.

The post Hed Kandi releases Miami 2013 appeared first on Soul to Unite.

I don’t like to dig in the past and think  about what could have been. But there’s one thing bugging me – Estonia had Sun Dance Music Festival which had every single ingredient to become one of the most important dance music festivals in the Northern Europe. It kind of was… until it was no longer.

Every year about the same time my heart beats faster as I see Southport Weekender announcing the Suncebeat lineup for an amazing (soulful) house music festivities in Croatia. This year the list is amazing as ever:

• Moodyman
• 
Mark Farina
• Gilles Peterson
• Kenny Dope
• Derrick Carter
• Timmy Regisford
• Joe Clausell
• Motor City Drum Ensemble
• Osunlade
• Kerri Chandler
• Karizma
• Vakula
• Nicholas
• Mad Mats
• Kev Beadle
• Phil Asher
• Gavin Kendrick
• Ronnie Herel
• Andy Ward
• Souldynamic
• Luis Radio
• Sarah Favouritizm
• Terry Jones
• 
Martin Lodge
• Lil Stevie
• Mark Stone
• Master D
• Steve Butler

What? No Soul to Unite? Maybe in the future!

This year the Suncebeat festival takes place in July from 24th to 30th at the secluded bay on the Dalmatian coast. Hit this link for more information.

The post Suncebeat 4 line-up announced! appeared first on Soul to Unite.

The UK based dance music duo Disclosure has reached number two in the UK singles chart with their latest jam “White Noise”. Chart success is nothing new to them as “Latch” reached 11th spot. In everything what is going on in the (house) music scene Disclosure’s success is phenomenal.

You would think that to reach singles chart with a dance track it would have to be EDM. Disclosure proves different. Their sound has underground house music feel to it, yet it’s appealing to millions of people across the globe. They’re playing at sold-out clubs and festivals and about to drop their first album in March this year.

About the same time last year brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence of Disclosure was just about to take off. They released “Tenderly / Fly” which gained radio support. On June 1st last year they released their EP The Face on London/Berlin based label Greco-Roman, to critical acclaim. One of the most popular remixes created by the duo is “Running” by Jessie Ware. The remix was popular during Summer 2012, with it being included on the annual edition of Annie Mac Presents.

You can see their success by just looking at the numbers on Soundcloud for example – ridiculous number of plays!

Mixmag points out, that the Disclosure’s chart success is a victory for dance music in general.

While there has been a lot of talk around the bastardisation of dance music thanks to the rise of EDM, kids like Guy and Howard are doing revolutionary things for themselves. They’re making inventive electronic music with mass appeal that is more nuanced than many other dance tracks currently occupying the Top 40. Maybe the band’s labelmate T Williams said it best when he toldMixmag, “People like Disclosure are pushing boundaries, doing it in the right way… It’s like back in the day, when a big underground garage tune would end up on Top Of The Pops.”

In March and April, the duo will take in a tour of the US, including a stop at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, where they’ll share the bill with the titans of EDM and commercial dance music. It’s new territory for them, but one that may prove fertile. As Machinedrum recently said to Mixmag, “[Americans have] changed their attitude, they’re looking for new sounds. Maybe from that a new underground scene will be birthed.”

The post Disclosure success leaves somewhat baffled… In the best possible way appeared first on Soul to Unite.

BBC reported a few days ago about the state in digital music sales. Things are looking up for the likes of iTunes, Amazon and streaming services like Spotify and Rdio. High street music retailers are worried and closing their doors. That’s the reality.

The British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) latest study shows that almost one out of five consumers prefer to buy all of their music digitally. Last year, 27.7% of UK music fans purchased downloads from stores such as iTunes or Amazon; or streamed songs on services like Spotify or YouTube.

Looking into streaming services we see Spotify leading in terms of brand awareness. Almost 70% of all consumers are familiar with the Swedish service. According to the BPI, four out of five of consumers have heard of at least one of the leading audio streaming services.

This of course is sad news to HMV – music and film retailer in the UK. This week they announced closures of 66 stores. Affected stores employ 930 people.

Since you are here we know you are consuming your music as bits and bytes. Are you using any streaming service (Spotify, Rdio, Deezer), buying your music from major online stores (iTunes, Amazon, Emusic) or getting your house music fix through speciality stores like Traxsource? Let us know in the comments!

The post More numbers: state of UKs music sales appeared first on Soul to Unite.

Our favourite producer from Sweden drops a new single on 11th of February. ‘No Surprises’ features Melo on vocals and is the first hint of Rasmus Faber’s upcoming album due out later this year.

The track is co-written with Ben Westbeech and there’s definitely a strong influence here. We couldn’t help but wonder how this song would sound with Ben Westbeech behind the mic. Melo of course is doing a great job, no question here.

‘No Surprises’ is a powerful track. It somehow reminds the energy level of the very successful ‘We Go Oh’. Defenetly another peak-time club smasher from the swede.

The post Rasmus Faber releases new single appeared first on Soul to Unite.

New York Daily News reports, according to the figures tallied by Nielsen SoundScan, sales of these dust magnets rose a whopping 19% over the year before. It’s the fifth consecutive cycle in which purchases in the format have increased, each time to levels beyond any previous year in the history of accurate sales accounting, which began with SoundScan more than two decades ago.

Things are looking nice a sunny for the equipment side of things too. The sales of turntables is expected to have a 40% growth.

Now one might think that the old geezers are sticking to vinyl while the youngsters are all iPod and iTunes. Again – not so true after all! According to figures compiled by the organizers of Record Store Day — which celebrates indie outlets that push all physical forms of music — 39% of their purchasers last year were under the age of 25. A staggering 81% fell below age 35.

To bring your euphoria down about we have to understand that vinyls are only a small fraction of music sold out there. Last year 4,6 million vinyl records were sold. That’s just 2,3% of total music market. But given the fact, that vinyl sales have been growing for the past five years this is indeed a proof of analogue recordings still having fans and attracting new ones.

Here’s to the vinyl sales!

The post It’s all digital? Think again! Vinyl sales are skyrocketing! appeared first on Soul to Unite.