Dirty Loops – ‘Loopified’ [Review]

dirty loopsAlthough YouTube is home to a vast number of musicians of note, few bands have demonstrated YouTube’s marketing power as efficiently as Dirty Loops. A Swedish power trio whose fusion-flavoured take on Lady Gaga’s mega-hit Just Dance catapulted them into the online eye, Dirty Loops’ YouTube channel has attracted over 100,000 subscribers and 15.5m views while being home to just ten videos. Not bad for a group known as much for their collective technical abilities as their song-related skills.

Make no mistake – Dirty Loops are a musician’s band. Every track on Loopified is a compositional and technical masterclass, and no self-respecting muso is likely to run out of inspiration here. But what really sets Dirty Loops apart is their ability to appeal to a wider crowd. Read more…

Posted on 19 May 2014

Andy McKee – ‘Mythmaker’ [Review]

Andy-McKee-MythmakerIf you have ever used YouTube, Andy McKee’s name will no doubt be familiar to you. Perhaps right now you’re already playing his music in your head; perhaps that music is accompanied by the visual element of that viral hit; or maybe the name rings a bell but you don’t quite know why. If you fall into the latter category, click the link above before continuing. Read more…

Posted on 13 April 2014

5 Tips For Success: Submitting Your Music to Music Blogs

Note: Although this article is aimed at absolute beginners, more experienced acts may also benefit from the advice below.

So, you’re now the proud parent(s) of a beautiful new album, EP, single, or video. Maybe you’ve just given birth to the full set! You’ve dredged up your most emotionally turbulent memories; channelled them into your art; sworn and fought (and perhaps even calmly negotiated) your way through the songwriting / compositional process; suffered through painstaking take after take in the studio, striving to capture that elusive perfect performance; and finally it’s all done. You can’t wait to show off your baby to the world. You need help in getting the word out, you’ve found some awesome music blogs (such as this one – wink wink), and you’re wondering exactly how to make the most of this opportunity.

Here are five tips to help make your experience more rewarding, and less (or, ideally, not at all) painful. Read more…

Posted on 14 February 2014

A Guide To Project RnL – Part Two

project rnlWelcome to Part Two of The Musical Melting Pot’s Guide To Project RnL! Click here for Part One, where we looked at Project RnL’s YouTube-based output to date. This time around, we’ll be looking at the extracurricular work of Project RnL’s core members: keyboardist Eyal Amir, and vocalist Ray Livnat. Read more…

Posted on 04 January 2014

A Guide To Project RnL – Part One

project rnl

UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:

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Project RnL. Remember that name in 2014. Originally formed in 2010, it didn’t take long for this prog-pop juggernaut to rev its engines loudly enough to be heard by Dream Theater – the band still sitting prettily at the very top of the prog scene’s naturally complex hierarchy – and begin collaborating with DT keyboardist Jordan Rudess. That’s an impressive achievement, by anyone’s standards.

Read more…

Posted on 03 January 2014

6 Steps To Happiness (Or, How To Deal With The Music You Hate)

“THIS SONG MAKES ME WANT TO KILL MYSELF!”

You know that feeling. Perhaps it arrived the first time you heard Rebecca Black, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, or Hot Problems by Double Take. Whenever it came to you, you can remember exactly what it was like. First, you probably felt amused. Then irritated. Then angry. Then homicidal. Maybe all of the above simultaneously. And you almost certainly felt the overwhelming desire to cut off your ears and stick your head in some unset cement.

Regardless of the exact symptoms, you definitely know that you’re not alone in suffering this way. The number of YouTube comments, Facebook status updates, mainstream news pieces and online blog posts about the above musical phenomena (and many more besides) is staggering. Consider the following Google search figures: Read more…

Posted on 01 January 2014

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