New Web: Rhythm & Culture Music

I’m proud to announce the release of a new site for Rhythm & Culture Music — a DC-based music label specializing in electronic dance music of the house / latin / downtempo / moombahton / funky varieties. Led by DJ Farid of Eighteenth Street Lounge, this label has been steadily increasing the bar w/ quality releases from Farid, Thomas Blondet, Second Sky, and many more artists and collaborators from around the world.

The new site is completely updated w/ HTML5 tools for viewing all music / videos / media across any portable and desktop device in existence. 100% free of Flash, this ensures that the site will reach everyone with a smartphone and better. Built around WordPress 3.3, the new Rhythm & Culture site will provide a slew of new features & info for users, including:

1. Soundcloud integration throughout. Samples of music can be played from any pages using the embedded HTML5 players. Tracks can also be purchased thru the player itself, but are also provided as links in the RELEASES/REMIXES section.
2. An automated events calendar. Events can be quickly glanced via the sidebar widgets on the homepage or inner-pages, or via the calendar page itself. Each event is richly detailed and even allows the user to subscribe to upcoming events via Google Calendar for easy synchronization to a mobile device or personal schedule program.
3. A plethora of media in the form of Rhythm & Culture videos / music releases / albums / remixes / dj mixes / and more. They are posted liberally throughout the site, but the majority of the content is posted under MEDIA.
4. Comments are handled using DISQUS, a well-known comment plugin for WordPress that allows easy SPAM detection and moderation via an elegant web interface.
5. A newsletter plugin manages guestlist subscriptions and allows easy dispatching of HTML emails to promote upcoming events / music releases / remixes / etc.
6. The site is also integrated w/ all social networks (posts will link to the Rhythm and Culture Facebook fan page, and to Twitter automatically once a new story is added to the site) and also has full SEO integration to ensure high visibility across all major search engines.
7. The site can also be edited remotely using the XML-RPC protocol support built directly into WordPress. This allows users to add/edit/update their site via their smartphone wherever they are. Videos, music, links, etc. can all be added by a mobile device as well as by desktop client to keep fans in the loop when touring.
8. Lastly, using WPTouch, the site also has a built-in smartphone formatted theme that pleasantly presents the latest news from Rhythm & Culture in an easier-to-read mini format. This is automatically activated by any mobile device visitng the site for the first time and can be toggled on/off depending on how the user wants to interact.

 

More free DNB Music!!

So it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything. I’m 100% ashamed. So I’m going to make it up to you by giving you all free music from great artists that have been pimping new free tunes that they want you to enjoy. Soundcloud players, incoming…

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Via SpectraSoul’s Soundcloud: “Available as a FREE DOWNLOAD from the Spectrasoul Facebook Fanpage. Head to - http://on.fb.me/zhktSr and follow the very easy steps on how to download this highly sort after un-released Spectrasoul track.”

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Dieselboy – WAKE THE DEAD!
An 84 Minute Bass Archive Designed To Shock And Revive

WARNING : PLAY AT MAXIMUM VOLUME

A destroyer of a mix from DJ Dieselboy, aka Damian Higgins. His hybrid drum n’ bass / dubstep style has been catching on for me more lately. I can’t say I’m all about the cacaphony yet, but it’s getting there in some instances. Good show for a free mix.

Oh yeah, the link! It is available as a free download once you like Dieselboy’s Facebook page.

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From Lenzman: “Here’s a little mix to help you through the winter months. Enjoy….

Alternative download link to grab the mix is here.

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From Klute: “A wonderful hour long mix for you to download and be merry to. Dont forget to support Commercial Suicide and their artists financially.”

Alternative download link to grab the mix via DNBShare is here.

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From AUX Events: “In celebration of our 1year anniversary we wanted to set the “mood” for our upcoming event so for our annversary podcast we bring to you TOTALSCIENCE!!!!!”

Link to grab the mix is here. The cost, however, is to promo it w/ a tweet or Facebook link promo.

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Yet another quality podcast from Clive Psylence, head of Ingredients Records. One of my favorite newer labels, along w/ Horizons Music, that I’ve been following lately for new DNB.

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The Second Renaissance is on its way…

Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything eh? Shame. Anyways, happy new year to all – now let’s get onto the nerding…

NPR had a great story some time back about flying robots building a tower in Paris. Using flying rotocopters w/ suction cups attached to them, engineers were able to program the construction of a tower 20 feet high. Along w/ faster construction possibilities, using robots also allows more creative possibilities and greater control in construction, architecture, and design of all levels.

The robots steadily took foam bricks and stacked them into a design set up by two architects. It took a few days to get it altogether, but there were no major casualties or issues w/ the robots. When they were out of power, they automatically went to a nearby charging station and powered themselves back up. While a unit was out of commission, the remaining rotocopters continued to work w/o interruption to complete the task.

Video of the skyscraper being built is shown below.

This first example of automated construction has spawned countless ideas for new buildings; structures, and monuments of different shape/style/capabilities, and researchers in South Korea have taken it one step further beyond this to expand the possibilities of what these automated builders can do.

Radical designs and new methods of construction include proposing robotic flying bees that would secrete an “augmented synthetic material” that could conduct electricity, insulate a building, provide structural support, and much more. Some of the images for these concepts are shown below…

 

More discussion about the future possibilities of harnessing this “flying robotic construction cloud” are discussed at BLDGBLOG, including the ethics involved, as well as practical implications of where investment will come from, along w/ some other outlandish speculations of where the technology. Naturally, allusions are made to Skynet and eventually, the idea of robots constructing facilities to build even more advanced robots, etc. Regardless of what’s said, this field is going to be terribly interesting in the near future as we will see radical changes in building designs to reflect this new paradigm of automated construction.

The Best Street Art of 2011 and More

Street Art Utopia has a fantastic collection of inspiring street art pieces compiled thru 2011. Some pieces of work from now big-time artists; many of them not, and it’s refreshing to see the level of creativity on display. Lots of poignant selections in this überlist of artwork.

I was also pleased to see Banksy‘s graffiti church make the display. It reminded me that I had been in LA just this past April and had taken an extensive set of photos from MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” exhibit – a huge street art show that spanned the entire building and several floors in different areas. It was truly impressive, and I’ve decided to share it again for your viewing enjoyment. Check the gallery below:

How not to do PR, ever

In the past week, Paul Christoforo has reached internet stardom. In the course of a single negative email exchange between himself and a customer asking about a particular controller his company markets, Paul gets himself into a shouting match that hits the inbox of Mike Krahulik, one of the heads of Penny Arcade. From there, things get even worse as Paul then attempts a retraction, and then proceeds to insult Mike and then the email exchange terminates. After that, the emails are posted online, and then all hell breaks loose.

Paul’s life was turned upside in a matter of less than 24 hours. He loses his job; he receives constant death threats; he is at his wits end w/ the world that suddenly rose up against him for being the unbelievably ignorant and rude jerk that he was to a man named Dave. About a video game controller and a $10 coupon. Still, his saga is a cautionary tale worth heeding: don’t get up in a customer’s face. Sometimes, it really can come back to bite you in ways you never knew, and Paul was the sacrificial lamb of the week to prove that lesson to be true.

Here’s some links documenting the entire saga w/ some juicier details:

• Controller Company Berates Customer, Then Penny Arcade. Bring Popcorn. via Kotaku
• Chastened Gaming Rep responds to Internet Infamy via MSNBC
• Ocean Marketing Jackass Earns $10 Discount for All Pre-Orders via Kotaku

“…I could have nipped this all in the bud by being a little nicer. You never know who knows who, and lesson learned. We all have bad days and they caught me on one.” – Paul Christoforo (via MSNBC)

Mr. Christoforo, I salute you.

Real talk with Salman Khan, founder of Khanacademy.org

I have on and off mentioned the benefits of self-driven e-learning using sites like Khan Academy, and now Reddit has a great Ask Me Anything (AMA) column w/ Salman Khan himself — the founder of the online teaching haven that many students and individuals worldwide have benefitted from, just by having internet access and the time to go through each one of his lessons. The session has been really interesting w/ a lot of excellent questions about the future of e-learning. As an added bonus, Michael Nielsen, a key figure in quantum computing, ends up collaborating directly via the site to everyone’s “Newtonesque” appreciation of the entire scene unfolding…Either way: enlightening and encouraging in the end, above all. [Reddit]

The Best Wins of 2011

And now, I present to you, in one single video of sheer awesome – the folks that truly “won” 2011. By won, I mean it loosely. Some of the stuff you’ll see would be considered outright stupid, but hey, by suspension of disbelief, we assume all of these folks made it out okay. Go on, badasses!