Author: Emoke

Meet the Pacemakers: Phillip

Posted in Meet the Pacemakers by Emoke

Say hello to Pacemaker’s new Community Manager: Phillip, who had a chat with Emőke to introduce himself. Meet your new best friend in the app – the amazing @phillip!

 

@phillip

 

Hey Phillip! Everyone is super excited to find out more about Pacemaker’s new Community Manager! Please tell us a bit about yourself, who is Phillip?

Thanks for the warm welcome Emőke! Back in 2008 I discovered Pacemaker when the company Tonium originally launched the Pacemaker Device, a handheld DJ device that let you mix music on the move. It was so unique, there was nothing else like it at the time. I love the original device and still use it today. At the time of course, I had no-idea that this device would lead to me eventually working for Pacemaker, but over the years I gradually met members of the Pacemaker team.

You’re no stranger to the community, since you’ve been already working with us behind the scenes…

That’s right. Since 2013 I’ve worked as a customer support assistant for Pacemaker, therefore it’s possible if you’ve emailed or tweeted us (@Pacemaker) with a technical question then we might have already spoken. Some members of the Pacemaker community might also recognise me helping out with testing in our Pacemaker Beta program.

What are you most excited about in your new role as Community Manager?

From helping with customer support, I know the Pacemaker community has always had some really talented and really passionate people within it and I’m really excited to meet more of these people in this new role. You’ve certainly made a lasting impact on the Pacemaker community Emőke, so I’m sure I’ve got a lot to live up to!

What do you do in your spare time outside of working for Pacemaker?

I love music and performing as a mobile DJ in my local area is something I’ve done for a number of years. As well as this I’ve helped out behind the scenes at a number of festivals and events, usually operating lights and sound equipment. Pacemaker is such an awesome company to work for because of all the new music you can discover on a daily basis.

 

 

What kind of music do you prefer and what kind of mixes can the community expect from you in the future?

I genuinely love listening to a range of different genres of music and having performed at weddings and private parties it’s great to be able to switch up the mood of a party by playing everything from 80’s disco to the latest House and RnB. Hopefully the community will see this in my mixes. If I had to pick a single genre or artist though, the genre would be House music. I might have a bit of an addiction to the duo known as Disclosure. I think I have seen them in concert about 3 times now. 🙈

What’s your favourite feature of the Pacemaker app?

I think the Pacemaker studio is awesome. Being able to zoom in and make manual adjustments to the transitions really allows for some serious creative possibilities. I can’t wait to share more mixes with the community like you’ve done Emőke.

You’ve also shared your very first mix as community manager in the app. What could you tell us about the selection?

That’s right! So with this first mix, my aim was to take you back on a musical journey through the years. I’ve tried to select some of my favourite tunes from each decade, starting with some 90’s classics and gradually bringing you back to the current day, perhaps with a few surprises on the way. 😛 Hopefully there’s something for everyone in there.

 

Top 10 Pacemaker Users with the Most Shared Mixes in 2017

Posted in Mixtapes by Emoke

How many mixes can you create and share in one year? According to our Pacemaker users… never enough! We were curious to see who posted the most last year, so here comes the top 10. It’s still not too late to start sharing if you want to make it to the top this year! 😎

If you tap on their profile picture, you can listen to their latest mix.

 

 

#10: lisekravin (102 mixes)

 

 

#9: mecyellow13 (102 mixes)

 

 

#8: tlr104300 (114 mixes)

 

 

#7: raffi (125 mixes)

 

 

#6: capturingphi (129 mixes)

 

 

#5: mjgonzap (154 mixes)

 

 

#4: samuelnatal79 (164 mixes)

 

 

#3: willwilsonotf (198 mixes)

 

 

#2: djrichard (206 mixes)

 

 

#1: mattnewman30 (222)

 

Top 10 Most Commented Pacemaker Mixes in 2017

Posted in Mixtapes by Emoke

We absolutely love it when the Pacemaker community has a lot to discuss. No matter if it’s just a supportive thought, an amazing transition or an outstanding track that needs to be complimented, comments are highly appreciated. Let’s see which 10 mixes sparked the most comments last year!

If you want to (re)listen, just click on the mix in your iPhone.

 

 

#10

 

 

#9

 

 

#8

 

 

#7

 

 

#6

 

 

#5

 

 

#4

 

 

#3

 

 

#2

 

 

#1

 

Top 10 Most Liked Pacemaker Mixes in 2017

Posted in Mixtapes by Emoke

Check out the most liked Pacemaker mixes from 2017, we’ve compiled the 10 most ❤️ ones.

If you want to (re)listen, just click on the mix in your iPhone.

 

 

#10

 

 

#9

 

 

#8

 

 

#7

 

 

#6

 

 

#5

 

 

#4

 

 

#3

 

 

#2

 

 

#1

 

Top 10 Most Played Pacemaker Mixes in 2017

Posted in Mixtapes by Emoke

Curious which were the most popular mixes last year in Pacemaker? We’ve compiled the 10 most played mixes from 2017, check it out to see if you’ve made it to the top. 😎

If you want to (re)listen, just click on the mix in your iPhone.

 

#10

 

 

#9

 

 

#8

 

 

#7

 

 

#6

 

 

#5

 

 

#4

 

 

#3

 

 

#2

 

 

#1

 

All We Want for Christmas is Your Mixtapes! 🎅🎄🎶

Posted in Mixtapes by Emoke

Create and share your Christmas mix to be featured in Pacemaker during the holidays.

 

 

 

Are you into cheesy Christmas songs? 🧀

Or you like a modern twist but keep it traditional? 🎄

Maybe you have your own crazy Christmas style? 😜

It doesn’t matter, we want to hear ALL your festive mixes! We will share the best ones with the world & feature them in the app.

Add #mixmas2017 in the title or description, so Santa can find your mix on his iPhone. 🎅

 

Click here for some inspiration: http://bit.ly/mixmas2017

80’s Slush Funk Mix with John Acquaviva

Posted in Guest Mixtapes by Emoke
John Acquaviva (Photo: Tasya Menaker)

 

Legendary Italo-Canadian DJ/producer John Acquaviva has been behind the decks and music scene for decades now.  Having amassed one of the greatest collections of vinyl as well as at the bleeding edge of technology having introduced Final Scratch and Beatport to the world. With his latest Pacemaker mixtape the techno pioneer returns to some of his favourite club tunes from the glorious 80’s with thick slabs of soul, disco and funk.

You can see the master in action both speaking and performing at Slush Music in Helsinki  this coming week along with Solidaritet in Stockholm, Sweden (Dec 1) and One Twenty Stars LTD in Tampere, Finland (Dec 2).

 

Meet the Pacemakers #2: illtino

Posted in Meet the Pacemakers by Emoke

Most of our Pacemaker users are probably wondering on a daily basis… who is @illtino?  How does he have time to make so many smashing mixtapes? How does he have the energy to support everyone with a nice compliment or constructive feedback? What’s his secret to be so awesome? We were super curious to find out more about one of our most hardcore users, so here comes the naked truth – @illtino: up close & personal!

 

illtino with his lovely wife, Marilou

Where in the world do you live?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area home of some of the BEST DJ’s in the world!

How did you discover Pacemaker?

I used to play around with different DJ apps, my favorites were the mashup music ones. So about this time last year I was randomly searching for a DJ/mashup app and saw Pacemaker, downloaded it and have been hooked ever since!

What is your favourite thing about Pacemaker?

I LOVE the Pacemaker community! I try to spread love to everyone I can, new or experienced users. We’re all in here cuz we LOVE music and enjoy mixing it!

Name one of your most favourite mixes from another user on Pacemaker.

My favorite mix from another Pacemaker is Groovin House by @stanfitz! He’s the “House” master at Pacemaker IMO! His house blends are smooth and his transitions are on point, I can tell he’s been doing this for a long time, LOVE the playlist on his mixes. So I look forward to whenever he drops his mixtapes!

If you could pick just one favourite user in the Pacemaker community, who would that be?

My favorite Pacemaker person is @stanfitz! We both have different styles, he’s Ying and I’m Yang, I’m very hyped, he’s very mellow! We should combine on a mix that would be fun!

How do you usually discover music, what are your favourite sources?

LOL not gonna reveal all my secrets, but one of my favorite shows right now is Insecure on HBO and I’ll have my Shazam app so that I can Shazam their show soundtrack. They have the best show playlist and it ranges from the most ratchet song to the most soulful song, I love it!

How much time do you usually spend on creating a mixtape?

It varies…I have a bunch of mixes that I have saved or projects that I published and want to pull back to remix. So I’ll build my mix until it’s perfect to me, it can take an hour to a whole week or month just piecing it together. I look at Pacemaker like it’s a puzzle, you want to piece tracks together so they flow right together. It’s all about the vibes!

We only see a username and sometimes a picture when it comes to users. Who is behind your username?

One of my favorite albums of all time is iLLmatic, my first name is Santino so I combined the 2. So in high school I was putting these mixtapes together for my friends or for parties I’d have iLLTiNo all over those mixtapes. I’ve always been a fan of mixtapes too so I used to have stacks of mixtapes of all types, hood mixtapes to baby making R&B mixtapes. I was everyone’s go-to source for what was new out at the time, I still am!

illtino = huge Golden State Warriors fan

What do you do when not mixing on Pacemaker?

I have a tech job so I’m dead tired by the time I get home. So it’s kind of therapeutic to come back home, throw on my headphones and zone out to make mixes on Pacemaker.

Did Pacemaker change the way you’re listening to music? If so, in what sense?

Being in the Pacemaker community you get influenced by everyone’s different style in music. So many vibes to choose from, I love it! I have different projects I’m working on so I’ll be inspired by what I’m listening to in the Pacemaker community. I find myself studying other DJ’s style a lot more, I’m a student of the game. I start to see music in waveforms thanks to Pacemaker lol!

Have you had any DJ experiences before joining Pacemaker?

In high school I had my Technics 1200, at the time I was big into the  turntabalist style so scratching and beat juggling like DJ Qbert. And like I said I was putting all these mixtapes together and DJ’ing parties with the homies. When I got into college I was focused more on promoting parties behind the club scenes work.

Are you making music yourself in any way?

Not currently producing anything at the moment, but used to make beats and mixtapes back in the day. Speaking of which I need to dig up my old material (there’s some tracks I’ve rapped on lol).

Name 3 of your current favourite artists.

I’m a big Diplo fan and the Mad Decent crew they got so much energy I dig that, and the variety of music that’s on the label they really got some great music coming from them. I think Kendrick Lamar is the best rapper alive right now he’s definitely reppin Cali right now. And Anderson.Paak he’s so dope, feelin the jazzy R&B style he puts out.

Name one of your own mixes that you’re the most proud of.

Definitely my Trapmaker Plus mix! My mixes before that we’re around an hour, but for Trapmaker I wanted to condense it down and remix my favorite hip hop tracks over house beats. I get inspired by the Pacemaker community, it’s a mashup of everyone’s style!

Who would you like to see posting a mixtape on Pacemaker?

Diplo and Mad Decent on Pacemaker… that would be DOPE!!

Name one friend who should be on Pacemaker but isn’t.

Aww wish I could get my HYPHY party crew to join some have but they’re not as consistent as I am.

Is there a question you always wanted to ask from a Pacemaker user but you never did?

Hey @stanfitz where do you collect your house tracks from? Nevermind, surprise me bro!

Guest Mixtape & Interview: Noah Gibson

Posted in Guest Mixtapes, Interviews by Emoke

Noah Gibson is a shining star in the dark Swedish underground nightlife. An exquisite selector who’s been expressing his genuine love for electronic music through numerous sweaty hours at warehouses, raves, clubs and now in Pacemaker too. Celebrating the bouncy-banging side of techno, he’s recently released his latest EP ‘A New Hope’ on Marcel Dettmann’s MDR imprint, which marks a new era in Noah’s career. We had a chat about music and inspirations, read on and push play to get gibsonized!

Noah Gibson (Photo: Lo Vahlström)

Please tell us a bit about yourself, who you are, what you do, where you’re coming from.

Since over a decade I have been looking to express myself through electronic music. I’ve been doing this in my hometown of Stockholm, Sweden which has resulted in a members only underground club called The Office, a record label called Krasch Records and another label called Trouble In Paradise (co-run together with Henrik Bergqvist).

I’ve also spent a lot of time and money on and with records…

When and how did you get interested in music?

My childhood friend Gustaf showed me House music once at his mother’s apartment. He’s the one who opened the doors for me.

Do you remember your first revelation when it comes to music?

Walking up the stairs at Berghain and hearing Marcel Dettmann for the first time. This was in August 2008 and also with Gustaf.

You’ve been active in the Stockholm scene for quite a while. How do you think it has changed in the last years?

A lot really. I guess I’ve changed a lot myself so my perspective has also changed, but I think that right now is an interesting time. A lot of clubs have closed their doors and there seem to be some sort of purge going on at the local police station: they are cracking down on members only events and club nights. There are also places opening and staff changes at existing places too.

I think something big is happening and I’m both excited and curious in what that is exactly…

Noah in action (Photo: Henrik Bergqvist)

Selecting great music takes a lot of time and energy – where do you discover music these days when the possibilities are endless and it feels like there’s more and more new music coming each day?

Since the beginning of discovering my own taste in music, I have gathered a list of over 10.000 records from which I go through and purchase from. So when I for instance have a gig coming up, I spend about 100+ euros on records each month and I buy specific records for that gig as well as having boundaries that I follow when deciding on which to buy.

Very few of these records are new to be honest, but I do buy a few new ones from time to time. I also have a very keen eye on the digital side so I purchase a lot of one-off tracks from albums, EP’s and compilations. Stuff that I don’t feel I need the full 12” record of.

Congratulations on your latest EP ‘A New Hope’. Quite a big deal to be releasing on Marcel Dettmann’s own label. How did that come through and how’s the feedback so far?

We have talked about it for a few years and finally we decided now is the time. So as an idea it has been with me and Marcel for a very long time. I am so happy to have completed it and I’ve heard great things about it.

For me I am happy to be able to contribute to Marcel’s label and be a part of his journey. People seem to like it which makes me very happy too.

Who is/are your biggest inspiration(s) at the moment and why?

Marcel Dettmann has been and is the biggest inspiration for me. Every time I get a bit lost in music, I can have a closer look on what he is doing and get inspired. My fiancée Hanna is also one of my biggest inspirations. She is a very solid guide and inspiration in all aspects in my life too.

I am inspired by a lot of sounds and music in general right now as I am producing a lot for the moment. I am working on material for my upcoming record on Krasch as well as a few other things 😉

If you could swap bodies with someone for a weekend, whose skin would you like to sneak in?

I guess this is a music related question, so my answer is Jeff Mills back in the 90’s. I’d like to understand how he managed to produce all this extremely good music in such a short period of time and most importantly: how did he produce the music?

Noah Gibson & Jeff Mills at Trädgården, Stockholm 2012 (Photo: Sima Korenivski)

How do you listen to music most of the time? Do you buy records or do you prefer the digital streaming nowadays?

At home I usually put on a record to listen to but I also use Spotify for general listening. At my day job I listen to a lot of classic stuff from the 80’s as well as EBM, industrial and ambient etc… I have a firm divide between my dj-self and my day-to-day-listening-self… if that makes sense to you?!

If you could take 3 records with you to a deserted island, which ones would they be?

Oh, wow that is a really tough question… I can’t really answer that honestly since I don’t know. I’d be missing one record over another and so on… I guess I am a bit “damaged” from djing, haha.

What’s your favourite place in the world?

I work a full time day job and play a lot of records or make a lot of music during the weekends, so that special moment when I have some time together with my family and close friends; I get reminded of how lucky I am to be able to do what I love and being surrounded by all these great people… that is my favorite place in the world.

I also still love going to Berghain!

What do you do when you’re not making music or DJing?

I am soon to be a father so my total focus is on that right now.

Please tell us a bit about the selection for your first Pacemaker mixtape.

I wanted to experiment with the app and see what I could come up with. The limitations for me was what material I could find on Spotify. My aim was to create a current mix with the app.

 

 

Discover Noah Gibson

Facebook

Moving Parts

Soundcloud

Resident Advisor

Bandcamp

Instagram

Discogs

Techno, Deep House & Underground Trap 🚀

Posted in Weekly Mixtapes by Emoke

Label Worx are back with an uncompromising, heavyweight techno mixtape

 

 

UK-based Label Worx are back with an uncompromising, heavyweight techno mixtape. Featuring some proper warehouse anthems, this selection is a gold mine with lots of underground gems to discover. More than two hours of seriously intensive techno business with raw, heavy drum grooves and basslines. Ready to jump into the darkest corners of electronic music?

 

 

Fans of all music genres should check out @powertothefish’s latest sound bouquet, because it basically contains everything you can imagine. Everything. From abstract trap music through bass, techno and electro to the most underground and obscure hip-hop gems. An impeccable and crazy mixture!

 

 

@iva9 has proven himself to be a deep house aficionado, finding lots of like-minded followers in the Pacemaker community. For his latest mix he’s picked tracks from Enormous Tunes, the amazing Swiss house music label. In this soothing selection you can find gems by Nora En Pure, Sons of Maria and Croatia Squad.