Blog

Paper Diamond is a one of dance music’s buzzing artists creating a unique sound unlike anyone any of his peers. Using a varied tech-friendly workspace, this Ultimate Music Experience talent oozes productions rich in bass driven beats, catchy vocals and melodies.

Hailing from Colorado, Alex Botwin has been a bass mechanic long before his Paper project. As a part of The Pnuma Trio, Botwin played bass for the outfit since their inception in 2004. Fusing classical, jazz, funk, hip hop, and drum and bass, the group’s releases were lauded for their individuality with the media dubbing them “Music of the future.” After the group parted in 2010, Botwin found himself going back to the drawing board, “Basically, I had all this music that I had no outlet for. Pnuma was my dance music project and since I wasn’t having any reason to focus on that, I decided that I needed a new outlet to be able to make whatever else I wanted besides. For a while I was making music as Alex B as well, which is a downtempo project. But I wanted some separation from me personally and my art, and I wanted to freely make dance music if I wanted to–or make whatever type of music I wanted. So that was what led me to start the project.”

That project is of course Paper Diamond. When it came time to release his debut album Levitate, he called an old friend, “I became good friends with Derek Vincent Smith from Pretty Lights. It’s funny, he used to open a lot of Pnuma shows and now he’s obviously massive–huge beyond everyone. As much as people wanna not believe it, he kind of changed everything for livetronica music.” Armed with a vast treasure trove of music that he’d been working on, the two started brainstorming, “Basically, I made all this music, and I hit Derek up and was like, ‘You know, I heard you’re starting a label. We’re homies. I wanna run my new record by you.’ I gave him my new record. We talked about all the songs, and he gave me some ideas. Then I went back, and we ended up putting it out.”

After Levitate was released in 2011, Paper Diamond began gracing more and more lineups and flyers – and not just because of his stellar productions, but for his on stage presence as well. Known for his interactive live sets, versus the conventional DJ setup, Paper Diamond on stage is feast for the senses. His dynamic performance makes every show a unique experience. Gearing up for 2014 “Cold Crush” tour, Botwin gave his fans a scoop of what to expect, I’m using my iPad on stage to control two computers, one has Ableton to play the music, which then sends a MIDI signal to the second computer, where I can control all of the LEDs and live visuals on stage that will capture the nonstop energy of my set. So basically, I get to represent myself in not just a musical manner, but I get to provide an overall visual experience for my fans as well.”

Hard at work in the studio, this year will see the release of new tunes with never-before-heard collaborations with various writers, producers and singers. Having just announced an eight-month residency at Wynn Las Vegas, the producer released his new single “Black Rose.” This sultry downtempo track shows off Paper Diamond’s versatility and we are thrilled we get to see it live at Ultimate Music Experience on South Padre Island, Texas on March 13-15th. Buy your tickets to the celebration today!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/89148212″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/131961823″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/9874473″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Boys Noize is one of the few artists who can say that they have been making electronic music and working as a DJ for over half of his life. Quickly establishing himself as an amazing talent behind the decks, his sets have become a staple to festivals around the globe not only for their technical prowess but for their showmanship as well. It’s no wonder Rolling Stone voted this Ultimate Music Experience artist amongst the Top 10 “DJs Who Rule The Earth.”

Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, Alexander Ridha has been finessing his skills on the decks from an early age, “My first DJ gig was in a proper house club in Hamburg when I was 16, supporting a local hero at the time, Boris Dlugosch. I was playing stuff by Mateo & Matos or Theo Parrish, a lot of Guidance Records releases, a couple of Masters At Work tunes. The first French stuff started to hit hard as well around ’97 and ’98 and from then I got more and more into electro labels like Gigolo Records.” Gaining traction on the DJ circuit, Ridha opened for acts like Felix da Housecat and DJ Hell, the latter of which released some of the earliest Boys Noize singles like The Bomb/Boy Neu EP in 2004.

The birth of social networks like MySpace proved to be very beneficial for the young talent, “I was very lucky, I have to say, because my music was only released on vinyl until then and it was the first time that people everywhere could listen to my music easily. I had a great deal of output at that time — a lot of 12″s and remixes — and it was so lucky that regular people outside of the DJ world were able to listen to my music.” Though his early productions were on respected labels like Kitsuné Music and Turbo Recordings, in order to retain full artistic freedom, Ridha established his imprint Boysnoize Records in 2005. “I don’t compromise when it comes to music,” he says, “I do what I think is cool and what I like and not what the market wants or people may expect. Maintaining artistic freedom has always been the most important thing to me — for my own music and for anyone on my label.”

Outside of his work as a label boss and DJ, Ridha has become a master in the studio. As a recording artist and producer, the Boys Noize sound is unmistakable. Amassing three albums, 2007’s Oi Oi Oi , 2009’s Power and 2012´s Out Of The Black, and countless singles and EPs, his work as a remixer is equally as impressive, making edits for everyone from Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Feist, David Lynch, Santigold, and Scissor Sisters. Lest we forget his collaborations with heavyweights like Snoop Dogg, Erol Alkan, Mr. Oizo, and more recently, with Skrillex under the moniker of Dog Blood.

Now that the dust is starting to settle from his massive Go Hard EP released in summer 2013, you can find Boys Noize making audiences go hard all across the globe. Catch his critically-acclaimed set when Boys Noize makes his way to South Padre Island, Texas for Ultimate Music Festival on March 13-15, 2014. Tickets are now available, buy yours today!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/69026803″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/94503186″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99939664″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120724592″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

In a very male-dominated industry, Brazzabelle is one woman in dance music making a name for herself all across the globe. Rocking hard with the big boys, both in DJing and production, this Ultimate Music Experience talent is leading the pack of female upstarts.

Known to her family as Brittney Bowles, the Arizona native has always been interested in a variety of musical genres. Introduced to dance music in her early teen years, she immediately fell in love, “It all started when I was about 13. My parents didn’t let me watch TV so I spent an absurd amount of time on the computer and one of my friends introduced me to a production program call ‘Dance EJ’ which I learned the basics of production.” But even though she loved to produce, finances got in the way, “After that it kind of fizzled out because my allowance didn’t allow for me to buy any equipment so I moved onto more traditional instruments and started to play the guitar and bass because I really wanted to be in a band.”

After graduation, Bowles went to work as a fashion merchandiser. Though she enjoyed her time there, a study abroad program to Europe would change everything, “It wasn’t until I studied abroad in Barcelona and became friends with a few DJ’s who encouraged me to get back into it,” she explains, “they told me what equipment to buy and I went home and practiced my little heart out and eventually started playing gigs.”

Back in the United States, Brazzabelle started DJing at many local gigs in her current home of Los Angeles. And by 2011, she released her debut release “Break Your Body.” The sexy track caught the attention of house music lovers everywhere and her success since has been somewhat of a ripple effect as she has earned residencies with several of the West Coast’s most prestigious nightclubs and has been named one of 944 Magazine‘s “Leading Woman in Nightlife.” Brazzabelle has made quite an impression among some heavyweights in dance music. Martin Solveig once said at a show, “Brazzabelle opened for me tonight, but in two years I’ll be opening for her.”

Following the success of “Break Your Body,” Brazzabelle has released a steady stream of mixtapes, two EP’s, including the single “Drop The Beat” featuring Zashanel and remixed Gentlemen Hall’s hit track “Take Me Under.” Recently grabbing some studio time with gLAdaitor, the two released a free download of their rework of TLC’s classic track, “No Scrubs.”

Still honing in on what her true sound is, we’re excited to see what the future holds for this rising new talent. To quote her, “It will always be unique to Brazzabelle.” Her latest festival edit of the classic anthem “What is Love” is sure to make its way in sets around the globe. Come drop the beat with Brazzabelle when she performs at Ultimate Music Experience on March 13-15th – buy your tickets today!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/128715025″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/115361712″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/107691951″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]