The Winner Of The Kaci Battaglia "Crazy Possesive" Remix Contest is - Shugar Boy

 

Say hello to Shugar Boy!

We had about 20 remixes submitted for the EQ / Masterbeat Remix Competition for Kaci Battaglia's new single "Crazy Possesive" and Shugar Boy's remix was the winner, receiving the most votes from all the entries submitted - what he did with the song is just amazing!  You can hear his winning electro remix over on his MySpace page right now!

Shugar Boy is also an up-and-coming Canadian electro-pop musician and we even hear he's working on his own single as we speak - and from what we've heard of his remix capabilities, he surely might be one to watch in the future!

EQ and Masterbeat would like to thank everyone who entered the remix competition and took the time to lend their musical talent to Kaci's new single - there were some really creative and original entries and it was a pleasure to listen to all of them!

Again, make sure to give Shugar Boy some love over on his MySpace page and just for the fun of it, let's take a look at Kaci Battaglia's video to "Crazy Possesive" one more time...

EQ Interview With Mini Viva - "We want to show we are not one-trick ponies!"

 

There is no denying that Mini Viva have got a lot of pop sensibility going on.  I quite like the quirky element that they bring to pop music and "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" was the jam that had me utterly obsessed for about a week when it was released.  C'mon, you know you jammed out to it a few times too...

I was lucky enough to catch up with Frankee from Mini Viva (Britt was out sick for the day) for a little chat about where they came from, what's the meaning behind their new single "I Wish" and equally jammin "Bedroom Viber" and which version of the Sugababes she prefers. 

Hope you enjoy this little chat!

EQ: Well hello Frankee - how are you today?
Frankee:  I'm good - thanks!

First of all, congratulations on the success of your first single "I Left My Heart In Tokyo".  You must be over the moon that it did so well.  There was a point where you couldn't go out in London without hearing that song...
Awww thank you - Yeah we weren't expecting it to go to number 7 in the UK chart, so we're really happy that everyone believes in us and put us in the Top 10!

So tell me, how did you girls get discovered?  I'm quite curious...
Well I got discovered through MySpace actually - I got a flyer sent to me about putting a group together in Manchester.  Britt was at a breakdancing contest and saw a poster on a wall about putting together a new girl band and she went down and auditioned and then later we both went down to Xenomania headquarters and we met there.  As soon as we met, we just clicked really!  They thought that instead of putting us in a big girl band, it would be best to keep us as a duo.  That's how it happened!

We're you nervous about working with someone you didn't know beforehand?...
Not really!  Me and Britt, it was a natural connection if you know what I mean.  We are from the same background and similar towns up north.  A lot of the other girls were from stage school, so we couldn't really relate to that - they were very different than us.  So I wasn't one bit nervous at all and I don't think Britt was either...

Now I have to ask, I've always wondered this, is "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" autobiographical at all?  Did one of you actually leave your heart down by the river with some lucky Japanese boy?
[Laughs] - We get asked this question all the time!  It is about that - we haven't experienced that though because the song was wrote for us.  I just think the inspiration for it came from the backing track - at Xenomania, they produce the track first and they'll then write the melody of the track.  But the lyrics are exactly what the song is about!

EQ Interview With Space Cowboy - "I don't think its cool to cheat or anything like that..."

 

Space Cowboy really knows how to make fun dance/pop music and I've been a fan ever since his first album "Digital Rock" hit the interweb.  "My Egyptian Lover" with Nadia Oh is such a classic track too that never ever gets old.  I first got a glimpse of the rising star when he was the iconic DJ behind the decks on those early Lady Gaga club appearances in London and even back then, you could tell he had a bit of star quality about him.  

Since then, Gaga has blown up and Space Cowboy hasn't stopped with his mission of bringing digital dance/pop music to the masses and his new album, the cleverly titled "Digital Rock Star" proves just that.  With collaborations from the likes of The Paradiso Girls, LMFAO, Vistoso Bosses, Cinema Bizarre and Nadia Oh being featured on the new album - you'll definitely be in dance rock heaven upon it's first listen...guaranteed.

I caught up with Space Cowboy in the midst of his current US Tour with LMFAO to ask him a few questions I've had brewing.  In this interview with Space Cowboy - the purveyor of digital pop talks about working with RedOne, the filming of the "Just Dance" music video with Lady Gaga, his thoughts on glam rock making a comeback and why all the boyfriends of the world hate him...enjoy!

EQ: Well hello Space Cowboy - how are you today sir?  Where are you answering our questions from?
Space Cowboy: Hello! Well were in Seattle right now, on the Party Rock tour bus!


How very rock and roll!  Now tell me, you're originally from Paris and then moved to the UK and now you're rocking it in America.  Which do you prefer the American or the European life?
Both are good, very different, I love America as I grew up listening to predominently American Hip Hop essentially. 


So you must be excited releasing your new album "Digital Rock Star".  Is it a continuation of your 2006 album "Digital Rock" or is it a new sound and concept you're going for this time?
Its very much a new album, but the concept of it remains the same - to make digitally based music, without necessarily real instuments, like laptop rock.  Pop music with the spirit of rock and Red One produced most of the album, which is pretty amazing!


What was it like working with RedOne?  He really is the in-demand producer right now isn't he! 
He's such a lovey guy and suuuper hard-working producer - his sound is huge and that he even worked with me is just a dream for me!  Working with Red One, can you believe it?!


I must ask you, how did you end up hooking up with Cinema Bizarre?  I love them, I randomly bought a CD of theirs in Munich once and haven't heard much about them in the UK until you released your collaboration with them on "I Came 2 Party".
We met on the Lady Gaga Fame Ball Tour, they are excellent guys and invited me to perform in Germany with them for a BIG TV show - it was fun!


Do you think glam rock is making a bit of comeback now with artists like Cinema Bizarre and Adam Lambert being on the forefront of that movement?
Well, I think glamour is the basis of Rock and Hip Hop, or at least the types I like!  I like gangster movies and hair bands.  I like flambouyance and Cinema Bizarre and Adam Lambert are very much glam rock!  I Love it!


You're first single off "Digital Rock Star" was the brilliant "Falling Down" with The Paradiso Girls.  What was it like to work with Chelsea on the vocals?
Fantastic, her vocals pop like wow!  Amazing performer and great friend!  The Paradiso Girls are so much fun and im a BIG big fan!


EQ Interview With Erik Hassle - "I never thought that my hair could be something that was interesting! "

Erik Hassle's "Pieces" is one of the finest pop accomplishments of 2009 and will finally be unveiled to the UK and USA in early February.  Already a hit in Sweden with his debut single "Hurtful", Erik hopes to grow his fan base with the universal appeal of his gorgeous pop music.  Having recently finished a tour with Little Boots and Ellie Goulding, the soul pop quirkster is quickly gaining fans by the legions all the while being hotly tipped from influential tastemakers and UK newspapers like The Guardian.

I caught up with Erik Hassle to talk about his music, the experience of filming his music video to "Don't Bring Flowers" in Los Angeles and about life as a Swedish musician living in London.  And of course we had to talk about his hair too - enjoy!

EQ: Hello Erik how are you today?
Erik Hassle: I'm alright! I'm good. We've been on tour now for two week and the last show we all managed to get the flu!

Oh goodness!
Yeah, but I think I'm going to be ok...

So you just finished a few shows with Little Boots and Ellie Goulding - how did those shows go over?
It's been great - it's been very fun and I just like being on the road. It takes like three days and then you get into the tour mode and you never want to go back!

So let's talk about your song "Hurtful" - I wanted to find out if that song was autobiographical at all?
Yeah it was! The lyrics are quite easy to relate to for everyone I guess. For anyone whose ever been hurt and in love - they can relate to it. It's a knock on your shoulder by your conscious when you're starting to think things over and regret how you maybe handled some stuff. It's definitely autobiographical.

EQ Interview With Aviv Geffen - "I'm More Punk And Rebel Than Anyone On The Cover Of NME."

 

About a year ago, the Israeli rock music scene started to make ripples over here in England with some of the biggest Israeli artists like Aviv Geffen and Ivri Lider garnering new English fans with their distinctive and epic pop/rock sound.  Aviv Geffen's music really didn't appeal to me back then, but after listening to the rebel rocker's first self-titled English language album - which was produced by the legendary Trevor Horn - I have defintiely changed my tune.

Before this interview, I didn't quite realise how big of a political firestarter Aviv Geffen is in his home country.  He's always been a pioneer and unofficial leader for the minority underdog and has fought for gay and lesbian rights - which ultimately makes his music that much more interesting and rich to listen to.  As you could imagine, it was an absolute pleasure to sit down with the international superstar to talk about all these interesting things that have happened in his vast career as a musican. 

Aside from the fact that his new album is really good, I encourage you all to support the music of Aviv Geffen - as it's the type of music that makes you think and promotes world unity - something that's not represented enough in the world of pop music, where today's most hit songs are about having fun in clubs...

EQ: Hello Aviv and welcome to EQ.  Now a lot of our readers don't know too much about you, but in your home country of Israel, you are one of the biggest names in entertainment, outselling Coldplay, Madonna and U2.  Why do you feel it's the right time to branch out into the European music market now?
Aviv Geffen: After I toured the world twice, I've gained an amazing following.  People really want to hear the lyrics and the messages in English, besides the great music.  Trevor Horn thought it was a shame to be locked into Israel only because of the language, so he said "Look, the world must hear Aviv Geffen's music.", so I went after it...

So it was really on Trevor Horn's prodding that you decided to go for it?...
Yeah!  For me it was a pleasure to write in English because my dad used to live here (London) and New York. I myself lived here with my first wife in London - West Hampstead, for two years. London is my second home really, for me it's normal.

What's it like to be in the studio with the legend that is Trevor Horn?
It's like to be in a dream for nearly a year. He's the guru. I got a chance to work with loads of amazing producers - big names. But he's really the one.  He was so focused, he told me "I have to now, do your album, then do Robbie Williams and that's it." - he was so focused. He can work on things like the bass drum for one week!  It's crazy, but working with him - it's worth it!