Sarah Charness & her electric Pink Violin

When you've been playing the violin since the age of four and now your musical instrument is electric, well, then so are you - as in HOT! As hot as a pink violin in the hands of an artist, musician and fashionista. Sarah Charness is a wickedly talented artist musician living in New York City. She electrifies us with her violin and personal style. I first introduced you to Sarah this Fall and her new hit single with the Disco Killerz called GRIP. Her collaboration with the Disco Killerz continues with "Beautiful Life" and "Running For Our Lives." Both tracks are awaiting release and though Sarah was enthusiastic about the new music, she didn't say much about them, keeping the suspense high. We did chat about many other fabulous things, including her involvement with NYFW. See below:

Tell me about the transition from classical to electronic? I'd like to say that it was something that happened overnight, but was this gradual thing that started happening when I was 16 at a summer intensive program. A guy named Mark Wood came in and he showed off all of his gorgeous electric violins and I'd never heard of such a thing. And I was so pumped. Slowly but surely I got myself an electric violin.

How does living in New York City inspire and influence you, your music, your style? New York has allowed me to flourish as an artist because NYC is such an accepting place. You can be any color, any race, any gender, any anything - any artist has a place here and it's very unique. That's sort of what's allowed me to grow. To be in a totally wonderful, accepting city.

Tell me about the hot pink violin, it's fabulous. I did not design the instrument but the color I chose. I was only sixteen when I did but I think I would still choose the same thing. (She laughs). I wanted a violin that look like a Barbie violin.

Let's talk fashion... From a very early age I have loved clothes. As a performer I have to be comfortable. I have to be able to move around. Off stage I can wear all sorts of fun things. (...and she's does.) And NYFW? I don't have the schedule just yet because not all the designers have made their schedules, but for sure will let you know once I know which will be a few weeks before fashion week.

You've worked with such a diverse group of artists, from Josh Groban to Flo Rida. It's impressive. When you do something as totally obscure as I do you, really need to be versatile. It's good for your style and it's good overall.

What is your career wishlist? I'd love to work with some of the artists on the Armada label. For sure, Armin van Buuren. He's someone I have enormous respect for and his music is so classically influenced in so many ways that I think it would be really really cool to do that.  

It was such a pleasure chatting with Sarah. Maybe next time it'll be over a bourbon during NYFW?! Lookout for Sarah Charness and make sure and visit her website!

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Out Now: Armin van Buuren 'A State Of Trance Year Mix 2015' (Armada Music)

Armin van Buuren is the GRAMMY® nominated electronic dance music DJ and producer who hosts the enormously popular ‘A State Of Trance’ (ASOT) weekly radio show, heard by over 37 million listeners each week via 118 radio stations in 84 countries. Armin van Buuren’s A State Of Trance Year Mix 2015 (Armada Music) compilation is out now. The live worldwide broadcast of the A State Of Trance Year Mix 2015 is expected to draw all 37 million listeners on December 31st.

First broadcast in 2001, the ‘A State Of Trance’ radio show is the longest-running weekly radio program devoted to the finest in electronic dance music (EDM). The ASOT radio show format has been widely imitated over the years and a feature of the touring ASOT live events is that the performances are broadcast in real-time from professional radio studios custom-built onsite. In the weeks leading up to the compilation’s release, van Buuren enlisted the feedback of his listeners and encouraged them to vote on their favorite tracks of 2015; the result is 105 of the year’s most important trance tunes expertly mixed into a two-hour release. The ASOT Year Mix 2015 is the 12th in a series. The latest release captures van Buuren’s enduring ability to launch careers and uncover the best new music as no other radio DJ can.

Said Armin van Buuren, “The A State Of Trance Year Mix has become a yearly tradition since 2004. As a kid, I was always a big fan of these mega mixes, so every year, I ask the fans of the show to vote for their favorite tracks of the year. All of those votes combined give me a good overview of what the hot tracks were that year, and I blend in a few of my own favorites that were big at festivals, as well. Since a couple of years, I also decided to do a little skit at the beginning of the year mix, which shouldn’t be taken too seriously and should make you laugh a little.”

Full ASOT tracklist - Listen or download free: https://asot.lnk.to/asotyearmix2015

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Out Now: John Dahlbäck Featuring Alexx Mack "Count To Ten" (Armada Music)

Swedish DJ and electronic dance music producer John Dahlbäck’s latest single, “Count To Ten” featuring Alexx Mack, is out now. The single is the third from Dahlbäck’s forthcoming full-length studio album, Saga (Armada Music).

There’s something about Swedish electronic dance music producers and their seemingly innate ability to write the catchiest of leads. Upon a single spin of “Count To Ten,” it is guaranteed that the song will ring in one’s ears for hours or days to come. Uncompromising in its production, “Count To Ten” has perhaps more in common with radio-friendly synth-pop than it does with house music. While the boundaries of progressive-house music have widened to encompass a field where outright pop songs are as much at home on the dancefloor as their grittier, more “underground” cousins, Dahlbäck sees no reason to limit himself to just one style. The first single from Saga, “Raven,” had more of a dark, clubby vibe and that track got dance music fans ready for a long night of celebration. The second single from Saga, “Atlantis,” held a deep allure colored by the song’s warm, creamy vocals. “Count To Ten” is unabashedly buoyant and upbeat, positive to the core. It is this versatility Dahlbäck possesses as a producer that suits him so well as a performing DJ. There is literally nowhere he is afraid to take his audience, and he’s loved for it.

The Radio Edit of “Count To Ten” pops the champagne cork right from the outset as the high-pitched female vocal comes in. Instantly, this edit has all the workings of an effervescent pop tune, not only of a great progressive-house track. This edit is pure in its crystalline directness and at no point in the song does Dahlbäck’s hand waiver. This song shows that Dahlbäck is unafraid to go this pop music route because he knows his clubbing bona fides remain intact. The Extended Mix has a longer, syncopated intro with a beat that sets the stage for a spell before the main vocal even enters the picture. The vocal is more treated and stuttered on this version and the infectious, high-energy refrain makes even this mix easily grasped. The sunny energy is addictive and irresistible. Popstar-in-the-making Alexx Mack has a bold, come-hither voice full of self-affirmed female swagger and it is absolutely of-the-moment. Music lovers can also catch a glimpse of Mack in the official music video for “Count To Ten” to be released in late-December.

*Get "Count To Ten," here: https://ArmadaMusic.lnk.to/JDAMCountToTenPR

As a producer and DJ, John Dahlbäck has an inherent sense of what works on a dancefloor. His music consistently earns support from the top names in the industry, including from Avicii, Pete Tong, Tiësto and Swedish House Mafia, among others. Over the years, Dahlbäck has had his music released on top record labels, including Ultra, Toolroom, Defected, Spinnin’, Subliminal, Big Beat/Atlantic, Ministry of Sound, Kompakt, Dessous and others. Additionally, Dahlbäck has lent his sought-after production skills to remixes for the likes of Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, David Morales and others. Having grown up in a family reverberating with music, one of Dahlbäck’s earliest forays into electronic music was while tinkering with his father’s Atari computer as a youth. It was perhaps unsurprising that Dahlbäck would sign his first record deal at age 17, a time when most of his peers were just discovering the club scene. Today, Dahlbäck DJs at leading nightclubs and festivals around the world including at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel on the Balearic island of Ibiza.

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ARMIN VAN BUUREN : "Making music is very organic."

Armin Van Buuren at TomorrowWorld 2015. Photo: Marc Van Der Aa

One of the most exciting and most anticipated sets at TomorrowWorld is, without a doubt, Armin van Buuren's. He's seasoned, talented, passionate about music and really loves his fans. It was a thrill for me (being a fan myself) to have the opportunity to sit with Armin just hours before his closing set. He had flown in from the west coast earlier in the day and though he should have been quite tired, you wouldn't have known it. Armin was welcoming, friendly and inspiring. We had a candid chat about EDM, the creative process and playing for massive audiences. Armin van Buuren's latest studio album, Embrace, drops October 29th. Visit his website and pre-order yours today!

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Interview with DJ ANDREW RAYEL at TomorrowWorld 2015

DJ / Composer Andrew Rayel, who  is signed with Armada Music, Armin Van Buuren's label, played a dynamic set on the first night of TomorrowWorld. Andrew is young, talented and a classically trained pianist - skills that reflect within the complexity of his beats. Ninety minutes before his set, Andrew and I got a chance to sit and chat about TomorrowWorld, his musical sound and performing live. I also teamed up with my friends at Raannt.com to ask Andrew his feelings about trance.

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