Since I started digging into Derrick May, I’ve learnt a lot of things about the man that I’d rather I didn’t. But there’s one area in which my knowledge is still quite lacking –...
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Glowing words towards the “brother that he never had”, yet he doesn’t follow him on social media: more rumours that all is not well with Masters At Work
A few weeks ago, I ran an article that asked whether all was well with Masters At Work. Despite the release of their first single as a duo for over 20 years, there seemed...
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Can Yousef defend the indefensible? Silence from Circus on why they’ve booked plague rave DJ Sven Väth for Liverpool Covid test event
This Friday night, an important event is taking place in Liverpool. It’s happening at Circus, who are hosting the First Dance Event. No social distancing will be required, but a negative Covid result no...
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Boar off! Nervous Records troll the internet with most ridiculous merch advert yet – but have they made a pig’s ear of it?
This blog’s opinion of the advertising team at Nervous Records is well known. To say I consider them to be stuck in the 1970s is an understatement. Their latest advert, however, takes the absolute...
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Here’s something you won’t see often on this blog – a defence of Spotify raising their prices!
I note that Spotify has finally decided to do something that nearly every other company on the planet does – and that is actually raise its prices by a little bit. Shocker! Last year,...
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The fall and fall of Danny Rampling: his journey from okay-ish DJ to full-on Covid denying conspiracist
Those of you of a certain age will probably know Danny Rampling as that DJ who used to have a show on Radio 1 called “The Love Groove Dance Party” – a name that...
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You’ve seen the ads for his MIDI packs. But is Niko Kotoulas a musical genius or just a marketing man selling music down the river?
Take a look at this photograph. If you’re on Facebook and you produce music, there’s a good chance you’ll have seen that face sometime in the past few months. If you haven’t, his name...
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Paying two sets of distribution deals – one mystery DJ and some VERY shady business practices indeed that are heading for the courts
I have been sent the details of a very interesting story. Having done some checks, I’ve verified that it’s true and I’m going to tell you about it now. The names in it have...
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What was the REAL relationship between Derrick May and Patricia Altisent? Recently unearthed blog offers potentially disturbing explanation
I’ve previously written about Patricia Altisent on this blog. So far, we know that she doesn’t like it when people publish her email address, and she also seems to think that she has no...
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That’s set the cat amongst the pigeons! Burning Man considering mandatory Covid jab to get in – as CEO claims they have a “civic responsibility”
The Covid deniers were right, for once. Which brings the number of things they’ve been right about during the pandemic to, let me check… one. When even a stopped clock is right twice a...
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Won’t Louie Vega and Derrick Carter think of the polar bears? Report into DJ carbon emissions released to accusations of hysteria
I never thought it would fall down to me, of all people, to defend the so-called superstar DJs in dance music. Yet I strangely feel the need to, given how the dance music press...
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Is this what it is? Derrick May FAILS to complete this blog’s music theory challenge – and now it seems he couldn’t play from the beginning
Eleven days ago, I wrote a post about a video of Derrick May showing how he played live. The video was notable for the fact it showed no footage of him playing live. You...
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But would he pay more than $0.032 per share? Amusement as Spotify’s billionaire CEO Daniel Ek says he’s interested in buying Arsenal FC
A question I find myself asking sometimes at Amateur At Play HQ is – just how much self-awareness does Daniel Ek, CEO and multi billionaire possess? Not too often, mind you. The answer would...
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So that’s who’s making money from streaming! Universal Music Group raking in $1million per HOUR whilst artists can’t pay their bills
News came in during the week courtesy of Vivendi, the French outfit who now own Universal Music Group, about the profits of UMG. Has the pandemic badly hit the amount of money they’re making?...
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Does Derrick May represent culture in the eyes of Mixcloud? A question for their founders
I feel the urge to be polite here – well, to an extent. Mixcloud is one of the better websites for DJ mixes, mostly because they’re one of very few platforms that actually pay...
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The Six On Saturday (That Aren’t From Me!) – 24th April 2021
On the week that a Turkish musician conquered his fear of flying by playing his violin whilst falling through the air, I go through the records that’ll have you thinking you’re going through the...
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