No exaggeration: Tiesto currently holds this honor as voted by The DJ List. In 2003, he changed the image of electronic music forever as the first DJ to perform solo in a stadium, to a crowd of 25,000. Today, millions of people view the top DJs as demigods and approach dance music with furiously ecstatic devotion -- a global phenomenon for which this man is largely responsible.

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One of our newest artists is a young singer from Mexico, Emmanuel Roca, who performs moving, bare-essentials music. Roca's type of neo-folk is called Trova (from trovadores, the Cuban troubadours), a Latin American style generally characterized by romantic themes, Spanish vocals and a strong emphasis on rhythm; there are many others in the genre, but few this intimate.

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Despite their origin in Southern California -- and their guitarist's work with No Doubt -- Oslo are making music that sounds much more like their Scandinavian name than any sunny pop.

Buy MP3 Album is darkly melodic, sweeping, frustrating, and ultimately satisfying.

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Or so The GoStation describes their sound. To me they bring to mind two other great rock bands with alcohol-soaked histories: Oasis and the Gin Blossoms. If hard times went into recording their 2005 debut Quiet Zone, what came out was triumphant, anthemic stadium rock.

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Sugarlicks Records have sent us some exciting new music from New Zealand, including a few tracks from the young soul singer Brother J. The label calls his debut album, Buy MP3 Album , "a snapshot of urban Maori life with all [its] trials, tribulations, and heartbreaks."

We'll just call it amazing.

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In his previous life as a bassist, living and working in London, Charlie Tate played with jazz/funk greats like Gil Scott Heron, Roy Ayers, and James Brown. Now based in Oakland, California, Tate -- aka Colossus -- is putting out some of the nicest, most soulful hip-hop since Digable Planets and A Tribe Called Quest.

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February 2007, (para)Normal, IL:

Phonograph spend an overnight with bassist John Davis's friend, Scott Callan, a local music engineer. Callan and his wife reside in the back half of a haunted house on temporary watch. (Today is October 28th. Go ahead and accuse me of festivity.) The front half of the property is now a museum with "all the furnishings typical of your 20-something recording engineer... 600 year old Persian rugs, religious texts over 1000 years old... you know, that sort of thing," John says. The museum-residence was the childhood home of Adlai Stevenson, who ran for President against Eisenhower in 1952 and again in '56. (If I fail to provide you with a ghost story, acknowledge this creepy fact about America that acutely haunts us today: Stevenson lost by a landslide in both elections. He was popularly ridiculed for being too intelligent). The museum houses artifacts including furniture rumored to have been used by Abraham Lincoln. Upon entering the mansion, visitors are greeted by an early 20th-century Hiawatha Victrola. Herein lies the title of Phonograph's currently released EP: Hiawatha Talking Machine.

Click here to read the interview.

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When I heard that Bo Bice was going to be on Amie Street, my first instinct was to laugh and say, "isn't he one of those cheesy contestants from American Idol?" Well, I was right in one respect-- Bice was one of the popular runner-ups on the hit TV show. I soon discovered, however, his music has quite a bit more integrity than I had assumed.

The first track, Witness , hit me square in the face with it's gritty gospel-tinged funk and reminded me of bands like Government Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Black Crowes. This took me by surprise, though had I been a little more familiar with Bice's influences, I wouldn't have been as taken aback. On Take The Country Outta Me , he sings about his heroes including Merle Haggard, ZZ top, Lynrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Johnny Cash, and many other legendary musicians. Bice even manages to show versatility with ballads like Sinner in a Sin , which reminded me of Bob Seeger and The Eagles. Sure, it's safe to say that Bice might still be a "nobody" had he not been a contestant on a hit TV show, but if you can get past that stigma and take a listen to Buy MP3 Album , you'll realize that Bo Bice doesn't need American Idol to do what he does best-- rock out!

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You might not be familiar with Ford Turrell, but if you take a listen to his debut album, Buy MP3 Album , he'll definitely sound familiar. With a soulful voice reminiscent of Ray Lamontagne and Brett Dennen, Turrell sings homegrown, acoustic pop. His album was recorded with simplistic instrumentation and, according to Turrell, it was done live, in-studio, without overdubs-- not too common these days. With songs like Stillest Hour and Roll Away The Stone , Ford Turrell preserves classic American song styles and still manages to stand out amongst the many singer-songwriters out there. Check him out -- we're sure he'll live up to our hype!

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