It’s done, ladies and gentlemen. Macarize is finally back. We’ve teamed up with the excellent guys over att Proton to handle our distribution from now on and that’s something I’m really happy about for several reasons. I’m very excited about the future and I’m thankful for your patience. Now the journey can begin!
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Some of you might wonder why we haven’t released anything since late October last year, so I thought I’d give you a short explanation. Last year I decided to change distribution for different reasons. A date were set, everything was good and I stopped signing new music because I couldn’t release too much before the transition. Unfortunately I ran into some complications during this period which I can’t go into too much, but my current distributor basically couldn’t let me go at the time we planned. So, there I was, without any new releases and no energy to start things up just to close it down again for the actual transfer to my new distributor.
Today, 1st of March, we were supposed to start the transfer but there are apparently more complications so right now I’m just waiting for more definitive answers. Hopefully I’ll know more next week, but I’ve learned one thing from this mess – only trust yourself and make sure you know everything there is to know so you know where you stand. I’ve learned this the hard way and I’ve paid that price by not doing what I love for, so far, 4 months. It might not seem that long, but having to stop working on something you’re truly passionate about is quite painful.
Oh well. Now there’s not much to do but wait, but I can assure you – Macarize will be back, hopefully sooner than later!
Read MoreEvery time I mention that I bought a new track, people around me ask me “why?”. That makes me both angry and sad. I’m not asking you to buy every track in the world, but for god sake buy a few tracks each month from your favourite artists/labels. Is that really too much to ask for? I see people buy expensive drinks in the clubs for like 15 EUR and how long does that drink last? 10 minutes? MUSIC LASTS FOREVER!
There’s very little I can do in order to increase sales for all the fantastic artists and record labels we have within EDM, but I can give something extra to those who buy music. Here’s my deal to all of you: For every track you buy, no matter what artist or record label you choose to support, I will give you a Macarize track, free of choice. Meaning; if you buy 3 tracks from Beatport for example, you get to choose 3 tracks from the Macarize catalogue, if you buy 10 tracks, you get to choose 10 tracks from the Macarize catalogue. All you have to do is show me a valid receipt (starting from today). Sound good?
This offer will end after this week, so last day to take advantage of this offer is July 22nd. E-mail the receipt to info@macarize.net together with the tracks you want.
And remember, you don’t have to buy Macarize music, you can buy ANY TRACK YOU WANT and this offer still applies.
Let the shopping begin!
Read MoreThen here’s your shot! This is not a competition or anything, it’s just simply a fun little project for fans and producers to get involved with. If you make a good enough remix, you’ll definitely be included in the upcoming “Borealis (The Remixes)” EP which of course will be released on Macarize. If that’s motivation enough for you, then give it a shot! Here’s some guidelines:
1) You can do your remix in any style/genre you want.
2) Don’t post your full remix publically on any social medias if you want it to be released. Submit it to me directly!
3) Deadline is August 1st. Send your finished remix, in 320 kbps, to info@macarize.net
4) Have fun!
Download: HERE
UPDATE: If the link above doesn’t work, download each file seperately here: http://www.macarize.net/remixmindset/
Read MoreAs I wrote yesterday I said I would try to convince Jonas Stenberg to let me give away his mashup for free. Turns out I didn’t need to convince him at all so here we go! This is a mashup with Labtracks “Driver” and the vocals of PNAU’s “Baby”. It’s actually really cool and it kinda feels like the vocals are made for this track! Check it out yourself: http://soundcloud.com/macarize/pnau-vs-labtracks-baby-driver
Read MoreThought I’d share some free goodies to you guys. First up is a inofficial remix Thomas Feijk did on Ellie Goulding’s “Lights”. It’s almost one year old now but I think it deserves to re-enter the spotlight now when it’s summer and all. Download it here: http://soundcloud.com/macarize/ellie-goulding-lights-thomas
Second up is a mashup made by Johan Malmgren. He took Nadia Ali’s vocal from “Love Story” and put it over “Reverie” (previously released on Macarize by Kristoffer Ljungberg & Aleksey Yakovlev). The result was really cool. Check it out here and download if you want: http://soundcloud.com/macarize/aleksey-yakovlev-kristoffer-3
That’s about it for now! If I’m lucky I will be able to convince Jonas Stenberg to let me drop his “Baby Driver” bootleg for free to you. He made a really cool mashup on Labtracks “Driver” and PNAU’s “Baby”. I’ll get back to you on that one. Cheers!
Read MoreIf you for some reason need high res JPG’s of the sleeves from Macarize’s releases I’ve uploaded all of them on the server, including our compilations. Check them out here: http://www.macarize.net/sleeves/
Read MoreFor quite some time now I’ve wanted to make a remix release on Paul Keeley’s “Kaleidoscope”. After thinking about it for a while I decided to ask my good friend Mitch Alexander (owner of microCastle) and he gave me the green light! Big thank you for that Mitch. Anyway. The original mix is great as it is, melodic progressive house at its best, so I thought it would be cool to hear it in different styles and we ended up with DT’s nu disco version, David’s club version and two breaks-ish versions from Atlantis Ocean and label newcomer S.Bluyer. This is by the way the first remix S.Bluyer have done and I think she did really good. I’m also happy to see some girls in the business, we need more of them!
MRIZE067 | Paul Keeley – Kaleidoscope (The Remixes) by Macarize
Read MoreToday we released Hazem Beltagui’s new EP on Beatport (click to buy). I catched him on Skype for a mini-interview. Enjoy!
Hey Hazem! Today we released your new EP “Her Green Eyes / Cala Conte / Love Will Find A Way”; can you tell us something about it?
Hazem: Hey Kris. It’s quite an eclectic EP as I like them, since you get 3 different vibes on the same EP. Cala Conte is quite summery, deep and techy, while Love Will Find A Way is more laidback and melodic and to close this EP off you have the bigroom melodic Her Green Eyes.
As you say, the EP is quite diverse. Is there a specific style/genre you like more than others when it comes to producing?
Hazem: Actually this depends on my mood. Sometimes I feel like making techy stuff with lots of groove and swing while some other times I prefer focusing on the melodic aspect of the track. But lately I’ve been more into tech and deep house stuff!
I for one have always been a big fan of your track “222″, as you already know, which later received support by Armin Van Buuren in his warm-up set in ASOT Kiev. Now your new track “Cala Conte”, which some people compared to “222″, also got played by Armin in his warm-up set for his Las Vegas show. Can you tell us about your thoughts around this? It was quite unexpected for both of us!
Hazem: Well to be honest with you, I didnt see it coming at any time. When a friend of mine told me Armin just played 222 in his warm up set for ASOT 550 in Kiev, I was like, you got to be kidding me, not simply because this was the first time Armin support any of my stuff but also because the track was in no way the kind of tracks he’s into! So you can imagine how I felt when I knew he also played Cala Conte in his Warm up set in EDC Las Vegas. It was quite a surprise, but it surely increased my self confidence and made me wanna experiment more since this isn’t really the sound you would first expect when you see my name associated with a track.
That actually answers my next question as well. But speaking of experimenting; you made a remix for Tom Nucleus “Lucida” which will go out on promo in a few weeks. That’s something different from you as well, don’t you think? Frankly I was really surprised when you first sent me the remix.
Hazem: I knew you would bring this up. 
Well when I first start a new project, whether it’s a remix or an original, I don’t stick to a specific genre or sound, I just go with the flow of ideas and see where it takes me. For example for this Tom Nucleus “Lucida” remix, I loved the way the original sounded but I just had to add something extra to it. At no point U had the idea of the way it would sound at the end, I was actually surprised just like you when I got to listen to it when it was all done. Hopefully the Macarize Fans will enjoy this one as well.
Lastly, is there anything else you can tell us about the future? Do you have any goals you want to achieve or do you take it day by day?
Hazem: I have a main goal I’m running after, which is the same goal for all the producers I know, to go on tour and make a living out of my music. But I also have some short terms goals, which are, building a bigger fanbase and experimenting a lot more with music, hopefully my fans will follow me down the road.
Thank you for the chat, Hazem. I’m very happy to have in you in the Macarize Family. I hope you’ll stay with us for a long time! I think I speak for the fans as well. Cheers mate!
Hazem: You’re Welcome Kris. I’m very happy myself to be part of the Macarize family, and I guess I’ve already told you this like a million times before. I will stay with you as long as you dont kick me out mate, haha!
Read MoreI guess this is the first real deep house release on Macarize. It’s really exciting to release something different on the label. Initially I wanted Macarize to be an outlet for everything I like, no matter if it’s Trance, Deep House or Breaks. I wanted to follow my taste, which I have been doing since the beginning. This release follows that ambitions with the original mix and Hazem remix being quite deep and Andycap more to the Electronica side of things.
Anyway, I hope you like it as much as I do! Enjoy.
Read MoreThought I’d play a little game with you! It’s connected to a post I wrote earlier about an upcoming release I’m excited about.
This is a short clip of an upcoming remix on track that has been released before (not necessarily on Macarize). Send your guess to info@macarize.net with the subject “Guess the Original”. If you’re right you’ll get 3 free Macarize releases of your choice, but you’ll have to wait until it’s revealed on June 29th.
Happy guessing!
Read MoreI’ve been working with Jarkko and Miikka for 2 years now at least. I released “Space Oddysse / Tides” with them on Nellie Recordings back in 2010 and from there on I’ve released basically all their originals. It’s truly amazing to see that kind of loyalty in this business these days. A lot of people come and go over the years and sometimes it’s sad, but sometimes it’s for the best too.
When I left Nellie Recordings, Jarkko and Miikka said they would follow me to my new project which ended up to be Macarize. I’m so thankful for their support and the faith they must have in me. It’s very flattering and possibly the best compliment you can get as a label owner and A&R. Maybe even as a person?
Anyway, words can not describe how cool it is to have these guys on the label. I hope you enjoy their music just as much as I do. If you want to buy their new EP you can do that right here. You can also listen to one of the tracks, “All Night”, in full length right in this post.
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