Jo Jackson - Brilliant Acoustic sets from the Guitar Girl!

Jo Jackson is the latest addition to our artist roster on Reverbnation. Based in Rochester, Kent, she is keen to work on more live entertainment with vocals and acoustic guitar in local pubs. Jo sings covers for a wide variety of songs from good old 60's to up to date chart music, which are all broken down into an acoustic guitar set in her own inimitable style. With her quick wit and confident delivery, we are positive Jo will achieve what she sets out to do.

Jo is working on more songs for her online profiles at Reverbnation, Facebook and Myspace. Visit her there soon!

The X-Factor & Auto-Tune

Gamu Nhengu on the X-Factor

This show has an uncanny knack of exposing modern music to the fans and creating a great deal of controversy at the same time. Contestants trashing Simon’s villa in Marbella, Home Office involvement on Gamu Nhengu’s right to stay in the UK and next up will be the forthcoming and inevitable fight for the Christmas No 1. Some say that, “All press coverage is good marketing.” Really?

 It seems to us that many music fans are finally catching up with what is really going on in the show after ‘X-Factor’ chiefs admitted in August that the auditions by Gamu Nhengu, Shirlena Johnson and G&S were altered in post-production with ‘Auto-Tune’. Some critics of the opening show suggested that it questions the authenticity of the show’s format, while many viewers were shocked by this deceit and heated debate on its use in the show became a hot topic.

So what exactly is Auto-Tune?

Firstly, its not that new and has been used as a recording studio tool since 1997 following its launch by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune has played a key role in selling millions of songs during this period. It’s pitch-correcting software devised by Andy Hildebrand simply helps people sing in tune by correcting any sharp or flat notes from a singer’s recorded performance. Recording studios simply fell in love with this set of tools and applications released by Antares. But by 1998, the secret had been famously exposed by Cher’s smash hit ‘Believe’ and months earlier by Milli Vanilli's public bust up with their label.  In general, studios don’t like to talk about what they are doing. Instead of making subtle adjustments to the track, producers Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling reportedly reset the software's "retune speed" and came up with a mangled, robotic effect which spawned a global smash and blew the Auto-Tune lid wide open. From tinkering with studio equipment for a joke, they had created the "Cher effect".

Auto Tune has become just a part of life in the world of pop and R&B. Faheem Rasheed Naim, better known by his stage name of T-Pain is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer who uses the software in many of his songs. This has inspired others such as Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Lil Wayne to do the same. In fact, Kanye West used the software and applied the technique to an entire album in 2008 with ‘808’s & Heartbreak’.

Auto Tune Software

However, the same controversy that haunted the X-Factor recently, also surfaced at the same time when Jay-Z issued ‘DOA (Death of Auto-Tune)’ in 2009, telling his fellow hip-hop stars it was time to ditch the technology.

So is this the last we will hear about Auto-Tune technology? In our opinion this is highly unlikely. Especially after industry experts claim that the software is used in 99% of all recorded music and can be bought separately or as part of song production software.

Just like the X-Factor itself, ‘integrity’ is something that is alluded to, but rarely achieved.

Our 'Projects List' just keeps on expanding!

Now that we have expanded our artist roster on Reverbnation, our working time is just taken up with everything that needs to be done on a day to day basis and the massive 'Project List' is being chipped away at ever so slowly. Too slowly in our eyes, but at least we are making progress with what we are doing.

Our latest task has been constructing an Amazon Music shop, as you can see from our link to the left and slideshow to the right. This is now finally complete and we will be linking this to our main website shortly.
Why are we using Amazon? and isn't that a bit of a cliche online? Quite simply, they have a much wider selection for the best price compared to most High Street Music Retailers. It's a name you can trust and has a quality of service that is second to none. There you have it, from a guitar capo or gig bag, through to a brand new Roland Keyboard or drum set. The choice is virtually limitless. Go on, have a browse now!

Our next big task for 2011 will be launching our Gateway Music Online Radio Station. We have really wanted to take this step for quite some time, but first its having the knowledge and the funding to run a station effectively and turn it into something that will become popular. Those that know us quite well, will already know that we make radio jingles and advertising for online presenters. You may have even heard some of our work without actually realising it! We decided several months ago that running a regular radio show may be too time consuming. Somebody told us that there is method in our madness. But quite where this 'method' actually is, we will leave for you too discover.

Meanwhile, our local chart placings on Reverbnation go from strength to strength. Shame that there's no serious money involved with this but we are always pleased to see four of our artists in the All Genre Local Chart for NW Kent.

Although Desmond is now recognised by some people when we film a new music video locally, we are still working very hard to broaden his and all our artists exposure to a global market. If you have listened to any of our artists on the roster and you like what you hear, tell your friends or better still post a link to their music on your facebook page. It's all appreciated and very welcome. Likewise if you would like to get involved with our various projects, then send a message to our main email address gatewaymusicprod@yahoo.com

The latest addition to our Roster is Ian Edwards

Ian Edwards and Band

Ian Edwards and his band are a fantastic addition to our roster. We first heard them on Reverbnation and were very impressed with their fresh style and unique vocal interpretation.

They are based on the south coast near Hastings and have been known to gig as far afield as North London to prove their dedication to live performances.
They have only recently moved into the online music world and we hope that we can provide a broader base in which they can operate.
Maybe a gig in Kent sometime soon, who knows.

Tweet

They have been rising solidly up the Reverbnation charts week on week and we hope to see them feature in their Local Top Ten very shortly. Recently they have developed their Facebook and Myspace profiles too. Give them a listen on Reverbnation, or play our audio clip on our full profile page (to the right).

We wish them all the best and hope to support them as much as we are able to do so.

Gary N joins Gateway

We are pleased to announce that Gary N has joined our roster. Gary has taken a business break from his music for over ten years and has now returned to further develop his unique sounds.
Previously he has DJ'd at local clubs in Brighton and all over the United Kingdom. His work also included music production with his former labels of Interflow, Bigfeet Records and Interflow Recordings.

Gary's main interest is the Dance House scene and he is now in the process of working on some original material to be uploaded to his Reverbnation profile in the next few weeks. He is working with cubase, or finding his feet again as he puts it. His home benefits from a fully fitted studio near Brighton. We know Gary works 'full on' with his musical projects, our late evening or midnight phone calls to compare notes on new sounds and discuss what we are doing in great detail are testament to that.

We wish him all the best with his forthcoming projects and hope that we can combine our resources to create a formidable team for the future. You can also find Gary on Myspace and Facebook.

Stacey Young

'Singing' must be Stacey's middle name. Wow, can she belt out a song or what! Go and have a listen, you won't be disapointed by this girls ability. Stacey joined us at the end of May and we have been working with her on her Reverbnation profile. She has been at Number 1 in her local chart since she joined us and we are now working hard on promotion in the Reverb National, where she has just got past the Top 50 barrier.

Stacey Young

We have not neglected Myspace either and getting her noticed more there has led to her appearing at Number 8 on the UK Country Myspace Chart for 20th June 2010, which we are very pleased with.

She is currently singing at Park Resorts, Cayton Bay, Scarborough for the Summer season and will return to Kent sometime at the end of September. So hopefully, we can meet up and get some more songs recorded for her and finalise all the online activity to create a streamlined and cohesive plan for the future.

You can keep up to date with Stacey's latest news on her Facebook page.

Solar-Isis Summer Tour

As in previous years, our Pop/Electronic group, Solar-Isis, are hitting the airport and flying out to sunny climes. This season they are ignoring the Ibiza hotspot and have set up some gigs on the Costa Del Sol.

Based in Marbella, they have bookings already from early July at the Ocean Bar and other clubs in the harbour area and also at Granada, Gibraltar, Mijas Costa, Benalmadena, Malaga, Estepona and Puerto Banus. They have some studio time booked in Marbella and will find more work as they gig to take them up to the middle or end of September. We wish them a great summer (even though we wish we could go too) and we have reminded Sandra to keep up to date with her band profiles.

Follow their tour on facebook.