Week In Review 16/11/09 (Broken Headset & Copyright Laws)

My bloody headphones have broken again. Not my DJ headphones but my PC ones this time. Which means my microphone has broken at the same time, which means I can’t play Left 4 Dead 2 until I get a new pair. Well, I could… but I wouldn’t want to. It would be to frustrating not being able to call anything out, or hear sounds for that matter. Thankfully I got paid this morning, so I ordered myself a new pair of Sennheiser PC151s and they should arrive tomorrow with some luck. I have awful luck with headphones, I can manage to keep a pair for a few months and then they always end up breaking. Not because there poorly made, just because I am a bit to careless with them. I think this time around the problem was my chair rolling over the lead and it just caused the wire to come loose. First the microphone went, and then the headphones started going one channel at at time. Either way, good thing I have another pair coming soon. This week has been very busy at work, my hours changed again which caused me to maniacally rush into work the other day, just to find out I got there 30 minutes earlier then I should of. Other then that though, things are going quite well. I’m enjoying not being stuck up in the house all of the time. It’s just really nice to be doing something again. On a side note, I got a free drink at Starbucks the other day, I’m not sure if its because I knew the member of staff who served me or what, but either way it was awesome!

I’m going to keep this blog post very short and sweet. The reason is because I just got home, I’m really tired and I have a headache. It’s a triple negative. I wanted to share with you guys a very specific video I found the other day called the Remix Manifesto. It’s a video about Copyright laws and the media giants which control all of Hollywood and the music industry. The 9 part documentary focuses on an artist called Girltalk who does on the fly mashups with about 20 different songs in one and his legal battles. It’s really worth a watch if you have the time. As a DJ I can definitely relate to the issues bought up in the videos, especially when one of the biggest Trance labels (Armada) out today are looking at suing people for illegal use of there music. And in the eyes of the big companies, illegal use can mean anything from playing the music out at a gig, or even showing it to your friend. There all ridiculous people, with ridiculous laws. The power needs to return to the people again, fuck Warner, fuck Disney, fuck all of them. They are fighting a battle they cannot win, they may as well embrace the situation instead of criminalizing people. I don’t understand how they can justify $20,000 in damages when one person downloads an MP3. People are losing there lifes over this, and for nothing but a bunch of bloated companies. I could go on forever about how much I hate it, but you would be here reading all night if I did. I will post part 1 of the video at the bottom of the blog post, It’s worth checking out. On a side note, Volume 8 will be premièred this week to the listeners of NERadio. Be sure to tune in and show some support. Also keep on the look out for a big announcement this weekend, I can hardly wait to tell you guys. Anyway, have a nice week, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Oh and before I go, Doctor Who and Top Gear were absolutely amazing, I can’t wait until the Christmas special!

NERadio – “2009 Collection” Volume 8 Premier (18/11/09 @ 8PM GMT)

Show Date: Wednesday the 18th of November 2009

“2009 Collection” Volume 8 will be premièred on NERadio Sweden on the Sweden channel on Tuesday the 18th of November 2009 . This is a pre-recorded show and I will not be playing live however it is the first time Volume 8 will be played out for the listeners of NERadio. If you haven’t heard the “2009 Collection” Volume 8 mix yet please tune in and show your support! If you are unable to make the show and would like to listen to Volume 8 please click here – Show times and stream links are below. Don’t forget to RSVP to the Facebook events page and invite your friends to listen as well!

Show Times (Hour 1: Jimo)
England (BST): Wednesday: 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Sweden (CET): Wednesday: 9:00pm – 10:00pm
New York (EST): Wednesday: 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Alaska (AKDT): Wednesday: 11:00am – 12:00pm

Stream Links |  Facebook Events Page

Week In Review 08/11/09 (Christmas & GFX Card)

After all of this time searching for a job I am now finally employed with Marks And Spencers. The interview last week went fantastic, I passed with flying colours and they put me straight onto the training course. All I will say is that everyone I am now working with are fantastic, it’s a great laugh and a lot better then my old job at Tesco. I wont be talking about my job on my blog a lot, but I just wanted to let you guys know I have finally found one just in time for the Christmas rush. Talking of Christmas, things are really starting to look up for the release of my Dad. The plasma treatment he started doing a few weeks ago has really started to kick in, his mobility and speech has improved so much it’s unreal. We are really hoping that he is released in time for Christmas, only time will tell though, fingers crossed. Christmas is a great time of year, but I really have no idea why people have to start celebrating it so bloody early. I saw some Christmas decorations up in someone’s house in August and it made me cringe. Why would you want to celebrate it that early in advance? People would just wind up thinking you’re stupid instead of just a merry person. I can understand why shops start doing it early, because it brings in big sales from pre-orders from prepared people, but it just looks silly when individual people start putting up there decorations so early in advance. There are even people who put up decorations all year around, now those are the really insane people. Maybe I just don’t get it, who knows. But don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. To bad this Christmas wont be as good as it could be, because Megan wont be there for it but I’m sure it will be fun either way.

So last week I was having horrible problems with my computer. For some reason every time I loaded up a 3D application, like a game or something similar the monitor would go into standby mode after about five to ten minutes. After numerous attempts to trouble shoot the problem I was completely stumped. I tried changing all sorts of power save options, changed the monitor, changed the cables and I even tried exchanging the ram. So I decided that I would tackle the problem from the roots, so I took a chance and bought a brand new graphics card from ebay. Well, when I say new I mean the same graphics card as my old one but a brand new version of it. Trying to take apart a Dell case is incredibly frustrating, and I’m sure anyone else who has done it before can share that frustration. I have no idea why there’s so many clips and things which lock everything in place. It just makes it a real hassle to take things out and replace them. Fortunately telephones exist and I was able to solve the problem with the help of Cyborgmatt. The computer works perfectly now, so I’m pretty happy. Left 4 Dead 2 comes out in a few weeks, so good thing I got it fixed in time. Talking of computers, I just finished designing a website for the Molesey Refrigeration Centre. Andrew commissioned me to make a portfolio website for the store, so I did. I will show you guys a preview when it’s up.

Unfortunately last week on Wednesday I was unable to play my live guestmix on DJ Bluecores, Swedish Candyshow. The Digitally Imported radio servers were having some problems after an upgrade so everyone was unable to connect live. I was going to reschedule for this upcoming week but because of my work schedule I can’t make it. So it will be the week after this coming one hopefully, on the 18th. I will let you guys know as soon as I have some news. Earlier this week I released “2009 Collection” Volume 8. The feedback so far is really good, but I would like some more so be sure to click here and download/listen to it. Leave some feedback when you’re done listening, I would really appreciate it! I’ve got a lot of things in the pipeline. My secret project progress is really starting to move, so I hope to announce things as soon as possible. I will be recording Jimocore v4 later this week for Digitally Imported Radio, and there is also a Global Hardcore Alliance 13 in the works. The Mixed In Key competition winners are announced this week as well, I’m not expecting anything but it will be interested to see who takes the prize. Other then that, that’s all I have to talk about this week. Leave a comment and let me know how your week went. Also don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Jimo – “2009 Collection” Volume 8

After a long time in the works, “2009 Collection” Volume 8 is finished. I had a very fun time mixing this, a lot of the songs are absolute favourites to me and really mean something. The intro track is absolutely stunning, which is what my inspiration was for the whole mix. One of my favourite songs in the whole mix though would have to be “Lost Tribe – Gamemaster”. It’s the first song which really started my journey into Trance music. I bought it back in 1999 and I’ve loved trance music ever since. I hope everyone enjoys the mix as much as I enjoyed making it, don’t forget to link the mix to your friends and spread the word. If you listen please leave some feedback in the comment section below, I really appreciate it. Track list & download link are below, mix liners were recorded by Don Lafontaine.

01. Tenishia ft Tiff Lacey – Burning From The Inside (Original Intro Mix)
02. Fabio XB ft Micky Vi – Make This Your Day (Gareth Emery Dub Remix)
03. Firestorm Presents Coll & Tolland – Redemption (Cressidia Remix)
04. Carl B & Static Blue – Sunstruck (Estiva Remix)
05. Element One – While It Lasted (Original Mix)
06. Oen Bearen & TrancEye – Kinesis (Oean Bearen Summer Tear Mix)
07. Sied van Riel – Mongoosed (Original Mix)
08. Conrad S – Apologies (Original Mix)
09. Solarstone ft Essence – Lunar Rings (Heatbeat Dub Remix)
10. Lost Tribe – Gamemaster (Signum Remix)

Click here to download

Week In Review 01/11/09 (M&S & Vol8)

After a very long wait I finally got to play the Left 4 Dead 2 demo. It was delayed for about 24 hours last week, but it did eventually come out thankfully. First impressions were quite good, the game definitely plays a lot better then the first one. I have a really bad computer and I was quite surprised that the second instalment runs better then the first. I’m unsure if I like the characters as much as the first one, It’s about 50/50 I think. The demo is slightly buggy though unfortunately, the AI is really out of whack for some reason. Some good examples would be boomers getting stuck and chargers charging into nothing. Another really odd bug I found is that you can help someone up from miles away. So it doesn’t matter if you are on a balcony and your friend is on a floor, you can help them up regardless. I’m looking forward to the release of the game this month, hopefully with some bug fixes though. I would really like to try the other maps and see what the game is really like when it’s fixed. I’m still holding a neutral opinion but Valve never seems to disappoint me. Check out this video if you get a chance. It’s a video interview with Gabe Newell and he explains the basis of Left 4 Dead 1&2 and what there plans are for the future and there regrets.

I’ve been very busy with getting my act together and finding a job. To my suprise the other day I wrote up an application on the Marks & Spencers website and I got e-mailed back with a list of interview dates I could attend. I’m very pleased that I actually have an interview in a place that isn’t New Look. That interview was so bad last time words cannot describe it. I’ve been preparing for my interview and Marks & Spencers all this week, I got myself a hair cut and I did a lot of research so hopefully I pass the test. The interview/roleplay scenario thing will take place tomorrow, fingers crossed! I missed the job faire earlier in the week as well. I find it quite frustrating that the bus service in Surrey decides to run early instead of late. I was walking up the road and the bus went past me 10 minutes before it should of, and there hourly. Which means I had to sit up at the bus stop for no reason for a whole hour while the job faire came to a close. Needless to say I was pissed off beyond all belief. Not only that but the bus drivers on that service are so incredibly dangerous. They speed like you wouldn’t believe which causes the bus to rattle like crazy. I’ve even been on the bus before when it’s crashed into another car. Which just goes to show how stupid and bloody dangerous the Surrey bus service is.

Other then playing Left 4 Dead and looking for jobs, I have finally gotten around to finishing my “2009 Collection” Volume 8 mix. I’m really happy with Volume 8 because it really takes you on a journey I feel. The mix has a very little amount of vocals (Two songs to be exact) but I really don’t feel like it needs any more then that. If you would like to listen to it click here and don’t forget to leave a comment when you’re done listening. The more feedback the better! Don’t forget to link it around to all of your friends as well. Talking of mixes, another mix which has just been released is the long awaited Global Hardcore Alliance 11: The Ritual mix. If you would like to listen to it click here. Again if you listen to it be sure to leave a comment with some feedback. The reaction so far on 11 is mixed, but that’s mainly because a lot of my listeners don’t like Gabber at all. Either way check it out, and don’t forget to tune into my live show this coming Wednesday on Digitally Imported radio. And of course keep it locked on Digitally Imported Radio because three of my mixes have just been added to rotation, Shootout with PaulDefaire, Jimocore v3 and GHA12: New Blood with Quentin and Sivan. And that’s all I have to say, sorry for the short update this week. Let me know how your week went, leave a comment and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook.