Since he started as a DJ 14 years ago, Alex Sayz has relentlessly devoted himself to his music. Arranging events from a young age, he is a 2000 gig veteran and has made the dance floor crucial to his own artistic survival. Now producer and co-creator (with Niklas Bergwall) of Top DJ Records, he is using his reputation as an innovative world class DJ to create and produce cutting edge music which is causing havoc on dance floors around the world. His last release “Shame on You” (feat. Lawrence Alexander) recently reached #16 on the Billboard dance airplay chart. Record Union caught up with Alex and talked to him about his current projects.

For those who don’t know about Top DJ records, can you tell us a little about what you are up to over there?
TopDJ Records is part of TopDJ Music Sweden where we also have TopDJ publishing and TopDJ management. Me and my colleague started TopDJ Music because we wanted to control our releases. We don’t want to blame anyone else if we don’t success. Since Im first of all a DJ everything we do have to be for the dancefloor. When we sign artists or when we produce music we only have to ask us a simple question: would I play this out on the nightclubs?

Your release “Shame on Me” recently achieved #16 on the Billboard dance air charts. Was this success expected?
No I couldn’t expect any Billboard chart in my dreams. Everything took off when I visited the Winter Music Conference in Miami this year. I handed out some demo CD’s and received some calls when I got back home. Some major labels and some minor. I fell for a label called Parker Recordings. Mr. Parker is well known in the business and previously released acts like Lasgo and Ian van Dahl for a bigger label. I had a feeling that Parker Recordings would work hardest for “Shame On Me” so we chose them. Luckily it paid off.

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Mother Popcorn makes you wiggle, it is true. Their infectious upbeat 70s funk Motown influenced pop is just too much for your body to handle. It is party music, through and through.

But it´s not necessarily the kind of party music which has people jumping around banging their heads, more a lounged back, sophisticated party music – imagine a party of well dressed people drinking refined cocktails celebrating life and having a good time. Live, however, im sure its a completely different story. However, regardless of what setting one plays Mother Popcorn, alone in your room, or at a party, the effect of their music is undoubtedly uplfiting.

So what of Mother Popcorn themselves? Well, they are based in Swedish coastal city of Gothenburg, there are 6 members and they are all skiled musicians. The music is well thought out, technically precise and superbly executed - the elements of Vocals, Trumpet, Saxophone, Guitar, Bass and Drums coming together to produce a clean, seamless concoction of musical goodness.

Mother Popcorn have released a self entitled debut EP on Record Union. The 4 songs it contains are just enough to satisfy, but like their growing fan base, we are looking forward to hearing more!

Why not head over to Spotify and give them a listen? If you get really hooked, you will find their music on most online stores, such as Amazon MP3, iTunes and emusic.

The Phoenix Rose is a band on a mission.  The goal of their debut release “Sick and tired” on Record Union is not just to provide their growing fan base with some great new music, but part of a larger scale campaign to raise awareness about how the music industry can too become more environmentally aware.

To assist them on their noble mission is the pioneering label Archangel^Green, the first Record Label 100% committed to a green agenda.  When the band signed to the label they both agreed to numerous clauses aimed at making the production, performance and distribution of their music as environmentally friendly as possible. The release will also be 100% digital, which is far more eco-friendly as it requires no physical transportation or manufactured raw materials!

The official release of “Sick and Tired” (featuring Flo) on the 9/9/9 is set to cause quite a stir. Their massive media campaign has received  support from all corners, especially organisations working to promote a greener future. As for the song itself, well, it is extremely catchy and will definitely have you coming back for more. Head over to their MySpace page to give it a listen and check out their video.

For the full single, including 5 great remixes from the likes of Pete Hammond and Freshold, you will have to wait until the 9th when it will be available first on TuneTribe!

10% of all profits will go to The Big Issue.

One of the fantastic things of the new music environment is the diversity of music which is now available to those who love music. No more is this tendency proved than in the case of Dr.Sounds, who composes slow, electronic, ambient symphonies probably unlike anything you have heard before. One could describe it, strangely, as new age classical music – as there is a subtle sophistication in his music which takes careful listening to fully appreciate. Not something which you throw on at a party, but something to stimulate your mind. In fact, even without mind altering substances, it has been said to induce trancelike states.  Do not listen to while operating heavy machinery.

And what of Dr.Sounds himself? Well, the inspiration behind his music is equally intriguing. His mind values “logic and mathematics before feelings”, and he says he has always had a deep relationship with his computer. With his music he describes “experiences of flying through several worlds, changing shapes and another life context” – the experience of “coming from another planet” a common point of expression within his music.

Rather than voice and playful hooks, Dr.Sounds uses floating new age soundscapes to express his vision.  He is aware that his music contrasts with the more popular sound, and requires more interaction from listeners. However, he has found an audience for his music among new age circles and those who practice meditation, yoga or alternative healing. He hopes that with his music now available widely, he can introduce his music to a new audience – Record Union will support him in any way we can.

Dr.Sounds has released a large collection of his works via Record Union. You can listen to them here on Spotify. Or buy them from most major online music stores, such as iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Among the many gems in the Record Union catalogue there is United We Stand. Currently the band composes of two guys living in Gothenburg, who play energetic punk influenced acoustic rock.

According to the duo, the aim of United We Stand is to “collaborate energetic punk rock with the sound of acoustic guitars - to create a personal, rockish’ sound”. This is an aim they have achieve very well in their album “Mind Trap”.  The songs are captivating; with alluring upbeat overlapping chord sequences, elevated choruses and great vocal ability combining to form a sophisticated yet easily listened to sound which has you coming back for more. These guys are seriously talented.

You can find their album “Mind Trap” on most major online music stores, or you can always give them a listen on Spotify – you won’t be disappointed.

Andrew Bright creates pumping electronic dance/progressive house compositions, guaranteed to get any club in uproar. Playing the saxophone for 10 years, he is a versatile musician with several library productions for “Selected Sound” (part of EMI Publishing Germany) under his belt.  Now, he concentrates his efforts on producing independent dance tracks and commercial dance productions – and this he does very well.

Influenced by artists such as DJ Virus, DJ Orbit and MicroQ his tracks are infectious, intelligent and highly listenable - exactly what one would expect from a seasoned dance DJ. This is the kind of music you blast at the Saturday night after party to keep it going till the wee hours – at least, that´s what we do.

Check out his debut Record Union release “Rocketfiction” on Spotify and you will know what we mean.  His releases are also available on Juno Records and most other online music stores.

Dear friends, a few weeks ago we blogged about Morton Valence, an intriguing pop band based in London who have been getting amazing reviews from all over. This is just a quick note to let you know that you can now listen to their single “Chandelier” on Spotify. It was recently featured as BBC 2´s single of the week.  Hope you like!

Record Union are big fans of Morton Valence, not just because of their music, which we think is fantastic, but because they embody the independent spirit. Morton Valence can surely be considered as part of the new music generation, using the possibilities in a changing music environment to empower themselves and their art.

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Swedish rocker Nomy´s release of his album “Song or Suicide” on Spotify, and it definately wasnt hollow. Since arriving on Spotify, his album has been performing seriously well, with his hit “Cocaine” pulling the same popularity rating than the song of the same title by Eric Clapton. Record Union are really pleased for Nomy, and we are glad his album is now accessible to the many Spotify listeners who were awaiting its arrival on the service. You can check out what all the fuss is about and listen to Nomy´s album at the following Spotify link.

MIKE play melodic California punk rock, and are sometimes compared to the likes of No Fun At All, Millencolin & NOFX. They formed in 2006 and after only one year and after getting a new drummer and bass player the listeners of the Swedish rock radio station, Bandit, voted MIKE as the best unsigned band in the Stockholm area.

In the beginning of 2008, the release of their first album “Save the day”, was completed. When the album was still under production one of the songs, “Life in a Small Town” was already being played on the radio in Sweden.  MIKE also went on its first tour abroad, and quickly gained renown for their energetic live performances and quality delivery.

“Pretty much every song on “Save The Day” has infectious choruses, catchy, singalongable verses and an instrumental landscape guaranteed to give any melodic punk rock fan drooly lips from start to finish (…) With “Save The Day”, Mike has undoubtedly made it on my list of great punk rock releases in 2008“ - Rockfreeks.net

You will find “Save the Day” on online music stores around the world, or listen to it on Spotify here.

Morton Valence, hailing out of London and named after a town in England, are a pop band in the best sense of the word. Singer Robert Jesset takes the view that “The word ‘Pop’ has become sullied by boy bands, girl bands and Simon Cowell etc… but beautiful pop is magical, escapist music that gives you a larger than life feeling” and this shines through in their unique style of music.

The band were previously signed to an independent label but after being forced to use artwork they didnt like and feeling they were losing control over what they were doing, decided to go it alone in the big bad world of music. They decided to sell shares in their album directly to their fans via their myspace page and have raised over £20,000 to date. Robert states that “Fans are the lifeblood of any band, We’ve been gigging for a long time, we’ve built up a solid group of fans and we are collaborating with them”, a view we here at Record Union could not agree with more. The band has proved that through hard work and innovative use of internet services, an artist can fund their records and make a living doing what they love without sacrificing any control.

“For the first time since the inception of recorded music the pendulum of power has swung away from faceless corporations and towards the people who matter the most in the industry, the fans and artists”

The band have been receiving a lot of media attention and are using this to their advantage to book gigs and build their following further. The boxed version of their album comes with a 100 plus page story book as the album (Bob & Veronica Ride Again) is a 40 minute musical narrative about the coupling of Bob and Veronica after a chance meeting; another chance for fans to own something unique and getting away from the standard jewel case releases that labels still push in peoples faces and expect to pay unrealistic prices for. Making a unique product and offering it directly to your fans, allowing them to in essence become a part of the band is a great idea, and in todays musical climate it makes more sense than ever to distinguish your releases from others and make them interesting.

The band have now released the single ‘Chandelier‘ via Record Union, which was recently featured as BBC Radio 2’s Single of the Week. MV were also selected as music chain Fopp’s most promising newcomers of 2006 and were tipped by UK newspaper The Guardian in 2007. A lot has happened since then and now is the time for you to fall in love with their country influenced pop for yourself. Give them a listen over at their myspace. You will find their music on most major online music stores. They will be playing gigs all over Germany in October.

“After listening to this album several times I’m convinced that nothing else as moving, charming and wonderful will be released in 2009. Neither will there be another release financed by fans through selling shares of the album. 4.5/5″ - shakenstir

“It’s an album that redefines pop opera… Financed by the band’s fans, the Londoners’ debut is a sound investment.”

- Fatea Records