Jasmine Thompson - Old Friends Orion Mystic Remix

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Historically, we can notice the continuous and
notorious increase in popularity of what before
was considered to be simply a music created by
computers. What was once popular just in Europe
has now found its niche in America. In the past
few years, what was once dominated by rock,
reggae, blues, RB and soul has opened its doors
to what is now considered one of the most
popular music styles.
A few years ago, a friend of mine told me, "In
the next eight years we will present a House
music revolution. Few rock bands will emerge and
reach popularity. Other bands like Coldplay, Foo
Fighters, The Killers, Nickelback, etc will
retain and perhaps increase their popularity
because of what they accomplished before the
momentum achieved by House music." As a young
teenager, fan of rock, and knowing little about
this electronic trend, I thought that my friend
was probably trying to fool me. Today, as I look
at the many electronic music festivals all
around the globe I try to guess how he knew that
this was going to happen. Nowadays, the
contagious energy transmitted by the combined
melody of several instruments is now being
replaced by the sound produced by a computer
connected with a mixer turntable full of
different buttons. Where people once cued for
live shows like The Rolling Stones today, cue the
same venues to experience a different kind of
spectacle... a spectacle where strobes, flashes
and clouds of colored lasers are
predominant. David Guetta, one of the most
influential figures of House music and considered
by many as one of the pioneers of the genre,
spent many years of his life trying to find a way
to establish a link between Europe and America.
In his documentary "Nothing but the Beat"
released in 2011, Guetta reveals many details
about the problems he faced before achieving
major success
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throughout the last decade. His passion for music
and his dream of mainstream popularity was his
motivation to look for new ways to bridge his new
style to the masses. Besides their creativity
and their good listening skills, what else did
DJs need in order to make what they love
popular? What did they need to find out or
incorporate in order to satisfy and reach the
majority of audiences? Which audiences should be
the ones addressed? Many DJs tried to find that
bridge for over years of work. Recognized artists
such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Fatboy Slim
were one of the first to find success in American
lands, but mostly in places where the
underground electronic music was
predominant. With a more progressive, aggressive
and psychedelic style of electronic beats and
fluctuations, they portrayed a "one of a kind"
image. However, the new millennium would finally
reveal the missing piece for House's success.
And that key aspect was the combination of
different music styles with House music. In the
beginning, that idea sounded silly to the ears of
music specialists. Critics about how likely
would electronic music and hip/hop or RB work
together were often heard. Thus, only one
success could silence the critics and that's what
ended up happening. David Guetta was one of the
first, if not the first, artist that decided to
combine artists of different music backgrounds
with his own beats. Gospel artists, RB, Rap, and
hip/hop were all considered by him as a
possibility of finding a good mix. The perfect
beat and sequence and the optimal vocals could
make a song popular, and that was what he sought.
Songs like "Love is Gone" and "The World is
Mine" were major successes among different
audiences. The demand on the radio and MTV was
enormous and you could notice that was the
beginning. Music was to be reborn. The
collaboration with gospel singer Chris Willis in
2002 showed many artists that House is a music
style that can function under any conditions.
Since then, David Guetta has collaborated with
many artists ranging from rappers (Snoop Dog
Ludacris) hip hop starts (Usher, Taio Cruz
Akon) RB (Sia and Kelly Rowland) among
others. Swedish trio composed of Axwell, Steve
Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso are also
considered by many as very influential in the
process of the achievement of House music's
success. Alone, each of them released popular
hits in the years following David Guetta's first
international success. However, in 2005 the
three best friends decided to put their knowledge
together and form one of the legends of the
genre called Swedish House Mafia. Their influence
did not come only with the success from major
songs in collaboration with recognized artists,
but also came from the support provided to
emerging DJs such as Alesso and Avicii who
nowadays reached major success among all
audiences because of the guidance provided in
their early careers. 2013 was an important year
in House music. With the incorporation of many
more festivals around the globe, and songs
reaching top positions in billboards it is
clearly noticeable that what I thought was just
a dream in my friend's head is now true. DJs are
now selling out concerts in
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enormous venues such as Madison Square Garden
(NY), Le Stade de France (Paris) and Wembley
Stadium (London). Famous bands like Coldplay are
now getting more popularity because of
outrageous remixes made of their most famous
songs. As I find myself writing this article, I
put myself back in the time where I would only
listen to rock in my iPod. First David Guetta's
songs were just being released and the rhythm was
new and very interesting. Tiësto songs were
played in clubs among the majority of hip/hop
songs and people would go crazy. After 8 years,
house music is predominantly what I listen to. I
have a turntable and "djing" is one my hobbies.
I have been to many electronic music festivals,
and seen many famous artists of the
genre. Therefore, I ask myself How many people
like me had the same thought about the emerging
trend of house music? How many of them see
themselves enjoying and listening to this music
in a daily basis? There will be many different
answers to those questions. However, we can
certainly agree that in modern times, House music
is on the cutting edge of mainstream
music. Check out Jasmine Thompson Old Friends
Orion Mystic REMIX on YouTube. Great vocals and
great sounds. A real club bumping beat for you!
Check it out and give it a listen. Subscribe to
the Orion Mystic YouTube channel for more great
house music tracks and music!