Martin Solveig Remix Competition - Loads More Great Prizes to Win

Continuing on with our series of remix competitions Point Blank have teamed up with Beatportal and Martin Solveig to present this remix competition with a quite frankly ridiculous hoard of prizes to be won, including a Point Blank Online Course!!

The tune up for remix is his infectious electro-pop single ‘Hello’ featuring vocals from Dragonette. You may have seen the brilliant video for the track featuring Martin himself battling it out with fellow DJ Bob Sinclair on the centre court at the tennis French Open (complete with cheeky cameos from pro tennis players, Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils). Check it out below:

With such a catchy vocal and strong riff, there are some great creative possibilities to be explored here and Martin has encouraged any style, saying, “Do your own thing, bring your own colour and universe, break the rules. Surprise us and make us dance.”

Martin and his team will choose 3 winning remixes to be announced April 5th, 2011, and the public will select the fourth winner on Beatportal. The deadline for submissions is March 7^th so the clock is ticking… lets see if you can create a re-work that will ‘smash’ the competition (see what we did there?... ok we’ll stick to the day job!). Here goes with the prize list...

The first place winner will receive a grand prize package of:

1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Native Instruments Maschine
1 - Novation SL MKII 61 keys + Novation Launchpad
1 - Arturia Bundle V-Collection + Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist and DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce ALL ALL bundle
1 - Online Course from the Point Blank Music School
1 - $200 Beatport pre-paid card
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt
1 - 1 year subscription to Future Music Magazine

The second place runner up will receive:
1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ + Traktor Duo
1 - Novation Launchpad + Novation Dicer
1 - Arturia Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist or DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce Ohmicide / Quad Frohmage filter bank
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt

The third place runner up will receive:
1 - Digital release on Mixture
1 - Novation Launchpad
1 - Arturia Analog Laboratory
1 - FXpansion Geist or DCAM Synth Squad
1 - Ohmforce Ohmicide
1 - Big Beat T-Shirt

For full details of the completion rules and how to enter head over to the competition page on beatportal.

And for a headstart on the competition check out our online remix course.

Remix David Lynch Track to Win a Free Course

Continuing on with our series of remix competitions Point Blank have teamed up with Beatport and Sunday Best to give you the chance to collaborate with David Lynch!

Better known for his work in film, the artist who brought us Twin Peaks, Mulholland Dr., Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, and Eraserhead, has turned his attention to producing a rather unexpected 2 track EP of electronic beats.

The winning remix of 'Good Day Today' will be officially released on Sunday Best Recordings but that is by no means all! The winner will also receive:

• Their choice of two different courses from Point Blank Online School: A four week course on Electronic Dance Music in Ableton or an eight week Cubase course
• $200 Beatport gift voucher
• Native Instruments Traktor Pro software
• Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ interface
• Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol X1 controller
• Native Instruments X1 bag
• Sunday Best goodie bag
  

A pretty tasty haul we’re sure you’ll agree! For full details of the completion rules and how to enter head over to the competition page on beatportal.

Songwriting Competition Winner Announced

Late last year we announced a songwriting competition in association with SoundCloud - with some serious prizes on offer. We gave you an instrumental created by Sugababes and Amy Winehouse writer/producer Jony Rockstar and asked you to add your own vocals. The idea was to find a talented vocalist and/or songwriter who we could give a helping hand to in the music industry.

Choosing a winner was no easy task but after much deliberation, Jony has picked out his favourite and we can now reveal that the winner is the beautifully voiced Abimaro Suit who wrote and sang her entry, the song 'Taller'. Take a listen via this link.

Congratulations to you Abimaro! You will be receiving:

- A free Point Blank Songwriting course featuring Jony Rockstar
- A free subscription to a Pro Account at SoundCloud for 1 year
- A day in Point Blank Studios with Jony Rockstar
- Your track signed to Point Blank Music Publishing

So listen out for more from Abimaro in the near future… we expect big things lie ahead for this talented songstress!

Student Wins LOT49 Remix Competition

One of the best ways to raise your profile as a producer and get a track officially released is through one of the hundreds of remix competitions doing the rounds in cyberspace. Even if you don’t win, it is great practice and having a deadline to work towards can really help focus your mind to get a track fully completed.

Point Blank student Dirt Revolver had a go at the recent Lot49 competition to remix Odissi – 'Red Headed Devil Woman', and we were delighted to hear that his remix was slected as the winner. Having listened to the track this does not come as a surprise! His driving electro re-work is fantastically produced with some great build-ups and explosive drops… a peak-time bomb, sure to destroy any dancefloor that cares to get in its way! Take a listen yourself over on soundcloud (the embeddable widget code for blogger won't work at the moment!)

It will be featured on the Lot49 Anniversary Compilation and will be released in the single package along with the two runners up March 2011! Congratulations to him, we are always proud to hear about our students making waves in the music industry.

Having taken several courses both at the college and online, this is what Dirt Revolver had to say about how Point Blank has contributed to his production career so far.

"Point Blank sorted me out! I've been producing my own music for a number of years whilst working full time. After entering the Lot 49 Competition first time round in November 2009 and not getting anywhere in that, it inspired me to go back to college and brush up on my studio skills. I took the Mixing & Mastering Course, and two online courses – Electro house & Dubstep. The mixing course consolidated a lot of woolly knowledge that I already had, but brought me right up to date with current software, production techniques and the small class size was great also allowing more time per student. It was really enjoyable going into the college twice a week and mingling with the staff and other students in a very friendly environment.

The online courses are amazing and I cannot recommend them enough. You simply cannot get this level of industry relevant teaching anywhere else. I learned so much from both online courses in terms of the correct choice of sounds, MIDI programming, genre relevant production tips & inside industry knowledge and advice. I would like to take all the online courses if I had the time and money! Within the space of just over a year I have now improved my productions to the level that I was extremely grateful and humbled to be chosen in this year’s LOT49 competition. I cannot recommend Point Blank College enough to any aspiring producers out there!!"

Watch out for more releases from this talented producer in 2011. You can listen to his music and keep up with his news here:

www.soundcloud.com/dirtrevolver
www.myspace.com/dirtrevolver
www.twitter.com/dirtrevolver

Tim Sheridan Label Remix Comp Exclusive to Point Blank

Tim Sheridan and his label Very Very Wrong Indeed Recordings (VVWI) are offering Point Blank students an special opportunity to remix an upcoming release from Josh Tweek on VVWI. This competition will be completely exclusive to students at Point Blank - a fantastic opportunity to gain a release on this highly respected label as well as some other great prizes!

Tim has been a stalwart of the house and techno scene for over 20 years, regularly playing at major UK clubs such as Cream, Fabric, Back to Basics and The End as well as holding down various residencies in Ibiza. VVWI has had props from the likes of Radio Slave, Justin Martin, Spektre, Style of Eye, Luke Solomun, Sasha, Laurent Garnier, Emerson Todd and Ivan Smagghe amongst countless other big name DJs. The VVWI events are famed for their raw vibe and huge lineups whilst the label’s releases gain consistently excellent reviews.

The rules for the remix are pretty simple: Needs to make people dance!

The deadline for the competition is 12th of December and the winning remix will be chosen by Tim Sheridan himself.

The winner will get the following:

• Their remix featured on the full release.
• Hearing their track played at the next VVWI night on the 17th December at Light Box
• VIP entry on the night for them and 4 friends.
• Other VVWI Goodies.
• 
  

Before entering we recommend you get a feel for the murky weirdness of VVWI so take a listen to their back catalogue or check out Tim Sheridan’s Myspace.

As an extra bonus, there will also be a £5 concession on the night at Light Box for any student or staff of Point Blank.

If you are a student please get in touch to attain the remix parts or to get yourself on the concession list. The deadline is less than 3 weeks away so you’d better get tweaking!

Check out our Online Remixing course if you want to take your remixes to a professional level.

Baaba Maal International Remix Competition

To celebrate the release of Baaba Maal's new album 'Television', Point Blank has teamed up with Palm Pictures and Giant Step to find a new, fresh remix of his high-energy track 'International'.


The album is a collaboration with New York’s Brazilian Girls, who helped Baaba blend West African musical traditions with electronic dance music. Your challenge is to keep this spirit of experimentation and fusion alive and create an innovative remix.

The winning entry will be selected by the legend of the world music scene himself and the remix will be released on his official website.

Other prizes include:

1st Place:
• $300
• 8 week electronic music production course
• Palm Pictures CD/DVD bundle

2nd Place:
• 6 week introductory DJ course
• Palm Pictures CD/DVD bundle

3rd Place:
• An online DJ/Production class of your choice
• Baaba Maal album and DVD set

For details of where to download the stems and full terms and conditions please click on the following link:

Remix Competition

The closing date for entries is October 22nd 2009 so you'd better get mixing soon... Good luck!