Posts Tagged ‘Red Bull Big Tune’
Music The Kids Are Sick: The Studio’s Sicker
November 3, 2009 - 5:15 pm
Built within the sprawling, 100,000-square-foot industrial park that has recently become the new home to Red Bull Headquarters, the company’s own Red Bull Studios is barely two years old and already boasts not only the latest in state-of-the-art recording technology, but also the perfect amount of expertly-designed studio space.
Planning a world-class recording facility which could match the industry’s best was no easy task, so Red Bull wisely enlisted the help of two giants: Troy Germano and David Bell of Studio Design Group, the same masterminds who honed their skills at New York’s legendary The Hit Factory, once recording home to John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Michael Jackson. It’s a studio that has already earned the 2008 TEC award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in design, as well as acclaim from MIX magazine and some of the industry’s biggest critics. And with good reason: not only does this 3,500 square-foot studio boast an immense tracking room, the latest in Pro-Tools recording technology, an Exigy Monitoring system and top-of-the-line analog gear, but its designers know quality sound is invaluable—thus their custom red-and-blue SSL K-Series mixing board, the last of its prized kind. In addition to this, bands and artists have access to Red Bull Studios’ helmsman/engineering guru Eric Stenman, who has worked with everyone from Dashboard Confessional to Anthrax to Saves the Day.
Partnering with Red Bull, legendary Hip Hop pioneer Nas helped an aspiring young producer’s dreams come alive. Like something out of a Hollywood movie, Chicago native C-Sick was the last man standing at the 2008 Red Bull Big Tune Competition. The prize: the privilege of writing a beat which legendary hip-hopper Nas would rap over. With Red Bull Studios and his original song “Film”, 17 year-old C-Sick was suddenly a viable contender, one who had made a quantum leap from recording in his grandmother’s basement.
Nas wasn’t alone in his decision to work with the company. Earlier this year, Hip Hop Goddess Erykah Badu utilized Red Bull Studios to complete her latest record, New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh). A Grammy-winning soul singer with several platinum records to her name, having access to the Red Bull’s advanced equipment only improved an already amazing signature sound, and soon the singer found herself with a new recording home.
In addition to these illustrious recording artists, Motown Universal Records’ sensation Forever the Sickest Kids (FTSK) took advantage of Red Bull Studios to produce their first album, Underdog Alma Mater, in 2007. With only one released LP to their name, the Dallas sextet are already Warped Tour veterans, and have earned critical acclaim from magazines such as Alternative Press. And when their debut went on to sell 100,000 + copies, FTSK decided to repeat the magic: recently the band ventured back into Red Bull Studios to record their follow-up, The Weekend: Friday, slated for release on November 17. Fortunately those of you jonesing for a clip of the band’s latest don’t have to wait– here’s an exclusive and unreleased clip of “Take it Slow”, recorded in entirety at the studio.
Forever The Sickest Kids – Take it Slow
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With the most advanced in digital equipment, as well as a fervent embrace of the analog sounds of old, Red Bull Studios has taken a completely unique approach to the recording process in its revolutionary design in space and sound. More importantly, it’s taken the time to personalize working relationships with its artists, something lacking in the fluctuating, competitive music industry of today. It is these same qualities, overlooked so often in the contemporary music world, which continue to earn the studio accolades from both the industry’s harshest critics— and more importantly, from those artists who have chosen Red Bull Studios as their recording sanctuary.
Words by Jeff Nau
4.69 (13 votes)
Loading ...Event First Avenue hosts Red Bull Big Tune
September 1, 2009 - 10:44 am
First Avenue hosted the first Red Bull Big Tune to take place in Minneapolis. More than 400 people flocked to First Avenue to hear these Minnesotan producers battle it out. One participating producer was a repeat contender….he competed in Chicago last month! Unfortunately, he lost in the first round.
Home of Rhymesayers Records, a new generation of Minnesotans are becoming entranced by the sounds of Freeway, the featured artist of the evening. The crowd went wild when Freeway started performing and adding the “Red Bull” touch even further, Brother Ali joined him on stage and brought the house down.
An unusually mean crowd (Minnesotans are usually so nice….) they picked their favorite from the beginning and booed away the competition until only Nicademus was left standing.
Words by Jennifer Belongia
4.33 (3 votes)
Loading ...Music Nas, Makin’ it Look Easy
July 21, 2009 - 3:54 pm
Remaining relevant in hip-hop is arguably tougher to do than in any other music genre/culture, but Queensbridge-bred rhymer Nas makes it look easy. When he made his debut on Main Source’s “Live At the BBQ” in ’92, potent lines like, “When I was twelve I went to hell for snuffin’ Jesus,” quickly made Nas an MC you purposely sought out. Like many hip-hoppers in ’94, I remember listening to his debut, Illmatic, on repeat that summer in awe. On top of the first-class productions from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Large Professor heard on this classic, Nas’ vivid street narratives and raw metaphors unfolded like moving, gritty cinema that you just refuse to stop watching. 
Nine albums later and the New Yorker is still one of the most talked about MCs in the game because he takes hip-hop where other rappers are scared to. Nas has never been one to shy away from touchy subjects and perhaps his unyielding approach to making music is partially why people to still check for him. But gaining attention by naming his recent albums Hip Hop Is Dead and N*gger (later instead left untitled) aren’t flashy gimmicks—they’re part of his creative vision that just happen to spark dialogue. “People ask me about controversial titles and stuff like that and if it just happens to be controversial because it just is, then so be it,” he tells me. “But there is no plan to make controversy. It’s just however it comes.” Keeping his career true to his free-flowing sonic path, it doesn’t surprise me when Nas says that he can’t remember how and why his upcoming collaboration with Damien Marley (Distant Relatives) was born. The one thing he knows is that the album with the Jamaican star was meant to be. And in the case of working with Red Bull Big Tune champion C-Sick, who is only 18 like he was as a rookie, it’s also hard to deny the fateful factor of this connection. To discover more about Nas’ current work, check out www.iamnas.com Words by Max Herman, photo by Robert Downs/Red Bull Photofiles
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Loading ...Music C-Sick and Nas
July 21, 2009 - 3:54 pm
It has to be surreal going from making beats in your grandma’s basement one year to working with hip-hop mainstay Nas the next. But C-Sick, the winner of the Red Bull Big Tune 2008 beat battle, doesn’t come off as nervous about being a part of this landmark collaboration. Instead, I see this 18-year-old newcomer as quietly confident and eager, not wanting to draw attention to his own anticipation.
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Loading ...Featured Music On the Verge of being C-Sick
July 21, 2009 - 3:54 pm
Humbleness is underrated in hip-hop. Despite what some say, ego does not automatically equal talent and 18-year-old rookie producer C-Sick is proof that even the most quiet hip-hopper can capture a crowd.
Watching the then 17-year-old beatsmith face off with the competition at the 2008 Red Bull Big Tune Chicago battle, C-Sick was clearly not only one of the youngest in the competition, but he was also one of the most reserved. Still, as the skinny kid from Chicago’s South Side modestly shuffled his arms along to his own bouncy beats, the audience responded loudly and I knew he was on the verge of doing big things.
When I got word that C-Sick won the Red Bull Big Tune Finals at the Highline Ballroom In New York, it was good to know that East Coast heads embraced the emerging Midwest producer. Earlier this year I caught up with him via e-mail to talk about his victory and he told me, “Since I was the representative of Chicago as well as the runner-up Rob Bates, I had to put my best into it and show the public that Chicago has a lot of talent.”
Since holding it down for Chicago last Fall at the finals, C-Sick didn’t try to jump right into the industry and I commend him for that. Still finishing up his senior year of high school, he has no problem keeping things low-key while continuing to collect samples and knock out beats on his Toshiba laptop. And when he has time, he keeps his ear to the rap game. “Not a lot of people heard about me, but I did still keep in contact with many record labels,” he says.
Coming up to April, with school coming to a close, and young C-Sick finds himself in L.A. working with Nas as part of his Red Bull Big Tune prize. After two years of quietly building his skills, I have a feeling this is just the beginning for the burgeoning beat maker.
You can catch up with C-Sick at www.myspace.com/csickmusik
Words by Max Herman, photo by Robert Downs/Red Bull Photofiles
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Loading ...Event There Can Beat Only One
July 7, 2009 - 5:17 pm
On this energized summer night 12 men enter and only 1 man would emerge as Red Bull Big Tune Denver’s producer finalist, as the nation’s premier music producer battle made its second stop along its third national tour. Over 700 crazed onlookers packed Beta nightclub to listen and shake a stanky leg as Denver native “Boon Doc” beat up the competition to claim his seed for the National Red Bull Big Tune Championship in Atlanta in October.
Veteran producer Vitamin D and Jake One got the spinning started as Exile and Black Milk, entertained the crowd between battles. Jonathan Moore, one of the co-founders w/Vitamin D, emceed and helped contain the heard of cats. As the couple of intense hours of competition progressed, I quickly learned to appreciate how sick a beat competition between some of the best producer talent can truly sound.
The next stop on the Red Bull Big Tune tour is Chicago, where twelve more eager participants will take the stage on July 13th to crown the “Windy City” beatsmith, who just might have the next big tune. Other regional battles will be hosted in Houston, Seattle, Long Beach, Detroit and Minneapolis. The top two producers from each city will square-off in October 2009 at the Red Bull Big Tune National Championship in New York City. The winner of the National Championship wins the opportunity to collaborate with a recording artist of his/her choice in the prestigious Red Bull Recording Studios in Santa Monica, CA. Last year’s Red Bull Big Tune National Champion had the opportunity record with hip-hop star, Nas.
4.50 (2 votes)
Loading ...Event Where the Producer at?
July 7, 2009 - 4:49 pm
I arrived in Denver truthfully unaware of what exactly my assignment was. All I knew I was to shoot a beat-producer competition upon my arrival I was directed to Red Bull Big Tune co-founders Jonathan Moore & Vitamin D and was able to get the skinny on what was about to get down: (note: this was recorded as a video interview. But after further review, I suck at shooting video and will spare you the motion sickness.)
3..2..1
JM- You gotta prompt me man…
I guess it would help to ask a question. So, gentlemen, could you please introduce yourselves for our readers?
JM- This is J Moore out of Seattle, Washington. You already know the bidness.
VD (hehe) - This is your boy Vitamin D, host, and co-curator. Red Bull “Big Tune”.
What exactly am I in for this evening?
JM- Red Bull “Big Tune” is a head to head music producer competition. It consists of 12 local producers in each of 8 markets battling it out to see who has the best beats as chosen by the crowd. Two qualifiers from each market will make it to the finals in Atlanta. It’s something that Vitamin D and I created in 2004 in Seattle and since partnering with Red Bull, we have been able to take it from a local level to an international level.
Vitamin D, can you break it down what it is that a producer does?
VD- Basically, a producer is a mastermind behind the texture of a song. The instrument combo, the feelin, it’s the part of the brain behind the song.
Then could you give me your thoughts on the “brain” behind Lionel Ritchie’s
“Dancing on the Ceiling”?
(Both JM and VD look like deer in the headlights for approx. 42 seconds)
VD- Yo, it could’ve had many textures. Maybe gone with an old school bluesy feel with it, some acoustical guitars, and even an ol’ jinky drum set. But the producer obviously decided against that. He layed a DMX, a Lind drum, and a couple synthisers for the softest pads and chords you ever heard in your life. He let Lionel do his thing. Did Lionel write that?
JM- I’m sure Lionel wrote it, but I don’t know if he produced it. He’s a phenomenal songwriter.
I’ll check the 8 track when I get to the house.
What’s the future of production hold now that everything is so technological? Will just anyone be able to lay down sick beats anytime soon?
JM- You have to have a commitment and dedication first and foremost to the music and to the craft. Just because it’s technologically available and accessible, it doesn’t make it easier to be a producer. It’s not just enough to make the beat; it’s having an understanding of the science and of the history of the music too.
VD- Technology has it’s limitations that it places on you. It’s what allows you to be a stand out producer because you are boxed in by those limitations. The talent to work around those limitations is what sets you apart for the rest. That’s what’s gonna keep you in the game.
JM- The future is having a comprehensive understanding of the past.
VD-Exactly what I was going to say man.
I learned later in the evening that a key element to the Red Bull Big Tune program is educating the next generation of music producers. Prior to each battle J. Moore, Vitamin D, and various other professional producers hold a workshop on their experience in the industry as well as provide some hands on tutorials on making beats.
I must say that I was blown away at the level of young talent on stage that night and definitely recommend you make it out when the tour stops through your neck of the woods.
To learn more about the program or hear beats from Red Bull Big Tune producers, visit www.redbullbigtune.com.
5.00 (1 votes)
Loading ...Event Red Bull Big Tune: The Final Battle in NYC
May 21, 2009 - 10:19 am
BET and Red Bull have teamed up to give viewers front row and backstage access to the nations premiere music producer battle Red Bull Big Tune. During the 2008 U.S. championship clash, 16 producers from 8 cities battled head-to-head in front of a live audience in New York City to win respect, votes and ultimately to claim the title of Red Bull Big Tune Champion.
In this head-to-head competition, there will only be ONE producer left standing – the one with the big tune. You wont want to miss how it all unfolds. Special appearances by Alchemist, Digable Planets, DJ Premiere, Sha Money XL and Young Buck.
Tune in for the Finals, May 21st at 7:30 P.M. ET/PT on BET
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