Skint Records and English DJ and record producer Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, are offering his ‘Weapon Of Choice’ track to be remixed by Beatport’s aspiring producers. ‘Weapon Of Choice’ saw success on both UK and US charts and its accompanying music video, directed by Spike Jonze and featuring Christopher Walken, received cult-like praise.

Now is your chance to put your spin on the infamous track. The winning remix will be released on Fatboy Slim’s Skint Records as well as receive free music downloads from Beatport and Open Lab’s professional studio tool ‘DBeat’, a grand prize package worth over $4000.

The opportunity

Starting March 16th, 2010, Beatport users are able to download the remix parts of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Weapon Of Choice’, and then remix it, before uploading it to Beatportal for the voting round.

The prizes

The winners will be divided into 2 categories; 10 user voted (based on the highest number of spins) and 10 editor’s favorites (picked by Beatport’s internal music staff). From these 20 nominees, Skint Records will choose their favorite winning remix, to be released on their label. The winner will also receive a $200 Beatport gift card and Open Lab’s professional studio tool ‘DBeat’.

More details: www.beatportal.com

Special thanks to Rory

Fatboy Slim may look as if he’s got a bad attack of the blues – but it’s all for a good cause.

The DJ is among a host of celebrities promoting Oxfam’s climate change campaign at this year’s Glastonbury festival. They include VV Brown, Jarvis Cocker and Little Boots. The charity is asking fans to paint themselves blue to raise Government awareness.
Fatboy said: "It’s a fun way to highlight a serious issue."

source: mirror.co.uk & news.sky.com

Fatboy Slim can cost up to £125,000 for a private party. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Kylie Minogue will apparently pocket a seven-figure sum for a one-off performance at a private party in Dubai. It is claimed she could earn as much as $4m (£2.2m) for the gig in November, which will mark the opening of a luxury hotel.

That’s all well and good, but most of us probably couldn’t even afford to hire Kylie’s left hand to tap out the rhythm to the Locomotion. What if you would like some quality entertainment at your event but for a smaller fee? Not much good trying the Rolling Stones – they played a Texan billionaire’s 60th birthday party at a cost of £3.5m. Still, you can get Sir Elton John, Rod Stewart or Robbie Williams – when he’s not off searching for UFOs – for £1m each.

Sir Paul McCartney is said to be available for half that fee, while Sting has relatively competitive rates, having played at a Bill Gates bash in New York for £250,000.

If that still seems a little steep for your sister’s 30th birthday party, how about some music recorded by the same big names played by your favourite DJ? It’s party time, and the occasion needs to be celebrated with food, friends and fine wine.

Once the nibbles are gone and there are 10 empty green bottles standing on the wall, guests will feel compelled to start convulsing rhythmically to an array of sounds provided by your hired entertainment.

A professional "superstar DJ" will, of course, set you back a small fortune. Fatboy Slim – who is playing on Brighton’s seafront tonight – could cost anything in the region of £25,000 to £125,000 for a private party. But talent doesn’t have to be an extortionate drain on the bank account.

If you manage to get your hands on a student who fancies themselves as the next big thing and who needs a little extra cash, then you may be able to book your DJ for next to nothing, plus a few drinks and a cab home.

House music DJ Seb Fontaine started out earning £30 a night spinning tunes at a club on the Kings Road in Chelsea.

Musical taste should probably dictate the direction you begin your research. If your teenage son is heavily into hip-hop, the best-known DJ for that style of music in the UK is Tim Westwood, the host of Radio One’s flagship rap show. For a four-hour set Westwood will charge around £3,500. However, if you start to move down the scale of celebrity to a lesser-known host on BBC 1Xtra such as the Mobo-nominated DJ Semtex or the tag team of Ace & Vis, you could probably pick up two hours of musical talent and expertise for about £500 in addition to a booking fee.

If you are looking for something cheaper but require a level of professionalism above the student option, there are thousands of part-time disc jockeys in clubs and bars up and down the country who would be grateful to get another gig, and may well be happy to provide music all night for less than £200. If you see someone you like while out enjoying a tipple, ask for their contact details and a quote.

You are then lumbered with the task of finding a suitable venue with the right equipment as the higher-priced DJs won’t provide anything except the music. Most bars and clubs have the equipment installed already, though you are advised to check exactly what gear the DJ requires, and if the venue does not supply this you will be looking at further hire costs.

Some party organisers will be after something a little more nostalgic – maybe a selection of golden oldies for that 40th wedding anniversary in a pub’s function suite or the church hall. The Elite Disco Service in south London quote a fee of £220 for five hours of music, equipment and a light show. Many mobile discos will allow you to provide your own playlist, and may even be able to source that rare track your parents had their first boogie to.

Or you could ignore all the above and pick up a copy of the latest Now That’s What I Call Music compilation, or hook up your MP3 player to a decent sound system, and you have got a party at a fraction of the price where the musical choices are yours alone.

source: guardian.co.uk

IT’S the HIT parade…FATBOY SLIM DJ NORMAN COOK inspects a car which smashed into a campervan with his wife ZOE BALL inside. Soapstar Superstar host Zoe, 37, was left ‘shaken’ but unhurt after a woman pensioner shunted the vehicle in a car park. A cameraman working with Zoe suffered cuts and bruises. Zoe had been shooting a promotional video for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution near her home in Hove, East Sussex. She later carried on filming in the sea with a lifeguard. Norman, 44, said: ‘She’s absolutely fine ‘ I think she was a bit shaken up. It could have been carnage but nobody was badly hurt.’

source: thesun.co.uk

Non updated since january 2005, www.normancook.net, the first official FBS fan website, is died in total indifference. This disappearance show us that the FBS scene is entering in his last chapiter.

Special thanks to BigBadBaz for all (and his support).

FND

Stanotte, il momento carino del venerdì va a ballare. Perciò, si mette in tiro, si pettina bene, controlla l’alito, ferma un passante e gli dice: “sai dov’è l’isola di Wight?”. Il passante dice “sì”, e spiega il tragitto. Il momento carino del venerdì annota, ringrazia, sale in macchina e parte.

Nel frattempo, Paul guarda un tendone sull’isola di Wight.

“Chi è Paul?”

Paul è il classico adolescente inglese timido che ama molto la musica house. Paul, dovendo scegliere fra una birra con una ragazza e un vinile su eBay, compra il vinile su eBay. Paul è molto solo.

“Perché Paul è lì?”

Perché stanotte, sotto il tendone dell’isola di Wight, mette i dischi il DJ preferito di Paul. Un DJ famoso. Un DJ superstar. Un DJ che si esibisce in tutto il mondo. Un DJ che ha scritto canzoni. Alcune, in passato, molto belle. Altre, di recente, un po’ meno. Ma Paul è un fan: gli piacciono tutte e nega il declino.

“Qual è il sogno di Paul?”

Mostrare al DJ il suo tatuaggio. Purtroppo, Paul è insicuro. “Che gli può fregare a lui”, pensa Paul, “del mio stupido tatuaggio?”. Scoraggiato, Paul esita a entrare.

Dentro, il DJ inizia fra i boati del pubblico. Il DJ ce la mette tutta. Incita il pubblico a gesti. Lancia messaggi di incoraggiamento. Suona una sirena da stadio. Estrae persino un basso! Ma, pensa il DJ, “stasera, non so, manca qualcosa.” Eh sì. Il DJ si batte la mano sulla fronte. “A proposito”, dice, “dov’è il momento carino del venerdì?”.

La notte passa. All’alba, il momento carino del venerdì arriva. Che ritardo! Purtroppo, fidandosi dei passanti, è stato via via indirizzato: (1) alla discoteca “Isola di Wight” di Vimodrone, (2) al pub “Wight Isle” di Cuneo, (3) al centro sociale “Isola” di Merano, (4) per ragioni poco chiare, alla balera “Liscio e piadina” di Cesenatico.

Sull’isola di Wight, la gente ormai è sfollata. C’è solo Paul, piantato come un palo di fronte al tendone. “Il classico adolescente inglese timido che ama molto la musica house”, pensa il momento carino del venerdì, che si avvicina e gli dice “Che fai?”. “Aspetto il DJ”, dice Paul, “forse adesso esce”. E, in effetti, il DJ esce, vede il momento carino del venerdì, alza le braccia, corre ad abbracciarlo: “dov’eri?”, gli dice. “Eh! Poi ti spiego”, dice il momento carino del venerdì. “Guarda”, aggiunge, “qui c’è un tuo fan”.

“La cultura dello sballo!”, dicono alcuni, “Consumatori abituali di droghe, i DJ concludono la notte in condizioni pietose. Straniti, ridono e cadono per terra. Attenti al loro sorriso amichevole! Nasconde un sorriso di morte!”

“Il disagio giovanile!”, dicono altri, “A causa delle madri che lavorano, agli adolescenti di oggi manca l’affetto costante dei genitori. A quell’età , si sa, i ragazzi vorrebbero vederli ogni momento. Per compensare, si buttano ai piedi dei divi dello spettacolo. O viceversa!”

Ma no! Che dite! E’ il momento carino del venerdì! Il DJ, un fanatico degli smiley, ha lo stesso tatuaggio di Paul! Questa volta il momento carino del venerdì ci ha messo un po’ ad arrivare. Ma, vedete, vale sempre la pena di aspettarlo! Il DJ è ancora lì che fa le foto con Paul.

Source: The Filter’s Blog