Not the band, THE ALBUM!

Then again, it was the band.

The cognoscenti tell you it’s all about the first, with “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and those songs other people covered, like “Heaven Is In Your Mind” and “Coloured Rain.” But I’ve always maintained the follow-up was the definitive statement. Then again, “John Barleycorn” was quite a comeback.

Yes, the band broke up and then got back together, when musicians followed their muse, back before recording was free and you could do your side project and play to the disinterested at will.

And despite being seen as Steve Winwood’s band, “Traffic”‘s breakout star is Dave Mason, who promptly went on to record one of the greatest solo debuts of all time and has spent the rest of his life trying to follow it up.

“Alone Together” is brilliant. But we first realized how great Dave Mason was with Traffic’s opening cut, “You Can All Join In.”

Listen on headphones, be ready to be jetted back to when stereo effects were all the rage. The lead vocal is entirely in the right channel. Throughout the song. And on headphones you can hear all the asides, the extras, the joy of singing, of playing music. Yup, now it’s about perfection, and so much has been lost. “You Can All Join In” is a quintessential album opener, it hooks you. If I get another e-mail from somebody telling me to spend more time with an album, to play it ten times through, I’m gonna tear whatever hair I have left from the top of my head. No, that’s not the audience’s job. It’s your job to make music so enticing people want to, NEED TO, hear it ad infinitum before it even finishes. “You Can All Join In” fits the bill.

The other Dave Mason gem is…the original version of “Feelin’ Alright.”

Imagine “Feelin’ Alright” not being famous, just an album cut, that you discovered and loved, way before Joe Cocker shot it into the stratosphere and “The Wonder Years” and radio play made it an indelible classic rock/baby boomer hit. Oh, we knew it was magic back then, we didn’t need to have it recut. It’s the way Dave sings… World weary, it’s the opposite of the “American Idol” ethos. Instead of overselling it, batting you over the head with it, it’s like you’ve entered Mason’s lair and he’s telling you the story…

And, of course, you’ve got Chris Wood’s sax… And never underestimate Steve Winwood’s piano accents… It’s what you don’t play that makes what you do play so memorable, so infectious.

The original is so relaxed, so personal you feel like you know the players even if you’ve never met them.

And let’s go for the Mason trifecta, with “Cryin’ To Be Heard,” my favorite cut on the album for so long. It’s the dynamics. Or maybe my whole damn life I’ve been crying to be heard.

It’s the way Mason sings… Once upon a time the musicians made the records for themselves, which made the results so human we all needed to hear them.

Wood and Winwood shine again. Listen to that harpsichord!

And let’s now switch the focus to the best song on the album, Winwood’s “40,000 Headmen.”

You’ve got to see it live. It’s the way the whole band hesitates, just before he looks behind and sees the 40,000 headmen. Whew!

And as great as Mason’s vocals are, Winwood positively blows him away here. It’s like a journeyman infielder being eclipsed by a superstar.

But wait, there’s more!

If you want to know what ’68 was truly like, listen to “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring.” Back then, music was primary, it existed outside mainstream culture, it was just for us, laying back on our new beanbag chairs, amidst the smoke and the drink, lazing on a sunny afternoon. “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring” sounds more like San Francisco than the bands who lived there!

And, of course, there’s “No Time To Live.” The intro sounds like it was cut in Morocco. And Winwood’s vocal is so heartfelt, so real, you’re stunned into submission…that’s the power of music.

And yes, Capaldi, the drummer, the cowriter, sings “Vagabond Virgin.” And “Means To An End” finishes the album with the same upbeat feel as the opener, “You Can All Join In.” But the second song on the record is the indelible PEARLY QUEEN!

I bought a sequined suit from a pearly queen
And she could drink more wine than I’d ever seen
She had some gypsy blood flowing through her feet
And when the time was right she said that I would meet
My destiny

What is my destiny?

I wasn’t sure back then, but it was albums like “Traffic” that steered me in my ultimate direction. You just wanted to get inside them. You had to go to the gig to see the band. You had to go every tour to hear the album cuts, back when there were no singles and every track was worth hearing.

Rhinofy-Traffic

Previous Rhinofy playlists

1. The research report is now free. Although it’s not. As in the website has not been updated to reflect this. The change should be imminent, I recommend you go to:

http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com

and download it when it is…free. You’ll learn a lot.

2. Went clubbing last night. Did I really say that? I mean I went to clubs. And that’s the word that popped out of my mouth/keyboard, but I would never sit at home and say…I’M GOING OUT CLUBBING! Because I’m just not that kind of person. But the people in Ibiza are…

Like the women in the hotel elevator…

I’m staying at the Gran Hotel

Ibiza Gran Hotel

The rooms all have bathtubs…in the rooms. I think I missed the memo as to why I’d want this. And decks…overlooking the pool, where all the action is. And yes, the women are topless. But even more interesting is their bodies are not perfect. Not that they seem inhibited by this. It’s like TMZ and Radar Online never got to Ibiza, you can let your freak flag fly.

As for the women in the elevator… They had skintight pants made of material that looked like leather, with glitter, and heels very high, but they were not twenty or even thirty, they were way past forty. People this age in America stay home. But here you go out.

And when you do…

What stunned me at Pacha was the bad bodies and unattractive people. Whoa! Save the hate mail. I’m just saying I live in Los Angeles, where how you look is more important than where you went to college, if you even did. It’s an outdoor/workout culture, where if you weren’t born beautiful, you’re doing everything in your power to appear so. Sure, some people get plastic surgery, but you’d be stunned what diet and exercise and makeup and a stylist can do.

But the women at Pacha didn’t get the message. Everybody looked positively…normal. Lumpy bodies. Far from dazzling clothing.

As for the men…they were even worse. Chunky in t-shirts. Really. I’m climbing the stairs to the bathroom and I’m asking myself…are they planning to get laid?

I just don’t know… The culture that is. Is it just dancing and drugging, or at the end of the night do these less than perfect specimens exchange bodily fluids? Maybe it doesn’t matter how you look, just that you’re there…I’m gonna have to do more research.

As for the club…it wasn’t dead, but it wasn’t jumping. But it was early. About 1:15. Yes, the most desirable slot is around 4 A.M. Hell, there are even outdoor venues where the sun rising over the dance floor is part of the appeal.

Next we went to Downtown Cipriani to hear Rob da Bank and Fatboy Slim.

So I’m standing there, sipping a limon, and what’s coming out of the speaker is…is that Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin'”?

Yup!

Rob is a Radio 1 deejay. A specialist. Early morning transition. From sleep to awakening. Turns out the station is full of these people, who do once a week shows. It’s as if Top Forty was programmed like a public radio station. And what Rob played constantly surprised me.

And then Norman got behind the decks.

Rob used CDs. Burned ones. That he inserted into Pioneer decks that could be manipulated like vinyl.

Fatboy Slim used his laptop.

And Norman/Fatboy, whose real name is Quentin, was more into it than those on the floor, clapping his hands, jitterbugging in his bare feet…yup, he always deejays in his bare feet. And this was his second gig of the night! Deejaying, when done right, is FUN!

What a concept.

As for the clientele at Downtown Cipriani…it was much more upscale. But I was warned by an agent that those desirable women were high class hookers. Study them long enough and you can pick them out.

So I stayed until about three, got to bed a bit after four and woke up around noon, that’s the Ibiza lifestyle.

3. Just heard Ben Turner interview Sven Vath.

Either you know who he is or you don’t. That’s the essence of dance culture, either you’re clued in or left out. But the great thing is if you get the bug, you can go down the rabbit hole online, you can educate yourself. It’s just like the sixties and seventies, except the acts are different and so is the music…bottom line, you want to know everything.

And standing on the diving board of EDM, a term everybody here loathes, you’re wondering whether to dive into the pool. Because you just can’t dip your toe, you’ve got to go head first, you’ve got to learn. But being in Ibiza motivates you. Because you hear such intriguing music. Nile Rodgers did an anthem for the IMS, and it was good, the guitar part at the end was riveting, but the remix by Eats Everything was killer. You wanted to hear it again. And that’s the essence of all great music.

And Vath is pushing fifty. He slept in a chair the first summer he was here. He eventually got a Monday night slot. And now he’s a deejaying, curating superstar. It’s a lifestyle. You can give up the trappings and move to Ibiza, but you can’t have one foot in the real world and one here, it just doesn’t work.

And Vath is from Frankfurt, English is not his first language, but listen long enough and insight emerges that most Americans never evidence.

He was asked about VIP.

Yes, it’s serious business here. Up to 40,000 euros a night.

Sven said he played for the dance floor. Yes, the essence is always the hoi polloi. They buy all the products and make all the movements. If you’re not playing to everyman, you’re lost. That’s what the techies have right and the “artists” have wrong. Techies want to make gear/applications used by everybody, Rush Limbaugh loves Apple as much as the Progressives. Whereas the “artists” are just looking to sell out to the Fortune 500. When all the money comes from looking in the other direction, to the people.

And Sven was asked about this summer season in Ibiza.

And I was stunned he was honest.

Prices were too high. Southern Europe, Spain and Italy, Ibiza’s backbone, are going through an economic crisis, who can afford to come to these events at the clubs?

Funny how it takes a deejay to speak the truth.

Just because some rich pricks can overpay to attend so they can tell their buds they were there, never forget, once again, it’s the hoi polloi who pay your bills, who keep you going. I don’t care if the Rolling Stones average $300+ a ticket, that’s just too damn high to go to a rock show. Go paperless, leave some money on the table. Sure, you may be thwarting the scalpers, but you’re also thwarting your hard core fans, who live for this music. Yup, the music is everything to the poor, it’s an accoutrement to the rich.

We’re up all night ’til the sun
We’re up all night to get some
We’re up all night for good fun
We’re up all night to get lucky

Number one in 65 countries!

And what’s the most distinctive element of “Get Lucky”?

NILE RODGERS’S GUITAR PART!

So they put the Daft Punk track up on the PA, Nile’s got to hear it, he hasn’t played it for a year, he doesn’t know the key, he doesn’t know the lick.

And he starts off all wrong. Finally figures out it’s in B minor. And he’s looking down at his Stratoscaster, up in the air for inspiration, he’s making mistakes, he’s not only trying to find the notes, but the groove.

And then, you can feel it, he’s locking on. He’s settled in just when you figure he’ll be unable to. And his right hand is flicking, his head is nodding, his body is writhing, he’s playing along to himself.

And then it gets better, he STANDS!

I’m thousands of miles from home. It’s way too early for Ibiza, where most people don’t arise until noon and dinner is close to midnight. I’m in a conference room. The lights are bright. And suddenly I’m having a peak experience. The link between sitting at home in Santa Monica listening on my headphones to being in the presence of the creator.

We’re up all night to get lucky
We’re up all night to get lucky

That we were!

Nile figured he’d never connect with Daft Punk. When they were in Paris he was in St. Tropez. And vice versa. But finally they rang him in the Big Apple, his hometown, and they came to his apartment and…

They talked concepts.

That’s what Nile wants to do, hear you describe the drawing in your head. And then he adds paint to complete the picture. He’s all about building from the bottom up. Writing then rewriting. What comes out first sucks, but when he’s done, it’s magic!

We saw this exact process in front of our very eyes!

First and foremost, Nile Rodgers can talk.

This is unusual. Too often the musicians are distant, laconic, two-dimensional people who can barely complete a sentence. They speak through their music and that’s it.

But not Nile. Maybe because he’s from New York, the land of conversation.

And the land of the hang. That’s how Nile’s got so many of his gigs, by hanging. He was in a club imbibing while David Bowie drank orange juice and the end result was…”Let’s Dance.”

Wanna work with Nile?

Hang with him.

And I’m sure he’s a good time. Because he’s smart, he’s got insight. You can see him working it, but you don’t mind, because he’s so entertaining. If you think becoming successful is purely about playing, you haven’t made it. The social aspect is at least fifty percent.

And you need help. Collaboration. Nile believes in it. Pushing each other to greatness.

After Daft Punk got “Get Lucky” they’d have everybody redo their parts, individually. And then they’d send the result to the next person in the chain. Nathan East heard Nile’s new work and then he had to recut his bass part, he had to raise his game to complement Nile and the other players.

Complement. That’s Nile’s style. He wants to add the accents.

Speaking of which, he said he doesn’t argue about song splits, because often the tiniest little thing pushes the song over the top, like “ahh…Freak Out!”

What I loved about Nile was he was not humble.

He said Chic was so damn rich they didn’t even file a purchase order for their albums, they just delivered them and got a check. Hell, that’s how they found out they were dropped, when they delivered their new album and the label wouldn’t pay for it!

And Nile doesn’t work with you unless he can add something.

And he plays guitar on every album he does.

And he jumps from project to project…

Not that he doesn’t live online. He’s easily reachable!

The old myth is I’m better than you, I’m different from you, I want nothing to do with you!

Not that Nile has much time.

And the insights!

How could Madonna use “bourgeoisie” in a song?

He winced, then he found himself singing along in the car.

He’s driven by jealousy. He wishes he did what you did. So he takes it and twists it and improves it and makes it his own.

He rarely thought his records were hits, he depended upon the label and the deejays to make them so.

And the stories!

Miles Davis imploring Nile to write him a “Good Times.”

The inability to create a hit for Peter Gabriel, who blamed himself for delivering substandard songs.

And his best gig ever… Playing the stadium in San Diego where cheers were so loud the police insisted they take a tour around the warning track in a golf car to allay a riot. The band had already gone back to L.A., they couldn’t play, and Marvin Gaye was already set up. Furthermore, when the cops knocked on the dressing room door they thought it was a bust. For they were hoovering up lines of coke!

These are the things that musicians remember.

And Nile never goes to clubs anymore. He’s sober, and he can’t take hearing “I love you man!” over and over again as the bass thumps.

But he loves dance music.

And pop.

That’s his goal, to create hits. Indelible productions that play worldwide. Obscurity is no fun.

And he wouldn’t shut up, he wore us out. If you’re not passionate about what you do, if you’re not more into it than we are, if you don’t live for it…you’re never gonna make it.

Nile Rodgers figuring out his part on “Get Lucky”

Nile in “Get Lucky” full swing

That’s where I am. For the IMS (International Music Summit), the kingpins of dance music, EDM or as Shelly Finkel informed us, ECM, “Electronic Music Culture,” which is what they call it at SFX.

Live Nation is going deep. They just bought half of Insomniac. They don’t want to be left out. Is EDM the future?

Interesting question.

The most fascinating panel so far was at the very beginning, wherein Kevin Watson presented the statistics. He said they were going to be posted on the IMS website, but what I didn’t know is they’re gonna charge for them, which is a big mistake, isn’t that how the labels got in trouble? Then again, those who need to read ’em can afford ’em and probably won’t do so anyway.

Information, it’s the essence of the modern world. But not the music business. The music business is built on B.S. Smoke and mirrors. Otherwise known as lies. That gig that sold out, it didn’t. That album that sold millions, it didn’t. And if a statistic is visible, like Twitter followers, they employ companies to muck them up, drive them up, so they ultimately become meaningless. Tell the label how many Facebook likes you’ve got, they don’t care. Online statistics are a way for nobodies at home to feel glorious. It’s a way for those not good enough at sports to get a trophy. But if you think amassing followers online is the key to long term success, you’ve never heard of Tila Tequila.

So what did I learn from the report?

1. 72 million people watched the Tomorrowland after movie

Tomorrowland 2012 | official aftermovie

You know, the ad that plays AFTER the show is over. Huh? Everybody thinks a show is an evanescent thing, one and done. But that’s not true at all. You’re in the longevity business, the repeatability business, the excitement business. You want people to feel they’ve missed out, that they need to go next time. Every act could do this, create a compilation of what they did on tour. But they don’t, because they can’t see the immediate benefit. That’s shortsighted. These videos are glossy and titillating and better than most stuff Hollywood releases. It’s the “Real World” on steroids. You want to go hang out, rub bodies… Yes, live music is about the experience, and you’ve got to make people want to go.

2. “The largest EDM clubs in Vegas make over $600m pa, with two huge additions arriving in 2013.”

XS does over $80 mil

Marquee, almost as much

TAO, a bit over 60

Heard of these places? Probably not. And that’s just the point. As aboveground as EDM has become, it’s still underground. Because it doesn’t appeal to the mainstream media. The talent isn’t made up of photogenic paraders, there’s no drama and the reporters hate the music. Which is why EDM is burgeoning. It’s owned by the young. It’s a perfect medium for today, not dependent upon recordings and based on the unstealable live experience.

As for Vegas… Is it the new Ibiza?

Well, Ibiza has got Ushuaia.

Huh?

Check it out:

Ushuaïa Beach Hotel

This is where you want to go. Take a look at the pics. If you don’t feel the bodies, if you can’t see the sex, you’re deaf, dumb and blind. And it’s far from free, there’s plenty of money to be made, selling not only music but a full experience, like hotel rooms.

Then again, Pacha blinked. In case you missed it, read the “New York Times” story:

“Trouble Stalking Night-Life Paradise”

The guy from Pacha on the panel today gave no additional insight. But the club took itself out of the game almost instantly. It’s like Katy Perry going back to Christian music. We’ll see if it lasts.

As for the Las Vegas/Ibiza war… Ibiza benefits from having a short season. Being all about the music. But never underestimate Vegas, the desert capital has the money.

As for clubs being the new venues…no one imagined playing rock in arenas and stadiums.

3. The Global EDM Industry is now worth over $4.5 billion.

Wasn’t the music business supposed to be dead?

Well, it just got reinvented.

As for that 4.5, the lion’s share is live, which is 2.5, brand sponsorship and production hardware and software are .75 and recorded music is 1.25. In other words, if you’re looking to recorded music to make you’re nut, you’re looking in the wrong place.

Live Nation has it right, it is a culture. With everything the bankrupt rock culture once possessed. It’s for the fans. It’s deep. You can feel it. It’s not fly by night. Will it last forever?

OF COURSE!

Will it be as big as it is now?

Questionable…

Turns out it’s a hits business. Guetta’s crossed over, and now Calvin Harris has too, with 400 million YouTube views and Spotify streams, 7 million sales in the UK and USA, 1 million plays on SoundCloud and an estimated 500 million torrent downloads. Yup, free music can be good for you. But the main point is it’s now the aggregate, sales numbers are not everything, you’ve got to look at the total picture.

In order for EDM to continue its victory lap, it needs not only its Donna Summer, but many more. It’s started. But when you turn on the radio and hear EDM music regularly, you’ll know it’s here to stay.

Otherwise, it’s a scene. And scenes come and go, sometimes overnight.

Like the Irish guys I had lunch with told me… Dance is dead in clubs there. Fans want to see bands, like Imagine Dragons. But festivals are all about DJs. They’re thinking the bubble might be close to bursting.

And then there’s the DJ/fan relationship. It’s key. The business people are trumpeting branding, all those endorsement/advertisements with the private jets and high rolling lifestyle. That worked for hip-hop, but that’s a different culture. English agents thought it was putting a barrier between act and fan. That it was death. In other words, are we returning to a music culture? People get enough money culture in the rest of their lives, they might not tolerate it in dance.

But I will tell you the excitement of being here is palpable. No one’s bitching, the music is pumping, the scene around the pool is enticing, I’m all ears and eyes.

P.S. There’s an app:

International Music Summit

Just like Twitter, don’t think of apps as moneymakers unto themselves, but a way to service your fans. Furthermore, many more people downloaded the app than are attending the conference. Yes, you can play at home. Don’t think of apps as being long term, but rather short term information. An app for this tour…next year you create a new one. If you can’t stand in the audience and pull up information about what you’re seeing, the promoter did not do his job.