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Real Dreams Episode 26 – "Drinks On Me" Ft. N.O.R.E

March 29, 2015 by admin

DJ Swissivory, Drinks On Me, N.O.R.E., Outlawz, Real Dreams, Swissivory, Tariah Music, www.swissivorymusic.com, Young Maylay, Young Noble

What’s Up guys,

Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on the road recently and haven’t posted anything new as of late. I toured the US, with stops in Chicago, LA, San Diego and Denver. I also recently played in Austria and tonight I will be in France for the Youssoupha concert in Annecy. I’ll also be back on a US tour soon and a few surprises await this summer. But I’ve also been in the lab working on my latest single with N.O.R.E, Tariah, Young Noble of the Outlawz, and Young Maylay (The “voice of Grand Theft Auto St. Andreas”). I’m really excited to share this song with you.

“Drinks On Me” is a special record to me because as a DJ myself, I love to play songs that pay tribute to the hard work that comes with DJing. A lot of people think of the DJ lifestyle as a “hobby” and a “cool” thing to do, and that applies to some stars-turned-djs of Today. However, for the real and true music fans, the DJ’s who spend hours practicing and sleepless nights doing what they love, this is a tribute to them. So next time you hear this song in the club, make sure you bring a bottle or a drink to the DJ because he’s making everybody else have a great time. This song is a true hip-hop club banger, and what makes it even more unique to me is that N.O.R.E goes in on the topic of my Hometown city, Zurich, Switzerland, even going as far as quoting “Longstreet” which is a famous party street in Zurich. As a token of my appreciation, here is the free download to the song. Feel free to comment and share it with a DJ that you know!

DOWNLOAD – CLICK HERE

Real Dreams Episode 17 – C-Tru & Swissivory

February 17, 2015 by admin

C-Tru, Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

The way I met C-Tru was very unconventional. I used to have a large fanbase on Soundclick, a music platform mostly known for selling instrumental beats. People like Soulja Boy were also active on soundclick at a certain point in time.

In 2005, I organized a contest, where the fans could vote for whoever had the best freestyle over one of my beats. The first prize was a free beat and 100 dollars in cash. The winner by 60% was C-Tru. His rap battle skills impressed everyone.

After that we kept in touch and started making music together on a regular basis, him being in San Francisco while I was living on the East Coast in Boston. We both noticed that our styles were a perfect match. In 2006, C-Tru won a contest for a remix of “Lord Give Me A Sign”, and in 2007 he won a national Freestyle battle challenge sponsored by Energizer. Against 1200 competitors, C-Tru won the 1st prize and got to perform on stage with Chamillionaire, Crime Mobb, Lil Scrappy and more, in front of a crowd of 4’000 people. Still, that hit song evaded us, like so many other talented artists in the industry. A number of stars just have to align in the sky for your song to be on radio and to blow up as an artist. On top of that, we’ve had many ups and downs in our respective personal lives, between the move from the US to Europe from my side, to the family struggles and failed relationships for both of us. The struggle was not only financial but also emotional and psychological.

So when I started the “Real Dreams” project, one of the main goals was to put my artist C-Tru on as many tracks as possible, without the entire record becoming a “C-Tru & Swissivory” album. So we found the right balance overall, kept some tracks for his own EP, which can be downloaded here. And on other songs, he’s either on a chorus, a bridge, or a verse. So even though he’s the most present artist on my album, it doesn’t feel as though it’s over-done. I’m really lucky to have an artist like him in my portfolio, because his work ethic and dedication are second to none. And that’s what pays off these days. So many artists are talented, but not all have the discipline or the drive it requires to be successful. But C-Tru has shown his dedication, his ambition and his commitment to creating his own history. And it’s paid off in a major way.

C-Tru now lives in Hollywood, and is living his dreams: he’s a recording artist living from his passion. I respect him throwing away a well-paid day-job, for having the courage to leave his family in San Francisco behind him, to go to L.A. and risk everything in order to pursue his dreams. That’s the true meaning of #realdreams. And it’s already paid off. The record with Papoose has hit #3 on College Rap Radio Charts in the US, and #12 in Canada. The Youtube video surpassed 100’000 views (I know it doesn’t seem much against the Justin Biebers and PSY’s of this world, but we’re independent artists) in the first 2 months. As a result of this success, I got signed to Ryan Leslie’s label as a producer and as an artist. Our music videos are on MTV, VEVO, VH1, Fuse, Radio stations worldwide and the song has been remixed and played on mixtapes and in club sets / podcasts by DJ’s from all corners of the Globe. I get pictures, text messages, and e-mails / recordings from people around the world playing or hearing my song wherever they’re at, from Brooklyn New York to Bangkok, Thailand, to Abidjan, Ivory Coast. #realdreams

Real Dreams Episode 16 – Rasco & Flow'etic: From ZH to SF

February 16, 2015 by admin

Blog, Episode 16, Flow'etic, Hip Hop, Rasco, Real Dreams, Swissivory

Day 16 – Rasco, Flow’etic

Rasco of the Cali Agents is one of the pioneers of the Bay Area hip-hop scene. One day, I went to the studio, having listened to many boom-bap, old school tracks. Usually, I don’t go into the lab, already precisely knowing what I want to have by the end of a session. And when that (rarely) happens, I usually end up with a totally different result than what I had set out to do in the beginning. So as a basic rule of thumb, I never really go into the studio with a pre-conceived idea or goal that must be reached no matter what. However, like every rule, there are exceptions. This time was different.

Having vibed to the golden-age hip-hop records of my youth, I felt that one of the reasons I fell in love with Hip-Hop music was the realness of the artists, the sincerity of the lyrics, the story-telling, picture-painting delivery from true Emcees of the game. These were people with a real passion for music, where the music business mattered, but in that order: first the music, then the business. Unfortunately, as every popular music genre, Hip-Hop ended up becoming a victim of her own success. Once the raw, authentic and appeal of this culture reached the “mainstream”, that’s when things started to change.

Recently, however, a lot has been done to revive the new generation of Hip-Hop and keep the “roots” and the essence of the culture alive. Political events such as Ferguson, Terrorism & the Economy definitely made artists more socially conscious and provided Emcees with topics and fresh content to talk about, which affected almost every socially active artist. People like Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole have sold many albums recently, without putting any commercial songs out. That being said, my thought process on this record was to make a record which I could give to the Hip-Hop community, not to be politically or socially correct or anything. I had already produced a few club tracks, and trap beats, but I really was looking for some authentic hip-hop sound, which was how I experienced it as a fan growing up, but also as a DJ and Emcee performing live on stage.

With Flow’Etic, Merlin Alexander, the One Hustle Crew, we opened up shows for Redman, Method Man, CNN, M.O.P, Freestyle of the Arsonists, and many more great emcees. That’s also why I reached out to none other than Rasco himself. Not only did he love the beat, he was also really responsive. Although he was on the road at the time, he still found studio time in his busy schedule to write, record and finish the track back in record time. As soon as I heard it, all I could think of was that we needed a great boom-bap rapper from Switzerland to complement this and make it another classic international collaborative hip-hop record.

So I initially reached out to Merlin Alexander and Flow’Etic, who as a duo go under the name of Flow Manners. I really wanted to make them both shine on my project, because we’d been on the road for many years all across Switzerland. Unfortunately, at the time, Merlin was not available for recording, and only Flow’Etic had time in his schedule to jump on the project. It was just one of those unfortunate timing situations. Despite that, the end-result was what I more than I had hoped for: when I presented my CD to record label A&R’s, this was one of the favorite cuts off the album. You can pre-order the full album here #realdreams

Real Dreams Episode 15 – "Spa City" by Rcynic

February 15, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams

Day 15 – Rcynic

In 2005 I linked up via Soundclick with an artist by the name of Sir Roob from Texas. Back then he was a young hungry rapper from the South who had a really great voice and flow, but somehow, when I left the US, my beats hustle diminished greatly due to me not living in America anymore, and also dealing with a very personal matter. My mother had a car accident in May of 2006, which left her paralyzed from the neck down. Thanks to Music, I kept a level head. But the focus and drive I had back in Boston just wasn’t the same, firstly because of the very limited contacts I had locally, and second because of all the time I spent taking care of family matters. In 2009, my mother passed away, as a result of her daily struggle to survive. Meanwhile, Sir Roob had his issues of his own, prompting him to take a hiatus from making music for a few years. However, in 2012, by a change of heart, he returned to the game with a vengeance, working anew on new projects, this time under the name of Rcynic.

Although I’d left the country and lost contact with him, I still remembered our collaborative efforts. So one day, I decided to write him an e-mail to touch base and see what he had been up to since we had last spoke. I then learnt the shocking news of him losing his mother a week prior. As these things tend to happen, especially in the case of Real Dreams, I just happened to have been working on a dark and melancholic ballad. Without knowing about what had happened a week before, I was working on what would be the most personal cut off the “Real Dreams” Record: I sent him the beat, and man did he pour all his emotions on the instrumental I sent out. “Spa City” is a song dedicated to Duana Starr, Beatrice Meyer, and all the mothers who’ve sacrificed their lives and cannot be with us today.

Be on the lookout for more music by Swissivory & Rcynic!

Real Dreams Episode 14 – Swissivory Ft. Lenny Harold

February 14, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 14 – Lenny Harold, Blackstreet (Valentine’s Day)

“I like the way you work it, no Diggity!” Everyone knows the legendary Blackstreet song that still rocks dancefloors worldwide to this day after more than 2 decades, from the older generation to the new one, Teddy Riley’s legendary RnB Band changed a bit, with new members joining the team after the departure of 2 of the founding members, to form Blackstreet 2, or BS2 for short. One of the new members is Lenny Harold. Needless to say, his talent is simply out of this world. And him being a part of BS2 is simply a confirmation of that statement. To me, Lenny is definitely one of the most underrated modern-day RnB singers in the music industry (or not). I guess his humble and reserved character, are the most deceiving I’ve ever seen in an artist. Once he starts singing, it’s like he’s another person.

There are simply no words to describe this song. Over the simplest of instrumentals, a basic chord progression, some 808 drums and a few bells and whistles, Lenny Harold simply always seems to find the right note that will give everyone in the room goose bumps. And not just the ones on the back of the neck. I’m talking about goose bumps from the back of your toenails up to the ones above your eyebrows and back!

The song is about a couple going through a difficult phase in their relationship, wondering what happened to their love, and where things may have gone wrong. The song is fitting for Valentine’s day, and will definitely be one for the ladies. I’m really excited about the video project we have for this single. It was also one of the favorite songs when I spoke to record label executives, definitely one of my favorite cuts on #realdreams.

Real Dreams Episode 13 – No Malice of THE CLIPSE

February 13, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 13 – No Malice

The very first song of my very first album is basically the most important song of my career. It introduces me as a producer to the world, and it also sets the stage for my entire project, Real Dreams, which I’ve been working on for almost 2 years now. The dream has now become a reality. For this track, I reached out to none other than the legendary rapper No Malice, one half of the Clipse, the legendary Virginia-Based due of super-producer Pharrell Williams. “Skateboard P” is my favorite producer. His energy, talent, vision and persona have inspired me to become a producer. Next to greats like Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Ryan Leslie, he is hands down one of the few artists I can honestly say I would be nervous to be around. And I’ve been around quite a few stars. But Pharrell is basically a big reason why there is “Swissivory” as a producer.

So it was only a fitting tribute for me to have No Malice on my album, as the intro to my Real Dreams project. After 14 years in the game as a DJ and 24 years as a pianist, I needed to make sure I bring my A game to this playing field. The risk of the entire project was that no matter how hot my beats come out, there’s always a big chance of the artist not delivering the vocals the way they should. So it’s a true blessing not only to have these multi-platinum recording artists on my record, but to have them bring their best work in terms of quality is a testimony to the caliber of artists involved on this project.

With No Malice, after discussing the album concept, he asked me for a really specific type of beat, giving it a 90’s vibe on the drums, yet an epic / dramatic feeling. That’s why the song starts with epic strings, and a heavy baseline. Once the dirty drums kick in, I was blessed to have JC Collins of the Finest, a singer-songwriter who’s worked with artists such as Rick Ross, … lay his vocals for a singing intro to fit with the melodic vibe of the strings. Once the verse starts, the incredibly recognizable voice and flow of No Malice takes the listener by storm and the Real Dreams journey starts. It’s hard to imagine that the lyrics are all super-clean, just by the tone and color of his voice, the amount of grit and fury in his vocals literally rip the beat apart, another classic 16 bar verse by the veteran rapper.

I used to listen and spin records, acapellas and instrumentals by such artists. Now I’ve actually produced a record with them, they say my name and rap on my beats. That’s a dream come true, and I’m still trying to get used to it. Some people asked me why I didn’t do this before, and I think the reason is simply that it wasn’t the right time yet, until now. Now is the right time for #realdreams.

Real Dreams Episode 12 – The Nightlife

February 12, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 12 – Gallo, C-Tru

Tonight is the 2 year-anniversary of my residency at Plaza Nachtseminar, a Thursday Night student party we started 2 years ago. The event has become the reference party for students on Thursdays in Zürich, Switzerland. Like many other nights I’ve been a part of over the past few years, I’ve been a very loyal servant, DJ-ing countless nights for the same clubs and promoters for years on. That’s why today I would like to talk about the song I made with C-Tru & Gallo called “The Nightlife”.

We’ve been shooting the video to “The Nightlife” which is the 2nd track on the Real Dreams album, and the first song after the Intro by No Malice of the Clipse. The reason being that it is one of my favorite songs on the album, and represents my life as a DJ, producer, and entertainer. As an artist, I’ve spent countless hours working on mixtapes, beats, mixing at clubs for hours. We artists have a hard life. We try our best to make music and stay up long hours, our work happens mostly at night. We are often working and hustling on side-jobs to make end’s meat, while we keep the dream alive of making it one day with music.

The Nightlife is about living the life we always dream of, going out at night and living our dreams, feeling free, having a good time and experiencing the drama that happens at night-time: clubbing, partying, meeting people and doing all kinds of crazy things. The track starts off with my good friend Gallo, producer and rapper from VA, who goes on and raps about partying on any given day, and having a good time. Of course he makes great references to the different scenes in the club, from the perfect tens to the other girls grilling each other, to partying hard and living Life to the fullest. Rather than the typical misogynistic lyricism, he manages to really talk about partying in a positive, energetic way.

For the second part of the track, none other than my partner in crime, C-Tru, goes on about how crazy his vision of the nightlife is, with a lot of funny anecdotes, his delivery is once again perfect and complements the track very nicely with the content and flow of Gallo. The video we are shooting will be based on a really simple but nice concept. We will film the nightlife from 3 different angles: on the East Coast (Gallo), on the West Coast (C-Tru) and in Europe (Swissivory). Overall it will reflect what I’ve experienced myself in the nightlife: whether in LA, New York, Zurich or Tokyo, the Nightlife is the same everywhere. The video will be out soon. And I can’t wait to share it with you. You can pre-order the album here. #realdreams

Real Dreams Episode 11 – Swissivory Ft. SwizZz (FunkVolume), C-Tru, Rass Kass

February 11, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 11 – Ras Kass, SwizZz, C-Tru

What West Coast rapper killed a DJ Premier beat? No one ever quite did it like the legendary Ras Kass did. The #goldenchyld of the West. At his peak, he was one of the most proficient rappers and held the torch for California for a good minute, especially having a different flow and vibe, he was able to give something that West Coast rappers weren’t known for, namely being able to rap on East-Coast beats with a unique delivery. A true hip-hop legend, it was an honor for me to have him on my project. The song is called “Dramatik” and he basically used the name of the beat I gave him, to write his lyrics and came up with some hyperboles and figures of speech. The great thing about this record is that it is a dark, slow paced track, more of a trap sounding record, on which every artist raps double-time and at various speeds and flows.

Fellow collaborator C-Tru has been involved with me on a musical level for around 10 years. Being from the West Coast, he’s also a rapper who, in my opinion, can shine on any type of beat. From his voice, and delivery, it’s hard to believe that he is Asian. My Philippino brother from another mother really delivered the goods on this song, creating a killer hook to match the verse by Ras Kass , and the verse by SwizZz.

SwizZz is one of hip-hop’s underground king-pins. He is a member of the legendary independent label “Funk Volume” which is best known for putting out artists like Hopsin & Dizzy Wright. SwizZz, alongside Jared Benton, is one of the lesser known artists on the FV family roster. But don’t get it twisted, he is an incredible rapper, and his flow and delivery are simply second to none. His voice is also highly recognizable, which give him a big advantage over other rappers.

The end-result is a West Coast collaboration over a dark southern style beat, something which is unusual but works because of the versatility and killer flows shown by these rappers. As a producer it’s always important to push artists and get them out of their comfort zone. But it’s even better when artists themselves decide to rap on one of your beats, and it comes out even better than you expected, because they really gave their best effort on the track.

Pre-Order #realdreams here

Real Dreams Episode 10 – Youngstarz Ft. Aslan

February 10, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 10 – Youngstarz, Aslan

Being a DJ and producer from Switzerland, one of the most important things for me was to put my country on the map. That’s why, amongst many others, I really wanted to involve rappers from Switzerland on this project. I reached out to all the rappers I know from out here. One of the first ones to be down with the Real Dreams project is YZ Gang, also known as Youngstarz from Basel. They are a duo hailing from the Caribbean and Africa respectively, based in Switzerland. Our stories are similar in that we’re from African origins but we live in Switzerland, and make music like it’s all we ever knew. I first saw them when they opened for the Bobby Valentino show in Obsession club a couple of years ago, and since then we’ve kept in touch, connected on mixtape projects and shows. So it was a natural evolution to involve them in my project once I knew about it. They then introduced me to German rapper Aslan. This kid, I swear, is on the same level as the best German rappers in the mould of Bushido, Kollegah, Kudo, and more.

“Money from da Sky” was the idea brought to the table by YZ-Gang, they then sampled Aslan’s voice to wrap up a catchy chorus. “Dresscode Moncler, Gürtel Hermes” (Gürtel is “Belt” in German). The track is a really nice club track, with a nice flow and vibe to dance to when you’re in the VIP section of the club with your people, not really paying attention to what’s going on around you, but rather just having a good time and feeling the music being played by the DJ. That’s what we went for in the music video. As a DJ I love to make people in the VIP stand up, bottles in the air, and vibe and dance to my mixes. That’s the feeling I get when I listen to this song. and will also be released as a single alongside the “Victims” video.

Looking forward to it! You can pre-order the album here to get the #realdreams project on time for release!

Real Dreams episode 9 – Swissivory Ft. Lua Proc

February 9, 2015 by admin

Real Dreams, Swissivory, www.swissivorymusic.com

Day 09 – Lua Proc

New York, Miami, L.A., Chicago, and Atlanta, are the cities one thinks of as “hubs” when it comes to hip-hop music, what Nashville is to Country Music, or Hollywood to the movie industry. Therefore, Pittsburgh is typically not the first city a hip-hop fan would think of when it comes to amazing rappers. Thank God for Lua Proc, who basically heard the first trap beat I sent him and absolutely MURDERED to track within days, he sent me back the stems to a FULLY recorded song! Absolutely on point, flow is incredible, voice is deep and the presence of this Emcee on the beat is really strong.

This is also real dreams. Like I’ve said before, I wanted to give the chance to independent artists who might not be known in the charts or on MTV to shine on my album. I think it’s important to give artists who work hard on honing their craft and skills, a chance to shine alongside bigger names. And Lua Proc is no different. He is a talented rapper and us linking up was no coincidence. He’s already been around the underground scene, dropping tracks on mixtapes by Coast 2 Coast and more. He’s also something of a local celebrity in his hometown, having gained the attention of XXL or Hype Magazine, the BET Hip-Hop Awards and many hip-hop blogs.

He’s now on tour with Bone Thugs & Harmony, and it seems as though he’s one of the artists who’s got next in line to blow up. So I really hope this record will give him even more exposure, because even though he’s put Pittsburgh on the map, he absolutely deserves to shine on a wider scale, and the trap beat I produced for this song should also please a section of the listeners. There aren’t many songs like this on the Real Dreams album, and the drums for “On Da Bloc” are really crazy. When you hear this beat, you will not stop bouncing around and/or nodding your head. A big shout-out to my engineer Marco for bringing out the baseline on the track, while keeping the drums hard-hitting on this certified trap-hit! Make sure to cop the Real Dreams album when it drops, because you’re gonna definitely have a favorite track on there. This might just be the one if you like raw hip-hop / trap beats! #realdreams

Older News »

real-dreams

Real Dreams Episode 26 – "Drinks On Me" Ft. N.O.R.E

Real Dreams Episode 17 – C-Tru & Swissivory

Real Dreams Episode 16 – Rasco & Flow'etic: From ZH to SF

Real Dreams Episode 15 – "Spa City" by Rcynic

Real Dreams Episode 14 – Swissivory Ft. Lenny Harold

Real Dreams Episode 13 – No Malice of THE CLIPSE

Real Dreams Episode 12 – The Nightlife

Real Dreams Episode 11 – Swissivory Ft. SwizZz (FunkVolume), C-Tru, Rass Kass

Real Dreams Episode 10 – Youngstarz Ft. Aslan

Real Dreams episode 9 – Swissivory Ft. Lua Proc