What we are blogging

First Sentric Sessions!

Wednesday 2nd November saw the launch of Sentric Sessions, with the inaugural show featuring disco deviant Cosmic Boogie, or Stuart Robinson , as the centrepiece. The start of a monthly series, we invited Stu into discuss what was currently going on in his musical world, the five records that changed his life and comedic experiences from him on the road, and he didn’t disappoint.

There was stories about gigs in Budpaest, damaged legs and his hopes for his Boogie Originals label that he runs with the next incumbent of the Sentric chair, Andy Ash. Stu chose tracks by Talking Heads, Kid Unknown, Peshay, Undisputed Truth and Massive Attack, each referencing a poignant period within his life and doing what all great music should do, reminding you of that time.

Session #1 – Cosmic Boogie by Sentricsessions on Mixcloud

On top of all this he threw together a quick mix for us which ransacked everything bubbling in his dj consensus at the minute. It’s live up on his Soundcloud now to download or just hit the switch below to feel the aural goodness.

Cosmic Boogie – The Sentric Sessions Mix by Cosmic Boogie

If you logged in, what did you think of the show? We welcome all feedback so give us your comments below.

You can find out more about Cosmic Boogie at the following links:

Twitter / Facebook / Site / Soundcloud

No Comments | Posted on: November 3rd, 2011

Three EDM Players

Sentric Digital is pleased to announce working with three new high profile clients within the realm of electronic dance music. Although we are a company primarily involved within social networking, digital PR and online marketing, our roots are deeply entrenched within music. Director Phil Cooper spent the nineties as a resident for superclub Cream, Project manager Jimmy Coultas has worked as a DJ and promoter since the start of the last decade and our previous clients have included Exit Festival, Daft Punk, Justice and Liverpool Sound City. On top of that we continue to work with Balearic icons We Love… Space, Ibiza, having just finished another campaign for them and their illustrious action on the White Isle.

jem5

The We Love connection is a natural progression with us working with Jem Haynes, one of their residents. Having spent over fifteen years actively involved within electronic dance music across a wide spectrum of genres, we start working with Jem at an extremely exciting point in his career. He’s set to launch a new record label Colour Series, based on the form of Synesthesia that he has ingrained within him where he sees music in different shades and colours. We will be looking after all PR for Jem as well as his social networking, so please get in touch if you are interested in speaking to him regarding anything.

poo

Renaissance is a brand that needs no introduction to any follower of electronic dance music. Widely held as the main protagonists in establishing the DJ mix compilation in the early nineties, the Nottingham based clubnight was also the first to encase clubbing in opulent surroundings, pioneering the move from rave culture to the modern state of the art nightclub. We are extremely pleased to be working with them across all their social networking and digital PR terrains, with their artist albums and tours and their brand new Arkitekt concept. This is a label focused on spotlighting up and coming talent within dance music, continuing Renaissance’s position as a scene leader in music.

And finally we also welcome Yousef on board, a DJ who continues to be at the pinnacle of the EDM scene through his global DJing, constant producing and his brand leader clubnight Circus. With his second album almost finished, we will be helping Yousef take his exciting and musically diverse project into the e-world. We’re currently developing some very exciting concepts to showcase the expansive piece of music in the innovative manner it deserves. The productions follow a process unlike anything any other DJ or producer is currently doing within dance music, and we are developing a campaign that reflects this ground-breaking and challenging step.

No Comments | Posted on: October 7th, 2011

Sentric Sessions

As a company specialising in exploiting e-portals for a variety of different brands and artists, here at Sentric we have always been excited by the possibility of getting to grips with new and challenging forms of technology which improve our e-experiences. We’re also what you could rather crassly call music geeks, so we’ve decided to get together an idea which abuses both of these passions and convictions in equal measure. Cue the birth of Sentric Sessions.

Sentric Sessions will be a monthly interview series that we run with local producers and artists where we discuss what they are getting up to in the world of music and their influences and experiences in the past. Each show will be helmed by Sentric wordsmith ‘General’ Jimmy Coultas and streamed live across the net. There will be an accompanying blog post and audio file (mixed or unmixed depending on the predilection of the involved artist) which will directly link to the content discussed during the interview.

The first two have already been inked in, with Cosmic Boogie kicking off proceedings on and fellow disco destroyer Andy Ash taking up Sophomore duties. Expect everything from their initial gig experiences, wildest stories on the road and the five records that changed their lives to be amongst the issues discussed in the studio.

Naturally the artists we select will be initially informed by our own personal tastes and respects around the Liverpool club scene, but if you want to be considered for an interview or indeed know anyone who we should be getting in the studio please get in touch and let us know. Drop an email over to jimmy@sentricdigital.com with any ideas and suggestions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you.

The First Sentric Sessions is on Wednesday November 2nd at 7.30pm. The second will be at the same time five weeks later on Wednesday December 7th. The blog will be streamed on our uStream chennel, which you can access here

No Comments | Posted on: October 4th, 2011

Counterfeit Culture in China

Part of the work Sentric does is with Fakes Cost More, an initiative designed to increase the education surrounding the problems with counterfeit products. As part of this we also help manage the FCM’s blog, viewed here: http://bit.ly/neUA2u. During our research we’ve been drawn time and time again to the practice of Shanzhai, which is the Chinese cultural philosophy behind creating counterfeit goods. This post aims to go some way to explaining what the term actually is and some of the issues that surround it, as well as how it affects us.

What exactly is Shanzhai? Translating the word offers two meanings, the first focusing on a fenced place within the forest or villages in the mountain that contain Stockade Housing, places traditionally off limits from the authorities. It also comes from Shanzhaiism, which relates to innovative thinking with a peasant mind set. Both form the basis of where the name comes from; originally counterfeit or ‘no-brand’ products were labelled as being beyond the control of police, and also often dubbed peasant products, though not always in a negative fashion as we will explain in later detail below.

Although Shanzhai products aren’t limited strictly to counterfeit goods (evidenced effectively here: http://bit.ly/qwCN5A), it’s this side of it that is most relevant to our studies. Counterfeiting these days isn’t always unsophisticated. The coverage of high quality ‘Fake Apple’ stores and phones (http://bit.ly/qVUyFb & http://bit.ly/ow5Ozx) springing up across the country recently is an example where the practice is well executed with commercial gain the main value. Tales of faked pharmaceuticals, in some cases causing death (http://bit.ly/3rZQ6G), are a more sinister use.

The term isn’t used wholly in a negative fashion. Often the products closeness to the original are heralded as a way of ingenuity amongst Chinese people, and their ability to adapt the products for a much cheaper alternative is seen as a success. This also explains why some counterfeit products sometimes revel within their fake status; misspelt brand names are attributed to this as well as mistaken renditions by the manufacturers (see below image). It is also why in part explains the proliferation of the practice and, up until recently, the slack attitudes towards Intellectual Property Laws in the region (the law surrounding patents was only amended in line with more Western Ideas in 2000 http://bit.ly/oN3p5q). Things are changing.

kfg

The Chinese government continue to increase the pressure on counterfeiters, with a concerted effort made to increase the prowess of the nation within the IP realm (http://bit.ly/foJf6B). Companies also continue to be more proactive in warding off the problems (http://bit.ly/dlvji9), and whilst more and more stories arise each and every day about Shanzhai products more measures are taken constantly to prevent the increase with it.

Further information can be found at the links below:

Counterfeiting: A growing worldwide problem http://bit.ly/ogxcPk

From Phones to Tablets. Moving Up the Counterfeit Value Chain http://read.bi/qcRB4N

WBA Partners Work To Help Stop Counterfeit Bearings – http://bit.ly/f6b5lV

There are tons of fake DJ headphones knocking about – http://ht.ly/410S8

Consumers Warned About Fake Golf Equipment http://cbsloc.al/pVDZmL

Those Chinese Counterfeit Guitars http://bit.ly/iOoHQA

No Comments | Posted on: August 31st, 2011

Jimmy Coultas – New to Sentric

Hi I’m Jimmy Coultas, the latest member of the Sentric Digital team. I’ll be posting regularly on this blog in the future about everything related to Sentric Digital and our clients, as well as various titbits of information that are relevant to what we do here at Sentric and things that prick our interest across the internet.

I come from a background of Journalism and PR, where I’ve worked with a lot of the leading clubnights in the country. I’ve worked as part of another PR company, TandemPR, where clients have included Sankeys, Chibuku Shake Shake, the Garden Festival and Liverpool Sound City. I’ve also worked with my own small company, Plastic Soup, with brands like Goodgreef, Uber and Freeze. With the latter I played a major role in helping them secure their historic Anglican Cathedral showcase (pictured below).

cathedral

I also write regularly for Data Transmission, and have had articles published in DJMag, Notion and iDJ. I’ve been involved in dance music for nearly a decade, working as a DJ and promoter as well as completing an MA in Popular Music Studies where I focused solely on dance music and hip-hop. I’ve DJed in Croatia for the Garden Festival, and on home soil for Rockness, V Festival, Standon Calling, Creamfields, Latitude and the Isle of Wight Festival.

Follow me on

Twitter: http://bit.ly/noOcBO

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/qRmonk

1 Comment | Posted on: August 30th, 2011

We are hiring…

Do you know the difference between RA and Little White Earbuds, or mixmag and mixcloud? Do you Tumblr, get Posterous or have a blogspot? Do you have a big black book or database of bloggers and online PR people? Can you ‘tweet’ to the top and navigate around Facebook with ease and know WTF FBML is? Can you come up with creative ways to get users online to ’share’ and ‘like’?

If so, read on…

Sentric Digital is looking for a new social media / digital PR campaign manager.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work as part of a innovative, creative thinking digital marketing and PR team, representing a globally renowned roster of clients.

The ideal candidate will have:

A real passion for social media, creative digital campaigns, music, youth, brands, and the entertainment sector.

Experience of running digital and social media PR campaigns with a proven track record of securing multi territory, online coverage with major sites, portals, and blogs.

The knowledge and creativity to develop meaningful, long-term PR campaigns with a range of promo partners – from small tastemaker blogs to major national media and international portals

The drive and enthusiasm to continue developing skills in all areas of PR, staying on top of the latest trends and opportunities

- The excellent communication skills that will make them able to build strong client and media relationships and work successfully with the Sentric team

The ability to write engaging press releases and artist biographies

- An understanding of creating, managing and growing social network channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo etc

The successful applicant must have a basic understanding of photoshop, HTML, Microsoft office and / or iWorks and at least 1 years experience in a similar role.

Please email applications and CV to info@sentricdigital.com – please add ’social media / digital PR campaign manager role’ to the subject line.

The successful candidate will be based in our Liverpool office.

Applicant submission deadline 30th June 2011

No Comments | Posted on: June 15th, 2011

EXIT Festival Treasure Hunt Competition

We’re running a treasure hunt style competition for EXIT Festival in which you have the chance to win 2 EXIT Festival tickets, flights (from London) & accommodation. Not too shabbby eh! We’ve partnered with 10 of our favourite blogs who are releasing a clue each every day. We’re now on day #3 of the competition and the clues can be found here…

Clue #1 – Nialler 9

Clue #2 – Vacay Wave

Clue #3 – Chemical Jump

To keep up to date with the competition, to get more info and to enter, click the image below…

No Comments | Posted on: June 1st, 2011

Big Boi – Shutterbugg (Mochipet Remix)

Here’s something to warm the cockels on a bitterly cold winter-eve. Turn the bass up to 11 and get on this glitched-up remix of Big Boi’s ‘Shutterbug’ by California bass music enthusiast Mochipet. His other stuff is well worth a listen as well so get on SoundCloud for that.

Big Boi – Shutterbugg (Mochipet Remix) by Mochipet

No Comments | Posted on: November 17th, 2010

The Age of Freemium

free-stuff

As internet usage figures sky rocket further and further and the currency du jour becomes Facebook ‘Likes’ and Twitter RT’s, intellectual property is being unceremoniously boshed down from its pedestal by a by the pugil stick of Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows artists to licence their music so that only some or even no rights are reserved. This means that it’s legal for people to distribute copy and even remix a track that is licensed under Creative Commons meaning more fun for listeners, more room promotional opportunities for artists and more creative room for manoeuvre.

There are four levels of Creative Commons licensing:

Attribution

All CC licenses require that others who use your work in any way must give you credit the way you request, but not in a way that suggests you endorse them or their use. If they want to use your work without giving you credit or for endorsement purposes, they must get your permission first.

NonCommercial

You let others copy, distribute, display, perform, and (unless you have chosen NoDerivatives) modify and use your work for any purpose other than commercially unless they get your permission first.

ShareAlike

You let others copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify your work, as long as they distribute any modified work on the same terms. If they want to distribute modified works under other terms, they must get your permission first.

NoDerivatives

You let others copy, distribute, display and perform only original copies of your work. If they want to modify your work, they must get your permission first.

This licensing has opened up doors for numerous creative initiatives to get involved and promote and display Creative Commons licensed music. One of leading websites for discovering CC licensed music is the Free Music Archive which is an ‘interactive library of high quality, legal audio downloads’. Set up and directed by the longest running freeform, non-commercial radio station WFMU which broadcasts in Jersey City, NJ. The Free Music Archive works on curatorial basis with tracks selected and archived by WFMU, KEXP, dublab, KBOO, ISSUE Project Room and Cash music. Artists are provided with a free space from which to promote their music and share their story.

My research also led me to a very nice internet record label close to home; Upitup Records with roots is Rome, Stuttgart and our very own Liverpool are one of the original purveyors of quality free music within the burgeoning free music scene since 2003 and are now enjoying somewhat of a renaissance. One of the first in the game, they’ve carved out a penchant for releasing quality free music leading to the development and unveiling of several well known artists. Started by forerunners of the free music scene Tracky Birthday, Pierlo and Isocore, they have released records from artists such as Rodlok, The Discoghosts and Dan Deacon.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about and get stuck into some wonderful Creative Commons licensed music I suggest you try the following:

If your in Liverpool check POSTMUSIC

No Comments | Posted on: November 12th, 2010

Sentric Office Listening #4

Here’s the Sentric weekly office playlist featuring a swashbuckling concoction of our most played tracks of the week. Click the link below to check it out via Spotify.

Sentric Office Listening #4 12/11/2010

No Comments | Posted on: November 12th, 2010