Champions League 2012/13

The 2012/13 UEFA Champions League Group Stage is set after the drawing of the groups yesterday. Defending champion Chelsea(ENG) is set to face Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR), two-time Champions Juventus(ITA) and new-comer Nordsjaelland(DEN) is Group E while runner up Bayern Munich(GER) is in Group F alongside Valencia(ESP), LOSC(FRA) and BATE(BLR). Groupings are listed below:

Group A - Porto(POR), Dynamo Kyiv(UKR), PSG(FRA), Dinamo Zagreb(CRO)
Group B - Arsenal(ENG), Schalke(GER), Olympiacos(GRE), Montpellier(FRA)
Group C - Milan(ITA), Zenit(RUS), Anderlecht(BEL), Málaga(ESP)
Group D - Real Madrid(ESP), Manchester City(ENG), Ajax(NED), Dortmund(GER)
Group E - Chelsea(ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk(UKR), Juventus(ITA), Nordsjælland(DEN)
Group F - Bayern Munchen(GER), Valencia(ESP), LOSC(FRA), BATE(BLR)
Group G - Barcelona(ESP), Benfica(POR), Spartak Moskva(RUS), Celtic(SCO)
Group H - Manchester United(ENG), Braga(POR), Galatasaray(TUR), CFR Cluj(ROU)

Champions League will begin on September 18 with the following matches:
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Porto
PSG vs. Dynamo Kyiv
Montpellier vs. Arsenal
Malaga vs. Zenit
Milan vs. Anderlecht
Dortmund vs. Ajax
Real Madrid vs. Man. City
Olympiacos vs. Schalke

For schedules and results, visit the Champions League website - http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/index.html

Album Review: ATB - Sunset Beach DJ Session 2

It's been two years since Andre Tanneberger or better known as ATB released the first Sunset Beach DJ Session so it was due for a new edition. The two disc compilation contains 29 tracks for your listening pleasures

Disc one kick things off with ATB and Rudee's 'In And Out Of Love.' A groovy track with thumping bass before slowing down into lovely piano chords and vocals of Ramona Nerra and then switching back to more rhythmic synths and bass during breaks. It's like a roller coaster ride! ATB continues the faster progression with the thumping bass and amazing piano keys of 'Triumph' by Norin & Rad and Audien. He then switch things back to a smooth sounds of 'Baila' by Probe. But don't let this fool you as the track explodes into a some heavy bass and electro-beats as it progresses.

Andre brings back the voice of Nerra with the up-tempo track 'Never Give Up.' This track is just pure energy with massive beats and electro melodies that explodes into one massive track. Next up is 'Damaged' by Antillas. The transition to this track was sub-par. Still the track features heavily synthesized beats surrounding the deep melodic beats mixed with the sultry acapella by Fiora. Then comes the darker melodic bass and haunting chant of Duderstadt remix of 'Gypsy Room,'a track by Markus Schulz under his Dakota alias before continuing with the electro beats and deeper melodies of D-Mad's remix of 'Ordinary People' by LTN.

Things slow down with Offshore's 'Stereojackers.' This track starts off with some heavy beats before some piano keys gets mixed in exploding in a harmonious melodies that would soothe one's nerves. Then came in the angelic voice of Fisher in the classic 'The Last Time' by The Thrillseekers brought back by Johan Malmgren who added faster beats mixing with guitar strings and melodies - just amazing.

ATB slow things down with the smooth beats of 'Follow Up' by The Madison & Simon J and 'Into the Blue' by Hazem Beltagui before adding some vocals into the mixed with 'All You Took,' a track he made which features the voice of Amurai. Yep, you read it right, Amurai sang on this track and I would say he got a voice for it. He continues this trend in Mike Danis' 'For You' which features some haunting chants before ending disc one with another smooth track in 'Beautiful Moment' by Fade.

Disc two is filled with ambient music. ATB begins with some smooth bass and melody in 'Sunset Beach' before switching to the Zetandel's chill mix of 'Much Too Much' by Andain. This is such a lovely rendition of a great track with smoother piano keys mixed with Mavie's voice. ATB continues on the smooth progression with 'Klangsine' by Klangstein which features lovely guitar plucks and chords mixed with percussion beats.

Downtempo continues with 'Love & Light’ with ATB bringing back Amurai. This haunting vocal track with strong lyrics will surely captivate your minds. This is followed by downtempo mellow tracks in 'With You,' Titchimoto remix of 'Superhuman' by Virtual Riot which he did an outstanding in making this dubstep track into a very relaxing tune; and the DJ Milews remix of the piano filled tune 'Adriatic Sea' by Coastline.

ATB continues the ambient journey with Gary B's 'Time To Slow It Down,' a guitar-pluck filled track with relaxing vocals; Synthesizer-filled 'Desire' by Polished Chrome and Asheni's 'Lost In Time' which featured some angelic chant before gorgeous vocals come into play. This track will give you chills.

Kaskade ice mix of 'Room for Happiness' follows, a total opposite of the fire mix of this track with Skylar Grey's voice mixed with piano chords and string melody making this another soothing track. He continues with 'Beautiful People' by Summer of Space, a track filled with synthesized samples along with some lovely vocals. This is followed by two Sine tracks, 'Wolke' and 'Chillbar.' Both tracks are filled with melodic guitar plucks with the latter adding some percussion beats into the mix. This two tracks makes you feel like this is not a CD from an EDM artist. ATB ends our ambient journey with Eva Cassidy's rendition of the classic 'Fields Of Gold.' Lovely work by Cassidy with her amazing voice mixed with the smooth guitar plucks.

The 2nd edition of Sunset Beach DJ Session is quite interesting. You can tell that ATB created both disc for two different purpose. Disc 1 is more energetic, uptempo tracks suitable for beach session while disc 2 is more ambient though certain songs, especially the last three tracks, will make you think its a jazz album rather than an edm album. Still a great album to have in your collection.

9/10

ATB - website | Facebook | MySpace | YouTube | @atbandre

Movie Review: The Expendables 2

The Expendables 2 is an all-star action film about 'The Expendables,' a mercenary group that goes to dangerous missions that aren't official. This film is a sequel to the first one that came out in 2010. The Expendables are led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and composed of Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lungdren), Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), Toll Rand (Randy Couture) and new member Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth).

After returning from a mission, the team was forced to retrieve an important item in the jungles of Albania by Mr. Church (Bruce Willis), a CIA operative. The team was also forced to bring along Maggie (Yu Nan), a technical expert who is the only one who can crack the code on the safe. Little did they know that another group, the Sangs, led by Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme) was after the same item. The team was forced to surrender the item when Vilain captured Billy the Kid and instead of letting him go, executed him. They will find out that the item is computer map that contains directions to where the Soviets kept all the plutonium after the Cold War. The team now goes on a mission to stop the Sangs while avenging Billy's death.

This sequel basically starts off where the initial film ended - tons of gunfights and actions. It's filled with action sequence, some unbelievable and impossible, that action junkies will surely have a great time watching this film. The acting was good as the actors, including Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger took some of their famous lines and incorporated them in this film ('I'll Be Back', 'Yippie Ki-Yay'). The film was easy to follow and the sets were visually good especially that mock New York City that includes the famous Ray's Pizza. Overall, the film was created well and watching action heroes of the old would surely make you reminisce those good old action flicks.

The Expendables 2 - website

Starring - Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yu Nan, Charisma Carpenter, Scott Adkins, Nikolette Noel and Amanda Ooms

Samsung vs. Apple - The Battle of the Smart Technology

On Friday, August 24, the U.S. court system side with Apple on it's lawsuit against Samsung Electronic stating that the South-Korean firm infringed six out of seven Apple patents and awarding Apple $1 billion in damages as the two electronic firms duke it out in the battle of global smartphone dominance. This follows after a South-Korean court ordered both companies to stop selling smartphones and tablets in South Korea and pay damages as they infringed each other's patents. Samsung won its case against Apple in Australia court that allowed customer to buy Samsung tablets. Now it's up to the UK court to decide who will be the victor of this current legal battle. 

The court systems of these countries surely varies from each other even if the cases have similarities in them. But why? Ruling should be almost similar since they are hearing the same case but, I am assuming, in different language. Could there be biased in the court system? Some would think so while some won't since the South Korean court didn't side with Samsung while the U.S. court sided with Apple. What really goes into the minds of court judge and/or jury in coming up with the decision? 

Patents are double-edge swords. Patents are meant to protect the intellectual property of a company which can result into a global dominance in the market but total domination might mean that innovation  lessens or even ceases. And decisions on patent/copyright cases are again different from each other. In 1994, Apple lost its case against Microsoft and HP after U.S. Court found no basis that they copied Apple's GUI interface used in Lisa and Macintosh operating systems. Xerox then sued Apple stating Apple copied it's GUI interface but the court squash it without hearing any arguments. 

Currently, the global smartphone market is dominated by Samsung (32.6% market share) which produces numerous devices and tablets that runs on Android OS while Apple is second (16.9% market share) which only produces a single device, the iPhone. Could this be the reason why Apple is going after Samsung in the fear of losing more market shares it once dominated?

Sources:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-found-infringe-most-apple-231101124.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation

Album Review: Matt Darey - Blossom and Decay

After 15 years of providing EDM tracks for the masses, Matt Darey finally releases his debut album entitled Blossom and Decay. The album features 17 new and old tracks.

The album kicks off with the title track ‘Blossom and Decay.’ This track features amazing guitar strings before mixing in the stunning vocals of Cath Porter and then adding some dubstep-electro bass. He change things up with ‘Hold Your Breath’, a mellow-relaxing track with progressive beats and the haunting vocals of Leah. He continues our journey to the past with the melodic progressive track ‘Chasing the Sun’, a track he collaborated with Aeron Aether that features break beats and amazing vocals by Ridgewalkers.

The first remixed track comes into play in ‘I Still Remember’. The original version of this track is quite melodramatic but MuseArtic change the pace adding faster progressive beats and rhythms while keeping intact the haunting voice of Kate Louise Smith. Aelyn’s heavenly voice graces us in ‘Follow You’, a Stan Kolev collaborated track filled with trance melodies and amazing guitar string break. Then in comes ‘Too Far’ featuring the voice of Erica Driscoll. This track got the typical Nocturnal beats in between amazing guitar strings and melodic bass.

The next three tracks are remixes. Colorless did a great job in remixing ‘Still Waters’ infusing progressive beats with amazing guitar riffs and Smith’s voice. Matt Darey turns back the clock with Luiz B remix of ‘Lost At Sea,’ slowing things down with a laid-back vibe mixing in the great voice of Ashley Tomberlin. Aether comes back, this time as a remixer, with 'Red Is Rising' infusing dubstep breaks into a trance track resulting into a harmonious track.

Matt Darey continues with ‘Into The Blue’, a track with flowing beats and rhythmic break beats and features the voice of Tiff Lacey. Before dropping in probably one of the best remixes of his track, the Aurosonic remix of ‘See The Sun’ with Smith. This track was voted one of the most popular tracks in 2009 and you can clearly see why with its amazing beats and melodies and stunning vocals. This track would surely be a classic in the future. Turning back the clock again with the Josh Gabriel remix of ‘Black Flowers.’ This progressive track is filled with great beats and the amazing lyrics and vocals provided by Kirsty Thirsk.

Next up are two new tracks. ‘Altitude’, a track he collaborated with Kolev which features the voice of Polina Hubavenska and stunning guitar strings. Next is 'Hold On', a solo track by Matt Darey with progressive beats and melodies that would surely be a hit on the dance floor. Bringing back another classic is the Taurus & Vaggeli remix of ‘Black Canyon’ which speeds things up with progressive beats and haunting voice of Smith. Then comes in ‘Reality Bites’ a track with Sir Adrian providing vocals and Sebastian Krieg adding stronger beats and rhythms before ending the album with the Aurosonic remix of ‘Crown Of Thorns,’ a track that features the voice of Smith and filled with guitar riffs and piano keys giving it a more Balearic feel.

I have no qualms that this album will be one of the tops of 2012. I just wish that Matt Darey will have an un-remixed edition of the tracks for the next album.

10/10

This review is also available in TranceHub - http://trancehub.com/reviews/albums/matt-darey-blossom-decay/

Album Review: Tenishia - Memory Of A Dream

Collaborating since 2005, Malta's finest producers Joven Grech and Cyprian Cassar, or better known as the group Tenishia has finally released their debut album 'Memory Of A Dream'. The 16-track album will showcase their own personality and sound, mixing with an array of different styles.

The album starts off with the title track "Memory Of A Dream", a track that begins with lovely guitar chords courtesy of Eller van Buuren before the beats and piano keys blends in for a melodic track. Chris Jones provide some stunning vocals to this track that would surely be one of the best tracks of 2012. Tenishia continues mixing piano chords with stunning synths and beats in "As It Should", the second single from the album. Jan Johnston provided the vocals for this lovely track.

The next track, "Chords Of Life", is filled with ambient sounds with some wicked beats. This style continues with "Jaguar", but with more synthesized beats to make it a more livelier track. Next up is the vocal track "Crash & Burn", an upbeat track with deep bass line and pounding melodies mixed in with Aneym’s angelic voice that would surely be a hit on the dance floor. Tenishia continues with another vocal track, infusing house and trance melodies in "Broken Wings". Seems like the vocals of Elleah don’t gel well with this track, yet it’s still a melodic tune filled with piano chords and electro bass. "Attention" follows next with Kyler England providing vocals in this track with deep bass line and melodies.

The next three tracks will surely be a hit on DJ sets. "As We Speak" opens with a haunting chant before going into Tenishia’s style of pounding beats and uplifting melodies with emphasis on a wind instrument, guessing a flute. The duo continues this style in "Where Do We Begin" creating a melodramatic harmony – blending piano chords with amazing vocals – between synthesize bass lines and house beats. Blending in more house beats and uplifting melodies with a faster BPM, the track "Always Loved, Never Forgotten" has already caught us by a storm being the first single out of this album and garnering massive airplay in various radio shows and live sets and was included in Armin van Buuren’s ‘A State Of Trance 2012‘ compilation CD (Disc 1, track 9).

Next up is "Across The Border" a track they collaborated with Australian producer Ahmet Atasever. This track is filled with Balearic guitar-riffs blend with synthesized bass lines and treble. Tenishia brings back some vocals in "Ghost Of Love" with Ivan Grech. A dramatic track filled with string chords and melodic bass accompanied by Grech’s strong vocals. This is followed by "Face Your Fears", an uptempo, high energy track geared towards live set, though certain parts of the track is similar to a previous massive track.

Tenishia switches back to vocals with "Love Survives" collaborating with Ruben de Ronde on this upbeat melodic track with Shannon Hurley providing some lovely vocals. Up next is "Shores Of Eden", a track which was released last year. This stunning track is filled with amazing chant and uplifting trance beats that would surely bring bliss to your mind and dance to your feet. "Memory Of A Dream" ends with "Point Of No Return", a track with an operatic intro before bursting into a full bloom of sound with synthesized beats and uplifting melodies resulting into a blissful end of the journey into the sounds of Tenishia.

Though not a perfect album, Tenishia’s ‘Memory Of A Dream‘ is still filled with amazing tracks that would surely be a hit whether on the airwaves or on the dance floor.

9/10

This review can also be found on TranceHub's website - http://trancehub.com/reviews/albums/tenishia-memory-of-a-dream/

Tenishia - website | Facebook | MySpace | Youtube | Total Access International | @tenishiamusic