Baauer

Budweiser Made In America Press Conference at Los Angeles City Hall on April 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California - Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Budweiser

Budweiser Made in America festival is on its way and, to celebrate, the beer brand unveil a series of music documentaries in different States: this week we explore Minnesota!

Being such a huge part of the world, America has always borne a massively diverse music ethos. In almost every part of the country you can come across a different musical culture and it's with this idea in mind that world famous rap star Jay-Z decided to create Budweiser Made in America festival. It's sole purpose is to bring together a choice selection of both up-and-coming and well-established artists spanning all genres including rock, hip hop, R&B, electronic, punk... the list goes on.

Continue reading: Made In Minnesota: Budweiser Made In America Documents The Best City Music Of The States

Due to hit the LA State Historic Park in a couple of weeks is the 2013 Hard Summer Music Festival featuring headline sets from several electro-house artists including Duck Sauce, Knife Party and Justice.

The festival first appeared in 2007 when Destructo (a DJ also known as Gary Richards) began promoting a series of live events that also included Hard New Year's Eve, Hard Haunted Mansion and Hard 13. This year it will take place on August 3rd and 4th and includes four stages including the Ed Bangor Records 10th Anniversary Stage and the Dirty Bird Players Stage.

Other headliners this year are Skrillex and Boys Noize side project Dog Blood, Californian DJ Bassnectar and Aussie duo Empire of the Sun. They will be joined by the no less exciting supporting acts of chart favourites 2 Chainz, Azealia Banks and Rudimental as well as SBTRKT, Flux Pavilion, Flying Lotus, Zedd, Crystal Castles and Baauer.

Continue reading: Hard Summer 2013 Hits LA State Historic Park With Sets From Duck Sauce, Dog Blood And Knife Party

Enough already! We’re officially calling an amnesty on all ideas for future Harlem Shake videos. The latest internet dance craze (which, if you ask, came a little too swiftly after Gangnam Style, giving us very little time to forget) ‘Harlem Shake’ is based on dance act Baauer’s tune and has prompted a slew of dance tribute videos, posted online by eager web enthusiasts, keen to get in on the action.

One of the latest groups to upload a Harlem Shake video is a bunch of Speedos models. Hang on… a bunch of swimwear models, in a pool, all jiggling around dancing to Harlem Shake? The mind boggles. The eyes boggle too, actually. The video was reportedly shot behind the scenes at Speedo’s latest campaign shoot and even shows a model sporting a snorkel taking to the pool and doing the Harlem Shake as the crew look on. Son, the models are joined by an underwater camera man, though it must be hard to film under water when your subjects are all jiving away, we imagine.

So far, the ‘Harlem Shake’ videos uploaded to YouTube have amassed a staggering 175 million views, collectively. Here at Contact, we reckon that’s plenty to be going on with for now. New internet viral dance craze required, please apply within. 

Continue reading: Can We Call A Harlem Shake Amnesty? Speedo Models Latest To Tackle DJ Baauer Hit

For the first time in its 55-year-history , the Billboard Hot 100 will not base its chart on record sales alone, now taking on-board YouTube plays to decide who tops the weekly rundown. The move comes just in time for Baauer's song Harlem Shake, which is expected to make is debut at No.1 this weekend after becoming the latest viral video phenomenon.

The bass heavy hip-hop track got almost no mainstream attention following its release as a free download last May, though its popularity exploded this month after thousands of fans uploaded YouTube videos of themselves dancing along. Around 4,000 Harlem Shake videos are being uploaded each day. "The notion that a song has to sell in order to be a hit feels a little two or three years ago to me," said Billboard's editorial director Bill Werde, "The music business today - much to its credit - has started to learn that there are lots of different ways a song can be a hit, and lots of different ways that the business can benefit from it being a hit."

Continue reading: But...How? Harlem Shake To Top Billboard Hot 100 After Rules Change

Just when you thought you’d seen the back of internet viral dance crazes, as the memory of Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ fades into the near-distant past, along comes The Harlem Shake. And it’s not just online, folks. It’s taking over our televisions. Anderson Cooper’s team made him do the Harlem Shake in a team meeting for Anderson Live (“it made me so uncomfortable,” said Cooper). The Today Show anchors have been at it, too, with a Valentine’s-themed Harlem Shake.

So just what is the Harlem Shake and how did it become so popular? The music contained in the video is by New York producer Baauer, notable for its elements of rave and dubstep. Reports of the origin of the craze differ. Wikipedia awards the accolade of starting the craze to YouTube user Filthy Frank. Most of the copycat video (and there have been quite a few) tend to start with just one person in a group dancing along to the tune and then, when the bass drops, the entire group start dancing. Unlike the Gangnam Style videos though, there appears to be no set dance to do along to the Harlem Shake.

According to New York Daily News, 12,000 Harlem Shake videos have been uploaded to YouTube, with over 44 million views attributed to them. 

Continue reading: Just What Is The 'Harlem Shake' And How Did Anderson Cooper Get Caught Up In It?