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Electronic music can conjure impressions of being cold and repetitive, but Celldweller is anything but: sweepingly orchestral and daringly rock-n-roll, Klayton, the mastermind behind the music, heats up the circuits and rouses the spirit. Even if the name Celldweller or Klayton is new to you, you may recognize his work, which has been used in too many movies, video games, and television shows to list.

Klayton hails from New York but has relocated to Detroit, both cities with rich musical roots and electronic music scenes.  In the 1990s, he was active in an industrial metal band Circle of Dust and even collaborated with the notorious illusionist Criss Angel in a project called Angeldust.  In 2001, Klayton began work on songs as Celldweller, becoming one of the first artists to utilize the Internet to distribute news and music to fans. Even before the Celldweller self-titled debut was released in 2003, songs were posted to the pioneering music site Mp3.com and earned over half a million plays--mind you, this is before broadband when most Internet connections were at the tortoise pace of dial-up!

Celldweller’s first album received seven Just Plain Folks Music Awards including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year, and the momentum and demand began to build for bigger and better things.  Celldweller continued to record new albums and tour with well-known artists such as Three Days Grace, Mindless Self Indulgence, and Godhead, and the music has been used for CSI as well as Hollywood blockbuster trailers for Superman Returns, Iron Man, and Spiderman 2. As if that’s not enough, Klayton’s chops as a talented and imaginative electronic music producer has been featured in key music magazines as well as demonstrations for aspiring producers.

Currently, Celldweller is releasing new songs from the album Wish Upon a Black Star in two-song chapters digitally, then a physical album will be made available after all the chapters are out. JamLegend is proud to feature songs from this new album as well as many other Celldweller tracks! Check out “Louder Than Words” from the first chapter of Wish Upon a Black Star below, but be sure to visit the Celldweller artist page on JamLegend for more. Celldweller will be a tour to support Wish Upon a Black Star in Fall 2010. For more info about the band and Klayton, visit the official site, MySpace, or Facebook!  Celldweller songs are available for purchase via iTunes.

 

Thanks to everyone who celebrated JamLegend's birthday!

Check your e-mails to see if you're one of the lucky Blue Judy raffle contest winners who earn 2000 JamCash (enough to buy VIP or a flag).

If you want JamCash, go get some (yes, there are free ways to get JamCash).

And, see below for some submissions by people who displayed their love of JamLegend.

And last, but certainly not least, were some exemplary YouTube videos, but we'll just feature one right now:

Thanks everybody!

While JamLgend is a great platform for emerging bands to showcase their songs, sometimes we have the privilege of working with Gold- and Platinum-certified artists who are eager to engage their fans by adding a new, interactive dimension to their music. To celebrate the September 28 release of Invented, the first new Jimmy Eat World album in over three years, the band added a sample of the first single from the album “My Best Theory” to JamLegend.

Jimmy Eat World formed in Mesa, Arizona in 1993 as a four-piece punk band, right as the genre was pushing into the mainstream with bands like Green Day. After a string of self-released demos, EP, and album, the band signed to Capitol Records. Meanwhile, their musical style evolved from crunchy punk to a more emo sound like their contemporaries like the Promise Ring or Sunny Day Real Estate. With their song “Lucky Denver Mint” featured in the Drew Barrymore movie Never Been Kissed, Jimmy Eat World’s popularity exploded. In 2001, they released their seminal release Bleed American which sold over 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The follow-up Futures from 2004 was certified Gold.

Since the end of 2008, Jimmy Eat World have been working on songs that would become Invented. They teamed up again with producer Mark Trombino for a dozen songs that were finally finished in early summer 2010. Invented will be available on September 28, but you can get a free sneak preview with a sample of the first single “My Best Theory” on JamLegend! For more info on Jimmy Eat World, you can visit their official site (where you can preorder Invented), Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter.

 

JamLegend turns two today and you're invited to the party!

Things have happened remarkably fast for PAZ. Like 100k downloads of his debut mixtape in the 24 hours. Or the mish-mash celebrity admirers including country star Tim McGraw, Black Eyed Peas, and Kanye West. Those things don’t happen overnight for most musicians, but for PAZ, the stars aligned perfectly and things couldn’t go any more swimmingly.

Not long ago, PAZ was a regular college student, albeit in a prestigious Ivy League school, playing rugby by day and performing at rowdy frat parties at night. Like awkward silences bursting the conversation bubble, the pauses between songs ruined the flow of the show and sapped the party’s energy. "I used to stop and start between songs, but that meant the crowd would stop too. At some point I just started blending my music, like a DJ,” explains PAZ. His musical style of mashing up hip hop, rock, and dance beats evolved out of this need to keep the party in motion. And in a way, the motion hasn’t stopped for PAZ ever since.

August 2010 saw the release of the first official PAZ mixtape Young Broke & Fameless, which was downloaded 100,000 times within the first 24 hours. PAZ may be young, he may be broke, but maybe not so much fameless--his work has caught the fancy of mainstream artists and legendary party promoters, opening many more doors than if PAZ stayed on the straight and narrow of a rugby playing college student.

You can find out more about PAZ and download Young Broke & Fameless  for free via the PAZ Facebook page.  Play PAZ's featured song "Sold My Soul (But Bought it Back)" on JamLegend below!

 

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Daniel Stapleton and Bert Windsor met at a playground at the tender age of 11 and discovered each other’s passion to music and made a pact to collaborate on a musical project.  This pact still stands as Ketura, an eclectic musical mayhem combining the controlled precision of electronic music and the raucous id of modern rock with a touch of pop sensibility to add a bit of polish to the song.

Taking their daily events and amplifying the drama to the Nth degree, Ketura make their music bigger than life with a goal to conquer the entire world.  It’s not an uncommon fantasy for boys at the playground, but Ketura have made headway with their tenacious will, performing to empty rooms and to adoring crowds and even taking a gig at a kids’ birthday party.  They’ve hardened up in sweltering tour vans in the middle of summer and honed their craft in drafty practice spaces in the dead of winter. 

To date, they have three releases, the latest being the Satellites, Fire, and Wide Awake (and Lonely) singles in 2009.  Below, you can play along to their song “Fire” on JamLegend and check out the world domination in progress that is Ketura.  For more info on the band, visit their official site or find them on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace!

 

Remember that survey we sent out so long ago at JamLegend? Well, we listened to your feedback and we've increased the premium offerings on JamLegend. Not only are these things you've always wanted, but in using these features, you're also helping support JamLegend and our awesome community.

Country Flags
One of the most popular requests we had was for country flags. We've implemented them and you can easily support JamLegend and show off your country pride.

Below is the current leaderboard for countries, so definitely get your JamLegend flag today.

I'm rooting for #19!

VIP

Perhaps the biggest change we've made to JamLegend is VIP. We changed JamLegend Pro to VIP so that we could include more in our premium membership. Here are some of the features of VIP:

1. Space for 300 library songs - We now give you a whopping 300 library song slots instead of the 100 songs of JamLegend Pro.
   
2. VIP badge next to your username - You get a V badge next to your name

   
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3. Twice the XP on every play - When you play as a VIP, you get twice the XP per play (meaning you can progress faster in the game).
   
4. Custom backgrounds on your profile - This was a highly requested feature and we've made to so you can use a custom background for your profile.

VIP Showdowns
Another of the most requested features were changes to Showdowns. Here's some things we've changed to the Showdowns:

First, Showdowns are much more stable as a result of our efforts. You'll be less likely to have problems of Showdowns not working.

Second, if you're VIP, you can choose your own song to play in a hosted Showdown. Choose from the Top 10 on JamLegend, the Favorites, or even be able to Search for a particular song. Because choosing your own song is a premium feature, only VIP members are currently able to host their own Showdowns.

We're excited to have been able to work on all of these features for the community. Not only are they things that you wanted, but more importantly, they helped keep the site running. We couldn't do this without you awesome users, so thanks for the support.

So go get some VIP or a flag!