It’s going down July 23rd at Apache Cafe and it is destined to be an incredible night! Collective Efforts Live featuring an all-star cast of some of ATL’s dopest lyricists (Senor Kaos, Dillon, The 5ive, Stanza) and to top it all off a performance from the legendary Diamond D!! If you are in Atlanta and miss this show, you should plan on being really upset with yourself. In fact, head on over to
www.apachecafe.info and
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!!

Holler!

What up CE fam?

If you will be in Atlanta (or nearby) on Friday, June 18th, come check out Collective Efforts live at Smith’s Olde Bar. Not only will we be sharing the night with live hip hop group Vonnegutt from Marietta, GA, but we will hopefully be debuting a live acoustic set, as well as pulling out a couple of other musical surprises for you…not to mention great music provided by the one and only Captain Mudfish on the 1’s and 2’s. Hope to see you all out!

Peace,
Ben Hameen

Even if you already have the album, grab another one from FatBeats.com who recently added yours truly to their catalog! They are selling hardcopies of Freezing World for the low low.

Holler!

Congratulations to Mike-A and Ealzee, who tied for the most votes in the CE Remix Challenge! One or both of these versions will be chosen to be featured in the next CE video. More info on that to come…

Out of the 30+ submissions, we chose our favorite 6 versions of “I Get Down” and “Hour of Change” to share with the world on Bandcamp. The 12 remixes are free to download individually or all at once. Share them with your friends, throw one on a mixtape, bump them in the car…whatever. Each version is in its original form, exactly as each producer created it with no remastering or mixing. (Some are a little louder than others, mixed differently, etc.) There were many others that were dope, and much respect goes out to all of the producers who participated.

These 12 tracks are represented by one of the 12 MPC pads you see on the cover above (designed by J-Mil), and each one symbolizes a new musical connection made and yet another branch sprouting from the ever-expanding CE family tree. Atlanta and beyond…this music is universal!

All producers who submitted their info can expect a gift from the crew.

Peace,
Ben Hameen

CHECK OUT THE SUBMISSIONS SO FAR…CLICK HERE

The other night we were brainstorming and we realized that we know so many incredible producers who are down with the music, and we would love to hear one of you remix a new CE joint. Whether you use a beat machine or a mouse and keyboard, any and all producers are welcome to test your skills on this CE Remix Challenge. Here’s the scoop:

DETAILS:

Choose from one of the following songs to remix from Freezing World and get your version of the track featured in a new CE video. You have the choice between “I Get Down feat DJ Mafioso”, or “Hour of Change” (which might be a true challenge as it contains singing that you would have to match up).

The links to the acapellas and the beat references are below (or you can click on either song title above). They are hosted on SendSpace. Included below are some lofi streaming versions of the songs, in case you haven’t heard them.

“I Get Down feat DJ Mafioso” (download remix pack here)

“Hour of Change” (download remix pack here)

There might be some space at the beginning or the end of these files, but if played simultaneously you would be able to see the structure in a wav editor of some sort. These files are not mastered, and the BPMs are included, however, may not be 100% accurate depending on the machine/equipment you are using. They are simply there as a reference for you to get started quickly.

SUBMISSION:

We’ve created a dropbox at http://drop.io/ceremix. You can either manually add the files there, or you can email them to ceremix@drop.io and they will automatically be placed in the dropbox.

1. Render your finished work as an mp3 before sending to the drop.
(You can put some mastering effects on it to beef it up, but we might ask you for an unmastered version if we decide to use your remix. Make sure to label the MP3 with the song title and “Your Name Here” Remix)

2. To claim your prize, send an email to collectiveefforts@gmail.com with CE REMIX CONTEST in the subject.
(Include your name, the remix/es you did, as well as a physical address to mail you the prize.)

We really appreciate your participation in this, and just to give incentive, everyone who actually puts a finished remix in THE DROP will get a special gift from the crew (only one gift for each producer, but you are welcome to post a couple of different versions to the dropbox, and are in no way limited to the number of remixes you want to submit). See above about claiming your gift.

FINAL SELECTION – MAY 1ST, 2010:

The top TWO picks (for each song) will be chosen every Friday until the deadline (May 1st), and the rest of the drop will be cleared to make room for new entries. If your remix gets removed from the drop before that time, please read the comments, follow the instructions above and try again. We want to give everyone a chance, but we are also looking for something professional. Thanks in advance for being a good sport about honest criticism.

Note: We will be posting comments on the songs directly (and here), so if you want to rework your mix based upon feedback given, you can always resubmit. The cut off is midnight, Friday, April 30, when the drop will be officially closed and the final selection will be made.

Good luck to all!

Peace,
Ben Hameen & The CE Crew

Collective Efforts brings some Atlanta flavor to Asheville, NC this Saturday night as part of a weekend of great artists including Bonobo and Blue Tech Live Bands . If you know anyone in that area, please let them know to come check out your fam on Saturday night.

Here’s a link to check out the club’s website:

www.Club828.com

And more info about the weekend:

www.JamBase.com

Peace!

We had so much fun in Atlanta, we had to do it again. This time we’re bringing the party to Athens!

See you this Saturday!

Peace,
Hameen

Come join us in celebrating the release of our fourth full-length album as Collective Efforts!

“Freezing World” is out on the 16th of February, and we will be at Smith’s Olde Bar the following Friday with guests Dillon, J-Live and DJ Synthesis on the tables.

The plan is to blow your minds with dope new music from the crew, incredible features and guests, and a CE show like you’ve never seen before, complete with the new CE Live line-up, which consists of:

Richard Jones on drums and percussion, Matthew Weiss on guitar, Alfredo Lapuz, Jr. on keys, and the newest addition to the crew, Jim Coley on bass guitar. As usual, the super-talented Claire Kaye will be there to back us up on the vocals and the homie Synt will help out with some cuts where needed. We are excited about the show, and the new record, and we hope to see you all out to support your fam. Oh, and we will have hoodies and shirts with the new album theme! Stay tuned for designs…and if you aren’t up on the latest CE news, click here to check out the most recent blast and make sure to sign up for the mailing list above.

Peace,
Ben Hameen
Collective Efforts Crew