Gratitude's <i>Gratitude</i>
Photo: Atlantic

Rock is ruling the new releases list this week, with albums by emo-rockers Gratitude, metal's Black Label Society and London indie-rockers the Kills.

Gratitude, featuring ex-Far frontman Jonah Matranga on lead vocals, release their debut, self-titled album, a raw, bare-bones rock effort led by the single "Drive Away."

Zakk Wylde gets back to his hard-rock soul with the new Black Label Society album, Mafia. The follow-up to 2004's Hangover Music, which was mostly acoustic, takes the sound back to BLS' thumping metal roots while also featuring two piano-driven ballads.

Gritty punk-infused duo the Kills release their sophomore album, No Wow. A stripped-down, aggressive rock effort, No Wow follows 2003's debut, Keep on Your Mean Side.

England's Kasabian release their energetic, pop-infused self-titled debut in the U.S. this week, led by the single "Club Foot," while Toronto's indie-pop outfit the Stars release their third album, Set Yourself on Fire.

Also out this week are albums by the Bravery's tour partners, Ash (Meltdown), DJ John Digweed (Fabric 20), and Sam Prekop (Who's Your New Professor).

Out Tuesday, March 8:

• 50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean (ThrowingMusic/BMG)
• Above This Fire - In Perspective (Life Sentence)
• AK-Momo - Return to N.Y. (Parasol)
• Alove for Enemies - The Harvest (Facedown)
• Alston - Voodoo for Fun and Profit (Repossession)
• Alter Boys - The Exotic Sounds of the Alter Boys (Lumberjack)
• Amazing Pilots - Hello, My Captor (Undertow)
• Nic Armstrong & the Thieves - The Greatest White Liar (New West)
• Ash - Meltdown (Record Collection)
• Asphalt Jungle - Enjoy This Trip (Hypnotic)
• Black Label Society - Mafia (Artemis)
  Read: "Zakk Wylde Rips Blind Followers On 'Just Another Black Label Society Record'"
• Boom Bip - Blue Eyed in the Red Room (Warp)
• Lynn Bryant - Woman Enough (Infinity Music)
• Eddie Bush - Eddie Bush (Infinity Music)
• Brad Byrd - The Ever Changing Picture (Free Agency)
• Deanna Carter - The Story of My Life (Vanguard)
• Combichrist - Everybody Hates You (Metropolis)
• Chris Cotton - I Watched the Devil Die (Yellow Dog)
• Des_Ark - Loose Lips Sink Ships (Lumberjack)
• Devil in a Woodpile - In Your Lonesome Town (Bloodshot)
• John Digweed - Fabric 20 (Studio Distribution)
• The Disease - Dyslexic Experts in Reverse Psychology (Alone)
• DJ Revolution - The ABC's of High Fidelity (Studio Distribution)
• Elanors - A Year to Demonstrate (Parasol)
• Tommy Emmanuel - Endless Road (Favored Nations)
• Evens - The Evens (Dischord)
• Forever Changed - Need to Feel Alive (Floodgate)
• French Toast - In a Cave (Dischord)
• Full Scale - Full Scale (Columbia)
• Reeves Gabrels - Rockonica (Favored Nations)
• Jay Geils - Jay Geils Plays Jazz (Stony Plain)
• Gratitude - Gratitude (Atlantic)
  Buy Now: Gratitude (Atlantic)
• Guapo - Black Oni (Ipecac)
• Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - Exploration (New West)
• Hot Club of San Francisco - Postcards from Gypsyland (Lost Wax Music)
• Icarus Witch - Roses on White Lace (Cleopatra)
• Into the Moat - The Design (Metal Blade)
• Kaddisfly - Buy Our Intention; We'll Buy You a Unicorn (Hopeless)
• Kaos - Hello Stranger (Studio Distribution)
• Kasabian - Kasabian (RCA)
• Kills - No Wow (RCA)
• Kings of Tomorrow - Trouble (Studio Distribution)
• Jimmy LaFave - Blue Nightfall (Red House)
• Living Legends - Classic (Basement/Legendary Music)
• Luciano & Sizzla - Jah Warrior III (Penitentiary)
• Mando Diao - Hurricane Bar (Mute)
• Milton Mapes - Blacklight Trap (Undertow)
• Amy Miles - Noble Hatch (Redeye Distribution)
• Thee Missouri - In Voodoorama (Blue Disguise)
• Monade - A Few Steps More (Beggars Banquet)
• Craig Morgan - My Kind of Livin' (BBR)
• Our Turn - Catch Your Breath (Youngblood)
• Over It - Silverstrand (Lobster)
• Paint It Black - Paradise (Jade Tree)
• Julius Papp - Heartbeat 2 (Studio Distribution)
• Pigeon John - Sings the Blues! (Basement)
• Pit er Pat - Shakey (Thrill Jockey)
• Pitch Black - This Is Modern Sound (Revelation)
• Sam Prekop - Who's Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey)
• Nelson Rangell - My American Songbook Vol. 1 (Koch)
• Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl - The Duke Meets the Earl (Stony Plain)
• Secret Garden - Earthsongs (Universal Classics)
• Sarah Sharp - Fourth Person (Redeye Distribution)
• Soilwork - Stabbing the Drama (Nuclear Blast)
• Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (Arts & Crafts)
• Rhonda Vincent & the Rage - Ragin' Live (Rounder)
• Winter Solstice - The Fall of Rome (Metal Blade)
• Various artists - Acoustic Tribute to Tim McGraw (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Fastlife Music Presents Code of the Streets (Fastlife)
• Various artists - The Guitar Tribute to Boston (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Hip-Hop Tribute to Metallica (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Hitmakers: The String Quartet Tribute to the Matrix
• (Vitamin)
• Various artists - The Kings of Funk, Compiled by RZA and Keb Darge (Studio Distribution)
• Various artists - Latin Empire (Independent Music)
• Various artists - Louie Vega Presents Dance Ritual (Studio Distribution)
• Various artists - Love Song: The Piano Tribute to the Cure (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Tracy Byrd (CMH)
• Various artists - Return to Glory 1 (True Life Jazz)
• Various artists - Revive the Soul (Revive the Soul)
• Various artists - Smooth Sax Tribute to Alicia Keys (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Smooth Sax Tribute to Shania Twain (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - Soul Piano Tribute to Anita Baker (Tribute Sounds)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Rush's 2112 (Vitamin)
• Various artists - The String Quartet Tribute to Switchfoot (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Violently: The String Quartet Tribute to Björk
• (Vitamin)
• DVD: Bob Dylan - "Bob Dylan World Tours 1966-1974: Through the Camera of Barry Feinstein" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Beth Hart - "Live at Paradiso" (Koch)
• DVD: Jin - "The Making of a Rap Star" (Image Entertainment)
• DVD: Leatherface - "Boat in the Smoke" (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Mike + the Mechanics & Paul Carrack - "Live at Shepherd's Bush London"
• (Eagle Rock)
• DVD: Pepper - "Live" (Volcom Entertainment)
• DVD: Usher - "The Glamorous Life" (Chrome Dreams)

March 15:

• Daft Punk - Human After All (Virgin Records)
• Kaiser Chiefs - Employment (Universal)
  Read: "Kaiser Chiefs 'Predict A Riot,' Music Press Predicts Franz Ferdinand-Like Success"
  Buy Now: Employment (Universal)
  
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 18 (Sony)

March 22:

• Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Atlantic)
  Read: "Franz Ferdinand Give Bloc Party A Leg Up"
  Buy Now: Silent Alarm (Atlantic)
• Moby -Hotel (V2/BMG)
  Read: "Moby Takes Aim At Nick And Jessica With 'Beautiful'"
  Buy Now: Hotel (V2/BMG)
  
• Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)
  Read: "Queens Of The Stone Age Keep LP, Tour Shrouded In Mystery"
  Buy Now: Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope)

March 29:

• Beck - Guero (Geffen)
  Read: "Finished Version Of That Beck LP You Downloaded Due In March"
  Buy Now: Guero (Geffen)
• The Bravery - The Bravery (Island)
  Read: "The Bravery Bring Today's Technology To Yesterday's Sounds"
  Buy Now: The Bravery (Island)
• Will Smith - Lost & Found (Interscope)
  Read: "Will Smith Has 'Sumthin' For Eminem' On New LP, Due In March"
  Buy Now: Lost & Found (Interscope)

• Gratitude
• Black Label Society
• The Kills
• John Digweed
• Guapo

Leggo my egos, says Def Jam head honcho Lyor Cohen — rumors that P. Diddy was wooing Foxy Brown to Bad Boy will remain just that, as Foxy has resigned with Def Jam and negotiated an Ill Na Na Entertainment label deal with the Universal Music Group in the process. The newly formed label is to be run by the rapper's brother-turned-CEO, Gavin "Pretty Boy" Marchand. ... Lil' Romeo's second album, Game Time, has been pushed back from its June 4 due date to July 16. That leaves Romeo with a little bit more time for pre-Game rituals, such as his radio Disney promo tour, and preparing for his post-Game campaign with McDonald's to push their Mighty Kids Meals, which begins September 13. ...

Mainstream country music legend Dolly Parton knows all that glitters is gold, and now she's buying the "Stairway to Heaven." Parton covered the Led Zeppelin classic for her upcoming record, Halos & Horns, receiving both Jimmy Page's and Robert Plant's blessings (though she took some liberties with the lyrics). ... The Neptunes have signed Minneapolis funk band Spymob as the first act on their on Star Trak Entertainment venture with Arista Records. Spymob are opening for N.E.R.D. and performing as their backup band on a three-week tour that kicked off Thursday in Los Angeles and crosses the country before wrapping up back there June 15. ...

While everyone keeps wondering if his film "House of 1,000 Corpses" will ever see the light of day, Rob Zombie's creepy video for Black Label Society's "Demise of Sanity" should soon be coming to a video outlet near you. Zombie is scheduled to shoot the clip on June 24 at a Los Angeles slaughterhouse. ... British pop rock foursome Gene will release their first Stateside album since 1997's Drawn to the Deep End on the new Artist Direct imprint iMusic in late summer. Libertine, which received rave reviews when it was released in the U.K. last fall, will feature four new tracks and will be promoted with a U.S. tour. ...

Fatboy Slim will stage another free beachside concert in his hometown of Brighton, England on July 13. Before Big Beach Boutique # 2, which will also feature John Digweed, Fatboy will be the official DJ at the World Cup soccer tournament in Japan in early June and will spin at a variety of events. ... Detroit rappers Slum Village will release their second album, Trinity, on July 30. The record finds acclaimed producer Jay Dee taking more of a back seat role to lyricists Baatin and T3. ... Tony Bono, the bassist for '80s thrash metal band Whiplash, died early Saturday morning from an apparent heart attack. He was 38. ...

Hulking singer Henry Rollins has enlisted what he deems an "amazing crew of people" to sing various songs by his former band, Black Flag, for a West Memphis Three benefit album. The LP, which will feature the Rollins Band playing backup, should see release in November ... Sense Field guitarist Rodney Sellars was forced to withdraw from his band's North American tour, which continues through June 14, after his four-year-old daughter, Leilani, and her mother were involved in a car accident on May 12 that left the girl in a coma. She's in critical but stable condition and is expected to require long-term medical care, for which a fund as been established to help the family with costs. Further information is available on the band's Web site (www.sensefield.com), and donations can be sent to Leilani Gutierrez c/o Globe Packaging, 179 E. 17th St., Box 400, Costa Mesa, California, 92627. ...

05.24.02

Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilminster had his trademark black cowboy hat swiped during the band's show at San Francisco's Club Townsend on May 17. Lemmy is offering an undisclosed reward for the hat — a concert favorite of the metal kingpin — and those with information are asked to e-mail the group's official Webmaster at acetrump@bigfoot.com. ... KRS-One says he's just getting better with time, as are some his pioneering peers. He recently revealed he's planning a group album with Doug E. Fresh and Big Daddy Kane under the moniker the Treacherous Three. ...

U2 and the songwriting team behind Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" were the big winners at the 47th Ivor Novello Awards held in London. U2's "Walk On" won Best Song Musically and Lyrically, while "Out of My Head" scribes Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis picked up a trio of trophies for Best Dance Single, International Hit of the Year and Most Performed Work. ... Silverchair were forced to cancel two Australian shows in Hobart, Tasmania and Sydney this week because frontman Daniel Johns, who suffers from the chronic condition reactive arthritis, was in too much pain to play. The band's new album Diorama will be released in the U.S. in July. ... Neil Diamond will kick off a 16-date North American tour September 5 in New Orleans. The Jazz Singer (and frequent target of Will Ferrell's scary love) will end the trek October 4 in Vancouver.

• Foxy Brown
• Lil' Romeo
• Rob Zombie
• N.E.R.D.
• Dolly Parton

Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method and Orbital will headline America's first Creamfields festivals in Long Island, New York, and Las Vegas in September.

DJs Timo Maas, Tall Paul and John Aquaviva will also perform outside of the Big Apple on September 1, while Basement Jaxx, Sandra Collins and DJ Dan will play Sin City on September 29, organizers announced Monday (May 21).

Several other top electronic acts are slated for both shows, including former Underworld DJ Darren Emerson, Stereo MC's, Uberzone, Richie Hawtin, Pete Tong, Josh Wink, Photek, Max Graham, Scott Henry, Scott Hardkiss, Scanty Sandwich and the Dub Pistols.

The Long Island festival, which will feature an outdoor main stage and several circus tent arenas hosted by influential clubs from the East Coast and the U.K., will also include DJ Feelgood, Christian Smith, DJ Dara and DJ DB. The event will run from 2 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Dave Ralph, Donald Glaude, Bad Boy Bill, Christopher Lawrence and Adam Freeland will spin at the Las Vegas festival, which will feature an outdoor main stage and six tents. That show will run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

More acts, along with ticket information, will be announced later this month, organizers said.

Leading European dance event promoters Cream staged the first Creamfields in the U.K. in 1998. Held annually since, it has become one of the biggest dance-music festivals in the world, attracting 50,000 fans last year.

This year's U.K. fest will be held August 25 at the Old Liverpool Airfield in Liverpool. Fatboy Slim, Gorillaz, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, Sasha, John Digweed, Paul van Dyk, Goldie, Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules and Pete Tong are among the artists scheduled to appear.

• Fatboy Slim
• The Crystal Method
• Orbital
• Timo Maas
• DJ Dan

John Digweed
Photo: Global Communication

DJ John Digweed and production partner Nick Muir will release the EP Beautiful Strange under their Bedrock moniker on May 8.

The record features five remixes of the new title track, including two by Digweed and Muir and another by Moonface (a.k.a. Phil Thompson), an up-and-coming DJ on Digweed and Muir's label, also called Bedrock. American trance wizard Voyager and England's Rui da Silva, the producer behind the recent club hit "Touch Me," also provide mixes. Beautiful Strange includes a new track, "Forge," a remix of last winter's "Voices" by newcomers Saeed & Palash and Bedrock's 2000 smash single "Heaven Scent (POB's Seismix)." Digweed — long considered the master of the mix CD, but also an established producer — will DJ with fellow Brit and occasional collaborator Sasha at Twilo for a show in New York this summer, according to his publicist. Plans for the show were put on hold last month when Sasha fell ill. Sasha and Digweed were resident DJs at the club the past four years. Global Underground: Los Angeles, Digweed's third contribution to the popular double-album mix series, was released in February.

• John Digweed

Fatboy Slim
Photo: MTV News

Fatboy Slim's five nods tops the long list of nominees for the DanceStar 2001 Tiscali World Dance Music Awards, which were announced Wednesday (April 25).

Close behind are Sonique and Spiller, each nominated for four awards, which will be presented June 6 at London's Alexandra Palace.

Fatboy Slim, a.k.a. Norman Cook, is up for Best Club DJ, DanceStar of the Year and Best Breakbeat/Eclectic Act for "Sunset (Bird of Prey)," Best Album of the Year for Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Best Video for "Demons" (featuring Macy Gray).

The other nominees for DanceStar of the Year are Timo Maas for "Ubik," Spiller for "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)," Craig David for "Rendezvous" and Sonique for "It Feels So Good." Sonique's Hear My Cry is also nominated for Best Album along with Daft Punk's Discovery, MJ Cole's Sincere and Bent's Programmed to Love. Fatboy faces stiff competition in the Best Club DJ category from Erick Morillo, Danny Tenaglia, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Seb Fontaine, Fergie, Carl Cox and Judge Jules.

Morillo, founder of New York dance label Subliminal Records, will host the awards along with Gail Porter and DJ Brandon Block.

Faithless, who occasionally feature founder Rollo's sister, Dido, are among the acts scheduled to perform. Others include U.K. garage duo Architechs, trance star Darude, Denmark percussionists Safri Duo and Jakatta, who will perform his hit European single "American Dream," a reworking of the title track to the film "American Beauty." Additional artists will be announced later.

Moby, Artful Dodger, ATB and Chicane (featuring Bryan Adams) performed at last year's inaugural ceremony.

DanceStar 2001 will be webcast live at Tiscali's music portal, www.musix.com.

A worldwide academy chose the nominees and winners are voted on by the public at www.dancestar.net.

In conjunction with the awards, DanceStar will release a compilation album featuring many of this year's nominees.

• Fatboy Slim
• Timo Maas
• Sonique
• Daft Punk
• M.J. Cole

John Digweed
Photo: Ultra

MIAMI — Even after just one day, no matter what corner you stood on or what stretch of beach you relaxed on, from noon to dawn (and beyond), South Beach was dominated by the 16th annual Winter Music Conference. A stroll down Washington Avenue, the area's main club drag, was peppered, as it is every year of the massive dance-music industry gathering, by a variety of enormous pounding beats cranked out of seemingly every corner. At 4 o'clock — a.m. or p.m. — the sound is inescapable. And for the throng of attendees (and the liberal dose of spring breakers), that's just the way they like it. Whether it's playing in a bikini boutique, a pizza joint or a taco stand/Internet cafe, the bass doesn't stop pumping.

Saturday was the conference's official opening, and a few parties went all out in their efforts to entertain and impress. Ultra Records, a New York record label that is also one of the leading dance music distributors, hosted two events that highlighted stars from across the genre's wide spectrum of styles. The first, the daytime Electronic Dance Music Festival, drew thousands to Bayfront Park in Miami proper to see such mainstays of the scene as Paul Oakenfold, LTJ Bukem, Pete Tong, Carl Cox and Christopher Lawrence spin in seven "arenas" of sound. The megaclub Space hosted the event's nighttime continuation, with the Washington, D.C., veteran duo Deep Dish topping the bill.

Back in South Beach, a slew of top Detroit techno artists spun afternoon sets ranging from soulful to driving at an intimate outdoor-patio party that also included a barbecue. One of the few techno-fueled events of the conference's five days — most parties are dominated by the crowd-pleasing rhythms of house or trance — it featured such underground mainstays on the decks as Chicago producer Alton Miller, old-school Detroit vet Mike "Agent X" Clark, Detroit techno maverick and guru Terrence Parker and a set by Juan Atkins, one of the music's founders.

Down the block later that night, club Karve was the site of a conference anomaly: a hip-hop show. Following a populist turntable set by Arizona DJ Z-Trip that incorporated such jams of yore as the Who's "Baba O'Riley" (with a slamming drum'n'bass break tossed in behind the coda) and Peter Schilling's lone '80s hit "Major Tom (Coming Home)," a couple of hip-hop ladies took over. Los Angeles singer/rapper Mystik not only hosted the event, but also took over as a between-set MC, rocking the crowd with her mix of conscious "struggle" rhymes and incisive singing. She passed the mic to Bahamadia, the Philly rapper who released the EP BB Queen last year, and she proceeded to slice and dice a 10-minute a capella rhyme before rocking a rousing set that got the crowd open.

Up the street at Crobar, one of SoBe's most popular clubs, the planned set by trance masters Sasha & Digweed was hampered by the absence of one of its members: Sasha, rumored to have sustained a recent ear injury, didn't make the trip to Miami, forcing Digweed to go the night alone. On the open-air rooftop of South Beach's landmark Sony Building, two very different live acts performed. The Detroit Grand Pubahs, responsible for last year's goofy electro hit "Sandwiches," displayed more of their unique electro stylings. The duo's Paris the Black Fu toyed with a Vocoder, donned a shiny silver space-suit style outfit and even tapped a guest singer who resembled a half-dressed superhero, albeit one with a barrel chest and protruding gut. The Pubahs gave way to the Toronto jam band the New Deal, a trio that uses live bass, drums and keyboards to emulate and expand upon the basic tenets of house and trance.

• LTJ Bukem
• Bahamadia
• John Digweed
• Pete Tong
• Carl Cox

After earning his biggest U.S. commercial success earlier this year with Communicate, a double-disc set mixed with partner Sasha, British progressive house DJ/producer John Digweed will drop another double mix, Global Underground: Los Angeles, February 27.

The mix condenses highlights from a seven-hour set Digweed spun at Los Angeles' Mayan Theater on October 30 nto just over 2½ hours. It is also the 19th installment in the popular Global Underground series, which has featured mixes by Paul Oakenfold, Danny Tenaglia and Darren Emerson.

Los Angeles will be Digweed's third third Global Underground entry, following sets from Hong Kong and Sydney, and it will join Oakenfold's mix in New York and Sasha's in San Francisco as the only mixes from a U.S. gig.

"There's always been a good scene here," Digweed said recently of the U.S., "but it's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger." Among the tracks he serves up on Los Angeles are Way Out West's "The Fall," Pole Finder & CP's "Apollo Vibes" as well as a surprising appearance by drum'n'bass mastermind Photek, whose deep-house track "Mine to Give" was a highlight of his recent album Solaris. While promoting Communicate, which has sold more than 74,000 copies since its June release, according to SoundScan, Digweed explained that his U.S. gigs are a welcome change from some of his shows back home.

"At [U.S. clubs], you've got the luxury of playing until 10 or 11 in the morning," he said, "so you've got a good length to your set. Whereas in England, a lot of the clubs finish at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. "You can't really play as long as you want to," he added, "but I think that just makes you appreciate things when you come over here and you've got all these records and you can play them all. In England, I'm like, 'Right, I've only got 3 hours,' so you condense it down."

• John Digweed

After earning his biggest American commercial success earlier this year with Communicate, a double-disc set mixed with partner Sasha, British progressive house DJ/producer John Digweed will drop another double mix, Global Underground: Los Angeles, February 27.

The mix condenses highlights from a seven-hour set Digweed spun at Los Angeles' Mayan Theatre on October 30 into just over 2½ hours. It is also the 19th installment in the popular "Global Underground" series, which has featured mixes by Paul Oakenfold, Danny Tenaglia and Darren Emerson.

Los Angeles will be Digweed's third Global Underground entry, following sets from Hong Kong and Sydney, and it will join Oakenfold's mix in New York and Sasha's in San Francisco as the only mixes from U.S. gigs.

"There's always been a good scene here," Digweed said recently of the U.S., "but it's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger." Among the tracks he serves up on Los Angeles are Way Out West's "The Fall," Pole Finder & CP's "Apollo Vibes" as well as a surprising appearance by drum'n'bass mastermind Photek, whose deep-house track "Mine to Give" was a highlight of his recent album Solaris. While promoting Communicate, which according to SoundScan has sold more than 74,000 copies since its June release, Digweed explained that his American gigs are a welcome change from some of his shows back home.

"At [American clubs], you've got the luxury of playing until 10 or 11 in the morning," he said, "so you've got a good length to your set. Whereas in England, a lot of the clubs finish at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. "You can't really play as long as you want to," he added, "but I think that just makes you appreciate things when you come over here and you've got all these records and you can play them all. In England, I'm like, 'Right, I've only got three hours,' so you condense it down."

• John Digweed

Sonicnet Music News

Welsh trance DJ/producer Sasha (born Alexander Coe) and German singer Sasha (born Sasha Schmidt) have settled their dispute over domestic rights to the name Sasha, as the latter will release his U.S. debut under the name Sasha Alexander.

The two have been fighting over the name since early summer, when a dance remix of Schmidt's single "If You Believe" climbed into the "Billboard" Club Play chart.

"It was a complete mess," Coe said. "He was sending white labels out to these record stores with just the name Sasha on them, and it was this horrible, cheesy pop music. The guy has definitely tried to capitalize off my name. I've worked very hard to build my name. For some cheesy pop artist to use it is nonsense."

Responding to Coe, Schmidt said, "What can I say? I never met him. It was between our lawyers. It was a little bit strange for me because it's my name and it's been my artist name since two years."

Schmidt said he did not think audiences would compare the two artists because their music is totally different.

"Maybe the club charts are his territory," Schmidt said. "Maybe that's why he came in, because he never said a word when I was just releasing my singles."

Schmidt released his debut album, "Dedicated To...," in November of 1998. The record, which features a cover of the Commodores' "Easy" and the German top-20 hit "I'm Still Waitin'," went platinum in Germany and gold in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland. A collection of songs from "Dedicated To..." and new material was scheduled for release in the United States on Reprise Records this summer, but has been pushed back to early next year, according to his spokesperson.

Coe began his career spinning records at the London dance club Renaissance. In recent years, Coe and partner John Digweed have set the standard for mix-CDs with their acclaimed "Northern Exposure" series, and this summer released "Communicate," the first mix to debut on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart.

Both artists and their lawyers have decided the rights to the name Sasha should go to who had the name first in each country.

"The early bird catches the worm," Schmidt said. "He was there before and it's also his name, so he has Sasha in America and I will be called Sasha Alexander or whatever, just so we don't confuse people."

In Germany, Coe will use the name DJ Sasha, he said.

"It's unfortunate, but this guy has actually sold like a million records in Germany," Coe said. "In the States, he has absolutely no right to use my name. And we're still fighting to make sure he doesn't release any records in the U.K. It's very, very frustrating."

Schmidt, who sings entirely in English because, he says, "It's hard to sing love songs in German," said his grandfather named him after a '70s French singer named Sasha. "It's a Russian name that means 'the protector,'" he said.

• John Digweed
• Sasha

After breaking through to the mainstream in 1999 with his Bedrock single,"Heaven Scent," English DJ John Digweed is quickly evolving into a legitimate multimedia star here in the U.S.

"Communicate," the new mix record from Digweed and his frequent DJ collaborator, Sasha, is currently charting in the "Billboard" Top 200, right as Digweed is drawing rave reviews for his part in "Groove," a film that recounts a night in the life of the San Francisco dance scene.

Sasha and Digweed have grown global-sized reputations as international DJs since first hooking up in the U.K. in 1993. Bedrock, one of Digweed's many other projects, percolated over to wider, non-club audiences last year when its "Heaven Scent" track was featured in a DKNY commercial.

Now, as "Groove" continues to open in cities across the country, Digweed is earning praise for playing himself in a role that calls for him to literally save a dance party in the S.F. warehouse district after local cops come in and attempt to shut it down.

Digweed recently sat down with MTV News and talked about how he was approached to become involved in the "Groove" film.

"Basically, I got a call from my management over here," Digweed explained, "saying that there's people interested in me playing a cameo role in this film that's being shot in San Francisco. So, I got the script sent over, read through it, and met with the director [Greg Harrison] when I was in San Francisco, doing some gigs."

"I met up with the director and kind of really hit it off. I was kind of nervous at one point, just in how I wanted to be perceived and everything. But once I met [Harrison] and heard his intentions for the film and I saw he generally wanted to promote the scene in a good way--that was my main concern--once I realized that, I got involved."

"But it was great," he added. "I love playing in San Francisco. It's one of my favorite places, and to be involved with a project over there was a lot of fun. Everyone was so supporting, 'cause I'd never done any acting like that before, so it was very nervous, but I had a lot of fun."

The "Heaven Scent" single by Bedrock is featured on the "Groove" soundtrack, and Digweed indicated that a follow-up to that record is being discussed, an album that would consist of the records he spins during his scenes in the flick.

"That's something that's been talked about, and I think it's gonna happen," Digweed said.