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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 26
Earplug is a biweekly email newsletter, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the
international electronic music community.
With the cold wind coming down hard from the north and the number of daytime
hours continuing to shrink, heading down to Mexico with the folks from MUTEK
for their 10-day traveling road show sure sounds like a good idea. Its
amazing the kind of places that following electronic music can take you, and
from the list of countries which participated in this year's DJ magazine Top
100 poll (120 strong!), the sounds' reach continues to grow despite some
very real barriers. And what about the amorphous Big Bad Music Business?
Will all of the mergers and digital start-ups help spread more music to more
people, or will they simply become another barrier to overcome? Only time
will tell. Stay tuned.
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And Then There Were Three?
Big Media's about to get a hell of a lot bigger, and that means fewer major labels. It started out quietly enough, with Universal Music's $100 million fire-sale purchase of the David Geffen/Steven Spielberg/Jeffrey Katzenberg brainchild DreamWorks Records. Then the one-two-three punch: Sony announced a 50-50 joint venture pact with media behemoth BMG, EMI began to line up funds to purchase Warner Music, and buyers appeared on the scene to take over Warner Chappell — the $1 billion music publishing arm of Warner. When the earth stops shaking, Universal, Sony/BMG, and EMI/Warner may be the three remaining record companies, each hoping to better survive in a market plagued by CD piracy and Internet song-swapping. But the deals are already facing tough opposition from European independent music labels (who insist the industry needs more diversification, not less), and anti-trust regulators in the US and EU have yet to offer their stamps of approval. A big remaining question is what effect the mega-mergers will have on non-mainstream genres like dance and electronic music. "With the few major labels paying less and less attention to dance/electronic music, it's the independent labels that have always championed the genre who have it in their power to pick up the ball and run with it," says Billboard's Michael Paoletta. "More and more indies are already looking beyond CD/digital download sales into such money-making, exposure-rich areas as sync licensing." (CW)
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Taking the Net By Storm
The music industry has finally woken up and smelled the money — with digital singles continuing to eclipse CD single sales, Apple's iTunes averaging over one million downloads per week, and Napster debuting with a respectable 300,000 tracks sold during its first week of operation, lots of other companies are grabbing for a piece of the digital download pie. Now that pie is about to get a lot bigger, as Comcast, the nation's largest broadband cable provider, agreed this week to distribute and promote RealNetwork's Rhapsody across its network. Wal-mart, the nation's largest retailer, announced plans to offer an online music shop, as did electronics superstore chain Best Buy, who is partnering with MusicNow to offer its own 99-cent downloads. Even mammoth teen trendsetter MTV is getting into the business with its own branded download store. But iTunes isn't giving up its 80% market share without a fight, and rumors hit the street last week of a massive billion-download promotion with the world's largest fast-food chain, McDonald's. Soon it may be hard to remember a time when it was impossible to download songs legally. (CW)
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The Results Are In
The results are in from DJ magazine's annual Top 100 DJs poll: Dutch trance master Tiesto retained the top spot for the second year in a row; trance and hard dance continued their domination by taking half of the top 20 slots (with strong showings by Van Dyk, Oakenfold, Jules, Armin Van Buren, and Ferry Corsten); and seven women charted this year. Almost 62,000 people from an incredible 120 countries voted — a new record for the poll — and opinions were logged from as unlikely places as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Gambia, Guatemala, Moldova, Taiwan, and North Korea, proving the incredible global reach of dance music culture. North America housed 45% of the voters (trumping Europe's 35%), and more votes came in from the Netherlands than the UK. New entries to the list include the Queen of Dutch dance Lady Dana; American duo Gabriel & Dresden; techno DJs like Rush, Adam Beyer, Chris Leibling, and Marco Carola; and far-flung DJs such as Yoji Biomehanika, Cor Fijneman, and Andre Tanneberger. The full results, alongside interviews with all 100 poll winners, are in the 31 October - 13 November issue of DJ . (DJP)
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MORE HEADLINES
99 Cents Solution
Time names iTunes "invention of the year" more »
New Day Rising
New York's nightclub renaissance more »
£300 Per 30 Seconds
Pete Tong makes the UK Top 500 earners poll more »
Richest Man in Babylon?
Oakenfold's the most paid UK DJ more »
Pressing Delete
Millions may be dumping illegal files more »
Check Your Head
Court backs Beasties in copyright suit more »
Do Lawsuits Work?
CD sales rebounding more »
Spanking His Monkey
Moby returns to techno more »
Going Postal
USPS asks the Postal Service to change name
more »
Digital Dustbin
CDs could be history in 5 years more »
Looking Down on Heaven
New !!! album next year more »
Beta Testing
New Beta Band album in February more »
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Artist: |
Neil Aline |
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| Album: |
On the Rocks, Volume 2 |
| Label: |
Chez Music |
| Release: |
November 4 |
Since settling in New York in 1995, Neil Aline has emerged as one of deep house's most devoted ambassadors and one of the city's most tasteful DJs. His label, Chez Music, has grown to become one of the underground's most respected imprints. Aline recorded On The Rocks, Volume 2 live one afternoon at the tiny Manhattan hotspot APT, and the mix shares the club's intimate vibe — moving easily from Latin grooves (Bibi's "Zum Zum") to techy keyboards (DJ Said's "Fatback Villa") to laidback vocals (Miguel Migs' "Movin On") to, finally, the label's breakthrough single, "It's Yours," with E-man's already classic chant. (DJP)
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Artist: |
Al Haca Sound System |
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| Album: |
Inevitable |
| Label: |
Different Drummer |
| Release: |
November 17 |
Coming straight outta the harbor city of Greifswald, North-Eastern Germany, Al Haca Sound System leads the pack, even in this great year for blue-eyed dub, with their debut album Inevitable. Much like the old-school jams of labelmates Rockers Hi Fi, Al Haca's tracks are true ambient dubs, with bubbling basslines and acid-style flourishes beneath the lollygagging raps of Ras MC-Tweed and a cast of guests. Mr. V's "Heartbreaker" is a soulful standout, He-Man's "Killa" a wicked slice of twisted dancehall, and the album's closer, "Libation," is a super-deep house surprise. (DJP)
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Artist: |
A. Skillz and Krafty Kuts |
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| Album: |
Tricka Technology |
| Label: |
Finger Lickin' |
| Release: |
September 29 |
Like New York's Mark Ronson, UK big-beat refugees A. Skillz and Krafty Kuts have found an undeniable sweet-spot in unashamedly old-school hip hop party jams. But unlike Ronson's VIP list of guests, Tricka Technology features quality rappers like TC Izlam, Real Elements, and Droop Capone trading lines, and the producers don't bother messing with the basic party jam format or the beats, concentrating instead on modernizing and clubbing-out the basslines and bottom end. The results are most strongly displayed when Kurtis Blow drops in for an update of his classic "The Breaks" — his ageless voice sounds fantastic over a booming 21st-century groove. (DJP)
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Artist: |
Kinky |
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| Album: |
Atlas |
| Label: |
Nettwerk Records |
| Release: |
December 2 |
Nothing escapes the Mexican radio of Monterey city "rockeros" Kinky. The group's second album, Atlas, is bursting with Norteno ziggurat accordions, disco-rock guitars, border-bashing beats, socialist lyrics, and mischievous electronic flourishes. From the opening salvo of "Presidente" and the spoken-word pimp stroll of "Headphonist" (featuring Cake singer John McRae) to the sing-songy Jap-pop of the bawdy lullaby "Semillas de Menta" and the conveniently analogous "Minotauro," their last-band-standing mayhem feverishly delivers on the hype of free-trade rock. In the early '80s Joe Strummer had punks worldwide moshing in a pit of broken Spanglish to "Should I Stay or Should I go?" In 2003, Kinky responds with a foot-stomping, heart-pounding resolute "Quedate!" (JH)
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Artist: |
Chachi Jones |
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| Album: |
Claustrophilia |
| Label: |
Lunaticworks |
| Release: |
October 21 |
Although many electronic musicians are content with a screen filled by Reason or Acid modules, a small movement of hardware manipulators, including Sacramento IDM producer Donald Bell (aka Chachi Jones), have mastered the arcane technique known as "c-bending." To further personalize the resonant atmospherics that dot Claustrophilia, Bell "circuit bends" an array of homemade toy instruments, including a demonic-sounding Speak & Spell, doctoring them to blurt unpredictable bytes of alien sound. The result is a heady, calculated pastiche of intelligent ambient glitch, with moments of near-silent minimalist sterility contrasted expertly against frenetic bursts of obsessive programming. (SM)
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Artist: |
Chicken Lips |
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| Album: |
DJ Kicks |
| Label: |
K7 |
| Release: |
November 3 |
For their edition of the long-running DJ Kicks series, the dynamic British trio Chicken Lips dig deep into their late '80s vault, kicking out a synth-driven set that finds punk, funk, dub, disco, rap, electro, and new wave all competing for their square of the dancefloor. Not content to merely cut together trendy electro favorites, Chicken Lips meld rare grooves like funkster Jimmy Spicer's "Bubble Bunch," Nina Hagen's "African Reggae," and a Larry Levan mix of Gwen Guthrie with new remixes from Carl Craig and Matthew Herbert. Of course, the Lips throw in a few of their own tracks for good measure — including the new exclusive cut "Bad Skin." (EMW)
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Artist: |
The Lithium Project |
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| Album: |
Many Worlds Theory |
| Label: |
Hydrogen Dukebox |
| Release: |
November 4 |
OK, downtempo fans, it's safe to come out now. In the late '90s, chill-out music became synonymous with cheesy coffeehouse compilations and Buddha Bar knock-offs. So props are due to the UK production duo of Jason Farrell and Kenny Clarke for overcoming the stigma and delivering an engaging alternative. Many Worlds Theory, the duo's second album as the Lithium Project, is atmospheric without being obvious, comfortably extending the mellow grooves with a jazzy vibe and sparse arrangements, the unhurried beats percolating under thin swaths of strings, keyboards, guitar lines, horns, and other live instruments. The album will certainly satisfy the La-Z-Boy set, but its sophisticated production is more be-bop than head-nod. (TP)
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Artist: |
Amy Winehouse |
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| Album: |
Frank |
| Label: |
Island |
| Release: |
October 20 |
On her impressive debut album, husky-voiced Amy Winehouse sounds like she's spent a lifetime listening to jazz — even though she's only 20 years old. The young North London singer overcomes her lack of experience by combining her passion for jazz with the raunchy sass of her own generation's hip hop and R&B — she owes as much to Erykah Badu as she does to Billie Holliday. Her bold voice is the obvious focal point of smoky ballads like "Mr. Magic" and "Take The Box," though the shuffling hip hop beats in the (hilariously) scathing "F*ck Me Pumps" and the provoking "Stronger Than Me" illuminate her tougher, aggressive side. Frank is one of the strongest debuts of the year. (TP)
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EARPLUG FAVES
Dani Siciliano, Likes (K7)
Various Artists, Channel 2, (Output)
Baba Zula & Mad Professor, Psychebelly Dance Music(Doublemoon)
Underworld, 1992-2002 (JBO/V2)
Chungking, We Travel Fast (Tummy Touch)
Blim, Lost in Music (Thursday Club)
Boozoo Bajou, Remixes (Stereo Deluxe)
Echostar, Sola (Shadow)
Bad Boy Bill (mix), Behind the Decks (System)
Junkie XL, Radio JXL (Roadrunner)
Various Artists, Stargazing (Guidance)
DJ Thomas (mix), Tropical Hot Dog (Myutopia)
The Crystal Method, Legion of Boom (V2)
Jetty, Jetty (Lax)
Meshell Ndegeocello, Comfort Woman (Maverick)
Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique, Showtyme (Battle Axe)
Sander Kleinenberg (mix), Everybody (Thrive)
James Hardaway, Big Casino (Hydrogen Dukebox)
Various artists, Afrique C'est Chic (Slip N'Slide)
Pete Rock, Lost and Found (BBE)
Ramiro Musotto, Sudaka (Fast Horse)
Various Artists, Fat Eyes Presents Dancehall Attack & Dee-Lite (Heartbeat)
Joss Stone, The Soul Sessions (S-Curve)
Plaid, Spokes (Warp)
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Recap: Candela Art and Music Festival
October 16-18
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
The second edition of the Candela Art and Music Festival in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a huge success: from the opening night extravaganza (hosted by the Ubiquity crew) to the closing night party celebrating Straight No Chaser's 15th anniversary, the festival was a non-stop celebration of the soulful side of dance music. Festival organizer Pablo Rodriguez brought together top visual artists (including HVW8, Doze Green, Swifty, Mitch, Mode 2, and Dustin Ross), an international group of DJs and producers (including John Arnold, Dixon, Afronaught, Tyler Askew, Karl Injex, Nicodemus, and Osunlade), and plenty of Puerto Rican artists (Local 12, DJ Millo, Chucky Rojas, many
others) and fans for three days of art, dancing, and fun. The festival was buoyed by the complete lack of egos and the overwhelming support from all of the participants: DJs were getting down to other DJs, artists were snapping photos of each others' work, and the crowd of visitors and locals danced 'til sunrise every night. Old San Juan is undergoing a cultural renaissance (thanks in large part to Rodriguez' efforts), and many of the artists who participated spoke of future collaborations and extended stays — the sky's the limit for next year's Candela festival. (JS)
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Recap: Amsterdam Dance Event
October 30 - November 1
Amsterdam, Holland
This year's Amsterdam Dance Event was a triumph, with more than 1,300 people turning out for a three-day program that looked the industry's problems straight in the eye and explored numerous opportunities to adjust and continue expanding the sound and culture of dance music. The speeches and panel discussions were informative, serious, and filled with knowledgeable, dedicated professionals — they set the tone for the innumerable informal discussions happening in every inch of the Felix Mertens Conference Center. The ADE's organizers went out of their way to make business the priority, providing dozens of CD and turntable listening stations (for on-the-spot deal-making), easy-access bars, good food, internet access, and an atmosphere that was gezellig in a way that can only happen in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is also an ideal location for the music festival half of the event, and the city's clubs were filled with dozens of showcases, including genre-spanning performances from Fat Truckers, T. Raumschmiere, Blaze, Francóis K, and hometown heroes Junkie XL and DJ Roog, among many others. But the daytime conference program proved the week's greatest value, and the ADE will surely continue to grow in stature. (DJP)
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Preview: MUTEK en Mexico
November 28 - December 7
Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Tijuana, Mexico
Montreal's wonderful MUTEK festival is making an ambitious and exciting move to Central and South America, where the organizers have discovered not only a vast, untapped audience for electronic music, but also a huge nascent creative scene. MUTEK en Mexico takes the show on the road, with stops in three Mexican metropolises. Each stop will include panel discussions (in English with immediate Spanish translation), live experimentation and jam sessions, and a program of top-notch techno and electronic music artists. The lineups bring together MUTEK favorites like Akufen, Deadbeat, Tim Hecker, and Mike Shannon with Mexican innovators Mucof, Fax, and the Nortec Collective. Mexican labels Nopal Beat, Static, Mil Records, and Abolipop are all presenting showcases in what should be an exciting and illuminating tour. And next year, watch for MUTEK en Chile. (DJP)
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Real Player required for these streams.
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Adam Goldstone, live at DEMF/Movement Festival, May 23, 2003
One of New York's best underground DJs, Adam Goldstone, made the trip to Detroit for a mainstage appearance at this year's DEMF — his set was between live shows from ESG and Liquid Liquid, so this recording, archived at Milk Audio, heads out on a minimalist funk tip.
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DJ Hell, Live in Tokyo, October 2003
International Deejay Gigolo mainman DJ Hell's latest album, NY Muscle, was just released, and this mix, recorded live for a Tokyo radio show, moves cross-style from Freeland to the Art of Noise.
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Lotek HiFi
Ninja Tune's hip hop spin-off Big Dada is billing their latest signing, Lotek HiFi, as the Anglo downtempo equivalent to Outkast, and this debut mini-mix is a perfect chance to see if they can fill Big Boi's shoes.
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DJ Randall, Old School set live at The Killa Hertz launch party, September 2003
UK drum 'n bass fixture DJ Randall drops an amazing, educational old school set, unearthing some of the brightest hidden gems from yesteryear. Remember, these upfront selections were pumped live through the VALVE sound system — a hand-built stack of gigantic speakers fine-tuned specifically for drum 'n bass.
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Plasticman, Filthy Dub mix, November 13, 2003
That's right — with a "c" not a "k" — this Plasticman is one of the UK's leading "darkstep" DJs and producers, and the lines he's got shaved in his head are as severe as his beats. This is some next-level sh*t, including releases from his own label Terrorrhythm Recordings.
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Through the Looking Glass
The visionary team at Glassworks, one of London's premiere post-production houses, realizes that there are few things more compelling than the successful convergence of art and science. Specializing in 3-D modeling and Flame/Inferno digital effects and compositing, they are at the forefront of an era of unprecedented effects invention. Perhaps the most important evidence of their fledgling legacy is their in-house Research & Development team, responsible for proprietary software used to create the membranous void in Björk's "Nature is Ancient," the visualized sound waves interspersed throughout an amazing spot for Hewlett Packard and Bang + Olufsen, and, most recently, effects in a David Cronenberg-like spot for "Zeal," a single from Plaid's new album Spokes.
In addition to extraordinary commercial work on behalf of Mercedes, Cadillac, and Sprite, Glassworks has also partnered their technical acumen with director Chris Cunningham's surreal artistic vision, leading to truly groundbreaking videos for Aphex Twin ("Windowlicker") and Björk ("All is Full of Love"). (SM)
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watch » |
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High Design
The basic aim of H5, a rotating collective of Parisian directors founded by Ludovic Houplain and Antoine Bardou-Jacquet in 1995, is to avoid the limitations that often constrain graphic designers who venture into video directing. Substituting Hervé de Crécy for Bardou-Jaquet in 1999, the duo set out to incorporate their design training from Paris' Penninghen graphic arts institute while consciously deviating away from convention. Their first video, a highly conceptual piece for Alex Gopher's "The Child," shows a reverence for typography rarely seen in motion video. Working again with Gopher on "Use Me," the duo applies minimal effects, purposefully limiting the lighting and texture to give the video a highly stylized look. In 2002, the duo again successfully incorporated a refined design aesthetic into their award-winning spot for Röyksopp's "Remind Me." Through simple images like charts, graphs, maps, and instructional manuals, H5 was able to convey the sophisticated political message of the video, thus garnering them both the 2002 MTV Europe Award for Best Video and the audience favorite in the RESFEST 2002 "By Design" program. For evidence that H5 has stayed true to their aim of bucking convention in 2003, just watch their unique take on genetic predetermination in Massive Attack's "Special Cases." (SM)
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Waxing Poetically About Wax
Wax Poetics magazine is required reading for breakbeat freaks, hip hop historians,
and anyone who has spent time digging through dusty crates looking for vinyl treasures. The Brooklyn-based quarterly journal recently came out with a sixth edition filled with in-depth features and interviews with producers, DJs, writers, filmmakers, and designers who share an affinity with hip hop and vinyl cultures. Wax Poetics' writers treat their subject matter with deep respect, unearthing huge discographies and paying extreme attention to detail — no matter how obscure the artist or subject. The current volume includes a detailed look at the life and music of cosmic orchestra leader Sun Ra (whose long-lost film, Space Is the Place, was just released on DVD), an exploration of the out-of-print blaxploitation film Darktown Strutters, and a rare interview with legendary beatmaker 45 King. The WP crew knows that style and design play a huge role in the record world, and each issue is beautifully layed-out from front cover to back. This issue's bold checkerboard theme was skillfully created by graffiti-king-cum-world-renowned-graphic-designer Futura 2000, also the subject of an exhaustive interview within. (MS)
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Header Design:
Henry Obasi
Mailer Design:
Keats
Editors:
David J. Prince
Philip Sherburne
Sascha Lewis
Christopher Hampton
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Production:
Mark Mangan
Anjuli Ayer
William Pierce
Sander-Martijn Milks
Husani Oakley
Gray Sevilla
Contributors:
Colin James Nagy
Maggie Stein
Steve Marchese
Jon Spooner
Cyrus Wadia
Tim Pratt
Erin M. Whittaker
Jamie Strong
Jorge Hernandez
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Submissions/Feedback |
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Tell us what you think is exciting and worth including in Earplug by dropping us an email at tips. Writers interested in getting even more involved should reach us at contribute. And if what you want to do is criticize, praise, or generally comment on this publication, please send an email to feedback.
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Header Design |
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We have an open call to create the headers that run at the top of each issue. If you would like to submit a design, please email us at design and we'll send you the necessary specs.
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About Us |
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Earplug is an email newsletter dedicated to electronic music and its
many dynamic styles and influences. Published every two weeks, it features a
handpicked selection of music news, cultural spotlights, tip sheets, CD
reviews, original reporting, and music festival previews and reviews.
Earplug offers only pure editorial and unbiased news — no money is
accepted from any artists, labels, promoters, or companies seeking
mention.
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The first three people to tell us how Aril Brikha found 
