APRIL 15 - APRIL 28 Earplug is a biweekly email magazine, delivering a handpicked selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the international electronic music community. It's all a matter of perspective: the music industry is in a downward spiral that never seems to end, yet music itself is better than ever, thank you very much. Whether it's compact discs, MP3s, or radio streams, there are more ways to hear and collect music than ever before. But nothing will ever replace the thrill of hearing the stuff performed live or witnessing a gifted DJ work a dance floor into a frenzy, and the summer festival season offers numerous opportunities to see and hear a dizzying variety of thrilling tunes. Skol Beats in Brazil, Coachella in California, MUTEK in Montreal, and Sonar in Spain are just the beginning of what is shaping up to be an incredible festival season. Pack your bags and plug it in.             Never quit. Never do the expected. Never rest on your laurels. Never think great is good enough. Never Follow. For more than 100 years, Audi has lived by those words. Whether it's design, performance or technology, Audi relishes the lead.
		Stop Making Sense Downloading hurts sales. It's the assumption at the base of the international war on file sharing. But a controversial study released last week asserts that downloading has no significant effect on music sales whatsoever. Whoever's right, one thing's for sure — the music industry freefall is picking up some serious steam. Although first quarter sales in the US are up, sales of recorded music fell by more than 7% around the globe in 2003, and music behemoth EMI cleaned house last week by axing 20% of its artists and 1,500 of its staff — just days after posting larger profits than all of the other majors combined. With legislation apparently on the way in both the US and Canada that will make file swapping illegal, reports indicate that record labels are working on strategies to increase the price of single downloads from $0.99 to as much as $2.49. And, in a valiant attempt to make some sense of the now-dizzying array of digital music options, RealNetworks last week debuted a major update to RealPlayer that promises support for every major content format and online music download service — including iTunes' AAC. Between Bob Dylan shilling lingerie, robots conducting symphonies, and DJs spinning on Victrolas, the music industry remains a crazy up and down world. (CW)     Hot Fun in the Summertime The summer months are festival season, and two of the strongest electronic-music affairs — Barcelona's Sonar and Montreal's MUTEK — have just announced their upcoming lineups. The two festivals' selections sum up the state of "experimental," "underground," or "advanced" electronic music; this year, each festival adds a curatorial twist as well. In its 11th year, Sonar, which routinely draws nearly 100,000 attendees over its three days (June 17-19 this year), puts a special emphasis on hip-hop, featuring performances from Buck 65, Madlib, Kid Koala, Beans, Boom Bip, Prefuse 73, 2D2, Dabrye, Nobody, Brazil's Instituto, Organized Konfusion's Prince Po, and, in a nod to the classics, Gang Starr. The rest of the lineup, as usual, samples the full range of electronic music, from Massive Attack to Matthew Dear, DJ Hell to Juana Molina, with label showcases from the likes of Gomma, Ghostly, Komplott, and Tigersushi. One of the highlights sees Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai performing in Barcelona's majestic L'Auditori. Nicolai also plans an appearance at MUTEK alongside other members of his Raster-Noton label. The Canadian festival's experimental highlights include Richard Chartier with COH and Pan Sonic's Ilpo Väisänen. Junior Boys and Schneider TM, open the festival with their two different takes on electronic pop. The core of this year's festival (June 2-6), though, reinforces the strength of techno's new generation, with appearances from Isolée, Krikor, Crackhaus, and Egg, as well as headlining slots featuring Ricardo Villalobos, a Matthew Herbert DJ set, and Richie Hawtin in his first Plastikman live set in nine years. Start packing your bags. (PS)     Back to ZE Future When Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban decided to relaunch their groundbreaking ZE Records label in 2002, they expected the endeavor to be nothing more than two dedicated fans putting great lost music back in circulation. But releases of the first two compilations, New York No Wave and Mutant Disco, were impeccably timed — the new wave, dance-rock scene that had inspired them to start the label in New York in 1978, and release tracks by artists like Suicide, James White & the Blacks, the Contortions, and Kid Creole & the Coconuts, was enjoying a revival thanks to a new generation of devotees like the Rapture and DFA's James Murphy. Their reissues were hailed as some of the best music of the year. Now, the rediscovery continues with the reissue this month of Was (Not Was)'s second album, Out Come the Freaks, and a compilation of remixes of their songs entitled (The Woodwork) Squeaks. Forget about "Walk the Dinosaur" — before the group became an early MTV staple, the band was using its soul and funk as a bed for sarcastic political commentary, creating a sort of thinking-man's disco. The remix collection includes several edits by Detroit DJ Ken Collier, a contemporary of Larry Levan, who helped spawn the Motor City's techno revolution. ZE plans a greatest hits package and a reissue of Born to Laugh at Tornadoes for later this year, and rumors of a reunion tour abound. James Chance is also due for a series of reissues this year, and is currently in the studio recording a new album. And the label's evolution continues: Glasgow's Michael Dracula is their first new signing in two decades — the band has dan album due this year on the ZE Reloaded offshoot. (DJP)         MORE HEADLINES Last Gasp? Music industry struggles continue more » JumpStart Stalls Universal reconsiders pricing plan more » Band Wagons Retailers hop on digital music train more » Radio Revolution AM/FM gets a serious challenge more » Back on the Mic Beastie Boys return with 5 Boroughs more » DVD to the Rescue Music titles sales soaring more » Apple vs. the Beatles Heading to a UK court more » Settled MTV Europe, indie labels reach deal more » Timed Out "Janus" could change digital landscape more » Cultural Isolation? Terror alert for artist visas more » Apple Profits Surge iPods outselling Macs more » Where's the Love? Berlin parade in doubt more »
		Artist: Convolution   Album: Rough Cuts Label: Spooky Sounds Release: August 2003 If you ever wondered what a New York no-waver is doing 27 years on, then look no further than this release from ex-Mars/Don King member Mark Cunningham and his partner Silvia Mestres. Now based in Barcelona, Cunningham's main instrument is an effect-laden trumpet; he is accompanied by Mestres on guitar and samples. This CD, released on their own label, is their best yet, full of filmic atmospheres of dread and anticipation evoked with scuttling and clattering samples and sounds. Moroccan drums drive "Atomae," with lush synth washes accompanying the jazzy, wandering trumpet — suggesting a meeting of Miles Davis and Badalamenti in Tangiers. Exploding fireworks, recorded from Barcelona's legendary Correfoc night, punctuate "Nit de Sant Joan," over Cunningham's disorienting stretched and delayed trumpet. This album is an excellent companion to the recent re-release of Mars' complete studio recordings. (AC) Artist: Mocean Worker   Album: Enter the MoWo! Label: MoWo Inc./Hyena Release: April 6 Adam Dorn — aka Mocean Worker — knows his jazz chops, no doubt schooled by his father, the renown producer Joel Dorn whose credits include sessions with Roberta Flack and John Coltrane. On his fourth album, the self-released Enter the MoWo!, the junior Dorn combines the electronic wizardry that made his first three Mocean Worker albums drum 'n bass underground favorites with his unique understanding of great jazz, and the result is his most fun, catchy, and satisfying work yet. Guest musicians include jazz greats living and deceased, like trumpeter David "Fathead" Newman, guitarist Bill Frisell, Les McCann, Nina Simone, and Rashaan Roland Kirk, whose funky flute duet with Rinôçérôse's Franck Gauthier on "Shamma Lamma Ding Dong" is one of the album's standouts. The triumph of MoWo!, however, is Dorn's ability to make his funky dance tracks sound as warm, live, and inviting as the classics from which he draws inspiration. (DJP) Artist: World Standard and Wechsel Garland   Album: The Isle Label: Staubgold Release: March 15 The Isle is presented as a travel document, the collaboration of two discoverers on a musical voyage to a mythical land — yeah, the concept may sound hokey, but the result is a rich, subtle, minimalist classic. Koln, Germany's Jörg Follert built his reputation among experimental electronic music fans with his two albums as Weschel Garland; for The Isle he teamed up with Japanese artist Sohichiro Suzuki, aka World Standard, who is little known outside of Japan despite 20 years of recordings. Together they combine the sounds of strings, acoustic guitar, melodica, toy piano, and a bare minimum of percussion — intricately cutting up the sounds to create a fairy tale of seemingly long-lost sounds. (DJP)   Artist: Claro Intelecto   Album: Neurofibro Label: Ai Release: April 28 Neurofibro isn't just a sci-fi-sounding techno title, it's the shortened name of the genetic nerve disease Mark Stewart (aka Claro Intelecto) struggles under. Maybe this is why the album sounds so sincere. A cohesive offering of highly polished and varied techno that updates classic sounds, the album ebbs and flows freely, with changes in tone, tempo, and emotional content. Songs range from the ethereal and uplifting "Chicago" to the clunky, micro-sampled "Back," with its restrained, 303 acid squiggle. "Peace of Mind" features crisp hi-hats dancing in regiments over sad piano chords that lead to a stirring string coda. It can be said that some of the most focused art comes from times of pain and hardship, and this undoubtedly applies to Stewart's highly moving debut. (CJN)   Artist: Tyrant: Craig Richards   Album: Fabric 15 Label: Fabric Release: March 29 Craig Richards is the best DJ you don't know. Why? Because he eschews the blurry time-zone-treading lifestyle favored by his Tyrant counterpart, Lee Burridge, focusing instead on his weekly residency at Fabric. On the third of the Tyrant mixes, Craig finds the records that leave even the most devoted trainspotters throwing up their arms in frustration. Disc one delves deep into Germany's finest labels, extracting pearls from Sender, Trelik, Multicolor, and Perlon. One of the highlights comes from John Shananigans' "Charlie's on the Dancefloor" — a satire of dance floor hedonism. Disc two starts pitched down, or "more psychedelic than any of the drugs," to quote the Villalobos-rivaling vocoder on Jimi Tenor's "Muchmo." Dettinger picks up the pace with his off-kilter "Totentanz;" Richards ends with the sound of a grimy London basement on the Warlocks' sped-up two-step synth stabs on "Silence is Defeat." Being a homebody never sounded so worthwhile. (CJN)   Artist: M. Takara   Album: M.Takara Label: Submarine Records Release: March The latest dispatch from the Brazilian underground is this album of 12 untitled tracks by Maurício Takara, whose day job involves drumming for acclaimed São Paulo post-rockers Hurtmold. Here he also takes on guitar, bass, keyboard, xylophone, computer, and triangle to form scratchy, sketchy instrumentals that encompass dub, jazz, breakbeat, and post-rock. Recorded between 2000 and 2003, the album veers from highly accessible, jolly pop to noisily experimental distortion and overload. The cover art's strange naïveté translates into the primitive Casio-dub of track 7, which throbs and pulses with lo-fi echo. Track 9 comes across as an idiot savant version of "Albatross" with its gentle guitar refrain and cymbal crashes. It's an unpredictable and challenging release from Belo Horizonte's Submarine Records, a brand spanking new label well worth keeping an eye on. (AC)       EARPLUG FAVES Detroit Grand Pubahs, Galactic Ass Creatures From Uranus (Poker Flat) The Rurals, Messages (Peng) Junior Boys, Last Exit (Kin) Theo Parrish, Parallel Dimensions (Ubiquity) Pete Rock, Soul Survivor II (BBE) Two Lone Swordsmen, From the Double Gone Chapel (Warp) Matthias "Matty" Heilbronn (mix), Deep and Sexy 3 (Wave) Felix da Housecat, Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever (Emperor Norton) Throbbing Gristle, Mutant Throbbing Gristle (Novamute) Kid Spatula, Meast (Planet Mu) Aya, Strange Flower (Naked Music) Various Artists, Project Soundwave (Mediate) Los Amigos Invisibles, The Venezuelan Zinga Son Vol. 1 (Luaka Bop) Marques Wyatt (mix), Horizons (Om) Circlesquare, Pre-Earthquake Anthem (Output) Dieselboy (mix), The Dungeonmasters' Guide (System) Teargas & Plateglass, Teargas & Plateglass (Run/Waxploitation) Einstürzende Neubauten, Perpetuum Mobile (Mute)
		Preview: Skol Beats 2004 April 24 Complexo de Anhembi, São Paulo, Brazil The annual Skol Beats festival is one of the most important events in the Brazilian raver's calendar. Its fourth edition promises 17 hours of non-stop music by over 60 DJs and live acts — a promised million watts of sound. There will be stages presented by global club names like Bugged Out! and the End, as well as food areas and the ominous prospect of over 2000 security guards. For many of the artists, the festival will mark their first performance in Brazil, and the festival's extensive media coverage has made it a proven way for them to break into this emerging market. Fischerspooner, Basement Jaxx, and Dave Clarke will perform live; DJ highlights include Derrick Carter, Richie Hawtin, Sasha, Darren Emerson, Hernan Cattaneo, and Mauro Piccoto. The Brazilian end is represented by the cream of their national talent: drum 'n bossa from DJ Marky, Patife and XRS; techno from Mau Mau and Renato Cohen; and quality house by Robinho from Belo Horizonte. Skol Beats is probably the only electronic festival in the world where the drum 'n bass tent is the busiest in the whole festival and Movement provides a lineup including Roni Size, Photek, Ramilson Maia, and the Scratch Perverts. The visuals are supplied by many of the top VJs in the country, with VJ Duva's work veering towards hallucinatory video art and Feitoamãos providing a mixture of concept and elegance. (AC)     Preview: Moving Patterns April 23-28 New York, NY New York's Austrian Cultural Forum celebrates Vienna's thriving electronic music scene with a week-long festival that looks straight-ahead at the intersection of the city's thriving independent, underground culture with the worlds of advertising and consumerism. Moving Patterns is timed to coincide with an exhibition entitled "One In A Million: Economies of the Self in Everyday Urban Life," and the program actively seeks to flip the switch on the concept of "selling out" — instead of viewing commercial work in a negative light, the festival specifically features artists like Patrick Pulsinger and the Sofa Surfers' Michael Holzgruber who have retained their indie status by creating memorable music for television advertising for companies like BMW and Volkswagen. Other highlights include performances by dZihan & Kamien, Brian Eno collaborator Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and the Gameboy Music Club, a collective of musicians who create music exclusively on miniature game consoles. The concerts and DJ sets are augmented by screenings of Austrian short films and commercials, and the entire proceedings are free and open to the public. (DJP)         OTHER FESTIVALS Once.Twice April 15-17 Baltimore, MD Bonnaroo 2004 June 11-13 Manchester, TN Sierra Nevada World Music Festival June 18-20 Angel's Camp, CA
		Real Player required for these streams.   listen »   James Lavelle, Live in Japan Unkle James kicks it live in Tokyo with a smoldering breakbeat set of experimental cuts and proven crowd killers. Brought directly to your ears by the auditory warriors at samurai.fm.     listen »   DJ Tron and Stacs of Stamina, The Final Show Will this be the last Lick the Clit show? It seems to be in vogue to proclaim the end of your career early and often. Oh well, the guys are back with some heavy mash-ups and gully grime.     listen »   DJ Deep, Picks Mix 02 DJ Deep, the Parisian deep house maestro, flips it up with a picks mix of solid downbeat and hip-hop cuts that stay true to his smooth and deep nature.     listen »   Ryuichi Sakamoto & DJ Spooky, live in NYC Starting out in music as a third of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, Ryuichi Sakamoto has since forged an unparalleled path of musical experimentation. Together with NYC's subliminal kid DJ Spooky they spin a mélange of experimental electronics and mental hip-hop breaks.     listen »   David Duriez, live at WAGG in Paris, France David Duriez's glistening techno-fueled vocal house music does not fit into the general molds of French house music, but it is precisely this difference that makes Duriez so in demand. Listen in to his distinct, stripped-down house music in this mix made available by pulsation.com.       Looking for more hot mix sets and fresh new tracks? Check out Blentwell for an ongoing document of the evolution of blended music online.
		On the Spot As a literal focal point at raves, parties, and clubs, video mixing and composition has become almost as integral a component of the experience as the music itself. Some VJs function like graphic designers, cutting and pasting layers of prefabricated imagery along with the beat, while others act more like scientists creating pixilated cultures that evolve according to the rules of complex algorithms. Count San Francisco VJ and software artist Spot, aka Scott Draves, among the latter. Spot surely looks at the synthesis of art and science as source material for his ornately mutating and highly organic video ecosystems. With Spotworks, his new compilation DVD containing over 87 minutes of video art and commentary, he provides not only mind-blowing hardcore psychedelics, but also a visual theory of evolution applicable to a manufactured artificial life (A-life). "Dub Visuals" brings the resonant world of exoskeletal aesthetics to the screen as if an electron microscope was hardwired to a video projector, while "The Bomb" represents a coded software system that produces, as Draves notes on the DVD, "organic visual music creating a video stream that is fluid, textured and rhythmic." Although much of the heady theory behind these complex pieces may seem more suitable for a doctoral dissertation than a night out, the intricacy and artistry of Draves' work is something that will delight both sets of NASA enthusiasts — those who work for the governmental space organization and the others who reminisce about the legendary New York party. (SM)
		Filtered, Fast, Flipping With the Internet's musical content options soaring perilously close to a literal google, we've suddenly become increasingly dependent upon filtered content as a means to conserve both time and energy. Enter Fmagazine, a streaming broadband journal based in the UK that brings the steering and style of a front-shelf glossy to the online space. "Digital content for me has to be strong, beautiful and of a very high visual standard," says Editor Chrissie Adams. "Fmagazine is not about Web design; the format is actually intentionally very simple." While the function and navigation tools are indeed straightforward, the content is delivered over your machine with remarkable speed, a likely result of the official partnership of Fmagazine with one of the UK's biggest broadband providers, BT (British Telecom). Not only can you "flip" through over 135 pages of brilliant screen-aesthetic photographs and digitally captured paintings from celebrated artists like Tara McPherson and Jay Long, but the nucleus of Fmagazine is perhaps Filter, an innovative jukebox with a constant turnover of current releases sourced from around the world by Music Editor David Newell. Although features found elsewhere in the magazine are rotated over a two-month period, Filter is more regularly updated and currently boasts tracks and videos from artists as diverse as underground beatsmith Blockhead, future bass madman Tom Jenkinson (aka Squarepusher), and dutty rock poster boy Sean Paul. Most importantly, Fmagazine's combination of instantly accessible music, videos, and interviews reinvigorates the celebration of both new and established artists in a way a printed article can only partly manage. (SM)         OTHER FEATURES Farina Air Round the world Free Music Finder New site scours the web for free tunes Apple Soars But will it last?
		Header Design: Ivy Mailer Design: Keats Editors: David J. Prince Philip Sherburne Sascha Lewis Christopher N. Hampton Cyrus Wadia Jon Spooner Steve Marchese Production: Mark Mangan Anjuli Ayer William Pierce Sander-Martijn Milks Husani Oakley Gray Sevilla Contributors: Colin James Nagy Andy Cumming     Submissions/Feedback   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.       Header Design   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.       About Us   Earplug is an email magazine 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.         Sign up for more from Flavorpill Productions: CULTURE - flavorpill BOOKS - Boldtype FASHION - JC Report
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