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MAY 13 - MAY 26
Earplug is a biweekly email magazine, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the
international electronic music community.
With the great speed that music now travels around the globe, the pursuit of the newest and most futuristic is a game open to many, not just the dedicated few. But it's easy to forget that there can be dignity in longevity, an idea borne out by Kraftwerk, the Cure, and the Pixies at last week's Coachella festival and by the endurance and ambition of Detroit's upcoming Movement Festival. With industrial pioneers Ministry and Skinny Puppy up in arms over George Bush, and not-so-merry pranksters Negativeland mashing-up Mel Gibson, its nice to know that some veteran culture warriors are still up for the fight.
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The Future and Present of Digital Music
For those lost in the dark forest of digital music, MP3.com just handed you a big flashlight. Launched last week, CNET's revamped site includes comprehensive guides to the dizzying array of download services and MP3 players, digital music tutorials such as how to turn your stacks of vinyl into CDs, AMG-style music guides, and Musicvine — a visual search engine to explore artists' musical relationships. Just in time, too, because the digital music landscape continues to expand rapidly. Apple's newest version of iTunes launched late last month and sold 3.3 million downloads in its first week, even as rumors spread that its download price is set to rise from $0.99. And what promised to be an all-out digital music street fight between iTunes and Sony's recently launched Connect turned out to be nothing more than a fizzle, with reports that Sony's digital music service is riddled with limitations. Freedom from limitations was also the theme of last week's Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in Washington DC, where music industry insiders, politicians, and artists huddled to discuss adapting to — and exploiting — the technology that is driving the music industry's sea change; technologies that include concert downloads on keychains and on artists' websites, surround-sound MP3s, artist scouting on the Internet, and super-charged next generation file swapping. The music industry can barely keep up, but at least it's trying. (CW)
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The Future Sound of Brazil
If you're searching for the next new sound of Brazil, you'll discover it in Instituto, a label founded in 2002 by a group of distinctive underground producers to mix their beloved samba with bits of maracatu, ciranda, manguebeat, dub, and hip-hop. The São Paulo-based collective — including producers Rica Amabis, Tejo Damasceno, Daniel Ganjaman, and graphic designer Rodrigo Silveira — has created an organic yet futuristic style that respects the country's great musical traditions while keeping all eyes and ears fixed on the contemporary sounds of the streets. Key Instituto releases include the compilation Coleção Nacional, a narcotic, dubbed-out mix of samba and hip-hop, and the O Invasor soundtrack album, an amalgamation of hard-hitting São Paulo hip-hop and punchy guitars. In fact, soundtracks make up an important part of the label's catalogue — the award-winning Amarelo Manga was released late last year to critical acclaim — and the film work helps keep Instituto afloat. Running an indie in Brazil is a thankless task, as piracy totally dominates the market. "People aren't spending money on CDs any more," Amabis says. "We haven't paid for the production of our CDs yet, so the problem is huge." But with international releases planned via Stern's Music, Instituto's growing catalogue may get wider distribution and recognition. Future releases include a collaboration with DJ Dolores, soundtrack work on the film Narradores de Javé, and mixing a soundtrack for composer Antonio Pinto — of Cidade de Deus fame — for an as-yet-unnamed Mexican film. Instituto will perform at Sonar Festival in Barcelona this June as part of a package of new Brazilian acts put together by the Eletronika Festival. It will be a rare chance to see the cutting edge of new Brazilian music together on European ground. (AC)
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Industrial Re-Revolution, Inspired by Bush
The first President Bush was in the White House when Trent Reznor originally emerged from Cleveland with Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine, beginning a career that would bring industrial music to the top of the charts. Now word is that the group's newest album, Bleed Through, is nearing completion and is set for release later this year. According to posts on the group's website, Reznor has been working and writing in both Los Angeles and New Orleans with engineer Atticus Ross, as well as sifting through demos and recordings from past sessions and listening to the work of Scientist and Adrian Sherwood for tape-delay inspiration. Ministry's Al Jourgensen, now split from co-founder Paul Barker, is also set to release a new album, Houses of Molé, on June 22. He has contributed a track to the Rock Against Bush compilation — on his website and in recent interviews Jourgensen credits presidents 41 and 43 for inspiring his best, and angriest, work. Ministry side-project Revolting Cocks are also in the studio recording a new album. Both Reznor and Jourgensen took inspiration from Skinny Puppy, and, as if on cue, Skinny Puppy are returning this month with The Greater Wrong of the Right, their 13th album and first release in nearly eight years. The album features guests like Danny Carey of Tool and Wayne Static of Static-X, and boasts politically charged tracks like "Pro-Test" and "DaddyuWarbash." It was the early work of Throbbing Gristle, however, that paved the way for the first wave of industrial music, and two new releases make their influence clear: The Taste of TG: A Beginner's Guide to the Music of Throbbing Gristle is just what the title suggests, and Mutant TG is the first ever collection of remixes of TG materials, and features reworking by Carl Craig, Two Lone Swordsmen, and Basement Jaxx' Simon Ratcliffe. (DJP)
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MORE HEADLINES
John Whitehead
1948-2004 more »
Sir Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd
1932-2004 more »
Lizzy Mercier Descloux
1956-2004 more »
New DJ Shadow
CD/DVD set due in June more »
Hip-Hop March
Russell Simmons organizes for GOP convention more »
Cheerio HMV
British retailer quits US more »
WB Slashes Prices
Hopes to stimulate catalog CD sales more »
Invisible Networks
New file-sharing systems emerge more »
Keychain Rock
Live music downloads in your pocket more »
Big Bad Apple
Majors dragging feet on iTunes Europe more »
Patent Approved
Apple owns iTunes interface more »
Consumer Protection?
Congress revisits DMCA more »
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Artist: |
Dykehouse |
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| Album: |
Midrange |
| Label: |
Ghostly International |
| Release: |
May 4 |
Midrange is a triumph for its swelling bursts of guitars and preternatural computer marrow — but it is also a small triumph for technology. It has one foot firmly planted in the sounds of the early '90s, but it would have been inconceivable in that decade for the rich textures of Midrange to emerge from a skeletal set-up of a personal computer, Fender, and beat-up microphone. Not only has Mike Dykehouse proven himself an adept musician and bedroom producer, he has succeeded in uniting his passion for the subtle melodic minutiae of IDM with the grandiose dynamics and distortion-soaked melodies of Swervedriver, Lush, and My Bloody Valentine. (SM)
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Artist: |
Schneider TM |
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| Album: |
Reconfigures |
| Label: |
Earsugar |
| Release: |
April 26 |
Why this guy isn't yet an indie rock icon is baffling. He covered the Smiths' "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" for crying out loud, and he's got the dumbest sunglasses in showbiz — surely a sign of cool in the indie world. This limited-edition compilation of his remixes for the likes of Lamb, Lambchop, and the Faint deserves to see Schneider TM receiving props alongside the Postal Service. His versions for Pulseprogramming, Lambchop, and the long-forgotten Boss Hog drizzle dulcet guitar tones over analog mulch and feathery flutterbeats — it's like listening to indie pop chopped by the blades of a fan. He folds in country touches, indulges a predilection for disco, and even gets downright funky on his chicken-scratching update of Ruby. "TM Vs Alc Levora," meanwhile, throbs like Fennesz on overdrive. These remixes may present Schneider TM as a hired gun, but he holds nothing back when he takes aim. (PS)
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Artist: |
Animal Collective |
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| Album: |
Sung Tongs |
| Label: |
Fat Cat |
| Release: |
May 6 |
Although their previous recordings seemingly show Animal Collective members Avey Tare and Panda Bear to prefer folksy strings and strums to blips and beeps, a mysterious component of their otherwise feral playing and organic songwriting feels electronic, as if you could reasonably substitute each primal guitar strum with a synth stab or sampled break. They approach their influences much like a producer deals with samples — a moment of Sun City Girls here, a quick loop reminiscent of the Beach Boys there — and that's why, after fully embracing the experience of Sung Tongs, a listener will feel equally prepped for both Simon & Garfunkel and Boards of Canada. (SM)
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Artist: |
Slicker |
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| Album: |
We All Have A Plan |
| Label: |
Hefty |
| Release: |
May 25 |
On 2001's The Latest, John Hughes III was certainly slick, sporting a dexterous production touch while flirting with a wide variety of organic and electronic genres. On the recently dropped We All Have a Plan, however, he is slicker, at last maturing into an artist befitting the glossy confidence of his pseudonym. With contributions from seven vocalists and ten players, including Telefon Tel Aviv's Joshua Eustis and Detroit underground jazz staples Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison, Hughes seems comfortable as the conductor of this highly skilled neo-funk orchestra. The gifted producer's ability to shift from the minimal electronic dub of "Village Dub Plate" to the epic broken-bop jazz of "God Bless This Mess, This Test We Pass" is the result of an eclectic ear and an open mind. (SM)
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Artist: |
Alter Ego |
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| Album: |
Transphormer |
| Label: |
Klang Elektronik |
| Release: |
April 26 |
Alter Ego — the duo of Roman Flügel (Eight Miles High) and Jörn Elling Wuttke, also known for their blistering acid techno as Acid Jesus — are without a doubt the hardest members of the Klang/Playhouse/Ongaku label family, but that doesn't mean that their new longplayer lacks for subtlety. From rollicking, rough-hewn schaffel tracks like "Satanic Circus" and "Nasty Dollars" to the helicoptering blasts of static laid over two-step skip on "Daktari," Alter Ego attends to the minute details of every ripple and hiccup. There's plenty here for fans of every era and angle. "Vincent van Dance" revisits the chirping arpeggios of Nitzer Ebb, while the opening "Rocker," with its pole-dancing bass line and grinding acid squeals, makes for a sleazy dancing partner to Le Dust Sucker's lascivious "Mandate My Ass." But these guys don't need no stinkin' mandate: they practically wrote the book on dirty grooves. (PS)
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Artist: |
Fabrice Lig |
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| Album: |
My 4 Stars |
| Label: |
Kanzleramt |
| Release: |
May 17 |
Belgium's Fabrice Lig earns his stars on his new album for Berlin's ten-year-old Kanzleramt, and he ought to be granted keys to the city of Detroit as well. My 4 Stars is as sumptuous an album of Motor City soul as you'll hear this year, from the radiant vocals and counterpoint arpeggios of the title track — reminiscent of Octave One's "Blackwater" and Rolando's "Jaguar" — to the flanged analog jazz of "Sleep Baby Sweet" and "In My Arms (Naïve Jazz Mix)." The pitch-bent funk of "Golden Instant" lies somewhere between Robert Hood and Prince, while "Wait for March" offers resonant aquasonics every bit as deep as More Songs about Food and Revolutionary Art-era Carl Craig. As on previous records for Playhouse, there's more than a hint of disco here, and the cowbells and handclaps of "In My Arms" will keep many a Metro Area fan warm at night. But a list of influences and references is superfluous: Lig's stars shine, all at once, from every corner of the techno galaxy, bathing the album in a singular, mysterious glow. (PS)
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Artist: |
Coldcut |
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| Album: |
People Hold On — The Very Best of Coldcut |
| Label: |
BMG |
| Release: |
February 2 |
Before computers made sampling simple, copyright irrelevant, and mash-ups ubiquitous, Coldcut's cut-and-paste recordings were major label material and sitting at the top of the charts. In fact, its easy to forget about the pre-Ninja Tune careers of Jonathan More and Matt Black, but only because of their prolific success as independents. In fact, it is the major label meddling this deceptively titled Very Best of Coldcut represents that probably led them to split, but that doesn't take away from the quality of their proto-acid-house hits. "People Hold On" is the diva classic, having launched the career of Lisa Stansfield, while "Stop This Crazy Thing" and "Plastic Man" are sampladelic party classics. Queen Latifah's guest slot on "Find a Way" proves that Coldcut's contribution to hip-hop history doesn't end with the "Paid In Full" remix, and the gorgeous "Autumn Leaves" presaged their future direction. For those who didn't hear these tracks the first time around, the collection proves they really were, like they once labeled their bootlegs, "Ahead of Our Time." (DJP)
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EARPLUG FAVES
Derrick Carter & Mark Farina, Live at Om (Om)
Kings of Convenience, Riot On An Empty Street (Astralwerks)
Prince, The Chocolate Invasion (NPG)
Thievery Corporation (Mix), The Outernational Sound (ESL)
TV on the Radio, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch & Go)
Theo Parrish, Parallel Dimensions (Ubiquity)
Various Artists, Colores Volumen 1
(Mil Records)
Diverse, One A.M. (Chocolate Industries)
Masters at Work (mix), Latin Verve Sounds (Verve)
o9, Church of the Ghetto P.C. (Schematic)
Two Lone Swordsmen, From the Double Gone Chapel (Warp)
Armand Van Helden (mix), New York: A Mix Odyssey
(Tommy Boy)
Bebel Gilberto, Bebel Gilberto (Six Degrees)
Sazdoz, Digital Lifeforms Redux (Mute)
Luke McKeehan (mix), Nordic Trax presents Many Shades of House
(Nordic Trax)
Circlesquare, Pre-Earthquake Anthem (Output)
Richard H. Kirk, Earlier/Later: Unreleased Projects (The Grey Area of Mute)
Martin Siewert, No Need to Be Lonesome (Mosz)
Wagon Christ, Sorry I Make You Lush
(Ninja Tune)
Monne Automne, Introducing Light and Sound (LoFi Stereo)
Various, Haunted Weather (Staubgold)
Various, Grime (Rephlex)
Post Industrial Boys, Post Industrial Boys (max.E)
Envoy, Shoulder2Shoulder (Soma)
Robag Wruhme, Wuzzelbud "KK" (Musik Krause)
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Recap: Coachella
May 1-2
Indio, California
The fifth edition of Southern California's Coachella Festival was a triumph — despite the blistering above-average heat and a capacity crowd that was almost double the turn-out from year's past, the event was truly epochal. The weekend's most memorable performances were celebrations of career longevity and true-blue artist development: the Pixies returned tighter and more energized than when they left; Kraftwerk retrofitted their rig into four black laptops and presented a song-by-stunning-song case for their unique vision of multimedia; the Cure remained a spotty live band but closed out the weekend with 40 minutes of rarely performed classics, Robert Smith's voice sounding note perfect on "Love Cats," "Close to Me," and "Why Can't I Be You." Great music was everywhere, and clever programming allowed for maximum wandering: Stereolab, Adam Freeland, Death Cab For Cutie, 2 many DJs, Elefant, Junior Senior, Prefuse 73, the Rapture, Radiohead, and the Desert Sessions were just one person's weekend selections. But if this year's Coachella helped crown the alternative generation's new classic rock, it was a pair of Sunday night performances on the second stage that really pointed to music's future. The Basement Jaxx' only Kish Kash live show in the US was a funk 'n soul mindblower, starting at full throttle with the Bellrays' Lisa Kekaula belting out "Good Luck," going over the top with Dizzee Rascal's guest spot on "Luck Star," and heading into outer space with a punked-up "Where's Your Head At." Le Tigre followed and more than held their own, commanding the huge stage like a young American feminist version of the German electronic masters who had closed-out the night before. (DJP)
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Preview: Movement 2004
May 29-31
Detroit, MI
With less than a month until it is scheduled to begin, organizers and pioneers Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson this week announced plans for this year's edition of Movement — Detroit's annual free festival celebrating techno and the vast array of music that both inspired the sound and took it as a starting point. The lineup of more than 70 DJs and bands includes local heroes like Rolando, Amp Fiddler, Claude Young, Kenny Larkin, Stacey Pullen, Sean Deason, and DJ Genesis; international guests include Francois K, Marques Wyatt, Osunlade, DJ Cosmo, Jeannie Hopper, Traxx, and Mad Lib and Peanut Butter Wolf featuring Jay Dee. As always, the three-day event in downtown Detroit's Hart Plaza is free and open-to-all, although red supporter buttons will once again be available for a $3 donation and VIP passes will be sold. New to this year's event are an independent music mart dubbed "Techno Boulevard," sound and light design by Eclectic Detroit, and "Nodes and Circumstances," a discussion forum by the Art Gallery of Windsor in conjunction with the University of Windsor, featuring May and hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddie. For those looking for extra news and information about the Movement festival or are planning to travel to Detroit for the weekend's festivities, a local group has set up the online Detroit Movement Guide, and, as in years past, the dozens of late-night after-parties and club nights are listed and compiled on the Techno Tourist website. Get there early — one Friday night pre-party promises a triple-bill of Claude Young, Shake, and Dan Bell. (DJP)
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Real Player required for these streams.
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listen » |
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DJ Shirkhan, RebootFM mix
The Prince of German bootlegs, Shirkhan storms the airwaves over Northern Europe and drops bombs with a boot full of mix-ups of all shapes and sizes. Look out below!
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listen » |
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Derrick Carter, live
There is something otherworldly about a Derrick Carter DJ gig, whether it be the extra long mixes between records, or the always on-point selections, he is guaranteed to move the crowd. Listen in on this top mix from back in 1999 of house anthems from the one and only Derrick Carter.
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listen » |
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FreeFarm, Radio mix
A multi-textured beat bouillabaisse from Simon Pyke's Freeform Project, this steaming stockpot including world music, glitch, breakbeat, and experimental is an excellent mix of the disparate styles and flavors brought together in Freefarm.
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listen » |
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DJ Wakata, Dub Oaiz
A favorite of his locality in France, DJ Wakata dices up a dub mix on the 1's and 2's and 3's while Flash artist extraordinaire Oaiz holds it down on the 1's and 0's. Look and listen to the chill vibes.
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listen » |
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DJ Ripley, live in Vienna, Austria
It doesn't have the urban blight of Detroit or the oppressive mini-mall culture of Southern California to rage against, but for some reason Boston is an incubator of breakcore genius. DJ Ripley hails from the same stomping grounds as DJ /Rupture, but gives the sometimes torturous breakcore sound a bit of feminine smoothness. Listen in as she gets live over in Austria.
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Looking for more hot mix sets and fresh new tracks?
Check out Blentwell for an
ongoing document of the evolution of blended music online.
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Christianity Is Still Stupid
San Francisco's Negativeland have long been known to court public controversy as an integral part of their "fair use" art. So when a press release appeared on the group's website last week announcing that hackers had stolen their "top-sacred-for-internal-use-only" project, The Mashin' of the Christ, and it was now appearing online in various peer-to-peer file trading networks (the website offers detailed instructions on how to find it), it was clear the group was up to new tricks. The five-minute film is an exquisitely rendered video mash-up culled from a combination of decrypted footage ripped from DVDs rented from Netflix and Blockbuster, "found" 16mm film footage, original CGI, and films obtained from peer-to-peer file-sharing networks — including images of a beaten and crucified Jesus borrowed from more than 30 films like Ben Hur, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Mel Gibson's current blockbuster. The soundtrack is Negativeland's seminal 1987 release, "Christianity Is Stupid," from their breakthrough SST album Escape from Noise. The track, with its chant of "Christianity is stupid, Communism is good" was itself part of an earlier uproar that helped bring the group wider public attention: when Negativeland canceled a national tour by issuing a press release falsely claiming the track had inspired a real-life Minnesota mass murder, it sparked a national media firestorm (which the group promptly turned into their next project, Helter Stupid). As the issues of intellectual property in the digital age take on international importance — and Gibson's Passion takes its place as one of the highest grossing films of all time — Negativeland's fearless and playful projects are more timely than ever. (DJP)
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Music On the Brain
If you think you can hear colors or see sound — or you just can't get that song out of your head — its not too late to plan a July trip to Sydney, Australia for the tenth annual International Conference on Auditory Display. ICAD bills itself as "the premiere forum for research on the use of sound to display data, monitor systems, and to enhance user interfaces for computers and virtual reality systems," and features lectures on subjects like "CSIRAC — The World's First Computer to Play Music" and "The Ultimate Symphony...The Human Brain" (presented by Dr. Evian Gordon, CEO of The Brain Resource Company). But the highlight of the weekend is sure to be a "live performance" presented at the world-renown Sydney Opera House entitled "The Listening to the Mind Listening Concert." The music will be scores of sonifications composed from the neural activity of a person listening to a piece of music. ("Sonification" is the mapping of data into sounds for some purpose.) Calls for submissions went out last year — participants attached nodes to their heads and recorded brain activity while listening to various pieces of music and turned the multiple wav files and coordinates of their respective positions into a readable and understandable document of the experience. An international committee judged the submission and the ten selections will be performed at the event on a specially designed soundsystem in the acoustically famous space. The selections will also be compiled for a CD and booklet. (DJP)
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Header Design:
Ivy
Mailer Design:
Keats
Editors:
David J. Prince
Philip Sherburne
Sascha Lewis
Christopher N. Hampton
Cyrus Wadia
Jon Spooner
Steve Marchese
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Production:
Mark Mangan
Anjuli Ayer
William Pierce
Sander-Martijn Milks
Husani Oakley
Gray Sevilla
Contributors:
Andy Cumming
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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 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.
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