 |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
News
New Releases
Festivals
Listen
Watch
Features
Credits
|
|
JULY 22 - AUGUST 4
Earplug is a biweekly email magazine, delivering a handpicked
selection of news, sounds, videos, and original features for the
international electronic music community.
A penny for your thoughts — or make that your music — because that's how much a song might cost in the not-too-distant digital future if the competition for your download dollars heats up. Right now, Apple's cool 100 million is an impressive lead, but with so many hungry upstarts on their trail, things are about to get very interesting. With all the world's sounds to sample, there's always something new to plug in to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
  |
| |
Eminem and Penny iCandy
It's iPod's world, we just live in it. Apple released its fourth generation iPod this week, coinciding with the worldwide release of the iPod mini and the announcement that 100 million songs have been legally downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. Of course, as iPod becomes even more ubiquitous, the number of competitors that want to take Apple down only increases. Online music subscription companies such as Napster, MusicNow, and MusicNet@AOL are frantically preparing services that will allow users to transfer rented songs to their portable players. Europe's OD2 Sonic Selector just announced streaming of any of its 350,000 tracks for just $.01 a song, and even eBay and Google put their pinky toes in the digital music pool last week. eBay is in the midst of a digital music test run, and Google announced what many view as a precursor to selling online music — audio and video searching. But all's not clear on the digital music front yet. With estimates that up to nine million people are on P2P networks at any given time trading over one billion files, the battle against P2P continues to hit the music industry's bottom line hard. The soon-to-be-merged Sony/BMG music conglomerate predicts bottom line cuts of up to 2,000 jobs, or 25% of their workforce, and rampant piracy has plunged the Latin music industry sales down 25% in just two years. On the bright side, US music sales are up for the first time in years, and Eminem's finally getting his own satellite radio station. (CW)
|
|
| |
Get Into the Groove
Putumayo — the world music label with the brightly packaged compilation discs — has determined that the summer of 2004 is the year of the groove, and is marking the season with a series of lounge and remix collections gathered from around the globe. The label rose to prominence in the past decade by finding a lucrative distribution network outside of traditional retail outlets, and, as a consequence, helped to substantially expand American horizons with music from dozens of local and regional styles. But while Putumayo has often featured traditional music, this year's collections focus on contemporary and electronic music: Nuevo Latino draws from producers like Mexico's Los de Abajo, Argentinian downtempo maestro Federico Aubele, and Colombian alt-rock outfit Aterciopelados; Sahara Lounge and Euro Lounge set their sights on the Buddha Lounge series with tracks from Thievery Corporation, Nickodemus featuring Carol C., and Lebanon's Soap Kills; the Groove series mines the intersection of traditional and electronica with Brazilian, African, Latin, Arabic, and Asian collections. The double-disc World Groove is a cross-cultural dance party mix featuring ten exclusive tracks, a disc sampling selections from each of the other releases, and an enhanced CD with a video by Egyptian star Hisham Abbas. A portion of the disc's proceeds support the company's nonprofit organization, which provides world music education and resources to elementary school children. In all its releases, Putumayo mixes the familiar with the undiscovered, and should continue its tradition of shining a light on a whole new world of sound. (DJP)
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
MORE HEADLINES
Comfortably Number 1
Scissor Sisters, Shapeshifters top UK charts more »
B.N.O.C.
Napster gains at colleges more »
Don't Touch that Dial
Clear Channel cuts commercial time more »
The New Danger
Mos Def returns in September more »
Mercury Prize Rising
Basement Jaxx, the Streets among nominees more »
And Then There Were Four
Sony/BMG deal approved by EU more »
Indies Rising
May challenge merger in court more »
CD Sales Comeback
But can it last?
more »
Indies Deal
EU label group settles on deal with iTunes more »
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
 |
Artist: |
Captain Comatose |
|
| Album: |
Picking Up |
| Label: |
Playhouse |
| Release: |
March 30 |
You'll be hard pressed to find a better summer-day pick-me-up than Captain Comatose's Picking Up — if for no other reason than that the 11-track CD comes free with the four-track 12-inch of the same name. Khan and Snax offer up their disco/tech/pop hits to a motley crew of remixers like Munk, Electronicat, and Kiki & Silversurfer. The latter turn "Price Gun Baby" into a shuddering mess of triplets and shivering vocals while Playgroup, unsurprisingly, plays up the anti-gravity arpeggios. Snax's mix of "Don't Come Back" sounds like glam-slam Prince playing in a skipping CD player, and DFS's "Worst Remix Contest Winner Mix" of "$100" is a karaoke travesty that lives up to its name — except that it rocks. Leave it to Captain Comatose to inspire such a perverse Midas touch. (PS)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Fred Everything |
|
| Album: |
Light of Day |
| Label: |
2020 Vision |
| Release: |
June 2004 |
Fred Everything's lyrics won't win him any poetry prizes, but his productions alone earn him laurels aplenty. Light of Day is a berry bucket of seasonal pleasures as bright as the rainbow on the record's cover. Everything shows himself a versatile producer, ranging from the dry textures of "Find Your Way" — with chalky snares reminiscent of Metro Area or Chicken Lips — to the funkier disco-house style of "Elevate" and "Light of Day." DJ Heather even checks in with a sexy jack track, and Roy Davis Jr. and Joseph Malik make solid appearances as well. There's a splash of Spanish guitar, a dab of reggae — everything under the sun, really. You couldn't ask more from a summer record. (PS)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Mark Farina & Derrick Carter |
|
| Album: |
Live at Om |
| Label: |
Om |
| Release: |
July 13 |
One wonders how Om handled the licensing on this double mix CD, recorded live and released in its uncut version — did the DJs carry only pre-approved tunes in their crates? (Having permissions nixed ex post facto, of course, would have killed Om's ability to release the sessions in unedited form.) However they finagled it, the double disc captures all the energy of a party in full swing, as the occasional bursts of cheering attest. Mark Farina avoids the fungal jazz in favor of pure, pogoing tracks from the likes of JT Donaldson, Cajmere, and Phil Weeks. Chicago legend and Classic honcho Derrick Carter leans heavily on his own label (Rob Mello, Mike Dixon), his own remixes, and allies like Freaks, but that doesn't keep him from slipping in a few surprises like Daft Punk, or Steve Poindexter's 1989 tune "Computer Madness." (PS)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Robag Wruhme |
|
| Album: |
Wuzzlebud "KK" |
| Label: |
Musik Krause |
| Release: |
June 18 |
On one album, producer Robag Wruhme (aka Gabor Schablitzki, one of the Wighnomy Brothers) goes from stonking techno to Boards of Canada ambience (and even Compost-like nu-jazz) with nary a huff. His technique is positively exquisite. "Hugendubel" kicks things off, and when the trancey break drops, so does your jaw. "Mensur" is an eardrum funhouse, but the title track raises the bar for everyone. Sampling Ophelia's curse ("God be at your table!") over toggling house and schaffel, the beat prowls like Polonius, until you're cowering, hands over headphones. Wuzzlebud "KK" is a tour de force of detailed digital production: each time you listen, the album gets better. That's the highest compliment we have. (DD)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Junior Boys |
|
| Album: |
Last Exit |
| Label: |
Kin |
| Release: |
June 7 |
Toronto's Junior Boys, lovers of disco, old EBM, and classic two-step, stumbled into their style via their inability to make proper UK garage tracks. Thank goodness for slow learners, because their fusion of jittery mechano-beats with cooing synthesizers and hushed new romantic vocals turns out to be one of the freshest sounds of the year. Behind the feyness there lurks a lean robotic muscle; this is pop continually shadowed by its dark side. The radiant "Last Exit" and chirping "Birthday" have earned the duo the most attention, but don't miss the grinding disco bliss of "Under the Sun," punctuated by a yelp so insistent it's hard not to join in — and salved with guitars straight out of classic Dif Juz. Word on the street is that these boys are about to be picked up by a significant transatlantic indie, so hear 'em now and take pride in being first. (PS)
|
| |
 |
Artist: |
Melchior Productions |
|
| Album: |
The Meaning |
| Label: |
Playhouse |
| Release: |
June 2004 |
Thomas Melchior — best known for his work in Yoni, Vulva, and alongside Peter "Baby" Ford in Soul Capsule — once and for all proves that "minimal" need not be a dirty word in house music. The 11 tracks of The Meaning flit across the surface of sound like water-skimming insects, barely bending its elastic face with their pinprick footprints. Bells chime over shaken-toolbox breaks and beats; murmuring drones make a velvet backdrop for foregrounded vocals that sit still for the snap of a shutter and are gone. Loaded with hooks, it feels like an acupuncturist's approach to levitation. You won't hear a more graceful or fleet-footed update of house music this year. (PS)
|
|
|
| |
| |
EARPLUG FAVES
Fatboy Slim, Palookaville (Astralwerks)
Terry Callier, Lookin' Out (Universal)
Slum Village, Detroit Deli (Capitol)
Mousse T., All Nite Madness (Peppermint Jam)
Swayzak, Loops From the Bergerie (!K7)
Capital D, Insomnia (All Natural)
K-OS, Joyful Rebellion (Astralwerks)
Various artists, Channel 3 (Output)
DJ Harry, Collision (SCI Fidelity)
Way Out West, Don't Look Now(Distinct'ive)
Solvent, Apples & Synthesizers (Ghostly)
Aim, FABRICLIVE.17 (Fabric)
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
Preview: Festival Internacional de Benicāssim
August 5-8
Benicàssim, Spain
This decade-old festival in Northern Spain has a history of mixing top headliners (like Radiohead in 2002) with an exciting and diverse program, but this year they've really outdone themselves in putting together what may be the lineup of the summer. Friday night matches headliners Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, and Air with a Bpitch Control night and Einstürzende Neubauten. Saturday headliners are Lou Reed, Morrissey, Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, and the Scissor Sisters — but the night may still belong to the Kompakt showcase. Sunday's main stage performers are, in order, Spiritualized, Franz Ferdinand, the Dandy Warhols, the Chemical Brothers, and Brian Wilson, and the other stages are filled with the likes of Richie Hawtin versus Ricardo Villalobos, LCD Soundsystem, Love with Arthur Lee, Wire, Lambchop, and night programs from the Output and Staubgold labels. There's even a pre-party with Felix da Housecat, Ash, and Zoot Woman, and a Monday night afterparty with 2 Many DJs, not to mention entire programs devoted to film, fashion, art, theater, and dance. Three- and four-day passes are available — each for less than 160 euros — and the price includes access to the festival campsite for nine days. One camping area is actually in the middle of the city, taking over the street that traditionally houses the local open-air market. (DJP)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
| |
Real Player required for these streams.
|
| |
listen » |
|
Josh Wink, Live at TimeWarp2004
Well, it looks like folks are finally catching up to Mr. Higher State of Consciousness. The acid sound that Josh Wink has been honing like a fine sword can once again be unsheathed.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
DJ Fab, Geyster Megamix
The bubbly '80s disco-pop fetishism of Geyster is out in full effect in this tight cut-and-paste megamix by French DJ Fab. This is a quick taste of the best cuts from their album I Love 1984.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Jazzanova, Fourteenlocks Mix
To help get the word out about Mixing, their newest mix CD, Jazzanova have crafted this exotic wickerwork beat basket exclusively for the UK-based Fourteenlocks mix site. Listen and get hypnotized by the signature Jazzanova head-nod sound.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
Optimo, Sour kraut mix
The Optimo DJs (Twitch & Wilkes) go to work on this 25-minute ode to krautrock. With an array of guitar solos and 4/4 beats, they tear it all down and build it back up again. Check out the new wave no-wave.
|
|
| |
listen » |
|
John B, Live at PLAY! In Cologne, Germany
John B has been going through some changes of late. Most will remember John B for his drum 'n bass rollers and excellent song programming. The quality is still there but now it's a sort of electroclash/tech-step hybrid. The bizarre interplay of the detached electro-kitten vocoder voice with a big-em-up jungle MC is worth the download.
|
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
Looking for more hot mix sets and fresh new tracks?
Check out Blentwell for an
ongoing document of the evolution of blended music online.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
watch » |
|
What's the Big Idea?
Home to one of the most comprehensive still- and motion-image banks on the planet, Getty Images opened up an archive of 70,000 images to seven filmmakers for 28 days so each could make a make a video which captured the idea of the Big Idea. Each filmmaker created a video between 30 and 60 seconds long representing Getty's simply stated, but infinitely broad, guideline. Intro, the award-winning London-based production and design company responsible for work including Doves' video for "There Goes the Fear," exclusively used Getty Images material for their short "The Hole Hog," which incorporates 112 superimposed still and moving images to uncover the surprising contents of a recently landlocked meteorite. Koichiro Tsujikawa, the director of the video for Cornelius' minimal "Drop (Do it Again)," also stuck with Getty's provided images, yet used only a single, blinking eye, which he laid out in a series of oscillating geometric patterns, to communicate his Big Idea. Other shorts range from the Monty Python-inspired "What If" by New York's innovative Plus et Plus to the Bleip-scored, metallic mercury movement of Pleix's surreal "Jellovution." All the films, as well as short behind-the-scenes footage covering their creation, are available at Getty's Big Idea website. (SM)
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
 |
|
An Agent of Change
Take a short walk through New York neighborhoods like the East Village, SoHo, and NoLita and there's a good chance you'll encounter the wallpapered cutouts of Swoon, a multidisciplinary artist and member of Change Agent, an urban art crew that counts Warp recording artists Team Shadetek (who just released the full-length album Burnerism), aerosol artist Charlie Pratt, painter Mosco, and clothing designers Oksm and Mode Raw among its members. Perhaps the most prolific member of the group, Swoon has adorned the city walls and subways with poster collages, stickers, and other tools relied upon by the urban street artist. As a member of Toyshop (formerly known as Swoon Union or Swoon Squad) she was part of a winning team in a competition organized by evolutionäre zellen, a Berlin-based group dedicated to finding and funding those who best answer the question, "How do you design your society?" Swoon is now trying her hand at video work — she has completed videos for the tracks "Manana Negra" and "Shortening" off the Swoon EP, but only after designing 300 unique sleeves to package the vinyl 12-inch. Approaching her art passionately from both the technical and intellectual angles, Swoon is trying her hardest to be an agent of change — while deflecting the criticism of those who imprudently refer to her as a vandal — and is helping to put inspiration and character back into a landscape that has become increasingly commercialized. (SM)
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| |
Header Design:
Adam Neate
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
Peter Stepek
Jane Lerner
William Pierce
Sander-Martijn Milks
Contributors:
Andy Cumming
David J. Day
Jorge Hernandez
Sebastian Koch
Aaron Miles
Colin James Nagy
Nick Parish
|
|
|
| |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
   |
