Sampling Culture http://samplingculture.posterous.com Most recent posts at Sampling Culture posterous.com Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:25:00 -0700 Love the new James Blake tracks - "Love What Happened Here" & "At Birth" http://samplingculture.posterous.com/love-the-new-james-blake-tracks-at-birth-love http://samplingculture.posterous.com/love-the-new-james-blake-tracks-at-birth-love

I'm so happy about this recent news, and my recent listening pleasure!

According to R&S records (See the tweet below announcing it) -- there is a new James Blake record dropping in December 2011. Two tracks from the EP: "Love What Happened Here" and "At Birth" have been streamed on Youtube  in ADVANCE. Love this up! 

James Blake is so talented and he's a wonderful performer to watch. He sings flawlessly live too, with great stage presence. 

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With tips from Exclaim.ca & http://postdubstep.tumblr.com/

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Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:56:00 -0800 "We're New Here" -- Well, not really... http://samplingculture.posterous.com/were-new-here-well-not-really http://samplingculture.posterous.com/were-new-here-well-not-really

A new collaboration by Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx of the band The xx has resulted in this fusion of two sounds, with Jamie xx remixing Scott-Heron's first album in thirteen years. Here's one single from the new album, We're New Here:

Although the album name sort of suggests that the musicians are inexperienced, at 61 years of age, Gil Scott-Heron is no newbie. He's a veteran spoken word artist whose albums of the early 1970's (Pieces of a Man and Winter in America) influenced hip hop and soul then, and continues to influence artists today. 

Here's Home Is Where The Hatred Is from 1971, from his album Pieces of a Man: 

 

He was also responsible for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

 

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Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:59:00 -0800 Björk Voltaic Movie http://samplingculture.posterous.com/bjork-voltaic-movie http://samplingculture.posterous.com/bjork-voltaic-movie

While this movie is a few years old, and I saw it a couple years ago, it is truly inspiring. Check out the trailer here: 

As you can see, the energy captured in the video is electric, as in its subject, Björk. For music technology fans out there, you've got to watch, as she has used a lemur and other then state-of-the-art equipment on stage with her to trigger musical and visual effects. 

Photos from the Voltaic tour can be seen here.

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Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:18:00 -0800 Went to Wrongbar to hear Eskmo play last night. http://samplingculture.posterous.com/went-to-wrongbar-to-hear-eskmo-play-last-nigh http://samplingculture.posterous.com/went-to-wrongbar-to-hear-eskmo-play-last-nigh

Check out this hot new music video directed by Cyriak Harris by Eskmo that prompted me to check them out at Wrongbar last night:

You can download the video at http://www.eskmo.com/music/we-got-mor...

Although it was nice to hear this song from the laptop playing in a club atmosphere, I found the live performance to be a bit underwhelming. Kudos to Eskmo for ripping paper up as a sound effect on stage and singing some of his newer songs from the album Eskmo on Ninja Tune.

Of the songs I've heard from this album, I'd say it's worth picking up!  

'Eskmo' is available on 2LP/CD/Download from the Ninjashop: - http://ninjatune.net/release/eskmo/eskmo
http://www.ninjatune.net

 

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Sat, 20 Nov 2010 07:09:00 -0800 The Knife's audio visual experience http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/11/20/the-knifes-new-audio-visual-experience http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/11/20/the-knifes-new-audio-visual-experience

Recently PitchFork.tv posted a video of The Knife's live performance. It reminds me of the Blue Man Group meets psychedelic images meets techno. This video seems to be from 2006.

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Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:02:00 -0700 Montreal: The place to be for Mutek http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/05/mutek http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/05/mutek

Each year in early June throngs of electronic music fans descend upon Montreal for the Mutek festival - a unique program of experimental music and visual art installations. This year the festival delivered a high quality program that techno aficionados have come to expect. Many excellent genre-crossing acts performed and, despite relentless rain, attendees revelled in danceable music and learned about exciting new musical groups from North America and Europe.

Half-way into the week long festival, Mutek's Friday night showcase offered up two acts that remain relatively under the radar but are worthy of more attention. Christina Sealey and Richard Oddie make up the dark electro-pop duo Orphx. In their mid-thirties, they live in the Hamilton area and play in Toronto, Montreal and Europe whenever they get the chance. Sealey is a talented painter and Oddie is a university teacher, specializing in social science, geography and politics. The duo got to know each other well while producing many of their 20-plus record catalogue from which they perform songs at their live gigs. The Orphx show at Mutek included material from the group's latest EPs (Blacklight and Division) that came out on the hard techno label Sonic Groove of New York. Oddie said that their intention at Mutek was “to give people a sense of our different styles and influences.” Their set revealed their flare for combining of techno and house, electro and dub. I interviewed Oddie about their creative process. “We make music with a lot of tension. It's music with darker feelings. We explore [those feelings] and work through them,” says Oddie. Their music is dark and industrial and on one of their records Orphx explored places they liked in their city. “We used sounds from the city [of Hamilton]. I suppose [the city] does shape our music a lot,” says Oddie. “[Hamilton] is a city that has struggled with poverty and the decline of the steel industry,” he explains. “There are feelings that come with that – [both] negative [ones] with social problems and positive [ones] as people try to... recreate themselves,” says Oddie. Oddie figures that their music may be paralleled by living in the post-industrial environment, but he reflectively adds, “Perhaps we mirror [our environment] self-consciously.” “We like Detroit techno – [which was borne out of] similar conditions. [It's] futuristic but relatively dark music. They [Detroit techno artists] were shaped by what was going on in their city.” With song titles like Burning Flags and Simulacrum one wonders what inspires Orphx thematically. “A lot of it is in response to things I'm reading, or things I hear about in the news,” says Oddie. “Other times [a song title] is in reference to something I am reading, or a psychological concept,” Oddie says. He is most excited about artists making music on the fringes of techno. “They have a concept, and psychological and emotional weight to their music. It's not just party music. There's something else going on and for me that is going back to the origins of techno. The [early] material from Detroit had a lot of emotional weight and depth to it. I like the idea of taking techno seriously,” explains Oddie. Orphx started out making music in the early 1990's and they were heavily influenced by Japanese ‘noise’ and industrial music. Since then they've connected with a small but global audience of music fans, record labels and galleries who enjoy their sound. “More recently we've been doing techno music more overtly... and foregrounding that structure and we seem to be reaching a new audience which is exciting,” says Oddie. “It's hard to get shows [in Hamilton] unless you put a lot of effort in. In Toronto there is a techno scene – and we'd like to play some of those gigs,” says Oddie. For now, Mutek was a real treat for them. “Mutek is one of the rare exciting places to play,” says Oddie. Following Orphx, Actress was next on the Mutek bill performing an Ableton Live set that included sound effects and samples. Darren Cunningham (a.k.a. Actress) says he writes all of his tracks visually – “I want to create a visual experience in the sound and generate a mood so I can immerse people in the texture of the sound.” When I interviewed Cunningham at Mutek about the origins of his creative process, he told me he was once a footballer for West Bromwich Albion in London, but had to stop playing at the age of 19 because of an injury. When he lost his dream to be a footballer, he says he was heartbroken. “It was a devastating time.” However he says, “The upside of that is that I've always had music – Even when I was playing football I was dabbling in music.” “What you're hearing in my music is losing a dream that I worked hard to achieve,” explains Actress. “I put all of that into my music. My music is now an expression of that,” he says. Actress finds some similarities between his former career and his new one. “To be a sports person and musician you have to be a hundred per cent devoted to your art. The skills I put into my tracks are similar to the level of devotion I would put into playing football in the past,” he says. Today he is a music producer and the owner of the Brixton based record label Werk Discs. Asked why he chose the name Actress, he explains, “An actress performs a role... and creates a persona for that part. So I re-contextualize that idea within my music.” Judging by his stage presence at his Mutek performance, which was very low-key and authentic, acting may be something that Cunningham jokes about, but never entertains seriously. Most Mutek attendees would probably be inclined to agree with Actress when he said after his show, “It's a great program they have in Montreal...Mutek was brilliant and well-organized.” If you've never attended Mutek festival, you're advised to book it into your calendar early for next year. See you on the dance floor!

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Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:50:00 -0700 Plastikman Live transforms Detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/04/plastikman-live-transforms-detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/04/plastikman-live-transforms-detroit

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For one weekend at the end of May Detroit is transformed into the place to be for all techno music fans and globe-trotting industry workers who come from as far as Europe to party, celebrate the global techno subculture and make business connections. This year marked the 10th anniversary of Movement Festival, Detroit's annual electronic music festival and to celebrate, they hosted a special live headliner - a Canadian – the techno icon Plastikman, a.k.a. Windsor born Richie Hawtin.

The Plastikman Live show was highly-anticipated. It was received by an enthusiastic crowd in Heart Plaza with thousands of people dancing. Countless tweets went out over the course of the three-day event, with lots of praise for the Plastikman Live show. “The Plastikman show is unlike anything I've ever witnessed,” tweeted Montreal hip-hop DJ, A-trak, who also performed at the festival. During the Movement Festival, Toronto film maker Peter Mettler - renowned for his films such as Petropolis (2010) and Gambling, Gods and LSD (2000) - filmed the momentous Plastikman Live show. (No word yet on where the film will appear.)

The Plastikman Live show is an audio-visual showcase that integrates visual representations of elements of the songs. Although audio-visual technicians ensure the system is up and running during the show, Plastikman's cues on stage trigger variations in the visuals. He has full control of the audio visual system as he performs. Spread over several large LED panels, the show features unique visuals for each of Plastikman's popular tracks and the crowd watches as the visuals are synched perfectly with the music – changing dynamically with each song. Hawtin and the M-nus record label team – a crew of about 15 people - are currently almost half way through their 15-date Plastikman Live tour to music festivals and large venues in North America and Europe. M-nus is working with Derivative, a Toronto company that specializes in live visual architecture.

Derivative has worked with many popular artists and corporate clients, including the band Rush for their 2004 tour, the architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron for the Prada store in Tokyo and film giant Disney in Los Angeles. In the months that led up to the first Plastikman Live show in Mannheim on March 27, 2010, M-nus art director and video director Ali Demirel worked with the Derivative team and used their Touch Designer software. They tested the show and did many rehearsals to work out the kinks. “However, it's a work in progress that we still work on to perfect the show,” explains Demirel.

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(Ali Demirel photo courtesy of Minus.)

Detroit has a special significance for Hawtin, since he grew up across the river in Windsor. Detroit was the birthplace of a burgeoning techno sound and it was where he found his largest audience in the early years of his DJ career. Plastikman Live has evolved considerably since the show's first incarnations. Back in 2004, Plastikman Live did a show during the Mutek electronic and digital arts festival in Montreal. Although that show received mixed reviews, since then things have become easier because of hardware and software developments. “The visual software TouchDesigner that we use for the show is much more flexible and stable. Now we can perform with a laptop whereas [in 2004] we had to build a huge custom computer,” explains Demirel.

Demirel adds that developments in LED technology have made it possible to create an interesting visual stage design. Plus, the communication possibilities between the visual and music software, such as Ableton Live with Max4Live, make it possible for the visuals to be fully integrated into Richie Hawtin's audio set. Demirel and Hawtin have been working together for nearly 6 years.

Demirel says that he and Hawtin already had similar tastes in visuals before they met, but together developed their artistic style further over time. “We also learned a lot about technically realizing more advanced shows and performing for different types of environments and setups,” explains Demirel.

To gain a better understanding of how live visuals have evolved over time, following the history and evolution of the Plastikman Live show is a good start. “My first design didn't have any integration with [Richie's] setup,” says Demirel. “I was feeling his musical direction and performing everything manually. I didn't even use any live visual software... But through the years I discovered what I needed for synchronizing our performance and I [incorporated] some new tools,” says Demirel.By now, “with Derivative's TouchDesigner, everything is designed so perfectly in sync to Richie Hawtin's performance,” explains Demirel, “I don't even touch a button!”

Over time, Demirel has also learned a few surprising things about the techno icon, Plastikman. “I would have called myself one of the most perfectionistic people until I experienced working with [Richie Hawtin]!” says Demirel. “He never gets tired and never rests, and he adds more elements and details to the project even when you think it [is] enough!” But, he adds, “He [Hawtin] is open to collaborating with each person [each from different fields] involved in the project and [he is] capable of giving creative feedback and directions to all of them.”

In the Plastikman Live show the artistic creation is more important than the personalities. The live show is constructed in a way that obscures Plastikman behind the visual screen, rather than showcasing him in the normal pop music icon fashion. Demirel says, “This show is not about a star personality... We don't want the audience to come there to see the person who makes the music, but rather we want them to experience his audio-visual artistic creation.”

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Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:23:35 -0800 Speaking in Code http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/11/13/speaking-in-code http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/11/13/speaking-in-code Here's my interview with the director of a new film called Speaking in Code: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92cKU-oLB4&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Documentary film director Amy Grill has just completed a new film called Speaking in Code. It's a documentary about the world of techno music that follows a series of characters over a few years. The film audience gets a cinema  vérité slice-of-life perspective of what it is to be a participant in the music industry. While Grill does not portray the typical electronic music fan's experience - and could thus be charged as portraying techno's elite – she does capture an authentic energy in her film. What really connects the music producers she profiles (Monolake, Tobias Thomas, Wighnomy Brothers), the music journalist DJ (Philip Sherburne), and the event promoter and music section editor (David Day) is their love for music. With a background in broadcast, Grill is a Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston. At the same time, she had a very personal connection with the subculture and the musicians she portrays. She's a long-time fan of electronic music and used to throw events in Boston with her ex-husband. She and her then-husband became characters in their own film. As a result of the film, Grill's own life journey has changed immensely. Now she's touring the new documentary film. This video interview was done prior to a Speaking in Code screening in Toronto at the Royal Cinema in November 2009. For more information  about the film you can visit: www.speakingincode.com/

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Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:43:03 -0700 The art of VJing http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/10/13/the-art-of-vjing http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/10/13/the-art-of-vjing

Exploring the art of veejaying, a new trend in the live concert experience

Excerpt of my article from the CBC Arts website:

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"[VJing] was an open system, and it was accepted as an experimental thing," says Greg Hermanovic, a long-time software designer and visualist. Johnny DeKam, who has his own live-visuals company in Los Angeles, remembers VJing at electronic music festivals in the 1990s. "It took some years for that to really start in the pop world," he says. In the '90s, avant-garde electronic artists like Coldcut, Hexstatic and Emergency Broadcast Network began experimenting with improvised visuals, a practice that was picked up by more mainstream bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. On their current Lights in the Sky tour, Nine Inch Nails employ live 3-D rendering tools and an interactive touch screen device that frontman Trent Reznor can use to trigger visual and audio effects. The idea behind VJing is that the images are live and constantly evolving. As a result, each show is a unique experience. "I have to constantly react, and I am improvising with the live band. I have to push pads, to trigger effects," says CPU, the VJ moniker of Bryant Davis Place, who has toured with the Black Eyed Peas. CPU alters the colours on a touch screen, creates patterns and remixes the live video feed of the show, as well as the Black Eyed Peas' logo. He can "scrub" the video — which is like scratching a record — and manipulate the visuals in many ways. "I keep the energy level going on stage during and in between songs," he says. "What makes a good visualist is someone who has a mastery over their technology but also an inherent talent or a formal background in creating visual images," explains DeKam. "The art [of VJing] is in the kind of relationships you create." Modern VJing came into its own in the 1990s, with the emergence of more affordable laptop computers that were capable of faster processing. Read more at:  http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2009/10/13/f-rise-of-the-veejay-concerts.html

Derivative's VJ Mixxa - TouchDesigner 077 software from Amanda C-U on Vimeo.

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Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:35:49 -0700 Synth-pop ladies http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/08/29/synth-pop-ladies http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/08/29/synth-pop-ladies
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Remember the tunes of Britain's Goldfrapp or Norway's Annie (who releasedthe Anniemal album in 2004)? I remember rocking out to Robyn's singles 'Show me love' and 'Do you know (What it takes)'  in 1997 when I was 14.  Well the women of this diverse brand we call synth-pop have evolved and grown up since that time too. And along the way new artists and faces have also risen above the crowd to stand with them. In this photo album for CBC Arts Online there are images that display their stylistic diversity. These performers all seem to have one thing in common - outlandish and fabulous fashion! Here's the CBC gallery: 21st Century Girls: A look at the fashionable first ladies of synth-pop A look at Robyn's recent video for 'Cobrastyle', which was directed by Chris & Rankin, reveals paint flying. Unfortunately universal disabled embedding of the video, but you can look it up on Youtube. Chris & Rankin did a fantastic job, and have also directed The Enemy’s  ‘No Time For Tears’ and Nelly Furtado's hit, 'Say it Right'. mystyleis made their own mash-up version here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLeyx68Qu-0&hl=en&fs=1&]

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Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:49:38 -0700 Little Boots vid exploits LA's poverty http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/07/30/pop-music-videos-lately http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/07/30/pop-music-videos-lately Little Boots pop music video for 'New in town' deals horribly with the serious issue of poverty
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While in San Francisco, a beautiful city with plenty to do in what is an urban playground to those with an income, I saw many homeless people on Market Street. It was very sad. I saw this right before we went further along to the Saks Fifth Avenue and Iphone stores. What a contrast it was - seeing a very large number of visibly poor people and then seeing the Apple store packed with people buying the new 3GS. Sure we have poverty in Toronto and plenty of panhandlers, but in California I noticed nobody really begs for change. However, maybe since people may have farther distances to go, shopping carts seemed to be more common. As usual popular culture and music videos out there fail to amaze me in their deftness and insensitivity when it comes to the real economic crises of our time. I recently got a copy of Little Boots latest album, 'Hands' and it features a track called "New in town" as seen below. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUs9YzY7t-8&hl=en&fs=1&] According to the Boots youtube site: "we made a video for the new single 'New In Town' in down town LA coz I wrote the song one of the first times I went to LA on my own so its kind of about being a stranger in a strange place ...www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk" This whole video reeks of recession-style capitalization. It is exploitative of the real condition of poverty. Did they use actors to play 'homeless'? Or did they exploit real street residents? The tone of the video makes poverty look like a laughable condition, rather than as a political problem which needs people to take action on, to change, within our society. While we are desensitized regularly in urban places to the poverty and suffering around us, I'm not quite sure what this video accomplishes. Other than the song's clearest message: "sex is free" Now everyone go out and have sex! = ? Having just returned from California; a state in serious debt with a real poverty crisis, and a former movie-man Schwarzenegger as governor, one has to wonder why Little Boots makes light of this sad situation. According to the Governor's site, in March he had a plan to relocate people in a tent city in Sacramento into Cal Expo. But, in another NPR story, there was reportedly some resistance from residents. Meanwhile homeless advocates pointed out that there were at least 1200 homeless people and only 200 beds being provided. Little Boots' poorly done music video does nothing but exacerbate a false sense of what poverty is. I guess this is old news... but I really wish pop music videos could have better standards than this.

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Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:34:09 -0700 Mutek_10 Festival http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/02/videos-from-mutek http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/02/videos-from-mutek
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Mutek’s tenth edition line-up was a reflection of where dance music continues to push the boundaries and maintain its solid foundation. Annually, according to the festival, over 54 per cent of Mutek attendees travel from places outside of Quebec - Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver and Europe - for an experience that Time Out New York has called “North America’s leading electronic-music event.” Thus, it should come as no surprise then, that Mutek recently won Quebec’s Tourism Grand Prize for 'Festivals and Touristic Events'. I was one of many avid techno tourists who attended Mutek’s 10th edition. Saturday afternoon, after a six-hour drive into Montreal from Toronto, the Strawberry Fields Forever piknic electronique on Île Ste-Hélène was an energizing respite. Partiers reveled under the remnants of Expo 67 in Montreal - the impressively large and expressive sculpture entitled 'Man' by the great modern sculptor, Alexander Calder. Generous in its appeal, the music of Saturday afternoon was full of dub, deeper house, funky disco rhythms and techy hooks. Starting things off was the Canadian premiere of Berlin's Thomas Fehlmann, an early collaborator with the Orb. His set was groovy and gentle on afternoon ears. He made djing to the crowd look easy, and with so many years in the business (his first work was completed for early UK house labels in the 1980's) he definitely knows how to get a party started.
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The sun shone moderately on those who danced. Up next was the Manchesterite, Trus'Me, whose signature deep house sounds pleased those in attendance and left no one wondering why he is, today, an internationally renowned talent. Finally, former Montrealer and British Colombia born favourite, The Mole was back in town from Berlin, and he closed out the piknic to a fully pumped crowd. As the sun came down, the Mutek crowd looked ready for the evening festivities ahead.
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Saturday evening came quickly and Metropolis was the place to be. Upon arrival, Canadian Public Transit Recordings label head, Moonstarr, had a small but growing crowd engaged. He performed with Tony Ezzy, and DJ'd a hip-hop infused set. The beats were deep and the synths, keys and vocals by Ezzy blended well together. Their stage presence was fantastic and the energy between the performers was amicable. In conversation with Moonstarr prior to his Mutek performance he explained that he would play tracks from his new single called 'Farfisa 45', which is named after the organ that Ezzy plays. Moonstarr's latest full length, Instrumentals Forever, was also showcased in his set. While he's better known for hip hop and breaks with jazz and funk samples, his set fit in perfectly with the line-up that the festival curators built that night. [wpvideo HA7KHRok] Up next, the French trio, dOP, played a great set with very playful lyrics and beats in a collaborative stage show. However, as nearly a full bottle of vodka disappeared from the stage, as it was drunk, the frontman’s verses became sparser and the set lost a bit of its earlier finesse. But after dOP’s very successful I’m Just a Man EP in 2008, the audience looked eager to experience the live incarnation of the recognizable group. The funniest point in their set was when they invited four ladies onto the stage to dance. Although not particularly musical, it was entertaining never-the-less.
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After dOP, Mathew Jonson and Dandy Jack came along. Their collaboration has apparently been an item for months behind the scenes, and they unleashed a fairly pounding and experimental techno set on the crowd. It was interesting to speculate how the two artists, both into musical fusion – techno and jazz, and techno and latin – came together. Maybe it was their love for experimentation or the fact that both artists are living in a home away from home, Berlin, and perhaps sharing the expatriate experience. Jonson is from Victoria, Canada, and Dandy Jack is from Santiago de Chile. In any case, their music was enchanting and exciting – with an energy that is unparalleled by other live techno acts. [wpvideo nIRK6YYH] Next, tobias. from Berlin, performed in an exclusive North American premiere. His set was surprisingly refreshing, not because one could underestimate the aptitude of an artist who put out his first single in 1989 and who collaborated with Ricardo Villalobos (as Odd Machine), but more because after such a hard experimental techno set, tobias. brought the atmosphere back down from its cerebral tones. His set was elegantly constructed and made a nice arch toward a great finale performance by Detroit techno icon, Carl Craig. Craig’s set was danceable and superb, taking festival-goers well into the early morning hours. Perhaps, nothing better can be said about Mutek's production than the visuals. They were done to perfection, beautifully crafted with amazing hues on the artists and the crowd in front of them. From almost any vantage point in the multi-level concert venue, the visual spectacle could not be downplayed. Wrapping up a 24 hour stint in Montreal for Mutek’s tenth year of international experimental sound and digital creativity, we found ourselves back at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Ste-Hélène. A short subway ride away, the island oasis with its view of Montreal, was a pleasure, even in the cooler rainy weather that day. For the final piknic, Zip and Ricardo Villalobos played a marathon set. Starting out with dubby low-key minimal vibes, the energy only grew as more people arrived in the later afternoon to listen to the kind of quality electronic music so rarely found in any abundance in North America. The atmosphere was bohemian and hip without being over-done, making this event a real treat for those in attendance.
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The 10th anniversary year of Mutek once again showcased the range of international and domestic talent that can only be expected from a festival that has techno tourists roaming the continent for it. -- To see the article on Urb Magazine's website visit: http://www.urb.com

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Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:44:50 -0700 My DEMF Review http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/01/my-demf-review-for-beatportal http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/06/01/my-demf-review-for-beatportal
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I’m not witnessing stadium rock or stadium love, like pop band Metric’s new song depicts in their newest album. No - Instead I’m witnessing stadium techno. It’s Saturday night, May 24th 2009 in Detroit, and Carl Cox is playing some pounding techno anthems to a crowd of fans with their hands in the air, fists pumping, feet moving and heads bouncing. It’s infectious and the crowd from the stage looks like a human mosaic, moving in synch, separately chaotic yet bodily as one. Dancing to Jeff Mills ‘The Bells’, and other now-classic tracks, was what electronic music fans were up to this past weekend at the annual Movement festival. This year’s Movement marked the 9th year of the Memorial Day Weekend festival that started in 2000. Since 2006, after undergoing several incarnations, a local Detroit promotions company called Paxahau has produced the first-class event. To read the full article visit: beatportal

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Wed, 27 May 2009 23:31:33 -0700 Videos from Movement, DEMF 2009 http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/27/demf http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/27/demf You might want to turn your speakers down! The sound is really distorted in these videos, sorry. The need for some earplugs (which I had) and a proper recording device is evident. However, if you're interested to know what the Detroit Electronic Music festival was like, this is an alright sampling of a few sets I caught. Steve Bug [wpvideo frEJBJ53] [wpvideo wDMut0cR] [wpvideo oQYsvnyP] [wpvideo Lq706uSn] [wpvideo 8cH2Jx7f] [wpvideo yYG55dFs]

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Wed, 13 May 2009 04:38:09 -0700 Planning a trip to Detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/12/planning-a-trip-to-detroit http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/05/12/planning-a-trip-to-detroit I'm looking forward to seeing Detroit again, for all its deserted downtrodden streets and buildings just steps from the techno festival that transforms it for one weekend each year. It's not just that I crave techno music... I enjoy the discordant contrast between the vibrant international musical scene and the nearly abandoned city that hosts it each year. It's not without some thought that I wander looking for a restaurant each year during quiet moments of the festival. This city and the people here gave so much to the techno scene, as many of the originators came from here. But this city also seems like a ghost of its illustrious past, and it reminds me of the failings of large unsustainable economies and previous recessions that have taken their toll on the human and ecological life that are struggling to survive.
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This year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival (May 23, 24, 25) seems almost as good as previous years with over 70 DJs and producers ranging from hard techno (Marco Carola) to electro (Anthony Rother) to newer acts like The Glitch Mob and one of Detroit's classic techno DJs, Derrick May.
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On April 29th, 2009 Detroit Mayor, Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr. and Paxahau event promotions group announced a new international partnership between Movement Detroit and the Movement Torino group who are throwing their own Movement festivals in Italy. So the brand is going global. As for Detroit ticket sales, the official Movement press release tells me that they are more than double the number they were at this time last year. And, according to organizer, Jason Huvaere: “We are pleased that despite the tough economic times facing our country, people see the value in spending their Memorial Day Weekend in Detroit...” Very optimistic when you consider all of the lay-offs that have happened in and around Michigan. But, I guess it's not all that surprising considering that many people who come to the festival from places like Toronto, New York, Chicago, and other parts of the US, and even Europe. If you've ever doubted that techno music culture is still a phenomenon today - there's evidence that it is still popular. Last year nearly 80,000 people passed through the turnstiles at Hart Plaza, according to Movement's official press release. I remember the excitement and the mix of people that came out. My blog post on the festival last year can be found here: Amanda's beatportal.com blog [photos taken by nyex.org]

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Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:48:12 -0700 'RiP: A Remix Manifesto' film http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/17/rip-a-remix-manifesto-film http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/17/rip-a-remix-manifesto-film Interview with Brett Gaylor Check out my interview in audio submitted to CKLN for the Word of Mouth show.... and, below, a different version of my original article which appeared in the Ryerson Free Press.
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Many people between the ages of 18 and 25 - that's 'Generation Next' – are downloading music on a frequent basis. For many, it's a no brainer. Even though Napster in its original version was shut down in the USA, our generation goes onto other websites like Soulseek, BitTorrent, lime wire, and countless other obscure blogs, where we find the latest blockbuster movie or hit album and download - for free. Many people have amassed huge collections which they didn't even pay for. These eclectic customized collections provide inspiration for art creations, they entertain, influence, and in some cases they get re-fashioned into DJ mixes, or used as examples for school projects. They become fodder for debate and discussion with peers. We're versed in Web 2.0 and used to having access to large amounts of information, and cultural products at our finger tips and we'd rather support artists directly through attending concerts, than through record sales. For many students downloading is not about being malicious or ripping artists off, but it's about a different business model. We know that artists need to become popular by many people to make money in any case. It's the hype machine that hip young lower-income people can provide. To marketers we've been identified and sometimes used through mutually beneficial relationships as cool hunters, trend-setters and taste makers. This kind of practice today almost goes without saying, but in the USA the consequences for downloading copyrighted movies or music for free can be devastating to individuals if they get caught by the Recording Industry Association of America. Here in Canada, new legislation has been proposed by the government under the pressure of the United States’ government and media’s demands. The Conservatives are trying to pass Bill C-61, which includes elements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act law that the U.S.A. passed in 1997. It is under this act that they issued subpoenas and lawsuits to a dead grandmother, computer novices, people without any computers at all, and children as young as 12. In Canada of course, to try and prevent this kind of law that would crack down on individuals, activists are united through websites such as faircopyrightforcanada.ca, and others to learn about the proposed bills and the implications for artists and all citizens. 'RiP: A Remix Manifesto' is a hot new documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada (the NFB) about these kinds of media copyright law issues that dominate our times. The film is by director and web producer, Brett Gaylor, who lives in Montreal, who created the film. He also created a fun interactive website (nfb.ca/rip) which invites users to take his original footage, download it, and make remixes of the scenes of his movie. Then content generators can upload their remixed videos to his site, and gain recognition and participate in the conversation that is happening on opensourcecinema.org. The main subject of this film – how artists use samples of previous works in music, film and art - is not new. Nor is the way that copyright law tries to put limits on creative expression by restricting what can be constituted as 'fair use' of digital materials. However, the film itself is wonderfully done and truly radical, because it challenges the assumptions that ownership and use needs to be restricted in a democratic society. This film is one of the firsts of its kind – it's open source – free to be remixed by others. The fact that this film has created further expressions and praise as a result is a wake-up call to legislators who would otherwise want to limit creative expression in the name of retaining permissions and rights for the world's largest and most powerful brands and companies. In RiP, Gaylor follows several main characters and events, and viewers gain further insight into the debates surrounding remixing. In addition to featuring Girl Talk, a sample-based mash-up artist from Pittsburgh, on copyright and music, the film also features a touching story about Dan O'Neill who is now in his 60's, who was the cartoonist who made a mockery of Mickey Mouse in the 1970's. O'Neill's work was politically provocative, and he called his movement the Mouse Liberation Front. He was one of the unlucky ones sued by Disney. Another segment of the film follows Lawrence Lessig, Professor at Stanford Law School, to China, where bootlegs and copyright infringements are made left right and centre, and to his lectures, where he espouses on the benefits of open source. In one scene, he so aptly said, to a packed auditorium, “Remixing is the writing of the 21st century, literacy for a new generation. It is building a different democracy and culture where people participate in the creation and the recreation of the culture around them.” The audience applauded loudly and resoundingly clear. Corey Doctorow, a blogger (for his own boingboing.net) and technology activist also had some inspiring words. His view? “Technology given, technology taketh away. What was a business model in 1909 may be the business model in 2009. What was the business model in 1939 may not be the model in 2007. That's how it goes.” Finally, the film takes us to Brazil, to meet the Minister of Culture, Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira. He's a bossa nova musician, social activist, and he sponsored a program called Culture Points which gives grants for music technology and education to people living in poor areas of the country's cities. According to Wikipedia, he is interested in creating an internet database of freely downloadable Brazilian music. The film is really a philosophical one, on some level. Audiences are left asking, where is the future of open source creativity headed? How can we harness legislation in favour of creative expression and the rights of artists, citizens, and idea and culture owners? There is another side to this story, and one that argues for the rights of corporations and individuals to hold ownership of all materials regardless of the potential benefits of sharing – but that film does not tell that story. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oar9glUCL0]

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Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:54:14 -0700 Berlin Calling Screening in Toronto http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/08/berlin-calling-screening-in-toronto http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/08/berlin-calling-screening-in-toronto I wrote this article for Beatportal.com in September 2008.
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Sunday night in Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival in the heart of downtown (Little Italy to be exact), Paul Kalkbrenner stood outside of the Royal Theatre as people lined up to go inside. He, as the star actor, along with film director Hannes Stohr of the new film Berlin Calling, waited in anticipation of the North American premiere of their film. The rogue screening organizers, Platform Events and Xanuradio.com were bustling around – promoting, and doing press releases and media outreach - earlier that week up until the last minute to ensure that things went smoothly. That night as people entered the theatre and seats began to fill, the anticipation started to dissipate. It was clear that the screening would be well-attended by electronic music fans in Toronto. As the lights dimmed and the opening credits rolled, the audience cheered as Paul Kalkbrenner’s impressive soundtrack kicked in. After the film, which portrays DJ Ikarus in a journey through drug addiction, the creation of his full-length album, and mental health illness and recovery, the audience clapped and cheered. The lights came up and Paul Kalkbrenner and Hannes Storh walked to the front of the theatre stage and invited everyone to the after-party at the TIFF after-hours hot spot, The Drake Hotel. At the Drake guests were treated to some sets by Greg Gow, Jamie Kidd, and Felix and Gani. In addition, Paul Kalkbrenner’s live set was energetic and full of passion. He dropped some of his hit and recognizable tracks (also featured in Berlin Calling): ‘Sky and Sand’ (which is produced and arranged by Paul Kalkbrenner, written and performed by Fritz Kalkbrenner - and is not yet available on Beatport), and ‘Gebrunn, Gebrunn’. People at the event seemed thrilled to have a chance to hear the man from the film play. Paul’s work as an electronic music artist continues to impress as did his surprisingly good ability to act for cinema! -- People interested in Montreal can see Berlin Calling in the 2nd screening ever in North America. The Montreal screening takes place at Cinema du Parc (3575, av. du Parc) on September 15th at 7pm. Tickets can be obtained at 6pm at the theatre or in advance online at wanttickets.com. -- Photo for this article taken by Jofus (www.thefuss.ca)

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