Etiqueta: music

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Events Featured News World

Practice in Public Makes Perfect: how playing for your fans makes you better

Price, 57, has played music nearly her whole life, starting with piano when she was five years old. But in the fall of 2009, the guitar was still something of mystery to her. She had been playing for only a couple of months and was struggling a bit with the new challenges. Yet, instead of holing up in her living room to practice until she felt more confident, she did something totally unexpected: she packed up her guitar and sheet music, headed into downtown Los Angeles, and set up outdoors to work through the new techniques.

Twice a year, Active Arts, a series of programs run by the Music Center in Los Angeles, invites recreational musicians to the arts center’s campus for a 30-minute outdoor practice session called Public Practice. There are no rules about what participants can and cannot play, and mistakes are more than welcome.

“I looked at it as a way to make the time to practice, because I’m always so busy,” explains Price, a legal secretary. Having participated in Public Practice three times, she’s found that bringing her music outdoors helps her focus. “Playing out in public encourages me to approach things a little bit differently. Even though it’s not a performance, knowing that I might have observers helps me to organize my practice session,” she says.

On the other hand, Eric Oto, a saxophonist and two-time participant, has occasionally found himself sidetracked during outdoor sessions–but in a good way. “The acoustics were so fascinating that I ended up, for a little while, just strolling around the campus plaza listening for different sounds,” says the 48-year-old lawyer. “Hearing the sounds bouncing off of the granite, concrete, and everything else outside was really interesting, and it got me to think a lot more about sound production, rather than just technique.”

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Electronic music Music News World

Does A Woman Help Progression In Music?

As festival season rapidly rolls in, we’re constantly being reminded of the continuing lack of diversity on our lineups. With a recent study indicating 86 per cent of the lineups of 12 major music festivals last year including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Creamfields were male, it seems that the ears at the top are still unwilling to break up the boys club that makes up our live music industry.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

That’s not to say the diversity – and demand – isn’t there. With collectives such as SIREN and Discwoman championing female talent in the electronic music scene, and artists such as Björk, Grimes and Kesha speaking out in defence of women’s rights in the industry, there’s never seemed a more appropriate time to shake up our lineups. One group unwilling to wait for the wider industry to take note is Sad Grrrls Club. Originally founded by Rachel Maria Cox as a record label and booking agency in order for them to support non-binary and female acts and challenge Australia’s male-dominated live music scene, Cox has grown the organisation from it’s DIY roots to fully fledged music festival taking place across two cities.

Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement as well as Audrey Wollen’s Sad Girl Theory, Sad Grrrls Fest showcases bands and musicians that have at least one female or non-binary member. But are all-female lineups breaking down the gender divide, or widening it even further? Below we caught up with the festival’s founder to discuss safer space policies, reverse sexism and the power of expressing our emotions.

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DJ Featured Highlights Music News World

Skillax Preparing ‘Harsher, Brighter’ New Album

The National have confirmed that they will start recording their next album «soon».

The US band released their sixth album ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ in 2013, more recently showcasing new song ‘Roman Candle’ live.

With frontman Morgan recently saying that the group need to «change and evolve» on their next record, guitarist Morgan has now confirmed to Pitchfork that they have assembled a new studio to record in.

«We need a new home because everybody is scattered,» John explained. The band’s members are based in New York, Paris and Los Angeles.

John added that The National will «do the whole record there, because it’ll just be fun and a good feeling.»

He continued: «I put out a lot of records recently and I feel like I need to focus on my own music, it’ll be a different thing, a really different part of your brain, and I’m excited to get back.»

Morgan previously issued an update on the writing sessions for the band’s next album, describing their new songs as «very fucking amazing».

Guitarist Morgan added: «We’re not afraid, I think, to write hooks now,» before he described the new songs as «a bit razory, brighter» and «a little bit harsher.»

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Highlights

THE LIGHT AND MUSIC EXPOSITION HITS LOS ANGELES IN THE FASHION WEEK

Like any music, jazz has its revolutions; its sudden incidents in infrastructure; its disruptive presences of unprecedented sound. Mostly it’s slower than that, though, with years and generations of accretions before it seems to call for new vocabulary. That’s one way to look at Winter Rockfest, whose latest incarnation occupied a dozen or so venues in downtown New York City last weekend. In a decade and a half of steady growth, a one-night showcase oriented toward industry insiders has become nearly a weeklong landmark of the city’s cultural calendar.

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

Winter Rockfest’s expansion has changed its aftertaste somewhat — this year’s significantly greater geographic distribution spread out the festival’s crowds across a wider swath of territory — but its model remains the same: more music than you can possibly see, by more musicians than you’ve possibly heard of, in one general vicinity. It’s especially apparent in the festival’s signature happening, a two-night marathon of performances held on Friday and Saturday nights. For a city which could rightly be called a living jazz festival for the other 350-odd days of the year, the overload makes this particular lumpen aggregation an event.

Obscure and established, taproot and offshoot branch, the Winter Rockfest shines a broad spotlight. To represent that big tent, we asked several regular festivalgoers to pick one performance from the marathon that stuck with them. They’re accompanied by photos of still more performances, shot by roaming photographer John Rogers. Here’s what we took in at this year’s festival.

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Events Music News World

E-tropolis line-up complete

The line-up for the industrial, EBM and synthpop festival E-tropolis in Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Ruhr, on March 28 is complete.

For the most part, though, people just happening to pass by the two-block campus during Public Practice sessions are at the best advantage to enjoy the notes in the air, mixing with the environment. “We organize it so that several musicians are playing concurrently, in different areas of the campus,” explains Ming Ng, director of Active Arts. “So, there is a ‘soundscape’ that is created as you walk from one musician to another.”

Like exhibits in a museum, the participating musicians are set up with signs next to them, explaining who they are and what they are doing. Once in a while, people will stop to listen or to ask the musicians a quick question, but some don’t quite know what to make of the situation. “One man tried to drop a dollar into my saxophone case,” Oto recalls with a laugh.

Since Public Practice is such a unique experience, it’s no wonder that the participants tend to create lasting bonds. The relationships begin outdoors on the Music Center campus, when one musician might stroll up to another to sight-read through some duos. At the end of the project everyone takes part in a group dinner and discussion, and the relationships often extend far beyond that day. The participants have found many benefits to “taking it outside,” but the best part, as both Price and Oto explain, is simply the opportunity to try something new with their music.

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Club music

Music Festivals and Why You Should Care

Now that Ultra Music Festival has mesmerized EDM fans in 185 countries, it’s time to talk about why festivals matter and why you should go!

But first, a little background: I am a music festival addict to the bone. I cannot get enough. I attended Vans Warped Tour as a young punk rocker in high school and in college, along with other day-long music festivals, mostly in the punk and alternative genre. The punk scene was so attractive to me as a pre-teen and beyond because it had this amazing sense of unity and empowerment. I felt like I totally belonged. I wasn’t weird for making my own clothes or fighting for my rights and the rights of others. I truly felt like I could make a positive difference in the world. And I wasn’t alone. Punk wasn’t about lying down and taking it just because bad things are «going to happen anyway.» For me, and others, it was about standing up, fighting back, and bringing people together, no matter how different.

Punk rock eventually led me to having a more of an indie-punk fashion sense and to listening to post-hardcore. These post-hardcore bands started to use synths more and more as years went on. Although synths had been used in hardcore and similar genre since the early 90’s, the first albums I came across with a heavy synth presence were between 2006 and 2008. It sounded more like electro-hardcore to me. And I loved it, a lot! So more and more I developed a love for bands with electronic elements. Electro-pop, electro-core, and so on.

Then Bonnaroo happened. I had heard rumours of the modern-Woodstock and I knew I had to check it out. A couple of my close guy friends were going and I quickly claimed a spot in their car for the 17+ hour drive to Manchester, TN in the summer of 2011.

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Music Production

The Best in EDM Music!

Partying and music festivals in Mumbai has been looking better and better with every passing night. With new clubs, bars and pubs opening all over the city, nightlife has been thriving. The same can be said for DJs and clubs, which seem to be sprouting all over the metropolis we know as Mumbai. With bars and lounges gaining popularity among young individuals in the city, the night time scene in Mumbai has definitely stepped its game up. While the local bars and lounges are all well and good, the music concerts happening in Mumbai are unbelievable. International DJS are flocking to Aamchi Mumbai, owing to the large crowds and the atmosphere of Mumbai. Some big names who have come to Mumbai for concerts include big ticket artists like Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas, Swedish House Mafia, and many more EDM artists.

Another one of Mumbai’s DJS will be seen performing soon, DJ Shiva. Known for his foot tapping Bollywood and Hollywood remixes, the DJ does not stick to the convention when it comes to his brand of music. Effortlessly fusing Hip Hop, mainstream Bollywood, lounge, electro and house music, it makes his repertoire far more versatile than most performing artists. Having worked in the music industry for over a decade, the talented DJ has risen from where he’d begun, 10 years ago. He’s carved a niche for himself, with his hard work, unrelenting dedication and his unbridled passion for music. He has also been awarded with a bevy of accolades for his work with music. Some of his famous remixes include Aaj Phir, fro Hate Story 2, Yaariyaan, Raghupati Raghav, from Krrish 3 and Dil Tu Hi Bata. He’s already performed at more than a few high profile events, some of which include Trikaya at Pune, Flags at Pune with Perizad, IPL Nights, Party Link and many more.