The Essex singer Dodie. Her debut full-length, Build A Problem , tops our shortlist of the best new albums out on May 7. Parri Thomas/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The songs of Essex singer Dodie Clark are both delicate and intricately detailed, with gossamer voices that levitate over fluttering sonic wonders and sudden, often breathtaking shifts. After amassing an army of fans with self-released YouTube videos, the singer, known simply as Dodie, is dropping her full-length debut. We give a listen on this week's show to Build A Problem and talk about the many ways the album left us in awe.
We've also got a posthumous release from the legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, a mind-blowing record from guitarist Daniel Bachman, jazz saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and more. Nate Chinen of WBGO and Jazz Night In America joins contributor and critic Christina Lee, Radio Milwaukee 's Tarik Moody, WXPN 's John Morrison, NPR Music's Lars Gotrich, Cyrena Tourous and host Robin Hilton as they breakdown their picks for the best albums out on May 7.
Other notable releases for May 7 : Angel Olsen — Song of the Lark and Other Far Memories ; Iceage — Seek Shelter ; Miranda Lambert — The Marfa Tapes (with Jack Ingram and John Randall); Squid — Bright Green Field ; Sufjan Stevens — Convocations ; Weezer — Van Weezer .
'Sisters With Transistors' Puts Women Back Into Music History | WIRED
During World War II, women took on a lot. With American men shipped overseas, they worked in aircraft factories, made munitions, flew planes. Most people know this, or at least know the name Rosie the Riveter. Less well known is what happened once the war ended. When soldiers came home, they took over many of the jobs women had been doing. But the freedom and expansion of new technologies at the time sparked something else, something that almost got lost to history: a new wave of female musicians in a league of their own.
Not every musician in the film remains an outsider, though. Suzanne Ciani found commercial success composing music for ads and even made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. But Ciani is an exception. Most never saw mainstream success and some faced serious setbacks. Electronic music pioneers Bebe and Louis Barron, for example, lost a skirmish with the Musicians' Union in the 1950s that resulted in their score for Forbidden Planet being deemed "electronic tonalities"—not music—and thus ineligible for awards. (See also: what happened to Derbyshire's Doctor Who work.)
Sisters With Transistors ends with something very traditional: Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1968, Wendy Carlos released Switched-On Bach , a collection of the composer's songs recreated on a Moog. Up until then, synthesizer use had been limited to experimental music; Switched-On marked a deviation from those avant-garde roots and paved the way for bringing synths into popular music. It's a fitting, if anticlimactic, ending. Carlos' music set the tone for music's future, even if she's only now being seen as a part of its history.
2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominees: Best Music Doc | Billboard
DJ Snoopadelic (aka Snoop Dogg ) will serve as DJ for Sunday show. Kim Lee of the Netflix reality series Bling Empire will DJ the Monday show.
As previously announced, comedian Leslie Jones will host the first show; comedian Nikki Glaser will host the second.
Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You : This concert film follows Grande onstage and behind-the-scenes on the Sweetener World Tour in 2019. Netflix released the film on Dec. 21, 2020, to mark the first anniversary of the tour's conclusion. The film was directed by Paul Dugdale, whose previous credits include Coldplay's Ghost Stories and The Rolling Stones' road movie doc Olé Olé Olé!
Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell : This doc is built around archival footage of the late rap legend The Notorious B.I.G. It features rare footage filmed by Damion "D-Roc" Butler and interviews with Biggie's family and friends, including Butler and Sean Combs. The film was directed by Emmett Malloy, whose previous works include Big Easy Express (featuring Mumford & Sons, among others) and The White Stripes' Under Great White Northern Lights .
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry : The film reveals the creation process of Eilish's blockbuster debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? , which made Eilish only the second artist in Grammy history to sweep the Big Four awards in one night. It features Eilish's brother and collaborator, Finneas O'Connell. Directed by R. J. Cutler, the film was released in select theaters via Neon and on Apple TV+ on Feb. 26.
Break the Silence: The Movie : This doc, directed by Park Jun-soo, goes behind the scenes of BTS' 2018–19 "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour." Park Jun-soo previously directed the K-pop sensations' concert docs Bring the Soul: The Movie (2019) and Burn the Stage: The Movie (2018).
Taylor Swift: Miss Americana : The film is set in the period spanning from Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018 to the rollout of her 2019 studio album Lover -- a period in which she fully embraced her power. The doc, directed by Lana Wilson, was released on Netflix and in select theaters on Jan. 31, 2020. "Only the Young," a song by Swift featured in the end credits, was released as a promotional single and climbed halfway up the Hot 100.
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart : Frank Marshall directed and executive produced this doc, which is built around a fresh interview with the trio's sole surviving member, Barry Gibb, as well as archival interviews with his late twin brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb. The doc shares its title with the 1971 classic that was the trio's first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100.
The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears : Released on Feb. 5 on FX and Hulu, this doc explores Spears' rise to fame as a teenage superstar, her rough treatment by the media, her highly publicized breakdown in 2007 and the court-ordered conservatorship overseen by her father James "Jamie" Parnell Spears. The film, directed by Samantha Stark, is the second of two films on this list that was directed by a woman. (The other is Taylor Swift: Miss Americana .)
Legacy Records First Record Label to Pay Music Artists with Cryptocurrency
LAS VEGAS , May 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One craze the Covid-19 era generated is the rise of cryptocurrency. Legacy Records has brought the crypto world into the music industry by becoming the first known record label to pay its artists in cryptocurrency.
Specifically, Bitcoin. Legacy is taking it even further by bringing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into play.
NFTs are units of data that are stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrency, NFTs are not mutually interchangeable.
The label plans to, along with its artists, release NFTs tied to extra perks for investors, amongst other things yet to release. Utilizing NFTs will change the power structure and profitability of the music industry. Long story short, Legacy plans to evolve the industry as we know it.
Yes, transactions using NFTs allow audiences to participate in auctions for unique content from the artists they love. Keishia McLeod , CEO of Legacy Records, explained in a recent interview:
" I see 2 choices here, either get involved or get left behind. What we ' re working on will allow many other income streams for artists for real wealth . I love seeing the way those, in and out of the industry, are creatively incorporating the use of NFT ' s. I mean, it ' s no secret NFT ' s alone have earned millions for artists already: but as for cryptocurrency and it ' s potential as a whole, we knew this day would come and we ' ve been preparing to take it a step further. I don ' t think any business can afford to remain complacent in regards to the future. It ' s a really exciting time for us [the world] right now. This is the future, not a trend."
Just as eager, a major music distributor, has jumped on board with Legacy Records and is just as ready to pay out artists in Bitcoin.
In addition, entertainment lawyer Navarro W. Gray , of New Jersey ' s ' The Gray Firm ' , has merged with Legacy and noted that " Legacy Records is the first label in history that offers their artists the opportunity to receive their advance and royalty payments in cryptocurrency. There has not been such a change in the music industry like this since digital distribution and streaming." Gray has played an extensive role in the record label ' s success thus far.
The prominent lawyer elaborated on his excitement in " I am glad to be such an intricate part of the machine that will be leading the forefront in this digital lane," and bid kudos to Legacy and their efforts and dedication throughout the grounding process.
DistroKid Says It Distributes Almost 40 Percent of New Music Globally - Rolling Stone
Arizona Zervas had a breakout hit as an indie artist, with "Roxanne," before signing to Columbia Records.
Arizona Zervas’ debut single “Roxanne” is four-times platinum in America and has more than a billion streams worldwide — but he started out as an unsigned artist self-releasing via DistroKid. That was 2019, when the DIY trend and the might of independent, non-label distributors became acutely clear to the music industry .
Now, DistroKid ingests and processes 35,000 new songs every day, which is “significantly more than any other distributor,” the company announced on Friday. (To put that in perspective: Spotify gets about 60,000 new tracks a day in total, both from labels and independent distributors. DistroKid falls into the latter category.) Launched in 2013, DistroKid estimates that it today distributes 30 to 40 percent of all new music across the globe at this point, and the company’s catalog has grown to more than 20 million tracks.
These stats came nestled inside a Friday press release about the company’s updated royalty distribution service, Splits, which is one of the offerings that has helped DistroKid stand out, as the popularity of music-streaming platforms reached new heights .
Splits was launched in 2017 to give artists a transparent, online portal that makes splitting up a song’s percentages of royalties more hassle-free. The idea: Whether you created a beat, produced the majority of a track, wrote the lyrics, sang one part, or brought the weed that inspired the creative direction, what you’re owed is clear — and the payments are automatically dispensed and logged. (It may seem utterly bonkers that such a concept could feel revelatory in the digital age, but consider that much of the music industry’s transactions still take place in the dark ages, run on convolutions and a handshake business.) Splits 2.0, which arrives Friday, aims to make the process even more adjustable. A new function called Recoupments lets the artist designate who needs to get paid first. If your buddy leant you money to record in a professional studio, for example, you can make sure said pal is reimbursed before the royalties start rolling out.
“Artists love DistroKid’s Splits feature, and have been asking if we could add a tool that enables them to reimburse a collaborator who fronted money for a video or studio time, or provided some other service on an individual track,” DistroKid founder Philip Kaplan said in the release. “We’re excited to roll out Recoupments, which give artists even more control over how their earnings are distributed.”
‘Slamology’: Music and auto festival returns to Lucas Oil Raceway | Fox 59
INDIANAPOLIS–The return of the Slamology automotive and music festival at Lucas Oil Raceway was announced Friday.
The 18 th annual festival automotive event is set to run Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13, 2021.
Presented by Gauge Magazine and Orion Car Audio, and co-sponsored by Sky High Car Audio, organizers said this highly anticipated gathering for the whole family highlights is the latest and greatest in customizing vehicles and car audio.
"This year more than ever, we are excited to bring our annual event back to Lucas Oil Raceway," says Slamology Founder Donnie Babb. "With a little bit of something for everyone, SLAMOLOGY is a fan-favorite for a reason. We can't wait for this to be our best event yet."
Vehicle registration is $50 / $70 day-of starting on Friday, June 11 from 2 p.m. – 9 p.m., includes custom vehicle and two weekend passes, and additional passenger passes for $10. Registration or credential pickup on Friday is the only way to get a Speed Pass for Saturday.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is looking for help finding a missing woman.
The Indiana State Police said a Silver Alert has been issued for Alice Pearison. She was last seen around 11 a.m. from Bloomington. She is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Conservatives last week gobbled up a false news story claiming President Joe Biden planned to ration red meat. Colorado Rep. Rep. Lauren Boebert suggested Biden "stay out of my kitchen." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted out a headline warning Biden was getting "Up in your grill."
Coldplay Drops New Single 'Higher Power' Music Video
"'Higher Power' is a song that arrived on a little keyboard and a bathroom sink at the start of 2020," Martin said of the track ahead of its release. "It was produced by Max Martin, who is a true wonder of the universe." See, Steve always said there must be higher love; now we have scientific proof, and, of course, only Max Martin could discover it.
How Sony paved the way for modern music production
On May 7th, 1946, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded 'Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo', the company that would later become Sony. After its beginnings making tape recorders and transistor radios, it rapidly expanded into myriad industries. From its 'My First Sony' range to early cameraphones, virtual reality headsets to Digital Audio Tapes, Sony has always tried new things, with varying degrees of success. On the company's 75th anniversary, we've put together a series of articles about our experiences with some of its more interesting and unusual products.
Digital Audio Tape wasn't the first non-analog format; it wasn't even really something that made its way into the hands of consumers — your Dad probably wasn't listening to Dire Straits on it (CDs pre-date DAT by a few years but wouldn't eclipse vinyl until later). You have almost certainly been touched by its legacy, though, and it might even be partly responsible for the music you enjoy today.
Invented in 1987, the concept was initially hard to understand in a mostly analog world. During this time, the primary ways to consume music were cassettes, CDs, vinyl and the radio. The latter three were reserved for the mainstream artists with record deals and marketing budgets. The humble tape was accessible to amateurs but you still had to distribute your garage-recorded magnum opus the lo-fi way for a few years more until MiniDisc and then recordable CDs would become commonplace. There was no SoundCloud or Spotify of course — "sharing" was a very literal, in-person concept.
DAT tapes were smaller than the ubiquitous compact cassette, but could only be played on one side (no flipping it over for the second half of the album). Importantly, they recorded in "CD quality" (44.1 or 48 kHz / 16 bit), unlike other, later digital formats like MiniDisc and DCC that used compression.
DAT didn't make physical sharing easier. It barely solved many of the practical issues of regular cassettes. Sure, you could make perfect, 1:1 copies and — gasp — skip tracks with a push of a button, but the equipment needed to play them rarely found its way into prized Hi-Fi separates and the music industry was very happy about that (with perfect digital copies up for grabs, who would buy their records, it rightly worried).
For emerging genres like House, Techno and Drum and Bass in particular, this was a paradigm shift, allowing artists to guide their music from their cobbled-together studio to the turntable with relative ease. Most importantly, they could do so with a format that — technically — never degraded. DAT was still a form of tape and thus subject to the whims of the elements if not handled or stored with care.
For bedroom producers of the time, this not only made the process more accessible, it sometimes prevented music from vanishing into thin air. "We couldn't even afford to put money in the electric meter to be able to save a track. Back in the day, we used to use floppy disks. And to save a tune will take sometimes 40 minutes, if you've got like 14 discs, and sometimes the electric would run out halfway through," celebrated Drum and Bass producer Roni Size told Engadget. "So you only have one version on a DAT tape of that record. So you would just run with that version on that DAT and that's it." Yes, there was a time when it took 40 minutes to save a track and if that failed (as it often did) your only backup was the DAT recording.
This all might still seem like a lot of work. If you want to make and release a track today you can likely do all of it from the very device you're reading this article on. Not so much in the mid-'90s. You still needed outboard gear, a mixing desk and the professional services of something like Music House — even just to get a single playable version of your new track for the club that night. Oh, and a well-fed pre-pay electric meter in Roni Size's case.
But the fancy new digital tape didn't just melt away some of the barriers for budding producers and DJs, it allowed for new sounds to emerge. "That whole dubplate culture was how we learned about mastering. You learn that you couldn't put certain frequencies in a record because you're going to damage the head on the on the Neumann press [record lathe], these are all the things that we learned and once it turns into digital, we learned that you could put 40 hertz in, you could put in 20 hertz if you wanted to." According to Size, then, DAT tangentially helped put the "bass" in Drum and Bass (and thus, many other emerging genres).
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