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March 30, 2007
Björk Tour 2007 Pre-Sale
She's finally doing it. Björk is embarking on an 18 month world tour in conjunction with the release of her upcoming album, Volta.
Pre-sale tickets for some U.S. venues went on sale yesterday and are all closed. Pay attention to THIS PAGE as more pre-sale tickets are announced.
I should totally organized a little party after the concert.
UPDATE: Looks like video leaks of her album are appearing all over the Internet. Could be a marketing ploy to promote Volta and her tour. Either way these video clips give you an idea of what Volta sounds like. Definitely worth watching.
Posted by tranism at 12:35 AM | Permalink
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March 27, 2007
New Music For March '07
So I just went and blew $40 on some new music. No regrets tho. This months music shopping spree comes from artists I've been waiting a long time for.
(from left to right)
Macy Gray - BIG
Call me crazy but I liked Macy's first album. Her sound was refreshing and although her voice can get a tad Minnie Mouse annoying, her latest effort proves she has staying power. The album is funky and she's more expressive with her vocal range. As always, you only need to hear 5 seconds of it to know this is Macy Gray.
Pole - Steingarten
I'm a huge fan of experimental music and this album doesn't disappoint. Steingarten is a cinematic collection of beeps and blurps backed by thumping bass lines. I've been listening to it to get my creative juices flowing. It works.
Tracey Thorn - Out of the Woods
Ex-front woman to one of my favorite bands Everything But The Girl; Miss Thorn's second solo album is a mix of old school new wave and contemporary electronic music. And who can forget that voice! It's so melodic and pure. This is one of those "listen to it twice" albums. First for the amazing beats, then for her honest lyrics.
Kate Havnevik - Melankton
Finally her album is out. I've been waiting half a year for it. I'm still upset over missing lunch with Kate and her manager last year when they invited me after reading an older post. Wouldn't you know it, I was out of town! As for the album; totally worth the wait. She reminds of Björk, Imogen Heap and Portishead. Listen, that's totally a compliment!
Posted by tranism at 3:06 AM | Permalink
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March 25, 2007
Beat Blocks
It's a digital rhythm sequencer manipulated by an analog interface designed by Jeff Hoefs, Stijn Schiffenleers and Greg Zifcak. Beat Blocks allow the user to create and change a 4 track drum loop on the fly by physically rearranging blocks within its 4x4 matrix. Each block is marked with its own patterning scheme. This allows the user to quickly identify the beat and change it, much faster that one could using a mouse and computer. Beat Blocks can also directly integrate and synchronize with other midi hardware and communicate with a computer.
Although the current 4x4 matrix version is just a prototype, The final version will come in two flavors, one for performance, the other for installation. Both will use an 8x8 matrix utilizing an even more compact design.
Posted by tranism at 9:43 PM | Permalink
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March 19, 2007
Gaming Music Is Big Biz.
EA games launched their new sister site EA Trax, home to all their video game soundtracks. Reading about this I found it interesting that music involved in video games have recently surpassed that of the movie industry in exposure.
Now I know the game industry is a big market but will we really discover new talent through video games or is it just another way for EA to make another buck? If you think about it, you've already paid for the music if you own the video game. Anyway, most of the songs are linked to iTunes so maybe this is all some partnership between EA and Apple. Will we see some of this cooperation spill over into other Apple product lines? EA games on Apple iPhone perhaps?
Posted by diverseawareness at 2:51 AM | Permalink
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March 5, 2007
Bjork Speaks About Her Next Album; Volta
It doesn't feel like it, but it's been 2 years since Bjork released her last album, Medulla. I didn't expect her to have a new one ready so soon but it's done and it's coming May 7, 2007!
The album called Volta is described to be Bjork doing what she does best, making beats. The record was produced by Bjork herself and features collaborations with Timbaland, Antony, Lightening Bolt's Brian Chippendale, Missy Elliot, Chris Corsano, African collection Konono Nº1, Chinese pipa player Min Xiao Fen and her very own all female 10 piece Icelandic brass section.
Pitchfork Media has an awesome interview with the Icelandic songstress; everything from her influences to the "marching" sounds in Volta. My favorite part of the interview is when Bjork describes how this album is somewhat a reaction to the world today, particularly all the religious divides;
"I mean, the human race, we are a tribe, lets face it and stop all this religious bullshit. I think everybody, or at least a lot of my friends are just so exhausted with this whole self-importance of religious people. Just drop it. We're all fucking animals, so lets just make some universal tribal beat. We're pagan. Lets just march."
Posted by tranism at 3:44 PM | Permalink
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