Music

Power

Kanye West has commissioned a video work by critically acclaimed artist, Marco Brambilla, to accompany the release of his new single Power from his upcoming album. The video piece premiered on MTV on Thursday, August 5th, 2010.  

Power is a neo-classical video tableau, a single continuous camera move from an extreme close up of Mr. West gradually revealing an epic composition showing characters and creatures surrounding him in an abstract environment - all moving in extreme slow motion. Inspired by Michelangelo’s frescos in the Sistine Chapel, the piece depicts a faux historical moment - an empire on the brink of collapse from its own excess, decadence and corruption.

www.kanyewest.com

Music

A Sound Mind

Adam Port is a DJ who wears a Rolex and plays minimal techno music. This Berliner breaks all the rules of the genre: he unites opposites and brings back to techno an element that was lost long ago – glamour. 

Port is not a typical minimal-nerd, but just addicted to their music, and because he’s not a spaced-out, after-hours hippy even if he plays in their clubs, he straddles two worlds. He can party but still rise early and his modesty is tempered by grand gestures.  

"Sometimes I come home from a party in the morning, so euphoric and inspired that I must immediately capture the mood in music."

A Sound Mind - Special DJ mix by Adam Port for Nike Sportswear x Zoo Magazine

Read the full story in the current Zoo Magazine issue.

www.keinemusik.com
www.myspace.com/adamport

Photography by David Fischer @ Schierke Photographers

Music

Bass Culture

Bass was definitely the place at the Red Bull Music Academy London Edition this year. Forerunners of yesteryear and pioneers of tomorrow passed through the academy corridors, both with the same ideas - spiritual awakening through bass cone shaking.

Aba Shanti-I © Dan Wilton,
Red Bull Photofiles

Original east London low-end warrior Aba Shanti-I joined the Red Bull Music Academy on the couch and in the radio studio to discuss roots and culture, while Hyperdub helmsman Kode9 pushed things forward with his distinctive skank and copious chapters on sonic warfare.

Modeselektor © Dan Wilton,
Red Bull Photofiles

Berlin's Modeselektor caused tidal waves in the rave with the thick end of their sonic wedge, and gave a live workshop demonstration, while the sound system event, the historical Culture Clash at the round house, saw Soul II Soul, Metalheadz, DMZ and Trojan Sound System battle it out for the bass crown.

More highlights from the academy can be found at the main website, the radio site, and the RBMA YouTube channel.

www.redbullmusicacademy.com
www.redbullmusicacademyradio.com
www.youtube.com/redbullmusicacademy

Music

Free The Noise

John Varvatos Star USA, SPIN Earth and Island Records select 12 Finalists for
“FREE THE NOISE” A Global Online Search for the Next Great Rock n’ Roll Band.

This week, John Varvatos, along with the contest’s selection committee, narrowed their worldwide search to 12 finalists. These finalists are:

Galeej Gurus, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Howlers, Santiago, Chile
New Holland, Cape Town, South Africa
Oh No Not Stereo, Los Angeles, CA, United States
RadioGram, Tel Aviv, Israel
Reckless Sons, New York, NY, United States
Roxum, Leicester, United Kingdom
Scrambled Eggs, Beirut, Lebanon
TAB the Band, Duxbury, MA, United States
The Bangkok Five, Los Angeles, CA, United States
The Crash Moderns, New York, NY, United States
The Fast Romantics, Calgary, AB, Canada

This battle of the bands continues as John Varvatos and his panel of special guest judges including Perry Farrell, Mick Rock, Doug Brod, L. A. Reid and others, join him in choosing three finalists. On September 15th the top three bands will perform live at 315 Bowery, the former home of CBGB’s, and a winner will be chosen.

www.spinearth.tv/freethenoise

Music

Diesel:U:Music

Workshop, recordings world tour. Sign up now! www.dieselumusic.com

Mannheim: from May 7th to May 9th Party Line Up: Circlesquare, Bullmeister, Steady work by dear friends (DJ).

Leipzig: from May 14th to May 16th Party Line Up: Munk (DJ) / Gomma, Peter Invasion (DJ) / Riotvan, Ingrid Mére/Leipzig.

Hannover: from June 4th to June 6th Party Line Up: WHO MADE WHO, DLK (DJ) / VICE Magazine/Berlin.

Music

1000 Robota

A few short and crazy months after the release of their first EP “Hamburg brennt”, 1000 Robota are back with their first full length release: “Du nicht er nicht sie nicht” (“Not You Not Him Not Her”). Although these kids sing in their native German, the band has already played sold out solo gigs in London clubs, had a feature in Zoo Magazine, a write-up in the NME and loads of praise from everyone including bands like the Klaxons and The Horrors. And that’s not to mention the frenzy they’ve created in their homeland, Germany.

Hm. Weird. What is it about these guys that makes them special even to an English crowd who don’t understand a word of what they’re singing/shouting about? Maybe it’s the almost primal energy that comes from the band’s recordings and especially live shows which speak of the anger, frustration, dreams and ideals that are universally understood by everyone who’s ever been young and restless.

Anton Spielmann (18, guitar and vocals), Sebastian Muxfeldt (17, bass) and Jonas Hinnerkort (18, drums and vocals) had been playing mindless band battles in and around their hometown Hamburg’s St. Pauli district when they got picked up by the folks at tapete records, one of Germany’s premier independent record labels, in 2007. Since then, everything went berserk. Taking time off from an already punishing live schedule, “Du nicht er nicht sie nicht” was recorded mostly live at Clouds Hill Studios in Hamburg in the space of 10 days, in between school and still more live gigs. The album is loud, aggressive and alarmingly direct. The 10 songs are unlike anything heard in Indie-land at this point. Simply no one sounds like them.

www.1000robota.de

Music

GAS Live Performance

Wolfgang Voigt performed his pioneering ambient music project GAS amongst the unearthly white pillars of Gaudi’s Sala Hipóstila in Parc Güell – one of Barcelona’s most famous attractions. For most Barcelona residents, this was the first time in living memory that a concert had been held in this spectacular location.

Around 350 invite-only guests attended what was the second and last audio-visual presentation of the Cologne techno/pop-ambient impresario’s new GAS project. Voigt created the work together with video artist Petra Hollenbach, 90 minutes of surreal, lush sound and images that pay tribute to the German forest and its attendant mythology.

The performance was presented in Barcelona by the Red Bull Music Academy. The Academy is currently holding its tenth annual music conference in Barcelona. Voigt gave a lecture at the Academy, spoke on changes in the techno market place, and deconstructed the architectural nuance behind some of his records. He offered his reduced grooves as representing powerful spaces in which the imagination could reside. In his spare time he might enjoy the ballads of Smokey Robinson, but when working on a Profan record he searches for more esoteric emotions. He described one machine-like groove as “Really fantastic and emotional, in the best way. The emotion of what ‘nothing’ could be.”

www.redbullmusicacademy.com

Music

More than a festival

Dockville is the idea of an alternative presentation of music, arts, culture and educational work. This year is the fourth time for the Dockville Festival to take place. Dockville's edition of 2010 will once again set new benchmarks in terms of the integration of visual arts and a musical line-up consisting of 90 national and international bands and DJs. The festival’s unique central location in the city of Hamburg with the outstanding fusion of urban industry and natural elements like water and green spaces, creates a one-of-a-kind festival feeling.

Dockville
August 13th - 15th, 2010

Reiherstieg Hauptdeich
Ecke Alte Schleuse
21107 Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg
Germany

www.msdockville.de

Music

Facepark

Smart is peer-to-peer.
Stupid is face to face.

Diesel announces the birth of Facepark.
A stupid idea that might change the world.
But probably won't.

Diesel Facepark Party
Sunday, June 20th
from 15:00 hrs

Vorplatz Max Schmeling Halle
Berlin
Germany

Music

Orally Fixated

Disco Electro Pop Queen Roisin Murphy has been busy as the almost 9 month gone pregnant singer is ready to unleash her new single "Orally Fixated" as well as become a new mother. After nearly 2.5 years of promoting her critically-acclaimed "Overpowered",  Murphy has been in the studio working diligently on her new music. “Orally Fixated” will be one of three singles that Murphy will be distributing by AWAL into iTunes with a release date of November 16th in the UK and November 17th in the US.

Murphy is also taking a more viral approach with these releases than ever before through video blogs, remix competitions, and some other special surprises. “My fans are so loyal and I am really excited to have them more involved in my creations,” says Murphy. New music has been hinted to as Murphy has made special appearances recently spinning in clubs throughout London and was this year’s musical muse for Viktor & Rolf’s Paris Fashion Show.

“Orally Fixated” will first stream her MySpace and Facebook and then a global 48 hour free download promotion will be launched from www.guardian.co.uk/music The new music to come will tread on a new departure for Murphy as she explores a new edge mixing a bit of key note British urban beats and MC’s to her notable pop sensibilities. For more information stay tuned to both Myspace and Facebook pages alike.

Music

RAW Rhythm
Festival

The first edition of the RAW Rhythm Festival at the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam ended on Sunday morning the 2nd of August at 4 am. On Friday the 31st of July and Saturday the 1st of August, the audience (almost 10,000 people) enjoyed a blend of groundbreaking music. Hiphop, dance and reggae, a good atmosphere and positive feedback from the visitors make the organization look back at the festival with great pride. The RAW Rhythm Festival is back at its former location in the heart of Amsterdam.

Highlights of the festival line-up included Dizzee Rascal, Alice Russell, Zwart Licht, Ryan Leslie, Roni Size, Lunice and Chuckie and Lil Jon.

The RAW Rhythm Festival is an initiative of MTV in collaboration with G-Star Raw. RAW Rhythm Festival replaces Drum Rhythm Festival after a 7-year absence.

Chuckie and Lil Jon

Ryan Leslie

Dizzee Rascal

www.rawrhythmfestival.com
www.g-star.com

Music

Exotica

Mariya Ocher announces Exotica: The Queens and the Rebels of Berlin's Underground Nightlife, a multimedia event at Arthouse Tacheles, on Thursday, April 23rd. Here you'll find the essential and best kept secrets of the city, the cyber punk old-fashioned spirits in the machines, troubadours of past decades, retro, futurism and decadence. Multi-media perversions, an odd clash of past and future, set in the heart of Berlin's underground, the industrial legendary art complex Tacheles.

The menu: 1970's minimal electronics, 1950's cork screwed rocknroll, 1980's horror, living statues, moving paintings and lots of cabaretish acts and theatrical videos. With Jemek Jemowit, Sister Chain & Brother John, Mary and The Baby Cheeses, Lala by and Chuckamuck dj sets: A journey through 20's century's flipside of popular culture (Cindy Wonderful, Juan of a kind, DJ Ass and .nn.).

Exotica: The Queens and the Rebels of Berlin's Underground Nightlife
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Arthouse Tacheles
Oranienburgerstr. 54-56a
10117 Berlin
Germany

Starts at 17:00 hrs

www.tacheles.de
myspace.com/thequeensandtherebels

Music

G-Star 3301 Records - Volume 1

Every significant moment of our lives has a unique sound. A sonic signature that instantly takes us back, kick-starts the memory banks and adrenaline blasts the heart. Because music is life. Music is emotion. It’s music that drives us. Music that makes us feel good. Now it’s time to let others listen in.

3301 Records is a Raw Experiment that presents G-Star's passion for music to a wider, international audience and adds a distinctive sound to the G-Star brand. This mish-mash, fusion of pop and rock, electro and disco classics introduces new, emerging talents, like Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Saul Williams; and presents well-known, established artists, such as Al Green and Lou Reed in surprising ways, mixing the raw with the unexpected.

www.g-star.com

Music

A Decade of Beats and Spaces

In 1998 the Red Bull Music Academy was founded as a platform for those who shape our musical future. Since then, it has brought its unique symposium of knowledge and good musical vibes to cities like Melbourne, New York, Sao Paulo, Cape Town and Barcelona, where it’s currently in session for its tenth anniversary edition. As every year, it goes down like this: a group of 60 aspiring producers, instrumentalists and vocalists, hailing from 36 different countries and selected from thousands of worldwide applicants, zooms into town. For one month they’ll learn from the pioneers of today’s club sonics, swap musical visions in one of the 12 studios set up for the occasion, and take those new-found influences directly to the heart of the city, as they perform in clubs and public spaces around town every night. When in Barcelona, make sure to check out free gigs by Berlin’s dub techno godfather Moritz von Oswald and reggae dons Sly & Robbie (at the medieval Placa del Rei), or drum ‘n’ bass ambassador Goldie who’ll bump heads with the new school of London wunderkind producers, Skream and Benga. For daily updates, videos, blog bits and exclusive radio shows, check www.redbullmusicacademy.com.

Term I (30 participants):
September 21st – October 3rd

Term II (30 participants):
October 12th – October 24th

Music

The Teenagers
for a Tweet

The Teenagers are giving away their new song Made Of for a Tweet.

www.paywithatweet.com/theteenagers

Music

My Fellow Citizens

My Fellow Citizens
To New World City

Album release To New World City on May 28th, 2010

Single online release Program Disk incl. gusgus remix out now

www.myspace.com/myfellowcitizens
www.youtube.com/myfellowcitizens

Music

Where Fashion
Meets Music

Tommy Hilfiger Europe announces Hilfiger Denim Live, taking place on October 22, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. The event is the second edition of Hilfiger Denim Live since its successful launch earlier this year, and takes place at WMF, one of Berlin’s most popular clubs.

The Films

Performing at Hilfiger Denim Live in Berlin are The Films, a Brooklyn-based indie-rock band who feature in the Fall/Winter ‘09 Hilfiger Denim advertising campaign. Joining them are N.A.S.A., Jeans Team, Flying  Lotus, DJ Phono (Deichkind), Azzido da Bass, Cajuan, Shir Khan and KrsnSkate, who will provide electrifying sounds that will entertain guests into the early hours of the morning.

Hilfiger Denim Live emerged in Amsterdam earlier this year, and kicked off with a finely tuned live indie- rock concert, headlined by The Virgins, who featured in the Spring/Summer ’09 Hilfiger Denim advertising campaign, and The Films. Tommy Hilfiger has featured many leading artists in its campaigns throughout the years, from David Bowie and Iman to Beyonce?, and has also sponsored tours of The Rolling Stones and Lenny Kravitz. Celebrating the long association between Hilfiger Denim and the music world, Tommy Hilfiger launched the online evolution of Hilfiger Denim — www.hilfigerdenim.com — earlier this year, bringing together the distinctive fashion of Hilfiger Denim and the sounds of cutting-edge artists and emerging talent.

Hilfiger Denim Live
Thursday, October 22, 2009
WMF Klosterst. 44
Berlin, Germany

Music

Bass Drop
Under The Big Top

Gale-force winds shook this year’s edition of Melt! Festival (July, 17th-19th) but the stage curated by the Red Bull Music Academy didn’t stop rumbling at its foundations, as it played host to many of the globe’s top dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass and electro talents.

The Academy stage was the bass epicentre of the festival for the third year in a row, with London dubstep originators Benga and Skream on hand to present their new collaborative project Magnetic Man, while Bristol’s Kode9 delivered a heavyweight set that delved into the garage roots of dubstep. American baile funk ambassador and tastemaker Diplo selected a typically eclectic set of jagged electro mash-ups alongside Canada’s Thunderheist duo.

Travelling around the world for over ten years, the Red Bull Music Academy is a once-yearly symposium of forward-thinking musicality and cross-cultural inspiration. No wonder then that the Academy has seen participation by many of today’s most visionary makers of bass- and breakbeat-based music step through its doors. Besides the yearly main event (which will be held next February, 2010 in London), an online radio station and hundreds of smaller ‘local workshops’, the Academy curates stages at the world’s most interesting music festivals.

www.redbullmusicacademyradio.com

Music

Levi's
Unbuttoned Tour

Spring is just around the corner, and so too is this year’s Club Tour, when Levi’s will rock the clubs in six cities with the hottest acts that French music labels currently have to offer. With Parisian DJs Busy P and Kavinsky, and the British live duo autoKratz, Levi’s will party with the electro scene’s trendiest artists.

The sound of these three top acts stands for more than just good dance music: these performers also interpret, mix and style electronic music in totally new ways as they bring the “rock principle” back to the clubs.

Line Up:
Busy P, Kavinsky, autoKratz (live)

Tour dates:
14.05. Zürich, Hive
15.05. Frankfurt, Hafen 2
16.05. Köln, Gebäude 9*

20.05. München, Registratur
21.05. Wien, Fluc
23.05. Hamburg, Prinzenbar Halle

* Köln with datA instead of autoKratz 

www.red-tab.com

Music

Róisín Murphy in Zoo Magazine No. 20

POP PRINCESS
Róisín Murphy

by David Hellqvist/photography Glen Erler

The video for ‘Movie Star,’ Róisín Murphy’s latest high-powering single, perfectly sums up the former Moloko singer. It features the cast from the ultra cool, but now defunct east London nightclub Boombox, and shows its founder Richard Mortimer with friends, dressed up to their teeth re-enacting a normal Tuesday night of debauchery and hedonism in a Soho hot spot. The video is full of excessive makeup, designer clothing and flash photography, not to mention a lobster dry humping. Humorous, over the top, but oh so infectious, it shows Murphy’s love for all things glamorous.

So her Zoo Magazine shoot should have come as a bit of a shock. Shot in a community center somewhere in north London, next to peeling council estates and with no other background music than bird song, there was none of the usual Viktor & Rolf threads, scandalous poses or flamboyant makeup. It was just Róisín Murphy, naturally stripped down, exposing the person behind the performer extraordinaire shield. But Murphy says she enjoyed it, calling the photo shoot “meditating, introspective and quieting.” Of course, she had the guidance of photographer Glen Erler, but just like in her musical career, Murphy is a skilled chameleon, professionally adjusting to any situation.

READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ZOO MAGAZINE NO. 20, TO BE RELEASED THIS MONTH.

Róisín Murphy - Movie Star VIDEO

www.roisinmurphy.com

Music

Philips GoGear

With its latest range of GoGear audio and video players Philips sets a new standard in sound quality on the go. The Philips-patented FullSound technology puts the liveliness and natural dynamics back to MP3 music. Consumers experience the same sound quality as in their living room. The stylish premium model of the range, the GoGear SA52, comes also with high-class in ear headphones which support the great sound experience of these portable audio and video players.

One of the main criticisms made by portable MP3 player users today is poor sound quality playback from MP3 formatted music. The latest generation of Philips GoGear products incorporates the new and unique and Philips patented FullSound technology which raises the bar for MP3 sound quality playback.

Philips has used its expertize in music reproduction and the latest Digital Sound Processor (DSP) technology to create FullSound, which analyzes the music signal and enriches it by dynamically enhancing the frequency spectrum and density. FullSound restores the emotion and warmth to music that MP3 takes away – achieved by faithfully restoring sonic detail to compressed MP3 music. Performing 10 million operations per second, the signal is reprocessed before it is sent to the speakers, without adding unwanted noise or distortion for naturally clean, warm and powerful sonics.

www.philips.com