James Moore's Blog, page 115

Janelle Monae’s “Electric Lady” Is Like Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories”, Only With Great Vocals

Picture Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories”, but with no autotune, vocoder, robot voices, or Pharrell. Instead, over those beautifully produced disco/funk beats and arrangements, place one of the great vocalists of our time there, and you’ll have an idea of what to except from Janelle Monae’s new album “The Electric Lady”.

Janelle Monae, since discovering her 2010 masterpiece “The Archandroid”, is one of my personal favorite artists, and one of the few that I could describe as legitimately uplifting. Forget the genre-bending aspect. The fact is, she’s a modern great, and more people are discovering that fact every day. James Brown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Janelle Monae…the beauty of, say, her famous “Tightrope” performance on David Letterman that the world literally feasted on, is that it’s happening now. With so many deeply moving songs on her last release, expectations were very high for “The Electric Lady”. Of course, there are factors that come into the picture. Many were worried that Monae’s output would become significantly more mainstream and even watered down after seeing her advertise many products, including a major contract with Covergirl.

So is “The Electric Lady” mainstream and watered down? Well, there is definitely some content that would suit a Target or Covergirl commercial. It’s very poppy. That being said, the songs are still strong, and Monae is still convincing. To those who were on board for “The Archandroid”, Janelle is seen almost as a friend, and her bid for pop stardom should be supported. When was the last time someone this creative got this recognized for a series of high concept albums with controversial themes? Think David Bowie and Michael Jackson to get a better picture of what I’m talking about. The first time I listened front-to-back, I must admit I was disappointed, and found it both safe and kind of jarring how standard some tracks seemed. On the 2nd and 3rd listens, however, I began to love the tracks that were too subtle the first go-around.

“Give ‘Em What They Love” is a 10 out of 10. Full of sass and energy, and with a tasteful performance from Prince to boot. One thing you may know about Prince…he doesn’t do many guest spots, so for him to appear supporting Monae is a huge nod. Q.U.E.E.N, featuring the great Erykah Badu, is a feminist anthem that has already made the rounds and done well as a single. Another very solid funk track.

“Electric Lady”, the title track, features Solange, and it’s a perfect choice for the next single. Lyrically an ode to female beauty, the music itself is classic funk pop. Think Bobby Brown. “Primetime”, with Miguel, is a solid track, though a standard r&b ballad and probably surprising for some fans. “We Were Rock N’ Roll” takes the disco influence once again for a solid disco pop outing, an ode to an ex over some lush guitar arrangements.

The album’s interludes are best deleted from your ipod/cloud after first listen. It’s nice to have the story/skits, but they become jarring and completely take you out of the musical flow.

“Dance Apocalyptic” is next, and it takes some getting used to. This is where the Covergirl influence seems to loom large. So poppy that very little of the previous Monae seems to be apparent. However, on repeat listens, it’s easy to get into the song and see how it flows with the album. This is Janelle going back to the Jackson 5 influence.

“Look Into My Eyes” provides a glimpse of “The Archandroid”‘s brilliance, with a stunning ballad to dream to. “It’s Code”, while a solid track, features some awkward key changes and doesn’t quite lift off. “Ghetto Woman” channels Stevie Wonder at his funkiest and gives life to the album’s 2nd half. High recommended both for it’s lyrics and arrangements. “Victory” keeps up the momentum with an unbelievable vocal performance and wise lyrics.

“Can’t Live Without Your Love”, while a solid track, lags a little, in a similar way to “It’s Code”. The epic “Sally Ride” comes almost out of nowhere, and ends up being possibly the most intense track on the album. A beautiful expression of frustrated love. “Wake up Mary. Have you heard the news? Wake up Mary. You have the right to choose.”

Dorothy Dandridge Eyes, featuring Esperanza Spalding, recalls the jazzier elements of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to great effect. It’s about as smooth of a pop song you’ll hear this year. Album closer “What an Experience” sounds like a mixture between “The Lion King” and some of Peter Gabriel’s work. Depending on your tastes it will come off as moving or a bit cheesy. It takes some getting used to.

Overall, while the album does not approach the heights of “The Archandroid”, I don’t think that was really the point here. Here’s the point. It comes down to, sadly, our collective choices and mass digestion. Janelle most certainly did purposefully create a more mainstream offering here. That’s because, while critics freaked over her last album, the mainstream didn’t quite understand it. “The Electric Lady” finds her appealing to the masses. Now, it’s not as successful an appeal as, say, Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, but it’s a success, and will certainly win her a wider fanbase. Pop tendencies are easy to denounce, but the fact is, how well this album does will determine where Janelle can perform, what venues she’ll play at, etc. It’s a tough industry. I, for one, for all it’s flaws, would give the album a 9 out of 10, and in fact, I’ll be driving to Seattle with a carload of friends to see her October show.

My suggestion. Buy the album right away. Delete the skits. Listen with headphones by yourself.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Nine Inch Nails Return With Subtle Power In Hesitation Marks

Trent Reznor’s main vehicle and contribution to the music world, Nine Inch Nails, is back, but not in the form some would expect. The trouble with long-standing acts is often the various groups of fans they attract. To some, only a recreation of the original “Pretty Hate Machine” sound would be acceptable. To others, the progressive reaches of “The Fragile” show Reznor at his most ambitious. And of course, “The Downward Spiral” is undeniably an album that has left a strong imprint on the subconscious of many. But you always have to appreciate an artist who resists repeating their work, and instead chooses to speak their own truth, for good or ill. Tom Waits does this. Radiohead does this. The reason it can be hard for some to accept a new direction with Nine Inch Nails is simple; NIN’s early work showcased a depression blueprint. Depression is a very serious disease (look it up if you think it’s any less than that), and many of Trent’s fans from the early-mid 90′s have not overcome it yet…nothing to be scoffed at. Hence, they may not relate to some of the more neutral, and even positive emotions expressed on the brand new full-length offering “Hesitation Marks”.

“Hesitation Marks” is, for all intents and purposes, an electronic pop album. Even the songs that play with rock elements don’t really rock hard by any means. The album seems inspired by both Massive Attack/classic trip hop, Kraftwerk, Radiohead and house/dance music. “Copy of A” is one of the most notable tracks and dynamic shifts, and I believe it stands alongside many of Trent’s better works. The lyrics are an honest assessment of where he feels he’s at, and the beautiful, sweeping poly rhythmic arrangements would certainly provide a good template for whirling dervishes to practice to. While “Came Back Haunted” was a bit disappointing as a lead single, it fits in nicely with the album and a semi-energetic tempo change.

“Find My Way” is a track coming straight from the Massive Attack bible, nabbing some of the arrangements from Mezzanine’s brilliant “Angel”….but that’s ok. Trent creates something new with it and succeeds with a vulnerable, subtle offering. It isn’t until “All Time Low” starts playing that you realize this is large a pop album…and there’s something refreshing about that. The chorus is memorable and the verse is undeniably funky. The outro would make Moby jealous, with it’s ambient staircase leading the way outside the self.

“Disappointed” gives a nod to George Harrison and The Beatles’ famous “Within You Without You” with it’s lush string arrangements. Vocally and musically, Trent tries a Radiohead approach for the rest of the song and succeeds, with another interesting, innovative piece. Without a doubt, one of the standout tracks.

“Everything” delves into full-on pop rock territory, and a previously unseen positive energy radiating from Trent in the lyrics “I am home. I am free” etc. While this track may divide people, it’s as lush as the rest of the release and really fits with the overarching themes. “Satellite” is another album standout, and it’s pure club pop. That shouldn’t surprise at this point. There are traces of Nine Inch Nails, for sure, but they weave themselves into the background.

“Various Methods of Escape” is where the album seems to lose a bit of momentum. Think “Every Day Is Exactly The Same” and you’ll get the idea of the direction. It’s enjoyable and not a bad track, just not overly potent, and sounds like a good b-side. “Running” finds Trent pulling another Radiohead, with some success once again. He whispers “I’m running. I’m running out.” growing more out of breath with each utterance.

“I Would For You” is a love song, another pleasant, catchy track that fits with the album. Probably not a highlight for most though. “In Two” is a theatrical nod to NIN’s industrial past, and it’s edgy parts almost sound out of place on this otherwise soft album. With it’s dynamic shifts and heavy rhythms, it does make you wonder what a noisier album from Trent would sound like at this point. “While I’m Still Here” is passable, though it unfortunately borrows the same vocal line as “Find My Way”, and not in a positive sense. The album fades out, perhaps appropriately.

While “Hesitation Marks” is a mixed effort, it’s a very good album overall. Not great, but very good. It could well be Nine Inch Nails’ best work since “The Fragile”. Note: I’m not comparing it to “The Fragile” by any means. That album is a masterpiece! “Hesitation Marks” flows well from front to back, and it’s flaws are overcome by the restless imagination at play. For those hoping that Trent had gotten over his “I. Me. Mine” lyrical complex and moved on to more universal themes, that’s not the case. Every lyric begins with “I”, but that is simply his artistic style. I’d love to see more range/depth too, but if you listen, the depth is in the music, not the words.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Synth Pop Group Chasing Mars Release Single For Good Cause

Chicago synth pop group Chasing Mars have put their money where their mouth is, while also innovating in the independent music market. What are the possibilities available to bands when releasing singles or albums? Well, here’s a novel one worthy of sharing.

News release from the band:

We’ve been working on our new album for quite some time now and this October 1st we’ll finally be releasing: “Take You For Granted” our first new single in more than two years.

We wanted to do something special for this release and we are excited to announce that we’ll be releasing this new single, in partnership with OneHourTees.com, as: 5 – limited edition T-Shirts, that will be sold with all proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Illinois and NW Indiana (http://rmhccni.org) to support kids who have serious illnesses.

So what’s a T-Shirt Single? No, we’re not covering these T-Shirts in musical notation for you to meticulously decipher, we haven’t attached tiny machine-washable speakers to them, nor have we invented a new way to spin T-Shirts on a record player (though we’re working on that one). 

Let us explain: For one week only, starting on October 1st, we’ll be putting these T-Shirt Singles up for sale on our homepage (www.chasingmars.com). At the end of the week we’re going to stop taking sales, and no one else will be able to order. This is a one time pressing only and we’ll never print another one of these shirts…Ever!

These aren’t just your run of the mill T-Shirts though. On top of having each shirt uniquely designed by artists we love, each shirt will also contain a QR code and a link that will take you to a free download of our newest single, with 100% of the money going directly to the Ronald McDonald house to help kids who need it the most (pretty sweet right?)

If you purchase one of these limited edition t-shirt singles, not only will you be getting a super limited edition shirt (remember we’re only doing a single pressing), but you’ll also get a digital version of the single and you’ll be supporting a very worthy cause!

Help us spread the word. Tell your friends, tell your family, and help us make this a success. We have some great artists lined up, so don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and get on our newsletter to get all the latest updates and see the designs as we put them up.  Let’s kick off October in style.

Sincerely,

Chasing Mars

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

3 Critical Mistakes Independent Artists Make With Release Dates

How to release an album is a confusing topic for many musicians, and this article is not meant to answer every question or give a “one size fits all” template of any kind. However, I think it would be useful to go over a few general things I see happening very often among unsigned artists when it comes to presenting their work to the public. Here are some basic ground rules for releasing your album or EP.

1) Don’t just post your album on the release date. Promote properly.

Artists often tend to take release dates literally. Meaning, if my release date is January 27th, then I must withhold the music until then. On the 27th, I’ll post a notice to my Facebook friends with Soundcloud and Bandcamp links to my album, and there you have it. Do you see an issue with this? There are multiple issues, actually. First off, the album is now already old going by most blogs/publications standards, so you have very little chance of getting the album reviewed, unless you target very small indie blogs or hire a good publicist, and even then you won’t get the same results as you would have if you gave promotion it’s due time. I recommend at least 1 month of advance promotion time, preferably 3, since that is the amount of time print publications take to plan their next issue. If you’re not touring extensively and you have a smaller fanbase, a month will do just fine. During this time, you’ll want to reach out to as many media outlets, music blogs, podcasts, internet radio shows, etc, specifying that this is an advance release. This means the album is fresh out of the oven as opposed to yesterday’s muffins. Make sense? Of course it does! And yet, most bands don’t know about this.

2) Don’t think like a major label artist. A release date, for you, is just a fixed point in space.

It’s important not to get too caught up in major label artist/major record label album release tactics. Some of their techniques are appropriate for you, and some will hurt your progress. Here’s what I mean. A release date, for a major artist like Tool, is highly anticipated by millions of people, and so they can afford to do certain things like hording their music/keeping it a secret until the release date, or possibly release extremely cryptic 30 second ambient clips.

This does not typically work for independents. It’s important to understand this. If you have less than 10,000 or 20,000 fans, do not horde your material. We’ll get to that in a moment.

For an independent artist, a release date is not a major event hotly anticipated by fans the world over. It is a fixed point in space for the purpose of identification. When your new album comes out on June 14th, and you promote it as such, then iTunes reads “June 14″, as does CDBaby, and importantly, reviewers and websites note this date. It identifies the release and makes it official, historical. Think Wikipedia. Your release date is a benchmark, sure, but it’s meant to pinpoint your album so that is publicly exists.

3) Stream it, baby. Go with the flow.

I mentioned not hording your work a few times now. So many unsigned artists I talk to are very concerned that their fans may hear their album before it’s release date. I always recommend streaming your album on Bandcamp and Soundcloud in advance of the release. Even as early as 6 weeks is fine to stream your album. Keep in mind, these networks allow you to stream only, not make it available for download.

The confusion on this point, once again, comes from artists thinking like major label artists. This type of thinking leads not to fame, but to obscurity. It seems counter-intuitive, I know. The idea is, if it’s not there and ready for people to hear, and it’s not heavily promoted, people won’t come back. People will come back and check a 2nd time to see if the new Nine Inch Nails album is ready yet, sure. But that’s because they’ve built a relationship with him for years. They won’t do the same for you. So you should not only stream your album, but try to get as many blogs as possible posting the stream. Get your fans to share the stream. The absolute worst thing that will happen is that more people will hear your music and become fans. Think about it logically.

One artist’s argument to me was that fans would rip his music from the album stream. He should be so lucky! I don’t even know what to say to that. Let me tell you, if that’s your biggest fear, you’re paranoid. If fans are eager enough about your music to rip it from a stream, then you have a seriously intense following that is presenting you with opportunities you need to mobilize. Embrace it.

 

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

The 5 Most Significant Self-Released Albums

The goal at I.M.P. is to pull the quality musicians crawling through the muck of self-promotion up to the surface. With the Internet behemoth at full roar, sharing music, singles, experiments, full albums, is as easy as the click clack of a keyboard.

An artist can record something into the head of a microphone, compress the sound into the unseen MP3, drag, drop and magically, anyone with the mildest of interest can open their ears to it. No PR team necessary. No label approval waiting around the corner. But, also, no money and a pool of competition that grows perpetually.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Some artists have thrived off the New World Order of music distribution, grinning at the chance to shake off the authoritarian grasp of labels and work within their own parameters. Others have watched their self-released, digital album launch their careers and, in an ironic role-reversal, actually garner major label interest. Some simply created their own label as a platform for their work and the music of their peers.

Don’t give up, restless musicians, your time may still come. Here are the greatest albums to slip through the Internet and deconstruct the major label business plan.

 ***

#5

Live.Love.A$AP

A$AP Rocky

Lyric: “Everything is purple / Everything is purple.”

In the years before A$AP Rocky broke through the mainstream, he was barnstorming Harlem with his A$AP Mob crew. When first single, “Peso,” layered around sparkling beats of hypnosis, leaked early, in 2011, he was already rising to the top. Live.Love.A$AP, his first full-length mixtape, added a heavy dose of droopy psychedelia to rap that had not yet been fully realized. Songs like “Acid Drip,” “Get Lit,” “Purple Swag: Chapter 2,” and “Wassup” are syrupy and loose as a ball of unraveling yarn. The drums, looped around cars braking and shots firing, grind your face into the pavement. Rocky’s flow can lull you to sleep, then slash at your dreams. Beyond all the street tales is a deep and emphatic appreciation for life and one another. At the beginning of the year Rocky put out Long.Live.A$AP on his own imprint and is now considered among the best young rappers out there.

 

***

#4

House Of Balloons

The Weeknd

Lyric: “Bring the drugs, baby / I can bring my pain.”

House Of Balloons is the first of three mixtapes Abel Tesfaye, instigator behind The Weeknd, put out in 2011. Thursday and Echoes Of Silence would immediately follow, each one offered on his website for free download. Each release crested on the wave of new singers like Frank Ocean, Trey Songz, Miguel and Drake, who were totally unafraid to put dents in their genre’s mold. The mixtape trilogy cemented Tesfaye’s placement as the shaky crooner of endless, debauched nights (and the multiple collaborations with Toronto pal, Drake, certainly helped, too). The songs are cocktails of distorted samples, spooky atmospherics, shadowy effects–an intoxicating mix of dark R&B, trip-hop, soul, and post-punk sustain. Tesfaye slays the mood with his vocal cadences. There is a great urge to every song, a consistent seeking. House Of Balloons and the resulting mixtapes are a fine execution of when drugs and music work together, each enhancing the other. There’s almost nothing better to put on at 3 a.m. when the party has ended and the house moves in shadows. Tesfaye’s debut studio album, Kiss Land, is due September 10.

 

***

#3

The Slip

Nine Inch Nails

Lyric: “I jump from every rooftop / So high, so far to fall / I feel a million miles away.”

“This one’s on me,” Trent Reznor wrote online with the free download for The Slip in 2008. In the days prior he let singles and cryptic information slip out creating a sudden buzz for new music. Similarly, with Year Zero and Ghosts I-IV, the preceding albums, Reznor encouraged fans to remix the songs and share with strangers. The Slip finds Nine Inch Nails at their toughest and leanest. It is a cornerstone in the evolution of Reznor’s musical capacity. The remote agility of the Ghosts project merges mightily with the industrial power that kept Nine Inch Nails apart from the rest of the metal acts of the 90′s. Lush atmospherics leak between pulverizing blast beats and torched vocals. He explores, but always remains anchored in the soul-sludge of NIN. “Discipline,” ”Echoplex,” “Letting You,” and “1,000,000″ are all killers live, sparing the fat and cutting right to the meat. With recent detours for the ghoulish side project, How to destroy angels, and for his award-winning soundtrack scoring, it’s enticing to think in what way the sound of NIN has been altered for the upcoming Hesitation Marks, out September 3.

 

***

#2

The Grey Album

Danger Mouse

Lyric: “I was conceived by Gloria Carter and Adnes Reeves / Who made love under a Sycamore tree / Which makes me a more sicker MC.”

The first major controversy to surround MP3 leakage was the case of Danger Mouse’s non-profit, The Grey Album, released for free in defiance of cease and desist orders. The DJ up to that point was unknown, barely making a dent in music. Everything changed in 2004 when he took the acapella stems from Jay Z’s The Black Album and meticulously blended them with the harmonic pleasantries and stitched-together instrumentals of The Beatles’ The White Album. Any third grader knows when you mix black with white you’ll get grey. EMI, the Beatles’ record label, feeling betrayed by the project and not interested in painting, ignited a campaign to have the song files depleted from the Internet and, in turn, made Danger Mouse into one of the most sought-after producers and collaborators of this early century. The result is a stunning mash of two pointedly distinct eras of music. There is nothing quite like hearing Jay Z rap about getting dirt off his shoulder over a cut-up of “Julia.” The sinister “Moment Of Clarity,” constructs the perfect mood from a few scraps of “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.” The Grey Album was the lone sprouting seed of various mash-ups that would follow (i.e. The Hood Internet, Girl Talk’s entire career) and an important relic of when copyright laws began to scramble online. It just may be required listening for some future Internet Law course.

 

***

#1

In Rainbows

Radiohead

Lyric: “We separate like ripples on a blank shore.”

Radiohead’s In Rainbows is the album to finally muster the courage to pull the blade across the neck of the music industry. After an uncomfortably long drought following Hail To The Thief, guitarist Johnny Greenwood, posted online in 2007, that a new album would be available in the following days. At the time it was well-known that their contract with EMI had ended and that they hadn’t signed with a new label. Conspiracies sizzled. Then the album arrived, without any label whatsoever, and with the absurd offer that fans could pay what they want for a digital version, including the amorphous amount of zero dollars. All at once fans the world over received new music in their inbox and enjoyed it in that exact moment. It was like the good ol’ days when we’d wait, with patience, for the record stores to open. Due to the nature of the release, the exact numbers are a bit hazy, but the average price paid was a little over $6, with every penny going directly to the band. They made their dollars and cents. Obviously, with such a huge following Radiohead can get away with stunts like these, knowing their product is wanted, but still, the idea stands for anyone. Arcade Fire, Jay Z, Smashing Pumpkins, Frank Ocean, Kanye West and others have experimented with ways to get their music to those who want to hear it the most.

It’s outlandish to use the phraseology, “at their best,” for Radiohead since, with every new album, they’ve proven they can outdo themselves. In Rainbows, then, without a doubt, is the ultimate Radiohead album; the one when each of their many elements converge in perfect union with, and in perfect proportion of, each other. The first three songs alone each showcase a definitive era in the group’s career executed at the highest altitude. Opening track, “15 Step,” clacks right into place exemplifying the beat-heavy side of Kid A up to King Of Limbs and beyond. “Bodysnatchers” is everything rock & roll about The Bends played to maximum effect and “Nude” holds the haunting balladry of OK Computer. It’s a classic among classics and the one that should be sent out into space for future beings to discover. They broke down the final gate so now artists everywhere can flood the system and have their noises heard free of intrusion.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

3 Tried & Trucities of Collaborucity: The Artist’s Navigation with Collaboration

3 Tried & Trucities of Collaborucity: The Artist’s Navigation with Collaboration.

There is nothing more exciting than seeing creative minds collaborate to create awesome products and services for people across the world. Agree? Whether its music artists, fashion designers or traditional corporate organizations; many partnerships have been forged across diverse industries to turn innovative ideas and concepts into trendsetting products, services, and experiences for thirsty consumers. It’s important to keep an eye on industry trend to understand how the landscape is changing. Here is a quick glance at how different industries have come together to collaborate with one another and transform business, as we know it.

1. Step in the Right Direction: Gorillaz in Chucks!?

 

One of Britain’s leading bands, the Gorillaz, is known for making music videos using nothing but cartoons, but that hasn’t stopped them from going platinum five times in the United Kingdom and double platinum in the United States. They scored six Grammy Award nominations, taking home one of them. Their success led to making a deal with shoemaker Converse, to design a line of shoes. One of the band’s co-founders, comic book creator Jamie Hewlett, designed a series of Gorillaz-themed Chuck Taylor All Star shoes. Now the Gorillaz fan base have a pair of shoes they can dance in at their next concert. It’s these type of brand extensions that take businesses to another level, as they stretch themselves to relate to different lifestyles creating genuine relationships. These new Gorillaz-themed Chuck Taylor’s hit stores last February.

Following Converse’s new philosophy of Collaboration came a marketing strategy that fit perfect with the brands direction.  To launch the trendy new Gorillaz inspired shoe, Converse gathered up notable artists, The Gorillaz, Andre 3000, and James Murphy in a London flat, to record a new song and shoot a music video. Check out the newest 3 Artists, 1 Song video. Plus, hear the original track and check out the limited edition Chuck Taylor All Star Gorillaz Collection, here: http://youtu.be/yNeF30RverQ

Also check out the making of this video here: http://youtu.be/zAzQUrgiBk4

 

2. Purpose Inspires Creativity : Tracey Emin Knows Giving.

When Vogue asked Tracey Emin what her views were on the relationship between art and fashion, Ms. Emin responded, “ In Britain, art and fashion have always gone very well together as street fashion has always been considered to be artistic and cutting edge;

In 2011, Tracy’s Ideology proved inspiring with a philanthropic twist. Bleynda Macpherson, head designer for the Bondi-based cashmere clothing line, Banjo & Matilde partnered up with Tracey Emin to work on the company’s annual charity sweater project. Emin is known across the world for her works dealing extensively with traditional crafts such as embroidery, sewing and textile work. Some of her works included blankets such as “Something I’ve Always Been Afraid Of”, “I Do Not Expect” and “It’s the Way We Think”. These works inspired the creation of three cashmere pullovers, all available to be purchased by the general public for $399. Each pullover sold contributed $100 to the Terrence Higgins Trust to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

 

 

 

 

3. EXTEND YOUR Hand/Brand: Ghostly with the Mostly.

Ghostly International, a leading indie record label, teamed up with eyeglass maker Warby Parker to design a line of eyeglasses geared towards a unique niche of fans across the world. This creative duo recognized a growing market of trendy nerd/rocker-like glasses that were popular with individuals who were heavy into EDM music and probably had a liberal outlook; they call them the “Curtis”. These line of sunglasses, priced at around $95, come in two colors – Revolver Black and Ghostly Grey Matte. It’s within the company’s policy that for every pair of glasses sold, one set would be donated to someone in need of eyeglasses. This is an awesome example of how two companies can come together to identify a unique niche and offer a product to this eccentric audience. At the same time, Warby Parker was still able to maintain its consistent commitment to its philanthropic efforts of improving eyesight for people across the world. Although Ghostly International is considered an indie label and Warby Parker is a traditional corporate organization – both came together to offer its product through a non-traditional “indie” business model and go straight to the consumer. This has allowed the company to cut out the “middleman” and go straight to the end-user. Customers in the end avoided having to pay hefty prices for their product. By circumventing distributors, Warby Parker is able to provide high-quality eyeglasses to customers for a fraction of the price! In return Ghostly was able to highlight some of their artist’s on the Warby Parker site through a cool music player. Tune in and look at the cool glasses and listen to some dope instrumentals (dope instrumentals!). With every purchase of the sunglasses you receive a code for free month of listening. My favorite is Gold Panda.

Everyone benefits when the creative juices of different minds come together to forge one unique vision that will inevitably translate into a product or service. Whether it’s a line of shoes, glasses or new music – everyone stands to benefit from creative collaboration of different types of businesses and organizations. It’s important that to keep in mind the overall goal when going into collaboration, ask yourself, what’s the purpose of this partnership?  Remember these 3 key “Tried & Trucities” that have worked already for the companies we’ve discussed in this article. Just to recap:

 

1. Step in the RIGHT Direction: Understand where your business (i.e.: artist brand) should to go. What’s the next destination?

2. Purpose Inspires Creativity:  Although we’re all in business to increase profit, if you can find a worthy mission to add to that goal, it can catapult your brand to a different extreme.

3. Extend Your Hand/Brand:  Once you have the first two down, find the businesses that share the same values as you. Think about it. Why do you see McDonald’s in Wal-Mart vs. Starbuck’s in Target? Extending yourself gives you more reach, but it must be done with businesses that align with your “Brand Essence”.

Use these examples to take your brand to a different level. Have you ever heard the term; I can only be at one place at a time? Well collaboration combats that ideology altogether. By collaborating you have consciously decided to grow extra arms and legs, you can be everywhere at once. Make noise!

- Klass Jones Junior

Short Author Bio : 

Klass Jones Junior is an Independent Hip-Hop Artist stuck in a Marketing Guy’s body.  He is obsessed by the idea that thoughts can be brought into reality and influence people. That a single idea can revolutionize a culture. His desire is to keep his finger on the tipping point as trends develop. It’s a sum of these things that spark him to write.

Follow him at @KlassJonesMusic, www.SoundCloud.com/Jonesjuniormusic, & www.Klasswiththetitans.tumblr.com

Artist Bio : 

Born as Howard Jones Jr. in Minneapolis, MN, Klass would eventually move and grow up in Syracuse NY. As an only child, Klass was left with idle time to experiment and develop an imagination. From the once creative potions consisting of elaborate mixes of lotions, bleach and other household items he had no business touching as a child, to today’s creative element that breaths through his music and poetry, Klass continues to cook up mixes that display his creativity. No pun intended, but Klass is in a class by himself.

With an extremely diverse musical background, Klass never allows himself to be categorized. He is an artist. At the early age of 8, Klass was introduced to poetry by his father. Even as a kid, his ability to perform stood out as he won a NY State Poetry competition performing Shel Silverstien’s “Crocodile and the Dentist.” His love of poetry soon developed into songwriting. Klass later became drawn to Hip-Hop due to the poetic nature of the music and rhyme scheme. With inspiration from artists like “Andre 3000” and “Kanye West,” Klass quickly learned to embrace his uniqueness and now seeks to experiment with different sounds and genres in music.

His work can be described as “thought provoking” in the concepts, approach, lyrics, delivery, and in the production. With a touch of sarcasm Klass delivers his passion, feelings and concept through complex simplicity.

In his own words, “I’m looking to push Hip-Hop forward and to be progressive. I fight complacency, conformity, and my mission is to celebrate every one’s God-Given uniqueness. My music is created to motivate and inspire others to deal with themselves first, and then the environment around them. My music is different, thought provoking, fun, and I hope you. Enjoy it.”

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Sunlight pours from Washed Out’s blooming ‘Paracosm’

The music of Ernest Greene, or, Washed Out, comes at you in waves. The new album, Paracosm, eases the listener slowly into an aviary. The sounds of birds minding their business on a summer afternoon is the last thing heard before going under.

On his second album, released Aug. 13 on Subpop, Greene crafts pretty pop jangles from the silk of sunlight. In his world the colors are always bright. The mood is revelatory and triumphant. Songs are heavily layered with a sprawling drone and background snippets of field recordings and party scenes, plus more birds. Each progression dissolves into the next, leaving the listener light-headed and feeling a little nostalgic.

The sound taps into everything dreamy about The Flaming Lips, but with a finer calibration. Paracosm consists of nine very well-fed songs.

“Great Escape” is a funky Beach Boys jam sent frolicking in a field of daisies. The guitar twang on “Paracosm” unspools like the fishing wire from a fishing rod, while the prettiest harp loop flutters perpetually. ”Don’t Give Up” sounds like something the Avalanches would play behind all their samples. “All Over Now” and “Falling Back” could fit onto any soundtrack for any John Hughes movie.

On each track the drums plod along and they sound like sand is splashing off the drum heads. The guitars rise and fall on a continuous loop. Greene’s voice is soft and pale and mostly forgettable, camouflaged in the mix.

The songs themselves don’t sound much different than anything else that’s been popular in music. They sound like they could fit into any time period since the Sixties. What bring these ditties their uniqueness is the incredible tidal wave of drone that heightens their emotional core.

The traveling undertones are subtle, but all-encompassing, circling Greene’s simple songs like an earth orbits its sun.

*

Top 5 Ultimate Albums for Summer Listening

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Dotted Music launches Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box

The “Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box” features exclusive audio interviews with artists, label owners, digital stores and marketers working with electronic music.

 August 2013 — Andrew Apanov, the founder of a music marketing agency Dotted Music, has launched the “Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box,” available as a free download for limited time. The bundle features ten audio interviews with established producers, DJs (including Starkey, Jay Cunning and N-Type), owners of electronic music labels, whose releases constantly make it to the Top 10 of the Beatport charts, record stores (Juno and Beatport), and publicists who have worked with the likes of Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Luciano, Dubfire and many more. The package also includes several bonuses, including a video interview with Robert ‘Monolake’ Henke, a co-founder of Ableton Live.

According to this year’s Ibiza International Summit Report, EDM is the fastest growing music genre in the US. With the increasing popularity of electronic music and wide availability of tools for music production, new electronic artists emerge daily. And while there is no shortage of online trainings, tutorials and schools teaching how to create music and how to DJ, next to no one explains the up-and-coming musicians how to market their music, and how the electronic music business works. The Recipe Box was created to answer some of the most popular questions the establishing electronic artists ask, like how to be released on record labels, what social networks to make accent on, or how to build a loyal fanbase.

The Electronic Artist Success Recipe Box is a free educational bundle, preceding the Fall launch of the We Spin training platform for producers and DJs — a combination of constantly updated video tutorials on music marketing, personalized learning programs, and a community of like-minded artists and industry professionals. We Spin becomes as essential for building a successful career in electronic music, as a place where one can learn how to produce beats.

We Spin’ Recipe Box can be downloaded for free (for a limited time) at http://free.wespin12.com/

 

About Andrew Apanov:

Andrew Apanov, the “Musician’s Web Keeper” is a founder of a digital marketing agency for music brands and an established industry blog called Dotted Music. He’s been in the music business for a decade, as an Editor-in-chief of Ultimate-Guitar.com, live events promoter, band manager, radio host, drum & bass DJ, consultant, blogger and speaker. Andrew is a creator of the Stand Above The Noise video series and We Spin, an online training program for electronic artists.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Primal Scream pack entire career into “More Light”

Primal Scream’s new album, More Light, is the rock & roll musical equivalent of a very long, arduous, mind-bending trip. You will span time with this album. Whatever you are doing when “play” is pressed will be different than whatever you’ll be doing when silence finally returns.

It’s been a quiet few years for the Glasgow rock band. Their last album, Beautiful Future, was released in 2008. Since Screamadelica‘s sun-dried, trance rock entered the world in 1991, Primal Scream albums have progressively grown more and more raucous and abrasive. More Light brings it all to a head.

The opener, “2013,” is a nine-minute swirl of crescendos and drop-offs and horn squawks and loose endings of whatever crossed the microphone. “21st century slaves / A peasant underclass / How long will this shit last?” Bobby Gillespie sings in muted, maniacal whispers, firing up a revolution. The next song, “River Of Pain,” is built on an acoustic tremor and stretches way out into the bog of your mind. It travels downstream with little thorny bombs of noise floating about until slipping off the cliff into orchestral clouds.

And it continues on like that. Each song is full, bulky with different shrieks, echoes, strikes of feedback, etc. gurgling to the surface. When Primal Scream pressed record they vaunted their instruments and got lost in the room. Most of the time that’s a good thing–a loose chaotic war zone of psychoactive rock–sometimes, though, it can be a drain. Clocking in at 68 minutes, the album does become a task halfway through, but that really could depend on the mood you’re in, or the drugs you’re on.

One thing that’s certain about the songs on More Light, is they e v o l v e. The shortest song, “Goodbye Johnny,” is three-and-a-half minutes long, but most are between four and six minutes and in that time the structure gets dismantled, rebuilt and layered to the nines. Every facet of psychedelic rock is featured on this album. Bluesy acid-drop, spastic freak-out jams, funkadelia, hypnotic blacked-out drones all come roaring from the cannon.

“Turn Each Other Inside Out” drops you in a highway scene painted by Ralph Steadman. It skids downhill with a driving, plunking guitar encountering hiccups and daydreams on the way down. The bass in “Tenement Kid” paces side-to-side in the background while the guitar summons extraterrestrials. “Elimination Blues,” quells the noise for a moment offering some panicked blues with Gillespie’s shuddering oooohs mingling with riotous backup singers. On “I Want You” the haze of Jefferson Airplane mixes with the slow-romp of The Troggs.  ”It’s Alright, It’s OK,” bursts back to ’91, while “City Slang” taps the energy of The Stooges.

Gillespie and his minions are still wide-eyed, living on society’s fringes, squeezing every last drop from life like the sponge it is. When they sweat, you sweat. You might, one day, outrun a train; you can’t outrun More Light.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Unsigned Music Video Roundup

Recently I posted on the Independent Music Promotions Facebook wall asking for official music video submissions from our audience. The idea was to consider anything of high enough quality to recommend to the public. Below are the best videos from that experiment, and I encourage you to support the bands.

First up are Infamous Vampires, who have a refreshingly gritty, Queens of the Stone Age-inspired sound. Definitely a solid rock act with edge.

Next up are the hypnotic and pepped-up groove/world/jam band instrumental sounds of Elkano Browning Cream. Unique and infused with soul.

With a mix of prog and rock n’ roll, Escape the Ocean blend emotionally charged vocals, pop sensibility, interesting musical accents, and hard hitting rock to form a worthy listening experience.

Torn Beloved play a heavy brand of alt rock similar to Melissa Auf Der Maur, and that’s a good thing in my books. Check out “Chosen One” below.

Next up is No Carrier, who are a daring act unafraid to set themselves apart by their uniquely direct vocals and dark subject matter. Think Portishead meets Depeche Mode, but more eccentric. It’s strangely addictive.

Fatbwoi 5 are an oddity, and that’s a good thing. Somewhere between Syd Barrett and Bob Dylan, this quirky take on rock n’ roll will have you shaking your head….and then bobbing it.

 

 

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.