Search results for ""

909 Day: freebies, sales, and celebrations

It’s 909 Day again, and a moment to reflect on the beauty of Tadao Kikumoto’s rhythm composer masterpiece. HAND CLAP. Let’s RIDE.

Read more →

CDJ-3000X: first CDJ to go online; expanded usability, sound quality

AlphaTheta, the company that DJs will probably never stop calling “Pioneer,” has a major update for their flagship deck. It starts to make the CDJ-3000 seem more like a foundation for this: expanded media access, online connectivity, and some welcome usability, reliability. and sound improvements.

Read more →

Listen to 8 hours of sound dedicated to Palestine — and act

Music and sound are not action — at least, not normally. But sound can recenter you, rewire your brain, and let you catch your breath before that action. So I find myself returning to this eight-hour broadcast by London’s Sister Midnight FM, which includes Palestinian artists who have long been featured on CDM, including Muqata’a, bint mbareh, and Dakn.

Read more →

Lyra Pramuk on Hymnal, invention, and the spontaneity of slime mold

Lyra Pramuk’s Hymnal is an ecstatic, prophetic vision, a hybrid of synthesis and organicism in an improvised compositional structure with processed voice and strings, conveyed with striking intimacy. Lyra talks to us about inventing culture and reconnecting with musical roots while unlearning, all at once.

Read more →

Roland’s 808 Day: animated films, apparel collabs, patterns, parties, software deals

Roland has largely shifted product announcements to other dates, but 808 Day is still a party. And every year brings some left-field surprise. This year, it’s animated films. But that’s perfect for your 808 Day celebration, even if it’s just a party of you, a drum machine, and a night off.

Read more →

GAUNG is a power station for electronic music in Yogyakarta

Four artists/researchers, three collectives: Leilani Hermiasih, Ari Wulu, Andreas Siagian, and Wok The Rock; Gayam 16, Instrumentasia, and Yes No Klub. Starting today through August 17, they’re launching the first GAUNG electronic and experimental music festival in Yogyakarta, switching on a “power station” for the scene across Indonesia. It’s a different way to run a festival — even a different way to understand what a festival is — so let’s take a look at what they’re doing.

Read more →

1996 peak Microsoft chillwave: if you heard it at all, you only heard it once

Move over, Brian Eno. “Velkommen” by Stan LePard is 90s Microsoft chillwave at its best. But like catching a fleeting glimpse of Brigadoon, for many years this song was heard over Microsoft installations and then lost to time–until passionate fans archived it for the ages. Even if that happened before you were born, you owe it to yourself to experience the supreme calm that only this track can bring.

Read more →

Cool down with Taz Waves, Sudanese electronic music via Amman

Heat waves are crossing Europe; stress is rising planetwide. Sudanese artist Zaher Nasr, aka Taz Waves, has an alternative. Inspired by time in Amman, Jannah Al Yasmeen (Jasmine Heaven) is as sweet and calming as its namesake.

Read more →

Kudos to living artists series challenges mixing just one artist – hear the results

From the mind of Behrang Najafi – known as half of Temp Illusion, among other things – “Kudos to Living Artists” asks the question, how would you make a mix of just one artist? Invited artists have crafted tributes to Boards of Canada, Brigitte Fontaine, Peder Mannerfelt, Grischa Licthenberger, Tania León, and more.

Read more →

On mnjm label, techno finds a new voice in the Arab diaspora

It’s just as dark, just as blistering and powerful, but with sharper details, nuanced rhythms. Arabic-speaking techno from mnjm in Berlin reinvigorates the genre by shedding some of its cookie-cutter repetition and making it come alive all over again.

Read more →