October 2019

Sydney, 31 October 2019: EMC announces over 65 new speakers including BBC Radio 1xtra Host Jamz Supernova, George Maple, Running Touch, Tyson Koh, Mixmag UK Managing Director Nick Stevenson, Nightlife CEO David O’Rourke and many more.

Over 25 new conference sessions have been announced including:

• The DIY Handbook: Jamz Supernova in conversation with George Maple

• After The Lockouts: Rebuilding Sydney’s Nightlife From 2020

• Harnessing Your Data: The Next Now

• George Maple presents The Process: Developing Your Artistic Voice and What It’s Saying

• The Politics of ‘High Risk’: What’s Next for NSW Festivals?

• AAM, White Sky and EMC presents The Economics of Artist Management

• Roland presents a Crash Course in Modular Synthesis

• Are Playlists The Big Break They’re Cracked Up To Be?

• WTF Am I Signing? The Hidden Pitfalls of Hidden Clauses

• YeahSure. presents The C Word: Making Sense of Content in a New Decade

• Label-Free: The Risks and Rewards of Releasing Music DIY

• Game Theory: Fundamentals of Gaming Composition

Now in its eighth year, EMC is the leading annual electronic music event of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. EMC includes a conference on Wednesday 13th November and Thursday 14th November and a festival of music, parties, showcases, films and more from Wednesday 13th November to Sunday 17th November.

Today EMC announces DJ and BBC Radio 1xtra Host Jamz Supernova, who will open the conference with an in conversation with Australian born, LA based George Maple. The DIY Handbook: Jamz Supernova in conversation with George Maple sees these two powerhouse women tapping into each other’s minds to discuss their journeys as creative entrepreneurs, the mistakes that became learnings applied to create magical career milestones, the advice they can offer to emerging artists and professionals and what is exciting them the most about the new decade ahead.

George Maple will also present a workshop – The Process: Developing Your Artistic Voice and What It’s Saying on development and nurturing of the creative process. Using her own inspirations, documents from previous projects and footage from her recent multimedia live spectacle ‘Utopia,’, George Maple will drill down to present a simple, succinct, visual and engaging lecture which explores ‘What am I trying to say?’ from the artist’s perspective.

Enigmatic producer, artist and songwriter Running Touch features in EMC’s Keynote Theatre in On The Couch with Team Running Touch – a close look into the journey of Running Touch and his team, exploring the triumphs and challenges since his 2016 breakout, and what

2020 and beyond looks like for one of Australia’s most exciting talents.

Inline with EMC’s 2019 theme The Next Now and ahead of what looks (almost) certain to be a 2020 repeal of Sydney’s lockout laws is a special panel After The Lockouts: Rebuilding Sydney’s Nightlife From 2020. Global advocate for night time governance and former Amsterdam Night Mayor Mirik Milan facilitates this panel which includes Keep Sydney Open’s Tyson Koh; The Ticket Fairy CEO Ritesh Patel and Sophie Page of Home The Venue which celebrates an impressive 21 years of existence in Sydney nightlife this year.

With messy data and subsequent missing income being one of the greatest challenges of the global music industry as we enter a new decade, the keynote from Nightlife CEO David O’Rourke Harnessing Data – The Next Now followed by the expert panel Following The Money: Can Music Recognition Technology Solve Your Missing Income? explores the importance of accurate and transparent data to drive growth in the music industry and whether Music Recognition Technology is the solution to the $180 million+ missing income for electronic music writers and producers each year. David is joined by APRA AMCOS Research and Technology Co Ordinator Levi Voorwinden and streaming expert Mike Warner in this panel.

Following the back and forth of the new festivals legislation being removed in September then reinstated in October, there is now a political process at play which will determine the future of the regulations around music festivals in NSW. The Politics of ‘High Risk’: What’s Next for NSW Festivals? is a briefing from Australian Festival Association’s Julia Robinson; MusicNSW Managing Director Emily Collins; Hardware Corporation’s Richie McNeill and Live Nation’s Mitchell Wilson delivering a current status of this situation and will clarify the political process when negotiating this regulatory framework which affects industry and music lovers alike.

In an investigative session, Association of Artist Managers, (AAM) White Sky and EMC team up to deep dive into The Economics of Artist Management – putting a spotlight on the realities of the income of an artist manager when working with a developing or emerging artist. Expert lawyers Jennifer Tutty from Studio Legal and Rob Glass from Media Arts Lawyers join Willaris K manager Adrian McGruther and White Sky’s Mike Landers in this essential session for artists and managers facilitated by AAM Co-Chair Greg Carey.

EMC’s workshops program expands over two floors in 2019 with a stacked program dedicated to music and content creation. A Crash Course in Modular Synthesis hosted by Roland and mod synth legend David Haberfeld gives an entry level 101 to creating the sickest sounds in electronic music. Are Playlists The Big Break They’re Cracked Up To Be? explores the benefits and challenges with placement on playlists with Work Hard, Playlist Hard author Mike Warner, Xelon’s Arlo Enemark and Ni Bing. VJ Meets DJ: How You can Elevate Your Club Sets With AV brings A-Tonez and VJ Morph together for a live DJ/VJ collaboration covering the must-know info for crafting a multi sensory club performance. Music and Lyrics: Making Songs in a Sea of Bangers dives into how to create tunes with lyrics and the voice at the forefront with Sound Designer and Ableton User Group’s Elina Godwin, Isy Isy and Chase Zera. Game Theory: Fundamentals of Gaming Composition with Jared Underwood delves into game music composition covering writing theme, in-game music, menu loops and win and fail stings.

Hundreds of creative leaders, artists, managers, producers, songwriters, agents, tech leaders, media, business figures and more will convene on Wednesday 13 November and Thursday 14 November at UTS’ Dr Chau Chak Wing Building for over 40 keynotes, workshops, networking sessions and panels focussed on the future of electronic music. Guests from India, China, UK, USA, Netherlands, UAE and Kuwait will join delegates from around Australia and New Zealand for two days dedicated to electronic music business and culture.

Newly announced speakers:

Adrian McGruther – Artist Manager, su:ku:ya (Willaris K, Gordi)

Amy Ciancio – Artist, Akacia

Andrew Ingenito – Student, UTS

Andy Webb – Australian Manager, Resident Advisor

Anthony Azzopardi – A-Tonez

Arlo Enemark – Artist and Label Manager, Noisehive/Xelon Entertainment

Bree Mankin – Managing Partner, The Kinetic Agency

Bree Weekes – Student, UTS

Callum Lawson – Co Founder, Beat Collective

Chris Brailey –  Copywriter, M&C Saatchi Australia

Chris Mudge – Producer/Ableton User Group Sydney

Dave Ruby Howe – Music Director, triple j Unearthed

David Haberfeld – Artist

David O’Rourke – CEO, Nightlife

Dr Felicity Wilcox – Lecturer in Music and Sound Design

Duane Buriani-Gennai – Programming and Artist Relations Manager, Marquee at The Star

Ebony Morrison – Artist

Elina Godwin – Sound Designer/Ableton User Group Sydney

Emily Collins – Managing Director, MusicNSW

Emily Hogan – Student, UTS

Gav Parry – Vocal A&R, Usual Company/Program Manager, Q Music

George Maple – Artist

Greg Carey – Co-Chair, AAM

Hau Latukefu – Radio Host, triple j/double j

Haydon Fanning – Student, UTS

Isabella Hestehauge – Artist

Ishan Karunanayake – Entertainment & Tech Lawyer

Jack Toohey – Director, YeahSure.

Jamz Supernova – DJ and Radio Broadcaster, BBC Radio 1xtra (UK)

Jana Dankmeyer – Brand Partnerships, Mixcloud (UK)

Jeff Crabtree – Managing Director, Zebra Collective

Jennifer Tutty – Principal and Founder, Studio Legal

Jessica Gleeson – Freelance Photographer

Jessica Leigh Bancroft – Event Producer and Community Catalyst, Daybreaker

Joel Farland – Music Director, Far Land Creative

Joel Siviour – Senior Booking Agent, Falcona

Julia Robinson – General Manager, Australia Festivals Assoication

Kamran Ahmed – CEO, Rave Reviewz

Kieran Dole – Partner, ULTRA Music Festival

Kirsten Muller – Venue Marketing Manager, Oxford Arts Factory

Lachlan Bruce – Creative Director and Illustrator Designer, Our Friends Electric

Lauren Mikko – Director, Post Modern Collective

Leanne de Souza – Director, Nightlife

Levi Voorwinden- Research and Technology Co Ordinator, APRA AMCOS

Mike Landers – Partner, White Sky

Mike Warner – Author, Work Hard Playlist Hard

Mirik Milan – Co Founder and Director, VibeLab (Amsterdam)

Mitchell Wilson – Corporate Affairs Manager, Live Nation

Mo’funk – DJ

Nick Stevenson – Managing Director, Wasted Talent: Mixmag/Kerrang!/The Face (UK)

Ni Bing – DJ/Promoter/Founder, Martial Artists Management/Drum Rider GmbH (China)

Olivia Hill – Student, UTS

Paul Mac – Artist

Pia Del Mastro – Director, One Plus One Agency

Phillip Burriel – Managing Director, Hostique

Rob Glass – Senior Lawyer, Media Arts Lawyers

Richie McNeill – Director, Hardware Corporation

Sameet Sharma – Former Festival Director – Vh1Supersonic, Viacom 18 (India)

Samuel Bright – Creative Director/Film Maker, CLIPPED.TV / CLIPPED Music Video Festival

Sindy Sinn – Illustrator

Siona Singletary – Freelance Strategist

Sophie Page – Owner’s Representative, Home The Venue

Tyson Koh – Director, Keep Sydney Open

Vaughn McManus – Senior Marketing Manager, Universal

TBC Veronika Karatovic, Senior Client Executive, AON

VJ Morph – Creative Director/Producer, Morph Visual

Warren Werksman, Psychologist/Employee Assistance Program, Support Act

Joining already announced speakers:

Alissa Cronau – Founder, Maven

Andreea Magdalina – Founder, Shesaid.so (USA)

Ayebatonye Abrakasa – Founder/Creative Director, House of Ayebatonye

Carolina de la Peidra – Assistant Booker, BBE

Clarissa Mei – Artist

Darren Levin – Head of Content and Publishing, Bolster

Donald Hau – CEO, Mixmag (China)

Dr Brent Keough – Lecturer in Communication, UTS

Elise Reitze-Swensen – Founder/Manager, WOMPP

Ian ‘Esky’ Escandor – Youth Worker, Street University

James Locksmith – CEO, OORA Agency (UAE)

Jared Underwood – Gaming Music Composer

Kae Burke – Co Founder/Creative Director, House of Yes (USA)

Lauren Neko – Program Co-ordinator, Electronic Music Conference

Lawrence Huskinton – Director, Bobbin Head Music & Random Soul Recordings

Madeleine Edwards – Operations Manager, Post Modern Collective

Matthew Tinkler – CEO, Beats Collective

Marissa Loil – Agent, Agent, United Talent Agency

Megane Quashie – CEO, Female First Sessions (UAE)

Michala Kawolski – Research Officer, UNSW

Patrick Nellestein – Director, River Road Interactive

Paulo Flores – Founder/Label Director, Wile Out

Ritesh Patel – CEO, The Ticket Fairy (USA)

Rosie Taylor – Co Founder, WOMPP

Sarah Houbolt – Circus and Physical Theatre Performer

Scott Cohen – Chief Innovation Officer, Warner Music Group (UK)

Simon Caldwell – DJ/FBi Radio Host/Founder Mad Racket

Tara Medina – Director, Strawberry Fields Festival

Zaran Vachha – Founder/Music Director, Collective Minds Asia (Singapore)

From Wednesday 13 November until Sunday 17 November, EMC Festival takes place across Sydney with an abundance of parties, club nights, films, pop-ups and showcases celebrating the positive impact of electronic music culture. Boris, Miss Kittin, Late Nite Tuff Guy, Lazare Hoche, Sveta and more join the emerging artists at EMC LIVE tipped as the ‘ones to watch’ in 2020.

Tickets for EMC’s conference are onsale now via The Ticket Fairy at https://www.electronicmusicconference.com/tickets/ with student and industry passes available including group rates.

Entry to EMC LIVE on Wednesday 13 November and Thursday 14 November is free for EMC conference pass holders. Tickets for all festival events are onsale now at https://www.electronicmusicconference.com/festival-2019/

Electronic Music Conference is supported by Australia Council for the Arts, the NSW Government through Create NSW, City of Sydney, The Ticket Fairy, MusicNSW, Nightlife, Roland, Ableton, Pioneer DJ, Mixmag, Decoded Magazine, Muzeek, Wayver and TAME.

The National Gallery of Victoria will present a survey of Comme des Garçons in Australia’s first exhibition dedicated to the trailblazing designer Rei Kawakubo. Opening at NGV International on 31 October, Collecting Comme celebrates the innovative designs and ongoing influence of contemporary fashion label Comme des Garçons.

Showcasing more than 65 outfits by the visionary designer, drawn from more than 40 collections, the exhibition will also include 13 additional works designed by Kawakubo’s protégés Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara.

Drawn from the NGV’s significant Comme des Garçons collection, gifted to the Gallery by donor Takamasa Takahashi, and including loans from his personal collection, the exhibition will examine the radical concepts and design methods that have informed Kawakubo’s practice for almost five decades.

Collecting Comme will explore Kawakubo’s work from the time of her first presentation in Paris in 1981. Known for defying convention, Kawakubo has redefined fashion throughout her career, subverting garment shape and function, reframing ideas of beauty, and proposing a new relationship between the body and clothing.

During the 1980s, Kawakubo’s collections highlighted her experimental approach to construction and form with oversized and asymmetrical garments, exploring the nuances of black through texture and dye. Her early runway collections – Destroy (Holes), autumn–winter 1982–83, and Patchworks and X, spring–summer 1983 – featured garments that were purposely distressed and unfinished. Highlights from these collections will be on display in Collecting Comme, including Kawakubo’s infamous hole-and dropped-stitch garment including Sweater 1982, created by deliberately faulting the knitting machines.

Throughout the 1990s, Kawakubo’s work continued to examine existing ideas of fashion. She contested definitions of beauty and taste, experimented with atypical fabrics and deconstructed ideas about gender and women’s social roles. The Comme des Garçons aesthetic questioned the idea of dressing for display, and used punk elements to refashion femininity into something far more transgressive.

Featuring some of Kawakubo’s most radical statements to date, Collecting Comme will include three works from the Body Meets Dress-Dress Meets Body collection; spring–summer 1997. Widely referred to as the ‘lumps and bumps’ collection, the runway show featured models dressed in outfits stuffed at the hips, abdomen and shoulders with bulging pillows of polyurethane. Implicit in the work was a refusal to see the physical body as a limitation.

‘To this day, Rei Kawakubo and the Comme des Garçons label remain widely regarded as a groundbreaking force in contemporary fashion,’ said Tony Ellwood AM, Director, National Gallery of Victoria.

‘As the largest public repository of Comme des Garçons in Australia, the NGV is hugely grateful to Takamasa Takahashi for entrusting the Gallery with these works for the enjoyment of future generations.’

Takamasa Takahashi first discovered the unconventional work of Comme des Garçons in the mid 1970s. By the early 1980s, he was dedicated to wearing Kawakubo’s unisex and unstructured styles on the streets of Tokyo. Turning his attention to collecting in 1986, Takahashi began donating works to the NGV in 2005.

‘I would like for people to look at Kawakubo’s work with an open mind: to question what they are looking at and consider the story behind the creation of the garment,’ said Mr Takahashi.

A free ebook has been produced in association with the exhibition, featuring a curatorial essay, interview with Takamasa Takahashi, images and videos. It is available to view here.

Collecting Comme is on display at NGV International from 31 October 2019 – 26 July 2020.

Entry is free. More information is available via the NGV website.

 ‘BACKSEAT BOOGIE’

BONESHAKER TRACK LISTING: 01. BONESHAKER 02. BURNOUT THE NITRO 03. THIS IS OUR CITY 04. SEX TO GO 05. BACKSEAT BOOGIE 06. BLOOD IN THE WATER 07. SHE GIVES ME HELL 08. SWITCHBLADE ANGEL 09. WEAPON OF WAR 10. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FOR LIFE

Empowered songwriter Reilly Stapleton has today announced her enthralling new single Impulse, an unsettling, eclectic rock ballad about the fine line between our morals and our devilish impulses, out October 31. The intriguingly dark song is accompanied by a brilliant, slasher-style clip, directed by Michael Sadler (Teenage Dads).  To celebrate the release, Reilly Stapleton will be playing a residency at God’s Kitchen in Mornington on the first Tuesday of every month until the end of the year, and an exclusive one-off show at The Grace Darling in Melbourne on November 1.

Impulse explores the darker side of the human psyche, leaving no stone unturned.  Reilly’s powerful vocals take centre stage, as guitars scream and synths swirl around her.  ‘Is it bad? I’ve gone mad, smashed the bottle I had in my hand,”, Reilly expresses her deepest, darkest thoughts, in the perfect amalgamation of lyricism, vocal delivery and instrumental arrangement. “Impulse is reflective of the constant battle between our negative impulsions and our inner consciousness that provides you with a positive moral compass” explains Reilly. “The song uses violence, anger and control in order to convey this unavoidable conflict.  When somebody has a short tolerance of anger they can withstand, it is generally our consciousness that holds us back from lashing out.”

The clip for Impulse is appropriately creepy and unsettling – the perfect accompaniment to this ghostly track.  The video centres in on a whimsical tea party gone completely wrong, as the main character finds herself picturing the grisly deaths of her fellow tea party attendees.  Speaking on the concept behind the haunting clip, Reilly explains, “The protagonist struggles with maintaining self-control when it comes to the loud and obnoxious guests, so she begins to imagine the ways in which the guests could be murdered and her mind can once again be at ease.  The guests become more irritating as the event goes on and she becomes quite irrational and exasperated…on her final murder spree, it seems she may have gone too far – the audience will be left wondering if her impulse really did take control.”

Reilly Stapleton will be celebrating all things Impulse with some intimate live performances, beginning with a residency at God’s Kitchen in Mornington on the first Tuesday of every month until the end of 2019, alongside an exclusive headline show at Grace Darling in Melbourne on November 1.  This young powerhouse’s vocal prowess is a force to be reckoned with, and paired with her humble, welcoming stage presence, she is an impressive live act.

Keep up with Reilly Stapleton

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We may be getting closer to the end of 2019, but R3HAB shows no signs of slowing down. Only two weeks after the release of “Exhale,” an electronic ballad on which R3HAB collaborated with Ella Vos, the main force behind CYB3RPVNK returns to his signature sound in the form of “All Comes Back To You.” The record’s narrative is pretty straightforward, as it says that everything we do and say comes back to us. Inspiring at its heart, “All Comes Back To You” carries a meaningful tone enhanced by R3HAB’s bouncy and melodic drops. Just in time to showcase the new single and earlier releases, R3HAB is about to embark on his co-headline North America tour with Cash Cash, which will span across the USA and Canada, stopping by the continent’s most iconic venues, such as Hollywood Palladium, Echostage, Aragon Ballroom, to name a few.

“‘All Comes Back to You’ follows in the footsteps of ‘All Around The World’ with a groovy bassline, catchy vocals, and all-round positive vibes. I am proud to share it with the world.” – R3HAB

Over the last seven years, the Dutch/Moroccan artist Fadil El Ghoul – better known as R3HAB – has established himself as a leader at the forefront of modern electronic music. His talent has been called the “future of the craft” by the likes of Forbes and Billboard, and he’s circuited the globe’s best clubs and festivals, all without the backing of a formal record label. In 2017, R3HAB independently released his debut album “Trouble” through his imprint CYB3RPVNK, which amassed over a half-billion streams globally and officially placed R3HAB among electronic music’s heavy hitters. He made number 14 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 list in 2019, topping the charts with tracks like “Lullaby” and “Hold On Tight,” while his sophomore album “The Wave,” revealing more complex, emotional and experimental layers of himself, has amassed over 250 million streams on Spotify alone. In 2019 R3HAB’s “All Around The World” with A Touch of Class quickly became his biggest ever record already topping 200M streams across platforms and achieving gold & platinum status in 8 countries.

R3HAB’s upcoming dates (* North America tour with Cash Cash):

Oct 28 – The Grand Boston – Boston, MA
Oct 29 – Shrine Nightclub – Mashantucket, CT

*Nov 08 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
*Nov 09 – Harbour Convention Centre – Vancouver, Canada
*Nov 10 – EDC Orlando – Orlando, FL
*Nov 15 – Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles, CA
*Nov 16 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
*Nov 22 – Rebel – Toronto, Canada
*Nov 23 – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
*Nov 29 – Great Hall-Avant Garder – Brooklyn, NY
*Nov 30 – Echostage – Washington, DC

Dec 14 – Djakarta Warehouse Project – Jakarta, Indonesia
Dec 20 – StereoLive – Houston, TX
Dec 24 – Marquee – New York, NY
Jan 18 – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
Feb 08 – Electric Brixton – London, United Kingdom