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GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING SUPERSTAR DJ/PRODUCER TO CELEBRATE WITH EAGERLY AWAITED NEW SINGLE
“THE BUSINESS” ARRIVES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH AT ALL DSP AND STREAMING SERVICES
Atlantic Records is very proud to announce the worldwide signing of superstar DJ and producer Tiësto to its groundbreaking roster. The GRAMMY® Award-winning producer will celebrate with the release of his eagerly awaited new single, “The Business,” available Friday, September 25th at all DSPs and streaming services.
Named by Mixmag as the “Greatest DJ of All Time,” Tiësto is currently hard at work completing his Atlantic Records debut album, with release slated for 2021. “The Business” marks Tiësto’s first commercial release since the release earlier this year of his acclaimed seventh studio album, THE LONDON SESSIONS, highlighted by such hit singles as Tiësto & Dzeko Feat. Preme & Post Malone’s RIAA platinum certified “Jackie Chan,” which has a staggering 1.5 billion worldwide streams and more than 151 million video views to date. THE LONDON SESSIONS also includes the international blockbuster, “Ritual” by Tiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora, joined by a massively popular companion video directed by the legendary Sophie Muller and now boasting over 110 million views via YouTube alone.
Tiësto is of course one of the biggest contemporary stars of any musical genre, a chart-topping, award-winning, multi-platinum international icon whose remarkable body of work (spanning myriad albums, singles, EPs, remixes, mixtapes, and more) virtually defines today’s electronic dance music. With over 8 billion streams across all platforms– including over 22.5 million monthly streams via Spotify alone – the Dutch DJ/producer has more than earned such extraordinary honorifics as “The Godfather of EDM” Rolling Stone’s #1 “DJs That Rule The Earth,” and DJ Mag’s “Best DJ of the Last 20 Years,” to name but a few.
Throughout his remarkable career, Tiësto has collaborated with a truly incredible selection of like-minded artists, from Post Malone, Diplo and Martin Garrix to Busta Rhymes, The Chainsmokers, Gucci Mane, Icona Pop, Tegan & Sara, and Matthew Koma, with whom he partnered on 2014’s RIAA platinum certified hit, “Wasted (Feat. Matthew Koma).” Among his most successful collaborations has been alongside the one and only John Legend, including 2015’s GRAMMY® Award-winning “All of Me (Tiësto’s Birthday Treatment Remix).” Most recently, Tiësto joined forces with Vintage Culture to drop dance-floor, party banger “Coffee (Give Me Something),” it is available now via Musical Freedom for streaming and download here.
Additionally, Tiësto’s popular CLUBLIFE compilation series includes five volumes to date, while his radio show of the same name has proven one of the world’s most enduring and popular weekly broadcasts, reaching over 35 million listeners on 149 stations in 90 countries each week.
Now, with his exclusive worldwide signing to Atlantic Records, Tiësto is poised to once again lead the next evolution of electronic dance music, as ever exploring uncharted terrain to create what may well be his biggest and boldest music thus far.
Tiesto ‘The Business’ will be available 25th September via Atlantic Records
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Photo Credit – Oliwier Gesla
ANTOINE
REVEALS TRIUMPHANT ACCOMPANYING VIDEO CLIP FOR DEBUT SINGLE ‘ONE TIME’
SUPPORT FOR ‘ONE TIME’
“The Melbourne-based musician’s debut single is a wind-swept R&B moment that feels like the future of Australian music.”
– Pilerats (AUS)
“The video is just constant euphoria – Martha’s huge smile and ace dance moves are impossible to not get lost in, especially paired with Antoine’s bars and the song’s addictive beat.”
– Cool Accidents (AUS)
“Antoine out here singing ‘One Time’ pretty sure the people will demand seconds tho. Took me to the islands with this sexy track, also here for the Shy Guy break down. Come On, Antoine!” – 4.5/5 stars
– Ilai Swindells – triple j (AUS)
Added to Apple Music playlists ‘New Music Daily’ and ‘The New Australia’
Added to Spotify playlist ‘the hybrid’
Following on from his mesmerising debut single ‘One Time’, Melbourne-based R&B newcomer Antoine has teamed up with Reebok for the accompanying video clip – directed by Liam Kelly and Zoee Marsh.
The clip follows the main character Martha as she embarks on her day, dancing through the back streets of Geelong, Victoria. Shot using hand-held cameras, the video flows from shot-to-shot capturing the exquisite choreography and boundless energy of its main characters, including their 90s inspired get-ups.
Director Zoee Marsh describes the process and inspiration behind the clip:
“Our aim was to document the song being heard for the very first time by diving into the fun energy that this track creates. We paralleled Martha’s journey with the journey of the CD being given to her at the start and passed on at the end. Concerning the movement, Martha and I worked on embodying the vibe of the track in the most authentic way so when shooting the clip, Martha’s energy effortlessly poured out of her whilst making her way through the locations. We also explored set choreography in sections but were driven to make it as seamless and free as possible.”
Since release the track has been widely embraced by Spotify, Apple Music, triple j Unearthed, Pilerats, AUD’$, Mixdown Magazine, The Local Frequency, The Soundcheck, AAA Backstage and Radio Adelaide.
Antoine comes from a family of musicians, who all originate from Mauritius, East Africa and Italy. His Dad is a multi-instrumentalist who still plays shows to this day, and his mother was also a back-up R&B vocalist in the ’80s. Both parents have been huge influences, making it difficult for him to have passion elsewhere. Wearing his influences on his sleeves, Antoine is on a mission to bring some old school R&B back to life.
‘One Time’ is available worldwide now
FOLLOW ANTOINE
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Where are you currently based?
Sydney.
How did you first start playing music?
I started playing the drums when I was 3 as my dad was already in two bands.
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?
Personally For me Covid has been amazing creatively. I went up to Byron in the beginning and recorded an EP with Veptune. Then came to Sydney and moved in with Ronald Fredricks and recorded another EP.
Your new single ‘Get Over Yourself’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
Get Over Yourself was the first song I recorded with Veptune. The hook I came up with after watching a friend battle his own Ego which in turn effected everyone around him.
Where and when did you record/produce and who did you work with?
We recorded and wrote the song in Wollongong in Veptunes old studio. With Veptune.
What programs/equipment did you use?
We use Logic.
Where can we listen to Get Over Yourself?
Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I am currently listening to Salt N Pepper ‘None Of Your Business’.
What do you like to do away from music?
The music doesn’t ever stop I guess the challenge is finding a break away from it. I do like to ride my bike but I’m Usually writing as I ride.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2020 going into 2021?
I’m releasing my next single ‘It Makes Me ILL’ in 4 weeks .
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Sophia’s in Erko Lad.
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“Jessica Jade is one of those artists that you’ll be glad to have known about before they got big, and trust us, it is going to happen soon.” – Tone Deaf
“Bet is an extremely likeable track from an artist I could literally listen to all day.” – Project U
“Sydney has a new R n B star on the rise.” – SNIFFERS
On the cusp of releasing her debut EP ‘BET’ on November 13th multi-dimensional R&B artist Jessica Jade sheds more light on the contents with the addictive and raw love song ‘You’ which premiered on triple j.
Employing her signature smooth and sultry production the track leans on a simple production giving light to her vocals. Of the subject Jade admits “Giving all your time and energy to someone isn’t easy. But the connection you have with that person is always what makes you both stronger. All the bad times make the good times just as good.”
‘You’ comes from the Western Sydney artist’s forthcoming debut ‘BET’ EP which features a collection of stellar, multi-genre tracks centered around the theme of independence and respecting yourself, including her most recent offerings ‘BET’ and ‘Taste’.
Recently selected as one of FBi Radio’s Independent Artists and performing as a part of their Independent Play Series, she’s already been tapped on the shoulder by Converse, Champion and JD Sports. She’s also struck a chord with tastemakers Complex, Life Without Andy, SNIFFERS and Project U along wth Tone Deaf who dubbed her a ‘future R&B legend’.
Flourishing in the digital realm her previous releases have clocked spots in Spotify’s New Music Friday AU/NZ & Denmark, R&B Connect, Pop N Fresh and Apple Music’s Best of the Week and Mood.
JESSICA JADE
‘YOU’
OUT NOW
Where are you currently based?
I’m currently based in the humble western suburbs of Sydney.
What’s been happening recently and how did you first start playing music?
I recently released my EP “Warm Blooded” and very happy with the reception and attention it has been receiving. I’m currently working on some photo shoots and collaborative projects with talented people, and hope to release more visuals to support the EP.
I started exploring music as a child playing piano, my mother enrolled me in piano lessons which I didn’t really like. From that point onward I started to teach myself music as a hobby which eventually led to creating my own brand of music.
How did you first start playing music?
During high school I started to teach myself guitar and explored musical hardware. I purchased some synthesisers and started playing around with Garageband. A couple years later I picked up Ableton and taught myself how to create songs and produce. It’s the year of 2018 and at this point I wanted to learn how to rap and sing. I was very inspired by Brockhampton and their DIY approach to releasing amazing visuals and creating music, and I knew If I put some work in I could create projects which would could display everything I’ve taught myself.
Your new EP ‘Warm Blooded’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
The EP was highly inspired by Artists such as Brockhampton, Jpeg Mafia, Sade and various other artists. The song writing elements and theme of the EP is based around my personal experiences with people I’ve met, situations that tested me and love. I wanted to continue to create instrumentals that reflected the moods of my circumstances. The EP was created during some tough times, and for most artists trials and tribulations have a strange way of inspiring us to express and make something of the hardships.
How did you go about writing the EP and who did you work with?
I collaborated with Thinkbot films for the production of the film clip, and also worked with Evergreen Artists to push the release. In relation to the musical and graphic elements of “Warm Blooded” I worked alone. I love working on musical projects because I can produce and write the story of the project with full control. I am also a digital artist and designer, and love that I can make two worlds collide under one concept.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?
I have a home studio where I do all of the above. The project was written during late 2019 and the duration of 2020.
How did you approach the recording process?
It changes with every song I create, Sometimes I jump straight into the booth, other times I spend a lot of time crafting the lyrics and then build the song around the narrative. Having constant access to my studio is a highly valuable resource and I do my best to spend as much time as possible recording or writing. At times I do hit obstacles and have to encourage myself to keep working.
What programs/instruments did you use?
I use a variety of instruments and software to create my music. I love Ableton and software instruments, having a whole orchestra at your finger tips is pretty wild. I liked to use my Roland electronic piano to start melodies and occasionally pick up my Electric and acoustic guitar to also lead the direction of my songs.
What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of Warm Blooded?
The challenging part was to create something that still had elements of my last album “Planet Cool” whilst evolving it at the same time. I don’t like boxing myself in and want to be able to grab elements of all the genres I like to create my work. When I wrote “Genuflect” and “Apple” I knew I was on to something different and I started to nourish that seed. Releasing “Aversion” was very fulfilling and I was stoked that I finally let the project loose into the world.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
A lot of Latin lounge/jazz, Freddie Gibs, Action Bronson, Brockhampton, Soulection radio and Nujabes.
What do you like to do away from music?
I love creating art both digital and traditional, I read a lot books and comics and love video games and film. Any form of digital entertainment really. I’m always on my road bicycle and spend a lot of time with my friends.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2020 going into 2021?
At this point in time I can’t really say, I tend not to think too far ahead. I’d like to release some more film clips possibly for songs from “Warm Blooded”. I’m currently working on another musical project with a friend of mine and plan to release that hopefully this year or early next year.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
I am a fiend for dumplings and you can often find me lurking around Parramatta CBD.
What is your name and role within Pelts?
Hello! I’m Ralph, and I play keys in Pelts. I also run Iffy Folk Records, our record label.
Where are you currently based?
Just outside Glasgow (Scotland), near the river Clyde. The rest of the band are also based in or around the edges of Glasgow. It’s a great city for playing music.
How did you first start playing music?
I don’t remember there being a specific moment of clarity, but I was around 17 and really wanted to learn to play the guitar. We had a piano in the house, and I ended up learning piano and guitar at the same time, which turned out to be a good combination. I couldn’t get a handle on reading music, so I used to work out how to play songs by ear, which was pretty good prep for being in a band.
How did Pelts form?
Pelts rose from the ashes of a band where many of our paths crossed. The driving force was Graham, who was looking for something fresh and new, and wanted to play with old friends again. Graham, Stu, and Olly had been in bands together years before, and Ben and I met Graham along the way. Natasha met Graham through a book group and discovered that their voices worked realty well together. That became a great focal point.
You have an album coming out on the 18th of September, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
We’d like to think the album has a ‘Pelts’ sound, that only really happens when we all make music together. We all bring our own individual influences to the melting pot. The 8 songs on the album are thematically linked, and there’s a lyrical thread that runs throughout, charting the last few years of our lives, big and small life events, hope, redemption, and love.
How did you go about writing the music?
We’re a very open band when it comes to ideas. Some songs arrive from a single source fully formed – ‘Haunted’ was written by Graham and was the very first Pelts song. Songs like ‘Dolphin Road’ have existed in various, mad incarnations until we found the right fit. ‘London Runner’ was one of my home demos, then Ben added lyrics and melody and the band worked it up in the studio to make it an album-closing behemoth! So, pretty much anything goes, and nobody is too precious about music & lyrics ideas, which makes it a joy to make music with this band.
Where and when did you record and who with?
We recorded the album in autumn 2019, at Anchor Lane studios in Glasgow with Luigi Pasquini & Melanie Dutton in the control room. It was great working with that team. The bulk of the recording went quite quickly, but we spent some time recording our vocals, editing and mixing. We all have day jobs, so that slows things down a bit. We mastered the album in early 2020, so it’s amazing to finally hold it in physical format, especially with that beautiful artwork (by Beth Cowey).
How did you approach the recording process?
We spent a long time on these songs, rehearsing in practise rooms and road testing at gigs, so when we took the songs to the studio we wanted to record as live as possible. So, drums, bass, guitars and keys were all recorded live, with guide vocals, to give everything the right feel. Then we added additional layers of instrumentation, and Graham & Natasha’s vocals.
What programs/instruments did you use?
I love technical questions, but I’ll keep this short, and not take us down a guitar pedal or plugin rabbit hole! Logic was the DAW of choice in the studio (although I prefer ProTools in my home studio). I got to play a beautiful upright piano, and the two synths I used were my trusty microKorg and the amazing Waldorf Streichfett String Synthesizer.
Your single ‘Throwing Sticks’ is out now, how do you go about deciding on which track to release as a single?
Doodle poll! Although Throwing Sticks was a unanimous choice, and it’s a song we’ve always known would be a single – it’s a real favourite to play live. Deciding on the second single will be trickier.
What do you like to do away from music?
The label means I’m never far from music, but I do love running. I never listen to music when I’m running (I’ve never liked that), so I use it as a chance to power down my brain for a while.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Our label recently released Pure Concrete, an amazing new album by Kevin P. Gilday & The Glasgow Cross, so that has been played a lot in our house as we tested the vinyl & CD pressings (sorry for the plug!). But I’ve been listening to a lot of other great stuff this year, new and old, and a lot of beautiful instrumental and ambient albums since working at home became a thing. This is a short list of current favourites, in no particular order; Björk, Nils Frahm, Alice Coltrane, Le Groupe Obscur, Brigid Mae Power, William Basinski, Jill Lorean, Julianna Barwick, KOKOKO!, Khruangbin, Tindersticks, Joanna Newsom. Loma are my favourite band in the world right now, and I can’t wait for their new album to come out.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2020 going into 2021?
A Little Less Lost comes out later this month, so we’ll be trying to get that into as many ears as possible. It would be lovely to play live, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for a while, unfortunately. We’ll be releasing another single (or two) from the album and making some home-made videos. We’ve already got a healthy-looking demo folder for Pelts album #2, so there will be a lot to get our teeth into when we eventually all get together as a band again and start making some noise.
Favourite food and place to hang out?
Seafood at Inver, a rural restaurant on the west coast of Scotland, would be a perfect meal. I’m going to pick some Glasgow gig venues, which we miss so much! The Hug and Pint and The Glad Café are two of our favourites – great food, and great venues. We’ve all had so many good nights there.
https://www.facebook.com/Peltsband
SUPPORT FOR ‘SNAKES & LADDERS’
“2 things we know about Timi. First up, he loves snakes. Secondly, he can write a crunchy, colourful, super fun jam and this one has me sliding down the ladder to come geddit.” – 4/5 stars
– Declan Byrne – triple j (AUS)
“Rolling double 1s cos I’ve only got snake eyes for this new Timi Temple track. This review makes less sense the more you read it, so just listen to the song.” – 4/5 stars
– Dave Ruby Howe – triple j Unearthed (AUS)
“Showcasing his continually evolving lyricism and his unrivaled ability to have so much fun.”
– Purple Sneakers (AUS)
Following on from his critically praised single ‘Snakes & Ladders’, Sydney-based DIY artist Timi Temple has returned with the accompanying video clip – produced, directed and edited by the artist himself.
Shot at O.H Reid Oval at the Lane Cove National Park, the clip features the world’s largest Snakes & Ladders game, created from scratch by Timi and his close friends. Inspired by the lyrical metaphors present in the track, the video uses a combination of tripod shots, steady glide cam and overhead drone shots to realize Timi’s vision expertly.
Timi talks about the process and filming behind the clip:
“The video is all about perspective – the snakes being the users and the ladders being someone/thing they can climb to get ahead in life. I shot and edited this in a 1:1 square aspect ratio to reflect the whole square snakes and ladders board theme – everything is square! You’ll notice that anytime our POV is that of a crowd member I’m wearing yellow to signify the ladder. Similarly, the second chorus onwards I’m wearing snake colours and the audience has all turned into ladders. Once again, dark undertones hidden within a very playful and colourful setting, the sort of juxtaposition that I LOVE!”
Timi has consistently toured the country, selling out venues across NSW, including Waywards, Oxford Art Factory Gallery, The Vanguard and Marly Bar, as well as touring with established acts like Baker Boy, Kilter, Cosmo’s Midnight and Bootleg Rascal.
As a performer Timi has featured on triple j‘s Like A Version with Kilter, Cosmo’s Midnight and Kota Banks, and performed at Australian festival juggernauts Splendour in The Grass, Field Day, Listen Out, Yours & Owls and Falls Festival.
Previous singles have been widely embraced by radio tastemakers triple j, triple j Unearthed, FBi, 4ZZZ, RTR FM, 2XX and a slew of other Australian community stations. His catalogue has also seen support from tastemaker blogs Indie Shuffle (ZAF), Clash Magazine (UK), Monster Children, Pilerats, Life Without Andy, Purple Sneakers and Savage Thrills.
‘Snakes & Ladders’ is available worldwide now
FOLLOW TIMI TEMPLE
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
Where are you currently based?
We’re currently based in sunny Brisbane and suspicious of anyone that bails to arguably better interstate music scenes, so it’ll probably stay that way for now.
I’ll be honest, I was only 50% interested in being in another guitar-based rock band and only went along for a jam but it was so good right from the start, it was love at first strum.
I think that’s pretty obvious, haha. One thing that we’ve been conscious of is making the tunes swing and not being too heavy or plodding. That’s fine but there’s enough of that round at the moment. We want booty-shakin’ toe-tappers in our set.
Everyone has a stockpile of riffs laying around, so it’s just a case of bringing them to rehearsals and seeing what works. Sometimes things get re-worked a lot, change key, tempo etc. The opening riff for Coup de Grace was something I’ve had for years but that chorus was worked out on the spot by everyone and took about 10 minutes to come together.
We recorded with Brock Weston at Bedlam Studios and got it mastered at Truth Studios.
I can’t comment on the recording set-up. I should’ve paid more attention but I trusted Brock knew what he was doing and just focused on the guitar-playing. That was a Les Paul through the house amp. I’m not really a gear/tech guy; as long as it sounded good and had the energy, that’s my main concern.
It wasn’t really that challenging because we were well-rehearsed and knew what we were doing heading in. I’d had a good idea of what I wanted for the guitars so I just went and did it. Reward-wise, hearing the songs without playing them was great and listening back to all the guitar ideas come together. But I think hearing the harmony vocals getting layered up was really great to hear as I’ve never been in a band that did anything like that before.
Worry that I’m not doing enough music.
Got a couple of gigs lined up, release of the EP and a clip and already talking about going back to record. We’ve got a few new songs in the set ready to go, so always moving forward.
Favourite place to hang out is Junk Bar! Such a wonderful atmosphere, great staff, amazing drinks. Just an overall cool vibe. It’s a shame that we’re probably a bit loud for it but maybe we could re-arrange the set to something a bit more acoustic and stripped-back.
https://www.facebook.com/VibrationsFromTheVoid/
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Third song from As Long As You Are out Oct 9
Tickets for global livestream concert on sale now!
Today, Future Islands have shared ‘Moonlight’, the third new song from forthcoming album As Long As You Are out 9 October via 4AD / Remote Control Records. The song is paired with a video directed by Will Mayer (BADBADNOTGOOD) and starring Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds, 500 Days of Summer) and Callie Hernandez (La La Land, Alien).
Samuel T. Herring says of the song, “’Moonlight’ is a song about love in a depressive state. It’s about recognising the holes in ourselves and recognising the circular whole of others. ‘Moonlight’ is about acceptance because that’s what love allows us all. “I couldn’t see, I had a cloud in my arms, but if I asked you would you say, It’s only rain, nothing more.””
To coincide with the release of their sixth full-length album As Long As You Are, Future Islands will perform their only show of 2020 which will be livestreamed to Australian audiences on Saturday 10 October at 8PM AEST. The Baltimore group have been road warriors for over a decade, touring extensively every year without fail, but 2020 is the first year the band will not hit the road since 2008. Instead, for their 1,235th live show, the group will move online for a one-off global livestream event. ‘A Stream of You and Me’ will be filmed in Maryland and feature a bespoke one-off light show created by light artist Pierre Claude (The Strokes, Phoenix, Gesaffelstein). The broadcast will be directed by Michael Garber (Phoenix, Bon Iver, Kamasi Washington). For further details, and to purchase tickets, head to Handsome Tours.
As Long As You Are looks to the past as well as the future, confronting old ghosts and embracing a new hope. It is an album about trust, full of honesty, redemption and “letting go”, allowing old wounds to heal and bringing painful chapters to a close. The album features previously released singles ‘Thrill’ and ‘For Sure’. Signalling a new era for Future Islands, touring drummer Mike Lowry officially joins as a fully-fledged member and songwriter bolstering the founding trio of William Cashion, Samuel T. Herring and Gerrit Welmers. Together, the four-piece took on official production duties for the first time, co-producing As Long As You Are with engineer Steve Wright at his Wrightway Studios in Baltimore. Given time to allow the songs to slowly come to life, these 11 new songs of post wave synth-pop are as euphoric and uninhibitedly joyful as anything the band has done in their 14-year career.
As Long As You Are will be available digitally, on CD, standard black vinyl, petrol blue vinyl (4AD and indie stores only), fluorescent orange vinyl (band store only) and cassette (4AD Store, band store and US indies only). To pre-order, head to futureislands.ffm.to/
Currently based in Brunswick Heads, Northern NSW.
When this time came upon us, I had a mini freak out and decided to get up at 5AM everyday, run 6km and write for an hour. For 10 weeks, 6 days a week. It was kind of my way of being able to control something in a time that had completely collapsed. It was a hectic time but I found great clarity and ultimately created a whole new sense of value on sleeping in!
Music was my teenage angst outlet. I picked up a guitar at 13 and remember vividly walking into my teachers studio and he was playing Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix. I new it was all over when I heard that intro.
The main sonic influence on this song was my previous single ‘Alone’ . We’d recorded that the day before and when we came in the next day, we decided to write this song in aq similar session using an iNtimate piano sound, drenched in analogue synthesiser. Kind of my heaven TBH.
The song was written by Joel Quatermain and myself. He’d ducked out to grab coffee and the chords had formed some structure. By the time he’d come back, he picked up the lyrical direction and we we’re off. Finishing the song at 1:00am in a north Melbourne pub, scrawling something dodgy down on a beer coaster.
The songwriting process on this song was unusual to how I normally work. When you set out to ‘Write a song’, There’s a lot of factors involved. The main one for me is who I’m working with. As Joel and I already have a great friendship, this song was basically an extension of a lot of conversations around the concept of saying you’re OK when really you’re not.
The most satisfying for me was on the final day of tracking, the song was pretty much complete. It’s hard to describe the feeling of when you feel something is missing because sometimes its just a feeling. But we trusted, set the mic up and I sang a few harmonies that now reside in the chorus. This was a massive win as its probably one of my favourite aspects of the song. Solidifying the notion of trusting your gut.
All the good place, Spotify, Apple Music, youtube, the radio.
I’m a birding enthusiast! So I spent most of my time away from the studio, with an old camera trying to track down some real beauty’s. It helps me clear the mind and be engulfed in something truly special.
I’m in love with the new Sufjan Stevens song, Video Game. I’ve always been a massive fan and now, after 15 years since releasing an album like ‘Illinois’, to come out with thIS? I’m blown away.
Good question, right now it’s just about writing and getting better at my craft.
A record number of people visited Moscow Music Week 2020
Moscow Music Week 6th annual showcase festival and conference took place in Moscow from 2nd to 5th September with over 100 artists distributed across 24 thematic showcases and over 5000 visitors — a record number for MMW, which is especially remarkable considering the pandemic year with all its cultural events cancellations. Online showcases with live streams from Budapest, from the Moscow events and the live stream of MMW x IMI 2020 educational program were watched 55K times, which not only significantly enlarged the audience and festival’s borders, but also offered an opportunity to partially «visit» the festival to people outside Moscow.
Festival’s program presented a diverse multi genre line-up (MMW special feature often compared with American analogue — SXSW, which take place since 1987): from Caucasian peoples traditional music, contemporary fem-punk and new Russian wave to jazz, experimental improvisation and techno within day and night events.
Among MMW musical program participants are Turkish band Lalalar, CENTR, Hadn Dadn, SOYUZ (Belarus), Bad Zu, Zaur Nagoev, Intourist, Lucidvox, Fardi, USSSY, CEO Of Everything, Dima Midborn, Wooden Whales, Lutik and many more.
No matter how niche each of the offered directions of the music scene was (each wrapped in one or the other showcases), Moscow Music Week managed to get a full-house — organizers report about clubs and conference space full of people.
Eugeniy Gorbunov (Intourist and Glintshake bands participant): «MMW 2020 was very soulful. Like all that could happen considering all oddities of this year, the festival gained humble homey form and helped to take some kind of stock of the last several years, which very much changed Russian independent scene. It had a very soothing effect on me — it became obvious that all artists are very different, that there’s no one paradigm (like pervasive post-punk in 2014), at the same time everyone is on one common creative wave, nobody competes no one (at least at the moment) and everyone feel like a part of cool company and at the same time of a boundless chaos, where everything can happen. I see that together we create a new enabling environment for society consciousness evolution. Young musicians today are much more conscious and responsible than 10 years ago, and further it will get better».
Participating in MMW 2020 for many artists became the first performance after quarantine and let not only perform at one of the main stages of the country and show themselves to music journalists, promoters, booking agencies and labels representatives, but also reconnect live communication with listeners.
Nikita Rasskazov (V-A-C foundation showcase curator): «MMW 2020 became a restoring connection event not only between artists and listener, but also with «workmates». If one can maintain dialogue online, for the others it’s very important to communicate within reality, which in turn often leads to the birth of new ideas and creation of the music of the future».
Moscow Music Week x IMI (Institute of the Musical Initiatives — main partner of MMW educational program) conference program gathered musical industry professionals, who discussed the most vital and pressing issues affecting Russian market players including music distribution, digital marketing, working with streaming services and much more, in a difficult year that has changed the course of the industry. Among the themes raised within conference by representatives of the Russian and foreign clubs and festivals, marketing agencies, streaming and record labels were such topics as the search for a balance between creative work and management; future of the festivals in the terms of new reality, what will happen if restrictions will continue for the next year and how the events economy will change; how the perception of the clubs changed and do they have the ability to secure visitors from COVID; whether the musical spaces lost their credibility and many more. Among lectors, moderators and open tables participants were: Pavel Kamakin — partner of 16 Tons company group and eponymous club art director, Daria Shulga — Afisha Picnic director, Ksenia Shapovalova — Melnitsa agency and Park Live festival marketing director, Gleb Lisichkin — ONErpm digital distribution international company marketing director.
Tatiana Makarova (MMW x IMI 2020 conference director): «The main target of the festival and conference was to create a strong, independent musical community. And despite all twists and turns, already now we can say with confidence that we are on the way to reach it. There is a lot to be done, but the foundation for the industry in Russia to develop, improve and become independent has already been laid».
Once again, the organizers of Moscow Music Week showed a cut of the young Russian scene, presented new names that will potentially be popular tomorrow to the visitors and proved that love for music can break all obstacles and overcome any restrictions.