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Beyond the Algorithm: Artists Imagine a World Beyond Spotify
Spotify is designed to make itself indispensable. It offers up endless choices. It keeps playing when the track or album you’ve clicked on is over. It tries to predict your tastes, so you keep consuming content—er, music—for as long as possible. But at the end of the day, it’s just a format. And Spotify may not be the right format for everybody. That became clear recently when Spotify CEO Daniel Ek shared a disturbingly narrow vision of how music and musicians should work. In an interview with the website Music Ally, the tech billionaire responded to criticisms that Spotify doesn’t pay artists enough by pointing to the artists themselves. “[S]ome artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can’t record music once every three to four years an...
I Went to the First Post-COVID Festival in Greece and Ended Up at the Organizer’s Wedding
Giorgi Sigua did everything in his power to keep the last flame of what was supposed to be a festival alive, even if that meant getting married. With 4,000 tickets sold and headlined by the likes of Paul Van Dyk, ATB, Swanky Tunes, and many more, GEM Fest was set to become a legendary moment for festivals and electronic music in the post-COVID-19 world. Coming all the way from Anaklia, Georgia to the Greek island of Zakynthos due to the low number of coronavirus cases in the Mediterranean country, GEM Fest was seemingly an unmissable experience. The organizers vouched that social distancing measures were going to be enforced and testing would be in place in order to ensure the safety of attendees, who could escape from this wild world for three days and nights in a stunning seaside locatio...
5 Reasons Why Connectivity Will Enable the Workplace of the Future
While the workplace of the future has long been possible, few businesses were adequately prepared for the speed and urgency at which they would need to develop such an environment — until the global COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked digital transformation. Seemingly overnight, organisations were faced with two choices: they could either rethink their traditional ideas on productivity and ultimately rely on new technologies and infrastructures to create a productive remote-working environment or they would need to cease operations. Many embraced the challenge and chose the former, marking a mass work-from-home migration. Of course, reinventing the traditional office presented its obstacles, but one thing was made abundantly clear: the virtual workplace of the future can be anywhere that is s...
Shirley Manson on the Misery and Magic of Garbage’s Genre-Stomping Debut
Shirley Manson doesn’t do nostalgia. Cooped up in her Los Angeles studio, the fierce frontwoman has agreed to chat about the days she spent writing and recording Garbage, the double-platinum debut LP that launched her band as genre-smashing harbingers of a new alt-rock sound. But she’s going to tell the story her way. “You try walking in insane 100-degree heat through Madison, Wisconsin in black combat boots, thick black tights, a kilt, and you’re sweating your fucking arse off,” Manson tells SPIN, speaking of the unromantic trudges she spent nearly a year retreading between her hotel room and Smart Studios — then a headquarters for well-traveled producers Butch Vig, Steve Marker, and Duke Erikson. It was summer 1994 (then fall, then winter, then spring ‘95) as the foursome methodically wo...
Watch Destructo’s Stunning “Somewhere in the California Desert” Sunrise Sermon
The MVP of quaran-streams strikes again. The MVP of quaran-streams strikes again. House maven and music entrepreneur Destructo touched down in the desert on August 9th, 2020 for a mind-blowing edition of his patented “Sunrise Sermon” sets. Over 200,000 fans tuned into the hypnotic three-hour set, which was filmed at an undisclosed remote secret location in the California desert. Ensconced in the idyllic desert setting, Destructo went on to drop a set as majestic as the cavernous landscape around him, starting at 4AM. The renowned producer and DJ played a bevy of tunes from his house music counterparts, like VOLAC‘s “Muchacho,” Full Intention‘s “Meteor Man,” Eelke Kleijn‘s “Vernietig,” and Brodinski‘...
Club House Global Hosts Afrobeats-Inspired Livestream Featuring Moonshine Collective
Club House Global is back with another broadcast celebrating dance music’s African roots. Montreal’s Moonshine Collective is set to take over Club House Global with a livestream event celebrating dance music’s storied African roots. The collective, which started six years ago, initially began with intimate kitchen house parties in the Montreal area. It has since grown in scope, concurrent with the worldwide rise of Afrobeats music over the last decade, to materially change the city’s nightlife scene by introducing a new generation of listeners to sounds not previously heard in the region. Today, August 8th, the collective will be going virtual in a partnership with Club House Global that is set to feature performances by Branko, Kampire, Pierre K...
Lady Gaga Hilariously “Shanked” Ariana Grande While Filming “Rain On Me” Music Video
Gaga shared a hysterical behind-the-scenes clip from the “Rain On Me” music video. Back in May 2020, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande dropped the official music video for their larger-than-life collaboration “Rain On Me.” The rave-themed cyberpunk video was a masterstroke in choreography and added another degree of legend to the instant classic, which we predicted as an early frontrunner for the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Lady Gaga has now taken to Instagram to share a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the scintillating music video. “I’m still glowing from all of the love for “Rain On Me” from the VMAs!” she wrote. “So [Ariana Grande] and I wanted to share some of the fun we had making the video.” The clip features a ...
Fast and Furious 9: Behind the Scenes of the ‘One Shot’ Music Video
We’re standing in an alley just east of Downtown L.A. between run-down warehouses. A black helicopter is sitting in the parking lot behind a chain-link fence, engine running. Over the roar of the chopper comes shouting: “Three, two, one, action!” A bright orange Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody comes screaming down the alley, turns, and nails the throttle—drifting through an open gate and coming to a stop just short of the helo. And …“Cut!” It’s not the set of Fast 9, the latest movie in the Fast and The Furious mega franchise, but it feels like it, and that’s the point. We’re actually on the set of the SixTwentySix’s music video production for “One Shot” by YoungBoy Never Broke Again featuring Lil Baby—the breakout hit from the official “Road to Fast 9” mixtape. With the song inspired by th...
Beyoncé’s Black Is King Film Glorifies Her Message of Black Empowerment
Beyoncé has one-upped herself as she continues to redefine the “visual album” — from 2006’s humble B’day anthology to 2013’s world-stopping self-titled and 2016’s powerful journey through womanhood with Lemonade. Now, the megastar has achieved a creative pinnacle with Black Is King. Released this past Friday (July 31) on Disney+, the visual album continues Beyoncé’s partnership with the House of Mouse following 2019’s live-action The Lion King. The artist-curated a soundtrack, Lion King: The Gift, which was presented as her “love letter to Africa.” Nearly a year later, the 85-minute Black Is King brings those songs to life through spectacular music videos threaded with voiceovers that reflect the beloved “circle of life” tale. Beyoncé traveled across three continents to solidify Blac...
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Add Some Sizzle to Your Summer With July’s Hot New Tracks [Playlist]
Get a recap of last month’s new releases and music news with our monthly top picks playlist. Even though summer’s almost over, the party is only just beginning for DJs and producers. With virtual editions of some of the biggest festivals, such as Tomorrowland and Lollapalooza, fans have been able to dance the night away to festival anthems while DJs teased new tracks. David Guetta and MORTEN finally released their “future rave” project, New Rave, which Guetta teased during his EDC Las Vegas Virtual Rave-A-Thon and his United At Home livestreams. Spanning four tracks in total, the EP showcases the growth of their patented “future rave” sound. In an interview with EDM.com, Guetta said, “You could play back-to-back the four records and completely...
Garage Find Lamborghini Miura S Spent 45 Years in Back of a Body Shop
Jeff Meier’s latest acquisition of the all-time great Lamborghini Miura–by way of a stunning garage find–is a heck of a story, filled with fortunate good luck. But his fascination with Lamborghini’s original supercar runs much deeper. Meier was born and raised in Cleveland, where he grew up in a large family. His father owned an automotive repair shop, so there were always different cars parked in the driveway. As early as the age of five, Meier developed a curiosity for cars that flourished into a hobby of identifying them when he’d see them driving on the road. The same kid that would shout out “Volkswagen,” “Chevy,” and “Ford” from the backseat when his father pointed at a car would one day become a full-fledged car expert and collector in his own right. The Lamborghini Miura Bug Bites ...
EDM.com Presents “Quarantini Chats” Episode #4: HOSH and Boss Doms
Whether they’re bedazzling eggs with rhinestones, baking their own sourdough from scratch, or concocting absurd cocktails, those in the social media community at large have embraced their creativity during their time in quarantine. Harnessing that creativity and manifesting it into the dance music community, EDM.com’s Instagram Live interview series “Quarantini Chats” invites the brightest music producers and DJs in the game to join our platform and craft a custom cocktail as they sip and dive into a wide range of topics with our special guest hosts, The Hotel Lobby. Joining us this week are HOSH and Boss Doms, who will be interviewing each other in a special edition of “Quarantini Chats.” Doms released HOSH’s remix of his new single “I Want ...
