A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: BRIAN ENO
Roger and Brian Eno, and Daniel Lanois Expand ‘Apollo’ Soundtrack for Moon-Landing 50 year Anniversary.
A lot of ambient music sounds like the stuff you hear in the changing rooms of your favourite spa. Former Roxy Music member Brian Eno, who is leading this project with his brother Roger and producer Daniel Lanois, is known as the father of ambient music. He has carved out a career by elevating this sub-genre to a higher emotional realm and combining it with film scoring techniques. This latest (revisited) project, entitled Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, is a perfect example of that ethos. Set to the iconic footage of man’s trip to the moon, the piece combines the emotional response to this era-defining human accomplishment with the slightly more technical aspect of scoring to picture. The music is amorphous at the very start, with the listener struggling to latch on to anything concrete, but slowly chords form and melody lines emerge like shards of sunlight from behind the moon. These elements – ethereal layers of synths, voices and low drones – remain, hypnotic and yearning, until the conclusion. You can’t whistle the main tune after the first few listens, but an emotional and sub-conscious connection has been made. That is ambient music’s USP if you will. And of course, the music locks perfectly to the footage. A marriage made, literally, in heaven.
AD OF WEEK: SHUTTERSTOCK
We know it happened. But if it didn’t, could you fake it?
In keeping with the 50-year anniversary of the landing on the moon, this week’s ad was commission by Shutterstock, the stock footage and image company. The ad taps into the conspiracy theory that the landing on the moon never actually happened. We know it did. But what if it didn’t. Shutterstock has the footage to fake it. Not only that, but they would make it much better than the truth. The music flips and the action follows suit. Moonwalking astronauts, football on the surface of the moon and multiple somersaults. Very cool. The question is: would Neil Armstrong approve?
WU-TANG CLAN’S DOCUMENTARY HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY
Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men is up for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program
The Sacha Jenkins-directed series is in the running for the gong of Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, facing competition from shows including Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Hulu’s Fyre Fraud and Netflix’s David Attenborough narrated Our Planet.
SAATCHI GALLERY HOSTS EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO RAVE CULTURE
A new exhibition, Sweet Harmony: Rave | Today, has opened at the Saatchi Gallery. It is the first rave culture exhibition to take place in a major art gallery.
Through the work of those who experienced the first wave of raving, the exhibition will journey through the acid house scene of the late 80s and early 90s, relating its popularity to the youth of today.
It will feature work from a variety of key original players of the scene, including Turner prize-winning Jeremy Deller, Alva Noto (aka Carsten Nicolai), animator Weirdcore, multi-platform creative collective Project Zoltar and photographer Molly Macindoe.
The exhibition will also feature Transmission, a new immersive and interactive work from Lost Souls Of Saturn, the collaborative project of Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa.
‘Sweet Harmony’ will run through to September 14 at the Saatchi Gallery.
SPOTIFY PARTNERS WITH DISNEY TO LAUNCH DISNEY HUB FEATURING MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS AND PLAYLISTS
Available now, users in the US, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can search for “Disney” on Spotify to access the new hub.
The Disney Hub features playlists from Disney films such as The Little Mermaid and Frozen, as well as Star Wars instrumentals and Marvel movie soundtracks.
The playlists offered in the hub include Disney Hits, Disney Classics, Disney Sing-alongs, Disney Princess, Marvel Music and Best of Star Wars.
Visit The Disney Hub here.
GIBSON RELOCATES INTO DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE — AND RELAUNCHES ITS GIBSON FOUNDATION
Gibson, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2018, is now showing signs of recovery.
Gibson’s headquarters have been located on the outer edge of Nashville for about three decades. By moving into the heart of the city, company officials hope to establish a better connection with local musicians and the thriving Nashville music scene. Additionally, the new building is reportedly bigger and more modern than Gibson’s current headquarters, and it will include a comprehensive guitar showroom.
The company is also relaunching the Gibson Foundation, a charitable organization that aims to support at-risk and in-need youth by introducing them to the world of music. The Foundation plans to give away one guitar per day for 1,000 days.
NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE IS GIVING $500,000 TO ASPIRING WOMEN MUSICIANS & EXECUTIVES
New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) recently announced that it will distribute $500,000 worth of grants to aspiring female musicians and music industry employees who live in New York City.
The funds will be issued with cash from the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre, which previously provided funding only for media and theatre.
The grants are unique in that they will be provided to women who’re involved in the music industry—not solely musicians and artists. The grants also cover sound technicians, producers, and other music-related careers.
To apply to receive a grant, one must be a female resident of NYC who is active in the music world. On the musician side, the artist must have performed multiple live shows — and secured new fans because of these performances. Verifying the latter could prove difficult, which probably explains why there’s such a long wait before the funds’ recipients are chosen. Though grant applications are currently being accepted, the winners won’t be announced until March 2020.
RECLOUDER, A PORTABLE RECORDER THAT SYNCS TO THE CLOUD
With the wealth of portable music recorders available these days, the ability to capture inspiration on-the-go has all but become unremarkable. A new device called ReClouder, however, is aiming to push that envelope by letting you automatically back up recordings to the cloud via WiFi.
ReClouder is a two-channel portable recorder with a simple workflow – plug your device in, adjust gain and hit the yellow ‘REC’ button. Your recordings are stored on an SD card and simultaneously backed up online when ReClouder is connected to the internet. Once in the cloud, your recordings can be shared with friends, making collaboration a smoother process.
ReClouder is currently in the development stage. Learn more about the device and register your interest at reclouder.com.
Written by Anthony Vanger
Additional reporting by Adam “Badger” Woolf
Artwork by Gustav Balderdash
To join This Week In Music please send me an email: anthonyvanger@gmail.com