A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK – ANGELICA GARCIA
America, more so than perhaps any country, is made up of immigrants both trying to fit in, and still retain their roots. Angelica Garcia, a 26-year-old Mexican-Salvadoran-American from LA, is a perfect representation of that dichotomy. In the video to her hit song, Jícama, picked out last year by @barackobama as one of his favourites, Garcia is seen standing with her arms splayed out wide crucifix-style with an American flag on one arm and a Mexican flag on the other. What is she? Mexican-Salvadorean or American? The answer is both and she wants to be seen and heard by everybody just the way she is. “Jícama” is about not being seen for having a dual identity,” she declares on her website. “Though people often don’t know where to put me, I proudly wear both sides of my identity.” This exciting new artist has a voice so confident and full of vitality, she seems to carry the hopes and dreams of a whole generation of immigrants.
“Jícama” by Angelica Garcia, out now on Spacebomb Records. https://www.angelicagarciamusic.net/
#angelicagarcia #barackobama
AD OF THE WEEK: VOLVO SEATBELT
It is amazing how many ground-breaking ideas encounter such strong resistance – even persecution – when they first pop their heads over the parapet. This poignant ad from Swedish car-maker Volvo discusses such an idea: the seatbelt. It is incredible to think that scientists believed that the seat belt was not just ineffective, but dangerous. Shot in black and white in a gentle documentary style, the ad grants the protagonists the space to tell their stories, about how the seat belt saved their lines. Succinct, to the point, and impactful – a great example of how good advertising can be when done right.
UK GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES £257 MILLION GRANT FOR 1,385 VENUES
1,385 UK arts organisations and venues are to receive portions of a £257 million grant from the Government, it has been announced.
As part of the Government’s £1.57billion support package for the arts and culture industries, which was announced in July, Arts Council England has revealed the selected theatres, museums, orchestras, music venues and other cultural organisations that will receive funding to help them survive over the next six months.
Among the organisations and venues set to receive funding as part of the grant are a number of clubs and venues, including London’s Corsica Studios, Ministry of Sound, Village Underground, Electrowerkz, Keep Hush, The Glove That Fits, and The Jazz Café. Elsewhere in the UK, Leeds’ Mint Warehouse, Manchester’s Warehouse Project, Soup Kitchen, Liverpool’s Chibuku and Birmingham’s Leftfoot. London’s Reprezent Radio will also receive a grant.
You can find the full list of organisations set to receive funding here, along with the amount each will receive, here.
ANNIE MAC HAS WRITTEN A NOVEL
Mother Mother comes out in May next year
Annie Macmanus, better known as BBC Radio 1 DJ and presenter Annie Mac, has announced her debut novel Mother Mother is being published by Wildfire in May, 2021.
The novel is described as a “gritty, affecting coming-of-age novel” about a young woman from Belfast called Mary McConnell who goes missing and her teenage son’s desperate search to track her down.
Speaking about the novel, Macmanus said: “This book took two years to write, and was mostly created from small bursts of frantic writing squeezed into any spare time pockets I had. I found the whole process mesmerising. I focused on themes that are powerful and personal to me: motherhood, family ties, addiction, the resilience and strength of women and the Teflon bond that can exist between a mother and a son. I will treasure my research trips to Belfast and the people I met along the way. I am so grateful to have been given a chance to publish this book and I hope that it can move readers in some way, and even stay with them for a while.”
Pre-order Mother Mother via Waterstones.
A NEW DOCUMENTARY ON ELECTRONIC MUSIC’S FEMALE PIONEERS WILL PREMIERE NEXT MONTH
A documentary about electronic music’s female pioneers is set to premiere next month.
Titled Sisters with Transistors, the documentary is scheduled to premiere at The Barbican Theatre on the 14th November, alongside a special Q&A with director Lisa Rovner.
Centred around some of the world’s female electronic music pioneers, including Suzanne Ciani, Delia Derbyshire, Laurie Spiegel, and theremin trail blazer Clara Rockmore, the archival film “reveals a unique emancipation struggle, restoring the central role of women in the history of music and society at large.”
Speaking about the film, Spiegel explained: “We women were especially drawn to electronic music when the possibility of a woman composing was in itself controversial. Electronics let us make music that could be heard by others without having to be taken seriously by the male dominated Establishment.”
The documentary is part of Doc’n Roll’s 7th annual film festival, and tickets can be purchased here. Check out the trailer below.
BANG & OLUFSEN’S ICONIC BEOGRAM TURNTABLE HAS BEEN REVITALISED
limited to just 95 units
Bang & Olufsen is releasing a Limited Edition version of its Beogram turntable.
Priced at £9000, the Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition comes with a polished anodised aluminium body, which is placed inside a hand-crafted oak frame.
Other features include a new stylus, which is added to the tangential tonearm, a RIAA phono-pre-amplifier and a re-designed protective cover.
Just 95 units of the Beogram 4000c Recreated Limited Edition will be available from October 19 in Bang & Olufsen shops.
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