A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: ROOSEVELT LIVE ON KEXP
So this is what smooth dance-pop sounds like nowadays. Synths, tight live drums, loops, but infused with just enough real instruments and vocals to make it worthwhile performing live. Roosevelt caught my ear from the first bar. The lead singer and producer, Marius Lauber, 31, started out as a DJ in Cologne, Germany and after writing the hit song “Elliot” in 2013 and a series of super catchy songs, formed Roosevelt and has not looked back. This video is taken from a live performance on KEXP, a radio station in Seattle. The German producer’s smooth dance-pop thrives under bright festival lights and with halcyon days just around the corner it may be the perfect soundtrack to a memorable summer. Click on the link to enjoy the full set.
#rooseveltmusic #rooseveltmusic #mariuslauber #polydans #grecoroman #cityslang
@roosevelt
AD OF THE WEEK: LUNAR STARRING WILL FARRELL
This is definitely the worst/best ad I have seen in recent memory. When I watch this kind of train wreck I always remind myself that someone actually wrote and, more surprisingly, approved it. Watching it is like when you bite into a delicious sandwich only to realize that the slices of ham you put in between the cheese and the pickles are off. Lunar is a Danish Fintech company launched in 2015, with a freemium model where all transactions are done through the app rather than in branch. With 500,000 active users, it is something of a Scandinavian success story. I can see the appeal of luring Hollywood A-lister Will Farrell to promote the app, but his wacky, rebellious humor falls flat and the various skits (fainting in the cockpit of a helicopter) seem tone-deaf. The only positive I took was Farrells hair: if that’s a wig, big shout out to the hair and make-up department.
PETITION TO REMOVE KANYE WEST FROM COACHELLA LINE-UP REACHES 30,000 SIGNATURES
A petition calling for Kanye West’s removal from this year’s headline Coachella performances has gained popularity over the weekend.
Set up by the creator behind a Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson fan page, the petition has now surpassed 35,000 signatures with an eventual goal of reaching 50,000.
“We have watched Kanye harass, manipulate, and hurt Kim, Pete, and others for over a year now,” reads the change.org petition description.
Last month, Kanye released a music video for his new track ‘Eazy’ which saw an animated Ye kidnap and bury his ex-wife’s new partner before decapitating him and burying him alive.
Kanye was subsequently banned from Instagram just a week later after excessive posting and harassment. The ban lasted 24 hours and was attributed to his violation of the platforms’ policies on “hate speech, bullying and harassment”.
MAJOR LABELS SHOULD ‘BUILD THEIR OWN PRESSING PLANTS’, SAYS JACK WHITE
Jack White has called on major labels such as Sony, Warner, and Universal to build their own pressing plant for vinyl releases. The comments come as a large amount of the backlog causing delays for independent artists and labels is caused by legacy reprints from major labels as well as an increase in pressing for their biggest artists such as Adele, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran.
He made the comments in a video posted on his Facebook page on March 14th, explaining that “a small punk band can’t get their record for eight to 10 months.” It’s a sentiment echoed by the electronic music community, who are also seeing backlogs of similar timeframes. “
Watch the video below
THE MUSIC SCENE UNITES IN SUPPORT OF UKRAINE – A LIST OF INITIATIVES
With the advent of the Russia’s ongoing and unprovoked attack of neighbouring Ukraine and their sovereignty, the electronic music community has immediately sprung into action.
A slew of fundraising events and concepts have poured in from all corners of the world and we have collated some projects that are deserving of your support…
Click the link below to see who’s been supporting
SONOS UNVEILS NEW AFFORDABLE PORTABLE SPEAKER
SONOS has announced a new speaker, the Roam SL. The new portable model removes the microphone from the original Roam that was announced in 2020, and in doing so cuts the price by £20, down to £159. That makes the Roam SL the cheapest SONOS speaker you can buy.
Every other feature of the Roam SL is the same as the original model, connecting to the SONOS world via WiFi, letting you access all of SONOS’s features including all popular streaming services, SONOS Radio, and many other apps like Mixcloud, SoundCloud, TuneIn Radio, NTS, Worldwide FM and much more.
The Roam can also be added to an existing SONOS system to add some extra volume and space to your music. It also works over Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 so when you’re on the move and don’t have WiFi, you can connect straight to your device.
Find out more about the SONOS Roam SL on their website.
Written by Anthony Vanger
Additional research and reporting by Adam “Badger” Woolf