TAG: monolake

May24

First Wave Of Decibel Festival 2012 Acts Announced

Seattle’s sonic journey returns once again this coming September; as the first 60 acts of Decibel Festival 2012 are officially announced. This year’s focus is not just on the underground producers of today’s electronic world, but a slight focus bestowed upon pop and alternative acts, such as Canadian pop sensation Dragonette, the hauntingly epic Ariel Pink, or Kimbra, whose feature on a certain #1 tune has been rotating radio, YouTube and every coffee shop around the States. Along with that are notable acts such as: Actress (Honest Jon’s), Andy Stott (Modern Love), Carl Craig (Planet E), Kuedo (Planet Mu), Nina Kraviz (Rekids), Terrence Parker and many more. Check out the rest of the sixty acts lined up for Decibel as well as where the festival will take place after the jump.

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Apr10

Check Out the Unsound Festival’s Playable Schedule

Yet again, Unsound festival continues to impress, this time with a newly unveiled playlist hosted on HypeMachine which lets you play music from almost every artist scheduled to appear at the festival this year. The player, which you can see above or check out on the HypeMachine site, has 35 tracks (with more coming soon) from artists like Julia Holter, Hype Williams, Ital, Monolake, 2562, Sepalcure, Teeth, Throwing Snow, Nguzunguzu, Distal, and more. The festival kicks off on April the 18th and goes until the 22nd. For more details, click here. To see a poster for the festival, follow the jump.

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Feb14

Ableton Inventor Calls Skrillex “Cliché”

It’s been a good week for dubstep superstar Skrillex after nabbing three Grammys on Sunday. But here’s something he might not like to hear. Experimental German musician and Ableton co-inventor Robert Heinke (Monolake) takes some digs at Skrillex in a new Resident Advisor interview. Speaking to RA editor Todd Burns, Heinke said of Skrillex:

You seem like the type of person who would have to go out of your way to listen to Skrillex.
I’m curious. And I learned to skip my prejudice, you know. There are a lot of reasons why I could say I hate this kind of music. But then, on the other side, I think I should at least try to understand what makes people like this stuff so much.

What did you figure out from listening to him? Anything? Anything positive?
Hah. Well, first of all as a technique his use of contrast is of course very intriguing. Even if I don’t like how he executes it. Like, what kinds of contrasts he is choosing and what kinds of sounds he’s using and what kind of clichés. His success seems to be based on this contrast between cheesy melodies and the evil dubstep cliché. And, without the contrast, it would be completely unbearable. If it would be only the evil dubstep cliché sounds you would immediately want to turn it off after ten minutes. If it would be only the cheesy melodies and vocals, then it would be unbearable. The combination is what makes it interesting to me.

More than anything, I find it very exhausting to listen to.
It’s absolutely exhausting. And that is the very interesting thing. It’s something you listen to for the very first time and you think, “oh, wow.” And you listen to it the second time and you think “ooof.” I believe that my music works exactly the other way around. You listen to it the first time and it’s kind of “Yeah, hmm, it’s OK.” You listen to it ten times and you think, “Hmm, interesting detail here.”

Heinke then goes on to acknowledge clichés within his own world of experimental music, but considering that Skrillex performs live using Ableton, that logo on his computer screen might make him cringe a bit every night onstage if he reads this. …MORE

May05

Gaudi Selects (Podcast)

Gaudi

Gaudi Selects


London-based Italian electronic-dub producer Gaudi mixes up this quick and pleasing selection of thoughtful beats, including a track off his No Prisoners album, released last month on Six Degrees Records.

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Apr01

Speaking In Code: Interview with Director Amy Grill (Video)

A chat with the director of one of the most need-to-watch music docs in recent memory. 

Documentaries that involve electronic music are usually hit or miss; either the film misses the point of the original usage of the music or it goes on a different direction altogether. However, with Speaking In Code, there’s depth in each dimension of the film; from the characters of the artists featured, their bosses, their families, and the world around them. The filmmakers themselves also become centralized figures in the film, as a natural plot progresses that struggles passionately between the journey of pure techno love and love amongst themselves. A film worth watching more than once, Speaking In Code is nothing short of an extraordinary documentation of fandom, freedom and everything in between. URB had a chance to speak to the director, Amy Grill about the starting point, her exposure to techno and the bits that happened in between.

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