Music is declaring a climate emergency. Berlin’s club culture might be in danger. Focusrite buys Adam Audio. Deepdrive reimagines how you find music. Spitfire reveals Orbis.
Music Declares Emergency. A new climate change initiative called Music Declares Emergency has garnered support from acts like Radiohead, Bonobo, Jayda G, Caribou, Floating Points, Coldcut, Mafalda, and Jon Hopkins. According to its website, Music Declares Emergency is initiative that comprises “a group of artists, music industry professionals and organizations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth.” It also has several declarations, like calling on governments and media institutions to “tell the truth about the climate and ecological emergency,” and for governments to “act now to reverse biodiversity loss and reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2030.” But it’s also an internal-facing organization, calling on the industry to “work towards making our businesses ecologically sustainable and regenerative. ” Find out more here.
Spitfire reveals Orbis. British technology and sample company, Spitfire audio, have unveiled their latest soft synth: Orbis. With 2500 organic sounds, treated and morphed to an epic new dimension, its perfect for the progressively-minded composer. Sounds include distorted loops, evolving textures and visceral one-shots; subsonic low-end to ethereal pads. Ideal for producing rich-sounding, panoramic scores – think Paula Temple style intros. Available for an intro price of £229 here.
A sound takeover as Novation snaps up Adam audio. Focusrite has made their first major acquisition and in our world, it’s kind of a big deal. Adam Audio, a highly popular monitor choice for dance music producers have been brought by the British firm. Adam Audio has a reputation for high quality and Focusrite will have recognized their value for potential growth and their undeniable relevance and reputation. What must have appealed, as much as their bottom line, is their range of potential markets is significant as their product line has grown to include T, AX, and S Series. Focusrite CEO Tim Carroll said in a statement, “ADAM Audio is undeniably a leader in the field of electroacoustics. The A7Xs and S3s have become standards in recording spaces across the globe. With so much expertise between us in acoustics, sound reproduction, DSP, and control, the opportunities are abundant to refine recording and production workflows together.”
CV Tools. Ableton have now released the full CV Tools which was originally released as a beta in May. The Berlin-based firm is trying to move as quickly as possible as several local neighbours of theirs such as Bitwig Studio and NI’s (Reaktor) 6 have done so now for several years. If you didn’t get the beta get the full release now. Note that you’ll need a DC-coupled audio interface for sending and receiving CV signals to make use of it. Examples on the market are Expert Sleepers’ ES-3 and ES-8, MOTU’s Ultralite 248 or 240, an RME Babyface or UAD Apollo Series. With the huge growth in Eurorack and with Ableton holding significant market share, we expect their entry to modular integration to help broaden the appeal further.
Dates for the dancing diary. The Warehouse Project have unleashed their impressive lineup for their new venue Depot. The 2019 schedule includes Four Tet, Aphex Twin, Jeff Mills. Peggy Gou, Bicep and more. and will run from September to January. More information here.
The rise and rise of the Lisbon music scene. A new film documenting the origins and rise of the Lisbon music scene, directed by Rita Maia and Vasco Viana, is set to be screened at an exclusive event at London’s ICA on tonight Friday 19th July. The documentary, which is centered around the thriving Afro-Portuguese music scene on the outskirts of Lisbon, features contributions from notable DJs and producers such as DJ Nigga Fox, Buraka Som Sistema, DJ Marfox and many others. More here.
Berlin rave tourism. The world-renowned Berlin club scene brings in big bucks for the city, as rave tourists spent an average of €200 a day last year. The study was carried out by the Berlin Club Commission, and punctuates just how valuable the clubbing industry is to the Berlin economy. Club Commission’s report also found that Berlin’s 280 club venues made €168 million in 2018, while employing around 9,000 people. Perhaps surprisingly, indie and house were the most popular music at the city’s venues, however, 40% of Berlin’s clubs host techno events in some form.
Deepdrive. A new Tokyo-based discovery platform and online marketplace for electronic music called Deepdrive has launched, and it aims to reshape how fans discover music by connecting the store’s tracks to the “emotions and imaginations they evoke,” according to a press release. Instead of looking for music by artist, label or genre, Deepdrive allows users to search for music using emotive descriptions like “groovy,” “dark,” or “space travel,” no doubt emulating the categorization techniques of countless laptop DJs around the world. Users can even contribute the descriptions themselves, and artists and labels can also directly upload and sell music on the platform, similar to Bandcamp. The first artists and labels on Deepdive include Midgar Records, D. Tiffany’s label Planet Euphorique, Sapphire Slows, Oslated Records from South Korea, Ishq, and many more. To learn more, head here. Deepdive works on mobile and desktop.
Berlin’s endangered club culture. Despite the huge revenue generated by Berlin’s vibrant club scene, venues like the popular Griessmuehle remain in constant jeopardy due to gentrification, property investors, and other changing attitudes in the city. In a short documentary by DW, which was granted access to the Neukölln club, artists like DVS1 and Griessmuehle’s owner discuss the precariousness of Berlin’s club scene, and their hopes for the future. Watch it here.