Spotify’s CEO says streaming saved artists. Human Traffic 2 comes into focus. London gets a new venue. Twisted Electrons releases another 8-bit.
Streaming’s environmental impact. According to a study by the University of Glasgow, streaming is likely worse on the environment than vinyl, cassettes, or CDs. Despite the fact that less plastic is used in the production and distribution of digital music, the energy used to store digital music on the cloud is has a far worse impact on the environment. The author’s note that this comes at a time when streaming has made music cheaper than ever, and stress the importance of thinking about the hidden costs of convenience. Read more here.
The Itchycoo Challenge. Inspired by Small Faces’ 1967 rock and roll classic “Itchycoo Park,” a song that prominently features tape flanging, two young men went on to found Eventide in 1971. Eventide soon introduced the Instant Phaser, the world’s first pro audio effects box, followed by the Instant Flanger a few years later. Now Eventide
Nice one bruv! Human Traffic 2 has been confirmed by the original film’s writer and director, Justin Kerrigan. Following the 1999 cult classic, Kerrigan said the sequel will be “about one race, the human race, and a reaction to Brexit,” and the original cast of Danny Dyer, Shaun Parkes, Nicola Reynolds are set to reprise their roles. News of the film was originally teased in 2016, when it was said to be set in Cardiff and Ibiza. Watch video of the announcement below.
Therapy Kid. Following the 8-bit
Max for savings. The good guys at K-Devices are offering Attack readers a sizeable discount on WOV and TTAP. With each selling for €59 individually on the K-Devices website, we have arranged for Attack readers a special discount using the code kattack19. This discount code will give you 25% off a single product or 35% off both products (€75 instead of €99). Once added to the cart, apply the discount and the price will be reduced. You can check out WOV here and TTAP here. Both work as VST, AU and AAX plugins for Mac and PC. Enjoy!
Beats. A new coming-of-age film centered around raving in Scotland in 1994 — as the UK government introduced the anti-raving Criminal Justice and Public Order Act — is hitting theaters this summer. Produced by Steven Soderbergh and directed by Brian Welsh of Black Mirror, Beats follows two young friends (played by Cristian Ortega and Lorn Macdonald) who head to an illegal rave for one wild night before going their separate ways. The soundtrack features JD Twitch, The Belleville Three, Leftfield, Carl Craig, The Prodigy, Plastikman, LFO, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Hudson Mohawke and Orbital, and will be released in the UK and Ireland on May 17. Watch the trailer below.
301 reboot. Berlin-based instrument manufacturer MFB is rebooting the MFB-301 preset drum computer, originally released in 1979. The original came with pre-programmed rhythms for genres like disco, reggae and bossa nova, and was available for a very low price. The new model, dubbed the MFB-301-Pro, will be available for a limited time in celebration of MFB’s 40th anniversary. Features include eight analogue drum
Perfectly loud. As streaming continues its dominance, more musicians want to make sure their songs are on as many platforms as possible. However, if your music is too loud, streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, TIDAL, Pandora and Apple will penalize it, turning it down to ensure a consistent listening experience. Each platform adheres to a different volume standard, which is where the Loudness Penalty plug-in comes in. Inside your DAW, Loudness Penalty will tell you how to tweak your track so you won’t be penalized. You can try it for free, or download the full version from for $29. https://www.loudnesspenalty.com/
Spotify’s big claims. In a wide-ranging interview for the Freakonomics podcast, Spotify founder Daniel Ek claimed that streaming has allowed more musicians to make a full-time living than they could in the CD era because the distribution costs were so high. “I think we are in the process of creating a more fair and equal music industry than it’s ever been in the past,” Ek said. He also claimed that because music costs nearly nothing, people are listening to more music, thereby elevating a more diverse and larger set of musicians into the spotlight. Ek also talked about Spotify’s vision for the
Goodbye The Harley. Sheffield venue The Harley announced in a now-deleted Facebook post that it will be closing down due to “mounting financial pressures.” The space hosted names like Plastician, Midland, Flava D, and DJ Q over the years. It also housed a restaurant, the Twisted Burger, that the venue said will remain open despite the club closure. The Facebook post went on to say that its and music and events department will be working with local promoters on “a new city centre event space, which will be open very soon.” See the full post below.
Another spot that was good to us over the years gone. pic.twitter.com/JsI8NSFJ3V
— Elijah (@Eli1ah) April 5, 2019
Light up modular. Lightstorm is the modular synth accessory for those looking to brighten things up a bit. Getting its funding on Kickstarter, the Strange Electronic’s Lightstorm Eurorack Case is a light-up case and module combo that glows and pulsates with purples, blues and reds. If you don’t like the case, however, you can just buy the module with an LED strip, and insert that into your own transparent case, or modify your rig how you see fit. The LED strip is the cheaper option at $300, while a Lightstorm case and module package will set you back $1,200. Head to the Kickstarter page for more info, and watch a demo video below.