Leaked email reveals EDM payola, Frankie Knuckles’ record collection goes on display, Jeff Mills speaks out and Moog set to release new synth.
Europe Embraces Jeff Mills’ Music Fusions. Saluting the success of his exhibition on the electronic musician’s mind – Exhibitionist 2 at the Louvre – and his recent collaborations with the Montpellier Philharmonic Orchestra and the Île-de-France National Orchestra, the Guardian looks at how electronic and classical music are being combined by techno pioneer Jeff Mills, and asks why his electronic-classical music fusions are readily embraced in Europe, but are mostly ignored back home in Detroit. Read that here, and watch a promo video for his exhibition above.
Leaked Email Reveals ‘EDM payola’. An email from EDM.com‘s Sales & Marketing Director to a prominent American DJ has leaked, revealing that artists can pay for editorial coverage and social media promotion on the popular music blog. THUMP asks to what extent paid placement is acceptable in the music industry, and if you’d still trust a site’s curation knowing that someone paid for it. Check out the leaked letter and article here.
Frankie Knuckles Records Given Permanent Public Home. In Chicago, artist Theaster Gates‘s Rebuild Foundation is about to open the Stony Island Arts Bank, whose collections will give a permanent public home to 5,000 records owned by the Godfather of House. Their presence is intended to preserve them and make them accessible to the public as cultural treasures. Read The Chicago Reader‘s full story here.
Moog set to release new synth? Over at the Gearslutz forum, users collate the rumours and facts about a new Moog synth – “The name is ‘Mother-32’. It’s a single voice semi-modular knobby desktop synth with a built-in sequencer. The sequencer has 32 steps. There are 32 CV input/output jacks. MIDI in but no MIDI out. The Moog ladder filter is switchable between LPF and HPF. The sequencer [is] highly flexible and has lots of cool tricks up its sleeves.” Find out more here.
Discogs Launches Dedicated Mobile App. The internet’s premier destination for record collectors, Discogs‘ iOS app is entering the closed beta stage of its development tomorrow. It is expected to build on the functions of the Milkcrate app for iOS, which syncs your collection automatically and lets you add to your collection via a barcode scan, but buying will redirect you to the Discogs website. Official launch is expected to be early next year, and an Android beta is expected to launch in October. Find out more here.
Alex Pleninger Prepares Polivoks Clones. A new and approved clone of the legendary Soviet-born Polivoks synth is in the works from Muscovite electronic musician and synth-maker Alex Pleninger “in close collaboration with Alexey Taber, great engineer and synth guru :)” Pleninger has revealed some new info: “The most important parts (defining sound) are soviet old stock, it includes filter, VCA and both envelope generators. The oscillators are heavily reworked to provide stability, which is really excellent. Modulator-made CV-controlled, with additional waveforms, and all stuff is still 100% analogue. Excluding midi.” Find out more here.
‘Happy Birthday’ Copyright Invalidated by Judge. A judge has ruled that the long-claimed copyright on ‘Happy Birthday to You’, the most popular tune in the English language, is invalid. The decision is a blow to publishers Warner/Chappell, who have controlled the song since 1988 and reportedly still collect some $2 million annually in licensing fees for it. If the judge’s ruling stands, ‘Happy Birthday to You’ would become part of the public domain. Read the full story here.