Azealia Banks is definitely back in the game with her state-of-the-art new music video for Wallace. The song is from her 2014 debut album, Broke With Expensive Taste, which she will be performing in the summer at a series of festivals. The tempo and style of the song matches the trippy visuals perfectly. Directed by Nick Ace and Rob Soucy, they worked closely alongside Banks and producer Collins to bring this interactive concept to life.
As long as you have a webcam, you are able to jump right in there with her and guide her movements as she sings. The clip works exclusively on the Google Chrome browser and is available on her website. Once redirected to her site, all you have to do is click “Allow’’ for your webcam to be activated and then at some point you will actually be in her video. There’s also a cool ‘Lyrics’ tab on the left that you can click and the words fall down the screen like rain as she’s singing them.
You can share your experience online with the hashtag #WallaceVideo
Azealia comments on her own experience of ’the making of’; “Working side by side with this incredible team of tech-creatives was a truly unique and enjoyable experience, and I’m thrilled to be part of a potentially groundbreaking new ‘norm’ in the future of making music videos.”
“I’m such a huge fan of technology and creative new ways of interacting and engaging with fans, so this collaboration was perfect for me. Music videos are as much of an art form as the music itself. The more I can push myself in my creative endeavours, the better.”
Clean Bandit’s new music video for Stronger follows a larger than life London bus driver during his day of work. The awesome video concept was directed by YouTube creators Wlodek Markowicz and Karol Paciorek who form the hugely successful entertainment show Lekko Stroniczy.
Some of the clip was shot in bullet time on 50 Microsoft Lumia smartphones – part of Clean Bandit’s sponsorship deal with Microsoft Lumia, which also sees the group star in current TV ads for the phone.
The uplifting song, featuring the vocals of Glee star Alex Newell and Sean Bass is set to be released on April 12, as the latest cut from the band’s debut album New Eyes.
Markowicz and Paciorek have released a three-part behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the Stronger video, you can watch them here: http://po.st/LumiaEpisodes
#ThrowbackThursday – Judy Garland’s little girl Liza May Minnelli turns 69 today! Acclaimed for her performance in Cabaret (1972), we think the song Cabaret from the movie, is the perfect number to celebrate with!
The film was an immediate success at the box office, earning millions in profits as much so in other countries as in North America. Fast forward to the mid-90s where it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the US National Film Registry. It has been deemed as “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.’’ To this day the movie holds a 97% “Fresh’’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a website devoted to film reviews and news.
Directed by Bob Fosse, the film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing Nazi Party. It’s some of Liza’s best work, for which she deservingly won the Academy Award for Best Actress In a Leading Role. In fact, the film scored an incredible 8 Academy Awards, including Best Sound and Best Original Song Score. It also won 3 Golden Globes, 7 BAFTAs and scores more, too numerous to mention.
Creation 5 users – you will find this video in Playlist >> Throwback Sessions
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The Script’s brand new music video for Man on a Wire is out! and tough love is what it’s all about. Shot in Cape Town, South Africa, lead vocalist Danny O’Donoghue shows off his wire-walking skills, attempting to win back the love of his life. The one he is trying to get over, according to the song, because she’s bad for his health… Apart from that one mixed message, the song and video got the scary heights part on par with the lyrics,
The higher I get The more I miss the ground No safety nets Now you’re not around I have to keep walking To keep me from falling down
Feels like I’m walkin’ on a tightrope My heart is in my throat I’m counting on high hopes to get me over you
The video was inspired by the French tightrope walker Philippe Petite who has his own famous documentary ‘Man on Wire.’ The song is their latest hit single, taken from their 4th album No Sound Without Silence.
In an interview with Metro, Danny shares what it was like filming; “We flew to Cape Town, we flew the director over from the USA, we secured a big budget and then suddenly it was the training day and I had to step off the building! It was so scary, everyone tells you not to look down but as soon as I stepped off I looked down. You can’t not look down. It doesn’t get any easier either, the wire is two inches in diameter and every step feels like the first step.’
Funnily enough, and ever so fitting, that his experience is a great way to describe having to get over somebody you loved. Just like in the song.
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A kaleidoscopic club adventure is had by a sultry Selena Gomez in the new music video for I Want You To Know. Co-written by Zedd, OneRepulic frontman Ryan Tedder and KDrew, there’s no wondering how it got so popular so quickly.
The music video was posted just yesterday (March 10) and already has 700,000 views. By the time you’re reading this it will probably have well over a million. The audio only version, posted just a couple of weeks ago, has racked up an impressive 12,000,000.
An adorable tuxedo-clad Zedd just watches Selena frolicking around the dance floor for most of the video with her bouncing cleavage. I mean, who wouldn’t be staring? Some lucky takers manage to bump and grind with her for a few seconds but she mainly wants to rave solo. Violently flipping all that hair around can’t be fun for close-by dancers anyway… So we’re pretty sure that’s the reason she’s been given her personal space. She does however take a break from all the hyper dancing to reapply her lipgloss and smooch her reflection in the mirror. Again, who wouldn’t want to smooch those puffy red shiny lips at such close proximity?
Ohh not you? Fair game. Just watch the video then, un-seduced.
Ciara’s definitely showing her ex-boo what he’s missing in her newest music video I Bet. Released onto her Vevo channel on March 9, the visual shows her amazing dancing (ballerina swag style), poise and sexiness, strength and vulnerability.
The song is the first single off her new album Jackie, due this spring (which she named after her mother, awww). Ciara explained “It’s inspired by how I can now see the world through her eyes, being a mom, and so that’s where the title came from.’’
There’s nothing like the love and support of your own mother to get you through a harsh breakup, and this song is very likely to be about the on again – off again relationship between her and rapper Future. The couple called off their engagement back in August 2014 when news broke of him cheating on her. The worst part of the whole ordeal is that there is a 9 month old son involved, Future, named after his father.
CiCi’s fans are outraged about the situation, but support her fully, with popular opinion’s such as this YouTube commenter: “I really hope her new album is a breakthrough. That man made her babymama #4, didn’t marry her, and cheated. I want her to touch souls on this album…anyway love the vibe of this song.”
Babymama drama aside, we’re all here for the music and Ciara couldn’t be happier with her new album. She expressed to the media “it’s my favourite album I have made thus far in my career. It is a new me. A new attitude. Sonically I am so content; I had my dream team of producers who I always wanted to work with.’’
Yeah I love you. I’m all cried out, I’m all tried out, I’m all fired out. Right now It’s killing me ‘Cause now I have to find someone else When all I wanted was you…
Sam Smith & John Legend, two of the main men in the industry today, have done something beautiful for a good cause. With all proceedings going to charity, this couldn’t be a more flawless rendition of Lay Me Down.
Written by Sam Smith himself, the song is originally from his debut studio album In The Lonely Hour (2014), and was the lead single. Sam has been quoted as saying that it holds a very special place in his heart. He loves the song so much that it’s going to be on his new album as well, serving as his next single.
“I recently visited a Comic Relief-funded project in my hometown which supports the young LGBT community in London. I’m extremely proud that my single will help raise money for projects like this and many others in the UK and across Africa.”
Legend added: “Sam is such a talented artist. We’ve been looking forward to working together for a while now. I’m so glad we could collaborate on such a great song and for such a great cause.”
In more news, he will be performing live on the Red Nose Day show (March 13) with John Legend. Fans from across the globe couldn’t be more excited.
The Veronicas are still wearing black, but bad-ass as ever in their new music video for Cruel.
The song is off the twins’ self-titled third studio album, and the visuals for the video came to life through the inspiration of the great horror film directors such as David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino.
Full of revenge, the video follows the girls as they go about exacting it. Overkill? Maybe a little.
“Eminem is a fucking genius,” Dr. Dre proclaims in ‘Not Afraid: The Shady Records Story’. Featuring interviews with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent this new Eminem documentary tells the true story of how he went from struggling local rapper to an international sensation with a hip-hop empire.
It follows the release of last year’s Shady XV compilation commemorating the 15th anniversary of Eminem’s label. The album provided a good summary of the label’s history but it failed to tell the story of how the label came to be and what it actually achieved. This 30 minute documentary, produced by Complex, fills in the gaps and takes an in-depth look at Eminem’s career.
Dr Dre had heard Eminem rap before he met him and couldn’t believe he was white! “Eminem and Paul Rosenberg make a great team. Whatever they decide to do, I know it’s going to be big, it’s going to be amazing and it will work.”
50 Cent calls Eminem “My Dre” in one of the interviews. He discussed how the label gave him a place to be himself and therefore become successful. “They provided a platform for me to be 50 Cent,” said the rapper “Every place else was afraid.”
The necklace that Eminem is wearing in the video is the Sobriety Circle & Triangle Symbol used by Alcoholics Anonymous. The equilateral triangle represents the three-part answer – unity, recovery and service – to a three-part disease – physical, mental and spiritual, while the circle represents wholeness or oneness.
For Poldoore, Belgium born beat-maker, it’s all about the good vibes. His atmospheric fusion of funk, soul, jazz, and hip-hop leaves us with nothing but a distinctive melodic presence; a presence infused with harmonic and halcyon sounds. Fresh out of the shadows of the deep dark Web, Poldoore is one of the few to rise into the spotlight with true musical credibility and creativity.
Proactive in all possible ways, Poldoore managed to build himself an online presence across social media platforms and was subsequently picked up and championed by Cold Busted. Recently back from his first European tour following the release of his first album – The Day Off – he’s already plunged himself knee-deep into the release of a new EP coming out soon on Cult Classic Records. Humble, honest, and insightful, with plenty of advice to share, Poldoore tells us what’s up.
Your love and appreciation for all types of musical genres truly comes out in your music. Who are your favourite artists and why? I have indeed always enjoyed different styles of music and try to infuse all of these influences into my productions. It’s hard picking out favourite artists, but the first ones that come to mind right now are Emancipator, Tycho, Pretty Lights, the Pete Rock – CL Smooth combo, Curtis Mayfield and Thievery Corporation.
No doubt, this has driven you to produce eclectic tracks, sampling all sorts of artists from all sorts of musical backgrounds. How do you choose to sample one track over another? At first I generally look for a cool hook that would form a good backbone for the song. This has to be a piece of music that’s very melodic and ready to chop up. After that it’s a matter of combining other subtle elements that add to this hook without dominating it or pushing it to the background too much. Looking for decent samples is often extremely time-consuming, but at the same time a lot of fun as I constantly discover new artists and music, and the stories behind them.
Social media has redefined the ways in which the music industry functions. What do you think has been the Internet’s biggest impact on music today? Amen to that. Nowadays it’s so much easier to get your music out there compared to 10-15 years ago. Artists who already have a big following can simply put their music out and it will spread automatically thanks to Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud, YouTube and whatnot. Just look at Beyoncé’s stunt last year, when she released her album unannounced. It dropped as a bomb, became viral and sold significantly better compared to her previous one, without too much advertising.
There is so much talent out there and so much music circulating online. What do you think is the most efficient way to getting your music heard these days? What do you have to do to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd? Well obviously it all starts with your music. Without decent productions that are slightly original it’s way harder to get your music out there as an artist who’s starting out. What I did in the beginning is upload my music to SoundCloud and share them in groups. Tagging your music on YouTube with appropriate terms is extremely helpful too. Look for blogs that post your type of music, email them, tell your story and why they should share your music. That kind of stuff. It’s obvious that it takes some time to gain a following.
Was this the case for you? Of course. I spent years figuring out a style and developing a certain sound. I sent countless emails to different blogs when I started out, hoping they would pick up my music. You have to be prepared to put in a lot of time, both in producing and promoting if you want to have your music heard by the people.
As someone with an extensive online presence, are there any independent up and coming artists you’ve come across that you think we should look out for? Oh yes, there are lots of gems out there. I love browsing around SoundCloud or YouTube and discovering new artists, both signed and unsigned. My recent discoveries include Sunclef, Reki, The Planty Herbs, Kaligraph E and Farid N.
What’s the creative process behind the production of your music? How do you find inspiration and how do begin a new track? I don’t do particular things or anything to find inspiration. One day I’ll have tons of inspiration and make a tune relatively quickly, where the next day I don’t have any inspiration at all. It depends on my mood and the amount of sleep I had. I usually start working on a drum pattern, as it’s always the most important element in my songs and dictates its flow. After that I’ll try to come up with a nice chord progression that fits the beat or find a sample to chop up and work from there. Lately I’ve also been working with some musicians and vocalists which is of course very inspiring and a lot of fun to do.
What programs do you use and why? I’ve always been a big Ableton Live fan and user. When I started out producing I experimented with pretty much every piece of software there is, but eventually I stuck with Live. It’s super fast, super easy and great for experimenting and sampling. Apart from producing it’s without a doubt the most versatile program for playing live acts, which is very convenient given the fact that I also use it for making music in the first place. I don’t think I’ll ever switch.
All of your tracks give out a super chilled-out vibe. Do you have a target audience in mind? Does this affect the types of venues you play at? I never have a particular audience in mind when making music. I just do my thing and see where I end up with it, to be honest. As far as venues go, I played a wide variety of them, going from a festival right outside a castle in the middle of nature, to a dark underground club. So I guess my music isn’t specifically related to a certain type of venue, although I personally love outdoor festivals in unique locations the most.
Can you tell us a bit about the projects you’ve been involved in ever since you and Cold Busted tied the knot? Cold Busted was the first label that believed in me and released my music. They’ve done so much for me and I’m extremely thankful for that. My first decent release was Volume 6 in the Street Bangerz series, for which Gramatik produced the first 3 editions. I’ve been a big fan of it so I felt honored to do an album for them. After that I released a couple of remixes, singles and last year my first album – The Day Off – came out on Cold Busted. They handled the vinyl, promotion, distribution and everything concerning the release. The vinyl’s sold out in a matter of months, which is of course very rewarding for both the label and myself.
What have been the highlights and the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far? I’ve always found that the most challenging part is to keep my music interesting and versatile, while at the same time maintaining a certain sound that’s somewhat recognizable. 2014 gave me the opportunity to share my music live across Europe (Spain, France, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands…), which was definitely a highlight in my musical career. It’s crazy but at the same time so satisfying to go somewhere far from home and see people singing along to your songs.
What are you working on at the moment? I’m constantly working on new music, whether I’m on the road or at home. In general I just make all kinds of music, and then decide later on which tracks I’m going to bundle into a release. There’s an EP coming out on Cult Classic Records (an independent label from London, UK) very soon, featuring some very skilled MC’s and vocalists. One of them is Cise Starr, who used to work with the late Nujabes. Next to that I’m also working with musicians, in order to create some kind of personal, original sample library that I can sample from. There’s always new music coming up from my camp, so be sure to keep an eye out for new announcements.
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? I’ve never thought about that, but I hope I can still do what I love, which is making music and sharing it with the world. I love to travel and meet new people. The combination of doing so while spreading my music is just unreal.
#SundaySessions: What are your three favourite tracks at the moment and why?
1 – Hiroshi Suzuki – Romance “I randomly came across this Japanese jazz gem on YouTube the other day and can’t stop listening to it. Apparently it’s a very rare album, but I’d really like to get my hands on the 12” someday. I’m a big fan of smooth jazz music and often sample it in my productions.”
2- Elzhi – It Ain’t Hard To Tell “Covering an entire Nas album is a tough job for sure, but Elzhi paid his respect to the classic album “Illmatic” in a way that does it justice. He’s one of my all-time favourite MC’s. Elzhi’s voice, flow and lyrics are one of the best in the game if you ask me. Working with him one day would be a dream come true.”
3- Snakehips – Forever “These guys are one of the hottest production duos at the moment in my opinion. I’ve loved every single tune they put out up until today and often drop a track or two of them in my DJ sets. Their music is a perfect combination of old school boom bap beats with those smooth 90s R&B vibes and funky synth lines. Top notch stuff.”
