Go Forward, Move Ahead
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM
GENRE ON THE MOVE: DANCEFLOOR HIP-HOP
It's no longer acceptable to stand around at the show nodding your head to the beat. These days, hip-hop is returning to the dancefloor. Once again, emphatic beats, gratuitous raps and unexpected influences abound as the new vanguard brings back the party.
This crop of DJs and MCs, led by the likes of Spank Rock, A-Trak and Diplo, focus their efforts on getting things moving. The dancefloor beats and provocateur rhymes revive old tricks that never stopped working, and plenty of new sounds make their way into the mix to create a scene set to explode.
It was Spank Rock's Miami Bass-inspired YoYoYoYoYo that kicked the door open for this scene two years ago, and for its follow up, the Philly troublemakers headed up to New York and worked with regular contributors Amanda Blank and Santogold. With this crew, it's pretty much guaranteed that shenanigans will ensue.
Meanwhile, after gaining exposure as Kanye West's DJ, A-Trak built ties to the French party instigators from Ed Banger records, and his sound rides this nexus between hip-hop and dance music. The former DMC champion has a solo album in the works, and his Fool's Gold label is jumpstarting the careers of Kid Sister and the Cool Kids. That Chicago duo of Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks start a big year of their own with the January release of the Bake Sale EP. While they rarely bring things at a hip-house tempo, their throwback style is all about having a good time. Watch for their debut LP on Chocolate Industries before the year's out.
Finally, the manic DJ/producer known as Diplo continues to promote Bal-timore Club beats and other sounds he discovers on his travels through his Mad Decent label and his Heap Decent charity.
— Noah Levine
BEYOND THE MPC: LINNDRUM II
Dave Smith (founder of Sequential Circuits) and Roger Linn (creator of the MPC sampler) previewed the “BoomChik” drum machine last year. Now the design has taken on a smart new look and has been renamed LinnDrum II after the classic precursor to the MPC.
“I wanted to create a whole new performance instrument,” says Linn, explaining that it's meant to be a drum machine, not an MPC-killer. “I wanted it to do anything from sensitive, very human drum parts to huge, powerful walls of electronic percussion, and do it intuitively without getting in your way.”
The techno-savvy face-lift includes brightly backlit control buttons and Velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads — assignable to sounds, tunings, beats, pad mutes or sequence steps — making it poised for dark nightclub action. LinnDrum II lets you drop in and out of recording on different beats, play multiple beats simultaneously, switch in and out of song mode and more, all without stopping play.
A bright graphic LCD joins dedicated buttons for touch sensitivity, sound restart, real-time erase and pressure-sensitive note repeat. Programmable sliders and On/Off buttons control delay/reverb, filter, amp sim/compressor and resonator; a 16 MB internal flash memory stores sounds. “Expanding memory is accomplished merely by inserting a Compact Flash card,” reports Linn.
Roger Linn Design (www.rogerlinndesign.com) will sell the sampling-only version, and Dave Smith Instruments (www.davesmithinstruments.com) will offer the LinnDrum II Analog, which adds four true-analog voices and Curtis filters, analog feedback resonator paths and 27 dual-function voicing knobs. An exact release date isn't yet available; prices are tentatively slated at $1,000 (LinnDrum II) and $1,500 (LinnDrum II Analog).
“Roger is the king of drum machines,” says Smith. “This has been a great opportunity for us to put our heads together to design an exciting, flexible, easy-to-use drum box.”
— Jason Scott Alexander
RETURN TO VIDEO: WATCH YOUR BACK, MTV
Waaaay back in the dark ages, MTV — otherwise known as Music Television — actually played music videos. No, really, it's true. But with today's MTV being all about reality shows and dating debacles, where will we go in 2008 for actual vids from our favorite musicians? Ilovevideo, that's where.
Ilovevideo, at www.ilovevideo.com, offers pay-per-download high-quality music videos that are legally transferable, indefinitely, to as many media devices as you want (including Macs, PCs and handheld devices), making them the first DRM-free music video retail store. (Files are available in either WMV or M4V format.)
The site has already snagged agreements with Beggars Banquet, XL, Domino and Ministry of Sound, with more labels under negotiations for 2008. And these aren't Hey-That's-My-Friend-Ralph's-Band-on-YouTube type vids; they're top-notch clips from the likes of UNKLE, The Go! Team, Badly Drawn Boy, White Stripes, Fatboy Slim, the Pigeon Detectives and many more. Plus, ilovevideo's partnership with EMI Music will allow the site to make a plethora of videos from the EMI catalog available, including ones from the Chemical Brothers, John Lennon, Coldplay and Gorillaz.
You can check out videos in 30-second previews before you buy, with most videos starting at $3.95, and you can pay for 'em by debit card, credit card, ilovevideo gift vouchers or text message (and yes, royalties are paid to the labels and artists involved). For 2008, the site plans to entice music lovers even more, with an ever-widening range of exclusive content, including director's cut videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and live gigs. It's “music to your eyes,” as the ilovevideo folks say. Between ilovevideo and iTunes' videos, we say…MTV who?
— Kristi Kates
PREDICTION: PROMOTERS GET GREEDIER
Concert tickets will continue to go up in price, as greedy agents and promoters test the limits of what the market will bear. The acts will go along — after all, they're musicians; they don't know any better; their expertise is in music. However, those with lower prices will gain all the fan attention and bond most with their customers, ensuring longevity. For instruction, see Garth Brooks and the Dave Matthews Band.
— Bob Lefsetz
LADIES FIRST: FEMALE MCs
With an underground superstar taking that next step, a pair of major-label players making their returns and a trio of hotly anticipated debut LPs, female MCs are set to make a major impact this year.
At the head of the line in both lyrical dexterity and sheer volume of scheduled releases is Jean Grae. Now on Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records, the sharp-tongued Grae is bringing her hilariously cold-blooded rhymes to a trio of projects that promise to take her to a wider audience. In January it starts with the Prom Night LP, to be followed by the Phoenix mixtape project and the overdue release of Jeanius, her terrific studio excursion with 9th Wonder that was shelved for years after being leaked online.
Eve's Here I Am, which was also delayed, is finally expected to drop, and while the singles haven't quite caught fire, the major-label effort boasts production from Swizz Beatz, Pharrell, Scott Storch and Timbaland, so it's bound to have a few cuts. Even more intriguing is the next release from the consistently extraordinary Missy Elliott, who once again teams up with Timbo for her seventh album.
For new directions and uptempo beats, check out debuts from a trio of notorious party starters set to make themselves known this year. Chicago's effervescent Kid Sister scored a Kanye West guest spot on her “Pro Nails” remix, and now she's grabbed beats from Armani XXXchange, A-Trak and juke hero Gantman for her Koko B. Ware album dropping on Fool's Gold records. Also scoring studio time with XXXchange is Philly vixen and Spank Rock foil Amanda Blank, whose debut also includes work with Diplo. Finally, merciless Tampa electro-temptresses Yo Majesty bring plenty of excitement of their own. MCs Shunda K & Jwl. B signed onto the eclectic roster at Domino for their debut as well.
— Noah Levine
| Want to use this article? Click here for options! |  |
