Collecting endangered bird songs from across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Shika Shika co-founder Robin Perkins tasked ten producers to create an original piece of music from the field recordings.
It features artists including Equiknoxx’s Time Cow, Jiony, Siete Catorce and DJ Jigüe, with bird song samples coming from species including the Momoto Carenado, Ferminia and Loro Cabeza Amarilla.
A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean marks the second instalment in the series, following the release of A Guide to the Birdsong of South America in 2015.
Head here to pre-order a copy of ahead of A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean’s 26th June release, check out the artwork and tracklist below.
Tracklist:
1. Jiony – Cotorra Serrana Occidental
2. The Garifuna Collective – Black Catbird
3. Maracuya – Cuco Cuco Picogordo de la Española Feat. Ximena Obregon
4. Di Laif – Colín Ocelado
5. Tamara Montenegro & NAOBA – Momoto Carenado
6. Alex Hentze – Tecolote Barbudo
7. Time Cow (Equiknoxx) – Jamaican Blackbird
8. NILLO – Tangara Hormiguera Carinegra Feat. Majo
9. Siete Catorce – Loro Cabeza Amarilla
10. DJ Jigüe – Ferminia
Audio Reference vertreibt ab sofort die Produkte des amerikanischen High-End-Herstellers Wilson Audio
Hamburg, 23. April 2020 – Der Lautsprecherspezialist aus Utah zeichnet sich besonders durch seine einzigartigen Designs und eine außergewöhnliche Genauigkeit bei der zeitlichen Ausrichtung der einzelnen Treiber aus. Bereits vor einigen Wochen gaben die Amerikaner ihre Trennung vom langjährigen Vertriebspartner bekannt. Nun ist das zwischenzeitige Vakuum beendet.
Design und Technologie Hand in Hand: Wilson Audio
Seit über 45 Jahren baut Wilson Audio Lautsprecher für höchste Ansprüche an Klang und Gestaltung. Die futuristisch anmutenden Designs entsprechen dabei der technischen Notwendigkeit und verschmelzen auf diese Weise die für den höchsten audiophilen Genuss erforderliche Technik mit einer einzigartigen Formensprache. Durch die neue Vertriebskooperation mit dem deutschen Distributor Audio Reference, der die Produktpräsenz in den Märkten Deutschland und Österreich stärkt, erweitert Wilson Audio sein internationales Engagement erheblich.
Zeitgemäß: modularer Aufbau für optimale Justage
Ein zentraler Aspekt bei den Lautsprechern von Wilson Audio ist die zeitrichtige Wiedergabe der einzelnen Chassis. Verzögerungen verfärben das Klangbild. Sie treten auf, weil das Signal in nahezu allen Lautsprechern in verschiedene Wege aufgetrennt wird. Insbesondere, wenn die Chassis räumlich voneinander getrennt sind. Die WAMM Technologie (für „Wilson Audio Modular Monitor“) ermöglicht die exakte Ausrichtung der einzelnen Chassis und damit eine absolute Klangtreue, die andere Systeme konstruktionsbedingt gar nicht erreichen können.
Audio Reference, Hamburg
Die Zusammenarbeit mit Audio Reference ermöglicht durch die langjährige Expertise des Hamburger Distributors eine bessere Erschließung der Märkte. Neben Deutschland überniommt der Vertrieb auch die Verantwortung für Österreich. Geschäftsführer Mansour Mamaghani zeigt sich als Fan der Marke. „Lautsprecher von Wilson Audio zählen für mich seit jeher zu den besten und technisch fortschrittlichsten im gesamten High-End-Markt.“ Umso mehr freue er sich mich auf die künftige Zusammenarbeit. Ausgezeichnete Audio-Technologie, exquisites Design und die fachkundige Unterstützung. Deutschland und Österreich können sich auf Wilson Audio freuen.
Carrying on Beatport’s 16-year tradition of fostering the growth of the electronic music community, the Beatport Producer Challenge will scour the world for 50 producers on the cusp of greatness. Partnering with Loopcloud and Plugin Boutique from Loopmasters, LANDR, iZotope, and Roland Cloud, the Beatport Producer Challenge will create a path to notoriety for talented producers across Beatport’s ten most popular music genres.
Utilizing the diverse platforms and software available from Loopcloud, Plugin Boutique, LANDR, iZotope, and Roland Cloud, aspiring producers will have until Monday, May 11, 2020, to create a wholly original piece of music to enter into the competition. Winners will be awarded highly-prized software and subscriptions, totaling over $100,000 in value from these great partners. This includes a 12-month subscription to Beatport LINK PRO+, Beatport’s fast-growing streaming service for DJs, giving them access to Beatport’s entire catalog of music through DJ performance software like Pioneer DJ’s rekordbox, Virtual DJ, and Hercules DJUCED.
In order to augment and enhance the producer’s toolkit for the Beatport Producer Challenge, each entrant will get a one month free trial of Loopmasters’ Loopcloud, giving them a choice of 4 unique sample packs, 300 credits to spend, and full Loopcloud functionality. Additionally, all producers entering the competition will have access to a free trial of LANDR’s incredible mastering and distribution platform so they can master their completed track for free before uploading it for consideration in the Challenge.
Likewise, all entrants will have access to a 30-day free trial of Roland Cloud, complete with Techno Patches and Patterns for the JUNO-106, JUPITER-8, SH-101, TB-303, TR-808, and TR-909.
When the Challenge is complete, 5 winners will be chosen by Beatport’s world-class curation team for each of the Beatport’s most popular ten genres:
Techno
Tech House
House
Melodic House & Techno
Deep House
Drum & Bass
Minimal / Deep Tech
Trance
Dance / Future / Bass House Afro House
Other prizes that each of the 50 total winners will receive include; one year of Beatport LINK PRO+ and $50 in credits on Beatport.com; one year of Loopcloud Studio; Plugin Boutique Scaler Music Theory Tool; an iZotope Beatport Bundle with an Iris 2 Sample-Based Synthesizer, DDLY Dynamic Delay, Mobius Filter, and Elements Suite; one year of LANDR Pro and Lethal Synth plugin; and a One Year Roland Cloud Membership.
Speaking about the Challenge, Robb McDaniels, CEO of Beatport said, “Since beginning our strategic partnership with Loopmasters in 2019, we have wanted to harness the full power of our respective audiences to give producers around the world access to a unique opportunity to exhibit their skills. Combining the power of Loopcloud and Beatport’s industry-leading curation, along with other great companies in our industry such as LANDR, iZotope, and Roland Cloud, we are able to give producers the platform they need to showcase their talents”
Matt Pelling, the founder of Loopmasters also stated, “We are proud to be involved in this initiative which brings us all closer in difficult times, and shines a light on those with exceptional talent to the wider music community.”
Pascal Pilon, the founder and CEO of LANDR added: “We’re proud to be supporting our community through this initiative and to be working with our peers. Now’s the time to come together and as musicians ourselves, we know how important it is to stay connected.”
German techno producer Paul Kalkbrenner today released a rare recorded performance, exclusively on Apple Music. This thrilling live set was recorded in Lisbon, Portugal during the 2019 LXM Festival, and is available today for the first time.
The mix follows Kalkbrenner’s last single No Goodbye, which has been streamed over 20 million times, and the recent release of his video for Part Twelve, taken from his Parts Of Life album and produced in collaboration with Radioaktive Film – the Kyiv-based production house behind the ‘Chernobyl’ television series.
Following REALM / Island Records signing Braindead (Heroin Kills), Piero Pirupa now rebrands his tastemaker NONSTOP label. The first to release on NONSTOP following the rebrand, Piero Pirupa gets set for new single Haus Style, taking the imprint in an exciting new direction.
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind for Piero Pirupa, with his success of crossover rave staple Braindead (Heroin Kills) signing to REALM / Island Records that graces BBC Radio 1’s airwaves week after week. Whilst its recent video enlists UK TV legend Shaun Williamson for a bonkers anti-drug message. The spiralling success of the tune has also landed him plays and interviews on Apple Music / Beats 1 with Jax Jones plus heavyweight DJ support from the like of Marco Carola, Chris Lake, Camelphat, Richie Hawtin, Detlef, Hannah Wants, Jamie Jones and more.
Now looking to take his own label to the next level, Piero Pirupa has rebranded his stellar NONSTOP label which he initially founded in 2015. With the imprint already racking up releases from some of the scene’s finest producers including Max Chapman, wAFF, Dennis Cruz, Skream, The Deepshakerz, Wade and more, only expect bigger accolades to come with the relaunch.
Along with the rebrand comes exciting new release Haus Style from Piero Pirupa, which Fisher and Carl Cox have been championing in their sets relentlessly over the past year. Boasting a captivating vocal hook that chops and distorts between a punchy bassline and sizzling synth pads, Haus Style is set to implement a promising trajectory for Piero Pirupa and his NONSTOP label for the months to come.
Taylor Quimby, senior producer of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Outside/In podcast is no stranger to high-wind conditions
More than 40 volcanoes in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands form the northern curve of the infamous ring of fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean with hundreds of active peaks. But for audio producers, that’s not even the most terrifying fact about this vast region of fire and ice.
“I don’t know if you are familiar with the Aleutian Islands,” says audio storyteller and podcast producer Stephanie Joyce with a laugh, “but their nickname is, ‘the birthplace of the winds.’”
Audio storyteller and podcast producer Stephanie Joyce contributes to the Outside Podcast and All Things Considered.
Before Joyce began contributing to the Outside Podcast and All Things Considered, she battled wind as part of her daily routine at KUCB-FM, a public radio station on Unalaska Island in the middle of the Aleutians. Sometimes assignments involved capturing audio amid howling winter winds on a crabbing vessel in the middle of the Bering Sea, or while watching as unexploded ordinances left over from WWII were detonated far out in the windswept archipelago.
“Anytime you’re recording out of doors, wind is going to be an issue,” says Joyce. “I have a Rode NTG2 mic that I really like, [with] the standard dead cat on it, and that lives on my microphone most of the time. But not on a boat in the middle of the Bering Sea.”
Joyce’s personal microphone solution for that level of windy conditions is surprisingly straightforward: an omnidirectional Electro Voice RE50.
“When I was recording in the field a lot in Alaska, I would use an RE50 and then I would just get close,” she says. “I’ve tried all kinds of blimps and windscreens and dead cats, and at the end of the day, sometimes the only thing to do is just to not use a shotgun mic. Just use an omni and get really close.”
Taylor Quimby can relate. The senior producer of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Outside/In podcast is no stranger to high-wind conditions, either. Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the state’s Presidential Range at 6,288 feet, held the record for highest wind speed ever recorded for decades—231 miles per hour, clocked in 1934. His work often takes him to remote peaks with similar conditions.
Taylor Quimby, capturing podcast audio on location.
“I have had [instances] where it’s so windy you don’t get anything on the tape, or it just sounds completely distorted and messed up,” says Quimby.
“[But] a lot of this is about, ‘What are you trying to convey?’ If you have some really blown-out, windy tape, that might seem like, ‘Oh, man. This tape is terrible.’ But if you’re trying to convey that it’s incredibly windy, then blown-out tape is exactly what you need.”
With a little creative editing, you can get extra mileage out of that wind-whipped audio. Take 60 seconds of sound and split it in half, Quimby says, then play the two halves simultaneously, one panned hard left and the other panned hard right. Maybe throw some reverb on it in the mix. The results might surprise you.
“You can create a really cool windscape that will sound to a person’s ears what it might feel like to be on top of a mountain when the wind is so loud and howling that you can’t hear anything else, and it’s flapping your coat and your jacket and rushing past your ears,” he says. “There are some fun ways to experiment with taking a naturally captured sound and building something immersive out of it.”
Now that Joyce’s days on the high seas are behind her, she tends to lean on a Rode blimp in windy conditions on dry land. Otherwise it’s a standard dead cat on the NTG2 with a pistol grip into a Tascam DR-100 MKIII field recorder.
Quimby uses a Zoom H4n stereo mic with an adjustable pattern from 90 to 120 degrees for ambient and environmental sounds, and a Marantz Professional PMD 661MKII handheld recorder with a shotgun mic for other situations on the job.
Whether you treat wind as a nuisance to avoid or embrace it as a character in your podcast, understanding that you can’t tame it is key.
“The tagline [for Outside/In] is, ‘The natural world and how we use it.’ So, we’re always looking for ways to understand how we interact with the outdoors. And that’s a two-way street.”
Clark Johnsen, Private Ear (series drawing no. 1, by Bruce Walker, 1993) I got the news first thing in the morning last week. Clark Johnsen has passed away of cancer, at the ripe age of 78. I wasn’t surprised; a mutual friend had warned me four or five months ago that Clark was in a… Read More »
Berlin-based duo Amnesia Scanner have announced the impending release of their sophomore LP, Tearless, a sonic reflection of how it feels to experience Earth at a time when collapse is emerging as the prevailing narrative. As Amnesia Scanner founders, Ville Haimala and Martti Kalliala watch their icy home country of Finland thaw- the staggering scale of political recalibration and the worldwide climate crisis blows open old norms. “There’s a looming sense of radical change,” they noted pre-COVID, connecting the period of making the album to a fin de siecle horror and curiosity regarding what new world is being ushered in. Tearless has been referred to as “a breakup album with the planet”, to which Amnesia Scanner responds, on the LP’s closing track: “You will be fine, if we can help you lose your mind.”
Tearless marks a turning point in the duo’s trajectory, one begun in 2014 with the AS Live [][][][][] mixtape, followed by audio play Angels Rig Hook, two EP’s for Young Turks, and their 2018 debut album, Another Life (PAN). For Amnesia Scanner in 2020, the walls of the nightclubs, galleries, and institutions fall away and are replaced by full-scale theatrical productions complete with jumbotron stages, animatronics, and a surrealist costumed cast (literally so in the XL version of the album’s live show, Anesthesia Scammer). Likewise, the musical scope of the album is expansive, with guest vocalists — the Peruvian artist Lalita and the Brazillian DJ/producer LYZZA — descending into a vast uncanny valley of sound. With the crossfader on Tearless sitting closer to pop than abstraction, so too does the audience for this record widen in scope. Opener “AS Enter” sets a sombre tone until the fucking riffs of the second track (the titular, Lalita-helmed “AS Tearless”) make clear there’s plenty of roaring to come. A feature from metalcore band Code Orange on “AS Flat” follows, along with “AS Trouble” (feat. Oracle, the third, machinic ghost-member of Amnesia Scanner) and together they hit as black-metal-gaze dirges. Closing Tearless is the sadboy grunge of “AS U Will Be Fine” with a clear statement of intent: doom, despair, insanity, absurdity, it’s all natural, all cathartic, and all OK.
For the art direction of this release, Amnesia Scanner collaborators PWR scavenged the pop cultural unconscious, as if ventilating memory dissociated by trauma. The gatefold vinyl reveals a four-panel comic, full of iconic pre-millennial motifs, which arrive cut up and reassembled collage-style: fitting visuals for an album that channels Deftones as much as reggaeton, menace as much as the drop-outness of grunge. Refuse like the ‘90s and party like the ‘20s—if that seems senseless, you are doing it right.
As the music industry continues to feel the effects caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, artists are increasingly looking to alternate revenue streams to supplement their income during these uncertain times. In a move already supported by labels including Joris Voorn’s Rejected, DJ S.K.T’s STASHED, Sam Divine’s DVINE Sounds, Future House Music and Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire, Label Worx and AudioLock have partnered to provide their respective Royalty Worx and Back Catalogue services free-of-charge in an attempt to try and break the tradition of bi-annual royalty reporting and encourage more labels to generate statements for artists on a monthly basis.
“At Label Worx, we’ve been thinking about ways to help those affected by the current situation – gigs are being cancelled across the board and as a result, one of the revenue streams that many will now rely on is the income generated by the sales and streaming of their music.
“We’re acutely aware that when labels are faced with data from dozens of stores and streaming platforms, across multiple releases, the reporting process can be extremely daunting – it doesn’t have to be that way though. Our accounting service, Royalty Worx, automates the entire process and if labels will commit to passing the benefits onto their artists, we will commit to providing the service free-of-charge to them during these uncertain times.” – Dom Kerley, Label Worx
With income from touring now on hold for many artists, Label Worx will be offering their Royalty Worx service at no cost for three months to labels who commit to generating royalty statements for their artists on a monthly basis. This means that many artists could be able to start receiving income from January 2020 sales as soon as next month.
“We feel this is a great opportunity to make a change for the better to the fundamental way the industry operates; currently, many labels report just twice a year, but it is possible to do this on a monthly basis. We work with labels who do this already and we find it’s a win-win for everyone; artists will see royalties much faster – they can put a release out now and within 2-3 months, they’ll start to see revenue and statements coming in. For the label, the benefit comes in the form of loyalty from artists who feel informed and rewarded by a professional label which acts with full transparency.” – Dom Kerley, Label Worx
In addition to this, leading anti-piracy experts, AudioLock, will be providing their own ‘Back Catalogue’ service free of charge for all labels who sign up to monthly accounting, offering full piracy scanning and takedowns on their last six months’ worth of releases for a period of three months. It is hoped that the combination of monthly reporting on releases which have full anti-piracy takedown support will make a significant difference to the immediate income for thousands of artists during a time when every effort to support each other counts.
To sign up to the initiative, simply fill in the form and a member of the Label Worx support team will be in touch:
Offer Details
Label Worx: Labels who commit to reporting on a monthly basis will receive the Royalty Worx service free-of-charge for three months
AudioLock: Labels who commit to reporting on a monthly basis through Royalty Worx can protect their last six months’ worth of releases with the AudioLock Back Catalogue service free-of-charge for three months
Key Label Support
“Accounting is a really important part of running any label, and making sure that our artists get paid on time is now more important than ever! That’s why we’re committing to monthly royalty statements for all artists signed to DVINE Sounds – it’s a small change for us, but one we hope will be a huge help to those we work with.” – Sam Divine, DVINE Sounds
“Our scene has been affected deeply by the coronavirus with cancellations decimating the live music sector and no one knows how long this will last. Everyone needs support right now, and we all need to do what we can. That’s why we decided to move to more frequent royalty statements to help our artists in these difficult times.” – Edwin Oosterwal, Rejected
“Being able to account more regularly to artists who rely on income from sales, especially during these hard times, is essential to try and help support up and coming artists and allow them to flourish in times of hardship.” – DJ S.K.T, STASHED
