This Week Music: 4th June 2021
A weekly update on all things music, advertising, and technology coming straight to you from Anthony Vanger at MassiveMusic. #TWIM
ARTIST OF THE WEEK: BIRDY
Birdy finally grew up. We know her story: the precocious daughter of a concert pianist and a writer, she won the prestigious music competition Open Mic UK in 2008 at the tender age of 12, after which she released a cover of Bon Iver's Skinny Love that exploded across Europe. Since then she has released three albums to universal acclaim. Her latest, entitled Young At Heart, shows signs of something new: maturity. Her voice is deeper and more resonant. The arrangements are powerful but sparser. Speaking on a recent Sodajerker podcast, Birdy explained that she had just emerged from a broken relationship and that the album was essentially about lost love. For most of us, that first bitter heartache comes early, in our teens. But for Birdy, who has been working non-stop since the age of 12, the rituals of teenage life were postponed. But when they finally crashed into her life, they had not lost any of their capacity to scar.
#birdy #loneliness #youngheart #boniver #skinnylove #openmicuk #sodajerker #podcast #nashville #losangeles #jonimitchell #laurelcanyon
@birdyinstagram
AD OF THE WEEK: GOOGLE GLOBAL CITIZEN
Given the stick the internet giants have received recently on Capitol Hill, a cynic might view this ad from search behemoth Google as a bit of PR. But intentions aside, the result is a solid piece of advertising that should be commended. Google, in partnership with Global Citizen, ad agency FCB, and 360i teamed up to bring this to life. A new 30-second spot, which debuted on YouTube this week, shows a photograph of a house and its surroundings being burned down by a wildfire. The audio replicates the environment and feels like a 360 ASMR experience. As the fire builds across the screen, the sound moves from one headphone or speaker to another, growing in volume as the spot progresses. You can also hear the sound of footsteps and birds escaping once the fire starts. At the bottom of the screen, an in-stream ad variant pops up reading “Save the Planet” – giving the viewer the power to Make It Stop.
@globalcitizen @climatecrisis @google
A NINE-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS ENTERED THE DMC WORLD DJ CHAMPIONSHIPS
DJ Michelle is the competition's youngest ever competitor
DJ Michelle, a nine-year-old girl from Dubai, has entered into the DMC World DJ Championships.
The 2021 edition of the DMC Championships will take place in eight battle categories over the course of the year, with the first seeing DJ Michelle go up against 8 other competitors if she is selected by World Champion judges. Japan’s DJ Rena is the youngest winner of the DMC Championships at just 12-years-old.
The event is a showcase of the world’s best scratch DJ’s who play portable turntables and vinyl, this year returning to the decks for it’s 36th edition.
CONCERT PROMOTER PRICES TICKETS AT $18 USD FOR VACCINATED ATTENDEES AND $1K USD FOR UNVACCINATED GUESTS
In a bid to make sure that they “do a show safely,” a concert promoter in Florida is charging COVID-19 vaccinated attendees $18 USD and non-vaccinated attendees a whopping $999.99 USD.
The upcoming punk show, scheduled on June 26 in St. Petersburg, Florida, is being organised by Leadfoot Productions promoter Paul Williams. “We’re just trying to do a show safely. And they should go out and get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families and their community,” he said in an interview with WFTS. He added in a separate interview, “I also wanted it to be a vaccine drive to get the fence-sitters off the fence. I wanted to get the kids that want to go to shows to go out and get their shots.” While no one has purchased the $999.99 USD ticket as of writing, Williams ensured that unvaccinated guests will still “be treated like everyone else.”
BERLUTI'S BANG & OLUFSEN COLLABORATION IS MORE THAN JUST AN AUDIO EXPERIENCE
Berluti may have lost Kris Van Assche in April, but that hasn’t stopped the brand from making a bang — a Bang & Olufsen collaboration, to be precise. The collection is as luxurious as you’d expect: the finest Danish audio equipment meets Berluti’s emblematic Venezia leather, taking form on speakers, televisions, accessories, and wireless headphones.
There’s something for everyone in this collection. For example, if you’re a fan of experiencing the very best audio while on-the-go, Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound A1 2nd-Gen Berluti Edition, Beoplay H95 Berluti Edition, and Berluti’s Sound Pouch will all be suitable. The A1 is a portable Bluetooth speaker and comes with 360-degree omnidirectional sound projection, making it perfect for days out with friends, while the H95 wireless headphones take something already brilliant — for example, 38 hours of playback, lambskin ear cushions, unrivalled levels of noise cancellation — and pair it with the maison’s TDM Intenso patina and an embossed logo. The H95 headphones can also be carried around in an exclusive Sound Pouch designed using canvas and the house’s “Scritto” text.
Produced exclusively under a made-to-order system, the Beolab 90 Berluti Edition costs ￡97,000 GBP (or around $137,000 USD) and is the most powerful audio experience ever made by B&O. It packs 8,200 watts of power, and coupled with its unprecedented precision this speaker is more than enough to fill an entire home with sound.
Take a look at the Berluti x Bang & Olufsen collection, and find out more about everything in your nearest Berluti (for the made-to-order pieces only) or Bang & Olufsen stores, or online.
Written by Anthony Vanger
Additional reporting by Adam "Badger" Woolf
Artwork by Gustav Balderdash
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