This Week Music: Thursday 10th December 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: WATER FROM YOUR EYES

Water From Your Eyes is the offbeat Brooklyn-based pop project of longtime musical collaborators and former partners?Nate Amos and Rachel Brown. Their latest album Structure is their fifth outing and perhaps the most accessible of their non-accessible music. As online music publication Pitchfork writes, "They’re still making cryptic indie-pop that hits like a sugar rush." And this track (elliptically called Track 5) is one hell of a ride. When the electric bass synth scythes in with all its syncopated fury, the song explodes into a joyous electro-pop beat. And I love the snare fills! The music is more confident than previous efforts, as the structures of the songs lean more towards pop. Vocalist Rachel Brown has a distinctive indie-vibe, low on technique, but high on emotion.

"Track Five" is from the album 'Structure' out 8/27. Order and stream it here - https://waterfromyoureyes.wharfcatrecords.com/Structure

#waterfromyoureyes #nateamos #rachelbrown #grandpabayrecordings #indierock #indiepop #electronicmusic

AD OF THE WEEK: LACTA "DON'T EVER LEAVE ME"

This ad sent shivers down my spine. A rise in domestic violence cases in 2021 in Greece, has stunned the nation, especially after 13 brutal femicides have been reported in media since the beginning of the year, creating a grim body count that keeps rising every other month. Many of these murders have been falsely attributed to extreme passion or have been called "love" crimes.

Mondelez's Lacta, a chocolate brand that for years has been telling love stories in the form of Branded Entertainment, with films that were popular and won multiple awards at Cannes Lions, chose to produce a short film that shows what a love story is not.

Created by Ogilvy Greece, the 4-minute film titled "Don't Ever Leave Me", directed by acclaimed Greek director Argyris Papadimitropoulos (Suntan, Monday), stars two young actors in what appears to begin as a cliché love story, set under the Greek summer sun. Soon, however, the story takes a darker turn, and viewers get to experience the manipulative ways women are being trapped in toxic relationships.

The film was released ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Thursday, November 25.

SPOTIFY REMOVES SHUFFLE OPTION FROM ALBUMS

Spotify?has removed the shuffle button as the default option when listening to albums.?

The shuffle option has been removed from the artist's album page for Premium members, however, songs can still be shuffled optionally when viewing individual tracks.

Chris Macowski, the head of music communications at Spotify, confirmed the presence of the new feature to?The Verge. “We are excited to share that we have begun rolling out a new Premium feature that has been long requested by both users and artists to make play the default button on all albums

“For those users still wishing to shuffle an album, they can go to the Now Playing View and select the shuffle toggle.”

This has come after a call from singer Adele requested the change to be made because she believes that as musicians spend a long time curating the tracklist and order of songs in their albums, it should be listened to in that order.

ENGLAND MAKES COVID STATUS MANDATORY FOR NIGHTCLUB ENTRY

As COVID cases rise and the?Omicron variant?spreads, England’s restrictions have been tightened with the introduction of?Plan B?restrictions.

To be enforced in a week's time, COVID status - proof of a negative lateral flow test or proof of vaccination status on the NHS app - will become necessary for entering nightclubs and venues where large crowds gather such as sports stadiums. This is in place for venues with an indoor capacity of 500 people and for outside events of over 4000 people.

As part of Plan B, face coverings will become a mandatory requirement from Friday, December 10, in settings such as shops, cinemas, theatres, and public transport. And the government has recommended working-from-home starts again from Monday, December 13, for all industries that are able to do so.

HISTORIC BEATLES AUDIO INTERVIEWS TO BE AUCTIONED AS NFTS

Historic audio interviews with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr of The Beatles are being auctioned as digital NFTs this week.

The auction represents the first time that rockstar interviews are being sold as NFTs, according to the Voices of Classic Rock Archive (VOCR), which is minting and auctioning the NFTs.

The four Beatles?NFT Interviews, which VOCR says have not been heard in decades, are entitled: John Lennon on “A Day in the Life”; Paul McCartney on “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard”; George Harrison on “Abbey Road”; and Ringo Starr on “His Lost Medallion.”

The VOCR Archive is home to 650 historic interviews and radio shows featuring what it says is “virtually every major rock music icon during the period of 1964 to 2008”, including The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and more.

Each VOCR/Beatles NFT will include unique artwork and a WAV file of the interview.

The NFTs will be minted on the Ethereum blockchain and bidders can only use Ethereum (ETH) to make a bid.

Each NFT carries a minimum bid of 1.25 Ethereum (approximately $4,200)

MASTERSOUNDS LAUNCHES NEW HIGHEND HIFI SYSTEM CLARITY A

MasterSounds –?the UK company that manufactures bespoke rotary mixers and high-end audio equipment –?has announced a new hi-fi system for ‘music lovers’, called Clarity A. The system includes two cube-style speakers called Cube:6 and a subwoofer called Sub:8, both numbers referring to the cone size in inches. The whole system is subtly designed to fit in both a public venue or in your own private listening space.?

The speakers are active, meaning you don’t need a separate amp and they can be plugged directly into your audio source via the Sub:8. The system is built with MasterSounds own products in mind, with their Radius DJ mixer range a popular choice for those looking to go beyond the industry standards.?

Ryan Shaw, MasterSounds founder, said: “Clarity A is the secret that we are so excited to have finally released. When we listened to what the final product had to offer, it was an indescribably proud moment. Looking at the smiles around the MasterSounds test room, I knew we had created something truly special.”

The new hi-fi system costs ￡1,995 and each set is handmade to order in 14 days.?Find out more on the MasterSounds website.?

Written by?Anthony Vanger

Additional research and reporting by?Adam "Badger" Woolf

Artwork by?Badger

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