Here in the Product department, we’re always busy building cool stuff to make life (and business) easier for our clients. This time, we’re very pleased to announce the launch of a brand new Accounting section. Please, everyone, calm down. Excuse me, sir, can you put your shirt back on? This …
Videos are by far the most engaging form of social content. This isn’t exactly a new discovery, but there’s a lot of missed potential by bands that claim to have a YouTube presence. The common misconception is that your music videos go up on YouTube and you’re done. Although MTV …
Plugging — it’s a word we often hear in relation to promoting something, recommending it, giving it your stamp of approval. iPluggers does just that for your music, and it does it all around the world. With a 100% airplay guarantee (or your money back), iPluggers provides the platform for …
Meet our latest partner: Conduit Mobile. The mobile app creator is getting all kinds of press these days, and it’s not without good reason. Their sexy app offers every function you could dream of with the ease of use you’ve always wanted. What’s more, they’re compatible with all major mobile …
Comedy is arguably the top category on YouTube after Music. Most of the programming innovations are coming from Comedy channels; a lot of YouTube’s original content funding is going to Comedy channels; and a lot of viewers are heading to YouTube to LOL. In honor of this, YouTube launched its first ever Comedy Week last night at 8PM ET, and new live shows will stream each night at that time until Saturday, May 25.
Numerous promos have run the past couple of weeks, though the team responsible for YouTube at The Orchard has a favorite in the in-house video created by YouTube featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can find others over at this AdWeek piece.
YouTube’s own channel is serving as the official guide to Comedy Week. They’re even showing off an interesting shift toward dedicated viewing times further down on the page. Today’s highlights include The Lonely Island, Reggie Watts, The Gregory Brothers, Ricky Gervais, Improv Everywhere, Sarah Silverman, and numerous others.
Keep an eye out for more themed events coming up throughout the year. Who knows, maybe Shakespeare Week is just around the corner!
As the hysteria around Daft Punk’s new album reaches fever pitch, I thought we should step out of the box and look at what has helped drive the Dance music world: Technology of course!!! Our favorite thing after music.
It’s a known fact that the whole musical landscape has changed as technology has evolved. The world of Dance music, more than most, has seen the influence of technology affect pretty much everything from the way music is made to how it’s played out. A number of glorious inventions over the years have created gadgets, software, hardware… but which one has made the biggest impact that over the course of history?
Since we’ve all got a bit of tech geek in us one way or another (if you love your iPhone you’re a tech geek), today we run down 5 of the most influential tech inventions for the Dance world.
5. Roland TB 303
A fairly standard bass synth, nothing too out there — to the point where the 303 would have been consigned to the dumper if DJ Pierre hadn’t discovered the alien acid squelch locked deep in its circuits back in ’85. He captured the sound on tape as “Acid Tracks” and the rest, they say, is history.
4. Pioneer CDJ-1000
Want to see a vinyl obsessive cry? Remind them of the day when Pioneer perfected CD decks. In 2001, the CDJ-1000 became the club standard and wrenched DJing away from the 12”s and into the hands of anybody who could burn a CD off their computer.
3. Roland TR-808
With its eerie handclaps, tinny snares and booming bass, the 808 single-handedly sent Disco into space. When it dropped in ’81, critics moaned that its distinctive ‘boom-tish’ sounded nothing like a real drum kit — but forward-thinking bedroom producers knew that was the whole point.
2. Rosie The Mixer
Francis Grasso may get the credit as the first DJ to mix two records, but he couldn’t have done it without little Rosie. Named after inventor Alex Rosner, this one-off design enabled Frank to seamlessly blend between two tunes (or cue up a car crash).
And the winner is…
1. Technics SL-1200
These are the original and still the best turntables, with their older brothers the 1210’s. See that DJ sheepishly fiddling with an iPad and a couple of leads? He’d much rather be cutting loose behind a couple of these. A high end record deck designed for Disco yuppies in 1979, the original ones and twos were hijacked by Hip Hop, supercharged House and provided lift-off for every Dance genre since. By offering push-button precision, they let DJs chop up records on a dime — and look good doing it. Technics stopped production in 2010, but whether future DJs choose to play off laptops, phones or whatever, these babies will live on in Dance music DNA forever.
So what will be next? The new ‘toy’ that is a box of tricks that promises to be a one-stop music making device. Could it forever change the way bedroom DJs bring music to the masses or the way a superstar DJ creates the next big tune? Could the Traktor Z2, CNTRL:R or OP-1 be the ‘one?’ Technology is forever changing; blink and you might miss it.
Today is the day, friends. That special day you look forward to each week that signifies “you made it!,” “kick back yo’ feet!” and “free music from The Orchard!” It’s also the last Friday before Summer Fridays begin at The Orchard. Summer Fridays (how many times do you think I can say “Friday” in this post?) are when our office closes at 2PM between Memorial Day and Labor Day and you realize how much our company rocks.
But regardless of whether you also benefit from Summer Fridays, or have a Monday-Friday kind of job where all the things I mentioned above apply, the one common thing we all have today is: it’s Freeloader Friday.
So jumping right in, this week we’ve got the track that goes with maybe the prettiest album art I’ve seen so far this year, courtesy of Hard Rock band ASG. Then, Pitchfork went on a roll this week with streams from Valient Thorr, Children of Bodom, Whirr and a cool remix of Local Natives‘ “Wooly Mammoth” entitled “Wooly Robot.” Australian-raised singer-songwriter Craig Dermody of Scott & Charlene’s Wedding sings us through what it’s like moving to NYC, and PANTyRAID give us something worth pillow-talking about with their album mini mix, out later this month on The Glitch Mob‘s imprint, Glass Air Records.
To close out, Young Galaxy and Har Mar Superstar grace us with music videos for their respective tracks “Fall For You” and “Lady, You Shot Me,” which snagged a Track of the Day title on Q The Music last week.
A pretty rad selection this week, if I may say so myself! Queuing these up now on Ex.fm.
Happy Friday! (Thought I’d throw it in there one more time for good measure.)
ASG: “Blood Drive” track premiere via Stereogum
Blood Drive out June 28 on Relapse
Valient Thorr: “No Strings Attached” via Pitchfork
Our Own Masters out June 18 on Volcom Entertainment
Children of Bodom: “Halo of Blood” via Pitchfork
Halo Of Blood out June 11 in North America on Nuclear Blast
Whirr: “Swoon” via Pitchfork
Around out July 9 on Graveface
Local Natives: “Wooly Robot (Remix)” via Pitchfork
Hummingbird out now on Frenchkiss Records
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding: “Fakin’ NYC” track premiere via Spin
Any Port In a Storm out July 22 on Fire Records
PANTyRAID: Album Mini Mix via Life + Times
Pillow Talk out May 28 on Glass Air
Young Galaxy: “Fall For You” music video via YouTube
Ultramarine out now on Paper Bag Records
Har Mar Superstar: “Lady, You Shot Me” music video premiere and free download via Stereogum
Bye Bye 17 out now on Cult Records
While Spring is a time of new beginnings, inevitably, in the world of network television, it is often a season of finality. And while a lot of this feeling comes from programming being cancelled due to poor ratings, every couple of years we bid farewell to characters that have endeared themsleves to the American public and whose stories have dominated conversations from water-coolers to family dinner tables.
Last night, NBC turned out the lights on “The Office,” ending a nine-season run as one of the network’s most consistently funny (and syndicated) shows, and The Orchard’s sync department played an instrumental role in helping wrap up one of the most bizarre love stories of a generation — literally.
As Angela is carried down the aisle, you may have recognized Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” in the background. That instrumental, performed by The Instrumental Brothers, was licensed courtesy of our label, Shamrock-n-Roll. We’re thrilled to have played a role in this farewell and look forward to seeing what’s next for the many stars that made this ensemble cast great.
So was this an iconic television moment? A few seasons too late? The death of network television? Let us know what you think in the comments!
Today we announce the re-birth of the Maestro Classical Podcast which features new releases, old classics and deep tracks from the depths of some of the best independent labels around. Each month, it brings you 3-6 songs that will keep you continuously in tune with the best independent classical music available. The focus is more on the music vs. the commentary but these podcasts are not only for the classically-inclined listener. The short monthly podcasts allow for a curated selection that is the sure to be the cream of the crop.
The relaunch after a brief hiatus begins with the first installment: Maestro 035: New in 2013 (thus far)
Don’t forget to follow Maestro Classical on Facebook, keep up with the podcasts on iTunes and visit the website to search old podcasts and stay on top of current releases.
