Page 2753 – That Eric Alper

New Music Apps from Apple Transform iOS Devices into Handheld Studios for Songwriters & Beatmakers

Music

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Jan 20, 2016

Apple today announced a new addition and a major update to its family of music-making apps for iOS that make it easy for people to tap into their musical potential and create incredible music no matter where they are. An all-new app called Music Memos lets musicians and songwriters quickly capture, organize and develop their musical ideas right on their iPhone. And a major update to GarageBand for iOS introduces multiple new features, including Live Loops, a fun way for anyone to make music like a DJ using only their iPhone or iPad.

“Musicians around the world, from the biggest artists to aspiring students, use Apple devices to create amazing music; the innovative new Music Memos app will help them quickly capture their ideas on iPhone and iPad whenever inspiration strikes,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “GarageBand is the most popular music creation app in the world, and this update helps everyone easily tap into their musical talent with the powerful new Live Loops and Drummer features, and adds support for the larger iPad Pro screen and 3D Touch on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.”

“Sometimes ideas come faster than I can get them into my notebook so I’ve used Voice Memos and Notes to quickly capture songs before they’re lost. Music Memos is like if those two apps came together to form some kind of superpower for songs,” said Ryan Adams, critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and producer. “It quite literally blew my mind how Music Memos could transform a single guitar idea into a whole composition with a virtual drummer loose enough that it felt like you were having your mind read by some A.I. musician and a choice of stand-up or electric bass accompaniments.”

“I recorded my first album using GarageBand and I continue to use it in my music today,” said T-Pain, Grammy Award-winning artist and producer. “I love how the new Live Loops in GarageBand lets me quickly build tracks and beats, and even perform effects like a musical instrument. It’ll change the way an entire generation makes music.”

Musicians and songwriters around the world have used the Voice Memos app on their iPhone to quickly record ideas, and many hit songs first started as Voice Memos. The new Music Memos app is inspired by Voice Memos and takes the functionality even further by adding musician-friendly features designed specifically for songwriting and developing musical ideas. With Music Memos, you can record any musical instrument through the iPhone’s built-in microphone in a high-quality, uncompressed format, then name, tag and rate it to start building a library of your ideas. The app can analyze rhythm and chords of acoustic guitar and piano recordings, and instantly add drums and a bass line to provide a virtual, customizable backing band that plays along to match the feel of your song. Music Memos can even provide basic notation that displays the chords that were played. With iCloud your Music Memos are automatically available across all your Apple devices so you can open them in GarageBand or Logic Pro X to further develop your songs. Musicians can easily share their ideas via email or with their fans through Apple Music Connect. For more information about the new Music Memos app, visit, www.apple.com/ca/music-memos.

GarageBand for iOS is the world’s most popular mobile music creation app, and the new GarageBand 2.1 update introduces Live Loops, an entirely new and intuitive way to create amazing music. Inspired by DJ hardware controllers and drum machines, Live Loops makes it easy for anyone to create music by simply tapping cells and columns in a highly visual grid to trigger different looped instruments and samples. The loops can be performed, arranged and remixed Iive, and GarageBand automatically keeps all the beats in sync with perfect time and pitch. To get you started, Live Loops comes with a library of Apple-designed loop templates in a variety of genres including EDM, Hip Hop, Dubstep and Rock, or you can create your own loops from scratch.

GarageBand 2.1 for iOS also includes the new Drummer feature with nine EDM and acoustic virtual session drummers that provide their own signature sound, as well as an expanded selection of amps for bass players. Advanced GarageBand users can now create even more dynamic and polished sounding songs using new automation features, controls recording and a new simple EQ. GarageBand 2.1 looks stunning on the expansive 12.9-inch Retina display on the new iPad Pro and gives you access to even more controls and room to play. And on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the app now supports 3D Touch, allowing you to play with more expression. For more information about the new GarageBand for iOS, visit, www.apple.com/ca/ios/garageband.

Music Memos is available for free on the App Store and is compatible with iPhone 4s and later, and iPad 2 and later. GarageBand 2.1 for iOS is bundled free with new iOS devices 32GB and larger, is available as a free upgrade for existing users with compatible iOS 9 devices or later, and is available to everyone else for $6.99 via the App Store.

Explanation of how records are made featuring Duke Ellington

Music

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Jan 20, 2016

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How the film came into being was described in the July 1937 edition of Melody News:

Last month, a crew of cameramen, electricians and technicians from the Paramount film company set up their paraphernalia in the recording studios of Master Records, Inc. for the purpose of gathering ‘location’ scenes for a movie short, now in production, showing how phonograph records are produced and manufactured. Duke Ellington and his orchestra was employed for the studio scenes, with Ivie Anderson doing the vocals.

Narrated by Alois Havrilla, a pioneer radio announcer, the film shows you how records were actually recorded, plated and pressed. It’s a great relic from the vinyl era, which you will want to couple with this 1956 vinyl tutorial from RCA Victor.

Via Open Culture

New Comedy Drama “Foreign Bodies” Hitches A Ride To E4

Music

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Jan 20, 2016

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E4 is strapping on its backpack and going travelling, having commissioned an exciting and funny original comedy-drama series Foreign Bodies (8 x 45’) from Eleven.

Foreign Bodies is the story of a motley gang of travellers embarking on a three month trip around Asia. British lads Sean and Dylan meet American girls May and Ashley in Beijing and opt to undergo the first leg of their travels together, but soon find that their journey takes them much further than any of them expected.

Despite wielding Lonely Planet guides, digital cameras and water purification tablets, our gang is not treating this as a holiday, and all have a personal quest that’s brought them halfway round the world. May wants to meet her extended family in China and reconnect with her roots, Ashley is hell-bent on cramming in a lifetime of exotic experiences before she starts her high-flying career back home, Dylan wants to track down and win back his ex-girlfriend, Sean wants to shed his innocence and forcibly grow up, and Greg, a 38 year old divorcee who doesn’t want to travel alone, hopes to roll back the years and relive the wild hedonism of his youth..

Will the gang manage to find the nirvana they seek as they camp on the Great Wall, wade through jungles in Malaysia, rub shoulders with ex-pats in Singapore and the crowds that throng the banks of the Ganges? Or will they lose their money, their passports and control of their bowels in a filthy backpacking hostel that doesn’t exist on Google maps? None of them get what they hoped for, but all gain something better, as they learn that no matter how far you go and how hard you try, you can’t take a holiday from yourself.

Piers Wenger, Head of Drama for Channel 4, commented: “Tom’s script captures perfectly the pleasures and the pain of the gap year backpacker as he follows the experiences of five young travellers on an epic and hilarious quest to find paradise while also trying to find themselves.”

Executive Producers Joel Wilson and Jamie Campbell of Eleven added; “We’re thrilled to be embarking – quite literally – on this adventure with Tom. He’s a brilliant, funny and deeply perceptive writer and in Jonathan we have a hugely dynamic and inventive director. E4 is a fantastically audacious, exciting broadcaster and – alongside eOne – the perfect partner for this extraordinary show.”

Foreign Bodies is written by Tom Basden, whose previous credits include Fresh Meat, The Wrong Mans and Plebs. Jonathan van Tulleken (Misfits, Top Boy) is on board to direct several episodes. The writing team includes James Wood (Rev), Tony Roche (Veep, In The Loop, Holy Flying Circus), Rob Delaney (Catastrophe), Charlie Covell (Banana, Burn Burn Burn, awarded BAFTA breakthrough Brit), and Edinburgh Comedy award-winning writers Tim Key (Alan Partridge) and Johnny Sweet (Together).

This is the second E4 commission for Eleven, who previously produced Glue, which aired on E4 in 2014 and The Enfield Haunting for Sky last year. Foreign Bodies is executive produced by Eleven’s Jamie Campbell (Glue, The Enfield Haunting) and Joel Wilson (Glue, The Enfield Haunting), the series was commissioned for E4 by Piers Wenger, Head of Drama for Channel 4, and commissioning editor Roberto Troni, and will begin filming in 2016. Entertainment One (eOne), the global independent studio, serves as a co-production partner on Foreign Bodies and will handle worldwide distribution.

Future superstars to make waves in 2016

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Yesterday on Canada AM, I picked 5 artists to watch in 2016 – Scott Helman, Halsey, Sam Hunt, Christina Carpenter, and Elle King. Due to a cuter-than-cute video of a sleeping panda bear I just had to comment on, I didn’t have time to talk about Scott, who lists his main influences as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Damian Rice, The Cure and Pink Floyd, which is exactly what you want your next rock and roll idol to listen to. He’s got a great record collection, and attitude to match. Live, he’ll play his massive hit Bungalow and then Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash as if he wrote it. The parents love him, the teens want to hang out with him. He’s James Dean with a guitar. And Scott, my apologies for not getting to you.

OK, now onto the video.

Tale of Tall Boy: The Origin of the Inflatable Man

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Tale of Tall Boy: The Origin of the Inflatable Man

“On sale now!” “Best offer today only!” You have definitely seen those weird floppy inflatable men on roadsides around the country. But did you know these spineless vinyl shills have a real back story? Great Big Story delve into the history of advertising’s most dynamic pitchmen.

Have you cried yet over David Bowie? No? You will after watching this video

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Have you cried yet over David Bowie? No? You will after watching this video

A collective shock was felt when David Bowie passed this past Sunday, a couple days after his 69th birthday. Choir! Choir! Choir! immediately teamed up with the Art Gallery of Ontario to pay tribute by singing their original arrangement of Space Oddity with 500 singers. To the 20 people who downgraded this video, would it have helped if Bowie himself made an appearance? Sheesh.

Dave Bidini, Alex Lifeson, and Terra Lightfoot are going to be sharing their funniest stories from the road

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Dave Bidini, Alex Lifeson, and Terra Lightfoot are going to be sharing their funniest stories from the road

The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (TOsketchfest) is proud to present an evening of comedy and music with HELLO! THUNDER BAY! on Monday, March 7 at the Randolph Theatre, plus over 70 sketch comedy troupes at the 2016 Festival. The 11th Anniversary TOsketchfest will present the best sketch comedy in North America March 3-13, 2016.

HELLO! THUNDER BAY!, hosted by Dave Bidini of Rheostatics, will feature musicians such as Alex Lifeson, Terra Lightfoot, David Quinton Steinberg, Tom Power, and Odario Williams sharing their funniest stories from the road, while Canada’s musically-inclined comedians such as Gavin Crawford, Jessica Holmes, and Sean Cullen, perform hilarious parody songs.

HELLO! THUNDER BAY! happens on March 7, 2016 at the Randolph Theatre, and you can go here to buy tickets. TOsketchfest 2016 will host over 70 troupes from across North America, March 3-13, 2016 at The Theatre Centre, Comedy Bar and Randolph Theatre.

The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is Toronto’s comedy festival, highlighting the best live, scripted comedy in North America all in one place. Since 2005 the Festival has brought sketch comedy to wider audiences with ticketed and free performances showcasing hundreds of artists in acts such as Kate McKinnon, Kids in the Hall, Michael Ian Black, Kurt Braunohler, Sassy Gay Friend, FrankenMatt, Picnicface, and The Irrelevant Show.

For tickets, go to www.torontosketchfest.com

Slaight Music Announces Kayla Diamond As Winner Of “It’s Your Shot 2015”

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Slaight Music Announces Kayla Diamond As Winner Of “It’s Your Shot 2015”

Slaight Music – champion and prime supporter of the Canadian music industry – announced today that Kayla Diamond is the winner of “It’s Your Shot 2015”, Canada’s premiere songwriting and artist development competition. The contest, which drew over 1,000 entrants, encourages artists from all music genres to submit a song and/or video to www.itsyourshot.ca for a chance to win a Grand Prize valued at $50,000.

The “It’s Your Shot” competition is one of the many initiatives put forth by Slaight Music—a company focused on discovering, developing, inspiring and supporting Canadian recording artists.

Each year, Slaight Music partners with one of Canada’s major record labels to support this initiative. This year Kayla Diamond will receive distribution, radio promotion, publicity, and marketing support via MapleMusic Recordings Canada, along with a professional photo session, a professionally written biography, the development of an artist website, social network pages and an opportunity to perform at a high-profile musical event in 2016.

“I could not be more thrilled to have been given such an opportunity to share my music with the world,” said Kayla Diamond, It’s Your Shot 2015 winner. “Having started writing my own music a short while ago, it is truly a dream come true to be able to join my new family at Slaight Music. I look forward to giving it my best shot!”

“As we go through the submissions each year, we are impressed and inspired by the creativity and quality of music that is written and produced by Canadian artists,” said Ali Slaight, Slaight Music Talent Development Coordinator. “We are excited to announce Kayla Diamond as this year’s winner and we look forward to working with her.”

Derrick Ross, President of Slaight Music comments, “Winning this competition is a giant step towards a successful musical career and we look forward to working with Kayla and our partners at MapleMusic Recordings to share Kayla’s talent with the world.”

“We are extremely happy to partner with Slaight Music’s It’s Your Shot competition this year,” said Iain Taylor, President and CEO of MapleMusic. “Our team was blown away by the participation and level of talent we received. Our congratulations to Kayla Diamond on being selected this year’s winner. We look forward to working with her and the Slaight team in launching her career.”

Past winners of the “It’s Your Shot” competition include: Liz Coyles (2011) who had a Top 20 hit with her debut single “Butterflies”; 2012 winner, Hamilton’s Thought Beneath Film, Jillea (2013), from Saint John, NB, whose debut single “Shattered” is currently climbing the Canadian Top 40 radio chart at #35* and 2014’s winner Sam Drysdale.

Coca-Cola Announces “One Brand” Global Marketing Approach

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Coca-Cola has unveiled its new global marketing strategy & creative campaign today.

Coca-Cola launches a new “One-Brand” Strategy that for the first time unites the family of Coca-Cola products under one brand. The new creative campaign, entitled Taste the Feeling launched at the Palais De Tokyo in Paris, today.

Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de Quinto said, “The new ‘One Brand’ approach will share the equity of Coca-Cola, across all Coca-Cola Trademark products, reinforcing our commitment to offer consumers choice with more clarity. This is a powerful investment behind all Coca-Cola products, showing how everyone can enjoy the specialness of an ice-cold Coca-Cola, with or without calories, with or without caffeine.”

Added de Quinto: “More than ever, we recognize people want their Coca-Cola in different ways, but whichever one they want, they want a Coca-Cola brand with great taste and uplifting refreshment. Through the ‘One Brand’ strategy we will move away from multiple brand campaigns, to one single iconic brand campaign that celebrates both the product and the brand.”

The global beverage giant will unveil the campaign over the next 12 months via a series of TV commercials, print images, as well as a special track featuring music stars Conrad Sewell and Avicii.

London born, Australia-raised singer Conrad Sewell was in Paris today to launch the new anthem, “Taste the Feeling’.

The anthem is part of a brand new Coca-Cola ‘One Brand’ global marketing strategy that, for the first time ever, unites Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, and Coca-Cola Life under the iconic Coca-Cola brand positioning in one global creative campaign. “Taste the Feeling” features the studio wizardry of Swedish DJ, artist and producer. A first acoustic version by Sewell is being featured in various TV spots for the new campaign and the lead single with Avicii will be released soon.

Sewell, an Australian singer, currently living in Los Angeles, was featured in the Kygo’s breakout 2015 single “Firestone,” which produced 300 million Spotify streams and 3 million-plus worldwide sales. Conrad has also toured with a number of notable artists such as Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5 and more recently Jess Glynne.

Grammy-nominated Avicii is best known for his work with Aloe Blacc on “Wake Me Up,”feel-good theme “Levels” and dance anthem “Hey Brother.” Avicii also collaborated with Wyclef Jean and Carlos Santana to create the official FIFA 2014 World Cup Anthem, “Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way).” Avicii has appeared in the top 10 of DJ Mag’s ‘Top 100 DJ’s’ rankings every year since 2011, reaching number 3 in both 2011 and 2012.

Sled Island Announces Peaches as 2016 Guest Curator, June 22-26 in Calgary, Canada

Music

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Jan 19, 2016

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Sled Island Announces Peaches as 2016 Guest Curator, June 22-26 in Calgary, Canada

Calgary’s Sled Island Music & Arts Festival returns from June 22nd to 26th, 2016 for its 10th year of thoughtful, eclectic and independent music and arts programming.

Organizers are thrilled to announce provocative musician-producer-filmmaker-performance artist Peaches as 2016 guest curator. Peaches’ curatorial selections will join over 250 additional bands, comedians, filmmakers and artists chosen by the festival in more than 35 venues across the city.

In addition to unleashing her top musical picks on the city, Peaches will perform at Flames Central on Saturday, June 25th. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 12th at 10am MST at SledIsland.com. Sled Island passes grant access (subject to capacity) and are currently on sale at SledIsland.com.

Each year, Sled Island’s guest curator helps set the direction and tone of the festival through specialized programming choices and with their presence at the event. Past curators have included Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, The Julie Ruin), John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), Tim Hecker, Andrew W.K., Colin Newman (Wire), Fucked Up, Scott Kannberg (Pavement) and more.

Sled Island will announce its first wave of 2016 artists on February 9th, 2016.