Rather than doing a full wrap up of each day – here are a few quick highlights.
Panel – ‘Does Music Criticism Matter” – Esteemed music critics from Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Pitchfork and URB discussed the world of music journalism in the 21st century. Bemoaning the “economy of the click,” the importance of search engine optimized headlines and short 500 word pieces replacing long form magazine journalism and how the online audience dictates what is covered (due to the exact statistics,) the panelists also focused on positive such as the relevance of printed magazines is still in evidence. In the magazine world, the reader is more likely to experience music they don’t already know about because they have actively purchased the magazine as opposed to online where people tend to read about music they already have heard. On similarities between DJing and writing, Joshua Glazer (URB) shared the sentiment of “I like it, I want to share it” on his motivation for both. While most agreed that they choose not to write negative reviews preferring to write about what they like, Nick DeCosemo (MixMag) shared the obvious point that “negative reviews are more fun to read.” Probably the best quote came from Joshua about the difficulty of reviewing events and having to remember that “the worst party I ever went to is the best night of someone else’s life.”
Beamlab – the conference about visuals and stage design kicked off to packed room at the Pakhuis de Zwijger with presentations by Eyesupply (video designer for Armin van Buuren), Heather Shaw of Vita Motus (design firm for touring visuals of Amon Tobin and Infected Mushroom) and performance artists Addictive TV. Of special interest is the recent move of Addictive TV from Pioneer DVJ decks (which they helped design) to an integrated Resolume/Traktor software platform using double laptops. Watch for an Addictive TV interview coming soon.
Speaking of interviews – I interviewed rising Dutch duo Firebeatz and Italian pranksters DJs from Mars.
For evening events, in addition to the Beamlab opening, I stopped by the 1 Management party which was already going large at 9pm and Nicky Romro’s big party at Jimmy Woo. Daddy’s Groove opened the downstairs with massive energy and the special guest was rumored to be David Guetta. Unfortunately, having started the day coming right off an international flight, I was too worn out to make it through the entire event.
Quote of the Day: In an effort to get people to return after the break, the host of Beamlab promised “3D rendering of robot porn” which had everyone laughing.
Tracks of interest I heard about:
Kat Krazy ft Susie Ledge “See the Sun”
Sam Skilz “Don’t Stop Pushing”
Mitch Major “Get On the Floor”
Belocca “Back to the Old School”
Nightstylerz “Pressure”
Dirtcaps & The Million Plan “Money On My Mind”