Moon Safari Blows Fresh Air on the Hollywood BowlWhen Air's Moon Safari was released in 1998, it really cemented the fact that some of the most exciting electronic music in the world was coming out of France. Just one year earlier, Paris outfit Daft Punk had dropped their debut album Homework, and singles such as "Around the World" exploded into the charts. But Moon Safari was better still--a heady blend of space pop, contemporary jazz and dream pop.Since then, the Versaille duo have released five more studio albums plus a couple of soundtracks, and some EPs. Outside of 2016's compilation Twentyears, however, their last new release came in 2014 with Music for Museum, a commission for the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille as part of their Open Museum project.Their show at the Hollywood Bowl was split into two sets: Moon Safari in its entirety, and then choice cuts from their other records. More special still was the fact that the music was enhanced by the brilliance of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.HB25 Air with Orchestra / KCRW Festival - Hollywood Bowl - September 21, 2025

Truth be told, there were moments when the gentle, orchestral sounds were drowned out by what was going on literally directly above them. But when it did work, when the two worlds collided effectively, magic happened.The order of events for Set 1 contained no surprises. Naturally, "La Femme D'Argent" kicked things off, the opening track on the album. Then came smash hit single "Sexy Boy," with it's cyber hook and gloriously manipulated vocal refrain. It was one of the best electronic tunes of the '90s, and it sounded incredible in Hollywood.Other highlights from Moon Safari included "Talisman" and "New Star in the Sky," and then it was time for set 2.

We got three songs from 2001's 10 000 HZ Legend, including an electrifying "Don't Be Light," and th closing "Electronic Performers." Four were pulled from 2004's Talkie Walkie, with the highlight being a super-sweet "Cherry Blossom Girl." Some of the more gentle moments from that record, such as "Alone in Kyoto" and "Venus" allowed the orchestra to really shine.Additionally, to tracks were performed from Air's score for the movie The Virgin Suicides. These were a real treat and, again, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra beefed up the tunes beautifully.

That was that. An incredible performance, primarily of a 27-year-old album that doesn't sound dated at all. Still, one can only hope that we get something new from Air soon.Photographs taken by Timothy Norris​​​ at the Hollywood Bowl, provided courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
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The post Moon Safari Blows Fresh Air on the Hollywood Bowl first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

On… Spotify and the ‘more free’ burger giveaway.MBW founder Tim Ingham on Spotify making 'free' better, in its bid to fight YouTube and TikTok
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Southwest Metalcore band BLOSSOMS FALL sign with Eclipse Records News broke on Tuesday that Eclipse Records has announced the signing of BLOSSOMS FALL, a metalcore band from Albuquerque, NM."The band recently finished recording their debut EP entitled La Alma with Matt Torres of Nightscape Recordings (Lights on the Coast, Wasted Potency) producing the album, and mastered by Kevin Thrasher (Escape the Fate, Machine Gun Kelly, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne) at Thrasher Productions. La Alma will be released via Eclipse Records on February 6, 2026," reads a statement.“Having met some members of Mushroomhead while recording an EP with Producer/Engineer Don DeBiase back in 2014 and opening for the band Bobaflex around that time as well, I've often heard of Eclipse Records and appreciated the label's contribution to the Metal scene.” says guitarist Matt Torres. “Now that my new band can debut with Eclipse Records, I'm ecstatic to become part of the ongoing front and hope to make an impact on the Modern Metal scene. This record is different, but it will hopefully open up doors to a wider audience and bridge gaps in the industry.” Vocalist Shay Raelynn adds "I’m very grateful for this opportunity. Eclipse Records has an amazing roster and I am so happy to be a part of it. The excitement is real for the opportunities that may be presented while working with them, and it’s going to be a great time!" Dion Elliott (drums) also adds “We’re very excited to be a part of Eclipse Records. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be among such amazing artists on an independent label with creative freedom. This is gonna be a blast!”Pre-Save or Pre-Order La Alma at this location. For more information about Blossoms Fall and their La Alma album, please visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or Eclipse Records, and follow them on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, YouTube Music, Tidal, and Deezer now!

The post Southwest Metalcore band BLOSSOMS FALL sign with Eclipse Records first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

ElevenLabs secures NVIDIA investment, weeks after launching AI music platform to challenge SunoElevenLabs launched Eleven Music, a rival to Suno and Udio, in August. The launch marked its expansion beyond voice synthesis into full AI music generation.
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Self-enTitiled: That Song from That Band on That AlbumThe clearest way for a band to kick down the door, stride into the room and announce "Here we are, motherscratchers! Take Note!"? is by naming not only an album, but also a song after their own band name. The hubris! The gall! The self-importance! The trinity! The triumvirate! The trifecta! Let's celebrate those songs by that band off of that album (all with the same name).

Ten Songs to Celebrate the Start of Fall (cont.)The Kinks"Autumn Almanac"

Frank Sinatra"Little Green Apples"

The Flaming Lips"My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion"

Hayley Williams"Cinnamon"

Nat King Cole"Autumn Leaves

The post Ten Songs to Celebrate the Start of Fall (cont.) first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Denis Ladegaillerie sees the future of music. It looks nothing like the past.The Believe founder and CEO on taking his company private, the industry's 'middle tier' of artists, Universal/Downtown, and more
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Film - TV - Theater - Games: DropsMercury Studios has announced the Blu-ray release of Peter Gabriel: Taking the Pulse, which drops on October 10 and captures the former Genesis front man’s powerful performance with the New Blood Orchestra. Filmed at the historic Arena di Verona in Italy in 2010 and directed by Anna Gabriel, the concert features Gabriel performing songs from his album New Blood with bold orchestral reinterpretations of his beloved songs, arranged by John Metcalfe. With 50 musicians, vocalists Melanie Gabriel and Ane Brun, and a striking visual backdrop, the film showcases Gabriel’s enduring artistry through a dramatic, reimagining of his most popular songs. Get it at store.mercurystudios.co.Depeche Mode’s concert film Depeche Mode: M will receive a limited theatrical and IMAX release beginning on October 28 and following the film’s Tribeca premiere earlier in the year. Directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra (Oscar-nominated I’m No Longer Here), the documentary captures the band’s three sold-out Mexico City performances to more than 200,000 fans at Estadio GNP Seguros during the English electronic group’s Memento Mori Tour in 2023. Released through Sony Music Vision and Trafalgar Releasing, the film screened in more than 2,500 theaters worldwide. Blending live performance with cultural storytelling, Depeche Mode: M examines music, mortality and Mexican death traditions, while celebrating the musical legacy of the band. Find out if the film will be showing near you at depechemodem.com. GRAMMY Award-winning composer Carla Patullo released her new album Nomadica, inviting listeners into a “dreamlike realm of memory and music.” Influenced by the loss of her mother, Patullo crafted an entrancing soundscape of ethereal vocals, orchestral swells and electronic pulses, while weaving in recordings of trains, water, and wind. Featuring contributions from Martha Mooke, Lorenza Ponce, Leah Coloff, Tonality choir, Martha Wainwright, Frederika Krier, and the Scorchio Quartet, this album is a musical journey through grief and healing, and a meditation on love and connection. For more information, contact Sarah Roche at sarah@whitebearpr.com.T-65b Records has released the Original Game Soundtrack for Giant Squid’s Sword of the Sea, featuring music by award-winning composer Austin Wintory. Departing from his lush orchestral and global folk styles, Wintory crafted a score centered on solo piano and children’s choir, with solo strings contributed by cellist Tina Guo, custom Native American drone flutes and winds by Kristin Naigus, men’s choir, and electronics. As in all Giant Squid titles, the score is dynamic and adapts to gameplay, underscoring an atmospheric surfing adventure that explores humanity’s relationship with nature. It’s inspired by classic skateboarding and snowboarding games. Contact Chris Galasso at chris@whitebearpr.com for further details. FX and Hollywood Records has released Alien: Earth (Original Soundtrack), created by Emmy-winning composer Jeff Russo (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, The Last Rodeo) as the musical companion to the first of the sci-fi horror Alien franchise to take place on Earth. Russo brought in new musical textures while honoring the franchise’s earlier two scores, sustaining the haunting tension of the original film—the Ridley Scott creation released in 1979—while channeling the momentum of the second film. Russo used voices with acoustic instruments to humanize the score, which he said was to find the connection between alien, human and hybrid, amplifying the series’ high-stakes narrative of survival and terror on Earth. For more information, contact Chris Galasso at chris@whitebearpr.com.The post Film - TV - Theater - Games: Drops first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Tip Jar: Bringing Music To Life In A Visually Authentic WayBy Baz HalpinTo help put what I do as a producer and director into perspective from a musical lens, I’ll start off by rewinding to my early career—before working with incredible talents like Taylor Swift, Backstreet Boys, Usher, and P!nk. I was on a path to becoming a classical musician and playing in a symphony orchestra after university. I worked in the national concert hall in Dublin, Ireland and became friendly with a lighting technician. During my shifts, I would pull out a handful of lights, turn on the radio and try to program a musical sequence before the song finished. Sort of like a sprint. I quickly developed this passion for how the lights can become a musical instrument.This next part is pretty cliche… When I was 18, I was hanging floodlights on lampposts to light Guinness banners on a rainy night in Cork (a city in the south of Ireland). I had no idea who the client was, but it turned out to be a gentleman who was the lighting designer for many of the great rock bands of the ‘80s. He traveled all over the world and lived a life I knew nothing about. I had no idea that touring existed up until this point. He was enamored by the fact that I was willing to climb a lamppost in the rain and risk electrocution and thought there was something there. He gave me the opportunity to be the lighting roadie on tour with Jethro Tull in the U.K. I thought it would just be to make some money over the summer and ended up falling in love with it. Sort of like joining the circus, I never came back.I loved the creation in this role and the fact that you’re contributing to how the music is being received by the audience. I was the lighting designer for Queen when they reformed after Freddie’s passing, with Paul Rodgers as the frontman. The music of Queen is a lighting designer’s dream. The complexity, the variety and the energy of the music lends itself so perfectly to theatrics and dramatic lighting. When the music hits that peak, or when there’s a sudden crash out, a drum fill, a guitar solo, being able to mimic those musical moments with the visuals felt like I was contributing to the experience of the music. As a designer, you have that responsibility to understand musically what’s going on. It’s not just flashing lights to a beat, but finding the different instrumentation. What’s going to represent the strings when they enter? How do you leave yourself enough space to make everything look bigger and bigger if the song keeps going? Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” is a classic example of this. Fast forward to now, I am a director and producer, and the Founder and CEO of Silent House Group, an award-winning creative studio and production company out of L.A. To sum it up, I am responsible for bringing the music to life visually. So how do you do this in an authentic way and truly connect with your audience? Here are my tips from nearly three decades in this industry.TIP No. 1: My first tip for anyone looking to add lighting into their show starts with emotion. It can be expressed through lighting in many ways with color being the most obvious. I’ve always attributed certain music to specific colors (synesthesia) and it seems mostly nonnegotiable. Music connects and moves you in such a primitive, subconscious way and light has a similar trait. TIP No. 2: You don’t need to do everything all of the time. Don’t be afraid to go full bore and commit, but also don’t be afraid of drama or darkness. I think a lot of people get uncomfortable if there isn’t enough light on stage or if it’s a total blackout or if there’s a single spotlight on a singer. When you’re sculpting the light, you’re creating images and pictures. You’re telling a story by giving a visual home to the sonics you hear. It doesn’t always need to be flashing in time to the music. It doesn’t always need to be the brightest thing in the world. It just has to have light and shade. TIP No. 3: The third tip is to always have a clear line of communication with your lighting designer. The more descriptive you can be as an artist, the more educated your designer or creative director can be, and the better the final product. Oftentimes, what you don’t like is just as valuable as what you do like. Being able to reference images or other artists helps this tremendously. TIP No. 4: Originality. This can be the hardest thing, especially when we’re living in an age of algorithms. As an artist, look for somebody who has an original look, can understand you, and create something that is uniquely you. You want to stand out and be unique. I often hear artists saying they want to do something that’s never been done before. For the most part, everything has been done before, it’s just done in different ways. So it’s carving something out for you that feels original, but also feels authentic. Fans have a very clear understanding of their artists, and there’s sort of a contract when they come to see a show. Baz Halpin, Silent House Group CEO and Founder,  is a three-time Emmy Award winner who most recently produced Netflix’s first-of-its- kind live streaming event called Tudum 2025, Las Vegas Sphere residencies for Backstreet Boys and The Eagles, the live television special Opry100 on NBC, and returned for the second year to produce the 31st SAG Awards on Netflix. In 2024, Halpin produced the blockbuster film Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour, the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl Halftime performance, and Noche UFC at Las Vegas Sphere. Previously, he served as a producer on shows such as American Idol, American Music Awards, MTV European Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and iHeartRadio Music Awards. He is also known for his work in producing and creating concert tours and residencies, including but not limited to: Britney Spears’ Las Vegas residency, Katy Perry’s Play Las Vegas residency and Super Bowl Halftime performance; Taylor Swift’s Eras, Reputation, 1989, Red, and Speak Now tours; Harry Styles’ Love On Tour, Live On Tour, and his 2022 Coachella-headlining performance; Jonas Brothers’ Happiness Begins Tour; and P!nk’s Truth About Love, Beautiful Trauma, Summer Carnival, Funhouse, and I’m Not Dead tours. Halpin has also directed and produced performances at the Academy Awards, GRAMMY Awards, King Charles’ coronation, and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.The post Tip Jar: Bringing Music To Life In A Visually Authentic Way first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

From Live Nation’s FTC lawsuit to BMG’s landmark catalog deal… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days – all in one place
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DIY Spotlight: AINALos Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and producer AINA says that she wrote her first song when she was just nine years old. By the time she reached her teens, she realized that music is what she’s meant to do.“At 15, I taught myself to produce,” she says. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain the exact sound I hear in my head, and there weren’t a lot of people willing to produce a little girl’s songs, so I didn’t wait for anyone to believe in me—I learned to produce myself. Learning to produce gave me the freedom to create songs exactly the way I envisioned them. That’s when it stopped being just a dream and started feeling like my purpose.”According to the musician, she describes her sound as pop but elaborates by saying that it’s her own version of pop.“Sometimes fun and playful, sometimes edgy and moody, and sometimes big and cinematic,” AINA says.MC caught an AINA show last year, when she weirdly opened for hair metal band Heaven’s Edge at the famous Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood. That wasn’t her crowd, but we were impressed by the manner with which she held her own. Her latest release is the “Dying to See You” track.“[It’s] about that butterfly-in-your-stomach feeling you get when you’re missing someone or about to see someone you love,” she says. “I wrote it, produced it, and designed the cover myself. It’s a fun, feel-good song that works anywhere whether you’re listening alone, sharing it with someone special, or playing it loud at a party.”AINA is still at the start of her career, but she has a great DIY work ethic. “DIY means not waiting around, you have to do it yourself (produce, write, make your own cover art, etc.). For me, it’s about being self-reliant. It’s not asking permission or waiting for someone else to believe in you. It’s making music without a manual, just you, your vision, and the will to figure it out.”Looking ahead, AINA has plenty planned for the coming months. “I have a lot planned,” she says. “I’m releasing a new single every month this year. My next one comes out September 30. I’m excited to keep experimenting, keep creating, and show different sides of me and my music.”Visit instagram.com/aina_xlThe post DIY Spotlight: AINA first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster sued by FTC over alleged ‘illegal ticket resale tactics’The Federal Trade Commission says Ticketmaster is profiting off of allowing scalpers to breach ticket purchase limits
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BMI Foundation Names Janette Mata as 2025 peermusic Latin Music Award RecipientBMI Foundation, Inc. announced on Wednesday that it "has named singer/songwriter Janette Mata as the 2025 peermusic Latin Music Award recipient in recognition of her original song 'Triste Despedida.'""The peermusic Latin Music Award, established in 2003 by peermusic CEO Ralph Peer II, is an annual competition for young songwriters and composers of Latin music," a statement reads. "The award includes a $5,000 monetary prize for the best original song or instrumental composition in any Latin genre. Last year, on the 20th anniversary of the award, peermusic announced that Venezuelan singer-songwriter and producer Jorge Luis Chacín would serve as the spokesperson for the award and offering 1:1 artistic mentorship to awardees."“Music always finds new voices to continue telling the story of our humanity,” shared Chacín. “We celebrate Janette Mata, a singer-songwriter of extraordinary talent, whose art makes her a deserving recipient of this year’s scholarship.”"In the last two decades, the award has recognized twenty-one emerging songwriting and composing talents who have gone on to careers as film and media composers, songwriters, actors, and performers. Notable past recipients include singer/actor Mane de la Parra and songwriter Daniela Blau. Past judges have included composer Kike Santander, Latin Grammy President Gabriel Abaroa, composer Daniel Freiberg, producer Alcover, musician Linda Briceño, producer Andrés Saavedra, and musician Nicolás Junca from the band Monsieur Periné; and superstars such as Juanes, Chayanne, and Prince Royce have previously served as the spokesperson for the award."Listen to Janette Mata’s award-winning song “Triste Despedida”here.The post BMI Foundation Names Janette Mata as 2025 peermusic Latin Music Award Recipient first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Investors bet $800M on rocky StubHub IPO as regulators close inUPDATED: The long awaited StubHub IPO hit the market today, marking a defining moment for the secondary ticketing industry. Priced at $23.50 per share, the offering raised nearly $800 million and gave the company a valuation of about $8.6 billion. By day's end shares were down 6.4% below the IPO price.
The post Investors bet $800M on rocky StubHub IPO as regulators close in appeared first on Hypebot.

Meet the new music streaming service that’s ditched algorithmic playlists… and it’s licensed by all three majorsMBW's Trailblazers series meets Randy Fusee, CEO of music streaming platform Coda Music
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