Signing Story with Robert DeLongDate Signed: 2024

Label: Round Hill Records

Type of Music: Alternative Electronic Pop

Management: Hardin Bourke Entertainment

Booking: Mike Hayes, Independent Artist Group

Legal: Denise Stevens, Pierson Ferdinand, LLP

Publicity: Ashley White, Ashley White Public Relations

Web: robertdelong.com

A&R: Michael Volk

Robert DeLong is a unique artist. Due to cross-pollination of electronic subgenres and a love of indie rock, his sound has as much in common with alternative pop as the thumping beats of all-night raves. He’s an innovative multi-instrumentalist, too, incorporating tools such as video game controllers and a laser harp into his visually arresting performances. 

In the beginning, DeLong’s artistic vision might not have been so clear. He admits to being naïve when he first signed with Glassnote Records. “I didn’t understand all the moving parts,” the former drummer for The Denouement admits. One decade, three full-length albums, and two EPs later, he was ready for a fresh start. Although the label had been a perfect fit, DeLong saw it was changing and the releases slowing down. He says a move, “felt like the right thing at the right time.”

Tasked with finding a new home were his managers, Chris Hardin and Brendan Bourke of Hardin Bourke Entertainment. Having been with the duo for years, DeLong entrusted them to carry out the mission. The pair began passing around a collection of demos featuring new material that eventually ended up on the desk of Michael Volk, President of Round Hill Records. Although other labels showed interest, “Nothing else came close as far as believing in the creative direction. It was kind of a no-brainer.”

DeLong also appreciated Round Hill’s deep promotional pockets. Trusting his managers’ judgment helped settle the decision. Further, Vick is a longtime fan, and it boded well that the label wanted to shift its focus from legacy artists onto newer names with fresh perspectives.

“I’m excited to put out this record,” DeLong states regarding his Round Hill debut, Playlist of Doom. Like the signing itself, the recording fell organically into place. “Everything felt natural. And it sounds awesome. That’s all because Round Hill made it easy for me.” The post Signing Story with Robert DeLong first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Justice Department sues RealPage over allegedly helping landlords collude to drive up rentsRealPage, which makes property management software, was sued Friday by the U.S. Justice Department and eight attorneys general for allegedly helping apartment and building managers around the country collude to drive up unit prices. The Richardson, Texas-based outfit is accused of contracting with rival landlords to absorb info about their rates and lease terms to […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Solana TVL hits near 1-year high — Will SOL price follow?The total value locked on Solana surged but is this enough to send SOL price to a new all-time high?

Tiny Custom Keyboard Gets RGBFull-size keyboards are great for actually typing on and using for day-to-day interfacing duties. They’re less good for impressing the Internet. If you really want to show off, you gotta go really big — or really small. [juskim] went the latter route, and added RGB to boot!
This was [juskim]’s attempt to produce the world’s smallest keyboard. We can’t guarantee that, but it’s certainly very small. You could readily clasp it within a closed fist. It uses a cut down 60% key layout, but it’s still well-featured, including numbers, letters, function keys, and even +,-, and =. The build uses tiny tactile switches that are SMD mounted on a custom PCB. An ATmega32U4 is used as the microcontroller running the show, which speaks USB to act as a standard human interface device (HID). The keycaps and case are tiny 3D printed items, with six RGB LEDs installed inside for the proper gamer aesthetic. The total keyboard measures 66 mm x 21 mm.
Don’t expect to type fast on this thing. [juskim] only managed 14 words per minute. If you want to be productive, consider a more traditional design.

Hackaday Podcast Episode 285: Learning Laser Tricks, Rocket Science, and a Laptop That’s Not a LaptopThis week on the Podcast, we have something a little different for you. Elliot is on vacation, so Tom was in charge of running the show and he had Kristina in the hot seat.
First up in the news: the 2024 Tiny Games Challenge is still underway and has drawn an impressive 44 entries as of this writing. You have until 9AM PDT on September 10th to show us your best tiny game, whether that means tiny hardware, tiny code, or a tiny BOM.
Then it’s on to What’s That Sound, which Tom and Kristina came up with together, so there will be no pageantry about guessing. But can you get it? Can you figure it out? Can you guess what’s making that sound? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt.
Now it’s on to the hacks, beginning with an open-source liquid-fueled rocket and a really cool retro trackball laptop. Then we’ll discuss screwdriver mange, the Wow! signal, and whether you’re using you’re calipers incorrectly. Finally, we look at a laptop that that isn’t really a laptop, and one simple trick to keep things aligned on your laser engraver.
Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.
Where to Follow Hackaday PodcastPlaces to follow Hackaday podcasts:

iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
RSS
YouTube
Check
out our Libsyn landing page

Episode 285 Show Notes:
News:

Show Us Your Minimalist Games, And Win

What’s that Sound?

Know that sound? Submit your answer for a chance at a Hackaday Podcast T-Shirt.

Interesting Hacks of the Week:

Open Source Liquid Rocket Reaches For The Sky
Laser Art Inspired By The Ford Motor Company
Learning How A Nuclear Missile Stays On Target
Fighting The Scourge Of “Screwdriver Mange”
WOW! It Wasn’t Aliens After All!
A Trackball Retro Laptop

Quick Hacks:

Tom’s Picks:

Are You Using Your Calipers Wrong?
Building A Paper Tape Reader To Read Bytes
Atari Announces The Atari 7800+ Nostalgia Console

Kristina’s Picks:

2024 Tiny Games Contest: Save The Stranded Puppies Of Moon Base P!
Help The LEGO Camera Become A Reality
2024 Tiny Games Contest: Coming At Ya With Zero-Dimensional PONG

Can’t-Miss Articles:

This Is Not A Laptop, It’s A KVM Combo
Laser Cutters: Where’s The Point?

From Hipgnosis’ next phase to TikTok’s indie takeover… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
Source

Riot Games partners with Virgin Music for ‘Arcane’ season 2 OSTArcane's season one soundtrack proved to be a major commercial and critical success
Source

Plugin Alliance offers 20 FREE plugins for producing, mixing, and mastering
We usually offer one freebie at a time. However, Plugin Alliance recently expanded its freeware bundle to include 20 plugins! The free bundle has been around for a while, but Plugin Alliance has upgraded it from eight to 20 plugins. The majority of the free plugins come from the developer Brainworx, with a little SPL [...]
View post: Plugin Alliance offers 20 FREE plugins for producing, mixing, and mastering

Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporatesTour cancellations are rising as more musicians struggle to earn money from live performances. What once accounted for 60% to 80% of most artists' revenue in the streaming era has become a far less reliable source of income.
The post Tour cancellations are rising as another reliable income source evaporates appeared first on Hypebot.

Vinyl and CD Sales: Why Physical Sales Still Matter in Some GenresVinyl and CD sales still matter. Some music genres, more than others, aren't ready to say goodbye to physical products. Discover why vinyl, CDs, and cassettes still reign supreme for certain audiences.
The post Vinyl and CD Sales: Why Physical Sales Still Matter in Some Genres appeared first on Hypebot.

1,300 Yamaha PSR-F52 keyboards stolen in massive gear theftA container housing 1,300 Yamaha PSR-F52 portable keyboards has been stolen, Yamaha Music UK has confirmed.
“Last night, Yamaha experienced a theft in which an entire container was stolen.” the company writes in an urgent press release. “The container held over 1,300 units of one product – the PSR-F52 portable keyboard.

READ MORE: Native Instruments samples Alicia Keys’ own Yamaha CP-70 electric piano for new virtual instrument, Alicia’s Electric Keys

Yamaha adds that given the volume of the goods stolen, it’s “unlikely” the keyboards will be sold on via individual sales, and that it’s more likely the thieves will attempt to sell the goods in bulk to music retail businesses in the UK.
The company requests that if anyone tries to sell you or your business a large number of PSR-F52 keyboards, report it to Joanne Homer, who can be reached at either Joanne.homer@music.yamaha.com or 07903 251878.

The Yamaha PSR-F52 is a portable entry-level keyboard with 61 keys, 144 instrument voices and 158 accompaniment styles.
Its price varies depending on retailer, but is most typically £79 at the time of writing. And with 1,300 units stolen, that represents over £100,000 in lost revenue if they remain unrecovered.
For more information on the PSR-F52, head to Yamaha.
The post 1,300 Yamaha PSR-F52 keyboards stolen in massive gear theft appeared first on MusicTech.

Jada Kingdom and Govana offer a Caribbean Music Case StudyLearn about the rise of Caribbean Music with a case study of two of its top torch-bearers Jada Kingdom and Govana. by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog At Symphonic, we. Continue reading
The post Jada Kingdom and Govana offer a Caribbean Music Case Study appeared first on Hypebot.

Wolff Audio’s MeMore personal monitor mixer Wolff Audio have announced the launch of an all-analogue monitor mixing unit aimed at both pro and serious home studios.

Afrojack says it was “disappointing” that Fred again.. used Splice samples on TenWhile Splice is an invaluable resource for producers, some believe artists shouldn’t rely too heavily on sample packs available within the platform in their music, particularly if they are a big name.
And when he found out Fred again.. used a Splice sample pack for Ten – the 2023 track from his upcoming album Ten Days – Afrojack says he was disappointed.

READ MORE: Watch Fred again.. play several unreleased tracks during intimate London rooftop set

In a new interview with XLNTSOUND, Ten is brought up as an example of a hit track which uses Splice loops, to which Afrojack replies: “It’s based off three Splice samples. To me, that was disappointing when I found out. ‘Oh my god, that’s four Splice sample loops on top of each other!’”
He goes on, “I love Fred again.., and he’s super talented, but when I found out that was a sample, I was like…”

Another well-known example of a track made with Splice samples is Sabrina Carpenter’s massive hit Espresso. The track was made using a sample pack called Power Tools Sample Pack III, by a creator named Oliver.

If you click on the link above and preview a file named “OLIVER_104_pop_loop_surf_dad_rhythm_C.wav”, you’ll hear that distinctive clean guitar hook that’s in the final version of Espresso.
“When I saw that I was like, so a guy took the beat that you produced, and then he looped it and played bass on it, and now it’s his publishing, his intellectual copyright,” Afrojack goes on.
“I’m like, whoa – all due respect to the guy, no disrespect, he used samples and the guy made it a sample – but you made a composition. The composition is the talent. The people appreciate the melody and the composition, they don’t appreciate the guy that put four samples on top of each other!”
While it’s true that selecting samples as key elements of a track does cut corners in terms of composition, there’s still a degree of creativity required in piecing random samples together, and filling the gaps with your own elements, too. Espresso, for example, while heavily reliant on samples, features a totally original bassline, which is undeniably one of the key groove makers of the song.

The post Afrojack says it was “disappointing” that Fred again.. used Splice samples on Ten appeared first on MusicTech.

How trip-hop went from obscurity to chart dominationWhen we look back at its roots, trip-hop was born out of a combination of originality, influence, and adventurous experimentation. In fact, most of the artists that we now associate with trip-hop never sought to make platinum-selling albums, or to even fall into a musical category for that matter.

READ MORE: Why indie labels are mastering the art of reissuing music

Bristol Origins
Deep in the 80s, with equal parts New York hip-hop influence and punk-rock DIY ethos, soundsystem DJ culture began to thrive in the southwest of England, with prominent groups like Bristol’s The Wild Bunch coming to the forefront. Besides turntablism, breakdancing, graffiti, and rap, there were strong Jamaican influences that would shape the sounds to come.
What may have begun as a satellite hip-hop movement quickly developed its own identity. Figures such as Neneh Cherry, Nellee Hooper, and Mark Stewart going on to become pioneers of the Bristol music scene in their own right.
The Wild Bunch dissolved into legend by the end of the 80s. But its core members, Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall, and Andrew Vowles formed Massive Attack, a group that immediately took the Bristol sound to a global audience.
In Massive Attack’s initial trajectory, Adrian Thaws aka Tricky made his bones as an artist on the first two albums, while a young producer and engineer named Geoff Barrow began his mentorship with producer Jonathan Sharp aka Jonny Dollar. While Geoff Barrow went on to form a groundbreaking band named after his hometown, Portishead, Tricky has become the quintessential exponent of the Bristol sound today.

Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy
Still regarded by many as one of the most important electronic records of all time, Unfinished Sympathy is an organic example of beat-sampling, soulful dance vocals, and high-brow string composition.
Starting with samples lifted from J.J. Johnson’s Parade Strut (Instrumental) and Planetary Citizen by John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu Orchestra, a drum loop inspired by Bob James’ Take Me to the Mardi Gras is then added, forming the main components of the groove.
In the studio, Massive Attack’s early creative approach was uncompromising and organic, with production techniques ranging from using sampled drum loops to classically orchestrated strings. Besides the group’s signature rapping in regional Bristolian accents, the vocals of Shara Nelson and Horace Andy became foundational to the Massive Attack sound.
There were always songs like Daydreaming that drew more directly from hip-hop roots. However, the songs that went on to define the group’s success were vocal collaborations with singer-songwriters like Tracey Thorn, Elizabeth Fraser, and Sarah Jay Hawley.
Portishead performing in Los Angeles, 2011. Image: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Massive Attack’s iconic debut, Blue Lines (1991) was recorded at Coach House Studios in Bristol, a location that would prove auspicious when Portishead recorded their groundbreaking and critically aclaimed debut album, Dummy (1994) in the very same studio.
Portishead began as a duo of Geoff Barrow and vocalist Beth Gibbons, with guitarist Adrian Utley joining shortly after their first album release. In the studio, Portishead developed a concentrated sound using a range of experimental tape and vinyl sampling techniques to achieve the gritty character for which the band became known.
Shortly after Portishead formed, yet another Bristol outfit began operating as remix producers. A duo comprised of James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy would steadily expand into the band known as UNKLE, another collective that would reach cult status as pioneers of what we call trip-hop today.

Portishead – Glory Box
With the ingenious sample use of Isaac Hayes’ Ike’s Rap II, Portishead immediately drew the attention of listeners in the US. Its homemade vinyl-sampled breakbeat with the soulful chromatic bassline underneath became the perfect foundation for the powerful lyrics.
Possibly the most unique aspect of the song’s arrangement is the way the emotional dynamics continue to rise throughout. The guitar elevates the choruses before the song erupts into a momentous industrial drum break, before slipping seamlessly back into the verse.
By the mid-90s, with electronic music beginning to spread its wings commercially, styles such as acid jazz and downtempo breakbeat were on the rise with pioneers like Kruder & Dorfmeister. Although the records in this DJ culture were largely instrumental, their popularity showed record labels they could take risks on new acts in this musical scope.
The Rise of Downtempo
The pioneering success of the Bristol scene changed the landscape in the UK. As a result, this completely transformed what was being played on the radio, and the type of acts that were being signed by major labels. However, even among this second wave of so-called “trip-hop bands”, there were artists who offered something fresh that reached outside of the US hip-hop adjacent template.
One of these acts began in Sheffield, a city well-known for being a melting pot for electronic bands who broke ground in synth pop and acid house throughout the 1980s. The band Moloko, formed when singer Roisin Murphy joined forces with producer Mark Brydon. Together, the duo created an eclectic sound that seemed to draw from Brydon’s experience working with Cabaret Voltaire.
Roisin Murphy and Mark Brydon of Moloko performing at Glastonbury 2000. Image: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Moloko – Fun For Me
Fun For Me represents a more acic house approach to trip-hop. By combining tough AKAI S1000 drum hits with a funky sawtooth bassline and some playfully ambiguous nonsense lyrics, an almost cartoonish atmosphere is created.
Throughout the track, interlocking percussive loops add texture and metric tension, allowing the genius of the vocal performance to come across like various characters in a psychedelic theatre production.

At this time, film soundtracks opened up another avenue for many artists. Trip-hop’s moody and occasionally quirky aesthetic featured in films like Hackers (1995), Stealing Beauty (1996), Batman & Robin (1997), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
All this momentum, combined with sales and chart attention in the US, allowed bands to bypass years of initial obscurity and stroll into pop success. One such explosion occurred only two years after the formation of the Hartlepool group, Sneaker Pimps, who were subsequently signed to Virgin Records and sold over a million copies with their debut album Becoming X.
Kelli Alli and Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps performing in Liverpool, 1996. Image: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground
Nellee Hooper’s edit of 6 Underground is the quintessential example of trip-hop in pop format. All the hallmarks are present like the hip-hop breakbeat and the mysterious harp melody sample from John Barry’s Goldfinger (1964) soundtrack.
The way the groove of the sub-bassline works off the rhythm section with the acoustic guitar chords is foundational. So, be sure you have your favourite headphones on, as the low-end doesn’t quite translate on laptop speakers.
From the mid-1990s onward, the influence of trip-hop and downtempo music reached its peak. As a result, major label acts began to show a dirgy beat-driven side of their sound on albums such as Depeche Mode’s Ultra (1997), Smashing Pumpkins’s Ava Adore (1998), and Madonna’s Ray Of Light (1998) where producer William Orbit drew from a more ambient sound.

1998 was also an important year in UK music, as we saw the monumental release of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine album and Morcheeba’s sophomore full-length release, Big Calm. Although commercial success brought trip-hop to a broader global audience, it was seen as a passing trend by many of the artists themselves.
Over time, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow became disillusioned with the success of the music he never intended to become a “dinner party” genre, as he states in this candid interview. He wasn’t alone in this sentiment, as Massive Attack founder Andrew Vowles left the band when the Mezzanine sound strayed too far from the original course. Meanwhile, after their first major tour, Sneaker Pimps parted ways with vocalist Kelli Ali for fear of playing into the cliche, and were promptly dropped by Virgin.
In the US, electronic music DJ and producer Moby was making inroads into the mainstream with his own style of sample-based downtempo electronica. Using every medium available at their disposal including advertisement placings, Moby’s management pushed Play (1999) to the widest global audience possible. This campaign was further solidified the following year, when the lead single Porcelain was featured in Danny Boyle’s film, The Beach. As a result, the album became the single greatest selling electronic album of all time.
Moby performing during the 2000 Dancestar Awards at Alexandra Palace. Image: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
Trip-hop Today
One of the most defining characteristics of downtempo music is the time it takes to truly appreciate it as a listener. This is one of the reasons, we believe, why the decline of physical album sales marked the end of more “album-orientated” genres like trip-hop within the pop music space.
Sevdaliza – Rhode
With the trip-hop scene long gone, artists like Sevdaliza can draw from its hallmarks like quotations from a long-lost epitaph. Although productions like this are DAW-based, they still manage to capture the gloomy, grinding industrial feel of the Portishead and Massive Attack records we love.
Instead of dusty 1980s samplers and synths, the digital sheen of the vocal effects and software instruments give the minimalistic production a futurist edge, while the bassline remains an homage to classic 90s tracks like Army Of Me and Fire On Babylon.

Like so many styles of music that existed before the dawn of digital music streaming, trip-hop developed its strong identity and connection with listeners from the physical sales of full-length albums. Without this, we can still draw inspiration from its musical ingenuity and punky spirit.
What’s more, the tempo of the average pop song today is slower, providing the perfect backdrop for creating new Trip-Hop-infused music styles. Could it be the next Robert Del Naja? All it takes is creativity.
Read more music technology features. 
The post How trip-hop went from obscurity to chart domination appeared first on MusicTech.