How many music genres are there? [Bobby Owsinski]How many music genres are there? Hint: A LOT more than you think… by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 One of the things that’s particularly hard for artists and bands. Continue reading
The post How many music genres are there? [Bobby Owsinski] appeared first on Hypebot.

The effect of Beyoncé’s Homecoming on the Dance Music GenreBeyoncé’s RENAISSANCE may have caused controversy at the Grammys, but its positive impact on the career of seasoned dance musicians like Honey Dijon and Big Freedia is undeniable. by Harry Levin from. Continue reading
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Universal Music Group wins court case against proposed class action lawsuit alleging it underpaid its artists in royaltiesA proposed class action lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) that alleged it had underpaid its artists $750 million in royalties has officially been rejected.
The lawsuit was filed in January this year by 1990s rap duo Black Sheep, whose real names are Andres Titus and William McLean, which alleged that UMG breached its contract with both themselves and other artists.

READ MORE: Black Friday 2023: The 10 best plugin deals

As reported by Music Business Worldwide, Titus and McLean alleged that UMG “struck an undisclosed, sweetheart deal with Spotify [in 2008] whereby Universal agreed to accept substantially lower royalty payments on artists’ behalf in exchange for equity stake in Spotify” in their complaint.
The duo argued that UMG should have given its artists 50 percent of its stake in Spotify, or the equivalent cash value, as “proportional” compensation for the lower royalty payments.
At the time of the filing, UMG described the lawsuit as being “patently false and absurd.” It also stated that it has “a well-established track record of fighting for artist compensation.”
UMG took a five percent stake in Spotify in 2008, which rose to seven percent after the company acquired EMI, which held a two percent stake in the company, according to the publication.
In Spotify’s annual report at the end of 2022, it showed that due to stock dilution from further investments into Spotify, UMG’s share of Spotify stock had fallen to 3.3 percent as of the end of that year.
US District Court Judge Jennifer L. Rochon rejected the proposed class-action lawsuit on several grounds in her ruling, which was issued on Monday 20 November. It states that Titus and McLean had taken too long to file the suit; that UMG’s stake in Spotify doesn’t meet the definition of “net receipts” on which it would owe royalties; and that their contract with Polygram in effect gave UMG the right to negotiate royalty payments with Spotify as it saw fit.
You can view the full ruling at Music Business Worldwide.
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Black Friday 2023: best synth deals under $1,000Black Friday is finally here. Doesn’t it just feel like Christmas morning? We’re eyeing up the most eye-catching deals on music gear from across the web in giddy excitement, but until we clock off and go shopping ourselves, it’s our job to help you pick the best ones for you.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Have you been thinking about buying a new synth for months, but are somewhat constrained by budget? No problem. Below, we’ve rounded up the very best deals on synths under $1,000, so you can get the perfect one for you without breaking the bank.
Roland JUNO-DS88 Synthesizer – save $300

In this stellar Black Friday deal over at Guitar Center, you can pick up the classic Roland JUNO-DS88 synth – usually priced at $1,199.99 – for just $899.99. That’s a massive $300 saving, or 25 percent off. Enjoy 88 weighted-action keys, eight phrase pads, an absolutely massive set of sounds and an array of knobs and sliders with which to tweak them.

Check deal at Guitar Center

Roland JUNO-DS61 Synthesizer – $599

And if you don’t need 88 keys, you can grab the Roland JUNO-DS61 – which instead has 61 keys – and save yourself a pretty penny. In this sweet deal at Guitar Center, the JUNO-DS61 is only $599, down from $799. That represents a juicy 25 percent saving. It sports all of the quality sounds, intuitive operation and portability of the JUNO-DS88, along with improved pianos, additional organs, waveform expansion capability, Phrase Pads, new vocal effects and more.

Check deal at Guitar Center

Korg Minilogue Bass – just $612

Over at Thomann, you can grab the Korg Minilogue Bass for just $612. It features two voltage-controlled oscillators with three waveforms each – sawtooth, triangle, rectangle – eight different voice modes, an analogue filter, 41 permanently assigned knobs and switches for direct access to sound-shaping parameters, two ADSR envelopes for amp, filter and pitch, one LFO, 200 sound presets, 100 synth bass presets, and a whole lot more.

Check deal at Thomann

ASM Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth Desktop/Rack Synthesizer

The Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth Desktop/Rack has the same killer sound engine as the ASM Hydrasynth keyboard version. This synth – designed for maximum flexibility – has a user interface which allows you to edit patches quickly and seamlessly with a minimal amount of paging and many workflow shortcuts. And right now, you can save $150 and grab it for just $649 over at zZounds.

Check deal at zZounds

Elektron Digitone Desktop FM Synthesizer – save $100

Elektron’s Digitone FM synth combines FM sound generation with a classic subtractive synthesis signal flow, resulting in possibilities from jagged chaos to mellow soundscapes. Aside from the array of customisable and tweakable parameters, the Digitone FM comes loaded with 512 sounds ranging from FM classics to out-of-this-world soundscapes created by Blush Response, DivKid, Hizmi, Mark Fell, Zabutom, the Elektron staff and more.
And you can get yours now for just $799 over at zZounds.

Check deal at zZounds

The post Black Friday 2023: best synth deals under $1,000 appeared first on MusicTech.

Waves Audio Offers FREE Silk Vocal On Black Friday!
Waves Audio released Silk Vocal, a vocal processing plugin that is FREE on Black Friday! Before you get Silk Vocal for free, check out our Black Friday deals page and enter our epic Black Friday Giveaway. Silk Vocal is aimed at simplifying and enhancing vocal mixing. The latest release from Waves Audio uses 2,000 analysis [...]
View post: Waves Audio Offers FREE Silk Vocal On Black Friday!

Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O. II sampler The latest evolution of Teenage Engineering's pocket operator sample features a reworked sequencer, new punch-in effects and enhanced sampling capabilities,

How to organize and revisit your ‘leftover’ music projects
From bouncing demos to revisiting your folder structures, let's explore a few techniques for making the best use of your 'leftover' project files.

Ethereum (ETH) price reclaims $2K as data shows a surge in network activityDespite regulatory action against Binance, a surge in Ethereum network activity and the expectation of a spot ETF approval fueled a price move above $2,000.

🔥 Black Friday GIVEAWAY: 24 Winners, Over $2,000 in Music Production Prizes!
Bedroom Producers Blog launches the Black Friday Giveaway with over $2,000 in music production prizes for 24 winners. A massive thank you to Modeaudio, GPU Audio, Cableguys, Wrongtools, BABY Audio, Deputi Sounds, Goodhertz, Native Instruments, Yum Audio, Techivation, and Flame Sound for generously sponsoring our giveaway. And also, THANK YOU, dear readers, for making Bedroom [...]
View post: 🔥 Black Friday GIVEAWAY: 24 Winners, Over $2,000 in Music Production Prizes!

Florian Mrugalla Manta Inspired by this video by Dan Worrall: https://youtu.be/4hGBYs10ZAU TLDW: Dan Worrall uses parallel bandpass filters to fatten up drums. Since that involves quite... Read More

10 of the best Black Friday deals on pluginsThe wonderful world of plugins is where you can expand and customise your music-making setup with some truly powerful instruments, effects and processors. Whether you’re looking for rare vintage synthesizers, weird and wonderful mix processors or whole bundles of stuff, there’s something for you in our Black Friday roundup of the best plugin deals.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Software often benefits from the steepest discounts around sale time, so there are some incredible bargains to be had. In some cases up to 90% is being cut from the prices for a very limited time – so check them out today!
10 of the best Black Friday deals on plugins, at a glance:

Save £195 on Soundtoys 5.4 Complete Collection
Get £10 off Scaler 2
Save a massive £262 on Arturia’s V-Collection 9
Save £79 on U-he’s Diva
Save 90% on Xpand!2
Get £36 off Fabfilter Pro-Q3
Save £484 on the iZotope Creative Mix Bundle
Save £186 on the Korg Collection
Get £127 off Melodyne Assistant
Save £239 on the SSL & Harrison Consoles Vocalstrip & Vocal Flow Bundle

Save £195 on Soundtoys 5.4 Complete Collection

Soundtoys are well known for making creative, great-sounding and sometimes just plain bonkers audio processors for your DAW. The 5.4 Complete Collection is their whole product line in a single bundle and it’s available at an incredible discount for Black Friday. Among many others you’ll get Decapitator, Primal Tap, FilterFreak and Effect Rack, all perfect for mashing, mangling and shaping your sounds. This is a great addition to any software setup.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £10 off Scaler 2

Scaler 2 is a powerful music theory workstation that gives you access to a world of new ideas, expressions and melodies. By using audio and MIDI detection it’s able to tell what scale you are playing in and choose chords that can help to match and complement your music. You get over 200 chord sets from established artists like Carl Cox, over 600 more chord sets, 500 phrases and 45 internal instruments from renowned producers.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save a massive £262 on Arturia’s V-Collection 9

Arturia’s V-Collection consists of a whopping 33 instruments covering everything from rare vintage analogue synths through to grand pianos and the company’s own Analog Lab. Featuring every instrument both as a standalone app and a plugin, it truly covers everything you could ever need with a staggering 14,000 presets and beautifully designed instruments that sound great.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £79 on U-he’s Diva

Diva is a monster of a virtual synth that offers a unique and powerful analogue sound while being kind to your computer’s CPU. With more than 1200 presets it has a multitude of oscillators, filters and envelopes to help you sculpt your sound and create something truly unique. Better still, it’s compatible with Native Instruments’ new Komplete KontrolNKS2 standard for in-depth performance.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 90% on Xpand!2

That’s right – an incredible 90% off this multitimbral workstation that supports everything from wavetable to FM synthesis and sample playback. With over 2500 presets covering every kind of sound you can imagine, you can use up to four stereo instruments per part, 64 voices per part and you get two digital effects processors with 50 editable effect types. Running inside your DAW as a plugin, this instrument covers all your sound design needs.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £36 off Fabfilter Pro-Q3

FabFilter is well known for its excellent and innovative plugins and the Pro-Q3 is one of its finest. A 24-band EQ with multiple modes including dynamic, it has full support for surround sound, zero latency performance and a gorgeous design with ultra-large display. Other advanced features include EQ matching for quickly detecting the shape of another sound, piano roll to quantize EQ frequencies and intelligent solo mode. It could be the only EQ you ever need.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £484 on the iZotope Creative Mix Bundle

Another amazing saving here, on iZotope’s industry-leading bundle of sound shaping and editing plugins. You get Vocalsynth 2 with its powerful voice synthesis and tweaking tools, Stutter Edit 2 for slicing and dicing samples, and Neutron Elements for intelligently assisting you with mixing your tracks. At this price it’s a deal that’s hard to ignore.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £186 on the Korg Collection

This amazing bundle of software recreations of some of Korg’s most iconic classic synths and workstations – plus some more recent ones – can be yours at a significant discount. There’s almost too many to list but highlights include the MicroKorg, Prophecy, ARP Odyssey, MS20 and many more. You’ll have no end of fun tweaking knobs, patching cables and cooking up new sounds with this all-encompassing collection.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get £127 off Melodyne Assistant

Melodyne 5 Assistant is a complete toolkit for pitch, timing, vibrato, phrasing, formants and dynamics. Basically it has everything you need for professional vocal editing in one package. With the ability to take vocals and separate them out into individual components, you can move words round, change the pitch of any part of any sound and much more. With Melodyne you can take any vocal and transform it into whatever performance you want.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save £239 on the SSL & Harrison Consoles Vocalstrip & Vocal Flow Bundle

This bundle – available at an amazing discount for Black Friday – gives you total control over the processing of your vocal tracks. Vocalstrip 2 combines four powerful tools like de-esser, EQ, compander and de-ploser, while AVA Vocal Flow is an all-in one tool for mixing vocal tracks with 7 routable signal processing elements. Grab them while you can, and definitively power up your vocal productions.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Not seeing what you’re looking for? These are just a few selections. You can check out loads more Black Friday offers at your own pace from the following retailers:

Thomann
zZounds
Plugin Boutique
Amazon

For more Black Friday content, head to MusicTech.
The post 10 of the best Black Friday deals on plugins appeared first on MusicTech.

Q&A with Jenny LewisPhotos by Bobbi Rich

Headlining coast-to-coast shows with her Joy’All Ball, joining the Beck and Phoenix Summer Odyssey tour, and in performances from Madison Square Garden to The Hollywood Bowl as a member of The Postal Service on their historic 20th anniversary tour with Death Cab for Cutie: With the release of her fifth solo record, Joy’All, Jenny Lewis is undeniably high-profile.  

From a show business family, Lewis successfully survived her extensive childhood acting career to first emerge musically with Rilo Kiley, a band whose pensive songs became touchstones for a coming-of-age generation in the new millennium. Her solo debut Rabbit Fur Coat (with The Watson Twins) cast her as a sympathetic chanteuse cloaked in vintage fashion, imbued with quirky, approachable cool. 

As the title might indicate, the Blue Note/Capitol release, Joy’All, helmed by Nashville producer Dave Cobb, is charmingly upbeat, in contrast to the paradoxical asides, existential truths, and new chapters of hard-won wisdom that are revealed within. 

Music Connection: Greetings, Jenny. It certainly seems as if there is a huge upswing in your media visibility at this moment.

Jenny Lewis: I think it’s just all happening at once. I’ve been in The Postal Service for 20 plus years. I’ve been doing my own music since 2006, and then I’ve been in a bunch of side projects. So, I’m always doing a couple of things at once, but the culmination of this 20-year anniversary tour with my album release so close by is definitely a lot. I hope people aren’t going to get sick of me—because I’m sick of myself! 

MC: When do you sleep?

JL: I sleep on a tour bus in the fetal position, with earplugs, a sleeping mask, and a night guard. It’s very cute. 

MC: You are featured on a new segment of the television show, Austin City Limits. It is so interesting how the songs from the latest record translate in a live context. “Love Feel,” for example, is a barnburner. 

JL: Austin City Limits is so cool, because you get to do your full show, 70 minutes, or whatever you’re playing on the road, and then you get to pick the songs for the edited segment. But they make you pick the songs as soon as you walk off of the stage. So, you’ve just done this incredible thing with multiple cameras and a live audience, and then they say, “Okay—pick the songs now.” So, in keeping with the album cycle, obviously the new ones are the most exciting, but that was my third performance on ACL, so I had to remember what I had played in 2014, and with Rilo Kiley. So, it’s kind of a stressful situation.

MC: You write by yourself, correct?

JL: I do. I have, in my career, also written with my boyfriends, who I have happened to be in bands with. My co-writing has been pretty much limited to within these relationships. I never have done co-writes with any other writers in Nashville, or artists.  For me, the most important thing has been finding my autonomy as an artist in the world, and honing in on my true voice. On this record, I really wanted it to be conversational. And going into the studio with Dave Cobb, talking about what we were going to make, I made it very clear to him that I wanted the vocals and the stories to be very present, as if we are having a conversation throughout the record. 

MC: Joy’All is so mellifluous, so when lyrics come in that are edgier, deeper, and darker, it’s an interesting contrast. There is a lot of air in the sound of the record, enhancing the vocal clarity. 

JL: It’s very sparse. We cut it live on the floor at RCA Studio A in Nashville. It is just incredible to be in that building, and we cut it to tape. Dave is a big fan of miking the drums Beatles’ style, and it was a very small band. After we cut it live, Dave wanted me to play all of the keys, and all of the other additional parts. So, he would hum something, and I would play it on the piano, or the Mellotron, which we used quite a bit. 

I think he wanted to keep it true to the demos that I had cut at home in Nashville on my iPhone, because I don’t have a computer, so I do everything in Garage Band. And then when we mixed the record I thought, “This is a Nashville record, I’d love to have some pedal steel, and some extra bits, frequency-wise.” So, we had Greg Leisz play pedal steel on a handful of songs, and then added Jon Brion, who shares a space with Greg Koller who mixed the record. I got to be in the studio with Jon as he was listening to the songs and finding those moments, like on “Apples & Oranges,” it’s a B-bender guitar.

MC: “Apples & Oranges” reminds us of Tommy James and the Shondells. 

JL: Oh wow, you picked up on that! We had a “Crimson and Clover” tremolo on pretty much the entire track. Initially, we went overboard, but it’s in there. So you are feeling that tremolo, but it’s more in the mix now. I’m a big Nuggets (historic ‘60s garage bands) fan. I love all that. I would love to make a record one day that is as rough sounding as some of those recordings. 

MC:  You are certainly candid in sharing what seem to be autobiographical elements in your songs. 

JL: I am creating a story. There is a twist in Rilo Kiley’s “Does He Love You.” That’s not a true story, but there are elements within the story that ring true. That song was inspired by “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes. I wanted to write something with a twist in the last verse. Real life is interesting. I have had such an interesting 47 years on the planet: growing up in a musical family in Hollywood, in the Valley, a ton of family stuff went on, so it’s always been right there for me to channel and write about. I’m just trying to get it down on the page, because it keeps happening. It’s wild stuff!

MC: Having grown up in a show business family, one of the lessons you probably learned early was it is not all glamor and glitz. 

JL: In my family we were working class musicians, three generations of vaudeville performers, dancers, musicians; Las Vegas and Alaska lounge performers. My dad was in prison for a couple of years. He taught guitar to some of the guys up there. Music is the through-line in good times, prosperous times, and in tragic times. It’s always the music that has kept us together, and luckily I am a songwriter—the first songwriter in my family. So, I’ve been able to carve out a little spot for myself, because I am creating the material. But I come from covers, because my whole family would do them. And they were so good. But they didn’t write for some reason. That’s what differentiates me from the rest of my crew. 

MC: The process of writing the songs for Joy’All came from an online songwriting workshop. Tell us about it. 

JL: Part of the record was written during a songwriting workshop that Beck put together in 2021 during the pandemic, while we were still at home. I had about half of the songs for the record already written. The workshop included a very eclectic and awesome group of people.  Adam Green (Moldy Peaches), Sean Lennon, and Devendra Banhart who was there in the beginning. We would have prompts: write a song with 1-4-5 changes; write a song of all clichés—which is “Love Feel.”  The prompts would come, and we would write and record and send the song to the group a day at a time. It’s not something that I had ever done before. I write from this magical channeling zone. You don’t know where it comes from, and then a year later you are like, “Oh, that’s what that song is about.” Writing with prompts, you will never run out of things to write about. 

MC: Songwriters will talk about sometimes channeling lyrics and melodies that seem pre-existent. 

JL: There are different ways to it. Some people sit down every day to write. I imagine Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service) is very regimented with his schedule in writing. I’m writing every day, but it’s a little more freeform; not sitting down, but I’m out in the world where something will occur to me, and I’ll grab my voice notes, and go back home and figure it out on piano or guitar.  

MC: Do these fragments then become the centers of songs?

JL: For the most part, a feeling or an idea, or I will be jamming in my music room. I have this drum machine that J.J. Cale used on his records, so I might hit that, and I’ll have my guitar or bass, pick a key, and then something will come out of that. I will typically carve it into existence over a period of time. But sometimes songs arrive fully formed like “Just One of the Guys,” from The Voyager. That one just arrived, and I don’t know how it happened. Then the homework comes. I am always editing up until I record the song. And I’ll record it on my phone and work on the lyrics as I’m overdubbing drums, bass, and keys. I will do everything, and the lyrics come out of the production, as I’m figuring it out. Once I am going in the studio I will continue to edit the lyrics until the day of— moment of, occasionally.

MC: We think of the meaning of words versus the sound of words. We like the use of the word “ruminate,” in the line from “A Puppy and a Truck” that says “…Time to ruminate/What the fuck was that?”

JL: (Laughs) If there is a word for the pandemic, it would probably be “ruminate.” I spent March to October 2020 at my house in California, until I took a flight to Nashville that fall. I took it very seriously, and in some ways it was very good for me. I was totally alone. I had nothing on the books for the first time since I was a kid. When you are a performer, there is always this underlying anxiety. If you have a show coming up, it’s just part of the gig.  So, all of that went away. For the first time in my life, I felt totally free. Obviously, I was scared, and experiencing everything everybody else was, but I felt off the hook.

MC: For some, it was a good excuse to grow a beard. I bet you didn’t.

JL: I didn’t grow a beard, but I grew two marijuana plants that were, like, six feet tall. I grew them legally! They were beautiful. I did it totally on my own. Grew, trimmed, cured, jarred…it was absolutely incredible. 

MC: And you acquired a dog, Bobby Rhubarb, immortalized in your song “A Puppy and a Truck.”

JL: I was never able to have a dog before. I’ve been on the road for 26 years, out there playing music, so my real life has definitely taken a back seat.  Having a couple of years at home and being able to take care of an animal like that has changed me in such an amazing way. And I’ve become a bit of a stage mom, as is the family tradition. So Bobby Rhubarb has an Instagram account, and when we go out in the world some people say, “Oh look! It’s Bobby Rhubarb!”

MC: The song “A Puppy and a Truck” is so likeable. 

JL:  Thank you. I was very dear friends with Jimmy Buffett and his family. I was so lucky to be able to spend time with them, and learn how to be off the road. Jimmy had two dogs, they were with him everywhere, and there was this joy for life. And if you are hanging out with the Buffetts, you are getting in the water, even if you don’t want to. I’m not a beachy or boaty person, but they were like, “Get in the water Lewis,” and the dogs were there. Jimmy inspired “A Puppy and a Truck”. We miss him so much. 

MC: You reference the late Nashville artist from the early ‘60s, Skeeter Davis, as an influence on Joy’All. She is an artist who is sometimes underestimated. 

JL: We know her songs, but we don’t know it’s her singing them. What a great songwriter. I made the record and I was doing the album cover photo shoot at my house in Nashville with my friend Momma Hotdog—Bobbi Rich—and we went into this vintage store to look for something for me to wear. On the wall of this place called Black Shag Vintage was a green and white striped suit. We pulled it down, and it said it had belonged to Skeeter Davis. The reference for the album cover was a classic Skeeter Davis photo, and I’m wearing her costume on the cover of Joy’All. There are these signs from the universe that you’re on the right path. If you pay attention, they are there. 

MC: You toured with Harry Styles—what an interesting pairing. 

JL: It was the first show out of the pandemic that I did in the fall of 2021. I was terrified. I was vaccinated, but I am asthmatic. There were a lot of emotions. Harry picked me to open the tour—it wasn’t a business thing. It was everyone’s first shows back. The crowds were so loving, and so open, and beautiful, and sparkly with feather boas—a beautiful way to come back to playing music and a massive undertaking. I had never done a tour this big, but it felt intimate because we were in our bubbles. There was no press, no one backstage, and we didn’t eat in restaurants. So it was like the biggest indie tour that ever existed. It felt DIY, although it was massive. 

MC: A question based on your lyrics from the title song, “Joy’All.” Do we all get a little bit wiser every day?

JL: I think we do. That’s the paradox of being a human being—we are getting wiser but our bodies are deteriorating. You come into the world so innocent, but the older you get, you learn a little more. Hopefully, you learn to be more compassionate—especially to be more compassionate with yourself, which is so important.  

MC: Your astrological sign is Capricorn. Do you like to plan?

JL: I’m a Capricorn, so I’m climbing the mountain steadily, slowly but surely. As a kid, I used to make these handmade calendars. I couldn’t wait until the end of the school year. I am a planner by nature, but I’ve been doing a meditation practice since the first of the year, so I am trying to be more in the moment. With my schedule, I am forced to plan about three days in advance. I’m trying to enjoy the day, the moment, and the hour. 

Onstage, especially doing this tour with The Postal Service, we played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl. And there were a couple of moments where I just had to say, “Take all this in right now. Take a breath and look out, because this is as wonderful as it gets. This may not happen again. Be present in the moment. Be grateful.” I looked out, and I wasn’t nervous at all. 18,000 people out there, and I felt so connected to L.A., so connected to 20 years of this record, and my other records. It’s important to be in the moment, and appreciate these beautiful times. 

JL: I think we do. That’s the paradox of being a human being—we are getting wiser but our bodies are deteriorating. You come into the world so innocent, but the older you get, you learn a little more. Hopefully, you learn to be more compassionate—especially to be more compassionate with yourself, which is so important.  

MC: Your astrological sign is Capricorn. Do you like to plan?

JL: I’m a Capricorn, so I’m climbing the mountain steadily, slowly but surely. As a kid, I used to make these handmade calendars. I couldn’t wait until the end of the school year. I am a planner by nature, but I’ve been doing a meditation practice since the first of the year, so I am trying to be more in the moment. With my schedule, I am forced to plan about three days in advance. I’m trying to enjoy the day, the moment, and the hour. 

Onstage, especially doing this tour with The Postal Service, we played three sold out shows at the Hollywood Bowl. And there were a couple of moments where I just had to say, “Take all this in right now. Take a breath and look out, because this is as wonderful as it gets. This may not happen again. Be present in the moment. Be grateful.” I looked out, and I wasn’t nervous at all. 18,000 people out there, and I felt so connected to L.A., so connected to 20 years of this record, and my other records. It’s important to be in the moment, and appreciate these beautiful times. 

Contact Jillian Condran, jillian@nastylittleman.com

Quick Facts

•The song “Psychos” from Joy’All became the first Jenny Lewis song to hit No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. 

•The Jenny Lewis touring band is currently comprised entirely of female musicians. 

•As an actress, Lewis appeared in over a dozen teen movies, including Troop Beverly Hills. Cast in a multitude of episodic television guest spots, she also played Lucille Ball’s granddaughter in the short run of the Life With Lucy sitcom.

•Her 2014 full-length The Voyager was an emotional compendium influenced by Rilo Kiley’s demise, and the death of her father, Eddie Gordon. 

•Among Lewis’ past side projects was the duo Jenny & Johnny, with Johnathan Rice, with whom she shared a 12-year relationship. 

•Following her breakup with Rice, Lewis shared an apartment in New York with Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent. With friend Tennessee Thomas and Erika Foster, she performed as Nice As Fuck, and released a one-off collection in 2016.

•Also in 2016, Lewis flew to Haiti with Jackson Browne, to join a cast of global musicians in a benefit project called Let The Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol.1. In her song “Under The Supermoon,” Lewis finds solace from the world’s problems among her new Haitian friends. She performed the song with Browne and Malian vocalist Habib Coite’.

•A line in “Under The Supermoon” chronicles her reaction to the 2016 Presidential election with this couplet: “I’ve never had such a fright/I gasped on election night.” 

•Past Lewis recordings have enlisted illustrious players like Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, and Benmont Tench from The Heartbreakers. 

•The video for “Puppy and a Truck” includes a character wearing a dog suit. As he removes the dog head in the concluding shot, the character is revealed to be Harry Styles.

I’m trying so hard not to gush over Teenage Engineering’s latest gadgetTeenage Engineering’s new $300 groovebox has no business being this cute. That’s the whole point. The EP–133 K.O.II (we’ll just call it Knock Out II) is a combination drum machine, synthesizer and sampler. It’s a supersized upgrade to Teenage Engineer’s pint-sized PO-33 K.O, which offers many of the same features for a fraction of the price. […]
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10 of the best Black Friday deals on headphonesWith more musicians than ever working from home studios, it’s never been more important to have a great pair of headphones to monitor and mix your music on. And of course, there’s the small matter of enjoying music and even making and taking phone calls on the move as well.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

We’ve gathered together the best Black Friday deals covering a range of headphones from traditional, wired studio models through to wireless options and even some that have both! Read on to find out how you can save money on a great pair of cans, whether you’re looking to power up your mixes or spend more time enjoying music on your daily commute.
Ten of the best Black Friday deals on headphones, at a glance:

Save 44% on the Mackie MC-450
Get 10% off the Numark HF175
Save $69.90 on the Focal Bathys
Get 45% off Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones
Save 10% on the Presonus HD9 Studio Headphones
Get a great deal on Shure SRH840A Professional Studio Headphones
Save $20 on Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Get money off the AKG K-701
Save 20% on Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1 DJ
Save $45 on Focal Listen Pro

Save 44% on the Mackie MC-450

Mackie’s versatile all-rounders are great for everything from casual listening through to monitoring and mixing your music. With interchangeable locking cables you have ultimate flexibility and the SPL rating of 101dB makes them perfect for when you need to crank up the volume.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get 10% off the Numark HF175

With a single-sided cable that’s perfect for DJs, these smart headphones have all the power and precision you could need thanks to high quality 40 mm Neodymium Magnet Drivers. They’re comfortable for those long sessions too, with durable synthetic leather ear pads and a leather and steel headband. Check out the surprisingly low price and you might be surprised.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $69.90 on the Focal Bathys

Focal’s stunning noise-cancelling wireless headphones are available at a discount, boasting onboard control of Alexa and Google Assistant, multiple microphones for clear voice capture and a stellar battery life of over 30 hours between charges. As well as Bluetooth operation they also have a USB DAC mode that provides up to 24-bit, 192kHz listening for the ultimate fidelity.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get 45% off Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones

Be the envy of your friends by saving big on these slick and great-sounding cans that have advanced features thanks to Apple’s W1 chip built-in. Take calls, activate Siri and control your music with multi-functional on-body controls and listen for up to 40 hours, with a five minute quick charge giving you up to 3 hours playback when you’re in a rush.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 10% on the Presonus HD9 Studio Headphones

Designed for use in the studio, the Presonis HD9 gibes you superior sound isolation so you can focus on your music instead of the outside world. With an impressive frequency response of 10Hz – 26kHz and accurate low-frequency response, they’re also lightweight and comfortable for those extended sessions. They’re amazing value for a pair of studio-centric cans, too.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get a great deal on Shure SRH840A Professional Studio Headphones

Shure are legends in the pro audio business and here’s your chance to save on a pair of headphones that are trusted by professionals. With tailored frequency response delivering rich bass, clear mid-range and sparkling highs they also feature a padded headband for an ergonomic fit providing comfort for long sessions. An impressive frequency response of 5Hz – 25KHz means you won’t miss any details when making music.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $20 on Audio-Technica ATH-M40x

Audio Technica make all kinds of gear that audio pros rely on and here’s a chance to save on one of their most popular models. With a closed back design for better isolation they offer a flat frequency response that’s ideal for studio monitoring, a very high SPL tolerance for when you want to listen loud, and rotating earcups so you can monitor with one or both ears. Grab a pair today to take your productions to the next level!

VIEW DEAL HERE

Get money off the AKG K-701

AKG’s open-backed circumaural dynamic headphones use flat-wire technology to achieve sparkling highs and rich bass end, with a frequency range of 10Hz – 39kHz that means you will hear every detail of your music. Lightweight and stylish, they also come with a ¼ inch adapter so you can use them between all your playback devices.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save 20% on Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1 DJ

DJs rejoice – here’s 20% off some excellent headphones that have been designed to power your performances. Optional coloured earpads can be swapped out to match your own personal style, while adjustable ear cups allow monitoring with both ears or just one. There’s also a choice of wired or Bluetooth modes so they’re flexible enough to suit the task at hand, and they even fold down making them convenient to transport.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Save $45 on Focal Listen Pro

Listen Pro circumaural closed-back headphones from specialist manufacturer Focal are the essential work tool for music production. Significantly more affordable than many of the company’s models, they have a closed back design but still offer a vibrant and accurate playback, with exclusive cone technology offering acoustic transparency and excellent dynamics.

VIEW DEAL HERE

Not seeing what you’re looking for? These are just a few selections. You can check out loads more Black Friday offers at your own pace from the following retailers:

Thomann
zZounds
Plugin Boutique
Amazon

For more Black Friday content, head to MusicTech.
The post 10 of the best Black Friday deals on headphones appeared first on MusicTech.

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