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- in the community space Tools and Plugins
EastWest 36th Anniversary Sale In celebration of their 36th anniversary, EastWest have announced the launch of a sale that will run throughout March 2024.
EastWest 36th Anniversary Sale
www.soundonsound.comIn celebration of their 36th anniversary, EastWest have announced the launch of a sale that will run throughout March 2024.
Pager Lives Again Thanks to Python And MastodonPagers were a big deal for a while there, even if they never quite made it into the pantheon of excellent sitcom plot devices like answering machines did. Anyway, [Finnley Dolfin] had some pagers and gave them a refresh for the modern era, using them to receive message alerts from Mastodon.
The project is laced together with a bunch of Python code. It uses the Mastodon library for interacting with the social media website. When it detects an incoming direct message, it hooks into DAPNET – the Decentralized Amateur Paging Network. Via this network, a message is sent out over the airwaves to [Finnley’s] pager, serving as a notification that someone’s reached out to chat on Mastodon.
It’s neat that the amateur radio world is keeping pagers alive, using distributed base stations to share messages. Unfortunately, given the existence of smartphones, we don’t quite see pagers catching on again any time soon. And yet, [Finnley’s] setup has a certain level of old-school cool that no modern phone could match.
We’ve seen only a handful of pager hacks over the years, but they’re still pretty neat. If you’ve got your own cooking up in the workshop, drop us a line, yeah?Pager Lives Again Thanks to Python And Mastodon
hackaday.comPagers were a big deal for a while there, even if they never quite made it into the pantheon of excellent sitcom plot devices like answering machines did. Anyway, [Finnley Dolfin] had some pagers a…
- in the community space Music from Within
Composing & Arranging for Voice: From Pop to OperaThe original instrument! Join us for a deep dive into techniques, strategies, and philosophies for crafting compelling vocal music and accompaniments. We'll explore arranging and orchestrating preexisting songs, as well as composing original material. In addition, we'll take some time to break down specific voice types and discuss setting words to music, syllable by syllable.
Adding an element of text to music creates wonderfully unique opportunities to evoke emotions, storytelling, and world building. If time permits, we'll also discuss working in arts administration as a creative.
Presenter: Spencer Edgers
Spencer Edgers (class of 2020-'21) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Juneau, AK who has lived, studied, and been steeped in music in both Philadelphia and Seattle. His most recent film credit as composer is Poison Crue, which premiered at the 2022 El Paso Film Festival. Spencer has premiered two short operas; The Dust Gets in Your Eyes and Everything After with Seattle Opera, and has orchestrated & arranged two songs in collaboration with Taylor Vidic for The Juneau Symphony.
Register here!
All Alummination talks are free, online, and open to everyone!
Composing & Arranging for Voice: From Pop to Opera
www.musicconnection.comThe original instrument! Join us for a deep dive into techniques, strategies, and philosophies for crafting compelling vocal music and accompaniments. We’ll explore arranging and orchestratin…
No, Daniel Ek, the music industry isn’t like professional footballI’m sure Daniel Ek has a better grasp on the inner workings of the music industry than I do. The Spotify CEO probably has immense access to listener statistics and data, and a deeper understanding of the company’s royalties and revenue systems than most. But his apparent inability to empathise with artists, of all levels, is on frequent display and his input to the music industry’s discourse is often perceived by musicians as tone-deaf.
Ek’s latest gaffe came last week in the form of a selfie video posted to social media. In it, he boasted that Spotify “paid out more than $9 billion to the music industry in 2023” and then compared the music industry to professional sports. “The best analogy that I would have is that the music industry… is like professional sports,” said the Swedish CEO, who once tried to purchase Premier League club Arsenal.
READ MORE: “Football is played by millions of people – but there’s a very small number that can live off playing full time”: Daniel Ek addresses Spotify’s low royalty payments
“If you take football, it’s played by hundreds of millions of people around the world. But there’s a very, very small number of people that can live off of playing soccer full-time. FIFA tells us that there are about 100,000 people who can make it in football or soccer. [And there are also] hundreds of millions of people that are trying to make it in the music industry.”
He’s essentially saying that not all musicians will turn a profit. That’s not news – music-making is a rewarding hobby for many who accept that they’ll never reach superstar status. That’s been true for as long as people have been paid to write and perform music.View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Daniel Ek (@eldsjal)
But by comparing music-making to professional football, Ek has presented a flawed analogy that hobbyists and professionals alike are queuing up to correct in the most robust terms.
Why? Because the statement leans harder into a competitive ‘tech bro’ mindset than into the core values shared by most artists. The music industry might be competitive but art should not be a competition.
But let’s humour this analogy for a moment. There may well be only 100,000 professional footballers, but the average player in the lowest UK professional division reportedly earns £750 a week, or £39,000 a year, before any potential sponsorship deals. Meanwhile, on Spotify in 2023, there were around 200,000 “professional or professionally aspiring artists,” and in 2022, the top 50,000th artist on the platform earned $12,584 annually.
So I dunno, Dan, it feels like I’d be better off trying to get a regular paycheck out of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham than I would be trying to make a living from Spotify streaming revenue.
Daniel Ek speaks onstage during Spotify Investor Day at Spring Studios on March 15, 2018 in New York City.Image: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Spotify
The true aggravation for musicians, though, is that Ek’s statement follows other claims and blunders that seem to further distance him from the platform’s musicians – the people whose creative labour Daniel Ek’s company relied on to get where it is today.
Notably, in late 2023 — a few years after claiming that fast-produced albums will trump thoughtful, considered albums made over several years — he confirmed that Spotify would not ban music made by AI. At a time when OpenAI is giving media creators a glimpse of their potential demise with ChatGPT, DALL-E and Sora AI, Ek’s Spotify is teetering on doing the same.
It feels like Spotify cares about audio but not about music. I have no doubts that Ek and Spotify’s employees are avid music lovers and find deep value in sonic art. I’m sure that Ek’s dream is for all artists to be paid better for their artistic efforts. But the streaming model has changed the way artists are expected to release music, and Spotify’s pivot to podcasts and audiobooks felt like a kick in the teeth for the artists without whom Spotify wouldn’t exist. After all, who can explain giving $100 million to Joe Rogan when musicians who have worked their whole lives to build small but previously sustainable careers are told their labour is only worth $0.004 per stream?
Daniel Ek, Founder & CEO, Spotify, at The Future of Audiobooks Event with Spotify 2023 on October 03, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Spotify)
Music creators are worried that Ek’s Spotify is preparing us for AI-generated music to infiltrate our libraries; where ‘mood’ playlists aren’t made by a collection of lo-fi hip-hop makers and ambient artists, but by algorithms that are trained on those genres. Ek and Spotify might not be thinking of doing that, but you can’t help but feel that’s where we’re heading.
This weekend, trailblazing UK producer James Blake addressed this, too: “If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists. The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.”
“And by the way,” Blake continued, “since it’s cheaper to produce fast, synthetic music to drop on streaming every week to capitalize on the strengths of the model, watch how the model is preparing you for AI-generated music that pays musicians nothing at all.”And by the way, since it’s cheaper to produce fast, synthetic music to drop on streaming every week to capitalize on the strengths of the model, watch how the model is preparing you for AI generated music that pays musicians nothing at all.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024Can you think of any football players, amateur or professional, who are expressing concerns about being replaced by AI? I don’t think Boston Dynamics robots are going to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Erling Haaland or Mo Salah anytime soon.
On top of this, Spotify is said to have enabled some practices that further create an unfavourable climate for many musicians. In 2023, Benn Jordan spoke at length about the alleged money laundering schemes that centre around Spotify and the royalty model the company runs. In fairness, Spotify has responded in The Guardian that such streaming exploitations are “an industry-wide challenge and Spotify has been working hard to address this issue…Less than 1 per cent of all streams on Spotify have been determined to be artificial and those are promptly mitigated prior to any payouts”
Still, Jordan asks: “How much of your money as a musician is giving a money launderer or con artist a 3 to 1 return?”
Meanwhile, by the way, Ek sold $57.5 million worth of his Spotify shares last month. Cool.
The wider streaming landscape and the modern music industry in general is a flawed environment that makes it harder than ever for artists to make a living from their art. But Spotify has driven this race to the bottom – the company has never turned an annual profit while globalising a business model that has completely changed the way we consume music, likely forever.
Photo by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for Spotify
Obviously, the concept of music streaming is amazing and it has generated opportunities for many that would have perhaps been unheard of in a pre-streaming era. But by telling the world that you can have the entirety of recorded music for what was initially five bucks a month, the company’s backed itself into a corner.
Because it wants to offer all music, rather than a curated selection like Netflix or HBO, it’s forced to cooperate with major labels who are far more corporately combative than Spotify tends to be — at least, according to ex-Spotify employee Tony Lashley, who went on to found Marine Snow. That results in too much revenue being diverted away from independent artists and into the deep pockets of major labels.
Making a sustainable income from music should be more accessible than ever but, instead, it’s never felt so far away.
So, yes, Daniel Ek. The music industry might well be like football in the sense that it has professionals and amateurs. But when it comes to fair payouts, grassroots schemes, and a pay-to-win model, the only likeness is that you’d have more chance of scoring with five Alisson Beckers on the goal line.
The post No, Daniel Ek, the music industry isn’t like professional football appeared first on MusicTech.No, Daniel Ek, the music industry isn’t like professional football
musictech.com“The music industry… is like professional sports,” says Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. His analogy has hobbyists and professionals frustrated. Why?
- in the community space Music from Within
Live Nation to continue $1500 per show On The Road subsidies in 2024Live Nation will continue its On The Road Again tour subsidies well into 2024, multiple sources tell Hypebot.....
The post Live Nation to continue $1500 per show On The Road subsidies in 2024 appeared first on Hypebot.Live Nation to continue $1500 per show On The Road subsidies in 2024 - Hypebot
www.hypebot.comLive Nation will continue its On The Road Again tour subsidies well into 2024, multiple sources tell Hypebot.....
- in the community space Music from Within
un:hurd expands automated Music Marketing Toolkit, adds fundingMusic marketing platform un:hurd has raised a new funding round to expand its suite of data and AI-led features to help artists build, nurture, and monetize their audiences.....
The post un:hurd expands automated Music Marketing Toolkit, adds funding appeared first on Hypebot.un:hurd expands automated Music Marketing Toolkit, adds funding - Hypebot
www.hypebot.comMusic marketing platform un:hurd has raised a new funding round to expand its suite of data and AI-led features to help artists build, nurture, and monetize their audiences.....
- in the community space Tools and Plugins
Concert Strings Adaptive from Kirk Hunter Studios The latest string library from Kirk Hunter Studios promises to provide users with the world’s most playable and flexible symphonic string library.
Concert Strings Adaptive from Kirk Hunter Studios
www.soundonsound.comThe latest string library from Kirk Hunter Studios promises to provide users with the world’s most playable and flexible symphonic string library.
- in the community space Music from Within
An updated guide to YouTube’s best practices in 2024YouTube is essential to the ever-evolving digital music landscape, and The Orchard shares their 2024 YouTube Best Practices, where to learn about new features, branding tips, and how to reach goals successfully.....
The post An updated guide to YouTube’s best practices in 2024 appeared first on Hypebot.An updated guide to YouTube's best practices in 2024 - Hypebot
www.hypebot.comYouTube is essential to the ever-evolving digital music landscape, and The Orchard shares their 2024 YouTube Best Practices, where to learn about new features, branding tips, and how to reach goals successfully.....
“When someone doesn’t have the sauce anymore, they go elsewhere to shock”: Jack Antonoff criticises Kanye WestJack Antonoff isn’t holding back when it comes to Kanye West, saying in a new LA Times interview that the rapper “just needs his diaper changed so badly”.
The record producer and Bleachers frontman says of Ye, “It’s been a long time since I would’ve taken Kanye’s call. I’m so incredibly bored when someone doesn’t have the sauce anymore, so they go elsewhere to shock. It’s just a remarkable waste of space.”READ MORE: Jack Antonoff awarded Producer Of The Year for the third year in a row at the 2024 Grammys
It’s not the first time Antonoff has had words for West, either. Earlier this year, Antonoff called him a “little cry baby bitch” (via NME) after West’s album’s release date changed to become the same as Bleachers’. Kanye’s record Vultures 1, a collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign, came out on 9 February, with the follow-up set to drop on Friday (8 March), the same day as Bleachers’ self-titled new album.
Bleachers have released four tracks from the new album so far, with the most recent, Me Before You, being shared on 22 February. The other singles released are Modern Girl, Alma Mater, and Tiny Moves.
Also in the interview, Antonoff discusses the comments Damon Albarn made about his frequent collaborator Taylor Swift, who he’s worked with for over a decade, going back to the song Sweeter than Fiction for the movie One Chance.
The Blur frontman suggested in a 2022 interview that Swift doesn’t write her own songs. In response, Antonoff calls him a “herb” and says, “I’m a little bitch sometimes, but you come after my friend Taylor, you’re toast to me.” He also says that questioning her songwriting prowess “is like challenging someone’s faith in God. You just don’t go there.”
And he also looks towards the release of Lasso, Lana Del Rey’s upcoming country album, which he’s worked on with the singer. “We’ve been cooking,” he says of the album, which marks Del Rey’s first foray into country music. “It’s fucking brilliant.”
Kanye West also recently found himself on the bad side of Ozzy Osbourne, after using a sample from a 1983 Black Sabbath performance of Iron Man on his new album Vultures 1 without permission.
The post “When someone doesn’t have the sauce anymore, they go elsewhere to shock”: Jack Antonoff criticises Kanye West appeared first on MusicTech.“When someone doesn’t have the sauce anymore, they go elsewhere to shock”: Jack Antonoff criticises Kanye West
musictech.comJack Antonoff isn’t holding back when it comes to Kanye West, saying that the rapper “just needs his diaper changed so badly.”
- in the community space Tools and Plugins
New FREE SoliderSound S Doubler Plugin is Out Now
The SoliderSound S Doubler was released on Saturday, and the Windows and Mac plugin is available to download for free. The S Doubler is designed to “add depth, width, and a true sonic dimension” to your vocal and instrument tracks. SoliderSound states that the plugin “replicates the psycho-acoustic effects of sound proximity to create a [...]
View post: New FREE SoliderSound S Doubler Plugin is Out NowNew FREE SoliderSound S Doubler Plugin is Out Now
bedroomproducersblog.comThe SoliderSound S Doubler was released on Saturday, and the Windows and Mac plugin is available to download for free. The S Doubler is designed to “add depth, width, and a true sonic dimension” to your vocal and instrument tracks. SoliderSound states that the plugin “replicates the psycho-acoustic effects of sound proximity to create aRead More
“The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free”: James Blake on TikTok’s impact on the music industryJames Blake has spoken out on TikTok’s impact on the music industry and the financial difficulties facing artists.
Although TikTok has become a platform where many new artists are discovered, Blake argues that labels are now waiting for their artists to get lucky and land on a viral hit, and even then those artists are not always fully compensated for their virality.READ MORE: James Blake: “It takes about six months before you can get anything out of a modular synth”
On his X (Twitter) account, alongside a repost where Blake is quoted saying that neither himself nor Frank Ocean made any money from his viral Godspeed cover, Blake adds further context to his concerns over fair royalty payouts for artists in the TikTok era.
“It’s worth noting this is just an example I used in a post talking about the wider effect of TikTok on music,” he says. “Just seeing this part makes it seem navel gazing but I’m speaking on a thing that’s affecting artists all over the world.It’s worth noting this is just an example I used in a post talking about the wider effect of TikTok on music. Just seeing this part makes it seem navel gazing but I’m speaking on a thing that’s affecting artists all over the world. https://t.co/4pd2iRuNlB
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024“Something I keep seeing is, ‘If you’re lucky enough to go viral, just use the exposure to generate income some other way.’ Musicians should be able to generate income via their music. Do you want good music or do you want what you paid for?”
Blake further adds, “If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists. The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.”Something I keep seeing is ‘if you’re lucky enough to go viral, just use the exposure to generate income some other way’. Musicians should be able to generate income via their music.
Do you want good music or do you want what you paid for?
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024Also via X and his Instagram account, Blake comments on the impact of both AI and sped up/slowed down versions of tracks being used online:
James Blake on the TikTok-ification of music (sped up/slowed down versions of songs) pic.twitter.com/pjLBCEbcsR
— w-lar (@w_larproducer) March 2, 2024And by the way, since it’s cheaper to produce fast, synthetic music to drop on streaming every week to capitalize on the strengths of the model, watch how the model is preparing you for AI generated music that pays musicians nothing at all.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024Despite his concerns over AI, Blake has previously made music integrating the tech. In 2022, he released an ambient album called Wind Down, made to help its listeners have a better night’s sleep. The music was originally made for Endel, an app that uses AI technology to provide personalised soundscapes.
The record became the first-ever full-length LP made using AI technology to be released on a major record label. Asked about this contradiction online, Blake explains how Endel takes what is considered an ethical approach to artificial intelligence:There’s a difference. Endel uses AI to take music an artist has already made, and remix it into ambient form designed for sleep/other functional applications. They then give the artist a cut and it lives as a separate entity.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024View James Blake’s upcoming live dates via his website.
The post “The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free”: James Blake on TikTok’s impact on the music industry appeared first on MusicTech.“The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free”: James Blake on TikTok’s impact on the music industry
musictech.comJames Blake has spoken out on TikTok’s impact on the music industry and the financial difficulties facing artists.
- in the community space Tools and Plugins
Apogee introduce Groove Anniversary Edition The latest version of Apogee's portable DAC boasts improved technical performance and compatibility with high-resolution lossless audio formats.
Apogee introduce Groove Anniversary Edition
www.soundonsound.comThe latest version of Apogee's portable DAC boasts improved technical performance and compatibility with high-resolution lossless audio formats.
Everything Everything: “You’ve got to keep pushing”“There are loads of things in the world I hate, and there are other things I’m angry about, but I get it across in a different way now,” Jonathan Higgs tells me. The frontman of Everything Everything is discussing the inspiration for the band’s new album, Mountainhead, which came out on 1 March before the Manchester art-pop quartet’s UK tour.
READ MORE: REZZ just wants to keep it simple
“Something like Mountainhead is clearly not a positive outlook but it’s not entirely negative either. There’s a lot of humanity on show.”
It’s a record that fits the zeitgeist: full of discussion about powerful figures, “crypto wankers”, and Andrew Tate-esque individuals. Wild Guess opens the record, and it starts with a drone sound courtesy of guitarist Alex Robertshaw.
“It was a sample of my voice singing that I made a synth out of. I’ve had it since 2014,” he tells me. “And I’ve always liked the sound of it – how silly it sounds. Especially when you can edit the MIDI to bend. I’ve always been a fan of early Aphex [Twin] and that sort of stuff, all the Ambient Works. There’s a load of those sorts of choral voice synths, So I made my own which isn’t anywhere near as good, but it’s got its own feel.”
Robertshaw has been EE’s guitarist since 2009, and he looks after production too. It’s at his studio at home where I meet him and Higgs, the principal songwriters of the band. He describes himself as always having been “the guy in front of the computer,” and he’s taken a more prominent production role since the band’s 2015 album Get To Heaven.
Jonathan Higgs (left) and Alex Robertshaw (right) in Alex’s studio
He explains that the two of them will work in Ableton Live and “get an idea going,” sending it between each other and gradually building the song up. To begin with, they just use Ableton’s stock sounds, before using their gear when it comes to recording the track.
With Mountainhead, Robertshaw anticipates a misconception – people may assume an absence of guitar recordings, but there’s likely more than on 2022’s Raw Data Feel. “But a lot of these guitars are run through modular synths,” he says, “Or they’re played in a way that makes them sound like they’re not guitars. I saw people saying they like the synths at the end of Cold Reactor, but it’s actually guitar.”
Though the more techy side of things sit firmly in Robertshaw’s domain, Higgs chimes in here: “[Robertshaw] doesn’t really use classic guitar tones, which used to be what people say you’re meant to do. Now, people can’t even tell what’s the guitar anymore.”
Compared to Raw Data Feel, Mountainhead avoids too much signal processing. “I like the idea of tracking into Ableton and keeping the amount of EQ’ing and everything to a minimum … You’re continually fixing things when you put things in. And if they’re not right when they went in the first time, you’re forcing something.”And Robertshaw prefers not to use synth plugins, describing them as “super complex.” He says, “You get the soft synth but there’s also a layer of effects, or there’s some crazy routing that you can’t redo.
“I find that these big sounding synths that – they sound great on their own, obviously – don’t work with a band. You’ve got four guys lined up with their instruments. And you want to put some synths on it. All of a sudden, you’ve got a lot of stuff in a track, and you want to keep it. You want to make sure everything’s got its own space.”
I ask whether the band has perhaps gone back to basics with Mountainhead, but Robertshaw says it’s more that the process has become streamlined.
“I feel like I’ve always wanted to get away from the computer,” he says, “And as our career’s gone on, I’ve amassed enough gear to be able to do that. But when we started, it was like you just use what you’ve got, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Everything Everything
He explains that, now, the band will lay down drums and bass in a studio before he works on the tracks at home. He might go back and change the drums and synths before they finally add the vocals.
The gear the band use on Mountainhead is the same as the gear they used for Raw Data Feel. “The Strymon stuff is what I use for most of the record. Like, I’ll put all the guitars through there and use the filters to EQ … I use what’s there. There’s nothing really new in the studio.”
That said, their process of making music has evolved over the last decade and a half. Next year marks 15 years since Man Alive was released, and Robertshaw explains that it’s a gradual evolution. He describes hearing younger bands making music together in one room, perhaps just with a guitar and a laptop, and it makes him feel nostalgic.
“Now, it’s a different process,” he continues. “You’re writing for multiple instruments – your head’s not like, ‘I’ve got a guitar, here’s a chord sequence, let’s write!’”
Higgs (left) and Robertshaw (right) in Robertshaw’s studio
We had to talk about Higgs’ use of artificial intelligence on Raw Data Feel. Higgs developed an AI bot, Kevin, which he fed information from four key sources with a view to it composing lyrics. In the end, it produced the album imagery, about 5 per cent of the lyrics, and a song title.
However, for Higgs, it was a gimmick that “overshadowed” the album. “Everyone latched onto it. People were initially quite surprised that it was possible. I said it was, and then there was lots of confusion about how much had been done.
“It opened a lot of questions about AI in music, but it was really a small part of that album. The album is a highly personal, emotional journey of redemption, trauma, and all this stuff. And then quite a lot of people just wanted to talk about the AI.”
What does Higgs think about the future of AI in music? “It’s got a present and certainly a future,” he says. “Do humans have a future in music, is the question? Realistically, I think there’s already maybe more generated music in the world than human music now.
“There’s masses of it uploaded to Spotify every day by machines. No one’s ever even heard this stuff, let alone made it. It’s being generated and swamped in the hope that one of those billion tracks generates some money.”Everything Everything have been together for almost two decades now. Higgs and Robertshaw describe themselves as “pretty proud” of their earlier material, though Higgs did admit that in the early days, they were all “thrashing about in every direction.”
Higgs says he wants to “move on” from their previous work without forgetting or dismissing it. “That’s still a big part of why we want to make music,” he explains, “We want to destroy everything and we want to have fun and communicate. I feel like we’ve done that all along, but it’s more relaxed now. We’re confident about what we do. We know how to get what we want.
“We feel quite in control now, which maybe isn’t the best thing to be,” he jokes. “I’m glad that Alex is trying to push production and writing into areas that I don’t want to go. Things I wouldn’t think of – put it that way.
“Otherwise, you just get too comfortable. It’s a fine line between feeling relaxed and feeling comfortable. We feel like masters of it now, but you’ve got to keep pushing.”
Having the producer in the band certainly helps too, says Higgs. “The band are going to try and make [the album] into the best thing they’ve ever heard because it’s literally their band. You can’t always trust that a producer will do that.“You’ve got a limited time with them and they’re expensive. With Robertshaw, he’s here all the time and it’s his band and you can talk to him – it’s not like he’s some hot shot from LA you’ve got three weeks with. It’s different and makes so many more things possible.”
Robertshaw explains that they’ll bring so many ideas to the table that need to come together, which he’ll sit down and sort out before presenting the idea to the rest of the band and getting everybody’s thoughts. “You have to re-work out how you can make it work and keep all these bits in. And sometimes that can lead to this incredibly bloated music,” he says.
Higgs jumps in, “It’s easy to just pack a load of bollocks on more bollocks. Just layer everything up and have 80 guitars, 50 voices and loads of ideas. That’s the easy way out.”
But, ultimately, they all have their defined role in the band, and this is why they’re still going strong over a decade and a half down the line. “We’re very good at what we do individually, and everything that people do individually is different,” he says.
For Higgs, “There’s not much stepping on each other’s toes, which is the type of thing that causes bands to resent each other. And everything we make goes four ways – I think [inequality] destroys bands as well. We’ve always been open about that and stuck to that because it fucks groups up. And I think that’s one of the keys to our longevity. One of them.”
Mountainhead is out now
The post Everything Everything: “You’ve got to keep pushing” appeared first on MusicTech.Everything Everything: “You’ve got to keep pushing”
musictech.comArt-pop four-piece Everything Everything discuss making music, working as a team, and the future of AI – read the interview
Outdated HP Microserver Gets a New BrainWhat to do if you have a really cool old HP MicroServer that just can’t keep up with the demands of today? [jacksonliam] decided to restomod it by installing a mini PC into the drive bay.
The HP N54L MicroServer was still running, but its soldered CPU and non-standard motherboard made a simple upgrade impossible. Evaluating the different options, [jacksonliam] decided to save the case and PSU by transplanting an Intel Alder Lake mini PC into the drive bay with 3D printed brackets and heat set inserts.
Selecting a fanless “router” model to increase reliability, he was able to find an M.2 to mini-SAS adapter to attach the four drive cage to the NVME slot on the new PC. Power is supplied via the 12 V line on the ATX power supply and one of the mini PC’s Ethernet lines was broken out to a 3D printed PCI slot cover.
Looking for more ways to rejuvenate an old computer? How about putting a Mac mini inside an old iMac or a Raspberry Pi inside an Apple ][?Outdated HP Microserver Gets a New Brain
hackaday.comWhat to do if you have a really cool old HP MicroServer that just can’t keep up with the demands of today? [jacksonliam] decided to restomod it by installing a mini PC into the drive bay. The…
Waymo scores a critical robotaxi permit, Fisker cuts more workers and Apple car fades awayTechCrunch Mobility is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free. Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. I was in Los Angeles earlier this […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.Waymo scores a critical robotaxi permit, Fisker cuts more workers and Apple car fades away | TechCrunch
techcrunch.comTechCrunch Mobility is a newsletter focused on the future of transportation. This week, read about Waymo, Apple, Motional and more.

