Live Review of Aigel in Los AngelesThe Echoplex  Los Angeles, CA

Web: instagram.com/aigelband

Contact: susan@susanvonseggern.com

The Players: Aygel Gaysina, vocals, mixer; Llya Baramiya, mixer

Material: Aigel is a DJ duo that creates rave music, with mostly dark, trance-type beats that mesmerize and captivate the listener into submission. That said, submission was not needed on this warm, summer evening as the audience, willfully and willingly, accepted the thundering bass loops that filled the Echoplex. Gaysina sang and pranced around the stage with gleeful abandon and Baramiya did his magic finger-work on his mixer. Sometimes happy tunes, and sometimes not-so-happy dark tunes, the music had the audience jumping and dancing to every beat.

Musicianship: Gaysina has an impressive voice with an equally impressive vocal range, and can work the mixer like the expert that she is. Baramiya had a separate mixer going as he improvised many musical notes and tones. Setting off the looper along with so many other bells, sounds and whistles, he was the impetus that kept the train rolling. He worked so well within the tunes that he gave them that extra push that made everyone want to dance, bump and grind. Together they made the whole night gel in impressive style.

Performance: They hail from Russia, but music is the great unifier, a universal language.  Therefore, the fact that the lyrics are in Russian is no great obstacle for the listener. Claiming that her English was not too good, Gaysina kept the whole audience entranced for the whole night. We might not be able to understand every single word that she sings but, ultimately, the audience liked what she was doing. The Echoplex crew were also on point with smoke and exceptional lighting. 

Summary: Gaysina and Baramiya are consummate music lovers and it shows with the enthusiasm and effort they put out on stage. All over Europe in early June, their recent tour took them to Helsinki, Berlin, Warsaw, Belgrade, and Istanbul, just to mention a few. And just so we wouldn’t feel left out, they managed to grace the States with their presence, hitting New York and Chicago, and then ending the tour with mid-June dates in San Franciso and finally Los Angeles. See you next year.The post Live Review of Aigel in Los Angeles first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Gloria Gaynor sues music producer for alleged copyright infringement, breach of contractGaynor alleges that producer named in lawsuit is falsely claiming to own the rights to a number of her works
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Apple Music has added Radio Monitoring: Track Your Radio PlaysApple Music has added radio monitoring. Activity on 40,000 global radio stations can now be tracked within the free Apple Music For Artists portal.
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‘Artists like Drake and Travis Scott push me to go to my limits every time I make music for them.’From a small village in Switzerland to the top of the charts alongside Drake and Jack Harlow, OZ tracks his journey and tells his story...
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Has the Music Festival bubble burst?Has the music festival bubble burst? Explore the factors that contributed to the dramatic rise in music festival cancellations.
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The post Vinyl vs. Digital Music: A Battle for Superior Quality appeared first on Hypebot.

New Music Critique: Changing TymzContact: changingtymzinfo@gmail.com

Web: changingtymz.com

Seeking: Label, Press

Style: Hard Rock, Metal

It’s not so much that they don’t make metal like this anymore, but you certainly have to dig around to find it. Joann E. Wolfe’s vocals are strong and insisting, recalling the likes of German Warlock queen Doro Pesch. Powerful and teutonic. Meanwhile, the musicians back her elegantly and expertly.

The lead guitar is present and makes itself known, without feeling the need to jump in with two feet Steve Vai-style. Prog-metal bands such as Queensrÿche, Crimson Glory and Dream Theater are obvious references, but Changing Tymz have their own thing going on. The post New Music Critique: Changing Tymz first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Signing Story with Rockers CursiveDate Signed: March 25, 2024

Label: Run for Cover

Type of Music: Rock

Management: Paul Clegg - Cursive

Booking: Eric Dimenstein - Ground Control

Legal: Matthew Kaplan

Publicity: Amanda Pitts, Christina Cambria - Chromatic PR

Web: cursivearmy.com

Try this (Signing) Story on for size:  Two college kids from Omaha enroll in a business class requiring them to complete a commercially minded project before the semester ends. The longtime friends, engineer Mike Mogis and friend Justin Oberst, are so pleased with the results of the project that they decide to continue with it outside academia. In its first year in operation, 1993, Saddle Creek Records (originally called Lumberjack) unveiled its first release: the self-titled solo debut by the then-unknown, 13-year-old younger brother of Justin: Conor Oberst.

As Cursive bassist Matt Maginn told New Noise in an interview in mid-June, Saddle Creek “started as a collective, and then after a while, it became sole ownership for one person (co-founder and now President Robb Nansel), and we lost some of our love for (the label). We still love Saddle Creek—past, employees, all that stuff—but once everyone realized there really wasn't a collective anymore, they just all gave up and walked away.”

Turns out Cursive’s Plan B for how to release their next album didn’t pan out either, as 15 Passenger went into the ether.

“The label gave us enthusiasm again, and that spiraled into, “Let’s use (Run for Cover) to put out our own record, since we have this outlet now,” Maginn recalled. “We just didn’t have enough time to dedicate to our on label.”

Thus, for their 10th album overall and first in five years, Cursive didn’t opt to release Devourer through 15 Passenger or Saddle Creek, but rather Run for Cover Records. Incidentally, a 17-year-old founded that Boston-based label in 2004 at college. Sound familiar? 

Of course, the similarities between Saddle Creek and Run for Cover weren’t the only reasons Cursive opted to release Devourer, due September 13. Cursive had many suitors, according to Maginn, not to mention that one of the band’s trusted friends put the two parties in touch in February.

“Between their roster, friendliness toward artists, and creativity—and the easy hangs we had over Zoom—it seemed like the right move,” he said of Cursive signing to Run for Cover. “They have great digital marketing strategies and are fan-friendly too.”

Under the terms of the deal, Cursive maintain ownership of their music and also have a 50/50 profit split with their new home. Run for Cover also repaid Cursive what they spent from their own personal savings to make Devourer.

“We’ve been a DIY band our whole lives, and (Run for Cover) understands that and is cool with whatever we deliver to them,” Maginn concluded. “That label is doing it right.”The post Signing Story with Rockers Cursive first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y & Indie Music NewsIn this week’s indie music news, our tips and advice for independent, do-it-yourselfers covered album release tips from Jack White, Spotify Countdown pages, a YouTube subscriber hack, and more. D.I.Y. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y & Indie Music News appeared first on Hypebot.

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Product Profile: Donner HUSH-I Pro Electric Acoustic GuitarDonner just released their new HUSH-I Pro electric acoustic guitar. The HUSH-I Pro is meant to be a more professional version of Donner’s previously released HUSH travel guitar.

I’ve been aware of headless guitars throughout my career, but never felt the inclination to play one. Having now spent some time with the HUSH-I Pro electric acoustic guitar, once you get used to the reverse engineering on the guitar, i.e. the tuners at the bottom and strung-through design with strings routed through the top of the guitar, it’s surprisingly easy to play, albeit the lack of a headstock affecting the guitar’s overall balance takes a bit of getting used to.

So, who is this guitar for and not for? I’ll start with who it’s not for. If you are a player who wants a regular acoustic guitar that you can hear in the room you’re playing in, you have no sound limitations, i.e. no family members or neighbors you’re concerned about disturbing, you want to record your guitar using a microphone, then this may not be for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a lightweight travel guitar or a unique gig-ready solution this could just fit the bill. 

The overall build quality of the HUSH-I Pro electric acoustic guitar has been upgraded over the previous Donner HUSH electric acoustic guitar. Crafted from mahogany, The HUSH-I Pro is available in natural wood and white finishes, paired with laurel and maple fingerboards and medium stainless-steel frets. The design is compact, lightweight and easy to carry and store with a total weight of just under four pounds.

A new upgraded zinc alloy ergonomic quick-release stand is a welcome improvement over previous versions which required an Allen wrench and screws to install. The HUSH-I Pro electric acoustic guitar features a rechargeable lithium battery with USB-C fast charging design, and Bluetooth audio inputs add to the guitar’s flexibility.

Stored in its custom designed case, the HUSH-I Pro is about six inches wide and less than a yard long and will easily fit in an airline storage bin. Featuring a detachable neck-through mahogany solid-body with a satin finish, stainless-steel frets and a dual-action truss rod design, the guitar’s symmetrical neck is comfortable and easy to play, and the on-board USB-C charging port means you can charge the guitar virtually anywhere. 

Donner’s new HUSH-I Pro Electric Acoustic Guitar has 18 onboard factory preset tones, 20 onboard user accessible IR (Impulse Response) algorithms, eight acoustic guitar tone simulations and a versatile 5-band EQ adjustment module (the previous version had a 2-band EQ).

Donner’s advanced R & D team independently developed the new audio algorithm platform for the guitar, which features a new, upgraded H1 chip, and which supports more professional and complex sound algorithms, along with high-definition audio sampling rates. Unlike the previous version, the HUSH-I Pro Electric Acoustic Guitar features multiple onboard effects, including Overdrive, Compressor, Boost, Bypass, Modulation (Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Flanger, Auto Wah), Delay (Analog, Echo, Dual, Tremolo, LoFi), and Reverb (Room, Hall, Spring, Cloud, Shimmer). The guitar’s electronics include switchable Dynamic Air Boost and Tone Boost, upgraded tone-shaping capability and a new global volume control knob.

The 18 factory presets are user editable, and you can overwrite and then save the stock factory settings. The sample rate is 24-bit 44,100 Hz. There are no user slots to save your edited patches and as far as I can tell no provision to backup the factory sound bank. That said, the onboard selection of effects and IRs should be more than sufficient for most players to craft some highly useable tones. Multiple effects per patch can be selected and there is also an onboard tuner. The onboard screen, while a bit on the small side, is reasonable high-res and easy to see in most lighting conditions.

Donner provides an App (for Mac and Windows) to upgrade the firmware and add new features as they become available. Once plugged into your PC, you can use also the guitar to track directly into your DAW. The onboard Bluetooth audio capability makes it easy to jam with or rehearse to backing tracks. Not sure how many hours of performance time per battery charge you can get, but should be more than sufficient for the average gig. Like I said earlier the guitar can be powered from or kept plugged into any USB-C power source.

Plugging the guitar in, the basic sound you’re presented with sounds consistent with a high-end acoustic electric dreadnaught guitar. In the studio, it’s a great solution for quickly capturing ideas. On stage you can just plug it to the house PA and go, the selection of onboard IRs, tone shaping controls and effects means you should be able to get some reasonably convincing mic’ed guitar tones. Having the onboard user selectable IR’s is a great idea. I can’t think of another acoustic electric guitar currently on the market that has that capability.

Sum it up, the overall fit and finish of the guitar is solid, and the symmetrical neck makes for comfortable playing experience. The fretwork on the guitar is very well done, and the quick release top and bottom frames are a welcome improvement over the previous version. 

Just a few complaints: the screen and control buttons are too close together making them somewhat difficult (for people like me with big hands) to get to. Also, the top frame gets in the way of adjusting the controls on the fly. My biggest niggle is that the guitar’s saddle is, in my opinion, cut too low to the bridge and hence does not have enough room for adjustment. Those comments aside, Donner’s new HUSH-I Pro is a very well-built, versatile and great sounding acoustic electric guitar with a highly unique design and should appeal to a wide range of players. 

Donner’s new HUSH-I Pro Electric Acoustic Guitar is available now and comes with a gig bag, strap, monitoring headphones, cleaning cloth, USB cable, picks and a custom-designed carrying case.

For more details and special promotional launch pricing, check out donnermusic.com.The post Product Profile: Donner HUSH-I Pro Electric Acoustic Guitar first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Apollo leads $700m investment into Sony Music Group partnership. (It’s a kind of magic!)Sources told MBW earlier this month that Apollo had co-funded Sony's takeover of Queen's catalog
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Spotify Countdown Pages are now available to more artistsMore artists now have access to Spotify Countdown Pages for new release promotions. Spotify Countdown Pages offer a pre-release destination where fans can pre-save an upcoming album, preview the tracklist,. Continue reading
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The Rise of a Middle Class of MusiciansRecent studies reveal the emergence of a growing middle class of musicians, challenging the notion that only a top tier of superstar artists find "success." How are these musicians finding such sustainable success?
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