The music scene is a tricky place to navigate. It often feels like you can’t get anywhere without knowing the right people and that your fate is entirely in someone else’s hands. But many of the “gatekeepers” are actually there to help you, and knowing who to talk to at the right moment can mean the difference between booking…
The guzheng (古筝) is one of my favorite instruments in the world. An ancient Chinese plucked-string instrument, today it’s featured prominently in both classical Chinese and modern international compositions. I think of the guzheng as a perfectly balanced mix between a harp and a zither. + Read more: Curious what the heck a theremin, shruti box, djembe, or glockenspiel…
Japan is one of the best places to share your music. If you weren’t already planning your tour there when this article popped up, you might as well start now! I just got off the plane not three hours ago, and looking back it was the best tour of my life. Let me share with…
A soundwalk can be a lot of things. It can require headphones as easily as it can require that you take them off and listen to your surroundings. It can be experienced on an actual walk, guiding you through a live excursion, or it can be listened to as a standalone piece in the comfort…
There is only one single copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s newest album, The Wu – Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, that has seen the light of day. The Wu-Tang Clan will auction this handcrafted album off after an international museum listening tour, and bids are already coming in exceeding $5 million. This single copy is encased in a…
We recently sat down with the one and only Dustin Nelson, Marketing Director at New York City’s (Le) Poisson Rouge. He shared with us a ton of good tips and tools that an artist can use to get a booker’s attention, as well as what not to do. Check it out! You can find this…
You may have read about YouTube music video stars Pomplamoose exposing their tour earnings for all the world to see and comment on, via their blog. If you haven’t, its quite worth the read, so head over here to check it out. The surprising detail, which has since become a viral topic of conversation among indie…
Canadian singer-songwriter Feist’s monumental second album, Let It Die came out all the way back in 2004. So why am I all of a sudden offering a perspective on it? Good question. I have no idea. Long car rides often provoke more attentive re-listens, I suppose. Upon first listen, Let It Die has this deeply seductive bossa nova-style…
Last Summer throughout the UK, it was quite possible that if you wandered into an outdoor arts festival, you had a good chance of seeing a flock of pigeons flying overheard, producing a beautiful soundscape of tones. Introducing Nathaniel Mann, a London-based composer, sonic artist, instrument designer, ethnomusicological thinker and the man who strapped whistles…
We’ve all heard that word before — a blend of German-sounding “ocks” and “schps” that, at least for me, conjures up images of old cuckoo clocks or Alpine adventures. But for those who don’t know, a glockenspiel is actually a small metallic xylophone with tuned keys that produce a high-pitched set of percussive tones. The…
