Music In Our Blood | Memphis LK On Giving Back And The Importance Of Community


It’s easy to imagine that someone who has spent the majority of their early career producing music, solo in their bedroom might feel disconnected from the world outside their four walls. But this couldn’t be further from the truth for Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and producer, Memphis LK. 

Having dedicated time to sharing her knowledge and skills with women in her community, to playing Mildura’s first-ever Pride event, and experiencing the joy of fans singing her own lyrics back to her just one day after they were released into the world, LK understands the importance of actively connecting to the world around her.

For musicians like LK, music is undeniably in their blood, so we’ve teamed up with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood to dive a little deeper and uncover why (LK’s dad is national treasure Paul Kelly—if that doesn’t suggest she was born with music flowing through her veins, we don’t know what does). 

Read on to learn about LK’s most memorable moments of her career so far, why community is so important, and her favourite post-blood donation snack. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your music journey to date? 

When I was like 15, I started discovering artists like Four Tet, James Blake and Burial and became obsessed with electronic music—particularly the more experimental stuff. I started out making loops in GarageBand and singing over them. Then when I was about 18, I found out about Ableton (a music production software) and realised I could create literally any sound that I wanted all on my own, without having to rely on anyone else and it blew my mind. I was in a couple of bands before I started releasing solo music in 2019. I spent pretty much all of 2020-2021 working on my production (in lockdown) and feel like I’m in a place now where I’m so confident in what I’m doing. My EP is coming out in January and it feels so good to be releasing music I’m really proud of. 

What has been your most memorable or rewarding moment so far in your career? 

The day after I released my track, ‘Whip’, I played a show and people were screaming the words and I nearly cried on stage. Also, the messages from people saying my music inspires them will always be an amazing feeling. 

Music runs in the family, have you always wanted to create your own music?

I’m lucky that I grew up in a house where creativity was encouraged, so music always felt like it was an option for me—that’s something I’m really grateful for. I’ve pretty much made music in some capacity since I can remember and really became extremely obsessed with it when I started producing my own music. That was the moment everything clicked and I was like, ‘oh, okay—this is what I’m meant to be doing’. 

Your music is a captivating mix of dreamy lyrics and fast-paced layers, does this contrasting combination reflect how you see the world? 

When making dance music I’m drawn to sounds that have conflicting moods. I like to contrast the hard and the soft, the dark and the light. I’m a Libra and quite sensitive so I guess I feel a lot of the darkness in the world but I also feel the light—corny. I  also feel like that’s probably just my personality too, a little bit nice and cute but don’t mess with me.

Who or what has been your biggest influence in creating your unique sound? 

Four Tet. I’ve always been so inspired by how he is able to put so much emotion into dance music. 

Walk us through the music writing process for you; are you a creature of habit,  or do you thrive in spontaneity? 

I’ve learnt over the last few years that my creativity thrives through routine and repetition so I try to be pretty disciplined with it. The spontaneity and magic are more likely to arise if I set myself up properly to receive it.

You’ve already given back so much to your community, organising free DJ  workshops for women and gender-diverse folks in Melbourne and playing  Mildura’s first pride event—how important is giving back to the community for you? 

It’s really important to me, and I can only speak from my own experience, but as a young female in a male-dominated industry it’s so easy to think you’re not good enough, or you’ll never have the skills to be at that top level, so I’ve always wanted to help people build those skills and that confidence in any way I can. On a  broader note, I feel like community is something that’s taken a bit of a backseat in general. Our society feels pretty “me” centric, people seem to focus a lot on themselves but often aren’t extending that care and compassion to others. I hope we can get back to a place where we all value community and connection more. 

Speaking of giving back, how important is donating blood to you?  

This was my first blood donation and I wish I’d started doing it sooner. I admire people who regularly give blood because it’s an entirely selfless act and the result is that you save people’s lives. 

There’s a little bit of slow, quiet time during blood donation, what are your top three go-to tunes to relax and fill the time?  

I actually have four; Pure Shores by All Saints, What Once Was by Her’s, She Just Likes To Fight by Four Tet and Wakin On A Pretty Day by Kurt Vile.  

What’s your go-to post-donation snack? 

Vegan sausage roll, for sure.  

What’s next for Memphis LK in 2023? 

Summer festivals, EP release, some exciting collaborations, more writing,  London, vegan sausage rolls.

When you give blood, you’re more than just a donor—you’re the Lifeblood of Australia. For more information on where to donate, head over here. 

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Lifeblood and proudly endorsed by Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.

Images: Supplied, Urban List





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andrew: ‘Prince Andrew: The Musical’: Casting gets revealed for Channel 4’s show


Channel 4 has revealed the cast for the show ‘Prince Andrew: The Musical’, which will cover the life of the disgraced Duke of York, including his marriage to Ferguson and the accusations made by Virginia Giuffre.

An hour-long show, written by Kieran Hodgson and Freddie Tapner, comprises seven unique musical compositions based on several conflicts in the life of King Charles III’s scandal-ridden younger brother.

Munya Chawawa will portray Prince Charles, Emma Sidi will play Emily Maitlis, and Jenny Bede will represent Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

The concert will also include drag queen Baga Chipz as Margaret Thatcher and comedian Harry Enfield as Tony Blair. The piece’s music will be recorded by Tapner’s London Musical Theatre Orchestra, with orchestrations by Simon Nathan. Aisling Duffy choreographed the dance, which was directed by Tom Vinnicombe.
It will include original music by Freddie Tapner, who wrote songs like ‘I Nailed It’, which represent the Prince’s wishful belief that the Newsnight interview went well.

Remembering Queen Elizabeth and her love for dogs

Remembering Queen Elizabeth and her love for dogs

Close association

Most people associated the word corgi with Queen Elizabeth, as she was rarely seen without them around.

30 dogs

Over the years, she had owned nearly 30 of them and they enjoyed a life of privilege fit for a royal pet.

Dookie

Elizabeth’s love for corgis began in 1933 when her father, King George VI, brought home a Pembroke Welsh corgi they named Dookie.

Young Elizabeth

Images of a young Elizabeth walking the dog outside their lavish London home would be the first among many to come over the decades.

“Will You Be My Ex-Wife”, a love ballad performed by Andrew and Sarah Ferguson; “Obey”, a moving solo piece in which Prince Charles muses on royal scandals past and present; and Andrew’s rousing conclusion, “You’re Always Gonna Need An Andrew”, are among the other tracks.

Hat Trick Productions is producing the programme, which will broadcast this Christmas as part of the channel’s 40th anniversary festivities. Stu Mather, executive producer, stated: “It’s been a genuine pleasure to put together such a fantastically brilliant cast for this all-singing, all-dancing epic, and we can’t wait for you to see it”.

FAQs:

  1. What is Prince Andrew’s net worth?
    According to Celebrity Net Worth, Prince Andrew has a reported net worth of $5 million dollars.
  2. Why is Andrew a Duke rather than a Prince?
    The disgraced royal was born a Prince as the monarch’s son, and The Queen bestowed the Dukedom upon his marriage to Sarah Ferguson.

Disclaimer Statement: This content is authored by an external agency. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified. ET hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the report and any content therein.



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These Black Friday earbud deals are music to our ears – and your wallet!


If you’ve been shopping for some good Black Friday earbud deals this week, chances are you’ve seen plenty of deals posted about the recent Airpods deals, Galaxy Buds offers, and more throughout the month. Black Friday sales have been running for the past two months essentially, giving shoppers plenty of opportunity to snag some decent deals ahead of the Black Friday weekend rush.

But now that we’ve finally made it to Thanksgiving and we’re getting ready to sit down to a good family meal, deal hunters are getting ready for the next big drop on Black Friday deals (opens in new tab) they know are coming this weekend. And they’re right – some exceptional Black Friday earbud deals are expected to arrive soon.

However, many retailers have already released their absolute best earbud deals ahead of Black Friday. This means that the deals you see this weekend may have already been available throughout October and November. If you’ve yet to get your hands on some of the best earbuds (opens in new tab) on sale, here’s your chance to score the best deal on a pair of earbuds all year.

With only hours to go until Black Friday officially kicks off, we’ve compiled a list of the best deals on earbuds that have been released so far. From cheap earbuds under $100 to deals on Apple Airpods, below you’ll find the best offers available right now.

Black Friday Earbud Deals 2022: Deals Under $50

Black Friday Earbud Deals 2022: Deals Under $100

Black Friday Earbud Deals 2022: Best Deals So Far

Black Friday Earbud Deals 2022: More Deals


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THE SCOOP | Universal/Deutsche Grammophon Launch New High-Res Classical Music Streaming Service


Image by Rafael Zajczewski (CC0/Pixabay)

Venerable label Deutsche Grammophon has launched STAGE+, a new high resolution classical music streaming service. It joins IDAGIO, and, whenever Apple gets around to it, the successor to Primephonic in the classical streaming app niche. Deutsche Grammophon is owned by Universal Music Group.

“We are about to enter an exciting new era for streamed classical performances,” says Deutsche Grammophon’s Vice President Consumer Business, Robert Zimmermann, in a media statement. “STAGE+ will explore the limitless creative and curatorial possibilities that digital technologies have to offer to bring the creative work of DG’s artists — and beyond — closer to their audience.”

Content

What does STAGE+ have to offer? It’s based, of course, on unique access to Universal Music Group’s artist roster. The streaming service offers subscribers:

  • New repertoire, with partnerships with opera companies, orchestras, concert halls, and festivals that allow access to new performances on a weekly basis;
  • Livestreamed events from all over the world, including long form concerts and operas;
  • Opera and concert performances from the archives;
  • New and archived DG and Decca audio releases in 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos;
  • Documentaries and behind-the-scenes interviews.

What they call “optimized metadata” will enable detailed advanced searches, even to specific opera scenes, for example, and audio content will be available in Hi-Res Lossless format.

DG, founded by Emil Berliner, the inventor of the gramophone, in 1898, has partnered with Siemens and its Arts Program to create STAGE+.

“There’s an enormous appetite for great classical music content online,” comments Frank Briegmann, Chairman & CEO Universal Music Central Europe & Deutsche Grammophon in a media statement. “We’ve seen significant growth in demand for livestreamed concerts and opera performances since launching DG Stage almost two years ago. STAGE+ will transform the space for online classical music. I wish to thank our incredible team and our partner organisations for all their hard work and dedication to STAGE+. They have built something special that’s sure to delight and inspire the global classical audience.”

What’s on

One of the first festivals to be featured will be Bayreuth, including performances from over the decades, right up to the 2022 Ring cycle of last summer.

Other early offerings include:

  • Víkingur Ólafsson performing his latest album From Afar in full from Harpa, Iceland;
  • Bach’s Christmas Oratorio performed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London;
  • Max Richter’s Voices from Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on Human Rights Day;
  • A Mahler cycle from Vienna’s Musikverein.

Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Global Classics & Jazz and Verve Label Group, welcomes the new level of outstanding audience engagement. “STAGE+ uniquely immerses the fan in a dedicated multi-dimensional classical experience of the highest quality, complementing the breadth of our repertoire presented on our partners’ services,” he said. “It offers artists the place for their live and filmed performances to sit directly alongside their studio recordings, enabling an integrated experience for classical artist discovery by devoted fans of the genre.”

The STAGE+ service can be accessed via web or mobile app, or TV.

You can find out more here.

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Northwest Indiana man receives one of the most prestigious recognitions in country music


One of the most prestigious recognitions in country music was awarded to a northwest Indiana man.  

Nate Venturelli brings a sizzle and unique story to the country music stage. 

“I don’t know really of any musicians preaching about unions or blue collar…I’m proud to be a union worker and write music about it,” said Venturelli, who is a union steelworker.  

He rose to fame locally, in his hometown of DeMotte with his song, “Union Man”, written about his grandfather who was also a union steelworker.  

“I wanted to get the union image out more than it is because it’s a great living and college really isn’t for everybody,” said Venturelli.  

Last month, on the Grand Ole Opry stage, Venturelli received the Josie Music “Male Rising Star” award.  The competition is the largest music awards show for independent artists in the country.  

Venturelli beat out 50,000 other applicants.  

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“My heart sank into my stomach. I just didn’t think it was real, you know,” he said.  

Even more shocking considering the 31-year-old didn’t start singing in public until four years ago or pick up the guitar until he was 25. He’s hoping more people can relate to his music, that’s not the norm in the glitz and glamour of the Nashville music scene.  

“Northwest Indiana is a big union region, all the steel mills, you have BP Refinery, all the factories up north, it’s heavily influenced my blue collar writing.”

Venturelli and his band hope to release eight more songs in the next couple years.  The award has already helped them book gigs around the country.



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‘I wrote 350 songs, and I couldn’t sing you one of them’: disco maestro Daniel Vangarde breaks his silence | Pop and rock


Almost the first thing Daniel Vangarde says when he walks into the Paris office of his record label is that he’s never done an interview in English before. Then again, he adds, he had never done an interview in his native French either until this morning. He never bothered talking to journalists at the height of his career, when he was a key figure in French pop: an artist, writer and producer behind an array of releases that range from the wildly obscure to the instantly familiar. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to start meeting the press aged 75: Vangarde had retired years ago, relocating to a remote fishing village in northern Brazil.

But then a record company unexpectedly approached him about a career-spanning compilation, named after Zagora, the label he founded in 1974, which piqued his interest. When they sent him the track listing, he told them that some of the songs on it weren’t his. They were – he’d just forgotten them entirely.

Vangarde in 1971. Photograph: Zagora Archive

At least part of the renewed interest in Vangarde’s career is down to the success of his son, Thomas Bangalter, until recently one half of Daft Punk. It’s ironic given that hearing Daft Punk was one of the reasons Vangarde gave up making music in the first place: “I thought, this is the new generation coming and it will be difficult to compete.”

But Vangarde’s career is fascinating in its own right. It began with a bullish teenage plan to break into the music industry by simply writing to the Beatles and suggesting they let him join – “I was sure I could bring something to them,” he chuckles – and ended in the early 90s with Vangarde retiring in disgust after a series of bitter arguments with the French music industry.

In between, he pursued a career which was nothing if not diverse. At one extreme, he wrote protest songs deemed so subversive they were banned: his eponymous 1975 solo album came to commercial grief as a result of its lead single, Un Bombardier Avec Ses Bombes, an attack on France’s role in the international arms trade. “The big honour I had was that I did one television appearance and then it was censored in France. Even today, you cannot talk about that subject.”

At the other, he was the mastermind behind the Bouzouki Disco Band, whose oeuvre was noticeably lacking in attacks on the military-industrial complex: as their name suggests, they dealt exclusively in Hellenic-themed disco tracks with names like Ouzo et Retsina and Greek Girls. His CV also takes in huge international pop successes – Vangarde and his long-term collaborator Jean Kluger were behind late-70s hitmakers the Gibson Brothers and Ottawan, of D.I.S.C.O. and Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart) infamy – as well as fantastic cosmic disco released under the names Starbow and Who’s Who, and obscure Japanese-themed funk rock concept albums beloved of today’s crate-diggers.

The contents of 1971’s Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki, have, as Vangarde puts it, “become a little bit fashionable” in recent years: the album has been sampled by Erykah Badu, included on an Arctic Monkeys-curated mix album and featured on the soundtrack of the TV series Fargo. It was remarkably ahead of its time: a mad, cartoonish blend of different musical cultures that also attempted to provoke what would now be called a “dance challenge” (the album’s cover comes complete with instructions on how to do the steps).

Vangarde was always interested in music outside the standard western pop canon. “I like to travel, I like exotic instruments, I listen a little to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, but most of the music I love is African music, Arabic music, reggae,” he says. But Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki’s inspiration didn’t involve much exotic travel. “You know the TV series Kung Fu, with David Carradine? That was the thing at the time. We thought we should do an album about kung fu, and that became a Japanese thing.”

He worked across a variety of genres – he reworked a track from the Yamasuki album in Swahili as Aie A Mwana, subsequently covered by, of all people, Bananarama – but it was disco that really turned his head, his mind blown after hearing Chic’s Le Freak in a Parisian club. Moreover, it was a genre that didn’t share the era’s traditionally dismissive Anglo-American attitude to French pop. Vangarde thrived, as did his countrymen Space and Voyage. “There were no prejudices in disco, I think because its audience had experienced prejudice – it was Black, it was gay. They were not in the position of being snobs.”

In fact, he loved disco so much that when the backlash happened, he felt impelled to act in the genre’s defence: to hear him tell it, Ottawan’s deathless wedding party anthem D.I.S.C.O. is effectively a protest song. “It was the time when they were burning the disco records in the US, and I felt crazy that people said this will stop: it’s a rhythm, you can’t stop people dancing to a rhythm. So I said we’ll do a song about disco to show that’s not over. And the rhythm didn’t stop,” he adds, triumphantly. “Because what is techno? A continuation of disco.”

Vangarde (far left) with La Compagnie Créole, a band from French Guiana and the French West Indies. His collaborator Jean Kluger is on the right. Photograph: Zagora Archive

For all his pop success and tolerance for a cheesy novelty song, Vangarde was always a curiously unbiddable figure, wont to turn down high-profile production jobs if he liked the artist too much, as in the case of reggae stars Third World or salsa supergroup the Fania All-Stars. “I didn’t want to be involved. I just wanted to be a listener – I didn’t want to lose that magic.”

Just how unbiddable became apparent in the late 80s, when he got embroiled in a battle with the French music industry, initially about royalties. Researching the subject led him to take up the cause of Jewish composers who had had their intellectual property rights – and the accompanying earnings – stripped from them during the Nazi occupation of France. This became a controversy that eventually involved then-president Jacques Chirac, but Vangarde says a subsequent official report into the matter was “all lies – a massive cover-up”: no money or rights were returned. It was another factor in his decision to retire. “I had a big fight with Sacem, the authors’ rights company. To write a song and give it to this company – why would I do this?” He shrugs. “I don’t do that any more.”

‘What they imagined went to the ear of the people with no interference’ … Daft Punk. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

It’s fairly easy to see where Daft Punk might have got their famously uncompromising attitude towards the music industry. When their career began to take off, it was Vangarde who suggested they make a list of everything that they didn’t want to do and present it to any labels looking to sign them, which is how he ended up with a credit “for his precious advice” on their debut album, Homework.

“They did not want the label to be involved with the vision of the music, or the videos, or their image. This is one of the keys of their success, because when you go in the system, it has to please the A&R [people], it has to please the radio, and the music changes. Daft Punk were original, they had talent, and what they imagined went to the ear of the people with no interference.”

Vangarde says he has no desire to go back “in the system” himself. He says he never listens to the music he made in the 70s and 80s – “I wrote 350 songs, and I couldn’t sing you one of them” – and looks aghast at the suggestion that this new retrospective compilation might entice him back into the studio. “No, I’m very happy now. They wanted to release an album, I decided to do interviews for the first time in my life. And now,” he smiles, drawing our conversation to a close, “I will quit again.”

The Vaults of Zagora Records Mastermind (1971-1984) is released on 25 November on Because Music.



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New musical brings high-energy world of K-pop to Broadway


NEW YORK (AP) — There are some familiar storylines in a new musical opening on Broadway — a singer and her relationship with the mentor who guided her; a newcomer trying to find his place; young women chasing their dreams.

But they’ve never sounded quite like this.

The global sensation that is Korean pop music is coming to center stage in “KPOP,” opening Sunday at the Circle in the Square Theatre.

With an almost entirely Asian American and Asian cast, many of whom are making their Broadway debuts, the musical is set as a backstage look at some K-pop performers as they get ready for their debut show in New York City. Conflicts break out and get resolved, ending in a concert-like performance.

The show’s Broadway arrival has been a long time coming for playwright Jason Kim, who first conceived of a play around K-pop about a decade ago and staged an off-Broadway version in 2017, with music and lyrics composed by Helen Park and Max Vernon.

Born in South Korea, Kim came to the United States as a child, settling with his family in the Midwest. K-pop has been a fixture in his life, as have Korean television dramas. He also loved musical theater, especially shows like “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls” where the story is about what’s happening behind the scenes.

“I love backstage shows,” he said. “Is there fighting going on in-between everybody? Do they all love each other? These are the questions that I asked myself.”

In the initial stage version of the show, Kim was introducing the machine of K-pop to an American audience largely unfamiliar with it; five years later, it’s been rewritten for a world where K-pop musical heavy-hitters like BTS and Blackpink are pop chart mainstays, amid a slew of other Korean entertainment in movies and television like “Squid Games” becoming more popular in the U.S. as well.

Back then, America “didn’t really know what K-pop was, and so there was a lot of explaining that I had to do. … This time around, I didn’t have to really take the stance of having to apologize for anything or having to explain anything, and just let the story unfold,” said Kim, a writer in television and film.

He called the timing “really serendipitous.”

“It’s been really profound and moving actually to watch the world shift in this way.”

A Broadway musical showcasing the sounds of K-pop is a sign of how “the U.S. is finally catching up with what was already going on around the world,” said Robert Ji-Song Ku, an associate professor of Asian American studies at Binghamton University.

K-pop has been growing in popularity globally for the last 20 years, even though other attempts to break into the American market over the years haven’t met with the same success until recently, he said.

“If there’s a spectrum of universality, K-pop is engineered to be as universal as possible,” he said.

Casting the show took about two years, Kim said, with open calls both in the U.S. and South Korea. Some of those in the show have K-pop backgrounds, including Luna, a former member of the group f(x), who plays the central character of MwE, a singer who has spent years working toward her dreams and has come to a crossroads.

It’s a step forward for Asian American representation on Broadway, which matters a great deal to Kim.

“That talent exists, and they just need a platform,” he said. “So it was really important to me to put these Asian people on stage and see them not playing the typical roles that they play, but playing rock stars, playing pop stars, dancing their faces off and acting their faces off and just being spectacular.”

For her part, Park called the experience an honor.

“K-pop and Broadway have both been my passion for a long time; K-pop has been like comfort food for me, and Broadway was my seemingly unattainable dream, given there haven’t been many Asian composers, let alone Asian female composers that I can see and dream to be like,” she said in an email. “To be able to bring something that feels like home to me, to my dream stage, Broadway, feels like the most miraculous gift that I’ll cherish for a lifetime.”

Kim said it was also important that the show includes some Korean interspersed among the English, both in the songs and the dialogue.

It’s “a way to be really authentic to the experience of K-pop idols and Korean people,” Kim said, pointing out that “when I speak to my mom, I’m switching back and forth all the time, depending on what we’re talking about.”

“The design of the bilingual nature of the show was very intentional.”

Clearly, a musical built around K-pop has a built-in base of potential audience members. But Kim says there’s something for everyone, even those who have never heard a K-pop tune.

“Hopefully if we do our jobs right, you’re watching a fun musical with a bunch of great K-pop songs,” he said. “But really what you’re getting as you leave the theater is a universal story.”

—-

Hajela is a member of the AP’s team covering race and ethnicity. She’s on Twitter at twitter.com/dhajela





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Chris Whiter Talks ‘Daunting’ Task of Composing for Brands like How to Train Your Dragon


Licensed tie-in video games were once the norm. Just looking at the history of one multimedia franchise like SpongeBob SquarePants uncovers numerous games based on specials throughout the 2000s, from the official movie game to Atlantis SquarePantis and Truth or Square. A handful still appear on modern hardware, such as WayForward’s The Mummy Demastered in 2017, but this and other brand-name titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man tend to contribute their own canon to existing names. DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms is in a similar boat.

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Following the success of its How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy, loosely based on a series of children’s books by Cressida Cowell, DreamWorks has upheld the brand through endeavors like the 2021 streaming series Dragons: The Nine Realms. While The Nine Realms takes place some 1,300 years after the main series, Legends is more of an “inspired” reimagining of its story that sees dragons Thunder, Plowhorn, Feathers, and Wu & Wei seeking Thunder’s lost family – without human aid. Even so, composer Chris Whiter spoke to Game Rant about the importance of respecting and contributing to an existing musical canon.

RELATED: Former Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Animator Talks Cloudscape and Kickstarter


Whiter’s Work with Licensed Games is Life Falling into Place

The British musician’s career began playing flute and saxophone, but his University experience with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra cemented an interest in composing. He went on to work with live music, film, and developing sound libraries, and Whiter said “all of those individual facets led to where I am now on the game audio side.” While one can make plans for their future, Whiter said life often falls into place in unexpected ways.

Whiter had smaller jobs doing session work for games, but his first culminating experience in the industry was being invited onto the audio team for Get Packed by friend and collaborator Vince Webb. That connection with publisher Coatsink opened a “right place, right time” opportunity to compose for Transformers: Battlegrounds, published by Outright Games. Through Outright, Whiter has touched other major children’s brands like PAW Patrol and How to Train Your Dragon. “It’s simultaneously lovely, because obviously they’re names everyone knows really well, but it’s also really daunting.”

Tying Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms into an Existing Sound World

A name that people are aware of is one they’ll have a certain attachment to, according to Whiter. In the case of DreamWorks’ popular film series, he said that’s as much of an attachment to the “sound world” as it is the dragons themselves. Whiter said it’s especially daunting to follow the work of How to Train Your Dragon‘s composer John Powell.

“Being part of any musical canon, you have to be aware of what has gone before and ensure you respect that and understand why that canon was appraised. Then make sure you’re contributing to it.”

It’s “a real pleasure to be able to have that opportunity,” Whiter said, especially when the source material offers so much to work with. Whiter tries tracing elements that people associate and love about the style of the original music so that he can “bring those nuances into this new sound world.” That musical canon also includes Dragons: The Nine Realms, which builds upon Powell’s work in its own unique way.

RELATED: DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms Composer Feels Kids Games Don’t Need ‘Oversimplified’ Music

AHEARTFUL OF GAMES’ DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms stands out in this regard, according to Whiter. It ties in with the ongoing streaming series, and Outright Games even released a recording of the game’s main theme being performed by Whiter and the Fames Orchestra to celebrate the November 17 launch of The Nine Realms Season 4 on Peacock and Hulu. Yet Legends is “not set necessarily at the same time,” meaning the composer had to be aware of how this project related to the series’ world.

The ‘Irreplaceability’ of Live Musical Performances

One major aspect of Whiter’s composition on Legends of the Nine Realms was bringing in a variety of woodwinds and Celtic flutes to capture the Viking-inspired world of How to Train Your Dragon. “I always had it in the back of my mind.” His long-time experience as a flutist let him bring his understanding of that soundscape into the project – though Whiter doesn’t necessarily write himself roles in a composition unless he feels it will fit into the work. Often this might be if it needs something he’s handy with late into development, sometimes as a solo part to lay overtop.

“Especially composing these days, you tend to find sometimes you’re multifaceted. You’re not only the composer, there are often many roles you take on. If you have a certain skill set that suits certain projects, there’s no reason not to utilize that.”

Though not every project needs live music, and Whiter said assets like sound libraries can be “useful and powerful” tools, he feels the opportunity to work with musicians is “irreplaceable.” He always aims to work with live musicians when he can, be it in orchestras or layering individual recordings to an existing sound. “It can make the difference between music sounding alive and feeling not quite as alive as it could be.”

Working with an orchestra on Legends of the Nine Realms was one of the great pleasures of the project for Whiter. “Huge thanks go to Outright Games and AHEARTFUL OF GAMES. As a sound world, it’s great to be involved in some way.” While he can’t speak much to the marketing side of the industry, he knows how much audio can bring to both gameplay and narrative immersion, and appreciates how “Universal and the other cogs involved with Dragons” were open to highlighting the hard work of talented musicians and audio teams.

DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Tom Stalta, Composer on Deathloop, Discusses ‘Tough’ 60s/70s Music, Defining Your Sound



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Meredith Music Festival 2022 Lineup Expands With BIG WETT More


Meredith Music Festival 2022 Lineup Expands With BIG WETT & More

The lineup for the 2022 instalment of Meredith Music Festival has been embiggened with the addition of five more acts.

Rock ‘n’ roller Michael Beach, electro-popper BIG WETT, guitar-pop whisperers Snowy Band, ambient guitar dynamo Lou and rockers Smooch will all be joining the party.

WATCH: BIG WETT – ‘EAT MY ASS’

They join a choc-a-bloc lineup featuring the likes of Courtney Barnett, Yothu Yindi, Tasman Keith, Babe Rainbow, Tkay Maidza and many more.

Also performing, as part of the Welcome to Country, is Wadawurrung storyteller, poet and postie Uncle Barry Gilson with his band Meninyan.

The official Meredith 2022 timetable has also just dropped and you can peep it below.

This year’s festival will run from Friday, 9th – Sunday, 11th December at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre in Meredith, Victoria.

It’ll be the first event in the Supernatural Amphitheatre since Golden Plains in March 2020. The most recent Meredith Music Festival took place in December 2019 (Meredith was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid).

You can check out the full lineup and timetable below.

Meredith 2022 lineup

BIG WETT
Snowy Band
Michael Beach
LOU
Smooch

Joining…

Caribou
Dry Cleaning
Yothu Yindi
Courtney Barnett
The Comet Is Coming
Tkay Maidza
Sharon Van Etten
Private Function
DJ Quik
Erika de Casier
Nu Genea
Babe Rainbow
Derrick Carter
CLAMM
Minami Deutsch
SHOUSE
Tasman Keith
Rot TV
Surprise Chef
POOKIE
Our Carlson
Darcy Justice
OK EG
Allara
Rubi Du
Uncle Barry Gilson & Meninyan
Interstitial DJs
City of Ballarat Municipal Brass Band
Silence Wedge
Daphni

Dates & Venues

Friday, 9th – Sunday, 11th December – Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, Meredith, VIC

Official Timetable

Further Reading

Dates Confirmed For Meredith Music Festival 2022

Berry’s Fairgrounds Festival To Make Its Triumphant Return In 2022

Bring Me The Horizon, Deftones Headline Good Things 2022 Lineup

The post Meredith Music Festival 2022 Lineup Expands With BIG WETT & More appeared first on Music Feeds.



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How Indian Music Celebrated Muslim Poet’s Universal Verses In A Divided World


Be it dohas like “Chalti chakki dekh kar, diya kabira roye” which speak of the impermanence of life, or “Maati kahe kumhar se“, in which Kabir focuses on the need to temper our pride and brings in the circularity of life sans religion, faith or geography.

It is because of this very feature that one finds Kabir in not just classical music, but in other forms such as folk, semi classical, chants and congregational music. It comes with no rules attached on how it must be performed, making it adaptable to any kind of music. A prominent part of the oral tradition, the social contexts in which Kabir’s poems were composed and received remain relevant even today.

In an increasingly polarised world, Kabir’s teachings remind us of the futility of division, difference, exclusion, and the need for unification. And as practitioners of Indian classical music, it has given us a voice to express this to listeners across the world.

The sixth edition of the Mahindra Kabira Festival held from 18-20 November and organised by Indian multinational automotive manufacturing corporationMahindra & Mahindra Group, on the ghats of Ganga, was a great platform to celebrate the ideas of equality and diversity of us as people and how through different musical forms, Kabir’s teachings ring true for all of us as citizens of the world.

(Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and Carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by GOI. She is famously regarded as the Music Ambassador of India)



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