I don’t believe in separation of sound... I like to hear it all blended together. | | | | Julia Holter in Rome, Italy, Dec. 3, 2017.
(Roberto Panucci/Corbis/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “I don’t believe in separation of sound... I like to hear it all blended together.”
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| | rantnrave:// You don't need me to tell you how great ROBYN's new album, HONEY, is. You have the entire internet for that. Instead, let me draw your attention to the mysterious and wonderful depths of JULIA HOLTER's fifth album, AVIARY, also released Friday. I'm at a bit of a loss to describe, with words, an album that sounds like an abstract painting, awash in colors and moods and dazzling brushstrokes that aren't means to an end so much as they're ends in themselves. From the kaleidoscopic, orchestrated collisions of the gorgeous opening track, "TURN THE LIGHT ON," to the slow-building mantra that is "I SHALL LOVE 2," to the art-rock flirtations of "WHETHER" and "LES JEUX TO YOU," it's an album that bombards you with shapes as shapes, sensations as sensations, sounds as sounds. Holter's palette is full with pianos, synths, strings, voices and percussion, and over the course of an epic 90 minutes you might find yourself wondering if you're basically listening to a song cycle about that palette. And 30 or 40 minutes in, you may also find yourself wondering if there's any subject in the world more worth writing a song cycle about. This interview with the RINGER's LINDSAY ZOLADZ provides some insight into an album that, Holter suggests, is "not about communication. It’s not about language. Even when there’s words—the words are just music." But as with any great piece of art, sit with it long enough, absorb its timbres and textures, and the album will provide all the insight you need. You'll also feel feelings and hear hooks everywhere... The VERGE's DANI DEAHL and NILAY PATEL tear apart the terms and conditions of SOUNDCLOUD's PREMIER program—which is designed to let indie artists monetize their tracks without label or distribution help—and wonder if streaming services are effectively replacing predatory label contracts with predatory contracts of their own. SoundCloud defends its terms, which include an unusually broad release of potential legal claims against the company, but also tells the site, "We are always looking for ways to simplify our agreements for the benefit of our creator community, and will take the opportunity here to avoid future confusion." Stay tuned... LED ZEPPELIN vs. ROLLING STONE... The late JOHNNY HALLYDAY is the DRAKE of France. But bigger... RIP SONNY FORTUNE, TODD YOUTH and JOHN REYNOLDS. | | | - Matty Karas, curator |
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| | | good times never seemed so good |
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 | The Concourse |
| Emphasizing unity over more specific forms of political commentary is the hardcore’s lingua franca. You can’t be a hardcore kid without acknowledging that there is a “them” and an “us.” But how did it get so important? | | |
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 | Forbes |
| From musicians investing in esports teams to the rise of esports-driven record labels and music festivals, the two industries are merging together financially and culturally like never before. | | |
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 | The Verge |
| As indie artists escape predatory label contracts, streaming services may be offering something just as bad. | | |
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 | Trapital |
| Podcasts and video series offer more approaches for artists to play to their strengths and take shots at each other. | | |
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 | The Daily Beast |
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 | Rolling Stone |
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 | Slate |
| Is this the real life of Freddie Mercury? Or is it just fantasy? We break down the new movie. | | |
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 | Variety |
| “I would take my music around to the labels and would get the whole ‘It’s not black enough’ [response]. … The people at the R&B A&Rs couldn’t deal with the pop side, and the people on the pop side were confused as well.” | | |
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 | XXL |
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 | Pitchfork |
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 | Music Industry Blog |
| Spotify’s Daniel Ek is betting big on developing a ‘two sided marketplace’ for music. With the company’s market cap on a downward trend despite strong growth metrics, Ek might find himself having to play up the disruption narrative more boldly and more quickly than he’d planned. | | |
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 | Medium |
| Is it any better than Spotify? And What About MQA? My thoughts! | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| A marathon musical performance in San Francisco will feature songs “written with good intentions,” but that are “utterly revealing.” | | |
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 | Resident Advisor |
| We asked ten DJs to pick their favourites from one of electronic music's most influential mix series. | | |
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 | Fortune Magazine |
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 | Quartz |
| Songs from our adolescent years are like a neurological double-whammy. | | |
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| Pitchfork |
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| Rolling Stone |
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 | NPR Music |
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 | The Obelisk |
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 | YouTube |
| | | | | | This song is overwhelming and cathartic and puzzling and beautiful and I want to drown inside of it. |
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