THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS SHARE NEW DUB MIX FOR THEMED RADIO SERIES
It's the first mix in the duo's Radio Chemical series for Sonos Radio
The Chemical Brothers have shared a brand new mix.
Earlier this year, Sonos announced a new series of personal radio stations, curated by a number of huge artists including Björk, FKA twigs and D'Angelo. Legendary electronic duo The Chemical Brothers were also announced for the Sonos Radio roster, presenting a new mix each week via their station: Radio Chemical.
Their first episode features a dub themed mix, taking "a deep dig" into The Bros' record collections, with tracks from Creation Rebel, Sir Horatio, and King Tubby.
"The "in dub mix " channels our love of dub music - where the foundation is drum and bass and the lead instrument is the mixing desk, where a delay feeding back on itself can be as exciting as a heartfelt lyric," the duo said. "A lot of this music pushes the boundaries of what can be done with a multi track and an application of echo, eq and phase. It's a constant inspiration to us of what is possible in the studio and the myriad of ways you can find to interpret a song."
You can check out the mix below.
Last year, David Guetta remixed Chemical Brothers' classic track 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' under his Jack Back alias.
IBIZA TO ACCEPT EU TOURISTS WITH VACCINE PASSPORTS; OPEN OUTDOOR SPACES FOR BARS & RESTAURANTS IN MARCH
Earlier this week, Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto gave an update that vaccines passports will help open up the country to tourists later this year.
Locations accepting the passport include the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Mallorca).
In addition, a ‘travel corridor’ is being worked on between the UK and Spain.
According to Maroto, if things progress well…
“it gives hope and certainty that that the second semester of 2021 will be when the reactivation of the tourism sector.”
In addition, bars and restaurants in Ibiza, Formentera, Menorca and Mallorca will be able to open outdoor terraces and spaces to the public starting in March.
DAFT PUNK HAVE SPLIT UP
The robots have called time after 28 years.
Daft Punk have split up.
The French duo made the announcement by posting an eight-minute video clip titled Epilogue to their Facebook page.
Read this next: The best Daft Punk tracks ranked
The clip is taken from their 2008 film Electroma and features an iconic moment out in the desert before displaying a brand new graphic that proclaims '1993-2021'.
It's a typically ambiguous way for the robots to sign out after nearly three decades. However, the band's publicist Kathryn Frazier has confirmed that this is indeed the end.
Rumours have always surrounded Daft Punk, who formed in 1993, but this is very much for real as Pitchfork confirms.
As yet there is no more information on the robots' reasons for breaking up, however we will report more news as soon as we receive it.
The band hasn't released an album since 2013's 'Random Access Memories', their biggest-selling LP and an opus that saw them move away from the dancefloor and toward more conceptual, grandiose music.
Read this next: Unseen Daft Punk footage has appeared online
In hindsight, 'RAM' was a fitting final LP for Daft Punk, who made dance music history by releasing three highly influential albums – 'Homework', 'Discover' and 'Human After All' – as well as two incredible live albums between 1996 and 2007.
This period of fervent activity and world tours – during which they helped invent French touch and later the French electro sound, and set the blueprint for the dance music live show with their Pyramid production – wrote them into dance music history as one of the most popular and mythologised acts of all time.
Read this next: Here are the 500 albums you need to listen to if you're a Daft Punk fan
NYC TO ALLOW LARGE STADIUMS & VENUES TO OPEN STARTING FEBRUARY 23RD
NYC Govenor Cuomo has announced that the State of New York will allow large stadiums and venues to begin holding events with 10% occupancy at events with over a 10,000 capacity. Attendees will have to have had a negative Covid-19 test within3 days.
SIRIUSXM LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE CHANNELS FROM ARMIN VAN BUUREN AND STEVE AOKI
The two mammoth EDM stars join Diplo in receiving their own Sirius XM channels.
SiriusXM is the foremost source of satellite radio, where users can choose channels that play some of their favorite genres and music from their favorite artists. In the EDM corner, Diplo has been holding it down with the Diplo's Revolution channel, among other genre-based channels like Chill, BPM Discovery, Utopia, and Studio 54 Radio.
Now, SiriusXM has brought two more superstar artists into the fold to host their very own channels. Trance legend Armin van Buuren and EDM renaissance man Steve Aoki have received their own airspace courtesy of the radio giant.
van Buuren's channel, A State of Armin, will of course feature the latest and greatest in trance and progressive, as well as some genre classics from the famed producer himself and many others. Armin previously hosted “A State of Sundays," a 24-hour block of programming that played every Sunday on Diplo's Revolution.
“Part of the reason why I've been around for so long is because nothing beats the feeling of sharing the music you love with as many people as possible," van Buuren told Billboard. "I'm grateful that SiriusXM is giving me the opportunity to reach even more people through this new full-time streaming channel."
Steve Aoki's channel will be centered around remixes of pop and dance music. "Steve Aoki’s Remix Radio is special to me because remixes have really helped me hone in on and develop my own sound over the years," he told Billboard.
For more information, visit the official Sirius XM website.
Tech house: the unbeatable top genre according to Beatport
The end of the year is approaching, which means it is time to analyse the 2020 Beatport Review and find out who came out on top. This year streaming was the king, as live events and artists’ fieldwork were put on pause by the pandemic. The ability of the artists and the record labels to adapt to the new reality was determinant for their projection. The free time forced by quarantine and isolation pushed the artists into the studio, and for those who made the most of the opportunity, this was a big year for releases. According to Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels, by July releases had already grown 10-20%. Although it was not possible to experience live music, it was possible to take advantage of the adversity to give a boost in the sale and streaming of new music. Many of the 2020 releases were the result of the present context and nicknamed as ‘isolation releases’. But which genres dominated the charts? According to Beatport report powered by Viberate, tech house remains the undisputed leader, followed by house, melodic house & techno, and techno (peak time/driving).
Compared to 2019, the winner remains unchanged, house moves up two positions, melodic house & techno maintains its place and techno falls two positions. This top 4 reflects the kind of feeling that dance music lovers have been looking for this year and also the artists who stand out. In a year in which the digital window was wide open, those who best positioned themselves in the consciousness of their fans prevailed. This genre ranking was based on the number of times that tracks of a certain genre entered the overall Beatport Top 100 chart and the positions of those tracks on the chart. In this table that presents us a hundred songs that make up the preference of music lovers, 39% are tech house gems, making it the undisputed leader. The best-scored tracks belong to well-known names of the tech house scene like Michael Bibi, Green Velvet, Chris Lake, Eli Brown, Sony Fodera, Dom Dolla, Dennis Cruz, Martin Ikin, Fisher, Claude VonStroke, and CamelPhat.
DUTCH GOVERNMENT AIMS TO ALLOW FESTIVALS FROM JULY
“In case festivals still get canceled due to changing COVID circumstances, organisers are likely to be compensated for the costs"
The Dutch Government has said that festivals should be possible in the Netherlands from July.
After the Dutch prime minster had previously announced that nightclubs would remain closed until a vaccine was available for COVID-19, a number of festivals and trial events have announced they are planning to go ahead in 2021, following an announcement from the Dutch government regarding live events.
One festival, Liquicity, which is due to take place from the 16th to the 18th July, posted a statement to their website, explaining that the Dutch government had confirmed festivals should be able to go ahead in the country from the 1st July.
“Great news: the Dutch government has announced that they aim to allow festivals after July 1,” the statement from Liquicity said. “In case festivals still get canceled due to changing COVID circumstances, organisers are likely to be compensated for the costs. Festivals in The Netherlands are currently selling out in record pace due to this new government announcement.”
Liquicity also promised full refunds if the event should end up being cancelled — “in case festivals still get canceled due to changing COVID circumstances, organisers are likely to be compensated for the costs" — and another festival, Lowlands, has announced that two trial events will take place later this year, with 3000 participants expected to present negative COVID-19 tests on entry.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Glastonbury 2021 has officially been cancelled due to coronavirus, but festivals of a smaller scale could take place safely this summer with proper coronavirus measure in place, MPs have been told. Speaking to the House of Commons Culture Select Committee last week, Rowan Cannon of festival organisers Wild Rumpus said that, with social-distancing and appropriate safety measures, small festivals should be “as safe as Sainsbury’s”.
“The idea that the festivals can’t go ahead and be socially-distanced is inaccurate,” she continued. “We can absolutely adapt our programming, put infrastructure in place, [and] change the way that we do things, to enable something to happen with social distancing in place.”
SPAIN WILL BE OPEN TO TOURISTS BY SPRING, TOURISM MINISTER SAYS
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez previously stated the country would remain shut to tourists until Autumn
Spain will be open to tourists by spring, the country's tourism minister says.
After Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, stated the country would remain shut to international tourists until Autumn, Reyes Maroto, the country's tourism minister, has said in a press conference that Spain will begin to reopen in Spring.
Making the admission last Friday, 26th January, Maroto said that “our priority in 2021 is to reactivate tourism and resume safe mobility on a global scale as soon as possible,” and that a staggered reopening will take place.
Tourism is one of the most crucial industries in Spain, especially in nightclub hotspot Ibiza. Spain welcomes approximately 80 millions tourists a year, with the industry providing over 12% of the country’s GDP.
Last year, Ibiza clubs Hï and Ushuaïa officially cancelled all scheduled parties for May 2020 amid the first stages of the coronavirus pandemic, before all bars and clubs were shuttered across Spain. For a recent DJ Mag feature, Anu Shukla investigated how the White Isle has adapted during the pandemic.
In December, it was also revealed that Ibiza clubs and events could use a new app called Liberty Pass to help them open in 2021, according to Spain Nightlife and International Nightlife Association secretary-general Joaquim Boadas. The app collects official information from collaborating medical centres about antigen tests, PCR tests and vaccines, when available. The app then updates with a QR code tied to an individual with a green tick if tests are negative.
ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2021 REPORTEDLY CANCELLED, PLANS 2022 RETURN
In news that we all knew was coming, Ultra Music Festival in Miami has been cancelled for 2021. Tentative dates for the 2022 version will be March 25 – 27.’ According to Billboard, Ultra organizers are awaiting approval for the 2022 dates before officially announcing the 2021 cancellation.
There is no word yet on tickets/refunds for those who still hold 2020 tickets rolled-over to 2021 however one can expect they will be rolled-over again to 2022. Ultra did not offer refunds last year but we hope they will provide those if requested.
BURNING MAN 2021 STILL IN LIMBO, ORGANIZERS PROMISE OFFICIAL UPDATE IN FEBRUARY
A Burning Man Project exec said "it’s impossible to say right now if Black Rock City can happen in 2021.
While nothing compares to summertime in Black Rock City, the definitive status of Burning Man 2021 has yet to materialize, despite a successful November fundraising campaign that crowdsourced over $5 million to keep the dream alive.
A January 21st update from Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley, Burning Man Project’s Associate Director of Communications, revealed that due to the uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19 in the future, "it’s impossible to say right now if Black Rock City can happen in 2021."
"Public health and safety is our top priority," Debucquoy-Dodley continued. "We will only inhabit Black Rock City with the appropriate safety protocols and permits in place."
He also promised that more conclusive information will be announced by mid-February, but with a warning—even if the organizers decide to proceed with the event, unpredictable public health conditions could warrant a cancellation. To stay up to date, Debucquoy-Dodley recommended subscribing to the festival's Jackrabbit Speaks and Burning Man Journal platforms.
Debucquoy-Dodley emphasized his team is doing everything they can to mitigate the possibility of a cancellation, from close communication with the Nevada government and permitting agencies to the formation of a special COVID-19 Task Force aimed at tracking new information and statistics.
Additional notes in the update include new goals for the festival's Sustainability Team, a statement on "Diversity & Radical Inclusion" efforts, and the announcement of a virtual "educational and community-building tool" set to launch in the near future.
"Regardless of whether BRC happens in 2021, we’re committed to elevating and expanding community engagement in all forms," Debucquoy-Dodley wrote. "We have a job to do and we want to do it with you."
Source: The Burning Man Journal
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