GDD™ Morning Update: Cosmic Opera, Tiesto, Sebastien Tellier, Brit Awards, LCD Soundsystem
01 13 2012
Good morning! I have some news and videos to welcome you into the weekend. Today’s update includes the Cosmic Opera with Axwell, Tiesto playing the first ever live Twitter concert, Sebastien Tellier’s new album, the Brit Awards, and LCD Soundsystem’s documentary. Please read on after the jump.
Axwell for Cosmic Opera Event
In the past week, a mysterious teaser video has had the web abuzz with talk of a brand new New York event titled Cosmic Opera.
Today, the curtain has fallen and Swedish House Mafia member, Axwell has been announced to headline the first in a series of events.
The series, which will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom is being billed as an extrasensory dance event.
Cosmic Opera founder, Justin Cohen said, “I have ambitions to change the way people experience electronic-dance concerts, turning them into theatrical events with dreamlike imagery.”
He added, “We will also have a storyline, with costumed actors mingling in the crowd.”
Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements and check out the bizarre trailer below.
(via Mixmag)
Tiesto DJs First-Ever Live Twitter Concert At 2012 CES
CES saw the power of dance music firsthand Wednesday night, as Tiësto took the booth at Las Vegas nightclub XS to make social media history.
The DJ/producer and Billboard cover star partnered with HP and Intel to stage the first-ever live concert stream on Twitter, for a room full of the sponsors’ best clients – some still wearing their CES badges and trade show comfort shoes – and an online audience of thousands.
“The coolest aspect for me is to be the first one to do it,” the 42-year-old global superstar said earlier that day. “Twitter is here to stay; it’s a long-term thing. And to be a part of it, to help its development, is amazing.”
The private, invite-only set also marked the launch of another social media initiative for the man his friends call Tijs: “In The Booth,” a 10-part video series meant to document Tiësto’s fast-paced, globetrotting life, is set to premiere on the artist’s YouTube channel on January 17. Produced by Believe Entertainment Group – the digital content company behind Lebron James’ animated Web series “The Lebrons” – the documentary was also underwritten by HP and Intel, and features Tiësto prominently using the brands’ products.
“He’s the king of electronic dance music, but he’s also a guy who gets it,” said Believe co-founder William H. Masterson III from the event’s “black carpet” (HP’s key brand color). “He tries to create experiences for his audience that they’ve never had before.”
For the sponsors, the Tiësto partnership was an ideal way to showcase their top priority for 2012: The new ultrabook category, created by (or according to event signage, “inspired by”) processor giant Intel to compete with Apple’s MacBook Air. Ultrabooks are meant to be light, thin and powerful; aesthetically pleasing but undeniably high-functioning. While Intel has charged all of its manufacturing partners to try their hands at making the lithe machines – with Acer, Lenovo and Dell also debuting new models at CES – the focus at XS was HP.
With media sponsorships that span other verticals – like “Project Runway” (Season 9 winner Anya Ayoung-Chee made an appearance at the HP booth, and at the Tiësto event) – HP likes to position itself as a facilitator of creativity, for a slightly younger and hipper audience. Its Envy 14 Spectre, a lightweight, visually striking Gorilla Glass-encased 14-incher; and Folio 15, a 15-inch addition to the Folio series, which boasts long battery life, were splashed all over the venue, on video screens, banners, and even in glass cases for revelers to gawk at.
Tiësto played his heart out for the full 90 minutes, blasting his trademark confetti cannons, and dropping a greatest-hits type of set, including Avicii’s omnipresent “Le7els,” Kaskade’s “Turn It Down,” a new remix of Oasis classic “Wonderwall,” and his own “Maximal Crazy.” The UStream video feed appeared in the extended body of a traditional Tweet, on HP and Intel’s enhanced Twitter pages. The video player was tiny – but the real-time quality of the platform, now augmented with sight, sound and motion, was undeniably game-changing.
With logos strewn around every corner of the room – sketched on mirrors, projected on walls, even stretched over male dancers in branded unitards – there was no doubt that HP and Intel were in full support of their smiling Dutch DJ star, and his 847,000 Twitter followers.
“Five years ago, no way – brands like this wouldn’t have gotten behind a DJ,” says Believe co-founder Dan Goodman. “They wouldn’t have known who you were talking about. Even now, I think it’s early; we’re just at the beginning.”
“Never before has their been a form of music that’s taken hold so hard,” said Masterson. “Electronic music is probably the most dominant category globally right now. The way people react to the music, and the enjoyment they get out of it – that tells the entire story.”
(via Billboard)
Sebastien Tellier returns with My God Is Blue
Sebastien Tellier will release his next album, My God Is Blue, this April on Record Makers.
My God Is Blue will be Tellier’s first batch of new songs since Sexuality, his 2008 LP produced by Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. In his RA review of that record, James Glazebrook said: “It seems that Sebastien’s genitals have a greater attention span than his brain, and following them has given him some much-needed direction.” My God Is Blue seems to mark a shift in direction, judging by the comparatively un-sensual tracklist. A weirdly passionate press release claims the album shows him reaching “spritual maturity.” Tellier himself has this to say: “Don’t listen to my album; listen to my message. Enter into vibration with my music.”
My God Is Blue is produced by Ed Banger artist Mr. Flash, with guest production by Pavle Kovacevic.
Tracklist
01. Pepito Bleu
02. The Colour Of Your mind
03. Sedulous
04. Cochon Ville
05. Magical Hurricane
06. Russian Attractions
07. Mayday
08. Draw Your World
09. My Poseidon
10. Against The Law
11. My God is Blue
12. Yes It’s Possible
Record Makers will release My God Is Blue on April 16th, 2012.
(via Resident Advisor)
Brit Awards Nominations Announced
The Brit Awards have announced their nominations at a launch ceremony in London tonight with Chase & Status, David Guetta and James Blake all receiving nominations.
Taking place at The Savoy, the list was characteristically dominated by the massive selling but snooze inducing likes of Adele, Jessie J and Ed Sheeran.
The Brits abandoned their Best Dance Act category several years ago but there is a smattering of nominees from the genre in this years list.
Chase & Status are nominated in the Best Group Category, James Blake is up for Best Male Solo Artist and David Guetta is nominated in the Best International Male category.
There is also nods for crossover rappers, Professor Green and Example and Jay Z and Kanye West are up for Best International Group.
Click here to see the full list of nominees and let us know what you think. Are there enough dance acts in there for your liking?
(via Mixmag)
Watch and Weep: LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Shut Up and Play the Hits’ Trailer
LCD Soundsystem must be one of the most prematurely eulogized bands ever. Frontman James Murphy’s decision to announce the end of his hugely influential New York dance-punk group in advance, and to cap it all off with a four-hour farewell concert at Madison Square Garden last April, left plenty of time for TV victory laps and fond online tributes. By this point you might think you’ve moved on. The trailer for upcoming documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits will prove you’re wrong.
The two-minute video ought to bring back a flood of emotions for anybody the least bit invested in LCD Soundsystem. As a live recording of the band’s most powerful song, “All My Friends,” starts to lock into a groove, and longtime SPIN scribe Chuck Klosterman lends elegaic narration, we see Murphy wandering the streets of New York City, ecstatic fans crying and rocking out, balloons dropping, members of Arcade Fire making a surprise cameo, and even a particularly forlorn fan wearing what appears to be a panda mask. Never have we empathized so much with a furry.
The film, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace and set to premiere later this month at the Sundance Film Festival, focuses on the final show and the events surrounding it. Southern and Lovelace previously directed and produced a documentary about Blur, No Distance Left to Run. Sundance is set for January 19 to 29 in Park City, Utah, and will also feature Murphy’s acting debut in Jagjaguwar co-produced film The Comedy. Murphy may have famously once turned down a Seinfeld writing gig, but like that show, LCD Soundsystem went out on top.
(via SPIN)
