As Electronica Booms, Djs Seek Voice Beyond Machines
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lifestyle SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015 The British musician Squarepusher performs a custom six-string electric bass behind a screen of projected images at a British-born Canadian DJ Richie Hawtin (right), a pioneer of techno music, delivers a lecture to students at the New release party for his latest album in New York. — AFP photos School in New York. As electronica booms, DJs seek voice beyond machines lectronic music has enjoyed soaring growth in recent sage was different-it is most critical to discover a voice in the students it was a mistake to think that expensive equipment Squarepusher, whose given name is Tom Jenkinson, had years, but to detractors the genre consists of little studio. “Our instrument keeps changing and evolving and was key to success. The French-born DJ, a longtime staple of been working for years to create the system and also per- Ebeyond crowd-pleasing DJs clicking play on their com- there always seems to be someone-a friend or a manufactur- the New York club scene under the stage name Francois K, forms a customized six-string electric bass. Reflecting on his puters. But several leading artists are seeking to combat per- er-trying to entice you that there is something new that you saw the need for the human element first-hand when he music’s sonic jungle, Squarepusher designed a visual live ceptions with a renewed effort to emphasize the human ele- have to get to sound great,” he said. “But you can spend all mixed Depeche Mode’s blockbuster 1990 album “Violator.” show in which he wears a mask with flashing LED, although ment behind the music. the time chasing that and never having enough to find your- He said that he bought a $3 gadget from electronics chain more recently he has performed in what resembles fencing Richie Hawtin, a leading force in techno music, on his lat- self.” Radio Shack that gave a warbly touch to singer Dave Gahan. attire. Squarepusher released his album Tuesday at a small est tour has gone not only to clubs but to college campuses Music executives were ecstatic, thinking he had invested gallery on New York’s Lower East Side, where he performed where he brought fellow DJs to lecture. Hawtin, a British-born Big growth, low overhead thousands of dollars in hi-tech equipment, he recalled. “It’s behind a screen of projected images and pinned up a mani- Canadian who has performed as Plastikman, is known for his A rapidly growing number of millennials in Western not that at all-it’s more the idea that you want to experiment,” festo on the outside wall. minimalist techno but said that honing his style took time. nations have embraced electronic dance music as their gen- Kevorkian said. Squarepusher’s manifesto said that he recorded “Damogen “As big as the scene has become and as easy as it is to get eration’s defining sound. A study presented last year at the Furies” in a single take, seeking a live feel through his new sys- involved... to go beyond that and to find your own unique International Music Summit in Ibiza found that the industry Pushing the limits tem. “The initial impetus to develop it came from a need to free voice or sound is quite difficult,” he told a hall full of aspiring was worth $6.2 billion, soaring from $4.5 billion a year earlier. While catchy dance music has fueled the boom in festi- myself from the constraints of using off-the-shelf gear and the electronic artists at New York’s New School. “Sometimes peo- Around two-thirds of the revenue from the electronic vals, the British artist Squarepusher has tested the limits in a culture of consumerism that engulfs electronic music making ple criticize electronic music for being computer music- ‘it’s music industry came through festivals and clubs, with growth different electronic direction with a complicated web of in particular,” he wrote. Instead the music “is presented in defi- not made by people, it’s all about the machine.’ “Well, it can especially strong in India, the study found. Among reasons sometimes jarring blips and beeps set to frenetic drum loops. ance of the path of least resistance.” — AFP be, but it shouldn’t be,” said Hawtin, who spearheads summer for the high profit margin is the relatively low overhead for Squarepusher, who used his background in jazz to bring a techno bashes on the notorious Spanish party island of Ibiza. many DJs, who can fly to international events easily with their radical take to drum-and-bass starting in the 1990s, went a The lecture tour featured workshops for students and was equipment. step further on his new album, “Damogen Furies,” by design- supported by manufacturers of equipment. But Hawtin’s mes- But Francois Kevorkian, a pioneer of house music, told the ing his own software system. Abercrombie retailers tone down the sexy bercrombie & Fitch is saying goodbye to a retail research firm. “You are not going to see the shirtless beefcake models who greet- totally wholesome, but I think the era has Aed customers at its doors. The New passed it by. They need to do something differ- Albany, Ohio-based company, which operates ent.” Jeffries had reinvented the chain from an stores under its namesake brand and Hollister, ailing retailer of hunting apparel to a seller of announced Friday that store associates will not teen clothing that became a must-have brand be hired “based on body type or physical attrac- for young consumers fueled by racy ads and tiveness” and it will no longer call them “models” catalogs and eye candy associates that helped but “brand representatives.” It also said that its keep sales sizzling. A big tradition: using shirt- employees can be more individualistic when less models for store openings and events. But they dress, ditching its “look policy,” which since the Great Recession, the brand has stum- banned eyeliner and certain hair styles among bled on hard times. Young shoppers are reprior- other things. itizing and spending more money on gadgets like iPhones than clothes. And when they do buy clothes, they do so differently than past generations who found comfort in dressing like their peers. Teens shunning expensive brands Today’s teens shun the idea of wearing the same outfit as the girl or guy sitting next to them in chemistry class. And many are opting for inexpensive fashions at H&M and other “fast fashion” chains, which constantly refresh their Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Leonardo DiCaprio is seen during the filming of ‘The Revenant’. stores with the latest styles. As sales slumped, Abercrombie & Fitch Co came under fire for being too exclusive. The outspoken Jeffries had stirred up controversy for statements about How movies like ‘The Revenant’ how Abercrombie & Fitch goes after attractive kids who can fit into its clothes, alienating cus- tomers who don’t mirror the brand’s image. The company has posted 12 straight quar- could revolutionize the industry ters of declines in revenue at stores open at least a year. That’s a key indicator of a retailer’s he proliferation of quality television programs Making marvels dle-aged. Emerging artists with big ideas may not find health because it excludes the impact from like “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones” has Having extended the tracking shot beyond its nat- financiers as receptive to their visions of what’s possi- recently opened or closed stores. The compa- Tblurred the lines between small and big screen. ural limits on “Birdman,” Inarritu is reteaming with cine- ble onscreen as the man behind “Forrest Gump.” ny’s total sales and net income have also been These shows aren’t just well written and acted. They matographer Emmanuel Lubezki to film “The Still, it shows a hunger to experiment. In the face of on a downward trend over the past two years. are painstakingly composed, benefiting from a cine- Revenant” using only natural light. It’s reportedly been challenges from emerging digital technologies and In the release issued Friday, Abercrombie & matic quality that was absent in earlier eras of adult- a grueling shoot, with production delays forcing co- higher-quality smallscreen entertainments, studios Fitch said that it will continue to focus on its driven programming. star Tom Hardy to drop out of “Suicide Squad.” Yet have invested in making effects-driven films they File photo shows a model as he prepares commitment to diversity among its sales staff. It Based on footage and studio presentations this based on the reaction to footage of Leonardo believe are differentiated from the at-home experi- to greet shoppers at Abercrombie & Fitch noted that more than 50 percent of its store week at CinemaCon, bigscreen auteurs such as Ang DiCaprio engaged in fights and other rugged ele- ence. It’s an approach similar to the one Hollywood in New York. — AP associates are non-white. It also noted it will Lee, Robert Zemeckis and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ments of frontier life, Inarritu and Lubezki may have deployed during the 1950s: When faced with the focus on improving customer service and will may be pushing back against the television revolution. accomplished something galvanizing and remarkable. growing popularity of television, the studios fell madly It’s also bidding adieu to “sexualized” photos ensure check-out lines are kept to a minimum. The technologies and techniques used on films such It’s important not to get overly euphoric, of course. in love with biblical epics. There’s a reason “big” was in marketing materials in its stores and on its “Abercrombie & Fitch will recruit and hire the as “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and “The Much of the footage that screened at the exhibition the mostly commonly used adjective in the studio gift cards and shopping bags, starting in late best associates whose focus will be on offering Revenant” can radicalize filmmaking and redefine the industry confab was of the unfinished variety, and Lee, presentations at CinemaCon.