Wed, 12/06/2017 - 9:30 am

Today, Moogfest unveils a festival lineup led by female, non-binary, and transgender artists, including a keynote conversation with privacy rights and political transparency activist Chelsea Manning on The Future of Creativity. The announcement is celebrated by ‘Always On’, a 50-hour livestream presented in partnership with Tom Tom Magazine from Today at 12:00 pm ET to 2:00pm ET on December 8, 2017. 

Chelsea Manning’s keynote conversation will explore how technology enables radical disruption in the personal and political spheres, framing the technological future as a new creative landscape. Since its introduction in 2014, the Moogfest keynote has unearthed new perspectives on the future of creativity – tackling questions about how creativity will evolve and what tools will shape creative expression in the future. Like the festival’s namesake, Dr. Bob Moog, these world-renowned thinkers and futurists bring to life the tools and ideas that deepen our existence. Manning follows in the footsteps of other groundbreaking thinkers; past Moogfest keynote speakers include: transhumanist Dr. Martine Rothblatt, VR pioneer Jaron Lanier, Dr. Kate Shaw from the CERN Large Hadron Collider, Harvard’s Dr. Joe Davis, and philosopher Nick Bostrum.
 
Rounding out today’s announcement, Moogfest reveals some of the artists who will be participating in the festival’s nighttime program including LCD Soundsystem synth experimentalist Gavin Rayna Russom, gender ambiguous theremin virtuoso Armen Ra, Kuwaiti conceptual artist Fatima Al Qadiri, Afrofuturist DJ Maliibu Miitch, hyperkinetic pop maven SOPHIE, and the US debut of revered Japanese multi-instrumentalist Midori Takada. Building on the experimental format of previous years, these artists will participate in Future Sound performances by night complemented by the same artists leading Future Thought workshops, and conversations by day.

Today’s announcement is celebrated by “Always On,” a 50-hour livestream with continuous performances from female, transgender, and non-binary artists. Presented in partnership with Tom Tom Magazine, the livestream highlights the abundance of female, transgender, and non-binary artists actively creating and performing electronic music and beats around the world – from a home-studio in South Africa, to the Moog Factory in North Carolina. The global livestream begins today at 12:00 pm ET and anyone can tune-in for free at http://AlwaysOn.Live. The “Always On” celebration will continue at the festival in May, with some of the artists participating in the livestream also participating at the festival including Goddess of “electronic psychedelic soul” Sassy Black, Discwoman’s middle eastern dance experimentalist DJ Haram, percussive activist Madame Gandhi, avant pop sound sculptor Katie Gately, multi-instrumentalist provocateur Stud1nt, and former Au Revoir Simone hypnotic synth master Annie Hart. Many of these performances will be part of the free and open-to-the-public programming throughout the festival weekend.

Always On and Moogfest 2018 are presented by United Therapeutics, American Underground, and Moog Music with support from Splice. 

Tue, 01/09/2018 - 1:18 pm

Emancipator (Doug Appling) releases 'Baralku,' the third single and title track from his 14 track LP out on his Loci Records imprint  November 17. The string-heavy, softly layered stunner "Baralku" premiering on This Song Is Sick, follows the moody 'Ghost Pong' and jazzy 'Goodness' lead singles. The classically trained electronic artist and producer also announces a 25-date 'Baralku Tour,' featuring his five-piece Emancipator Ensemble, kicking off on January 30, 2018.

Emancipator, who has regularly sold out venues across the country, just headlined Colorado’s iconic 10,000 seat Red Rocks Amphitheater this August. In each live performance, Emancipator harks back to his college jam band days, honoring the need for structure while allowing room for improvisation. With his five-piece band, Appling artfully balances seamless instrumentation with each crowd's unique, vibrant energy.

"We carve out parts of the show for improvisation. "A lot of the parts that end up being incorporated into the songs later on come out of these improv spaces. We'll play something live and decide, 'That sounded great,' so we start playing it like that at the next show."

Inspired by the astral “island” some aboriginal societies believe to be our spiritual home after death, 'Baralku' synthesizes downtempo hip-hop beats, world music elements, and field recordings, as well as jazz, folk, and classical influences into a transcendent hybrid of lush, nuanced, and ethereal compositions. “No part of his fusion is forced,” the New York Times has proclaimed. “While many attempts to merge classical melodicism with dance music sound awkward and gimmicky...Emancipator has found a balance.”

“Music takes me to places, and each song is a spirit island on which its soul lives infinitely,” says Emancipator of the album’s formerly secretive title and his inspiration for this album. “To release a song is both a death and a birth at the same time,” he adds. “The sounds contained in each song have reached the end of their life process. The once shapeshifting collage of expression has been crystallized into a final form, no longer kinetic. Yet it exists in a state of permanent potential energy, waiting to be accessed in the form of music, just as the memory of a departed soul will always have the power to move us.”

Falling in love with hip-hop, jazz, and world music, while learning violin, Emancipator has been honing his sound since his highly acclaimed 2006 debut, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough. In the decade since, his unique amalgamation of styles has generated steadily escalating buzz. On the strength of four albums–Soon It Will Be Cold Enough (2006), Safe In The Steep Cliffs (2010), Dusk to Dawn (2013), and Seven Seas (2015)–plus several remixes and EPs.

His 'Baralku' album was released on November 17, 2017 via Emancipator’s own record label, Loci Records, launched in 2012.

Complete List of 2018 Tour Dates Below:

1/30 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

1/31 - Boston, MA @ Paradise 

2/1 - New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

2/2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts

2/3 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

2/7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miramar Theatre 

2/8 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre

2/9 - Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

2/10 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe

2/14 - Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay

2/15 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Varsity

2/16 - Dallas, TX @ Trees

2/17 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk

2/18 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall

2/20 - St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House 

2/21 - Nashville, TN @ Exit In

2/22 - Charlotte, NC @ Underground

2/23 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre 

2/24 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

3/15 - San Diego, CA @ Music Box

3/16 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre 

3/17 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom 

3/29 - Vancouver, BC @ Venue 

3/30 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

3/31 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

Tue, 03/27/2018 - 11:04 am

Sunset Music Festival has become the staple in its hometown of Tampa, Florida at Raymond James Stadium. What started as a single day event grew to a two-day fest by its third year and now Disco Donnie Presents and Sunset Events, purveyors of the festival in the Sunshine-State, are announcing an unprecedented lineup-up for their 7th consecutive year.

Sunset Music Festival returns under the Floridan sun for an electric Memorial Day Weekend on May 26 & May 27. Pushing boundaries, this years’ line-up represents the many facets of the festival and its inclusive and innovative spirit, adding R&B and Hip-Hop talent to the best of the best in dance music.

Marshmello, and Excision are announced to headline the two day fest and will be joined by “Goresteps” own Borgore, Destructo, Anna Lunoe, Bonnie x Clyde, Canadian trap queen DJ Cray, Australia’s GG Magree, K?D, Baltimore’s GypZ and Elephante + many more.

Disco Donnie comments, “This year’s SMF lineup includes a lot of firsts to make the lineup our biggest yet — three top tier headliners, new genres like hip hop, a focus on female artists, back to back sets, stage takeovers by All My Friends and Brownies & Lemonade, plus some new surprises in store in coming weeks.”

John Santoro of Sunset Events adds, “I feel that we really dialed in the operations last year and can’t wait to show all the added toys we put into the festival this year for our family to enjoy. I hope everybody’s ready for an unbelievable festival. From the start in 2006 to now is simply amazing how our fans love for this festival made it grow to what we are all going to experience this memorial weekend. Can’t wait for memorial weekend and for all the memories to be made.”

Leading up to the festival, SMF released a series of comedic teaser trailers, featuring Levi & Flynn, a tale of two aspiring musicians, living in a RV in Tampa, who were mistakenly convinced they were booked to headline this year’s event, since the duo shared the same name as one of the 2018 artists, Hippie Sabotage. The videos were the work of Agata Alexander, Jason Kaye, Rob Michaelson, creators of the Hard Music Festival trailers.

This year will see the debut of two exclusive stage takeovers, where electro meets hip hop featuring Destructo & Yo Gotti at the All My Friends stage, plus A-Trak and YehMe2 will headline the Brownies & Lemonade stage. The two recently declared “We’re open for festival season” and they’ll be bringing their impressive energy to the party.

In their 7th year and running, DDP and Sunset Events have hosted international names such as David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Markus Schulz, Knife Party, Carnage, Krewella, and Ferry Corsten. Last year Tampa, FL was shined by headliners Major Lazer, Above & Beyond, RL Grime, and Zeds Dead.

EVENT INFO:

Saturday May 26 & Sunday May 27, 2018

18+ Event

3pm-Midnight Daily

Raymond James Stadium

4201 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33607, USA

Tue, 05/01/2018 - 11:43 am

R.E.M. frontman and multimedia artist Michael Stipe will return to Moogfest this year to debut his new multimedia installation, Thibault Dance, the second in a series of audio-visual pieces created exclusively for the festival. Thibault Dance was shot by Stipe in New York City and features French dancer and researcher Thibault Lac, whose movements were then set to an original score created by Stipe. Thibault Dance is the successor to Jeremy Dance, an original piece by Stipe that debuted at Moogfest last year as a tribute to Stipe’s longtime, departed friend Jeremy Ayers. 

“Thibault Dance is an enveloping turn on my work in video,” Stipe describes. “The material comes from the juxtaposition and friction of raw elements of physicality, performed to a reimagined musical score that heightens tension to create a portrait where awkwardness and grace coexist, shifting through vulnerability, discovery, and pure dance.”
 
The installation will be presented at the ground-level exterior of the historic Snow Building in downtown Durham and will be viewable throughout the festival.
 
New Additions to Programming
 
Moogfest is pleased to announce the addition of vanguard drone music composer Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), Khanate, Burning Witch) and pop experimentalist Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors, Avey Tare) to its durational programming. The duo will come together for a collaborative four-hour performance on Saturday, May 19. Joining the festival’s nighttime lineup are genderqueer R&B futurist Mhysa and post-jungle beatmaker NO EYES of Suzi Analogue’s Never Normal Records. Durham-based noise-punk duo sister,brother have also been added to kick off the music on Thursday evening. In addition, renowned music educator Herb Deutch, who collaborated with Bob Moog on the development of the Moog Synthesizer, joins the daytime lineup for a conversation on Thursday, May 17.
 
The Reverb Record Fair Launches at Moogfest
 
Reverb LP Record Fair, an online marketplace for buying and selling records and other physical music, will bring their online experience to life through the Reverb LP Record Fair at this year’s festival. The fair will feature selections from All Day Records, Carolina Soul, and many more, and will present everything from obscure rarities to collection staples to boutique releases. 

“We love record stores like we love music instrument stores — they are important community hubs that support not only music creation, but also our ability to share and appreciate music and the people who create it,” said Jim Tuerk, Director of Business Development at music gear marketplace Reverb.com, which recently launched Reverb LP as a marketplace for records and other physical music. “Through the record fair at Moogfest, we’re excited to introduce attendees to both Reverb LP and a ton of great local record shops that can help them add to their collections.”

The Reverb LP Record Fair is free and open to the public from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. each day of the festival. Discounts from select records will be available, along with the option to ship your purchases home for free. 

Single Day Passes Available May 1
 
Individual Thursday, Friday, and Saturday passes to Moogfest 2018 can be purchased starting today with limited quantities available. Each pass is $99 plus fees and provides General Admission access to all events taking place on that particular day, spanning both daytime and nighttime events. Day passes can be purchased here.

Mon, 05/21/2018 - 6:41 am

Moogfest, the annual celebration of the legacy of inventor and synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog, lit up downtown Durham this weekend in the festival’s third year with a fresh look, renewed energy, and major contribution to the city’s economy.

The Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau announced on Friday that the festival is expected to generate about $200,000 in tax revenue for the city while also injecting nearly $7 million into the local economy from the 6000 people who attended, performed at, and worked for the festival. Official numbers will be released soon.

For four days, this year’s festival transformed the downtown Durham vibe into a veritable playground of pop-up performances, transformative performance installations from its Spatial Sound centerpiece, and interactive art such as the Nokia Bell Labs and Delta Sound Labs data-art set, “Vorticity,” or R.E.M. co-founder and visual artist Michael Stipe’s A/V dance piece, “Thibault Dance.” The festival’s free stage in the heart of the American Tobacco Campus on Saturday drew an hundreds more in addition to the officially counted numbers, with performances by hip-hop legends Pete Rock and Ali Shaheed Muhammed, plus indie-soul songwriter Moses Sumney.

Moogfest live-streamed the nine performances from its Spatial Sound programming, garnering an audience of thousands across the world for acts performing in the Durham Armory, with highlights including Mouse on Mars, Jenny Hval, Yves Tumor, Suzanne Ciani, and more.

Moogfest also announces that Super Early Bird tickets for the 2019 festival are now available with an offer of $80 for General Admission and $120 for VIP passes until May 22 at 11:59pm ET. Super Early Bird tickets are exclusively available for 2018 ticketholders.

Earlier in the week, Moog Music Inc. announced its newest semi-modular synthesizer, the Grandmother, which was being built on-site the Moog Pop-Up Factory throughout the weekend. The release was extremely successful, with its initial production run selling out before the festival ended, finding its way into the hands of participating artists such as Madame Gandhi and Nick Hook of Spiritual Friendship, who used it during their Thursday afternoon Durational Performance, which they’ve made available for listening here.

Despite only being on the market for a few days, Grandmother became a centerpiece in other sets throughout the weekend, a hallmark of the fluidity that Moogfest artists are given in its programming. Vanguard jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell, who held the Sunday Durational as the festival’s closing performance, commented about the nature of that creative freedom that invited artists are afforded shortly after the close of her four-hour performance.

“It was such a huge honor to be invited. They trusted me to do a four-hour performance and to do it solo, and it’s rare to do an American festival where you feel there’s complete trust in the artist to do something different,” Mitchell said. “I felt supported to stretch out and be daring, and that was a really special experience for me.

Moogfest 2019 will take place on April 25-28.