Here in the Product department, we’re always busy building cool stuff to make life (and business) easier for our clients. This time, we’re very pleased to announce the launch of a brand new Accounting section. Please, everyone, calm down. Excuse me, sir, can you put your shirt back on? This …
Videos are by far the most engaging form of social content. This isn’t exactly a new discovery, but there’s a lot of missed potential by bands that claim to have a YouTube presence. The common misconception is that your music videos go up on YouTube and you’re done. Although MTV …
Plugging — it’s a word we often hear in relation to promoting something, recommending it, giving it your stamp of approval. iPluggers does just that for your music, and it does it all around the world. With a 100% airplay guarantee (or your money back), iPluggers provides the platform for …
Meet our latest partner: Conduit Mobile. The mobile app creator is getting all kinds of press these days, and it’s not without good reason. Their sexy app offers every function you could dream of with the ease of use you’ve always wanted. What’s more, they’re compatible with all major mobile …
It’s here! It’s here! Our first Summer Friday of the year! Of course it’s humid and rainy, but we’re not going to let that dampen our mood for Freeloader Friday.
So, what do we have in store for you… Let’s see… Emma Louise is taking iTunes by storm this week with the release of her new album vs. Head vs. Heart and a Single of the Week for “Boy” to go with it! If you haven’t checked out this Australian singer-songwriter yet, there’s no better time than the present. You’ll get hooked by her entrancing tone in seconds.
Next, Baths is previewing their full album on Pitchfork Advance, and Mack Avenue Records spoil us with the full album stream of Cécile McLorin Salvant, who’s ready to take the Jazz world by storm, and a 3-track preview of Yellowjackets‘ upcoming album, out in almost exactly a month. The tracks are “Civil War,” “An Informed Decision” and “An Amber Shade of Blue.”
Crocodiles is back with a follow up to last year’s album Endless Flowers and they’re opening the show with the free track download of “Cockroach.” (They like animals and insects equally, it seems.) Veronica Falls‘ “My Heart Beats” was picked as Song of the Day on KEXP, and AM & Shawn Lee and Sally Shapiro both premiered a new track and a remix, respectively, from their latest albums. Beacon closes it out with the music video premiere of “Drive.”
Enjoy the goods, and Happy Memorial Day weekend if you’re in the U.S.!
Emma Louise: “Boy” Single of the Week via iTunes
vs. Head vs. Heart out now on Frenchkiss Records
Baths: Full album stream via Pitchfork Advance
Obsidian out May 28 on Anticon
Cécile McLorin Salvant: Full album stream via Psonar
WomanChild out May 28 on Mack Avenue Records
Yellowjackets: 3-track album preview via SoundCloud
A Rise in the Road out June 25 on Mack Avenue Records
Crocodiles: “Cockroach” track download via Stereogum
Crimes of Passion out August 20 on Frenchkiss Records
Veronica Falls: “My Heart Beats” track download via KEXP
Waiting For Something To Happen out now on Slumberland
AM & Shawn Lee: “All The Love” track premiere via SPIN
La Musique Numerique out now on Park The Van
Sally Shapiro: “If It Doesn’t Rain (Dan Lissvik Remix)” track premiere via Stereogum
Somewhere Else out now on Paper Bag Records
Beacon: “Drive” music video premiere via Stereogum
The Ways We Separate out now on Ghostly International
What happens when DJs/Producers from around the world add their own unique style of ‘bass music’ in a blender with various ingredients extracted from the Morros (hills) of Brazil’s Favelas?
In the words of Mr. Bongo: “Welcome to Neo Baile, a new take on the traditional sounds and aesthetics of Brazil’s Baile Funk (or Funk Carioca) that challenges the established order to create something new, exciting and forward thinking. Mr Bongo is extremely proud to present The Sound of Neo Baile compilation, featuring 14 unreleased and exclusive tracks from worldwide producers that reinterpret the love-it-or-hate-it Brazilian Baile Funk sound. The compilation has been put together by two of the movement’s most knowledgeable players: Sao Paulo-based Funk na Caixa a.k.a. Renato Martins and London-based Sean Casey a.k.a. Bumps, founder of Club Popozuda.”
The release is a 17-track various artists compilation slated to drop worldwide June 10th, 2013. Just in time to add some more heat to the already sweaty summer dance floors! What’s it sound like, you ask? Well, it’s packed with plenty of bass, plenty of Brazilian Portuguese vocal samples, synth melodies and hints of the genre’s own ‘tamborzão’ (big drum) percussion loops. This release is perfect for those who already love Baile Funk, or just for those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to live in the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City a.k.a. Rio de Janeiro) but would like to shake their ‘bundas’ (butts) in their perspective cities around the world as if they really were at a Baile Funk Party in the Favela. I assume this explains the term ‘Neo’ in the title. It’s a new take on an already existing genre. Globo (globe) implies the international tinge to this project, as each of the producers on it is from different countries around the world. More influences the better, I say, as it adds to the already diverse sounds you hear on the comp.
To be clear, there is definitely a difference between straight ‘Funk Carioca’ and ‘Neo Baile Funk.’ For example, if you were to purchase a Baile Funk compilation in Rio, you might notice the rigid template of production from track to track. It’s a common trend in Electronic Dance genres across the board. For example, in Drum n Bass, they recycle the infamous 6-second loop called the ‘Amen break.’ In Baltimore Club music, it’s the ‘Think Break.’ In Reggaeton, it’s the ‘Dembow‘ break, and so on. In Funk Carioca, they use the ‘Tamborzao/Tamborzinho.’ According to Wikepedia, “Tamborzão beats use samples of Brazilian hand drums, particularly the atabaque, in arrangements that are close to the same as those used in Maculelê capoeira.”
This release breaks that mold, and throws in 808 kicks, snares, hi-hats in multiple patterns… Trap/Hip-Hop, Kuduro/Soca, House, Baltimore Club, etc. All in all, it makes it a bit more accessible for the casual night clubber, mixing the genre with familiar sounds, while also blending perfectly with the original Rio-based productions. A win-win situation for all.
It’s been two days since Zach Sobiech succumbed to the Osteosarcoma that plagued his body for the past four years, but it’s now clear that his inspiring attitude and music are not to suffer the same fate. Thanks to the support of all those who connected with his uplifting tunes and story, his single “Clouds” just hit the #1 spot on iTunes’ Singles chart.
“Clouds” is being released through Rock The Cause, the label that excels at bringing music and philanthropy together. True to form, proceeds from “Clouds” are going to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund.
Help lift the spirit of someone in need of positive energy; support the research to treat an illness that’s the eighth most common form of childhood cancer; and keep a small part of Zach Sobiech’s endless optimism in your pocket by adding “Clouds” to your music library.
And if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a video on Zach’s last days that will give you a glimpse inside this amazing boy’s mindset:
Update: Zach Sobiech and Sammy Brown’s album, Fix Me Up, is now #3 behind Daft Punk and The National, and ahead of The Great Gatsby Soundtrack, Vampire Weekend and Justin Timberlake!
Introducing Antoine Wilson, Assistant Manager, Data Analyst
What’s up? I’m Antoine and I’m hyped to join The Orchard team! I’m a native of Brooklyn, NY and graduated from Cornell University in 2009. What I love most is traveling. I spent my first two years after college teaching English in South Korea, and have traveled to 13 countries over the past 5 years. I’m always looking for new cultural adventures whether abroad or right here in NY. Besides travel, in my spare time I enjoy Muay Thai, biking, good food and of course, good music. In particular, I love classic Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, Disco, Acid Jazz, and various forms of Electronica. If I had to pick a single favorite group, it’d probably be A Tribe Called Quest.
You may not know the name Zach Sobiech, but you absolutely should. This week, we lost Zach to a rare form of bone cancer, but not before he was able to inspire millions with his story and music.
In 2009, at age 14, Zach was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a disease with no viable treatment. Several operations and bouts of chemotherapy followed, but last year, doctors told him that the cancer had spread and that he only had a few months to live. Zach funneled the frustration and fear of that diagnosis into “Clouds,” a goodbye ode that has accumulated millions of YouTube views and a surge of support towards his story via CNN, Billboard, and a host of other media outlets.
I’ve worked with Zach’s record label, Rock the Cause, for the last two years and followed Zach’s story every step along the way — as local press turned to national press and national press turned to a record album charting on the Billboard Heatseekers and Folk Charts. The most astounding part about Zach was that while each piece was about him, it was never actually about him. Zach never let the dire complexity of his situation derail him and continued doing what he loved to raise funds to support others diagnosed with his disease.
Last week, as Zach was nearing the end of his time with us, a host of celebrities contributed to a cover version of “Clouds,” a fitting goodbye to a young man trying to find the best way to express that very sentiment. So, minimize the e-mail you’re writing, the text you just received, or whatever other ancillary task is currently holding your attention, and check out the video below. Zach may be gone, but he will not be forgotten.
Proceeds from “Clouds” go to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, which you can donate to and read more about here.
Update: “Clouds” is now #1 on iTunes! Thanks for helping him get there.
Update #2: Zach Sobiech and Sammy Brown’s album, Fix Me Up, is now #3 on iTunes behind Daft Punk and The National, and ahead of The Great Gatsby Soundtrack, Vampire Weekend and Justin Timberlake!
