Video: Primavera Sound Festival Day 2

Watch BeatCrave’s video coverage of the second day at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, May 29. You can also watch the video coverage for day one and day three. I got to speak with Alex Thomas, the drummer who is touring with Squarepusher, about his opinion on music file sharing, and polled festival attendees about their downloading habits.

The last day of the festival will feature the rock icon Neil Young, and I’m also looking forward to Oneida, The Bad Plus, A-Trak, Gang Gang Dance, Lemonade, Sonic Youth and DJ Mehdi. Be alert for more video coverage of my final day in Barcelona.

Camerawork and video editing by Tiago Morelli

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Primavera Sound Day Two: Dan Deacon, Shellac…

The end of day two of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona comes to me almost as a surprise - somewhat like being awakened from a hypnotic trance. You can watch our video summary of day two. Here’s my written reconstruction of what happened: Read more...

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Video: Primavera Sound Festival Day 1

Above is a quick summary of the coverage of my first day at the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. Stay tuned for more awesome videos (day two and day three) during the festival, and afterwards for less abridged footage of the bands and interviews.

For the second day I’m hoping to catch Crystal Antlers, Shellac, A Certain Ratio and Bloc Party, among the many other bands that are performing, and also hope to publish a few more videos. Thanks for watching!

Camerawork and video editing by Tiago Morelli

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Primavera Sound Day One: Andrew Bird, Aphex Twin…

Day one of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona came to a close, and though the crowd shuffled away worn out and bleary-eyed, there was still the excited hubbub of fans satisfied with the day’s shows. If the performances had continued, then people would still be there dancing holes into the ground. Watch the video of day one.

After checking out Marnie Stern, Lightning Bolt and Yo La Tengo, I hurried to see Andrew Bird, The Bug, and Jay Reatard. To finish the first day of the festival, two stunning acts from Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, complete with visuals and electronic wizardry, led the entertainment into the wee morning hours. Continue reading...

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Primavera Sound Festival: Introduction

The Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain is off to a great start, with multiple bands performing simultaneously on six different stages. The turnout exceeds all expectations, and each act has been heavily populated. I imagined that the festival would be spread out, but the stages are very close to each other, and it’s been possible to jump from show to show quickly.

So far, I’ve seen Marnie Stern at the Ray-Ban Vice stage, Lightning Bolt at the ATP arena and Yo La Tengo at the Estrella Damm stage. At the same time, La Bien Querida, Magik Markers, The Vaselines and The Bats have made their appearances on other stages. If you’re looking to rock out while also fitting in a good dose of dancing to electronica, then Primavera Sound has you covered. Check out the video coverage for day one, day two and day three. Continue reading...

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Tera Melos Releases Remixable EP: Drugs To The Dear Youth

Tera Melos is now offering their Drugs to the Dear Youth EP as a “pay-what-you-want” download, where the minimum payable is five dollars. In addition, they are releasing the separate bass, drum and guitar tracks of the EP, for those who are inclined to remix, also for a minimum $5. From their statement:

“It seemed like a fun idea. Do whatever you want with [the songs]. Remix them, re-record parts, point out all the mistakes, download the tracks and burn them to a CD-R and then break it in half. Whatever is cool. Curious to see what people come up with.”

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Sound Design: IDM Music Video With Fractals

Video Jockeys, those who combine audio and visuals in real-time, are an integral part of music culture, by using coordinated media in unique ways to form impressions. Lasal based the video above on the Aristid Lindenmayer L-system, used for plant modeling, and synchronized it to his own sound design.

The fractal he generated seems to augment the complexity of the audio, and yet its reactions to the sounds allow us to grasp the sum of the creation’s parts. There’s another video after the cut, this time with geometric figures to a slow downtempo: Read more...

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Brütal Legend: Jack Black Stars in Heavy Metal Game

EA Games and Double Fine Productions will release Brütal Legend on October 13, starring Jack Black as the voice of Eddie Riggs, an experienced roadie who’s transported into the legendary “Age of Rock” to fight evil. The game is designed by Tim Schafer, who you might recall from the Monkey Island series, Grim Fandango, and Psychonauts.

Eddie recruits an army of headbangers, and fights to save the alternate world from demons. The main enemy is a glam rocker, called General Lionwhyte, whose shining, enormous hair allows him to fly. Tenacious D has teamed up with Gamestop to offer an in-game guitar to those who pre-order the game, check it out after the jump: Continue reading...

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Pro-Copyright Curriculum Taught In US Classrooms

The Copyright Alliance has launched the Copyright Alliance Education Foundation that will develop educational programs, and has already distributed a “copyright curriculum” for educators at the West Potomac Academy in Virginia. From the Alliance’s web site:

“Our nation has reaped the rewards both culturally and economically of the principle and practice of copyright,” said Patrick Ross, Copyright Alliance Executive Director. “This system has served us well for centuries - so much so, that it has become an invisible underpinning in our country’s prosperity. Now, as a new generation of creators populates today’s classrooms, we must ensure that principle is not taken for granted and continues to be a foundation for creative success.”

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Hulu to Live-Stream Dave Matthews Concert for Free

Online video site Hulu will live-stream the Dave Matthews Band performance at the Beacon Theatre in New York on June 1. From the DMB web site:

“We are excited to announce that Dave Matthews Band and Hulu are teaming up to present Hulu’s first-ever live concert stream. Beginning at 9:00 p.m. EST on June 1st, Hulu will bring the intimate Beacon Theatre show to fans for free via a live stream at Hulu.com.”

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TuneCore, Amazon Partner To Publish And Distribute CDs

Amazon is partnering with Tunecore to provide any artist with on-demand CD printing and distribution for $31 a year. For that lowly sum, they will handle the creation of a 10-track album, passing all other costs to the buyer.

Finally, a service that will remove the middle-man and make it easier for artists to provide albums for fans on Amazon and iTunes, without the exorbitant cost normally associated with CD manufacturing. Continue reading...

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