AMPLITUDE The LOOP Music Emailer

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AMPLITUDE The LOOP Music Emailer

17 March 2000

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News
Events
Reviews
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MP3 NEWS
Almost 50 million songs and audio files were delivered to browsers of MP3.com via streaming technology. MP3.com Inc also sold 51,000 CDs from the site in the first two months of the year. An average of 1,300 songs and files are added to the mp3.com site every day.

AND IN NZ...
New local MP3 site mp3.net.nz has delayed its proper launch to 25 March to sort out a few server hassles. In the meantime you can see what they are offering artists at http://www.mp3.net.nz.

ONLINE STREAMING GUIDE
RealNetworks have launched an online guide to streaming media programming available on the Internet, with access to over 1500 TV and radio stations broadcasting on the Internet, and over 3000 sites. Go to http://realguide.real.com.

ABSOLUT JAM
The image: a giant video screen showing a bottle moving, mutating and gyrating to sounds created by performers thousands of kilometres apart, but jamming together in singular harmony. Absolut Jam, where sight and sound come together in a single artistic vision, is the brainchild of Pete Callaro, Absolut's New York account director. The idea? DJ Spooky in Montreux, DJ Lefki in Athens, the Psychonauts in Berlin... Each of the DJs in the remote cities sent his or her audio signal to Montreux, so DJ Spooky could catch the rhythm and jam along with them. The result was excellent. In spite of the speed of the data switching the links from one city to the other were so fast you didn't know if it was visual music from Montreux or Athens. Absolut plans a number of programmes developed specifically for this new media. Stay tuned to http://www.absolutvodka.com.

UNIVERSAL AND BMG LINKUP
Seagram Co, who own Universal Music Group are expanding their joint venture into online music with BMG Entertainment. The content and commerce company GetMusic LLC, designed to create online music communities for fans, is approaching the end of its first year in operation with new communities, customised for content and language, for audiences in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

MUSHROOM BACK AT FESTIVAL
In New Zealand, Australian label Mushroom Records will once again be distributed by the Festival Group from the end of March, reflecting the Australian status of the Festival Mushroom Group. Mushroom Records was bought by News Ltd, owners of Festival Records, in 1998, but because of a pre-existing distribution deal, the label remained with BMG for New Zealand. The new group will incorporate Festival, Mushroom and Flying Nun and will have a focus on signing, developing and breaking New Zealand acts. Local artists already include King Kapisi, Garageland and Fiona McDonald. The group will be headed by Managing Director Mark 'Ash" Ashbridge, with longtime Festival New Zealand head Darryl Parker assuming the role of General Manager Finance and Operations. As well as his reponsibilities as General Manager of Flying Nun, Paul McKessar adds A&R and creative responsibilities for the group to his portfolio.

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY
The Red Bull Music Academy for aspiring DJs has been touring the country with ambassador DJ Chelsea. If you missed the Auckland, Wellington and christchurch seminars, check out the website at http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com

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EVENTS

QUAD RAVE 2000
Last year's Quad Rave at Victoria University was one of the largest dance events ever to be held in Wellington, attracting over 1600 partygoers. This year's line-up includes live electronica from Salmonella Dub, supported by a diverse collection of New Zealand's DJ talent. TV/radio personality and all-round party guy Mikey Havoc comes to Wellington well prepared to rock the party, with his usual selection of big tunes and big fun. Local DJs include: Clinton Smiley, whose awesome ability to read a crowd and take them onward and upward guarantees a good night out; John Saunders, who has been in mind blowing form in recent months; and DJ K-Tel, who most recently ran the on-the-water party Deep. FRIDAY 17 MARCH. $10 presales; $15 doorsales

EBB
Mindblowing electronickers EBB, featured on LOOP CD#2, bring their dubwise beat groovery to StudioNine. This is one NOT to miss.

SATURDAY 18 MARCH.

FUN POISON 5
Nick Spice returns down under for another mashup with the Fun Poison Crew. Yes! it's that time again! The Fun Poison crew come out of rehab for two extra special nights; tearing up the floor in Nelson (Artery: Friday 31 March) as a warm up to a very special bangalicious adventure in their favorite Wellington City club: Studio 9. (Saturday 1 April). Nick Spice (UK) gets in the mix alongside Shadowgirl, Agent99, Flux, Phobo, Cuffy and Prof. Updates at http://obscure.co.nz http://funpoison.com. A PDF of the poster is available at http://obscure.co.nz/pdf/fp5.pdf

AND FOR SOMETHING A LITLE MORE REFINED...
Wellington music lovers can hear what a million dollars sounds like when the Vienna Piano Trio opens Chamber Music New Zealand's 2000 Celebrity Season later this month. The Trio's violinist, Wolfgang Redik plays a rare J B Guadagnini violin, owned by the Austrian National Bank and valued at over US$700,000. Over the last decade the Vienna Piano Trio has risen to become one of Europe's most sought after chamber music ensembles. The Trio will perform works by Mozart, Schnittke and Smetana at the Wellington Town Hall on Tuesday 28 March at 8pm. Tickets are available at Ticketek.

ONLINE LIVE
You can use RealAudio to check out live Wellington music on Tuesday nights 9-11pm at http://www.radioactive.co.nz, with Dalas Taimara, Black Seeds and Marineville featuring in recent weeks. Next on the Radio Active 89FM Live-to-Air schedule are Merryland Music Fountain (March 28).

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REVIEWS

Dr Dre: 2001 (Aftermath/Interscope) Fresh and inventive, this primo summer joint provides the dirty-ass yin to Macy Grey's sweet yang. The good doctor is a purveyor of immaculate sonic packages throughout an illustrious history of career-making collaborations (NWA thru DOC thru Snoop Dogg thru Eminem) and hot wax: the best producer of the 90s, period. Like 93's stone(r) classic The Chronic, this serves up the expected sweeping, base-hitting soundtracks for dissertations on the pleasures of carnality, intoxication, and aggro. If booty-bumping beats and lines like "I just took some ecstasy/don't know what the side effects could be/all these fine bitches equal sex to me" don't strike a chord, then don't dine. Dre don't care: 2.5 million servings in the US and counting. Here it's hardly moved; no contemporary radio in NZ properly programs hip hop, and the music that's defined the last 20 years is problematic despite its popularity - provocatively politically incorrect, and subject to CD-cover theft at retail.

- Mark Cubey

UPCOMING RELEASES
There's a huge swag of NZ music in the pipeline, including new albums by Strawpeople, DLT, King Kapisi, and the new Kog Transmissions house compilation Algorhythm 2. More info next week.

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