A certain music conference is quickly approaching and, once again, Soapism will be sending an ambassador. Stay tuned for details.
Doris Norton - Bit Killed Hertz || Globo
Archive for the ‘Electro Pop’ Category
MMM 55
Monday, March 24th, 2008
Blog-o-tron
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
At last, scientific vindication among the widespread social belief that there is something positive about the arguably loose-net collections of people and ideas that constitute the blogosphere!
Australian researchers studied bloggers for two months to determine their social connectivity as compared to a control group of Internet browsing non-bloggers.
What seems most peculiar about their findings is that people who own or contribute to blogs seemed to have better (or at least think to have better) social support than those who didn’t. But the vast majority of bloggers don’t receive any comments from posts, so the social support they feel seems almost cathartic; it’s the action of speaking their mind, not the feedback of others, which makes them feel more connected.
Fred - All Rights Reserved || Tyger Label Records
At last, scientific vindication among the widespread social belief that there is something positive about the arguably loose-net collections of people and ideas that constitute the blogosphere!
Australian researchers studied bloggers for two months to determine their social connectivity as compared to a control group of Internet browsing non-bloggers.
What seems most peculiar about their findings is that people who own or contribute to blogs seemed to have better (or at least think to have better) social support than those who didn’t. But the vast majority of bloggers don’t receive any comments from posts, so the social support they feel seems almost cathartic; it’s the action of speaking their mind, not the feedback of others, which makes them feel more connected.
Fred - All Rights Reserved || Tyger Label Records
Event Preview: Factory Aire @ The Anchor, March 6th
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
After a healthy hiatus we figured it was due time to resurrect the old Factory Aire pseudonym/life style/state of mind. Join us this Thursday at The Anchor (from 6pm to that arbitrary time that can only be denoted with the use of question-marks (????)), where after-work meets after-hours (or something), for some disco madness. If we have enough fun we maybe be looking at a regular thing here. So come on, come-all!
*click on flyer to view full size
After a healthy hiatus we figured it was due time to resurrect the old Factory Aire pseudonym/life style/state of mind. Join us this Thursday at The Anchor (from 6pm to that arbitrary time that can only be denoted with the use of question-marks (????)), where after-work meets after-hours (or something), for some disco madness. If we have enough fun we maybe be looking at a regular thing here. So come on, come-all!
*click on flyer to view full size
Mozel Tov!
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
With Bosley off to warmer weather (just about a month ahead of when he should have planned his trip), I am left to defend Brooklyn from the onslaught of cold weather and late nights. This weekends musical activity ranges from the highbrow (parties at MoMA and Natural History Museum?) to low (Environ Bar Mitzvah), trouble abounds. Though really, how can one pass up a party with a flyer this good?
Escape From NY - Fire In My Heart (Instrumental Dub Version) || Rollerball
With Bosley off to warmer weather (just about a month ahead of when he should have planned his trip), I am left to defend Brooklyn from the onslaught of cold weather and late nights. This weekends musical activity ranges from the highbrow (parties at MoMA and Natural History Museum?) to low (Environ Bar Mitzvah), trouble abounds. Though really, how can one pass up a party with a flyer this good?
Escape From NY - Fire In My Heart (Instrumental Dub Version) || Rollerball
Beautification
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
A few weeks ago we were invited to a housewarming party in Brooklyn. The location was (for once) close enough to walk to, so we loaded up with mixers and citrus garnishes and celebratory kitchen house wares and wound our way into the Bushwick beyond the red brick tracks of the Boriqua Housing Authority. Though still a massive amount of land dedicated to Gotham industry, this tract of warehouses, factories and parking lots is slowing giving way to residential makeovers of the upper middle class variety.
Nondescript doors of nondescript buildings are now collaged with the markings of the New York artist recluse, a simultaneous artsy defense and badge of honor, keeping it real but self recognition of being the first.
Our favorite was the barbwire and baby combination lining the gate to a building near Ridgewood. Menacing and cute, this seemed to toy with the angst of the community with a sort of proud artistic intervention that makes me love New York and all the weird people who hide in its shadows.
That and, of course, seeing to-do lists like this.
A few weeks ago we were invited to a housewarming party in Brooklyn. The location was (for once) close enough to walk to, so we loaded up with mixers and citrus garnishes and celebratory kitchen house wares and wound our way into the Bushwick beyond the red brick tracks of the Boriqua Housing Authority. Though still a massive amount of land dedicated to Gotham industry, this tract of warehouses, factories and parking lots is slowing giving way to residential makeovers of the upper middle class variety.
Nondescript doors of nondescript buildings are now collaged with the markings of the New York artist recluse, a simultaneous artsy defense and badge of honor, keeping it real but self recognition of being the first.
Our favorite was the barbwire and baby combination lining the gate to a building near Ridgewood. Menacing and cute, this seemed to toy with the angst of the community with a sort of proud artistic intervention that makes me love New York and all the weird people who hide in its shadows.
That and, of course, seeing to-do lists like this.
MMM 51 Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Idiotarod in Review (Part 1)
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
*click on image to view full gallery
Idiotarod 2008! Hours of preparation went into this event, organizers devised an elaborate route with unconventional checkpoints, and participants crafted outfits and carts that shocked and awed the residents of Brooklyn.
Our preparation began modestly, less than one week before the race. Once our team members had been nominated and our cart- um, acquired- we began preparations for the construction of our chariot. Our choice? Cougars, the fascination of which we at the SOAP extended family happen to share with mainstream media, prime time television and collegiate humor sites. With our new female physiques, fabulous new outfits and a few choice Louis Vuitton accessories, we had become the Cougar Carte of Bushwique, with a young bell hop to round off the predatory effect. We had seen the pictures and heard the stories about the vicious fighting among teams jockeying for position during the race, and opted against the mainstays of eggs, flour, and fruit, as the weapons inherent to cougars are more subtle: money, age, influence. Satisfied that our powers of persuasion would keep us afloat during the race, we needed only wait for the starting gun to go off, 12:00 pm Saturday January 26, 2008.
Sabotage, however, was at play even before the race began: a false starting point. We arrived at noon to a park in Brooklyn, leaving warmth and self-respect along the bumpy sidewalks of the Marcy projects. Greeted by a suspicious official, we were told to check in with the slightly more suspicious man in the hoody across the street. With no proper papers to check us in, we awaited his next instructions. The false starting point allowed us to size up the other lost competitors, and no one but the Scooby Doo Mystery Van looked like they could outshine us. We made friends with a couple of freelance Norwegian journalists who were trying to cover IDIOTAROD, but were also apparently fooled, so they followed us on a tip given by a girl in a black ski mask that the actual race start was taking place in Chinatown at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Feeling like the information from the third suspicious character must be the charm, off we went.
One of the modifications to our cart was a beam fashioned out of broom handles that ran through the cart so as to create a rack or, hanger, for our luggage rack cart. Vehicle clearance was never thought to be an issue, as we had not anticipated the constraints of subway stations. Or transferring trains. Nevertheless, we left a streak of gold spray paint and plastic above the stairs of the subway entrance but somehow avoided breaking the halogen bulbs. All in drag. The C train heading to the city was crowded and lively, and we were the crescendo to the mid-Saturday commute. People wanted to know where the party was at. Others asked if we were famous. One dude even asked me if we were on America’s Next Top Model. All the while our Norwegians were instructing us to pose for increased dramatic effect, scribbling notes furiously.
Our information was not without merit. We had found the starting point, but were a half hour late. The race had started, weapons were deployed as they ran across the Manhattan bridge, leaving a trail of food, weapons, and broken carts in their path. This was all the hope we needed. We had come too far to not compete, missing the race was not an option. We charged up the ramp of the bridge and began the arduous ascent to its peak. Never slowing to more than a fast walk (and only then to open more Sparks), team members and Norwegian satellite group were questioning the efforts. Were we too far behind? Would be ever catch up? How will we know where they went off the bridge?
Once back in Brooklyn, we came across gated paths and lanes of slow moving traffic. Across the street, some 200 yards away from the river, we spotted a man carrying a harp, a quaint little shopping cart in tow. Further ahead, just before the traffic-choked horizon, looked to be the mustachioed face of The 3 Amigos. We had caught up to the race.
*click on image to view full gallery
Idiotarod 2008! Hours of preparation went into this event, organizers devised an elaborate route with unconventional checkpoints, and participants crafted outfits and carts that shocked and awed the residents of Brooklyn.
Our preparation began modestly, less than one week before the race. Once our team members had been nominated and our cart- um, acquired- we began preparations for the construction of our chariot. Our choice? Cougars, the fascination of which we at the SOAP extended family happen to share with mainstream media, prime time television and collegiate humor sites. With our new female physiques, fabulous new outfits and a few choice Louis Vuitton accessories, we had become the Cougar Carte of Bushwique, with a young bell hop to round off the predatory effect. We had seen the pictures and heard the stories about the vicious fighting among teams jockeying for position during the race, and opted against the mainstays of eggs, flour, and fruit, as the weapons inherent to cougars are more subtle: money, age, influence. Satisfied that our powers of persuasion would keep us afloat during the race, we needed only wait for the starting gun to go off, 12:00 pm Saturday January 26, 2008.
Sabotage, however, was at play even before the race began: a false starting point. We arrived at noon to a park in Brooklyn, leaving warmth and self-respect along the bumpy sidewalks of the Marcy projects. Greeted by a suspicious official, we were told to check in with the slightly more suspicious man in the hoody across the street. With no proper papers to check us in, we awaited his next instructions. The false starting point allowed us to size up the other lost competitors, and no one but the Scooby Doo Mystery Van looked like they could outshine us. We made friends with a couple of freelance Norwegian journalists who were trying to cover IDIOTAROD, but were also apparently fooled, so they followed us on a tip given by a girl in a black ski mask that the actual race start was taking place in Chinatown at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Feeling like the information from the third suspicious character must be the charm, off we went.
One of the modifications to our cart was a beam fashioned out of broom handles that ran through the cart so as to create a rack or, hanger, for our luggage rack cart. Vehicle clearance was never thought to be an issue, as we had not anticipated the constraints of subway stations. Or transferring trains. Nevertheless, we left a streak of gold spray paint and plastic above the stairs of the subway entrance but somehow avoided breaking the halogen bulbs. All in drag. The C train heading to the city was crowded and lively, and we were the crescendo to the mid-Saturday commute. People wanted to know where the party was at. Others asked if we were famous. One dude even asked me if we were on America’s Next Top Model. All the while our Norwegians were instructing us to pose for increased dramatic effect, scribbling notes furiously.
Our information was not without merit. We had found the starting point, but were a half hour late. The race had started, weapons were deployed as they ran across the Manhattan bridge, leaving a trail of food, weapons, and broken carts in their path. This was all the hope we needed. We had come too far to not compete, missing the race was not an option. We charged up the ramp of the bridge and began the arduous ascent to its peak. Never slowing to more than a fast walk (and only then to open more Sparks), team members and Norwegian satellite group were questioning the efforts. Were we too far behind? Would be ever catch up? How will we know where they went off the bridge?
Once back in Brooklyn, we came across gated paths and lanes of slow moving traffic. Across the street, some 200 yards away from the river, we spotted a man carrying a harp, a quaint little shopping cart in tow. Further ahead, just before the traffic-choked horizon, looked to be the mustachioed face of The 3 Amigos. We had caught up to the race.
It Came From The Thing: The Development And Practice Of Electronic Music
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Believe it or not there is a lot more to The Thing than just $2 records. In fact, the records themselves are confined to the back area and the basement. The rest of the shop is filled with unorganized piles of assorted bric-a-brac. Amongst these heaps, I happened across this gem of a book: The Development And Practice Of Electronic Music by Jon H. Appleton and Ronald C. Perera.
Being as old as it is, this book is surprisingly relevant. In a world that is being overrun by virtual-analogs and VST instruments, many musicians still find the need to employ true analogs to achieve the sound they desire. I’m not going to start a digital vs. analog argument here, but let it be known that SOAP sides with the latter.
This book thoroughly covers various theories surrounding analog synthesis. Those theories are as applicable today as they were when this book was written in 1975.
And there is enough vintage kit porn in here to make even the most jaded gear junkie drool.
Believe it or not there is a lot more to The Thing than just $2 records. In fact, the records themselves are confined to the back area and the basement. The rest of the shop is filled with unorganized piles of assorted bric-a-brac. Amongst these heaps, I happened across this gem of a book: The Development And Practice Of Electronic Music by Jon H. Appleton and Ronald C. Perera.
Being as old as it is, this book is surprisingly relevant. In a world that is being overrun by virtual-analogs and VST instruments, many musicians still find the need to employ true analogs to achieve the sound they desire. I’m not going to start a digital vs. analog argument here, but let it be known that SOAP sides with the latter.
This book thoroughly covers various theories surrounding analog synthesis. Those theories are as applicable today as they were when this book was written in 1975.
And there is enough vintage kit porn in here to make even the most jaded gear junkie drool.
WSOP radio, episode 016: New Beat, Old Skool, New Year
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
What better way to start off the new year than with some New Beat. One thing I’ve noticed about early 90’s Belgian New Beat is the lack of originality in the song titles. I mean, look at that track list! Fatal Error? Public Relations? You’re not even trying! And the rest of you guys aren’t much better. IMO, a self-titled track should be something that you work up to, not something that you start off with. Otherwise, it seems like some kind of marketing scheme.
Anyway, enough with that. Welcome to 2008, old skool style. Listen up and enjoy.
- Jade 4U - Rainbows (Instrumental) || Subway
- Beat Beat Beat - Beat In The Street || Kaos Dance
- Kings Of Agreppo - Agreppo || Subway
- Gang Of V.D.P. - Body Heat || Vidicon
- Public Relations - Public Relations || Another Side
- Chinese Way - Secrets Of China || Subway
- Fatal Error - Fatal Error || R&S
- Taste Of Sugar - Hmm, Hmm || Subway
- My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Waiting For Mommie || Wax Trax!
- Z Factor - I Am The DJ (Club Mix) || Mithbal
- Methusalem - Robotism || Ariola
- Cleavage - Barah || Studio
- Osborn - Outta Sight || Spectral
- Darren Abrams - Loose Piano (Malik Pittman remix) || Third Ear
- Tyree - I Fear The Night (Fear The Dub Mix) || Ruby Red
- DJ Mink - Hey! Hey! Can You Relate (Luke Vibert Remix) || Warp
- Blackploid - Photographic Photogenic || Frustrated Funk
- The Egyptian Lover - Girls (Remix Long Version) || Egyptian Empire
- DJ Technician - Never Ever || Bunker
- Alek Stark - Me & Me || Disko B
- Blake Baxter & Marc Romboy - The Club (Version 2) || Systematic
- Still Going - On And On || DFA
What better way to start off the new year than with some New Beat. One thing I’ve noticed about early 90’s Belgian New Beat is the lack of originality in the song titles. I mean, look at that track list! Fatal Error? Public Relations? You’re not even trying! And the rest of you guys aren’t much better. IMO, a self-titled track should be something that you work up to, not something that you start off with. Otherwise, it seems like some kind of marketing scheme.
Anyway, enough with that. Welcome to 2008, old skool style. Listen up and enjoy.
- Jade 4U - Rainbows (Instrumental) || Subway
- Beat Beat Beat - Beat In The Street || Kaos Dance
- Kings Of Agreppo - Agreppo || Subway
- Gang Of V.D.P. - Body Heat || Vidicon
- Public Relations - Public Relations || Another Side
- Chinese Way - Secrets Of China || Subway
- Fatal Error - Fatal Error || R&S
- Taste Of Sugar - Hmm, Hmm || Subway
- My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Waiting For Mommie || Wax Trax!
- Z Factor - I Am The DJ (Club Mix) || Mithbal
- Methusalem - Robotism || Ariola
- Cleavage - Barah || Studio
- Osborn - Outta Sight || Spectral
- Darren Abrams - Loose Piano (Malik Pittman remix) || Third Ear
- Tyree - I Fear The Night (Fear The Dub Mix) || Ruby Red
- DJ Mink - Hey! Hey! Can You Relate (Luke Vibert Remix) || Warp
- Blackploid - Photographic Photogenic || Frustrated Funk
- The Egyptian Lover - Girls (Remix Long Version) || Egyptian Empire
- DJ Technician - Never Ever || Bunker
- Alek Stark - Me & Me || Disko B
- Blake Baxter & Marc Romboy - The Club (Version 2) || Systematic
- Still Going - On And On || DFA
MMM 46
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Recovery modus.
Le Syndicat Electronique - The Anderson Alamo || Device
Recovery modus.
Le Syndicat Electronique - The Anderson Alamo || Device
