Kailash Subedi (RecooMe) – Interview (Part 2)

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

This is the continuation of the interview with Kailash – the first part was posted here.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music?

I started loving music ever since I could understand it.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

Nope, unfortunately I have zero musical talent. Also I’m glad there isn’t a video on YouTube.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

Songs Likes: “For the First Time” – The Script
Song Dislikes: Can’t think of any.
Favourite Artists: 1974 AD, James Blunt, John Mayer, Eminem, Kanye West, MJ Continue reading →

Kailash Subedi (RecooMe) – Interview (Part 1)

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Kailash Subedi from the novel music recommendation service RecooMe (which was featured on MusicKO last week) was kind enough to put up with me for a whole interview. The answers to the first part of the interview are below; the second part of the interview is here.

Full Name: Kailash Subedi
Age: 19
Startup: RecooME
Position: Founder

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The world we live in is a very social world. It’s quite evident that people do things and buy things based on what other people (mainly friends) do and say. A lot of times my friends tell me verbally to listen to a song that they think is really good. But by the time I get to a place where I can listen to the song, I don’t remember what it is. Or often, I’ve had my friends say “I can’t believe you have this song on your iPod”.

I felt like we needed a place where friends could recommend songs, and create a playlist for each other. Furthermore, most of the time we discover new music by seeing what others are listening to. RecooMe allows users to follow others to see what they are listening to or recommending.

The most distinctive features of RecooMe are that it is a super easy-to-use service, and the fact that users are able to post a complete and playable song just by entering its name. This saves time – people find nothing but songs that can be played on the site.

What was the original launch date?

RecooMe is quite young since the BETA launch date, was May 1st

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?

The response has been quite good. We’ve had a lot of visits from the US and Canada, and some European visitors as well. Most recommendations so far have been English but there are some international songs being recommended, too. Continue reading →

Espiral (Miguel Campal) – Uruguayan Independent Artist

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Miguel Campal Playing Live.

Do you remember the post I published last month in which I announced that both Grubb and Miguel Campal had released their respective debut albums? Admit it, you do – it was the closest you came to an epiphany when reading a piece of music-related news ever since you learnt Paul was not dead.

Well, maybe not. But the bit in which I insulted Five For Fighting was fun.

Anyway, that eventful day I promised Miguel I would cover his album on MusicKO. And since I forgot to cross my fingers, now I find myself floating over a strange land, with a sequined showbiz moon keeping me company as I do the hard drive equivalent of spinning his record.

Leaving aside allusions to other artists, arbitrary jokes that only three people would get and quotations from “Chalkhills & Children” (which even less people would understand, notwithstanding I supplied the name of the song and linked to the album it was on), I must say that forgetting to cross my fingers when talking to Miguel was actually a very good thing.

I became acquainted with a really, really fine album in the shape of “Espiral” [Spiral] – an album which is a worthy addition to the imaginary of works detailing how resolution is circumstanced by emotional frailness (try Lucas Meyer’s “Un Accidente Feliz”, and Laura Chinelli’s “Historias de Invierno” for good related listens). An album where the singer manages to turn dejection around, and make it become the kind of beauty that only experience can name between smiles. An album that is “dark, yet glowingly alive”, to rip off some bloke that wrote the preface to a book by Joseph Conrad I once bought in a moment of madness.

Miguel released “Espiral” two months ago, in an online-only edition. And since Miguel adheres to Bob Dylan’s dictum for living (IE, “money don’t talk, it swears”) he decided to make it a free download.

“Espiral” is a pop/rock album in the most vivid sense of the word. Musically, it connotes the work of tunesmiths like Paul McCartney and Noel Gallagher, with a clear debt being paid to the production techniques used in works by either. And the vocal melodies in particular remind me a lot of Blur at its finest.

The lyrics themselves are good in relation to the music, IE neither distracts from each other, and their concomitance is dexterous (the processed ballad “Michi” and the spacious “Deseos” [Wishes] are very organic examples). Yet, they are functional in terms of form. Continue reading →

GuitarTV – A Site For Guitar Players Created By Steve Vai

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: GuitarTV
URL: http://www.guitartv.com

Can you imagine how cool would it be if people like Richard Thompson or Carlos Santana built sites featuring hand-picked content for guitar players? That would be comparable to someone like Stephen King building a site showing budding writers the way things really click.

Well, the day such sites come to be might not be that distant. Guitar maestro Steve Vai has just released one such website, and it can be reached at Guitartv.com. It is a site 100 % dedicated to the streaming of guitar-related content. Those who visit it will get to watch music videos, live shows and lessons dealing with all things guitar. Information such as which axe any performer is playing can be accessed at a click, and tablatures are provided via Songster.com.

And in all cases, users are provided with the links for buying what they are watching at stores such as Amazon. Plus, tickets for shows can be purchased in an equally-easy way.

So who do you think is following on Vai’s footsteps now? And which instrument is next? Bass? Drums? Place your bets in the comments below…

A New Guinness World Record Is Set For The Longest Freestyle Rap

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Chiddy Now Holds The Guinness World Record for Longest Freestyle Rap (9 Hours And 18 Minutes).

Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege (of Chiddy Bang) broke the Guinness World Record for Longest Freestyle Rap during the first MTV_O Awards. Chiddy rapped for 9 hours and 18 minutes, beating previous record holder M-Eighty (who had rapped for 9 hours and 15 minutes in 2009).

Chiddy also set a new record for Longest Marathon Rapping – he beat out D.O, who had once managed to rap for 8 hours and 45 minutes.

Below you have the final minutes of Chiddy’s rap. You will notice he looks a lot at a screen. What he is reading is words that people are tweeting in real time to give him some inspiration. He sort of loses it towards the end (which is entirely logical – he had been at it for 9 hours), but he manages to pick up the pace for a rallying finale.

Kyle York (1Band1Brand) – Interview

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

I’ve had the pleasure to interview Kyle York from 1Band1Brand, a really great service that combines fashion and music in a way never seen before (original post here). Personally, I find it really interesting to hear the voice of people who are doing something entirely new in the industry. Thanks Kyle & Co. for your time!

Full Name: Kyle York
Age: 28
Startup: 1band 1brand
Position: Partner

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

ABOUT 1BAND 1BRAND
1band 1brand is a free, subscription-based digital platform that introduces emerging, independent musicians and fashion labels to influential young adults who want to stay connected by encouraging them to hear, wear and share. The group facilitates all kinds of innovative collaborations between emerging bands and brands. Learn more at: http://1band1brand.com.

Each one of us involved has a slightly different story. For me, it all started back in 2004 when my brother Travis and a crew of us threw the now infamous ‘Summer Shindy’ music party at his former home in Manchester, NH. In our opinion, it was the craziest party we’ve ever seen. With a few years of maturity and business experience under our belt in marketing, branding and technology we realized we were actually onto something that sunny Saturday back in 2004.

When Travis and his wife Danielle purchased their current home (where my Mom grew up and my grandparents lived for 50+ years) they decided to replace the galley kitchen and expand the home with an amazing room for entertaining. The 138 Listening Lounge, an invitation-only home concert series was born after Travis hosted a birthday party for Danielle with one of her favorite emerging bands as the entertainment.

After planning and hosting shows for over a year and getting involved in the positioning, packaging and promotion of several artists (Travis had managed artists for years), we decided that bi-monthly introductions to new bands just wasn’t enough. That, coupled with the fact that several brands were reaching out to get involved with the Listening Lounge, led us to create 1band 1brand, a concept that myself and a couple friends, Brady Sadler & Justin Griffin came up with at SXSW in 2010.

The simplicity and genuine nature of 1band 1brand seems to be something that subscribers, bands and brands alike have gravitated towards. We’re working hard to build up credibility and an engaged audience without over complicating things or rushing to evolve too fast.

How are bands/brands chosen?

Bands and brands are chosen through a thorough review process: discovery followed by due diligence. We search for a diverse set of genres of bands/brands first and pair them together second, presented individually, but with a semblance of relevance. They have to have an online following and digital distribution as well as an ability to offer music or clothing…with deals. They must be “emerging” and cannot have already made it on a big label. If they are on a label, it must be independent artist-focused. The five of us working on the project have a cross-section of taste in both music and fashion. We all approve each week well in advance (we don’t always agree!) – the actual bands/brands as well as the pairing. There is a standard we are in search of – we won’t settle. Believe it or not, we actually had a queue of 17 weeks lined up before our launch at SXSW in March 2011.

The discovery process is actually getting easier as more folks keep sending us bands and brands to feature, but the diligence process is harder in a way as not all of them sent are the caliber we are looking for. Continue reading →

“Judas”, The New Video By Lady Gaga Is Officially Released

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

"Judas" Is Taken From Lady Gaga's New Album, "Born This Way". The Album Is Hitting Stores On The 23rd Of May.

Lady Gaga’s new video was made officially available on VEVO, just a couple of hours after it had leaked.

The song in question (“Judas”) generated a lot of buzz, if only because a song which such a name seemed tailor-made for Gaga’s own concept of religion.

But now that the video has become available, it is fair to say that the clip breaks no new ground in any sense. It is just more of the usual raciness.

Fans of James Bond movies and spy flicks on the whole will love the lipstick gun, though.

Is Gaga’s star beginning to set? Mmmh…

Month In Review – April 2011

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

April was the month in which I began a feature that is going to run well into the coming months. Named “Musicians Around The World”, it is devoted to chronicling the lives of both Uruguayans who are traveling abroad, and foreign performers who come to Uruguay in order to promote (and develop) their art. The first artist I covered was Uruguayan singer/composer Florencia Cano, and you can read the full interview here.

And I wrote what I think was a pretty spiffy post on Casablancas, an independent Uruguayan band that is about to embark on a tour of Brazil as I am writing this. Way to go, guys!

October saw Roxette playing in Uruguay for the first time in 19 years, and I was lucky enough to be there. It was a night to remember – read my coverage of the show.

The music startups that I got to review in April were GigValley, Viral Music List, 1Band1Brand and LyricsGaps – all of them killer ideas, all of them sparkling with originality. And just yesterday I finished posting the conversation I had with Miguel Martín from LyricsGaps – take a look.

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