The Music Team at Skywalker Sound    

l-r: L-R Front: Lennie Moore, Michael Roache, Pyramind Studios COO/Audio Director Paul Lipson, Skywalker's Director of Music Recording and Scoring, Leslie Ann Jones, and Dann Thompson    

someone who could imagine and implement a creative soundtrack to match the revolutionary visuals they planned for a low-budget science fiction adventure called "Star Wars". The company soon became Sprocket Systems, and shared space with Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael, before moving up to the newly completed Skywalker Ranch in 1987.   

Enters multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Leslie Ann Jones (Dianne Reeves, Herbie Hancock). She began her career at the famed Automatt, Hollywood's Capitol studios and later became director of recording and scoring at Skywalker Sound.  Jones (also serves on the Trustees board of NARAS), recorded three-movement string quartet by conductor, arranger, and composer Vince Mendoza (below) at Skywalker. Jones was nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical. She was also nominated for Best Surround Sound Album as well for a classical project called Opus One (above),  the flagship release for the new mediaHyperium3 label.

Opus One is in a 5.1 multichannel treasure of leading classical recordings produced by GRAMMY® Award winner Herbert Waltl, remixed by GRAMMY® Award winner Leslie Ann Jones and mastered by Michael Romanowski.   

Today Skywalker Sound hires anywhere from 80 to 160 employees (depending on workload), and for the first time, Skywalker Sound provides sound and music production services for movies, commercials, TV, IMAX and other large format films, theme park attractions, and videogames. Their scoring stage records and mixes music ranging from solo piano pieces to works using full 130-piece orchestras. Each year, they work on 20 to 30 different films, and have won a total of 18 Academy Awards. "Use your ears, Luke-use your ears!"   

As The Village in Santa Monica approaches its fiftieth year of making compelling soundtracks and hit records, its technology and the artists who make it their creative home continue to evolve. Early sessions with the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan still echo as contemporary hit-makers, such as Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, and John Mayer, track, mix, and master tomorrow's classics and inspired The Village to add a pair of ATC SCM25A Compact 3-Way Monitors to its arsenal.

Located in the heart of Hollywood, East West Studios have contributed to some of the most celebrated music of the last fifty years, from Frank Sinatra to The Rolling Stones. These iconic studios have been brought into the 21st century by a striking collaboration between EastWest Sounds producer Doug Rogers and internationally renowned designer Philippe Starck.  A key ingredient, however, was in preserving the integrity of the live recording rooms, as built by legendary engineer Bill Putnam in 1961. This month EastWest Studios opened their reborn Studio 5 with a classic 64-channel SSL G+ console and a wealth of new and old gear from Vintage King Audio.  Main monitors are EastWest Custom Augspurger design in a spacious control room remodeled by chief engineer and project manager Lawrence Ethan Malchose.  

Label: Fools Gold

Nimble enough to outpace the majors, a small handful of independent labels-many artist-run, all started this century-have become industry tastemakers with big-name rosters to boot. 

 

Sleepy Tom is coming str8 outta Vancouver with a signature mix of unexpected jams and clever bangers from across the whole spectrum of dance music. His hometown parties and DJ sets alongside some of electronic music's biggest names have earned a rep as Canada's funnest.

Hear them all on his new mix for THUMP on Fools Gold Records sporting over 50 artists (536 Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn, NY). This label offers deals on "Record Store Days" and live FREE shows. Come hear Blaze, Salva, Treasure Fingers, Nick Catchdubs, Sammy Bananas and High Klassified performing on the Broadway Outdoor Stage right over by Moog headquarters on April 27, noon-6pm!

Fool's Gold is all about breaking genre boundaries.  Meet Cubic Zirconia (above right). Their music challenges record store bins' classification.  "I find that dope," says A-Trak. Tiombe, Nick and Daoud each have a rich musical history before combining as a group, and Cubic Zirconia feels like where that all gets supercharged.

 

Very few DJs can jump from club sets to high-profile festival performances, to Kanye West's larger-than-life stadium shows with ease. In today's DJ culture, A-Trak (above middle) holds a truly unique place. He and partner Nick Catchdubs (above left) founded America's most trendsetting new label, Fool's Gold, launching the careers of artists such as Kid Sister (above right) and Kid Cudi.

Label: Glassnote

 

On a unusually chilly April night earlier this month, the Museum of Modern Art hosted a Sunday night rager. Yes, you read that right. The dancefloor was packed, complete with purple lighting and beer and everything that you'd expect from a basement party (except, of course, about a billion times classier).

Founded by Daniel Glass (left), Glassnote is a next-generation Music Company. Glass is acting as jury at the 2014 CLIO  Awards presented by Billboard. He went on to SAM Records and continued at Chrysalis, then SBK Records. Daniel's path in music lead him to become President/CEO of EMI Records Group N.A., a founding President of Universal and President of Artemis Records before eventually starting Glassnote. By embracing new mediums, Glassnote enables fans to develop the close-knit relationship with the musicians they love and consume their music in the manner that suits them best. The reason behind the MoMA's celebration? The new Robert Heinecken: Object Matter exhibit, which was cool in itself--but the real draw to the dance party came courtesy of LA duo Holychild. Glassnote LA: 9830 Wilshire Blvd.  Beverly Hills, CA 90212 I 310 272 2412

55th  CLIO Awards will take place during New York City's Advertising Week.

October 1, 2014  6:30pm at Capriani Hotel, NY. Entry deadline: May 9th

Record Store Day: Vinyl Rising

The legendary rockers Aerosmith reissued four classic albums (Draw the Line, Night in the Ruts, Rock in a Hard Place and Rocks) as part of the worldwide Record Store Day celebration on Saturday April 19. Participating artists  spinned up to 450 releases this year which will be sold at more than 2,000 record stores worldwide. There are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica. Adapter Prize honors releases chosen as "The Best" by store staff and customers and Back To Black Friday gives record stores exclusive releases as part of the attempt to redirect the focus of the biggest shopping day of the year to the desirable, special things to be found at local stores.  Record Store Day is currently managed by Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton, in coordination with Michael Bunnell and Eric Levin. Folks wanting to contact Record Store Day are encouraged to email   information@recordstoreday.com A full list of this year's crop can be seen here.  Bruce Duff, a vinyl expert and director of regional marketing and personal management at Knitting Factory says that more fans are collecting records because they crave a stronger connection to an artist; holding a record in your hand is more tangible than a digital download. "It was dead when we started, and now the factories can't even meet the demand. It's just exploded," Duff says. In 2012, vinyl album sales totaled 1.4% of U.S. album sales, or 4.6 million units, compared to 0.4% in 2008 when vinyl sold 1.9 million units.  Still, labels like Epitaph and Yep Roc say vinyl album sales can make up anywhere from 12% to 20% of dollar sales volume during the first month of a title's release. For example, the Redeye-distributed Grizzly Bear album Shields (2012) has scanned 12,000 vinyl units of its 111,000 sales total, while the band's prior release, Veckatimest, has moved 21,000 vinyl albums of the 236,000 units scanned since its 2009 release. While those percentages work out to about 9% and 11.5%, respectively, on a unit basis, vinyl is priced much higher than the CD. Moreover, at retail, merchants like Criminal Records in Atlanta say that vinyl now comprises 70% of the store's sales.  At Rainbo Records, a CD/DVD/vinyl/cassette manufacturer based in Canoga Park, Calif., vinyl has grown from 18% of the company's sales volume three years ago to about half, according to Rainbo president Steven Sheldon. Just keep in mind. It's a niche market but one that's on the rise!      

Eight Previously Unreleased Michael Jackson Songs Mastered  

(L-R) At Bernie Grundman Mastering are executive producer L.A. Reid and mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.  Photo by David Goggin.     

Epic Records Chairman/CEO L.A. Reid was in session recently at Bernie Grundman's for the mastering of Michael Jackson's "Xscape."  The collection of eight previously unreleased Jackson songs was curated by Reid, who also decided on the final tracklist.  
"Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with. We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world," Reid said.  

For the ultimate fan experience, "Xscape" will also be available in a Deluxe Edition, which includes all of the sourced Michael Jackson recordings in their original form. The "Xscape" standard and Deluxe Edition's are available for pre-order iTunes.com/MichaelJackson and elsewhere, and available at all retailers worldwide on May 13.  

A Swedien Scholarship  

Scholarships will be offered annually to graduate students in the recording arts who are AES members and who have a passion for maintaining the highest standards of music recording. Applications must be received at AES Headquarters by May 15.  Click here to join supporters of the Bruce Swedien Scholarship Fund, honoring his career and carrying on his legacy to the next generation. 

SESAC Reps Cobain Catalog
Even twenty years after his death, Kurt Cobain remains a legendary musical icon whose influence on music and culture is immeasurable. Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10 this year at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.  SESAC will now represent Kurt Cobain's complete catalog, including his work on the groundbreaking Nirvana albums. The alternative rock band defined a generation ushering in the genre known as 'grunge' and, perhaps unintentionally, catapulted Cobain into the spotlight as a spokesperson for Generation X. Having written such hits for the band like "All Apologies," "Heart-Shaped Box," "Come as You Are" and the classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Cobain is widely recognized as one of rock music's most revered songwriters and most influential talents. For more info email licensing@sesac.com  or call 1-800-826-9996

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For megatalent Mindi Abair, music started out as the thing her father, Lance Abair, performed onstage as the family traveled around with him. From there, it evolved to high school band, a love of the saxophone, college at Berklee, performing with The Backstreet Boys and later going solo while also performing with the likes of Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen and others. Here, she tells us the story of how music grew from a childhood love to an incredible career:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/blog/mindi-abair-interview