The Elements Music has promoted Dan Liebermann (formerly Lentaigne) to executive producer in the UK after two years as head of new business, UK.
Liebermann has worked alongside Andy Carroll, partner and head of the The Elements Music’s London branch, on winning work from brands such as Nike, Toyota, Samsung, Porsche, Dyson, and Mercedes-Benz. Liebermann’s new role will expand her duties further into production as she continues to help build the company’s client base in Europe. Lieberman said becoming an EP “feels like a natural fit to be more involved in fostering the creative process with our clients, composers, and artists.”
A singer/songwriter herself, Lieberman began a career in advertising unexpectedly when she sang a version of Peggy Lee’s “Fever” for a FIFA World Cup Mastercard campaign in 2006. That rendition became beloved, which led to a career as a session singer, and eventually into the production side of music for advertising. Collaborating with artists and producers throughout her career, Liebermann sung Ian Brown’s Ivor Novella winning track F.E.A.R. and performed with him on the pop culture TV music show Top of the Pops.
J Bonilla, The Elements Music co-founder based in Los Angeles, said, “Dan is an A-Player. She brings a blast of energy into everything she touches. It’s a no-brainer for us to put her into a position where she can directly contribute to our creative output as well as our continued overall growth.”
Music Notes
- Thursday, Apr. 4, 2019
- Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2019
One Union Recording Studios, a provider of postproduction sound services in the Bay Area, has completed a total rebuild of its facility in San Francisco. The finished site features five all-new, state-of-the-art studios designed for mixing, sound design, ADR, voice recording and other sound work. Each studio offers Avid/Euphonix digital mixing consoles, Avid MTRX interface systems, the latest Pro Tools software PT Ultimate, and robust monitoring and signal processing gear. All studios have dedicated, large voice recording booths. One is certified for Dolby Atmos sound production. The facility’s infrastructure and central machine room are also all brand new.
One Union began its reconstruction in September 2017 in the aftermath of a devastating fire that affected the entire facility. “Where needed, we took the building back to the studs,” said One Union president and owner John McGleenan. “We pulled out, removed and de-installed absolutely everything, and started fresh. We, then rebuilt the studios and rewired the whole facility. Each studio now has new consoles, speakers, furniture and wiring, and all are connected to new machine rooms. Every detail has been addressed and everything is in its proper place.”
During the 18 months of reconstruction, One Union carried on operations on a limited basis, while maintaining its full staff. That included its team of engineers, Joaby Deal, Eben Carr, Andy Greenberg, Matt Wood and Isaac Olsen, who worked continuously and remain in place.
Reconstruction was managed by L.A.-based Yanchar Design & Consulting Group, a specialist in design and engineering for sound facilities. The rebuilt studios conform to the highest industry standards and are equipped with top quality components. All five studios feature Avid/Euphonix System 5 digital audio consoles, Pro Tools 2018 and Avid MTRX with Dante interface systems. Studio 4 adds Dolby Atmos capability with a full Atmos Production Suite as well as Atmos RMU. Studio 5, the facility’s largest recording space, has two MTRX systems, with a total of more than 240 analog, MADI and Dante outputs (256 inputs), integrated with a 9-foot Avid/Euphonix console. It also features a 110-inch, retractable projection screen in the control room and a 61-inch playback monitor in its dedicated voice booth. Among other things, the central machine room includes 300TB LTO archiving system.
Along with employing top-of-the-line gear, the facility was rebuilt with an eye toward avoiding production delays. “All of the equipment is enterprise-grade, and everything is redundant,” McGleenan noted. “The studios are fed by a dual power supply and each is equipped with dual devices. If some piece of gear goes down, we have a redundant system in place to keep going. Additionally, all our critical equipment is hot-swappable. Should any component experience a catastrophic failure, it will be replaced by the manufacturer within 24 hours.”
McGleenan added that redundancy extends to broadband connectivity. To avoid outages, the facility is served by two 1Gig fiber optic connections provided by different suppliers. Wi-Fi is similarly available through duplicate services. “Service interruptions are not an option,” McGleenan said. “We can operate with every room functioning at maximum capacity without stressing our resources and horsepower.”
One Union Recording was founded by McGleenan, a former advertising agency executive, in 1994 and originally had just one sound studio. More studios were soon added as the company became a mainstay sound services provider to the region’s advertising industry. In recent years, the company has extended its scope to include corporate and branded media, television, film and games, and built a client base that extends across the country and around the world. Recent work includes commercials for Mountain Dew and carsharing company Turo, the television series Law and Order SVU and Grand Hotel, the podcast series Root of Evil and the game The Grand Tour.
- Saturday, Mar. 30, 2019
Stevie Nicks, who became the first woman inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Janet Jackson, the latest member of the Jackson clan to enter the hall, called for other women to join them in music immortality on a night they were honored with five all-male British bands.
Jackson issued her challenge just before leaving the stage of Brooklyn's Barclays Center. "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," she said, "in 2020, induct more women."
Neither Jackson or Nicks were around at the end of the evening when another Brit, Ian Hunter, led an all-star jam at the end to "All the Young Dudes." The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs was the only woman onstage.
During the five-hour ceremony, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music thanked multiple bass players and album cover designers, the Cure's Robert Smith proudly wore his mascara and red lipstick a month shy of his 60th birthday and two of Radiohead's five members showed up for trophies.
During Def Leppard's induction, Rick Allen was moved to tears by the audience's standing ovation when singer Joe Elliott recalled the drummer's perseverance following a 1985 accident that cost him an arm.
Jackson followed her brothers Michael and the Jackson 5 as inductees. She said she wanted to go to college and become a lawyer growing up, but her late father Joe had other ideas for her.
"As the youngest in my family, I was determined to make it on my own," she said. "I was determined to stand on my own two feet. But never in a million years did I expect to follow in their footsteps."
She encouraged Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, producers of her breakthrough "Control" album and most of her vast catalog, to stand in Brooklyn's Barclays Center for recognition, as well as booster Questlove. She thanked Dick Clark of "American Bandstand" and Don Cornelius of "Soul Train," along with her choreographers including Paula Abdul.
There was some potential for awkward vibes Friday, since the event was being filmed to air on HBO on April 27. HBO angered the Jackson family this winter for showing the documentary "Leaving Neverland," about two men who alleged Michael Jackson abused them when they were boys. Jackson never mentioned Michael specifically in her remarks but thanked her brothers, and he was shown on screen with the rest of the family.
Jackson was inducted by an enthusiastic Janelle Monae, whose black hat and black leather recalled some of her hero's past stage looks. She said Jackson had been her phone's screen-saver for years as a reminder to be focused and fearless in how she approached art.
Nicks was the night's first induction. She is already a member of the hall as a member of Fleetwood Mac, but only the first woman to join 22 men — including all four Beatles members — to have been honored twice by the rock hall for the different stages of their career.
Nicks offered women a blueprint for success, telling them her trepidation in first recording a solo album while a member of Fleetwood Mac and encouraging others to match her feat.
"I know there is somebody out there who will be able to do it," she said, promising to talk often of how she built her solo career. "What I am doing is opening up the door for other women."
During her four-song set, she brought onstage a cape she bought in 1983 to prove to her "very frugal" late mother that it was still in good shape, and worth its $3,000 price tag. Don Henley joined her to sing "Leather and Lace," while Harry Styles filled in for the late Tom Petty on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."
David Byrne inducted Radiohead, noting he was flattered the band named itself after one of his songs. He said their album "Kid A" was the one that really hooked him, and he was impressed Radiohead could be experimental in both their music and how they conduct business.
"They're creative and smart in both areas, which was kind of a rare combination for artists, not just now but anytime," he said.
With only drummer Philip Selway and guitarist Ed O'Brien on hand, Radiohead didn't perform; there was a question of whether any of them would show up given the group's past ambivalence about the hall. But both men spoke highly of the honor.
"This is such a beautifully surreal evening for us," said O'Brien. "It's a big (expletive) deal and it feels like it. ... I wish the others could be here because they would be feeling it."
The Cure's Smith has been a constant in a band of shifting personnel, and he stood onstage for induction Friday with 11 past and current members. Despite their goth look, the Cure has a legacy of pop hits, and performed three of them at Barclays, "I Will Always Love You," ''Just Like Heaven" and "Boys Don't Cry."
Visibly nervous, Smith called his induction a "very nice surprise" and shyly acknowledged the crowd's cheers.
"It's been a fantastic thing, it really has," he said. "We love you, too."
His inductee, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, recalled ridiculing the rock hall in past years because he couldn't believe the Cure wasn't in. When he got the call that the band was in, he said "I was never so happy eating my words as I was that day."
Def Leppard sold tons of records, back when musicians used to do that, with a heavy metal sound sheened to pop perfection on songs like "Photograph" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me." They performed them in a set that climaxed the annual ceremony.
Singer Joe Elliott stressed the band's working-class roots, thanking his parents and recalling how his father gave them 150 pounds to make their first recording in 1978.
Besides Allen's accident, the band survived the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark. Elliott said there always seemed to be a looming sense of tragedy around the corner for the band, but "we wouldn't let it in."
"If alcoholism, car crashes and cancer couldn't kill us, the '90s had no (expletive) chance," said Elliott, referring to his band mates as the closest thing to brothers that an only child could have.
Roxy Music, led by the stylish Ferry, performed a five-song set that included hits "Love is the Drug," ''More Than This" and "Avalon." (Brian Eno didn't show for the event).
Simon LeBon and John Taylor of Duran Duran inducted them, with Taylor saying that hearing Roxy Music in concert at age 14 showed him what he wanted to do with his life.
"Without Roxy Music, there really would be no Duran Duran," he said.
The soft-spoken Ferry thanked everyone from a succession of bass players to album cover designers. "We'd like to thank everyone for this unexpected honor," he said.
The Zombies, from rock 'n' roll's original British invasion, were the veterans of the night. They made it despite being passed over in the past, but were gracious in their thanks of the rock hall. They performed hits "Time of the Season," ''Tell Her No" and "She's Not There."
Zombies lead singer Rod Argent noted that the group had been eligible for the hall for 30 years but the honor had eluded them.
"To have finally passed the winning post this time — fantastic!"
- Saturday, Mar. 30, 2019
Perseverance Records will present the long awaited official release of the original motion picture soundtrack from the 1980 cult classic Prom Night. Perseverance worked closely with Carl Zittrer and Paul Zaza to locate and unearth the original masters and all music recorded for the film including unreleased disco songs and score not used in the final production, never heard before anywhere.
This marks the first official and complete CD release of the Prom Night soundtrack. The release is scheduled for May 10. While the songs themselves have made appearances on a notorious Japanese LP and eventual bootleg recordings sourced from it, there was no official release of the songs--partially because the movie was made in the waning days of the disco fever.
This soundtrack features four different aspects of the music. First it opens with a re-creation of the score as it appears in the film--or as close to it as it could be assembled from the separate elements. Next is the score that wasn’t used in the picture. Then come the disco songs in approximate order--but omitting the Blue Bazaar songs that were not featured in the movie and were used only as filler for the bootleg Japanese LP. The last portion of the album is dedicated to the songs that don’t appear in the picture yet are as intrinsic to the sound of Prom Night as the songs that made it.
“I remember seeing Prom Night during its release in 1980, when disco was still the craze. I was determined to obtain a copy of the soundtrack and to play the theme song at my senior prom only to find that it was never released. I spent years looking at the audiophile catalog at Tower Records hoping to find a release date but no luck. Now, after almost 40 years, my dream has now become a reality! Fans alike are now able to enjoy the soundtrack,” said producer Silvio Barretta.
Prom Night is a 1980 cult classic horror thriller directed by Paul Lynch (RoboCop, Xena: Warrior Princess, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Star Trek: The Next Generation) and stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Kim Hammond and Leslie Nielsen as Mr. Hammond. The movie focuses on four middle school children, Kelly Lynch, Jude Cunningham, Wendy Richards, and Nick McBride, who hide the truth of what happened six years ago to 10-year-old Robin Hammond the day her body was found near and abandoned convent. They swore never to tell anyone of how they taunted Robin, backing her into a corner, frightened, when falling to her death while standing on a window ledge. But on that day, six years ago, someone else was there, watching, and now seeks revenge on prom night.
- Thursday, Mar. 28, 2019
International music shop Butter Music + Sound has expanded its portfolio to include boutique music licensing of indie artists for commercials, TV and film. The Butter Music + Sound Sync Division will curate top emerging indie artists currently making their way through the national and international touring circuits for licensing, as well as original compositions, in a one-stop-shop sync service package ranging from master recording to publishing.
Butter’s artist signings include: L.A.-based indie group Neil Frances (Marc Gilfry and Jordan Fellerto); U.S./U.K. modern dance-pop duo BOII (Joshua Hoisington and Adam Welsh) on behalf of the Sofi Tukker label “Animal Talk”; rock band The Cowboys; and dance/electronic artist Rumtum (John Hastings). Butter already has established a relationship with Neil Frances whose “Show Me the Right” was featured on the HBO comedy hit Silicon Valley; another track graced a Toyota spot.
- Thursday, Mar. 28, 2019
Cross-pacific music and sound boutique Nylon Studios has expanded with a new custom-built studio in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2,800 square foot space includes two new state-of-the-art post suites equipped with recording booths, with 5.1 and cinema sound capabilities. The current full-time staff includes EP Ceri Davies, composer Lydia Davies, head sound designer Paul Le Couteur, sound designer Ramsay Demarco and producer Alice Vanderwey.
The new studio further expands and diversifies Nylon’s global network, with the Melbourne shop sharing work across existing studios in New York and Sydney.
Nylon global EP Hamish Macdonald originally hails from Melbourne and felt it was essential to hire artists who are native to the local market. Further extensions are underway to build a customized suite to support the work of in-house composer Davies as well as visiting composers from other markets to increase the Melbourne scope to three post suites and one composition suite.
- Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2019
SHINDIG Music + Sound, approaching its two-year anniversary, has brought aboard staff composer Austin Shupe, a former colleague from HUM. Along with its in-house composers, the Playa del Rey-based SHINDIG taps into a large pool of freelance talent to find the right match for each project.
Additionally, SHINDIG’s mixing capabilities have been amped up with a newly constructed 5.1 audio mix room and vocal booth that enable sound designer/mixer Daniel Hart to accommodate VO sessions and execute final mixes for clients in stereo and/or 5.1.
SHINDIG’s exec team includes creative director Scott Glenn, EP Debbi Landon, head of production Caroline O’Sullivan, and Hart.
- Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2019
Colombian singers Shakira and Carlos Vives appeared in a Madrid court Wednesday to answer allegations by a Cuban-born singer and producer that they plagiarized his work in their award-winning hit "La Bicicleta."
Shakira smiled as she entered the court in downtown Madrid. She didn't answer reporters' questions.
Shakira and Vives refuted the allegations by Livan Rafael Castellanos that "La Bicicleta" — which means "The Bicycle" in English — contains lyrics, rhythm and melody similar to those of his 1997 song, "Yo te quiero tanto."
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, told the judge that Castellanos' song "is nothing like ... La Bicicleta, the melody is different, the music is different, the subject matter is different," according to private Spanish news agency Europa Press.
"My (song) talks about my homeland, it's a salute to my homeland — Barranquilla, Colombia — not Cuba," Shakira said, according to Europa Press. "It's different."
"La Bicicleta" won two of the three biggest Grammy Latino awards for 2016, including song and record of the year.
Vives told reporters he welcomed the chance to clear his name.
Castellanos claimed that music experts supported his claim of plagiarism. "Let's see whether we can finally get to the bottom of this and justice can be done," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Sony Music, which released "La Bicicleta," made no immediate comment on the case.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict in 20 days.
- Thursday, Mar. 21, 2019
Songs performed by Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper and a Robert F. Kennedy speech are among 25 recordings being inducted to the National Recording Registry.
The Library of Congress announced Wednesday that "La Bamba," ''Gunsmoke" and "Hair" are some of the titles tapped for preservation this year. The national library chose a few more memorable titles including Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" and Sam & Dave's "Soul Man."
The registry is adding Kennedy's recorded speech after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination — two months before Kennedy was killed.
Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly," Lauper's "She's So Unusual" and Jay-Z's "Blueprint" album are being added.
Other songs being added include Nina Simon's "Mississippi Goddam," Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Schoolhouse Rock!"
The library selects titles for preservation because of their cultural and historic importance to the American soundscape.
- Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019
Swedish music site Spotify has complained to European Union regulators about Apple for allegedly abusing its dominant position in music streaming and stifling competition.
Spotify founder Daniel Ek said Wednesday that the company has filed a formal antitrust complaint with the executive European Commission against Apple — a move that adds to the debate about how to rein in the power of big-tech.
Writing in a blog post , Ek said Apple is acting "as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers" by bringing in new rules to its App Store that intentionally limit choice and constrain innovation.
The company takes issue with how Apple acts as a gatekeeper to the internet by controlling important platforms such as its iOS mobile operating system and the App Store, while also competing against services like Spotify with its Apple Music service.
Apple's media team in Britain did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The European Commission said it has received Spotify's complaint, which it is assessing under its "standard procedures."
Spotify's beef with Apple centers on a 30 percent tax it and other digital services have to pay whenever they use Apple's "in-app" payment system to process user purchases such as upgrading subscriptions.
The charge makes Spotify's premium membership more expensive than Apple Music, so the company said it refuses to use the system. But if it shuns Apple's payment system, Spotify alleges that Apple blocks app upgrades or stops it from working with Apple services like Siri assistant.
U.S. tech giants have already come under intense scrutiny from EU authorities for their behavior. Apple was ordered in 2016 to repay $15 billion in taxes to Ireland by EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who has also slapped Google with multibillion-dollar antitrust fines.
Spotify and German rival Deezer were among European tech industry players that issued a joint letter last year calling on EU ministers to get tougher on unfair business practices by U.S. tech giants.