Monday, July 23, 2012
Rob Grimes - Knock On Wood
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Who's Your Top 5 Unsigned Artist Right Now?
4) Dom Kennedy - Dom's name has been buzzing for a while now. The B.E.T Chyper got alot of people to look at him. Dom then got on the road for a US tour to lead up to the "Yellow Album"
3) Chase N Cashe - An impressive run from Chase. After producing on Drake "Take Care" and dropping several great music videos to go with the music we have been impressed. The Heir Up There still goes.
2) T-Mills - After coming off a US tour with no support and selling a decent amout of units with the EP "Leaving Home" Mr Mills followed up with Trillionaire which is one of the years best projects.
1) Rob Grimes - Rob has been busy working on his up and coming EP "Grimetime" while in the process he dropped "Ride" which is arguably the hottest thing in the underground. His track record of great live shows with artist like Wale , TI, and any more. Grimetime is the most anticipated project since Detox. For more info check out www.robgrimesmusic.com
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Mastodon's "The Hunter" Augmented Reality App Innovates But Misses Social Opportunity
For Mastodon's latest album release, "The Hunter", they worked with augmented reality company, Total Immersion, to create a web app that takes live webcam images and places a mask based on AJ Fosick's album cover art over one's face. It's a bit hard to describe but you can see it in the video below. However, despite the fact that it's pretty cool, they also lost a huge social media opportunity in the process. WATCH:
"Video of my son becoming Mastodon's Hunter"
Hard rock/metal band Mastodon released their latest album, "The Hunter", September 27th on Reprise Records (Warner Bros. Records) with album art by a really amazing artist, AJ Fosik. Around the time this release was in motion, the folks at Total Immersion, contacted WBR about their augmented reality services and a fan-oriented project was born.
Total Immersion has done a wide range of projects, many of which feature a nonmobile immersive experience unlike the world tagging approach that cyberpunk readers like myself were conditioned to expect.
As you can see from the above video, the basic concept uses a form of face mapping which allows for an overlay of the roaring, firebreathing Hunter mask. The experience is designed for the viewer having fun at home with their monitor and webcam. For example, when you're playing with the app, there are a variety of sounds that occur that add to the experience.
You are given the option to take a pic or short video and upload them to Facebook or YouTube. However, the app does not facilitate downloading to your desktop and, as you can tell from the above video, the sound you hear when playing with the app is not included on the video that is uploaded to YouTube.
I spoke with drummer Brann Dailor who said the band really likes the concept and they've gotten positive feedback from fans but he was unaware that the uploaded videos did not have sound. I was a bit confused until speaking with Rick DeWeese, Total Immersion's West Coast Sales Director, and realized that the focus of the app was the in-front-of-computer experience. It was intended to be a fun thing for fans but the Facebook and YouTube uploads were extras that did not seem to be an integral part of the experience.
But the opportunity to take this fan experience, and make it a much larger social media event, was lost. For example, as we've seen with so many acts, they could have provided some of the band's music to create a mini-soundtrack for the videos that would have made them much more enjoyable to watch on YouTube. Or they could have just included the app sounds in the video and that would be nice as well.
But there are even cooler possibilities. If you search YouTube for "Mastodon cover", you'll find a whole bunch of guitarists doing covers of Mastodon songs. Think about how much guys like that would dig being able to play covers while their head was the fire breathing Hunter? Other folks might want to sing the lyrics to their favorite Mastodon song. And, if that seemed a bit open-ended for the label, they could have picked one song and held a contest where people did covers of that song only for a big YouTube event.
I'm glad to see bands experimenting with new technology and both Brann and Rick were great guys to talk to but it kind of blows my mind that this opportunity to do something potentially much bigger was missed.
More On The App
The folks at Total Immersion introduce the app and take a closer look at the offering and how it works.
Bonus
Here's a video of a live face mapping application, not by Total Immersion, during an Aphex Twin concert in which his image is superimposed over faces of the fans. I'm definitely looking forward to the future of this technology.
Hypebot contributor Clyde Smith is a freelance writer and blogger. He currently maintains a writing hub at Flux Research and periodically blogs at All World Dance and This Business of Blogging. To suggest music services and related topics for review at Hypebot, please contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Rob Grimes - Grimetime Mixtape Artwork
From : www.robgrimes.blogspot.com
Its that time... Its been an amazing ride so far. Its really time to kick it up a notch and give some more music to the people. #Grimetime is 90% done. I will be back with you soon with a release date. Until then please join the mailing list so you can be the first to know!!
Swag me out!!
- Rob Grimes
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
J. Dilla's Mother Announces New Album, 'Rebirth of Detroit'
The album, entitled 'The Rebirth of Detroit,' will solely feature Detroit artists who Dilla worked with during his lifetime, over unreleased beats crafted by the revered producer.
"People on this project will be the closest and most dear friends that Dilla had," Ma Dukes explained in a new video. "They worked with him personally one on one. They have a vested interest in Detroit; everyone that is involved in this project are Detroiters, that truly love Detroit for all that it has to offer ... It's a tribute from the heart and soul of these people. It's something different than what's been in the past."
Ma Dukes went on to say that 'The Rebirth of Detroit' is intended to work as a vessel, promoting unity among the members of the city's hip-hop community as well as the city of Detroit itself. "This will bring together artists that have drifted away from one another and haven't been able to work with each other lately," she continued. "It's a healing process for the city ... It's time to be proud to be a Detroiter. It's time to give something back to the community."
Although Dilla left a wealth of unreleased music when he died in 2006, much of it has been re-released with different titles or recorded with new vocals without the permission of his estate. Ma Dukes confirmed the project will be entirely "fresh" material.
Details on the album's features have yet to be announced. 'The Rebirth of Detroit' will be released in the fall.
Here is a free download to keep you guys fed until album is dropped!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
J COLE - BLOW UP
THIS IS MY THEME SONG RIGHT HERE. BEST J COLE SONG I HAVE EVER HEARD. I GET GOOSEBUMPS WHEN I HEAR THIS SONG.
