Sound Summit is an annual conference for independent artists, labels and people interested in working in electronica and hip hop. Theres 4 days of engaging discussion panels, interactive workshops and out-there live performances in Newcastle over the October long weekend – Thursday 28 September to Monday 2 October – as part of the This is Not Art (TINA) Festival – http://www.thisisnotart.org/
This years conference explores the question – Can we be intellectual about the music we dance to? – you might not find an answer, but you can be assured of two things:
1. Some healthy debate and in-depth discussion to service the thinking parts of your brain
2. Long nights featuring some of the most innovative dance, hip hop and electronic music makers to sort out the dancing parts of your body
All Sound Summit workshops and panels are FREE! Therell be key industry people imparting invaluable gems of wisdom, veterans of the scene engaging in healthy debate about future directions and specialist discussions about where the genres sit within the grand scheme of music, technology and the meaning of life!
When it comes to the dancing part, this years summit features artists from a huge range of exciting modern music genres. Everything from Baile Funk, to Baltimore Club, to Crunk is in the mix. Don’t know what any of those genres mean? You will after the festival. The international guests
include: DJ Gorky, producer and DJ for Bonde Do Role, a Brazillian group often compared to early Beastie Boys. Gorky is responsible for some of the most anarchic pop music of the last year, a punky, bastardised take on western hits mixed with with Baile Funk, Electro, Miami Bass and whatever else is in his discman at the time.
Ghislain Poirier, a French speaking beat maker from Montreal, Canada. Ghislain’s debut album Breakupdown was released late last year and features guest appearances from Omnikrom and Beans from Anti Pop Consortium. He has since released remixes of everything from Busta Rhymes to Neneh Cherry. Ghislain also hosts the notorious regular Montreal party Bounce le Gros.
Nick Catchdubs, one of the youngest writers for The Fader, probably the best music magazine in the world today. Also an incredible DJ, producer and remix artist, Nick hosts a popular show on East Village Radio in New York and has released a number of amazing mixtapes.
Chris Nelson, aka Chris Lemon-Red, has been running perhaps the best hip hop blog, Lemon-Red.org, for two years, which was recently voted the 19th best music website by Entertainment Weekly. Coming in at number 8 in the same poll was TurntableLab.com, a New York record store, where Chris works during the week. Chris also co-runs Mad Decent records with producer/DJ extroadinare Diplo.
Ariel Pink is a Los Angeles noisemaker whose career really took off after he handed a CD-R to The Animal Collective, and has since released albums through their Paw Tracks label. Pink’s lo-fi mush will come to life with a five piece band when he plays Sound Summit.
Also on the lineup are the finest local acts we could find, including Triosk, My Disco, Macromantics, Wire MC, Mountains In The Sky, Qua and a tonne more.
When theyre not performing live sets, these artists will feature in a number of the panels and workshops, including: Exploitation (Music and the Internet /Music Vs the Internet), Sub Genre 101, Australian Hip Hop (where to now?), Dont Give Up Your Day Job (alternative income streams for artists) and The Cultural Significance in Modern Music. Youll also be hearing from people involved with Hilltop Hoods, Myspace, APRA, FBi Radio, ABC National, OZ Hip Hop, AIR, Opulent Magazine, Triple R,
Checkout Wax, Elefant Traks, Supersonic, Triple J, The Brag, Rubber Records, Brighton Boulevard Productions, Pivot, Creative Vibes, Straight Out Of Brisbane, 2SER, The Baggsmen, Dual Plover, Handsome Tours, Simpsons Solicitors, My Disco, Bluejuice, Boudist, Mess + Noise, plus many more!