Eric Prydz
Back in 2004, a little-known Swedish DJ/producer named Eric Prydz took a vocal sample from a Steve Winwood song (“Valerie”), laid down some fat beats, and released a floorboard-busting single: “Call on Me.” It ripped through clubs like a torpedo, earning Prydz international recognition among electronic-music lovers. And its unforgettable music video has garnered more than 35 million views on YouTube, thanks in no small part to its cast of shapely aerobics students in ’80s thong leotards. (As former UK prime minister Tony Blair put it, “The first time it came on, I nearly fell off my rowing machine.”) Since then, Prydz has become an esteemed regular at festivals across Europe, and he recently finished…
Kraftwerk @ MoMA
Walking about New York City on the grey morning of April 10, I couldn’t help but feel the same full-body trembles one might experience before boarding a rollercoaster. That may have been because KRAFTWERK had just arrived in town to play eight unprecedented, intimate concerts at the Museum of Modern Art. Each night would feature the German synth savants performing a full album in the museum atrium, followed by additional catalog selections and flanked with original 3D visuals. Possessing a ticket to any of the shows (a rare US appearance for the band) came with a weight of survivor’s guilt. The intimate series, titled Retrospective 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 had sold out in…
DJ Premier
Attention, symphony-goers: if you’re used to taking your Tchaikovsky or Beethoven straight up, prepare to hear DJ Premier serve up classical music with a strong sonic twist. The Brooklynite who’s been hailed by Rolling Stone as one of hip-hop’s greatest producers is one of several contemporary musicians featured in the upcoming documentary Re:Generation. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (the filmmaker behind docs like Fighter and My Kid Could Paint That), it features some of the most unlikely yet compelling musical collaborations to hit the screen since Chris Cooper rapped alongside the Muppets. In the documentary, five electronic producers/DJs are each tasked with writing and recording a new track with an influential collaborator in a more traditional genre. While dubstep fetishist Skrillex…
Film
Marjane Satrapi
Many of us remember our lives in pictures. (Though we sometimes wish we could delete a few slideshows, like those from the era when cropped cargo pants seemed acceptable.) So does Marjane Satrapi. Over the last decade, the Iranian author, illustrator, and filmmaker has received international acclaim for raising the profile of the graphic novel, a medium that can pack a powerful punch without a single “BANG!” or “POW!” By turns humorous and haunting, her breakout autobiographical work,Persepolis, chronicled Satrapi’s turbulent youth before and after the rise of the Islamic republic. Now based in France, Satrapi has since adaptedPersepolis into an Oscar-nominated animated film and published additional graphic works, including Chicken with Plums, which depicts the final…
Featured, Music
Eric Prydz
Back in 2004, a little-known Swedish DJ/producer named Eric Prydz took a vocal sample from a Steve Winwood song (“Valerie”), laid down some fat beats, and released a floorboard-busting single: “Call on Me.” It ripped through clubs like a torpedo, earning Prydz international recognition among electronic-music lovers. And its unforgettable music video has garnered more than 35 million views on YouTube, thanks in no small part to its cast of shapely aerobics students in ’80s thong leotards. (As former UK prime minister Tony Blair put it, “The first time it came on, I nearly fell off my rowing machine.”) Since then, Prydz has become an esteemed regular at festivals across Europe, and he recently finished…
Featured, Music
Kraftwerk @ MoMA
Walking about New York City on the grey morning of April 10, I couldn’t help but feel the same full-body trembles one might experience before boarding a rollercoaster. That may have been because KRAFTWERK had just arrived in town to play eight unprecedented, intimate concerts at the Museum of Modern Art. Each night would feature the German synth savants performing a full album in the museum atrium, followed by additional catalog selections and flanked with original 3D visuals. Possessing a ticket to any of the shows (a rare US appearance for the band) came with a weight of survivor’s guilt. The intimate series, titled Retrospective 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 had sold out in…
Featured, Music
DJ Premier
Attention, symphony-goers: if you’re used to taking your Tchaikovsky or Beethoven straight up, prepare to hear DJ Premier serve up classical music with a strong sonic twist. The Brooklynite who’s been hailed by Rolling Stone as one of hip-hop’s greatest producers is one of several contemporary musicians featured in the upcoming documentary Re:Generation. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (the filmmaker behind docs like Fighter and My Kid Could Paint That), it features some of the most unlikely yet compelling musical collaborations to hit the screen since Chris Cooper rapped alongside the Muppets. In the documentary, five electronic producers/DJs are each tasked with writing and recording a new track with an influential collaborator in a more traditional genre. While dubstep fetishist Skrillex…
Featured, Film
Marjane Satrapi
Many of us remember our lives in pictures. (Though we sometimes wish we could delete a few slideshows, like those from the era when cropped cargo pants seemed acceptable.) So does Marjane Satrapi. Over the last decade, the Iranian author, illustrator, and filmmaker has received international acclaim for raising the profile of the graphic novel, a medium that can pack a powerful punch without a single “BANG!” or “POW!” By turns humorous and haunting, her breakout autobiographical work,Persepolis, chronicled Satrapi’s turbulent youth before and after the rise of the Islamic republic. Now based in France, Satrapi has since adaptedPersepolis into an Oscar-nominated animated film and published additional graphic works, including Chicken with Plums, which depicts the final…