New Year, New Music
Any resolutions we make for the new year likely require us to adopt a fresh approach to how we’re living life. But you knew that already. I’d like to talk about a resolution some of you might have (myself included): discovering new music.
Finding new music isn’t always easy. The key, I believe, is to have an inquisitive mind that allows you to look further than, say, YouTube’s suggested songs or Pandora’s mathematically manifested playlists, to uncover details that bring about new discoveries.
Of course, we must remember that there was a time when YouTube was the go-to place to find new discoveries of music and to broaden our horizons in this industry. But with the advancements in technology, this might not be the case anymore. With that being said, streaming apps like Pandora could be the perfect place to look when business owners wish to create a better ambiance for their customers. By liking and disliking songs, you can make your own business playlist that plays in the background of your store or restaurant. You can visit here for more information – https://cloudcovermusic.com/music-for-business/stream-pandora/. However, you must be careful of copyright and any explicit features that could catch you unaware.
So, what do you do when you want to find the best and latest songs on the charts or elsewhere?
Well, to truly make new discoveries, ones that open up a world of ideas, genres, emotions and new listening experiences, you’ll need to act as a reverse cartographer: working backward from the finished product (a song) to reveal the smaller parts that make a whole (the musicians, the record label, the producers, the city where it was recorded, the blogs that first “broke” the artist, the shops carrying their music, etc.).
Here are a few starting points:
Blogs are powerhouses of curated music content. If you don’t know which blog to start with, pick an artist you like, then search for a blog that’s talking about them. You’ll find the writers are talking about other artists, too. I stumbled upon the blog Test Pressing after finding an interview with an artist I like, Psychemagik, and now I return often to see what else they’re posting.
Friends easily can answer a simple question of, “What have you been listening to lately?” that might reveal entirely new music to you. Better yet, offer to swap mix CDs or Spotify playlists to give yourselves plenty of opportunities to find new music. Furthermore, if you discover that you have similar taste in music, you can even plan to attend live concerts of certain artists together, provided that their tickets are available to you on ticketsmarter.com or similar platforms. So, not only will you end up discovering new music, but also deepen your connection with your friend by having exciting shared experiences.
Music stores are music stores because the owners love music. Which means they’re more than willing to recommend new releases and share their nearly endless knowledge of music. The people running Hungry Ear, Secret Record Store and Jelly’s are all great resources to tap into.
Collaborations happen all the time and can unravel enormous amounts of new music. Undoubtedly, an artist you like has worked with someone you haven’t heard of. From there it takes off. For example, earlier this year, I started listening to Gigi Masin, an Italian artist who recently collaborated with an artist named Jonny Nash, who records for a label known as ESP Institute, which has a more than a dozen of other artists on its roster, who all collaborate with other musicians. It’s endless, and it’s waiting for you to dive in.
Podcasts and radio shows bring a human element to the process of discovery that services like Pandora cannot, because the people hosting these shows do so much research on their own to bring you new music each week. Radio shows like Sandy Tsukiyama’s The Brazilian Experience on HPR2
(89.3FM) and Davey Shindig’s 808Mixtapes on KTUH
(90.3FM) craft a coherent blend of music and commentary that both engage and educate the listener.
It’s not easy maintaining resolutions for the new year, just as it can be difficult to constantly find new music. I hope these tips are helpful. Feel free to share your tips by tagging us on Twitter or Instagram with @metrohnl. For more from Roger, visit alo-hagotsoul.com.
