NEW EP OUT ON BEATPORT on GOLDEN FACTORY RECORDS
Presale: https://www.beatport.com/fr/release/immediumsys-theme/5436271

Acumen, Antoine Garcin, is a French Producer / DJ with a back catalogue stemming releases on the likes of Diynamic, Last Night On Earth, Suara, Selador, Get Physical and his own Time Has Changed imprint.

Born a Parisian, but now living in his home of Avignon, Acumen has been making music since the 2000’s as a self taught artist with every creation coming direct from the musical ear. Although self taught and with parents that weren’t musically interested, music has always been at the forefront of his life whether it be Rock or Electronic. The Clash played a huge roll in the early years before the electronic and house bug took a hold, with the likes of Depeche Mode acting as that stepping stone to what is now a fully fledged career path in electronic music. DJing was the first door to open alongside friends, however the creative aspect soon appealed to Acumen as he set his sights on the studio.

"I was very quickly fascinated by musical creation, by what a good, melodious piece could do to people. The ecstasy, the trance that can be instilled on a dance floor." - Acumen

Aside from music, Acumen prides himself as a family fan, which is apparent when looking across the album releases to date. The first of which, dedicated to his first born son ‘My Superhero’, was followed by ‘My Girls’ a full LP dedicated to the women in his family, both of which dropping on his own label of Time Has Changed. His secondary career is Pharmacy, one which demonstrates the professionalism of Acumen across industries, being able to balance an impressive musical career, full time business and family.

Time Has Changed was born in 2007 at a time when the balance between studies and a passion for music were at heads with one another. Now more than ten years later the label has flourished, releasing the likes of Oxia, Betoko, Alex Niggemann, Mihai Popoviciu and Barem, and is regarded as one of the key players within the French music scene, delivering dance floor bound tech house.

Over the years Acumen has got behind the decks in some of the worlds top venues, including the infamous Panorama Bar and Paris’ Rex Club. 

With a string of recent releases on Sasha’s Last Night On Earth and Selador all landing well within the Beatport Top 100, Acumen has now demonstrated his talent as an artist, creating a pathway which is certainly bound for the top. The third in a series of album releases is set for release later into 2018 and will once again showcase his versatility in the studio and is aptly named ‘Brune’ after his youngest daughter.
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If you've watched any amount of television in the past few years, you're more than likely to have heard Beware Fashionable Women. BFW tracks have found themselves placed on programming such as MTV's The Real World, The History Channel's American Pickers, Bravo's Flipping Out, and many more. The band was named one of Music Connection Magazine's Top 25 Unsigned Artists and Top 25 Bands by Indie-Music.com.

The band is the musical outlet of Barak Shpiez, who writes, records, and plays every note you’ll hear. Barak lent his talents to Rivers Cuomo of Weezer produce two songs for his yet-to-be-released solo album following a tour bus accident that left Rivers temporarily unable to record himself.

After a brief hiatus, BFW is ready to release its second effort, Bird Park. Maintaining an ethos of eclecticism, the album explores new territories while expanding upon rock, punk, and pop. Fans will still recognize of course the band's trademark thoughtful lyrics, catchy melodies, and lush vocal harmonies in every track. 

Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932, and enjoyed a privileged, sheltered upbringing in the quiet Beach neighborhood. His musical gifts became apparent in infancy, and though his parents never pushed him to become a star prodigy, he became a professional concert pianist at age fifteen, and soon gained a national reputation. By his early twenties, he was also earning recognition through radio and television broadcasts, recordings, writings, lectures and compositions.

Early on, Gould's musical proclivities, piano style and independence of mind marked him as a maverick. Favoring structurally intricate music, he disdained the early-Romantic and impressionistic works at the core of the standard piano repertoire, preferring Elizabethan, Baroque, Classical, late-Romantic and early-twentieth-century music; Bach and Schoenberg were central to his aesthetic and repertoire. He was an intellectual performer, with a special gift for clarifying counterpoint and structure, but his playing was also deeply expressive and rhythmically dynamic. He had the technique and tonal palette of a virtuoso, though he upset many pianistic conventions - avoiding the sustaining pedal, using détaché articulation, for example. Believing that the performer's role was properly creative, he offered original, deeply personal, sometimes shocking interpretations (extreme tempos, odd dynamics, finicky phrasing), particularly in canonical works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

Gould's American début, in 1955, and the release, a year later, of his first Columbia recording, of Bach's Goldberg Variations, launched his international concert career. He earned widespread acclaim despite his musical idiosyncrasies, while his flamboyant stage mannerisms, as well as his hypochondria and other personal eccentricities, fuelled colorful publicity that heightened his celebrity. But he hated performing – "At concerts I feel demeaned, like a vaudevillian" – and though in great demand, he rationed his appearances stingily (he gave fewer than forty concerts overseas). Finally, in 1964, he permanently retired from concert life.

Gould harbored musical, temperamental and moral objections to concerts, and aired them publicly: "The purpose of art," he wrote, "is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenalin but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity." Even before he retired, he was not satisfied with being a concert pianist; he made radio and television programs, published writings on many musical and non-musical topics, continued to compose. After 1964, this work away from the piano only intensified. He liked to call himself "a Canadian writer, composer, and broadcaster who happens to play the piano in his spare time."

His retirement was also fuelled by his devotion to the electronic media. Gould was one of the first truly modern classical performers, for whom recording and broadcasting were not adjuncts to the concert hall but separate art forms that represented the future of music. He made scores of albums, steadily expanding his repertoire and developing a professional engineer's command of recording techniques. He also wrote prolifically about recording and the mass media, his ideas often harmonizing with those of his friend Marshall McLuhan.

Though he never became the significant composer that he longed to be, Gould channeled his creativity into other media. In 1967, he created his first "contrapuntal radio documentary," The Idea of North, an innovative tapestry of speaking voices, music and sound effects that drew on principles from documentary, drama, music and film. Over the next decade, he made six more such specimens of radio art, in addition to many other, more conventional, recitals and talk-and-play shows for radio and television. He also arranged music for two feature films.

Gould lived a quiet, solitary, spartan life, and guarded his privacy; his romantic relationships with women, for instance, were never made public. ("Isolation is the one sure way to human happiness.") He maintained a modest apartment and a small studio, and left Toronto only when work demanded it, or for an occasional rural holiday. He recorded in New York until 1970, when he began to record primarily at Eaton Auditorium in Toronto.

In the summer of 1982, having largely exhausted the piano literature that interested him, he made his first recording as a conductor, and he had ambitious plans for several years' worth of conducting projects; he planned then to give up performing, retire to the countryside, and devote himself to writing and composing. But shortly after his fiftieth birthday, Gould died suddenly of a stroke.

Since then, he has enjoyed a remarkable posthumous "life." His multifarious work has been widely disseminated. He has been the subject of an enormous and diverse literature in many languages. And he has inspired conferences, exhibitions, festivals, societies, radio and television programs, novels, plays, musical compositions, poems, visual art and a feature film (Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould).

Moreover, his ideas – like McLuhan's – still resonate strongly today in the world of digital technology, which was in its infancy when he died. His postmodernist advocacy of open borders between the roles of composer, performer and listener, for instance, anticipated digital technologies (like the Internet) that democratize and decentralize the institutions of culture. There is no question that Gould, more than any other classical musician, would have understood and admired digital technology – and would have had fun playing with it.

- Kevin Bazzana

Hailing from Houston, Megan Thee Stallion is a three-time GRAMMY-winning recording artist, actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur. From earning two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits with the “Savage (Remix)” featuring Beyoncé, and “WAP” with Cardi B to releasing her dynamic album “Traumazine,” Megan has proven unstoppable.  

 

Megan has been recognized for her musical achievements, including three GRAMMY wins, nine BET Awards and back-to-back Billboard Music Awards for “Top Rap Female Artist.” Additionally, she has been honored for her advocacy efforts, having received the 2022 Special Achievement Award at The Webby Awards and the Trailblazer Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.  

 

Most recently, Megan made history in Nov. 2022, becoming the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Forbes’ prestigious Under 30 issue. She was previously recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 after publishing her monumental “Why I Speak Up For Black Women” op-ed for The New York Times.

Unreleased music, demos and those not allowed to be distributed for various reasons.

This is the record where my music truly reflects who I am,” proclaims Tamar Braxton about her long-awaited new album Love and War (Streamline/Epic, Sept. 3). “It’s sassy, opinionated, insightful, smart and high energy. It’s everything that defines me as an individual. It’s finally time for me to be me.”

In fact, it’s finally time for this multi-talent to take her deserved place in the spotlight. Ever since she was a young girl, Braxton dreamed of being a singer, songwriter, producer and television star. Fanning the flames of her musical vision was a backstage encounter with Whitney Houston. At the time, a 14-year-old Braxton was singing background vocals for her sister Toni. “Whitney said to me, ‘Your voice is amazing! You’re going to be a star,’” recalls Braxton.

Now Houston’s prediction is coming true—as is Braxton’s long-held dream. Having already scored two back-to-back hits off the forthcoming Love and War (the title track and “The One”), Braxton is riding the perfect multimedia storm. Reality TV star (WE tv’s “Braxton Family Values,” “Tamar and Vince”). Engaging talk show host for Fox-TV’s “The Real.” Savvy business entrepreneur (“Get Your Life” fashion line). Illuminating author (upcoming book “Love and War.”)

And while the realization of Braxton’s musical dream might have taken longer than planned, she says it’s still right on time. “I’m a perfect example of God having another plan for me than what I had in mind,” she says with a laugh. “No matter how good the situation, it just seemed like nothing would never ever happen. Now with everything starting to happen, I realize it all boils down to timing. But singing has always remained everything for me.”

Love and War, Braxton’s album, offers a diverse mix of impassioned and impactful songs threaded together with pure soul. Heartfelt and honest, the set brims with deep emotion and searing honesty painted against a modern R&B backdrop.

One of the first songs she cut was the title track and debut single. She co-wrote the ballad’s lyrics with legendary writer LaShawn Daniels, whose credits fittingly include Whitney Houston (Michael Jackson, Usher), and Makeba Riddick (Beyoncé, Rihanna). The no-holds-barred song explores the push and pull of a relationship as well as how real love can weather any storm. Over a slow sultry beat, Braxton's soulful soprano simply captivates.

 "I'd experienced love, but I never experienced passion until I met my husband," reveals Braxton. "This song is the soundtrack to our relationship. We fight hard, but we love even harder. We get through everything, and we keep going strong.”

 As did the single. It spent ten weeks at No. 1 on Urban AC and reached No. 13 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, racked up more than 7 million views on YouTube and gave Braxton her first Centric Award at the 2013 BET Awards. "The award let me know," says Braxton, "that I was on the right path." Saucy follow-up single, “The One,” is following the same trajectory.

A veteran performer who began singing backup vocals for her older sister Toni at age 12, Braxton was also a founding member of R&B group The Braxtons with Toni and their siblings Traci, Towanda and Trina.

"I found the sound I'd been looking for within myself for years,” recalls Braxton. “I’d never had the chance to go as deep as I did. The vocals just poured out of me. I also let the music pick itself. You can't make or force a personality or feeling onto an artist. It never works."

Music isn't the only way the creative Braxton expresses herself. She executive produces and stars in the WE tv reality hit "Braxton Family Values," which comes back for a new season in November. Originally created and spearheaded by Braxton and sisters, the show soared as the cable network’s highest-rated television show. Braxton also co-stars alongside her music manager husband Vince Herbert on WE tv's spinoff Tamar & Vince. Its second season premieres on Sept. 5. 

Elsewhere on the TV front, Braxton co-hosts and produces FOX-TV’s “The Real” which recently rated #1 as the highest rated test-run in talk show history. Braxton reveals, "'The Real' is one of the best things to ever happen to me. I get to chat with a group of women and its feels like happy hour in the middle of the day.
 
A fashion force as well, the multi-tasking Braxton launched her own fashion line, “Get Your Life,” through Bravado in 2012.  Dedicated to "real chicks"—as its creator eloquently puts it— and inspired by Braxton's catchy, colorful hashtag phrases (#getyourlife, .com) on "Braxton Family Values.”

In the meantime, Braxton’s frank and sassy writer alter ego will surface again in Fall 2013 with the release of her first book, “Love and War.” Co-penned with husband Herbert, the tome examines both sides of the relationship equation. Readers will “get a detailed and honest look at the yin and yang,” pledges Braxton.

But first things first. In what continues to be a banner year, a tireless Braxton is getting ready to bring her music to her “Tamartian” fans live across the country. In conjunction with Love and War, the singer will open for Grammy Award winner John Legend during a national six-week tour that kicks off in October.

“Everything I’m doing is liberating my different sides: sister, wife, girlfriend and entrepreneur,” declares the glowing new mom. “Now, with Love and War, it seems SHE has it all.”


Twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother and musical compadre Anita Bias are KING.

In 2011 KING independently released their first EP to much acclaim;  title track “The Story,” (featured on GLAMOUR‘s Top Songs Playlist), “Supernatural” (NPR's Song of the Day) and “Hey” (featured in 2014 motion picture ‘About Last Night’) make up the 3-piece introduction to their carefully crafted future-soul sound. Hours after the release, their EP had traveled far to music lovers and tastemakers alike, trending on Twitter and making new fans of many. KING have since been preparing their debut full-length album due for release Summer 2014 and are excited to invite their listeners further into their sound. The album will also include the ethereal romance “In The Meantime” (Top 2013 Pick by NPR, The Guardian UK, and Buzzbands LA). 

KING’s smooth vibe, intricate production and harmonic style evolved beautifully in their home studio, a product solely of the three women. Paris produces KING’s songs, while Amber and Anita are the primary singers. The three work together on songwriting and vocal arrangements to create own their very uniquely soulful sound.

Citing influences ranging from a myriad of genres, KING’s eclectic sound is both relatable yet not simply defined. Though their cross-genre sound plays with the boundaries of their varied influences, maintained throughout each of their compositions is the common thread of a certain soulful authenticity. From Ebony Magazine: “KING bypasses the impulse to categorize musicians into a singular box by falling somewhere in the utopian realm of nostalgic R&B, futuristic soul and folksy-bluesy jazz." Add to that their electronic, new wave and downtempo tastes, their penchant for storytelling and their exceptional ability to blend 3 voices and perspectives- and the result is a melting pot of music that harks to an earlier time of unbridled exploration and creativity. From Okayplayer: "It’s not hard to tell what all the fuss is about; sophisticated pop harmonies that would seem more appropriate to past-masters than newcomers–yet never feel anything less than breezily accessible, mostly because of a certain emotional purity to the songwriting. The ladies of KING are just as refreshingly pleasant as their recordings...this just seems to confirm the eerie suspicion that though only two are blood-sisters, all three are spiritual triplets."

American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has been called "a throwback to such high priestesses of music as Wanda Landowska and Myra Hess," by Slate magazine, and praised by TIME for her "arresting freshness and subtlety." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many "Best of 2007" lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. Her follow-up album, The Berlin Concert, also gained the No. 1 spot on the Chart.

Ms. Dinnerstein has since signed an exclusive agreement with Sony Classical, and her first album for that label - Bach: A Strange Beauty - was released in January 2011, immediately earning the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Classical Chart, and making the Billboard Top 200 which compiles the entire music industry's top selling albums in all genres. The San Francisco Chronicle called Bach: A Strange Beauty "unadorned but profound bliss," and The Washington Post raved, "Dinnerstein's readings may be said to plumb these works' genuine depths . . . poised, elegant, wonderfully played." In conjunction with the album's release, Ms. Dinnerstein was featured on national television by CBS Sunday Morning.

Ms. Dinnerstein's performance schedule has taken her around the world since her triumphant New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 2005, performing Bach's Goldberg Variations. Recent and upcoming performances include her recital debuts at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and London's Wigmore Hall, the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen and Ravinia festivals, in Cologne, Paris, London, Copenhagen, Vilnius, Bremen, Rome, and Lisbon, and at the Stuttgart Bach Festival; as well as debut performances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Kristjan Järvi's Absolute Ensemble, and the Tokyo Symphony. In New York she has performed on Lincoln Center's Great Performers series, and in three sold-out recitals at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is also a frequent performer at New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge, a club presenting all genres of music.

She has played concerts throughout the United States for the Piatigorsky Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing classical music to non-traditional venues. Amongst the places she has played are nursing homes, schools and community centers. Most notably, she gave the first classical music performance in the Louisiana state prison system when she played at the Avoyelles Correctional Center. She also performed at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, in a concert organized by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to coincide with her BSO debut.

In addition, Ms. Dinnerstein has founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public and hosted by New York City public schools. The concerts, which feature musicians Ms. Dinnerstein has admired and collaborated with during her career, raise funds for the schools' Parent Teacher Associations. The musicians performing donate their time and talent to the program. Neighborhood Classics began at PS 321, the Brooklyn public elementary school that her son attends and where her husband teaches fifth grade, and expanded in 2010 to PS 142 on New York's Lower East Side.

Ms. Dinnerstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she was a student of Peter Serkin. She was a winner of the Astral Artist National Auditions, and has twice received the Classical Recording Foundation Award. She also studied with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music and in London with Maria Curcio.

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