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May 4, 2018
Journey to a SXSW Far, Far, Away With Sessions From 3 Star Wars Directors: J.J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards & Rian Johnson [Video]
May the 4th Be With You! In honor of this galactic holiday, we are sharing SXSW Conference sessions from a trio of Star Wars directors; J.J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards and Rian Johnson. Take a look!
J.J. Abrams: The Force Awakens and the Upcoming Star Wars IX
At SXSW 2016, filmmakers and tech innovators J.J. Abrams and Andrew Jarecki spoke about the relevance of the “human factor” in digital communications. From advances in digital storytelling tools to the mass adoption of social media, they explore our ability to share authentic human experiences. Longtime friends and collaborators, Abrams and Jarecki discuss their journeys, and the importance of the eyes of robots and murderers as “windows into the souls” of their characters and stories.
Gareth Edwards: Rouge One: A Star Wars Story
Gareth Edwards delivered a 2017 Film Keynote during the SXSW Conference. Rouge One: A Star Wars Story was his third feature. His directorial film debut, Monsters, world premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and we were thrilled to include him in our 25 Years series.
Rian Johnson: The Last Jedi
At the 2018 SXSW Featured Session Journey to Star Wars, Vanity Fair‘s Joanna Robinson moderated a conversation with director Rian Johnson where he was joined on stage by Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill.
Enjoy these SXSW sessions before you start your Star Wars marathons!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.
Photo by Nicola Gell/Getty Images
The post Journey to a SXSW Far, Far, Away With Sessions From 3 Star Wars Directors: J.J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards & Rian Johnson [Video] appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film
May 4, 2018
SXSWfm 2018 Showcasing Artist Interview: Vista Kicks
During the week of SXSW, SXSWfm was given the opportunity to interview the California rock band, Vista Kicks. Sitting outside of Waller Ballroom, Nolan, Trevor, Derek, and Sam talked about the unique name of their recent album, Booty Shakers Ball, musical influences from the past, and their favorite aspects of touring. Read an excerpt of the interview below, and listen to it in full on our Mixcloud..
Listen to SXSWfm Interview with Vista Kicks
Vista Kicks Interview Highlights
How many times in total have you played at SXSW?
Sam: Zero. Well, actually one now!
Derek: To answer your question, we have played zero times.
Sam: No, we’ve played one now since this will be post SX.
Why was it important to come to SX?
Sam: This is like the coolest thing in America right now, that’s why. It’s amazing.
Trevor: Because, you get to see really cool bands – great new bands – that are full of energy and ready to play music for the people.
Derek: And you meet so many people. And you get reunited with so many people. We are from LA and SO many people that we’ve run into during the course of our existence in LA all show up here in this magical week. It’s great.
Let’s start at the beginning, so our listeners can know. How did you guys meet? How did you guys come together?
Sam: We grew up together – we went to grade school together. Nolan and Derek’s family are friends. Derek and I played T-ball. Trevor, Nolan, and I all met in band. We grew up in a once small town, now actually getting pretty big – Roseville, California. We are just really lucky that we all got into music around the same time, and all stayed friends.
You translate [the 60’s, 70’s vibe] well into your music – that classic rock & roll that was so prevalent back then. How did you guys decide on that because I read you guys used to make jazz music?
Derek: Well, we decided we needed to update a little bit because we started in the 50’s just doing Sinatra covers, and Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, and all that stuff in high school. And we were like, that’s so old – let’s scoot it up a little bit!
Trevor: That’s another thing too, we aren’t trying to be the 60’s or 70’s, or trying to just make that music that was made then. We are just inspired by it. We kind of just take influence from it and then try and make whatever comes to us naturally.
Derek: It’s sort of subconscious because a lot of the songs are very different on our records, and we just made another record, and you’ll hear Hank Williams inspiration, you’ll hear Dr. Dre a little bit. You’ll hear everything across the board because we just love music. We love good songs and that’s our goal.
The latest record you dropped, I just need to know, what’s the meaning behind the name [Booty Shakers Ball]?
Trevor: I had a guy tell me once, “You know, Booty Shakers Ball reminds me of a goodie bag – you just reach in and you never know what you’re going to get and what you’re going to pull out.” And I was like, that is so real. So that is kind of like why we named it Booty Shakers Ball. We had just this jambalaya – it was just a bunch of different spices and it was made of a bunch different things. Sam was like, “Booty Shakers Ball is cool. We are booty shaking rock & roll.”
Sam: Derek’s brother had always told us that we should make – when we were playing jazz music, he was like “you guys should make booty shaking rock & roll.”…And then after our first couple singles once we started really sharpening our sound and what we wanted to do, we kind of realized, damn, we’re booty shaking rock & roll now. And like a lot of artists, they try to put themselves in a box. They try to create a single flavor. They try to be a single shaded color for their first works. But for us, we just wanted to embrace the influences and the differences because in this band, we don’t have just one guy and the rest. It’s really everybody, so we embrace all of the corners of what Vista Kicks is – and that is Booty Shakers Ball. Its not one thing, it’s many things, and the name reflects that – its just a big party of sounds.
What’s next for y’all? We can talk about the album that you are recording.
Sam: It’s done. It’s done being recorded. It’s in the mixing and mastering stages right now by our same good friend Jo Napolatino…It’s a little bit more serious of a record than booty shakers ball. it deals with a lot of, like Derek said, a lot of the strife that comes along with being a young adult trying to make it in the big cold world, and it deals with a lot of problems that you have to over come and face. so it’s definitely a more serious record… This one has a lot of blues, country, and hip hop roots. It still sounds like the same band though. Still the same four dudes.
Tune in to hear the full interview with Vista Kicks below.
Listen to SXSWfm Interview with Vista Kicks
2018 Showcasing Artist, Vista Kicks – Photo by Carina Torres
The post SXSWfm 2018 Showcasing Artist Interview: Vista Kicks appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Music
May 4, 2018
Portrait Studio Gallery: 2018 Showcasing Artists Part One
During SXSW 2018, we had the opportunity to bring back our Portrait Studio for the second year. A selection of artists from all over the world performing in the Music Festival came by for a hangout and quick photo-shoot.
This gallery features a variety of great talent including UK grime artist AJ Tracey, Roc Nation singer Dorothy who recently released her LP 28 Days In The Valley in March, indie-pop act Findlay, as well as Korean-American rap sensation Jay Park who curated a playlist of his favorite jams for us. We were also joined by Glaswegian electronic duo LAPS, emerging post-punk group Moaning who recently released their self-titled debut via Sub Pop, and Austin-based psychedelic pop songwriter Palo Duro.
We also photographed pop maximalist and SXSW veteran Ramesh, Venezuelan tropical-funk group RAWAYANA, experimental electronic producer Samantha Glass who recently released the EP Introducing the Confession, NYC’s indie-rock trio Sunflower Bean whose new LP Twentytwo in Blue has been garnering great reviews, Dallas rapper T.Y.E, soulful pop group The Marías who were interviewed by the SXSWfm team back in March, and Motown-revivalists The Teskey Brothers.
2018 Keynote Speakers Linda Perry & Kerry Brown, who co-founded the combination record label, publishing house, and management company We Are Hear, also dropped in. In addition to delivering a Keynote on modern artist development and representation, which you can watch here, they also presented a showcase featuring artists under the We Are Hear umbrella, many of which also joined us in the portrait studio.
Thanks to our friends over at Google that partnered with us on the project. Stay tuned for more portraits from the studio!
All photos by Dylan O’Connor
All photos by Dylan O’Connor
The post Portrait Studio Gallery: 2018 Showcasing Artists Part One appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Music
May 4, 2018
The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, May 4
What is happening today in music? What new artists are emerging? Which companies will thrive in the streaming-based landscape? Who is advancing new ideas? Which lessons of the past are important? These are among the questions that the Daily Chord answers each weekday. Subscribe to the email blast for each new edition.
Monday, April 30
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Pandora learns the cost of ads, and of subscriptions
Story from Wired -
In A&R, ‘gut vs. data’ isn’t a binary choice
Post from Music Business Worldwide -
Music activates regions of the brain spared by Alzheimer’s disease
Post from Science Daily -
Sony Music revenue hits $4 billion as streaming soars
Post from Variety -
Stagecoach reveals the many niches within country
Review from LA Times
Tuesday, May 1
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‘It’s a great shot in the arm’: Record Store Day 2018 album sales up by a third
Post from Music Week -
J. Cole clams fifth no. 1 album and biggest week of 2018 with ‘KOD’
Post from Billboard -
Women fighting sexism in jazz have a voice. And now, a code of conduct.
Story from NY Times -
Women of Color of Time’s Up asks the music industry to cut ties with R. Kelly
Post from The Verge -
The National made a better music festival by going smaller
Post from The Ringer -
10 K-Pop artists to watch in 2018
List from Rolling Stone
Wednesday, May 2
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Gibson Guitars files for bankruptcy protection
Story from NPR -
Sony has sold half of its Spotify shares
Post from Variety -
Thomas Mapfumo, Zimbabwe’s lion, roars for his fans
Story from BBC News -
Resolving discord in indie music payouts
Post from PYMNTS -
20 songs you’re sleeping on right now
List from The Fader -
Jabo Starks, drummer for James Brown, dies at 79
Obituary from NY Times
Thursday, May 3
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Pirate radio stations explode on YouTube
Post from NY Times -
Wall Street doesn’t like Spotify’s first-ever earnings report
Post from Recode -
Billboard charts change to count paid streams more than free
Post from Pitchfork -
All 214 artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ranked from best to worst
List from Vulture -
Lil West is the Delaware loner forging rap’s strange future
Profile from Noisey -
Live Nation acquires Rock In Rio festival
Post from Variety
Friday, May 4
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Nathan Hubbard once ran Ticketmaster – now big Silicon Valley names are funding his attempt to build a better version
Post from Recode -
Jaak hails its first blockchain music rights pilot with rightsholders
Post from Music Ally -
Liz Phair is not your feminist spokesmodel
Story from NY Times -
The greatest Scottish indie bands – ranked!
List from The Guardian -
Pandora shares up 8% after surprise earnings beat
Post from TechCrunch -
How the Kent State massacre changed music
Story from Washington Post
The post The Daily Chord Weekly Recap – Friday, May 4 appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Music
May 4, 2018
‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ review
Want to be a Jedi? Disney and Lenovo have teamed up to create an augmented reality headset that lets you wield a lightsaber. You can deflect blaster shots, play Holochess, or fight Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges.’
The post ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ review appeared first on Digital Trends.
Source: Digital Trends VR
May 4, 2018
UI Inspiration: This week’s selections from Luboš Volkov, George Henderson and more
UI Inspiration: This week’s selections from Luboš Volkov, George Henderson and more
It’s that time of the week for our collection of UI/UX interactions to boost your UI inspiration. We are focusing on cool animations, layout designs, UX thinking and more. We are mixing it all from static, dynamic and even live prototypes, this might be a great weekly series to bookmark! This week, we went less about interactions/transitions. We have found very interesting static designs about a friendship circle app concept, parcel tracking app concept, eyewear AR and more. Hope you will enjoy!
In this collection we are featuring the work from Luboš Volkov, George Henderson, Thaddé Méneur, Max Steitle and more.
More Links
- For more, check out Dribbble
- Follow my tweets @aoirostudio
- Follow my pictures on Instagram
via Dribbble
Design by Luboš Volkov
Design by George Henderson
Design by Thaddé Méneur
Design by Max Steitle
Design by Sheikh Noor
Design by Vadim Gromov
Design by Xperiencia
Design by ryan evan davis
Design by Andrea Hock
Design by Christine Soules
Design by Zhenya Rynzhuk
Design by Kévin Lagier
Design by Kyle Troutman
Design by David J
Design by Lorenzo Dolfi
AoiroStudio
May 04, 2018
Source: Abduzeedo UI/UX
May 3, 2018
Funding Nemo: Kickstarter underwater drone streams 4K footage from the deep
Looking for a way to make your summer beach outing more memorable? Newly launched on Kickstarter, Nemo is an underwater drone that offers 4K streaming from up to 100 meters beneath the waves.
The post Funding Nemo: Kickstarter underwater drone streams 4K footage from the deep appeared first on Digital Trends.
Source: Digital Trends VR
May 3, 2018
SXSW Alumni Film Releases – May 2018
Discover some of the SXSW Film Festival alumni films on release this month, such as The Cleanse, First Reformed, and Paa Joe & The Lion. Continue on for a complete list with trailers and more info.
The Cleanse
Narrative Feature, World Premiere, 2016
Website | Trailer
Screened at SXSW as The Master Cleanse, Bobby Miller’s ingenious, lunatic monster comedy is finally unleashed.
In Theaters May 4
On Demand May 4
First Reformed
Narrative Feature, 2018
Website | Trailer
Piety, desire and obsession collide in this intense drama from Paul Schrader, and featuring a characteristically committed performance from Ethan Hawke.
In Theaters May 18
Krypton
Episodic, World Premiere, 2018
Website | Trailer
The Superman mythology gets a visionary new treatment in this SyFy show focusing on the iconic superhero’s home planet and its denizens.
Now On Demand
Most Likely To Murder
Narrative Feature, World Premiere, 2018
Website | Trailer
Adam Pally, Rachel Bloom and Vincent Kartheiser lead this acerbic, left-field take on the “home for the holidays” comedy subgenre.
Now on Demand
Now on DVD
Paa Joe & The Lion
Documentary Feature, North American Premiere, 2017
Website | Trailer
The unlikely story of a Ghanaian master artist and craftsman, and some truly remarkable coffins, built with love and imagination.
Now Streaming
Rapture
Narrative Feature, World Premiere, 2016
Website | Trailer
Rapture shines a light on contemporary hip hop culture, featuring artists like T.I., Rapsody, G-Eazy, and 2 Chainz.
Now Streaming
Small Town Crime
Narrative Feature, World Premiere, 2017
Website | Trailer
John Hawkes stars in this gripping, tough-as-nails neo-noir that manages to be fresh and old school at the same time.
Now On Demand
Vida
Episodic, World Premiere, 2018
Website | Trailer
This beautiful, timely drama follows two Mexican-American sisters in LA as they confront a difficult past and a complex future.
Broadcast May 6th
Who We Are Now
Narrative Feature, US Premiere, 2018
Website
A devastatingly raw performance from Juliane Nicholson anchors this delicate, nuanced redemption drama from SXSW veteran Matthew Newton.
In Theaters May 25
The post SXSW Alumni Film Releases – May 2018 appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film
May 3, 2018
A Conversation With Ethan Hawke at SXSW 2018 [Video]
On Tuesday, March 12, Ethan Hawke sat down with Indiewire‘s Eric Kohn during the SXSW Conference to discuss Hawke’s diverse career as a novelist, actor, director, and screenwriter, which spans more than three decades.
“I had always imagined that I was going to be a writer, and I felt like acting was a way to get started.” – Ethan Hawke
Hawke and filmmaker Richard Linklater are close friends and have collaborated on a number of different projects. Due to their encompassing relationship, Kohn asked Hawke about their history and how they began to work with each other. “I was just another 22 year old who loved Slacker,” said Hawke.
After seeing a screening of Dazed and Confused, Hawke met Linklater and the pair got along extremely well. “He [Linklater] was telling me this story about a guy meeting a girl on a train and it was going to be called Before Sunrise…I thought for sure he was offering me the movie, the way he was talking,” said Hawke. Linklater sent Hawke the script to his house and he thought his fate was sealed, but later found out it was just an invitation to audition. Hawke decided he was going to go for the part and get the role no matter what. After doing a screen test, other hoop jumping, and pointing out a rather lengthly monologue, which Hawke deemed useless in the script, he landed the role.
In addition to being a Featured Speaker, Hawke brought two films to this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Blaze – about musician Blaze Foley which he wrote and directed – and Paul Schrader‘s environmental thriller First Reformed. “It [First Reformed] is so beautifully written…we made it in the wake of the last inauguration and myself and everyone in the crew felt so happy to be working on something that we could put all this anger and confusion, and all these questions about what is a country that largely calls itself Christian or thinks of itself as a force of moral good, how can we let ourselves down so badly most of the time. It asks a lot of questions that are so important to me,” said Hawke.
First Reformed will be released via A24 on May 24, 2018. Watch the video above for the full Conversation with Ethan Hawke. Browse more 2018 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.
Ethan Hawke Photo by Travis Ball/Getty Images
The post A Conversation With Ethan Hawke at SXSW 2018 [Video] appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film
May 3, 2018
Michael Barbaro & Rukmini Callimachi on “The Daily” Live on Stage at SXSW 2018 [Video]
At SXSW 2018, Michael Barbaro, host of The New York Times audio show The Daily, kicked off his conversation with New York Times foreign correspondent Rukmini Callimachi with a probing question: “Why on earth does somebody become the world’s leading authority in journalism on terrorism and ISIS?”
In just one year, The Daily has become the top news podcast in the U.S., redefining the sound of The New York Times and introducing Times journalism to a broad new audience. From interviews with James Comey to sitting down with Tonya Harding, Michael Barbaro’s podcast covers human interest, politics, world news, and nearly every topic imaginable.
Live on-stage at SXSW, Michael Barbaro interviewed the award-winning foremost expert on Islamic terrorism. His conversation with Callimachi dives deep into her career experiences reporting on al-Qaeda and extremism from her 7-year role covering a 20-country beat in Africa to her position as West Africa Bureau Chief for The Associated Press. She discusses the tools she uses to infiltrate terrorist networks in order to better understand how ISIS and similar organizations are formed and operated.
“The better part of my brain-space on any working day is consumed with the question, how close can I get to them without getting killed?” – Callimachi
In what Barbaro describes as a “painful but enlightening conversation,” Callimachi discusses the evolution of ISIS, the horrors she witnessed first-hand in the Middle East, and the concerning road ahead as the terrorist organization transforms and continues to gain global support.
Watch the video above for the full Michael Barbaro and Rukmini Callimachi Featured Session at the 2018 SXSW Conference. Browse more 2018 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage and 2019 updates.
Photo by Will Blake
The post Michael Barbaro & Rukmini Callimachi on “The Daily” Live on Stage at SXSW 2018 [Video] appeared first on SXSW.
Source: SxSW Film