If you were to have asked late Sugar Hill Records co-founder Sylvia Robinson who helped put hip-hop—a genre traditionally dominated by men—on the map, she would have justifiably raised her hand. Robinson, who passed away in 2011, was largely responsible for hip-hop’s first Top 40 single, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang (1979), as […]
This is a new ongoing series about the business of music with a SPIN twist. There’s a new headliner in the music business, and it’s not on stage. It’s in the wings, in a tailored suit, with a checkbook bigger than the tour budget. Over the last decade, the most unexpected disruptor in music hasn’t […]
Off the Grid Campout founder, visionary and DJ Mikey Made has been on a mission to foster community in the SoCal dance music scene for over a decade. In the past few years, he’s expanded OTG’s footprint from Austin to Mexico City and many points in between. He’s acquired his own remote festival getaway – […]
Trance legends Above & Beyond culminated their US tour at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountainview, CA with a celebration of their album release and the announcement of their forthcoming flagship show location: Above & Beyond Group Therapy 700 at The Gorge. A&B have a rich history at The Gorge, previously holding their milestone ABGT250 in 2017, […]
Matt Pryor holds on to a lot. That fact becomes clear as the Get Up Kids/New Amsterdams frontman and I settle into a video chat on Halloween to discuss his new solo album, The Salton Sea. In just a couple hours, costumed kids will ring the doorbell of his Lawrence, Kansas house, probably not even […]
Over the course of an hour-long interview with Abigail Morris, Emily Roberts, Lizzie Mayland, and Georgia Davies of the Last Dinner Party, it feels like I’m sitting front row in their own private fashion show. Mayland appears in a top that’s part faux fur and part denim with straps and stripes, a textural overload. Morris […]
Imagine an album that opens with a singer reciting an Edgar Allan Poe poem in an exotic Germanic accent over a lush symphonic backdrop. Followed by the industrial clanging of a synth-pop anthem that suddenly segues into a jazz solo by Yes guitarist Steve Howe. An album previewed by a hit single inspired by German […]
Name Shaun Cooper Best known for Bassist of Taking Back Sunday. Current city: Long Beach, NY. Really want to be in Like Dorothy said, there’s no place like home! I’m currently at an orthodontist appointment with my son. No place I’d rather be. My current music collection has a lot of Billy Joel. And a little bit of Yacht rock. Preferred format I love […]
Purveyors of “high energy sublime dance-floor euphoria” Midnight Lovers have relaunched Downtown LA’s Bar Franca with a new vision that’s already bringing fresh life to the heart of downtown. A Danley sound system adds warmth to the “sultry blend of jazz, funk, disco, house, and Balearic beats curated by Midnight Lovers,” as gold lighting sets […]
Kanye West called Erick Sermon sometime in May 2023 and wanted the EPMD co-founder to hop a flight to Los Angeles to work on a new project. Sermon’s ailing mother, Belinda, was in hospice care at the time and knew about the trip but didn’t want to hamper her son’s opportunity. Sermon protested but was […]