Discover Weekly, what to expect?

As we all know, the road to discovery can be a bumpy one. Sometimes the results can be unexpected. We all know Columbus didn't exactly find what he was looking for, but Native Americans became Indians nonetheless. Music discovery can have the same mouth watering effect to certain nerds that Spanish doubloons have on deep sea divers. 

Let me get to the point. 

This week, Spotify rolled out their new personalised playlist Discover Weekly: 30 yet unheard tracks from the Spotify vaults, selected based on your listening behaviour and those of users with similar taste in music. 

The mechanics behind it are purely systematic: a comparative analysis of tracks and styles  of a single user compared to 70 million others, picking up on similarities and the probability of a ‘match’ between a user and a track. 

On the one hand it’s a huge leap forward, crowd-sourcing nuggets on such a scale is genius. On the other hand, there is no chance of accountability, of a narrative behind the selection. Something which make DJ sets and curated playlists such a joy to discover and/or revisit. 

For example, I regularly check out Perfects.nl’s A Perfect Chart, curated by DJ and eclectic music mainstay St. Paul. He's an acquaintance of mineThe overlap in music taste is quite big, and I know he’s still quite a bit more compulsive as far as music discovery is concerned. And, in line with Perfects.nl’s USP, there are liner notes. That is an added value that Discover Weekly can never have. 

Another dizzying question: How do we rate these playlists? And who or what is it we rate when we do that? I suppose it’s the natural born critic in me that feels the urge to examine this playlist, to judge its worth. 

Supposedly, a review would best be considered over a certain period: six months or a year or so. That’s quite a task: 30 tracks per weeks, times 52 weeks equals 1560 new tracks on a yearly basis. Most people don’t take in that much new music by a mile. So in my view Spotify is really targeting their core users, the nutters that are already knee deep in music compulsions. These people already have their Perfect Charts, New Music Fridays etc. It will be interesting to see whether Spotify’s new algoritm has the power to really take people by suprise and knock ‘em out with a hit unheard. 

As for my first week’s worth of Discover Weekly. I’m not a full-on Spotify user, Itunes and my turntable still being my foremost music players. As such, there were quite a few songs I already knew (Alabama Shakes, Tamikrest, tUnE-yArDs, Floating Points, D’Angelo, Axel Boman).

Some early reviews complained about old tracks being added to the mix. I don’t really consider this a bad thing. In fact, it turned me on to music I knew but haven’t heard in  while (Neu!, Swans, Underworld), and in at least one case (Scott Walker) I knew about the artist without ever having listened to them. 

Finally, this week’s playlist introduced Henri Texier to me, a French jazz bassist whose 1977 album Varech is an incredible piece of home recording. Very different, but very groovy. There are currently 0 copies of this album on sale on Discogs, so you might say this is as obscure a nugget as it gets. There are very few people who could have put me on to Texier’s work, and I’m happy to know it. 

Obviously, there were also lesser songs on this list. But it’s not every week I get to discover artists like Henry Texier or Scott Walker. In the end, the value in any recommendation is dictated by the extent to which it resonates with the person on the receiving end. The tingle I get when I hear something new and exciting - that’s the endgame. And this week’s playlist has not disappointed in that -very important- sense. 

In the next few weeks, I’ll try and give an update of my experiences with Discover Weekly. As said before, we should really see how DW functions over a longer period of time. After all, nobody needs another one hit wonder. 

BAMM's Global Scene: Amsterdam, Ep. 1

For the past months my colleagues and I over at BAMM.tv have been working hard on the Amsterdam chapter of BAMM's Global Scene, a documentary series that takes an in-depth but concise look at various musical hotspots on the planet. BAMM.tv sets out to speak to the musicans, the promoters, the organisers, the fans, the people sustaining the various scenes around the world. Compiling unique interviews, discussion and live performances Global Scene offers the viewer a series of captivating snapshots of musical hotspots around the planet. Global Scene talks about cultural diversity, cool venues, best practices and developing musical genres (and their fusion), but also about the history, politics and the hardships of earning a living in a fast-paced creative industry.

For this documentary, yours truly participated as a co-producer and performed some 25 interviews with various 'captains of industry' in the field of music. Check out the list below for a quick overview of the talking heads. Also, most of the kudo's should should actually go to:

- Audio/video/post-pro masterminds, Sarah Levitt and Daniela Paes Leão;
- Technical supervisor and guru Jason Hall
- "Office Buddha" Wirjo Hardjono (producer and photographer)
- Cobie Ivens for her help with the locations for our shoots
- Nicholas Hansen for making it all possible!

So, here it is: our first episode of Global Scene. Below that, the list of interviewees


INTERVIEWEES
Bear Damen (@beardamen, NON Records, DJ/producer)
Tijs van Liemt (@tijsv 3FM Serious Talent)
Chris Walraven (@chriswalraven, 3voor12, Radio Mortale)
Jasper van Vugt (@jvanvugt journalist voor o.a. OOR)
Marco Muhring (@marco_KAAS blogger, o.a. Kicking The Habit)
Pien Feith (@pienfeith artiest)
Case Mayfield (@casemayfield singer-songwriter)
Gerhardt Heusinkveld (@gerhardtmusic o.a. Gerhardt, Beans & Fatback)
Melle Kromhout (@mellekromhout lecturer on popmusic at University of Amsterdam)
Mark Coleman (booker, promoter MixTup Online)
Lars Kelpin (@LarsKelpin_GRAP GRAP foundation)
Eyal van der Reep (@evdreep journalist and promoter)
Juha van 't Zelfde (@juhavantzelfde Viral Radio)
Ferry Roseboom (@frrr Excelsior Recordings)
Ronald van Holst (@ro_halfhide Amsterdam Songwriters Guild)
Isis van der Wel (DJ, producer and official Nightlife Ambassador for the city of Amsterdam)
Robert Meijerink (promoter o.a. Doornroosje, De Affaire en Eurosonic-Noorderslag o.a.)
Richard Zijlma (Amsterdam Dance Event)
Benjamin Herman (@benjaminherman jazz-legend, o.a. New Cool Collective)
Bjorn Ottenheim en Daan Schinkel (zZz, LightLight)
Lake Montgomery (journalist & singer-songwriter)
Mihail Ivanov (jazzmusician, o.a. Blazin' Quartet)
Henk Kanning (@henkkanning former DJ @ KinkFM, now producer 3voor12radio)
Rick Treffers (Live In The Living & singer-songwriter)

Another one, really?

Yes, really. This will be the new place for my personal rants, announcements and a collection of published works for third parties. I will try to give an razor-sharp, honest impression of the music scene and all that it entails, from the perspective of an Amsterdam-based Jack-of-all-trades.

Some of you may remember the blog I kept as De Nachtbrakers. While this was fun to do, it lacked urgency and was way to expansive (or self-indulgent, if you will) for people to actually read. In recent months, following my first experiences in online publishing with Hard//Hoofd, OOR and Bricks And Mortar Media, there were several stimuli that pressed me to start a new blog

1. Collecting my work. Keeping a portfolio is never a bad thing.
2. Focusing my thoughts. With the pace of current events involving yours truly, putting some of my personal thoughts on the whole process in a blog feels right. If nothing else, maybe I can learn from reading my own insights.
3. Sustaining productivity. As a freelancer, the worst thing you can do is muck about if no one is willing to assign you new projects. This way, I can bully myself into writing some articles in periods of drought.
4. Changing my ego-brand. For years I profiled myself as "Jasper P. Nachtbraker", the nightcreature hanging out in bars and clubs for a living. But you can only keep this persona up for so long. Not to mention the lifestyle you're living up to! I feel it's about time a new, slightly less Bertold Brecht-like alter-ego takes the stage. I decided to go with "Jasper van der Put". Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

So with all these things at the back of my mind, here's to the start of something new. My first regular article will be up tomorrow. A sneak (p)review of the new Mindpark album. Watch this space, and let me know what you think!

denachtbrakers@gmail.com

Cheers,

Jasper