Burnett claims that the Ionic’s sound quality surpasses that of compact discs and vinyl. The medium will also beat the sound quality of digital streaming, he says. Each disc is manufactured by painting lacquer onto an aluminum disc, while the sound is etched on it in a spiral.

Ionic discs are able to achieve such high sound quality by combining a vinyl record’s PVC plastic, which has no metal components, with a CD’s polycarbonate plastic and metal layer (usually aluminum). According to experts, it appears that the discs are produced through a merging of traditional vinyl manufacturing and how sound engineers create metal “stampers” to press the records.

Stampers are mainly used as masters for mass duplication. Because they are usually made in small numbers, consumers rarely are able to purchase any.

In a written press release, Burnett calls the Ionic “the pinnacle of recorded sound” and compares each disc to a painting. “Not only is an Ionic Original the equivalent of a painting,” he says. “It is lacquer painted onto an aluminum disc, with a spiral etched into it by music. This painting, however, has the additional quality of containing that music, which can be heard by putting a stylus into the spiral and spinning it.”

Based on an art exhibition of the same name at the German cultural association Goethe-Institut, the book takes a deep dive into the intersection of techno, art and identity.

Exploring further than just the genre, Techno Worlds examines the role of clubs by looking at at themes like space, sign systems, and the club’s role as a place where identity and gender are renegotiated.

Included in the 300-page book are images and illustrations providing context for techno music’s influence. Detroit-based visual artist Abdul Qadim Haqq contributed artwork for the book. Written contributions from DeForrest Brown Jr., Alva Noto, Chicks On Speed, and Ryoji Ikeda are included as well.

Those interested in learning more about Techno Worlds can pre-order it ahead of its June 22 release here.

The festival is scheduled to take place June 1st-5th, 20 minutes south of Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon in the beachfront city Costa de Caparica. This marks the second edition of the event after its inaugural edition took place in the Moroccan city of Essaouira.

Festivities will take place across one main stage as well as a beach party featuring two stages. Attendees will have access to all of the events as well as art exhibitions, wellness gatherings, yoga classes, surf lessons, conferences, talks and food. Event organizers describe it as a “Boutique electronic music festival inspired by the Atlantic vibes” with a goal of “connecting people from all around the world.”

Included in the lineup are influential Chicago deep house producer Chez Damier, Supplemental Facts label boss Guy Gerber, American house and disco artist Maurice Fulton, as well as 35 other producers who are scheduled to play throughout the five-day festival.

At the time of writing, second release tickets are currently available at €145. After that, tickets can be purchased at the door. There are currently no COVID-19 restrictions for outdoor gatherings.

Those interested in finding out more about the event can do so on the MOGA Caparica website.

Talent scout Raj Chaudhuri sued the label last year on the grounds that it discriminated against him. Spokespeople for the label said there is “no truth” to the claims, and called them “spurious.”

A London tribunal has now ruled that the case cannot proceed, given that Chaudhuri was a freelancer and not an employee. Vandepapeliere stated that he was “delighted” by the ruling. “This last two years has been absolute hell for me and my partner Sabines, my family, and the artists on our record label,” he said in a statement.

In his claim, Chaudhuri said he attempted to “diversify the label and the artists it worked with,” but found his efforts frustrated or criticized. He alleges that artists he championed were dismissed as “terrible” and “crap.” Chaudhuri also claims that Vandepapeliere dismissed music from ethnic minority artists as “meaningless” and that Vandepapeliere described the history of techno as “very white.”

“Renaat Vandepapeliere is certainly not racist and everyone at R&S Records embraces equality,” said Vandepapeliere’s wife, Sabine Maes.

In their ruling, authorities said that Chaudhuri’s case was not covered by the Equality Act. He was “free to choose how and where to do the work [scouting talent], or not do it at all,” wrote Judge Victoria Wright.

This dispute has been going on for nearly two years. In 2020, U.K.-based producer and DJ Forest White cut ties with the label over their handling of the case.

The decision was detailed in a statement written by Clone founder Serge Verschuur, in which he criticizes Kraviz for her “pro-Putin” views and her decision to “stay silent” in regards to what many around the world consider atrocities committed in Ukraine. “By refusing to choose sides, and by not speaking out, Nina enables herself to continue her lifestyle and her life as a performing artist as if nothing is happening,” Verschuur wrote.

Kraviz’s response to the war up to that point had been a video of a slip of paper with the word “peace” written on it in Russian. In a recent TIME article, artists such as Nastia and Pavel Milyakov (a.k.a. Buttechno) have criticized Kraviz’s silence on the war and asked her to clarify her stance.

Following the publishing of the story, Kraviz posted a statement on Instagram, saying, “As a person, musician and artist I’m deeply moved by what’s happening in the world. It’s appalling what my country’s relations have become. I am against all forms of violence. I am praying for peace. It pains me to see innocent people die.”

For years, platforms would lump amapiano into other genres such as Afro house, deep house, and dance/electro-pop. Tracks that were incorrectly categorized will be re-listed under amapiano.

The move comes after prominent names such as DBN Gogo, Focalistic, Major League DJz, and labels such as Jozi Entertainment began evangelizing the sound.

Starting in the Gauteng province of South Africa, amapiano borrows heavily from musical and cultural roots practiced in Black townships across the area. The name ‘amapiano’ merges the Zulu language’s plural article of ‘ama’ with the western instrument of a piano. The term has been around for about nine years and is used to exemplify the coexistence and collaboration of African and Western cultures.

Its foundations are rooted in Kwaito, a genre music created in the ’90s during South Africa’s transition to democracy. The resulting genre is a mixture of house, tech house, and jazz that is being embraced by younger and more DIY-focused South African artists.

Beatport introducing a category for the genre means that the platform can better promote the sound through banners, playlists, and more while helping amapiano artists foster their careers.

More info is available in Beatport’s amapiano section.

Titled Techno Worlds, the organizers bill the exhibit as “a three-part pathway to discover” taking place at two venues: the PHI Centre, an arts and culture venue, and the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), which will host an exploration of rave culture. The exhibit started May 13th and will run through June 19th.

Techno worlds features photo, video, and installation works by artists such as Chicks on Speed, Abdul Qadim Haqq, and others. According to a press release, organizers want to explore “the areas of tension between underground and mainstream, politics and commerce, [and] space and time.”

A show featuring influential Amsterdam-based DJ Lena Willikins, Kris Guilty, and Gene Tellem is scheduled at the SAT on May 27th. On June 7th, the PHI Centre will screen a documentary chronicling the evolution of German electronic dance music titled If I Think of Germany at Night.

German musicians Mathilde Weh and Justin Hoffman alongside Berlin’s Creamcake group organized the exhibition. It is currently traveling around the globe, with stops in Houston, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles planned before the end of 2022. It will also visit Mexico City, Montevideo, São Paulo, and Warsaw next year.

Régine Zylberberg, the self-described “Queen of the Night,” credited herself as the inventor of the modern-day discothèque and opened the DJ format nightclub Le Whisky à Gogo in 1953. In an interview with the BBC, she explained that she began booking DJs to continuously play music all night because “when the music stopped, you could hear snogging in the corners. It killed the atmosphere.”

In order to accomplish this, she installed two turntables in place of a jukebox. She worked as an attendant, hostess, bartender, and door attendant at the club. “I was the first-ever disc jockey,” she told interviewers.

Her first club, Chez Régine, sprouted into a network of more than twenty clubs spanning the globe. One of her flagship clubs, New York’s Régine’s, opened in 1976. Andy Warhol and Joan Collins would regularly attend the club along with a roster of celebrities and socialites. Eventually, members of the public were allowed entrance under a strict door policy.

Many of Zylberberg’s clubs began to decline in the ’80s, partly due to the success of newer venues such as Studio 54. Numerous other clubs closed, though she maintained a few of them later in life while she performed in Paris.

Régine Zylberberg passed away on May 1st. The news was announced by her granddaughter, Daphne Rotcajg. Her cause of death is currently unknown.

“It is with regret that we need to tell you that the Rat Records shop will close in the third week of June,” store owners wrote on their website. “After June, Tom [Fisher, the store’s record buyer] will continue buying as normal and will sell online and direct to the trade.”

The Camberwell, U.K. store has made a name for itself as a hub for vinyl lovers to buy, sell and trade. The store specializes in second-hand releases with an emphasis on reggae, funk, soul and punk. Fisher began buying, selling, and trading them at a street market beginning in 1988. Since then, he estimates that he has sold over 850,000 used records.

Philippe Giron, the store’s manager, is in charge of pricing the inventory brought in by Fisher. He is known for his tough bargaining process, having brought “seasoned record dealers to tears” according to Rat Records’ website.

The store was featured in a twelve-part series highlighting record stores in the U.K. titled Behind the Counter. Released in 2021, the series was organized as part of Record Store Day, an annual celebration of the culture of independent record stores.

During the International Music Summit taking place in Ibiza, Tong announced plans to create a “game-changing” platform to help aspiring DJs excel. The academy will be run in tandem with Rome’s MAT Academy. According to the organization’s LinkedIn, the MAT Academy’s goal is to “Discover, develop, and connect music talents around the world.”

“Pete is an incredible partner who designed every aspect of this project with us, together with all the artists involved in this program,” MAT Academy officials said of the project. They explain that their goal is to provide a “path to learn in detail the fantastic art of DJing.”

The course consists of over ninety lessons that cover every aspect of a DJ’s career, ranging from technical knowledge to industry expertise. Tutors announced to work on the project so far include Jamie Jones, TSHA, Nicole Moudaber, and academy cofounder Carl Cox.

Speaking about the project himself, Tong said, “I’m very proud to be launching the PTDJ Academy. A new platform that gives my peers and I a chance to pass on a lifetime’s worth of learning, experience, and skills to the next generation.”

Those interested in learning more about the academy can do so on its official website.