The news was broken via a post to Moraes’ Facebook page. He died suddenly on February 27th, it said, surrounded by family members and loved ones. No cause of death has been disclosed to the public at the time of writing.

“He lived a full life and he always told me: when I drop dead, I will have no regrets ’cause I lived an awesome fucking life,” reads the post. “He is one of the few that accomplished everything he set his heart to… But we still had so many projects for the future.”

Remembering Angel Moraes

According to Big Shot Magazine, Angel Moraes rose to popularity off the back of his 1993 single, “Release Yourself,” via his and Jeffrey Rodman‘s Hot ‘N’ Spycy imprint. He went on to release music on labels like Strictly Rhythm, Subliminal and Nervous Records.

In 1998, Moraes founded Stereo in Montreal, a two-floor club now owned by Tommy Piscardeli. It was named best venue in North America by DJ Mag in 2017, and has billed the likes of Danny Tenaglia, Octave One, Chris Liebing, DJ Pierre and DVS1.

Angel Moraes will be memorialized in two ceremonies: one in New York, and the other in Montreal. No official details for either service have been announced at the time of writing.

Few who lost a loved one to the tragedy are satisfied with the outcome. Mercury News reports that Almena, 50, entered into a plea deal that reduced his prison sentence to 12 years. Between time already served and credit awarded to him for good behavior, however, it’s possible that he will only have to remain on house arrest for another year and a half due to prison depopulation measures taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, he will be subject to supervised probation for three years.

Almena is set to be formally sentenced on March 8th, and family members of the Ghost Ship fire victims hope to convince the judge to impose a stricter penalty. “We can make our voices heard,” Colleen Dolan, the mother of Chelsea Faith Dolan. “All we can do is speak up and represent our children.”

Attorney Mary Alexander, who represents the majority of the victims, doesn’t expect their efforts to sway the decision. “Just the way things are posturing, I would doubt it would change anything,” she said.

Sinking Ship

In 2013, Derick Almena entered into the lease for the industrial space that he would later name Ghost Ship. He used it to host art galleries and dance parties in addition to illegally renting out space on the first floor to roughly 25 tenants.

Investigators never determined the exact cause of the blaze that tore through Ghost Ship on December 2nd, 2016, but they found that excessive debris scattered in and around the space accelerated its spread. All 36 victims died of smoke inhalation, according to a Alameda County Arson Task Force report. 2014 emails between Almena and the property’s landlord, Chor Ng, showed that Almena had been aware of the building’s electrical issues since that time at the latest.

After his 2017 arrest, Almena was released on house arrest in May 2020 on account of a medical condition rendering him susceptible to COVID-19. Violation of any terms of the plea deal could increase his prison sentence to 39 years.

Sef Kombo and Louie Dunmore will work as A&Rs for the new imprint, which will join sub labels such as Classic Music Company, Glitterbox Recordings, and DFTD under the Defected Records umbrella. A single by Hyenah makes for a fitting debut release as the masked DJ and producer has championed African music in his RISE residency at Berlin’s Watergate Club.

“I’ve been really happy being part of Sondela, I’ve always wanted to be a part of shining the light on the amazing talents from my home continent, bridging the worlds together to new listeners and also to release amazing future classic records,” said Kombo in a statement. “Even at this early stage in my A&R journey, I’ve learnt so much and so keen to learn more at Sondela.”

“I am so excited to begin my journey with Sondela Records and to be working alongside Sef Kombo,” added Dunmore. “Aligning with Bridges For Music will help me in my own personal development while providing an excellent opportunity to discover creative talent and dig deep to source new music.”

A premiere of Hyenah’s “Ezizweni” featuring DJ Tira and Luke Ntombela can be streamed via Groove Cartel.

In a letter to the Chancellor, the DCMS Committee noted that 2019 saw festivals bring £1.76 billion to the economy. Tourists attending live music events spent £460 million, they said – enough to sustain 46,000 jobs.

“Planning for this year’s festivals, live performances and events is taking place now, and while the vaccine rollout is cause for optimism, organizers need confidence that this work and investment will not go to waste,” the Committee wrote. “Central to that confidence is insurance.”

The letter goes on to point out that the U.K. government has provided £500 million in insurance for the TV and film industries, arguing that the same must be done for festivals. The DCMS Committee suggested adapting the existing Pool Reinsurance scheme established after the 1992 IRA bombing of the Baltic Exchange building, but it didn’t rule out other approaches.

The DCMS Committee is not alone in warning of the dire implications for festivals without government aid. Emily Eavis, the daughter and co-organizer of Glastonbury Founder Michael Eavis, suggested last month that the government provide “direct financial support” to organizers of large-scale cultural gatherings.

The U.K. was the first to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. At the time of writing, the country’s confirmed case total approaches 3 million with over 77,000 resulting deaths.

Image credit: Vishnu R

Observing the short lags inevitable to the video conference platform, Workshop members Bob Earland and Paddy Kingsland set out to see if a longer delay could be used to facilitate a unique sort of improvisation between artists. The resulting composition will essentially be a loop of music with each musician adding elements as it’s passed to them.

“The idea [of playing the internet] reflected our time,” said fellow member Peter Howell. “We’re all subject to the internet now in a way that we never thought we would be. And Bob and Paddy came up with an idea that is literally using what we’re all relying on for a creative purpose, using something that we’ve all taken for granted but in an artistic way.”

The original BBC Radiophonic Workshop ran from 1958-1998; it birthed music that found its way into sci-fi scores like those of Doctor Who and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The life of Delia Derbyshire, an early electronic music most famous for her work on the former series’ intro, has been chronicled in a documentary titled Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes that will premiere the day after “Latency,” via BFI London Film Festival.

BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s performance of “Latency” will begin at 8:00 PM on November 22nd via their YouTube channel.

The update had previously proven controversial as it will expand the social media giant’s authority to restrict access to content as a means of shielding itself from legal liability. Since then, visitors who have browsed the preview of their new Terms of Service have come across the Music Guidelines section – specifically, the following passage:

You may not use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience

We want you to be able to enjoy videos posted by family and friends. However, if you use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience for yourself or for others, your videos will be blocked and your page, profile or group may be deleted. This includes Live.

Unauthorized content may be removed

If you post content that contains music owned by someone else, your content may be blocked, or may be reviewed by the applicable rights owner and removed if your use of that music is not properly authorized.

Digital DJ Tips writes that Facebook is “introducing sweeping new rules,” while Your EDM warns that the platform is “coming down hard on DJ live streams … October 1st.” Among the other publications to suggest that the Terms of Service update will adversely affect electronic musicians are Data Transmission and DJ TechTools.

Facebook’s Music Guidelines Will Not Change

The Music Guidelines section of Facebook’s Terms of Service has not been amended as part of the update preview. An archive of the page from May 2018 contains the same exact text verbatim as it appears at the time of publication.

The policy’s implications have long been a source of uncertainty for content creators navigating the copyright landscape. “It seems to me that a DJ doing a Facebook Live pretty clearly falls within the realm of a ‘music listening experience,’” intellectual property lawyer Davey Jay told Selector in an April email. “I’m sure that the next question would be, ‘If it’s not allowed, how are people getting away with it?'”

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I can speculate,” Jay continued. “Maybe the copyright owners aren’t being aggressive because they realize that any benefit they would get from enforcing their rights is outweighed by the PR backlash that would ensue from clamping down on DJs and performers when live music industry while its already suffering so much. Maybe they’re just not catching it because so many people are doing it and Live videos sometimes aren’t saved for future viewing. The fact remains, though, that getting away with something does not change whether its permissible, just like going 20 over the speed limit without getting a ticket doesn’t change the speed limit.”

Whether or not Facebook’s selective enforcement of their Music Guidelines becomes more strict on October 1st or anytime thereafter, musicians may still be wise to gradually migrate their live streams to Mixcloud. Earlier in 2020, the streaming platform debuted a broadcasting service called Mixcloud Live that operates on a license similar to those of radio stations to ensure 100% legal live streams.

In April, Facebook also promised to incorporate monetization functions that would allow content creators to make money off of their live streams.

Image credit: Pixabay

According to DJ Mag, all 12 of Germany’s district mayors are looking for outdoor areas that can be repurposed for nightlife events. The guidance follows petitions from the country’s nightlife professionals, many of whom argue that even with the government’s €30 million cultural aid package they will not be able to continue operating.

“Berlin misses its diverse club scene. Clubs and bars are suffering economically during the corona crisis,” said Berlin economics minister Ramona Pop, reported Berliner Morgenpost. “We want to create legal opportunities to party in public areas for the clubs and Berliners.”

Social Differences

The move to encourage safer outdoor events differs greatly from the approaches taken by some other countries’ lawmakers. U.K. authorities have responded to their own surge of illegal raves with greater police intervention, resulting in arrests connected with events in Staffordshire and Somerset, among other areas.

Meanwhile, France has moved to lift COVID-19 regulations. The country’s lawmakers announced that events of up to 5,000 can resume despite confirmed case counts creeping back above the 3,000 mark in recent weeks.

German authorities have extended their ban on large-scale events in the traditional format from the end of October through the rest of 2020.

Héctor Oaks has given a home to an envelope-pushing techno four-track EP. Peter Mannerfelt, Darc Marc, Repro and Uncrat delivered the tracks comprising #TOOMUCHISTHEMINIMUM. It arrives by way of KAOS / OAKS August 8th, 2020.

Each artist’s distinctive style plays curiously well with those of the others. Mannerfelt opens the EP with a cinematic industrial techno cut titled “The B 2.0” before Repro brings suspenseful melodies in “The Moment Of Impact.” Darc Marc (of “Dirty Rocking Bass” fame) follows with the hard techno single “Running With The Devil” before Uncrat closes the effort out with the trance-tinged “Linx.”

Expert Ear

After a career that landed him DJ residencies in hotspots like Madrid, Berlin and Tbilisi, Héctor Oaks launched KAOS /OAKS in 2016. Although he typically favors the hard, fast and abrasive, Oaks has thus far explored a diverse range of the techno spectrum while still uncovering music that fits the sound of his brand.

Further showcasing his eclectic musings, Oaks performs under a side project called Cadency on special occasions. Self-described as “techno body music gone pop,” the alias affords him the opportunity to play breaks, ghettotech and the like.

Pre-order #TOOMUCHISTHEMINIMUM in digital and vinyl formats via Bandcamp.

Lobster Theremin‘s versatility as a record label is on full display in their July 3rd, 2020 release. House, techno, hardcore and beyond are represented in Music For Your Mind Vol. 1. All proceeds from the 22-track compilation will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

Danceable minimal house gems abound on the effort, notably “Changes” by House of Drummond and “Blazing Orange” by Fire Escape. Songs like “This Way” by Route 8 & TRP and “The Fate Of Us All” by Mani Festo explore an R&S Records-esque realm of ambient breakbeat, whereas “Levels” by Warwick and “Pertinent Negative” cater to discerning techno enthusiasts. No matter the artist or their musings, quality remains consistent from one song to the next.

Lobster Theremin’s Coming of Age

The sonic diversity exhibited on Music For Your Mind Vol. 1 is a relatively new facet of the Lobster Theremin brand. As noted by Beatportal, the label have outgrown the lo-fi and minimal house niche they carved after their 2013 launch and expanded to include releases from an increasingly eclectic range of the electronic music spectrum.

To that end, Lobster Theremin also now comprises a number of sub labels. Lobster Black, Lobster White, Sleep Sequences and Distant Hawaii are but a few of the imprints under the London label’s umbrella.

Purchase Music For Your Mind Vol. 1 in digital format via Bandcamp.

As always, economist Kevin Watson examined last year’s dance music trends using figures from the recording, live music, streaming, gear and software markets. Given this year’s trials, the report also included a section devoted to 2020 thus far.

After Watson finished presenting, Billboard Dance Director Katie Bain moderated a discussion on current affairs. Ultra Music Owner Patrick Moxey, Creative Artists Agency Senior Agent Maria May, Ministry of Sound Recordings President Dipesh Parmer, and CREATESAFE CEO Daouda Leonard were the panelists.

2019 Rebound

Watson estimated the total electronic music industry value to have grown from $7.2 billion to $7.3 billion (2%) from 2018-2019. The upward trend follows two consecutive years of reports estimating a year-over-year contraction of the same rate.

Contributing to the figure were total earnings of the 10 highest-paid DJs, up 4% from 2018 at $273 million (according to Forbes). Also factored in was the dance/electronic’s 3% increase in total U.S. volume due to the genre over-indexing on streaming (90% in 2018 per Nielsen Corporation).

The turnarounds of brands like SoundCloud and Beatport merited a mention as well. Both have significantly increased subscription numbers by rolling out new software and hardware integrations.

2020 Crash

This year’s festival collapse, ongoing nightlife restrictions, as well as economic ripples from entertainment-adjacent sectors caused Watson to share a comparatively bleak outlook for 2020. He projects the industry will contract from $7.3 billion to $3.3 billion (56%) from 2019-2020.

Live music – which accounts for the majority of dance music’s total market value – is projected to fall from $4.4 billion to $1.1 billion (75%) per Goldman Sachs. Citing data from Sick Festivals and Skiddle, Watson said that 342 electronic festivals had been canceled as of April 20th and over 4,000 other events were postponed or called off. Hardware and software are also expected to fall from $.9 billion to $.7 billion (25%) from 2019-2020.

The pandemic has brought with it a silver lining for live stream events, small as it may be. According to the report, seven of the top ten Twitch streamers were electronic focused, and digital events like Beatport’s ReConnect and Defected Virtual Festival collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. Electronic music streaming is also projected to grow from $1 billion to $1.1 billion (10%) from 2019-2020.

Industry Panel

A first-ever panel discussion between key figures in the electronic music industry followed Watson’s presentation. Between the COVID-19 crisis and renewed attention to racial injustice in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, current events influenced much of their dialogue.

Moxey touched on the continued growth of streaming and how dance music’s intermittent mainstream breakthroughs each trigger an underground resurgence. May discussed the influx of DJ live streams amid the pandemic, emphasizing the necessity for performers to find innovative ways to stand out.

For his part, Leonard brought up South Africa as an undervalued growth market – specifically how industry professionals in the west have overlooked the fast-growing Amapiano genre. With roots going back to 2012, the style offers a radio-friendly fusion of house and jazz distinct from the techno/house championed by South African artists like Black Coffee.

International Music Summit will release the 2020 IMS Business Report in the days to follow. The presentations from previous years can be found here.

Image credit: James Chapman