Ten-Oh-Two Music

Miike Snow

Happy to You

Downtown Records

March 13, 2012

EDM has had its influence even on the master producing team Bloodshy & Avant of Miike Snow. Bloodshy & Avant have been responsible for producing numerous hit singles by artists such as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Britney Spears’ “Toxic” which earned them a Grammy Award. Happy to You is a follow-up to Miike Snow’s debut self-titled album which features hit singles “Black and Blue,” “Silvia,” and “Animal” and has earned them remixes by Peter Bjorn and John, Benni Blanco, and Mark Ronson, to name a few. “Devil’s Work” (3) starts off with gleeful keys, campaigns snarly horns, and punchy synth parts and a dynamic musical mix with vocals like what we remember from “Horse is Not a Home.” Lykke Li fans will enjoy her featured vocals on “Black Tin Box.” If you like keys, synths, horns, dance, rock, electronic sounds, and smooth vocals wrapped up in a bright ‘black and blue’ bow in the shape of a deer (like the image on their album covers); you’ll like Miike Snow. EDM electronic notes and anthems have weaseled their way into the tracks of indie/dance/rock team Miike Snow. Wolfgang Gartner’s remix of “Paddling Out” made the album as a bonus track 13; it is a phenomenal dance track that’ll surely be a club hit of the year.

Notable tracks are (2) “The Wave,” (3) “Devil’s Work,” and (10) “Paddling Out.” “No Starry World” (12) is a dancy electronic machine of jungly rhythms and wash.

What a night for music in LA and the OC!!! Chris Cornell is Sold Out at the Orpheum Theatre in LA. Young the Giant is Sold Out at Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana. Social Distortion is Sold Out at the Santa Monica Civic. For you hip hop fans out there, Drake is at the Gibson Ampitheatre.

Pics and Video coming soon from the Young the Giant show tonight! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS CALIFORNIA!!! 

It’s a staggering week in music. The Black Keys, highly anticipated, El Camino comes out today. This is a must-buy!

Indie-surfer-rock outfit Girls headline The Music Box (L.A.) tonight. Aside from there distinguished live shows and sound like Buddy Holly and The Drums, their lead singer Christopher Owens is a survivor of legendary cult Children of God. Doesn’t that intrigue you?

A Brittish Invasion in Los Angeles by catchy pop rock band The Kooks. If you’re an Arctic Monkeys fan, you need to buy your ticket right now for this Wednesday or Thursday at The Music Box.

How much is too much? Early this morning, word ‘leaked’ that EMI seller Citigroup has picked a pair of winners, and scored some unexpectedly high price tags.     

On the recording side, Universal Music Group owner Vivendi has agreed to purchase EMI for $1.9 billion (1.2 billion pounds).
 That is a substantial premium over the estimated price tag of between $1.2 and $1.5 billion, and enough to outdo Warner Music Group owner Access Industries.   

On the publishing side, the buyer will be a group spearheaded by Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV, with a somewhat-similar price tag of $2.2 billion (more details on that later).  That brings the total to $4.1 billion, considered far loftier than earlier estimations and potentially the result of some great salesmanship.  

The information is now being reported by most major outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Guardian, and others.  Citigroup, which seized EMI Group and is executing the sale, is expected to formally announce the sale of both units later today.  These deals look fairly cooked, barring some late-stage development. 

Universal Music Group is the largest of the majors, and the absorption of EMI’s recording collection only makes it bigger.  The question now is whether regulators take notice, and indie consortium Impala has already announced its intentions to fight the combination.  The regulatory environment in the US seems far friendlier, and will probably involve a light review at most.

In order to seal the deal, Citigroup assumed liabilities related to about 21,500 EMI pensioners.  That was a major sticking point in the ongoing negotiations, with total liabilities potentially reaching $400 million.

by Paul - Digitalmusicnews.com