The Infinite Innovator: Introducing Headphone Surround Sound, Legendary Engineer and “Godfather of Electronica” Robert Margouleff Breaks Musical Ground Again

Recording icon Robert Margouleff is once again at the forefront of modern music innovation with his pioneering work in HPS 12.1 Headphone Surround. HPS 12.1 offers an incredible personal listening experience by delivering 7.1 surround channels on the horizon and five channels above - on any headphones. The result is a heightened sense of situational awareness and engagement. HPS 12.1 is instantly available to everyone who uses headphones with their mobile devices.

Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Electronica," Margouleff helped to bring the Moog synthesizer into modern music with Stevie Wonder in the 1970s. According to The Atlantic, “Margouleff’s revolutionary work with synthesizers helped shape Wonder's groundbreaking sounds.” Margouleff also produced DEVO’s 1980 classic "Whip It." Now Margouleff is making history again with electro-popper Lexi Baker, producing her debut album Ultimate Reality in both stereo and Headphone Surround.  

A studio genius who will be featured on the upcoming PBS Soundbreaking series created by the late Sir George Martin, Margouleff is an accomplished record producer, recording engineer and film producer. He is most noted for his work with electronic music synthesizer programming on Stevie Wonder’s acclaimed albums Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale.

Margouleff and collaborator Malcolm Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music. Under the name Tonto’s Expanding Headband, their 1971 album Zero Time attracted Wonder and other leading artists to the emerging music technology. Margouleff has since worked with Billy Preston, Depeche Mode, Oingo Boingo, The Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, The Isley Brothers, and Joan Baez, among others.

According to Margouleff, audio engineers and record producers “should strive for the highest possible quality of creation - so that everyone's experience can be the best possible.” He calls HPS 12.1 a “disruptive new production technology, based on mathematical and cognitive models of audio perception that allow the listener to perceive a sphere of sound.” All HPS 12.1 content is distributable through digital music and video retailers, including iTunes, Amazon, Google, Tidal, and Spotify.

HPS 12.1 also benefits the creators of music by giving composers, artists, and producers the power to create an immersive sound space that adds real value for consumers. Margouleff was experimenting with the  innovative music technology and looking for a new artist, when he discovered Baker, whose music immediately impressed Margouleff. The two soon began the journey that would result in Baker’s forthcoming debut album, Ultimate Reality. Her first single “Say It Like You Mean It” has just been released, and can be heard here in Headphone Surround.

For more information on Robert Margouleff, visit his official website.

Psychedelic Folk Groovesters Pilgrim Speakeasy Enlist World Music Stars for “Plan D” Single

Europe’s psychedelic folk funk collective known as Pilgrim Speakeasy, are pointedly taking on interpersonal frustrations with their groove-heavy new single “Plan D.”  The darkly wry lyrics belie the energetic, genre bending world beat.  “Plan D” is the second single from Pilgrim Speakeasy’s forthcoming album Freak Deco. According to music blogger Jani Ekblom, Pilgrim Speakeasy present “an irresistible musical vision where genres and styles mix and live together in harmony." “Plan D” features world music legends Meissa Niang (Orchestra Baobab) on vocals & percussion, Sakari Kukko (Piirpauki, Orchestra Baobab, Youssou Ndour) on sax and Mika Myllari (MMQ) on trumpet.  More information on Pilgrim Speakeasy is available on the band’s official website.

Plan D by pilgrim speakeasy

For more information on Pilgrim Speakeasy, visit their social media: FACEBOOK/ YOUTUBE/ TWITTER

Death and Darkness, Discovered: World-Traveling Singer Ben de la Cour Tells Tales of Substance Abuse, Murder, and Mental Illness on Haunting Midnight in Havana LP

“Ben de la Cour is a folk musician with the songwriting acumen of a young Nick Cave and the lyrical wisdom of a vitriolic Leonard Cohen. His songs are stark, melancholic, and packed with emotion.”
(Fresh Deer Meat)

Rising singer/songwriter Ben de la Cour has established himself as the face of the Americanoir sound with the official release of his dark and mysterious sophomore LP Midnight in Havana. Credited by Red Line Roots with offering “subtle hints of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen,” de la Cour’sextensive travels have taken him to strange and sometimes dark and desperate places, places he documents so eloquently on Midnight in Havana. Midnight in Havana is being released via Nashville’s Flour Sack Cape Records, a label that “aims to document the constantly evolving sound of one city.” More information on de la Cour is available on his official website.

After growing up in Brooklyn, de la Cour set out to see the world as an amateur boxer, bartender, and agricultural worker. He spins world-weary poetry of a road less traveled, and on Midnight in Havana tales of substance abuse, murder, and mental illness sit in perfect juxtaposition with the occasional lighthearted glimmer of hope. In the end though, darkness almost always wins… an unlikely hero, but one that suits de la Cour perfectly.

Case in point is the haunting “Down to the Water’s Edge,” the first single from Midnight in Havana. Described by de la Cour as a “creepshow manifesto” in which the narrator obsesses over his unknowing victim,” “Down to the Water’s Edge” represents de la Cour’s affection for David Lynch and the film-noir genre:

“I'm a big film-noir fan, and I also really enjoy the detective novels of Ross MacDonald and Raymond Chandler. I knew I wanted the album to have something of that feel to it, with the weird lighting and dark spaces. That informed everything from the song "Midnight in Havana" to the album title and the artwork, which I did myself.”

Midnight in Havana was recorded and mixed over the course of a year at Greenland Sound in East Nashville. According to de la Cour, the process was “limited to one session or less a week, so it really felt like a labor of love between engineer/co-producer Joe Lekkas and myself.”

You can purchase the album on iTunes here.

---

For more information on Ben de la Cour, visit his social media: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

Folk Singer-Songwriter William Caleb Parker Influences Modern Age Using the Art of Storytelling

At the core of Folk/Americana genre, William Caleb Parker have stolen the hearts of his listeners through raw emotion and intricate guitar work. Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, Parker is making music from another generation with his debut EP Marie. Each song follows in the footsteps of his idols: James Taylor, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. He carefully hand-picks words inspired from literary figures like Robert Frost to Dostoyevsky making his craft truly fresh to any listening ear.

“These stories made me see the world a little differently. They helped me think about life and the circumstances I am in with a little bit bigger perspective. I hope people might get a little taste of that as well when they listen to Marie.”

For more information on William Caleb Parker visit his social media: FACEBOOK|INSTAGRAM|YOUTUBE

“Together We Will Ride:” Electro-Popper Lexi Baker’s New Single “Model T” Celebrates Innovation in More Ways Than One

“Together We Will Ride:” 

Electro-Popper Lexi Baker’s New Single “Model T” 

Celebrates Innovation in More Ways Than One

L.A. singer is making waves with her message of change and revolutionary Headphone Surround technology

Electro-pop singer/songwriter Lexi Baker is driving modern pop forward with her brand new single “Model T.” The release is the latest from Baker’s collaboration with legendary Grammy-winning producer Robert Margouleff (Stevie Wonder, Devo, Depeche Mode).

The song’s irresistible beat is inspired by Henry Ford’s Model T auto factory that changed the world forever, and its fun message is an anthem to the unstoppable power of people working together. The tech character of “Model T” also extends to its revolutionary audio format. Margouleff and Baker are recording all of her songs in in two versions – stereo and Headphone Surround (HPS 12.1). The new surround technology provides fans with a mind-blowing 3-D sound experience they can enjoy on any mobile device using ordinary headphones.  Hear “Model T” in HPS 12.1(link) with headphones on now. MODEL T (Headphone Surround Mix) by Lexi Baker

The “Model T” single is part of Baker’s forthcoming debut album, Ultimate Reality, which displays her innate ability to merge music, fashion, and technology. More information on Lexi Baker is available on her official website.According to Baker, “Model T” uses the original mass-produced car as a metaphor for personal discovery and empowerment:“The Model T was a leap of faith, a daring step into the unknown. It was designed before America had roads. Roads had to be built to accommodate it. Soon, everyone was driving and sharing the experience. As I say in the song, ‘Together we will ride.’ I want to innovate the same way with my team in our own modern day creative factory.”.

Much of the recent buzz surrounding Baker is due to the creative bond she formed with Margouleff. Known affectionately as "The Godfather of Electronica," Margouleff brought the Moog synthesizer into modern music with Stevie Wonder in the 1970s. According to The Atlantic, “Margouleff’s revolutionary work with synthesizers helped shape Wonder's groundbreaking sounds.” He also produced DEVO’s 1980 classic "Whip It."  Baker will soon release her own version of “Whip It.” More information on Margouleff is available on his official website.

For more information on Lexi Baker, visit her social media: FACEBOOK|INSTAGRAM

Fight the Fiction: With Political Lies Running Rampant, Outspoken Psychedelic Folk FunkstersPilgrim SpeakeasyCall Out Dishonest Politicians in “Unbelievable”Single

Europe’s troubadours of truth, the psychedelic folk funk collective known as Pilgrim Speakeasy, are taking on dishonest politicians with their stinging new single “Unbelievable.”Both an expression of incredulity towards current political elites and a statement on their attempt to “pass off fiction for reality,” “Unbelievable” is the first single from Pilgrim Speakeasy’s forthcoming album Freak Deco. According to music blogger Jani Ekblom, Pilgrim Speakeasy present “an irresistible musical visionwhere genres and styles mix and live together in harmony." 

According to Mika Roth of Desebeli.net, Pilgrim Speakeasy excel at mixing and matching a variety of genres:

“Pilgrim Speakeasy make the impossible possible by combining influences adopted from an enormous field and crafting them into a living, breathing entity. They sum up nearly everything ever done in rock into a new collage with mystic-political messages that drill straight into the listener’s brain.”

Pilgrim Speakeasy began as the “freak-powered vehicle” for the expressions of a psychedelic troubadour, Roger Roge, a Scotland-born expatriate currently residing in Finland. Although solely producing albums since 2000, Pilgrim Speakeasy remain an open entity that has welcomed the talents of esteemed contributors from many countries, including Brazil, Senegal, United Kingdom, Columbia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

At present, the Pilgrim Speakeasy collective consists of Roger Roge, Panu Mölsä (bass, ukulele), and Markus Mulkahainen (drums, percussion). The project is currently putting the finishing touches onFreak Deco, the follow-up to the group’s acclaimed Lo-Fi Love at the Park Cafe album.

For more information on Pilgrim Speakeasy, visit their social media: FACEBOOK/ YOUTUBE/ TWITTER