It’s my pleasure to announce today that Windows is teaming up with the 7th Annual Decibel International Festival of Electronic Music, Visual Art and New Media to serve as the Presenting Partner for this year’s dB Conference. The dB Conference, held in conjunction with the Decibel Festival program, is an educational series of panels, screenings and workshops that are free of charge to the general public. This series seeks to provide a space where artists, professionals and the public can exchange knowledge and create a supportive, creative community.
Scheduled for September 22-26 in Seattle, WA, Decibel is one of North America’s premier art and technology events. This year’s festival is expected to attract more than 20,000 attendees and will include a diverse selection internationally-renowned artists, including Flying Lotus, Modeselektor, Carl Craig, Fennesz, Beats Antique, Pantha Du Prince, VibeSquaD, Monolake, Murcof, Scuba, Theo Parrish, Starkey, Mary Anne Hobbs, Plastician, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Cassy, Ben Frost, Bluetech presents: Satori Social, as well as performances and talks by Windows DJs Dave Pezzner and Darek Mazzone
Here in Windows, we believe that creativity is a vital part of the human experience. Technology serves to free and empower the creative spirit in all of us, and we believe that Windows 7 is one of the most powerful vehicles for personal expression. For these reasons, we’re proud to be the Presenting Partner for this year’s dB Conference, which will be held at Pravda Studios in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
In addition to presenting the conference, Windows will sponsor four workshops with Festival partners on how anyone can use the versatility, powerful performance, simplicity and choice of the Windows platform to unleash their inner artist and create music. These workshops will be recorded so that artists unable to attend Decibel can share in the experience.
I’ll be your live Windows link at Decibel this September, and I’ll also have additional posts up shortly with more information on the topic of each session and who will be presenting. We’ll also have Festival passes to give away, and I’m working on some other treats for all you music lovers. Stay tuned!
But that’s not all: Over the next few weeks, the Windows Experience Blog will partner with the Microsoft News Center and the folks at Decibel to bring you additional features on Decibel and the dB Conference, as well as in-depth interviews with Dave Pezzner and Darek Mazzone. And don’t forget to follow me and Decibel Festival on Twitter for all the latest announcements.
Last week, Darek and I spoke about Windows’ Decibel sponsorship and what it can mean for up-and-coming artists:
Photo by Bootsy Holler, courtesy of Darek Mazzone. All Rights Reserved.
Ashley: For an artist just starting to make music, why go with a Windows PC?
Darek: It’s about performance and choice. Most people don’t have $2,500 to $3,000 to drop on a laptop, especially in developing countries or Eastern Europe. Does that mean you can’t create? Absolutely not! With Windows 7, you can start producing and DJing with the proper software right out of the box. Windows 7 is an insanely powerful and responsive operating system in the creative space.
Ashley: On KEXP’s Wo-Pop, you introduce us to new artists every week. What role do you think Windows can play in helping today’s up-and-coming artists?
Darek: The laptop running Windows has completely revolutionized music in all ways. In the past, if you were a musician, you would need to spend a fortune on recording equipment or a studio space. If you were from a developing country, often these things would be in Europe or the US which was impossible to get to unless you had a label. You might have been a great artist, but you weren’t heard or seen by anyone.
Now, I get tracks produced on laptops from every corner of the world—amazing hip hop from Mongolia, Electro Congolese noise from Kinshasa, Kuduro from Luanda. This was unheard of just a few years ago. But now, with Windows, these artists can be heard, tour and make a living to make more art. It’s a creative renaissance driven by music.
Ashley: Where can we find you at Decibel this year?
Darek: I’ll be playing the opening gala and speaking on a range of panels on promotion and social media. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with the attendees and keep watching this blog for updates on my schedule.
Ashley: How was DJing for Bill Clinton?
Darek: That was amazing. It was a very surreal experience with the Secret Service and the crowd completely mesmerized by the President. I’ll remember it forever. Bill is an inspiration with what he’s doing with the Clinton Foundation and the focus on Haiti and Central Africa. My focus is on music from all over the world, and to have Bill Clinton work on developing the technology infrastructure in those countries can only help get more music heard.
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