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slavghoul · 2 years ago

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Interview from Rock Hard [FR] Magazine 5/2023

In which Tobias talks about Spillways, Phantomime, how he chooses what songs to cover, the state of the world, why he loves churches, and some touring technicalities.

Rock Hard: Let's go back to the version of "Spillways" that you recorded with Joe Elliott, the singer of Def Leppard. How did this collaboration come about?

Unfortunately, this story is less sexy than it would have been if I could have done exactly what I wanted. Before Impera was released, I regularly mentioned Def Leppard in interviews because some of the experimentation on that album was inspired by that band, their writing style. […] As I often mentioned Def Leppard, people around me eventually told me that Joe Elliott and Phil Collen regularly spoke highly of Ghost in interviews. Since I obviously thought it was cool, someone suggested a collaboration. A good collaboration shouldn't be forced, it should happen naturally. The best ones are often the ones that weren't supposed to happen. Two drunk musicians somewhere accidentally writing a good song... Crosby, Stills & Nash style. People who, by chance, find themselves together in a different context from the one they are used to and do something together, by accident. Something magical! That's how I would ideally have wanted it to happen. So I said I was ready to call Joe Elliott and see if we had a rapport. We started talking on the phone and texting a lot, me living in Sweden and him in Dublin. As we were both on the move almost all the time, and he was on tour, we couldn't meet. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he tells me that he has recorded some vocals for 'Spillways'! Quite frankly, I was surprised because I wasn't expecting it. I was anticipating a possible collaboration, but in a different way. To be honest, I thought we would create something new later on. But when I heard the result, I thought two things. Firstly, I found it very flattering. Secondly, I thought Joe brought something new and cool to "Spillways".

But you would have preferred to have the opportunity to write a new song with him.

Yes, that's the way I saw it, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. And then I said to Joe, "You know how we post those funny little episodes on our social media?" He replied "Yes, I think I saw that!" and kindly agreed to participate in one of them. Nowadays, many artists are over-solicited to record video clips for anything and everything in order to keep their channels updated: "Come and see us in concert in such and such a city!", etc. etc. The aim is obviously to keep the media space occupied.

By creating "content"!

Exactly! And that's exactly what I don't want to do. That's why, instead of all this crap, we started some time ago to create these little humorous episodes. One day, for example, I came up with the idea of an episode set in 1969 featuring a sort of "pre-Ghost" group. To do this, I obviously had to write a new song, which I did with this psychedelic track, 'Kiss The Go-Goat', which I thought was funny. When we recorded it, 'Mary On A Cross', another song of the same type, came along. So we ended up with two sides of a single that became 'Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic.’ Instead of just announcing the release on our networks, we chose to shoot a new video in which we featured Papa Nihil and explained the origins of this so-called 'pre-Ghost' band. I thought it was a much more clever and fun way of presenting the single. We do the same when it comes to announcing an album release or a future tour. Joe Elliott has a great sense of humour and is capable of self-mockery, so he kindly agreed to play this little game.

Ghost have made a habit of releasing an EP between their albums, mostly, if not entirely, made up of covers: If You Have Ghost (2013), Popestar (2016) and now Phantomime. How is it not just about “creating content”?

For me, it's a kind of exercise. I like analogies. Let's imagine that the place we are in is a theatre, and that this theatre, in order to be viable, has to host performances all year round. At least fifty weeks a year. Daytime rehearsals, evening performances... You are the director of the place and you know that the play that is currently being performed there will end at the end of the month. So you look for something else to program in order to make the most of the place and keep your staff busy. Maybe an old classic like Doctor Glass (Hjalmar Söderberg, 1905), an adaptation of John Steinbeck, or a rereading of Shakespeare's Hamlet that you could revisit by inviting this actor or that director, renting out your theatre for three extra months for the occasion. Working on this old material, even if it means not releasing it if it doesn't work. We do that to keep the team active, enthusiastic, focused. That's my way of working. I worked simultaneously on the Impera album and the demos of the covers that are on Phantomime. One day I could record 'Spillways' and two hours before leaving the studio to go home, I could look at any of the covers and decide which ones to keep. So, as soon as Impera was finished, I was able to concentrate on those covers that the album's producer wasn't interested in putting on the record. Which was fine with me. I spent some time sorting out the covers I had recorded as demos. There were ten in total, but I only kept five. Because with those five tracks I thought I could come up with a really strong rock EP. In my albums, there are highs, lows, really metal tracks, ballads, instrumentals, etc. So I thought it was a good idea to make a really strong rock EP. I felt it would be cool if this new EP was viscerally rock’n’roll. The opening track, "See No Evil" by Television, sounds like the Rolling Stones on methamphetamine! (laughs)

You like the songs you cover, that's a prerequisite. But their lyrics also play a very important role in your choice.

Yes, that's what makes me choose a song or not.

Is that the number one criterion?

Erm... (he thinks for a long time) If I hesitate between two songs, yes, absolutely! Let's go back to Leonard Cohen, for example. For the bonus tracks of Prequelle, I chose "Avalanche" because it seemed to me to have a biblical and existential significance. This was not the case with 'Take This Waltz', another Cohen song that I liked as much, if not more. The latter, with its Viennese waltz feel, would have metaphorically taken us to Austria, which would not have been very coherent, unfortunately.

Should these covers speak about God, the Devil, ask questions about religion?

They must speak about evil, about good. Be existential, biblical, philosophical, but seen from a certain perspective. Or at least tick one of those boxes, like 'Hanging Around' (The Stranglers) which is about Christ. Some of the other covers I've recorded are more specific, such as 'Phantom Of The Opera' (Iron Maiden), which is about horror. I also make my choice according to the humour of the songs I want to cover. It should be close to my own sense of humour.

You mentioned the first Phantomime cover, "See No Evil". It takes on a different resonance today because, on January 28, 2023, we sadly learned of the death of Tom Verlaine, the leader of Television.

When I recorded this cover in 2021, just after completing Impera, it was already a tribute. But obviously, with Tom's death, this song takes on another resonance, that of a final posthumous salute. I've been listening to Television for twenty years, and I love them and have always considered them a great band. In indie clubs they always play the same song, 'Marquee Moon', but Television had many other good songs, especially on their first two albums: Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978). I like those two best. It's a band that had a huge influence on one of my previous bands, Subvision. So much so that at the time, I thought several times of covering Television songs that I loved: "See No Evil", but also "Elevation" and "Foxhole".

The first single from Phantomime is Genesis' 'Jesus He Knows Me', a scathing critique of televangelist stars like Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker and Robert Tilton. Ugly people who have made their fortune by 'promising salvation’ to naive believers for big bucks. Can we expect to see you wearing a wig in its video, as singer/drummer Phil Collins did in the original video for this song in 1991?

(Laughs) We've already shot the video for this cover version (editor’s note: the interview was conducted on 11 March 2023) and I'm not in it, but it's a direct nod to the original video. I've always liked this song - except for the reggae part, which I thought was horrible in the Genesis version and which I reworked - and it's funny to see how this 1991 text is still relevant today. Except, of course, for a few "old-time" words, like "phone book". The televangelists are still there on television promising things to people who take their word for it and shower them with money because they are assured of "salvation", they are promised heaven. I also rearranged Iron Maiden's 'Phantom of The Opera' after taking care to contact Steve Harris for his approval.

Indeed, in your retelling of this song, you are the Phantom and not its victim...

Yes, I wanted to be the Phantom. I submitted the idea to Steve, who gave me the green light. I only made some surgical changes. Similarly, I would have liked to have proposed the same thing to Phil Collins so that the text of "Jesus He Knows Me" would have been more in line with the times. Change, for example, "but she don't know about my girlfriend / or the man I met last night" to "or the dude I screwed last night". Alas, lack of time prevented me from doing so. And then, since this was a slippery slope, I thought: - What if Collins refuses? Or what if he gets pissed off? - We could have made these changes without asking anyone's permission - as long as the artists get their royalties, it's not a problem - but there was no way I was going to do it. Neither I nor my label wanted to alienate anyone, obviously.

In 1977, in "Hanging Around" by The Stranglers, which you also cover on Phantomime, the singer Hugh Cornwell sings about several things, but also about Christ "telling his mother not to worry because he's comfortable in the city where he's high above the ground". Is that why you chose it?

Actually, the key thing that made me choose this song from the band over any other is that I grew up listening to the album it's taken from, Rattus Norvegicus (1977), the Stranglers' first release. There are a lot of songs on that album that I would have loved to play because, as a musician, I really like to play those kinds of songs. ‘Hanging Around' was a good fit for us because of the lyrics, but also because it was more in keeping with our style. Ghost are obviously a metal and hard rock band, but also have a strong punk sensibility. Punk, but well played (smiles). For me, The Stranglers have always done "well played punk": this band knows how to play, how to arrange its music, unlike GBH and Discharge, to name but two. Mind you, I also like the latter, but not for the same reasons. A lot of punk bands from the late 70s/early 80s sounded "sloppy". It wasn't for lack of trying to play better. When The Clash and The Jam went into the studio, they tried to do their best and they sounded great! The same goes for The Adverts. Those guys were doing their best. Nowadays, some people think that being a punk is to play badly on purpose, to be messy. No, no, no ! But I digress...

What is the reason for the nod to Metallica's 'Fade To Black' in the solo on 'Hanging Around'?

Just for fun. When I'm working on a guitar solo, I throw things in here and there, like a messy painter. It's like stretching a canvas on a wall and making big brush strokes... But when I start to feel like I've got something cool, I dig in more surgically, a bit like a collage artist would. I interweave little elements, and when it comes time to insert a solo into a piece, I refine things by continuing to add new elements. Generally, a solo gives you a space of freedom in the middle of an otherwise totally structured song. That's when you can come up with different things in terms of melody. So that's the way I do it, even on the demos of the covers. I ask my sound engineer, Martin Eriksson Sandmark, to play me the draft of the solos I've been working on over and over again, and then I try out different things, whatever comes to mind. It's as if I'm drawing a mental map of what the solo will become. Sometimes, if I'm on a part sometimes, if I'm on a bluesy part, I'll let myself play a few notes of Gary Moore’s "Still Got The Blues", or, if I'm tapping, Van Halen's "Eruption". When I was working on the solo for 'Hanging Around', I felt like playing this part of Metallica's 'Fade To Black', just for fun. And it ended up on the demo. I'm a decent guitar player, but I'm not at the level I could have reached if I'd worked harder. I could just record these solos in the studio, where you can always slow things down when you play them and then speed them up and put them on the album, but Fredrik Akesson can play these parts without tricks and with much more finesse than I can. He recorded the solo for "Hanging Around" as I had presented it on the demo, with this nod to Metallica, and we thought it was so cool that we kept it.

Hugh Cornwell, the ex-singer of The Stranglers, said in an interview that, although he was not a believer, he loved visiting churches. Is this also true for you? Are you also attracted to churches?

Yes, passionately! I believe in them like I believe in Star Wars. I've always thought of churches as stage props. Walking into one of them is a bit like walking onto a film set of the original Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. It's awe-inspiring, even though you know it's just cardboard. Churches have magical powers because they are centuries-old buildings and we know that a lot of things have happened within their walls. Not that I'm trying to throw up on these places of worship, but when I go into a church I don't hear God, but the whispers of time. I am not an atheist, although intellectually I can see that there are many reasons why I should be. I believe in a Force, in an Energy. I also believe that we don't know many things, but that there is a balance between these different energies. The white and the black.

Good and Evil...

Absolutely! Right now the world is in crisis, but we're going to get through it. It's a vicious circle. We do ourselves a disservice if we think that if the world were rid of people like Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Jair Bolsonaro and the ayatollahs of Iran and Iraq, we would be out of the woods. I think all this can happen - and I hope it will, in a way - but Good and Evil will always be there. That balance is necessary. But I am an optimist by nature. I believe that there is a future for Volodymyr Zelensky and the Eastern bloc. That there is perhaps a chance to put into practice what was tried there some thirty years ago. And I believe in a free Iran, in a possible return to what this country was in 1978. What a beautiful day that would be! But that doesn't mean there wouldn't be a new war somewhere else in the world. I'm an eternal optimist, but let's face it: history is always starting over. As I said, it's a question of balance, a permanent coming and going. Because I believe in this Force I was talking about earlier, I truly believe that the West can win, that the way we live and the way we have built our society is a step forward that shows progress and can make a large majority of people happy. Not all, but most. But even if we all lived in love and peace for five years, something else would come along to create chaos! An alien or something! (laughs) That's how it works. Our mistake is to believe in the status quo, in nirvana. It's not going to happen. It's always about balance. The Vatican and organised religion... All that crap is just to pick people's pockets, to control them, to take their energy and scare them into plundering them. The same goes for the GOP (editor’s note: the American "Grand Old Party", suspected of having Christian nationalist leanings), which only deceives people in order to take their money! That's all you need to know. It's simple, so simple to understand. All this does not mean that the energy that emanates from churches is not real. When you walk into one of them, you feel - or so I believe - the energy of all those who have gone before you, for decades, for centuries. Their fears, their hopes, etc. So much so, sometimes, that you can feel oppressed, even upset. So I can walk into a church and feel a sense of awe. I love visiting these places, especially from an aesthetic point of view.

On Phantomime, you also cover "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner. Don't you think that, given the state of the world today, we do need "another hero"?

I think Zelensky has shown how much we like heroes, how important they are to us. I think back, for example, to how the world went wild when Andrés Iniesta scored the decisive goal in the 116th minute to help Spain win the 2010 World Cup against the Netherlands. I believe in human determination and how it can inspire the world to distinguish between what is important... and what is really important. What is important for our daily lives. Yes, it's cool to have a complete collection of Venom's work, but it doesn't matter if I’m missing the most important thing. In the last ten years especially, the western world has been focusing on tons of unimportant things trying to pit people against each other, cancel culture and all that stuff... It proves that we are spoiled children. Our mentality shows it when it comes to security. Seeing Zelensky defend himself as he does appeals to our most primal instincts: it's beautiful and very inspiring. Nothing else is more important than that. It is the only thing that matters... Otherwise we have to be prepared for a lot of people to live in misery.

Next August, you will tour in the USA with Amon Amarth. I noticed that they will not accompany you on the last date, in Los Angeles, on September 11, 2023. There is no opening act, you ask the audience not to use their phones, etc. That sounds like a live DVD!

Yes, we are indeed planning to film this show, but it won't be the end of the Impera era cycle, even if we will not have so many dates left after this concert. There will still be a few shows in South America and Australia.

Nothing in Japan? A country that one might think Ghost was made for.

At the moment, it's not very clear. We had a lot of discussions with the Japanese promoters, as there was talk of us appearing on the bill of a Japanese festival scheduled for this month. Unfortunately, the festival was postponed... and then rescheduled for March! I think they originally had a big headliner, but the headliner didn't show up. So they cancelled, and then considered a smaller edition with Pantera. With all the back and forth, we ended up dropping out because it was too risky for us to play one date there after six months of inactivity. Our team is currently taking a break, but we preferred to use this time to rehearse for our next shows. The first one will be in Rouen on May 21st. We learned a good lesson the last time we played Hellfest. It was so hot that day, the conditions were so extreme, that we almost had a storm. We really had to fight against the elements and it affected me (Editor's note: the last encore of the show was not played, as Tobias was suffering from vocal problems). It was a very tough show. What really pissed me off was not the fact that I lost my voice, but the fact that the festival-goers who were there were not treated to our entire production. It was indeed difficult to foresee these extreme conditions. This summer we have to play festivals again, so we have reworked our production, which will be better adapted to the complicated weather. On this tour we will play in Spain, Finland, Norway, Greece, all within a few days of each other. So we'll be touring with two identical stages, so we can do all these shows without too much downtime. It's not very ecological, I'm sorry to say, because sometimes we'll have to take a plane to get to these cities in time. Not great, but it's the only way...

Will you play any of the Phantomime covers live?

One thing is for sure: we will play 'Jesus He Knows Me' because it's the first single from the new EP. As for the rest, we'll see during the rehearsals how the set evolves - because it's going to evolve a bit from the 2022 set. We're thinking of playing some songs from Impera that we've left out so far.

#the band ghost #tobias forge #interview

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naradreamscape · 2 years ago

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Content Warning for "UrbanSPOOK" Analog Horror Series

So, in recent months, a new analog horror/ARG series called UrbanSPOOK has joined Youtube, and it's even been covered by a number of indie horror exploration channels (i.e. Goose Boose, Gearisko, etc.), which I know is going to pull a lot of new viewers towards the channel. However, a number of things in the series really need to be addressed, since they're not exactly warned about in the series. This post is not a callout nor any call to harass the creator, Urbanslug; I just wanted to step in and raise a flag.

UrbanSPOOK's premise is that several VHS tapes have been found, of unknown origin, cataloguing the crimes of an unknown serial killer who leaves behind surrealist paintings of their crimes. Little clues as to what happened to their victims are dropped in the evidence, paintings, and witness testimonials, and these can be very disturbing, far more so than other indie series. A disclaimer does play at the beginning of each "tape" warning about general violence and disturbing content. However, I feel people should be aware of sexual violence when going into media of any kind. Moreover, the series's creator sells merch of all of the killer's paintings, including the ones heavily implied to be of abused children.

(Content warning for the rest of this post: references to animal abuse, child abuse, CSA, descriptions of highly violent acts. Don't say I didn't warn you; these descriptions are written only as detailed as they need to be in order to convey why new viewers should approach with caution, and why it's a little Uhhhhh how merch is being sold of these (fictional) crimes.)

At least two of the unnamed killer's victims are children. Most significantly, one painting unveiled in the first episode, "FACES", is called "Fucktoy Cory", depicting a bloated body's face. The third episode, "IN THE WALLS", reveals Cory is the name of an 11 year old, one of two twins who were both murdered, split in half, and then sewn one to the other. The creator has confirmed the painting is of the murdered boy named Cory.

In the most recent episode, "PIGS", a child's severed, eyeless head is found in an abandoned building the killer had been living in. Her painting is called "Four Holes Fiona". There has been a lot of speculation in the video's comments as to what the implications are about this title, most of them concluding that the killer was using the head for something foul.

In the same episode, Fiona's grandmother Mae is found heavily ravaged and dead from internal bleeding, along with a horse that died from heart failure after being overfed sildenafil citrate - the pharmaceutical name for Viagra. Mae's painting is called "Breeding Mount Mae". A breeding mount is a piece of farm equipment meant for stallions to mate with, so their semen can be collected for equine breeding.

The creator of the series promises that things will only get "worse" as it goes along, which is worrying, especially when the only disclaimers given are for "violent and disturbing content" and this content goes from "skinned alive" to "fucked to death by a horse" at the drop of a hat. The paintings for all of the above, along with the rest of the paintings, are sold at their official Creator-Spring shop, on t-shirts. I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to wear something knowing its original context is someone getting killed with the ole "Mr. Hands" maneuvre, but take this as a record that these images, with the same titles given in-series, were available at one point as on-demand printed merchandise.

Finally, a friend brought up to me that "spook" is a racial epithet against Black people in America. However, Urbanslug is from Sweden and likely did not know of the word's connotations other than meaning "spooky", or "scary". I will clear them on that accusation.

Again, do not go and harass the creator of this series. This post is just intended as a sort of warning label. Analog horror is more popular than ever, and with the Writer's Guild strike coming up, I anticipate a lot of people will begin looking for indie series to consume while mainstream television is put on hold. I walked into this series blind, and had no idea how grim it was going to get so soon.

You can call me a wimp, or "triggered", or whatever the hell you'd like for making a post about this, but extreme media and figuring out how far is too far is one of my big focuses in my journalism and archiving. I just finished an article about Agony in Pink that concluded with me saying it had the right to exist; with this in mind, UrbanSPOOK was so extreme and so under-warned that even I had to say something.

#youtube #csa tw #disturbing cw #everything cw #urbanspook #urbanslug

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because-its-eurovision · 2 years ago

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i actually would love sweden to win after they didn't last year when in my opinion they deserved too, tattoo is an amazing song and i love the staging she had for it at melofest.

Sure. It’s not that Tattoo isn’t a great song or that the staging isn’t impressive and of course you want your favorites to win. While I’m not a huge fan of the live performance, it does look like Eurovision winner. I really enjoy the studio version of Tattoo, it’s powerful and catchy and has nice lyrics, and currently Sweden is sitting on the sixth place in my personal ranking of this year’s entries.

I also get why some of the fans are very eager to see Sweden catch up on Ireland with their number of victories, make Loreen the first woman to win Eurovision twice and get Sweden to host exactly 50 years after their first victory. I'd want that too if I were Swedish.

What bothers me is that I’m just so tired of Sweden doing well year after year. Them being our neighbour and eternal rival only makes it worse. When Finland – with more last places than any country (11), qualification rate of 50%, three times kicked out of the final by juries, average placing of 43 out of 50, and only one placement in top-5 during 55 years – finally, finally seems to have risen from the ashes and actually might have a shot of even winning, of course Sweden is the one who is there in front of us.

Winning and hosting Eurovision is a great opportunity to showcase the host country’s history and culture to the world and giving a spotlight to the places around Europe that may not get much of it otherwise. It is a great way to grow tourism and interest in the host country at large, but also to strengthen the country’s brand, national identity and self-esteem.

Sweden doesn’t need any of that. They are already great, liked and well-known. They’ve hosted twice within the last decade and it’s not like many people weren’t familiar with Abba, Ikea, H&M and Swedish meatballs before that either. Not to mention the grip Sweden has on EBU too and how there have been recent changes in Eurovision that were modeled after Melodifestivalen, such as the new voting system, allowing pre-recorded backing vocals and producers deciding the running orders instead of it being random.

To use a school analogy, Sweden is the one student that constantly is one of the best in their class (most top-5 results of the 21st century) without seemingly putting much effort into it, but they are also the teacher’s (EBU’s) pet (always a great place in the running order) and from a rich family (can afford 1800 kg heavy led screens and other fancy technology). They get picked first to the sports teams in P.E. class (always qualifies to the final) and have a fawning court of other students (the juries) admiring anything they do.

Wouldn’t you start to dislike them at some point?

#sweden #eurovision #asks #eurovision song contest #esc #loreen

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postex · 6 months ago

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Minimalist Piano Dub from the 12 track album 'Dubverse Compositions', a collection of more or less spaced out dubby synthmusic jams recorded during 2023. Various different setups mainly consisting of combinations of these machines; Digitakt, Deluge, microFreak, THC Syncussion SY1, Empress EchoSystem, Empress Reverb, BeniDub Spring Amp mk2 with large spring tank, Vermona Retroverb Lancet, Empress Zoia, KOMA Fieldkit + Fieldkit FX, RE-303, RE-606, RE-808, RE-909, Buchla Easel Command, Buchla TipTop 200t eurorack system, Analog Sweden SwEnigiser, DSI Evolver, Roland JU06A, BOSS DR55

#dub techno #bandcamp #electronic music #dub #lofi #dubby #moody #dawless #chill #ambient

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audio-luddite · 8 months ago

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Pure Digital versus Pure Analog

From where I sit they can both be pretty good.

Right now I have a TELARC CD spinning. It is pure FN digital. Recorded in 1980 in Atlanta Georgia on a Sound Stream digital tape system. (16 bit 50 kHz! oh dear not CD rebook) The insert says no compression, no limiting, no equalization. How much more pure do you want?

It is my Carmina Burana disc. Chorus and Orchestra doing big music. I hear nothing wrong with it. The treble is way past what my old ears can detect. The Bass is seismic. And yes the ARC Cl60 is on duty so the drums have great texture and I cannot explain how great a chorus of human voices sound.

It would only be better if I understood Latin and Old German from the 12 Century. Then the songs about bad luck, lost love, and not getting the girl while getting drunk would be so in tune with the 20th century experience. (that was my century). I imagine the 21st century aint that different.

The sound is splayed across my wall. Some feels outside the angle of the speakers, but most is stretched clearly between the geometry of their location. It has height which is weird but it is an amazing illusion.

I got no complaints. Well maybe too many mikes so the mix was tricky. The venue space is "complicated".

I think from outside adhering to the dogma of pure this or pure that puts a frame of reference that people will use to throw cold water on the experience of great art. Wow that drum was HUGE.

I will be following this with a pure analog recording. I got lots of those. Where infinite resolution and purity of an analog signal falls down is limiting and equalization. We shall see. They are different.

Analog actually has infinite resolution you know. If the recording is simple you get intimacy. If it is not, well other stuff.

Next up Jazz.

Ok a different purity. Organic? Forgive me in that I have had enough wine to not be a legal motor vehicle operator. But I get a real nice feeling with this one. Jazz at the Pawn shop. From the age before digital. Nagra IV tape decks with a simple mix and just let run. There is no info on mastering or equalization but it is acknowledged as a good one.

The space is good. And yes there is clinking of glasses and silverware. Really cool and natural details. Good? Yes! The music is fine and for purists the performance is not up to New York or Chicago, but damn this is Sweden people!

That vibraphone is spooky.

If I had access to 96kHz DSD I could say bits slay, but I don't. My analog front end is much better than my CD player, but hey to each their own. Oh and I have each.

The main thing is the music.

#audiophile #high end audio #audioblr #cheap audiophile #turntables #audio technica #Telarc Digital

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burlveneer-music · 1 year ago

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Falk & Klou - Swedish Library Grooves Vol 2 - from 2021, a celebration of 70s library music recorded with period equipment. Unlike most library LPs the tracks are full-length, i.e. 3-7 minutes. "UFO" is a total jam & was recently issued as a 12" single with a remix.

When we first started this project we weren't so sure where it would end up. All we knew were that we had a common love for 70s music, especially funk, jazz, soul, latin, easy listening, jazz funk, jazz rock, fusion… yes, it was a lot. Our main goal was to create music that would have a definitive 70s flavour, both in sound, performance and appearance, creating everything as authentic as possible. We used the real deal, such as 60s and 70s basses and guitars, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Clavinet D6, Minimoog model D, String machines, a horn section, three different drummers, all recorded with vintage effects, amps and microphones. After one year of recording and mixing we ended up with ten pretty different tracks, both in genre, sound and style. We are definetly not a group with one defined sound, rather producers and instrumentalists with the urge to make enjoyable, groovy and organic music, like all the music we love from the 70s. This is where the library music idea appeared. Carl Johan Fogelklou usually plays bass in Swedish band Mando Diao and teaches Yoga. He has also met the king of Sweden. Fredrik Segerfalk runs Analog Sweden, a synthesizer venture, and also owns a 1964 harpsichord. Carl Johan helped him carry it. It's a beast. You can hear it on the track "Bittersweet". He also successfully crowdfunded the Blade Runner inspired project "Moments Lost" in 2014.

#Falk & Klou #Bandcamp #2021 #sweden #library music #soundtrack #funk #jazz-funk

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moochilatv · 30 days ago

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Azure Blue presents: Visions and Themes

Techno euro pop ! the synths are on top

Labels: Hybris (main Sweden), Matinée (CD + digital North America) & Anna Logue (vinyl, Ge

Distribution: Aloaded (main), The Orchard (USA)

'Visions and Themes' is a synth driven pop track including a surprising tonal rise. The text is about love, dreams and doubt.

‘Visions and Themes’ is the stunning new single from the upcoming album by Swedish dream pop solo project Azure Blue aka Tobias Isaksson. The song is an absolute pop gem about love, dreams, and doubts featuring widescreen synths, manic drum machines, and a breathtaking key rise.

Forthcoming album 'The Night of the Stars' is scheduled for release on November 22.

It will be out on LP, CD and digital via Swedish Hybris, American Matinée Recordings and German Anna Logue Records. It is an analog dream promising a more luxurious version of the classic Azure Blue sound across ten enticing tracks.

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A post shared by Tobias Isaksson (@azbtobias)

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Tobias says: “'Visions and Themes' and the whole album is an analog dream in a time plagued by androids dreaming of electronic sheep. While some write 100s of songs with the help of AI I have put 100s of hours on craft pop with analog hardware.”

The album 'The Night of the Stars', which is released with the support of the Swedish Culture Council, is released in collaboration with three well-known indie labels. Hybris in Sweden is partnered by USA’s Matinée (CD and digital in the USA) and Germany’s Anna Logue (vinyl). Tobias Isaksson has completed the mix together with Ollie Olson who has worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg, Ice-T and The Bee Gees to Loreen and Robyn. 'Define Your Dreams', 'Rise' and 'Three Times The Drama' have all been well received by critics and it is said that Azure is in great form. The main theme is togetherness in times of hardship. Azure Blues patented sound is intact but in a more luxurious form. Richer, clearer and more analog craftsmanship than ever. Everything is dedicated to his mother who passed away in May and his fiancée.

Listen the brand new single from "one of Sweden's most prolific and talented indie pop musicians" (AllMusic), the track VISIONS AND THEMES in Spotify:

#Azure Blue #Visions and Themes #new sigle #indie pop #sweden #Instagram #Spotify

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floridaprelaw-blog · 1 year ago

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The Legal Battle of Flo Rida versus Celsius Holdings, Inc.

By Theodros Fekade, University of Miami Class of 2024

July 24, 2023

Flo Rida, who is legally known as Tramar Lacel Dillard, rose to global prominence with his 2007 breakthrough hit "Low," which spent multiple weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved Diamond certification by the RIAA. Following Flo Rida's 2007 accomplishments, he has released numerous captivating songs that resulted in sales of over 80 million records worldwide, cementing him as one of the world’s top-selling music talents. Flo Rida’s massive popularity is evident through his vast social media following, with over 900,000 followers on Instagram, over 4 million on Twitter, and over 15 million on Facebook, along with an impressive 4 billion music video views on YouTube.

Originating in Sweden around 2004, Celsius is a highly acclaimed vegan energy drink designed to invigorate daily performance. The Celsius drink is devoid of carbohydrates and enriched with various vitamins and natural ingredients, including green tea and ginger. According to Celsius, the fitness energy drink is also proven to boost metabolism and facilitate body fat burning. (Celsius Holdings, Inc.) With its prestige as a prominent player in the $100 billion worldwide energy drink market, PepsiCo acquired an 8.5% stake that totaled the vast sum of $550 million. (Vanjani)

Observing Flo Rida's immense critical acclaim in the music industry and his significant influence on social media platforms, Celsius forged an endorsement partnership with the artist. The partnership deal entailed that Flo Rida would be a brand ambassador for Celsius in exchange for a substantial number of shares and bonuses contingent on sales performance. (Dellato) As a brand ambassador, Flo Rida had the pivotal role of galvanizing Celsius products to remarkable development and expansion that ultimately led to exponential growth in product revenues and the attraction of numerous investors. (Strong Arm Productions USA, Inc. et al. v. Celsius Holdings, Inc.) In 2018, Flo Rida's music video for the song "Hola" showcased a party atmosphere of individuals drinking Celsius that garnered a staggering 137 million viewers. In 2019, a notable music artist, Doja Cat, directly referred to Celsius in an interview as "Flo Rida’s drink.” (Haroun) The senior management at Celsius acknowledged that their collaboration with Flo Rida had effectively introduced their energy drink to the hundreds of millions of potential customers who follow Flo Rida’s music.

Although Celsius had impeccable success after Flo Rida’s endorsement, Flo Rida accused Celsius of mishandling the exact compensation that he was entitled to receive from the contract. This improper handling of compensation prompted Flo Rida to file a lawsuit in the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida that cited multiple infractions, including breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit filed by Flo Rida alleges that Celsius agreed to allocate rights to common stock, some of which were meant to be distributed at the contract’s inception, while additional shares would be issued upon the achievement of designated target sale benchmarks. Despite the evident agreement being ratified, the filed lawsuit asserts that one of the benchmarks in the contract was satisfactorily met unbeknownst to Flo Rida. Analogously, the lawsuit alleges that initial royalties were paid by Celsius, but the corporation failed to provide additional royalties that were owed to Flo Rida after the target number of products sold was satisfied. Similarly, the lawsuit accuses Celsius of utilizing Flo Rida’s name, image, and likeness to unjustly enrich themselves through co-branded products and Flo Rida’s marketing in his brand ambassador role. (Strong Arm Productions USA, Inc. et al. v. Celsius Holdings, Inc.)

In the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Flo Rida was awarded a vast sum of $82,640,450 in damages following an exhaustive and scrupulous jury trial. Elated by the jury’s decision, Flo Rida proceeded to launch his own energy drink that is aiming to surpass Celsius in terms of health benefits. Flo Rida proclaimed that due to the fact that he inculcated the rise of Celsius from obscurity to notoriety, he is confident in his ability to replicate the success of Celsius and bolster his financial portfolio through his new entrepreneurial endeavor. (Lane)

Ensuring the contentment of brand ambassadors has perpetually posed a challenge for corporations that strive to substantially elevate their financial sustainability. When engaging with celebrities, corporations must recognize that the business and legal landscape is transitioning towards a transparent stock compensation system. Ignoring this evolving environment may leave corporations vulnerable to being outperformed in marketing efforts by more adaptable and innovative competitors who have embraced the industry's evolution.

______________________________________________________________

Celsius Holdings, Inc. About Celsius. April 2004. 22 July 2023.

Dellato, Marisa. Rapper Flo Rida Wins $82 Million In Lawsuit Against Celsius Energy Drinks. 18 January 2023. 22 July 2023.

Haroun, Amzi. Rapper Flo Rida accused Celsius — which Doja Cat called 'Flo Rida's energy drink' — of stiffing him on stock options and bonuses. 5 January 2023. 22 July 2023.

Lane, Barnaby. Rapper Flo Rida awarded $82.6 million after winning lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius. 13 March 2023. 22 July 2023.

Strong Arm Productions USA, Inc. et al. v. Celsius Holdings, Inc. No. CACE-21-008997. The 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida. 4 May 2021.

Vanjani, Karishma. PepsiCo Invests $550 Million in Fitness Energy Drink Company Celsius. Wall Street Likes the Deal. 1 August 2022. 22 July 2023.

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emaanderson · 1 year ago

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Automotive Semiconductor Market Growth Forecast: Promising Trajectory (2035)

Automotive Semiconductor Market Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2035” which delivers a detailed overview of the global automotive semiconductor market in terms of market segmentation by vehicle type, fuel, component, application, and by region.

Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth indicators, restraints, and supply and demand risk, along with a detailed discussion of current and future market trends that are associated with the growth of the market.

Automotive Semiconductor Market Statistics

USD 40 billion revenue in 2022

Record USD 115 billion revenue by 2035

The market size slated to observe 10% growth rate through 2023-2035

Get Free Sample Copy of this Report @:https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request-4158

The global automotive semiconductor market is projected to grow at a CAGR of ~10% by attaining substantial revenue during the forecast period, i.e., 2023 – 2035. Factors such as, the growing automotive industry and emerging demand for the safety features in automobiles are anticipated to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period. According to a report provided by the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT) approximately 1.35 million people die every year in road accidents.

Additionally, by vehicle type, the global automotive semiconductor market is segmented into LCV, HCV, and passenger. Out of which, the passenger segment is estimated to obtain a notable share of the market during the forecast period. The growth of the segment can be accounted to increasing sales of passenger cars. A high number of people travel via passenger cars all-around. Additionally, passenger cars are affordable and durable. Such factors are estimated to boost the market growth.

Furthermore, the global automotive semiconductor market, by region, is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa region. Out of these regions, the market in the Asia Pacific region is estimated to grow at a noteworthy pace over the forecast period on the back of constantly growing production and sales of automobiles in the region. It is observed that about 30 million passenger cars were sold in the Asia Pacific region in 2021, out of which, 20 million passenger cars were sold in China.

According to recent study by Research Nester, the market size is anticipated to surpass USD 115 Bn by 2035 and is projected to expand at CAGR of over 10% from 2023 to 2035.

Major players include in the global Automotive Semiconductor Market:

NXP Semiconductors N.V.

Robert Bosch GmbH

Analog Devices, Inc.

Micron Technology, Inc.

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Get Your Free Sample Copy of this Report :-https://www.researchnester.com/sample-request-4158

The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:

By Propulsion Type

Electric

Internal Combustion Engine

By Component

Analog IC

Processor

Discrete Power

Sensor

Power

By Vehicle Type

Passenger Vehicle

Light Commercial Vehicle

Heavy Commercial Vehicle

By Application

Body Electronics

Chassis

Powertrain

Safety

Telematics & Infotainment

Buy a Copy of this Strategic Report to drive your Business Growth @ https://www.researchnester.com/reports/automotive-semiconductor-market/4158

The research is global in nature and covers a detailed analysis of the market in North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg, NORDIC [Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark], Poland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Rest of Latin America), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East and Africa (Israel, GCC [Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman], North Africa, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East and Africa).

In addition, analysis comprising market size, Y-O-Y growth & opportunity analysis, market players’ competitive study, investment opportunities, demand for future outlook, etc. have also been covered and displayed in the research report.

Rising requirement for Automobile Safety Protocols to Foster the Growth of the Market

According to a report published by the ASIRT, it has been observed that 3,700 people die in road accidents every day.

Automotive semiconductors comprise a bunch of chips to perform functions. Such chips are utilized as a vital part of the safety system of the vehicle. For instance, seatbelt pretensioners, airbags, and stabilization systems are operated by these chips.Therefore, such factors are anticipated to propel the growth of the market.

However, the requirement for higher initial investment in the automotive semiconductor market is expected to operate as a key restraint to the growth of the global automotive semiconductor market over the forecast period.

This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players in the global automotive semiconductor market which includes company profiling of Analog Devices, Inc., NXP Semiconductors N.V., Renesas Electronics Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG, ROHM Co., Ltd., STMicroelectronics International N.V., Semiconductor Components Industries, L.L.C., Robert Bosch GmbH, Texas Instruments Incorporated. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials, and recent news and developments.

On the whole, the report depicts a detailed overview of the global automotive semiconductor market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching for possibilities, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.

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analytically · 2 years ago

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Literally all your post says is “immigrants have special privileges that native born Americans don’t have.” Oh they have more upward mobility? They do better economically? Cool, I hope all their wealth is seized and given to me.

Then you use the pilgrims and Indians as an example? Okay. This land used to have people who lived in teepees and practiced shamanism as the majority. Then, the pilgrims immigrated over, who lived in houses and practiced Protestantism. Guess what happened next? The immigrants replaced what the natives. No more teepees and shamanism, it was all houses and Protestantism. It didn’t end well for the red Indians, btw. Telling me that I am analogous to a red Indian, and the latinx cartels are like the pilgrims, it does NOT make me want to accept more immigrants.

And the Sweden thing is a matter of public record

(context 1, 2, 3)

if you have a lower income than some immigrant, they will most likely be contributing more to the government in taxes than you. that's not quite seizing their wealth; I think total wealth redistribution is a bad idea, but that's not mutually exclusive with immigration. It’s also not true that doing better economically is always caused by “special privileges”; one theory for why kids of immigrants have more upward mobility is that their families push them to do well in school and study hard so they can have a better life in the US. (also the people I was referring to who do better economically are native-born Americans with citizenship whose parents are immigrants; my thesis is that immigration doesn’t have long-term negative effects.)

I agree with you that cultural destruction and persecution of the Native Americans was wrong, although i doubt it will repeat itself (note that there have been many dozens of millions of immigrants since the pilgrims, and houses and protestantism are still going strong).

But what I was trying to get at are that most Americans are the descendants of immigrants, which is why I have a hard time understanding your point about Americans making America what it is. If immigrants become "Americans" in your eyes after a generation or two, then presumably it's fine to let more people in? If not, can you explain why the current immigration situation is different than the other periods of sustained immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries? (Or do you think the US would've been better off without those?)

you mention "Latinx cartels" as a concern. I support in most cases immigration restrictions for violent criminals and deporting non-citizens who commit violent crimes; the vast majority of immigrants (as well as a vast majority of Latinos) are not cartel members. I also was not trying to make an analogy between current nonindigenous Americans and pre-1607 indigenous Americans; sorry if that was unclear.

#Anon #askbox #politics #immigration #immigration anon #nonsense

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hydralisk98 · 2 years ago

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LEARNBLR #2, Weekend-mode engaged

New hexadecimal number system based around Latin/Cyrrilic/Greek letters so around (A,B,C,D,E,F,K,M,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z)

'Argentique'

12x12 pixel cells & ~12x12 cells grid

MINIX3

TIS-100 low-power as low as possible tech-level requirements

Microsoft BOB's Chaos as virtual assistant analogy

SVG

Free and Open Source Software community

Georgism

Syndicalism

Libertarianism

Nomad48 color palette

OpenPOWER

ITS

CTSS

Multics

IPL

Tumblr 'WIN3D' theme custom overhaul

HyperCard/HyperTalk

Hypermedia with static HTML/CSS pages

Analog and home video rental store analogies

Lisp family structural and symbolic meta-programming similarities

Swift programming language

Fish shell

ZealC easy low-level access, full transparency and in-line multimedia editing

Esolangs site's deque, mysticism and analogical turing tarpit assomptions

Wax cylinders -> 45rpm autoplay small-size vinyls -> large Laserdiscs -> middle-sized optical symbolic disks

Cassettes -> Datasettes -> MiniDiscs -> SD cards

JVM & bytecode compiler/interpreter

Minitel, Prestel, Alex & Bulletin Board Systems, SAM Coupe, Armstrad CPC, Commodore 64, CBM II, SEGA Computer 3000,

Ural computer, MIR-1, MIR-2, russian ALGOL variants, Akademset, OGAS, Soviet Electronic Data Processing, Soviet Unit Record Equipment, BK-0010, AGAT, Law on Cooperatives, Runet, Yandex, OK, VK, EVM, SM EVM, Robotron, Hungarians' TPA, fifth generation computers initative up to 2010 from Japan & Bulgaria, Didaktik, Z9001, K-202, Galaksija, Rapira, Superplan, ALGOL68 with ALGOL W elements, Karel, SAKO, AGAT Schoolgirl's Robic, Perl, Rak...

NOOR, Teuton, BASICOIS, Smalltalk, Lusus, LOGO, FOCAL, Scratch, UTF-8,

Digital Equipment Corporation's COS-310, DIBOL, DECmate III(+?) & OpenVMS

Sun Microsystems' Voyager & misc. hardware

Konrad Zuse's KG

Wolfenstein The New Order's Pflaumen brand, Arya and Tekla

Computer job ladies from all times in history

Microsoft F# & F*

OpenXanadu project

Xerox Alto

SEGA Dreamcast hardware first edition

Olivetti Programma 101

Elektronika MK-52

Transmuters from Atari

PLATO V system's TUTOR language

Pixar early CGI renders

Pouet.net and all the demoscene world

Keypad-based I/O controls?

Cyberware augmentations?

First Tier aka playable Civs: Shoshones, Morocco, Assyrians as Inuits, Mayas Civ, Portugal, Polynesia...

Second Tier aka non-playable Civs: Poland, Songhay, Persia, Carthage, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Sweden, Iroquois as Hurons, Austria, Brazil, Incas, Ottomans, Netherlands, Venice.

City-States: [to be written]

Barbarians, Rebels, Observers and more: [to be written]

Constructed world considerations such as 12-bit tribbles as smallest data unit, multilingual coding paradigm, alternate history of media formats, 16^3 (so 3 elements of 16 unique possible sub-glyph each) ideogrammic dictionary, synthetic android machines of the Stellaris' Rogue Servitor vibe, no Wilsonism or at least way less of such, electricity cars are way ahead, harmonious collaboration on technologies, more variety in ways of thinking aka spirituality and rationalism coexist better, Panian grammars strongly credited link to Turing+Church thesis, less spatial exploration, even less extroverts success compared to introverts, smaller world, more isolation in between social spheres so less harmonious as of the last few decades, less biological matters understanding, medical technologies somewhat behind by two decades, cross-dimensional idiosyncratic imports, synthetic developments ahead by ~20-40 years, free high education similar to Soviet Union / Russia's, much wild-west style software piracy space on the sidelines, many super advanced free software resources to levels like Habrahabr and beyond, synthetic service grids outpacing human agencies' controls yet keeping a neutral attitude towards humans, many disperate computer networks instead of the world wide web we know, lesser adoption of such hyperTech by the laymen as non-enthusiasts went back to some sort of early 20th century-style primitivisms, some sort of aesthetic subculture tribe diversification developments growing real strong as of the last two decades, earlier global pandemic around 1996-2000, advanced nuclear energy abundance, more cross-national collaboration + harmony, sapient-kinds inclusivity as early as the last century or the last half-millenia, longer historical record going back more than ~2000 further into their past (so like 3000 BC instead of 1000 BC here)...

So I want to make a general-purpose (if I had to choose one topic, it would be to describe symbolic computation ala 'TuringTarpit' around video rental store deque operations) programming language 'Servitor' with specific analogical media and low-tech [any medieval scroll vellum media included] constraints in mind.

#maskoch #maskutchew #servitor #16^12 #descriptive affirmative programming

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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Washington worries about everything related to China—from its expanding military might to its rapid technological gains to its deeper engagement with developing countries. U.S. officials, not to mention an army of pundits, also point with rising alarm to the Chinese central bank’s launch of the digital yuan this year as the latest sign that the United States is falling behind. In the U.S. Congress, Republican and Democratic legislators, who agree on very little else, are united on the pressing need for new legislation to ensure the U.S. dollar doesn’t fall further behind in a “digital assets space race.”

Creating a digital dollar is the right goal, but doing it to counter China is the wrong reason. The real challenge to the United States’ central role in the global financial system comes less from Beijing than from dogecoin and other homegrown, unregulated cryptocurrencies. A plan to create a digital dollar that focuses only on beating China risks overlooking the strengths that make the dollar so attractive today and the opportunities for new technologies to magnify those strengths.

An individual asset like dogecoin, the most famous of the cryptocurrency memes, may not itself pose a threat. But the rapidly expanding array of alternative digital assets and “stablecoins”—cryptocurrencies backed by a major currency or precious metal—is about to shake the foundations of the global financial system, with important consequences for market stability, economic growth, and U.S. foreign policy. Even if there were no Chinese alternative already rolled out, Washington should be pushing hard to develop a digital dollar that takes advantage of the dollar’s status as a global reserve currency and the technological revolution at hand.

What is a digital dollar? No, it’s not the money you already see online in your bank account, which is in fact a record of your bank’s obligations to you. Rather, a digital dollar is a cryptographic representation of the money the U.S. Federal Reserve issues today in the form of cash and bank reserves.

The dawning age of blockchain innovation allows this digital money to move as quickly and cheaply as an email but with the privacy and security of a bank transfer. In effect, a digital dollar would be a version of cash in your pocket that you could transfer directly to someone halfway around the world at virtually no cost and without involving any intermediary, such as a bank.

Critics claim cryptocurrencies solve a problem that doesn’t really exist. Money moves just fine, thank you very much. (Naturally, banks tend to say this.) There are lots of ways to transfer money on your phone. But the phone in your purse or pocket may be the best analogy to crypto innovation: There were lots of convenient ways to make calls when the first mobile devices appeared, but by now, voice calls are the least useful thing about them. Mobile telephony has reimagined whole swaths of human activity—from news delivery and ride-hailing to entertainment and company meetings.

Even though privately issued currencies have worked in narrow historical circumstances, the United States’ tumultuous free banking era in the 19th century underlined the importance of government-issued alternatives. A world with thousands of alternative methods of payment sounds good to the political libertarian and the free market zealot. But it’s hardly clear how monetary policy, payment flows, and law enforcement operate smoothly in this environment. Crypto innovation that will transform money as a unit of account, store of value, and means of payment also requires rules to maintain confidence. It’s no surprise that cryptocurrencies imploded even faster than the stock market during the recent market crash.

Sweden’s central bank—the Riksbank—has moved rapidly to issue an e-krona because its officials were alarmed by the rapid disappearance of cash as consumers embraced—and banks encouraged—the convenience of cards swipes. China’s government has lots of reasons to roll out a digital yuan, but high on the list is a payments system that was dominated by two private sector giants, creating potential systemic risks. More than 100 other countries are also working on designs for their own official alternatives.

Why does the United States need a digital dollar? One simple argument is that it’s hard to imagine the dollar remaining a reserve currency while standing aside from the next major wave of financial modernization. The list of governments already incrementally shifting their reserves into other currencies because they fear the long reach of U.S. sanctions would surely accelerate if the dollar didn’t retain its indispensable global role during the coming era of distributed finance.

The United States derives enormous benefits from the dollar’s dominant status. Economically, these include revenues from seigniorage—the Fed’s profits from issuing dollars to meet widespread global demand for U.S. currency—and reduced borrowing costs for the U.S. government. Politically, the ability to sanction criminals, terrorists, and rogue governments has obviously become an important policy tool, as the financial sanctions against Russia show.

The global financial system, too, would benefit from a digital dollar. Issuers of stablecoins argue that they can offer better service and faster innovation in payments mechanisms than any central bank. But it chills the spine to contemplate a crisis on the scale of the Lehman Brothers collapse or COVID-19 without the Fed being able to inject huge amounts of the store of value that everyone trusts. And it’s hard to imagine dollars as that store of value in a future financial world defined by blockchain technology without a modern digital dollar issued directly by the Fed.

A third argument for moving quickly is less about preserving the advantages of the current system and more about advancing the values that the United States and its allies hold dear. Ultimately, the dollar’s attractiveness, as that of any currency, reflects the strengths of its political and economic system. People choose to hold dollars, ultimately, because the United States has a durable democratic system with a credible track record of protecting individual rights and property. While far from perfect, the world’s deepest financial markets are only possible because independent courts and regulators set the market rules regardless of political winds.

A digital currency offers the prospect of amplifying those values. China’s digital yuan has triggered questions about how it may tighten political control by tracking payments. A worthy digital dollar, by contrast, would actually emphasize privacy protections (especially for small private payments), financial inclusion (especially for the poorest households), and innovation (especially for creative fintech start-ups). A new digital dollar could, for example, better protect privacy as it enforces laws against money laundering. Rather than providing unsecured sensitive personal information to a financial services provider with every new account, proof of identity could be immutably stored in the blockchain, where it could be verified securely. A digital dollar would also improve financial inclusion, not least because it wouldn’t require a bank account for making non-cash payments.

The Fed’s experts are working hard on potential designs for a digital dollar, but Chair Jerome Powell suggested last week that he is not close to making a decision. He is undoubtedly right that it’s better “to get it right than be first,” but the United States is already far from first. It would be an enormous loss if it were actually last.

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