#musical instrument market size

[narwatharsh01]

Music Stores and Instruments Industry Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

The Music Stores and Instruments industry is a vibrant sector that caters to the diverse needs of music enthusiasts, from professional musicians to hobbyists. This industry is characterized by a dynamic mix of traditional brick-and-mortar stores and online platforms, offering a wide range of instruments, accessories, and services to meet the evolving demands of the music community.

Market Size and Growth

The Global Music Stores and Instruments market size was valued at USD 12.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 16.5 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 5.1%. This growth is driven by factors such as the increasing popularity of music education, the rise of online music platforms, and the growing demand for high-quality instruments and accessories.

Trends Shaping the Industry

Digital Transformation: The industry is witnessing a significant shift towards digital platforms, with online music stores and e-commerce platforms becoming increasingly popular. This trend is driven by the convenience and accessibility offered by online shopping, as well as the growing demand for digital music content.

Sustainability and Eco-Friendliness: The industry is placing greater emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendliness, with many music stores and manufacturers adopting environmentally friendly practices and products.

Personalized Experiences: Music stores are focusing on providing personalized experiences for customers, including customized instrument setups, lessons, and workshops.

Challenges and Opportunities

Competition from Online Platforms: The rise of online music platforms and e-commerce sites poses a significant challenge to traditional music stores, as customers increasingly opt for the convenience and affordability of online shopping.

Regulatory Compliance: Music stores must navigate complex regulatory requirements, including copyright laws and licensing agreements, to ensure compliance and avoid legal issues.

Emerging Opportunities: The industry is poised to capitalize on emerging opportunities such as the growth of the music education market, the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies, and the increasing demand for high-quality instruments and accessories.

Top Players in the Industry

Key players in the Music Stores and Instruments industry include Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Sam Ash Music, and Yamaha Corporation. These companies are known for their strong brand recognition, innoglobal musical instruments marketvative offerings, and commitment to providing high-quality instruments and services to the music community.

Future Outlook

As the Music Stores and Instruments industry continues to evolve, the convergence of digital transformation, sustainability, and personalized experiences will shape the future landscape of this dynamic sector. Addressing regulatory challenges, fostering industry collaboration, and capitalizing on emerging opportunities will be crucial for the industry's continued growth and success.

FAQs:

1. What is the current size of the global Music Stores and Instruments market?

The global Music Stores and Instruments market size was valued at USD 12.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 16.5 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 5.1%.

2. What are the key trends shaping the Music Stores and Instruments industry?

The key trends shaping the Music Stores and Instruments industry include digital transformation, sustainability and eco-friendliness, and personalized experiences.

3. What are the major challenges faced by the Music Stores and Instruments industry?

The Music Stores and Instruments industry faces challenges such as competition from online platforms, regulatory compliance, and the need to adapt to changing consumer preferences.

4. What opportunities exist in the Music Stores and Instruments market?

Opportunities in the Music Stores and Instruments market include the growth of the music education market, the rise of virtual and augmented reality technologies, and the increasing demand for high-quality instruments and accessories.

5. Who are the leading players in the Music Stores and Instruments industry?

The key players in the Music Stores and Instruments industry include Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Sam Ash Music, and Yamaha Corporation.

[eyenaku]

*sliiiiiides in* good evening

ooooo you wanna ramble about your pantomime au so bad ooo

I DO I DO I REALLY DO- here's a Very Long Ramble!!

let us meet our cast:

columbine (or columbina, as they're referred to in plays and promotional material)

harlequin (harlequin sun) and pierrot (pierrot moon)

Now these bad boys are the star actors (?) puppets! in a world renowned theatre specializing in Harlequinades, Melodramas, and other Pantomime-character-centric theatre.

(More accurately they're Commedia'dell arte characters, but people only know what pantomime is so. I'm calling it pantomime AU I guess LMAO)

The parent company (not quite a troupe due to their nature) also puts on other plays in other locations (with different characters and "tropes"/genres- like ballets, operas, etc. perhaps diff. fnaf characters in all of these).

The theatre is built like an opera house. The music is played by mechanical instruments- mainly a massive orchestrion housed in the back of the stage.

Now these puppets are entirely not sentient, manned by strings and puppeteered by a very advanced mechanical system of rails and the like in the ceilings (think similar to Moon's line thing in security breach- they move freely about a space, just with more lines to control each limb like a typical marionette). They're tall! Taller than the average human, Columbine included- they are very much life sized.

The characters are utilized much like human actors. They're used for meet and greets! They sign autographs! They gain fanbases and followings!

Columbine is marketed as Columbina the stock character. Female, with heavy make-up and vaguely promiscuous. Columbina is the target of affections. How attractive is she, in the eyes of the audience. How seductive. A soubrette- coy and cocky and conceited and saucy and a great deal of other descriptions.

However, just as the stock character was often the only Functionally Intellectual character in these plays despite all the not very demure connotations, Columbine, too, is multifaceted. Or perhaps single faceted, yet presented in a way that clouds the audience's perspective. Columbine is a puppet. Columbine is not female. People treat them as though they're female. People do not treat them well, especially in contrast to the followings of Harlequin and Pierrot

Columbine is pissed off.

Feeling a very strong emotion for the first time grants these puppets sentience. Why you may ask? Does it really matter? Its fiction.

Columbine's trigger so to speak was the issue of being perceived as female (and being treated in gross ways, thanks to the nature of theatre) when that isn't you. You are a puppet. Why is this happening? It's not so much being pissed off as being unbelievably frustrated. Columbine is frustrated!

So, in a huff, they carefully remove all their strings and just. Leave. Leave the theatre behind.

On the way to the exit they have to pass through a hallway with massive posters of the three of them illuminated. They see themself there and grimace.

So Columbine is gone now. And the theatre's management is sort of freaking out, after all this is one of the main three characters- arguably *The* main character. But they just try to cover it up, albeit poorly. Columbina is just under maintenance! Do not worry, audience! Harlequin Sun and Pierrot Moon are still here! Plays are still ongoing! They substitute in very basic clearly thrown together quickly "Columbine" stand ins for plays that are just. kinda sad. Blank dummies in an almost mockery of their costuming.

Speaking of sad, something is brewing within Pierrot Moon! Columbine leaving is kind of destroying him. He's sad, like really sad. Like... depressed. This is so strong that Pierrot, you guessed it, becomes sentient. Columbine being replaced is the final straw.

Moon becomes the kind of sad that drains everyone around him. He is not the only one suffering. It's not an uncontrollable thing either, he's just decided to not even attempt to manage his emotions, and everyone else has to deal with it. Anyone who is kind to him suffers for it. Moon's behaviour is not just disturbing to everyone, but is actively ruining plays.

Guess who this pisses off? Guess who else is sentient now? Harlequin Sun! He loves the theatre- a stickler for the rules and so very passionate about his plays. About his skills as an actor. Sun is incredibly unbelievably pissed off- Columbine is gone and Moon isn't doing anything right, and this stand-in dummy is godawful, and everything Was perfect, and now it isn't. and how incompetent! And so on and so forth. Sun is unabashedly pissed off. He is violent. When a play ends, he just about dismantles the stand-in dummies (more like rips them apart with his bare hands). A pile of "corpses" builds up, Everything is awful.

Moon decides it's all too much. He's going to leave. Maybe he'll find Columbine. He's desperate. He makes it to the exit hall, rips off his strings roughly with no care, and then!

Sees the same poster of Columbina from before.

Moon is just. stuck there looking up at it. Transfixed, he falls to the floor sobbing. He can't move. Sun finds him and *physically drags him* back. Hooray more violence 👍🏼

More plays, more Sun scrapping dummies, rinse and repeat. It just. Sucks. Human staff are quitting, it's too much for them. Dealing with either of them is just so horrible. Stage hands come and go and come and go and never stay.

Sun gets a turn to have a breakdown at the poster too!

He's not happy about everything sucking. Obviously he's not the issue, he loves the theatre, it's the other two. Why did you have to leave? It's not just anger but grief- he really truly misses Columbine, though he shows much differently than Moon. It's all too much.

(re)enter the new stage hand: totally not Columbine

ahaha what a nice welcome back! Columbine came back because they missed the two only to come back to. whatever tf this is that's going on. Violence from Sun, Moon's whole deal, The matter of the poster and littered approximations of their past self mangled about the backstage area. Yk how it is

Now at this point both Columbine and Moon don't have their strings (though Moon has stray bits still half tied to him). But Sun? Sun has his. They're Extremely Frayed though. His aggressive tendencies serve to have him work against the strings, even though he doesn't want to intentionally. Perhaps a lash at Moon mid-play, or pantomimed motions played out too rough. He's a touch too aggressive to be any kind of restrained. They're very close to just snapping- quite a feat considering they were made to support giant marionettes!

Anyhow, Columbine is back! They expect any sort of welcome but.. neither Harlequin nor Pierrot recognize them (and their dumbass didn't fkn think to... y'know... tell them? oh hey it's me?). They sorta assumed the two would recognize their face, or perhaps their oddly tall stature, or the remaining recognizable details (face paint, hairstyle (even with hoodie) eyelashes, etc) but nope! They're both blinded by their own selfish bitterness and can't see Columbine literally in front of them.

So the two are horrible to them, of course, since. Y'know! New stagehand! Ripe for Sun to be so passive aggressive to that it might as well just be aggressive to, and for Moon to be difficult and taxing towards.

Columbine is abhorred by this since, y'know. They missed them. And they take this as a sort of more messed up version of the silent treatment- surely they know it's them and are just acting like this out of spite! Fine, two can play at that game. Columbine can pretend they're strangers too.

They pretend they don't think Sun demolishing the faux-columbinas isn't a direct threat towards them. They pretend it doesn't affect them. They pretend Moon acting horrid and a type of sad so selfish it makes them want to leave all over again doesn't hurt. They, again, think Moon sobbing over heartbreak and abandonment is him rubbing their actions in their face. That him comparing them bitterly to themself is the same thing. They just do their job backstage. The two directly antagonizing them all of the time is hardly tolerable, but tolerable nonetheless since they do still care!

So it's horrible. At least it can't get any worse- WRONG! It can!

Sun went through too many stand-ins. The theatre can't just...get more. These are carved. They may have been simpler, and worse that Columbine, but they're still massive. You can't just get more like that. Management is freaking out- the public is getting even more upset. Where is Columbina? They need Columbina! A play is about to be put on, and the crowd is chanting for her. They're getting upset. They're demanding. But what can they do? There's nobody to put in the role- no human tall enough, no mannequins unscathed.

And then Management notices something- or someone. Columbine. Columbine is weirdly tall. Columbine would fit in the costume.

Before they know it, they're back on stage- stringless. In the same costume, the very thing they tried to escape.

The crowd goes absolutely wild- there she is! There's Columbina! The *real* Columbina! Columbine is distraught, they look around the stage for any semblance of help- Sun and Moon may be mad at them but they trust them! They know them!

And they make eye-contact with Sun. He's absolutely seething. He looks ready to rip them limb from limb. Does he recognize them? Nope! But this Stranger, this impostor is taking their place. A simple stagehand is taking Columbine's role, their spotlight, their fame, their cheering, their fans- He looks at them, who are identical in all but expression, and can't see Columbine. He's completely blind in his rage.

The bells begin to toll. The music starts to play. A final dance.

Columbine is passed between the two- spun in dizzying circles by Pierrot before being seized in Harlequin's crushing grip, and so on, and so on, and so on, again and again and again.

But then they see something change in Moon's eyes- recognition. It's actually them. He has no time to celebrate, to talk, to convey the overwhelming feelings bubbling in his chest. The dance becomes more fervor-ed- a true battle between Harlequin and Pierrot, one for Columbine's literal hand, for their safety.

The audience is oblivious to the ramifications, to the plight. They're mesmerized by the passion, the emotions so thick they can be felt in the air. There's tension, there's drama- it's a masterpiece of story and vehemence spinning and pushing and pulling and twirling about the stage.

Columbine can't tell if the snapping noises are from Sun's strings or from where his hands grip them in a stranglehold and splinter their limbs.

It's a struggle as entrancing as it is violent. The audience watches with bated breath- what will happen next? The three weave and lunge and with each forceful effort, Sun's strings making awful creaking snaps. The very system he's so desperate to maintain is working to subdue him, the two have a chance!

But just as Columbine manages to weasel their way out of his grasp-

SNAP

Nobody can do anything but watch in horror as Sun's strings feather limply at his sides, frayed like a violin bow gone sour. There's nothing stopping him now.

He's deaf to Columbine's pleas, to Moon's, to anything but the pure rage rolling through him. He lunges towards Columbine in a frenzied attack- a sickening crack ringing through the opera house.

And the audience erupts in applause as he realizes what he's done.

[the-perfect-wagnerite-again]

What would the music of a world of furries be like if none of them have human lips to play woodwinds or brass instruments? Can you play a violin without human fingernails? What does the music department at Legoshi's school look like? Is there a market for the production of particular sizes of every instrument, specially tuned as necessary, for every species living in Zootopia? These are the real questions furfags need to be addressing, stop being horny and world-build me some double-reeds for your fursona.

[scotianostra]

July 13th 1900 saw the birth of Elizabeth “Bessie” Watson in Edinburgh.

Born just off the Grassmarket, at 11 The Vennel to Agnes Newton and Horatio Watson, Bessie did not take long to make her mark in the world, at the tender age of 9 she combined her two greatest loves: bagpiping and woman’s suffrage, the latter makes her arguably the youngest in Scotland, if not the world.

When she turned seven, Bessie’s aunt Margaret contracted tuberculosis – an incident which would change the youngster’s life forever. Margaret lived with the family, and Bessie’s parents, worried that she might fall ill to the contagious disease, encouraged her to take up the bagpipes in a bid to strengthen her weak lungs. Her first set of pipes was specially-produced according to her diminutive stature as she was too small to properly inflate an adult-sized bag. The half-sized set of pipes was purchased from Robertson’s pipe makers at 58 Grove Street. “I hurried home from school and carried it, in a brown paper parcel down to my (music) teacher”, Bessie recalled. As one of the very few female bagpipe players in the world at that time – not to mention one of the youngest – Bessie took to her new instrument with great enthusiasm.

Bessie had more than her bag pipe playing to make her worthy of a post here, while walking with her mother through the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, Bessie stopped to look at the window of the Women’s Social and Political Union office. Bessie became excited about the idea of women receiving the right to vote, even though she wouldn’t be able to vote for many years.

Bessie realized that her talents could help promote votes for women. She would run from school each day to play her bagpipes outside of the Calton Jail in Edinburgh for fellow suffragettes in prison.

At the first suffrage pageant she performed at, she wore a sash with the words “Votes for Women” as she performed with her bagpipes. At the height of the suffragette movement, Bessie was playing at major demonstrations and parades for the Women’s Social and Political Union, including the famous procession through Edinburgh on 9th October 1909. On that day a large crowd watched as hundreds of banner-laden ladies, wearing the suffragist colours of purple, white and green, marched down Princes Street before congregating at Waverley Market for a rally led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Watson rode on a float beside a woman dressed as Isabella Duff, Countess of Buchan in her cage! Isabella is famed for crowning Robert the Bruce at Scone when he seized the Scottish crown, she was later captured with the Bruce family and held prisoner in a cage in the open air at Berwick for four years.

Back to oor Bessie, who just a ten year-old she travelled to London to play her bagpipes in a women’s march on June 17th, 1911. J ust a few weeks later, for George’s state visit to Edinburgh, Bessie, leading the 2nd Edinburgh Company of the Girl Guides, received recognition from the king himself as she raised her salute. Having secured regal acknowledgement in time for her 11th birthday, Scotland’s youngest female piper continued in her quest to support women’s rights, accompanying inmates bound for Holloway Prison to Waverley Station and playing the pipes as their trains departed.

For the part she played in Edinburgh’s historic women’s rights pageant of 1909, young Bessie received a special gift from one very prominent individual. Christabel Pankhurst (daughter of Emmeline) came to Edinburgh to address a meeting at the King’s Theatre and Bessie was invited to attend. During the evening she was presented with a brooch representing Queen Boadicea (Boudica) in her chariot, as a token of gratitude for her help in the pageant.

During WWI, Bessie was just a teenager and used her talents to make a difference in other ways. She began helping the Scots Guard to recruit army volunteers by playing her bagpipes

In 1926 Bessie moved with her parents to a new house on Clark Road, Trinity where she would remain for the rest of her days. Following her marriage to electrical contractor John Somerville at the end of the Second World War, Bessie devoted her life to teaching music and foreign languages. Former neighbours recall that, even into her late eighties, Bessie continued to play her bagpipes at 11am every morning. It was something she had always done.

Bessie died in 1992, two and a half weeks short of her 92nd birthday. Over the course of her long life she had experienced almost a century of social progression and upheaval, and had played her part in changing the world for the better.

A pictorial tribute was unveiled at The Vennel in Edinburgh on August 1st 2019 in memory of Bessie, the University of Edinburgh also have a lecture room named in her honour.

[serendipitys-teapot]

WIP Whenever

Thank you for the tag, @kalliesa! I appreciate being included 💖

Trying to find people who I don't think have been tagged (but I apologize if I'm wrong) I'll tag @vividdreamer624, @iheartgarrus, @westernlarch, @milkywayes, and anyone else who might want to participate! No pressure, as usual!

So I'm currently working on chapter 14 of my newest AU fic, which I'm hoping to start posting sometime this summer. I'm super excited! I don't want to spoil anything, but in this chapter, Shepard is visiting a place we shall affectionately refer to as The Fleet. It's her first time there, and Garrus brings her to the markets.

It was like something out of an old Earth vid, yet infinitely more vivid and real. It was like photos she’d seen of old covered markets, the long, vaulted room packed cheek to jowl with dozens and dozens of stalls. Banners and fabrics were draped on poles over tables laid out with the most amazing array of objects and foods, as hawkers called out to passersby. The noise was almost deafening, voices raised as people bartered and discussed, and somewhere a set of tinkling bells were ringing. She could hear the faint sound of ethereal singing and strange music, along with the sizzling of fresh food being cooked nearby. “Garrus, this is…” She trailed off as she let him lead her to the nearest stall, her eyes wide with wonder. “This is amazing!” He made a noise of agreement, but it was lost on her as she gazed down at the wares before her. There were beautifully knit sweaters, hand carved figurines, sparkling crystals, and finely crafted instruments. Breath-taking embroidery, pristine feathers, sparkling beaded necklaces. Painted seashells, woven rugs, soaps with smells that were nearly too much for Shepard’s overwhelmed senses. Each stall was more breathtaking than the last. And then the food… There were sweet rolls, bright candies, glazed meat on small sticks. Crumbling cookies, spicy sausages, and some sort of steaming drink that was vibrantly blue. There were breads, cakes, sandwiches, vegetables of all shapes and sizes, and nearly all of it was wonderfully novel and exciting. And like before, the people around them were nearly as interesting as everything else. The outfits, the accessories, the way they held themselves, the way they spoke. Children ran about, darting between people as they played, sweets clutched in their fists, their parents talking nearby. One of them stopped to call out to their child, and once they’d been summarily ignored, she gave a quick flick of her wrist, a blue glow springing up around her, and her child froze in the act of running away as the other parents chuckled. At each stall, people occasionally passed about credit chits, but just as often, they bartered other goods and wares. Trades seemed to be a perfectly reasonable form of payment, which was completely unlike anything Shepard had ever experienced in the Citadel. All of it was absolutely fascinating. She’d never been able to travel before [REDACTED], and now she could truly appreciate what she’d been missing.

[thecreaturecodex]

Mad Maddy Maddison

“Eccentric Jester” © London Workman, accessed at their ArtStation here

[This is one of many iterations of my “goth clown” persona, tailored to a low level game and with more emphasis on the clown. I created her for a freeform game run by @abominationimperatrix​, which we haven’t gone back to yet. I do hope to. The Harley Quinn influence is very much intentional.]

Mad Maddy Maddison CR 3 CG Humanoid (dark folk) Clad in mismatched and brightly colored jester’s motley, this tiny woman is thin, muscular and pretty. At first glance she might appear to be wearing stage makeup, but her gray skin and black lips are their natural color.

Mad Maddy Maddison has had a very complicated and strange life already in her nineteen years, and is excited to see what happens next. She was born to a clan of dark folk living in the Darklands beneath the Brazen Peaks, and the caligni callers selected for her to be a dancer, one of the dark folk who act as intermediaries between settlements. Unfortunately, that meant that her wanderlust started at a very early age, and she managed to get separated from her family. She was found and given a home, but unfortunately it was by Mater Cachinnarum, the Mother of Sneers. This wicked bogeywoman pops up in nightmares throughout eastern Garund, and tried to raise Maddy to do the same. Even though Maddy was raised by Cachinnarum for a solid decade, she held true to her overall sense of kindness and good humor, and escaped by the grace of Cayden Cailean, who has a soft spot for all orphans and runaways.

Maddy made it to the bustling city of Katapesh where she currently works at the Night Circus, an entertainment troupe in the Night Markets. At the Circus, she is a talented juggler, percussionist, clown and occasional pickpocket. Her favored instruments are the zills. Maddy has a fascination with death and the undead, having been surrounded by ghouls and skeletons in Mater Cachinnarum’s care, and she is learning how to affect them with her magical music. She’s also working on making friends, something she’s never had a lot of. Her closest friend is a flumph named Taktii, who has given dire warnings about monsters in space. Maddy currently finds this concept more intriguing than scary.

Maddy stands a whole two and a half feet tall and carries a club as long as she is tall. She has a caffeine addiction, and rarely goes a day without several cups of coffee.

Mad Maddy Maddison  CR 3 XP 800 Dark dancer bard 2 (dirge bard) CG Small humanoid (dark folk) Init +4; Senses Perception +8, see in darkness Defense AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +2 armor) hp 33 (4d8+12) Fort +3, Ref +10, Will +3; +4 vs. death effects, energy drain, fear, necromancy Defensive Abilities haunted eyes Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee masterwork greatclub +5 (1d8+1) Ranged dagger +7 (1d3+1/19-20) or improvised weapon +7 (1d4+1) or splash weapon +8 (varies) Special Attacks bardic performance (13 rounds, countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire courage +1), dark curse, death throes, sneak attack +1d6 Spells CL 2nd, concentration +5 1st (3/day)—cure light wounds, fumbletongue (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), ray of enfeeblement (DC 14) 0th—detect magic, mage hand, message, open/close, prestidigitation Statistics  Str 13, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16 Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 16 Feats Point Blank Shot, Throw Anything Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +8, Climb +10, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +9, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +7 (+8 vs. undead), Perform (comedy, percussion) +8, Perception +8, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth Languages Common, Dark Folk, Kelesh SQ poison use, secrets of the grave Gear masterwork greatclub, 5 daggers, leather armor, 4 bells, masterwork zills, wand of disguise self (25 charges), alchemist fire (x4), holy water (x4), 3 doses black smear poison, 1 dose oil of taggit, coffee pot, mortar and pestle, 5 lbs coffee, jewelry worth 30 gp, 13 gp Special Abilities Dark Curse (Su) As a standard action, a dark dancer can make a touch attack against a foe and curse it. The foe must succeed at a DC 12 Will saving throw to resist the effects. Creatures that fail the saving throw take a –2 penalty on all Dexterity and Charisma-based skill checks. This curse is permanent, but the victim of this curse can attempt a new saving throw each day. Death Throes (Su) When a dark dancer is slain, its body combusts in a flash of bright white light, leaving its gear in a heap on the ground. All creatures within a 10-foot burst must succeed at a DC 13 Fortitude save or be dazzled for 1d6 rounds. Other dark folk within 20 feet must succeed at a DC 13 Will save or be shaken for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Haunted Eyes (Ex) Maddy gains a +4 bonus on saves against fear, energy drain, death effects, and necromantic effects. Secrets of the Grave (Ex) Maddy gains a bonus equal to half her bard level on Knowledge (religion) checks made to identify undead creatures and their abilities. A dirge bard may use mind-affecting spells to affect undead as if they were living creatures, even if they are mindless (though spells that affect only humanoids do not affect them, even if they were humanoids in life). In addition, she may add one necromancy spell from the spell list of any arcane spellcasting class to her list of spells known at 2nd level and every four levels thereafter.

[johnschneiderblog]

The guitar: a personal history in two parts

Part I: The origin

Asked about his early musical influences, Lord Huron’s front man has mentioned, to more than one interviewer, the campfire hootenannies that once dominated our family get-togethers.

We were singers - in a recreational sense - even before the first guitar arrived on the scene to accompany us. We didn’t actually need a fire; we were prone to break into our smoky, imperfect harmonies anywhere we could rub two voices together.

As for that first guitar … I can trace it to its moment of origin, at a flea market near Thessaloniki, Greece, which was among the ports of call for my ship, the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, cruising the Mediterranean Sea in 1969.

It was about half the size of a standard acoustic guitar and I haven't the slightest idea why I bought it. I couldn't play a single chord and, in fact, wasn't sure whether the little guitar was a musical instrument, or a toy.

(By the way, that guitar was not the one pictured here. The guitar in the photo, signed by the Bubs, was sold at a charity auction).

The decision seemed more and more dubious as I carried my awkward souvenir from one sailor bar to the next, constantly offering a weary "No" to the perennial question: "Can you play that thing?"

Somehow, I resisted the impulse to abandon the guitar and got it back to the ship in one piece. That's when the fun began

Tomorrow, Part II: Three chords and sore fingertips.

[llostwriter]

The Misery of the Songstress’ Child

Chapter 6: This venerable one’s mother

Include the backstory of Duan Yihan and Xun Fengruo.

Heavy TW.

Word Count: 3614

Any gender

Xun Fengruo, the former infamous songstress of House of Drunken Jade. As her first name began, she was infamous for her flute playing. Her instrument is a white flute, crafted from a smooth, polished material that gleams softly in the light. Followed by a delicate tassel dangling from the end of the flute. Xun Fengruo could also play other instruments; however, her talents and skills lay in the flute. The same goes for Duan Yihan with her pipa. Both have many customers daily, with most of the profits going to the madam. Even despite their popularity among the men, it was still a struggle for them to pay for their freedom. As soon as the prostitutes and the songstresses' popularity rises, the cost of freedom would also skyrocket.

The only other way for them to gain freedom is by growing old and unwanted. Nobody is willing to wait that long. So they attempted to try their best to get enough, through pleasing the customer. Any success in running away will get the person blacklisted from nearby businesses. Due to the recognition of the pleasure house among several rich folks, Madam Mo does have connections with a few owners around the location. It would be quite easy for Madam Mo to send the information about blacklisted people to the other organizations. The other organization will undeniably follow it since nobody would want troublesome workers in their fields. The risk was too much for them to take.

The madam took Xun Fengruo and Duan Yihan in, upon seeing the state that they were in. Xun Fengruo was formerly the daughter of a nobleman until her father was persecuted after he was caught doing illegal activities and all her family possessions were seized. Leaving her with her mom and an empty house. Duan Yihan was the daughter of a commoner family before she was sold into the slave auction by her family. During the time that the brothel was recently purchased, it was common for Madam Mo to look for prostitutes and songstresses in the black market. Most of the women were selected as prostitutes, and the songstresses are minor additions to prove that the brothel isn’t just a complete sexfest, which wasn’t much help.

Since the songstresses were so few, some males decided to make it a challenge to get the songstresses to sleep with them. That challenge did increase the popularity of the singers, which contributed to the hiring of more singers, making the brothel completely stuffed. Upon first entering such a place, the strong smell of sweat and sex would immediately hit the customer. Madam attempted to hide the smell by using incense; however, that didn’t help. The place didn’t have much privacy since the outsiders would see the shadows of prostitutes and customers. And sometimes even the size of the customer's “rooster” was exposed. If the size was small, the customer’s dignity was also gone among females. Sooner or later, it becomes a laughing stock. Those laughing stocks later on complain to the minister; if it wasn’t for the fact that the minister also takes some visits to the pleasure house behind the back of his wives, the pleasure house would have already been shut down.

As in any other place, businesses never write out their warnings and caution signs before sticking them onto the front of their door. It was common knowledge that it will drive profits away, and profits are what make a living. It doesn’t matter how smart people are; in this world, it is only how rich their status is. Wealth equals power; that’s how this world works. Nevertheless, it was true that the pleasure house needed improvement. In the end, Madam Mo decided to upgrade the small brothel into a large music building. Still being a pleasure house, but the music businesses were more popular in the place. There was more space and more windows to drive away the odor. The privacy was better, providing both the females and customers with an area to do their activity. Duan Yihan and Xun Fengruo were fortunate enough to be accepted after the renovation. Duan Yihan was the one that was purchased with a couple of other females.

Due to Xun Fengruo being the only one who brought money to the house. All the maids and servants left due to a lack of wages. Her mother soon got sick out of stress after her father’s persecution, making her bedridden. Xun Fengruo had to find a job to support her mother. The issue with that is that she has no work experience; oftentimes all the house chores are done by the maids. Therefore, all her job applications were denied, leaving her no choice but to work as a songstress since it was the only job that accepted her. She assumed that it wouldn’t be that bad after all; she wasn’t serving the customer in bed. She has had a talent for playing music and singing ever since she was a kid, and she was highly praised for it. She put her skills into her job as a songstress and soon enough became a courtesan. A courtesan is one of the highest positions that a worker in a pleasure house could ever be in. Courtesans are treated with more respect since they are the ones who are bringing in most of the income. But her mother wasn’t able to witness it since her mother soon passed away.

_

Duan Yihan, the older sister among her other siblings, was born in a commoner’s household. Their mother died early from a disease that was curable; however, the medicine cost was expensive. Leaving Duan Yihan to be the only one to care for her siblings since her father didn’t want to take on that role. The father ended up remarrying another female in under a couple of months. Duan Yihan, who didn’t want conflict in her family, taught her siblings to accept their new mother even despite the complaints regarding it. It was easy to convince the younger ones; however, the older ones not so much. Take Duan Cong, for example, the second oldest of the siblings. He was filled with grief upon the father’s betrayal of the mother and was easily irritated at even the slightest sight of their new mother. He was the hardest one to convince; in fact, he yelled the three words “I hate you” at Duan Yihan due to believing that Duan Yihan didn’t loathe their father at his betrayal.

Duan Yihan understood Duan Cong’s feeling toward it; after all, she was experiencing the same thing, but she knew that resisting would only make things worse. The three words yelled at her did make her realize that she couldn’t force things. In the end, she gave up trying to convince him. Their new mother convinced their father to marry off Duan Yihan for some dowry. It was a guy from a noble family who was interested in her beauty; he wanted to make Duan Yihan his concubine. Before the marriage, the couple should meet each other. Duan Yihan was accompanied by the other side’s servants to meet the man. Duan Yihan didn’t love the man; she didn’t want to marry a man that she doesn’t even know. But she doesn’t have a choice since her family needs that money.

During the way to the property, they encountered muggers. The nobleman didn’t assign any guards with them, due to Duan Yihan’s commoner status. The muggers, realizing that their targets didn’t have money, choose to not leave and decide to sell them to the black market for some extra bucks. The female servants were shivering from fear, crying as they secretly prayed to the deities from above, hoping that someone would save them. Nobody wanted to die or get sold. A hoard of guards came through and attacked the burglars. Seeing that the situation was escalating, one of the burglars held Duan Yihan hostage. The guards were deciding to continue even despite the hostage since their order was to kill the burglars and nothing else.

That was when she first met Xun Fengruo. She was mesmerized by her fearlessness and the aura of authority that she held. Xun Fengruo wears the robes of a noblewoman, making Duan Yihan easily identify their status. Someone headshot the burglar with an arrow, saving her. The surviving servants told the noble lady that they were on their way to bringing Duan Yihan to her future spouse. The lady assigned some of her guards to accompany Duan Yihan before leaving with the remaining guards.

Maybe it was then that she realized that she didn’t want to marry him. She wanted to be as independent as the one who rescued her. So she ran—ran as far away as possible. With no idea where she is even going. The servants and guards chased after her, but soon enough, they lost her. The guards reported back to Xun Fengruo. In the end, fate seemed to have its way; it was Xun Fengruo who found her before sundown. Duan Yihan didn’t want to go back to her home; she feels like if she did, she'd be forced to be betrothed to someone who she doesn't love. In the end, she still ended up going home.

Her stepmother was furious at her since they got the news that the nobleman no longer wanted her as a concubine upon seeing that she attempted to escape. Duan Yihan, on the other hand, was thankful that the nobleman respected her choice and stopped chasing it. She thought that she could live her peaceful life with her sibling, only for her dreams to be crushed upon getting dragged away by some men in black, watching her stepmother count the money that was given to her. In the blink of an eye, she was locked inside a room that was crowded with many other females. She witnessed some of the females who resisted get beaten with a stick. The ones that were crying were told to shut up. Everything was in chaos. The door was opened, and a woman came through it; she selected her among a few others. With that, she was told that she’d become a new songstress.

She was fine with that arrangement; after all, at least she got to keep her body’s purity. Once she gained a name inside the pleasure house, she was able to visit the outside without any suspicion of her escaping. She heard that her siblings were sold to other families that were unable to have children of their own. As long as her siblings weren’t sold to human traffickers, it was good enough for her. So she lost contact with them, believing that their new families would be able to provide for them better than she could.

“It was for the best,” she said to herself.

—-

She would have never expected Xun Fengruo to end up in the same state as her. She did hear some rumors about Xun Fengruo’s father, but it was still a shocker for her to see the one that she admired being dropped so low. Duan Yihan attempted to get closer to Xun Fengruo. Unsuccessful. She’ll try again later on.

_

The words of Xun Fengruo and Duan Yihan’s beauty caught the attention of a nobleman, and soon enough, they became captives of the nobleman of the Lian Clan, a wealthy family-based clan. Lian for the first name. The guy who held them captive was Lian Xiu—fathering an estimated 10 children, including one born out of wedlock. Lian Xiu has seven concubines and a legal wife. He was deemed quite attractive by his peers if it wasn’t for the fact that he has quite an insatiable appetite for women. Lian Xiu has two older sisters who have already been married off. Lian Xiu was the only son of the former leader of the Lian Clan.

Even before the existence of the cultivation world, some clans only included family members. As long as half of the family members are cultivators, it is qualified as a clan instead of a merchant guild. In ancient China, it was unacceptable for a woman to become a leader. Unless there was a special force supporting her by any means possible, including enforcing threats and intimidation upon the ones who disagreed with the new sovereignty. The women who were born didn’t have a choice in who they were to marry. It was decided by the parents to select the one who would benefit the clan the most. The oldest sister of Lian Xiu also inherited the family’s water element, the same as Lian Xiu. As a result of her gender, she still ended up becoming only a housewife for a nobleman.

By the time the oldest sister was married off, the second-to-eldest sister had already run away with her lover after stealing some of the family’s gold. In the end, she ended up getting abandoned by her lover after finding out that he was only using her for wealth. With that, she has no choice but to come back to her clan empty-handed, facing the fate of having to marry someone she doesn’t love.

The legal wife of Lian Xiu had fertility issues, and that was said to be the major reason why he ended up having concubines. But who is to say that he wouldn’t have concubines even if the legal wife did give birth to a son? Lian Xiu used to be a good cultivator and promised to be a devoted husband upon marrying his first wife. Behind the back of his first wife, he visited multiple brothels, and sooner or later, he accidentally got one pregnant without realizing it.

The pregnant prostitute told Lian Xiu about it but was told to abort the child. Lian Xiu handed the pregnant prostitute enough money to purchase a miscarriage medicine. In the end, the pregnant prostitute doesn't drink the medicine and instead finds the first wife. At first, Lian Xiu doesn’t admit it and tells the servants to throw the prostitute out, but he is stopped by his first wife, who decides to wait until the child is born. The child was born, and it shared similar features as Lian Xiu confirming the prostitute’s words. With that comes the first concubine.

The first wife was quite a considerate woman; after all, even despite the bitterness upon knowing her husband’s infidelity, it didn’t change the fact that a child’s life is still a life. The unborn child was innocent. Lian Xiu misunderstood that gesture and ended up bringing in more concubines and having children with those concubines as well. By the arrival of the seventh concubine, the first wife finally got pregnant and gave birth to a healthy son. The legitimate heir was showered with love. Things were going well for the first wife and her son until one day two songstresses caught the attention of Lian Xiu. One escaped, leaving the other behind. That remaining songstress was none other than Xun Fengruo. And with that, he vented his anger onto her.

As usual, a sperm came into contact with Xun Fengruo’s egg, and she was pregnant. She lost count of the times when she attempted to kill the unborn child in her stomach, but no matter what, the child was still there. Alive and inside her. It was repulsive, and she wanted it gone. It was a strong fetus that even the miscarriage medicine she secretly consumed didn’t work. So many attempts failed, and she later accepted her fate.

All the maids of the other ladies hated her, and maybe it was out of pity that later on she got assigned to an old maid. At first, she was cautious around the elderly, assuming that the maid was a spy of Lian Xiu. As time passed, she slowly began lowering her guard, but she knew better than to tell her private thoughts to the maid. When she broke her water, there was no midwife; in the end, it ended up being the old maid who assisted her.

She gave birth to a healthy baby. The newborn was left in the care of the elder maid, while the mother regained her energy through sleep. The only time Xun Fengruo ever saw the baby was when she had to breastfeed it; the rest of the time, the newborn was with the maid. The tension between her and the other ladies increased upon the birth of the newborn.

She knew one day she’d get kicked out, and she was looking forward to it. Anything to get out of this hell. And as expected in hardly a month, Xun Fengruo was kicked out with her newborn. Lian Xiu was out for a political errand, making it the perfect time. When she was kicked out with her newborn, she was planning to leave the newborn out on the street. Her heart hesitated upon seeing the heartwarming smile on her baby; maybe it was because of the remaining morals that prevented her from doing the unthinkable. She ended up taking the baby with her to the only place that she knew. House of Drunken Jade.

She was heavily indebted to Madam Mo after that incident. The fastest way to pay off that debt faster was to sleep around. Her body was already tainted and used as it is; there’s no way for it to be even more tainted than it already is. Upon receiving that news, most of the high-ranking noblemen all rushed into the front desk, pushing and shoving each other to get a night with her. Duan Yihan suggested giving some silver to her to help her pay it off, but she denied it, saying that she didn't need her pity. Xun Fengruo was the one who told Duan Yihan to run, but help never arrived. Any trust between them was gone.

Her meimei` and jiejie` inside the pleasure house assisted her in taking care of the newborn while she was busy working. After paying it off, she went back to her usual job as a songstress, much to the dissatisfaction of the customers. At this point, her meimei and jiejie spend more time with the newborn than she ever could, which was believed to be the best. She knew that she was a bad mother, and she was able to live with that. Her relationship with Duan Yihan was still rocky, and Duan Yihan seemed to have given up on trying to repair it directly, focusing their time on the newborn instead.

This carried on for one year, and Duan Yihan found someone that she was interested in. Xun Fengruo, even despite her still not forgiving Duan Yihan for the past, still wanted Duan Yihan to find her own happiness. So when she noticed that something was wrong with that man, the first thing she did was to talk with Duan Yihan. Duan Yihan was ecstatic since it was the first time in a long time since Xun Fengruo took the first step in talking to her after that incident, even if the topic wasn’t favorable.

Driven by lovesickness, Duan Yihan disregarded Xun Fengruo’s warning. She paid the price by getting impregnated by someone who already had a wife. From the day that Duan Yihan proposed to leave the pleasure house, Xun Fengruo never saw her ever again. Only about 4 years later, when the child turned 6 years old, did Xun Fengruo find the only thing that Duan Yihan left. A four-year-old son was the only thing that Duan Yihan left.

When Xun Fengruo first heard the child’s name, she said, “It was a good name.” The son of Duan Yihan found a companion during his time here, and they grew closer as time went on.

Every year, there is a Lantern Festival. This year, Madam Mo got a high offer from a nobleman for a night with Xun Fengruo. Knowing that she wouldn’t willingly accept it, Madam Mo used countermeasures. But who would have expected Xun Fengruo to run away, abandoning her child?

///

Realizing the lack of times that Xun Fengruo addressed the child as ‘hers’

In other eyes’ Xun Fengruo was the woman, who must have purposely seduced the clan leader and only to have the result backfire on her miserably. The existence of the by-product always reminded her of those nights. The product was the link between her and that despicable man. She couldn’t find herself wanting to be the mother of such a product. At the same time, she knows that the child is innocent. It was difficult for her to accept such reality. As a result, maybe running away was the best option she could have had.

No one would willingly work in a pleasure house unless they were out of choice.

The foul smell of the former pleasure house was so strong that it was still there. During one of Madam Mo’s punishments to Mo Ran, he was kept there, and the smell of the incense haunted him till now.

The first thing that Duan Yihan did upon escaping was run toward the brothel to ask for help, but she was told by Madam Mo that Xun Fengruo has already been rescued and no longer wants this job. As much as she had her doubts about it, she was in no position to do anything else. Without knowing that it was Madam Mo who planned it.

Misunderstandings and loss of trust.

Duan Yihan achieved her dream of being independent, but at what cost?

The situation between Xun Fengruo, Duan Yihan, and the nobleman is quite similar to another situation from several hundred years before this plotline. Would history repeat itself?

This is only part one of her story.

[bottlewatersblog]

Top Must-Have Instruments for Music Lovers in 2024

The global musical instruments market size was valued at $9,826.5 million in 2020 and is projected to reach $11,589.8 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 1.7% from 2021 to 2030. The market was worth USD 18.63 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow from USD 19.25 billion in 2023 to USD 24.53 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.52% during the forecast period. Another report estimates the market size to be USD 14.20 billion in 2022 and projects it to expand at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2023 to 2030 to reach USD 25.13 billion.

Music Stores and Instruments Market Growth and Revenue

The growing popularity of live concerts and performances is propelling the industry forward. Approximately 63% of consumers are hobbyists, including recreational players, aspiring professionals, students, and parents of students. Children who begin learning musical instruments at a young age are more likely to develop an interest in music in the long run. The rising influence of western music in countries such as China, Japan, and India has also contributed to the market's growth.

Music Stores and Instruments Industry Trends

Customization of musical instruments such as pianos and electronic guitars is an important market trend. Leading market players offer customized, visually appealing, and high-quality products. Customers can customize their musical instruments in terms of size and shape, as well as design guitar necks and inlays and select between traditional and hardwood options. The integration of advanced technologies into music instruments, such as digital interfaces, smart instruments, and mobile applications for learning and composing, is also boosting the market's growth.

Music Stores and Instruments Market Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the music instrument manufacturing sector. Lockdowns and movement restrictions led to disruptions in the global supply chains, affecting the availability of raw materials and components needed for instrument manufacturing. Economic uncertainties also led to decreased consumer spending on luxury items, affecting the demand for music instruments. The high cost of electronic instruments, especially advanced synthesizers, digital keyboards, and electronic drum kits, may deter beginners or casual musicians from entering the market, limiting the growth of the entry-level segment.

Music Stores and Instruments Industry Opportunities

The rising popularity of traditional folklore music in countries such as India and Indonesia presents opportunities for market growth. The development of digital technology has led to the creation of digital pianos, electronic keyboards, and synthesizers, offering a broad range of sounds, effects, and features impossible with traditional analog instruments. The integration of smart technology into instruments has given rise to smart guitars, pianos, and other instruments connected to smartphones and tablets.

Music Stores and Instruments Market Top Players and Companies

Some key players operating in the musical instruments market include Yamaha Corporation, Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Pearl River Piano Group Ltd., Casio Computer Co. Ltd., C.F. Martin & Co. Inc, D'addario & Company Inc., Eastman Music Company, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Roland Corporation, Steinway & Sons, and Yanagisawa Wind Instruments Co. Ltd.

Music Stores and Instruments Industry Future Outlook

The global musical instruments market is expected to continue growing in the coming years, driven by factors such as the rising popularity of live concerts and performances, the growing number of music enthusiasts, and the integration of advanced technologies into music instruments. However, challenges such as the high cost of electronic instruments and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may hinder the market's growth to some extent. Overall, the future outlook for the music stores and instruments industry remains positive, with opportunities for growth in various regions and segments.

Conclusion

The music stores and instruments market is poised for growth, driven by technological advancements, rising disposable income, and the growing popularity of live performances. However, the market faces challenges such as the high cost of electronic instruments and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To capitalize on the opportunities, market players should focus on developing sustainable and technologically advanced products to cater to the evolving needs of consumers.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2004 - Number 9 - Goya - "All My Senses"

Like NDR in Germany, TVP in Poland truly pushed out the boat to get the biggest names possible for their national final in 2004. Goya are another example of this. They are a band formed in the mid 1990s around lead singer Magdalena Wójcik. In the first part of the 2000s, they found success with a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, followed by two albums and a string of their own singles. That in turn led to bigger gigs such as supporting Peter Gabriel during the Polish concerts of his world tour.

When TVP came calling, they responded with All My Senses. It's a gentle rock ballad, with a low key instrumentation that sits behind Madga's vocals biding its time. Even when it the chorus hits, it doesn't go for it. This a song about restraint and control with little synth motifs and phrases interspersed over the stripped back bassline and guitar. Truly it's about Magda's and her voice. She's front and centre telling us about all her favourite things and how someone she's smitten with makes her experience all of those things in real time.

It's full of strong passions and sensations, but remains clandestine, private and held back. Another song might crave climax and release, but here the pleasures and joy is derived from buttoning up and restriction of those deeply sensual experiences as expressed by the music.

From a Eurovision perspective the deliberate lack of spectacle probably wouldn't have worked and ultimately Goya ended up sixth of the fifteen songs with a strong televote - just under half the size of the winner.

Goya's next two albums went big. Both made the top 10 in the Polish charts featuring more chill yet tense vibes, like a rockier version of Portishead. They also managed to hit number one in the singles chart with a stand-alone single Tylko mnie kochaj (Just Love Me). Krajowe Eliminacje didn't manage to launch them internationally, but it did yield huge results in their home market. Magda released her own solo album in 2010 while the band have been releasing sporadic albums to this day. A band of quality and a with a distinct sound standing apart from their peers. Here's the lead track from the 2005 album Smak słów (The Taste of Words)

[allhallowsthemepark]

All Hallows - Goblin Woods

Our next area of the All Hallows map celebrates an aspect of Halloween that goes right back to the holiday's ultimate origins but is nowadays remembered only in bits and pieces—Celtic legends and lore surrounding the mystical time of Samhain, and the fairy tales that emerged from those underpinnings. Not only goblins but banshees, witches, and all manner of beings from a dark enchanted forest may be found here.

The entrance to Goblin Woods lies along a winding path that begins among the buildings of the entry plaza. The town-style buildings of the plaza transition to derelict rural structures and then the trees of a dense Old World forest, until guests arrive at an archway formed out of two bare trees whose branches curl overhead and merge into each other. The name of the area is picked out in fiber optic lights that intermittently turn on with a “fairy dust” effect...but, crucially, fragments of the lettering are scattered across the twigs and the words are only legible from certain angles. (The sweet spots are marked by rings of circular tiles of varying sizes set into the ground, colored red with white spots. Knowledgeable guests might feel uneasy about this.)

The archway opens onto a clearing in the forest in which is a tiny village right out of a Brothers Grimm storybook. Shops and eateries occupy thatched-roof cottages, and a music loop of eerie, “mystical” instrumentals and fairytale-inspired pieces fades in and out. Further paths lead off of this area through densely wooded spaces, arriving at the area attractions.

Characters

Goblin Woods is not as heavily populated with themed characters as, say, Ghoul City, but it's not unusual to encounter goblins, trolls, and other unsavory creatures from fairy tales scuttling about the area. There are also a handful of major characters, though as is the case with most fairy tales, they have no names, only descriptive titles. They may be found roaming almost anywhere in the area, including the labyrinth.

The Witch of the Woods: Is the crone in the black cloak kindly or wicked? If approached, will she accommodate your request for selfies or visit you with a fearsome curse (or both)?

The Green Men: These giants made of twisted branches and leaves (stilt-walking performers) wander the back ways of the forest, and no one knows how many there really are or what their purpose is. Just be careful what you lean against...

The Fairy Queen: Highest lady of the Unseelie Court, beautiful, graceful, and mysterious. Offer her no gifts, and accept none from her.

Attractions

The Tale of Tam Lin: A dark ride following the story of Tam Lin, from Bonnie Janet's first meeting with the mysterious young man in Carterhaugh Forest to her daring rescue of him from the Fair Folk on Halloween night itself!

2. Wild Hunt: A suspended roller coaster based on the pan-European myth of ghostly skyborne riders that chase down unlucky wanderers in the forest.

3. Puck's Labyrinth: The maze attraction of Goblin Woods takes the form of a disorienting journey through the deep woods and fairy mounds. It's a wide-ranging maze that affords glimpses of the other area attractions via gaps in the foliage as well as giant spider webs, glowing mushrooms, sinister trees, and other sights of the haunted forest.

4. Fae Circle Dance: A simple carnival spinner with a literal twist—the suspended cars move along a series of interwoven tracks, and the patterns can be quite unpredictable.

Shops and Eateries

5. Glamours: The Goblin Woods costume shop focuses on motifs of fairy tale, fantasy, and days of yore. Some of the offerings include: general medieval and Renaissance looks, dragons, fairies, knights, mermaids, royalty, unicorns, walking trees, witches, and wizards.

6. Goblin Market: A toy, book and curio shop for lovers of fantasy and fairy tales, especially if their tastes run a little to the dark.

7. Gingerbread Cottage: A combination candy shop and bakery/tea shop, perfect for taking a break during the day or evenings. Be sure to ask about special fairytale-inspired tea blends and “soul cake” pastries!

8. Morgan's Cauldron: A small counter-service eatery with a menu of simple meals—soups, sandwiches, fresh fruit and cheese platters, and the like.

9. The Witch's Hut: Located toward the back of Goblin Woods rather than in the “village” area with the other shops, the Witch's Hut is a tiny metaphysical shop selling crystals, Tarot cards, mystical jewelry, and other accoutrements. It's a good place to run into the Witch of the Woods.

[0613magazine]

042423 Rolling Stone

‘I Poured My Soul Into This Album’: How SUGA Let Go of the Past and Stepped Into His Future

The BTS multi-hyphenate describes the emotional process behind recording the final album in his Agust D series, finding freedom through music, and collaborating with his hero, the late Ryuichi Sakamoto

OF ALL THE BTS members, SUGA is probably the one who is most familiar with the daunting feeling that comes before dropping a solo project — but he’d never released something the size and scale of D-DAY before. 

The 30-year-old rapper/producer/songwriter born Min Yunki has two full-length mixtapes using his alter ego Agust D — his 2016 debut, named after his second alias, and 2020’s D-2, both which established him as a ferociously introspective artist. Through his emotionally wrenching raps, he’s also emerged as a bold K-pop star, unafraid to share his reflections on mental health and inner struggles.

But last summer, BTS announced that they would be focusing on solo projects instead of group albums. SUGA was already in the midst of working on the final installment of his planned Agust D trilogy, and he realized that the whole world would be paying extra close attention to what was supposed to be his side project. Suddenly, he felt pressure to stay true to his raw, explosive rap persona as Agust D while still living up to the name of SUGA, the BTS member who speaks at the U.N. and the White House and collaborates with pop giants like PSY, Halsey, and Coldplay. 

“Since I had to finalize the trilogy, I wanted to push Agust D by any means,” he tells Rolling Stone on a Zoom call from the HYBE office in Seoul. “Yet in reality, in terms of marketing, SUGA has more presence. There was a heavy pressure to synchronize [the personas of] Agust D and SUGA, and it took a toll on finishing the album.”

In his solo work and across more than 100 songs that he’s helped write for BTS, SUGA has always worked to reconcile different identities and competing desires, wrestling between striving for success yet rebuking material desires, aspiring for honesty yet fearing overexposure, and wanting to meet expectations of the public yet feeling being misunderstood by critics. But on his new album D-DAY, which arrived on April 21 alongside a behind-the-scenes companion documentary, SUGA: Road to D-DAY, streaming on Disney+, he reveals that he’s learned how to conquer these inner conflicts. On the opening title track, he declares that he’s forging a new future, defined only by himself. “Comparing yourself to those floundering in life, inferiority, and self-loathing / Starting today, aim your gun at these things,” he raps.

Across the 10-track project that blends hard-hitting drill beats, affecting R&B, and angsty emo rap, he unleashes philosophical verses that unpack his personal traumas, love and loss, the impossibilities of living under late capitalism and, as always, the hypocrisies of his haters — now with a wisdom that comes with self-knowledge. If 2016’s Agust D represents a SUGA who used rap as an outlet for his intense emotions, and 2020’s D-2 captured a version of him learning to accept himself despite uncertainty, then D-DAY is the sound of a musician who finally understands who he is, comfortably moving through life’s chaos and changes. 

Throughout D-DAY, SUGA reflects on the idea of “liberation,” rapping about his search for freedom from the structures of the world and his own anxious thoughts. Yet the album posits that music, and the emotional process of making it, might be a form of freedom in itself. On the single “Haegeum,” a Korean word for “lifting a ban” that is also the name of a Korean traditional string instrument, he makes incisive cultural commentary about digital overconsumption. “Everyone’s been blinded by envy and jealousy / Without realizing that they’re putting shackles on each other / Don’t get swept away by this tsunami of info,” he spits. But when he pleads for everyone to “get on” the track’s grimy drill beat in the hook, it’s as if he’s urging listeners to live in the present by losing themself in the raucous music.

SUGA also proposes liberating yourself from regrets of the past on “Amygdala,” a mournful rap song inspired by the part of your brain that stores fragmented memories of traumatic events. The verses see him making his most personal admissions yet, as he raps about the hardest parts of his life in a frantic string of visions: His mom’s heart surgery she underwent soon after he was born, the motorbike accident he endured as a teenage delivery worker, and “the call I got during work about dad’s liver cancer.” Yet making the song, and taking out those “unpleasant memories” to reorganize them again, facilitated the process of healing, he says in Road to D-DAY. “It’s part of the treatment to bring back bad memories from your past and learn to control those memories,” he explains in the film.

Growing up in Daegu, South Korea, SUGA taught himself how to rap and produce long before he dreamed of becoming a K-pop idol. As a teen, he would practice sampling by making beats from the instrumental scores of Ryuichi Sakamoto, the famed composer and Yellow Magic Orchestra member who died in March at the age of 71. D-DAY marks a full-circle moment for SUGA, who was able to meet and collaborate with his music hero on the album cut “Snooze,” which also features Korean indie rock singer Woosung of The Rose. 

Road to D-DAY captures SUGA and Sakamoto’s first meeting, in which they discuss their motivations for music-making and take turns playing each other Sakamoto’s “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” on the piano. The delicate piano chords of that classic song and Sakamoto’s string scoring style were SUGA’s inspirations while making “Snooze,” a moving trip-hop song that is dedicated to all the emerging artists who were inspired to create because of BTS, he tells Sakamoto in the documentary. “I wanted this song to give them some strength. ‘I know it’s hard, but it’ll be okay […] I’ll catch you if you’re afraid to fall,’” he explains. It’s a masterful example of SUGA’s ability to offer words of solace to his listeners, as he does on “Life Goes On,” BTS’ Billboard No. 1 hit song that he reinterprets into alternative hip-hop on D-DAY.

SUGA joined Big Hit Entertainment in 2010 under the belief that he wouldn’t have to learn complex choreography. Now, through his years in BTS, he’s become a well-rounded performer, able to pull off slick dance moves, unleash fiery raps, and also play some guitar, which he’s been learning in recent years. Though he’s the first BTS member to embark on a headlining solo tour, which will kick off April 26 in North America, before heading to Asia this summer, he’s humble almost to a fault when discussing his goals for the stage. “I am just a rapper,” he says. “I worried a lot about what’s the best way for me to express myself. But I am not that terrible at playing guitar, so if I showed that to people I thought maybe they would like it.” 

Ahead of the album and tour, SUGA spoke to Rolling Stone about collaborating with IU and j-hope, his production philosophy, and whether the Agust D moniker will live on. 

In the Road to D-DAY documentary, you said, “When I was working on this album, I wondered if it may be the last piece of work under the name Agust D.” Just to confirm, D-DAY is not your last album as Agust D? No. If you buy the album and look at the “thanks to” section in the liner notes, then you’ll know [the answer to that question]. And if I say it’s the last, then it has to really be the last. A lot of musicians will say they’re retiring and then they make another comeback — I definitely don’t want that to happen. It’s the last of the trilogy, not the last of Agust D. 

The stories that I have to tell as Agust D are heavier than those of SUGA, right? I don’t have much energy left in me to continue to tell those heavier stories, because I poured out my soul in this album. But after a couple of months, maybe I’ll have some more stories to tell as Agust D, or I can put stuff out as Yunki, or release things as SUGA. No one knows what’s possible in the future. 

So I can’t tell you that this is the last of Agust D. My next album could come out next year, in a decade, or right before I die. Maybe the company said that it would be the last? But this is not where I’m wrapping up. There was the Batman Dark Knight trilogy, but then Batman came back again [in a new movie]. It’s that kind of vibe.

You collaborated with IU again for “People Pt. 2,” after producing, and appearing on, her 2020 single “eight.” What do you admire about her as a collaborator and what kind of synergy do you have together? We needed to work on synchronizing [the personas of] Suga and Agust D, since from a marketing perspective, there was no reason for me to release this as Agust D. But because I have told stories about myself, Min Yunki, through the persona of Agust D, I now had to match it [with the brand of SUGA]. I put a lot of thought into which artist would be the best for this synchronization.

I could’ve included BTS members. Jung Kook actually recorded vocals as a guide for the demo. But If I did the track with Jung Kook, I didn’t want to give the impression of, “Oh, this is another BTS thing!” So I searched for an artist to feature. I already had collaborated with [IU] for “eight.” We already had synergy, and a lot of people loved that song because of our connection. Also, me and her have a good relationship. We are already friends and we are the same age. So I requested that she appear on my song. Because she’s such a busy person, I worried that she wouldn’t accept. Thankfully, she accepted without any hesitation. I’m pretty satisfied with “People Pt. 2.” 

For “HUH?,” featuring j-hope, did you give him any sort of direction on how to write his verse?I’ve been doing music for 17, 18 years, but when I’m working with someone else I never pressure them. The genre of that song is drill. I made it with Yijeong [HYBE songwriter-producer EL CAPITXN]. The beat is very difficult. j-hope told me that it was hard [to write on], but I was like, “Just do whatever you want. I’ll organize it all for you later!” 

It’s similar to when I was working with PSY, or on “eight,” or making music for commercials. When producing music for others, I would ask them: “What would you like? What kind of song do you want? What do you want me to write?” When someone’s writing a song for me, the same applies and I would tell them, “Do whatever you like” or “Write what you want.” When I first heard j-hope’s verse, I wanted to use it right away. I said, “Wow, you really said what you wanted to say, and it worked!” We just went with it without any edits.

Did you play the album for any of the other BTS members, and did they give you any feedback?The other members don’t really give me feedback. They do, but their feedback feels like, since the documentary film is with Disney(+), I will say it in terms of Disney, their feedback is Disney-like. Always positive. They just say something like, “Wow, the album is sick!” I can’t really feel certain that it’s objective, so I try to rely on external feedback. The members always tell me it’s good. If I show them something that’s not good, they won’t tell me it’s not good. [laughs] I always appreciate them though. They motivate me and give me courage.

For “Snooze,” you collaborated with Woosung of The Rose and Ryuichi Sakamoto, who recently passed away. How has Sakamoto inspired you as an artist and what was it like collaborating with him? This might be a little complicated, but there is this method of reversing samples, chopping and splicing which is commonly used among songwriters a lot. Some people would see this and ask, “Is this really composing?” And it actually is because all these samples are being taken from their original sources and then recorded again. For example, for “eight” with IU, I made the theme in the beginning by reversing and chopping a piece of audio. This process is very common in hip-hop — many hip-hop musicians have used, and are still using, this method. And, in order to do this, you need instrumental songs, songs without vocals that can be put into different structures. 

I needed to practice that kind of production through sampling, and I ended up using Sakamoto’s songs for practice. Even before I started producing, ever since I was young, I really admired his compositions, like “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” or the score from The Last Emperor. And I used these kinds of instrumental tracks to make my own beats when I was in seventh grade or something. So Sakamoto naturally was one of the legends that I dreamed of meeting, and when I expressed my interest in meeting him, he accepted without hesitation. 

I am very saddened by his passing. But when I met him, it was so nice. We didn’t meet musician to musician. It just felt like he was an adult, and I was a child. I really miss him. He was one of my role models. He gladly participated in my album, and the collaboration went so smoothly. We both worked happily on the song. 

Also, that song isn’t necessarily me telling just my own story. When people listen to the lyrics, they’ll probably see that. Not only is it about the artists who have come up after me [and BTS], but there’s also the many people around the world who have found solace in Sakamoto’s work.

The theme of the album is “liberation.” What does liberation mean to you? In the past, I knew what that theme meant, and I figured out my thoughts were already resolved in the process of recording it. There was this K-drama called My Liberation Notes [from 2022] that did really well. I had started working on the album three years ago — and then I noticed that it really matched thematically with the drama. I felt and hoped that people were looking for more stories, more discussion on this topic of “liberation.” 

Honestly, I didn’t write the song [“Haegeum”] because I was so obsessed with the concept of “liberation.” Haegeum is an instrument. But a while ago, I was playing this rhythm video game a lot. In the game, there’s these songs called “haegeum songs.” [Editor’s note: “Haegeum songs” are songs that you can only unlock in the game by reaching a certain stage.] That was originally the meaning of the song. So I wrote the hook to “Haegeum” about three years ago while I was working on “Daechwita.” Back then, I was composing many songs using traditional Korean instruments. Also yes, I made that beat for “Daechwita,” people seem to not know. 

Once I asked myself about what my definition of liberation is, I started unpacking that idea of liberation more [through my songs]. I think viewers will think it’s very fun and entertaining—considering the other kinds of promotions I’ve done. I have confidence. In the video, I’m just living very freely. [Laughs]

The “D” in Agust D stands for Daegu, your hometown. Since you’ve lived in Seoul for a while and traveled all around the world, what kind of place is Daegu to you now?  People will always ask me why there’s a space after Agust, and there’s a D. They say, “Is that a One Piece thing?” [Editor’s note: The protagonist of the One Piece manga is named Monkey D. Luffy.] Daegu is very important — of course, it’s my hometown. I feel very comfortable there. And you know, musicians have this pride about where they’re from. I go there pretty often. I go there for makchang [grilled chitterlings]. Also, my parents just like it a lot. It’s a dreamlike place. 

Source: Rolling Stone