Author: Daniel Peters

NME

Music industry executive and journalist Terry Tolkin – the man frequently credited with introducing the term “alternative music” into the music writing lexicon – has died at the age of 62.

On Friday (January 21), a representative for his family confirmed the news to Variety. The next day, musician Dean Wareham, founder of bands Galaxie 500 and Luna, revealed that Tolkin had been dealing with sepsis and organ failure. In 2015, Wareham had released early Luna demos to fundraise for Tolkin’s medical bills.

“His brother Daniel has been watching over him this week,” Wareham wrote in an Instagram post. “Terry has been through a lot in recent years, I honestly think he is now in a better place.”

He continued: “He was a key figure in my life, for Luna and many other musical artists he believed in. Maybe some of you know our ‘Chinatown’ song was about Terry. Will have more to say soon.”

As an A&R representative for Elektra Records from 1992-1996, Tolkin signed several independent bands to the major label, including Luna, Stereolab, Afghan Whigs, and Nada Surf.

However, it was as a journalist for publication Rockpool in 1979 that Tolkin is believed to have first made his mark – while describing the underground bands he covered, he’s believed to be the first to use the term “alternative music”.

Prior to his position in Elektra, Tolkin worked in A&R for independent label Touch & Go Records and founded his own label, No.6 Records, which was a subsidiary of Rough Trade, in 1989.

American indie rock band Superchunk paid tribute to Tolkin, tweeting that the figure “ushered a lot of great music into the world.” Mark Lanegan wrote that he “was a larger than life character” and someone with “great taste in music”. Read those tributes below:

The post Terry Tolkin, the music industry veteran believed to have coined the term “alternative music”, has died appeared first on NME.

NME

Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac has signed on to produce a new series titled 13 Songs for television network Fox.

• READ MORE: Why Fleetwood Mac’s ’70s pop hit ‘Dreams’ keeps resurfacing almost every decade

Deadline has reported that Fleetwood will serve as executive producer on the show, which follows a fictional veteran musician named Jasper Jones and his band, The Grift.

13 Songs sees Jones in his later years, where he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and given only a few months to live. Jones then seeks to reconnect with his band to produce 13 final songs before his death. No actors have been publicly attached to the project yet.

The show will be written by Will Reiser, who wrote the Joseph Gordon Levitt-starring 2011 dramedy 50/50.

Fleetwood’s role as executive producer will see him contribute “creative ideas” and music to 13 Songs.

Fleetwood is currently the only original founding member of Fleetwood Mac still in the band since its inception in 1967.

Last month, former member Lindsey Buckingham said that Fleetwood Mac as a band didn’t work “on paper”.

In an interview with Clash, Buckingham noted that upon his arrival in the band in 1974, he “realised that we were the kind of group who didn’t – on paper – belong in the same group together,” but added that “that was the very thing that made us so effective.”

Meanwhile, in July 2021, Fleetwood revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that he and Buckingham have re-connected after the latter’s ouster from the band in 2018.

The post Mick Fleetwood to produce TV series about an ageing rock star who faces terminal cancer appeared first on NME.

NME

Samsung has unveiled a new “smart” electric guitar called the ZamString, which is designed to make learning for beginners easier with the addition of an LED fretboard.

The ZamString is part of a guitar and app combo called the ZamStar, launched as part of Samsung’s C-Lab Inside projects for CES 2022 last week.

According to a CES report by New Atlas, the smartphone running the app can be wirelessly connected to the smart guitar – it can present tablature onscreen during learning sessions, as well as lighting up the fingerboard, guiding your fingers to the right positions. Watch a product video by Samsung here.

The guitar itself features a built-in collaboration tool that will allow users to play a riff. They will then be able to edit it with effects on the ZamStar app before sharing it with other users.

ZamStar is described as an “integrated smart guitar and online jamming platform” with collaborative jamming functions that are said to support up to four instruments – including vocals – at any one time. Additional tracks can be added in to give more layers to the jam session.

New Atlas also reports that Samsung has no plans to publicly launch the ZamStar and ZamString projects yet, as they remain internal research concepts for now.

The post Samsung is working on a “smart” electric guitar with a fretboard that lights up appeared first on NME.

NME

Samsung has unveiled a new “smart” electric guitar called the ZamString, which is designed to make learning for beginners easier with the addition of an LED fretboard.

The ZamString is part of a guitar and app combo called the ZamStar, launched as part of Samsung’s C-Lab Inside projects for CES 2022 last week.

According to a CES report by New Atlas, the smartphone running the app can be wirelessly connected to the smart guitar – it can present tablature onscreen during learning sessions, as well as lighting up the fingerboard, guiding your fingers to the right positions. Watch a product video by Samsung here.

The guitar itself features a built-in collaboration tool that will allow users to play a riff. They will then be able to edit it with effects on the ZamStar app before sharing it with other users.

ZamStar is described as an “integrated smart guitar and online jamming platform” with collaborative jamming functions that are said to support up to four instruments – including vocals – at any one time. Additional tracks can be added in to give more layers to the jam session.

New Atlas also reports that Samsung has no plans to publicly launch the ZamStar and ZamString projects yet, as they remain internal research concepts for now.

The post Samsung is working on a “smart” electric guitar with a fretboard that lights up appeared first on NME.