The second annual IMS Engage, the day-long dance music conference located in LA, was held about two weeks ago on April 16th in the W Hollywood Hotel. The conference is a spinoff of Pete Tong\’s International Music Summit that marks the opening of the club season each year in Ibiza and is meant to stimulate conversation and fruitful debate about the growing influence of electronic music. With artists ranging from Hans Zimmer to Moby to Diddy, the day was filled with conversations between pairs of leaders from all aspects of the industry including finance, media, music, and technology. Below are a few videos recapping the conference, full length videos of three of the five conversations, and the written summaries of each conversation. Check them out and see what some of the head figures of the industry have to say.
(The following summaries are taken from the IMS Engage website)
Pete Tong \’in conversation\’ with Giorgio Moroder
Record Producer Giorgio Moroder commented that being a DJ is now not what it was like 20 years ago. He touched on his work in the early 60\’s include his projects with Donna Summer and the acclaimed song \”Love to Love You Baby.\” He commented that in order to get Summer to make the gyrating moans for the track he had to ask everyone in the studio to leave and record in the dark because she was nervous and reserved. He said that he likes to think that he was the inspiration for her performance in the song.
Moby \’in conversation\’ with David Lynch
Moby asked David Lynch a series of interesting non-musical questions, which included: \”What\’s your favorite birthday meal?\” and \”Have you ever grown maggots successfully?\” Through the various fun and self-described awkward questions we learn that David Lynch is a spiritual man who loves meditation and believes that people have many lives. The sunlight in Los Angeles makes Lynch happy and free and Paris is his favorite city. When the conversation turned to music, the audience learned that he wants to work on a blues album and loves Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimmy Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Ronettes and Neil Young. Although the majority of the conversation was about David Lynch, Moby was quite candid about his past drug use, homelessness and love of the show “Twin Peaks.”
Sean \’Diddy\’ Combs \’in conversation\’ with Guy Gerber
The Sean \’Diddy\’ Combs and Guy Gerber conversation was completely music focused. These two music pioneers have recently collaborated on a new album called 11:11. When an audience member asked about the release date, both joked and skirted around the subject suggesting it may come out in July. During the session we learn that Diddy is a huge fan of EDM and he joked about Avicii \”doing it bigger than him\” and that he\’s never tried having a ferris wheel at his concerts. He also believes that any underground genre keeps music alive. During the guest Q&A portion of the conversation, one fan stood up and expressed that Diddy was an inspiration in his life and really made an impact. It was a touching moment with Diddy coming off-stage and asking him for a hug. The heartfelt moment had the crowd cheering.
Hans Zimmer \’in conversation\’ with Junkie XL
In the final pairing of the evening, Hans and Junkie both discussed how important it is to incorporate many instruments in EDM including guitars, orchestras and pianos. Hans was concerned he was coming off too \”geeky\” during the conversation, discussing how open film music is becoming and the importance of orchestra and electronic music collaborations. The audience learned that the score to Black Hawk Down was finished and incorporated a few hours prior to the premiere and then changed shortly after.
Steve Aoki \’in conversation\’ with Chad Hurley
During the Steve Aoki and Chad Hurley conversation, the audience learned that Aoki is a fan of social media, saying that: \”Twitter is a tool and Instagram is a destination.\” Chad Hurley was incredibly open about his business ventures mentioning that he sold YouTube to Google for 1.78 billion. He commented that music sharing and social media has really catapulted EDM and helped share musical messages worldwide.
