Interview with Simon: My Social Jukebox

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1. Hey Simon! Can you present yourself? Where are you from and what do you do?


My name is Simon, I’m 21 years old. I have a license in Media planning, and I work at a web agency in Bordeaux. I’ve been interested in digital for a few years now, working with numbers and everything that entails. I’m also a passionate music lover. I avow to have no knowledge of making music, but I love listening to it and I appreciate the incredible performances of certain artists. It gives the rhythm to my life, my days, my emotions, and my desires. 

2. Where did the idea to create a site dedicated to sharing music come from?

At the beginning it was to test tumblr as a platform. It was during the period of my life when I went around testing different web services to see how they worked. What I understood about tumblr was that it is an artistic goldmine! 

I have a friend who always recommended tons of new tracks to discover, and so I didn’t miss the opportunity. I joined the community and launched my blog to share my favorite songs. 

I definitely don’t pretend to have tons of traffic, but I find it cool to develop this little concept, and create a sort of identity. It’s purely for pleasure, a moment of pause in the day. 

It is also, and most importantly, a way to keep all of the music that I’ve discovered over time in one place, and to let my friends listen to it easily in one place. 

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3. Where do you find the music that you share on My Social Jukebox?


I have a very big musical library and the speakers are always on at my place! Moreover, I make random selections on my iPod to continuously discover new songs when I’m moving around. 

Then, it’s really with my friends that I make the best discoveries. We generally have the same taste and I always try to note the name of a track that I liked. When I have the chance I go to concerts and festivals. 

Finally there is the web, tumblr, Vimeo, Soundcloud, etc and the serendipity on YouTube! A little known term for something that everyone does: randomly click on the links of videos to discover a sound or an artist is simply perfect!

My musical “coups de coeur” I share on my blog. 

4. Who should listen to the music on MSJ?

Everyone! The selections are normally eclectic: jazz, classical, hip hop, etc. I try to keep it as open as possible, but I have to say that my taste in music tips towards electronic, if it’s minimal, techno, house, electro, etc. That’s what you find very often on the blog, electronic influences! 

Thanks Simon! Make sure you take a listen to My Social Jukebox, like their Facebook page, and — as always — subscribe to him on Whyd! 

2nd July 2013

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The Finalists of the Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest Announced!

We’ve been bringing you updates continuously over the past two weeks, and we told you about some of people’s top selections. You listened, and you voted. But now the voting is closed, and it is time to announce the three finalists of the Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest

In no particular order: 

These playlists will now be examined by our international panel of expert judges. The winner will be announced on Friday, July 5! 

Thanks to everyone who participated, who listened, and who voted!

1st July 2013

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Track of the Weekend #46: Arctic Monkeys - “Do I Wanna Know?”

The month of June is almost to a close, and the rapid development of Whyd is taking place under a grey sky that continues to pulse small amounts of drizzle like a dick that you think is done peeing but nope, nope, it’s not quite done yet. 

So it fits well that this week’s Track of the Weekend is the trudging beat and raspy vocals of the indie band Arctic Monkeys. “Do I Wanna Know" crawls up and down until it lodges itself firmly in the back of your head, like the final breathes of a deer hit by a car, whose ribcage rises erratically as it waits to pass to the other side. Heavy. 

Thanks Julien for bringing us all down with this delightfully depressing tune. 

28th June 2013

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Benin City Drops Their New Album on Whyd!

We had the pleasure of interviewing Benin City, the electro brass group from London, a few weeks ago. We told you they were doing interesting and unique things. If you didn’t believe us, here is the proof, “Fires In The Park Stream" is out now, give it a good listen and just try to draw a conformist conclusion about it, we dare you! 

27th June 2013

Here We Go, Let’s Take The Train and Celebrate Summer at Eurocks!

BY: LAURÈNE STURM
@laurenesturm

Have you ever heard of Les Eurocks? And why not? Les Eurockéennes de Belfort is the largest festival in the east of France, and it’s probably older than you are, because this year they will be blowing out 25 candles! 


C2C in 2012

The Pixies, Muse, The Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, Metallica, Vitalix, Paul Kalkbrenner, Asian Dumb Foundation, M, Daft Punk, C2C, Justice, Yuksek just to name a few of the names that will grace the four stages on Malsaucy Lake.

Four stages, four days, 35,000 people, 74 concerts, 20 pints of beer, a remarkable acoustic, a nice community, and weather that every year adds a bit of spice. Laughs, mud, dust, slams, slips, sun burns, beach: all of the festival goers keep a special place in their hearts for Les Eurocks. And that’s totally normal, it is THE festival of the summer and the rendezvous point for music lovers like Marie, Jean Paul Tarte, and me, who haven’t missed a year since 2004.

Anyway, we invited you to join us, and to wet your appetite, here is a little playlist featuring this year’s line up. I couldn’t resist, I added some headliners, but I tried to mix it up. Because for music lovers, you already know the character of a festival, it’s to come for the groups that we love, and then stay glued to the stage in front of a guy that up until this point was unknown, but not anymore. 

You’ll see that the famous, colorful line up carries the essence of the festival, rock, but it also gives space to electro, metal, and touches on pop and rap. So, come, we’ll go drink a bucket at the bar on the beach between July 4 and 7. 

For all of the information and the complete line up, click here

26th June 2013

2001: A Like Odyssey

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Exciting times here at Whyd as always but a quick pause in between updates for the DYLTS playlist contest and the interviews of our awesome community to mark a little milestone: we’ve now passed 2,000 likes on Facebook, and you know what? It feels really, really good. 

So, a HUGE thank you to everyone for supporting us, for adding tracks, for sharing great music, and for sticking with us as we develop this little platform into the dream we’ve had all along. And if you haven’t liked us yet on Facebook, show us some love! 

Never stop jamming! 

25th June 2013

Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest Enters Second Week

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The fête de la musique came and went with a heavy amount of music, street dancing, and partying. At one point we saw our favorite crazy-ass Tusbar, and then promptly witnessed him trying to scale a barrier into a construction site. But a powerful combination of common sense and gravity (mostly gravity) kept him safely in the street.

Of course, the night would not have been complete without the revelers taking advantage of the cover of chaos to sneak a forced look around the inside of Adrien's car after his post-rock group Man Is Not A Bird's concert in the northern French city of Lille. 

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But here at Whyd, everyday is a fête de la musique, we don’t need an excuse to jam! We never stop! 

So, with the Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest entering its second week, we’ve had the pleasure of listening to some incredible playlists and some really interesting tracks. And, since the DYLTS team made it interesting with the “If I had to pick only ONE song” category, we see how people’s taste in music really comes through (click their names to see their playlists). Here’s a sampling of some music lovers’ favorite songs:

Benjy Larcher: Coldplay - “The Scientist”

Clément P.: Noir & Haze - “Around” [Solomun Vox Mix]

Music and other shit: Daft Punk - “Around the World”

Disco Jelly: Donna Summer - “I Feel Love”

And a special shout out to best commentary on a track so far. It’s also from Music and other shit and refers to his selection of Kid Cudi - “Pursuit of Happiness” (Steve Aoki Remix) for the Partying at 5AM track: “Blablabla , I know fucking mainstream ‘n’ shit but come on , its 5 AM you are drunk as hell , You just want to party one or two last hours. THATS the song i want to hear in this moment.. ”

You can see the full list of participating playlists here under the playlist tab. And make your entry today and start sharing, still plenty of time to claim the prize! 

24th June 2013

Track of the Weekend #45: Gesaffelstein - “Pursuit”

It’s the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the beginning of what is supposed to be two nice months here in Northern Europe. It is also, according to French tradition, La Fête De La Musique, which sees concerts, performances, and epic partying across every city in the country. 

In Paris, the afternoon streets are stuffed with partiers dancing along to pulsating beats blasting from apartment windows, storefronts, and impromptu gatherings. After 20hr00 things start to get a little sloppy, stumblers start to fall, garbage bags are already overflowing with the remains of the day. The occasional flying beer bottle must be dodged. Then, after midnight, if you find yourself without a party, venturing down the street can be a perilous adventure, with the wild packs of drunken suburban Parisians brainlessly trashing their self-acclaimed “most beautiful city in the world.”

The Track of the Weekend this week is the soundtrack to that moment, as you try to just get home, drunk yourself but saner than the collective insobriety allows, thinking simultaneously “what could be better than a fête de musique?” yet also “what could be worse than this fête de musique?” "Pursuit" by Gesaffelstein has awakened the runner in us all. Thanks to Aline for bringing it to our attention! 

21st June 2013

Interview with Hélène: Digital Wizard at Sony France

1. Hi Hélène can you tell us about yourself? When did you start working in the music business?

Hi Whyd, I am the head of digital marketing for Sony Music France and basically I am a music addict! I started working in the music business quite a long time ago now, in the so-called golden years. I have worked for various labels, both indies and major companies, first as a product manager for local acts then still as a marketer but on the catalogue and as the market changed I have shifted to digital topics such as social media, webmarketing, websites & apps, etc.

 

2. What is your favorite part of your job today?

I guess what I like the most is the essence of my job: using the new technologies and the new media to help developing new artists. Very exciting as of course the marketing, the tech and the ways people listen to the music keep evolving – what is trendy today could be gone forever tomorrow.

 

3. In your opinion, what has been the most exciting trend in music recently?

From a business / marketing perspective I like the idea that due to streaming services people can now listen to much more music than ever before in a legal way and may discover some artists they’d never had the curiosity to listen to if they’d had to buy the record.

And even if it is not a trend but a single move I have really liked the way David Bowie released his latest album: a very discrete way without any interviews, almost nothing else than the music and a strong image. I think this is really clever in a time when we are overwhelmed with teasers, ads, tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram pics, etc. Of course it can only work if you are as famous and iconic as Bowie but it also reminds us that when the music is good it doesn’t need anything else.

And for the artistic side, I am waiting for a new big rock’n’roll act and especially a French one. We had Bérurier Noir, then Noir Désir and No One Is Innocent. Today there are plenty of great pop, hip-hop, electronic, new wave or folk acts but I miss the electricity, the craziness and the commitment of a punk or a rock band!

4. Which artists from Sony are you most excited about for 2013?

I just fell in love with the debut album by The Aikiu, a very promising French act that reminds me of Talking Heads. Their album is called Ghost Youth, go and listen to it! and  Lots of expectations too about Griefjoy, another young French band, the new MGMT album,Owlle’s debut album, the new Julien Doré record, and the second part of Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience.

 

5. Can you tell us how you use Whyd and how do you see Sony increasing their use of social platform like Whyd? 

We create genre playlists on Whyd and we update them on a weekly basis in order to keep them fresh. We share them via our Twitter and Facebook accounts. As the interface is really clear and easy to use, Whyd is a great place to share the music of our artists and hopefully help people discover new bands and new acts. Social platforms like Whyd are a very powerful communication channel today that helps us in reaching different communities and also learning what they like and what is the best way to interact with them.

Thanks Hélène! Make sure you subscribe to Sony France on Whyd to hear the coolest of their new music! 

20th June 2013

Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest: The All-Star Jury

They will have final say.  

The Do You Like That Song? Playlist Contest is in full swing on Whyd, and the quality of the tracks that these playlists are comprised of is just pure brilliance. It’s going to be very hard to choose a winner, but fortunately we have brought together an official jury of judges from around the world who will each vote for their favorite from the finalists. So who are these people? Let’s take a closer look (they may or may not accept bribes)

19th June 2013

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