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Blacklist Artists Animate Rdio’s 'New Music Weekly' Series

Rdio launches New Music Weekly, a campaign to bring together independent art and music, which kicks off with videos by Blacklist artists Holbrooks and Tendril.

San Francisco, CA -- Rdio has announced the launch of its New Music Weekly series, a cutting-edge campaign bringing together the best in independent art and music with a series of original video pieces from visual artists around the world inspired by new music.

Opening doors to discovery of new talent in both fields, the campaign will deliver a new 15-second motion art video each Tuesday for 52 weeks that pairs an innovative visual artist with a buzz-worthy track from a new album release. Blacklist artists Holbrooks and Tendril are among the first artists included in the series, taking inspiration from highly anticipated upcoming music from Gogol Bordello and Michael Franti.

“Discovery has always been core to the Rdio experience and we are continually exploring new ways to guide our listeners to new music,” says Shana Fong, Marketing & PR Manager for Rdio. “Art and music have always been intertwined as creative avenues for expression. Rdio’s New Music Weekly series is a fresh and engaging way to be introduced to independent musicians while simultaneously being exposed to tremendously talented visual artists.”

Music fans at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival received a preview of the new campaign with the first video piece from Bernstein & Andriulli’s UK-based design boutique I Love Dust inspired by the noise pop sound of Chicago band Guantlet Hair’s track “Human Nature”. The New Music Weekly series kicked into full swing on Tuesday, July 23 with an animation from Blacklist’s directing duo Holbrooks (NYC, Budapest) influenced by “Lost Innocent World” from New York Gypsy punk outfit Gogol Bordello’s new album Pura Vida Conspiracy. Rdio has chosen their first partner curator: Blacklist and their artists including Tendril (Toronto), Upper First (Sweden) and Wizz (Paris) for additional pieces during the rollout of the series.

“We are honored to be a part of this truly innovative campaign,” says Andrew Linsk, executive producer at Blacklist. "Rdio's New Music Weekly series gives our directors and artists the freedom to express themselves without being burdened by strict marketing objectives, evoking the creative ethos at the heart of our company. What Rdio is doing in curating exciting new music is very much like what we do, tapping the talents of the most compelling visual artists working today. In short, there’s a curatorial synergy.”

Rdio will continue to work with a range of independent visual artists as new pieces are unveiled throughout the 52-week span, including more work from Blacklist artists and additional curatorial partners and companies. The conceptions from Rdio’s New Music Weekly series will appear in a variety of channels, from digital banners to large-screen placements at live music festivals, and will lead viewers back to the Rdio new release section each week to check out more music from the featured musician, along with fresh album releases from additional artists in a wide range of genres.

Source: Rdio

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.