When it comes to music, smaller cities are hipper cities. JIM CARROLLon music
IF YOU were to ask a random bunch of music fans about the cities that are the most influential when it comes to musical trends, a majority would very likely vote for the likes of New York, San Francisco or London. They are, after all, the cities we all think of as taste-makers when it comes to new music.
But a pair of UCD researchers have come up with data to debunk such notions. Conrad Lee and Padraig Cunningham's paper on the geographic flow of cities used three years of data from Last.fmto try to identify which cities were the most consistent early adopters when it came to new music.
Atlanta, Chicago, Montreal and Pittsburgh are top of the pops in North America, with Montreal, Toronto, Los Angeles and Boston ahead of everyone else when it comes to new indie music. In Europe, it was Oslo and Stockholm for pop, while Paris the quickest to latch onto indie music trends.
Lee and Cunningham set out to test three hypotheses related to music and cities. They looked at how music preferences were closely related to nationality, language and geography, used “the leadership networks present in flocks of birds” to prove that some cities were consistent early adopters of new music, and disproved the notion that large cities tend to be ahead of smaller cities when it comes to such trends.
It’s telling that the leading cities are also thriving creative hubs for music themselves. From Atlanta’s hip-hop and r’n’b (including Outkast’s Andre 3000, due soon in Dublin to film his role as Jimi Hendrix in an upcoming biopic) to Montreal’s indie milieu, with everyone from Arcade Fire to Grimes, each city’s home scene is extremely vibrant.
When you’ve acts like that on your doorstep, it pays to shop local.
New music
NUDE BEACH
Punchy, anthemic, buzzy, bluecollar power-pop from the Brooklyn noise-makers currently touring with The Men. Check out new album II if you're looking for great sparkling, jangling bar-room tunes such as Radio to soundtrack your day. Nudebeach.bandcamp.com
WILDCAT! WILDCAT!
Further proof of the current health of the Los Angeles scene when it comes to new-school lush pop (see also The Neighbourhood, NO, Haim and KO KO), Wildcat! Wildcat! specialise in sunny-side-up grooves for a summer's day. Check out Mr Quiche or End of the World Everyday. Wildcatwildcat.bandcamp.com
FACTIONS
Dublin act with a hankering for widescreen moody rock with electro and ambient swirls in the wash, Factions release their debut EP Looms this month. Tunes such as Saturn and All the Way From Strange are likable snapshots from the five-piece band.
[ Factionsmusic.comOpens in new window ]
Now playing
Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique(Capitol) Playing loud all week in tribute to the late, great Adam "MCA" Yauch.
Ryat Totem(Brainfeeder) The New Jersey-raised, Philadelphia-schooled addition to the Flying Lotus cabal comes on strong with woozy, ethereal multi-dimensional sounds.
Last Days of 1984 Wake Up to the Waves(Osaka) One of OTR's favourite Irish acts deliver an impressive debut brimming with beautifully euphoric melodies and darling tunes that are made to make you dance.
Laurel Halo Quarantine(Hyperdub) Captivating sounds and riffs as Ina Cube exercises her inner Laurie Anderson on debut full-length album.
Nina Simone Baltimore(CTI) Recorded in Brussels in 1978, the diva takes on Randy Newman's tune and produces a standout moment.
For more see irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord
