Originally Published in the Metro Times
Two of the hottest names in modern media technology – Antelope Audio and GoPro personal video cameras – will join forces to offer a peek at the future of live music Friday night (Nov. 21) at a free concert in Troy.
“Nadir’s Electric Lounge: A Multimedia Funk Experience,” a Detroit R&B extravaganza starring bass guitar virtuoso, producer and 13-time Detroit Music Award winner Nadir Omowale, rolls out at 8 p.m. at NextWave Media Lab, 950 Stephenson Highway.
In addition to Nadir’s eight-piece ensemble, the show will feature guest appearances by emerging rocker Steffanie Christi’an and soul exciter Michael Turner. The Detroit rock emcee Volcano will host, and DJ Ray 7 of Underground Resistance will fill in the sonic gaps. Nadir and his band were invited to be the subjects of this showcase after executives at Antelope Audio were introduced to his high-energy performing style. “We’ve been visiting major tours that use our products over the past couple years, such as Jay Z, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna, and we document this with a video series called Hanging Out,” explains Marcel James, Antelope’s director of sales and marketing. “We teamed up with GoPro to create original content with some of the incredible new talent out there, using our products to show the high level of recording that’s now possible with a small footprint of equipment. We’re excited to showcase artists like Nadir in the process.”
The concert will promote Antelope Audio’s Zen Studio Portable Audio Interface, a mobile recording system that easily can fit inside a backpack. Zen Studio is designed to meet the needs of music producers, engineers, indie bands or musicians looking for greater sound quality and flexibility in recording. Meanwhile, GoPro, one of the nation’s most talked-about companies for its miniature cameras that buyers are strapping to their handlebars, helmets and pets, will have crew members attaching cameras to band members, their instruments and any other unusual locations they can find to create a one-of-a-kind video experience.
Nadir says his Electric Lounge will include “dancing girls, magnetic rhythms and live Detroit funk, rock and soul. The vibe is part science fiction, part blaxploitation. Think Super Fly meets The Matrix, in IMAX.”
Written for the Metro Times by Jim McFarlin