The Music Behind the Mask

UK-born, SBTRKT (Subtract) is a producer and DJ who is blowing up in the states. The mysterious dude, said to be Aaron Jerome, refuses to reveal his identity, age or music background to press and fans. He even goes as far as wearing his tribal-style mask on and off stage, for private interviews, photo shoots and press conferences. After years of sharpening his craft, this self-taught producer experimented by combining sounds of 2-step, house, soul, techno and dubstep that blend with surging melodies and complex percussion. SBTRKT’s unique noise has recently begun commanding American music-lovers’ attention.   

In SPIN Magazine’s latest “Dance Issue”, SBTRKT told journalist, Marc Hogan, “SBTRKT is essentially about getting away from the idea that you have to talk about your music to show what it’s about.” He went further by saying, “For me, it was more about creating music and letting it work on its own merits- not having to go out and say, ‘I am the person behind this, this is where I was born, and this is why I make what I do.’”

He isn’t going unnoticed, that’s for sure, with such fans and collaborations as Radiohead, Drake and Mark Ronson. Similar to the eclectic and electric sound of fellow UK-born singer-songwriter James Blake, SBTRKT’s album presents the soft, soulful sound of U.K. singer, Sampha, who also joins the masked man live on stage.

SBTRKT will be headlining a US tour this month and will be performing live in Boston at ROYALE on Wednesday, November 2^nd, 2011. For tickets: http://www.boweryboston.com/event/57607/

RECLAIM YOUR TV

KarmaloopTV has been promoting their up and coming TV Network for the past few months.
Karmaloop has signed famous rapper, singer, record producer and fashion designer, Pharrell Williams as
creative director.

Marketing strategies focus mainly on social networking, primarily Twitter and Facebook.
The hashtag, #RECLAIMYOURTV has become a Tweeting trend and has spread throughout the US as well as many other countries. Karmaloop, the world's largest online urban street wear retailer has close to 60,000 followers on Twitter, which has helped the TV network gain attention. KarmaloopTV has about 7,000 followers and plans to have over 20,000 by the time the cable network launches in January of 2012.

Their slogan, "Reclaim Your TV" is a call to action to America's youth, to move on from today's current
television trends. These trends include the numerous dim-witted reality shows that have taken over our televisions in the past decade, such as teenage pregnancy and wealthy, insane housewife reality shows. KarmaloopTV plans on highlighting only the hippest, up and coming music, fashion and entertainment trends, as well as television shows that are different, witty, entertaining and what creative director Pharrell Williams says, will finally, "Give America's youth a voice."

Currently, KTV has been holding a contest for a prize of $2,500. Contestants must submit videos of themselves explaining why they want to "Reclaim their TV". Anyone can vote for the hundreds of videos that have been submitted online and the person with the highest votes wins. This contest has been one of many of KTV's different marketing strategies spread through social networking. KARMALOOP.COM recently held a contest that is still going on, where contestants must submit pictures of themselves to be flown out to model for the retail website, and win a large gift certificate to the the website.

Karmaloop is gaining a much larger following than ever before. Their main, online retailer is the only place to find underground brands, much of which are exclusive to Karmaloop. The company, which is the fastest growing company in Boston at the moment, is also opening a high-end men's clothing store beneath their online headquarters on Boylston Street. "Boylston Trading Company" will serve Boston's stylish men, who don't mind spending a large sum on well designed and made clothing. There will also be a bar inside the store, a feature that will set them apart from other Boston retailers and keep them up with the competitive trends of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.