Oliver Wang
Oliver Wang is an culture writer, scholar, and DJ based in Los Angeles. He's the author of Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews of the San Francisco Bay Areaand a professor of sociology at CSU-Long Beach. He's the creator of the audioblog soul-sides.com and co-host of the album appreciation podcast, Heat Rocks.
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Maybe this is all part of some performance-art piece we've been unwittingly sucked into. But either way, it seems to be working. -
What began as little more than a glorified metronome has worked its way into bedroom studios and state-of-the-art recording facilities alike. A new book chronicles the history and influence of the drum machine in all its wood- and plastic-paneled glory. -
The musician born Marcos Garcia was known for years as a member of the Afrobeat ensemble Antibalas — but one day, he began tinkering with his daughter's Casio keyboard. -
New York's Charles Bradley and London's James Hunter Six both mix inspiration and replication. -
A 1970s explosion in affordable music gear, particularly synthesizers and drum machines, yielded fascinating experiments by amateur artists. A new compilation collects electronic soul gems from that era.
