Last month, we attended “New Identities,” a symposium on the 2016 musical landscape held by Red Bull and Native Instruments. The event’s line-up was filled with new Komplete product demos, a production breakdown by NI staff, and a panel including Nick Hook of Fool’s Gold, Majid Jordan of OVO and Miles Raymer of GQ which was moderated by Vivian Host of RBMA.  

The event began with a retrospective on electronic music by a guest speaker from Roland. He divulged that machines like the TR-808 and TB-303 were intentionally made for Gospel accompaniment and practice in the studio, and that “Japan never thought that they would be as popular as they turned out to be,” thus explaning the reason for the rare nature of each instrument.

The main panel of the night focused on “the new textures and soundscapes” that were covered in 2016. Topics included the resurgence of the Dancehall sound, Young Thug’s studio techniques, and stepping away from a song to perfect your mix.  We’re looking forward to what “textures” are uncovered in 2017.

Check out more photos from the event below.