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Henrik Schwarz
09 October 2008 02:03:13
Henrik Schwarz

Henrik Schwarz's star has slowly been rising. Over the last five years Schwarz has gone from relative obscurity, to a point where his unique laptop performances have won him fans outside traditional dance circles. With all things German in vogue and the elegant strains of deep house emerging as the answer to the electro/nu wave clutter, Schwarz's sound is in high demand. Pulse took the opportunity to chat with the softly - spoken producer about his album Live, becoming a Dad and Sunday Music.

Pulse Radio: Did you ever consider any other careers, other than music?

Henrik Schwarz: Oh yes many. Music has always just been a hobby. I wanted to be a designer first fashion and then graphic design. I studied graphic design and have worked in this field many years now. Music has become stronger and stronger over the years.

PR: What was your original vision for making music when you started?

HS: Well when I started I didn't really have a vision. However there was a very strong driving force from inside that made me go on. Today, I have the feeling that music can help understand the complexity of the world around us on a very abstract level. I don't have to understand the music that I do or the music that I listen to as long as it helps me understand other things.

PR: What's it like being the 'next big thing'?

HS: Is it so? Lets see what the future brings.

PR: Live is a reflection of your diverse musical tastes and heroes. So what are your reflections on the album?

HS: I wanted to capture the special energies and moments that sometimes happen in a club. When the music, the audience and the DJ are in perfect sync and it feels unique in a way. I believe that if you record live you can capture this special energy in between the lines and record it on CD. I wanted to bring the energy from many clubs around the world into one recording. I am hoping that other people also get the same feeling when they hear the CD.

PR: What was it like recording Live? Did it all work well when you got back into the studio?

HS: Yes much better than expected. I mean I had all these recordings from the different clubs and cities that I wanted to melt into one thing. I was fearing that it could have lost the live atmosphere if I did too much editing in the studio, but it worked pretty well.

PR: Your label is named Sunday Music, what about the six other days?

HS: No time to make music. This is how it started: When I began, music was just a hobby and I didn't have time to make music except Sundays because I was working as a graphic designer during the week. Today it has changed, but that's where the name comes from.

PR: What releases can we expect to see from Sunday Music?

HS: The next one will be Jazzbook #2 in different versions. It's the last track on the Live CD and people were asking if this would be available on vinyl too. So yes, it's on the way. For the future I am trying to sharpen the profile a bit more towards special releases with a unique attitude. Jazzbook #2 is already a step into this direction.

PR: What's the Chicago Ensemble Project?

HS: It's called the Deeper Soul Orchestra. It's a collaboration project between Chicago based label boss Josh Deep from Deeper Soul, the Jazz band Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, IG Culture from London and myself. We have played together on stage and also went to the studio in Chicago to experiment with live jazz and computer music. The results are great and an album is in the works.

PR: What is coming up for you?

HS: I am working on an album for myself, doing a mix compilation with Âme and Dixon, doing the Deeper Soul Orchestra and the Innervisions Orchestra, a few remixes are on the way, new releases on Sunday Music, etc. Quite a lot of things on the table at the moment.

PR: Any other big interests, outside of music?

HS: My newly born twins of course! And I love cooking.

Live is out now through Inertia

Megan Branigan

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20/11/08  Journey Southward: Sirius Shares Hit 20 Cents

When is a stock officially a dog?  On Monday, shares of Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) hit a bottom-scraping 20 cents, an all-time low for the company.  The depressed valuation comes alongside a string of fundamental problems, including a massive $4.8 billion write-off and future loan obligations crossing into the billions.

Others continued to limp on Wall Street.  The broader Dow improved 151.17 points, or 1.83 percent, to land at 8,424.75 after a late-stage bounce.  During the day, traders digested news of falling wholesale prices, a sign that inflation is not a near-term threat; and a surprisingly positive forecast by Hewlett-Packard.  Elsewhere, American automakers made their case for a bailout in Congress, and investors adjusted for a deeper recession.

That created a volatile day, one that see-sawed music-related shares.  Apple (AAPL) inched upward 2.01 percent to $89.91; Live Nation (LYV) dropped 4.06 percent to $4.73; Ticketmaster (TKTM) gained 3.93 percent to $6.08; Warner Music Group (WMG) jumped 10.83 percent to $2.66; and The Orchard dropped 12.99 percent to $2.21.
20/11/08 Cuban Bites Back Against SEC Charges...
20/11/08 Cuban Bites Back Against SEC Charges...

In the face of a Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) insider trading investigation, most would assume a low-key demeanor.  But brash billionaire Mark Cuban is pursuing a more confrontational route, one that uses the pulpit of the blog.

The SEC recently filed suit against the broadcast.com founder, alleging that Cuban illegally dumped shares in Canadian search engine Mamma.com after acquiring confidential information related to an upcoming dilution.

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20/11/08 French Labels Suing Limewire, Morpheus, Others
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The lawsuits are being delivered under the DADVSI copyright law.  An amendment to DADVSI prohibits any company from distributing software that facilitates the illegal transfer of content, and penalties ramp towards three years in jail and a 300,000 euro fine ($378,780).  That contrasts with the United States, where copyright holders can only pursue application developers for overtly encouraging and driving profits from copyrighted content.

Earlier, French courts were grappling over issues of jurisdiction, specifically whether a foreign company could be sued for distributing applications that are inherently global.  That placed previous lawsuits on hold, though courts have now authorized the actions.
20/11/08 Mexican Tycoon Grabbing Major Circuit City Stake
20/11/08 Mexican Tycoon Grabbing Major Circuit City Stake

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego is now purchasing a large percentage of Circuit City shares, according to recent regulatory filings.  Pliego grabbed allotments of 5.3 million, 5.2 million, and 19.8 million shares starting last week, on top of an existing stronghold of 16.8 million.  That makes Pliego the largest shareholder of Circuit City, at roughly 28 percent.

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17/11/08 Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind: More Rockiness Awaits
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That includes Warner Music Group (WMG), a company that bottomed an all-time low of $2.74 last week, only to resuscitate to $2.77 by Friday.  Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) also tested the trough by landing at 26 cents at the end of the week, a depressed valuation that betrays a host of serious ills.  

Those companies have fundamental issues, though broader headwinds remain unfriendly.  On Friday, the Dow shed 337.94 points to 8.497.31, a 3.82 percent drop on Friday.  Overall, the Dow dropped 4.2 percent on the week, based on a bearish mix of bad earnings, layoffs, tightening consumer confidence, and pending meltdowns of mega-corporations like GM.

Other music-related stocks felt the pressure.  Live Nation (LYV) landed at $5.50, a 36.6 percent drop on the week, based on negative analyst projections related to concert attendance.  Irving Azoff-helmed Ticketmaster Entertainment (TKTM) also ended sharply down, dropping 24.7 percent to $5.87.  The Orchard edged downward 1.9 percent, landing at $2.54; and Apple (AAPL) slipped 5 percent to $90.24.
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