Zoo Labs Announces Bells Atlas & Electrospit as July 2014 Music Residents

Oakland, CA (PRWEB) June 19, 2014

Zoo Labs is pleased to announce its July 2014 Zoo Labs Music Residency (ZLMR), an innovative 2-week program that immerses creative teams in a state-of-the-art recording studio and workshop environment. Selected via a competitive application process, Bells Atlas (http://www.bellsatlas.com/) and Bosko Kante’s Electrospit (http://boskolive.com/) will live at Zoo Labs from July 6-19, record new work, and participate in a design-thinking curriculum in order to bring their creative minds to building their own unique business models.

“This is the first time that we’re working with two teams at once,” says Zoo Labs co-founder and Program Director Anna Acquistapace. “It’s going to be an amazing opportunity for exchanging ideas and building new connections.”

Upon arrival, Bells Atlas and Electrospit will move into Zoo Labs’ on-site housing, meet their co-residents and the Zoo Labs team. After an introduction to the design-thinking world with a rapid prototyping exercise, residents will settle into state-of-the-art recording studios, to which they will have full access during their residency. Every day will feature guest mentors leading workshops in the mornings on topics such as experience design, understanding fans and building an audience, managing team dynamics, and futures thinking. From early afternoon until midnight, the resident teams will go into studio to create new work with an audio engineer. Past and current Zoo Labs guest mentors include Raffi Minasian, Linda Yaven, Johnny Hwin, Steve Diller, Marina Gorbis, and Brandt Williams, and guest engineers have included Brad Dollar and Damien Lewis. Community dinners with music and technology leaders and excursions into Oakland round out residents’ days.

At the end of their two weeks, each team will share their musical creations and their newly developed strategic goals to a panel of Zoo Labs staff and mentors. At 8 p.m. on July 18, the doors of Zoo Labs will open to the public for a celebration and live performance by the residents. Admission is free, but an RSVP via Eventbrite is required for entry.

In September, Zoo Labs will host Brooklyn’s Mad Satta and Los Angeles’ Wages for a co-residency. Applications for the November 2014 residency are open until July 14 at http://www.zoolabs.org.

About Bells Atlas
Bells Atlas emerges from the vibrant cultural and musical backdrop of Oakland. Blending heavy percussion, soulful vocal harmonies, and thoughtful arrangements, this dynamic group captures the spirit of an eclectic range of influences, including highlife, hip-hop, samba, R&B and indie pop. Bells Atlas is Sandra Lawson-Ndu, Geneva Harrison, Derek Barber, and Doug Stuart.

About Electrospit
Electrospit, also hailing from Oakland, features Bosko Kante, whose work with the Talkbox has been featured on records by Big Boi, E-40, and Kanye West. The Electrospit team, which also includes Maya Green, Pete Miser, and Lance Coleman, will be prototyping a mobile TalkBox device during their residency and recording new work.

Update on Past ZLMRs
The Boston Boys, fresh off a tour to Colombia, have just released Idea of Love, an EP of material recorded during their October 2013 ZLMR. The Boston Boys were also featured artists in American Music Abroad, a US State Department initiative. Following their March 2014 ZLMR, Oakland’s Halcyonaire premiered Urban Arson, a track from their upcoming EP, on The Bay Bridged in April, and toured the Southwest. Halcyonaire has also partnered with Alite camping equipment.

Calendar Editors Please Note:

Who: Bells Atlas and Electrospit
What: July 2014 Zoo Labs Music Residency Release Party, featuring live performances from Bells Atlas and Electrospit
When: July 18, 2014 at 8 pm
Where: Zoo Labs, 1035 7th Street, Oakland, CA
Tickets: Admission is free, but an RSVP is required via Eventbrite, online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zoo-labs-presents-bells-atlas-and-electrospit-tickets-11863186109.

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