Janelle Monáe is a Kansas City, Kansas native who moved to Atlanta, GA to pursue a career in music. Here she met OutKast''s Big Boi and made a couple of appearances on Idlewild. Her first solo album, Metropolis, was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites," which were to be released only through her website and mp3 download sites. These plans altered when Bad Boy Records gave an official and material release to Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) in 2008. The album garnered Monáe a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her song "Many Moons," festival appearances and opening slots for Of Montreal and No Doubt. In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her upcoming album, The Arch Android. The second and third suites of "Metropolis" will be combined into this full-length release, in which Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite—will become a messiah-esque figure to the android community of Metropolis.
The Pop Conference at EMP|SFM, originating in 2002, joins academics, critics, performers, and dedicated fans in a rare common discussion. The conference is sponsored by the American Music Partnership of Seattle (AMPS), a collaboration between Experience Music Project, KEXP 90.3 FM, and the University of Washington. AMPS is funded by a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and administered by the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington.
The ninth annual Pop Conference revolves around stories of sounds and the machines that make them. From the player piano to Autotune software (both topics here), pop's contraptions have constantly reshaped musical history.
