Wednesday (Mercredi) July (Juillet) 29, 2026
Remembering Kavinsky, a JUL Controversy in Marseille, and This Week in Music
Aspiring member, La French Tech San Francisco 🇫🇷 — a bittersweet week for electronic music
Wednesday, July 29, 2026 · Mercredi 29 Juillet 2026
🚀 Still Excited About French Tech Nova
I remain genuinely excited about French Tech Nova, the French government's program supporting scale-up-stage founders from backgrounds under-represented in the tech ecosystem. As a minority entrepreneur building ZACK TECHNOLOGY LLC entirely bootstrapped, it's exactly the kind of door-opening initiative I hope to be part of one day.
🕯️ In Memory of Kavinsky
I'm very sad to hear about the passing of Kavinsky, the producer behind "Nightcall" and a true pioneer of synthwave, who died this week at age 50. His sound shaped a generation of electronic music, mine included, and it's genuinely unfortunate to lose him. Rest in peace.
💿 Electronic Music News
Kavinsky, "Nightcall" Producer and Synthwave Pioneer, Dies at 50
The electronic music world mourns the loss of Kavinsky, whose "Nightcall" became a defining track of the synthwave genre.
Beatport Launches Greenroom for Artists & Labels
Beatport's new Greenroom hub gives artists and labels centralized tools for profile management and analytics.
Afrojack and Gil Glaze Reunite for Anthemic New Single "Allein"
Afrojack teams back up with Gil Glaze for a new anthemic single.
Bipolar Sunshine's Rise From Manchester to the World Stage
A profile tracing Bipolar Sunshine's journey from Manchester to international recognition.
🇫🇷 French Rap & Culture
Jul contraint de quitter Marseille après des menaces de la DZ Mafia
Rapper Jul has reportedly been forced to leave Marseille following threats from the DZ Mafia criminal organization.
Golo & Ritchie on Holidays! Mrik's Interview
A holiday-season interview with Golo and Ritchie.
From the Archives: When the Fugees Conquered Hip Hop With a Spliff and a Smile
A 1996 archival cover feature revisiting the Fugees at the height of their influence.
The 100 Best LA Rap Songs
Complex's definitive ranking of the greatest rap songs to come out of Los Angeles.
📻 Culture & Crossover
Never-Before-Heard Beatles Song Unearthed
A previously unknown Beatles recording has surfaced.
Popular Liverpool Vegan Café / Punk Venue Guac 'n' Roll to Expand
The beloved Liverpool vegan café and punk venue Guac 'n' Roll announces expansion plans.
Introducing TAG Heuer, Team Ikuzawa, and Bamford's Second Collaboration
TAG Heuer, Team Ikuzawa, and Bamford return with a follow-up collaborative watch release.
Mastodon's Brann Dailor and Troy Sanders on Their Complicated Relationship With the Late Brent Hinds
Mastodon's Brann Dailor and Troy Sanders reflect candidly on their relationship with bandmate Brent Hinds.
🎬 Film, Gaming & Culture Crossover
"House of Gucci" Star Jared Leto Accused of Criminal Sexual Misconduct by Four Women in BBC Documentary
A new BBC documentary features four women accusing actor Jared Leto of criminal sexual misconduct.
Even The Odyssey's Himesh Patel Was Surprised by How Big His Role Turned Out to Be
Himesh Patel discusses discovering the scale of his role in The Odyssey.
EA Sports FC 27 Reveals New Trailer With Mbappé and Bellingham as Cover Athletes
EA Sports FC 27 unveils its new gaming trailer, with Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham as cover stars.
Starbucks Japan Turns Its Menu Into Blind Box Collectible Plush Charms
Starbucks Japan's new "Joyful Capsule" series turns menu items into collectible blind-box plush charms.
21 Savage Wants Another Baby With Latto Just Months After Welcoming Their First
21 Savage shares he'd like to expand his family with Latto, months after their first child.
🛠️ Gear & Studio Talk
A New Discount Is Live
Teenage Engineering has a limited-time discount currently live on its site.
KOMPLETE '26
Native Instruments unveils the latest edition of its flagship KOMPLETE bundle.
Indexing the Data Lake for Online Point Queries
Spotify's engineering team details how it indexes its data lake to serve fast online point queries.
Pioneer DMH-W3000NEX 6.8" Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto Receiver
Still on my wishlist — this wireless CarPlay/Android Auto floating 1-DIN unit for the car build.
🎙️ A Note on JETLAG RADIO
JETLAG RADIO 4900 (version 6) is currently live and remains the main podcast for the foreseeable future — there will be more versions down the line. I want to be upfront with you all: there won't be new JETLAG RADIO episodes for a while. After more than a decade of putting this podcast together, I'm still waiting on my first car donation, and I've decided I need to step back from producing new episodes until that changes. I know that's a hard line to draw, but after years of this, it felt like the right one.
In the meantime, if any car brand — German, Japanese, anyone — wants to be the first to step forward, I'm very much still open to it. Realistically, given maintenance costs I can't currently absorb without a steady salary, a Nissan or Toyota is probably the more sensible option over a German luxury brand right now. I'll pass on a Subaru WRX STI (it's "the bad guy" car in Tenet, so no thanks), and I really wish they still made the Maxima — my ideal car, especially NISMO-tuned. I'm holding out some hope that Infiniti's comeback, which I've heard is happening, might scratch that mini-Skyline itch, even if it's still not cheap.
On a related note — Audi just revealed the Q9, and BMW announced a fresh round of roughly 8,000 layoffs this week. It's been a tough stretch for the auto industry in general, luxury brands included, which only reinforces that a realistic, sensible car is probably the smarter move for me right now anyway.
Separately: I really believe the French government needs to do something serious about the DZ Mafia. The fact that a major artist like Jul reportedly had to leave Marseille over threats from them is genuinely ridiculous, and it shouldn't be something artists have to just live with.
📦 The Goodies
ZACK TECHNOLOGY LLC · Technology · World Affairs · Affaires Étrangères · Electronic Music · Diplomacy
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