Composer John Barry passed away yesterday at the age of 77 in New York City. Barry was most famous for composing the theme songs for many of the early Bond films as well as winning Oscars for the music from "Out of Africa", "Dances with Wolves" and "The Lion in Winter". Below is a video of Sir George Martin recounting a memory of John Barry for some tabloid show:
Simple R-70 drum beat is fed into TSP CAS pedal. Control Voltages from Frostwave sequencer are being fed into pedal. Top row of sliders is routed to repeat rate. Bottom row of sliders is routed to gate input for triggering the pedal rather than use the gate outputs matched for the upper row of the sequencer (just for this example). Other random sounds that come in occasionally are from the grey Zoom beatbox, Acidlab Bassline 2, and Bugbrand Modular that are feeding a mixer off screen.
Sound quality is so-so from camera, but you get the idea. thetonewrecker
The second workflow exploration/live improvisation with this set-up. As with the previous video, the Apple //e with Roland CMU-800R is in the driver's seat. It is providing the drums with its internal sounds, and is controlling the modular synth, the Korg MS-20, and the Yamaha CS-5 (out of frame underneath the MS-20) via CV/Gate.
The main melody line that comes in after a bit is coming from a Reflex MeeBlip, which you can just see sitting on the desk. I'm controlling it with a Snyderphonics Manta controller.
Effects used: Roland RE-201 Space Echo, Eventide TimeFactor delay, Realistic Electronic Reverb delay, Audio Damage Eos reverb, Lexicon 300 reverb. micronaut.bandcamp.com www.analogindustries.com
The Miami Herald has a story up about a grand piano that mysteriously showed up on a Biscayne Bay sandbar. No one is sure how and why it's there. The Coast Guard have said it will only be removed if it becomes a navigational hazard. Read the full story.
Create your own KAOSS combinations with the Kaoss Pad Quad! Four processors under one pad; each processor has five options (plus off) -- that's 1,295 combinations. Each processor also has an independent Freeze control. This video shows an overview of the product.
This video shows off some of the effects in the Korg Kaoss Pad Quad. Like all Kaoss products, the X-Y touchpad is used to control multiple effect parameters in real time. The Kaoss Pad Quad takes this idea even further, offering four effect processors, all controlled from a single touchpad.
The Kaoss Pad Quad features four independent effect processors. Each processor has its own "Freeze" button to hold the parameter settings while continuing to control the parameters of the other processors. This is a very fun and cool feature, and this video demo shows it in action!
In addition to all the cool effects, the Kaoss Pad Quad also performs Looper, Reverse Looper, and Loop Slicer operations. This video demo shows how to use these Loop tools in combination with the other effects. Very slick! www.korg.com
Having a bit of fun with the new equipment set-up, and trying to get a feel for the workflow. This piece is entirely sequenced from an Apply //e and Roland CMU-800R. I'm recording in to Ableton Live, but there are no samples or pre- recording. This track is 100% live.
The quick arpeggio sound, drums, and 16th note pulse are coming from the CMU-800R. The low bass note is from a Korg MS20 running through a Roland RE-201 Space Echo, and the main melody sound is coming from the Doepfer modular (in this case a TipTop Audio Z3000 oscillator, plus some Doepfer shit) and running through a Realistic Electronic Reverb and an Eventide TimeFactor. I used a couple instances of Audio Damage Eos for the main reverb inside the DAW, but that's the only computer effect. micronaut.bandcamp.com analogindustries.com
In the second installment of my "Synth School" series I'll be staying on the Sub- tractor synth but looking at the Filter sections, Amp Envelope, Filter Envelope, and Mod Envelope sections. The masters of synth production are masters of these tools. Something as simple as a Low Pass filter when paired with the right chord progression can lift the entire club crowd into a frenzy. The proper Amp Envelope can bring out the vibe in your song. These are powerful tools to con- veying and even evoking strong emotion from what sometimes are rather sterile starting melodies or chords.
As always, I encourage you to play around with them on your own to get a feel for how they behave and interact with each other but today I'll walk you through each slider and button and show you a little of my own experimentation. Propellerhead
DIY analog beat machine with kits from ericarcher.net Andromeda Mk-1 (tom), Andromeda Mk-2 (snare/hat), Andromeda Mk-3 (synth), Andromeda Mk-4 (bass), Tune in Tokyo (sound FX). The thing in the top right corner is a mini mixer-amp prototype.
Built as a store demo unit for Switched On Music Electronics (Austin TX). switchedonaustin.com
Cryoacoustic Orb is a sound installation involving multiple illuminated acrylic orbs filled with slowly melting ice. Hydrophones frozen inside the ice amplify the sounds of the melting process, which are electronically processed and spatialized throughout the darkened gallery space. The result is a unique ambient soundscape that evolves over the course of several hours.
i often see time stretched slicing as a feature request on the ableton website. this video shows you how to do it with Sampler, Drum Racks and custom preset slicing. hope you enjoy. MrNedRush
Produced specifically with the big screen in mind, the Cinematic Drums ReFill for Reason 5 contains loops and samples that will quickly conjure up specific moods and imagery in your tracks. From thunderous walls of pounding toms, to angst-ridden, heart pulsing beats, this collection is a must-have for anyone who composes for the moving picture. We also meticulously sampled every individual drum, cymbal and yes, pot and pan, allowing you to quickly program your own grooves using the Kong Drum Designer and ReDrum step sequencer.
But don't let the name of this collection fool you, Cinematic Drums can also add an extra sonic dimension to your pop, rock, dance and jazz tracks. Slide in some Civil War era field drums under a traditional drum set groove or layer timpani -esque toms on top of your 808 loops and you'll quickly have the extra depth in your productions that standard loop sets simply can't provide.
ReFill Specs:
- 100 REX2 Loops - 67 Individual Drum Samples - 13 Dr Octo Rex Patches - 4 Kong Patches - 4 ReDrum Patches - High Quality, 24-bit 48 khz Audio - File size: 109 MB
London trio White Lies offer brooding rock with soaring choruses that are incredibly catchy. Their music is a dark-edged nod to the 80's and you can hear it live when they perform on Morning Becomes Eclectic. Watch / Listen to the full performance here: www.kcrw.com
The iPhone's audio output has been connected to the input of the Little Phatty. The Phatty's filter section is used to manipulate the signal generated by the Filtatron app. www.eekkoo.tv
rude_NHS, who I interviewed back in August 2009 for Resonant Filter, has a new album out on Soundcloud called "A Hundred Sides". I'm really digging "Cage Fighter" and "Spoon Holes Theme". Check it:
Trash Audio has a terrific interview, posted yesterday, with Randy Jones one of the chaps behind Madrona Labs Aalto software synthesizer. Aalto is on my "must buy" list, read the interview to find out what's behind this unique synth. Haven't heard of Aalto before? Check it:
Exode the creator of the fantastic Massive Synthesis Refill for Reason has a new trance based soundbank coming out later this year. Below is a mp3 teaser Daniel posted up on soundcloud a few days ago.
"I'm at hard work on finishing my latest refill. This refill will be oriented towards different styles of electronic dance music and is heavily inspired by the sound found in VST's such as Sylenth1 and similar. The refill will be commercial but not expensive.
This is an audio teaser/preview that I threw together yesteday and it features the more trance oriented patches (the patches work for more than trance but in this teaser they are used for trance)"
"Analog Signature V3" carries the wits and powers of four vintage beasts into this new era. Moog Source, Korg MS20, the Waldorf Microwave 1 and - from version 3 onwards - the Waldorf Pulse have been accurately sampled in such a way that their charming inaccuracies are still there in this perfect Reason environment in which Soundcells tooks their chance to add polyphony and velocity. You'll get 500+ combinator patches containing beautiful analog sounds from the past as well as some mouth watering rex loops covering the old analog drum boxes. The user decides how retro or contemporary the sounds of this ReFill will sound in the music. It all matches almost perfectly with almost everything. Version 2 featured new samples from the Waldorf Microwave 1, 40 new combinator patches and great new backdrops - with version 3 this ReFill is extended even further with 40 combinator patches mainly based on these new Waldorf Pulse samples.
Analog Signature Version 3 Contents:
- 506 combinator patches to keep you busy for quite some time - 40 new ones since version 3.
- Classic synths: Moog Source, Korg MS20, the Waldorf Microwave 1 and the Waldorf Pulse.
-Lots of analog drumbox rexfiles and loads of NNXT patches - the modules folder contains the basic patches which were used for the combinator sounds.
-Extra high realism due to alternate sample switching, mostly three samples per note!
Offering price is 39,90 ,- EUR per Unit (normally 49,90 ,- EUR)
a micro-looper. eight samplers, corresponding to columns of the grid. record by holding second-from-bottom key. focus arc to column by pushing bottom key. left knob is loop selection. turn to move selection, push-turn to resize selection. right knob is volume. turning changes velocity, not position, so a tremelo effect is easily achieved. pushing down stops the spin, like a turntable. third key up is mute/unmute. top rows transpose up/down by octaves. top rows meter sound levels. monome.org
Live pa version of Fat Boy Slim's "Everybody Needs a 303" using ReBirth for iPad. REX Loops and effects triggered from Reason 5 via the Ohm 64. Latest config has Beat Counter Lamps driven by Combinator patches. www.peff.com
As electronic music producers, we rely on synths as our bread and butter sounds for leads, bass lines, effects, textures, and so on. Knowing that, how crazy is it that so many of us don't REALLY know how to use them?! I mean, it's not our fault in some ways. The presets we get from the factory soundbank and ReFills are very good. Usually one of those with a couple random knob adjustments get us off and going just fine.
But imagine the power you'd have if you could sculpt a sound and control a sound with precise knowledge of what you're doing and the effect it will have. Imagine if you had your own folder of custom patches that you created; your own stash of secret sauce that nobody else has. Imagine if you could think of a sound you'd like to create and to know instantly how to do it.
I'm going to embark on a multi-week exploration of synthesis theory to do just that for you. This week we're starting with the most basic synth there is - the Subtractor. But don't let its simplicity fool you. It's capable of some amazing sounds. www.propellerheads.se
When "Alors on Danse" became a massive summer hit across Europe and several other countries around the globe, many people were surprised by its overnight success. Perhaps most surprised was Belgian producer Paul Van Haver. Now known to the world as "Stromae," Van Haver had revived the anthemic and fun qualities of 1990s dance music with a modern hip-hop twist. Audiences couldn't get enough of it.
"Alors on Danse" was produced in Reason along with all of Stromae's music. The now iconic bass line? That's the NN19. The drum beat you've probably bopped to is coming from the Redrum. The NN-XT provides the synth hook that has audiences numbering into the tens of thousands singing out. And in this special interview, Stromae shows us how the track is constructed inside Reason. www.stromae.org www.propellerheads.se
In the first installment of Ableton Live Production Tips Dubspot instructor Steve Nalepa shows you how to improve the quality of your production and avoid clutter from the get go. He demonstrates a simple technique that can take a bland pad sound and transform it into a more interesting and lush mixture of moving sounds. By adding audio effects such as Reverb and Auto Pan to a series of Return tracks, the pad will begin to come to life and demand a little attention. dubspot
The iPad audio output is routed to the line in on the workstation. Reason 5 receives the active audio input and can process the sound in real-time. This demonstration features a range of custom combinator effect devices including CycleOn for Reason 5 beta.
Combinator Effects being controlled by the Livid Instruments OHM64. Thanks Peter! www.peff.com
Short preview of the new modules for euro rack: Talking Synth module - speech sounds,robots,alarms,bleebs,noise,words ... including 4 CV inputs, Trigger/Gate FX6 - small 4HP !! low cost stereo multieffect including reverb,flanger, chorus,pitchshift,tremolo ,echo and 3 control pots flame.fortschritt-musik.de
Reason 101 has a fantastic 3 part tutorial on advanced arpeggios in Reason. Like all of Rob's posts this is a must read if you use Reason. Below is the first video in the series, go to Reason 101 for the rest!
Simultaneously controlling music and video inside ableton using VIZZable - Max/MSPs' VIZZIE VJ modules adapted for Max for Live. I'm using the my Fretpad plugin to play the Launchpad.
"The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example -- the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.
We commemorate Dr. King’s inspiring words, because his voice and his vision filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles. Yet, Dr. King knew that it wasn’t enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible. And so we commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, the man who braved threats and jail and beatings and who ultimately paid the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans.
The King Holiday honors the life and contributions of America’s greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also lead a movement that achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality.
On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America."
Here we begin the song making journey with an intro, a nice way to 'into' a series. I show you how to make a quick yet efficient intro using the Combinator. MrBrandonPeoples
As I'm sure you've heard by now Dave Smith Instruments unveiled the Tempest Analog Drum Machine at NAMM 2011 with Roger Linn. The Tempest is one of the rightful heirs to the fabled Boom Chik, with Roger Linn expected to announce a more sample oriented similar drum machine in the near future.
Here's the low down:
- 6 voices each with 2 analog and digital oscillators. - Dave Smith's classic analog low pass filter with audio rate modulation, and an additional high pass filter - Analog VCA with feedback (just like in the Mopho and Tetra) - 5 envelopes - 2 LFOs - Vast modulation routing - Performance oriented operating system - Two pressure and position sensitive Note FX slide controllers - Beat synced delay and stutter effects - Adjustable swing timing - Tempest also doubles as a 6 voice analog synth!
Dave Smith Instruments- Tempest Analog Drum Machine- Roger Linn Design
Stutter Edit is a unique playable effect designed by BT and developed by iZotope. Create entire tracks from just a short loop, or generate incredible live remixes just by using your MIDI keyboard and a host like Ableton Live. Stutter Edit is perfect for both the stage and studio.
Last week I posted my theory of Korg showcasing a new Kaoss Pad at Namm 2011. Now I bought the KP2 when it first came out and absolutely loved it, however the KP3 never really did it for me. But the new Kaoss Pad Quad appears to be everything I've wanted in a Kaoss Pad: create and control multiple effects, pretty pretty lights and the all important "Freeze" button! And making it even better, Novamusik is taking pre-orders for $299!
Lazerbass The newest addition to the REAKTOR library is a monophonic synthesizer delivering a pure and direct sound without additional effects. The new additive synthesis module means Lazerbass can create a large number of timbres, themselves made up of multiple harmonic or non harmonic partials. The result is a sound of immense quality, equally at home creating spacey sci-fi sounds as full and punchy sub basses ideal for dubstep and other leading-edge electronic productions that need that signature "wobble." http://music.torley.com/
Hacked this together tonight. Using a Microsoft kinect connected to a Mac which is connected to a Xio which is connected to my Buchla. Lots of software and hacks in the chain. spindizzyman
Latin Grammy nominee Ceci Bastida made her first live radio performance debut as a solo artist here on KCRW. Known previously for her work with renowned singer Julieta Venegas, the SoCal artist has a style all her own that we will enjoy on Morning Becomes Eclectic. Watch / Listen to the full session: www.kcrw.com
Last year I started vlogging but you may have noticed that I didn't really keep up with it... mostly due to it taking about 3 days to do each one. So I'm going to do small short, sweet, down dirty lo-fi ones now. Will try to do one a week. Join in the conversation at www.timexile.com/discuss
Making some heavy crunk beats with the intellijel µStep sequencer running in 16 step mode kick and snare patterns all sequenced on the Eurorack modular. intellijel.com/synthmodules www.devinesound.net
Have you ever wondered what your favorite producers are thinking when they're making beats? Dubspot instructor, Ableton Live expert and award winning music educator, Pat Cupo, explains his concept of "Beat Deconstruction". In this tutorial, Cupo takes a two measure loop of Flying Lotus' "Camel" from his Los Angles LP (2008) and breaks down the beat into it's four main components: kick, snare, hi-hat, and percussion, each having it's own dedicated clip in an audio track. By using Warp Markers as visual place holders to highlight when and where each component occurs in an audio clip, we can begin to understand how the beat was conceptualized. Using the Slice to New MIDI function in Live set to slice the audio at the "Warp Marker", new MIDI clips are created that contain a series of MIDI notes corresponding to the Warp Markers from their original audio clips. Once this has been done, all of the MIDI information is taken to the Arrangement View to view the clips as a musical score. After a little editing, the music seems to pop out from the screen and we can see the beat in it's entirety as if we programmed it ourselves. See full article at http://blog.dubspot.com www.dubspot.com
Soljie Hamilton and Bruno "Doc Reggae" Blum seen mixing "Aux Armes Dub" in genuine original dub style, live in Anchor Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, late December 2001.
This fine dub mix of Serge Gainsbourg's "Aux Armes Et Cætera" 1979 smash hit can only be found on the B-side of the Jamaican Big Youth "Aux Armes!" 45RPM single (Philips 2003), and on the "Dub Style" promo CD issued in France by Philips/Universal Music in 2003.
Other Serge Gainsbourg dubs, as well as fresh remixes of the songs and DJ versions from the same sessions, can be found on the "Aux Armes Et Cætera" and "Mauvaises Nouvelles des Étoiles" remix CDs issued in 2003.
Lead vocals: Serge Gainsbourg Harmony vocals: The I Three Drums: Sly Dunbar Bass: Robbie Shakespeare Piano: Robbie Lyn Organ: Ansel Collins Guitar: Mickey Chung Guitar: Dougie Bryan Percussion: Sticky Thompson
Video directed by Bruno Blum Cameraman: Courtney McLaughlin Editing and post production: JimmUP
Rob from Reason 101 kicked off the new year with the release of a brand new album - Standing In A Hallway Staring At The Door. The record is primarily made up of sounds from Rob's own Generations ReFill, which was one of my favorite Reason soundbanks of 2010. Pick up the album for $5.99 at CDBaby.com, which describes the disc this way:
"Melancholic. Symbolic. We've all found ourselves standing in the hallway staring at a door wondering what to do. Whether to knock and enter. Or retreat. This is dark and brooding. This is ambient and glitchy. These are the echoes of thoughts I once had."
Below is a demo version version of Locked, the last song on the album. Check it:
Or to be more precise, duophonic! Both the Moog Little Phatty keyboard and the Slim Phatty module are monophonic instruments, but chain them together with MIDI and you can create a polyphonic Moog system! I wish we had more Slim Phatties lying around but at time of writing are currently sold out :'~|
That's a good thing though, right? If you have one of these synths (or a Voyager which can also be chained), and know someone else who does too, get over there and try this out!
Anyhow. This vid is unfortunately in mono (onboard camera sound too), and most certainly not a musical statement, as we had just received the Slim Phatty and I was just testing that the setup works! I had individual synths to individual speakers and in stereo, in person, it sounded AMAZING. You'll have to forgive my complete inability to play a keyboard. God bless MIDI. And Dr Bob Moog.
Time Lapse Footage of Me Making This Beat in FL Studio , Reaktor 5.5 , My Ipad & Ableton for a small part ... Thanks To My Aussie Chick For Some Funny Vocals . Video Made in Sony Vegas Pro ( mostly ) - Subscribe Fool ! - Ty for Watching JSprayaEntertainment
This week I'm going to show you one of the most tried and true methods we have to add stereo width and depth to our mixes: The Haas Affect.
Named after Dr. Helmut Haas for his early research into the effect, the Haas Effect essentially uses short delays to fool your brain into perceiving a stereo sound from a mono source. In mixing we can exploit your brain's gullibility to carve out wide stereo fields and provide our mixes enough room for center elements like lead vocals or bass guitar.
Soundcells has released a new FREE refill called "Greenhouse" for Reason 4 and up. Greenhouse has samples drawn from Sonic Charge's Synplant software synthesizer. Here's the downlow:
"Greenhouse" is a small but awesome ReFill which is based on samples coming from the very popular and famous Synplant software synthesizer - probably one of the most innovative plugins of recent years. 35 combinator patches provide an insight into the great and highly characterful sound capabilities Synplant has to offer: Greenhouse patches sound deep and murky - sometimes wishful and dreamy - but overall atmospheric and full of Synplant character... In addition, some "One-Shot-FX" kits are included to let you produce glitchy electro beats. The 24 bit samples were recorded thru an analog mixing console to bring the "real world" flavour into the digital world - ready-to-use within this ReFill...
Greenhouse Contents:
- 35 combinator patches full of Synplant character. - Deep, murky, evil but also wishful and dreamy are the main keywords. - 39 NNXT patches containing the basic sounds which were used for the combinators. - 190 Synplant samples, 158 MB uncompressed.
I was just browsing the Musiciansfriend website looking for post X-mas specials and found the Korg Kaoss KP3 listed as a "clearance" item ($299 if you're interested.) With NAMM next week it makes me wonder if the KP4 is just around the corner? I sure hope so....
Here's a great example of just how powerful the PreSonus StudioLive really is. In this video, you'll hear its road stories with Paul Gilbert and crew, and get to check it out this digital mixer / FireWire interface / powerhouse effects unit in action. Here's a link to more info: www.sweetwater.com
Saw the first video below on Richard Devine's Facebook page...
Patiently Awaiting Checkout
Antonio Blanca's new ABreakpoint controlling 2 instances of Absynth and 2 instances of the Finger. Loops courtesy of Richard Devine.
(Spiral/Vortex+Lemur/Finger)/150bpm=z
Spiral is randomizing Vortex parameters while the AB Lemur Breakpoint Template is randomizing Finger parameters on an aux channel and fed into another aux running Grain Streamer by Michael Norris. I added a snapshot knob to the Lemur template, and Effectrix is just warping the drum loop. Thanks to AB and RD. vimeo.com/zavosh
I've always been a sucker for these strange obstacle courses ever since watching "Electric Company" as a kid. Here's one with some great sounds by Chelsea DeBonis for Honda:
It is out. Sonic Charge µTonic version 3.0. The first major upgrade to our flagship drum machine in over five years. And what an upgrade it is. Sporting over 20 new features and a brand new look, µTonic is as good as new again.
Already own µTonic? Then you are in for a treat, because the upgrade is totally free for all registered customers. All you need to do is download MicroTonic 3.0 and then go to this page and check out your new registration key. µTonic 3.0 is 100% backwards compatible with µTonic 2.0 and when you load your old projects, it will sound virtually identical, so do not hesitate to upgrade.
For the full rundown of whats new, please check this page.
As if this isn't good enough news, we are also releasing a small voice effect plug-in that we call Bitspeek. Bitspeek recreates any audio you feed into it using pulse oscillators, white noise and linear prediction filters. Sounds strange? Well, that's the point. It is supposed to sound strange. See for yourself over here. The price of Bitspeek is $29.
