Ableton Live 7 is OUT!!!!!!!!

Ableton Live 7 is out earlier then expected. You can go over to Ableton to upgrade your version of live right now. Most versions can be downloaded right from the site except for packages containing sound banks. I think I will be getting the suite........

Studio B: FUN Party [12/1/07]

Midi Skeleton Suit and Sonalog Gypsy Midi Arm

This looks like it could be really interesting. I would love to hook this thing up to some other sounds and see what happens. I also came across the Gypsy arm on matrixsynth and it is up for auction on ebay.

"Sonalog Gypsy Midi controller. This is an amazing piece of technology. It’s purpose is to translate your arms movements into controller information for your music. Imagine a world where dance music is being created live in real time by dancers. That’s the potential for this kind of technology.

I had originally purchased it for a group that was based on this concept. The band fell apart and now I have this very awesome piece of music technology that I have no use for. I purchased it new for $1200 and now I am reselling it to try and re-coup some of my expenses.

I can’t really explain exactly what this thing does in this little text window. To get an accurate idea you need to visit http://www.sonalog.com/videos and watch the videos."



-Check out more info here: http://www.sonalog.com/
-Auction link

Studio B: Diplo Surkin Tonight [10/30/07]

Trent Says Fuck IT: Remix.nin.com is now up!!!!

From remix.nin.com:

"Welcome to remix.nin.com beta. We've been working hard to get the site stable and ready for release, but you may still encounter some bugs here and there. We'll be increasing the stability and functionality of the site in the coming days, and continuing to tweak and enhance it in the coming weeks. In the meantime, play around with the site, start submitting your remixes, and have fun. Future updates/additions/revisions to the site will be posted here as they are made.

Check out the multi-track downloads (jn the MIX section) for some surprises.
This is the first element of the new nin.com that will be coming in the next few months. The user ID you establish here will carry over throughout everything we do from here on, so grab the name you want. Spiral members: your name and password already work here.

Enjoy..."

The site just launched yesterday and has a really dark sleek design. Its like a resource for every nails remix out there. Trent has already posted all the remixes he has done and more tracks are being added by the minute. He also has all the multi track files for you to download. Everything is now in one collective site. Can't wait to hear all the mixes and to see what else trent may release to remix.......

Two Octave Cats [Auction]

These are hard to come by and right now there are two of them on ebay. They are both reasonable priced right now and are claimed to be in perfect working condition. Click on the pictures to go the auction......

Elektron: Improved units [Machinedrum,Monomachine]

The first round of these sold out and made it very hard for anyone to get their hands on one. They machindrum has extrememly high praise and is a very sought after piece of gear. Two of the models are already out of stock. I am sure some of those will end up on ebay. Check out the Elektron site below for all the pricing information and what exactly the upgrade has enhanced....

ELEKTRON

D.I.M. Is You

Pretty good track here from an artist you should be hearing more about.
It really sounds like the song starts the same way it ends.
I feel like it could just loop right around and keep going.
Got the track from Discobelle here is what they had to say.....

"D.I.M. is about to release his new single next week on Boyz Noize Records and have previously released tracks on Tiga’s Turbo label. He’s been making some noise with both his own productions (especially “Airbus Baby”) and his remixes of Chromeo, Midnight Juggernauts, Teenage Bad Girl etc. This new single “Is You” will also feature a remix from our friend Brodinski (which you can listen to over on french site Fairtilizer) but for now we give you the original version. “Is You” is one big electro banger (although a bit on the slow side) that incorporates a really nasty and heavy bass, handclaps, sweet repetetive vocals and tops it off with a massive break."

D.I.M. - Is You (zShare)

Studio B: FUN party [11/21/07]

Studio B

Vince Clarke: Studio Gear up for Auction

Just came across this auction and holy shit is there a lot of gear. I wonder what this guy is holding onto if this is what he is getting rid of. If you don't know who Vince Clarke is then here is a little info via wiki....

Vince Clarke (born Vincent John Martin, South Woodford, London, England, July 3, 1960) is an English pop musician and songwriter, who has been involved with a number of successful pop groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure.

Check out all the gear at the link below. It is worth the look just to see how much gear this guy is auctioning off.....

Auction Link

Gear Fix: Electronic Music Box #4:

This is a very rare poissibly one of kind unit.

"The Electronic Music box is a hand built, custom designed, small format, one of a kind, modular analog electronic instrment. The design is inspired by classic Buchla and Serge modular synth systems."

You can listen to it make noise below. It defintely has some raw power. Reminds me of sound I heard while playing Twilight Princess........

http://www.makenoisemusic.com/

Also it is on Ebay right now

Auction Link

Thanks to Matrix Blog for always having a wide spectrum of articles on various gear.

DANGER

Just ran into this track on Discobelle. Nothing ground breaking but its a quality track. If you like Daft Punk, Justice, SebastiAn you will most likely like this track. Here is what discobelle had to say.....

'Danger out of Lyon is the latest example, recently signed to the Ekleroshock label where he just released his debut EP “09.14.2007″. He’s been cranking out some serious tunes lately and we’ve got a hold of this excellent track “14h54″ (courtesy of Mathieu over at Ekleroshock) that’s bound to have people on the dancefloor yearning for more. Somebody wrote that if Daft Punk and Justice had sex, their lovechild would be Danger…although we’re also seeing/hearing some similarities to the mighty Kavinsky. "

Danger - 14h54 (zShare)

Thanks to Discobelle for always scouting for the goodz.....

Universal preventing NIN remix site

ahh another reason for me not to like major labels. To them its all about the green and not the art or music. The picture trent has put up is perfect. I really hope he can get this official remix site up. There have been lots of great remixes and buzz generated by him releasing his tracks to the public. Hopefully he will find a way to pull it off........

Check out the details from Trent:

nin.com
Offical NIN remix site

Remixes created from the masters trent has put online:

Limitless Potential Remixes
Capital G (streetlab mix)
Me I'm Not (B.S.G)
The Most Popular Remixes
Newest additions

Ableton Live 7 Preview:

Just came across this preview of Ableton Live 7. Really worth checking out if you own the program. It is sure to get you high on anticipation. Rather then rehash the article here is the link from beat portal...

http://www.beatportal.com/blogs/post/ableton-live-7-sneak-preview/

http://www.beatportal.com/

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: American X

BRMC has released another studio sessions EP called American X. I just recently started to listening to the songs that didn't make the Howl Record. Definitely some good stuff on that one so this session hopefully will be some more great BRMC tracks. I really can't sick of these guys. They kill it and live and in the studio. Hopefully I will get a chance to see them again in the near future....

The tracklist is as follows:

01. "The Likes Of You"
02. "Vision"
03. "The Show's About To Begin"
04. "MK Ultra"
05. "Whenever You're Ready"
06. "20 Hours"
07. "Last Chance For Love"
08. "American X" (short film)

The EP gets released on the 4th of December. Check out more details at

http://www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com/news/american-x-ep/

And their main site for tour news, pics and more...

http://www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com/

Ableton Live 7: Features and Free Upgrade

Just wanted to remind myself and everyone else to upgrade their Ableton Live 5 before 1/31/08.

"All users who buy and unlock their Live 6 or Live 6 Upgrade between October 1, 2007 and January 31, 2008 will get a free download upgrade to Ableton Live 7, plus attractive instrument bundle offers at release date. Get your upgrade here."

"Ableton Live 7 renews the core of Live with enhancements to the audio engine including 64-bit mix summing, new and improved devices with side-chaining capability, better MIDI timing and hardware integration. We have also included the most-requested features, such as time signature changes, video export, multiple automation lanes and much more. Version 7 marks the arrival of the new "Drum Rack" which streamlines beat production via an easy drag-and-drop interface and offers native sliced audio and REX file support, bringing endless creative possibilities to beat lovers."

I am really excited that ableton is incorporating side chaining so I won't have to use plugins. The new instruments are a suprise and the drum machines look like they are going to be really solid. Live 7 is going to be one of my xmas presents that I recieve next year. Can't wait for it. Check out all the info on their site and see whats ahead.....

Ableton Site

Cakewalk 20 YEARS

Cakewalk has officially been around for twenty years (1987). I haven't used the program in some time since Ableton came along but here is an interview with the inventor. Check out the link over at Create Digital Music

New Revolution: (Future Retro)

"The new R2 unit, designated by the gun metal grey chassis, has an updated PC board design using a new RAM chip which extends the internal back up battery life from approximately 1.5 years on previous white faced units to now more than 10 years life span. In addition the R2 units include OS version 2.0 making it more compatible for use with our XS semi-modular synthesizer."

Future Retro Site

Tempting Auctions

Some more quality gear up for auction. I reallly would love to get my hands on the machine drum and the revolution but the cash flow is just not there right now. I am just going to imagine myself with them and hopefully that will work......

MACHINEDRUM:




Auction Link


REVOLUTION:



Auction Link

 

Oakley TM3030: Roland 303 Clone

If your looking for a 303 clone this might be the one. Don't know too much about this unit but it looks solid and the enclosure is well done. There are sound clips on the auction page linked below

Specs from the Auction:
- The TM3030 is a midi controlled bassline clone that is designed to sound good.

- The design features the same controls as the little sliver box we have all come
to love: tune, waveshape, cut-off, resonance, envelope sweep, decay time, accent and volume.

- Slides and accents are faithfully reproduced.

- This unit contains no internal sequencer. The midi interface is controlled by a pre-programmed microcontroller chip.

- The rear panel houses the audio output, DC input, power switch, midi through and midi input sockets.

- The front panel pots are Alpha 16mm aluminum devices. These offer solidity, long life and feel good.

- The front panel LEDs show slide, gate, accent and power on conditions.

- The power requirements is 24V DC. The unit comes with us power supply.

- For the FET buffer of the VCO I used the 2SK30A-O and for the differential amplifier I put a 2SC1583
like the original design of the Roland TB-303. For the VCA, I used the CA3080 OTA.

- To achieve the best resonance, I replaced R62 with a 6k2 resistor
and 10k trimmer in series, and adjusted the maximum resonance to match my real TB-303.

Thanks to Matrix Synth for always being on top of the auctions. You can check it out here on ebay

Auction Link

Daft Punk Release Party: Studio B (12/7/07)

I am guessing studio B will be packed for this one. Anyone see this amazing flier for the show in Osaka and Tokyo......

My Bloody Valentine: Tour, New Album YES!!!!

Well we all know there has been a lot of specualtion and rumors about MBV for a long time. It seems like the last three or four years they are always rumored to play coachella or some other festival. Last year I read that it was actaully pretty close to happenning. Now it seems that it is a sure thing they will be playing shows again and releasing a new album!!!!!

Three confirmed dates. I wonder how fast that will sell out. Hopefully we will get an NYC appearance sometime after that.

Here are the details on the new record

"We were making a record in the '90s around the time the band broke up in 1995...and I continued with Belinda [Butcher, the band's guitarist/vocalist]. It's going to be this '96/'97 record half-finished, and then a compilation of stuff we did before than in 1993-94, and a little bit of new stuff."

"I pretty much know what the one that's going to come out this year is going to sound like because it's already three-quarters done," he told Soft Focus. "It sounds like what we sounded like--different, but not radically different." [Yahoo]

So it sounds like the record is almost done and ready to go. I can't wait to hear how it all fits together. Hopefully we won't have to wait long......

Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the heads up

Bob Marley Remix:

Just stumbled across this remix while checking out a Cassius remix of "Toop Toop" by streetlab. Its not too often that you hear a quality Bob mix but this one is pretty sweet.
"It is a blend of Duppy Conqueror and Dracula then remixed" by streetlab. There are a lot of quality mixes streaming on their site http://www.streetlab.net/ and 320Kbs files on the left hand side that are free to download.

For the lazy people here's the direct download:
Duppy Conqueror/Dracula(streetlab mash-up)

http://www.streetlab.net/
www.myspace.com/streetlab
http://www.last.fm/music/Streetlab/

Rare Electro Harmonix: DRM 16

Found this guy on ebay. This is a hard one to get your hands on since its 30 years old and was only manufactured for a short period of time. Not sure how good it is but it is on ebay right now for around 60 bucks with about a day left. Here is the description from the auction that was copied from somewhere....



" Info on the pedal: Enter the short- lived DRM-16 "the first automatic drum kit with feeling". The DRM-16 (DRM = Digital Rhythm Matrix), EH-7450, made it's appearance about 1978-9. It was housed in the standard Memory Man style box and was AC powered. The controls consisted of VOLUME, TEMPO, DELETE, STYLE, and COLUMN. VOLUME and TEMPO are pretty much self-explanatory. DELETE allowed you to remove various sounds such as wood block and long and short cymbals. STYLE and COLUMN allowed you to select from 16 available rhythm patterns by setting them according to a chart printed on the face of the pedal. On the chart you had 4 funk patterns, 4 disco, 4 rock (hard, boogie, soft, and slow), and 4 misc. (latin, reggae, cntry (country), and shuffle. On the top edge there was the usual power switch along with two OUTPUT jacks, a BASS OUT jack, and a Space Drum switch. The Space Drum was an unusual sound that was also available in two stand-alone versions (covered in PT. 2). It was an electronic tone that decreased in pitch as it reached the end of its length. The sound was very reminiscent of the electronic drum used in the intro of The Cars' " Let The Good Times Roll"."

Click here for the Auction
Electro Harmonix Homepage

People Don't dance no more

There is no FUN party this weekend but there is a free party going on at Studio B in Greenpoint tonight.  It is free and should be a good time. FUN resident DJ Eamon Harkin will be there as well as David Bruno, Jacques Renault, and Dan Selzer. Check the Flyer below.




David Bruno No Way, No way [October 2007 Mix]
AirWar [streetlab vs. Eamon Harkin Fun Remix]

The Kitten II

They got one of these on sphere music. This is a great site with lots of vintage gear. I just wish it wasn't in europe. If you got the money and are looking for one of those hard to find synths this might be the place to go.....

DFA Remixes: Winter 2007

I was just over at the DFA site and saw that they had posted some winter remixes for 2007. One is by Tim Sweenet from Beats in Space and the other is by Juan Maclean. Here is the linkage....

[Download] - Tim Sweeney
[Download] - Juan Maclean

Korg Kaossillator!!!!!!!!!!!

I just ran across this baby and am currently very excited to try it out. I am kind of sad that it doesn't have the ability to save sounds or phrases you sample. I would think that Korg could start fitting these units and the Kaoss pad with a flash based drive. For the price though it is probably worth checking out. Thanks to Sonic State for posting this. Check out more info from their site Sonic State




Currently it is not on Korg.com but I am sure it will pop up soon. It is at the UK store for 199 Euros but won't be available until just before X-mas

AuctionZ: Sonic Boomer

Rare EH pedal up for sale on Ebay. I have seen a couple of the drum pedals but never the Sonic Boomer. It is currently going for 122$. If you want it make bid here

The Octopus Project:

This is one band I wish I had gotten into earlier. Hailing from Austin Texas they mix many styles in creating their tracks.

"On April 30, 2006, the band played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. They were offered the opportunity after a fan, unbeknownest to the band, entered them in a contest held by the festival on MySpace in which voters were to "nominate their favorite band for an open slot at the festival" -wiki

I was very sad to learn that I missed them at coachella but I also just recently learned I missed them at Mccarren pool as well. Something about their music is refreshing and uplifting. Their album 'Hello, Avalance' is like a a musical journey. An unpredictable story that keeps your ears and mind excited. This is probably my main reason for being into this group so much right now. There is way too much predictable shit out there and this is really a breath of fresh air. Check out some videos and tracks below.....






The Octopus Project - Black Blizzard/Red Umbrella
The Octopus Project - Ghost Moves
The Octopus Project - Vanishing Lessons
The Octopus Project - I Saw The Bright Shinies
The Octopus Project - Bees Bein' Strugglin'
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Drippy Eye (The Octopus Project Remix)

Gear And Gadgets: Future of coffee tables

Here is one of the sweetest coffee tables I have ever scene...



I could think of a lot of stuff I would rather by with 2G...Although this thing is sweet.

SebastiAn Tracks floating around.....

Here are some of the SebastiAn remixes that have been floating around of late. I have been trying to find out more info about when he is going to drop his first album. Haven't been able to find much besides that it is in the works. If anyone has any info shoot it my way....

DOWNLOAD:

Das Pop - Fool for Love (SebastiAn Rmx)
Bloc Party - I Still Remember (SebastiAn remix)
Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (SebAstian Remix)

Cassius Work Shop

In case you your into remixing and haven't heard about all the tracks Cassius has made available via myspace here is the info from their myspace page....

"++ While rehearsing our 15-Again album tour , We gave fans & friends the opportunity to remix our single “Toop Toop” simply by making the a cappella of the track available on our myspace. The initiative was an immediate success (100 remixes were sent in 3 weeks) and was the kick-off point to the more elaborate Cassius Workshop project : 2 Myspace pages are fed with a number of new a cappela's to download and play with as well as streams of remixes made by a community of DJ’s and producers inspired by the band (more than 45.000 friends). As it became a web phenomena (more than 400 remixes were sent since october 2006), the idea of a record came up : it wouldn't just be a compilation, the result of a contest, more an instant Polaroid of an on-going project. And an hommage to the anonymous who gave the best of themselves to take part in this workshop. Web 2.0 has its advantages, an initiative of this kind on such a vast scale wouldn't have been possible just a few years back. “A good remix takes you where you were not expecting to go”. Prepare to be surprised by the offsprings of the Cassius generation.Cassius Workshop..."

Here is a sweet remix of "Toop Toop" by streetlab that I came across on Brooklyn Vegan

---->DOWNLOAD<------

Check out the workshop for lots of user submitted mixes. The left side of the page has tons of streaming players for your listening pleasure....

Vintage Auction site:

I ran across this site today and was suprised I had never seen it before. It has a lot of great gear up for auction. here is an example: (ARP 2600mk)

http://www.spheremusic.com/

New England Synth Museum

Well this might be one museum I have to visit. After checking out one of my favorite blogs the Matrixsynth I stumbled across these pictures of the museum. This appears to be the guy who runs the synthmuseum.com which is a great site with amazing amounts of rare gear.

Brainwash.com also recently uploaded three videos of from the a visit to the New England Synth Museum. You can check them out at
brainwash.com or below. This guy is wicked smart and a tad crazy...




Video 2
Video 3

For more info check out this