Tooltech - LivePA for the usb camp @ camping village / nature one
This week's liveset comes from artist Tooltech off of the labor_51 recording label. It is self described as a minimal to techno set that is 58 minutes long. This set was done with Ableton Live and was posted if not recorded this past August.
For more information about Tooltech head on over to http://toolte.ch
Well we have had quite the rush of drum-machine news over the past week haven't we? With all of these new drum-machines out and coming out you surely must have your heart set on one of them. So which one are you craving the most? Checkout the new poll on the right hand column of the main page of the blog and vote for which drum-machine you want the most.
.:Dave Smith Instruments:.
.:Roger Linn Designs:.
Remember the Boomhick drum-machine partnership from Roger Linn and Dave Smith that we heard about from last Winter's NAMM? Well it looks like we finally have some offical shots of the devices along with a name change. It is now called the LinnDrum II.
Not only that, but it is also going to get two versions, each sold separately by Roger Linn and Dave Smith. One version of the LinnDrum II will only be slightly out of your price range and will be all digital. It will be sold from Roger Linn Designs. The other version of the LinnDrum II will probably be completely out of your price range and will be all analog with an additional four voice synthesizer built in. This one will be sold by Dave Smith Instruments.
That is it folks, no other word on specs or pricing. Do Smith and Linn have you drooling yet?
via LivePA.org
Well Christmas is fast approaching upon us here. we all have our wishlists, gear lusts and wants. Sure there is something on there that you may be getting, but lets face it. Not many of our friends or spouses can afford to drop $1,000 or more on a gift. That still leaves us with your lusty gear lists of wants that we may or may not get. So do you have a gear list that you are just wishing for? Lets hear it in the comment section if you got one.
Here is mine.
Jomox Xbase 999
Elektron Machine Drum
Elektron Monomachine
Korg Kaossilator
Korg Mini-KP
EMU Roms (Darn these things are expensive these days)
Korg ESX1
Haken Audio Continuum
Nord Modular
Novation K-Station (I Still want one of these)
Anyone have $15,000?
.:Jomox Quietly Announces the XBase 888:.
UPDATE: Wow, anyone notice the image on this post that I linked to over at Jomox just went from rendered to actual photo of the device?
Now here is one that has quietly slipped under the radar and I only found out about due to some browsing over at Novamusik.com. Jomox has quietly announced the XBase 888, a new 808 styled drummachine.
So what is this fun new little drummachine? Well Apparently it is built off of the XBase 999 engine, but is designed to be slightly more affordable than the 999 by eliminating some features such as the X Filter. The sounds are also more smooth leaning towards that of the 808. That being said the Jomox website is very clear that this is not an 808 clone.
Additional features include 9 Instruments: Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Lo Tom, Hi Tom, Hi Hat, Clap, Rim, Crash and Ride. All are polyphonic (Awesome!!) and have individual outs.
Here are some more specs.
- 9 instruments
- Analog kick, toms, snare
- 5 sample based instruments with analog VCA envelope
- 31 samples per instrument
- Own samples can be uploaded by the Jomox Editor
- LCD Display 2x 24 Characters
- 10.5V 2A ~AC external power supply
- Metal steel enclosure
- Wooden end cheeks
- Weight 5kg
Hmm......Man I would love me some Jomox and with the Machinedrum also getting some update loving I sure wish I have about $3,000 to drop on some gear right now.
The Jomox 888 will be available in January for $1,500.
.:Elektron.se:.
Well, it looks like there is some discussion happening at the LivePA.org boards that the Monomachine and the Machinedrum have received a slight make over with new MKII versions of both machines. Details seem to be limited but from what can gather the Machine drum has received a new slimmer case, a new power supply, a better signal to noise ratio and the ability for patterns to go up to 64 beats (up from 32). The Monomachine on the other hand seems to also have the new slimmer case, a new power supply with better signal to noise ratio with the added ability to load your own wavetables.
Nice!!!!
The latest, tiniest invention to hit the synth scene comes from fledgeling one-man synth company Chimera Synthesis, and features an analog VCO, LFO, ADSR envelope, VCA, VCF, ring mod and noise generator, all in a case the size of a cd! Packed into that space are also sixteen dedicated knobs, a headphone jack, and a space for two nine-vold batteries; alternatively, it can be run from a third-party +/-8 to 12 volt source. The website is under consruction and somewhat short on details as of the time of writing, but it does say that the Bc16 can be used with a MIDI/CV converter or hooked up to other Bc16s. Future updates there will (hopefully) give us sound demos of some kind.
.:CNET: Hands on with Tenori-On:.
While we have seen plenty of news and review about the Tenori-On coming from Europe, the news on the device from the US media and artists has been rather mum. Perhaps we might be seeing a little bit of a change in that CNET.com has gotten their hands on the Tenori-On and offers up some preview insight. While the article does not go into much detail about the device that we do not know already, there is a rather tasty interview with the Tenori-On creator which outlines some of the design concepts behind the device along with the hinting of it officially coming to the US in 2008.
Be sure check out the link along with the accompanying CNET video on their site.
.:Alert-Live at Parallel 17:.
This week's liveset is another linked over from Denvertronic.com (Is Denver that big of a LivePA hotspot?) and it is a very nice change up from some of the past music we have seen on the site. This week's set is a nice down tempo breaks set from Alert. Alert is also the owner of Dope Recordings.
Be sure to check it out if you are looking for more music in this vein. Also, a big ups to Denvertronic.com for dishing up yet another great liveset.
Being that the 25th Anniversary of Blade Runner is coming out now, I thought it might be appropriate to dig up a great video of the film's main composer and one of music's great virtuoso's messing around with his Yamaha CS80.
A great video of a live duo performing. Even better is that it has a live drummer, which is something I would love to see more of from LivePA artists. Electronic sets are getting cheaper and cheaper these days.
.:Ableton Live 7 Released:.
Looks like Ableton after a very short BETA run of the new Ableton Live software has released version 7.0 to the masses. As part of this new 7.0 release Ableton has gone the route of so many other DAW manufacturers these days and has "created" a suite with the release of its software.
As part of this suite comes six new instruments including an electric piano, a VA synth, a string modeling synthesizer, and a couple of drum synths.
The price for Ableton 7 is still at $499 US and the suite package comes in at $799. For those people who have purchased version 6 since October of this year, you are eligible for a free upgrade. There are also several upgrade paths available for all of the Ableton Live users regardless of your version with prices starting at $119. For more information head on over to the Ableton website.
The above video is an interview tour with the famous Jean Michael Jarre regarding his latest Oxygene Live Tour and the recording of that tour for DVD. A moderately interesting video that gives you some great gear porn shots of Jarre's setup.
via Musicthing
.:Bit Shifter Live at Openair 2003:.
Since it seems that the fantastically planned Blip Festival is just wrapping up, I think it might be appropriate that we feature as many of the Blip Festival artists on the next few LivePA Podcasts as possible.
So with that, lets go ahead and get this week's liveset started by featuring a liveset from one of the more well known 8bit artists out on the net, Bit Shifter.
Quote:Bit Shifter explores high-energy, low-bit music composed and performed on a Nintendo Game Boy. The result is an unapologetically fun foray into an evocative and distinctive soundset traditionally reserved for video game sound effects and background music, all done on a console generally misperceived as being technically limited. Made possible by Oliver Wittchow and Johan Kotlinski's respective home-brew Game Boy musicmaking programs Nanoloop and Little Sound DJ, Bit Shifter's music adopts and subverts the playfulness inherent in the familiar Game Boy soundset, repurposing it into the service of novel idioms. Based in New York City, Bit Shifter has performed over one hundred shows worldwide, having recently circumnavigated the planet in a 20-date world tour with fellow chiptune compatriot Nullsleep
For more information about Bitshifter heand on over to his website bit.shifter.net
.:BlipFestival.org:.
All I have to say about this piece of hardware is, "Damn that is hot!!"
via Makezine.com
Back at this past 2007 Winter NAMM a lot of people were raving about the newly announced Korg Zero 8. Although it is amazingly priced at around $1,800 it certainly has its share of bells and whistles with eleven different EQ models, built in effects, firewire and more.
Holotropik in the above video has a nice little display of the model in action. Too bad you can't tell how good it sounds from these videos, but if they do show anything it surely demonstrates that Korg knows how to make something that is glittery and shiny.
An imaginative remix if I do say so myself, courtesy of Japanese techno soldier Denkitribe. Features an Electribe MX and a Mini KP. Unfortunately, I was unable to dig up much information on this artist.
The Miko workstation is the latest droolworthy invention from the eggheads over at Open Labs. As you can see in the video, the Miko further blurs the line between DAW and PC by integrating control surfaces like a 37-key semi-weighted keyboard, a control module featuring 5 faders, 5 Modes buttons, 3 Transpose buttons, 5 directions buttons and 5 Transport buttons, a qwerty keyboard, and a Penny & Giles crossfader (among other things) with a windows-based computing architecture and an impressive built in 24 bit/96khz audio interface with multiple ins and outs. The idea is to completely replace the need to bring any other hardware to the stage, as it offers itself up as a seamless host for literally all PC-compatible audio software.
The Miko also offers a full complement of PC goodness, including multiple expansion slots (like PCI/PCIE spaces and empty 3.5" drive bays), an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a dual layer DVD-RW drive, and a hard drive that is expandable up to 1.5 terabytes, and even a 10/100 ethernet card and wifi. While the Summer NAMM video is a bit dry and noisy, it gets the point across and shows off all the major features; visit the the Open Labs homepage for a full rundown of features, specs, ad copy, audio demos and videos of famous people talking about how cool it is.
There are several different versions, including the scaled-down Neko and the attrociously titled Timbaland Edition; the standard model retails around $4,099 USD.
Long before slick dance clubs began to shake all night to the sound of electronically created music, the reclusive elite of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was pioneering the art of sound design. While the art of Live PA evolved long after the Workshop ceased production, its role in the history of sound synthesis and electronic music cannot be denied. While most associate the Workshop with the classic British sci fi series Doctor Who, its history is much deeper and complex than the mere production of the series' strange sound effects. The documentary, which is actually in three parts, follows the evolution of the Workshop, and illustrates thecrucial role the Workshop played in history of electronic music. The section regarding the production methods used for the Doctor Who theme really are worth a watch, and the footage of the ancient hardware really tickles my vintage gear fetish.
Part 2
Part 3
.:Bulgur Brothers @ Mutek Mexico 12.10.2007:.
Here we go, a new liveset hot off the presses and for once on time this week. This week's liveset is from the Bulger Brothers who consists of Mikael Stavöstrand, Andreas Tilliander, Johan Skugge.
via Andersb
Sonicstate.com has a great video up that demonstrates some of the features of the new kaossilator. I have to admit that at first glance a few months ago I was not all that impressed by the kaossilator by its specs, but now looking at it being worked live it looks like it could be a wonderful live tool. It seems to be completely focused on improvisational music and does not store the phrases when you turn it off. The only question that I really have remaining is how deep can you edit the sounds, if at all.
via ProAudioNews.net
.:Decimal Live November 2007:.
It is technically still this week isn't it? Yeah, sure it is. For this week's liveset we have a performance from Chicago artist Decimal. In this liveset he is preparing for the release of some music and is taking his liveset in a different direction as he described below.
Quote:
This was preformed using a single laptop running Live, a UC-33 controller, and a radium 49 controller. I first prepared by breaking down parts and various sounds from many of my tracks (including much of my music forthcoming on several techno labels like Enemy, Material, and Stockholm LTD) Then i rearrange, reloop, and restructure the sampled audio in Live; reworking components and tracks from the ground up in real-time, improvisationally, to create new structures and unique blends, in addition to executing musical themes from my music in new and different ways.
Anyone familiar with any of my previous livesets may remember my penchant for providing a conceptual inspiration for the method of preformance. In this case, I am pushing my capacity as a performer by eliminating nearly all of the prearranged sequences(even longer ones) allowing me greater ability to improvise flow and structure, albeit at the expense of whatever crazy drama i could cook up. Granted i could perform these sequences live, but i usually have so much going on (sequencing everything else from the ground up, all the software to preform a many complicated sequences would tax my cpu) so its not feasible. I feel i have an adequate amount of directional control through a range of material and edited sources, all the while maintaining a powerful sound quality ('better than vinyl')
.
.:Bird-Electron.co.jp:. (Link in Japanese)
Looking to get that guerilla livePA rig up and running but just can't find a small enough mixer? Well then it looks like Bird Electronics has you covered. Recently announced is the new DJ5 micro mixer.
It has all of the standard features of your 2-channel DJ style mixer: A pair of 3.5-millimeter input and output jacks, left / right headphone volume and a slide switch for Line 1 / Line 2 / Mix. It also includes a steel and aluminum casing and the ability to run off of two AA batteries. Price is $132, but unfortunately this appears to be on sale in Japan only.
via Engadget.com
.:Grooveshark.com:.
Looking for another way to get your music online and perhaps make a little money? A new startup called Grooveshark will do just that, but it also seems to reward users and artists for reviewing other people's work.
The approach here is a little different then others however, with the interface acting as more as an application rather then a webpage.
Overall an interesting approach and perhaps worth a look in the sea of music sharing sites.
via ProAudioNews.net
Found this great video over at the LivePA.org boards. Here is a six year old, presumably named Dune from the video title, playing with Ableton live. I have no idea if he wrote the music (man it would be cool if he did write it), but at the very least it does demonstrate how easy to use Ableton is.
It leads you to wonder though. If a six year old can do it so easily, how talented really are all of you laptop users........ d-_-b
via LivePA.org
.:2x's the Tesla Coils = 2x's the Fun:.
And you thought hearing the Mario theme on a Tesla Coil was sweet. Now hear it in stereo!!!!!
.:Error404 LivePA @ Resistor 05-18-07:.
This week's liveset comes from Error404 from Birmingham England. Not a whole lot of information on this artist, as seems to be the case with so many livePA acts (man you guys need to start making some bios). He does have a myspace page though and several releases on what appear to be some netlabels.
Be sure to check him out over at .:Myspace.com/djerror404:.
.:Snowcap.com:.
Looking for another avenue to find free loops and samples on the net? Well looks like there is a new sample search engine in town and it is called Soundsnap.com, and it is supported by Digidesign.
At first glance It looks to be your standard search and find database, but after digging a little deeper it looks like the site actually is going for the web 2.0 community approach, allowing users to upload and share their samples. At the moment the sample library is a little sparse, being as new as it is, but give it some time and some eager users and I think it could take off.
Give it a check, I know you are always looking for that next good movie quote to throw over your techno.
via ProAudioNews.net
Here is a great video by I believe the group called ORQUESTRA MODULAR (the Youtube description is in Spanish) performing with a very nice mix of analog gear mixed with some laptops.
There is a very oldskool blips and bloops vibe going on here, and personally I love it. Wait.......Now I have to go watch Hackers again.
.:Tekkazulla - Live Jam Session:.
It has been a couple of weeks since the last liveset. Just laziness on my part.
So this week's liveset comes from Andy "Tekkaz" Carter and Mazzula from a weekly event that they are holding over in the UK called Load. Unfortunately I do not have any more information on this weekly event or on the artists, so if someone has more info, please pass it along my way.
via Bassblip Blog
.:Pro Tools Mbox 2 Micro:.
Ok, I suppose I should post this one simply because it is worthy news, but after you read the info on it you will probably roll your eyes wondering what the heck Digidesign is thinking on this one.
Digidesign has released a new USB dongle extension to its Mbox lineup called the Mbox 2 Micro. What I can only presume their aim here is, is to further allow laptop users more mobility from the traditional Mbox while on the road. Unfortunately this little USB plug comes up extremely short. It is nothing more then a glorified USB dongle with 1/8" headphone output and no audio inputs. Ohh and by the way, it costs $279!!!!!!
Wait, what? Are they serious? Digidesign, come on. It is 2007. I can understand how you want to have the hardware connection for security reasons, but really, this thing should be packed into the box of every Pro Tools purchase as a convenience to your customers.
.:VAX-77 Foldable Keyboard:.
Looking to make sure you get your midi keyboard on your next flight as carry-on luggage instead of checking it in? As you can expect this keyboard features 77 keys along with the standard gamut of midi features such as custom weighted keys, USB in/out, 4 input pedals, 2 128x64 displays, etc, etc.
It comes in four colors, aptly named "blood red," "screaming yellow," "emerald green," "basic black" and "ocean blue". No price or specifc release date yet, but the manufacturer states that this information should be out around this winter's NAMM.
via Gizmodo.com
.:Live Performance in the Age of Super Computing:.
Now here is an interesting read. Artist and producer Robert Henske Henke has written an interesting article. In this article he talks about the impact that computers, mainly the laptop have had on performance. It is an interesting comparison discussing the subtle and not so subtle issues that make computers debatable musical instruments.
Quote:
A classical non-electronic musical instrument relies on a constant user-interaction in order to produce a sound. The instrument has specific physical properties, defining its sound and the way it wants to be played. The music is a result of the properties of the instrument and the skills of the player...Now, explain to someone why pressing a space bar on a computer sounds like Bruce Springsteen one time and, the next time you try, it makes no sound at all. With ‘real' instruments, it is also obvious that precision, speed, volume, dynamics, richness, and variation in sound are the result of hard work, and that becoming a master demands training, education, and talent. Without the player doing something, there is nothing but silence.
.:Last MIT Flea Market of 2007 Tomorrow!!!!!!:.
For those of you circuit bending maniacs out there, tomorrow is your last chance to hit up the MIT Flea market for 2007 for your last bit of wires, transistors and all the other good stuff.
For more complete information on the MIT flea market, be sure to hit up my previous post on it .:here:.
I found this nice 31 minute liveset from Wire03 at Divx's upload media site Stage6. A little word of warning for those out there. You will need to download and install the Divx webplayer to probably play the video, but the quality is extremely good for a web stream.
.:Terpstra Generalized MIDI Keyboard:.
Now here is a crazy, crazy midi controller. The Terpstra is a microtonal keyboard with an interesting sextuple key interface. It really is too hard for me to describe so I am just going to leave it to the website to adequately explain.
The TERPSTRA generalized MIDI keyboard is a professional grade studio and live-performance MIDI controller. Its design is well suited for any MIDI-based application that requires a rich control surface.
Key parameters such as max/min position, velocity curves, key note, key channel, and button behaviour can be programmed via SYSEX for each key. A PC-based key-programming utility comes with the product. Any software that can send customizable SYSEX commands can be used, such as Apple's Logic Pro. A full microtonal Logic Pro environment using Logic grand-piano samples is available. Manuel Op De Coul's free SCALA program will play microtonal notes on inexpensive PC-based hardware.
.:Simian Mobile Disco Shows Us Their Live Gear:.
Simian Mobile Disco, best known for their studio work with bands like Justice, Klaxons The Go! Team and The Rapture. Give a nice video interview with XL8R magazine showcasing their gear that they are using on their first live solo tour.
The embed code does not appear to be working so your going to have to follow the link.
.:Modulate.org.uk:.
Modulate is a UK collective of artists exploring experimental sound and visuals. The group creates everything from music to visuals to multi-speaker installations. They will event setup and help with organizing events.
They also have a new 5.1 surround sound DVD featuring visuals and music for sale now on their website. They appear extremely open to communication and collaboration with other artists and event organizers of all sorts, so if you are interested give them a shout.
.:Drew Pitcher LivePA @ Bump303 July 4, 2007:.
This week's liveset comes from Drew Pitcher and is a nice underground techno set from Bump303 this past July. The music is not overly dancy, but does have that nice late night 3am sort of vibe to it that is nice to just throw on in the car stereo while driving.
For more information about Drew Pitcher head on over to his Myspace page at Myspace.com/drewpitchermusic
via Denvertronic.com
.:Radikal Technologies - Spectralis:.
The Radikal Technologies Spectralis. Perhaps one of the most talked about new pieces of hardware showcased at NAMM a few years ago, it quickly was gone and never seen in the press afterwards. It looks to be the killer all in one box that all livePA artists have looked for, but for some reason it just does not seem to be all that popular. I have no idea why. It could be the $2,500 price tag (although people drop $1500 on MachineDrum's and Jomox 09's all the time), it could be that the thing is buggy. Personally I have no idea, but I would bet that there are a good few number of people out there who have absolutely no idea what the thing is.
The specs are pretty full on this one, and you can find them in the company's PDF Brochure, but I will spell out a few here.
4 free running oscillators
2 Analog filters
8 bandpass, 1 hi-pass, and 1 digital low-pass filter
96 step, 16 song, 256 pattern sequencer.
48 voice polyphony with synthesis, and multi-sample capabilities
8 audio outs, USB 2.0, SmartCard support
So anyone have any experience with one of these. I have never seen on in the wild myself and I would love to hear from anyone out there who is an owner.
Ambrosia Software - WireTap Studio Preview
Well it has been a rather slow week with respects to LivePA. Just not much is coming out. That being said I did find this interesting new small recording software called WireTap Studio from indie mac developers Ambrosia Software.
WireTap is essentially a lightweight recording piece of software that allows you to "record anything". You can record any line in or internal software applications audio source. What is nice is that you can isolate internal software sounds for recording. It also features up to two simultaneous isolation slots for software.
The software is designed to be extremely lightweight and small and offers live preview of your recordings as well as a fully expanded audio editor or minimized record view. It might even be light enough to throw onto your laptop and record your internal session of of Ableton Live, well.......Live!!!!!
No news or pricing as of yet, but you can see some videos showcasing the software at the above link. Word is, it should be released sometime this coming week for a rather reasonable price.
via TUAW.com
Quote:
Korg has introduced a new multi-effect device belonging to the Pandora product line. The Korg Pandora PX5D is a multi-effect processor for guitar that includes the REMS modeling technology and can be used for playing or recording guitar tracks.
The Korg Pandora PX5D features 180 different effects (18 guitar and 10 bass amps, cabinets and effects), up to 7 simultaneously, 100 factory and 100 user programs, 128 drum and bass patterns, built-in tuner, phrase rhythm trainer utility, guitar and aux inputs, line output and USB port (to connect it to a computer and record guitar tracks). This multi-effect processor has 3-band EQ, gain and volume controls, 4-way navigation button and backlit LCD display.
This device can be powered with 2 AA batteries or by the USB port. The Korg Pandora PX5D’s price will be £189.
Now here is an interesting one. I popped onto a couple of my frequently visited online music stores and noticed that none of them seem to have the Korg Electribes for sale any longer. Now it does appear that the ESX-1 and the EMX-1 are still available, but the good ole' "classic" EA-1, ER-1 and ES-1 are no longer available.
It also appears that the EA-1 and the ER-1 have been removed from the Korg website as you can see in the image below. I mentioned that earlier in the year, but at the time all of the electribes were still available in stores. Now it appears they truly are gone. 
Ok, it looks liked I finally have figured out what has been going on with the RSS feeds. It looks like it was the feed redirect option in Blogger here actually shut down the rest of the feeds. Well I turned off that re-direct and all of the feeds should be working as normal now.
.:The PlaydoeBand - Acoustitronica Studio Jam Session:.
Received an nice email from this band this week informing me of the group and their recordings. So here we have for this week's liveset, a jam session recording of the group PlaydoeBand. It is an interesting sort of Acoustitronica with what appears to be live percussion with synth harmonies overlaid.
For more information head on over to their website at theplaydoeband.co.uk
In the latest episode of The Electronic Musician Podcast, I covered as my topic for discussion LivePA. Essentially my discussion is an outline of my LivePA Getting Started Guide posted here on the boards. If you are interested in hearing it, or if you are just interested in checking out a great (wink, wink) podcast for electronic music producers head on over to http://www.tem.podshow.com to check it out.
.:Relcad livePA @ Studio 52 6-15-07:.
This week's liveset comes from Seattle based electronic musician Alex Duff aka. Reclad.
Relcad's output spans across many contemporary electronic music genres with a focus on experimentation in both sound design and the composition process. This set was recorded at Studio 52 in Denver.
For more information on Reclad head on over to his website: Reclad.com
via denvertronic.com
.:MysteryCircuits.com:.
Looking for some interesting circuit bending projects? Well the projects of Mike Walters span the entire gamut of circuit bending from bent toys to bent synthesizers. Click on over to find out information on each of the projects that he has completed.
.:Korg Kaossilator - Dynamic Phrase Synthesizer:.
Korg is rolling out some new gear. This one is the Kaossilator, which is a small synthesizer or sorts that is controlled apparently from the X-Y pad only. Unfortunately there does not appear to be a lot of info on the device, but it is slated to be around 120 pounds.
via Musicthing
.:LTK Live Algorhythm - Recorded 7.20.2007:.
This week's liveset comes from the artist LTK.
Quote:
ltk (lu na tik) is a creator/interpreter of electronic sounds focused
both on the dancefloor and the mind. forming musical ideas for most
of his life, ltk blends all influences into an array of sonic art.
his label, Wreckless Recordings, releases future focused dance music.
with one foot in the dj booth and the other in the avante garde
performance space, ltk straddles the worlds of experiment and its
application.
equally comfortable playing live improvisations or genre-bending dj
sets, ltk performances are full of surprise and satisfaction.
with releases on a host of labels including Leftroom, Wreckless,
Kassette, Giant Squid, and a slew of other projects in the works, ltk
divides his time between the studio, the dj booth, and the outside
world.
.:Patching Up A Gig With Reason:.
The above link is a nice little summary outlining the ways in which Reason's racks can be utilized for a live performance setting.
Looks like Nine Inch Nails has jumped onto the Youtube bandwagon and released some offical live videos onto the site. Up right now appear to be a couple of a very nice live performance videos. Click the video above to find an additional video.
Are users out there having problems with the RSS and Atom feeds at all?
I have noticed that some of the feeds appear to not be updating correctly, and many have stopped back in August. We do have at least one feed, our Feedburner feed working correctly.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/livepa
If anyone is having problems with the feeds, please try to re-subscribe with the feedburner one. I will look into what may be casuing the other feeds to stop working.
.:ApogeeDigital.com:.
If you've been in the market for a small, handsome, and high-quality portable audio recording solution, Apogee has just released a two-channel, 24bit / 96kHz interface that should make your everyone's mouth droo . The Duet's breakout cable provides two phantom powered, XLR inputs, two unbalanced instrument inputs, and two unbalanced monitor outs; a headphone jack, multi-function knob, LED meters, and Firewire port. AIf you're looking for one of the best audio sounds around for your next live gig, the Apogee might be a nice little box to add to your laptop. It is available in September for $495.
via Engadget.com
.:Logic Studio Mainstage:.
Looks like Apple has finally updated Logic Pro and from what I hear it needed it. While I won't go into the details here about all of the new features, there is one significant feature that could be extremely useful for livePA artists. This new feature is a performance platform called Mainstage.
Mainstage offers Keyboard racks to get started quickly using keyboard templates featuring Studio Instruments and Studio Effects, or build your own custom rack with personalized sounds, layers, and splits. Custom templates to design your performance setup to your own style and song arrangement. Hardware controls for keyboards and controls surfaces.
Additional features include a guitar setup for tone manipulation as well as the ability to monitor midi inputs, memory usage and more. For more information check the link above.
About the only think off the top of my head that is missing would be ReWire support for other encironments like Reason and Ableton Live.
For more information on Logic Studio itself checkout Apple.com/logicstudio
.:ProAudioNews.net:.
Here is a cool website. Do you like Digg.com, but find that audio related articles get lost in the mix? Well it looks like someone out there has made a Digg clone designed just for audio production news and information. Right now the site still looks young, in a sort of BETA mode, but help it out by sending in traffic and hits. While your at it submit some of your own news, like.....lets say the LivePA Blog.
Acid Hazard - Live @ Camped Out 2007
Following up with the Acid Hazard video that we posted earlier this week, I now present everyone the complete liveset (in much better quality) of that performance.
Someone having fun by placing Piezo triggers in pants. Surprised someone hasn't done this sooner.
via Engadget.com
There just seems to be a whole avalanche of info coming through my inbox at the moment. It seems that Sonicstate has gotten some really good hands on time with the new Tenori-On, sitting down with creator Yu Nishibori to get the premiere hands on demonstration.
While I totally want a Tenori-On, and I think the interface is awesome, I am still skeptical on the sounds. I have yet to hear details on what sounds are in it and how we can shape and create our own sounds.
Our next little promotion is for the Chemical Brothers performing Live Septemeber 21st at the Hammerstien Ballroom and Septemeber 22nd at McCarren Pool.
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The Chemical Brothers will embark on their first proper US live tour in over 5 years this September 2007 with two NYC dates presented by Made Event on Friday, September 21 at Hammerstein Ballroom and with Ladytron on September 22 at McCarren Park Pool. As with previous tours, the band takes this new live show to even greater heights with ground-breaking auditory technology and retina scorching visuals by FLATNOSEGEORGE. This tour is their full live experience- not a DJ tour. The Chemical Brothers sixth long player, We Are The Night was released on July 17th 2007 and debuted as the #1 album in the UK - their 5th straight UK #1 album.
Now here is something that doesn't happen everyday. Today the site received a nice email letting us know that Underworld and The Chemical Brothers both have shows coming up in the next two weeks. I will follow this post with The Chemical Brothers info, but check below for the Underworld Performance.
And if anyone else has details on festivals or events in their area that feature livePA artists, let us know with an email and we may feature it on the site.
Info:
Underworld will launch an extensive world tour this September 2007 with an exclusive New York City date presented by Made Event at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on Friday, September 14th. This long-awaited tour marks their first stretch of U.S. shows since 2003.
Immediately following the Central Park show, The Official Underworld Afterparty will be held at Webster Hall with world-class DJs Danny Tenaglia & Lee Burridge and Border Community's – James Holden & Fairmont Live (Jake Fairley).
Nice video of Acid Hazard performing live at Camped Out in Belgium. There is also some audio available for this performance which I shall link to soon for this week's liveset.
So last evening I went to a concert at a summer festival. Overall the festival and the music was pretty good. It was not LivePA, but my experience from last night made me think about something that has happened to me more than once, and all LivePA artists need to think about.
This experience that I am talking about is me standing waiting for the next act to come on for over an hour!!!! After the first band ended playing, the crowd was very excited for the next band to come on. However, it took over an hour for the next band to setup their gear.
Over an hour!!!!!!
Now this is actually an experience that I have had more than once at several shows and it is something that drives me absolutely crazy. Now it is my personal opinion that there really should be no reason whatsoever that it takes a band over an hour to setup and sound-check. It just kills the crowd. It got so bad last night that the crowd ended up shouting at the stage.
Sometimes I think some of these roadies stretch out the sound-check so they can get in a little self indulgent playing of the instruments themselves on stage. I know we have all seen it before. The roadie on the drum set, starting off hitting the individual drums for the sound-check, but then all of a sudden busting out into a ten minute drum solo of their own.
Really I think there is no excuse. As an artist you or your roadies should be prepared way before the show. You should know how your are going to run your cables, where your setup is going, and if at all possible setup as much gear as you can before hand so all you have to do is plug in when the opening act is done. When people are paying good money for your show, they do not want to wait over and hour to listen to your roadies have fun with your gear.
You owe the audience a little something and you should be prepared to get out there on stage as fast as possible after the opening act is done.
.:Pacemaker.net:.
The folks over at Digital Lifestyles have had the privledged opportunity of demo'ing what I think to be a very unique and very cool looking piece of DJ equipment. What I am talking about is none other than the Tonium Pacemaker, a palm sized DJ tool with a great interface and fantastic LCD screen.
There are not a lot of details on the device as of yet, but what I do know is that the device features a 120GB harddrive, a touch sensitive cross fader, a jog wheel and several LCD's and buttons. At first you might be wondering how this all works. Well fear not, Digital Lifestyles has had the opportunity of filming the little device in action and if the final versions look and work half as well as this prototype I can see this becoming a very cool tool. Price however appears to be rather steep at an estimated 529 Euros, or roughly $1000.
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The version we played with was the only unit in the world at the time and made of a prototyping material, but still conveyed a quality feel about it. It’s clearly a device that has been deeply thought about during its creation.
.:COSM Live at Evolve New Zealand:.
This week's liveset comes from an artist that has been featured on the blog before. COSM brings another great set back this week with a performance from the Evolve festival of New Zealand.
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I've uploaded my electro/breaks set from a few weekends ago at a nightclub party called Evolve for anyone who is keen. I played in a second zone from the main zone, which was blasting trance all night and had Kyau and Albert as the headliners. The second zone was dead. Completley dead.. so I began experimenting hard.. and to my absolute joy it packed out within 5 minutes of me starting. Very bad soundsystem, but enough for punters to go hard on. I pluged my gear into the pioneer 600 line in, moved all the decks and cdjs back and jumped around like a real idiot. It was sponsored event by a mainstream radio station, so i played to quite a few characters who I have never seen in our scene before.. lots of mainstream people (who loved the boom shake the room remix) Hope ya like it. Some of you may recognise a lot from my fetish ball set.
Cheers, and remember to spread this as much as you feel like it helps me a lot.
.:Rogerlinndesign.com:.
Roger Linn as released the latest version of the uber popular beat synced effects box the Adrenalinn.
The new model keeps in step with all of the features and form of its predecessors, but adds 40 additional amp models, better percussion a new reverb and compression algorithm and more. See the complete list below.
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Like its predecessor, AdrenaLinn III provides a superb guitar modeler plus a wide variety of unique modulation and delay effects--including innovative looped filter sequences--all in synch to the built-in programmable drum machine or MIDI. The new model adds reverb, compression, tuner, enhanced modulation effects and brings the number of amp models up to 40 (including 4 bass amps) with improved tube emulation, presence and tonal accuracy. New MIDI enhancements permit control of nearly all settings from MIDI foot switches and expression pedals, and the functions of the 2 panel foot switches may now be reassigned. User presets and drumbeats are doubled to 200 each and come filled with inspiring new examples of why this unique idea-creation box has earned the praise of Eric Clapton, John Mayer and many others.
.:Elektronc.se:.
More tragic news in the world of music makers. It appears that one of the founding members of Elektron, makers of the uber cool Machinedrum, Monomachine and Sidstation, has been killed in a car accident.
It really is too bad when great music minds are struck down short. Elektron gear is absolutely amazing and some of the best hardware still being produced.
To express your condolences to the Elektron team and Daniel's family you can send an email to condolences (at) elektron.se.
via LivePA.org
.:SoundSquare Standoff: Monome vs. Tenori-On:.
Cnet.com has a very nice article that outlines a comparison between the Monome and the soon to be released Tenori-on. Good to see some major news outlets picking up on these otherwise obscure product releases.
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The latest testament to the geek appeal of blinking pixels are two handheld electronic musician interfaces called the Monome and the Tenori-On. Both are slated for a new release in the next few months and while they have a lot in common conceptually, there are a few key differences between the two that I'll explore here.
Even if you couldn't care less about electronic music, these products demonstrate stunning interface design (not to mention eye candy). Remember, it was an obscure music interface company named Jazz Mutant that pioneered the multi-touch screen interface long before the iPhone came to town.
I really don't need any more explanation for this one, except that you better love your acid. Man I wish the audio quality was better.
Forum member evanm978 at livepa.org has posted information about his custom midi controller and its integration with Reaktor.
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Ok,
I have been sitting on some of this stuff for awhile but.. here it is.
If you don't know already, i have these led button interfaces that I use with my custom reaktor patch.
