Sebastien Leger does it again with Plik Plok

Edited: June 21st, 2010

Studio Tour

By Alex Massaad

A few months back I made a quick studio video showing the spaace where I record music, you can check outthe tour of the lab but I have something new to show you.

The video of the lab was shot back in April. Since that point I have made a few upgrades, and room changes.

New Studio Set Up

In this setup I’m using KRK Rokit8′s with an ERGO for room geometry correction. My main system is a Macbook Pro with an HD external monitor. Also hanging on the walls are home-made Ready Acoustics bass traps. (4 inch fibreglass sound absorbing material on the mirror points & room corners)

For software I’m mostly using Ableton Live and Logic. The only real hardware that I have is a DSI Mopho and a (hidden) m-audio controller.

Edited: June 18th, 2010

Linked and Unlinked Region Loops in Ableton Live

By Alex Massaad

Hey there, I have to be brief because I’m just leaving the studio to do yoga (down the hall but I wanted to share an awesome Ableton Live feature that I’ve been using almost every time I work on a Live project now. This my friends is a quick tutorial on linked and unlinked region loops within Ableton Live. I’m using Live 8, but this will apply to older versions, or just check out the demo free on the Ableton site.

Click to enlarge

Normally when you click the little “e” in the bottom left of the clip window, you are taken to the clip envelopes page. This is really neat, because rather than deal with all the envelopes (read: all the automation) in the arrangement view, this can set up automation in the session view. It also helps when we want a repeating and looping modulation on a clip.

In the image above I have a simple kick drum pattern set up. Generally on the bass track I would set up volume automation to simulate the effect of a side chain compressor with a few advantages.

First, it takes up zero cpu.

If you think about that, you could have dozens of audio clips playing with all sorts of crazy modulation playing LIVE. Zero fear of a plugin locking up a live show or any of that junk. All you would have is a simple volume automation on a white noise clip to make it pulse to the beat. Actually, don’t do that, I’m going to do that!

Second, you only have to draw it once per clip, only one curve! See image below for an unlinked region loop

Click to enlarge!

If you “unlink” the region/loop button, and drag the loop brace to the first perfect loop you will notice it replaying the automation curve you drew once, on top of every consecutive beat. I hope I’ve explained this clearly and hopefully it helps someone save some time! I bet a video capture tutorial would have been more clear.

Edited: June 15th, 2010

Arp Song Preview

I have been using one synthesizer quite a lot for one song to try and test the creative limitations of the synthesizer as well as improving my production skills. This time the synth I stuck to the ARP-2600 but for the next song I’m going to add my new Mopho, maybe I can make it play a chord!?

ARP Song 07 – Effect-ive by coldplaysucks

Edited: June 14th, 2010

Not much between despair and ecstasy

[THE AMERICAN]
Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don’t know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner

Time flies — doesn’t seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it
All change — don’t you know that when you
Play at this level there’s no ordinary venue

It’s Iceland — or the Philippines — or Hastings — or –
or this place!

[COMPANY]
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you’re lucky then the god’s a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me

[THE AMERICAN]
One town’s very like another
When your head’s down over your pieces, brother

[COMPANY]
It’s a drag, it’s a bore, it’s really such a pity
To be looking at the board, not looking at the city

[THE AMERICAN]
Whaddya mean? Ya seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town –

[COMPANY]
Tea, girls, warm, sweet
Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite

[THE AMERICAN]
Get Thai’d! You’re talking to a tourist
Whose every move’s among the purest
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine

[COMPANY]
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me

[THE AMERICAN]
Siam’s gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a
Muddy old river or reclining Buddha

And thank God I’m only watching the game — controlling it –

I don’t see you guys rating
The kind of mate I’m contemplating
I’d let you watch, I would invite you
But the queens we use would not excite you

So you better go back to your bars, your temples, your massage
parlours –

[COMPANY]
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me

Edited: June 14th, 2010

Florence Fridays: Cosmic Love

Another single from Florence + her beautiful sounding machine! This time Cosmic love gets a whimsical music video treatment full of smokey light, and vivid sets. Quite an awesome music video, worth a view:

Edited: June 8th, 2010

Excited that iPhone 4 will solve the oil spill

I’m very excited about the new iPhone announced today by Apple. Most of all I’m pleased about how environmentally friendly it will be!

Edited: June 7th, 2010

Deux points et le remix de Nic Fanciuli

I started listening to Lusine when I heard the Two Dots Music Video shortly after hearing a remix on Pete Tong’s show.

I could not find the song anywhere for quite a while (Tong is somewhat legendary for his exclusive tracks) and decided to embark upon a remix of my own. I set it up and even worked on it in San Diego, in the airport, and in different environements to see how that affected the process.

This might be a project I pick up over the next few weeks, but in the mean time I have some great news. I found the remix. It’s standing tall, at over 8 minutes; its great.

Edited: June 7th, 2010

“Miike Snow – The Rabbit” – How to find the download

I wish that this were up online to listen to, but so far I can only find this YouTube version of The Rabbit.

I have heard great things about the Miike Snow live show, unfortunately I missed it the last time they were near my area. In the mean time I can listen to this new single “The Rabbit.” I remember somebody saying that it was much more interesting to watch them perform their music because of the way they were interacting with their gear. Unfortunately I can’t say much more than this, other than I’m glad that artists and DJ’s are remembering their audience while they are up there wrangling a tonne of complicated gear (or wrangling a tonne of beer!)

The only downside is that its hard for me to play this within my regular rotation of music, since I can’t buy it yet, I guess I’ll have to find a download on zippyshare or rapidshare, or one of those sharing sites.

Edited: June 6th, 2010

Avoid standing beneath a laze plume

I was just browsing a Volcanos site and they mention that if you’re near a sea-water volcano you should avoid standing beneath a laze plume. This somehow seems like significant information if you were to ever came across an underwater volcano in a boat.

Edited: June 2nd, 2010