Blawan Mix from Sonic Router

Were really enjoying Blawans recent releases while perhaps not strictly speaking “Techno” We felt we had to push this guys stuff out its that sharp.

Check this tune

Now the Blawan Mix

INTERVIEW: Blawan [Hessle Audio] – Reposted from Sonic Router

One such dude we felt compelled to push, is Blawan. The Hessle Audio backed producer – his debut 12” on the label ‘Fram’ b/w ‘Iddy’ was released recently – has a strong and rugged approach to his drum lines; a similarity he shares with label mate Joe and to a lesser extent – given this player’s more dancefloor centric wanderings of late, Ramadanman. Making tonal wanderings simply from his selected percussion he booms out bass stabs on ‘Iddy’ rollocking through the beat’s progression with whispered layers of phrase and machine hum atmospherics plucked straight from the bows of dystopian warships and the winding lead synth on ‘Fram’ could have been taken straight out of Kode 9’s ‘Black Sun’ era. It’s simply the way he cracks out his drum loops that grabbed our attention, subtle snaps of snare drum piquing through the top end perfectly.

We caught up with the South Yorkshireman between train journeys, giving him the opportunity to further introduce himself and his music ahead of his forthcoming date at fabric for the Hessle Audio takeover…

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

Blawan: For starters I am not Ben UFO despite the kind rumors. My name is Jamie, I am a DJ/Producer originally from the cultural melting pot that is Barnsley and I recently had my debut release on Hessle Audio.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

On the daily, I drink a lot of tea, don’t finish tunes, delete ones that I have finished and get easily distracted…

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?

Like a lot of people, school really got me into music. I went to a pretty rough school that thanks to Labour’s deprived schools policy had mint facilities, so I started playing drums at the age of 10. I first got into making electronic music on a dodgy version of Fruity Loops when I was 15 but didn’t really get serious about making tunes until I was about 18. Prior to the Hessle Audio release I had a pretty random musical background. I used to drum in a couple of bands playing like post-punk stuff as well as making dance tunes, and just muddled it along until now.

What’s your production set up like? What’s your favourite bit of kit in the studio?

My set-up is pretty simple, I run Ableton Live, midi controllers and some decent monitors… oh and some nice flat response headphones and that’s really it. My favorite bit of kit has to be my Ozone 4 plugin; it’s a sweet all rounder.

Where do you take inspiration from when making music? And how did you get into this current flux of dubstep?

Erm, that’s a hard question, I’ve always found it hard to pin point what inspires me to make a tune and to be honest I still don’t really know. I think trying to keep my mind occupied when making a tune helps, as I find makings tunes when am bored rarely has a decent outcome or it ends up turning out as some weird jacking house thing.

I got into dubstep around late 2004/5. Before this, mates from Sheffield used to send me their badly recorded vinyl rips of Big Apple releases and old garage tunes and things just carried on down the usual routes from there really. I’ve also always had a passion for house music and think that’s had a big impact on me musically. The tune that really pushed me to think I wasn’t just making some weird garage type music was Pangaea’s ‘You & I’ (HES006). The vibe caught me perfectly, it’s still easily my favorite tune to date.

How would you describe your sound? You’ve got this proper tough percussion going on that drives everything… is the rhythm a main focus for you when making tunes?

Honestly, if I could just make drum loops for a living I would. Percussion is definitely something I focus a lot of my attention on when producing. Other elements of my tunes are always considered but are subtle enough to make sure they don’t take away purpose from the rhythm and percussive melodies. The outcome of that in a tune is something minimal, but I fought my last battles with complex synth arrangements a long time ago and bare rhythms win hands down for me each and every.

Your first couple of releases are out now on Hessle and Folkwood respectively. How did you link the releases?

My debut with Hessle was a pretty surreal affair, I had a few tunes that had been sitting around and one day, I just said ‘Fuck it. I’ll send these to Untold.’ I did that then within about 2 hours I got a phone call off David (Ramadanman) saying Jack sent him the tunes and the guys liked them and want to put something out. A simple but crazy outcome and I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to be in the Hessle camp. Oh and I still haven’t bought Jack a drink yet to thank him.

The folkwood thing really was something that happened a while ago, a group of friends at Uni got hold of some cash to press up some music. They asked me to submit a track so I did. The tune is kinda old now, but it’s nice to get bits out there when you can. Big up Ste Shine on that one! Oh and you guys for the kind words about it…

What other projects have you got in the pipeline? What’s happening with you in the rest of 2010? Gigs, releases, personal growth etc?

2010 has been an amazing year already; I am just focusing on putting out tunes I am happy with, when I can so theres no rush. Hopefully DJing as many gigs as I can because that’s what really gets me making more music. There are a couple of things in the pipeline that should be surfacing soon, so watch this space.

Any words of wisdom for our readers?

Yes, it needs to be strong with one sugar and milk. Secondly, catch me at Fabric on the 20th August, for the Hessle Audio takeover.

Posted on Techno Music News

Growing pains: US dance festivals meet the mainstream

Dance music is more popular than ever in the United States. But for organizers of large-scale festivals within the country, it's harder than ever to convince local governments that the events are anything more than lawless raves. October 2, 2010, was just another lazy Saturday in downtown San Francisco. Streetcars made their way up and down Market Street, the main artery of the city. Tourists wandered around the open space of Civic Center plaza, stopping to take pictures of the imposing architecture of City Hall. Everything was normal. It wasn't supposed to be this way, though. It was supposed to be a hotbed of activity, the site of the 2010 edition of the San Francisco LovEvolution parade. 100,000 people dancing the afternoon away to their favorite DJs in the city by the bay. 2010 was a challenging year for electronic dance music festivals both in the United States as well as abroad. Several high-profile incidents occurred at large events in California, including drug busts and overdoses. At the Electric Daisy Carnival over 200 people ended up in the emergency room, most of them suffering from drug-related symptoms. One person even died.  Dance music has reached a unique point in the United States. Festivals across the country reported record-breaking attendance figures in 2010: Electric Zoo in New York City had 50,000; Movement in Detroit had 95,000; Electric Daisy Carnival had 185,000. The HARD summer tour which hit 12 cities across the country was sold out even as Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) was reporting a summer tour slump for the music industry with mainstream acts like Christina Aguilera cutting shows due to soft sales. The profile of the music and the artists in the mainstream media, meanwhile, is perhaps the highest it has ever been. Diplo is appearing in commercials for Blackberry; Deadmau5 was the DJ at the MTV Video Music Awards; David Guetta is slowly becoming a household name. For those outside the United States, this may not seem like a big deal, but for the American dance music scene, it's unprecedented stuff. Dance music culture in the States has traditionally lived deep in the underground, out of view of the media, the music industry and the public eye. Now it's beginning to boil over into the realm of popular culture.  But just as the music is breaking into new territory in terms of recognition and appeal, the scene is experiencing growing pains as it tries to shake off the stigma of its predecessor, rave. There were few better examples of this situation than October's LovEvolution. Syd Gris, a spokesperson and organizer for the festival, told me that many of the organizers and city officials' specific concerns can be traced back to the 2009 event. Crowd control was a serious issue, as a record number of dance music fans poured into Civic Center plaza. "We went into planning this year knowing the city had valid concerns (as did we) over capacity issues of the Civic Center site due to the growing popularity of the event," Gris told me in an email exchange. "We had extensive plans to try and address these that we presented to the city, but after deaths at two other major West Coast EDM events in May and June, and then the Love Parade Germany tragedy in July, doing Civic Center was off the table regardless of the thoroughness of our safety plans." In response, LovEvolution organizers came up with an alternative plan: Move the event to the parking lot of Candlestick Park, a local sports stadium, and cancel the parade portion of the event. As a result, though, San Francisco bureaucracy came into play: Organizers were told they would need permits from the Parks and Recreation Department, but the process wouldn't be completed until two weeks before the scheduled date—not enough time to organize what was essentially a brand new event. The LovEvolution organizers were left with no choice but to cancel this year's celebration and instead focus on finding a new location for 2011. Perception, as Gris, pointed out in his e-mail, had as much to do with the event being canceled as anything else. The organizers recognized potential problems before the event, and they were prepared to address them in partnership with the City of San Francisco. But, with the current news cycle focusing on tragedies at nearby, yet unrelated, events, LovEvolution was finished before it could even begin.  This is nothing new. The United States has always had a troubled relationship with the music to which it gave birth. The last time 4/4 dance music was considered mainstream in the U.S. was back in the '70s with disco. When garage, house and techno began to emerge in the '80s, it was quickly embraced by audiences in Europe, but in the States, the music remained beneath the radar of mainstream media outlets like FM radio and MTV. The result is that most Americans can't tell the difference between various subgenres, like, for instance, techno and trance. No one knows this better than Lynn Tejada. Her Los Angeles-based PR firm, Green Galactic, has been representing electronic artists and events since 1993. Tejada explained to me how time and again she has encountered a complete lack of knowledge about the music in her contacts with the mainstream media in the States. In one case, she told a journalist about how she loved Detroit techno and the journalist responded that he liked Paul Oakenfold, too. It's this lack of knowledge about the music in the U.S. that has become the biggest hurdle for promoters to overcome. There is a big difference between techno and trance, not only in terms of the music itself but also in terms of each genre's audience. In the same way, there is a big difference between a music festival and a rave. But try explaining that to local government officials and the media. Someone who is trying to educate the public about these differences every chance he gets is Gary Richards, the Los Angeles promoter and DJ who started the HARD events. "From the very beginning," Richards told me, "I told city officials... 'Hey, we're not a rave, we're more like a concert.' We're trying to abide by all city rules and regulations... and we had [our own rules and regulations] before anything happened. We don't allow backpacks, we don't recommend glow sticks...we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on production...so people look at the stage, not at their friend giving them a glow stick massage or whatever they do." Richards began throwing raves in the early '90s in L.A., but then got into the music business working as an A&R for producer Rick Rubin. In 2006, he realized what he calls "the failing economics of putting out CD's" and decided to go back to being a promoter. But Richards quickly realized the overwhelming misperceptions about the kind of music and events he promotes. "I think at first when I was telling people this, they really didn't get it because most people think electronic music is electronic music and it's a rave. I think we're just getting over the hurdle, because they're seeing what we do is different." Richards is quite vocal about his feelings on raves and ravers: "I think rave is played out, it's yesterday news. I don't understand why in Los Angeles raving is associated with people wearing furry boots and pacifiers and glow sticks—I don't want to go and hang out with those people. I'd rather go hang out with Justice—they wear leather jackets and they're cool cats; it's just a different scene, and everyone just lumps it into one thing." For Richards, his events are no different than a traditional rock concert. "I like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Dr. Dre, Nine Inch Nails, I like all different kinds of music, so what I wanted to do was start HARD as something different, kind of like an anti-rave. I didn't want it to be like little kids and glow sticks jumping around and going crazy till four in the morning; I wanted to make it more like a rock concert that has dance elements." Rave was exported from the UK around 1990 to US cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit. From these major metropolitan cities, the rave scene took on regional flavors: Midwest techno, West Coast funky breaks, Florida progressive house. In the days before high speed internet, raves were the only place you could go to hear this music—the radio didn't play it, MTV didn't show it and few record stores carried it. But by the end of the decade, rave had runs its course: the kids got younger, the drugs more abundant, and it no longer became about the music. Except in California. The rave movement in California has continued to thrive in ways it hasn't been able to in other parts of the country.  The reasons for this are myriad: A large population pool, nice weather, lots of space to throw parties. There is also an idiosyncratic element to many of these events. In most of the US, hippies listen to Phish and The Grateful Dead; in Northern California, they listen to psy-trance and dubstep at massive festivals in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. In Los Angeles, teenage "candy ravers" listen to European trance at above-ground "raves" all over the city.  It's this youth element that has caused many of the problems for events in California, with Los Angeles acting as ground zero. Richards experienced this firsthand at a L.A. HARD event in 2009. Young concertgoers began jumping from the balcony to the floor of a venue to bypass security, and the event was shut down by the local fire department before the music even started. In addition, his 2010 HARD Summer event in July was rescheduled as a direct result of the incidents at this year's Electric Daisy Carnival. "As rave hysteria has returned,  the world will be watching." It hasn't just been California events that have been affected either. In just two years, Electric Zoo has become one of the largest and most-respected festivals in the United States by presenting high-caliber artists on scenic Randall's Island in New York City. When I approached the organizer, Made Event, about discussing the various issues of this article they declined, citing an unwillingness to participate in an article that was going to include the Electric Daisy Carnival. Their trepidation is understandable. With city permits, sponsors and public perception at stake, Electric Zoo doesn't want any collateral damage from a random event on the other side of the country with whom they have no affiliation. Other promoters who declined to participate include Goldenvoice, the group behind Coachella, and Insomniac, which presents the Electric Daisy Carnival. But for all their troubles, electronic music festivals in the States are beginning to catch up with Europe both in terms of size and musical content. There has clearly been an upsurge in interest for electronic music in the States over the past few years, and as attendance figures rise, it's crucial for promoters to work hand-in-hand with local communities. Perhaps no event personifies this better than Movement in Detroit. Since local promoter Paxahau took over the event, attendance has grown from 40,000 in 2006 to 95,000 in 2010. I spoke with Jason Huvaere, Director of the Movement Electronic Music Festival, about how Paxahau has been able to develop their event in coordination with the City of Detroit. Huvaere told me in an email that "from the first day we inquired about becoming the sole producers of the festival, city officials held our feet to the fire to ensure we were putting on an event that benefited the city. With the issues that occurred before we were involved during previous festivals, the standards that the city set to host the festival became even more stringent." Paxahau was able to meet the high standards of city officials. More importantly, Huvaere told me, "We set out to create a lasting bond with the city so they got to know who we were and what we were all about while conveying that we have a sincere interest in making the festival a success for the greater good of the music and the city. We continue to cultivate the relationship with the City of Detroit and they appreciate our transparent approach to planning for the festival." Huvaere's last point is perhaps the most important. For festivals to continue to succeed in the States, promoters must make their events as transparent as possible to their local communities, to show that, indeed, these festivals are concerts and not raves. The only way to change the public's opinion of this music and culture is to show that these events are not only safe but a vital part of the local economy. It's people like Fiona Ma, a California State Assemblywoman who represents the district just south of San Francisco, who need to see this. Ma recently introduced the US's first anti-rave act, a bill that aimed to ban DJ-headlined events in California. Although Ma eventually withdrew the legislation after receiving heavy criticism for the bill's broad scope, it shows that promoters have a long way to go in changing people's perception about dance music events. Now, more than ever, a new level of professionalism is required among those throwing large-scale events in the United States. As Syd Gris puts it, "It's crucial the community understands they have to carry themselves with poise and responsibility because as rave hysteria has returned, the world will be watching."   Reposted form residentadvisor.com

Dave Smith Instruments Announces the Tempest Analog Drum Machine

Whoa… its not often a piece of gear makes me salivate and immediately want one (Native instruments maschine was the last one:) ) but Dave Smith instruments (Dave smith is the guy whop created the legendary Prophet 5 analogue synth) just released at NAMM 2011 the details of his new analogue drum machine, the DSI Tempest, this piece of kit looks truly amazing.

A collaboration with Roger Linn, the tempest has 16 velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads and two pressure- and position-sensitive Note FX slide controllers.

The following is a video of Roger and Dave demonstrating the Tempest Drum Machine:

Doesn’t that sound amazing?

The tempest features:

• Each of the 6 analog voices has 2 analog oscillators plus 2 digital oscillators (with a large bank of included samples), Dave’s classic analog low-pass filter with audio-rate modulation, an additional high-pass filter, analog VCA with feedback, 5 envelopes, 2 LFOs, an extraordinary variety of analog modulation routings, and stunning sonic quality, warmth and punch. Although optimized for drum sounds, it excels at tuned sounds as well, and even doubles as a 6-voice analog synth. In addition to the 6 direct voice outputs, there are stereo mix outputs and phones outputs, plus 2 inputs for foot switches or expression pedals, MIDI in/out and USB.

• The performance-oriented operating system, 90 panel controls, and bright 256 x 64 OLED display work together to provide a tightly integrated, non-stop workflow: record a drumbeat in real-time, switch to another drumbeat and use the lit pads to record it using step programming, switch to another drumbeat and record tuned keyboard parts, use the 2 touch controllers to to record real-time note or beat-wide parameter animations, use the generous sound controls to edit any of the drum sounds, tweak the analog effects or drum mix, arrange beats in real time and record the live arrangement into a song, enter/exit Song mode and much more, all without ever stopping play.

• 16 pressure- and velocity-sensitive lit pads are arranged in a 2×8 configuration, providing intuitive access to all your fingers and providing the ideal compromise between the popular 4×4 pad arrangement (popular for real time programming ) and 1×16 arrangement (popular for step programming) because Tempest does both. The pads can be used to play 32 drum sounds (2 banks), mute/unmute the 32 sounds on playback, play and arrange 16 beats in real time, play one sound at 16 tunings (in a variety of scales) or 16 velocities, or as 16 time steps for step programming. The ROLL button permits creating drum rolls or repeated groove patterns by varying pad pressure as the beat records, and doubles as a momemtary “stutter” effect when the pads are assigned to play beats. Use the Sustain button on tuned parts like a keyboard’s Sustain pedal, or to choke drum sounds or drumbeats when the pad is released.

• Two pressure- and position-sensitive Note FX slide controllers permit real-time recording of note or beat-wide sound parameter changes into the drumbeat as you play. For example, record simultaneous filter frequency, tuning, envelope decay and pan changes for each note, or control similar parameters affecting the entire beat.

• A variety of unique effects are provided while maintaining a pure analog signal path: 1) Stereo analog compressor and distortion circuits affect the stereo output mix, 2) beat-synced delay is achieved by generating additional delayed note events within the sequencer, and 3) a beat-synced “stutter” effect is created entirely within the sequencer by looping short portions of the drumbeat on demand.

• The degree of swing timing can be adjusted in real time during playback. Roger used his entire bag of tricks to make the swing sound very human and natural.

The Tempest is expected to be available by June 2011 with a projected RRP of $1,999.00.

Plastikman - Richie Hawtin In the Studio

It’s been great to see Richie Hawtin resurrect his Plastikman alter ego – the name which catapulted him into global techno fame in the ‘90s and took the baton from Robert Hood’s minimal foundations to explore the realm of stripped-back electronic music further, elaborating on ‘80s electro and the essence of what techno was all about. Now with legions of millions of new fans since he and Minus became instrumental in forming the new, sexier side of grooving minimal techno, the time is right for him to educate some of these newer recruits in the ways of his highly influential history. 

 

With his ARKIVES box set coming early next year, documenting his body of work as Plastikman, we found ourselves with the opportunity to find out about how his studio set up and methods of producing have evolved over the years. His interviews are rarely anything less than inspiring and thought-provoking, and this rare opportunity to get inside his musical mind is no different. 

 

 

What did you first start making music on way back when? 

I remember Kenny Larkin and I doing some really early tests on an old Boss or Roland drum machine. It was like one piece and we were just playing around with it. I used to try to do drum patterns and try to match beats over the top to try to do something different. Then when we got going, one of the keyboards that I fell in love with and taught me a lot about music was the Chord Wave Station that was the first real keyboard I bought. Around that time everyone was also buying 101 and 303s. It was very basic in the very beginning; I think it was a Boss machine, but I can’t quite remember. 

 

When you started using the name Plastikman, did that coincide with you using new technology and equipment at the time?

Yes and no. Plastikman started in ’93 - it was maybe late ’92 when I started on the ideas of tracks. I spent two or three years becoming quite good with the 909 and the 303, I had quite a lot of tracks with few as Substance Abuse, Fuse, Overkill, Circuit Breaker...I was quite well known for that intense, acid sound. Plastikman was me going into the studio to try and get away from that sound to create something a little bit more subtle and sexy. At that moment I had just got a 606 drum machine and because the 606 and 303 had been made as companion pieces, I thought it would be a wonderful idea just to lock myself away with those two pieces and some others - perhaps a Juno 106, a 101 and probably some type of sequential circuit Pro-1 or 6-track. I would kinda lock myself away with just those things and record as much music possible over a couple of days with that limited instrumentation. 

 

What I remember about the early Plastikman sessions was really tweaking everything with small round knobs and a lot of the drums were coming from the 606 - and the 606 wasn’t modified at that point. It had one mono out and the hi-hats were different little pots, so you had to mix it that way. It was mixing really on the machines. 

 

It’s interesting you use the word ‘sexy’ there. Is that a word you use more with hindsight - you know, in the past decade people say techno’s become sexier and it’s found its groove again - or is this something you actually thought at the time?

I don’t think I would have used the word sexy back in 1993. I may have had a different word, but it was definitely that idea. At that moment, what I was doing and what Plus 8 was doing started to get misunderstood; techno got very hard, aggressive and abrasive and I thought the records coming out with the 303s were starting to bastardise the sound. I was into early Future Records and Chicago acid house. And they were hard and intense but they weren’t abrasive and so the idea of Plastikman was to get to that softer, more liquid sound. Later on Plastikman had some hard tracks like Crack Pot, but the idea was to create a full album as quickly as possible so it was cohesive and like this organic trip that took you from beginning to end effortlessly. 

 

Would you say it was more laborious to make music back then? Or is everything relative?

I think it’s what you allow the technology to offer you. I think music can be just as easy as it was then, but I feel as the computer came in, the possibility of it being more laborious has presented itself. The idea of being able to perfect and change everything draw in your WAV forms and modulation - this is all great, but sometimes you have so many possibilities that you spend so much time that I say you almost draw the life out of the track. So to sit back in those early days, once it was all running and plugged in, it was really easily to go from one track to another. Most of SheetOne was recorded in less than 48 hours. I changed a couple of patches and sounds, playing with different acid lines and trying to capture one song after another as they melted into another - as they were recorded after each other. It was sort of like one song being recorded in different versions over a number of days. I took the best pieces from that and made it into an album. 

Following on from that, do you miss that forced simplicity about the production process from your earlier years? A ‘simpler time’ if you might call it that? Do you miss anything about the way you used to make music back then?

Using simple electronic boxes plugged in with a couple of wires and MIDI cables, usually once everything was all plugged in you could leave that on for months and just press start whenever you wanted. There was no booting up, updates and computer crashes and all these other things that seem to get in the way of making modern day electronic music. I don’t know how many times I’ve had an update that’s crashed everything and strange latency issues that seem to pop up. It was just a matter of plugging things together and pressing start. 

 

Do you think there’s anything to be said for the fact that tech develops so rapidly these days that it doesn’t give a chance for things to get perfected before the next thing comes along?

I think there’s years for us to perfect things. Even back then I noticed as I started DJing, I started a making some money, then I would buy 3 or 4 synths and get this thing modded, and the more I did that, the slower my progress was. I didn’t have time to get myself into the boxes that I had. I think you have to force yourself to just lock yourself down; don’t get any updates or plug-ins and just spend some time really delving into them. Perhaps you’ll never perfect any of them but you need some time to spend with each piece of equipment. It’s why I think Sheet One and Musik as albums worked so well, because over that year I just tried to squeeze out the most of a couple of pieces of equipment. Also when I did the Concept 1 album in 1996, I had all this crazy shit in my studio but I just said to myself – OK, these are the 4 pieces or 5 pieces you can use, you can’t touch all that other stuff for a year. Through this process, I was able to develop a whole new sound and a year-long project quite easily then. But it does take some dedication and will power. 

 

How has your music making set-up evolved since then? Take us through the game changers if there were any?

I think after those albums, we go into the era of Concept 1 and then Consumed andArtifakts, and all those were done in a very similar way. One pass straight to DAT, no multi-tracking. What changed was I was able to afford some higher-end effects: some nice Roland reverbs and Eventides. I try to keep the foundation of Plastikman similar, album to album; there’s always some type of 303 instrumentation in nearly every track, and some Roland sounds, but I try to modify it with the outboard gear or the different patchways for each different album. 

 

The big change was probably in 1998 when I started working on the Dex, EFX & 909 album. I really got into Pro-Tools and became quite a bit of a freak for it and what it could offer you. That type of multi-tracking technology was first used on a whole album, theCloser album, which is very much a digital album. Sometimes that album is even a little bit too digital for me, but I could only grasp…to get to that place with Closer, I was only able to do it using multi-tracking, using voices and using much more subtler effects to give space and dimension. I really needed to have the ability to go back and forward and perfect things, as it was quite a complicated album to put together. Now I’m using a hybrid of Pro-Tools and Ableton Live, outboard and plug-ins and trying to find the right combinations of sound. Especially having worked on Plastikman live, I have really found a digital plug-in tool set that I’m happy with and mimics my studio set from ’93, and bringing that together with some outboard and finding a new digital-analogue hybrid that I hope can be used to further the Plastikman sound. 

 

I was going to ask what plug-ins are you particularly mad about, if you’d care the drop some names…

Well, we did a lot of back-and-forth testing of all the classic drum machine and bassline plug-ins. For us the D16 plug-ins for the 808 and 909 were the best ones out there. But for the 303 bass lines, I wasn’t actually a big fan of the D16s and for that I really liked the Audio Realism. What else? I’m a big fan of – still - the Native Instrument KONTAKT as a sampler - you can do some wonderful things with that, get inside some different samples. Right now I’m just testing a bunch of the Rob Papen plug-ins, and Sound Toys I’m a big fan of as I was using their Ultra Tools in Pro-Tools for a long time. If you’re using Pro-Tools and TDM you can have Eventide effects on every channel, which is incredible! 

 

How you are with making music on-the-go?

I’m terrible. I can’t make music on the go; I’ve been trying for years. I find it hard to focus if I’m in a hotel room or somewhere else. I need to be in a studio with real speakers, somewhere which is dark and isolated to focus my ideas. Saying that, I was on this island 12 months ago, for 2 weeks working on Plastikman live stuff - but that was kind of re-appropriating and working on ideas rather than trying to come up with something brand new. I still have trouble doing that on the laptop, sitting here with a mouse. Even if the view’s inspiring, it’s not very inspiring. I’ve got friends who are great at that - using Ableton on a plane. I don’t know if it’s part of my lifestyle but plane rides are either a place to sleep or catch up on emails; it’s not like I can’t do it, it’s just how I’ve allotted my time. 

 

How does the creative process start for you in the studio, do you usually have an idea in your head or is just a case of experimenting until something comes up?

It’s a bit of both. There are always a lot of ideas floating around, either rhythmical ideas or something I want to try with the effects; there’s a certain panning idea I have or a patch on the modular systems I want to try out. I just experiment as much as possible and leave things to freely go in another direction. There is times when you’re just testing and doodling and something wonderful comes up. The thing I do like to do is - if I go into the studio, I like to finish an idea. I record it and then it’s done, whether that’s one sound or a rhythm, a loop, or a whole track. I don’t like to come back the next day or two weeks later to finish or modify it. For me, recording is being there at the right moment to capture something and allowing it to come out as freely as possible, then do a little bit of editing after. If the bulk of the idea isn’t captured that first moment, I usually just put it away, record it as like a sort of reference point for later on, and if I haven’t got then I move onto the next idea. 

 

What do you think the most important element of a set-up would be?

I think direct access to as many parameters of your musical set-up as possible. What I mean by that is that, if you’re using a lot of outboard, you’ve got knobs and buttons and faders to twiddle; if you’re using a computer, having touch screens and knobs attached to as many parameters as possible. I don’t like to go through pages or have to assign something. I want to be being able to capture it as the inspiration as it comes. I didn’t like all these mid-‘90s work stations where you had to go through pages to get to somewhere. When I’m going into the studio, I try to create a studio set-up for a couple of weeks or months with some hard-coded, hard-connected physical controllers and work with that – that moment when what you’re doing is something interesting. 

 

So an intuitive set-up is important for you?

Yeah, any great track or DJ set or creative moment is when the technology between you and the output disappears and it just becomes about this idea; when the keyboard and the knobs disappear and you just start to feel the sound. The preparation is all about that - being able to capture that moment when it comes. 

 

Are you still learning as a producer and what are you learning exactly?

Yeah, I’m always learning, trying to find the time to teach myself about compression and compressors. I still don’t get my head around them. I’ve never really used any compression on any of my tracks in my life, and when I did I got some weird signal-crossed distortion, so I need to go back to that ‘cos I’m sure it could add new dimensions to what I’m doing. 

 

Who is the most inspiring producer you know in terms of doing something really different and pushing the whole music-making process forward?

I think Ricardo Villalobos has been inspiring for a lot of people; I like his attitude of going into the studio every day, recording and continuing to move forward. Having a good combination of digital and analog and not being afraid to doodle. 

 

I just wanted to talk about your work trying to push electronic music making tech available to a lot of people, like the thing with Burn Studio, for instance.  I wanted to know what your opinion on how the increased availability of technology has affected the quality of the “average” release? 

I think about it, but I’ve heard this argument for 20 years now. I heard it in ’93 and ’94 when tonnes and tonnes of records started to come out because everybody could buy a 303 cheap or something like that. You heard it later when the KORG Electribe series came out, we’re hearing it now again ‘cos you can get Burn Studio or you can download Reason.  So there’s always going to be a lot of people – or more and more people in the future trying their hand at the creative use of technology,  whether that’s good or bad Photoshop usage, or everybody using SLR cameras to make cool videos with different lenses. It’s a lot to sift through, but the gems always seem to rise to the surface. 

 

I suppose the difference is, that barrier to entry which was buying the equipment is disappearing. But I suppose it makes good websites and blogs even more important in being able to help find the good stuff...

It seems as though there’s less barriers, but as one comes down, another one comes up. Like you said, everybody can create music now, but how do they get it to the people? Not everybody can do digital distribution and get their music heard. You have to do other things - promote yourself, maybe learn Flash at the same time, or HTML5 and do a fucking cool website, or get an SLR camera and do a great video that goes and connects to the music you’ve just done. For the people that are creative, it is just allowing even newer forms of creativity, cross-platforms for ideas. I can’t be against people having access to technology that allows them to be creative. I wouldn’t be here without that cheap access of cheap equipment in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. When I was in high school watching my friends play in bands and picking up guitars, the last thing I thought I would be doing was music or DJing or any of this stuff – so I’m a product of that convergence and progression of technology. 

 

 

Classic Techno Tracks – Zeta Reticula – EP 2 (A1)

When DJ UMEK released released the Zeta Reticula EPs on Electrix Records back in 2000 they marked a sea change in where techno was going for many people, the whole series was received with almost universal acclaim and those who made many of the tracks of these heavily electro tinged EPs part of their set read like a who’s who list of techno superstar DJs. In the early naughties you could hear tracks from the Zeta Reticula Eps being played at everything from edgier more experimental house nights right through to freetekno acid raves out in the European countryside.

One of the most outstanding and recognisable tracks on the EPs was the untitled track A1 from EP2. An absolute classic in terms of its production, its structure and its influence on the techno scene at the time. It has a great mix of pounding but still subtle and evolving beats, a strong driving synthesiser line that pushes the track forward dragging the listener inexorably along with it and an interesting use of a minimalistic orchestral track that keeps the ears enjoying the track while never straying into pretentiousness. This track is still capable of making even jaded music fans ears prick up and go “Who the fuck is this? I want this track!”.

Reposted from http://TechnoMusicNews.com

Dave Clarke Techno Mix @ Lowlands 2010

Straight up pumping techno mix from the Baron of Techno Dave Clarke. Great selection of tunes with a no nonsense high energy feel. Try not to dance to this one I dare ya.

http://technomusicnews.com/dave-clarke-techno-mix-lowlands-2010/

Dave Clarke Techno Mix 2010

Interview: Laurent Garnier

Laurent Garnier is the first man of French electronica. Learning his craft up in pre-acid house Manchester at the tender age of 19,  he has continually risen up the ranks ever since. Twenty odd years on, he’s still in demand as a DJ, although nowadays he focuses the majority of his time on production. He’s renowned for his conceptual sets and experimental ethos, putting out track after track combining different elements of the electronic music spectrum; from acid house all the way to Detroit techno.

He’s in town this Friday for the London leg of his Live Booth Sessions tour – gigs that’ll see him accompanied by a live band behind the mixing desk, consisting of Benjamin Rippert and Scan X. He took some time out to talk to me about the days of acid rave, French politics and getting lost in translation.

What was it like being involved in the height of the acid/rave days?

It was great at the time, and I'm very lucky to have been a part of it. We were like a big family, discovering something new together, and we had a lot of fun. I'm not nostalgic for it though – I'm still doing a lot of things I find extremely exciting.

How would you compare the dance music scenes of London, Paris and Manchester? How are they different?

Paris is an amazing city for jazz and live music. For a city so big, the Paris (dance music) scene is small and there is nothing in the suburbs. There are three small clubs that are trendy, and maybe a couple of big parties, but the rest is pretty pathetic.

I witnessed the rave scene in Manchester explode, and the place went from not much compared to London, to absolutely amazing. Overall, England is a real party place and there are great clubs to go to in every city.

Musically, who or what inspires your work?

I listen to everything. For instance, I’m currently recording my radio show, and in just the first hour there’s techno, drum 'n' bass, David Bowie, and salsa. I’m someone who just likes music, full stop. If something makes me feel good, then I like it, if it doesn’t, well then I don’t. Music is pretty much the only thing in the world without rules, where we have the freedom to think for ourselves.

You seem to give your songs interesting titles, such as ‘Crispy Bacon’ and ‘A Bout De Souffle’. Is it to do with the textures they evoke or were you just hungry and stuck in the studio at the time? 

Textures, and funnily enough, I actually meant to call it sizzling bacon, because I thought it literally sounded like something cooking in a pan. It wasn't until six months later when Jeff Mills was remixing it that he pointed out that it didn’t make sense and then I realised. So yeah, I fucked up with the name. People don’t even notice that though, so it still works. 

You famously made reference to the Iraq war a few years ago, an act that has gone down in dance music folklore. Are there any particular issues in politics or culture today that you're passionate about and may include within this Friday's set?

There’s a lot of scandal going on in France, and I like to keep track of it. Politics over there is all becoming show business and entertainment. I mean, the first lady of France is a singer. That’s weird!

Are there any artists that you would make for a dream collaboration? 

There is a young English jazz musician called Malla Chai who I’m in talks with. I love hip hop, especially the Foreign Beggars – I could really do something with them. I’m always talking with Carl Craig, but somehow we’ve never found the time to make something together. I also love PJ Harvey. Just listen to her albums – her voice is just, wow.

So you're back on the road with your Live Booth Sessions. Could you tell us a bit about the concept of L.B.S.? What should we expect from the live shows?

Going back to the 'wheels of steel' after the previous series of live shows made me feel like I was regressing. I’m 44 now, I can’t go back to just playing records on my own. I wanted to still be essentially playing records and making people dance, but also to give them a unique experience – there are things to see as well as music to dance to.