Geeks Rule
A few weeks ago, the Minneapolis Audio Geeks asked if we’d host one of their monthly meetings. We agreed. Community is cool. Without question, if we didn’t have the support, knowledge, and camaraderie of our friends, families, and colleagues we would be somewhere else.
So, last night, we communed. As a theme for the night, we thought we’d focus on the Mellotron. We screened the recent documentary “Mellodrama“, loaded tapes, mused on the genius of the Optigan, made some noise, and had an overall good time.
Thank you Minneapolis Audio Geeks. Knowledge sharing is fun. Friends are fun. Geekdom is fun.
You’re welcome back anytime.
And, speaking of community, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association is hosting one of their monthly galas this Monday, January 31st at the Fine Line. Mike Lebowitz from Big Spaceship blew our minds at a MIMA event a few years back. Monday, Ana Andjelic (Huge, Inc.) will be discussing, “Do We Need a New Definition of Creativity?”.
It’ll be great, it’ll be free, and we hope to see you there.
roger linn and dave smith made a baby.
Its beautiful. They named it “Tempest”.
Roger Linn, one of the founding fathers of modern drum machines (the Linn Drum and MCP60 were kinda popular after all), and Dave Smith, founder of Sequential Circuits (synthesis gods to us), just teamed up to develop a new product.
At Winter NAMM 2011, these two iconic designers announced the Tempest. A new analog drum machine.
We want one. Bad. Real bad. Problem is, apparently they won’t be shipping for several months.
We’re going to cross our fingers and dream and ask our neighboring retailer, “Is it here yet? Is it hear yet? Is it…”
We are not omniscient. Follow @evolverfm
We’re not that smart. At least not by ourselves.
Much of the information that we find and report comes from the tireless work and research of others. Smart people like Eliot (@Evolverfm), Bruce and Kyle (@hypebot), Pete (@mashable) and Umair (@umairh).
Thank you, gentlemen.
We bring this up because lately we’ve had a few people raise a stink that we seem to have an overly optimistic bent on our site.
We’re very sorry (kind of).
But, we don’t think that our perspective is naive or solely based on our personal commentary. It might just be that we are part of a growing consensus that recognizes opportunity in today’s dramatic era of change.
Recently, Eliot Van Buskirk posted a great piece on Evolver.fm explaining that he didn’t think the “sky is falling” in the digital music realm. Recent concerns from flat sales at iTunes aside, there are amazing things happening in the mobile app market empowering artists and encouraging fans. His article even pointed out that sometimes major news organizations can miss the upside when reporting on digital and Internet related issues. Huh, we see that too.
@mashable just blogged about an exciting new music startup mySpoonful which is aggregating independent music and other content.
Also, @musicthinktank has a timely report on trends in digital media and how to leverage today’s research in your own creative initiatives. Invaluable stuff.
We didn’t mean to pull the above individuals, bloggers, and organizations into our debate, but we wanted to recognize some of the very talented people who are not only filters for the world around us, but also inspiring minds who contribute to a growing sense of optimism and potential.
Some of our other favorite Tweeters include: @digitalmusicnws, @epicenterblog, @reverbnation, @wammusic, and @billboardglenn.
Our deepest gratitude to this passionate and dedicated community. Matter of fact, we think that the value of Twitter alone (with the Greater Internet) is almost enough to make even the biggest pessimists somewhat hopeful…
(Safety consideration- we are aware that it is never wise to put a half full glass of water on a Mellotron even when making some sort of stupid point).
Think Indie- a loss or a realization?
Earlier this morning, the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (of which our good friends at the Electric Fetus are members) stated that they were closing the digital side of Think Indie, their online independent music retail site.
Initially, this announcement was pretty sobering. However, after another cup of coffee and some stewing about, we’re really not that surprised.
Think Indie had some serious competition from iTunes. And from the start, Apple had a distinct advantage- they didn’t need to immediately break even from the substantial amount of coding, licensing, and R & D involved in developing a platform like iTunes. Selling hundreds of millions of iPods is a convenient way to subsidize a fledgling digital retailer.
But, while we could bemoan the loss of Think Indie (which admittedly, none of us had ever used), there is a simple reason why the effort failed.
There are better and more convenient alternatives. While we certainly don’t mean to judge the efforts of the folks behind Think Indie, we now recognize that a whole slew of other tremendous tools also exist that are readily available worldwide. And that might be okay.
Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, Pandora (who just announced they’ve reached 75 million listeners), MOG, mSpot, and Rdio can help artists and creatives alike distribute and promote their content while fostering direct-to-fan connections that were simply unimaginable a few years ago.
Furthermore, some of these services could be used to promote an upcoming in-store performance at the Fetus or highlight the availability of a new deluxe addition vinyl LP release of an album (the kind of thing that apps will never replace).
Independent retail still has an important place in our community. Their voice and experience is incredibly valuable in sustaining local artists and assisting fans with a depth of musical recommendation that can only come from years of dedicated music listening and retailing.
However, those same assets might not be immediately leveregable in the digital sphere. If Think Indie had an App, a streaming option, or exiting new geo-locating capabilities, they might have been able to compete.
That said, those services do exist. So do our great local music stores.
Lets learn to use them both.
We made another sample set for you.
From time to time, we try to put together sample sets of some of our instruments for you all to download and use. Available as both raw WAV files and Live Packs for Ableton (Simpler), they are always free.
Our new one is finished. It’s a toy.
More specifically, we’ve sampled our Jaymar toy piano. Weird, fun, metallic, and percussive.
Have fun. (If you are using Firefox it seems you have to right-click and save link as…)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Don’t fear Sputniks.
Making quality sounding recordings is fairly easy. All you need is a vintage Neve console, Neumann microphones (of assorted flavors), Fairchild compressors, maybe an AKG C12 for fun, a Teletronix LA-2A, the ubiquitous 1176, a Studer 827 tape machine, EMT 140 Plate Reverb, a wall of vintage guitars, some candles, Pultec EQs, and then you’re probably set.
Of course, the above list may or may not inherently involve either the lottery, wealthy dead relatives, or crime (we’re suggesting well financed organized crime here).
As we don’t fit into any of the previous categories, we’re often working into the night on various experiments to achieve sonic nirvana without items from the list above. And, our quest just got easier.
Sputnik tube microphones from M-Audio.
We borrowed one from a friend yesterday and we were blown away. Sputniks are really amazing microphones. Warm tone, great definition, good clarity in the high end, we were really impressed. Within a few hours we tracked vocals, acoustic guitars, and an array of keyboards. While the Sputnik was a bit nasally on the harmonium, we weren’t that concerned- harmonium can sound nasally with quite a few microphones.
M-Audio is not a company renowned for world-class microphones. They make affordable converters and MIDI controllers. The Sputnik is a surprise. Well built, solid, and according to our colleague, reliable now for several years (he has a pair).
Maybe we wanted another reason to feel optimistic about the future, but we see the Sputnik as another indicator of positive industrial progress for artists and creative musicians alike.
Music shouldn’t be elitist. Nor should the ability to make quality recordings. While we do value and respect vintage equipment, its not the type of thing you’re able to use everyday.
Sputniks almost are. $300 on eBay.
Cake is number one. Should we be bummed?
There was another somber article in major media today bemoaning what seems to be further evidence that the “music business” is faltering.
Cake’s newest album, “Showroom of Compassion” (which has been playing regularly here at Noware since it was released last week), is now Number One on the Billboard chart.
Problem is, Cake only sold 44,000 copies. From a historical perspective, this is the lowest volume of album sales to land at the #1 spot since Soundscan started tracking sales twenty years ago.
Should we be upset? Is the sky really falling?
We don’t think so. Yes, sales are down. Its also true that a decade ago Britney, Justin, and other major stars moved millions of CDs when they sat atop the charts. But, we’re not talking about another pop darling pimped by major label payola. We’re talking about Cake. An independent band. Who released this album on their own independent label, Upbeat Records.
In a way, this is kind of exciting. While the volume of sales has fallen, and many artists are struggling to find other means to sustain their careers beyond CD sales, we’re seeing an unprecedented opportunity for independent acts like Cake, Spoon, and the Arcade Fire to share the Billboard charts with the likes of Glee and Eminem and earn some well deserved recognition.
Who could be next? Maybe someone from our community like Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Cloud Cult, Haley Bonar or Tapes ‘N Tapes (whose new record, Outside, is really great).
Our industry is changing. Even MTV is following the trend with a new just announced award show (that will NOT be broadcast on television- it will be streamed) which will highlight and deliver awards based on digital media, mobile streaming, and a host of other socially driven accolades.
The rise and accessibility for indies is even apparent in this year’s Grammys- 50% of the nominated artists are “independent” (if you count Taylor Swift- Big Machine is, well, a BIG indie).
In our band days we would’ve loved to sell ten million records. But then again, due to f*@#’d major label accounting, $2000 a day studio bills, and other costs, we might just be better off today.
And, when Cake has the number one sales position in the country, our society and our musical heritage certainly are.
(Chocolate cake lovingly provided by Pizza Luce)
How was work today honey?
Work was hard. Really tough. Lots of stuff.
Phone calls.
Furthermore, we did NOT plug our old Atari 2600 into our new video projector and play wall sized Asteroids, Frogger, or Pitfall.
Nope. Didn’t do it. Client meetings.
All day.
Whew…
Older isn’t (always) better.
While working on a production project last night, we were listening through a track and decided that the chorus needed some more momentum. We experimented with shakers and other percussion, but ultimately thought that a melodic arpeggiated synth line might do the trick.
Walking over the the NoWare Wall of Synths we immediately started powering up some of our vintage beauties. And the winning instrument? Our $300 Novation KS4. Made about 6 years ago. Yep, it fit the bill perfectly.
Old analog synths are great. But, they can drift in and out of tune, and without modern MIDI implementation, it can be near on impossible to synchronize a vintage synthesizer’s arpeggiator to another preexisting recording.
Meanwhile, we turned on the Novation, found a patch, twiddled a few knobs, and then dialed in a great arpeggiated part mapped out to precisely 130 BMP. Most importantly, it sounded warm and musical.
Sometimes mice can roar and your smallest (or least notable) tool becomes the most expressive instrument available. We’ve heard people knock our KS4 before, but we’ve just been reminded that its important to use what you’ve got, and given the opportunity, the underdog can often surprise you.
Frighteningly, it was a take on Dick Enrico’s famous line from Second Hand Sports that came to mind at the close of the session, “Why buy vintage when slightly used will do”.
We might pay attention to that notion more often these days- it would be alot cheaper.
Thanks Novation.
Why didn’t apple invent Unifi? (or will they…)
Seriously, this looks like what we’ve all been waiting for. Cloud based storage and access. Automated backups. We were complaining this morning that X was on Y computer and why couldn’t…
We’re even tempted to root, “Yay, Cloud!” but that’s probably infringing at this point.
keep looking »
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