Omnisphere...using.... a core.... "STEAM" engine??

So right off the bat, i want to say i really do love this synth. It sounds beautiful, it is by far one of the most powerful vst's i have seen in a while. The library which the synth/sampler comes with is absolutly massive, with everything you can possibly think of, including the over hyped (Ominous Voice) "BURNING PIANO"- although its kinda cool. Overall though they synth comes with all the bells and whistles which i would expect from a synthesizer, But in terms of what it comes with i'm most impressed by the amount of consolidation within the program.

STEAM...for me its a little misleading, to me it sounds so powerful, like an......engine? The best part of this overhyped name for something which is quiet frankly a new form of sythn architecture (Spectrasonics) is what they have to say about what STEAM actually is::

"Virtual instruments built with the multitimbral STEAM Engine offer many development possibilities into a variety of hybrid synthesis and control capabilities including high-resolution Streaming Sample Playback, Integrated FX, Variable Waveshape synthesis, Granular synthesis, FM synthesis, polyphonic Ring Modulation, Timbre Shifting, and a comprehensive Flex-Mod™ modulation routing system, to name a few.

The STEAM Engine core technology gives us the ability to respond to other technology changes like the Intel-Mac shift from Apple, 64-bit computing, or a major new operating system,” said Eric Persing, Founder and Creative Director of Spectrasonics. “The new in-house technology will allow us to create instruments that we can fully support across industry changes and allow us to make innovations and transitions faster in the future. For example, just as Stylus RMX being based on our S.A.G.E. technology made possible the early compatibility with Apple’s Intel-Macs, new instruments based on STEAM technology will make transitions like this easier on our customers."

HMM....Well i now understand well nothing really, just what STEAM effects. And what's not to love about the little delta symbol for the A.....so cute.

Not all is bad though, Omnisphere does sound brilliant, so check it out. They also have posted a series of demonstration videos of the software on the Omnisphere site which i suggest watching. Omnisphere runs at a price tag of $499.

later

Dj Azzo

Video Links
Omnisphere
Spectrasonics

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Dj Azzo Presents: Live:: Toronto Pt1

The Second Installment of ::Live::Toronto Pt1. Now keep in mind that this set was meant as more of an experiment; one which is trying to investigate the nature of the transition- thus there might be parts of the set which may not be as refined as my other sets and podcasts. I hope you enjoy it

::Track Listing::

Plastic Star (Alva Noto Remix)-Beytone
Erste Unversicherte Allgemeinheit-Extrawelt
Melody 120- Luke Abbott
Breathe On Me- James Holden
Love Juice (Moulinex Remix)- SymbolOne
You Are Here (Four Tet Remix)- Nathan Fake
Without Aim- Luke Abbott

Thanks and Happy Listening,

DJ Azzo

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Disco Returns

Hercules & Love Affair

Hailing from New York Cities Indie Epicentre Brooklyn- Hercules & Love Affair have been taking the indie scene by force. This is especially true with there 2008 self entitled album. Headed up by Dj Andy Butler along with a slew of others (Nomi Ruiz, Ann Foxman and Antony Hegarty) Produce such melodic disco classics which make me both want to dance and relax- they just make me happy, what else can i say. As ranked by Pitchfork, it is one of the best albums of 2008 and with good reason too. The album brings back disco, in a way which is both nostalgic and progressive. The single "Blind" is such a strong song that it tops the whole album, which to be frank...i don't mind that because there is a solid buildup to this song and then you are confronted with it. Definitely a must hear

Cheers,

DJ Azzo


Hercules & Love Affair::Blind



HLA Myspace

Hercules & Love Affair Band Website

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DIGITAL JOCK: Whats this....Traktor...PRO?

So recently, and by recently i mean last fall, Native Instruments released its "professional version" of traktor- which to me sounded a little ridiculous as traktor was designed to be used in a professional setting or like any piece of DJ software, by enthusiasts. But they did and after a look at Traktor pro, it does have some strong points which make it a valuable piece of software- Albeit it should have just been released as a new "version" of traktor rather than glitz it up and market it as "professional software"- common native instruments, if i have even heard of your company that means im pretty serious about music production and DJing.

Anyways to the review::

After opening it up i was confronted with a brand new interface, sleek, stylish, streamlined, basically made me want to tinker and play around with the new buttons and new effects modules. The fact that this new version of traktor is more streamlined made me quite happy- as many of you know traktor 3.3 was not the most attractive and could at times be complicated when each deck has its own effects etc. Now we are confronted with the standard 2 decks, each with an individual EQ (as it should) along with the other gubbins which a dj will need (cue etc.). Obviously the arrangement is different, from the top bar which used to display cue markers etc. now it only consists of a master volume/mix and the new effects modules. This is where it gets very interesting.

Instead of the few effects which Traktor 3.3 had for each deck, there is only 2 effects modules now- each can be assigned to any of the decks or all of the decks. And each comes with a wide variety of effects to be applied to your tracks- i wont get into the effects, just experiment and try them out, some, i have to admit, are pretty cool (such as the new gate filter).

The other new aspect of the effects module is the ability to chain effects, the maximum is 3 different effects- the downside to this approach is that you get less flexibility in the definition of the effect, it is limited to 3 variables to define the effect- which is why im sticking with the standard single effect.

Now when i meant streamlined, i actually meant that. Above is the arrangement around, in this case, deck B. Everything is located right there that would allow you to even beat-grid and properly loop on the fly. instead of having to select your loop length and then turning it on, its as easy a selecting your length and it turns on. Also to note is one little tricky button i didn't know about and its in the master, its the snap button- no more having to go into the top bar and finding the quantization menu to make sure each deck is snapping to either the cues or the beat-grid.


Above is the new beatgrid panel which is in every deck. This i was very surprised about, something i didnt expect. It makes the whole process of properly defining your grids so simple that it allows the dj to worry about what they really care about, the mixing and builds.

All in all Traktor Pro was a pleasant surprise from Native Instruments. Not only did they produce a piece of software which works, it looks good too. Now with everything there are cons, which i hope will be solved. One thing that really annoyed me was that there auto beat detection was off, more off than before. And even when i go to define my own beat-grids, i find that it takes longer to get the track close to perfect.

Cheers and happy mixing

DJ Azzo

Traktor Pro

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In the Studio:: Chris Lake

Chris Lake- Hailing from Scotland- Has been taking the charts by storm with his heavy bass and hypnotic melodies since 2006. Recently he has recorded a video which exposes his technique and mixing for all to see- thanks to computer music-

Cheers

Dj Azzo

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Akai APC-40 Ableton Live Controller

One of the highlights this year from the NAMM Music Trade-show was definitely the new Akai APC-40 Ableton live midi controller. This device has to be one of the first purpose built devices specifically designed to work with Ableton lives workflow layout.

The Device is a series of triggers, sliders and knob ( standard for most midi controllers, such as the evolution UC-33e or the Akai MPD-24 controllers) the difference lies in the arrangement and concentration of user definable buttons. The device is extremely specific to Ableton's approach to music production- which is neither linear nor vertical but a combination of the two.

"The APC40 talks directly to Live and Live talks directly to the APC40. This exclusive bidirectional communication makes the APC40 an advanced controller in that it can receive feedback from the software and display it on its clip matrix of 40 triggers and on LED rings surrounding each knob. The clip matrix gives you an instant view of clip status: what's loaded, what's playing, and what's being recorded. Each state displays on the matrix in a different color so you can get a quick picture of clip state. You can shift your clip focus and get an overview of the clips you have loaded for your set. The APC40 has 16 knobs, each surrounded by a ring of LEDs. These LED rings make seeing your settings a breeze on dark stages, indicating the currently selected parameters’ values. This advanced visual feedback makes performing with the APC40 focused more on the music and less on squinting at the computer screen. In fact, you might even forget that the computer is there! "- Akai

Later

DJ Azzo

Akai
Ableton Live
NAMM

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DIY Touch screen midi controller

For all of those Dj's and Electronic musicians who can't afford those expensive JazzMutant Lemur touch screen midi controllers- which use a touch sensitive screen as the main method for inputing data to control Ableton- this might be for you. Its a small piece of software developed by Pablo Martin called the Mono Touch Live.

The basic premiss is to take an existing touch sensitive monitor and hook that up as a secondary monitor on your pc or mac, then using the touch screen ability to run software which pics up the signals and converts them into a midi signal. Not only is this exciting but the price is extremly attractive- where as the Lemur will put you back almost $3000, the 'Mono Touch Live' in fact is free. All you need is a touch screen monitor and your ready to go!

Cheers,

DJ Azzo

MonoTouch Live
JazzMutant Lemur

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Creative Routing

For all those Mac users, there is finally a solution for routing Traktor into Ableton. Previously there was no viable way to rewire a signal from Traktor Dj Studio into Ableton- now comes Jack OS X. Jack OS X is a internal audio routing software which acts as an internal audio card to allow for signals to be passed between programs which don't have rewire capabilities.

Over at Dj Tech Tools, they have posted a very interesting and excellent tutorial about how to set up Traktor-how to set up the internal routing to send each deck as an independent channel to Ableton. Also the tutorial provides the necessary set up files for Ableton to give you a template to use when mixing.

So for all those who have been longing for traktor to have rewire capabilities then this is for you, so head on over to dj tech tools and check out this fantastic tutorial.

Cheer

DJ Azzo

DjTech Tools Routing Tutorial
Jack OS X
Traktor Dj Studio
Ableton Live

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The END of the End

As with anything which defined any given era, they all had have on thing in common, they came to an end. As with the London 'Underground' Electro hot spot ' The End', its finale is creeping up closer than most would like it. The club, located in London's Covent Garden/Tottenham Court Area, has been one of the defining electronic music institutions in the world. The cavernous place has seen and created events and DJ's which have defined london as the centre of the electronic music revolution since 1995.

This is also the place where we would get the first glimpse of the new talent being recruited by James Holden's label 'Border Community' on their Border Community nights, throwing them into the spot light in front of a crowd desperate for beats which effect the soul. This is no place to go for your usual pickup or drunken misgivings, rather it is place for intense music, dedicated performers, and combined with serious music lovers- not to mention the place had a kick ass stereo system. This is one closing which will hit hard, deep and make people wonder where do we go from here? But as with every great thing which comes to an end, something else crawls up to fill the void.

The End's finale is a weekend bash which I'm sure will be the place to be, is on Jan 23rd- 25th

Cheers,

Dj Azzo

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Foem 'Allez Allez' Remix Contest

So its that time of the month again for the next Foem remixing competition. This round we are challenged with remixing the track 'Defeatist' by Allez Allez- who are a duo from london under the Boxer recordings label based out of Cologne. The requirements are that you take at lease one sample from the Allez Allez's song 'Defeatist' and turn it into 2 individual tracks. The prize is what is what i find to be one of the biggest draws-aside from the opportunity to rework an excellent track with their stems and midi files- which is a vinyl ep which is to be paired with a remix of the same song by Ricardo Tobar- who was recently signed on to James Holden's "Border Community" Label ( if you haven't heard of this label you have to check it out, his label is putting out some of the most intriguing and experimental music out of london these days). To enter sign up to Foem and all the digital samples and midi files are open to you, just remember to register for the contest to be considered.

Good Luck and Happy Mixing,

Cheers

Dj Azzo

::Links::
Boarder Community
Allez Allez's Blog
Allez Allez's Myspace
Foem Remix Webpage
Boxer Recordings

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FaderFox DJ2

Hey Everyone,

So a friend of mine recently purchased the new second generation Faderfox DJ2 midi controller- which if you dont know about this small company out of Hamburg Germany please check them out http://www.faderfox.de


On first glance i thought this device looked a little to small, frankly i had imagined it to be slightly bigger. But don't let that fool you, it packs a punch. Even when you though that the device had reached its limit, we found other setting which lay deep within the complex button settings.

The obvious advantage which i noticed right away was the ability to chain multiple devices together which allows for the dj/ producer to expand as one needs grow- extremely flexible. As a midi controller you can customize virtually all assignable buttons, and combination of buttons- this stands as a definite strength as this particular device seems to be quite shy of the number of buttons im used to (i generally have an Evolution UC-33e at my side at all time)


The only other qualms i have with the device is the top effects joystick- it is perfect for those who don't need alot of flexibility, otherwise the joystick is lacking in the depth which i would want to use. I found the device to sync up perfectly with tracktor pro ( you can download the correct settings file on there site for tracktor, Ableton etc.)

Other than that if you have a chance check this or the other faderfox devices, they are fun to play with and powerful when programed correctly.

Later

Dj Azzo

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Dj Azzo Presents: Live

To start off this Blog I figured that i would start by posting my first Live Podcast- I started a monthly podcast primarily because it allowed me to make sure i kept practicing, honing and experimenting new techniques::

Track Listing:

Back From Exile- Breitbannt

Pacemaker- Arthur Oskan

Wired- Raumton

Keep on- Ronald van Aggelen

Mongoose- Sasha

Terminal- Gui Boratto

Human- James Zabiela

Proper Education [Club Mix]- Eric Prydz

Gridlock [Digweed & Muir's Stereo Club Mix]- John Digweed

Moan [Vocal Version featuring Ane Trolle]- Trentmoller

The Sky was Pink [James Holden Remix]- Nathan Fake

Viral Video- Azzo

Thanks and happy listening

DJ Azzo

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