Röyksopp - The Girl And The Robot

Contrary to what some friends, co-workers, and lovers may believe - I actually DO enjoy good pop songs. Quite a few, actually. I'm just very particular about what turns me on. Don't know how I missed this in 2009(!). The production is FLAWLESS. Like a classic Giorgio Moroder track - with hooky vocals, a fun theme, and gorgeously crafted synth-lines. The simple video stars Robyn, who looks as great as she sounds. I'd kill to hear sharp pop tracks like THIS on the dance-floor or at a bar. One can always dream...

I'm in love with a robot... And this track.

How to Start?

Every now and again someone will write to me asking a simple question: How do I start making (electronic) music? And I am oft dumbfounded to respond. A better questions is Where and When - and the answer is Here and Immediately.

Honestly... Any synth or sound-altering device will do - hardware or software. Generally I would recommend something hardware-based inexpensive(!) simple to program, and FUN to play with. Check this out, for example. So fun and cheap... I'm gonna get one!



For me, half the fun of music is exploration. We must all find our own path(s) and musical language with these machines. It wasn't until I bought my first synth and actually played with it that I began to develop a real vocabulary. I learned most every basic thing I needed to from that relatively basic machine. Also... listen to bands you like that make sounds you like - then learn to mimic those sounds somehow on whatever gear you have. I guarantee you will learn a LOT in the process.

I would also recommend checking out Oliver Chesler's great blog: WireToTheEar - lots of fun and informative stuff there. Enjoy - and START NOW!

Ode to A Dream

On a beautiful autumn day somewhere around '82, I took a walk with friends to the park close to our high school. Upon arrival I met Christopher, who had a boom box that was playing some of the most hauntingly beautiful textures and rhythms I'd heard in a while. He told me that it was "Ricochet" - a live album by a band called Tangerine Dream. Christopher and I went on to become very close friends, a connection of which was key around music... and what he turned me on to literally changed my life and musical perspective forever.

Tangerine Dream's music spoke to me in a unique way. I was already into electronic music... but their organic synth textures and woven sequences took hold of me like nothing before. There was also a particularly haunting quality that drew me toward them.

Many electronic musicians and an incredible number of dance music producers have sighted them as a major influence - for good reason. The textures they used - and perhaps even more-so - their sequenced rhythms pre-dated their dance music equivalents by decades.

Much of the next few years were spent scouring record-stores sniffing out their albums in the "import" bins. First was Tangram... but soon after I acquired "70-80" - a seminal collection of great tracks, some previously unreleased gems, and a picture book that I got lost in over and over again... filled with loads of concert pics and gear. Their music brought me to beautiful and alien places. I wanted to learn about all the gear - how to make such wondrous textures. Many nights were filled with dreams about gear - and ultimately learning to mimic those textures on my own primitive studio setup.

Music has an incredible ability to do that - a stronger force than anything I've experienced otherwise. To instantly inspire and tap into a part of the soul nothing else seemed to relate to. They will always be a major influence on me - because, "The dream is still the same..."

If you think and of this sounds or looks interesting - wait 'til you hear the actual recordings. Sublimely rich oceans of organic synth textures.

TIME.

is a Notion. is an oCean. a long time.

we can't catch it - hold it - see it - feel it - taste it - contain it - escape it - or stop it. yet we all experience the Effects of it. nearly 365 earth-days ago I recorded a simple track about IT.

DM1 The Drum Machine V2.0 - Music app for iPad

So - they've updated a rather nifty piece of drum machine software I've been exploring on my iPad - gotta say: overall it's quite impressive... new updates make it even more-so. I really appreciate the fact that nearly all software updates on APPs are free(!). On my budget, that's the right price.

Dextro (demo)

Previously unreleased vocal/house collaboration with Craig Mitchell - Check it out!

Dextro (demo)

Anthony AntFacter-Charles Cohen-Julius Masri

When visiting my friend Charles in Philly - he invited me to improvise a brief opener for his set with Julius Masri. It was a magical weekend with Charles as he's one of my favorite musicians and a dear friend. I had a total blast! Thank you Charles - for encouraging me to make more music - again.

Inspirational Listening

I know what inspiration feels like - but it's not often easy to identify it's source. For the first time in a long time I came home, checked out the Sprawl Electronic's favorite SoundCloud tracks and just let myself drink in other people's work. It's great to hear all the surprisingly nice production people are doing "out there". Sometimes one can get so consumed with trying to figure out what they should be doing "next" that they don't make time to listen to what other contemporaries are doing. And sometimes that's inspiration enough. Breathe, "drink in" and see what sticks and perhaps even consider why - or not. I've added a few of these faves to my fave SoundCloud list and I'm diggin' some greatly varied tracks. A nice thing to do following dinner with friends from out of town.

Here's an improv I did on my iPhone last summer... or was it two? It's freely downloadable.
copepod - Song for a Blind Alley by copepod