It’s rare I do a post about a PC only plug-in because I own a Mac. I do however own VMWare Fusion and XP to run Excel and Songsmith. This morning I installed a demo version of Ableton Live inside Fusion solely to check out Keywriter. I know it’s a novelty plug-in but I couldn’t resist. Basically its a VST simulating an old German typewriter called “Erika”. It’s a freebie and you can find audio samples, screenshots and the download: here

Keywriter is a rompler that reproduce the sounds of a German typewriter «Erika». Can be used as a unusual rhythm machine, and as a tool for special effects. Main features: Full range of typewriter sounds, Stereo control; Drive contol; Low CPU usage. – http://knobster.org/

photo credit: Phil Moore

via Synthtopia

I’ve learned almost every life lesson the hard way. The “hard way” usual means you don’t listen to what anyone tells you and therefore you experience life’s pains first hand. I do admit when I am wrong and today I’ll make a minor confession. Basically, I thought if I took a full time job I would make music just as easily and with the same fluency and frequency. So yeah I was pretty much wrong.

However, it’s not actually time management that’s the issue. It’s more that well, I love my new day job! It seems after almost 40 years on this planet the left (analytical) side of my brain grew as large as my right brain (creative side). Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been freaking out waiting to get dirty with Ableton Live 8 but I’m finding organizing my audits also tantalizing. My official job title is “Field Energy Auditor”. I enter commercial buildings in a certain section of Manhattan that ConEd is having problems delivering power to. I help stores and buildings reduce their current demand by recommending various conservation (lighting retrofits, new HVAC systems, etc..) and generation (solar, geo-thermal, hydro, wind) methods. Often I meet with building managers and companies with more money than the entire music industry (just sitting in the top drawer of their desks!). You would be amazed how open they are to the green revolution. Then again, they save tons of money by implementing the plans we offer. Did you know an underwater turbine now sits in the east river and powers a Gristedes supermarket? Amazing.

I wanted to post this to put my feelings on the record. It should be interesting in a year or two to read this again (for me anyway). So to those of you who work full time how does your music making life fit in? Whenever you get the urge? Weekends only? What’s your stradgey? One thing I am sure of is I put 20+ years into the music business, learning the craft of song-writing and I am finally good at it… so expect many more albums to come. The best thing is I can afford more toys with keys and knobs on them! Here’s where I work: Energy Management Solutions

photo: They found my secret life as The Horrorist.

The next two days in New York be sunny and warm. My wife’s been pointing out all the holes in my favorite T-shirts. Therefore this post is for her and her wallet. Most of these prints are available on American Apparel shirts which means they fit well and are nice and soft. The classic and now fully hipsterized green Moog T? Could I be in full “Hawtin, bald, those black geek eyeglasses” Ableton T mode? Do I want to date myself with the Fairlight T? I love AD and Ohm Force but no one other than readers of this blog would have a clue what the prints mean (which is ok by me!).

Here’s the links:

Audio Damage T-Shirt
Moog T-Shirt
Ableton T-Shirt
Fairlight T-Shirt
Ohm Force T-Shirt

Bonus… Elektron T-Shirt

Which one do you want?

Quick Jasuto demonstration from Jasuto on Vimeo.

James Bernard from Propellerhead Software sent me an email yesterday recommending a new iPhone (and VST) application called Jasuto. James said, “It’s like a reactable for Iphone… and it sounds KILLER.. plus if you go to his website he has a vst plug in version which is free. You can thank me later…”. Over at Jasuto.com under the demo videos someone wrote, “Impressive!! This is REALLY the future!!”. I have to say after watching the video above in full futuristic definitely comes to mind. Things go awesome at 1:25 in!

“There are several main design goals that I wanted to achieve with this.

The first goal was to make synth building fun and easy all while adding some unpredictability to the process. I’ve come up with some amazing sounds almost by accident in a lot cases that I would have never even thought of doing in a conventional synth.

The 2nd was to blur the line between patch and synth, so creating a synth should be no different (or any more difficult) than creating a patch.

The 3rd was to unify control and audio rate signals allowing everything to be a modulation or be modulated.

And finally I wanted to make sure that it was simple and efficient to add motion to a sound. So every node on the screen can record its own motion. For instance if you wanted to create a simple LFO for a chorus effect just grab the delays time constant click the record button and wiggle away. After you are done recording hit stop and it will auto-magically blend the loop points for you. All motion including the step sequencer are sync-able via triggers, more on this in the “Basics” section.

And that’s really what this is all about, it lets you explore soundscapes and make synths without even knowing it.”

Needless to say this app is sitting on my iPhone’s home screen and I’ve been glued to it. I’ll make a few videos of my own creations and post them this weekend. More importantly, I already have pieces of audio created with Jasuto I will definitely use in full songs.

For more info: www.jasuto.com

Related post: Six synthPond compositions

MakeNoise ModDemod from Brandon Daniel on Vimeo.

Here’s a great module from Make Noise Music based on a “military radio communications technology… reclaimed for artistic purposes”. If I were at war I could see that blasting this audio toward the enemy would definitely confuse the hell out of them. I’ve been planning to build my own modular for years and whenever I find a module I know has to be included it goes into a special bookmarked folder. This baby is in!

“Welcome to the dumbest video ever of the ModDemod…” – Brandon Daniel

About $130. More info: www.makenoisemusic.com/moddemod.html

photo credit: bdu

The Moogseum Project from Steve White on Vimeo.

A Moog museum. A program to bring electronic instruments into schools. Ton of archives, schematics written by Bob on display for the public. These are a few of the things the Moog Foundation is working on and they need your help. This is not a “mini” project! The Moog brand is a true American success story and it’s story deserves great respect and preservation.

“Michelle Moog-Koussa of The Bob Moog Foundation discusses the first Bob Moog museum or MOOGSEUM.” – Steve White

Learn more and donate: www.moogfoundation.org
Visit Moog online: www.moogmusic.com

What’s worse than fake plastic grass that sits in a landfill for eternity? Worse than corn syrup capsules disguised as beans? Worse than room temperature hard boiled eggs? Easter albums! You know how Christmas music is just plain awesome? You know how it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and happy? Well Easter music is the exact opposite. I’m going to guess that almost 99% of Easter music was created because some large label exec thought it could bring in some dollars. Want an example of what I mean? Check out an album on iTunes called Easter Bunny Hits by Big Eye Music. Look at what track 17 is! Is this a sick joke? An Easterized version of Who Let the Dogs Out! Are you afraid yet? Oh and check the released date: 2009! Wow.

Yippee!

My wife won’t allow me to buy products by certain companies beacuse they test on animals. I love my pets and all creatures so I abide by her rules. Sometimes I wonder if the info she gets from Peta newsletters is correct though. If a company tested on animals in the 70’s are they still on the no list? I guess I could find out with some Google trolling. I know opinions on this kind of thing rank right below 9/11 conspiracys. Either way I think PETA’s official request to the Pet Shop Boys to change their name is completely retarded. In case you’re wondering my all time favorite Pet Shop Boys song is: I Want a Dog

The organization, the People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA), sent a letter to Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe acknowledging that its request, at first blush, might appear “bizarre.” But, by changing its name, the band could raise awareness at every tour stop of the “cramped, filthy conditions” that breeders keep animals in before selling them to pet stores, PETA said in its letter. – CNN

Here’s a photo of my boys: Zoe & Scout

photo credit: Maltesen

What comes up #1 when you type “songwriting” into Google? A website called Easy Song Writing. My initial thought when looking at the site was that it was beginners drivel. However, it’s always the simplest reminders of the writing experience that gets me to shut the browser and open the sequencer. I really crave making music. I can’t go more than a week without writing something. A loop usually won’t feed my addiction. I’m happiest when I can shoot out a beginning, middle and end. Anyway, I thought I’d mention Easy Song Writing because some of the articles got me in the mood. Here’s an example of a few of the articles they have online:

Learn the very basics of writing a song. click here
21 tips to avoid the pitfalls that could stop your song from reaching the top 10. click here
This is how one songwriter writes his songs. click here
Do you know how to write a catchy melody? click here

Somewhat interesting (or not?) is the fact this site is from South Africa and they sell something although I can’t quite figure out what it is. Time to hit some keys…

photo credit: quinn.anya

Related post: 10 ways to get back on track in the recording studio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBkcIjwg5tk

I just finished two weeks of training at my new job. I came across this video while reading my loved RSS feed from the super synth blog Matrixsynth. I can only imagine if this were my training video. At 4:17 you get a look at an early version of Motu’s Performer software. In 1987 I was seventeen years old and just starting out with an Atari 520ST and Dr. T’s KCS.

Anyone know how much this Mac set up cost back then?

Related post: Dr. T’s KCS Keyboard Controlled Sequencer