Wednesday, 29 October 2008

A Slow Week

For various reasons not much in the way of music creating was done in the last week. Mainly laziness but also Far Cry 2 were the reasons for this.

Today though, I managed to send back 4 of the edited Knivderby tracks. I'm quite happy with these but we'll see what the band have to say.

I think I've also finished 1 of the 4 tracks of the Le Migre EP (with Radio Scotvoid). The track in question (2K Summer House) has a nice combination of soft & harsh sounds. Infact all the tracks have that ying/yang thing going on. I believe they really show both aspects of each artist's music. Should be a good one...

Until then, stay safe

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Knivderby News

After I sent off some early mixes to the boys with knifes, I received their first thoughts about the progress of the new CD. They seem happy so far, and were great at picking up on things I missed (or they didn't like). So for the next short while I will be mainly working on these adjustments...

Monday, 13 October 2008

Monday Updates

I managed to start a new track on late Sat, early Sun. It began with a few Fx samples that I messed around with, then quite quickly I added a simple swelling bass & a rhodes part. At that point it was screaming out for some drums. I managed to find an excellent house beat (that I made maybe 3 years ago) that fitted perfectly. Next up was some hi-hat patterns and another kick & snare for some more power.
After dancing around the room to some deep but funky house music for a good 10 mins I decided it needed an ARP melody. Luckily I had a pre-made loop lying around. Again this fitted perfectly so not much work was needed to match it to the sounds already created.

When I write a new track, I absolutely love it when this happens! It goes so fast & easily you question whether or not its any good. This one is though, as it passed the "Next-Day listen" test with flying colours. I'll have another listen tonight or tomorrow then probably move the track into Logic for the better quality production techniques available.

Keep coming back to check for updates on this track. It's called "Blocked In The Dark" And as usual, I've got no idea where this name came from. It just seems to fit the mood of the music.


One other thing to report is, my hearing is almost back to normal. There's still a bit of "cloudy-ness" but its a lot better than it was Saturday. The almond oil seems to be working!

Saturday, 11 October 2008

Hearing Problems...

Over the last 2 weeks I've been having a minor problem with my right ear. I can't really hear any high frequencies which is kinda annoying. It feels exactly like when you have water trapped after a shower or bath.

I think the problem has been created by wearing closed capsule headphones for too long a time. ie all day in some cases. Some rest to the ears is called for. I'm also going to try some almond oil for clearing any built up...eh...you know!

Unfortunately because of this, I haven't really done any music since Tuesday. I did sort out some samples loops that I love doing, but it can get a little tedious after the 15th loop...

Another thing, I signed up to Twitter as well. If anyone knows exactly what it is or does could they let me know?

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

Weekly Update

Not done much in the way of Small Colin since the last post. Until today anyway.

Two more mixes were done for Knivderby, a new Small Colin track is almost done (The Coward). Some noodling with the Le Migre Ep (Radio Scotvoid) was also achieved.

A good day...I'm quite happy with the progress.

Until the next time here's a pic of the ocean between mainland Sweden & the chicken island (Hönö). It was taken when I arrived from Jönköping just over 2 weeks ago.

Friday, 3 October 2008

Novation Nocturn

I am now the proud owner of one of these small midi controllers:-

It basically gives me a more hands on approach when making music as instead of using the mouse to turns knobs/sliders you can assign one of the physical controls. The whole process is now much faster also.

Don't let its size fool you though, it is a very powerful tool (especially the "Speed Dial" function).

The intial Automaps are great but it really comes into its own when you create your own maps.

Check here for more details & specs.

Awesome!!! ;-)