Just when you wonder where nightclubs are going to do next, they continuously leave you stumped. The heady days of 1980s illegal raves are a long gone memory for many, and that spirit of...
READ MORE...
1 Minute
1 Minute
“Father of MIDI” Dave Smith dies aged 72
Occasionally in life, you come across someone who was a real pioneer. Someone who was ahead of their time and brought about a seismic change in the way things were done. They’re usually too...
READ MORE...
Do they want to be on the wrong side of history? The dance music press are slagging off the Metaverse – but it’s going to be part of the future, whether they like it or not…
Last week, this blog ran an article about Pioneer getting into the remote DJing game – where people can collaborate with each other on a DJ set and never actually meet. I mentioned it...
READ MORE...
2 Minutes
Are they both REALLY on the same side here? Pioneer showcases virtual reality DJing on their Instagram page – and it’s just as boring as watching real life DJs doing their thing…
Last Saturday, I posted a little article all about the Metaverse. It’s something most people don’t really understand yet, and I include myself in those ranks. Truth be told, I suspect the true capabilities...
READ MORE...
2 Minutes
Japan’s Stokyo are releasing a portable DJ set (based on Columbia GP3 portables from the 1960s) in the New Year with turntables included – but am I the only one who thinks it looks like a Fisher Price toy?
I know a little about music production. I used to be one. But one thing I never fully understood was the obsession in certain quarters with buying copious amounts of hardware for making said...
READ MORE...
2 Minutes
NFTs: just the latest method of scamming artists or a new way to let them keep control and have more money in their pockets? This blog is undecided (for once!)…
First of all, welcome back to the blog. I had the day off yesterday – and I hope you didn’t miss Amateur’s House too much. It’s back to somewhat normal business this morning –...
READ MORE...
Now they’re even trying to make microphone isolators sexy! Kaotica Eyeball is meant to keep your vocal recordings clean – but do they REALLY need to do a Nervous to plug it?
The extent which some people will go to in order to advertise their products never ceases to astonish me. Things have certainly changed since the first advert on British TV back in 1955 –...
READ MORE...
They’ve totally lost the plot! Dreadbox’s pathetic response to their claims their Nymphes polysynth “soothes the pain” of abused women away is… it’s only white men whinging about it!
Time for a quick follow-up to a story which I published yesterday morning – ahead of several of the dance music press, including Resident Advisor. As you might have noticed, I wasn’t terribly nice...
READ MORE...
Is April Fools Day coming around quicker these days? Dreadbox release Nymphes polysynth on which they say “each time you play a note, imagine that you soothe the pain of abused women away”…
When this arrived in my inbox yesterday, I was surprised – not something which happens frequently when checking my emails. Infact, on reading the email, I strongly suspected it to be some kind of...
READ MORE...
Digital drum kits are two a penny these days with new and old available freely online – but back in 2000, a surprising name in telecoms was offering its own drum machine…
The software vs hardware debate has raged for years in dance music, and will probably go on forever. For every person who swears that the only way to make music is to get a...
READ MORE...
Poor metadata’s STILL a problem, is it? I was warned about this very issue by one of my earliest supporters – and he died nearly four years ago…
Back when I was making music rather than writing about it, one of my earliest supporters was a DJ called Eddie Eaze Coleman. He was also a producer, a songwriter and a man who...
READ MORE...
Selling your music won’t make you money, but you buy more stuff to make music – inside the weird world of music producers!
I read an extremely interesting article on the 5 Magazine site earlier this week. They’re one of very few dance music outlets that I have any time for. The article goes into detail about...
READ MORE...
If cartoon breasts were the answer, what the hell was the question? Eyebrows raised at the latest plugin from WX Audio…
Things really should have advanced further in the plugin world than the likes of Perky Percussion Percolator by now. Released in 2005, this was a VST that showed a picture of cartoon breasts –...
READ MORE...
NFTs? My phone’s auto translate changes that into “nuts” – and it turns out for good reason…
I’m going to do something unusual here. I’m going to send you all somewhere else to read something. Unusual, perhaps. But I’ve come to the conclusion over the years that it’s sometimes best to...
READ MORE...
Are they not in a plaice to tell us? Muff Wiggler refuses to say why they changed their name to Mod Wiggler – and people think something fishy is going on
Some curious reporting going on today about this story. The very high minded dance music press either can’t be bothered doing the work or think it’s somehow beneath them. But I don’t! Muff Wiggler...
READ MORE...
909 is the name of the machine, not its price! The depressing yet predictable tale of how Derrick May sold a stolen Roland drum machine to Frankie Knuckles to pay his rent
Derrick May is a master at telling stories. He’s remarkably good at it. Whether it’s because he genuinely believes they’re true or just because he knows he has a fairly charismatic personality, I don’t...
READ MORE...