Saturday, July 11, 2009

Day 191: How to Scratch, Juggle and be cool.

This is how it should be done. This style, identical to none.

Watch, learn, practise!


2/365

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Day 190: Trent Reznor hits the nail on the head.

Picture unrelated.

Wow a terrible pun, maybe I should start doing that more often.

Ok, so here is basically an article that I stumbled upon, almost entirely by accident. However, what a find!

Basically Nine Inch Nails legend Trent Reznor sums up what aspiring musicians need to do these days to get themselves out there and noticed. A fairly brief article, but really worth it's weight in gold:

If you are an unknown / lesser-known artist trying to get noticed / established:

* Establish your goals. What are you trying to do / accomplish? If you are looking for mainstream super-success (think Lady GaGa, Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake) - your best bet in my opinion is to look at major labels and prepare to share all revenue streams / creative control / music ownership. To reach that kind of critical mass these days your need old-school marketing muscle and that only comes from major labels. Good luck with that one.

If you're forging your own path, read on.

* Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.
To clarify:
Partner with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this - give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people's email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special - make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters... whatever.

Don't have a TopSpin as a partner? Use Amazon for your transactions and fulfillment. [www.amazon.com]

Use TuneCore to get your music everywhere. [www.tunecore.com]

Have a realistic idea of what you can expect to make from these and budget your recording appropriately.
The point is this: music IS free whether you want to believe that or not. Every piece of music you can think of is available free right now a click away. This is a fact - it sucks as the musician BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS (for now). So... have the public get what they want FROM YOU instead of a torrent site and garner good will in the process (plus build your database).

The Beastie Boys' site offers everything you could possibly want in the formats you would want it in - available right from them, right now. The prices they are charging are more than you should be charging - they are established and you are not. Think this through.

The database you are amassing should not be abused, but used to inform people that are interested in what you do when you have something going on - like a few shows, or a tour, or a new record, or a webcast, etc.
Have your MySpace page, but get a site outside MySpace - it's dying and reads as cheap / generic. Remove all Flash from your website. Remove all stupid intros and load-times. MAKE IT SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AND EASY TO FIND AND HEAR MUSIC (but don't autoplay). Constantly update your site with content - pictures, blogs, whatever. Give people a reason to return to your site all the time. Put up a bulletin board and start a community. Engage your fans (with caution!) Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. Get a Twitter account. Be interesting. Be real. Submit your music to blogs that may be interested. NEVER CHASE TRENDS. Utilize the multitude of tools available to you for very little cost of any - Flickr / YouTube / Vimeo / SoundCloud / Twitter etc.

If you don't know anything about new media or how people communicate these days, none of this will work. The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools. If you don't get it - find someone who does to do this for you. If you are waiting around for the phone to ring or that A & R guy to show up at your gig - good luck, you're going to be waiting a while.

Hope this helps, and I'll scour responses for intelligent comments I can respond to.

TR


2/365

p&&l

bang!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Day 189: How to DJ with a Laptop - Basics.

Even though I have been a techie for some time now, one thing I still sometimes struggle with is mentally working some stuff through. I mean things like data flow, routing etc. I'm definitely a hands on person.

Explain something to me, I'll probably get it conceptually, but still with some tinges of uncertainty. Sit me down with something and let me have a play, in 20 minutes I'll have it doing stuff beyond what it was ever meant to do!

One thing that always tricks me mentally in the audio environment (especially in this digital age) is audio routing. It never causes me problems practically, in fact its a breeze, but if I try imagining how I might route Sound A from Source A to Input B via the mixer my brain starts to flap... just give me the goddam cables alright!

So... this video here is great for explaining those fundamentals of audio routing with a laptop for DJing. It's basic stuff, but well presented and clearly delivered. All stuff you may know already, but, if you are a visual person like me, will just reassure you that you knew what you were on about!

There is a second video too, so be sure to check that out (there is a link at the end of this one).

2/365

p&&l

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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Day 188: How to make seemless tempo changes in the mix

This is a good question, and one I have thought about a few times. The following video shows an interesting and clever way of doing this in Traktor. This is great if you use traktor, however not so good for the non software DJ.


I've been trying to think of ways of emulating this idea without software. The only way I can think of getting close is by maybe using a delay on your mixer (if it has one) tho I am not sure if you will get the delay tempo to change speed like it does here.

There are other ways of changing tempo mid mix, such as the brutal pitch nudge method (nudging it up slowly and hope its not obvious!). Also you can do it by being creative with spin backs etc (dropping the new tune in on a beat after the spin). If all else fails you can go for turning of the turntable effect. Creating a bit of atmosphere maybe with it, get some claps going maybe! Then using the break in the music to drop in on a new tempo.

Any other options? I'd be interested to know!


2/365

p&&l

bang!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Day 187: Trade Secrets #2 Diskore tell us how it's done.

Madrid Techno-Rock (and otherwise genre melting) madsters Diskore took 5 minutes out from recording their album to answer a few questions, and share a little wisdom with us.

Here is what they had to say:

What do you think is more important, raw talent, or 'getting to know' people/making the right contacts?

WELL...TO MAKE RAW CONTACTS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR US...


So far what are your top achievements as a band?

DON'T SPEND MONEY ON THE BAND.. DISKORE SURVIVE PAYING THEMSELVES.WE ARE RELEASING A FULL ALBUM ON SEPTEMBER AND WE ARE ANXIOUS TO HIT THE ROAD...


Do you think that it's easier, or harder now to make it as a DJ/Producer/band in this electronic age?

I THINK THAT ITS MORE EASIER RIGHT NOW TO GET A NAME,BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW YOU THROUGH INTERNET GO TO THE CONCERTS OR BUY YOUR MUSIC...STRANGE DAYS...


Top 5 tips for anyone looking to get in to music?

JUST ONE: DO WHAT YOU WANT!!!!


Top 5 things NOT to do?

THE PREVIOUS ONE ITS VALID TOO....DO WHAT YOU WANT!!!!!



Your style is a fusion of many styles, in general do you think this opens you up to more listeners?

WE TRY TO DO ROCK FOR DJS AND TECHNO FOR GUITAR PLAYERS...ALL IN ONE!


Do you think the current scene is sustainable with the number of new artist coming through, competition for gigs, current state of record sales etc?

ACTUALLY THERE ARE A LOT...BUT ITS INCREASING THE SCENE, AND THAT' S ALWAYS GOOD FOR EVERYONE...


Have you made any mistakes that you would advise others to avoid?

NOOOO....WE ALWAYS GO BACK TO THE SAME MISTAKES...SO JUST BE YOURSELVES...

When writing new material is there a particular approach you take (melody, then beats etc) do you have ideas in your head, or just what comes out at the time?

SOMETIMES WE START WITH A LOOP AND WE PLAY ON TOP, BUT USUALLY WE JUST HAVE A GUITAR RIFF AND WE BUILD IT FROM THERE...


Plans for the future, upcoming gigs, new projects etc?

THIS SUMMER WE ARE IN THE THE STUDIO FINISHING THE ALBUM OUT IN SEPTEMBER, WE WILL BE PLAYING IN A COUPLE OF FESTIVALS IN CANTABRIA AND MADRID. AT THE MOMENT THAT'S ALL.

What is the best thing about being in a band?

TO BE AROUND YOUR FRIENDS DOING WHAT YOU LIKE THE MOST. AND SOMETIMES GETTING PAID FOR IT!

Whats the weirdest/funniest thing to happen on tour/at a show?

TO SIGN A RECORD CONTRACT AFTER OUR FIRST SHOW EVER!!!!


Show Diskore some myspace love here and keep your eyes peeled for their forthcoming record (we'll be sure to feature it here) and the upcoming tour.



2/365

p&&l

bang!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Day 186: How to make a House anthem 10 steps...

House music formulaic? Never. Well, ok, maybe a little, but that's only cos all music is formulaic. It's simple maths really. When you have one part of a melody, the second half has to answer it correctly, else it doesn't sound right. If you've ever known how a melody is going to go the first time you hear it, then you know what I am on about.

Besides what's wrong with a little bit of a framework, it's how we move forward isn't it.

So Chart regulars Chocolate Puma recently gave an interview to Beatportal to say what they think are the 10 key ingredients to make a commercially successful house tune. Whether you are interested in making house or not, most of this advice probably applies to all genres, so well worth checking out the article here.


2/365

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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Day 185: 30th Anniversary of the Walkman

I'm not so much a fan of this current trend of 'Listicles', you know, them things that pretend to be articles, but are just a list. Not least the fact that the name sounds like some obscure genital infection.

Aaaaany way, I stumbled upon this one, and enjoyed it with nostalgic affection. It's a piece about the history of the Walkman, which is 30 years old this month. Blimey doesn't time fly.

Who can forget the constant need for batteries, the regular chewing of (always your favorite) tapes, and the cool urban chic of a gurt plastic box strapped to your hip. Plus no track skip or anything like that, even auto reverse was a luxury. Many an hour wasted taking tape out, fast forwarding it, take it out again, play, only to realise it's still not gone back far enough to hear that song again.

For all its failings, it stood the test of time amazingly well, it's place on the portable audio throne unchallenged for decades.

Happy Birthday Walkman (Yes, it's still in production today!).

Find the full article here.


2/365

p&&l

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