Here’s a nice bit of kit to take along with you on your next flight when you’ve just got to finish that next remix on the go.
Snip snip…
Now that the laptop has become the new desktop it’s tempting to do everything on the go. But try composing or editing music while enjoying a latte at Starbucks and you’ll find yourself seriously lacking in the tactile input department. There’s a reason why musicians generally need racks of equipment at their disposal… you just cant play music so well with a keyboard and mouse. The new Korg Nano Digital Music Controllers aim to remedy this musical dilemma by providing three different portable USB versions of common musical input devices that fit perfectly with your laptop. The nanoKEY gives you a mini velocity sensitive keyboard. The nanoPAD provides you with velocity sensitive drum-pads and a Kaossilator style x-y control pad while the nanoKONTROL gives you nine faders, nine knobs and eighteen switches for your mixing pleasure.
Basically all three Nano Controllers are USB MIDI devices that can work with various music software that supports MIDI. The nanoKEY comes with a free download for Korgs nice M1 Le synthesizer software with some great classic Korg synth sounds. The nanoPAD has a free download for EZDrummer 1.14 to get you started with some rockin’ beats and the nanoKONTROL gives you a $50 off coupon for Ableton Live music editing software.
Included with all of the models is Korg’s Kontrol Editor software which allows you to customize the exact MIDI commands sent by each key, slider and button.
nanoKEY
* Keyboard: 25-key with velocity and 4 velocity curves
* CC MODE button
* Octave Shift up/down buttons
* Pitch up/down buttons
* Modulation button
* Dimensions: 320(W) x 83(D) x 14(H) mm/ 12.60”(W) x 3.27”(D) x 0.55”(H)
* Includes free download for Korg M1 Le Synthesizer software and Korg’s Kontrol Editor software
nanoPAD
* 12 trigger pads with velocity and 4 velocity curves
* X-Y pad (Like the Kaossilator!)
* ROLL button
* FLAM button
* HOLD button
* 4 SCENE buttons (Allows 4 different MIDI configurations to be recalled instantly)
* Dimensions: 320(W) x 82(D) x 16.5(H) mm/ 12.60”(W) x 3.23”(D) x 00.65”(H)
* Includes free download for EZDrummer 1.14 software and Korg’s Kontrol Editor software
nanoKONTROL
* 9 knobs
* 9 sliders
* 18 buttons
* Transport buttons: REW/PLAY/FF/LOOP/STOP/REC
* 4 SCENE buttons (Allows 4 different MIDI configurations to be recalled instantly)
* Dimensions: 320(W) x 82(D) x 29.5(H) mm/ 12.60”(W) x 3.23”(D) x 1.16”(H)
* Includes $50 off coupon for Ableton Live software and free download of Korg’s Kontrol Editor software
PC Requirements
* Mac OS X 10.3.9, or Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later
* Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, or Microsoft Windows Vista SP1
* Available USB Port
via: thinkgeek
Korg Nano Digital Music Controllers
Jupiter Rising - L.A. Girls (MyKill vs DJ Nth Remix)
Jupiter Rising has been generating quite the buzz lately with a new album on the way and several songs featured on hit television shows including the song L.A. Girls which was on MTV’s the Hills. Jupiter Rising has an EP coming out later this month and a full album due out next year. More information is available on their MySpace page here. The MP3 below is a dancefloor remix of L.A. Girls by MyKill of San Francisco and DJ Nth of Los Angeles.
MP3: Jupiter Rising - L.A. Girls (MyKill vs DJ Nth Remix)
Mirror: Mediafire
Auto-Tune Vocal Effects Made Easy
So Antares just released Auto-Tune EFX which allows anyone to very easily achieve the Daft Punk - Cher vocal effect that has become quite commonplace lately.
From the Antares Website:
The quickest, easiest, most affordable tool for real-time pitch correction and creating the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect (the T-Pain/Cher-style effect).
Powered by the same ground-breaking Evo™ Voice Processing Technology as Antares’ Auto-Tune Evo, the latest generation of the worldwide standard in professional pitch correction, Auto-Tune EFX makes Antares-quality pitch processing accessible to anyone engaged in computer-based audio recording.
Designed to make almost everything automatic, Auto-Tune EFX provides two different flavors of the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect as well as real-time pitch correction. Just select your desired effect type, set the key and scale of your track, and Auto-Tune EFX does the rest. For songs with complex chord progressions or modulations, you can optionally set up custom scales or use your host’s automation facility to allow the processing of virtually any vocal line.
Pitch Correction
Like Auto-Tune Evo, Auto-Tune EFX pitch correction works by continuously tracking the pitch of your vocal and comparing it to the notes in a (customizable) scale. The scale note closest to the input pitch is identified as the target note. If your vocal’s pitch exactly matches the target note, no correction is applied. If your vocal’s pitch varies from the target note, either sharp or flat, the output pitch is smoothly corrected to the target note
Auto-Tune Vocal Effect
The Auto-Tune Vocal Effect is what is technically known as “pitch quantization.” Instead of allowing all of the small variations in pitch and the gradual transitions between notes that are a normal part of singing, the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect limits each note to an exact pitch, stripping out any variation, as well as forcing instantaneous transitions between notes.
Get the demo version at the link below.
via: Antares
Shiny Disco Balls
I just stumbled across this new remix of the worn-out classic “Shiny Disco Balls” by Bad Boy DJs. Keep it fresh with a new mix.
MP3: Zshare
NAMM: Akai debuts APC40 an Ableton Live Controller
At the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) expo, Akai showed the APC40 MIDI control surface it has developed in conjunction with Ableton, making it the first such device to be ready to run out of the box with the Ableton Live music editing software. As there is no need to load drivers, users simply plug in their notebooks via a USB port and can begin mixing or otherwise modifying their music using Ableton Live. The APC40 is being touted as the simplest, most direct hardware interface with the popular software, yet still allows advanced users to assign the board’s 40 buttons, knobs and fader controls to any virtual controls in the software.
Each control on the APC40 lights up in a different color to give users an instant indication of clip state. Likewise, the 16 knobs are lined by a ring of LED rings that perform the same functions. Akai points out the APC40 makes controlling music at live events much quicker and easier, taking the connected source, most often a notebook or desktop PC or Mac, out of the equation.
A-Trak : Biography
Alain Macklovitch aka DJ A-Trak was 13 when he scratched his first record. The year was 1995, the turntable was his father’s, and the mixer… well, he didn’t have a mixer yet. But that problem was remedied soon enough, when he used his freshly earned Bar Mitzvah money to buy himself a used Technics 1200 turntable and, you guessed it, a mixer. In the months that followed, while the other kids were busy playing sports and watching Full House, he spent most of his after-school time locked up in his basement, practicing, listening to Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Jazzy Jeff records, studying videotapes and showing his new scratches to his big brother Dave.
"When I was 13 I took my bar mitzvah money and bought myself some turntables and a mixer. I practiced for about 18 hours a day. Then I came out of my basement, packed my lunch and won a bunch of world championships. Joy! I formed a DJ crew called the Allies with Craze and friends. We toured the world for a while... I guess I've been touring for the last 11 years. Time flies.
In the late 90's my brother and I ran an indie hip hop label called Audio Research. Most of you now know my brother as the mustachioed half of Chromeo. But I digress. In 2004 Kanye West hired me as his official tour DJ and I've worked closely with him ever since, both on stage and off. Then last year Nick Catchdubs and I founded a new record label: Fool's Gold, dedicated to bringing you the crème de la crop in club music. I also produced a bunch of tracks for Kid Sister and did a string of remixes for various gentlefolk. Expect some more A-Trak releases this year and I foresee an album in ze pipeline. Now let's boogie woogie."
All of A-Trak’s worldwide advenctures have been captured on video and are compiled on his DVD entitled Sunglasses Is A Must, to be released in early 2006. He is also in the midst of recording his first album, which will showcase his distinctive style of scratch-based and sample-heavy production as well as cameos from some of his favorite emcees, from the Dipset to MF Doom. A-Trak is one of the only DJs to truly reconcile technical experimentation with cold getting dumb on the dancefloor. And by all accounts, the best has yet to come.
Contact
North America bookings:
Brad Owen at The Windish Agency
brad@windishagency.com
Europe bookings:
Belinda Law at Elastic Artists
belinda@elasticartists.net
Management: Oli Isaacs
oli@thisismusicltd.com
Press: Kathryn Frazier at Biz3 Publicity
kathryn@biz3.net
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/djatrak
http://www.djatrak.com
http://www.foolsgoldrecs.com/blog/