warehouse project!

I was at warehouse project the other night for the metropolis birthday. On the bill was Chase and Status on their live tour. It consisted of both Chase and Status using samplers, drum machines and synths.. with a live drummer! He was using a Roland D-drum setup, with all of their drum sounds loaded in. I was extremely impressed, as I have seen drum and bass live before, and it lacked the same punch which the album tracks have, but this was the real deal.

Also on the night was DJ Derek!! He’s a DJ of the older generation.. about 70 to be precise, but dropped lots of old skool reggae and dancehall. Being a massive fan of this genre I can only say that I wish I am 1 % as cool as this guy when I am his age. I have added a video of him to the vodpod, so check it out!

More Work Added!!

I have added a couple of videos to the VodPod on the right hand side. The first one is a Video I made in first year of university, which is an advert. The 2nd one was a video made in the second year, caleed “condemned”, which I actually act in ( not very well). Hope you like them and can see where we were going with them. Please bear in mind acting and script writing were not part of the marking scheme!..lol!

Also you may notice at the top that there is a music and a CV tab. Pretty self explanatory really, but feel free to take a look at my CV, or listen to some of the tracks I have produced.

Drum and Bass tutorials

Getting the sounds that you want when writing drum and bass tracks, is often a daunting thing to do. I have learnt a lot from watching tutorials, from different drum and bass producers, all over the web. Not to say that you should just copy them, but there is a lot of information to be passed down, and worth taking in, as it can be just the influence you need.

I have posted a couple of videos by Sub Focus on the newly inserted VodPod in the sidebar. Enjoy, and hope they are of some influence, n matter what genre you are creating.( I sometimes look at house and commercial dance tutorials, despite my distaste for these genres, as it can give you different  ideas for production techniques)

manchester metal collective!!!!

The Manchester Metal Collective are a group of locals, putting on events in Manchester. They are all about DIY, mass participation events!  Anyone can get involved if they want.. whether that be promotion, live sound, or even displaying some artwork you’ve done!  I have done some live sound at a couple of them, as well as some filming at one, and will be doing some live sound at this one too.

The first event they did sold out the whole of the Jabez Clegg in Manchester( all three rooms), and the next one looks to be just as popular, as it is a free event!!…. YES….. A FREE EVENT!!!!!! Because that is what it is all about… people who share the same passions, getting together and doing something, without thinking about making money, or what they can get out of it! So if you are interested in getting involved then just get in touch with them. Or if you just wanna rock out to some of the finest Manchester heavy metal, then get down!.. ITS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..

Manchester Metal All Dayer 4…….15th November…..Jabez Clegg… 2pm-til-late

 Rock on!

air time!!!

Did a recording today for singer/songwriter, ashley jones. got quite a nice guitar sound, considering it was in the hall of my house, surrounded by a few matresses. Anyways, it is gonna be played on whythenshawe fm on wednesday afternoon (04/11/09).. then who knows!!!!  LOL!

beatclinic

For thoseof you into drum and bass, and other electronic music i guess.. there is a website, which is partly run by danny byrd called beat clinic. It has tutorial videos, interviews with producers, tips and tricks. Really useful stuff on there, so check it out.. it has helped me out with a few things.

http://www.beatclinic.co.uk/

Hope this is of use!

windows 7?

Well Windows 7 is out, and word on the street is… Don’t Bother.  Apparently there are lots of bugs, which will take a year to iron out, despite people queueing from midnight in some places to get a copy.  Looks like it’s back to XP for me fo’ sure!

Recording radio drama

Been recording some atmosphere tracks for the radio drama today. We have been to bars, hotels, libraries, town halls etc:  Most people have been very cool, and let us record, including a very nice man at the Midland Hotel, where we didn’t think we would get to record at all. One man at the library however wouldn’t let us record near him.. not sure what he’s worried about, but he really was not up for it. Never mind! 

We used a Zoom H2 solid state recorder, set to a 360 degree polarity setting.

 The tracks are very clear and should work very well in the production.  We also used it to record some car engine sounds, and cars skidding on gravel. We shall be re-doing these with condensor microphones as well, to compare and take the best sounding one.

Anyway. So far so good. Will keep you posted!

Heavy metal Music Production

I am quite into heavy metal, and have recorded a few heavy metal tracks over the years. I have always stuuggled withproducing this genre. One partucularly difficult element being the guitars. I just wish I’d had these videos to hand before I tried producing it. There are some very good tips included, as Sound on Sound speaks to Russ Russell and Andy Sneap, about how they go about it. Hope these bare of some use to you… enjoy!

Radio Production

Starting a Radio Programme for a university assignment this week. Me and my “attorney” are doing  a radio adaptation of, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” , by the Late, Great,  Hunter S Thompson.

 

  There is tonnes of work we need to do, such as monologues, dialogues, Sound effects, Backing Music, as well as arranging and mixing the damn thing. However really looking forward to it, as we are going to record lots of the dialogue on location “GONZO” style!!!  I shall post the finished version on here when completed ( roughly 8/9 weeks).

This will be my first time producing radio material and I cannot wait to learn about it.

Whilst I’m on the subject of radio, it seems only fitting that I take this opportunity to introduce my radio hero…. Mr Karl Pilkington.  Here is a video of a particularly good excerpt, (remember this was live on air)… enjoy!!