Santa, I wanna Push!

So I've been salivating for some time now as the end of 2012 approaches and 2013 edges closer. Why you ask? Well, because of the release of Ableton's Live 9 as well as their MIDI controller - Push.

With Push, there are so many possibilities for composing music by combining the aspects of a beat machine, a keyboard as well as having many other functions such as loop division, effects, library browsing and so much more! As I learn to use Ableton (as well as Logic Pro, Pro Tools and Garage Band), I see the need for a multifunctional control surface like the Push. I'm super stoked about the upcoming release! If you would like to see it in action, take a look at Ableton's teaser trailer:

Ableton Push

In other news, I'm also on the list to get the Leap Motion. It looks to be a promising new way to interact with your computers and I'm anxiously awaiting that little delight to ship out. Here's a sneak peak at the Leap Motion:

Leap Motion

Have a happy holiday everyone!

Amazing builds

So as many of you know, P!nk has a new album out - The Truth About Love. My girlfriend was extremely excited to get a hold of it as soon as possible. The first track that I heard from it was Blow Me (One Last Kiss) which I thought was a pretty clever title. I liked it, I won't lie. As far as that realm of music is concerned, I'd pick P!nk and Katy Pery to listen to all day considering the other choices out there in that specific genre. I'd pick those ladies for a few other things, too. ;)

Anywho, I bought the album as soon as I could and gave it to my girlfriend (who absolutely loves it). We were listening to some of her songs as we were driving down the thruway and I heard track number three - Try. Now being that I'm almost always up for hearing some new music and really try to look at what makes a song great beyond just the lyrics, I found this track's build to be amazing. You only get the full effect in the beginning before the first chorus, but it's worth it. The second time around it's watered down and accompanied by P!nk's vocals, but that's okay. I like her voice.

If you haven't heard it yet and you love a good melodic, spacey and trancey build, give it a listen while wearing a good pair of headphones. It's a magical 10 seconds that was excellently constructed for this song and blends the genres of P!nk's pop rock sound with an epic sounding EDM build.

P!nk - Try (Official Video)

Working with Ableton Live 8

So, I took the plunge and added Ableton Live 8 to my studio for music production. So far I'm liking it. I have been watching videos from their site as well as YouTube vids from other users showing their work flow. It seems to be just what I needed. Now the thing is learning how to use this DAW.

I have been using the Internet to search for help in various arenas in order to better hone my skills. Obviously dedication to the DAW and constant usage will help the most, but it also pays to learn some tips, tricks and shortcuts to speed the process along. Watching tutorial vids or product feature overviews gives the basic user some insight as to what the DAW can do for you, but it's not always the best way to learn. For me, I needed to get some more real world usage help.

As I bounced around from site to site, sifting through the myriad of search results, I happened to come across some info from Vespers, a Glitch Hop DJ from Canada, who is also a certified Ableton Trainer. He had some of his tracks available for download along with a PDF he put together with some tips he uses in his Ableton studio setup. It was a mix of things that I already knew alongside some new tricks that I was unaware of. All in all, I learned a lot from reading the document and I'll be referring back to it to brush up on the keyboard shortcuts and MIDI mapping section.

Now that I have a MIDI keyboard from school to use, I can start to program settings into the knobs and buttons and get my Live sessions setup in hopes of working more efficiently. Vespers made a very good point that when you know your DAW and your hardware, you spend less time worrying about how to accomplish certain tasks and you can focus more time on creating music. This will pay off for me big time since a large part of my frustration has been not knowing how to get certain effects and/or sounds from my DAW. And by the time I figured it out, so much time had passed that I had forgotten what I was trying to accomplish. Talk about a total waste of time!

So, I feel that Vespers, along with so many other successful computer music producers, have become so by putting the time and effort in to learn the tools of their trade. I'll be spending some time learning keyboard shortcuts, macros and creating Racks and Session Templates.

Does anyone else have a secret about how they learn?

Why is Drake popular?

I have grown up being surrounded by many different genres of music from pop to rock, dance to rap. Every style of music forms from a certain way of life. It's chosen by the artist as a means to communicate with their listeners in a sound that is complimentary.

Rap has been an everchanging genre that has blended musical styles from newer dance and club sounds in the recent years. I remember listening to the Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest and other groups the were around in the mid to late 80's. They were all amazing in their own right having unique sounds that set them apart from their competition.

What I don't get is this phenomenon with newer rappers such as Drake. When compared to such heavy hitters like Ice T, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Notorious BIG, and so on, Drake really has nothing to offer. He lacks skill and prose and when I hear anything by him, all I'm hearing is some guy talking, adding in a half hearted laugh here and there. His "style" is lazy and his voice is devoid of any emotion. I don't get any sense whatsoever that he even cares about what he's rapping about.

I know he's not alone in this abomination of modern rap music, but his publicity deems him the biggest target. I would rather listen to P Diddy (or whatever his name is now). Sorry, Puff, but you're a much better entrepeneur than a rapper.

Hopefully things will change and weed out the slew of talentless tripe we are forced to tolerate now. Drake really does put the "rap" in "crap."

Mac OS X and the Lack of a Good iTunes Replacement

I already know that before I even say what I'm going to say, there are people plotting against me because of the title of this blog entry. But, the fact remains that to me (yes, this is my non-professional opinion - that IS what blogs are for, right?), iTunes is a crap media player. Why do I dislike it? Well, there are several reasons but I'm not here to dis iTunes. No, I'm more frustrated than anything that it's the only decent (and I use that term loosely), alternative.


iTunes is Apple's flagship media player and it also ties in with their online store. Nothing wrong with that at all...most great media players have that option. It can stream internet radio stations, fetch missing album art, sort, filter, sync, blah blah blah... With all the things that it does right, why can't I live with it?


Well, I suppose it comes down to what I've been used to combined with my expectations - oh, and throw in a dash of my own stubbornness. I have been a PC user for many, many years. However, I started out on Macs. I believe that both platforms have their distinct advantages and disadvantages and I'm not here to compare apples to oranges. They are different and have different uses. While I do like the way Apple has made their whole OS fairly clean and simple to use (great for the computer illiterate as well as the long-time advanced user), I have to speculate that it's the simplicity that irks me.


I understand the reasoning behind the brushed grey layout with it's polished, sparse GUIs that favor the graphic designers. The look is supposed to be less of a distraction to them so they can focus more on their work. I'm no graphic designer so I can't speak for its effectiveness in that area. The fact that it's so hard to customize my OS and make it my own without paying for apps that only mod small things (such as folder icons, mouse pointers, etc.), bothers me. 


In truth, it doesn't really matter but I like the option to change things if I like. Hence, my attraction to Windows. It's fun to tamper and tweak to my heart's content. Have I gotten the BSOD before? More times than I can remember. In fact, when I get a new PC, I try to see how fast I can get the BSOD greeting. C'mon...it's fun! xD


Anyway, I'm getting off topic. My issue with iTunes is that it's just bland to me. I want my media player to say something. I'm listening to music after all and I want my media player to reflect some sort of emotion! Not just sit there all grey and cold and distant. To date, my favorite media player has been Winamp. It does everything that iTunes can do (for the most part - I'm not gonna get down to insignificant details), and I loved how customizable it was! I could give it a whole face lift in seconds, completely changing the feel of it. And my favorite feature was letting my music play as I hooked it up to my HDTV and turned on the trippy, 3Dish visualizations!


Fuck the iTunes store. I'm not gonna buy anything from there. I have Amazon for my music and cloud storage as well as Google. Plus,, being an Android enthusiast, the Amazon media player is great on my phone for streaming. If I want radio, I use the free DI.fm app. Between those two systems, I'm covered. All I need is a good media player at home that I can put on my Mac and enjoy LOOKING at.


Oh, and if you haven't read my other blogs and don't know me, I'm a DJ and a future music producer (in school now for it). So, I use my Mac mostly for my music....except when it comes to listening to it. Sad, ain't it? Oh well. I guess I'll just have to get accustomed to the fact that as great as Apple is, it can't get please everyone. It'll do well for my music creation and DJing, but that's about as far as I can see it taking me.


What are your experiences?

Halfway Between the Gutters and the Stars

I remember life back at the turn of the century (yeah, it's kinda cool to be able to say that and not be an elderly man). On one hand, I was disappointed that the Y2K thing didn't bring more excitement, but all that quickly faded as I moved down outside of Clemson, SC. I was getting heavy into the rave scene at that time of my life and I really got to experience house music in a totally different light.


What started as my introduction to EDM at a small, local club soon escalated to attending full out raves in various cities and locales, from Charlotte to Oakland, from the warehouse districts to abandoned movie theaters. I met so many cool people, had countless conversations about anything and everything and witnessed something that had the power to bring strangers together under a unifying theme - the love of music.


At the time all this was happening, I remember Fatboy Slim holding a section of my aural attention. Though some of his live sets were less than phenomenal, I have to say that he did produce some great tracks throughout his tenure. His album, "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" was making an impact shortly after Y2K and I fell in love with it. Most notably was the finale by the name of, "Song For Shelter." That song held such truth for what I had perceived the world of music should be like. And to this day, my love for EDM has been shaped by his sentiments expressed in that very song.


I, for one, have never cared for fame or recognition. I don't make my mixes for money. I simply do what I do because I love music through and through. It's been the one rock in my life and has been there since as far back as I can remember. It saddens me to see so many people these days exploiting musical talents (some of them artificial, some of them bought and paid for), for such trivial things. I know that it's just a phase and soon the masses will move on to other faddish and trendy avenues, leaving behind the true music makers and those who love, listen and dance to their heart's content.


To all of the people who understand what it is I speak of and honestly share these same passions, I raise my glass and crank up the volume...

What's going on everybody? Just a quick update to let you know that I've been tied down with school assignments and haven't been able to do much work on my new track or podcast, but they ARE coming!


It looks like my Fonetics Podcast 12.02 is going to be in the style of Tech House and Techno. I've pretty much got the set pieced together and then I can record it.


On another note, I got an invite to preview the SoundCloud NEXT layout. I like it a lot. Though I had limited access and couldn't delve in deeper, I am looking forward to the finished product! Here is a screenshot of my new profile page where you can see the simplified layout.

FoNeM's SoundCloud page

Plethora - Update 01

Here's my first progress update for "Plethora" from my SoundCloud page. I got a lot of it done yesterday but took some time off from working on it today so that I could veg out on Youtube and watch some Pro Tools tutorials. I think I learned some good information. I'll have to put some focus on creating more risers and drops and get the placement right. Then it'son to doing the mixdown and polishing the final product. :D

Plethora

So, I've started work on my first official track. It's been an interesting/frustrating/fun endeavor so far. The interesting part is from seeing just how much can go into making new sounds with all of the available programs and plug-ins. The frustrating part is derived from the hours I've spent learning how to use some of the software and how to get my MIDI keyboard properly set up within each of them. And the fun part? Well, that's pretty self explanatory, I think. It's from getting to see and hear the cool sounds that I come up with. I'm really stoked to get more familiarized with Pro Tools and to see where things will go from here.


At any rate, give my track a listen and let me know what you think of it!

Another weekend coming to a close

It's been a busy last few days and it's been well worth it. I got to take my girlfriend out shopping for her (pre)birthday and I got to delve into Garageband a little more. I also decided that I was going to start trying my hand at writing some tracks.


If you haven't ever written any dance tracks before (like myself), it can be difficult to do without prior knowledge or access to some of the software available now. For me, the other issue is time. I've got a lot on my plate and I only get to dabble in my musical endeavors part-time. As I get more familiar with programs like Garageband, Pro Tools, Logic, etc., I'm sure that things will become much easier for me.


In the meantime, I've decided to invest in some pre-made loops from various musicians to sort of tilt the scales back in my favor. The loop library in Garageband is very basic and generic, especially when compared to the unique sounds of today's dance music. So, I figured that I could give myself a head start by using some of those sounds to get me the kind of instruments and professional quality beats that I can edit and make my own sound.


Does anyone else had any tips or trade secrets that they use when writing music?

Moombahton on the rise...but what is it?

So, I was just reading up on this new music genre known as "Moombahton" and it's origin. It's an interesting concept for sure. Personally, I've never been much of a reggaeton person, but I know my boy DJ 1Love is all about it. I should hit him up and see if he knows of it...


For those of you who are wondering exactly what it entails, it's basically electro house slowed down by 20 or so BPM and infused with reggaeton style drums and beats. Dave Nada apparently was the man who pioneered the style back in late 2009.


It's influence has been growing steadily as is a lot of EDM infused pop music. I guess it was only a matter of time before EDM made its debut in American mainstream music.


As for me? I'll stick to the sounds that are a little less poppy and a little more technical. Once something becomes too polished, it looses its appeal to me. And that goes for anything, be it other genres of music or even movies and TV shows.


Where do you sit on this proverbial fence?

My First Beatport Chart

I've put together my first music chart and posted it to Beatport under my profile there. If you're looking for some hot new sounds in the Progressive, Tech House or Techno genres, then come give my chart a listen.

FONEM "04'12 CHART

Here is a preview of my Soundcloud page...

Come on over and visit it to see what mixes I have available for download. I'm going to working on setting up an RSS in order to keep everyone updated on my upcoming mixes.

BAM! First post down.

Today I decided to take a new step...to create my own blog. I've never been one to jump on a new fad or craze right from the get-go. I suppose I like to see if the new idea can sustain itself before I invest in it. Sure there are pros and cons to this, but I'm here now, right? The thing is, what do I do now?