Who said records were dead? My latest purchase is this excellent new Audio Technica turntable which has USB functionality, line out, a built in pre-amp so that I can sample from it as well as enjoy some classic records. The idea behind going back to the old analogue world of music listening came about whilst talking to my Dad about the enjoyment of vinyl, the moment you pop a record on the deck and drop the needle on it's surface, is magical and the sound quality has an aesthetic all of it's own. The other source of inspiration came from reading about "Musique Concrete" and following Malo Beats on Youtube who is amongst a growing number of people who enjoy sampling from old records to create new beats, a process known as "flipping samples".
The other day I ventured into a record store in nearby Reading called "Sound Machine" who are located in a lovely old shopping arcade. It brought back a flood of memories, sifting through the stock of crates, something known as "Crate Digging" in the sampling world! I didn't buy anything but I will go back soon to buy a random batch of records, just to see what I can find.
"Sampling corner" as I call it, is where the music exploration takes place with two samplers hooked up at the current time. I originally purchased the AKAI MPC and later bought the Roland SP404 mkII with a view to using the two together, something I haven't yet figured out. I will probably sell some stuff soon and may or may not keep both. I blame YouTube for giving me these ideas at times!
You have probably heard of GAS before, Gear Aquisition Syndrome, is a real problem!!!! Thankfully so far my purchases have all proven to be useful and I get a lot out of them.
I mentioned "Musique Concrete" earlier and this is something I will write about in subsequent posts alongside talk about sampling, and how the craft has evolved over the years. Pierre Schaeffer was the first artist to develop Musique Concrète, which is a form of music composition that utilized recorded sounds, manipulating them through various techniques such as speeding up, slowing down, and looping. Schaeffer's work laid the foundation for electronic music and influenced countless artists and composers in the years to come. Nowadays we use samplers of various forms but originally the process would have involved the use of tape.
Jean-Michel Jarre released his album "Oxymore" last year and has just released a special edition based on a collaboration with many other artists and their remixes. Jarre was infuuenced by artist, Pierre Henry and was due to work with him for a track on his award winning project Electronica. Sadly Pierre died not long before the recording was due to take place and Jarre decided to work on a separate project as a dedication to him, hence "Oxymore". Jarre wanted to pay homage not just to the late composer Henry but the concept of Musique Concrète, using many of the techniques in the process of the recording stages.
I am gradually breaking away from the laptop for music composition to branch off into the DAWless world but ironically the MPC One+ is something of a DAW in a box! It's an amazing tool and over the Christmas break I composed a track or two, will share these via Soundcloud when I get a chance.
The newer item in the Studio and more portable and battery powered. When linked with the AKAI MPC, it can be used as an effects box with close to 40 different FX.