25 questions for Aphex Twin, Chilly Gonzales reveals pop hit secrets, a flying drum machine, and the original Funky Drummers.
Vinyl Comeback Stories. The Guardian‘s feature article tells the story of vinyl’s comeback from the perspectives of Optimal (the biggest vinyl pressing plant in Europe) and Classic Album Sundays, who run audiophile listening events in the UK for their passionately dedicated listenership. Entrepreneur also offers an interesting perspective on the business of vinyl manufacture. Read them both here and here respectively.
Liquid Rhythm controlled by drone, thanks to update. WaveDNA announce the release of Liquid Rhythm v1.4.3, which among other features brings full OS X Yosemite compatibility to the rhythm sequencing software. They also share a video demonstrating a flying drone controlling Liquid Rhythm, made possible by the update. Check out the flying drum machine above, and find the update here.
UAD Plugin Promotion Extended. UAD extend their Apollo Premium promotion, allowing you to receive up to $1295 off of their plugins from the likes of Neve and EMT when you purchase an Apollo audio interface – any Twin, Apollo, or Apollo 16 model – until March 31st. Find out more here.
DSI Updates Tempest with User-Requested Features. Dave Smith Instruments releases an updated operating system for the Tempest drum machine, which adds many user-requested features including increased sequence length, arpeggiation, new modal scales, free-running LFOs, and unquantised beats – download it here. A new sound set for the Tempest with new sounds, beats and projects is also available here.
Trevor Horn: “Computers haven’t killed the recording studio yet.” The Independent interviews Trevor Horn, a British pop legend who produced the hit single ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ and whose influence is said to have ‘invented the 80s’, about whether there’s a threat that the advance of technology will kill off his historic Sarm Studios and the analogue art of making a record. Read it here.
Spinnin Records’ 8th Top YouTube Earner. A report that reveals YouTube’s 10 most profitable channels of 2014 places Dutch dance label Spinnin Records‘ channel SpinninRec 8th from the top on the list of high earners. The channel hosts weekly radio shows, staff picks and official videos. With 200,102,550 views, yearly earnings have been suggested to be £1,652,816.20 ($2,516,189.52). Find out more here.
Chilly Gonzales Reveals Pop Hit Secrets. A new pop music masterclass from piano virtuoso, producer and composer Chilly Gonzales where he explains, with live piano demonstrations, the musical elements that make Taylor Swift‘s ‘Shake It Off’ so extraordinarily catchy – on 1LIVE. Watch above.
25 Questions for Aphex Twin. Groove.de asked 25 DJs and producers to come up with a question for Richard D. James, who answered all the resulting questions during a meeting in London. Questioners include Apparat, Caribou, Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, James Holden, Nicolas Jaar and more. Read the answers here.
The Original Funky Drummers. NPR Music speak to John “Jabo” Starks and Clyde Stubblefield, who created the grooves on many of James Brown‘s biggest hits and laid the foundation for modern funk drumming in the process between the mid 1960s through the early 70s. Download, stream and article here.
Machine Love: San Soda. RA paid Belgian producer San Soda of FCL and We Play House Recordings a visit to talk about the setup in his new Berlin studio, the development of his approach and technique during his time producing, making something new happen with old machines, and learning to play the piano at this stage in his musical career. Give it a read here.
David Nutt Exposes Illogical UK Drug Policy. The UK government drug policy advisor dismissed for his purportedly controversial views on drug policy, Professor David Nutt, explains why a lethal substance in a batch of Superman-branded ecstasy pills responsible for the the deaths of four men was produced as a direct consequence of banning a number of ecstasy precursor chemicals. Read the Guardian article here.