Russia cracks down on rap music. UK rapper J Hus heads to jail. Ableton and Native Instruments are giving stuff away. Prophet X puts you in charge of sampling.
Russian rap crackdown. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants his government to “take charge” of rap music following the arrest of popular Russian rapper Husky and the cancellation of several of his concerts across the country. While Putin said banning rap is “impossible,” he wants the state to control it to prevent “the degradation of the nation.” Husky has criticized Putin in the past with his music, and his lyrics are known for mocking Russian authorities. Read more here.
J Hus jailed. UK rapper J Hus has received an eight month jail sentence after pleading guilty to carrying a knife in a public place. He was busted at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, and has previously been stabbed in the leg after a rivalry gang run in. The 23-year-old rapper, real name Momodou Jallow, is a BRIT-nominee, and the sentencing judge called him a “role model to many” who “failed” to leave his past behind him. Read more here.
Play at NAMM. Danish loudspeaker maker Dynaudio is teaming up with The NAMM Show to give 12 acts the chance to perform at the January 2019 edition of the industry conference. As long as there aren’t more than six members in a group, anyone—including solo artists, bands, and a cappella groups—can apply, and winners will play inside The Dynaudio Unheard pop-up recording facility, which will pump music to the NAMM crowds. They’ll also get an hour of recording time, mentoring from award-winning producer and mixer Ashley Shepherd (who’s previously worked with Peter Frampton and Blessid Union of Souls), and promotion on both NAMM’s and Dynaudio’s social networks, plus more. To apply, head here, and good luck!
Seasonal Sales. Samples from Mars are offering their entire catalogue for a snip at 97% off over the festive season. Normal retail value is over $1,000 but you can get the whole catalogue for just $39 with sounds pre-mapped to Ableton, Logic, Kontakt, Reason and more. Grab yourself a great bargain! Check out ‘All the Samples from Mars’ sale here.
Club Avalon. Avalon Emerson has launched a new website called Buy Music Club, where anyone can curate and share playlists from music available on Bandcamp. She said the site was born in-part out of a desire to “funnel year-end list mania through a channel that actually pays people.” And since Bandcamp is “one of the most equitable music vendors online,” she hopes the site will help support independent artists and record labels. Create your own list here.
The Prophet is you. Sequential’s samples-plus-synthesis instrument Prophet X now allows users to import their own samples for customisable instruments and content using an app by 8Dio, which is available for free download. Users can import 50 GB of 16-bit, 48 kHz user content, adding to Prophet X’s 150 GB of internal factory samples. Sequential founder Dave Smith said user generated content was an “essential part” of the Prophet X design from the beginning, adding to its other features like high-resolution digital oscillators and 64-step polyphonic sequencer. The Prophet X starts at $3,999 US MAP. Learn more here.
Roland SH-101 goes clone. One of the most popular synths in dance music is entering clone production. Behringer’s Roland SH-101 was behind A Guy Called Gerald’s “Voodoo Ray,” and was a key ingredient in several early Juan Atkins tracks. Now pre-production for the MS-101 has begun, with an initial 50 unit test run and full production expected to start in January. No word on price yet, but similar Behringer clones run for around $300 US MAP. Read more here.
Free sample pack. Ableton is wishing users happy holidays with a free sample pack inspired by vintage gear for Live 10, which is available for download now from the Ableton website. Developed by Ableton’s lead sound designer Huston Singletary, the pack is called Singularities, and has everything you need to make an entire track, including 40 Instrument Racks, MIDI clips and drum kits. Hear samples from Singularities and download it here.
More free stuff. Native Instruments is also in the holiday spirit, announcing a plugin giveaway. For a limited time only, download the the TRK-01 PLAY, which features the kick and bass engines from the TRK-01. The kick engine is is the TRK-01 KICK, with modulatable synth-based and sampled kicks. The bass engine is the TRK-01 BASS, which has five synth engines for plenty of bass options. Native Instruments is also giving one lucky person a copy of KOMPLETE 12 ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION, a KOMPLETE KONTROL S49, a MASCHINE MIKRO, and the new TRAKTOR KONTROL. For the free download and giveaway, click here.