Audio Mogul

As a massive fan of Mad Mike and the Underground Resistance record label this is a performance must see. Timeline is one of Mad Mike’s projects and captures the High Tech Jazz sound he has created with other members of U.R. It’s very rare in electronic music to see a full band live performance and with such soul and funk roots. Please enjoy this very rare performance and hope it inspires you to get in the studio and making great music.

Henrik Schwarz has collaborated with Bugge Wesseltoft for some time now and created fx using Max for live. This combination of electronics, analogue and Jazz is genius to say the least and the use of Ableton live here it’s truly inspirational. When a house producer and jazz pianist work together this is what you get and this performance is definitely worth watching and watching again.

A live performance from John Hopkins in the KEXP studio in Seattle, a must see for any chaos pad enthusiast. John uses three Korg chaos pads to modulate his live set and change the dynamics constantly, he explains how he creates his sounds when interviewed. His album Immunity is worth a listen for inspiration in the field of electronic music.

A great live performance form German Kraut Rock legends Can, this is the remastered version and a track that I constantly get inspiration from. Enjoy.

Pablo is a great guy and formally a DJ and music tutor who puts his heart into his chocolate that my partner and I can say is the best we have ever tasted but it goes beyond that. Forever Cacao is definably a studio partner in crime and can be beneficial when it comes to creativity and focus. You can purchase the chocolate from Pablo’s website and know you are buying a true artisan product that we reccomend http://www.forevercacao.co.uk/

Dave Asprey shows how to make the Bulletproof coffee recipe using a dripper cup and a method that might just be the ideal studio cup of joe for the creative mind. I have tried this in Bare Coffee house in the suburbs of Leeds and it certainly got me thinking.

Tom Cosm is very known in the Ableton community for his video tutorials and work he has been doing over the years to push the software and educate others. This is a classic 1 hour video explaining how Tom modulates analog and is a must watch for those new to Ableton Live.  This is part one of a 10 hour video tutorial series available from his website http://www.cosm.co.nz/

Ever wondered how to get a more snappy kick drum in your track, this tutorial shows how to do it with warping using the re pitch algorithm in Ableton Live. Keith from Quantize Courses has a great method that is a quick and easy way to manipulate a sample and get your own sound.

Hey it’s time to start and a great way to get this blog up and running is to talk to you about studio planning, not planning as you would expect from a spreadsheet or tasks but a way to get the most out of your day in the confined space you love to be in for so much time.

1. A breakfast smoothie you want to get your energy levels up. http://www.blendtec.com/blog/10-savory-kale-smoothies/
2. A morning walk or stroll around a park (take yourself away from the hustle and bustle) this will clear the mind and make room for the creative process.
3. Meditation and I repeat meditate for at least 20 minutes after your walk, mindfulness is key and you will feel the benefits of this practice over time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPpUNAFHgxM
4. Dark chocolate and speciality coffee are optional to get the mind focused.
5. Brian Eno’s Oblique strategies app or cards for creative block. http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/

These are 5 steps I will be going into great depth about over time and breaking them down into blog posts. If you plan your day from the offset you have a very fulfilling time in the studio.

 

Firstly it’s not for everyone but I just love coffee from the moment of getting up it’s time to make a brew. I have tried so many over the years and its bean a journey (sorry for the pun)

What is important though is the right kind of coffee and this can be difficult like choosing a fine wine, there is so much choice so I’m gonna review speciality coffee and home brewing machines and get back to you with the results in due course.

At the moment I am using a Kamira http://www.espressokamira.com/features.html stove top espresso machine hand crafted in Italy and it makes a wonderful espresso shot and until recently various North star coffee roasts from Leeds https://www.northstarroast.com/