FM Synthesis as metaphor, Goldie on hardcore, the ethics of sampling and the untold story of London techno.
Rare footage of New York house from ’89. Watch newly unearthed footage of the New York house scene in 1989, including a rare interview with Larry Levan, above.
Mills, Hood and FM Synthesis as a Metaphor. Producer, DJ and owner of the Macro label, Stefan Goldmann publishes an expanded version of an article which first appeared in the July edition of The Wire‘s Epiphanies section. The piece examines the influence of electronic equipment on musical creativity and the new aesthetico-ideological distinctions between machine and human musics created thusly, with special regards to FM synthesis and the early techno music of Jeff Mills and Robert Hood. Read that here.
Nina Kraviz – How I keep up when things go horribly wrong. Nina Kraviz contemplates the fragility of the DJ performance, what her job as a DJ really entails, and what a good show actually depends on. Read it here.
Roland Introduces System-1 Software Synth. At the Summer NAMM Show, Roland announced the System-1 Software Synthesizer, a version of the AIRA System-1 synth in plugin format, offering the same sound as the hardware and many of its features. It also provides complete DAW integration and advanced editor-librarian functions to System-1 hardware owners. Available now, regularly priced $145, and $95 as an introductory upgrade for System-1 and System-M hardware owners. Find out more here.
FL Studio for Mac Enters Public Testing. Image Line‘s FL Studio DAW is finally coming to Mac OS X as a native piece of software, rather than one of the ‘wrapped’ Windows application that have been made available previously. Test for yourself by downloading it from the FL forums here (requires login).
Goldie on early breakbeat, D&B, and jungle. “There’s no fucking future; what we do today creates tomorrow.” Goldie takes a break from his current project remaking Timeless with the Heritage Orchestra to reflect on the early scene he placed himself at the heart of. Read the interview with i-D here.
Jamie xx the ethics of sampling. “It’s about having a conversation, it’s about talking to somebody. If you can’t talk to ‘em face to face, talk to ‘em through sounds and words in a track.” Following accusations that Jamie xx‘s debut album In Colour is watering down the musical lineage of his sample sources, Boiler Room explores the issue of sampling ethics here.
The Untold Story of London Techno. In the wake of the acid house explosion, a focused network of producers and labels gave rise to a uniquely UK take on techno that, for a moment in time, blended soul and synths with sci-fi aspirations that stood equal to the innovations of Detroit. Red Bull Music Academy tells the story, here.