Taken a while and there were some last minute hitches - namely Media Temple’s lack of a set_charset() command and the Grid Server performance problems but I’ve finally uploaded most of my new home.
Portfolio section is ready but waiting on content so that shouldn’t take too long hopefully.
A post from long time tech writer Jim Aikin on Create Digital Music contains this interesting ine of text…
As a huge fan of the software this seemed like one of two things. The article was written last year, or there really is a new version of Live on the way as I can’t see a book being written about Live 6 LE.
Even if it’s a while away I’m looking forward to the next version as I’m one of those tech musicians who thrive on learning new features and the ideas that spring from them to make my music.
Just about to go live with a new embedded player for our Real World Remixed site to allow our remixers to have their remixes on their own sites. Mainly using this post to check if it works and if it all goes well we should be going live tomorrow.
Tom Robinson on Radio 6 played my Imagined Village remix at the end of his show this week.
Which was nice.
You can listen again till next Tuesday if you fancy it.. The track list looks eclectic to say the least!
Monday evening update. PICs are in and the core board powered up
Success! For a while there I couldn’t work out if it was working or not as I am using the pre-burned PICs that have MIOS installed already so it just sits there waiting after one tiny SysEx message. I used the MIOS studio application to upload a sample application and those lovely random CC messages started flowing up the screen.
These are generated by the fact the analogue inputs have no grounding or pots attached but that means in theory we are go!
The relief is without measure.
Finally had an evening spare to start building my midibox kits from SmashTV’s store. Spent a bit of time setting up my high tech, top end work area (aka my kitchen table) and making sure all the parts and equipment are to hand before I start. First up was the Core which is the main brain of the controller.
Most important on the table was the laptop pointing at the layout for the Core on Smash’s website which has handy diagrams and info about all the parts and where they go.
Starting with the resistors I used the resistor layout guide at the foot of the Core layout page then double checked with my multi-meter before soldering to the board. These boards are different from the kits I’d put together before as the holes for the component legs have very small solder pads on the bottom of the board but are tinned right through to the front so you fill the holes with solder rather than build up huge blobs on the back (with any luck). After the first few I seemed to get the knack for this and I’m by no means a soldering expert.
Using a small pair of pointed nose pliers I pre-bent the resistor legs so they had a clean 90 degree bend so they sit nice and low on the board. I then place then in situ in groups of two or three, flip the board and use the weight of the board to hold them in place while soldering.
I then moved on to the diode (I’m hoping I got it the right way round!) and the other low level components. Once all the smaller components were in I soldered in the mounts for the ICs, the DIL headers (the upright pins that connect the other circuit boards), the largest capacitor and finally the midi sockets.
Quick tip for those of us without fancy multi arm PCB and component holders… To get the IC mounts and the DIL headers on flush to the board is to grab a small amount of solder on the end of your iron, hold the mount in the right position then dap the iron to a corner leg on the back. That will grab the mount and enable you to turn the board over solder all the other pins easily and finish up cleaning up the dab of solder you used on the first leg.
All in all it took me about two hours from sitting down to having the finished board (without ICs) and pouring my self a nice glass of white beer my colleague Chris very kindly brought me back from his trip to Germany.
It was very welcome after the solder fumes and I can only hope when I finally plug it all in it works.. I would have done it that night but totally forgot to get a power supply which is pretty typical.
Something I love is great looking stuff. Obvious I know but as a designer I have a insatiable appetite for all things visual as inspiration.
One that front a new website I’ve found may be of interest called monoscope.
Page upon page of great design (with the odd example of nasty design) both old and new, and all of it fodder for your internal scrapbook.
The Imagined Village EP that includes my latest remix is now available to buy online at womadshop.com and you can listen to my remix after the jump.
This EP brings you a preview track from the forthcoming full length album (due for release on September 10) and three exclusive mixes only available on this special edition.
If you think you know about English folk music, think again. The Imagined Village project, the brainchild of producer and musician Simon Emmerson, has recast age-old traditions in the shape of the twenty-first century. A daring mix of ancient and modern, The Imagined Village fuses fiddles and squeezebox with dub beats and sitars. To do so it has gathered an extraordinary array of talent, including - on this exclusive EP - Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Sheila Chandra, Billy Bragg, Chris Wood and Simon Emmerson.
EP Track Listing:
1. ‘England Half English Meets John Barleycorn’ was recorded and mixed by producer Simon Emmerson with Billy Bragg featuring Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy. The spirit of the track, with its meeting of two songs, seemed in perfect keeping with the overall sentiment of The Imagined Village project
2. ‘Acres of Ground (Beats Mix)’ is an original song by Eliza Carthy, based around old traditional counting songs. Created through collaboration between Simon Emmerson and mix engineer Mass in their London Studio and Ben Ivitsky and Eliza in their Scottish studio. Another version of this song which will appear on the final album in a very different guise.
3. ‘Welcome Sailor’, a beautiful atmospheric collaboration between Sheila Chandra and Chris Wood, is a recording based on Lal Waterson’s traditional interpretation of the original folk tune. This track will appear on the forthcoming Imagined Village album.
4. ‘Cold, Hailey, Rainy Night - It’s Turned Out Nice Mix by Stabilizer’ grew out of a challenge set by The Imagined Village project on the Real World Remix website . The idea was to take this track - Transglobal Underground’s interpretation of Martin Carthy’s original track - and re-mix it. This song has been passed down from generation to generation through the oral tradition of folk music. It has now been re-invented in a radical fashion by the mysterious, uniquely- talented Stabilizer!
Tracks 1, 2 and 4 appear exclusively on this EP
It was a fun and unique project to get my teeth into and a new direction in my sound so you could see my remix as a preview to where my music is heading in general.
Taking a short break this week from the daily php grind of building our new shop at work I spent a great few days mixing down the audio for a new documentary called “Lay Down Your Hearts” by a young film maker called John Simpson.
The film tells the story of the Zawose family, Wagogo musicians from Tanzania, focusing Dr Hukwe Zawose and his nephew Charles Zawose and how they came to prominence and the huge void they left after their untimely deaths.
You can see a trailer for the film at petergabriel.com.
They toured the world and released records on many labels including several on Real World Records including the amazing Assembly with Michael Brook.
The Zawose Foundation is an ongoing project by the friends and family of the Zawose’s to promote and support musicians in the Bagamoyo region of Tanzania and the Family Zawose have just released a new album to support the foundation. You can buy it online at Womadshop.com and you can catch them on tour this summer.
The film is to be shown at the Barbican in August, and at this year’s WOMAD Charlton Park Festival and is a moving hour spent learning about these amazing musicians and well worth your time.
Also, for those in the big smoke, there is a special fund raising night at Cargo on the 1st of August with DJ sets from Daddy G from Massive Attack, Zero Seven and Ross Allen. There will be two live performances that night as well from The Family Zawose and Kong Nay
