First on any agenda, we have a meet up happening. July 14, 2010 FREE – Lucid Gallery. Serato will be the topic – get ready for the Bridge!

If you figure out how to do that drum rack thing please contact me!

Some rapid tutorial on exporting VSTs outward in Ableton. Another interesting option is Sound Flower – I am still mastering this app in trying to get a “Virtual Audio Cable” instance going. I am close. For now I re-sample using some straight forward routing (for any laptopist) out my SPDIF digital outs back in, yes I have physical cable connecting the two. This is the only reliable fast  and easy method to permanently borrow sounds from the web or similar.

I know there are other solutions, but many of them require a total rewrite of audio settings, and this is sometimes an undesirable inconvenience. Debatable none the less.

Numark clones Vestax? I can’t say, I am not watching this closely.  From Gear Junkies or more to the point do we give Ean more credit for opening up these ideas? Or more to more to the point will there be little “single” deck versions for goof balls like me who seek scratch.

Text message style sums this up completly: SPL Blog FTW nuff said.

You did get your free download form Ableton for some new live Packs right? (direct link to *.zip) Info Page.

An answer to the drama that is “This is WTF was Hawtin using?”. Gear Junkies starts the journey. Okay, here’s the rest at http://griid.net/ and the same video as before with some text applied on YouTube with Hawtin.

Livid Instruments is talking about aluminium Block and OHM64. Hmm…

Pioneer’s DJ side announced a collaboration with Serato to ensure compatibility of the latest CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 professional series digital media players with the Scratch Live software. I would call this a golden hint as to things on the way? (**cough bridge)**

How about a time line? “The free Scratch Live Version 2.1 software update compatible with the updated CDJ-2000/900 is scheduled to be released in the third quarter (Q3) of 2010 from Serato Audio Research.” source

A must read for Glitch Mob/Hop / controllerism on EMusician
Livid is 100% stepping up to the plate seeing Max4Live.info drop native Ableton control on to the OHM64. Now for the same treatment for the block. Now we get a SERIOUS UPGRADE for the APC / Launchpad series.

In short, you need to go here, spend your $25, and improve your output. http://www.nativekontrol.com/apC_Series.html. This is some serious controller action going on. The market is growing both in physical possibilities and thorough software advancements. Fantastic.

Closing out – Darren Kramer (Handler of the Lemur and clinician) is dropping a software clinic on July 10, 2010 – the details :

10-11:30am
Everyday Joe’s
144 S. Mason Street
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524

Darren Kramer – Ableton Specialist and Electric Trombone Performing Artist www.ElectricTrombone.com All musicians and educators, regardless of age or skill level can benefit immensely from this technology  Basic to advanced concepts will be demonstrated via Live Looping w/ Electric Trombone, Synths, Vocoder & Lemur!

The next meet up just kicked live.  The Ableton Colorado events will be hosted by Creative Electronica for greater compliance with Ableton and the ability to begin hosting events with electronic music content far outside the Ableton spectrum.

FREE and ALL AGES! RSVP via MEETUP.COM All the details are here!

Bobby Collins joins us to present the Serato environment for Ableton users in anticipation of the next (big) release from Ableton where we gain “The Bridge” to Serato.

This evening will also feature an industry mixer with an Electronic Music slant.

I / Marc will provide a short segment on the OHM64 by Livid

Chase Dobson and I will keep a beat repeat clinic in the back room that will also function as a beginner meets pro area to get questions answered or worked out.

This is a really exciting event and all the details (including sponsors) are available at http://creativeelectronica.com.

ABLETON LIVE WORKSHOP: TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES
FOR COMPOSITION, PRODUCTION AND LIVE PERFORMANCE

Five Hour Intensive Ableton Live Workshop in Denver, CO taught by Steve Nalepa.

Saturday May 1, 2010 from 1pm-6pm at The Lucid Gallery (719 W 8th Ave Denver, CO 80204). The cost is $100.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:

Ableton Live is a dynamic and empowering tool for every stage of the musical process, from composition to production to live performance. Whether you are a producer or dj, sound designer or composer, the versatility of Ableton Live makes it the ideal tool for both beginners and experts alike. This workshop is an opportunity to learn from a veteran Ableton Live expert who has been teaching this software to the biggest artists in electronic music for years. Please bring a pair of headphones and your laptop loaded up with Ableton Live, as there will be a series of exercises. You can download a free 30 day working demo from www.ableton.com

The workshop begins with a brief overview of the capabilities of Ableton Live, followed by a series of composition and production techniques. There will be Live demonstrations and practice exercises with step by step instructions that cover the entire songwriting process, exploring a variety of different approaches. Topics covered include crafting beats, getting the fattest drum sounds, writing
melodies, creating basslines, using EQ and effects, experimenting with sound design, sidechain compression, arranging, mixing and mastering.

The workshop also addresses a variety of ways to utilize Ableton Live for Live Performance, providing you with an overview of the various strategies while delivering a plethora of tips and tricks culled from the instructor’s many years of working with and performing alongside the most innovative performers in the world. Learn how artists like Nosaj Thing, Adam Freeland, Flying Lotus, [a]pendics.shuffle, Bassnectar and The Glitch Mob set up their live performance documents. Some artists use Live to DJ complete songs while adding real time dub and glitch effects, others prefer to break their songs out into stems, building up their compositions on the fly so their performances have more room for improvisation. Live is great for loop recording, and it even features video now so you can rock audiovisual sets.

There are an almost endless amount of possibilities with Ableton Live, even more so now that it integrates seamlessly with Serato and MAX/MSP. This workshop will fill your head with ideas and leave you truly inspired. This is a complete overview course aimed at bringing new users and experts alike to a new level of understanding of this incredibly powerful piece of music software.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Steve Nalepa (Chapman University Conservatory of Music, 1320 Records)

LA-based electronic musician, multimedia artist and mad scientist collector Steve Nalepa is one of the world’s foremost experts on Ableton Live. Working for years with M-Audio/Ableton, Nalepa provided VIP support and software training for a multitude of high-profile  artists and producers. Nalepa has produced tracks with such legends as Bill Laswell and Pharoah Sanders, performed with the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and shared the stage with some of the
most revered electronic musicians and video artists in the world. 1320 Records released his triple album Flatlands in May, the original compositions accompanied by a collection of music videos and remixes by an all-star cast of luminaries including The Glitch Mob, Deru and Nosaj Thing. Nalepa is one of 100 artists featured in Visionaire 53: Sound, his song Flatlands joining original pieces from David Byrne, U2, Lalo Schifrin, Danger Mouse, Yoko Ono and more on five 12” vinyl record picture discs packaged with a portable record player inside a specially produced domed case. When he’s not in the lab, rocking international dancefloors or hosting Ableton Live workshops, Nalepa can be found teaching Ableton Live, Logic, ProTools and Reason to the students in his Principles of Music Technology classes at Chapman University Conservatory of Music.

What a great meet up.  Here are some images from Last nights Meet Up with Cache Flowe and Mark Mosher.

Thanks to David Henderson for getting this gallery up so fast!

To use the parlance of our current time:

OMG OMG OMG Cache Flowe haz teh ROXXOR!

Yeah, what is the world coming to huh?

In other words – Cache Flowe dropping some mad skills for an A/V set! Do come!

Got your history in order? How about this article outlining the past 120 years of electronic music.

Linux side note – Launchpad getting ported to, you guessed it – LINUX! Here is the article. Relevancy? We got it. Her you go:

• One day Ableton will run on Linux! (probably not)
• The algorithms are getting more widespread and the “uniqueness” of Ableton is diminishing. This means open source software will start getting projects dialing in these ideas
• Ableton is not the ONLY program.
• Linux is Cool

I could go on, but I would be geeking out too hard.

FREE STUFF – some live packs on Groove Packs site – click here for a zip file. Get it while the link works!

Mid/Side processing – check out this new unit via Gear Junkies.

How about a  good debate on 16 vs 24 bit? Thx to Joe for keeping the thread hot.

The Boulder Laptop Orchestra is performing up in Boulder 13March2010. I am getting more details on this…

More soon!

As promised! Cache Flowe will be joining us for an evening of Live visual processing. This is going to be an amazing evening for all!

Those of you interested in adding a visual element should check out Processing.org, the source for much of the scripting and framework Cache Flowe uses in his live sets.  Beyond visual Cache Flowe will be performing music and explaining his set up and approach to a full Live A/V set. A few key topics:

• Real time MIDI & audio
• Rendering music videos
• Use of the Eclipse IDE
• ChucK (audio programming language for real-time synthesis) and vocal processing

When : March 14, 2010 7pm

Where :  The Walnut Room located at 3131 Walnut Street in Denver.

How Much? Not a single penny – FREE! Just the way we like it!!!

RSVP NOW!

Cache FLowe Bio : Mashing up idm, hip hop, funk, drum and bass, trip hop, experimental, jazz, techno, and dubstep, CacheFlowe creates genre-skewing electronic music that has received acclaim from local and international press. Producing with a computer since 1996, he’s honed an original style that’s defined by stuttery, complex breakbeats, deep analog basslines, techno-flavored synths, organic instrumentation and contorted samples. Working on the same Ableton Live set since early 2004, CacheFlowe’s live show is a fast-paced smorgasbord of chopped breakbeats and analog synths on 8 channels of audio. He bobs and weaves through an array of electronic genres and tempos, using nothing but sounds and loops from his own productions. Appearing on official record label releases alongside the likes of Twine, Ladytron, Daedelus, Ulrich Schnauss, Starkey, Machinedrum, ISAN, Submerged, Fog, and sharing the stage with Amon Tobin, edIT, Machinedrum, Dizzee Rascal, Mochipet, Jeff Parker (Tortoise), DJ Olive (MMW, Sonic Youth), Nels Cline (Wilco), and countless local talents, CacheFlowe continues to freak the beat in new and exciting ways.

You can find Cache Flowe at CD Baby, Discogs, MySpace, and via Plastic Sound Supply on YouTube and of course his main site.

Some video for your viewing pleasure!

Media and Press information is located here.

Just say no to forest fires.

There is now a Flickr Account

I happen to be listening to Mark Mosher’s Interview on ModulateThis! with Bert-Schiettecatte from Percussa Audio Cubes. I would provide some commentary, but I am still listening.  …and so could you:

This has peaked my interest.  I know we will be seeing a demo on these very soon from Mark.  Great interview!

This CDM Article on Austin’s hardware hacking has some fun videos and info.  There are more than one way to hack.  Here’s a select video:

A little noisy, but there is always the saturators and resonators to fix things.

The aptly titled “Scratch Yourslef Stupid“:

Scratch Yourself Stupid from digital funfair on Vimeo.

Special Reminder: This is cool:

http://www.curiousinventor.com/kits/midiator

For anyone looking for Arduino part, Curious Inventor has you covered.

I look forward to seeing more projects with these chips.

DJ Toomp on Hardware versus software.

DJ TOOMP Hardware vs. Software |BLVDST.com from Blvd St on Vimeo.

You can really see the gear lust in his eyes at one point in the interview.  To really understand your equipment you need to think like the box. You are the MPC.

Thanks to this Synthopia article pointing out the Open Source project for creating iPad instruments. So much hope!

Argos Interface Builder, v0.20 from Dimitri Diakopoulos on Vimeo.

Go go Argos Interface Builder. Wow!

Just as I was starting to sell myself on the DNA program by Celemony DNA and Ean’s crew over at DJ Tech Tools released comprehensive video and information on the topic. Thanks so much, it was very helpful.

There is a link for Boulder artists located here:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/boulder-electronic-music-artists – the text in the link says it all.

Keepin’ them short but good, out!

Of course you get the blatant promotion:

PETTING ZOO on Sunday – many controllers, many fun, no hay on floor!

Meet up

The controllerism show is on the horizon! RSVP Now! FaceBook

I missed some emails this weekend as POP email crashed for my provider (I aggregate).  So if there was something crazy interesting/important/similar – resend! I will be going backwards through emails.

On other news – we are having fun!  I will be releasing a review** of the NIIO Analog Iotine Core in the next week.  We teamed up with Chase to get some instructional videos on the unit.  We are currently editing.

We got some good tape from Darwin on Max, I am open to ideas on how to get them online. YouTube limits are 10 minutes. The 10+ minute videos are a special feature I just don’t see how to get!  Vimeo?  Hosting on my server will probably get me some heat (because the bots will trigger mass bandwidth, plus there is not sharing/embed).

I have been spending time with Final Cut and Celemony DNA. Nothing too impressive to talk about in Final Cut, just another software package. But DNA is SICK!

Don’t forget Cache Flowe in March!

As for the summer – thoughts (feed back very welcome!). Our summers in Denver/Colorado/Boulder are some of the best anywhere in the world.  I am looking to scale back the meet-ups after April (through the summer) so we can enjoy our evenings. Hell, even I want to ride around town with my wife on our cruisers.  Instead of larger formal meet-ups I would like to invest in smaller gatherings all over and include our community in festivals (supporting) and do various levels of out-reach before shows and to similar groups.8

**On the topic of review – the term “review”  is not totally correct. As there are a few companies looking to work with Ableton Colorado already, another round of “cleaning the air” is called for…

Our goal is to extend the use, functionality, and overall exposure of gear that is not on the radar (cough***Guitar Center***).   There is a certain “departure” from journalistic integrity (if that is still a thing anymore). Our goal is to build community and knowledge in an academic manner with users (producers) and producers (of gear in this instance).  The policy is simple:

If it is crap, send it back

Don, in the context of this “review” has  a “filter” that is so freaking cool we need to help get the word out (I am using some bass sounds I generated in my standard set).  So great.

Helpers wanted!
That is it, more soon.

–M