Electronic – Page 3

Category: Electronic (page 3 of 5)

Sativa

December 8, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

I’ve always loved the unique sound and versatility of the ride cymbal. Its distinct sound can be disguised and blended into a variety of genres while remaining very common and bare. I bring this up because Sativa is a track based on a sampled beat with a driving ride cymbal which marked a new direction in my productions. Coupled with a deep bass on the other end of the spectrum, Sativa really fills up the air, with the mid range filled by a mangled percussive riff and a twisted and evolving line played through Native Instruments’ Absynth synth. To get the rich harmonic sound from a very simple melody I layered multiple takes, each processed differently. The track also makes heavy use of delay and reverb effects which add to its spaciousness.

By the way, a very close relative of Sativa is a track titled Anathema, which was released on Gotham Grooves in 2005. We’ll cover that release at some point in the future.

Download: Sativa (mp3)Download: Sativa (wav)

Michael Hedges – Point B (Montaz remix)

December 2, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Michael Hedges died on December 2nd,12 years ago. I only learned this recently and was completely unaware at the time I did this remix of Point B, Michael’s track released on his album Taproot in 1990. Like many of Michael’s works, Point B (as well as Point A) are solo guitar pieces performed using a Steinberger guitar. (I really like the original Steinbergers and have a few of my own. Btw, the photo on the left shows Michael with a custom Steinberger Klein guitar, which was a result of a collaboration between Steve Klein and Ned Steinberger.) Micheal did some cool stuff with Steinberger’s TramsTrem which caught my attention.

While the Point B is a very focused effort, my version features lots of instrumentation and beats with the goal of creating a very different aural experience. I purposely didn’t stay true to the source material but instead wanted to go in the quite opposite direction. Enjoy. And check out the Michael Hedges store on Amazon.com for all of his releases.

Download: Point B [Montaz Remix] (mp3)

Exclusive: Preston Space presents Time4Machine

November 27, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

An old friend Matt contacted me the other day asking if I had a copy of Preston Space’s Time4Machine. (We haven’t heard from Preston in years and I haven’t listened to this, his first official mix in almost as long.) So I dug into the “archives” and was thrilled to find it. I even found the original cover art which I helped put together back in the day.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing this mix, then get ready for an hour of masterfully blended psy-tech trance. I don’t have the track listing, but if you recognize any of the tracks send me the info and I’ll post it here. I do know that it features a track or two by Eternal Basement and believe that the last track is by Infected Mushroom.

Download: Time 4 Machine (mp3)

Soft Decay

November 10, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Soft Decay is a loopy track from 2002. Its got a crunchy, bit-crushed sound which inspired its title. Playing over the beat is a stretched flute sample and an occasional drum break. A more interesting component are the percussive synth hits played on the Virus B which pan around the stereo image and add to the track’s spacey feel.

Download: Soft Decay (mp3)Download: Soft Decay (wav)

52nd and 2nd

November 2, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

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Oddly named 52nd and 2nd, happens to be the 52nd track produced by me. I used to live on 56th Street in Manhattan (right near Second Avenue) and would occasionally walk down 52nd Street on my way to the subway. What does all that have to do with this track? Absolutely nothing. But both of those things have the number 52 in them and since I don’t like to spend more than 5 seconds coming up with a title, that became it.

The track is a pounding techno ride with a stabby riff and scattered kick twists which give it unique character.

Once again, the wav download is available.

Download: 52nd and 2nd (mp3)Download: 52nd and 2nd (wav)

Vanilla String

October 30, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Vanilla String was released on DJ Becka‘s Gotham City Records label in 2006. The release, titled Departure EP, also featured tracks by Mark Verbos, Dan Physics as well as Becka and Agent Orange. A diverse set of tracks, Departure defined the sound of then new GCR label whose repertoire continues to evolve.

Vanilla String itself is an unusual track. It basic idea sort of caught me by surprise and seemed a good opportunity to experiment so I didn’t hold back. The result is a heavily mangled jam with wicked beats, heavily processed samples and a prickly riff which itself undergoes a transformation through Waves’ Enigma filter (if memory serves me right).

No download links since the track (the entire release, actually) can be purchased from BeatPort. Go get it!

And just in case the Beatport player doesn’t let you hear the entire track, its here:

Alek Biotic Presents: Stereohype

October 26, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Stereohype a techno house set from 2006, heavily induced with funky and tribal grooves. It was the last live set recorded with vinyl as the source. As you probably know, the volume of vinyl records varies from one to the next as does the balance of the (left/right) channels. To make things even more problematic, turntables, needles, cables, mixers, etc. all join the effort of making sound of mixed sets unbalanced and uneven, and making it that much more difficult for the DJ to achieve a tight blend. While that’s always a part of the challenge (and the fun), getting an even mix became a central focus of this recording and I did a few takes before getting something I was happy with. I’ll admit that some volume/balance adjustments were made during mastering and I think they really helped.

The problem described above are main reasons why I switched to DJ products like Traktor Scratch, Serato and Ableton Live – all of which are based on audio files played from the computer which minimizes the stereo problems to some degree and allows for more (visual as well as aural) control over the sound of each track.

On to the mix itself…

Its probably one of my most favorite mixes and the response has been very positive. Many of the tracks on it were frequently in rotation and got lots of play time at the Frying Pan, Liquids and other NYC venues around this time. Heavily featured is the artist Hertz, whose Alone & By Myself is a classic and comes in around the 19th minute. Another big-time track from the period is Joris Voorn‘s Incident. (As I look back at the track list, I want to mention each of the tracks as they are all amazing but I’ll highlight just a couple of more here.) Tobias Van Hofsten‘s Afterhours is one of those massive tracks with a huge driving bassline. Memory Lane (better knownw as Tomie Nevada) who could do no wrong delivers easily one of my most favorite techno house tracks of all time – Untitled 4a – whose driving raw elements make my head spin (pleasantly, that is) every time I hear it. Lastly, Stereohype is the only mix I ever recorded which features one of my own productions, Idiom, released on the French label ExtraBall in 2004 (around 48th minute of the mix).

Download: Stereohype (mp3)

Track List:
Blueface – Nan In
Mario Lenzi – The Loop of Love
Memory Lane – 4a
Samuel L. Session – Less
Hertz – Phonk
Memory Lane – 4b2
Hertz – Alone & By Myself
Deetron – Don’t You Know Why? (Edit 9000)
Patrick Dubois – Another Track (Southsoniks Remix)
Joris Voorn – Incident
Frank Biazzi – Reflections
Unknown – Expression Sessions 004
Cave – Paseo (Hertz Remix)
Alek Biotic – Idiom
Marco Carola – Question 7b1
Bad Pimps – Get On Up!
Tobias Van Hofsten – Afterhours
Marco Carola – Question 7b2
Hertz – Work It (remix)
Nico Awtsventin – Aurelon
Hertz – Progress

Power Trip

October 21, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

Power Trip is a wild tech-trance track from 2001. Its got a weird mix of percussion and beats, vocal samples, a creamy synth bassline and a demented main riff that would earn it the name Ridiculist if only that title hadn’t already been used on a track even more ridiculous. The main synth sounds were again generated by the Virus and Nord Lead keyboards, with the latter taking the blame for the main riff which I really enjoyed tweaking in real-time. A few high velocity samples are flying around and hitting things in the background, making this track a bit over-produced but at the same time giving it a unique vibe.

A bit of interesting info regarding this track… It was featured on the soundtrack of a short film Room by Aleksandar Kostic, and subsequently heard on various film festivals.

Download: Power Trip (mp3)Download: Power Trip (wav)

Goliath (part 2)

October 16, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

goliath2 A couple of months ago I posted the track Goliath (part 1) which featured a sample from the movie Event Horizon. As promised back then, here’s the sequel, cleverly dubbed Goliath (part 2). Out is the Fishburne sample and in the tribal beats with a dirty bassline. Check it out.

Btw, while this version has no ties to the movie I’m including the photo because, well… because its a really f-ing cool photo. Enjoy.

Download: Goliath [part 2] (mp3)Download: Goliath [part 2] (wav)

Untitled

October 12, 2009 / admin / Comments Off

I’m being perfectly honest when I tell you that I don’t remember when this track was produced or even that it was. I came across it on an old CD of my productions and it was (and remains) unmarked. So here it is, a rare untitled track and I must say that I don’t dislike it. Its a raw track that sort of resembles Clusterfuck and Fake House, both of which were featured here recently.

Download: Untitled (mp3)Download: Untitled (wav)

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