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Showing posts from February, 2013

About The New Beatmaker

Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page

saintjoe / JK Swopes Interview: The People's Champ

It may be a clich é to say, but saintjoe AKA JK Swopes really is 'The People's Champ'.  He's the man behind three hugely popular websites: SoundsAndGear , MaschineTutorials (along with Knock Squared) and BoomAndBap .  Each site caters to a different music production need: software/hardware news and reviews with a side-salad of hints and tips, original instructional resources specific to Maschine, and high quality drum sample packs.  Each new project strengthens saintjoe's position as a leading figure in music production education and resources. But, you may be asking, how does this make him 'The People's Champ'? Well, his sites are only one part of the equation.  saintjoe has a long established reputation for being arguably the most helpful, enthusiastic and nicest person in a community that prides itself on educating, working with and helping others.  The New Beat Maker was lucky enough to catch up with saintjoe shortly after he came back from the NAM

Showcase Your Music, 'Your Beats': 'UMBRA' EP Teaser by K15

I 'm really enjoying checking out all the music being sent to 'Your Beats' .  In the latest installment we have UK beatmaker K15 , who kindly shares with us the teaser to his latest EP, the sci-fi-with-soul outing, 'UMBRA'. Here's a little bit more about the project: K15 - UMBRA (Release Date February 25th) Following on from last year's Theme Music For A Pariah and The Long Walk, K15 returns with a brand new EP entitled UMBRA, a journey through a fictitious world made out of mysterious soundscapes and both dark and enlightening beats. This EP will be released by Dutch based INI Recordings whose lofty and stunning back catalogue makes them a forced to be reckoned with in today's musical climate. I love the atmospheric 'Intro / The Realm': the Boards of Canada 'faded' synth washes, the more aggresive, 'Being Boiled' bass sounds and Three 6 Mafia 'hey hey' vocal stabs which further up the suspense. Then there's 'Flu

NAMM 2013 Hardware Selections

Apologies, I really wanted to bring you some of the great footage from the NAMM show 2013 by some of my favourite sites that bit sooner, especially when the quality of the products and the footage is this high.   In the name of 'gear lust', here's some of what these lucky people got up close and personal with in Anaheim last month .  Korg KingKorg Synthesizer Beautiful looking and more importantly, absolutely stunning sounding, this gem from Korg is masterfully demonstrated by Korg Rep Richard.  I can imagine those types of sounds on a Cameo record or something of that nature and if I were to hit the lottery this weekend (not that I play) this would be copped faster than you could say 'Candy'.  For more, visit: Future Music Ableton Push Something for all the Ableton heads out there.  Ableton's Head of Documentation Dennis DeSantis gives the guys over at DJCityTV the low down on their latest, a rival to the MPC. In addition to this video, there's s

Showcase Your Music, 'Your Beats': 'Feuertrunken' by This is Ethmo

And now, for something completely different.  This Is Ethmo is an exciting mix of musical styles: dance, rock, ambient and much more.  I' ll let the guys introduce themselves : This is the debut EP by the mysterious St Albans 3 piece - This Is Ethmo. They formed in January 2013 after crash landing on this planet called Earth whilst on a cultural expedition from the dwarf planet UB313. They assumed the pronounceable names of Johnny Man, Absalom and X and are enjoying mixing up this planet's many musical genres whilst creating a new style of their own ETHMO. They have just 12 months left on this planet before the mothership returns to collect them. Will they change planet Earth for the better? WIll their music be the music of future generations? Will they unite our disparate planet with the rest of the Universe? Stay tuned and don't forgot the word is ETHMO. This Is Ethmo I love the range of influences and the sense of fun on 'Feuertrunken' .   The sound is refresh

Norman x Lanzo 'Time-lapse Continuum'

Here's something warp e d yet smooth from Norman and Lanzo .  If you checked out my post on Lanzo's fantastic 'Suspension of Conciousness' you'll alre ady know I really like the balance that his tracks have;  for example, the nice melodic notes and phrases juxtaposed with jarring, discordant elements .  Well, it sounds like La nzo has a kindred spirit in Norman.  I love how the almost jagged sounding sample and effed up drums are perfectl y balanced with a lovely, smooth bassline and yet again, a great sense of movement.         Find out more:  www. soundcloud.com/norman-3 www.soundcloud.com/lanzobeats Credits Image: www.soundcloud.com Music: www.soundcloud.com More Music

Pensado's Place: Props To

When we refurbed thenewbeatmaker.com last year I somehow managed to delete my ' Pensado's P lace Appreciation Post' , so here's another.     Super mixing engineer Dave Pensado and his manager Herb Trawick sit down with a diverse array of guests , from esteemed singer songwriters to the e lite of engineers, producers and mixers.   Recent epis odes I've loved have included  sit-downs wi th amongst others, Joey Barresi (Tool, Bad Religion, Wolfmother) and this one, where the guys chop it up with Derek Ali , AKA ' Mixed by Ali'.   Ali is one of the hottest young m ix e ngineers on the planet , thanks in no s mall part to his astounding work on Kendrick Lamar 's ' Good Kid, m.A.A.d. c ity '.   In a far-reaching and highly informative interview which is at times both fun and poignant , Dave, Herb and Ali talk about Kendrick's depection of Compton, working with Dr Dre and , perhaps most useful to readers of this site, some of the secrets

Free Demo Analogue Techno Synth Loops from Spf Samplers

Spf Samplers are very kindly giving away a free preview of their up and coming Analogue Techno Synth Loops release.   From the Spf Samplers website: Spf Samplers presents “Analogue Techno Synth Loops”. The sample pack was produced with an arsenal of analogue synths and sequencers. Analogue Techno Synth Loops is packed with 250+ synth loops that can help add that warmth and texture you get with analogue synths.  So if your looking to warm up your productions this pack is perfect for you. Analogue Techno Synth Loops was produced with a large array of synthesizer including Access Virus C, DSI Evolver , DSI Mopho Keyboard, DSI Tetr4, Elektron MachineDrum, Elektron Monomachine, Elektron Octatrack, Novation KS Rack, Waldorf Q Rack, Waldorf XT every one of these synths was run through the Empirical Labs Distressor and the Joemeek SC2 and everything was sequenced on the dynamic beast the Octatrack. T o download the free samples : Visit Spf Samplers Credit Image: Spf Samplers More Sampl

Lord Finesse Talks B.I.G. and Shows Off his Vinyl Collection

The Funky Technician takes part in Fuse's ever-popular Crate Diggers series and talks about how his hunger to remix a Mary J Blige record landed him with the closing track on Biggie's classic 'Ready to Die' album .   He also talks about the legendary Roosevelt Record Convention and just how much creativity, money a nd the ethos of originality was shared by producers in the golden era of diggin' in the crates.   Credits: Video: youtube.com/user/fuse Image: lastfm.com 

Lanzo 'Suspension of Conciousness'

REVIEW:  A very satisfying debut EP by a skilled beatmaker who knows his own strengths TNBM favourite Lanzo kicks off his first EP in fine form with 'Snack Bags' .  As noted elsewhere , I like the tension of the intro and outro, the perfectly placed vocal snatches, the simple but hypnotic bass notes and I think that the lightly plucked strings are a lovely little detail.   This is an instantly likeable track. T he mood for the rest of the EP is really set on ‘PEA SOUP GARDEN’ .  The melodic keys are offset by disturbing cartoon dialogue.  Reminiscent of 'MM...FOOD', this is a great example of Lanzo making beats with lots going on, but minus clutter . This smells like a winner to me.       The smooth-yet-sleazy synths on 'TUMs' had me hitting repeat. It's very easy to get lost in this chilled-out track.  Here, the Chicago beatmaker pulls off another difficult balancing act: whilst some beatmakers try too many ideas at once, or get stuck on one good

Benji B's J Dilla Tribute Show, February 2006

This is such an intense radio show that I almost didn't post it. This is Benji B's special tribute show to J Dilla. Broadcast on BBC Radio 1Xtra in February 2006, just days after Dilla's untimely passing, you can feel the almost unbearable energy and emotion of the show right from the beginning. J Dilla forever.    Credits  Image: lastfm.com   Audio: soundcloud.com/benji-b  

Ackryte 'Lifted Transmissions' Review: Beatmaker Continues his Winning Streak with Mellow Grooves and Precise Chops

The Midwest Beatmaker continues his winning streak with mellow grooves and precise, sometimes ruthless, chops. 'No Yolo’ is not just the song title of 2013, it’s a great introduction to Ackryte's latest EP.  Check out those sleazy synths, the up and down bass, the ‘clip-clopping’ percussion.  This is a slowride through nighttime LA with hooves for Daytons. Next is the soundtrack to a slow walk through the rain filled city streets all on your lonesome, the mellow ‘AEIOU’s’ . I love the great little flourishes over the top of the melancholy keys. ‘CarpeDaaaaaam’ builds masterfully.  The piano is beautifully placed and his signature synths add another layer of emotion.  Nice. ‘Upper Reaches’ carries on the mood of 'AEIOU’s' and 'CarpeDaaaaaam' well.  There’s a live feeling to the drums on this one, with the subtle pauses for a beat or two and extra snares.  The crescendo rising and fading out is a memorable touch . More lovely stuff. Lifted Transmissions by Ackry

?uestlove on the Genius of Dilla

MUSINGS:  ?uestlove on why Dilla was the best rap producer of all time  in touching and inspiring XXL magazine article Quote by Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson to XXL Magazine.   Read the full article  here . .. .He was able to get the sound that he heard in his head, not only executed onto tape, but he did it in such an original way that it actually started to change our view of how we made music. Image: brokenculture.co.uk

Danny J Lewis attempts 'Sixty Beats in Sixty Minutes' for Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital

This past Friday, as a special Friday Forum Live , Point Blank Music School's Danny J Lewis attempted - in what would be some type of new world record I'm sure -  to create sixty beats in sixty minutes, to raise £1000 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. Did he succeed?...   To donate, visit Virgin Money Giving .   Not only is this a great way to raise money for a great cause, I also think the video llustrates how creativity can flow more freely if you do not over think things, especially in the early stages of a track. I can fall victim to over-analysing everything about a track right from the beginning, often stifling the creative process from the jump.  I'm sure I'm not the only one to experience this problem. However, when watching Danny quickly make loop after loop, it was apparent that inspiration for a track frequently came to him and, whilst Danny wasn't feeling every beat he made, there were plenty of loops that could easily become the founda