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Showing posts from August, 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

Central Parks 'Soul Shots': New Music

More great new music.  The New Beat Maker favourite Central Parks comes through with a collection of smooth jazzy and soulful beats, 'Soul Shots', on Cold Busted . Soul Shots by Central Parks I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can really hear a Nas or an AZ flowing over the top of a track like 'Wondering', which has that classic 90's smooth-but-hard feel to it. Related Posts: Central Parks Interview:bboytechreport.com Guest Post  Nine of the best beatmakers to follow in 2013  Favourite Tracks of 2012

J'Von 'Go' Video and Ackryte 'Overly' Album

Here's the video for 'Go', off J'Von and Ackryte's masterpiece ' Aqua '.  It may be a little premature to call it, but right now J'Von is my favourite MC of 2013.  The New Beat Maker favourite Ackryte dropped his latest full length ' Overly ' last month and, as anyone familiar with the Minneapolis maestro's work would expect, it's a banger. Overly by Ackryte Whilst it's a highly cohesive listen, standouts include the epic Lifelike, a suspense-filled track which unravels into it's original sample sources at the end and 'Scenery', which makes lovely use of some taught string samples. For more Ackryte visit: ackryte.bandcamp.com For J'Von and Ackryte's 'Aqua' visit: jvon.bandcamp.com Related Posts Ackryte: 'Lifted Transmissions' Review- The Midwest Beatmaker continues his winning streak with mellow grooves and precise, sometimes ruthless chops. Ackryte: 'Nebula' / 'Red Clay' Remix

The Making of Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines': Tony Maserati on 'Pensado's Place'

Super Mixing Engineer Tony Maserati catches up with his buddies Dave and Herb and, amongst of topics, speaks about working his magic on the biggest - and in more than one way, most controversial - hit of the year, 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke, Pharell Williams and TI (like you need telling). I'm not the biggest fan of the song for more than one reason, but I do love how it sounds, so it shouldn't surprise me that Mr Maserati was the man behind the mix.   Tony's resume reads like a who's who of modern music, but two of my favourite examples of his work can be found on Mary J Blige's excellent 'Share My World' album: the gorgeous title track and the superb 'I Can Love You'. Related Posts Pensado's Place: Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins Props To: Pensado's Place Video: youtube/user/PensadosPlace  

Native Instruments Maschine: 'Japanese beatmasters love Maschine'

From hip hop to house, Native Instruments catches up with Japanese beatmakers DJ Baku, Hifana, Olive Oil, Watanabe Hiroshi and Kireek to discuss their love of Native Instruments Maschine. Beautifully shot, the video could have done with some subtitles, but the visuals and the beats speak for themselves.  Buy Native Instruments Maschine MK2 Black   Buy Native Instruments Maschine Mikro MK2 Black   Buy Native Instruments Maschine MK2 White Buy Native Instruments Maschine Mikro MK2 White Video: youtube.com/user/nativeinstruments

Make Music at Home: 5 Key Home Studio Components from TheRecordingRevolution.com

One of my absolute favourite websites is Graham Cochrane's  TheRecordingRevolution.com .  Here,  Graham does an excellent job of breaking down the five things to consider when starting out making / recording music at home. If you are a new to music making, recording or mixing I highly, highly recommend you subscribe to both his website and his youtube channel.  You will be very glad you did. Related Posts The Recording Revolution: '5 Minutes To A Better Mix' is Back! Recommended Sites: including TheRecordingRevolution.com Tutorial: Compressing Guitars by TheRecordingRevolution.com Recommended Reading: including the FREE download ''The #1 Rule Of Home Recording'' Credits Video: youtube.com/user/therecordingrevolution Image: therecordingrevolution.com

Atmospheric Instrumental by Billpunk X Da Fingaz: 'Final Descent'

Shout out to Billpunk for sending this atmospheric collabo' with Da Fingaz over. There's a nice balance between how forceful the drums and bass are and how delicate the piano is.  I also really like the use of rock guitar late on in the track;  it's a touch that would have been easy to overdo, but it's used very tastefully here. For more, check out: soundcloud.com/billpunk Related post Your Beats: Billpunk 'Heartbeat', 'DRUMZ in my head', 'YOU !', 'smoke kingdoom' Get exposure.  Send your music and videos to The New Beat Maker. If you would like your music or videos to be posted in our 'Your Beats' feature, please check our submissions guideline here . 

MPC 1000 Beat Making Video: King I Divine 'Aquaplaning' off 'Reign Showers' LP

Beatmaker extraordinaire King I Divine has just dropped his latest project, the beautiful 'Reign Showers'. In the video above he crafts 'Aquaplaning', just one of the soulful treats off a project packed with gems.   Be on the lookout for a review of the project soon.  In the meantime, check out 'Reign Showers' here and be sure to subscribe to King I Divine's youtube / vevo channels here and here .   Credits Video: youtube.com/user/KingIDivine Image: kingidivine.bandcamp.com

Drum Samples: Andrew Lloyd 'Vol II' Drum Kit: theproducerschoice.com

Shout out to theproducerschoice.com , who have recently released the second volume of drums courtesy of Grammy-nominee Andrew Lloyd. Lloyd has worked his magic on tracks for Young Jeezy, L'il Wayne, Schoolboy Q, Tech Nine, T-Pain and Omarion amongst others. Whilst this pack is arguably more tailored towards the shinier end of the hip hop and rnb spectrum (read: 'club bangers') it has other uses too.  I am currently having fun crafting a more boom-bap style cut with a couple of the kit's kicks and snares, as well as a UK house and garage cut which makes use of a different kick and a nice handclap from it.  If you're looking to buy some new drums, this kit is well worth checking out.    Buy Andrew Lloyd Drums Vol. II here  

8th Anniversary of Last Yo! MTV Raps Airing

NEWS:  I'm sharing two of the best Yo! MTV Raps Documentaries to mark the  occasion One of my favourite sites for all things hip hop nostalgic, upnorthtrips , pointed out that on the 17th of August 2005 the last ever Yo! MTV Raps aired. In honour of this historic occasion, here are a couple of the best Yo! related documentaries I have absorbed ( and sweated out my pores ) this weekend.    Stüssy x Yo! MTV Raps Mini Documentary: ?uestlove, Alchemist, MC Lyte and more speak on the importance and the influence Yo! MTV Raps. Part two puts a particular emphasis on the sartorial impact of hip hop as represented on the show: from NWA's 'Bad guys wear black' aesthetic to EPMD's love of bucket hats, from the Native Tounges' popularization of Afrocentric medallions, through to hip hop's adoption of Timberland construction boots. A little more about Stussy x Yo! MTV Raps.  From the good folks at Stussy: For the Stüssy X Yo! MTV Raps collection, we

Nobody 'Vivid Green' Review: bboytechreport.com Guest Post

Shout out to bboytechreport.com and Nobody and the rest of the Alpha Pup crew .  I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Nobody's recent release 'Vivid Green' for the place where 'hip hop and technology intercede'. Without giving too much away, I can say that it is a project that you should definitely check out. One of my favourite songs from the album is the staggering 'Our Last Dance' featuring Cedric Bixler-Zavala (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Zavalaz) which is featured below for your listening pleasure. Check out my exclusive review of Nobody's 'Vivid Green' album here . Check out all reviews For all exclusive The New Beat Maker reviews, news of guest reviews and reviews from more of my favourite sites, click here.  Credit Music and Image: soundcloud.com/alphapup

House, Future Bass and Latin Bombathon: Moduloktopus vs Erykah Badu, Aaliyah, Bruno Mars

The New Beat Maker favourite Moduloktopus has been keeping himself very busy lately.  The man himself fired me over his latest ReWorkings recently. Up top, he takes Erykah Badu into Disclosure territory some bouncy UK house and garage goodness. Following that, he takes one of Baby Girl's biggest hits and turns it into an energetic Future Bass workout, I especially like the keys in the chorus. Admittedly, I am not a big Bruno Mars fan - although, this tune did win me over thanks to that unmistakable The Police feel and that Mantronix / J Dilla siren during the chorus lead in - but I love how this remix turns one of his biggest tracks into a 'Latin Bombathon' of a banger. Now there's a sentence I don't say very often... For more Moduloktopus, check out: soundcloud.com/modulok Related Posts   Moduloktopus 'Circles' RMX, 'Black Bay' (Re-Lit Jive) 'B*tch Dont Kill my Vibe' (reTwerk bootleg) LowTone Society: Jazz, neo-soul, reggae and hip hop c

Making the Beat: Watch Huxley Go Against the Clock: FACT TV

Here's the latest in FACT TV's 'Against the Clock' series, in which they give an artist just ten minutes in the studio to come up with a track. Today's guest is UK house and garage maestro Huxley.  It's great to see Huxley's workflow and, whilst I wouldn't advise anyone to take the 'do a track in ten minutes'  all of the time (obvs.) I do think that it can be a good way of getting rough ideas down as they come to you, plus a good way of becoming more familiar with your setup. Try it out today, maybe just make it a bit easier on yourself - say, twenty minutes - and let me know how it works for you below. For more, checkout: youtube.com/user/FACTmagazine Credits Video: youtube.com/user/FACTmagazine Image and music: soundcloud.com/huxley_uk

Showcase Your Music, 'Your Beats': Jay Bishop 'Dual Cassette' / 'The Cassette'

Dual Cassette by Jay Bishop Many thanks to Jay Bishop for sending The New Beat Maker his latest releases, 'Dual Cassette' and 'The Cassette', both of which I've been enjoying over the past few weeks. Jay has a created a signature style which incorporates elements of hip hop, trap, rock, soul and dance, in a very personal way. About 'Dual Cassette', Jay had this to say: '...Dual Cassette calls back to when you could hear a variety of musical genres all without turning the radio dial. A mix of Hip Hop, Jazz, House, Disco, R&B, and even the Trap music of today all seamlessly held together by the steady groove...' I think this comment sums up Jay's MO perfectly.  'Dual Cassette' in particular mixes big drums - at times boom bap / golden era influenced, at other times, trap styled - with thick bass lines which blur the line between 80's soul and house, and samples ranging from classic soul to 80's rock anthems.  Jay makes skillfu

‘The 4 Element Synth: The secrets of Subtractive Synthesis’ Review - a Gorgous and Highly Helpful Instant Classic

This Indispensable Guide to the Science of Synthesis is an Instant Classic The world of synthesizers is one loaded with esoteric words and phrases which can easily intimidate the new musician.  With such a wide number of synths, both hard and soft, filled with scary-looking dials and settings and a myriad of features and capabilities, how does one get to grips with the fundamentals of how they work?  And how does the new musician (or at least, the musician new to synths) find out just what makes the sound they hear in their minds or on their favourite tracks? Fear not, help is at hand, in the form of the book and DVD pack ‘The 4 Element Synth: The secrets of Subtractive Synthesis’ by Rob Papen. Rob Papen is a world-renowned sound designer, with Predator , Punch and Blade being just three of his industry-standard creations. In 2001 Rob began teaching masterclasses in his Netherlands studio.  Through these classes Rob developed his personal method of teaching subtractive synthesis.  He