Happy New Year!

First and foremost, welcome everyone to 2013! Been doing a lot of other things over the last fortnight, so I thought I'd write a little to set things up for January and hopefully roll on from there.

Namm 2013 winter show coming soon

All eyes will be on Namm for the upcoming show at the end of the month - its always nice to have something to look forward to in the new year to bring us out of the post Xmas slump. Not sure what to expect from this year and the exhibitors but if it is anything like last year there should be some fabulous new kit coming out.
http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2013


Bitwig to drop in 2013?

Currently in beta testing phase, this German made DAW has been on my radar for some time and it would be great to think that it might pop up at some point soon for general release. Given that the developers are ex-ableton people, the similarities are clear between the two programs but I like the way Bitwig shoehorns both sequencer and arranger views together (plus cross platform play) as well as the other neat tips and tricks. Give how quiet they have been of late, perhaps 2013 is the date I finally manage to update my DAW for something more up-to-date.

http://bitwig.com/bitwig_studio.php

Finally get some music done?

I've been rather lazy of late and rather than making music I have been playing lots of video games, which I tend to do a lot of over Christmas. This year it has been Hawken that has been taking up most of my time, as well as replaying GTA San Andreas - on the plus side, this has rekindled my love for proper hip-hop and new jack swing! Hawken is a really good arcade-deathmatch style Mech game that dispenses with the simulation and accuracy of Mechwarrior and gets down to the nitty gritty fighting and blasting. luckily it is also free to play, so others can get on with some fun of their own.
Http://www.playhawken.com


Soundcloud reskinned

I know I'm a little late with this one, but I have been taking a good look at Soundcloud recently as I have been eyeing up buying an annual subscription. I like the new layout, which seems to be much more about different frames for profile, tracks and suggestions. In particular I like how the suggestions engine is developing and is picking up friends who are on Soundcloud from my Facebook account. It also provides some nice stats for free users that they haven't given beforehand (although still teases you with more that are hidden or more detailed).

http://soundcloud.com/southerntrax