MyVolts Crazy Chain - reviewed!

MyVolts are no strangers to making power solutions and I make no secret that I get free samples from time to time to test out. Crazy Chain is their latest foray into powering multiple items with a twist; it's a fully modular power solution that you can mix and match equipment of different plug sizes and even polarities so you can add as many devices as you need.

MyVolts mickXer - the Volca Mix killer

MyVolts are no stranger to electronics for musicians, having previously worked on iterations of their Volca power splitters for powering more than one Volca at a time. As mentioned in other posts, I've had quite a lot of respect for this for my growing collection of Korg's grooveboxes and Kaoss pads, however the subject of how to mix the audio out of so many devices working at once created a new problems.

Hungry like a Rhythm Wolf

The Rhythm Wolf is a drum machine released several years ago at the NAMM show. In a post-Volca world of musicians keen to get hold of analogue equipment in a relatively small and cheap package, it seemed to provide a good alternative to Korg’s grooveboxes and Roland’s (at the time) non existent competition.

I managed to get hold of one for very cheap on the second hand market and thought I would share my experiences of using one and why I ultimately sold it.

MyVolts Splitter Version 2 - review

Thanks to MyVolts for supplying the review cable for this post. If you want to get your own with a discount, CAROLVOLCA2 on their website will get you £3 off before 14 October 2016.

As alluded to earlier in the week, the folks at MyVolts have just released version two of their power splitter cable for up to five Korg Volcas, and now that mine has arrived I thought I would take it for a quick spin.

Hiatus ended (hopefully)

I've been pretty busy with work and other projects, while being distracted by Reddit's r/synthesisers group and Twitter updates, but I'm hoping to get back into blogging again soon. 

Priorities for me:

• More Saturday soundtracks
• Modular DIY building
• Experiences with Bitwig
• KMR Audio's Synth Expo tomorrow
• Novation's XioSynth - new second hand hardware!
• Novation BassStation II - borrowing for a while
• Volca FM impressions
• Finally finishing some stuff for Soundcloud

MyVolts 5 way power splitter cable - Review!

Now nearly two years old, Korg's set of analogue grooveboxes continue to be a source of useful sounds and musical experimentation. While you do have the option to run all four Volcas from batteries, as each unit needs six AAs it's a far more economical proposition to buy a power supply for each one. Sacrificing portability for sustained play also has other advantages; when the batteries start to run low, users have reported sync and volume issues with the units, likely due to the analogue nature of the internals. However, Korg neglected to include a power supply in the box and instead give you a set of rather dodgy looking batteries to keep you going. 

Step in MyVolts, who have recently released a 5-way power splitter designed specifically for the Volcas and I picked one up as soon as it was released. Here's a look at what you can expect.

Pocket Operators - SonicLab review

Arriving in my inbox this morning was notification that Gaz Williams, frequent contributor and panellist for Sonic State, had published a series of videos about the wonderful new Pocket Operator series of digital synths. These are a look into these three machines and I have quite a few take homes from a more thorough look into them.

Positive

• Lots of interesting sounds
• Shuffle (Volcas, take note!)
• Built in effects
• Syncable
• Charming Game & Watch style displays
• Cheap
• Straightforward to use

Negative

• AAA battery powered only
• Only Ionian scale (no sharps/flats!)
• Danger of damaging components too easily
• Game & Watch display nearly useless when making music
• Controls look far too small
• Very few parameters
• Almost demands the use of the case (sold separately)

Any negative feedback for the Pocket Operators can be easily dismissed in terms of the especially low price, though getting hold of one (or all three) is another thing altogether, with stock shortages at the moment. The more I look at them, the scaling problem in particular, I have started to see a number of large compromises in these units that will make me want to take a closer look at them until I eventually get to play with them myself.

Keep any eye on Sonic State as they are due to release another video on chaining all three together and good to see Gaz outside of Sonic Talk!

Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW64y2tidRL5njv0JrQdvbA

More Bass in Less Space - the MicroBrute is here!

A while ago I made a big deal out of the MicroBrute that Arturia announced last year. Shoehorning some of the more popular features of the MiniBrute with some other features in a smaller box, there seemed to be enough in this new offering to warrant buying one to compliment my original MiniBrute. Having had store credit with Wunjo burning a hole in my pocket for some time, I finally opted to pony up the difference and get one - the only problem being that I have only had a few days to play with it before going on holiday, so this is kind of a rambling review of my new toy and some comparisons I have found with the MiniBrute.

Nektar Controllers

I recently had a chance to join the product manager for Nektar, the guys who make MIDI controllers with specialised, out-of-the-box control mappings for specific music DAWs (including all the usual suspects like Reason, Live, Cubase etc but also Reaper and Bigwig), for a hands on look at the Bigwig Studio software. Of course, one upshot on this little hour and a half run through was that the new Panorama and Impakt controllers did get promoted quite a bit, so I'd like to take a look into these new keyboards.

Volca Keys Review

As all signs from Korg seem to be pessimistic, it looks like the Volca Bass synthesiser won't be available to pick up and purchase until around mid to late October. One school of thought says that customer demand is the reason, while others report that a lost container of units aboard a shipping vessel are to blame. 

Either way, to salve my need to get twiddling, I found that despite the hype around the Volcas, plenty of shops in and around London's Denmark street had single units of the Volca Keys in stock. As I had recently received a tenancy deposit back, I was allowed to by the powers that be to buy one to hook up to my existing Volca Beats and get fiddling.

Korg Volca Beats - Review!

So much fun crammed into such a little box!

After much waiting after the NAMM 2013 announcement, I finally put down £240 to pre-order the Korg Volca Beats and Bass with a lovely little shop on Denmark street called Wunjo Keys (on the former site of London Pro Audio, more on Wunjo later on). Whilst sitting having a meal with my family in a rare moment of togetherness in our busy lives, I got a call to say that one of the Volcas had arrived and did I want to pick it up?

Well, what do you think I said?

SW4 2013 - reviews and photos

Lens flare = fuck yeah!

Another year and another very wet bank holiday weekend at Clapham Common - I've still the muddy trainers and jeans to prove it!

Congratulations to Lock n Loaded for 10 years of SW4 and of course, I was there to cover the weekend for Efestivals.

Some excellent performances this year, especially Knife Party (which I have a few videos of that I will have to upload), though the headliners weren't as good as Chase & Status / Skrillex in 2012.

Roll on 2014!

Review Day 1:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/sw4/2013/review-day1.shtml

Review Day 2:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/sw4/2013/review-day2.shtml

Photos:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/sw4/2013/galleries.shtml

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Now that the marketing hype machine has run its course and whipped music fans up into a frenzy, today marks the release of Random Access Memories, the latest album from French dance duo Daft Punk. Of course, I've grabbed a copy to review and on listening it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Early reviews and news coverage of the album (plus the constant teasing use of single Get Lucky in television spots) have already set the tone for their fourth album; it's less robot rock and more soulful disco and funk this time around. It seems ironic to me that now Daft Punk are trying to recreate the 70s wholesale rather than sample it for catchy hooks and hot riffs, but with quite so much music experience under their belt, the duo do seem to pull it off convincingly.

New review: I'll Be Your Mirror

Photo courtesey of Efestivals

I've been a bit busy over the weekend with the I'll Be Your Mirror festival, with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs curating an interesting group of bands coming together last Saturday 4th May. It's good to get back into the reviewing season and I am pleased that I have other ones coming up as well.

There was plenty on during the day, though the lack of the second curator meant that there was only the one day rather than the two days in 2011 when Portishead organised the festival. There were also fewer food stands as well - perhaps the credit crunch is having unexpected consequences.

Well worth seeing King Khan and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as relatively unknown groups that I hadn't heard of who gave really great performances. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed a really slick gig whose production values were streets ahead of the others, but then again, it wouldn't exactly be good of them to foul up as headliners, would it?

Link to full review:
http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/ibym/2013/review-overview.shtml

Akai Miniak

I've just picked up a new bit of kit for my bedroom after spotting a bit of a bargain on Gumtree for just £100 and a trip down to leafy Kenley in South London (barely Zone 5) in the snow. It's an Akai Miniak and in pretty decent shape as well – if only for the missing knob cap on one of the endless controller knobs and a couple of video game stickers on the unit itself that came off with zero fuss. Thanks to some isopropyl alcohol that made the whole unit stink like it had just been dumped in a vat of vodka, the stickers left no marks either and in general the unit is solid, working and with no scratches or dents at all. This post is more of a kind of "first impressions" review after I've had a better chance to sit down and play with it for a few hours.

Reso - Tangram

Reso / Tangram cover art

After building up the anticipation with several EPs and single releases, the long awaited debut album from this producer finally made its way out of the studio in the form of Tangram. I know this came out in October 2012 but I only just picked up my copy and want to pass on a recommendation.

Book review: How Music Works

Best described as a part biographical, part educational and part historical text, How Music Works is David Byrne's attempt to track the evolution of music as it has been affected by history, social norms and technology. Given the author, this is pieced together with a smattering of stories and references to his career with Talking Heads, his solo works and relationships with other artists including Brian Eno.

The book's rather large undertaking splits its subject into several key areas per chapter, covering different venues and the topic of reverberation in one chapter and evolving recording technology in another. Other areas include production methods, the relevance of recording studios past and present, collaborations and analogue vs digital. What starts off as a large topic is broken down into a somewhat free-flowing story of anecdotes, research and examples, making for easy and humour-filled reading. Byrne is happy to share his knowledge and experiences from his career and melds them nicely into the narrative. Despite the sense that Byrne routinely seems to demonstrate that he has "been there, done that" at every step of the way, his recollections rarely seem boorish and always have relevance to each point.

It might be easy for critics to accuse him of being overly nostalgic when looking back on how things developed and how they affected his band, however Byrne carries an appreciation of the future and that things move on; none more so than the music industry. It is in this area that Byrne certainly makes up for any shortcomings with his no-nonsense explanation of the music industry. Coming at the subject from the angle of an amateur musician, I really enjoyed the clear overview of the industry and the pros and cons that all the options present. In coming at the subject from a business perspective, the book really does give some great insights into the industry and adds that the traditional models are also being circumvented by modern distribution methods. From a personal point of view I'm not sure whether it has given me hope or not in terms of making music to make money, but it has certainly been demystified for me.

Also of note is the variety in his musical tastes, drawing on his extensive music library so that when referring to genres or artists to apply to his theories, these are not limited to the those that he is associated with during his career. In doing so, you are forced to consider different styles and the cultures that developed them, emphasising that the book is about how all music works, not just some. For me, how Music Works is not designed as the be all and end all of music history and industry handbook, but a reasoned approach to charting the evolution of music, its production and consumption and gives plenty of food for thought for any music aficionados or aspiring artists.

New Scandinavian electronica at Queen of Hoxton

Another review from me in the form of Incidentally Nordic 3, featuring some very nice ladies from Sweden and Norway who make electronic music.

Full review:
http://www.egigs.co.uk/index.php?a=14251

Frost:
http://frostnorway.com/

Two for Tuesday - Ether 2012 show reports

I've been a little bit busy of late, with a hectic schedule at work with events at the other side of the country, a strained relationship and other bits and pieces. Life is just never easy, I guess.

Anyway, I've not been so busy that I haven't been able to do some gig blogging and I now have managed to single handedly cover two more events at Ether Festival 2012 for Efestivals, who now have my photos and reviews of Swedish group Iamamiwhoami, who played a big stage show last week, and UK electronic duo Mount Kimbie and their intimate gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall lobby. Clearly the better lighting of the Iamamiwhoami gig resulted in some better photos, but never mind; both were excellent gigs and nice additions to the lineup of acts that have been playing this year.

Iamamiwhoami Review and Photos:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/ether/2012/photos-review-iamamiwhoami.shtml
http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/ether/2012/photos-iamamiwhoami-ether2012-cs.shtml

Mount Kimbie Review and photos 

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/ether/2012/photos-review-mountkimbie.shtml
http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/ether/2012/photos-mountkimbie-ether2012-cs.shtml

Hot Chip & Friends @ Oxjam

Last week, I had the chance to watch Hot Chip and friends consisting of The 2 Bears, Four Tet and Simian Mobile Disco play the Oxfam store in Dalston, East London in order to raise money for the charity by playing an exclusive gig. It was a lot of fun and I got a lot of CDs out of the shop as well.

I did an interview with Hot Chip as well, which was great fun messing around shooting the breeze with Alexis and Owen. It was also the first time I used my iPod to record the interview for later transcribing - in this case, I used Roland's AirRecorder app, although it produced a really quiet recording to work with. Next time I'll angle the iPod properly ;).

In the meantime, the full review with further photos is available at:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/oxjam/2012-october/review-hotchip.shtml

The interview can be found here:
http://www.egigs.co.uk/index.php?a=14211