UNLIKE U-Trainwriting in Berlin

Time for a little update! This movie was banned from being published by the BVG. In my opinion it is because they don't like the theme of the movie. Anyways they claim the went to court, because the filming on their premises wasn't authorized. So the movie was released online only since the makers say, they put too much effort in it, to have it not shown at all. You can say whatever you want about trainwriting, still you can't deny that this and graffiti itself is a vital part of youth culture since the late 70ies. Watch the whole movie on Vimeo and visit they guys from Unlike-U on their website.

A Little Background On The "Amen Break"

I was reading an article on the german magazine's website "Der Spiegel". If you can understand german, read the the article as well, because it features a little insights with Richard Lewis Spencer of The Winstons. Most People who are into HipHop ore have been in the 90ies will recognize the break and of course some of the more prominent songs that used it. If you don't or want to see some more, have a look here. Some of my contacts on facebook find it annoying that the german article takes a lot of the info from the video and turns it into a feature of it's own. I can't really understand that, since to me most of the facts aren't new. It is just the first time somebody put it all together in german. Enjoy the Video!

NAMM 2011

Alright, I am not there, but i've gotta to say that what is presented at this years Namm (the worlds biggest music fair, happening twice a year at Anaheim, California) is just awesome!! First and probably best thing for me is: Cubase 6 is out. I got Cubase 4 and wasn't really sure if I wanted to update to version 5, so I didn't and it was exactly the right choice. The update to Cubase 5 was 189 €, while the update to version 6 only is 149 €, hooray! You can look up the features of the new version in the links if you're interested. But now to the BIG things:

 
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(Picture: Dave Smith Instruments)
Many readers might know that I am a big fan of drum machines. So sure I know that it was a guy named Roger Linn who invented those things in 1979. Coming from the classic Linn LM-1 it's successor the LinnDrum was and still is a classic in both HipHop and Techno / House productions. Roger Linn's fabulous designs finally peaked in the design of the Akai MPC 60 which is a classic as well. Now Roger Linn did team up with Dave Smith the engineer behind the legendary Prophet 5 who is now running his own company Dave Smith Instruments who are responsible for the in my opinion best synthesizers built today. The result is called Tempest and is one hell of a drum machine / sequencer / production station. Featuring analog signal path, oscillators sampling capabilities and much more. Check out the video here. I am really amazed, but the price tag is what puts tears in my eyes ($ 1990). 

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Next Big thing coming up at Namm is Torq 2.0. I've been using Torq for quite a while but in the end switched to Traktor Pro, due to first Torq not putting out updates and being unsatisfied with how they treated their customers. Second was the cheap price tag on Traktor recently and of course their fantastic Kontrol X1 and it's integration with the software! Feature wise Torq looks great now: 4 Decks, 13 built in effects plus Vst integration, a completely redesigned browser (the old one was completely unusable), no hardware bond anymore (feel free to use your soundcard and midi controllers of choice), graphic platters displaying needle position like in serato (for all you beatjugglers out there), a redigned GUI (the old one was totally kindergarten) and much more. One thing though that gives me the creeps: it's a late beta version (free trial) which not really builds up my confidence, since many supposedly stable previous versions already felt like beta releases. Anyway I will totally try it and post some more about it here and in the forums. 
One thing I still haven't heard anything about is the new Native Instruments hardware. There was this teaser video, but still no confirmation of what will be new, so i leave the speculations to you. Later today I will post about new Pioneer DJ Controllers. See ya!

WOW - Synth Touchscreen Guitar

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Now this is how I like it. I can't play any instrument really, but i once learned to play the guitar (and forgot about how to right away). OK I'm about to learn keyboard, but due to it's low stage at the moment that won't count yet! Anyways, this looks like a promising instrument. Check out the video below, to see how it looks and sounds. There actually is plenty more sound to get out of this, but for the first video it looks quite promising. Maybe there will be an Ipad add-on to imitate this some time. For me, it can't wait to see people rocking that thing live on stage and i don't mean i want to hear guitar sounds when it's played... (Photo Courtesy of Misa Ltd.)

R.I.P. Technics SL 1210 MKII

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There have been a lot of rumors about it in the last years, but now it is official: Panasonic discontinues the legendary SL 1210. It is known to be the longest produced piece of consumer electronic and made it to the Guiness Book Of Records. As well the legendary deck has a stable place in nearly every nightclub around the world. To me there is little hope, that Panasonic will come up with a new model, so it looks like the times of DJing as we know it are over. Djs with just a laptop (and maybe a controller or two) will take over and if you have the record or not no longer resolves if you can play the song. Hello brave new world!

Soundburger Reloaded

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Many of you might know the Soundburger produced in the 80s by Audiotechnica. Being a record collector i already own a vinyl killer and a Columbia GP-3. Both a really nice, but i always thought the Soundburger is the best thing. First for being small and second for having a line out. The only bad thing is, you won't catch it for less than $ 150 on ebay. Now Crosley copied the design and put out the CR6002A. This one not only features a headphone jack and a line out but as well a usb connection, speakers and an FM transmitter. It feels real good that it still seems to pay off to make new record players in a time where no one would buy another CD-Player, would one?