Sunday, September 26, 2010

Millennium Disco




Shiny Disco Club is the brainchild of French embassadors of Disco House, Nicolas Masson and Paul Perrault. Based out of Lyon, France, SDC caught my attention with a grab bag of remixes on their SoundCloud by label stalwart, LeBatman. Since, they have repeatedly delivered the goods and kept my fires burning.

Yesterday saw the release of their most auspicious project in the form of a compilation record entitled Millennium Disco. Collecting 28 tracks by the likes of Moonchild, Louis La Roche, Rockets and Xinobi, if you dig the discotheque, you don't wanna miss this one! And to top it all off, it's FREE!

Download each part here:

Part One

Part Two

more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
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Sound Cloud



Love,
RG


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Chiptuned: Yuzo Koshiro




Yuzo Koshiro is one of those composers who doesn’t get nearly enough recognition. He should be up there with the likes of that final fantasy dude, and the super Mario brothers/Zelda/starfox guy, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that he hasn’t composed music for games that cull that kind of recognition. He did do sonic the hedgehog, but it was game gear and master system versions, not the ones that appeared on genesis, that was reserved for the likes of Masato Nakamura and Michael Jackson.

Yuzo Koshiro had a few cult hits in the 80’s notably the Y’s 1 and 2. His huge breakout was with Streets of Rage, which was has a sound track that is very much inspired by electronic music of the era. What was even more amazing was what he was able to do with the sega sound chip, which usually made some of the most disgusting noises in the universe.



Example of the bad



Yuzo Koshiro’s The Street of Rage.


Any ways Streets of Rage is one of the earliest examples that I can recall of an EDM soundtrack in a video game.


Cortinas & Wade - I'm In Need (Epic Funk Mix) = The Hype Track Of The Week



On an intergalactic voyage across the universe in a pimped
out drop top 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood shuttle with chromed out wing tips and
suicide doors, this emergent duo has been lacing us from the cosmos with their
solid progressing disco bangin’ sound called “Epic Funk.” Stopping only for
heavy cocktails and flashing dance floors full of pounding beats and soulful
beings, unifying this world with “Epic Funk” is their only mission. Whether it
be on a cd, the radio, the internet, or at a club; when you discover Cortinas
& Wade, you know you got your groove back for good!! This is your www.tffkrwd.com & www.hypersonicradio.com Hype Track of the Week. Check it out in this Saturday's broadcast of Hypersonic Radio airing 09/25/2010 from 10pm-12am on 101X/101.5fm & www.hypersonicradio.com


Cortinas & Wade- I'm In Need (Epic Funk Mix) by CortinasandWade


more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
www.soundcloud.com/cortinasandwade


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wobble Wednesday: Mosca



Caught wind of this guy via his EP, Square One and an XLR8R podcast mix.  Since then,  the dude has consistently been in my repertoire.  What keeps such high interest in his tunes is his constant shifting between UK dance styles and genres - even within single tracks!  As you know, variety is the spice of life and Mosca never leaves the user with a chance for boredom!


Keep an eye out for his highly anticipated upcoming release on Fat City Records





more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
www.myspace.com/deejaymosca

Sunday, September 19, 2010

YACHT ROCK SUNDAY!!! OLD SCHOOL!!!




Soooo I'm knee deep in Halo Reach and have been listening to a flip ton of music while I try to beat the game on the hardest mode and I came across a song I can't believe I haven't posted.

My Old School is easily one of Steely Dan's best songs, enjoy.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Barletta & O-God - Croozer = The Hype Track Of The Week



Croozer combines disco, funk, tech, and house into 5 minutes of heaven. This track has an amazing groove and packs a peak hour punch to fuel that all night dancing addiction. Seriously... Barletta is the ish. This is your www.tffkrwd.com & www.hypersonicradio.com Hype Track of the Week. Check it out in this Saturday's broadcast of Hypersonic Radio airing 09/18/2010 from 10pm-12am on 101X/101.5fm & www.hypersonicradio.com


Barletta + O-God - Croozer by Djbarletta


more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
www.myspace.com/djbarletta


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Sound Dissection: digital techniques with analog origin: Sidechain Compression


Staying on hardware vs software tip, I'd to talk about some prevalent digital techniques, their origins in the analog world, and how to achieve them at home in your DAW.

First up, is a no brainer: Sidechain Compression. Probably the most ubiquitous effect in modern dance music, it presents itself as a pleasant "pumping" or "breathing" on certain elements of a track, or sometimes the entire track.

A classic example of sidechain compression at work. When the kick drum comes in, note the way the dynamics of the track flow in and out in rhythm with it. NYCE.

So, what exactly is sidechain compression? First, you need to wrap your head around what a compressor actually does (trust me, you really do). It is a gain reduction circuit that is often used to even out the volume dynamics of audio material. It achieves this by using a level detector to determine the incoming level of the audio. You can think of this like the VU meter or the bar meter showing your output on the mixer/ master/ whatever. The signal detector
"listens" to the incoming signal and when it senses that the level of the signal has exceeded a level that you set (THRESHOLD), it applies gain reduction at the RATIO. When it applies this gain reduction is controlled by the ATTACK and RELEASE.

the Alesis 3630 - the hardware compressor repsonsible for most of Daft Punk's sidechain compression. $50 bucks on CL and you can DO IT LIVE!

Sidechain compression is a little different. Instead of the signal detector listening to the source material, it listens to the sidechain, or key input, usually the kickdrum. Sound engineers use this all the time, in a subtle way, to pull the bass down to make room for the kick. We use a slightly exaggerated version of this technique in dance music to fux with your earhole and make some nice pumping effects. Essentially it's a little automatic hand, jerkin' ur fader in time with the kick. Sexy.

The informative and always pleasant Huston Singletary gets down to it on how to use SC compression in Ableton

Uh...and if you don't know, now you know, NI66A


Saturday, September 11, 2010

Savage Skulls & Douster Feat. Robyn - Bad Gal = The Hype Track of the Week




This track starts of sounding like the opening percussion for Blue Monday. Next it kicks off into some island y tropical bass sounding ish, topped off with vocals from Robyn. Fun, bouncy, and totally danceable track. This is your www.tffkrwd.com & www.hypersonicradio.com Hype Track of the Week. Check it out in this Saturday's broadcast of Hypersonic Radio airing 09/11/2010 from 10pm-12am on 101X/101.5fm & www.hypersonicradio.com


Savage Skulls & Douster feat. Robyn-Bad Gal by maddecent


more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
http://www.myspace.com/savageskullsmusic


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Cortinas & Wade - I'm In Need (Epic Funk mix)




This Austin, Texas hard hitting producer/dj duo are on a mission to spread their prodigious sound with release’s such as:"Afraid Of Something" “Superstar,” “Daybreak,” & “Disco Jackin’,” topping charts everywhere!! With a combination of flawless mixing, endless manipulation of the mixer, on time scratching, and precise sampling; Cortinas & Wade are guaranteed to deliver the most intense and engaging dj set available. Definitely keep an eye out for this rising duo in 2010!!!


Cortinas & Wade- I'm In Need (Epic Funk Mix) by CortinasandWade

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

CHIPTUNNED: MEGA MAN 2

I’ve come to the conclusion that 85% of recent edm producers were inspired by video game music. So why not explore video game music?


Chiptuned pt1: Mega Man 2





Mega Man was not a big enough success to warrant an immediate sequel, it was a rogue production that the team during their free time while working on a baseball game. The result of this labor of love was one of he best action platform games on the system, and arguably the best game in the mega man series.

The music was the work of three different composers, Takashi Tateishi, Manami Matsumae and Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, the latter also composed music for Duck Tales and Final Fight.







I feel like the intro coupled with the song makes Mega Man look about as much of a bad ass as a tiny blue robot in spandex is going to look. The song is pretty epic… It is debatable as to if it is more epic than the mega man 3 title theme… But as a whole mega man 2 is more epic just because the mega man title screen sucks. (More on that in the future)







The thing about video game music is the songs are usually about a minute to 2 minutes long, and they repeat for as long as the stage lasts, so they have to be catchy as all fuck, which I imagine wasn’t an easy task since they only had 5 channels to work with, especially when you figure in that they probably had 2 channels for sound fx.







So anyways, you basicly fight your way through 8 differently themed levels in any order so you can move on to the last 4 stages of the game, which feature on of the best stage themes in the game. Great game, great soundtrack.




Sunday, September 5, 2010

YACHT ROCK SUNDAY!!! SONGS NOT BY TOTO EDITION





It sounded like a toto song...












Human Nature sounds like a Toto song because it was written by Steve Porcaro who was in Toto... Fun fact.


Next week Yacht Rock Sunday will go delve deep into the lost art of the brouet.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Kill The Noise - My World (Charles I Remix) = The Hype Track of the Week




Nice new remix from Charles I of Kill The Noise's 'My World'. Kind of a techy, house-ish flavor with a touch of rave. My World is a little different from all of KTN's previous tracks, but it is right up there with some of his best work. One really amazing thing about this track is that you could play it almost anywhere. This is your www.tffkrwd.com & www.hypersonicradio.com Hype Track of the Week. Check it out in this Saturday's broadcast of Hypersonic Radio airing 09/04/2010 from 10pm-12am on 101X/101.5fm & www.hypersonicradio.com


Kill The Noise- My World (Charles I Remix) by Charles I


PARTY BONUS:


Roots by killthenoise


Kill The Noise - My World (Original)
...just so you know how the remix breaks down.







more MUSIC, dates, and booking INFO @
www.myspace.com/killnoisekill
www.myspace.com/ilovecharlesthefirst


Thursday, September 2, 2010

9/02/10 THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE!!!




Beverly Hills 90210 - Spring Training
My favorite episode of this classic show.


Bmore210 (Sebastian Nebula's learned a valuble but heavy handed lesson edit) by Sebastian Nebula

Sound Dissection: hardware VS software

Let's kick this music tech/ gear/ production segment off proper with a discussion that's sure to push a few buttons - the use of hardware vs software in the creation of electronic music. It's a really broad topic that definitely deserves more than just one post, so this will be a good jump off for future posts.

deadmau5 in his new mega studio.
i can has MOAR ghosts????

It's a well known fact that most modern electronic music is made using a computer. Software for music creation is easy to obtain, and relatively easy to learn to use.

Now, you too can sound just like the Swedish House Mafia!


swedish bros 4 lyfe


It's hard to deny the immediacy and ease of use when it comes to music software. Softsynths have come a long way and sound pretty bangin now. It's really nice to be able to just sit with a laptop and pair of headphones and make hot tunes, not gonna lie.

laidback luke uses nothing but a computer and his "DJ bed"
A Logic user, LL is a shining example of someone
who makes bombs exclusively with software.

While this has opened doors for many producers, it's also made for a lot of blah mediocre beats :/ Let's face it, there's a lot of generic EDM out there... So how do you set yourself apart? How do you get your own sound? (aka the meaning of life)

There are definitely more than a few answers to that. One of my answers is: HARDWARE! Now, I'm not talking a $3300 vintage minimoog model D..

...tho it would b nice.

I'm talking about that hardly working boss distortion pedal from when you "played guitar" in high school. Or that $50 super-nineties looking reverb processor on craigslist.

the harmless looking midiverb 2..
more interesting sounding than all but the best software reverbs..
..and cheaper too.

It doesn't have to be expensive, or even analog for that matter. It just needs to have some jacks n plugs (twss). Whatever it is, just plug it in, start making sound with it and record, record, record.
You can even take your pristine sounding softsynth patches and run them out, into some hardware, and then record it back in. Something about real, physical sound making devices gives them each a sort of "magic" that hasn't yet been evoked by software. If you're ever curious as to what this phenomenon feels like in full effect, I suggest you take a trip down to Switched On and play on some of the brilliant vintage synths they have. Just hold a key and start turning knobs, you'll feel it.

Switched On switches me on! :o

The key is recombination and finding those little magic formulas between your hardware and software. This is, of course, only one way to set yourself apart from the crowd and just one way of thinking outside the box (literally) to obtain sounds no one else has.


a little counterpoint experimentation using some Simplers to generate pad/ key sounds, run out into and Electro Harmonix #1 Echo ($45 at teh pwn shop) the spooky magic happens when you crank the feedback up. try doing that with software!

Next week I'll talk about a few specific software techniques that have been developed over time and have shaped modern dance music.

ELSTAR

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

WOBBLE WEDNESDAY: Nocturnal Fest Top 10

As we prepare for the shenanigans that will take place this weekends,
I feel the need to keep you on the up....and geez...condensing this list into 10 was a tough one!
Nocturnal is sure to put a stellar close to the summer!

So Let's get started!

For all you kiddos that will be E-joying your party, move the f* off the dancefloor! This straight-edge, charismatic LA based selector will be pumping up the party!
...In a conscious state.

The LA dubstep ambassador and Skeet Skeet together actually run one of the baddest bass heavy shows on Scion's streaming Radio 17.
Roach Coach Radio. Get up on it before the fest

With a skilled musical background, deep production abilities,
and affection for bass, I must truly say I'm looking forward to seeing an artist that will be pushing the decks aside and doing a live performance

You know how Parisians are with their electro.
Dirty as f*#@!
RAVE IS KING!

The monomi, button-mashing, sideburn chops, Victorian nerd is always a pleasure to watch. If you haven't seen him play, do yourself the favor

DUUUUUBSTEP! The End

This England badbwoy will have the ladies whining they waist
with his soca, dancehall infused riddims!

The missing Glitch Mob member!
Parted ways with the boy band, but has by no means fell off or gone soft!
LA crunktastic, glitch-hop will have you making the screwface!

Gotta give it up for this local native!
Shouldn't have to say anymore than that...
BETTA AXE SOMEBODY!

Betcha was expectin' Kid Cudi....NOPE!
This guy is responsible for crafting my love of breakbeats, soul and bass.
At the peak of DnB in the 90s there wasn't a classier fellow. His production...
clean as the lines in his goatee. And New Forms, arguably one of the most commercially successful albums of Drum & Bass. This guy is sure to bring out the nostalgia in me. Expect to see me fist pumping like a guido!

...so while we're at it, I might as well spill the beans. TFFKRWD is going to under go alot of exciting changes here REAL soon!
I best not spill everything, as we're still looking to confirm things, but expect a bit of things like a totally revamped blog and design, exclusive video interviews and content, Hypersonic Radio segment on the live Saturday night 101x Radio show, a podcast and a monthly DJ night from TFFKRWD Krew!
Stay tuned folks...stay tuned!

PS: I intend to post audio clips for the all for all the artist, but I'm at work and will need to upload them into my server. Redit soon.
Out