Rabble Rouser from Brass Funkeys
http://brassfunkeys.bandcamp.com/album/rabble-rouser
Some nice London tuba funk here. Balkan vibes. Great drums and percussion. Nice Tuneyards cover!
Ableton Live 10 Intro: Real Reasons to Upgrade
I use Ableton Live for most of my production work, and I'm a dedicated user of the Intro version. At $99 (or $79 on Black Friday) it costs significantly less than the Standard ($349) or Suite ($599) versions.
The main differences are detailed elsewhere, but for those of us who use mostly hardware or real instruments to create, Intro represents a great value.
If you look at the specs there are few reasons to get excited about upgrading from version 9 to version 10 of Ableton Live Intro.
This post is written from the perspective of someone who uses Ableton primarily for mixing a live band, where audio is not necessarily quantized to a grid. With that said, after having upgraded, here are a few things I've really appreciated:
MP3 Export.
Finally, when you export your mix (or any audio) Live will encode a constant-bit-rate 320 MP3 file along with your WAV/AIFF file, for easy uploading and sharing with clients or bandmates. For years I had a Hazel task setup specifically for this, but now it's great to have that built-in.
Easier zooming.
Maybe this was possible before, I'm not actually sure. In the arrangement view, if you hold down Command on a Mac (or I imagine Ctrl on Windows) you can easily zoom in and out by scrolling. Previously, having to use the keyboard + and - keys made edits more time consuming than necessary.
Fine-tuning automation.
Which brings me to my next item. Holding Shift while editing an automation curve allows you to make fine adjustments. Very useful when you want to bump up a background vocal by 3 dB, without having to resize the track to get enough resolution.
Nudging clips
I don't believe this was possible before. In the arrangement view, using the left or right arrow keys, you can move a clip by a small amount to correct minor timing issues. Previously, I believe pressing the arrow keys moved the play head to the beginning of the clip.
Sub-groups.
In Live you could always have groups, but now groups can contain sub-groups. This is really handy on a drum bus, where you have your overheads in a group, and then you want a bus for the whole kit. There are plenty of other common situations where this has been very useful for me, for example when grouping a guitar solo comp track group with a rhythm guitar track.
What's missing?
Well, in my opinion there are still a few things that Ableton lacks.
Comping takes
This is pretty painful in Ableton, especially when you have more than a few takes to keep track of. Check out some videos of how this is done in ProTools, Reaper, Logic, or Digital Performer, or really almost any other DAW and you can see this could be a lot better.
More?
There are always little annoyances that bug me, but not enough to make me consider moving to another DAW. I'll keep adding to this list as I think of things.
Why Ableton?
For me, Live almost perfectly bridges my two production worlds of working with samples and mixing live-tracked audio. I enjoy being able to keep it all in one DAW, and learning it really well so I'm productive.
Alefa Madagascar
[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=3162735349 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/alefa-madagascar
Another great-looking compilation on the excellent label Strut Records.
Can't wait to dig into this one, but right off the bat I'm digging the organ tones and the super interesting triplets-over-eighths grooves. Sure to be another classic alongside some of my all-time favorites:
- Inspiration Information 3 by Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics
- Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band
- Orlando Julius with The Heliocentrics
- Next Stop ... Soweto Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz in South Africa 1963-1984
- Appia Kwa Bridge by Ebo Taylor
From the liner notes:
Strut continues its essential compilation series of Indian Ocean sounds with ‘Alefa Madagascar’, the first compilation to document the unique culture of salegy, soukous and soul on the island during the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Originating as far back as the 15 th Century through folkloric ceremonial music and an a cappella chanting style called antsa, salegy emerged as a fast- tempoed local dance style based on 6/8 and 12/8 rhythms. By the ‘60s, radio was bringing in new sounds from the Congo, Mozambique, South Africa and Kenya and Jean Francois de Comarmond’s Discomad label championed a new generation of artists breaking the mould with their own new fusions of styles as electric instruments replaced the traditional. The strong call-and- response dialogues, rich vocal choruses and rolling triplet feel in the rhythm sections all boasted a unique Malagasy sensibility and singles started selling tens of thousands of copies, rivalling any foreign music at the time. Local pop was sometimes referred to as tapany maintso (half-green) a reference to the stickers on singles from the other key label in Madagascar, Kaïamba, many of them produced by Charles Maurin Poty whose work was crucial in shaping the emerging genre.
‘Alefa Madagascar’ showcases the rich variety of sounds during this heyday of Malagasy music: Roger Georges’ ‘Mama’ and Jean Kely et Basth’s ‘Andosy Mora’ bring the raw energy of salegy, influential band Los Matadores drop military drums and Hammond soul in the classic ‘Andeha Hanarato’; Mahaleo’s ‘Izahay Mpamita’ showcases the band’s powerful folk sound, a crucial voice emerging from the Rotaka farmer and student protests of 1972, while Terak’Anosy Group work around a stomping Congolese guitar groove. The era paved the way for many of the household names of Malagasy music today including Jaojoby, D’Gary and Lego.
Mastered by The Carvery and featuring cover artwork by top illustrator Lewis Heriz, ‘Alefa Madagascar’ is released on 16th August 2019 and is compiled by Réunionese DJs La Basse Tropicale and Percy Yip Tong (Mauritius). Physical formats feature sleeve notes by influential producer Charles Maurin Poty and Banning Eyre of Afropop Worldwide.
credits
released September 6, 20192019, !K7 Music
Warne Marsh - Marshlands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NznMgf7EmkQ&list=OLAK5uy\_mankj58ZKJFRX7OFLKBmQgi6WcPkSOyKs&index=1
Warne Marion Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as a member of Supersax.
While searching Apple Music / iTunes for my band Marshland's new album, I came across this fun gem.
The first thing that strikes me is the blending of jazz and classical influences.
I really like the moments of edging toward more free playing.
Warne's tone is very unassuming, almost brittle in an endearing way. I feel like I'm in the same room with him.
Health and Strength by Prince Far i
https://pressuresounds.bandcamp.com/album/health-and-strength
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3060976817 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
Ahwar | Nadah El Shazly
[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=2391212862 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/11/02/nadah-el-shazly-feature/?utm\_source=footer
Album of the Day: Zazou Bikaye CY1, “Noir et Blanc” « Bandcamp Daily
[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=4113750252 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
Source: _Album of the Day: Zazou Bikaye CY1, “Noir et Blanc” « Bandcamp Daily_
▶︎ Electric Intervals | Martyn Heyne
[bandcamp width=350 height=470 album=532861228 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]
Source: ▶︎ Electric Intervals | Martyn Heyne
Damjan Krajacic - Space
Hello, my weird jazz brothers from other mothers.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tocta5WtSVU&index=8&list=PLbAstf5Jpm\_CE6RftSXWDij2QFLpFEc4S\[/embed]
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Riparian
Good stuff from Western Vinyl:
Source: ▶︎ Riparian | Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's formative years were spent communing with nature on Orcas Island in the northwest region of Washington state, a place she describes as "one of the most magical and peaceful places I have ever been."
Apparat - Walls (FULL ALBUM)
Walks the line between:
- Dancefloor
- Primal rock and roll
- Jazz LP hiphop
- Pulsey minimalism
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fJrtbdxfG8\[/embed]
List of Music Videos Shot on Washington State Ferries
Off the top of my head.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DIFUpXs7l8\[/embed]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKtB1Oij-Eg
Adding more.