The RedFaux Transmission

Vince Clarke New Analog Monologue Video : The Syrinx

Vince Clarke has put up another addition to his Analog Monologue series.  This one is dedicated to the Syrinx.  You can watch it HERE. 

- RED

Ableton Live Drum Rack Tutorial

I ran accross this video this morning and while I don't think this tutorial will get you "realistic" sounding hi-hats, it will help you get more interesting ones.  I've used this trick alot to create interest in the highats. DJ Vespers does a nice job explaining this in easy to understand steps.  

- Over N Out 

RED

Happy Psychedelic Holidays to You!

I was feeling a bit avante garde today and whipped up a Christmas video for you all.   The video was shot around Austin and edited in Vegas Video.  The music was done in Ableton LIVE...if anyone is wondering.

Have a GREAT HOLIDAY!! I'll catch ya all on the flip side. 

-Until Next Time... Over N Out

RED

Absurd Holiday Music For You

It's been a little while since I've done an absurd music of the day post.  I ran across these two videos that are definitely absurd AND holiday themed, so I thought I'd share... The first one is a Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer / Police mashup, and the second is something very Hungarian and odd with a big giant Christmas Chicken.  I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. Enjoy! 

Teenage Engineering OP-1 Keyboard Demo

This has gone around the web in the last 5 days or so, but I think its pretty interesting, so I thought I would post it. Here is a demo of the Teenage Engineering OP-1 keyboard. This unique synthesizer and sampler looks like it could either be an amazing breakthrough or just another cool oddity that hit the market and flopped... like the Jazz Mutant Lemur.  With rumors of the OP-1 going for a retail price of over $1000 I think its future is a bit dubious... but man it sure does sound cool.  Check it out. 

- Til Next Time... Over N Out

RED

New Dirty Disco Video: "Storyteller"

The Dirty Disco has been my new favorite band for a couple of months now.  I like the fact that they can write catchy songs that don't make me feel like I just bathed in a pool of cotton candy afterwards.  They are in the process of releasing a new single for their song "Storyteller" and they have posted their new video for the song. The video has a Logan's Run meets Clockwork Orange meets F242 Headhunter vibe (without the giant egg) that I really like... so I'm sharing.  Here you go :) 

ps.  if you really like them you can check them out on their facebook page HERE

-Until Next Time... Over N Out

RED

Tron Legacy Soundtrack: KCRW Interview

KCRW posted this a few days ago and its making its way around the web, but I thought it was worth posting here.  Its an interview with the Tron director Joseph Krosinsky about using Daft Punk for the Tron soundtrack. Even though I'm dubious about the new Tron movie, I am a geek-culture sheep and will undoubtedly go see it.  I'm also interested in the soundtrack because I know Daft Punk and unfamilar things scare me ;-) Just kidding. The bits I've heard sound promising... so without any further babbling... Parts 1 through 5. 

Until Next Time... Over N Out

- RED

Moby's Tiny Movie About Old Drum Machines

I saw this today and thought it was interesting and kind of fun to watch. Let Moby wisk you into the world of old drum machines. :)

- Until Next Time... Over N Out

RED

Cool Music Monday: Penguin Prison & Kids on Bridges

Today's cool music are two electronic pop groups: Penguin Prison & Kids on Bridges. 

At first listen both are sacharin laced synth-pop, but if you look listen a little deeper you will hear some quirkiness that makes both groups a interesting and worth checking out. 

 Penguin Prison, originally from Manhattan NY, in the studio is: Chris Glover however live he has a band with him which consists of electric guitar, synth, bass and drums.  

The music has a distinct smooth 80's retro feel to it, reminding me of groups like the Pet Shop Boys and ABC.  There is something kind of classy and quirky about the synth and soul inspired vocal arrangements.  Penguin Prison is generous and has numerous free MP3s available to their fans which you can get from here.  You can also get his music on limited edition 7' singles from here, if you are into that sort of thang. 

Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not - Official Music Video from penguin prison on Vimeo.

The second group I'm going to talk about today is Kids on Bridges.   Kids on Bridges hail from Northwest England and offer up sweet synthpop with a bad attitude.  You can get a dose of this with their single "Y don't U", which you can get free from their website. A few other songs are available on their SoundCloud site as well. I'll tease you with a track to get you started ;-)

Fast as you can (END OF WORLd) by kidsonbridges

I like both of these groups.  I would buy full length albums from these groups.  I would possibly buy cool t-shirts and other merch from these groups, but the frustrating thing is it isn't available.  People talk about how record lables don't have the power they used to anymore and that the power is on the internet with the indie bands... maybe thats true but that won't reach its true potential until artists get their merch out and available to folks.  

- Until next time... Over N Out

RED

Cool Gary Numan Cover: Music For Chameleons

Timothy Eilers seems to be obsessed with creating Gary Numan covers.  So far he's covered: I Dream of Wires, She's Got Claws, Cars, Warriors, Berserker, M.E., White Boys & Heroes, Complex, Crimes of Passion, We Have a Technical, Tracks and My Breathing.  But that's ok, because he does a fantastic job and in some cases I like his versions better than the original.  His newest offering is Music for Chameleons.  If you like old Gary Numan tunes then I highly suggest you check this out :) Enjoy!

Until next time... Over N Out

-RED

10 Great Free VSTs : The Free VSTs That Made The Cut

So recently I had to wipe my computer clean and start from scratch.  I had quite a plethora of free vsts on the computer and decided that most of them weren't really worth re-installing.  Here are the 10 that made the cut and were re-installed on the machine because I do use them frequently. I think most of these are PC only folks... Click on the VST title to go to the download pages for each VST. 

 

1. TAL- Noisemaker - So pretty much everything put out by TAL is really good and usable, but I think Noise Maker stands out.  I find myself using this synth alot for sound design and music.  It has a nice fat analog sound to it and it is really easy to tweak to get the sound you want out of it. 

 

2. Analog Warfare (1, 2, &3) - This comes as a suite of 3 plugins (Analog Warfare 1, 2 & 3).  Install all of them.  They are all slightly different and good for creating creative synth textures, modulation & arpeggios. 

 

3. TAL Dub III - Another TAL plugin, this is a great simple little delay vst that allows you to create tempo synched or free form delays.  You can control what speakers the delay is pumped to and there is even a drive knob that allows for some subtle distortion.  I find myself reaching for this delay quite often. 

 

4. String Theory - This is a physical modelling synthesizer.  Its specialty is strings.  The synth has 2 arpeggiators which allows for some complex patterns. The range of the type of sounds it can create is impressive.  

 

5. TAL Filter II - This is a filter vst lets you apply an envelope across time and apply it to 7 different types of filters (the same ones used in Noise Maker) as well as pan and volume.  

6. Rez 2.0 - This is a monophonic virtual analog synth that is bright and resonant sounding.  I use it alot for bass lines that I need to cut through the mix. 

 

7. Boom Comb - This is a comb filter plugin that I use quite a bit for sound design to get crazy flange/delay/gritty style effects.   

 

8. Valhalla FreqEcho - This is the only free multi-band delay I know of, and it's good. I used it on vocals for the last dance remix I worked on. It was great for building up tension. I would also recommend this for sound design as well.   

myVST Demo: ValhallaFreqEcho MkI from myVST on Vimeo.

 

9. TAL Tube - This vst is a tube amp simulator which adds warmth to any sound you apply it to.  I use this one alot to add extra oomph to drums especially. 

 

10. DBlue Glitch - Glitch is an effects sequencer that allows you define the size of the slices of audio it effects based on a time grid.  I use this plug quite often on drums to spice up boring loops or patterns.  

 

Well I hope you enjoy these 10 plugins.  I think you'll find they are definitely the cream of the crop.  

Until next time... Over N Out

- RED

Recoil Brings New Material to Upcoming European Dates

Alan Wilder reported in his last tour video blog that he and his crew will be heading back to Europe to do a series of dates with some new music and visual content.  Here is his freshly released teaser video for those shows.  Enjoy!

Gary Numan Live Performance at KCRW

So its been awhile since I've posted and I apologize for that.  I was busy finishing up audio for the Sims 3 game for console and writing new music for Fluorescent Echo.

While supporting his tour in the US, Gary Numan played live at KCRW in California on November 3rd.  Sadly I was unable to catch his tour since he didn't get to Texas at all, but it was great to be able to see and hear him play live on the KCRW video.  So for those of you that also missed his shows I have embedded a video of his radio performance here :)

I've heard from multiple people the show in Denver was fantastic.  If anyone has pictures I would love to see them :)

- Over N Out

RED

New Analogue Monologue by Vince Clarke

Vince Clarke posted another of this Analogue Monologues on his website today.  This second video shows us his Roland System 100m modular synth along with a short demonstration.  You can check the video out HERE. 

Until Next time... Over N Out

RED

 

The Oberheim DMX Drum Machine & the Optical Theremin

I found two videos today I thought were interesting. 

The first one is a video by Eric Archer. He did a short video about the Oberheim DMX drum machine in which he takes the machine apart to show us the inner workings of the box.  

The second video is by Chamber of Sounds, who created an optical theremin, which in itself isn't that unique, but I thought the sound of this particular one was interesting so I thought I'd post it :)

- Until next time... over N out

RED

Interesting Electro-pop Video

Today I leave you with a video from a synthpop duo in Austin TX called Os Ovni.

Enjoy

Os Ovni - The Water from seth nemec on Vimeo.

-until next time... Over N Out

RED

Gary Numan 7UP Jingles

This has already been posted on Synthtopia & Waveformless, but I love this so much I'm going to post as well.  Gary Numan did some 7UP jingles in the 80's apparently.  However 7UP wasn't ready for what they got back from him and they were not used, sadly ... because I think these are amazing.

Take a listen for yourself! 

- Until next time... over N out

RED

You Know Nothing of the Crunch

I do apologize.  It has been a month since I've posted, but our company is in the final crunch of finishing Sims 3 for the console which means I've been working... more than usual. I should be back soon.

So I'll leave you with this for the meantime...

 

- Until next time... Over N Out

RED

Cool Music Monday: The Dirty Disco

Well its that time again... monday.  Those things just don't go away do they? Just as soon as you get rid of one it seems like another is around the corner... heh.  Anyway it is time for New Music Monday again like I promised.  However, I am now calling it Cool Music Monday because I think that title is a bit more fitting.  Some of the acts I may showcase in the future may not necessarily have new music out at the moment, but will definitely be worth showcasing.  With that said... the group I want to talk about today is The Dirty Disco.

The Dirty Disco is an unsigned electro-pop/glam band from London with 5 members:

• Adam K. - Vocals
• Kyle Mackenzie - Electronics
• Olly Dexter - Bass
• Andrew Ignatius - Guitar
• Kyle Langley - Drums

Their sound is an intriguing mixture of electro pop and sleazy glam-rock, think Lady GaGa with balls.  You'll hear elements of Dead or Alive, Thrill Kill Kult and Erasure in their latest single "White Room".  They have an energy about the music that is exciting and their songwriting is solid and catchy. Their look is consistent with the Lady GaGa glam thang going on now, which is getting a bit overdone but they still manage to keep it somewhat interesting.  

On their My Space page they list their influences as:

"For people who watch 'A Clock Work Orange' whilst listening to David Bowie, Prince, Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, The Knife, William Orbit, The Cure, Abba, Mirwais, Michael Jackson, Jefferson Airplane, Britney, Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Computer Club, Duran Duran..."

Well hell... no wonder I like them...!

The only problem I have with these guys at the moment is that I can listen to their music online but very little of it is available for sale or download.  Three tracks to be exact.  You can purchase their first single "Sista!" on iLike, you can grab a free download of "Rabbit Heart" on their website and you can find remixes of "White Room" on SoundCloud for download.  I'm hoping they plan an official release soon, signed or unsigned.  In the meantime here are some videos to nosh on while you're waiting. :)

- Until next time... Over N Out

RED

Two Synthesizer Performances For You

I stumbled upon two synth performance videos I thought I would share.  The first one is an ode to the moon by Mark Ettlich of RetroSound, which showcases the Yamaha DX II, Korg EX-8000 and the Oberhem OB-X.  The second is an electronic version of the Star Spangled Banner played on a ribbon controlled experimental analog synth by Eric Archer. 

-Until Next Time... Over N Out

RED

How to Create Beat Box Synth Sounds with your Mouth

No introduction is needed... and no synth apparently. :) Learn this trick and get rid of your gear!

- Til next time... Over N out

RED

Austin Handmade Music Workshop #9 - July 11th

The 9th Austin Handmade Music workshop is happening this sunday (July 11th) at the Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, Tx.  The workshop will consist of building little photo-theremin kits (see video below) followed by a synthesizer/circuit bent show & tell and part swap meet.  The festivities start at 2pm and go until 7pm. Theremin kits are $5 and are on a first come first serve basis.  Come on down and check it out.  It should be fun! For more info go HERE

-Until next time... Over N Out

RED

Cool Skull Etched Synth

Here's another cool looking synth we should all have. This unique skull etched synth was made by Dirty Electronics. According to Dirty Electronics "...It features 2 oscillators, distortion, feedback network, filter and interferance/hum/radio." The skulls are the keys...

(insert bad skeleton key joke here ;-) 

Skull Etching from Dirty Electronics on Vimeo.

- til next time... Over N Out

RED