Get It Together

As of lately I'm realizing the fine line between passion, obsession, addiction, and attachment. I feel so blessed to have had the experiences that I have had. To travel to so many different places, meet so many people, and then some. But man do I miss playing records. Since February I have cut myself out of the loop because I know I can get so caught up in looking for the perfect tune, and being unemployed without a steady income while looking at records can be a dangerous combination.

With music on my mind I thought it would be a good time to mention something about next week when Boston's Together Festival is in full force. Please take a moment to check out what's going on and support if you can. I was lucky enough to be part of it the first year back in 2010. A lot people have put in some major work to get this to where it is today.

And, finally my own self promotion. For the week of the festival the crew and I have reached out to bring in Distance all the way from the UK. His tunes are super heavy, and his mix downs are just insane. I don't know how he does it, but his tunes are just straight mental. Some of the craziest stuff I have ever heard.  Here's a few to check out.

Return II Space

This morning I continued my job search until I received a phone call from my good friend Damian back home. He was getting in touch about sharing some music files we had started working on before I left. For those of you who are curious as to how thats done we use something called dropbox to transfer files back and forth. But, to look at the files I needed to open up a music program I hadn't used in quite a while called Ableton. When I opened it up I found some old audio files I had pretty much forgotten about. Some of which I thought were pretty good. It was a pleasant surprise to find these little explorations in sound.

This experience sparked another thought in my mind that tends to come and go. The idea of returning to space(s). The space isn't defined as a specific area or place. It's all relative. Lately I've found myself returning to and re-examining the space in which I found myself in regards to my love and work with music. In all the time I have had to myself recently I have spent a great deal of time listening to and examining how artists have defined the auditory space they use when creating music. It's helped me to understand that I have a strong awareness in what I like when it comes to my own taste in music. As I've gotten older I've noticed my desire to find works that become increasingly more minimal in sound and subtle in their transformations and transitions. I also really enjoy when an artist has mastered the art of creating space between sounds so that a push-pull tension is created. I know how obsessive I can be when it comes to a tune I really like, and how I can listen to it over and over again examining each individual sound layered within the mix.

What about the use of visual space? Our environments, ourselves, our work spaces are all part of the visual use of space. Thinking back to my time in San Francisco and Los Angeles recently I am reminded of the artwork and graffiti I saw. But, sometimes visual spaces can be deceiving, such as an optical illusion. Visual spaces can also be uncomfortable. Everything here at the moment is so new and different that takes up my visual space it's been a bit overwhelming/stunning/can't fully conceptualize it all. Then there is the visual space we can't see or are unable to use. I'm not sure I can define all this exactly at the moment.

What about having a lack of space? How do we define spaces that aren't physical like the mind? How do we define our own space? I'm still trying to figure this out. What do I want to put in this space? Of course if you haven't noticed yet I've posted videos between the paragraphs. The songs are from the album "Return II Space" by Mala of Digital Mystikz. It's one of my favorite vinyl EP's, but I left my copy back in Boston. It still has the cellophane sealed wrapper on it because I couldn't bring myself to open it when it first arrived in the mail sometime back in 2010. I find myself wondering whats better at this point. Is having a pristine copy of the album worthwhile, or should I open it and enjoy each tune as it's meant to be heard on my turntable with the needle tracking the groove? I feel like this brings me back to where I started. How do we use and define our space? This entry has me feeling more confused than when I started. I hope you enjoy this music as much as i do.

808 All Day

While I was out running errands the other day I made time to pick up a couple 808 All Day tees. I'm a big supporter of local business and really like the design work they've been putting out. So I stopped by their store front over in the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center. For those who don't know 808 is Hawaii's area code. But, there's also another side to this shirt for beat junkies, DJ's, and music lovers like myself. Back in 1980 the music company Roland introduced a piece of equipment called the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer (rhythm composer is a fancy way of saying drum machine), or the "808" for short. The 808 was known for its unique sound bank, and many dance/hiphop music producers use it because the bass drum sound produces extremely low frequencies. Other notable sounds in the kit include the handclap, snare, and cowbell. I love how this idiom sort of connects me back home to Boston and music. As I wrap up this post I'm thinking I should provide an example of what the 808 sounds like so that for those of you who aren't familiar can understand (make sure you have some good speakers to listen on). Just below I've posted a pic what the Roland TR-808 looks like.

So before playing the video below I'm warning you that the vocal snippets in this song are not appropriate for children. However, that being said I think that the song itself is a good example that showcases the sounds of the TR-808. I'm also using this as an opportunity to showcase the work of a friend who is great producer and DJ. The tune is by Addison Groove (a.ka. Tony Williams) a friend of mine from Bristol, UK. I've know Tony since 2007 when he first came to DJ for us in Boston under his other moniker Head Hunter. He's a great guy so its a pleasure to use his work as an example especially because I know he owns an actual 808. You can hear the classic kick, clap, snare, hats, and more in his tune "Bad Things" embedded below. The tune was released by a small independent label called 50weapons on his Transistor Rhythm EP.       (FINAL WARNING; EXPLICIT LYRICS)